Garaway football draws rave review from Perry coach before OHSAA Division V showdown
SUGARCREEK ― The undefeated Garaway Pirates are building a reputation as a state powerhouse.
Perry head coach Bob Gecewich compared getting ready for Garaway to preparing for another state power.
Garaway and Perry are set to square off on Friday in a Division V regional semifinal at Solon Stewart Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“It’s kind of similar to preparing for Kirtland,” Gecewich said. “You know you have to be on at all times. The preparation is way more focused than it is when you’re not exactly sure what you’re walking into.
“You know the success Garaway has and how well those kids are playing. We’ve got to be a little bit more focused this week in practice and fine tune our game.”
Earlier this season, Perry lost 36-16 to a Kirtland team that has surrendered only 69 points over the course of the season.
Garaway has allowed just 51 points through 12 games. Coincidentally, Kirtland was the last team to score at least 20 points against Garaway. That came in the 2020 playoffs.
Gecewich said Garaway’s defense flies to the football.
“You can tell they are extremely confident in what they do and they should be,” he said. “When you look at what they’ve done, that also means you’ve got some pretty darn good players over on that side of the ball.”
Garaway enters Friday’s contest coming off a 21-6 win over Ridgewood in last week’s regional quarterfinals. It was the second win in three weeks over the Generals.
Quarterback Logan Yoder threw for two touchdowns. Senior receiver Alexander Roden complimented Yoder’s ability to find different options in the passing game.
“He’s been doing a lot better with switching receivers and not just locking on one receiver,” Roden said after a 33-7 win over Sandy Valley in week 9.
Perry heads into its matchup with Garaway at 10-2 following a 35-0 shutout of Fairless last week. The Pirates stalled a Falcon offense that averaged 33 points per game.
Quarterback Walter Moses has thrown for 2,100 yards and 25 touchdowns. Jayden Studio has led Perry’s offense on the ground with 844 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Gecewich doesn’t intend to slow his offense down despite Garaway’s fast-paced tempo.
“At some point in time, high school football, college football, heck, even pro football comes down to guys making plays,” he said. “You’ve got to hope that your guys make some plays when you put them in the best position that you think you can.”
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Garaway plays Perry in an OHSAA Division V regional football semifinal
