Even though it was a brutal year, they learned a lot
Garretson Football had a tough season in 2023, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good one. A sweet victory was earned on Friday Oct. 6th on the home field and had fans pumped up. This final game of the season against Centerville the boys fought hard and didn’t give up the game easy, with a final score of 7-14.
“We had plenty of opportunities…we just fell short,” said Coach Jerry Weiland. “Turnovers hurt our chances. We easily could have kept it close if we would have maintained possession of the ball. It was a cold, rainy and windy night. But, Centerville played in the same conditions.”
Centerville carried home the first touchdown, but Blue Dragon defense kept them from a two-point conversion.
Grinding their way up the field, GHS’s Blaine Trower tossed a six-yard pass that tied the score, and we kicked it in to take the lead 7-6!
The second quarter was where the game was ultimately decided. Centerville made a 24-yard pass for a touchdown, and successfully completed the two-point conversion, putting things at 7-14.
This is where the scoreboard stayed for the rest of the game. The Tornadoes pushed for a total of 166 yards whereas Garretson had only 72 yards gained this game, with 10 Tornado first downs vs only 4 first downs for the Blue Dragons.
GHS Tackling game was pretty good, with 22 total tackles, three by Trower, three by Brock Bonte, and two by Ian Buettner. The team did their job and stopped the ball, but couldn’t get it moving for them. Perhaps like a brave young Dragon flying into the teeth of a raging windstorm, they held their own and kept in the sky, but could make no progress on their journey.
The game against Centerville will be the last of the 2023 season. This season has been hard on the team and the fans, but it’s also been a great learning year for them too. Hard fought games that end in a loss on the scoreboard teach a student athlete much more than an easy victory. Love of the game and support of the team means more to the boys on the field when there is struggle and striving, so don’t be shy with the praise for the things they did right this season and treasure the good moments.
