By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

NORTH LIMA

The Garrettsville Garfield football team limped into the playoffs, losing three of its final four regular-season games.

But the G-Men recovered nicely on Saturday night, stunning top-seeded South Range 31-21 on the road in a Division V, Region 17 quarterfinal.

Dalton Michael rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown and the eighth-seeded G-Men (8-3) racked up 314 yards rushing in an upset of South Range at Memorial Stadium. Garfield’s defense and special teams each added a score.

The game also marked the final time the Raiders will play at the stadium as they are expected to open the 2017 season at their new campus facility.

“This hasn’t sunk in yet,” Daniszewski said. “The key was to stop their passing game and we did. We knew [Garfield] they would run, but they ran a lot tonight. I’ll look back on this season and remember my teammates and what a great job this group did all season long.”

After a scoreless first quarter, the Raiders got on the board first when quarterback Aniello Buzzacco found the end zone from a yard away for a 7-0 lead.

“This wasn’t what we anticipated — we were hoping to go farther this year in the playoffs,” Buzzacco said. “It’s a heartbreak, but I love my team and everything that we’ve accomplished. I’m just so proud of everyone.”

Buzzacco, who finished with 107 yards passing and added another 50 yards on the ground, said the key was to stop the pass.

“They came out with a good game plan and give them credit because they made some great plays. We just didn’t do our job today,” he said.

Seth Morgan got the G-Men (8-3) on the board at 4:46 of the quarter when he picked off a pass and returned it 72 yards. The teams were tied at 7 at halftime.

Kyle Borrelli’s 10-yard run at 8:03 of the third period gave Garfield its first lead 14-7, but Buzzacco engineered a 14 play, 70-yard drive that chewed 5:28 off the clock, culminating when Daniszewski scored from the 1 for a 14-14 tie at the 2:35 mark of the quarter.

Morgan took the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for his second touchdown of the night. A failed conversion left Garfield with a 20-14 lead.

It didn’t take South Range (9-2) long to answer, using Daniszewski’s 35-yard run just 33 seconds later to regain the lead, 21-20.

Not to be outdone, Garfield needed just 27 seconds to come up with an answer as Dalton Michael’s 71-yard run set up his 1-yard plunge for a 26-21 lead.

When Borrelli added the conversion run, the G-Men stretched the lead to 28-21 after three quarters.

In all, there were four scores within a span of 1:14 in the third quarter.

Garfield’s Zach Gorby then added a 22-yard field goal with 5:56 remaining to round out the scoring.

“They’re a great football team,” South Range head coach Dan Yeagley said. “You see glimpses on film of them running the ball and you know they have a couple of good running backs. Obviously they’re very good or they wouldn’t be here. You work all week in defending the pass and they get some big runs on a couple plays. It was a great job by their coaching staff.”

Yeagley has played and coached at Memorial Stadium, adding that he is going to miss the Raiders’ old field.

“I’ve been asked, ‘What is my fondest memory? I have a lot of fond memories,” he said. “It’s not wins and losses. It’s the players. I played here, too. I remember my teammates and these guys are going to remember their teammates as well.”