You can’t be great without the greatness of others.
That’s what Fremont Ross junior quarterback Breylen Garza said Friday of a 13-9 nonconference victory over visiting Tiffin Columbian to start the season. In the first start under center of his high school career, Garza connected with senior dual-threat Stephen Reiter for a short touchdown and 13-7 advantage in the second quarter.
“We have a few things that we have to clean up,” Ross coach Chad Long said. “Garza had a couple of throws that went over. Stephen Reiter had a really good game, but there are things we can do a little bit better.”
Garza completed 13 of 21 passes for 81 yards. Reiter was responsible for both of the Little Giants’ touchdowns as he ran in for a score three minutes into the game.
Columbian was able to move the ball between the 20 yard lines, but the Little Giants stepped up when it mattere most and allowed only the one score. Jaxson Mackey recovered a fumble for Ross.
Cade Reineck had 10 tackles and Marquez Williams added two sacks. Columbian had 50 yards rushing on 26 tries.
“We’re not a bend and break team defensively,” Long said. “We play pretty solid, fundamental defense. Columbian has some good football players, and they did some good things that we didn’t see on film. We were able to adjust enough to get a win.”
Ross notched a stop in the red zone midway through the third quarter and took advantage of sloppy ballhandling from the Tornadoes early in the fourth. Columbian, however, marched down the field with relative ease with less than 5 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
The Tornadoes neared the end zone before a pass was plucked out of the air by junior Mason Englund for an interception that completely reset the momentum of the game. Englund had two interceptions and knocked down a pass.
“When the pick happened, everyone got up,” Garza said of the vibe shift. “We have faith in our defense. They’re great up front, and our DBs are amazing. The interception was like an ‘it’s your turn now’ moment. We just went back out there, put our heads down and tried to do our job.”
The Little Giants were much more efficient in the air than on the ground in the game, with 98 of their 167 total yards of offense coming by way of the pass. They averaged 7.5 yards per reception and just 2.1 yards per carry.
“We have a young line,” said Long, who is in his 10th season at the helm. “We have four new starters on the offensive line, and they played pretty well. Columbian brings a lot of guys into the box with a lot of heat. Our guys did fairly well for the day.
“We’ll watch some film and crack some things that we need to.”
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Breylen Garza tosses touchdown in first varsity start at quarterback for Ross
Reporting by Ryan Harless / Fremont News-Messenger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
