Garber’s great season highlights Pirates’ 10-0 campaign

When it comes to catching passes, few in the history of Garaway Pirates football have done it better than senior Jenson Garber has done it this year.

Garber’s numbers are dazzling. In 10 games the senior has hauled in 53 passes for 1,005 yards, and he has scored 13 touchdowns. The only game he hasn’t scored at least once was in the week 10 victory over Ridgewood, where he still racked up 105 receiving yards.

Garber’s 1,005 receiving yards this year have placed him fifth overall in the Pirates’ record book, and he is zeroing in on the career best of 1,115 yards put forth by Winston Mullet in 2012.

In addition, his 53 catches have moved him up the latter in the season reception leaders, and he is now chasing that record too, with Ty Hamsher’s total of 66 catches well within reach.

Garber said much of the credit should go to his quarterback, Brady Geibel, who moved into the district as Dalton’s back-up quarterback last season and has shown off a strong arm in the pocket, along with an ability to view his various options, with Garber being his favorite.

“Brady puts the ball right where I need it almost every time,” Garber said. “He’s a great quarterback, and he’s been great to me all year. He’s putting me in places to succeed. I think we’ve developed a good chemistry, and he feels comfortable looking for me.”

Garber’s philosophy as the Garaway Pirates’ No. 1 receiving target is fairly straightforward.

“Get open and hope Brady throws it to me,” Garber said.

While Garber continues to produce at a prolific pace, many people wondered in the beginning of the season just how good this offense was going to be after losing several major pieces to last season’s juggernaut. With All-Ohio quarterback Logan Yoder and All-Ohio running back Ethan Miller gone, plus some other key pieces, along with a new and untested quarterback in Geibel under center, there were some legitimate concerns.

However, with a rugged front line protecting Geibel and the quarterback’s pocket presence and his drop-back throwing ability, the offense has clicked, and Garber has been a huge part of that success.

“This year’s offense has been a lot different than what we’ve seen in the past couple of seasons,” Garber said. “We went from a super-mobile quarterback in Logan to more of a drop-back, pro-style quarterback in Brady. It’s taken some time to get used to it, but I think we’ve gotten to where we’re all very comfortable with everything now, and it’s working well.”

He said he and Geibel spent the majority of this past summer prior to the season working on timing drills on The Hill at Garaway’s football stadium, and he said that has paid off in their trust with one another.

“Building that chemistry was so important for us,” Garber said. “When it gets down to crunch time when we need a big play, that’s what we rely on.”

While Garber has shown an uncanny ability to cruise across the middle of the field and snag passes knowing he could get lit up by a defender at any given moment, he said he thinks his best asset is his ability to gain separation from defenders, where he uses his quick start and stop ability to change directions and make moves to get himself open.

Then there are those soft hands that allow him to turn off-target passes into yardage-gainers.

His head coach Jason Wallick called Garber a complete player capable of changing games at any moment.

Garber doesn’t care about his numbers or any records. Those are things he can relish later. At this time he said he is simply enjoying the ride the Pirates are making this season, having finished the year 10-0 as the top-ranked team in Division VI, Region 23.

“This has been so much fun, and hopefully we can make a deep playoff run in the playoffs this year,” Garber said. “That’s the only thing that really matters.”