By Rob Tate
SportCast Media
A year ago, the Week 3 district opener marked the end of Josh Garner’s junior season on the football field.
One year later, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound defensive end for the Magnolia Bulldogs had reason to celebrate. Well…not excessively. No 15-yard personal fouls were picked up after Garner made two massive plays in the Bulldogs’ 60-21 homecoming win over Klein Oak Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
When the game wasn’t out of hand in favor of the Bulldogs quite yet, Garner intercepted a pass that stalled Klein Oak after the Panthers – down a touchdown – had just recovered a fumble on a Magnolia kickoff.
The next defensive series saw Garner sack the Klein Oak quarterback in the end zone for a safety, which gave Magnolia a nine-point lead at the time.
The safety came on the heels of a Magnolia drive that turned the ball over on downs with a fourth-and-goal fumble lost and recovered at the Klein Oak 1-yard line.
“We had to make a stop,” Garner said Friday night. “We can get two points. I came off that line clean and smoked the quarterback for a safety. It was exciting. Almost got a penalty for the celebration.”
The interception, not something you see often from a defensive lineman, was a great feeling as well.
“I’ve never had an interception,” Garner said. “It was exhilarating. I spiked the ball and almost got a penalty on that, too. It’s just a wonderful experience. I wish I could ran it. Unfortunately the quarterback tackled me.”
Garner also had a sack earlier in the game and was in on four total tackles, assisting on three of them.
All this while Garner wasn’t feeling his best.
“Only problem is I was feeling terrible,” he said. “My stomach…I was throwing up on the sidelines. I pushed through that hardship and I still played. I still ended up making plays.”
A physically healthy Garner has been a welcoming sight for Bulldogs coach Craig Martin and his staff.
“We lost him in Week 3 last year when we opened up with Fulshear,” Martin explained Friday night. “In the second half of that game, he broke his foot and we were just never able to get him back. He was non-weight bearing and in a boot for six weeks.”
After his junior year went off the rails, Garner hasn’t wasted any time his senior year producing for Magnolia’s defense.
Garner had four tackles for loss against College Station in Week 2 and totaled four tackles (one for loss) and forced a fumble in the opener at Lake Creek.
“We really missed him last year when he got hurt,” Martin said. “So I’m really happy to see him playing well. His level of play is not a surprise. That guy’s motor is running at full speed at every practice. There’s a reason that the guys choose him to be a team captain because that’s just who he is.”
Martin was extremely pleased with the defense snatching momentum in the Bulldogs’ favor with the safety before the end of the first quarter. That sparked a 23-0 run before halftime where Magnolia led Klein Oak 32-7.
“One of the things I talk to our defense about is that when bad things happen and they get stuck in a bad situation or even a good situation is to treat it like a fireman,” Martin said. “And what I mean by that is when the fire alarm goes off at the house, they don’t ask who started the fire or what happened. They just go and put the fire out. And I think that was a great example of them just living out what we talk about in that moment right there.”
Klein Oak freshman running back Micah Rhodes came in with a lot of momentum after a Week 2 win over Cypress Falls where he totaled 246 yards and picked up an offer from the University of Houston.
Rhodes reached the end zone on a short run in the third quarter Friday, but totaled just 45 yards on the night.
“We shut them and it took our whole team,” Garner said. “Our cornerbacks were coming in, we had linebackers coming in. We had defensive ends coming in. It takes everybody to shut a team down. We worked our plays, we worked on what we saw on film and we ended up stopping them.”
Klein Oak totaled 338 yards and the 21 points was a season-low allowed by the Bulldogs.
“Our defensive staff does a phenomenal job, our defensive coordinator Coach (Tyler) Blackshire does a phenomenal job coordinating our defense and having a good game plan,” Martin said. “I try not to mess those guys up.”
Garner made the rounds to some camps this summer and he announced on social media June 1 an offer from Washington State.
“He’s just now starting to pick up some attention on the recruiting trail,” Martin said. “I had a conversation with a college coach yesterday about him. He asked why nobody has picked him up yet. A big piece of that is he just doesn’t have a bunch of film. I’m happy that he’s healthy and playing at the level he is playing at.
“He plays football hard and what he brings to our football team aside from his physicality is his leadership.”
