LEVITTOWN, PA – Patrick Garwo has experienced a rather unbelievable junior season. Thanks to yet another breathtaking performance, that campaign still isn’t over.
With Garwo gobbling up yardage by the bushel, the Eagles defeated Lansdale Catholic, 44-20, in the Class 3A District 1/12 sub-regional championship Friday night at Harry S. Truman High School.
CEC junior running back Patrick Garwo #5 - PSD Photo taken by Kathy Leister
“My offensive line and my fullbacks are great,” said Garwo.
The junior stalwart has made a habit out of touting the C-E offensive linemen whose chief responsibility is to clear holes for him to run through. Against Lansdale Catholic, Garwo carried the pigskin 28 times and accrued 197 yards – the second-highest amount of his career – and scored three touchdowns to increase his staggering total to 24 for the season.
It was just another riveting contribution from the Blue Division’s Most Valuable Player. This time, however, it catapulted the Eagles into the PIAA state tournament. At 1:00p.m. on November 25, Conwell-Egan will meet Palisades High School in a Class 3A quarterfinal bout at Northeast High School.
The Eagles had lost to Lansdale Catholic, 31-13, in a turnover-fest disaster during the regular season.
“This game was a little of revenge because we knew we were the better team,” said Garwo. “Little mistakes cost us the first time, but we just had to continue to build on how we were playing and limit mistakes.”
When Garwo was denied the ball, the Eagles (6-6) still received yeomanly efforts from junior quarterback Alex Goldsby (14 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns giving him 12 for the fall) and junior Terome Mitchell (10 for 38, touchdown).
Conwell-Egan’s steady progress throughout the season has not surprised Garwo.
“I knew we were going to continue to improve,” he said. “We were really young and just had to get our young guys more confident and limit all our mistakes.”
Senior right tackle Quameer Francis said Garwo is shortchanging himself.
“He’s dedicated to the game,” said Francis. “He’s humble and works each and every day to get better. ‘Good’ is never enough for him or anybody else on the team.
CEC Celebrates After Defeating Lansdale Catholic 44-20
“And blocking for him? We’re not just a team; we’re a family. I got his back and he’s got mine. He counts on us to open up holes for him and we count on him to give it his all every play.”
Senior center Gino Turchi labeled blocking for Garwo “a great experience.”
“Patrick is a fantastic running back for sure,” said Turchi. “Watching him work is really a work of art and what makes him so good is that Pat is always ON, putting in work to be at his best. You don’t see that in too many guys at this age. He’s real special.”
Francis said Garwo’s ceiling is unlimited.
“Maybe one day I could say I blocked for a rookie of the year NFL running back,” said Francis. “Who knows?”
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com.)
