KC's Garing brings toughness to both sides of the ball
KARNS CITY — Luke Garing never seems to have a lot to say.
Verbally.
Physically?
Different story.
Karns City's senior fullback-linebacker has the same mind-set no matter what side of the ball he's playing on.
“Knock the other guy down before he knocks me down,” Garing said. “That's what this game is all about.”
Gremlins football coach Joe Sherwin appreciates that attitude as much as anybody.
“Luke's been playing since he was a sophomore and he's always played with that kind of edge,” Sherwin said. “We always count on him for so much in terms of physicality.
“He gets the tough yards inside for us on offense. If we need two or three yards for a first down, you know who's getting the ball. And he's the heart of our defense.
“Now we can add leadership to that list. He's the type of player our other guys are going to look to,” Sherwin added.
Garing has no problem with that.
“As a senior, that's expected,” he said of leadership. “I've learned from other senior classes as I was coming up through. Now it's my turn to pass it along.”
The Gremlins won two playoff games last year — avenging two regular season losses — before bowing out in a loss to Wilmington.“I'd like to see us win District 9 again and go deeper this time,” Garing said of the postseason.If that happens, he'll have a lot to do with it.He is the Gremlins' top returning running back, carrying 72 times for 375 yards and catching four passes for 39 more.Defensively, Garing made 72 tackles — including 29 solo stops — from his linebacker position. He tallied an interception, recovered three fumbles and caused two others.“He's a disruptive force on that side of the ball,” Sherwin said.Garing doesn't want his numbers to stand out too much. He prefers having teammates match or exceed them.“Just play as a team. Win games. That's all I want to do,” he said. “I'll get my share of carries, but we always develop a bunch of running backs. This year will be the same way.”When it comes to position preference, it's no contest for the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder.“Linebacker, definitely,” Garing said. “On offense, I'm taking the hits. On defense, I'm delivering them. I like being the guy giving the hits rather than the guy taking the hits.”He does favor one particular play on offense.Third-and-1.“Definitely,” he said. “Give me the ball. Move the chains. There's nothing like a long, punishing drive.”It all comes back to the physicality.“That's why I play this game,” Garing said. “That's Karns City football.”
