6-Man Top 6: Gerardo Garcia

In early January, Kansas Pregame contacted 6-Man football coaches in an effort to name a first ever Top 6 team of seniors in Kansas. The results are in and here are the Top 6 players in Kansas as voted on by the coaches. 

This is the third of six individual player profiles highlighting the Top 6 selections released in no particular order:

Gerardo Garcia, FB/QB/DE/LB, 6-1, 205, Moscow, Sr.

Ever heard the phrase, “Someone you don’t want to meet in a dark alley”? The phrase does not apply to Moscow senior Gerardo Garcia, as he is a very pleasant person to converse with. However, meeting Garcia in a “linebacker alley” is a whole different situation.

The 6-1, 205 pound bane of ball carriers would often completely dominate games on the defensive side of the football. During his senior season he accounted for 93.5 tackles, 7.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries and an interception over the course of eight games.

“I would always get a kick out of watching a player from another team who thought they were pretty tough try to take on Gerardo,” Moscow head coach Bret Harp said. “Let me tell you, I saw several guys end their night of playing by trying that move. He was an animal!”

Garcia also made a significant impact offensively in his senior campaign, as he tallied 729 yards of total offense to go along with eight total touchdowns.

“Gerardo is just a guy whose motor never quits,” Harp said. “I don't know that I ever gave him a break in two years in tight games. He was a man-child on the field. Very strong and relentless. His impact was felt all over the field. He just never gave up on any play! You could count on him to give 100 percent all of the time.”

After winning the 6-Man Wild West Bowl championship during Garcia’s junior season with a flawless 10-0 record, the Wildcats had the challenging task of repeating. They would come up just short in 2020, as they were defeated by a talented Cheylin squad they had beaten in the championship the year prior, finishing the season 6-2.

Garcia took home honors from Kpreps.com as their 6-Man All-State linebacker selection and honorable mention as a fullback, earned a spot on the 6-man All-Star team, and also was voted by coaches to be on the first ever Kansas Pregame 6-man Top 6 list.

Despite Garcia’s personal success, he said team achievement provided him the greatest satisfaction, and he credited his teammates for the past two year’s success.

“My teammates and I just wanted to make history ever since we started playing ball together and everyone wanted to be respected more and so they worked hard when no one was watching and just never looked back since,” Garcia said. “I really just think we wanted it more than any other team that we had success against.”

Garcia intends to switch from “linebacker alleys” to “power alleys” post-graduation. He plans on playing baseball in college and holds offers from McPherson College and Kansas Wesleyan.