CHRIS LARICK
A Chris Larick column...
GENEVA — Tyler Erb’s defining moment as a high school football player in 2009 may have come early in the Madison game when he connected with Geneva wide receiver Jimmy Haines for a long touchdown pass, then thwarted a Blue Streak comeback with an interception.
Or it may have come at Riverside. After the Eagles had lost a lead in the fourth quarter thanks to mistakes, Erb suggested to Geneva coach Tony Hassett that the Eagles run the “blast counter boot” on fourth and 12. Erb faked a run up the middle, faked a counter, then hit Haines for the score that gave Geneva the lead for good.
In what amounted to the Northeastern Conference championship game, Erb lifted the Eagles to a victory over Edgewood with a run from punt formation on fourth-and-nine that helped seal the deal.
With the NEC championship a done deal, Erb and his long-time friend Haines came up with possibly the most impressive play of the season. An underdog Gilmour Academy team had the lead late in the game and forced Geneva into a fourth-and-22 situation.
Erb suggested to Hassett that he throw a “fade” to Haines.
“I said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Hassett said. “I could look at him and see he was going to get it done. (Gilmour)’s defensive end was right in Tyler’s face when he threw it. Jimmy was covered by two guys, but he blew right between them, caught the ball and left a couple of defenders pounding the turf. I’ve never been in a game like that, where we snatched victory from defeat.”
“That was some play, a good way to end the season,” Erb said. “It was probably one of the most exciting games I’ve been in.”
It was a huge play, that would have been even larger had the Eagles not already been eliminated from playoff competition despite their 8-2 record. What had to really hurt is that another victory would have clinched a spot and the one win they needed could have been almost in the bag
had Geneva not allowed Harvey to cancel its scheduled game between the teams. As it was, the Eagles were forced to play Kenston, a strong Chagrin Valley Conference team.
Still, after all of his heroics during the season, both offensively and defensively, Erb was a logical choice as Star Beacon Ashtabula County Player of the Year. After his selection, Erb admitted it was an honor he sought.
“I saw other people get it at the (Ashtabula County Touchdown Club) meeting and wished I could get it,” Erb, the son of John and Christina Erb, said. “It still surprises you when you get it, though.”
For the season, the 6-foot, 190-pound Erb completed 55 of 114 passes (48.2 percent) for 897 yards, averaging 16.3 yards per completion, and 10 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 105 times for 477 yards (4.5 average) with four touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He also had six interceptions, second in the county in that category.
Erb is so polished as a defender that he was named Star Beacon Ashtabula County Defensive Back of the Year in 2008 and was named first-team all-district and honorable mention in the state. He is already first-team all-district as a quarterback this season with state honors pending.
“He had a goal,” Hassett said. “He wanted to be the best player in the county and went out and proved he was. He was one of our best weight lifters and was our captain on and off the field. He’s a very coachable young man. With the game on the line, he wnats the ball. He makes plays on the field on offense and defense.
“All year he made big plays when it counted most. That tells you he has special character.”
Erb is also a model citizen, carrying a 3.35 grade-point average at Geneva and doing things like tutoring other students.
“He's an all-around good kid,” Hassett said.
As successful as Erb became as a quarterback, he played tight end until his freshman season.
“He came up (to high school) as a receiver,” Hassett said. “That year, we made the decision we didn’t have a quarterback and that we’d move Tyler there. We liked his disposition and work ethic.
“He was a natural athlete, but had a lot to learn on mechanics. He’s developed over the years under my brother (Mike)’s tutelage. He’s showed what hard work can do. He’s come a long way even from last year to this year.”
“I was a tight end as a freshman when they asked me to be a quarterback,” Erb said. “I had no idea what I was doing my freshman year, but I eventually got the hang of it.”
The Eagle freshman team didn’t win a game. But those players — Erb, Haines, David Leishman, Mike Tortora, Nick Odegard, Quaid Traves, Greg Vaughn, Aaron Turk, Zac Depp, Mark Reed and Sean McBean — just kept working.
“This year, we set goals going into the season,” Erb said. “One of them was to make the playoffs, but we’re pretty happy with an 8-2 season. It’s been a lot of years since (Geneva football teams) have done that.”
“Our ultimate goal was to get to the playoffs,” Hassett said. “It didn’t happen, but we gave everything we had.”
It had been years since Geneva had beaten Madison and Riverside, something they accomplished this year. It was also the first time the Eagles had beaten Gilmour, in part because they only began scheduling the Lancers in recent years. In addition, led by Erb, they defeated Lakeside two of the last three years.
“Those were big goals the seniors set,” Hassett said. “But they proved it on the field.”
It didn’t hurt that the seniors were close friends. Erb and Haines, the touchdown tandem that combined to make play after play, were particularly close.
“We grew up pretty close to each other, about five minutes away,” Erb said. “We always played sports together — basketball and football, went to combines with each other, competed against each other. We’re actually going on a cruise with each other in Australia.”
Erb is also one of Geneva’s best basketball players. He admits to some ambivalence about which sport he prefers.
“It depends,” he said. “I like having different seasons. It’s always fun to win. Football season was a good season. I had so much fun with my buddies in the things we shared on the football field.”
As a basketball player, Erb is asked to play several roles because the Eagles lack height.
“We have a lot of speed and can shoot the ball,” he said.
When he’s not playing sports with his friends, Erb enjoys family activities. The Erbs have a boat and jet ski and often spend time on the beach.
Erb hopes to play football in college and has Findlay, Youngstown State, Slippery Rock and Edinboro on his wish list. He has already visited Slippery Rock.
“I’d like to major in physical therapy,” he said. “I think something like that in athletics is something I could stay interested in.”
Larick is a freelance writer from Geneva.
