Riverside Brookfield High School junior quarterbacks Giancarlo Garcia and Braeden Novak were quite an offensive combination during their youth football days with the Junior Bulldogs.
“Bubba [Novak] used to be my quarterback growing up,” Garcia said. “He used to throw me touchdowns, so it’s kind of funny seeing of us playing quarterback now at the same time.”
They and the Bulldogs had plenty to smile about after Friday’s season opener at Niles West. With Garcia and Novak alternating at quarterback every possession, RBHS led from the start and held on for a 35-27 victory in Skokie.
“It was great. The first varsity game, I was excited, a little nervous but me and [Garcia] are friends since pre-school,” Novak said. “At the start, I was a little bit [nervous], but once I got in the game and got in the groove, I just kept driving.”
In 2024, Garcia was the varsity starter and earned All-Upstate Eight Conference East Division honors. Novak also was impressive during pre-season after being the junior varsity starter.
Even up until Thursday, RBHS head coach Sam Styler said the coaches weren’t sure who to play.
“We figured because there wasn’t a clear-cut winner and they both played up to an excellent level, better to have two guys out there and let’s just see who can put us in position to be successful,” Styler said. “They’ve been competing all summer. Both of them are capable of leading us into a touchdown and putting us in a position to score every drive. We’re going to keep this thing going. They’re great with it and I think they’re awesome.”
With Garcia at quarterback on the Bulldogs’ first possession, they went 55 yards, Garcia scoring on a 1-yard run. Garcia later added an electrifying 45-yard TD run for a 35-14 lead in the third quarter.
Novak had three TD passes, starting with a 66-yard strike to a wide-open Jayden Karas for his first completion. Senior Xavier Mrozik-DeJesus and junior Nico Caputo also caught 24- and 12-yard TD passes, respectively. With their cadences, the pair also drew the Niles West defense offsides numerous times.
“We’ve been friends since pre-school. We’ve built that brothership and we know we have each other’s backs,” Garcia said. “When I can’t score, he’ll go out there and score. When he can’t score, I’ll go out there and score.”
At RBHS, Garcia became a running back who sometimes played quarterback in rushing situations. He became the varsity starter last year after the graduation of starter Diego Gutierrez.
With bigger brother Ryan a standout linebacker and running back for RBHS, Novak has played quarterback since starting organized football at age 7.
“[One of my favorite passes is] the post route. I love throwing it across the middle over all of the defenders,” Novak said. “[Garcia] pushes me throughout the practice and we both make each other better every single day.”
Caputo, who had one TD all of 2024, caught his 12-yard TD pass near the right side of the end zone with 1:00 left in the half for a 28-14 lead. Two plays earlier, he drew a pass interference penalty that advanced the ball to the 13.
“I came out of my route and see the ball coming. Perfect throw to the sideline, enough room for separation,” Caputo said. “I give [Novak] a lot of credit, seeing me there, and it was a good call by our coach, too.”
Garcia then scored on the Bulldogs’ first possession of the second half. With the ball at the Wolves’ 45, he eluded one tackler, two more at the 30 and then broke free along the left sideline with help from a downfield block by Mrozik-DeJesus.
“We talked all summer about my being smart when I run. Last year I took a lot of hits,” Garcia said. “I had one guy rip my jersey. I broke free and there’s two guys there. I was about to dive to the ground but I was like, ‘No, I’m going to try and make something out of it.’ And I see Xavier make a great block. And I was just gone to the end zone.”
“All offseason we put a really big emphasis on blocking as receivers,” Caputo said. “It’s not stuff that shows up on the stat line or scoreboard but it’s the stuff that really makes those plays happen.”
Niles West closed to 35-27 by scoring on the ensuing possession and again with 1:48 left in the third quarter after the Bulldogs fumbled away the kickoff return at the 26. Warren Mason blocked the extra point.
After John Bielobradek’s 28-yard field goal attempt caromed off the right upright with 8:28 left, the Wolves’ final two drives didn’t get past their 25.
Senior Ben Biskupic had a sack in his varsity debut and Luke Ferguson, Anthony Lembcke, John Evans Jr. and Oscar Aguirre contributed to tackles for losses or zero yards. Evans and Jayden Lee had pass breakups.
The Wolves’ first two TDs came on passes of 16 yards and 36 on fourth-and-10 and second two on runs of 31 yards after two broken tackles and 7 yards on third-and-4.
“Maybe it wasn’t pretty all of the time, but our guys were prepared,” Styler said. “I think the name of the game was we were able to stay disciplined. We had a couple of mental errors but our guys stuck with it and never gave up. A win’s a win and we’ll clean everything up.”