Wet conditions have hurt Gardiner's offense the past two weeks, but the defense has been rock solid.

Despite struggling on offense in a 14-13 loss to Morse and a 14-6 win over Leavitt, the Tigers have done a good job holding down opposing runners. Two weeks ago, they held Morse tailback Darrus Grate to 36 yards on 24 carries and Friday night limited Leavitt option quarterback Evan Barker to 17 yards. Barker came into the game with over 600 rushing yards but was thrown for a loss on four of his nine carries.
Gardiner linebackers Brad Carleton, Jake Coan and Kyle Stilphen made most of the stops Friday night and are among the top seven in tackles in the Pine Tree Conference with Carleton leading the way.
Stilphen didn't complete a pass Friday night, but contributed in a number of other ways. He interecepted a pass to kill a Leavitt drive at the Gardiner 4 in the first quarter and bailed the Tigers out of a jam with 53-yard punt in the second quarter. He also added a 30-yard punt return to set up Gardiner's first touchdown.