BBHHS WRAPS UP 7/7 SCHEDULE

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Thursday night, July 24, 2014

BEREA – You would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect summer evening than this past Monday when Brecksville-Broadview Heights took to the emerald green carpet here at Tressel Field at Finnie Stadium. It was under these conditions that the Bees began their final week before a break and the grind of two-a-day practices. In other words, when football, real football, begins in earnest.

It was 75 degrees when junior Josh Underwood demonstrated his speed from his defensive back position against Southwestern Conference rival North Olmsted. It was under clear blue skies that junior Tyler Tupa talked football during a break in the action.

“There is no other feeling like taking the field on a Friday night. Especially late in the season when it is dark before game time and the lights are in full effect,” Tupa said. “I’m looking forward to two-a-days and the season. I can’t wait.”

Tupa was highlighted in The Plain Dealer Wednesday morning as one of the daily monoliths 31/31, which features the areas top 31 players each day during the month of July. As that story so accurately detailed there is not much more that Tupa, a first-team All-SWC player in 2013, likes to do than talk football. Other than play it of course.

The Bees and the Eagles appeared to be pretty evenly matched. But this is July and not late September. The real story between these two clubs will be told two months from now, around 9:30 pm at the Bee Hive.

On Monday night the N-O quarterback looked pretty good. But he will have big shoes to fill in replacing the Eagles stalwart Brad Novak. The birds second-string signal-caller threw a nice ball for a touchdown pass against Brecksville’s seconds.

Grunting And Groaning

Up in the north end zone the linemen were going through their paces. One gent stood out as a man amongst boys. What is your height and weight? The scribe beckoned of this man-child. “I’m 6-8, 330. My name is Cameron Bell,” the big guy said with a smile while extending his hand.

Bell is Nordonia’s offensive left tackle. He has already made a verbal commitment to Toledo. The Rockets are getting a good one. In watching this behemoth go through drills his technique, as well as physique, could make him a player that has potential even beyond the next four years.

In fact the Knights are loaded this year. They have three Division I prospects on their roster and are poised to do some serous damage in the Northeast Ohio Conference and beyond. The green and white are big, strong and physical. They have speed to burn at the skill positions on both sides of the ball. “We open up with Mayfield and then Twinsburg. Two traditional rivals,” said head coach Jeff Fox.

As trench warfare continued a fired-up Nordonia assistant coach got everyone going as a spirited one-on-one circle drill was taking place. “This is football in its most primitive form,” he yelled.

A few minutes later, during a break, longtime BBHHS assistant Mike Glaser expounded on what the mindset is of being a lineman. “Understand that you guys do all the work making blocks. Let the other guys run for the touchdowns. You don’t get your names in the paper. Even Dom doesn’t write about you,” Glaser told his group in a matter-of-fact tone.

The Knights Again

In the 7-on-7 the Bees and Nordonia went at it for the upteenth time this summer. Junior quarterback Danny Shirilla engineered a nice hook-up with senior WR Garrett Patterson. He then found Tupa wide open at the five. Brecksville would score. So would the Knights.

Sophomore Luke Strnad then came on and hit Tupa on a five-yard out pattern, which gave the Bees a 2-1 lead in touchdowns. And Shirilla, from his defensive back position, just like he did deep in his territory at Avon Lake last season, came up with an interception.

Nordonia knotted the fray when its quarterback made a nice read on a check down as the giant wind turbine across the street at what used to be Roehm Middle School whirled away.

“We have improved since last week. However it’s still not enough yet,” Bees head coach Jason Black said in recapping Mondays workout. “But I’ll tell you what. It’s not for a lack of effort. The guys have been working their butts off.”

Back At It

Cool and overcast conditions met the Bees, along with North Ridgeville, University School and Nordonia on Wednesday evening.

Brecksville’s defense was impressive from the start against the Rangers, picking off two passes. “We should have had four INT’s. We dropped two. But I’m feeling a lot better tonight,” said Bees defensive coordinator John Shirilla.

Another Night With The Knights

Against Nordonia, Beeville’s offense made strides. Shirilla was pin-point with his passes, threading the needle on two straight throws. He went on to fire a long ball to 6-3 senior wide out Jakob Nypaver down the left side for a score.

Junior DB Zack Venesile then dominated the landscape. He came up with pick and then broke-up a pass on the very next play. Venesile, who seemingly was all over the field, would grab another interception a little later.

Meanwhile Strnad was taking the snaps. “There it is,” said offensive coordinator Tom Tupa just as Strnad let it fly and sophomore Joey McGonegal made his cut.

Coach Black summed up the week and the summers 7-on-7 slate. “From day one to day ten I thought that our kids improved. We definitely are a young team and you can tell that because one day we look like world beaters and the next day we realize that we have a lot to work on. But it is nothing that we can’t fix,” Black said.  “And what I like most about it is that the effort and intensity are there. That is awesome because those are things you can’t coach. They come from within.”

The Bees would conclude their evening against U.S. But, like a moth to a porch light, this scribe was drawn to the big guys who were going over technique in the north end zone.

 

Vignette I

Hulking two-way tackle Nick Sokolowski sat the walk-thru out after an accidental kick by Nordonia’s Cameron Bell in a linemen drill opened a bloody gash on his lower leg. It provided the local media with a chance to get caught up with Soko, a junior.

“I can’t wait. Football is the best part of going back to school,” Sokolowski said. “And the best thing about tonight is that it reminds me of how the weather was when we played Berea-Midpark here last year. And those are good memories because we them.”

For those who do not know Sokolowski is a fireman. He does more than play the role. He lives it. Just like the pro’s do. “I am a Fire Explorer with the East Cleveland Fire Department. I’ve been doing it ever since I was 13. I’ve seen it all the first year I was on the (rescue) squad. I sleep at the firehouse on my shift. It is all voluntary and I love it,” said Sokolowski. “They have two fire stations in East Cleveland. You still get to slide down the fire pole at the one station. It’s cool.”

Sokolowski has wanted to be a fireman since as long as he can remember. And his polite answer to the dumb reporter question that begged to be asked; what he wants to be when he grows up was yes. Soko’s calling is only fitting. His fraternal grandfather, Rich Sokolowski, is the retired fire chief in North Randall. He hung up the axe in 2001. But by that time the seed had already been planted in young Nick’s heart.

The guys at the station house have taken to Nick and appreciate his home grown passion for the thankless job. “We’ve gotten close over the years. These guys are like my mentors. A few of the East Cleveland firemen have come to Brecksville football games,” Sokolowski said.

 

Vignette II

Jason Black is not exactly a shirt and tie guy. He wears one in his BBHHS classroom because it comes with the territory. Teachers, going back as far as I can remember, always wore a short sleeve shirt and a tie. That’s part of the deal.

But Black is more in his element when he is teaching line play. He is in his glory, not in a shirt and tie, but in shorts and a t-shirt; urging, teaching, making positive points and constructively noting where a different step might have been better put to use and why.

Those traits can be traced back to his gene pool as well. Jason’s father, Jeff, was a longtime school teacher. “If you are a teacher you should really like coaching because the kids WANT to be in sports. They don’t all want to be in school,” Lady Bees assistant basketball coach Pete Geiser shared several years ago.

Coach Black’s classroom was in the open air last night. The lessons were thorough and delivered with the same passion as a biology teacher would direct a lab lesson or an English teacher would help a student craft that perfect sentence.

For those who respect the heck out of teachers and coaches, viewing the lessons Black taught last night was like sitting in the corner of a classroom at a high level university and just eavesdropping. It was a treat.

 

BEE BUZZ:

The first person to say hello on Wednesday evening was recently graduated Bee Austin Strnad. Strnad, whose third quarter halfback pass for a touchdown put the final touches on Lakewood last season, is ready to attend Capital University in Bexley where he will major in Nursing. Austin will play football for the Crusaders.

Strnad first broke onto the Bees football scene in the opening game of his sophomore season in 2011. It was his first quarter interception against arch rival North Royalton in front of a packed house at Community Stadium that set up an early touchdown. Brecksville would prevail in the longest game in school history to keep the Golden Shoe.

At 6-feet and one-half inch Jared Schott is now officially the tallest member of the Schott household. Jared, a senior, is a wide receiver and a boundary defensive back. “I like both positions the same,” Schott said when asked of his preference.

Jared’s older brother, Jay, is going to be a sophomore at Kent State. Jay, one of the classiest young men to come through the program in recent years, has kept busy this summer tending to his lawn care business.

John Shirilla is entering his 28th year of coaching high school football. His sidekick, Mike Czack, the Bees linebackers coach, is now in his fifth campaign on Mill Road. “I started coaching Nick (Shirilla) and Colton (his son) when they were five years old,” Czack said.

“Ya, but just because I have been coaching at this level longer doesn’t mean that Coach Czack isn’t really old,” quipped Coach Shirilla.

At a recent evening practice session at the Bee Hive there were about a half dozen cars parked above the grassy knoll. Their occupants, sitting in air-conditioned comfort, were taking it all in. And about another eight guys were clustered up in the far reaches of the home stands in the shade. You have to hand it to Beeville fans. They love their football.

And so do folks in these parts overall. For the two scrimmages at B-W this week there had to be at least 75 fans in the stands each night and half of them were from Brecksville. Including a contingent of female students led by super-fan Kendall Brown, a junior multiple-sport athlete.

Several times throughout last season a Brecksville coach or administrator would comment on what a good person Josh Underwood is. Last night I had the chance to formally meet Josh for the first time. His solid reputation certainly preceded him. The young Mr. Underwood is as advertised.

Brecksville has 92 young men participating in football at the high school level. The freshmen team numbers 31. There are 27 sophomores, 16 juniors and 18 seniors listed as varsity players as of today.

“Timmy is taking; martial arts, hand-to-hand combat and wrestling at Navy,” Tyler Tupa said. “It’s going to be brutal when he comes home.”

 

NEXT UP:

Two-a-days, double-sessions, hell week. Call them what you want. It all starts next Friday, August 1.

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on-line at: beesvolleyball.com.

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