A LOOK AT THE SWC

 

TEAM CAPSULES AND PREDICTIONS

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Wednesday night, August 27, 2014

BRECKSVILLE – Two Southwestern Conference teams made the playoffs last year and with any amount of luck the computer that tabulates such things may just spew out three teams when all is said and done on Halloween weekend.

The SWC is not known as the most-talent laden seven-team grouping in Northeast Ohio. But it is a solid and competitive conference with longtime rivalries. League members have much mutual respect for one another. Each year at least one club garners the headlines in rising to the top of the standings. While those just a step below have a legitimate shot at a post-season berth if everything falls into place in the OHSAA computer lab.

For a change this year this site will list the predicted order of finish in the Southwestern Conference first and then get into the reasons why. After a summer of talking to folks, breaking down rosters and eventually going with the gut everything was put into the blender. Here is the concoction that you may sip, pinky finger extended, at your own risk. Please don’t attempt to guzzle this information.

Please keep in mind that these predictions are those of this by-line only and in no way reflect the opinions of Brecksville-Broadview Heights head coach Jason Black or any member of his staff.

 

Without further delay:

2014 SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS:

1) – BEREA-MIDPARK ….. 6-0 ….. 9-1.

2) – WESTLAKE ….. 5-1 ….. 8-2.

3) – BRECKSVILLE – BROADVIEW HEIGHTS ….. 4-2 ….. 7-3.

4) – AVON LAKE ….. 3-3 ….. 4-6.

5) – OLMSTED FALLS ….. 2-4 ….. 3-7.

6) – NORTH OLMSTED ….. 1-5 ….. 4-6.

7) – AMHERST STEELE ….. 0-6 ….. 0-10.

 

2014 TEAM CAPSULES:

 

THE TITANS: In a word. Loaded. That is the consensus of those in the know. Ray Hradek’s team is on the verge of putting it all together. 2014 is the year that those on Bagley Road will remember the Titans.

Senior Justin Harris is a speedy Division I talent at running back. Junior fullback/linebacker Joey Bachie is a load and is getting D-1 looks as well. B-M has size and strength in the trenches and plenty of guys that can make electrifying plays at the skill positions. Kenny Sladick is a returning first team all-league guy at defensive end. Rugged offensive guard Zach Bycznski will open holes for Harris and company.

At last word Nick Gassman is the projected starter at quarterback. Tight end Steve Maryo (6-3, 205) caught 19 passes for 231 yards last fall.

The Titans appear to have gone through the merger transition and it is now full speed ahead for the blue and orange at this point. The only question mark is that both Berea and/or Midpark have not played in a meaningful football game in years. So how will B-M react when the pressure is on in must-win games for the league title and beyond? The crystal ball sees the Titans only loss coming in week three in what should be a dandy at Strongsville.

Hradek, who was the coach at Midpark back in the old Pioneer Conference days, is 81-59 as a head coach. His Titans should get him career victory number 90 in week ten against Midview in their West Shore Conference cross-over contest. But by then they will have sewn up the SWC title.

 

THE DEMONS: Mark Campo’s club is poised to make a serious run and will challenge Berea-Midpark. Replacing Kent Axcell at quarterback is junior Andris Balodis. All Balodis did was throw for an incredible 29 touchdowns last fall at the junior varsity level. While Saturday mornings are a far cry from the glaring lights of Friday nights those are huge numbers at any level.

JaQuan Hardy returns at running back and he will be among the best in the SWC. The Demons offense is big and skilled and has the potential to put up impressive numbers. The tight ends can dominate on size alone. Westlake will operate out of the shotgun/spread offense. A question mark is who will replace capable wide receiver Adam Sandor at wide receiver?

On defense senior Cameron Brown, the son of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, leads the way. Brown, the enforcer on the Demons basketball team in the winter, is a two-way lineman in the fall. Billy Dreher was a second-team All-SWC player a year ago and is back.

Westlake only graduated 16 seniors and they did make the Division II playoffs in 2012. An 8-2 season should get them into the post-season again this year.

 

THE BEES: Junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa is the teams lone returning first-team All-SWC player from a year ago and one of only two returning starters from the defending league champs. Needless to say Tupa, a Division I college recruit, will get plenty of touches. “His presence will keep defenses honest,” Bees veteran head coach Jason Black said.

Brecksville will go with a two-headed monster at quarterback according to Black. They will use both Danny Shirilla, a junior, and Luke Strnad, a sophomore. This is not a platoon situation or quarterback derby. Both will see plenty of action behind center. How much and when? That remains to be seen. That element of surprise falls right into the wheelhouse of offensive coordinator Tom Tupa, whose hundreds of plays on his laminated play call sheet are only a fraction of what is in his head.

“Our offensive philosophy is to throw it to who is open and do what is working,” Black said. Senior WR Garrett Patterson is a sure-handed number two receiver. Junior running back Josh Underwood will open some eyes with his dynamic style.

Other than Shirilla (also a ball-hawking DB) and Tupa the Bees are inexperienced at the varsity level. They get Avon Lake at home. But the last two weeks of conference action they have to take on Berea-Midpark and Westlake. And that will be difficult.

Brecksville has never made the playoffs in two consecutive years. This will be the schools swan song season in the SWC as the Bees head to the Suburban League next year. If Black’s green group can win two of its three non-conference games and stay healthy long enough to be in the hunt in week nine, a ticket to week 11 isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

 

THE SHOREMEN: Dave Dlugosz returns to the sideline at A-L. But the team was decimated as much as Brecksville’s, if not more, by graduation. The Lakers have to replace their quarterback, two outstanding running backs, Division I lineman and a host of other veterans, including their kicker. Those fellas were part of the loops flagship program until Brecksville knocked them off last year.

But Matt Pechaitis is solid at offensive tackle. And Jeremiah Campo, at defensive back, is definitely a player that opposing offensive coordinators will have to be aware of. But the challenge for the Shoremen will be surviving a very tough non-league schedule. They face neighboring rival Avon on opening night. That test is followed by back-to-back cross town trips to Bedford and Shaker Heights. They tangle with Berea-Midpark early in SWC play.

If anyone can get the Shoremen to compete for a conference title it is Dlugosz. The deck this year, however, maybe more slippery than in seasons past.

 

THE BULLDOGS: Tom DeLuca is in his second season as head coach at Olmsted Falls. And, from a distance, it appears as though things are smoother this year on West Bagley Road. It helps when you have a senior three-year starter returning at quarterback. That being crafty leader Nick Fritz.

Kevin Meehan is a threat at wide receiver. The Bulldogs will need more than that if they are to upend teams above them in the pecking order. Defensive back Mike Hansinger is a key loss in the secondary. Falls was prone to giving up a fair amount of points last season. If they can tighten things up defensively and get the ball back in Fritz’s hands quicker the Dogs may bite someone when they least expect it.

 

THE EAGLES: Mission number one for second-year head coach Tim Brediger is replacing star quarterback Brad Novak. But that is not all. North Olmsted also has to find a replacement for Jeff Rotherman, a hulking offensive tackle who is now playing D-1 college football. Veteran center Beau Bilinsky’s position needs covered as well.

The bright spot will be in the backfield where returning SWC-first-teamer Ben Kurscak will carry the load. On defense multiple-sport standout Matt Starcovic returns in the secondary. But overall the Eagles, much like the Bees and the Shoremen, graduated at least 20 seniors from what were very good teams in 2013.

An easy non-league slate should aid North. Its week ten rivalry game with Falls will be, as it usually is, a good one.

 

THE COMETS: Bill Fishleigh takes over for Chad DeFranco at Amherst Steele. He is the leagues only “true” new head coach this year. His task is a rebuilding job. Although some close to the Comets program think that the cupboard is not as bare as it appears from 46 miles away.

Joe D’Andrea is solid at DB and he is a player that Fishleigh can build upon on defense. Amherst only graduated 17 seniors, but one of them was veteran quarterback Anthony Eliopolis who was effective.

Perhaps a new voice may go a long way in getting the Comets, who were very young last year, into the victory column this fall. Their non-league slate is eclectic. If they are to win a game it will likely be outside the SWC. In the circuit North Olmsted could fall prey.

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

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