BEES QUARTERBACKS ON TARGET

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Sunday evening, August 31, 2014

BRECKSVILLE – In thinking about the Bees 28-13 opening night win over Holy Name the recurring theme was that it was a solid victory. The numbers, the official statistics complied by chief number-cruncher Greg Roderick, illustrate that they don’t lie. In fact they were very much in proportion with the games outcome.

Other than the Green Wave’s second possession, which resulted in quick answer to Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ first touchdown, the red and gold settled in and played well the remaining 43 minutes.

It has been a long time since Brecksville (1-0) ran the ball more times than they threw it. And Friday night, at North Royalton’s Serpentini Stadium, the Bees ran it well.

Underwood Underrated?

Junior running back Josh Underwood, in his first varsity start, carried the ball 18 times for 74 yards (4.1). “Josh stepped-up in a big-time way didn’t he?”, asked veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black after the game on Friday night. “He’s a tough runner. He’s a fast runner. He’s a physical runner. He’s a kid that has only played football for about three or four years. I’m very pleased with how Josh played tonight.”

Underwood’s performance was just the tip of the iceberg. As a team the Bees ran the ball 43 times, netting 177 yards (4.1). Sophomore quarterback Luke Strnad averaged 6.9 yards on eight totes where he picked up 55 yards. Sophomore running back Joey McGonegal added 42 yards on nine carries, mostly in the fourth quarter.

Brecksville’s two-quarterback system was outstanding. Combined, Danny Shirilla and Strnad completed an eye-opening 22 of 28 passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns. That is connecting at a highly efficient 78.6% clip. Strnad threw three TD passes. Shirilla tossed one. Each suffered an interception.

“They both do things well. They don’t care who plays they just want to win,” Black said.

Catching On

Junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa hauled in eight passes for 79 yards and scored a trio of touchdowns. The Holy Name secondary had no answer for him. Junior WR Niall Lewison, who made five catches for 43 yards, snagged the other scoring aerial.

The Bees quarterbacks shared the wealth. Garrett Patterson, a veteran senior wide out, made four grabs for 21 yards. Shirilla, Underwood and Zach Venesile also caught passes.

The noticeable difference in the offense was that Brecksville used more short passes than going for the home run ball. That, and the effective running game, made for more sustained drives. It also kept an inexperienced defense off the field for longer stretches.

Brecksville put up 360 total yards of offense to Holy Name’s 164. The Bees only punted one time. They picked up 23 total first downs, 14 of them coming on the ground. The Green Wave tallied a dozen stick-movers. H-N turned the ball over three times; a fumble and two interceptions. Each team was penalized six times.

Making a Statement

The Bees defense got better as the game went on. Holy Name did not score again until there was just 2:05 remaining. And that was against a liberally substituted lineup. Brecksville did an excellent job of containing Shakif “Fish” Seymour. The Green Wave had only 32 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

Christian Klink, Holy Names senior quarterback, went 14 of 27 for 132 yards (51.9%). He threw to Seymour for a 20-yard scoring strike in the first quarter. Klink ran for the hosts late touchdown on a five-yard scamper.

Brecksville’s leading tackler was junior defensive end Ryder Seballos with nine. Shirilla and senior linebacker Joe Dimitrijevs each came up with seven stops, including two solo hits. Dimitrijevs recovered a botched hand off on H-N’s first possession and officially returned the pigskin 12 yards to set-up the Bees first score.

Troy Walter, a senior defensive back, was in on a half dozen tackles. He intercepted Klink twice. Eddie Sternad, Joe Mandato and Ryan Lambert each racked up five tackles. Mandato caused the fumble that Dimitrijevs scooped up. Venesile was credited with the Bees only sack.

Klink was frustrated by, not only Walters’ pair of picks, he also had five of his passes broken-up. Shirilla and Mandato, along with Victor Bierman, Jared Schott and Steven Klaus all deflected passes.

On special teams, senior kicker Jakob Nypaver was two-for-two on extra points and Lewison returned a kickoff 41 yards.

Not Bad For Openers

All-in-all it was a pretty impressive triumph for the Bees over Holy Name (0-1). The two-quarterback system appeared to go off without a hitch. Strnad proved that he can move the team at the varsity level with both his arm and legs. Shirilla, the steady leader, started and led the team to an impressive opening series scoring drive. As the game wore on Shirilla’s experience as the leader of the defense from his secondary position was more valuable at the time.

 

THIS WEEKS GAMES:

BBHHS (1-0) at North Royalton (0-1).

Holy Name (0-1) at Normandy (0-1) at Byers Field.

Hudson (1-0) at Uniontown Lake (0-1).

Canton South (0-1) at Olmsted Falls (0-1).

North Olmsted (1-0) at Lakewood (1-0).

Midview (1-0) at Amherst Steele (1-0).

Avon Lake (0-1) at Bedford (1-0).

Berea-Midpark (1-0) at Garfield Heights (0-0). *

Westlake (1-0) at Bay (1-0).

Springfield Kickapoo (2-0) at Joplin (2-0).

* The Bulldogs record is inconclusive. According to multiple reports Garfield Heights’ season-opening home game with Cleveland Collinwood was called off with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter after a bench-clearing brawl broke out. The Bulldogs were leading, 26-6, at the time. There were also two altercations in the stands. Police departments from neighboring Maple Heights and Cuyahoga Heights assisted the GHPD at Blaugrund Field. Three arrests were made.

 

THIS WEEKS CAPSULES:

Holy Name has a chance to notch its first win of the season when they take on the Invaders at Byers. Normandy was crunched by Benedictine Thursday night.

Uniontown Lake fell to non-league rival Green in its opener. They have a tall task ahead of them this Friday when Mitch Guadagni and the second-ranked Hudson Explorers make their way south.

Canton South replaces Medina Highland on the Bulldogs schedule this year. This feels like a game that Olmsted Falls is counting on. The Wildcats lost to Coventry Friday. Meanwhile Falls played well in a tough 14-7 defeat at Bedford.

A potent passing game lifted North Olmsted past Valley Forge. The Eagles should continue to fly high when they meet Lakewood on the road this week. The Rangers were one-point better than Parma.

Amherst Steele, fresh off an impressive win over Cleveland John Hay, hosts in-county rival Midview. The Middies sneaked by Lorain. Avon Lake, still licking its wounds following a lopsided loss to rival Avon, will set sail for Bedford.

Berea-Midpark easily took care of North Royalton at Finnie Stadium. Now the Titans will travel across I-480 to Garfield Heights. As of press time there had been no decision on whether the Bulldogs game with the Railroaders would be continued.

Bay smoked Brookside in its first game. The Rockets will roll out the welcome mat for Westlake, who escaped with a one-point victory over a talented North Ridgeville squad.

Out in Southwest Missouri, Joplin will entertain Springfield Kickapoo in an Ozarks Conference battle of 2-0 teams.

 

NEXT UP:

The Bees head back over to Serpentini Stadium Friday where they will take on arch rival North Royalton. Kick off, for this non-conference game, is at 7:00 pm. Stay tuned to the website Monday night for a preview of the annual battle for The Golden Shoe.

 

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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