BEES – EXPLORERS LOOK TO STAY UNBEATEN
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Monday night, September 8, 2014
BRECKSVILLE – After two straight weeks on the road to start the season the Bees will look forward to pulling on their red jerseys and taking the field at the Bee Hive. On the opposite sideline will be the areas second-ranked team, the Hudson Explorers.
Kick-off for the non-conference clash of undefeated squads is at 7:00 pm in Community Stadium. It will be Elementary School Night. A big crowd is expected.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights (2-0) has defeated Holy Name (28-13) and North Royalton (26-8). Hudson (2-0) has taken no prisoners. The Explorers throttled Euclid, 40-6, at home on opening night. Last Friday they traveled to Uniontown Lake. They led the Blue Streaks 41-3 at the half and cruised to a 48-10 win.
This will be the fourth meeting between the Bees and the Explorers. Hudson has won the first three, including last years game in played in Summit County, 15-14. The Explorers have outscored Brecksville 94-49 in the three previous meetings combined. The two teams will join the Suburban League next school year.
Hudson, out of the Northeast Ohio Conference, is led by senior quarterback Mitch Guadagni. The Toledo recruit threw for three scores and ran for another in last weeks lopsided road victory. Reid Robinson was his favorite receiver. Robinson hauled in six passes for 120 yards and scored three touchdowns. Colton Whited made three catches for 58 yards and reached the end zone twice. Guadagni finished the night in completing 11 of 18 passes for 185 yards – all in the first half.
Guadagni is 2-0 against the Bees.
“We’ve watched them a little bit on film. They are really good. Guadagni, their quarterback, is fantastic,” veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black said. “It’s going to be a good game. It will be Elementary School Night. It’s our home opener and there will be a lot of pageantry.”
The Bees, representing the Southwestern Conference, will play both junior Danny Shirilla and sophomore Luke Strnad at quarterback. Which one will start, or get the most snaps and when, is anyone’s guess. “It all depends on the situation,” Black said. Strnad threw four touchdown passes in Friday’s win at Royalton. He has seven in his first two varsity appearances.
Junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa, also a Mid-American Conference recruit, is the teams leading receiver. Tupa, the only returning starter on offense, leads Brecksville in scoring with 5 touchdown receptions.
Joining him at wide out is crafty senior Garrett Patterson who is effective in his own right. Patterson found the end zone on two scoring passes against the Bears. He is the Bees captain of the week.
All eight of Brecksville’s touchdowns this season have come via the pass.
Hudson, a playoff team a year ago, returns most if not all of its skilled position players and a keel boat full of others who have helped coach Ron Wright build the Explorers into one of the better programs in the area.
“Hudson is a real good team with a lot of returning starters. They will be tough to beat. But we are a good team and I’m confident that we can pull it out if we stick together,” Patterson said.
Considering the Bees defense has ten new starters as well it has been good. It is allowing only 10.5 points per game. They will have to bring their A-game against the prolific Hudson offense, which is averaging 44 points per outing.
Brecksville has had a knack for creating turnovers and then turning them into touchdowns. Big play guy Troy Walter, a senior defensive back, has three interceptions and a fumble recovery. Shirilla, the lone returning starter in the unit, is the Bees defensive leader from his secondary position. Senior linebacker and co-captain Joe Dimitrijevs has been solid. As have junior Nick Sokolowski (DT), senior Joe Mandato (DE) and junior Ryder Seballos (DE).
The storyline will be the Bees inexperience against the Explorers veterans. “I’m eager to see how we perform. But we have so many things to work on going into this Friday. That’s our focus right now,” Black said.
THE HUDSON SERIES:
2013 … Explorers, 15-14 at Hudson.
2012 … Explorers, 38-21 at Brecksville.
2011 … Explorers, 41-14 at Hudson.
BEE HIVE BUZZ:
Brecksville is 2-1 in its last three home openers. Fremont Ross topped the Bees in 2012.
A special game was played last week. After a ten-year hiatus Lorain and Elyria, the two largest schools in Lorain County, matched up. It was the 101st meeting between the two rivals. The series stood at 50-50 going in. Lorain claimed a 22-13 victory over the Pioneers.
Also last weekend. In a game that began on Friday night where Mother Nature got the W. Saturday mornings continuation was one for the ages.
In the final edition of the “Little Brown Jug” game between Bay and Westlake, the host Rockets came back to win what those in Bay Village are saying was nothing short of a miracle.
The Demons took an early 13-0 lead. When the game was halted with 3:58 left in the third quarter Westlake was on top 20-9.
Westlake made the short trip back up to Bay on Saturday morning. The Rockets scored early and that helped their confidence. But things still looked bleak for Bay. When the third quarter ended the score was 33-16 Demons. Twelve more minutes and Westlake could get back on the bus and go home with a win, right?
Not so fast. The Rockets came back. All the way back. Here is how it ended.
With 49 seconds left it was Bay’s ball at its own 5-yard line. They trailed 33-29. Here’s the kicker. The Rockets had no time outs left. One pass after another was completed and the receivers were able to get out of bounds to stop the clock. With six seconds remaining Bay had one more shot. A Hail Mary pass from midfield found its way into the hands of a Rockets receiver. The final: Bay-35, Westlake-33.
That’s the magic of high school football.
You are reading post number 100 since the Bees new and improved football website went live just before the 2013 Holy Name game. Thank you for your readership.
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.
Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on-line at: beesvolleyball.com. Brecksville entertains state-ranked Olmsted Falls Tuesday night.
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