AN IMPRESSIVE VICTORY

 

BIG PLAYS WHEN THEY COUNT STOP THE EAGLES

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Sunday morning, September 28, 2014

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS – Considering that North Olmsted pretty much dominated the games statistical ledger the Bees 33-29 Southwestern Conference triumph over the Eagles here Friday night at Community Stadium was all the more impressive.

It showed that a young and inexperienced team that took the field on August 29 against Holy Name is maturing into one that will do whatever it takes to win a football game. In these ‘can-go-either-way’ contests against fellow SWC schools that find-a-way mentality could be the ingredient that sets Brecksville-Broadview Heights apart the second half of the season.

North Olmsted (3-2, 1-1 SWC) won the statistical battle. The Bees (4-1, 2-0 SWC) won the game. That’s the bottom line.

Over on Burns Road yesterday morning while Eagles head coach Tim Brediger and his staff watched film of Friday nights thriller it would be reasonably accurate to think that North Olmsted would trade places with Brecksville’s Jason Black any day of the week.

“North Olmsted played just as hard as we did. It’s a shame that somebody had to lose this game. I’m just glad it wasn’t us,” Black said Friday night just after the game.

In dissecting the stats the first three thoughts that came to mind here at the world headquarters of this dot.com were: It was a good game to watch. North Olmsted dominated the numbers. It was amazing that the Bees still found a way to win.

Time of Possession

The software package that charts just about everything else does not allow for a numerical “time-of-possession” factor. But it doesn’t take a MIT grad to figure out who held on to the ball longer. North Olmsted ran 69 total plays from scrimmage. Brecksville ran 50. That is pretty lopsided considering the difference in the final score was only four points. And the team with fewer snaps won.

That number also illustrated that the Bees defense, a unit that was patched together with different guys slotted into new positions on account of injury, was on the field for way too long. That being said it was its defense that came up huge on the Eagles last drive after Garrett Patterson’s 16-yard touchdown reception with 2:23 to go proved to be the Homecoming winner.

The Eagles racked up 390 total yards to the Bees 252. They went up and down the field. The end result was Brecksville’s defense made plays when it had to and the Bees scored last.

The last sentence sums up Beeville’s win-with-heart, total team effort, gut-check victory.

Deep Inside The Numbers

The Bees managed only 50 yards on the ground. They scored one rushing touchdown. Through the air sophomore quarterback Luke Strnad was 13 of 23 for 202 yards. He tossed for a trio of TD’s and was intercepted as many times.

Meanwhile the Eagles ran the ball 32 times for 133 yards. They reached pay dirt three times via the run. Junior quarterback Christian Ammons completed 21 of 37 passes for 257 yards. He threw for one touchdown, a 62-yarder that gave his team a short-lived early fourth quarter lead.

Ammons was intercepted twice. Both came late in the first quarter. Those turnovers helped propel Brecksville to a 19-7 halftime advantage. But Ammons, much like Olmsted Falls’ Aaron Zawadzki a week earlier, settled down nicely in the second half. And much like what the Bulldogs did in week four, the Eagles were able to do Friday night. Get back in the game because of it.

The Bees punted four times. The Eagles three. A big reason for that was that Brecksville’s defense made big plays on fourth down to take over on downs. A narrowly missed 25-yard field goal by N-O’s Max Becker just before the half added to that factor.

In the first down department the Bees had 12, with seven coming through the air. The Eagles notched 16 chain-movers, nine coming via the pass.

Brecksville played a relatively clean game. Only two penalties against the home team were accepted, accounting for 15 total yards. On the other hand North Olmsted was assessed 56 yards in setbacks on seven yellow hankies. They had a touchdown called back on a hold. It is safe to say that early turnovers and penalties stymied the Eagles chances.

Overcoming Adversity

Coach Black was asked by another reporter what his team needs to work on. “The penalties and turnovers are not allowed. We need to be able to execute better. I would love to come out of the locker room with the lead at halftime and just finish the game,” said Black. “We were able to do that last year, but we had a senior-laden team. With this team it’s still a learning process.”

The Bees, who through the first four games were winning the turnover battle, came up on the -2 side of the give-away/take-away ledger. They turned the ball over on three INT’s and a fumble. Still, they found a way to win. That’s not easy.

Joey McGonegal, a sophomore in his first varsity start at running back, carried the ball 11 times for 30 yards and scored a touchdown. He played the second half on a sprained ankle. Strnad ran the ball 16 times for 20 yards. That was all Brecksville could muster on the ground.

Tyler Tupa, a junior wide receiver, had another outstanding night. His seven catches for 151 yards accounted for 60-percent of the Bees total yards. He had one touchdown reception. But his ability to make big catches in critical situations and pick-up significant yardage after the catch was a deciding factor in the game.

Patterson caught a trio of Strnad aerials. None bigger than his game-winning TD grab.

Bend a Little, Break Not

Senior linebacker Joe Dimitrijevs also had a Homecoming game to remember. The soft-spoken co-captain was in on 19 total tackles. He scored Brecksville’s first touchdown when he scooped up a punt that was blocked by Victor Bireman and reached the south end zone.

Mason Mackovjak, a senior linebacker, who played more than usual due to mounting injuries, was sensational. He was in on 16 tackles.

Niall Lewison, a junior defensive back, continues to have a noteworthy season. He had 13 hits, including four solo tackles. Lewison made two tackles for a loss and came up with an interception.

Junior defensive end Ryder Seballos was all over the field. He ended up with a dozen tackles, had two sacks and a tackle for a loss. Senior defensive back Troy Walter had 11 tackles. He nearly picked off his fifth pass of the campaign as well.

In the secondary junior Danny Shirilla broke-up three passes, two of those coming on the Eagles final drive. McGonegal intercepted Ammons in the first half.

The Stories Behind The Game Story

It was a night of many “firsts” for McGonegal, a wiry-tough 5-9, 150-pounder. He reached the end zone twice in his first start at running back. McGonegal scored his first varsity rushing TD on a short run. He also caught his first-ever scoring pass, a 10-yarder. And on defense he registered his first INT.

“What an excellent example of a player stepping-up and taking advantage of the role he was given,” Black said. “It’s very unfortunate that Josh (Underwood) is hurt and that he will be out for the rest of the season. But someone else stepped-up and played. And that was Joey.”

Homecoming, and the storybook tales that it produces, was made for guys like G-Pat and Joe-D and Joey Mc. But there were plenty of others who fell under the magical spell that late September Friday nights offer.

“Joey wasn’t the only one that stepped up and played. We’re missing Nick Sokolowski on the offensive line and we had Cole Costanzo, a freshman, starting on the offensive line. He’s been in there for three games now,” said Black. “We’ve had a lot of people step-up for injured players. Joe Mandato got hurt the first series of the game. Mason Mackovjak steps right up and plays the entire game. He did a great job.”

Having to replace 20 of 22 starters coming into this season and being thin in the depth department, the last thing Brecksville needed was to be faced with injuries. But none-the-less the injury bug has reared its ugly head on Mill Road. The Bees are 4-1 overall because they have played with heart and determination.

This is becoming a mentally tough football team. Two relatively easy wins over Holy Name and arch rival North Royalton were followed by a tough loss to a juggernaut Hudson team. But this group was unaffected by that setback. They have held off both Olmsted Falls and North Olmsted in league play and share the lead atop the SWC standings with a talent-rich Berea-Midpark team.

Brecksville has been able to do it with guts and grit. A little super glue and duct tape goes a long way too. Pieces and parts have been getting the job done. “How about G-Pat playing defense? When was the last time you saw that? We needed him to play defensive back because Joey (McGonegal) had to run the ball. Garrett was in at defensive back for the last four or five series’ of the game because we didn’t have anyone else,” Black said. “And Luke Stnad played a lot on defense too. We’ve asked Luke to do everything. And it’s kind of unfair to ask a young quarterback to do everything.”

Farewell Old Friend

This was the last time that the Bees will play the Eagles, at least in SWC play. It has been a tightly-contested series. “This was a typical North Olmsted-Brecksville game. We’ve played them ten times and only two of those times the game has not been within five points,” said Black.

Knock on Wood

The stat of the year so far is that we have played five weeks of football and it hasn’t rained yet on a Friday night. Now that the jinx is on bring your umbrella to Amherst Friday.

 

Next story:

Monday nights posting of the Bees at Amherst Steele preview.

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the web at: beesvolleyball.com. Brecksville entertains North Olmsted Tuesday night.

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