HEAD WEST YOUNG MEN

 

BEES-COMETS PREVIEW

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Monday night, September 29, 2014

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS – Through the first five weeks of the season the Bees have logged exactly 28 round-trip miles on the yellow school bus. That will change come Friday.

It is anywhere between 40 and 44 miles one-way to Steele High School, depending on which route you take. That in itself presents a bit of a challenge for Brecksville-Broadview Heights, which embarks on its first true road trip of the season.

“It’s really been like having five straight games at home because going to North Royalton is not exactly a road trip. This will really be the first time on the bus. Hopefully they’ll serve us a nice in-flight meal on the way over there for the hour-long trip,” quipped veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black.

There is Amherst. The western terminus of the Southwestern Conference from the Bees perspective. And like any other trip worth taking getting there is half the fun, right?

The Bees (4-1, 2-0 SWC) share the top spot in the league with Berea-Midpark. A pair of too-close-for-comfort conference victories put them in this position. They will be tested Friday night at 7 when they take to the sod at Memorial Stadium.

Things will be different for Brecksville. But to grow you have to step outside your comfort zone. And, after all, the Bees are 2-0 away from the friendly confines of Community Stadium.

“It’s a whole lot of different atmospheres for us. We have to go on the bus, to a place that is very hard to play at. And play on grass for the first time all season,” Black said. “You have to factor in all those variables and then you have to go play a much-improved Amherst team. We will have to bring it again this week. Welcome to the Southwestern Conference.”

Comets Clippings

The Comets (1-4, 0-1 SWC) are coming off a 21-7 loss at Elyria Catholic last week in their annual West Shore Conference cross-over game. They topped Cleveland John Hay, 13-7, in the season opener to give first-year head coach Bill Fishleigh his inaugural win on Washington Street.

Fishleigh, who came to Amherst following a successful stint as the junior varsity coach at Avon, replaced Chad DiFranco. DiFranco, one of the games truly good guys, went 4-26 in his three years at the helm.

After playing the first three games at home where it went 1-2 against; John Hay, Midview and Akron Ellet, Amherst hit the road. The Comets were trounced in their only SWC contest to date. That was at Berea-Midpark by the score of 62-27.

Steele is averaging 12.2 points per game and allowing 31.2.

This will be the final meeting between the two schools. Brecksville defeated the Comets 48-7 a year ago at the Bee Hive on Homecoming. In their most recent trip to Memorial Stadium the Bees won, 35-14, in the rain on October 5, 2012.

Brecksville has emerged victorious in its last four games against Steele. The Comets dominated the early part of the first nine times the squads have faced each other in SWC play.

Chad Perkins, a senior running back, scored Amherst’ lone touchdown in the fourth quarter last Friday at E-C. Senior Tyler Harris added the point-after.

No Secret Here

The over-riding majority of Brecksville’s touchdowns so far this season have come through the air. The Bees have only tallied three times on the ground. That trend is not expected to change much this week as injuries to its top two running backs have taken their toll.

Brecksville is averaging 114 yards on the ground. But it only managed 50 in Friday’s 33-29 come-from-behind Homecoming victory over North Olmsted. The Bees are permitting an average of 100 yards rushing per outing.

On the passing side of the ledger Brecksville is posting 189 yards per game. They are giving up 198 passing yards. The overall numbers are close considering the teams impressive record. The Bees have averaged 303 yards of total offense at the midway point of the campaign. Five opponents have averaged 298 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Luke Strnad is Beeville’s leading ground-gainer. He has 59 carries for 240 yards and has scored two of the teams three rushing touchdowns. Through the air Strnad is 76 of 114 (67%) for 903 yards. He has thrown for 13 touchdowns against six interceptions.

On the receiving end of well over 40% of those passes has been junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa. Tupa, one of only two returning starters for BBHHS this fall and a first-team All-SWC player a year ago, has caught 34 balls for 532 yards. He is the clubs leading scorer with ten touchdowns. And is on target to reach 1,000 receiving yards this season.

Garrett Patterson, a senior wide receiver, has 20 catches for 200 yards and a trio of TD receptions. G-Pat, who was named the Bees captain of the week, caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 2:23 remaining in the white-knuckle win over the Eagles.

Senior kicker Jakob Nypaver is 13 of 17 in extra-point kicks.

Bees Dee

Senior linebacker Joe Dimitrijevs is the leader of Brecksville’s defense. The co-captain has 52 total stops and tops the squad with two fumble recoveries. He scored a touchdown last week when he gathered in a blocked punt.

Junior defensive end Ryder Seballos has  been in on 47 tackles and is the teams leader with 3.5 sacks. Classmate Niall Lewison, a defensive back, has 38 tackles including five for a loss.

Sophomore defensive end Victor Bierman has enjoyed a solid rookie season with 33 tackles. Senior defensive back Troy Walter has a nose for the ball. He has a team-high four interceptions and also has been in on 33 hits.

If You Go

Re-charge your E-Z Pass account if you are a fan of the Ohio Turnpike. Otherwise navigate the usual westbound bottle-necks on 480 or 90. The one thing Bees fans might not have to worry about Friday at rush hour is sun-glare. The advance forecast is calling for a 50% chance of rain.

And plan to get to the corner of Cleveland and Washington a little early. This is your last chance to stop at Hot Dog Heaven.

 

THIS WEEKS GAMES:

Southwestern Conference

BBHHS (4-1, 2-0) at Amherst Steele (1-4, 0-1)

The Bees will head west into relatively unfamiliar territory in their longest bus ride of the season. The Memorial Stadium grass is likely to be wet. Brecksville is banged-up. But this young and inexperienced team has learned how to play on Friday night and it has won 80% of its games. This one won’t be easy by any stretch. But the thinking here is that the long bus ride home will be a little more palatable.

Olmsted Falls (2-3, 1-1) at Berea-Midpark (4-1, 2-0)

It will be a long night for the Bulldogs whether Nick Fritz returns at quarterback or not. The Titans simply have too many weapons and too much depth.

Westlake (2-3, 0-2) at Avon Lake (1-4, 0-1)

This one is anyone’s guess. It’s difficult to fathom only three wins combined from these two teams through five games. Still, this is the SWC so a competitive game should be in store.

 

Cross-over Game

Bay (4-1, 1-1) at North Olmsted (3-2, 1-1)

North Olmsted may still be smarting following a game they believe they should have won at Brecksville last week. N-O will have to re-focus against a Bay team that believes in itself. This contest should be an entertaining one. A loss by the Eagles throws a monkey wrench into their season. A victory by Bay launches the Rockets’ season into orbit.

 

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:

Holy Name (2-3) at Villa Angela-St. Joseph (3-2) at Euclid

This North Coast League division opener on the east side will be a tough task for the Green Wave to handle.

North Royalton (1-4) at Twinsburg (0-5)

Northeast Ohio Conference divisional play gets underway with two proud programs that are having decidedly off years. You have to believe that the Bears are playing with some confidence after their one-point win over Medina. But T-Burg is desperate and a cornered Tiger in its own territory will come out growling. The ‘Burg by a TD.

Stow-Munroe Falls (5-0) at Hudson (5-0)

How about this dandy to start NOC divisional action? The Explorers are ranked number 2 in Ohio in Division I. And they await their biggest rivals, the Bulldogs, who make the short trip up Route 91. It will be highly-competitive game and Stow will probably hang in there for about two and a half quarters. But Hudson is just too darned good. Mitch Guadagni plays big in big games. And this is the Explorers biggest one to date. Hudson by at least 14.

 

West Shore Conference

Rocky River (3-2, 0-2) at Lakewood (2-3, 0-2)

A pair of neighboring schools looking for their first league wins. The Pirates will cross the bridge, but the Rangers will make them walk the plank.

 

Ozark Conference

Lebanon (3-3) at Joplin (4-2)

It’s homecoming and that makes Chris Shields’ Eagles a favorite over the Yellow Jackets. But, like almost all of Joplin’s games this season, it will be very high-scoring.

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the web at: beesvolleyball.com. Brecksville is at home Tuesday night to take on North Olmsted.

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