PLENTY OF OFF-SEASON NEWS
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Friday, July 3, 2015
BRECKSVILLE – The Bees are looking forward to their July 13th trip to Midview’s new football stadium where they will workout with the host Middies, Elyria Catholic and Strongsville in a 7-0n-7 passing scrimmage. The first pass pattern breaks off at 5:00 pm.
It will be Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ first time on the field this summer as a 7-0n-7 passing scrimmage at Baldwin-Wallace University last month was canceled.
At Midview, a week from Monday, both the Bees varsity and junior varsity squads will see action. The frosh have the evening off. This will be Brecksville’s initial trip to Midview. They will get a first-hand look at the new ballpark, which was funded with grant money from the Cleveland Browns.
Conference Realignment
The Middies are coached by Derek Shaw. They will depart the West Shore Conference and enter the Southwestern Conference this season along with; Avon, Lakewood and North Ridgeville. The new-look SWC will be a 10-team conference. That arrangement has been met with some raised eyebrows by coaches who will be faced with a 9-game league ledger, allowing room for only one independent contest, which will take place in week one.
Meanwhile Strongsville, under former Avon Lake head coach Larry Laird, leaves the dearly departed and three-tiered Northeast Ohio Conference for the newly-formed Greater Cleveland Conference, which, according to reports, will include; Brunswick, Medina, Solon, Shaker Heights and Mentor.
Former Midpark mentor Dave Stupka is the head coach at E-C. He replaced Mike Polevacik who stepped down in January. His Panthers had been members of the North Coast League for years. And now they are also part of the area-wide sweep of conference realignment which officially took place July 1st. The Panthers have joined the brand new Great Lakes Conference. The GLC is also the home for; Bay, Rocky River, Parma, Normandy, Valley Forge and Holy Name.
Brecksville is now officially a member of the Suburban League. They will match-up with ancient rival North Royalton, neighboring Nordonia, Twinsburg, Hudson, Stow-Munroe Falls, Cuyahoga Falls and Wadsworth in the National Division or ‘big school’ side of the 15-member loop.
A Big Beeville Welcome
Leading the Bees into the uncharted waters of the SL will be recently named athletic director Mark Maslona. He fills the large shoes vacated by the retirement of veteran AD Dan Kalinsky who stepped aside, after 27 years at the post, at the end of the school year.
Maslona, the current athletic director at Twinsburg, is expected to begin work at BBHHS on or around August 1st, according to sources.
The BBHCSD announced Maslona’s hiring on its website on June 24th. It read: “Maslona has a wealth of experience and is excited about joining the Bees. Superintendent Scot Prebles described the extensive search and interview process used to select the new AD to the Board of Education at its June meeting when he recommended Maslona. The Board unanimously approved Prebles’ recommendation.” A photo of Maslona with high school Principal Joe Mueller accompanied the brief announcement.
One of Maslona’s early tasks will be to replace head girls basketball coach Dom Daltorio who resigned last month. Daltorio’s Lady Bees went 10-12 overall (5-7, 5th SWC) in his lone season at the helm. Daltorio and his young and growing family have moved back the their native Youngstown area. Where he has accepted a position teaching math at Austintown Fitch High School. The Daltorio’s welcomed their second child on June 24th. Congratulations and best wishes to Coach “D” in more ways than one.
What Maslona will not have to worry about, at least for many years, is the field at Community Stadium. The Bee Hive has a fresh new artificial field turf, which has been laid. The end zones and a portion of the sidelines are red, as is the large “B” at midfield. The finishing touches will be put of the state-of-the art carpet over the next several weeks. Word is that the installation of the new field turf was done without seams. That will reduce tearing and hopefully injury.
“We are excited to have a chance to play on the new turf. The colors that are being added to the field are going to look amazing under the lights,” said veteran Bees head coach Jason Black.
Old Friends in New Places
Back in the SWC former Olmsted Falls head coach Jim Ryan, who led the Bulldogs to the Division II state championship in 2000, has joined the North Olmsted staff as linebackers coach. Ryan joins five other former Falls coaches on the Eagles staff. Two others are at Bay.
Berea-Midpark standout linebacker Joey Bachie will head to Michigan State. Bachie, at 6-2, 225-pounds, originally committed to Western Michigan back in February. He decommitted in early April and accepted Spartan coach Mark Dantonio’s offer. In addition to four other Mid-American Conference schools Bachie also had an offer from Illinois.
Into The City, Into Tradition
On Wednesday, July 22 the Bees will make another first-ever trip for a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage. That will be to the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Buckeye Road to take on the Benedictine Bengals. The varsity and junior varsity squads will participate in a 6:00 pm start.
Within the past five years the Bengals built a turf field behind the school. It is situated below the parking lot and runs adjacent to Truman Gymnasium, The Grotto and St. Andrews Abbey, left to right. The facility enables the team to practice in its backyard as opposed to jogging along Martin Luther King Boulevard to Luke Easter Park, a half-mile run each way, which they did for decades.
The Bennie’s are the defending state Division IV champions. Joe Schaefer’s team capped a 14-1 season by defeating Kettering Archbishop Alter, 21-14, on the morning of December 5th at Ohio Stadium. As the “Home of Champions” Benedictine was true to form again in 2014, adding yet another piece of state title hardware to their impressive trophy case.
One of the returning stars of that team, Justin Layne, announced in the spring that he will also attend MSU. Layne, a 6-3, 180-pound senior receiver and four-star class of 2016 recruit, has offers from just about all the big boys east of The Mississippi.
Benedictine graduated five-star linebacker recruit Jerome Baker who will play at Ohio State this fall.
In case you were wondering … it is only 56 days until the Bees open the 2015 campaign with an August 28th date against the Padua Franciscan Bruins.
Best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy Fourth of July! God Bless America!
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.
– 30 –