BEES, BENNIES, ARCS & ‘STANGS
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Wednesday night, July 22, 2015
CLEVELAND – Just off the corner of Buckeye Road and Martin Luther King Drive, nestled on a slope behind Benedictine High School, is a diamond in the rough. It’s not a diamond in the baseball sense, it is a football field and it is a hidden jewel.
About five years ago the trees adjacent to the all boys Catholic schools Grotto were cleared and excavation began on the Bengals new practice field. A year later the long-awaited project was completed. No longer did the Bengals have to line-up, two-by-two, and jog along the sidewalk a half-mile each way down the street to Luke Easter Park to practice. They had their very own facility and it sits just below Truman Gymnasium.
All those prayers over the decades in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin in The Grotto were answered.
On this glorious summer evening Benedictine, playing the classy role of gracious hosts, welcomed Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Brush and Strongsville onto their impressive backyard turf for a little 7-on-7 action.
There is a reason that Benedictine won the Division IV state championship last year. They are good. According to sources close to the program the Bengals are loaded again this season with seven, count them, seven Division I college prospects. That talent was on display in the first scrimmage here this evening.
After competing against the Bengals the Bees were effective against Brush. Junior quarterback Luke Strnad fired three scoring passes with two of them going to sophomore Sam Wiglusz and the other to senior standout and Ohio University recruit Tyler Tupa.
For the second time this summer Brecksville squared off against Strongsville. The junior varsity squads got plenty of reps and the four teams went through the rotation again.
“There is good competition here,” said senior BBHHS defensive back Danny Shirilla. “Benedictine has a lot of speed and quickness.”
The four squads split the well-cushioned artificial playing surface and did what they had to do. It was Brecksville’s final time together against guys in different color helmets before things begin for real on August 1st.
“We have improved from our 7-on-7 at Midview last Monday, which is all you can ask for in these situations. And we have shown improvement from what we have worked on in practice to being out here tonight on this beautiful field, which is good. Every coach in America will tell you that they would be happy with that on July 22,” said veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black.
SCRIMMAGE SCRIBBLES:
There was a nice crowd on hand. The small, but well-done bleacher section was full. Fans stood up above or sat around the fringes in lawn chairs. What else better is there to do on a perfect summer evening?
The Bengals field features the schools logo, the light blue flying B, in the center. A large sign on the back of the gym said it all, “The Home of Champions”. A few priests took in the action. St. Andrews Abbey is right next door.
The Bennies are so talented that their play continued to draw cheers and you couldn’t help but take note of what was going on at their end of the field. “Did you see the guy who went up and got that interception,” asked The Mouthpiece. “He had to jump two and a half feet off the ground.”
Summer 7-on-7’s can become pretty bland to the untrained eye. However this evening there was a lot of zip in the air, a real positive vibe. It is definitely starting to feel like football season.
Bees team photographer Scott Warren was with the squad tonight. You would be hard-pressed to find a more talented or harder working photo-journalist. His action shots from last season will adorn Brecksville’s locker room soon.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
“I can’t believe that kid ripped my shirt off,” – Tyler Tupa.
NEXT UP:
The Bees will lift in the morning and participate in their last camp day in the evening on the new turf at Community Stadium. They will be off until they pick-up their equipment on July 31st. Two-a-days begin Saturday morning, August 1st at 08:00 hours.
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.
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Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the worldwide web at: beesvolleyball.com.
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