HOW THE BEES WILL FARE IN 2015
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Wednesday night, August 26, 2015
BRECKSVILLE – Looking at the Bees schedule on paper is one thing. You get a hold of it in late spring, you give it a once over, form some thoughts and then put the sheet of paper aside. After all it’s May and football season seems eons away. Throughout the summer you view it several more times than you care to admit, dig a little deeper, ask around and try to form somewhat of a reasonably educated opinion.
This annual exercise is always looked forward to. But the closer it got to tonight the more serious I became with the whole thing. Breaking down the Bees schedule this year was a challenge. With Brecksville-Broadview Heights entering the Suburban League the crystal ball that was usually pretty accurate in the Southwestern Conference suddenly became about as clear as mud.
The only thing that I know for sure is that the Suburban League appears to be a lot stronger, top-to-bottom, than any other conference I have seen in decades. Six months ago these teams sounded tough. The more research I did on these squads the tougher they really are.
After a decade of following the SWC, knowing its trends, coaches and graduated and returning personnel, you kind of had a feel for things. Not this year. Brecksville head coach Jason Black summed it up best. “We will miss the rivalries that we had in the Southwestern Conference but we are looking forward to forming new ones in the Suburban League,” Black said several times this summer.
Before we get to the Suburban League – National Division predictions let’s first take a look at the 2015 Bees regular season schedule.
The First Three
For openers Brecksville hosts Padua Franciscan this Friday night at 7:00 at Community Stadium. The journey into the unknown takes step one against the Bruins. It will be the first meeting between the two schools on the gridiron. But it’s at home where color and pageantry are always in store. And on opening night in the Bee Hive I think the red and gold are in good shape.
Week two has Beeville making the trip up to Garfield Heights for another first-time meeting. The Bulldogs will be waiting and with a stud at quarterback. This makes for a unique and interesting match-up. Brecksville however should leave Blaugrund Stadium okay. But, for the record, this non-league fray is in no way a gimme.
The Bees stay on the road in week three. A trip out to Brunswick is on tap and that is always a tall task. This old scribe can’t stop thinking about the last time Brecksville played at Judy Kirsh Field. It wasn’t pretty. If the Bees can somehow pull this game out they may be on their way to a special season. That is a big if.
The Suburban League
Suburban League play commences in week four. The circuit is loaded with outstanding coaches across the board. That in itself will make things interesting and challenging for the next seven weeks.
Cuyahoga Falls will be the the Bees first-ever SL opponent. Look for Jason Blacks squad to get off to a good start in league play. This game too though is pivotal because, should Brecksville lose that could send its season in the opposite direction. And it would be an uphill battle the rest of the way.
On September 25 the Bees play their first SL contest away from home. Mike Bell’s Twinsburg Tigers await them. Bell will do good things with this program, but this is his first season on Ravenna Road and it may take a while to get up to speed. If you are keeping track at home (or on your mobile device) Brecksville’s record should be 4-1 overall at this point.
And here is where things get interesting. The month of October will be a bear. Division II state runner-up Nordonia comes calling on Homecoming. And then ancient rival North Royalton makes its way to the Hive for the annual battle for the Golden Shoe. The Homecoming game with the Knights will be a challenging one to say the least. Brecksville has the luxury of playing at home in the ‘Shoe Game’ even though you can throw the records out the window for this one. But I think the Bees maintain possession of the fabled trophy because it seems to have the momentum in this rivalry.
The Suburban League schedule-maker could not have slated three more tougher games for the Bees to play down the home stretch of the docket. And two of them are on the road. Wadsworth is not an easy place to play. The locals pack the place and to make matters more challenging this will be Brecksville’s longest road trip of the campaign.
The Bees get Stow-Munroe Falls at home for Senior Night in week nine. The Bulldogs will test their mettle. Hudson, on the road in week ten, won’t be a picnic. Brecksville is 0-4 against the Explorers the last four seasons they have played them in early season non-league games.
SUBURBAN LEAGUE – National Division CAPSULES:
(Brecksville’s opponents listed in alphabetical order.)
Cuyahoga Falls … The Black Tigers are hard to figure. They are a big school enrollment-wise (Division I) but have not had much of a recent history of sustained success.
Hudson … The Explorers lost a lot of big time talent to graduation including three-year starter at quarterback Mitch Guadagni, who is now at Toledo. But the galley is far from bare in the flagship that veteran head coach Ron Wright steers.
Nordonia … Ditto for the Knights. They had the size, speed and overall talent that sent them on a magic carpet ride to the Division II state title game last December. Even though Jeff Fox’s crew graduated a castle of talent there is still plenty of it returning. How about a pair of Division I recruits on the offensive line and a trio of veteran running backs? This program knows how to win.The Knights are 30-7 in the last three years.
North Royalton … The Bears, under head coach “Papa” Nick Ciulli and his den of longtime and popular assistants, are a team on the rise. The Royalton has a fair amount of experienced players coming back who gained valuable Friday night seasoning last year because they were forced into action on account of an unusual amount of injuries. If NORO can stay healthy it can be a factor in the SL.
Stow-Munroe Falls … Mark Nori’s team returns almost its entire offense. Back-to-back winning seasons has bolstered confidence on Graham Road. Enter this dog pound at your own risk.
Twinsburg … Could be the sleeping giant in the SL. This fall the Tigers should go from the slumber stage to the awake stage to the roaring stage by the time it is all over. Improvement from week one to week ten is the thought process here.
Wadsworth … Anytime Greg Dennison is coaching your team you have a shot at a winning record, a crack at a conference title and more-than-likely the opportunity to play in week 11. The Grizzlies have a stud running back who will make plenty of headlines this season. Wadsworth plays a physical brand of football and they like to bang the ball at you until they wear you down.
2015 SUBURBAN LEAGUE – National Division PREDICTIONS:*
1 … Hudson … 7-0 … 9-1.
2 … Nordonia … 6-1 … 7-3.
3 … Wadsworth … 5-2 … 8-2.
4 … Stow-Munroe Falls … 4-3 … 6-4.
5 … BBHHS … 3-4 … 5-5.
6 … North Royalton … 2-5 … 3-7.
7 … Twinsburg … 1-6 … 2-8.
8 … Cuyahoga Falls … 0-7 … 3-7.
*These predictions are solely those of this by-line who writes for this website strictly as a labor of love of high school sports. They are not the thoughts of BBHHS head coach Jason Black or any member of his coaching staff.
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