A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER

BEES-NORDONIA: INSIDE THE NUMBERS

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Sunday afternoon, October 4, 2015

BROADVIEW HEIGHTS – Given the 15-point differential in the final score, Nordonia’s 49-34 Suburban League victory was not as lopsided as the end result would indicate. The obvious factor in the Knights road triumph was the 40-carry, 338-yard, 6-touchdown performance by junior running back Anthony Perrine.

In total yardage Nordonia (3-3, 1-2 SL) tallied 461 yards of offense. Brecksville-Broadview Heights (5-1, 2-1 SL) registered 428. Only 33 yards separated the two teams, at least on paper.

On the field it was a different story as the Knights utilized their two Division I tackles to help pave the way for Perrine. He was indeed a Knight to remember.

The injury to Brecksville starting quarterback Luke Strnad also played a key role in the games outcome. Strnad, a junior, makes the Bees offense go. He is the trigger man.

Senior Danny Shirilla, who came up through the system as a quarterback, played more than admirably in relief of Strnad. Shirilla, who also plays wide receiver and defensive back, quickly settled into the role, knocking off what little rust there may have been. If anyone knows the Bees offense – and defense for that matter – like the back of his hand it is Danny Shirilla.

27 Points With Back-up QB

Before the late first quarter injury Strnad was hot. He connected on 6 of 7 passes for 109 yards, including an opening possession 14-yard touchdown toss to Joey McGonegal. The game was tied at 7 when Strnad exited.

Brecksville came in scoring 33.8 per contest. The Bees scored 34 on the Knights, and 27 of them were with Shirilla behind center. Shirilla passed 17 times, completing 7 of those attempts for 85 yards. He fired a 17-yard strike to Tyler Tupa in the second stanza which brought Brecksville to within 14-13.

Shirilla also carried the ball 15 times, gaining 68 yards. Senior running back Josh Underwood had his best game as a Bee with a 15-carry, 105-yard, 3-touchdown performance.

Another tell-tale stat was that Nordonia snapped the ball 81 times as compared to 63 for Brecksville. Nordonia played fast. They were big and physical and that was the large reason why Jeff Fox’s boys rang-up 390 yards on the ground. This against a Bees defense that came into the contest allowing just 4.6 points per game. The 49 points that the Knights posted were more than twice as many (23) that Brecksville’s defense had permitted in its first five ballgames.

Plenty of Action

The Homecoming contest wasn’t the Bees best. They were penalized 9 times which cost them 66 yards. The Knights were flagged 5 times for 40. Brecksville turned the ball over twice, on an interception and a fumble.

There were only 3 punts in the game and that was a big reason why the two teams combined for 889 yards of offense, 83 points and a whopping 41 first downs. Nordonia had 24 of those chain movers.

Tupa was Brecksville’s leading receiver. He hauled in 7 passes for 125 yards and a score. McGonegal grabbed 3 for 38 yards and reached the end zone. Adrian Asimou, Sam Wiglusz and Niall Lewison each caught a pass.

For the first time in a long time the Bees actually had more rushing yards (234) than passing (194).

Lewison, who turned in another solid performance on both sides of the ball, averaged 31 yards on 3 kick off returns. That was big because the Bees needed as good as field position as they could get in order to manufacture enough points to keep up with Perrine’s near non-stop parade to pay dirt.

Putting Up a Fight

Six Bees registered double digits in tackles. Tupa notched 18, including 5 solo stops. Senior defensive end Ryder Seballos added 15 in his first game back after a shoulder injury. Michael Graham and Lewison each had 13 hits. Lewison made 4 solos stops and had 2 tackles for a loss. Nick Zakelj and Steven Klaus added 11 pops a piece.

Brecksville did not get to Nordonia quarterback Justin Post. It was the first time in six games that the Bees did not record a sack. Credit Nordy’s behemoth offensive line for providing excellent protection against a quick and active Beeville defense.

Connor Lavey recovered a Knights fumble. Shirilla broke-up one of Post’s 21 aerials. And junior defensive end Victor Bierman had a tackle for a loss.

For The Season

So far this fall the Bees are averaging 385 yards on offense. Its opponents 230. Underwood is the teams leading rusher with 308 yards on 55 totes. He has scored 5 touchdowns.

Tupa leads all pass catchers (30/696/7tds). Shirilla has 18 grabs for 265 and a trio of scores. McGonegal has caught 10 and has 4 TD’s.

In a little over 5 games Strnad has completed 73 of 102 passes for 1,254 yards and 17 touchdowns. He has only been intercepted twice. Tupa leads the team with 7 touchdowns. Junior kicker Sammy Kraguljac is 21 of 25 on extra point kicks.

Graham, a sophomore linebacker, remains the squads tackle leader with 68. Tupa has 55, including 15 solos shots. Lewison checks in with 53 (12 tfl’s). Zakelj has 46 stops. And Bierman 42.

Nick Sokolowski, a senior tackle, is tops on the unit with 3 quarterback sacks. Lewison has made 9 tackles for a loss and has caused two fumbles.

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

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