THE END CAME TOO SOON

IT HAPPENED AT HUDSON

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Saturday night, October 31, 2015

HUDSON – Heart and desire. Talent and determination defined the 2015 Brecksville-Broadview Heights football team. What if? And if only. Are the thoughts that will linger with players, coaches and fans well into the off-season.

What if Tyler Tupa and Luke Strnad and Ryder Seballos and Zach Venesile were healthy all season? In only they were then …

Those are the ultimate fill-in-the-blank questions that will gnaw at Bee Nation, The Swarm and this scribe as football season blends into basketball season.

Dad gum it. It ended too soon.

And in typically classy Brecksville fashion there were no excuses. “We just didn’t perform very well. It just didn’t feel like us for most of the game. You have those nights,” veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black said after the Bees season came to an end with a 26-0 loss to Hudson at Memorial Stadium about 24 hours ago.

Beeville finishes what started out as a season of incredible promise with a 7-3 overall record. The ball club went 4-3 in its first year in the Suburban League National Division.

But still … a playoff game, for the third consecutive season, would have been nice. That would have placed this team, and its 12 top-notch seniors, among one of the best groups in school history.

“If wishes and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas every day of the year,” the late great coach Joe Vadini used to tell me.

The reality and life lesson is, games are played on the field as much as they are felt in the heart. And last night the Explorers were the better team.

Thank you Bees for another great ride. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the last ten Friday nights, and the summer weeks leading up to the start of the season with anyone else.

Countdown to Kickoff

Old Berea Roy and The Mouthpiece were the first familiar faces I saw on the sideline in Hudson Memorial Stadium. They were bundled against a mild chill. But the weather cooperated in week ten. The flag hung straight down on its silver pole and one of the nicest stadiums around was the venue for the regular season finale for the Bees and the Explorers.

A tradition that began nine years ago with the likes of female students predicting the games final outcome continued.

“I think that the score will be 27-24 us. If we play hard we can win tonight,” said master predictor and senior cheerleader Chloe Backman. “This game will be lit! I believe we will win by the score of 28-21. Let’s go Bees! It’s been a great season so far,” classmate Kaylee Vadini, Joe’s granddaughter, said. “Even though it feels like Antarctica we still love football. Go Bees!” added Sarah Pavkov, the enlightened one.

And so the Halloween weekend tilt was about to kick off. “We have to play like we know how and leave it all on the field,” said Brecksville defensive coordinator John Shirilla as the Bees took the field.

With a TV and radio audience tuned in, a group of shirtless young men in the first row of the Explorers student section braved the autumn air. The Swarm, huddled in varsity jackets and blankets, sat opposite them. There is an intensity about week ten football that is hard to beat and even more difficult to describe. You just feel it.

How it Unfolded

Hudson felt it early and it rode that momentum to victory. The hosts scored on a pick-six and a safety to stake a 9-0 lead they would not look back on. The Explorers added another first half TD run and tacked on a touchdown and a field goal after intermission to set sail into the post season.

It became a long night for the Bees who could not get anything going offensively against the SL’s top defense. Brecksville was spent, physically and emotionally. Still they battled to the end.

Seballos had returned to the line-up in mid-season. Venesile courageously made it back last night for his final high school game. In the end Hudson had the horses. The toll taken on the Bees heart and soul throughout the two and a half month campaign was too much.

True to their never-say-die spirit Brecksville was poised to make a second half run. And why not? A week prior the Bees trailed Stow-Munroe Falls by 17 at the break and made a game of it.

“We’ve got to attack. We’ve got nothing to lose,” said senior defensive tackle Eddie Sternad when the second half was about to begin. “I told you!” Sternad said moments later when Seballos recovered a Hudson fumble on the first play of the second half.

But the Bees could not move the ball.

Dean Campbell made the most of his senior swan song when he pounced on another Explorer fumble early in the fourth frame. But by that time the Navy and silver had all the points they would need. And the reality that the Bees season was coming to an end settled in along the sideline.

Post Game Scene

Players and coaches hugged. There were lumps in the throat and moist eyes. Parents, siblings and classmates joined the Bees on the turf. At the other end of the field the Explorers celebrated another trip to the post-season. But the sounds of their costume party were muted by the non-verbal heartfelt emotion left behind by the visiting team.

Whether on the bus or in the family truckster it was a somber ride home. But the memories of a give-it-your-all, successful 7-3 season will be what this group and its fans will ultimately remember in the months ahead.

 

LAST NIGHTS SCORES/RECAPS:

SUBURBAN LEAGUE National Division

HUDSON – 26, BBHHS – 0 ….. It’s not often Brecksville is shutout. In fact is was three years to the day since the last time. And that had to do with the Explorers defense. It is the real deal. Best wishes to Hudson for another successful playoff run.

STOW-MUNROE FALLS – 31, NORTH ROYALTON – 6 ….. Congratulations to the Bulldogs on their perfect season and conference championship. Neither one of those feats come easy. And it is well-deserved. Stow is a great football team. Here’s hoping it will carry the Suburban League banner deep into the playoffs. As for the Bears, there will be better days ahead.

NORDONIA – 45, WADSWORTH – 37 ….. The thinking here is that the Knights win over the Bees in Broadview Heights turned their season around. And even though the Grizzlies clawed ’til the end Nordy was able to turn an iffy year into a good one.

TWINSBURG – 46, CUYAHOGA FALLS – 35 ….. The Tigers had a scare for a while but T-Burg overcame on the road at Clifford Stadium to win its first game. That is something for Mike Bell’s team to build on heading into next season.

 

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:

NOTRE DAME-CATHEDRAL LATIN – 40, PADUA FRANCISCAN – 28 ….. The Bruins gave it all they had and that is a credit to coach Tony Shuman, his staff and players. But in the end the Lions pulled away. Brecksville plays at Padua in 2016.

GARFIELD HEIGHTS – 43, SHAW – 6 ….. Congratulations to Coach Reisland and the ‘Dawg’s. Taking a 1-8 record on the road in week ten is about as challenging as it gets. But Garfield did what they did to playoff-bound Holy Name in week one and picked up its second victory to bookend the season. The Bulldogs play at the Bee Hive next year.

STRONGSVILLE – 42, BRUNSWICK – 14 ….. A disappointing and very un-Blue Devil-like season comes to an end with a tough loss to a bitter rival. Brunswick makes its way to Community Stadium for a week three rematch next September.

 

SUBURBAN LEAGUE National Division

Final Standings

STOW          7-0          10-0

HUD            6-1           8-2

NORD         5-2           7-3

BEES           4-3           7-3

WADS         3-4           3-7

NROY         2-5           3-7

TWIN         1-6            1-9

CFLS           0-7           0-10

 

See You At The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

Follow on Twitter: @beevillesports

Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the world wide web at: beesvolleyball.com.

Brecksville (21-4) will face Painesville Riverside in a Division I regional tournament semi-final match Wednesday at 7:30 at Hudson High School.

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