THE SHOE, THE GAME, THE EVENT
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Saturday afternoon, October 10, 2015
BROADVIEW HEIGHTS – There is nothing quite like a spectacular fall morning such as the one that unfolded today. The golden glow and the turning of the colors has a little more appeal, especially if your team won on Friday night.
That was the atmosphere this morning in and around Beeville as, being out and about, townspeople wanted to know how the Bees did last night. When told the final score folks were pleased with the victory. Then they would add something to the effect of it being low-scoring.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights head coach Jason Black often says, “It doesn’t matter if the score is 49-48 or 7-6 as long as we have one more point than the other team we won.” Winning is why you play the game.
And winning is what Black’s Bees did last night, edging ancient arch rival North Royalton, 7-0, in a Suburban League National Division fray. With the triumph comes year-long bragging rights that The Golden Shoe remains on Mill Road.
Black, a Royalton graduate, has another pet saying. “I don’t care if we are playing the Bears in Tiddlywinks we want to win.” The Golden Shoe sat proudly on Black’s office desk about 10:00 last night. The glow of victory was well underway as his staff of assistants munched on goodies supplied by a food truck that was parked just outside the gate.
The Bees raised their overall record to 6-1 with the win over NORO. They are in a three-way log jam for second place in the SL with Hudson and Wadsworth. All sport 3-1 league ledgers.
The Ballpark is Open For Business
There was a slight drizzle and low hanging clouds at 5:50 pm last night. It was well over an hour to kick off and the coaching staffs from North Royalton and Brecksville mingled along the fence that rings Community Stadium’s turf.
The annual game between the Bees and the Bears is for the Golden Shoe. Since 1937 there hasn’t been more than a handful of seasons where the neighboring schools have not tussled over the relic.
But there is more to this rivalry, as competitive as it can be. These are neighbors and friends. And yes, both teams will do whatever it takes for 48 minutes one time each autumn for the chance to hoist The Shoe. But for the other 364 days of the year there are friendships, relationships and respect to uphold.
As a longtime reporter of this game, and now in this role with the Bees, I have watched this rivalry for decades; from both sides of the border, from a neutral perspective, and now with an insiders point of view. It is special.
What makes it so special is the class and quality of the people involved. To say that the respect goes both ways between the Bears “Papa” Nick Ciulli and his staff. And the Bees Jason Black and his staff is not giving the term respect as much respect as it deserves. These guys like each other. There were hugs and handshakes and well wishes an hour before game time. It is neat to witness first hand and a privilege to be a part of.
Black went to NORO, yet there is no team he likes to beat more. The Drvenkar brothers, Sean and Ryan, were both outstanding players at Beeville. They now coach at Royalton. They are in it to win it. The relationship between these two staffs is as intertwined as the border that delineates the two school districts.
Mike Buck, a coaching legend, and one of the true old-school good guys in the game, made a point to stop by and chat about the state of high school football. Buck is his his 33rd season on the sidelines. He has seen it all. I only get to see Coach Buck a few times a year now, but listening to him talk about the game you know what he says comes straight from the heart.
Clubhouse Confidential
Inside the Bees locker room it was quiet. Players were dressing, stretching and dialed into whatever they listen to on their headphones or ear buds. What conversation there was came in hushed tones. There was a football game to be played. And it was a big one.
Luke Strnad sat on one of the couches. His right knee propped up. A crutch was nearby. Strnad, the Bees fantastic junior quarterback, received the news that he or anyone associated with him did not want to hear this past Wednesday morning. He was officially diagnosed with an ACL tear. It happened in the previous game against Nordonia. Luke will undergo surgery October 20.
Not only will Strnad miss the remainder of this season he will be unable to wrestle this winter. His attitude is as good as can be expected. “Football is a tough game you know. Things happen for a reason. If this is God’s way of telling me that I’ll be a stronger person coming back, I understand,” Strnad said.
Coach Black emerged from his office. “You may not believe this but I’m wearing long sleeves tonight. It will be the first time that I have worn long sleeves this early in the season, maybe ever. But I’m still wearing shorts,” Black said before heading out for warm-ups.
Back Outside
It was cool and a little rainy 49 minutes from when toe was slated to meet pigskin. Fans were strolling into the Bee Hive. North Royalton students were dressed all in black. The Bears football team in white with their traditional purple helmets.
Both marching bands made their entrances as the Bears cheerleaders, with bright pink bows in their hair, took a lap around the track. What are you guys doing I asked. “We’re warming up,” one said. “We’re trying to stay warm,” added another.
Game time approached quickly. Brecksville senior cheerleaders Kaylee Vadini and Chloe Backman offered their pregame thoughts. “I say that we will win, 28-14,” Vadini said. “I think that we will win The Golden Shoe once again! The score will be 21-7 us. Go Bees!,” Backman, the master predictor, said.
Wearing gold spray painted tennis shoes the Bees cheerleaders tightly held their large white banner against gathering gusts. Brecksville, wearing red jerseys and black pants, crashed through the sign with sophomore linebacker and leading hit man Michael Graham (a man of few words) showing the way.
Bees defensive coordinator John Shirilla was lathered up. He was still smarting from the rare 49 points that the Knights put on his squad a week earlier. “We’ve got to play angry tonight. Angry with a chip on our shoulder. Play ticked off,” Shirilla said.
At just about kick off The Swarm had multiplied in numbers by about five-fold. The gathering was a sea of red. The much-anticipated battle for The Golden Shoe, the red circle date on the schedule, was finally here.
A Solid Start
As a good crowd settled in the Bears took the opening kick off. They displayed nice balance in a 9-play series, but it only got them to midfield before they had to punt.
Brecksville took over at their 31. And 12 plays and 5:46 later were on the scoreboard. Danny Shirilla’s 17-yard gem to Tyler Tupa made it 6-0. Junior Sammy Kraguljac’s extra point gave the hosts 7 points. As it turned out that’s all they would need. But who would have thunk it then?
As the gray flannel sky faded to black an offensive struggle, not seen in decades in this venue, ensued. Neither team could move the ball. It became a punt-fest with field position gradually becoming something to keep an eye on. A persistent wind out of the north was a factor.
The Swarm was active and vocal. To the chants of “Moses! Moses!” a fella, wearing a biblical robe, wig and beard and carrying a staff, faced the 20 plus rows of students. With a wave of his wand the red sea parted and Moses, a.k.a. Tommy Bohn, walked to the top where he received a delirious round of applause.
On the field there was actually a little action. This was a pivotal juncture of the game. With 1:02 left in the half the Bears went from the Brecksville 47 to the 28. With nine clicks on the clock they would have one last chance at the end zone before intermission and a shot to knot it up.
Nick Coberly’s third down pass was picked off by Joey McGonegal. Joey McG basically cradled the pigskin into the front of his shoulder pads in the end zone because he was wearing a pink cast. McGonegal tore a ligament in his left thumb in the Nordonia game. But he is used to playing hurt. And he made what turned out to be a bigger play in the game than it felt like at the time.
Halftime Happenings
Former basketball student assistant coach Brandon Halupnik, now a team manager at West Virginia University, and I had a real nice chat at halftime as The Swarm took a seat.
On the field a dance-off was taking place as the BBHHS band rocked and rolled. Sophomore volleyball player Shannon Williams was the winner. Williams, a Division I recruit and an incredible athlete, stole the show. Her moves and ability to work the crowd brought the most cheers. “I’m dead,” a panting Williams said when she exited the gate with a high-five. “That is a lot of work!”
Still a One Possession Game
With not much brewing on the field, and the temperature on the cool side, the home grandstand began to thin out. Midway through the third quarter the Sky Fox helicopter lived up to its Friday afternoon Twitter promise and hovered beyond the south end of the stadium for a long time.
The third quarter, like the blink of an eye, came and went. A highlight early in the fourth was when the Bees Tyler Tupa took off with the ball around the right side. He bulldozed his way through about seven white jerseys, breaking tackles like a mad man, and left a wake of North Royalton bodies strewn across the field in his wake on a pure-heart 34-yard run that gave the Bees some offensive life. Four plays later he would punt the ball away.
Another glimmer of excitement came with 7:10 left in the game when Sam Tarnowski recovered a fumbled punt. And it looked like Royalton would have a decent shot at tying the tilt once again with a first down at the Bees 22.
The best they could do was line-up for a 34-yard field goal. With the Brecksville band chanting “Defense! Defense!”, the snap was bobbled and that opportunity went out the window when the holder was tackled short of a first down by Niall Lewison.
The few hearty souls that remained saw Brecksville do a masterful job of eating up 5:10 of the games final 5:12. Shirilla secured The Golden Shoe with his legs. He picked up three critical first downs and they helped reduce the timepiece to a scant two ticks.
“The great thing was, at the end of the game when we had to get a couple of first downs and possess the ball, we were able to do that,” said Black.
The Bears had one last go-for-broke, Hail Mary shot. They were 52 yards from the goal line. Coberly’s pass was knocked down by Tupa. Ballgame!
Both teams huddled at midfield after going through the handshake line. The Bees were presented with The Golden Shoe and they lifted the prize high above their heads. Cell phone cameras recorded history.
Post Game With The Food Truck
The Shoe remains where it has resided the previous two years. Brecksville has bragging rights. The final score of 7-0 matters to no one right about now. Least of all Jason Black.
“It’s a huge rivalry game. And it’s bragging rights for the rest of the year at all the other sporting events,” McGonegal said.
The Bees and the Bears best offensive series’ were their first of the game. Royalton came away empty. Brecksville, courtesy of the 17-yard Shirilla to Tupa scoring play, was the difference.
Black was asked if North Royalton made adjustments following the Bees tally. “They didn’t necessarily surprise us. They just executed really, really well on defense. Royalton was able to get off our blocks and make some of the plays,” Black said.
This was the Bees fourth shutout of the season. And it could not have come at a better time – against a rival opponent. “We knew after last weeks performance that we had to bounce back strong, especially on the defensive side, because we gave up way too many points last week,” Tupa said later in the clubhouse. “This whole week we were focused on defense. We knew we had to step-up because of all the guys we have out. And we were able to do that tonight with a shutout. And that was because we worked our tails off all week.”
Shirilla barely left the field. He had prepared long and hard for this game because, unlike last week, he was mentally ready to assume the role of quarterback. With The Shoe in custody for another year Shirilla had the satisfied look of a winner on his face when he took time to chat. “I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it will be a good sore,” Shirilla said with a smile. “It will be a lot more upbeat around here. Last week was not a great feeling. But this week it’s great to bounce back against a great team. North Royalton played well and gave us a great effort.”
Strnad was as excited for his teammates as he would have been if he had played and thrown for 400 yards. He knew what this victory meant to the squad. “Tyler made plays as always. And the offensive line gave Danny time. Overall we played a good game,” Strnad said.
SQUIB KICKS:
Brecksville completed its weekend sweep of North Royalton as the Bees junior varsity was victorious this morning, 20-14. The freshmen blanked the Bears, 28-0, on Thursday afternoon. And in the game that mattered the most, the one for the coveted Golden Shoe, the Bees ended up on top, 7-0. The combined scores of the three contests was 55-14.
“It looks like the Bees dee got back on track,” said a loyal Twitter follower immediately after the game. Indeed it did. Brecksville is holding opponents to a shade over 10 ppg. Offensively, even with last nights low score, the Bees are still putting up 30.
The Bears (2-5, 1-3 SL), who have now dropped three in a row, are scoring 11 per start and surrendering 22. Royalton entertains Nordonia next week. The Bees travel to Wadsworth for the first time in about 30 years. The Grizzlies have won three in a row after a tough start.
LAST NIGHTS GAMES:
Suburban League (National Division)
BEES – 7, NORTH ROYALTON – 0 ….. Assistant Brecksville coach Dan Schreiber may not win the quote of the season award but what he said sums it up best. “A win is a win.”
STOW-MUNROE FALLS – 17, HUDSON – 10 ….. On Thursday night in Stow the Bulldogs held off the Explorers to grab sole possession of first place in the division. With remaining games against Cuyahoga Falls, Brecksville and Royalton it is Stow’s title to lose.
NORDONIA – 41, CUYAHOGA FALLS – 0 ….. Nordy running back Anthony Perrine had another sensational night with a 169-yard, 4-touchdown performance. The Knights led 28-0 at the half and cruised to their second straight victory.
WADSWORTH – 34, TWINSBURG – 13 ….. The Grizzlies rushed for 286 yards and Alex Jones scored three touchdowns as the hosts roared to their third consecutive triumph, keeping the Tigers out of the win column in the process.
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:
WALSH JESUIT – 14, PADUA FRANCISCAN – 7 ….. The host Bruins drew first blood, scoring on a 14-yard first quarter pass, before the Warriors pulled away.
KENT ROOSEVELT – 28, GARFIELD HEIGHTS – 7 … The Bulldogs, who have now lost six straight, never got untracked in the city of the rare black squirrel.
BRUNSWICK – 31, SHAKER HEIGHTS – 14 ….. This team was too good to stay down for long. Brunswick bedeviled the Red Raiders and won its third consecutive Greater Cleveland Conference tilt at home by scoring in every quarter.
In Missouri ….. JOPLIN – 27, CAMDENTON – 12 ….. The Eagles won their third straight with a solid Ozark Conference outing against the Lakers. The regular season is winding down in the Show Me state.
SUBURBAN LEAGUE (National Division Standings)
STOW 4-0 7-0
BEES 3-1 6-1
HUD 3-1 5-2
WADS 3-1 3-4
NORD 2-2 4-3
NROY 1-3 2-5
CFLS 0-4 0-7
TWIN 0-4 0-7
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com
Follow on Twitter: @beevillesports
Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the worldwide web at: beesvolleyball.com.
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