REMATCH WITH THE BLUE STREAKS
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Sunday night, November 2, 2014
BRECKSVILLE – For the second straight year the Bees will play November football. And it will be against a team they have a recent history with. Friday night at 7:30 Brecksville-Broadview Heights (8-2) will square off against the Madison Blue Streaks (9-1) in Lake County.
The Division II, Region 3 quarter-final contest is a rematch of a second-round game following the 2013 regular season. The Blue Streaks won the first-ever meeting between the two schools, 22-21.
“We are very excited for the opportunity to be playing in week 11,” said veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black earlier today. “And we are looking forward to the challenge of trying to figure out a way to beat Madison.”
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) made the pairings, in all seven of its football playing divisions, official at 2:00 this afternoon.
Madison, which finished in second place in the Premier Athletic Conference, finished third in the region. Brecksville, which finished in second place in its final season in the Southwestern Conference, was sixth in Region 3.
The top eight teams in the region advance to the playoffs based on OHSAA computer ratings. The top four seeds host first-round games.
The Blue Steaks are 5-1 at home this season. Their only loss was to PAC rival Willoughby South, 35-25, in week seven. The Rebels are also in the D-2, Region 3 playoff bracket. They host Cleveland Glenville Friday night at 7:30.
The Bees two losses were to the states top-ranked Division I team, Hudson, in a week-three non-conference home game. They were defeated by SWC rival Berea-Midpark at home in week nine. Brecksville is 5-0 on the road this fall.
Madison concluded its regular season with a 56-35 triumph at Painesville Riverside last Friday. Brecksville easily handled Westlake, 35-7, at Lou Duchez Field.
The Bees second consecutive playoff appearance marks the first time in program history that they have advanced to the post-season in back-to-back years.
“I’m proud of our players for making school history and having a chance to play in the state playoffs for the second straight season,” Black said. “Now the challenge to our players is to not be satisfied with just being there. Let’s go out and give our best effort and win.”
This is Brecksville’s ninth trip to the playoffs. The Bees won the 1983 Division II state championship. In its latest sojourn, in 2013, the red and gold defeated Painesville Riverside at home before falling to Madison on a frosty November 15th night at Mentor’s Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
The winner of the Brecksville-Madison game will play the winner of the Maple Heights-Mayfield game at 7:30 on Friday, November 14 at a neutral site to be determined.
Bedford, which was in third place in the region, leapfrogged over Mayfield to claim the top spot because of its 35-6 Lake Erie League win over arch rival Maple Heights Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Stadium.
The Bearcats (10-0) had a 35-0 lead over Maple before the Mustangs punched in a fourth quarter score. This is the best season in Bedford history. The Lake Erie League champs have won 16 consecutive regular season games.
DIVISION 2, REGION 3 QUARTER-FINAL PAIRINGS:
All games are Friday night, November 7 at 7:30.
#8 Garfield Heights (9-1) at #1 Bedford (10-0)
#7 Maple Heights (7-3) at #2 Mayfield (9-1)
#6 BBHHS (8-2) at #3 Madison (9-1)
#5 Glenville (8-2) at #4 Willoughby South (7-3)
DIVISION II, REGION 3 TEAMS QUICK FACTS:
1) – Bedford Bearcats … Lake Erie League … Head coach: Sean Williams.
2) – Mayfield Wildcats … Northeast Ohio Conference … Head coach: Larry Pinto.
3) – Madison Blue Streaks … Premier Athletic Conference … Head coach: Tim Willis.
4) – Willoughby South Rebels … Premier Athletic Conference … Head coach: Matt Duffy.
5) – Cleveland Glenville Tarblooders … Senate Athletic League … Head coach: Ted Ginn.
6) – Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees … Southwestern Conference … Head coach: Jason Black.
7) – Maple Heights Mustangs … Lake Erie League … Head coach: Devlin Culliver.
8) – Garfield Heights Bulldogs … Northeast Ohio Conference … Head coach: Chuck Reisland.
DIVISION II, REGION 3 TIDBITS:
Brecksville, widely considered a west side school, is one of only two Southwestern Conference squads to make the playoffs. SWC champions Berea-Midpark (8-2) will host #12 Canton Glen Oak in a first-round Division I game Saturday night at 7 at Finnie Stadium. The Titans finished fifth in D-1, Region 1. The top 16 teams in the region earn post-season berths.
North Olmsted (7-3, 4-2 SWC) ended-up ninth in the region. A huge, although who knows if it was the deciding factor, in the Bees finishing sixth and the Eagles headed home, was Brecksville’s come-from-behind 34-29 Homecoming victory over N-O on September 26. Senior wide receiver Garrett Patterson caught the game winning touchdown on a pass from sophomore quarterback Luke Strnad in the final 1:37. And junior defensive back Danny Shirilla broke-up two Christian Ammons passes on the Eagles final drive to save the victory. There is a lot to be said for head-to-head competition, not only in the conference but within the region as well. And this example lends credence to the fact that not only does every game matter, every play along the way matters too.
There is good balance within the Region, conference-wise. The Lake Erie League has two entrants, as does the Northeast Ohio Conference and Premier Athletic Conference. The Cleveland Senate Athlete League sends Glenville every year, almost as a rule. Brecksville has carried the Southwestern Conference flag with it into the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Hudson, one of two teams to defeat the Bees this season, opens up at home against Massillon Perry. The Explorers (10-0) were the number one seed in D-1, Region 1.
Madison played a team from Canada this season. The Blue Streaks hosted Pickering-Ajax on September 5th and bagged a 56-6 victory over the Rams. Ajax is in Ontario, a fair distance east of Toronto, off Route 401 on the shores of Lake Ontario. Students at Ajax are immersed in French language studies. The Rams certainly had an international and cultural experience when they traveled to Madison.
Willoughby South lost its first three games of the season and rebounded to run the table by winning seven straight in claiming the PAC title.
When Mayfield hosts Maple it will be reminiscent of the old Greater Cleveland Conference days. The Wildcats and Mustangs haven’t faced each other in years however. Maple Heights played in a brand new stadium this year. The ballpark, located adjacent to the new high school at One Mustang Way, has drawn rave reviews.
Maple received playoff points even though it lost to Warren Harding on the field. The Raiders had inadvertently used an ineligible player in the mid-season contest. The WGH administration discovered the oversight the first thing Monday morning and immediately self-reported the infraction to the OHSAA. The Raiders forfeited the victory by written letter.
Glenville advanced all the way to the D-2 state title game a year ago. The Tarblooders got past a stubborn Medina Highland team in the state semi-finals on a cold night at Parma’s Byers Field. Glenville was turnover-prone in the snow and was defeated in the state championship game.
Garfield Heights, which saw its season start out on a unfortunate note when the Bulldogs home opener with Cleveland Collinwood was called off mid-way through the third quarter when a bench-clearing brawl broke out, overcame that incident to have a fine season. A one-point win, on account of a missed extra point by Medina at Medina, helped put the Bulldogs in the playoffs. Talk about one play making a difference.
The ‘Dawg’s were ahead of the Railroaders 28-6 when the melee started. That would end-up being the final score. Garfield won nine games overall. Its only loss was to Berea-Midpark at home in week two. Even that one had a strange twist. That was the evening that lighting played havoc with many Friday night games. So the Titans had to return to a near empty Blaugrund Field at 10:00 Saturday morning to finish off the hosts, 36-21.
BEE HIVE BUZZ:
Playoff football fever has gripped the Buckeye State. It is amazing that both the Joe Eitel and OHSAA websites didn’t explode at some point within the past 48 hours.
There is not a better time of the year. The air is crisp, every game is a must-win and the stakes are high. The OHSAA’s decision to expand to seven divisions prior to last season and its previous idea of having the top-eight teams in each region make the playoffs certainly adds to the excitement and drama for hundreds and hundreds of high school football players and dozens of communities across the state.
One of those communities is Bay Village. The Bay High Rockets put to bed a 23-year playoff drought and will be in the dance this weekend. The Rockets travel to Mantua to take on the Crestwood Red Devils in a first-round Division IV contest.
When University School beat Geneva Saturday afternoon in Gates Mills, Bay dodged the bullet of having to face powerful Benedictine in the first-round. The Rockets encounter at Crestwood is a winnable game.
Please stay tuned to the Bees football website. Monday night we will preview the Brecksville at Madison game.
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.
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