BBHHS CRUISES IN OPENER
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Friday night, August 28, 2015
BROADVIEW HEIGHTS – Luke Strnad ran for a touchdown and threw for three more, and the Bees defense was outstanding in a 27-0 opening night win over Padua Franciscan here in front of a large crowd at Community Stadium.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights (1-0) put up 21 first half points and added a third quarter touchdown. But the story of the night was the Bees stingy defense. It was Brecksville’s first shutout since a 28-0 victory over arch rival North Royalton on September 6, 2013.
“That’s our goal every week, to shutout our opponent,” said senior defensive end and captain Ryder Seballos. “We got it done this week and I was real happy about that. We can always do better, but I think we did a good job.”
Brecksville bottled up Padua, forcing the Bruins (0-1) to punt on their first two possessions. The Bees dee was in attack mode from the get-go. “I was very impressed with our speed to the football. We felt the speed of our defense was going to be a strength. But we played even faster than normal tonight,” said veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black after the game.
The second time the Bees had the ball they scored. It didn’t take them long to do so. Brecksville picked up a first down, but its offense appeared to still be trying to find its way. When in doubt give the ball to your top returning rusher from a year ago.
On a first and ten from the Bruins 41 Strnad, a junior, zigged and zagged through clutter at the line of scrimmage and found an opening. He took off down the right side numbers for a 41-yard score.
Junior kicker Sammy Kraguljac, a soccer player, was perfect on his first-ever Friday night extra point attempt and the Bees had a 7-0 lead with 3:58 left in the opening quarter.
Padua’s offense came to life. Senior quarterback Michael Platten completed passes to Alex Ludwick and Brad Hall. But three plays later the drive stalled and the Bruins were forced to try a long field goal. Sophomore kicker Dominic Buttazzoni’s 41-yard attempt fell short with 11:56 on the second quarter clock. That was the closest the visitors would come to putting points on the board.
Brecksville executed a long drive for its second TD of the season. Key plays were a 20-yard Strnad to Tyler Tupa completion. And then Strnad bolted for 23 more yards on a keeper, picking up a nice downfield block from Tupa along the way.
Back With a Bang
On a third down play from the Bruins 28 senior running back Josh Underwood slipped out of the backfield. Strnad hit him with a short pass and Underwood dashed 28 yards to the north end zone. It was the first touchdown of Underwood’s varsity career. Kraguljac’s kick made it 14-0.
“It was really special. Last year I got hurt half way through the season and I hadn’t scored,” the well-spoken Underwood said. “That was on my mind all throughout rehab in everything I did. After all that hard work it felt really nice to come back and score to help our team win tonight.”
Underwood suffered a season-ending broken ankle against Olmsted Falls. A week later his replacement, Joey McGonegal, suffered the same fate against North Olmsted. Joey McG too had a shot at redemption tonight.
The Bruins shanked a punt and the Bees took over at midfield. Sophomore Sam Wiglusz was on the receiving end of two Strnad aerials on the drive. Wiglusz’ second catch was a beauty. He went up high on the far sideline in thick coverage and came down with the ball while getting popped. That grab came on a key fourth and six play that moved the sticks and kept the drive alive.
On the next play Strnad went through his progressions and must have looked off three different receivers. When he looked back to his right McGonegal was open at about the ten. Strnad’s pass was on the money and it resulted in an 18-yard TD. Kraguljac’s third consecutive extra point gave Brecksville a 21-0 lead with 1:15 remaining in the half.
“I was really excited to get back out there. It was too long – not playing football. I was just happy to get back out on the field,” McGonegal said.
The fact that both Underwood and McGonegal were able to not only play tonight but contribute in a huge way was not lost on Black. “Last year Josh got in the end zone and the play got called back. On the very next play he hurt his ankle. So it was great that Josh was able to get into the end zone tonight. It’s just wonderful to see kids persevere through that stuff and stick with it,” Black said. “That’s what the game of football is, it’s a brotherhood. You are here for your brothers. You are going to battle through adversity with them and you are going to be here with them for the good times. Josh and Joey have experienced both the lows and the highs in their short careers so far.”
The Bees scored their fourth and final touchdown with 1:38 to go in the third period. Senior Danny Shirilla hauled in an 11-yarder from Strnad.
Blazing Bee-Fense
But it was the Brecksville defense that opened eyes tonight. “We have a lot of experience on defense. A lot of people that have been playing the game for a long time,” Black said. “And Coach (John) Shirilla is great at calling what works. He was able to put some pressure on Padua early and often. And our kids were able to execute. I was really proud of them for that.”
The Bees defensive style is getting at least eight red helmets to the ball carrier. They swarmed from all angles against the Bruins. “Our big thing is speed,” Seballos said. “We’re not the biggest guys. But we are fast and we are aggressive. When we got knocked down we got back up and kept playing. We never stopped.”
A Doff of the Cap
Padua, out of the rough and tumble North Coast League, was as physical as advertised. Its offense was unable to get things going against the lightning quick Brecksville defense. And Strnad was at his best, engineering the Bees offense with his legs and arm.
“I think Padua is a very good football team. I really do,” said Black of his teams first-ever meeting with the Bruins. “A couple of breaks just didn’t go their way. If they went their way maybe it’s a different score at this time. I really can’t discredit anything Padua did. They played really well.”
Seizing the Opportunity
The goal of every football team that laces them up is an opening night victory. When you only get ten cracks at them every game counts. “It was really important to win our first game. And Padua gave us a good look,” Underwood said. “If we keep playing with the same intensity like we had on defense tonight and cut down on our penalties and mistakes, and improve on the other little things, I think we will be all right.”
If anyone understands the value of how precious these golden Friday night opportunities are it is Underwood and McGonegal. “It was huge that we came out and got a shutout in our first game. We got off to a good start. But we have a lot of things that we can improve on. We’ll get back to work next week,” McGonegal said.
Certainly not lost in the high-gloss of an opening night shutout victory was the performance of Kraguljac, the Bees 5-11, 140-pound ‘walk-on’ kicker. “Sammy made his first three kicks and he kicked the ball fine on kickoffs. That is a key that we need to have for this season. We need to have a kicker because he changes the game for you,” Black said. “I was very impressed with Sammy. I’m not saying anything negative about soccer, but I’m pretty sure he’s never played in front of this many people before. And the moment wasn’t too big for him.”
There were plenty of memories made at the packed Bee Hive this perfect late summer night. There were touchdowns and a shutout. There were Josh and Joey and Sammy too. And all under the magic of a full moon.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BRUINS 0 0 0 0 = 0
BEES 7 14 6 0 = 27
SCORING SUMMARY:
1 – Bees … Luke Strnad 41-yard run. Sammy Kraguljac kick. 7-0 Bees (3:58).
4 plays, 51 yards, 1:58.
2 – Bees … Josh Underwood 28-yard pass from Luke Strnad. Sammy Kraguljac kick. 14-0 Bees (7:06).
10 plays, 80 yards, 3:12.
2 – Bees … Joey McGonegal 18-yard pass from Luke Strnad. Sammy Kraguljac kick. 21-0 Bees (1:15).
8 plays, 50 yards, 3:19.
3 – Bees … Danny Shirilla 11-yard pass from Luke Strnad. Kick failed. 27-0 Bees (1:38).
7 plays, 50 yards, 2:51.
Final: 27-0 Bees.
See You At The Bee Hive!
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Brecksville (4-0, 2-0 Suburban League) hosts Strongsville in a non-conference match Saturday afternoon. First varsity serve is 12:30 at the fabulous Bee Hive.
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