AN INSIDE-THE-STAT-SHEET LOOK

By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer

Sunday, October 12, 2014

BRECKSVILLE – The deeper the nose dove into the statistics of the Bees miraculous 35-28 overtime win over Avon Lake, two plays, in a bundle of more than a dozen big ones, really stood out.

With nine seconds remaining in a 28-all game the Shoremen’s Bailey Stephenson lined up for what would have been the game- winning 38-yard field goal. By high school standards that is a long kick. But Stephenson looked strong on his four extra points and maintained the presence of an accomplished kicker.

The snap and set were perfect. From the sideline, without the benefit of seeing it again on film, it appeared as though Stephenson just got a little too much under the ball. It landed on about the 15-yard line.

Trailing 35-28 in the extra session the Shoremen had a third and goal at Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ 1-yard line. Starting at the 20 they got there in three plays and made it look easy. The visitors offensive line was breathing fire. There was no doubt the Bees backs were against the wall.

Big Sam Klimkowski had run hard all night. He was a beast to tackle. All Avon Lake had to do was hand off to the 6-1, 230-pound junior and let him plow in for the TD. The assumption was that would be the play. Stephenson would tack on the extra point and the Southwestern Conference game would go to a second extra session.

But A-L lined up in the shotgun formation. The snap sailed over quarterback Trey Rees’ head. He pounced on it at the 21 and a half yard line. With the game on the line the Shoremen had no choice but to pass on fourth down. The Bees Danny Shirilla knew that. He read Rees all the way and batted down the pass to save the improbable victory.

I’d give anything to know what play call Avon Lake head coach Dave Dlugosz and his offensive coordinator Bill Albright had in  mind on that third and goal from the one situation. There may be a few folks out along Avon-Belden Road that had similar thoughts this weekend. But regardless of the formation a bad snap is a bad snap. It’s part of football and it happens at all levels.

The Shoremen (1-6, 0-3 SWC) probably deserved a better fate. They were the more physical team. They controlled both lines of scrimmage for three quarters and posted a 28-7 lead in doing so.

The ability to close out games is absolutely paramount. Struggling teams often look back at their losing records and put things under the microscope. Avon Lake had this game won.

Avon Lake might not have been in that fateful third down situation if Stephenson somehow coaxed a pressure-packed  38-yard field through the uprights. And the Shoremen’s center would have likely had a more enjoyable weekend if they had run the ball more throughout the contest.

A Solid Ground Game

A-L racked up a rugged 266 yards rushing on 51 attempts. It’s four touchdowns came on runs of 6, 3, 3 and 3 yards. The visitors controlled time of possession by running 71 offensive plays as compared to 54 by Brecksville. It was a familiar display of old-fashioned Shoremen football at its best. And it came as no surprise to BBHHS head coach Jason Black and defensive coordinator John Shirilla.

The Shoremen came into the season with plans to operate out of a new “super spread” offense. Conventional thinking was that after six games it wasn’t working. The team had struggled to score points. But yet hung 28 on the Bees defense in just two and a half quarters.

Avon Lake appeared to like to pass the ball when its best offensive weapons were in its backfield. Starting senior quarterback Jeremiah Campo wasn’t overly effective throwing the ball in the first half. However he did engineer three impressive scoring drives.

When Campo was injured Rees, a junior, came on in the third quarter. Through the air Rees didn’t fare much better. And by then Brecksville’s defense either: a) – decided to start playing football, b) – hit the guy across from them and apply pressure, c) – took advantage of Rees’ inexperience, or d) – all of the above.

Somehow the Lakers managed 127 yards passing. It is difficult to recall where those yards came from or when. Klimkowski was a bulldozer. Brian Sharpe was solid. The Shoremen picked up 15 first downs on the ground as compared to 2 by the Bees.

It is easy to isolate just two plays. But that is the difference between a team that is 1-6 and the other that is 6-1. The team that has a shot at a conference championship and a playoff berth made plenty of big plays Friday night.

Finding a Way When it Mattered Most

On defense Shirilla’s pass break-up in overtime grabbed the headlines. Big fourth quarter sacks by Evan Baschko and Victor Bierman (14 tackles) garnered sidebar attention. But behind the Saturday morning story lines there was the play of seniors Joe Dimitrijevs and Troy Walter.

Joe-D was in on 19 total tackles. His 18 assists tied a school single-game record. Walter intercepted his fifth pass of the season, which puts him one behind Billy Kern’s season record of six. Walter also recovered a Shoremen fumble.

Guys like Niall Lewison (13 tackles) and Ryan Lambert (12 and a team-high 3 solo’s) made plays when they had to in the second half.

Jakob Nypaver had a career night with a 5-for-5 performance on extra-point kicks. Every one of them were needed.

It’s Tupa Time

And now we get to the play makers, Brecksville’s three-headed offensive monster that is becoming a genuine juggernaut. The Bees registered 469 yards of offense and 396 of them came through the air. It is no surprise that all five of the teams touchdowns occurred via the forward pass.

Coach Black is running out of superlatives for junior wide receiver Tyler Tupa. A Thesaurus only lists so many. Not wanting to sound repetitive here is a new word to describe Tupa. Record-breaking.

Tupa hauled-in a BBHHS single-game record 12 passes. They were good for 164 yards and three touchdowns. He made his impact throughout the game. Tupa scored the games first touchdown, a 15-yarder in the first quarter.

There are few better clutch performers than the Tupa brothers. When the game is on the line; Tommy, Timmy and now Tyler are at their best. Tyler’s 28-yard TD catch with 1:57 to play basically tied the game and forced overtime.

Lined up against man coverage in overtime Tupa beat his defender and made a jumping catch that was the game-winner.

Keep an Eye on Number 3

Opposite Tupa is Garrett Patterson. Teams that mistake G-Pat as a decoy for Tupa pay the price. Patterson, a crafty senior, has speed, hands and the ability to make big plays on a consistent basis. His two fourth quarter touchdown receptions on plays that covered 49 and 27 yards respectively brought the Bees back into the game. Those two plays quickly reduced the 21-point deficit to a more manageable 7 and put all the pressure on Avon Lake.

G-Pat finished with seven receptions for a team-high 175-yards. Both his number of catches and receiving yards are career highs. The 175 yards puts Patterson in fourth place in the schools single-game record book. Tupa’s 164 yards receiving is fifth on the tote board.

Hot Hand Luke

Getting these two sure-handed gents the ball is sophomore slinger Luke Strnad. Strnad plays the game with a poker face. He can beat you with his legs (14 carries, 54 yards). But with guys like Tupa and Patterson to throw to he only does that when absolutely necessary. Shirilla caught three passes and Zach Venesile and Lewison each caught a pair, and in the process kept A-L honest.

On Friday night Strnad never doubted his own ability to bring Brecksville back. He completed 26 of 35 passes for 396 yards and five touchdowns. The 396-yard performance is the fifth best passing yardage game in school history. He has thrown two-game winning TD passes in the last three weeks. Yes, Strnad was intercepted twice. But that comes with the territory. He is a good one.

“Luke had some peaks and valleys, which you are going to have with a sophomore quarterback. But he also made some great plays,” said Black. “The one where he scrambled away and threw the ball to Danny Shirilla in the middle of the field. You don’t coach that.”

 

BEE HIVE BUZZ:

Evan Baschko, a first-year senior tackle, had two sacks against Avon Lake. Victor Bierman and Niall Lewison each had one. Danny Shirilla was credited with two pass deflections. The last one was still being talked about at Heinen’s deli counter Saturday morning.

Yellow laundry: Brecksville was penalized 9 time for 78 yards. Avon Lake was setback 61 yards on 7 accepted penalties.

In the weekly ‘if-the-season-ended-today’ scenario here is what the playoff picture looks like in Division II, Region 3. Please keep in mind that these computer rankings came out last Tuesday. They have been already been reshuffled for this week.

Even though it won at Amherst Steele, Brecksville slipped from third in the region to fourth. That would still give the Bees a home game. If the playoffs started today North Olmsted, the five-seed, would make a return trip to Community Stadium to open the post-season.

The regions top four teams host first-round playoff games. We’ve got a long way to go. However, here is a look at D-2, R-3 in numerical order: Bedford, Madison, Mayfield, BBHHS, North Olmsted, Riverside, Willoughby South and Maple Heights.

How is this for irony? The first-round match-ups, as listed above, would feature three of the four regional quarter-final games between rivals teams in the same conference. Only Mayfield (NOC) and Riverside (PAC) would be non-league post-season opponents.

Here are some interesting numbers from the Brecksville-Avon Lake series, a ten-year rivalry that was a good one. In the ten seasons that the Bees have been members of the Southwestern Conference the Shoremen have a league record of 55-10. Five of those ten losses were dealt by Brecksville. The Bees are the only team to have defeated A-L more than once in the last decade in conference play.

Brecksville and Avon Lake split the ten games they played in that span. Each team went 4-1 on its home field. That is a rivalry. And one that fans will really miss.

Much like the 1978 Kentucky Derby where Affirmed and Alydar were the only two horses worth keeping the binoculars on, the Southwestern Conference pennant chase has become a two-team race to the finish line.

Both Brecksville and Berea-Midpark are 4-0 in the loop and 6-1 overall. Both teams only loss was to Northeast Ohio Conference teams; Hudson and Strongsville respectively. The Bees play their West Shore Conference cross-over game this Friday at Lakewood. The Titans play theirs in week ten against Midview at Finnie.

Berea-Midpark travels to Broadview Heights on October 24th.

 

Please visit the website Monday night for a preview of the Bees non-conference game at Lakewood.

 

See You at The Bee Hive!

To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.

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

 – 30 –