ON 4th QUARTER FLURRY
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Friday night, June 13, 2014
BEREA – The prevailing sense was that the East team had too many weapons at its disposal. Too many guys capable of making big plays when it mattered the most. But for the better part of 38 minutes the West had locked down the East. John Shirilla’s defense had them bottled-up and shut out of the end zone.
Then all heck broke lose.
In a span of seconds the East scored two touchdowns and added a two-point conversion to claim a 14-7 comeback victory over the West in the 42nd Annual Greater Cleveland Football Coaches Association East-West High School All Star Scholarship Football Game played here tonight at Tressel Field at George Finnie Stadium on the campus of Baldwin-Wallace University.
Trailing 7-0 after three quarters the East squad, coached by Jason Bednar of Gilmour Academy, got on the scoreboard when Julio Stevens (Beachwood) went 44 yards to pay dirt with 9:57 left in the game. The East’s two-point pass attempt was dropped in the end zone. And it appeared as though the West might just hang on.
But on the very first play of the West’s next possession Craig Sloan (Garfield Heights) sprinted 23 yards down the left sideline with a pick-6. The East went for a deuce and this time they nailed it when quarterback Aaron Ivory (Glenville) connected with O’Dell Spencer (Shaker Heights) in the end zone.
The West, coached by James Jackson of Normandy, overcame a sluggish start and tallied its only touchdown when Brad Novak (North Olmsted) fired a 9-yard strike to Jack Alpert (Cuyahoga Heights) with 41-seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Don Stepic (Holy Name) added the point-after.
The 7-0 count would hold up until early in the fourth. But the momentum changed when the East stopped the West on fourth and nine play from the East’s 13 with 35 seconds to play in the third when a pass was broken-up in the end zone.
Bee Pride
Brecksville-Broadview Heights was well-represented in the annual early summer tussle between the best graduating senior football players from each side of the Cuyahoga. Colton Czack, Nick Shirilla and Eli Sorna, all three of them co-captains for the Bees last fall, started on defense for the West and played very well.
Czack, who will play his college ball at Division I-AA Duquesne, was in on a boat load of tackles from his linebacker position. The 6-2, 230-pound bone-crusher recovered a fumble at the East 42 with 3:02 remaining in the third stanza and his team clinging to a 7-0 lead.
“Tonight meant a lot. It meant a lot to get that one-game extension to my high school career. It was good to show them what Brecksville has,” Czack said about the game before looking forward. “There will be a lot of competition at Duquesne. We have a lot of great guys coming in, but I definitely have a shot to earn a spot there. I’m excited. I love all the guys I’m coming in with. I’ve made a lot of relationships already. It’s going to be a great four years.”
Shirilla, a 5-8, 155-pound free safety who will attend Ohio State in the fall, was active from his DB position. He fielded a punt on a fair catch at the East 42 midway through the first frame that set-up the West’s TD drive.
For Nick, as well as Eli, it would be the final time that they shed the pads. “Tonight’s game was fun, a real lot of fun. I mean these guys on both teams are the best in the area. And growing up my life has been football so this is kind of sad,” Shirilla said. “But I’m ready to go to college and move on with my life.”
Sorna, a 6-0, 240-pound two-way lineman who will major in engineering at Cincinnati, started at nose guard for the West. As always Sorna, who has a nose for the ball, was in the hunt on a majority of plays. He clogged up the middle and kept blockers off Czack and his linebacking partners so they could administer hits.
“Coming into the practices for this game I really didn’t know what to expect because I knew we were going to be on the same team with guys from North Royalton and North Olmsted and schools that we played. I thought, ‘how am I going to work with these kids after competing against them for years?’. We all knew we played against each other, but that was gone. It was a clean slate. We came in and we worked hard to be the best football team that we could be,” Sorna said. “In the locker room before the game we were ready to go. We were getting focused. On the other side of the wall you could hear the East team banging around and making all sorts of noises. It didn’t sound like they were prepared. In our locker room it felt like the same football atmosphere that I had at Brecksville. With Mr. Shirilla and Coach (Mike) Czack on the coaching staff it really felt like Brecksville except we were at this stadium.”
“In the first half of the game tonight it was all us. We were shutting them down. Our offense was moving. But football is a four quarter game and we came out and only played two. And that was the difference tonight,” said Sorna.
Post Game Perspectives
For Bees head coach Jason Black it was a proud send-off for three of his five senior captains from a record-breaking 2013 club that posted a 10-2 overall record, won the outright Southwestern Conference championship and advanced to the second round of the state Division II playoffs.
“I’m glad that Colton, Nick and Eli got another opportunity to play. And they all contributed in the game tonight,” Black said. “Tonight’s game is probably more special for Nick and Eli because this is the last time they will ever put on the pads. I was just happy to see all three play one more time.”
The games Most Valuable Player Awards, which were presented at midfield shortly after the final whistle, went to Craig Sloan of Garfield Heights (East) and to North Olmsted’s Brad Novak (West) who started and played the majority of the snaps at quarterback.
It is believed that the all-time series between these two fierce rivals is deadlocked at 21 wins apiece. The first game was in 1972.
LINE SCORE:
EAST 0 0 0 14 = 14
WEST 7 0 0 0 = 07
BOX SCORE:
1) – WEST … Jack Alpert 9-yard pass from Brad Novak. Don Stepic kick … 7-0 West … (00:41).
2) – No scoring.
3) – No scoring.
4) – EAST … Julio Stevens 44-yard run. Pass failed … 7-6 West … (9:57).
4) – EAST … Craig Sloan 23-yard interception return. Aaron Ivory pass to O’Dell Spencer … 14-7 East (9:45).
FINAL SCORE: East – 14, West – 7.
NOTES FROM THE SIDELINE:
Football Weather: The evening started out sunny and breezy, but comfortable. That didn’t last. By halftime, with the sun setting, it cooled down a bit. At the end of the third quarter it was downright chilly. Jason Black, a fellow who wore shortened trousers on a sub-freezing night at Mentor last November, chided this scribe non-stop for wearing long pants. “Other than the policemen and the refs, who have to wear long pants, you are one of about seven people in 3,000 that are wearing them. We’ve got to toughen you up,” Black said in all seriousness.
The Numbers Game: The Bees Eli Sorna was the only player that wore his true number, that being 65. Colton Czack wore number 58 instead of 45. Nick Shirilla donned lucky number 7 on Friday the 13th instead of his customary numero uno.
Familiar Face: Trainer Tom Iannetta, Brecksville’s outstanding trainer, teamed up with Padua’s Josh Chapin to maintain law and order and keep players healthy on the West sideline. It was Iannetta’s eighth straight all-star game appearance. Iannetta has been running the teams Performance Camps the past few weeks. It is his second year in doing so.
Browns Town: Game uniforms were donated by Cleveland’s NFL franchise, whose headquarters are right around the corner. The West team sported white jerseys, trimmed in brown and orange and chocolate trousers. The East went with the all white outfits. The Browns game socks were a nice touch.
Top Assistants: The Bees John Shirilla and Mike Czack were assistant coaches for the West. Shirilla was the defensive coordinator. Czack served as linebackers coach. There may not be a better defensive coaching tandem in the county let alone on the west side.
Bon Voyage: The Shirilla and Czack families are off (3:00 am flight) to Fort Lauderdale where they will board a cruise ship. They will be joined by three other families for a week-long cruise to much warmer locales than what was swirling in the air in Berea tonight.
Bee Nation: Current BBHHS players Danny Shirilla and Ryder Seballos were on the sideline. Former players Jordan Frisco, Rody Seballos and Kevin Reynolds made the scene. “I’m going to miss playing,” Frisco said prior to the game.
Blast From The Past: Nick Eastman (2010) stopped by to say hello before kick off. Eastman, a true class act, recently graduated from Ohio State and will soon be moving to Atlanta where he has landed a job as an analyst for Duff & Phelps.
Practice Sites: The West team prepped at North Royalton for the last two weeks. Meanwhile the East squad practiced at Collinwood. The all star game, which had rotated between B-W and John Carroll for many years, is expected to remain at the Bagley Road ballpark for the foreseeable future.
Nice Crowd: From the track the crowd in the West stands, which were actually on the east side of the stadium and facing a setting sun, was huge. The majority of sections were filled. On the other side, the press box side, not so much.
Honorary Coaches: A pair of long time winners from both sides of the river were tabbed as the games honorary coaches. Tom Standring (Midpark) represented the West. And Joe Parella (Beachwood) garnered east side accolades.
Dropping Anchor: The Bees Timmy Tupa, a first-team All-Ohio quarterback, will head to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis the third week of June.
Memory Lane: Jason Black played for the West team in what turned out to be a very interesting all-star game in 2000. Ironically Black, who went to school at North Royalton, was coached in the game by Brecksville’s Mike Glazer, who is now an assistant on his staff.
Southwestern Conference Strong: The SWC was well-represented. In addition to the three Bees there were seven other players from the league on the West, including the MVP Brad Novak from N-O.
Young Guns: Brecksville’s Tyler Tupa and Nick Sokolowski, a pair of juniors-to-be, were offered full-ride scholarships by Bowling Green within the last week. Sokolowski just returned from the Michigan State camp. Tupa, who has been tearing it up in the weight room since the end of basketball season, will attend camps at Pitt, Michigan and Kent State.
Welcome Back: John Baltas, who will be a sophomore when school starts, is transferring back to the school district from Benedictine where he spent his freshman year. Due to transfer rules Baltas, a 6-1, 257-pound two-way lineman, will have to sit out the Bees first five games this season.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
“Johnny Manziel is cocky and it’s all going to go to his head. Also he was drunk on a swan.” – Sarah Jenkins.
“Coach Shirilla has more free passes for people on the sideline than LeBron.” – Larry Keller (game chairman).
NEXT UP:
The Bees summer seven-on-seven passing scrimmage season is upon us. Please mark these dates on your calendar:
June 25 … at Baldwin-Wallace.
July 14 … at Nordonia.
July 21 … at Baldwin-Wallace.
July 23 … at Baldwin-Wallace.
Start times are at 6:00 pm.
See You at The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com
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