SL HEADLINER AT THE HIVE
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Monday night, September 28, 2015
BRECKSVILLE – The Bees will put their unblemished record on the line Friday at 7:00 when they host Nordonia in a pivotal Suburban League game. It will be Homecoming in Community Stadium.
Brecksville-Broadview Heights (5-0, 2-0 SL) will face a Knights team that is in a must-win situation in National Division action. Nordonia (2-3, 0-2) played arguably two of the top teams in the SL to begin defense of its league crown.
The Bees, on the other hand, come into this mid-season tilt against a neighboring school district entering what is a back-loaded schedule as far as strength of opponents.
Veteran BBHHS head coach Jason Black knows what is in store for his team Friday. “I’m sure Nordonia will have a good game plan and they will be ready to go for us,” Black said following last Fridays 27-0 win at Twinsburg. “It will be a challenge for us offensively, defensively and on special teams. So we are going to have our work cut out for us against the Knights.”
Nordy’s Numbers
Nordonia, which won 14 straight games in 2014 on its way to a Division II state championship game appearance, by all indications is a much better football team that its 2-3 overall record would attest.
The Knights lost at Mayfield in week one. They rebounded to defeat Bedford and Dover in non-conference contests. And then the SL schedule-makers didn’t do them any favors by sending them to Hudson to open National Division play.
Last Friday, at home, Nordonia was felled by a high-powered Stow-Munroe Falls team, 65-37. The Bulldogs Jaysen Gobble had a game. He rushed for 253 yards on 34 carries and scored six times in total.
A Stout Defense
Meanwhile the Bees have rolled past their first five opponents, shutting out three of them. Brecksville is allowing a Mr. Scrooge-like 4.6 points per game. It’s defense has been a veritable Rock of Gibralter. It’s defensive backs have not seen a TD pass sail over their heads.
Sophomore linebacker Michael Graham leads the Bees in tackles with 55. Senior Niall Lewison has racked up 40, including 7 for a loss. Pound-for-pound you may not find a better run defender than Lewison. Senior safety Tyler Tupa, an Ohio University recruit, has 37 stops and leads the team with 10 solo hits. Linebacker Nick Zakelj, as well as end Victor Bierman, each have 35. Both are juniors.
Nordonia, under head coach Jeff Fox, was defeated in the state title game by Cincinnati LaSalle, 55-20, on December 5 in Ohio Stadium. The Knights went 7-0 in the Suburban League a year ago.
A Productive Offense
Brecksville, a newcomer to the SL, is averaging 376 yards and 33.8 points per game. Nordy is putting up 26.8 and allowing 31.4. The Bees have held their first five foes to an average of 75 yards per game through the air.
Junior quarterback Luke Strnad triggers the red and golds offense. He has connected on 67 of 95 pass attempts for 1,145 yards. He has tossed for 16 touchdowns against only 2 picks. Both of those came last week in Tiger Stadium.
Strnad is also the teams leading ground gainer (5.8 ypc). When he hands off it is usually to senior RB Josh Underwood (5.1).
Tupa is the squads leading receiver with 23 grabs for 571 yards and a team-high 6 touchdowns. He scored 3 last week and burned T-Burg for 189 yards. Sure-handed Danny Shirilla is second on the team with 18 catches for 265 yards.
When taking a look at the Bees schedule over the summer conventional thinking put them at 4-1 at this point. Because of its gut-check 22-16 triumph at Brunswick in week three Brecksville is undefeated. The second half of the ledger was what looked brutal. That 5-week stretch run starts Friday on Mill Road.
BEE HIVE BUZZ:
Brecksville has named Luke Strnad as “Captain of the Week” for the Nordonia game. “It means a lot that the coaches have that confidence in me,” Strnad said. He will be joined by seniors Ryder Seballos, Tupa, Shirilla and Lewison for the pregame coin toss. Seballos, a defensive end, is expected to play against the Knights. He was sidelined the last three weeks due to injury.
The Bees went 1-0 in August and 4-0 in the month of September. It is now a 5-week season for Coach Black’s club. Nordonia is 0-2 away from Boliantz Stadium this season. Brecksville has gone 12-1 in its last 13 regular season road games. Beeville’s only two regular season losses in 2014 were both at home (Hudson and Berea-Midpark).
Ironically it was Nordonia which helped the Bees christen Community Stadium when it opened in 1988. The playing surface was natural grass then.
Coach Black, Tupa and Strnad were the on-set guests of Tim Rogers this evening on Varsity Chalk Talk at the Hooley House in Montrose. The show will be aired via tape-delay Tuesday through Thursday from 7-9 pm on KNR2 1540-am.
Suburban League American Division leader Aurora (5-0, 2-0) was also in attendance at the Hooley House. As were Akron Garfield, Green and Canton McKinley.
This week is “Spirit Week” at BBHHS. Homecoming festivities get underway Thursday evening with a parade through the center of town. And will culminate with a bonfire down in The Pit off Stadium Drive. The annual dance is Saturday night at the high school.
THIS WEEKS GAMES:
Friday, October 2, 2015 … Week 6
SUBURBAN LEAGUE – National Division
NORDONIA (2-3, 0-2) at BBHHS (5-0, 2-0) ….. This will be Brecksville’s toughest test this season bar none. The Knights will be more than a little salty when they head west across Route 82. Not only will they be out to win their first conference game they have their sights set on spoiling the Bees Homecoming, and setting the stage for what could be a very nice SL rivalry for years to come. I’m feeling it, but this is going to be a close game. Brecksville by less than 10 points.
CUYAHOGA FALLS (0-5, 0-2) at HUDSON (4-1, 2-0) ….. The Explorers, who also have a stingy defense (9.2 ppg), rarely lose at home. And it is very doubtful they will against a Black Tiger team that is only averaging a little over two touchdowns per contest. Hudson big.
TWINSBURG (0-5, 0-2) at STOW-MUNROE FALLS (5-0, 2-0) ….. The Bulldogs are scoring over 45 per outing. The Tigers are permitting 31. If Jaysen Gobble gets going again Stow will put up another basketball score. Twinsburg may be a year away. SMFHS in a rout.
WADSWORTH (1-4, 1-1) at NORTH ROYALTON (2-3, 1-1) ….. The Bees-Knights game at the Hive is the marquee match-up in the circuit. But the Grizzlies-Bears at Serpentini may be the most intriguing. The hunch is that both teams are a little better than their records would indicate. Royalton can ill-afford to be looking ahead to its week seven match-up for the Golden Shoe in Broadview Heights. This is a game that the Bears brass figures it can win. Wadsworth is playing much better in the SL than it did in a trio of non-conference defeats. This ballgame will be real close. NORO by a touchdown or less.
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:
PADUA FRANCISCAN (1-4, 0-0 NCL) at BENEDICTINE (5-0, 0-0 NCL), Saturday night at Bedford Bearcat Stadium ….. The Bengals have dominated this cross-town parochial school series since it began in 1961. Look for more of the same Saturday at Bedford. Benny has way too much team speed for the Bruins. Padua is in for a long night.
GARFIELD HEIGHTS (1-4) at BEDFORD ….. The Bearcats are down this year after a stellar 2014 campaign. They will have a shot at making up for a Thursday night loss last week to bitter rival Maple Heights by showing fellow southeast side rival Garfield that they still have life. And Bedford will do just that.
BRUNSWICK (1-4, 1-1 GCC) at MEDINA ….. The Battling Bees can score some points, as Wadsworth will tell you. Medina put 62 on the Grizzlies in week three. Brunswick got into the victory column last Friday against Elyria. I think the Blue Devils have their work cut out for them at Ken Dukes Stadium. Medina buzzes to a win.
In Missouri ….. JOPLIN (4-2, 2-2 Ozark Conference) at LEBANON ….. Coach Jasper’s boys are 1-2 on the road. Their woes away from home will continue. A third league loss would derail Joplin’s season even though its last two are at home.
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. Brecksville (14-1, 9-0 SL) travels to arch rival North Royalton for a huge conference rematch with the Bears Tuesday evening.
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