BEES COME UP SHORT AT AVON LAKE
By Dom DiPasqua/Staff Writer
Sunday, October 16, 2011
AVON LAKE – When this one was over you could have cut the disappointment with a knife. The heartbreak was palpable.
A late fourth quarter rally came up short and host Avon Lake held on to defeat Brecksville-Broadview Heights 17-14 in a Southwestern Conference game played here at Memorial Stadium Friday night.
The Bees scored 14 points in the first 13 minutes of the pivotal league game and then had to battle back in an attempt to best the Shoremen's 17 points. In the end the home team prevailed. It was their fourth straight victory over BBHHS at the remodeled War Memorial.
Junior quarterback Tommy Tupa was on fire at the beginning of the contest. The six-foot three-inch, 215-pound signal caller and co-captain completed his first three passes to two different receivers for 23 yards. The Bees (4-4, 3-2 Southwestern Conference) would eventually have to punt, but the tone of a passing based attack was set.
Tupa kept at it in Brecksville's second possession. He connected with his younger brother Timmy for 43 yards and then to junior wide receiver Paul Karthan for 36 more down the right sideline.
Junior running back Ryan Mulhorn picked-up ten yards on a pair of back-to-back carries and classmate Jay Schott bulled over from three yards out to give the Bees a 6-0 lead. Karthan's point after conversion kick made it 7-0 with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter.
Brecksville's quick strike drive covered 92 yards in only six plays and took less than three minutes to accomplish.
The Shoremen (6-2, 5-0 Southwestern Conference) fumbled the ensuing kickoff return that was recovered by the Bees Jack Rose at the Lakers 43-yard line.
Timmy Tupa, a multi-talented talented sophomore, was inserted at quarterback. He and senior fullback/co-captain Kyle Graham accounted for 18 yards on four running plays as the first frame came to an end.
During the change of field direction during the quarter break Tommy Tupa re-entered the game. On the first play of the second stanza Tommy launched a perfectly thrown 30-yard spiral to Karthan who hauled in the pigskin in the back of the end zone for the Bees second touchdown. Karthan's extra point kick made it 14-0 seven seconds into the second quarter.
Unfortunately for Brecksville those would be all the points that they would score. "At the very beginning of the game we had some opportunities and we were able to cash in on them." Said Bees head coach Jason Black. "And then I don't know whether we relaxed or what but Avon Lake tuned it up a little more and they were ready for us after that. Hats off to them. They were able to make the plays when they had to make the plays and they were able to win the game."
Senior defensive back Ben Genco broke-up an Avon Lake pass attempt on a fourth down and 12-play and the Bees took over again at their own 36.
A penalty brought the ball back to the 22-yard line. On a third down and 18 play the Shoremen's Kyle Kuhar, a six-foot, four-inch sophomore defensive end, chased Tommy Tupa back to the 12-yard line. He intercepted Tupa's pass and took it into the end zone for a score.
Senior kicker Brad Brill's extra point made it 14-7 with 5:24 remaining in the half.
Karthan fielded a low snap on a fourth down punt, athletically sidestepped a would-be tackler and got off a tremendous punt that ended up at the Avon Lake 28-yard line.
The Shoremen did what they have done best for so many years. They put together a 12- play, 72-yard drive that netted a field goal. With eight of those plays coming on the ground Avon Lake took the entire remaining 3:08 off the first half clock.
Running backs Dontez Smith and Collin Lucas carried the load on the turf, but the key play on the methodical march was a 25-yard pass completion from senior quarterback Chris Jedlicka to junior wide receiver Jimmy Hessel.
Brill's 25-yard field goal brought Avon Lake to within 14-10 as the first half ended. Momentum had clearly swung to the home side of the field.
The second half started with the Shoremen marching from their own 32 to the Bees 25 yard line. But the Brecksville defense came up big when it needed to.
Sophomore defensive end Troy Lang made a tackle for a loss on a second down play. And senior defensive back Brian Colarik broke-up Jedlicka's third down pass. Jedlicka completed a pass on fourth down, but the receiver was stopped short of a first down on the far sideline ending the threat.
The contest turned into a defensive struggle. The Bees went three and a punt.
Avon Lake took over possession at the Brecksville 47-yard line as a bright nearly full moon illuminated the autumn sky over nearby Lake Erie.
Six of the next seven Shoremen plays were on the ground as the quickly played third quarter melted into the fourth, but the Avon Lake drive continued.
Jedlicka completed a fourth down and three pass from the Beeville six-yard line. His aerial to the left side was caught, bobbled and caught again by senior tight end Jake Young at the near side six-inch line.
The Bees Grant Cunningham, a junior defensive back and Colarik appeared to both have a paw on the ball before Young eventually gained control. The play could not have been better defended.
Lucas then blasted into the end zone from a half-yard out on the next play. Brill's extra point boot gave the Shoremen their first lead of the game at 17-14 with 11:32 to play.
An interception by Avon Lake's Mike Russell, a senior defensive back, ended the Bees following possession.
The Bees defense rose to the occasion again forcing a Shoremen punt. Brecksville had to give the ball back on another Karthan boomer. The Lakers could do nothing against the visitor's defense and the red helmets would have one last chance to pull out their first victory ever on the banks of Hyder Creek.
With 4:36 remaining and the ball at their own 36-yard line Mulhorn bulled his way for eight yards on two carries. Schott added three more for a first down at the 47.
An illegal motion penalty moved the pigskin back to the Bees 42. Tommy Tupa completed a pair of 14-yard passes to Karthan that were sandwiched around a four yard run, good for a first down, by Schott.
On a first and ten play from the Avon Lake 28 a Shoremen defender grabbed a shirt full of Karthan's white number 3 jersey on a right sideline go route. The pass interference penalty gave the Bees the ball at the 14 with 1:07 left to play.
On first and ten at the 14-yard line Tupa deftly dodged a tackler, stepped-up in the pocket to his left and found Timmy Tupa for a five-yard gain to the nine. Fifty-one fateful seconds remained.
On the next play Tupa rolled out to his right. Karthan and junior wide receiver Tyler Tarnowski were racing across the field from the left, flooding the right side of the end zone. While the ball was in the air Russell made a nice adjustment on his read and intercepted it at the one-yard line. He went 99-yards for what appeared to be a touchdown, but the Shoremen were flagged for a hold on the long return.
At any rate it was Russell's second pick of the game. It salted the game away for Avon Lake, who will head to Olmsted Falls Friday night for a first-place showdown with the Bulldogs.
As bitter a pill was the defeat to take Black handled it graciously. "Avon Lake has great coaches and they are a championship program. They and their kids are able to do a few different things in the game, but they didn't change their scheme or do anything different than what we practiced for." Black said.
Tommy Tupa was 13 of 23 (56%) for 206 yards and a touchdown in his first start since September 2. "I thought Tommy did a tremendous job in coming back. We put him in probably the toughest situation possible. This was our biggest game of the season and he had to come out here and be Superman in order for us to win the game." Said Black. "That's very tough to do. I have high expectations of him. He has high expectations of himself. I know that this game is not going to sit well with Tommy. He's only going to be a better quarterback for our program moving forward. Hopefully this is a good learning experience for him."
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
Brecksville had the ball for 45 plays at Avon Lake Friday night. They ran it 21 times and passed 24. Jay Schott was the team's leading ground gainer, the junior picked-up 24 yards on ten carries and scored a touchdown. Junior Ryan Mulhorn had 17 yards on four totes.
In the receiving department Timmy Tupa hauled in a half dozen of his older brother's passes for 75 yards. Pauly Karthan snagged five passes for 96 yards and a score. The multi-faceted junior also added two extra point kicks and punted well. Tyler Tarnowski caught a pair of aerials good for 35 yards.
The Bees picked-up 11 first downs, Avon Lake had 14. Each team was penalized four times for minimal yardage.
The Shoremen out rushed Beeville 160 yards to 55. The Bees put up 206 passing yards to the hosts 90. Chris Jedlicka went seven for 12 passing. Total yardage went in Brecksville's favor, 261-250.
On the defensive side of the ball veteran senior linebacker Kyle Graham was in on 14 total tackles. Junior defensive end Mike Tyler (6-5, 215) and Troy Lang racked-up 11 total hits each.
Brian Colarik made nine total stops including a team leading five solo tackles. Jack Rose and junior linebacker Brian Musial each chipped in a half dozen total stops.
Graham and sophomore linebacker Colton Czack each had two tackles for a loss. Lang, Tyler and senior Nick Foster all had one. Lang had the Bees only quarterback sack. Colarik and Grant Cunningham both caused a fumble.
Brecksville is now averaging 20.6 points per game and allowing an average of 24.6. The Bees are 2-3 on the road this season and 2-1 at the Bee Hive. Their remaining two ballgames will be in Broadview Heights. Brecksville is 3-3 on artificial turf this fall and 1-1 on Mother Earth.
The Bees still have not won at Avon Lake (0-4) since entering the Southwestern Conference seven years ago. However Friday night was as close as they have gotten to defeating the Shoremen at the War Memorial. Their previous three trips to the shores of Lake Erie have ended in lopsided defeats. They'll get another chance to win on Avon-Belden Road in two years. In contrast Brecksville is 3-0 at the Bee Hive against A-L. The Shoremen will travel to Mill Road next season.
LINE SCORE:
BEES 7 7 0 0 = 14
Avon Lake 0 10 0 7 = 17
BOX SCORE:
First Quarter –
Bees: Jay Schott, three-yard run. Pauly Karthan, kick. 7-0 Bees (3:28).
Second Quarter –
Bees: Pauly Karthan, 30-yard pass from Tommy Tupa. Pauly Karthan, kick. 14-0 Bees (11:53).
Shoremen: Kyle Kuhar 12-yard interception return. Brad Brill, kick. 14-7 Bees (5:24).
Shoremen: Brad Brill 25-yard field goal. 14-10 Bees (0:00).
Halftime: 14-10 BBHHS.
Third Quarter –
No scoring.
Fourth Quarter –
Shoremen: Collin Lucas one-yard run. Brad Brill kick. 17-14 Shoremen (11:32).
Final Score: Avon Lake – 17, Brecksville- 14.
TIME OF GAME: 2:22.
ATTENDANCE: 4,250.
WEATHER: Pleasantly cool and windy, no rain.
SCORES FROM AROUND THE SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE IN GAMES PLAYED FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2011:
Avon Lake – 17, BBHHS – 14.
North Olmsted – 28, Berea – 20.
Olmsted Falls – 28, Amherst Steele – 21.
Westlake – 21, Midpark – 14 (OT)
Olmsted Falls and Avon Lake both hung on for SWC victories that will set up their battle for undisputed possession of first place in the loop, which will take place Friday at Harding Stadium in Olmsted Township. Both teams are 5-0 in league play and 6-2 overall.
North Olmsted put up 21 third quarter points to hold off Berea. Midpark gave up a one-yard run in overtime and were defeated by Westlake at Finnie Stadium. The Meteors travel to Broadview Heights Friday.
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:
North Royalton – 35, Cuyahoga Falls – 27. The Bears battle back to win on the road.
Toledo Whitmer – 58, Fremont Ross – 20. The Little Giants season has crumbled.
Hudson – 19, Mayfield – 14. The 16th ranked Explorers hang on for a home victory.
SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE GAMES FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2011:
Midpark at BBBHS. (Bees get a chance to rebound with two straight home games.)
Westlake at Berea. ( The Braves are at home after four straight weeks on the road.)
Avon Lake at Olmsted Falls. (The SWC title is on the line at Harding Stadium.)
Amherst Steele at North Olmsted. (This should be a good one at Municipal Stadium.)
OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:
Stow-Munroe Falls at North Royalton.
Fremont Ross at Oregon Clay.
#16 Hudson at Elyria. (A tall task for the Explorers).
All games kick off at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted.
BEE HIVE BUZZ:
Other than the Avon Lake Kiwanis' tailgate tent, which was set up in the high school parking lot, pre game festivities were few and far between for the red clad visitors.
Bee Nation met at the nearby BW3 on Walker Road where sophomore super fan Nicole "The Predictor" Best called in her pre game prognostication to this scribe via cell phone while he was in transit to the War Memorial. You have to love modern technology. Best said, 28-26 Bees. Ball boy Luke Strnad, the latest Tootsie Pop pirate, predicted a 34-28 Brecksville victory and yours truly figured on a 28-21 BBHHS win.
Bee Nation traveled well to Avon Lake, including a pretty good-sized student cheering section. Senior soccer and basketball player Danilo "The Serbian Slinger" Radjen caught his career 26th and 27th Tootsie Pops in the stands. He is now the Bees career leader in that department dislodging the graduated Robbie Haught.
It was Senior Night at Avon Lake and Memorial Stadium was jazzed up for the occasion. The ballpark is simply fantastic. With its large and high home grandstand, new artificial playing surface and state-of-the-art scoreboard the stadium is one of the best around.
The locker rooms are underneath the home stands. The main entrance is in a park-like setting with plenty of picnic tables available to nosh on. A new concession stand and 25 second play clocks give the yard a professional, yet community-oriented look. The heavily wooded east end zone is in nice contrast to the open end of the ballpark.
With the ominous forecast of rain thankfully holding off it was nice not have to make the trek to the lofty and huge press box. "It's 83 steps to get up there." Said Bees assistant coach Mike Glazer before the game. The press box is so high that if there was a beacon light on top it might be seen from Canada on a clear night.
The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Marching Band was spectacular again with their patriotic halftime tribute of theme songs saluting the United State military.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
"Avon Lake looks more like us than us." A sideline wag said of the Shoremen's home uniforms.
"The play clock never moved. If it's not going to run why have it? Asked Bees offensive coordinator Tom Tupa to the side judge when Brecksville was flagged for a delay of game penalty on their second touchdown drive late in the first quarter.
That was the million-dollar question for everyone on the visiting sideline. Bee Nation, a hearty and huddled mass in the stands, voiced their displeasure of the strange situation by raining down a cascade of boos.
NEXT UP:
The Bees return to the confines of Community Stadium (The Bee Hive) Friday night to take on Middleburg Heights Midpark in a Southwestern Conference game that kick's off at 7:00 pm.
The Meteors, under head coach Jerry Stupka, are 2-6 overall this season and 1-4 in the SWC. In league play Midpark has defeated Amherst Steele at home. Their lone non-league victory was at Finnie Stadium in week two over neighboring rival Parma Heights Valley Forge.
Brecksville (4-4, 3-2 Southwestern Conference) will regroup to take on the Meteors. With two home games remaining on their regular season slate the Bees have a chance to post a winning record this season. On paper these two final games, against Midpark and Westlake, appear to be winnable.
"Nothing is ever guaranteed for you. We have to go out and play the games. It's a chance for the seniors to go out on a positive note playing at home. That's a good thing." Said Black. "And we have a chance to finish the season with a winning record, which is still an obtainable goal."
See You At The Bee Hive!
To contact: Ddipa67834@aol.com.
Follow the Lady Bees volleyball team on the web at: www.beesvolleyball.com. Brecksville finished the regular season with a 15-7 overall record and took sole possession of second place in the Southwestern Conference with an 11-3 league record. The Bees will play their first round tournament game Thursday night at Solon High School at 7:45 pm.
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