Blue Devils Clear the Field of the Panthers

Week 2 of high school football saw a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair between the Brunswick Blue Devils and Euclid Panthers at Sparky DiBiasio Field, where a last-minute stand by the Devils defense preserved a 42-37 victory. With the win, Brunswick moves to 2-0 while Euclid fell to 0-2.

Much like Week 1, the Devils offense started hot with TDs scored by RB Nick Roberts and WR Anthony Bova via pass from QB Dan Yohman. K Thomas Kuczma added the extra points for both TDs and added a 38-yard field goal. However, the Panthers were up to the challenge, tying the score late in the first half at 17. Yohman found WR/S Scott Suren as time expired in the first half to give the Devils a 23-17 lead.

The Panthers took a 31-23 lead in the third quarter behind a balanced attack. Roberts countered with his second TD of the night to bring it to 31-29 after a missed two-point conversion. The turning point was an interception by Suren that lead to a scintillating 59-yard TD run by Roberts which saw him break and elude tackles before speeding past the defense giving Brunswick a 36-31 lead. Euclid countered with a TD at the 5 minute mark of the fourth quarter. Roberts once again found paydirt with a 14-yard TD run to give Brunswick a 42-37 lead with 2 minutes left. Euclid knocked on the door only to be denied by LB DJ Osters, DL Tyler Hughes and Suren.

Roberts rushed for 216 yards on just 16 carries and scored 4 touchdowns. This was similar to his opening night performance last season against Findlay where he had 235 yards and three TDs. Opposing offenses by now know not to throw the ball in the same zip code as Scott Suren. The lone time Euclid tried it resulted in an interception. The Panthers were also afraid of the Blue Devils kickoff return team that shredded Padua, giving the offense prime field position all night. Brunswick's defense struggled to get off of the field on third-down but got the last and most important stop.

The Blue Devils didn't play their best game, yet they stand 2-0 in this young 2011 season. Parma rolls into town Friday night, and if the first two games are an indication of how the season will be, you won't want to miss it.

Brunswick Recreates the Magic Carpet in Week 1 Win

Judy Kirsch Field at Brunswick High School received a makeover during the summer and her unveiling was nothing short of majestic. A new field, home grandstands, locker room and concession stands was in the spotlight for the beginning of the 2011 high school football season. Brunswick's Blue Devils took on Parma Padua's Bruins in Week 1 actions and this game proved why the game is played over the course of 48 minutes. Brunswick overtook Padua in the last minute to come away with a thrilling 21-20 victory thanks to a 11 yard touchdown run by junior RB Nick Roberts and the ensuing extra point by senior K Thomas Kuczma. The defense sealed the win by forcing four incomplete passes from Padua to send the crowd home happy.

The 2011 edition, headed by second year coach Luke Beal, started out fast, scoring two quick touchdowns behind TD runs from Roberts and senior FB DJ Osters. Junior twins QB Dan Yohman and RB Keith Yohman contributed to both drives, but would ultimately save their best for last. Meanwhile, Padua stormed back with 20 consecutive points over the course of the next two-plus quarters thanks to a ball-control offense that put together several long-drives. Padua QB Jim Solano had his fingerprints all over the Bruins offense, keeping drives alive with clutch throws and deft running. Solano ran for a TD and threw a TD to WR Steve Wozniak to tie the game at 14 in the second quarter. K Matt Bahnji converted a 30-yard field goal at the end of the first half to give the Bruins a 17-14 lead.

The third quarter featured exactly three offensive plays for the Blue Devils offense. Padua dominated the time of possession in the second half but was held to a 29-yard FG by Bahnji at the beginning of the 4th quarter. First Team All-Ohio S Scott Suren led the way with major contributions from Dom Tischler, Phil Darlington and Keith Yohman to stymie the Bruins offense from reaching the new blue end zone.

Whatever the Blue Devils gave up in time of possession was picked up by their special teams. Roberts and Yohman picked up a few big gains on kickoff returns. Senior WR/K Jason Swords' kickoffs were high and deep to give the coverage team time to make plays. Senior P Jesse Elias flipped the field positioning three times averaging 45 yards per punt. Kuczma converted all three extra points, the last of which came off of a 14-play, 85 yard drive by Brunswick's offense. Dan Yohman called his own number in space to pick up valuable yards. Completions to senior WR Anthony Bova and Tyler Mack aided the effort. The play of the drive was Yohman's third-down pass to his brother Keith as he was being sacked to keep the Blue Devils out of trouble. Brunswick scored the go-ahead TD with 59 seconds left to give them a win over Division III Playoff Qualifer Padua.

The first game in the newly renovated stadium reminded me of the 2003 home opener, which featured Brunswick's new artificial turf for the first time. The Blue Devils were down late against Cleveland Heights when the scored what was to be the tying TD and extra point. However, the snap was botched by the holder and picked up by senior K Jeremy Dick as he outraced the Tigers defense to the end zone to secure a 29-28 win. That team went on to go 9-1 that season, winning their conference and making the Division I state playoffs. If the 2011 Blue Devils can display the same resiliency as the 2003 team did, this season in the new digs can be just as memorable.

Next week, the Blue Devils will travel to Euclid to take on the Panthers, who are coming off of a 49-21 loss to Mentor. Come out and support your Blue Devils!

Thursday's Thoughts

The dog days of the summer are upon us. Baseball is halfway through their season. The Women's World Cup is enjoying their global spotlight and tennis just crowned a new #1 in Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic.

Let's analyze that first statement. Baseball has their usual grip on June and July. But why mention the Women's World Cup or a tennis champion of Serbian descent? I'll tell you why, because they are sporting events that are actually taking place on the pitch, and court respectively.

Turns out that both the NFL and NBA are in the midst of a lockout. These are initiated by the owners when they think they are getting the proverbial shaft. Basically, the owners say they are losing money and don't want to pay the players.


The NFL is almost four months deep into their freeze, although an agreement appears to be imminent depending on who the source is. The NBA however is not doing so well, as an overwhelming majority of the owners claim they are losing money. Fact is, we as the fans of these sports could really care less of the problems these sports are having. We know we want our football. Basketball just got done with what it seemed to be an 18-month season. I think we can do without that for a bit. Regardless, owners and players, get it together and hammer this out.

When the Browns return from their hiatus, it'll be another changing of the guard. New head coach Pat Shurmur has his hands full installing a new offense, let alone one with a young QB and WRs. Defensive Coordinator Dick Jauron is tasked with converting our defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3 without enough linemen. GM Tom Heckert is waiting for the green light on free agency so he can stock talent to fit our systems. All of this about a month before the first preseason game. It's a big undertaking, but Browns President Mike Holmgren has my confidence that we'll hit the ground running when an agreement is reached.

The Cavs selected Duke PG Kyrie Irving with the #1 overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. No real surprise there. Tristan Thompson at #4 was unexpected, at least for me. Honestly, I'd never heard of him. From what it first sounded like, he was JJ Hickson with better D, but not as offensively gifted. This led to our trading of Hickson for swingman Omri Casspi from Sacramento. An upgrade from what we have, but the answer? We'll soon find out.

Thanks to the basketball lockout, GM Chris Grant is handcuffed from making further deals and talking free agency. His job is not to the scale of the Browns, but in a rebuilding season he's got to make the right moves when he pulls the trigger. We need a shooting guard and a small forward capable of defense and scoring. David West from New Orleans is a great fit for small forward. What say you Chris Grant?

Cleveland's Indians are still hanging onto first place in the AL Central. Starting pitching has been the surprise of the year, with Justin Masterson at an ERA of under 3.00, Josh Tomlin having 10 wins, and Carlos Carrasco developing into a viable front-end rotation pitcher. Hitting needs to pick up, as the Tribe can ill-afford to waste this effort from the pitching. With no one pulling away in the division, now is as good a time as any to make the big push. Lastly, congrats to Indians All-Starts, SS Asdrubal Cabrera, and closer Chris Perez.

Be sure to check out our July episode of Prime Time Sports, taped at Z's Cream and Bean in Hinckley, OH. We had a great time filimg and talking to the public. Tremendous service and product. I highly recommend stopping in for a cone or sundae. Thanks to Loralie and Greg for having us!

A more in-depth look at the Browns will be forthcoming, so keep checking out the site for new reads

Tribal News

Cleveland's Friends of the Feather despite having seen a 7-game AL Central lead cut to 1 game by the Detroit Tigers are still staking the top spot in their tepee. We can all agree that they have not been living up to manager Manny Acta's "Wahoo Baseball" mantra as of late. Acta dismissed his hitting coach, Jon Nunnally over the past weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Indians put up 5 runs in an 11-inning win over the Pirates, and scored 7 against the Colorado Rockies in a high-scoring loss befit more for Coors Field than the friendly confines on the corner of Ontario and Carnegie Avenues. Maybe that was a quick shot in the arm to the Cleveland hitters.

In order for the Tribe to remain in contention they need the following to happen:


Offensive Production from those who are supposed to produce

Immediate candidates for this category are Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana. Over the past three games, they have started hitting the ball where the defense is not, especially Santana who now has 10 homers on the season. Choo has been hitting the ball hard lately, which should lead to hits and eventually homers. Choo batted .300 the past two seasons, and to me it is only a matter of time before that Choo shows up. Grady Sizemore also needs to produce. More than half of his hits go for extra-bases, but he has been striking out more than a pre-pubescent boy at the middle school dance. Here's hoping new hitting coach Bruce Fields can get through to these guys a little more.

Defense needs to revert back to early form:

Pitchers know that their defense can bail them out of some tough situations. Justin Masterson experienced it in his first start against the White Sox this year when Carlos Santana, who was at first that game, started a triple play. Asdrubal Cabrera has been Omaresque at short, and Jack Hannahan has proven to bring an extra-sized glove to compensate his light bat. Recently though, errors have been doing in the Indians. We're not talking about fielding errors exclusively either. Players have been throwing the ball around and allowing runners to get that extra base. It cost them dearly in the 8th inning last night against the Rockies when catcher Lou Marson attempted to pick-off the runner at first base only to see his throw whiz over the head of Carlos Santana and into right field. This gave Colorado an 8th run, which proved to be the difference in the 8-7 result. Turning double plays when you get the chance is critical. We don't possess a starter who can get 8 or 9 strikeouts a game, and that puts the onus on the defense to simple catch and throw.

Pitching wins championships

As Manny Acta said in his press conference after sweeping the Pirates, I don't know what you can say about the bullpen other than it's been spectacular. Vinnie Pestano has separated himself from the pack to become the setup man before Pure Rage Chris Perez comes in and slams the door shut. The bullpen had not given up a run in over 22 innings before giving up a run last night. They are not just getting batters out. Strikeouts are common place for Pestano and Perez. Both have electric stuff that can straight up blow a batter out of the water. All they need to do is maintain their current pace.

The starters are coming back to Earth from their outworldly start to the season when all it seemed they were doing was putting together quality starts. After the dust has settled, we have three quality starters in Josh Tomlin, Justin Masterson, and Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco has been on fire lately, throwing over 20 innings of shutout ball in wins over the Twins, Yankees, and Pirates. Masterson's record has been a product of no run support. Before his start against the Pirates, he had gotten 6 runs of support in his last 9 starts. It's virtually impossible to win with that offensive futility. Tomlin keeps plugging along at 8-4. The big issue is Fausto Carmona, as he completely imploded in the 5th inning of Cleveland's 8-7 loss last night to Colorado. Carmona was cruising right along until that big inning crushed him. Fausto has given up at least 4 earned runs in each of his last 8 starts. Completely horrendous, but he is out of options and cannot go to the minors without being released and clearing waivers (where he will be claimed by someone). Acta's dilemma is keeping him in the rotation instead of bringing up a Jeanmar Gomez or Zach McAllister from AAA Columbus, or sending him to the bullpen and hoping that shorter innings will improve his mental state. Either way, Cleveland cannot contend without sorting Carmona out.

Pitching is always most important, but scoring runs and catching the baseball are the big things the Tribe needs to do. It sounds very elementary and basic, but it's the little things that teams do well which breeds success. We caught a whiff of that in the first two months of the season. Wahoo Baseball needs a resurgence and sustainability.