2020 Greater Cleveland Conference

Who wins the league?

  • Brunswick Blue Devils

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Elyria Pioneers

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Euclid Panthers

    Votes: 7 13.2%

  • Medina Bees

    Votes: 9 17.0%

  • Mentor Cardinals

    Votes: 32 60.4%

  • Solon Comets

    Votes: 3 5.7%

  • Strongsville Mustangs

    Votes: 1 1.9%
  • Total voters
    53
Thanks for the info on the younger grades.

Mentor may not be going away, but I have no expectations that they will have the kind of success that they had for most of the past 20 years. I know they never won the big one, but the sustained success they had (11 regional finalists, nearly that many serious state contenders) since 2002 is incredibly difficult to live up to.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Thanks for the info on the younger grades.

Mentor may not be going away, but I have no expectations that they will have the kind of success that they had for most of the past 20 years. I know they never won the big one, but the sustained success they had (11 regional finalists, nearly that many serious state contenders) since 2002 is incredibly difficult to live up to.
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Worst case Mentor falls into the boat where they are an annual playoff team that maybe only has a shot at winning the region/state every 3-5 years. Is that a disappointment? Nope. Mentor, like Colerain, has had a remarkable 20 year run. Almost impossible to achieve, at least for Mentor being closed enrollment (not sure on Colerain).

But they aren't going to fall off by any means, at least from what I can tell. Worst case is they fall back to consistently top 8 in the region instead of consistently top two or three.
 
Just some notes:

• Elyria is a lot better than 2019. With that being said they were astronomically terrible last season. The improvements are systematic and coaching and players developing. Unfortunately they still are bad. 2019 F, 2020 F also, a few percentage points from a D.

• Strongsville actually regressed IMO from last year. After the Euclid win I thought they would improve but just slid back into the abyss. The GCC is a solid tough conference so they really had no weeks off schedule wise. 2020 D

• Brunswick looks like a low level contender. While in a normal year I wouldn’t pick them to compete with the D1 powers, I would pick them to beat all of the pretenders. Impressive win over Medina who is Jekyll & Hyde this year but all the potentialbad loss to a Mediocre Euclid squad. We’ll see how good they are against the Pups this weekend. 2020 B

• Medina gets my “Dude You Blew It” award this season. I thought the Bees would take step up be a contender this year. Maybe not on Mentors level but a cut above Brunswick. Medina cannot get out if it’s own way and has some unimpressive losses. After the opener I thought Medina would run the table. Clearly not the case. 2020 C

• Mentor is Mentor. Still cage fighting with the big boys and kicking everyone else’s . After two average wins against Medina & Euclid, the Cards are back to form railroading everyone else. Mentor could easily be undefeated. 2020 A

• Euclid has been unimpressive but steadfast. 4-2 in the 6 game schedule is good.The loss to Strongsville is puzzling after a solid showing against Mentor. Euclid has won close games but I have them on par with Medina. 2020 C

• Solon I wish I could give you a grade or review or something but I have seen zero from this team. Outside of the Kirtland and Medina losses I know nothing about the Comets. 0-4 and horrible decision making from the administration. 2020 Incomplete

Please excuse any typos or misspellings -MG
 
Mike Gully said:
Just some notes:

• Elyria is a lot better than 2019. With that being said they were astronomically terrible last season. The improvements are systematic and coaching and players developing. Unfortunately they still are bad. 2019 F, 2020 F also, a few percentage points from a D.

• Strongsville actually regressed IMO from last year. After the Euclid win I thought they would improve but just slid back into the abyss. The GCC is a solid tough conference so they really had no weeks off schedule wise. 2020 D

• Brunswick looks like a low level contender. While in a normal year I wouldn’t pick them to compete with the D1 powers, I would pick them to beat all of the pretenders. Impressive win over Medina who is Jekyll & Hyde this year but all the potentialbad loss to a Mediocre Euclid squad. We’ll see how good they are against the Pups this weekend. 2020 B

• Medina gets my “Dude You Blew It” award this season. I thought the Bees would take step up be a contender this year. Maybe not on Mentors level but a cut above Brunswick. Medina cannot get out if it’s own way and has some unimpressive losses. After the opener I thought Medina would run the table. Clearly not the case. 2020 C

• Mentor is Mentor. Still cage fighting with the big boys and kicking everyone else’s . After two average wins against Medina & Euclid, the Cards are back to form railroading everyone else. Mentor could easily be undefeated. 2020 A

• Euclid has been unimpressive but steadfast. 4-2 in the 6 game schedule is good.The loss to Strongsville is puzzling after a solid showing against Mentor. Euclid has won close games but I have them on par with Medina. 2020 C

• Solon I wish I could give you a grade or review or something but I have seen zero from this team. Outside of the Kirtland and Medina losses I know nothing about the Comets. 0-4 and horrible decision making from the administration. 2020 Incomplete

Please excuse any typos or misspellings -MG
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Other grades for schools I follow

Avon A
Avon Lake B
Midview D
Amherst C
Elyria Catholic C
B-M D
Valley Forge C
Olmsted Falls B
North Olmsted D
Hudson A
BBH B
S M Falls B
Wadsworth C
Keystone A
Firelands B
Norwalk C
Huron A
 
Agree with all of your GCC rankings Mike. I would drop Mentor to an A- and give Brunswick a B+. A season after completely dominating the league, Mentor took a step back. In some cases, maybe even more than I expected. I give Brunswick plenty of credit for their season. A big win over Medina. Competitive with Euclid. A solid playoff win. They did get shutout (again) by Mentor. But one tough week out of seven is a B+ in my book.
 
Wow, what a win for Medina (and Brunswick). I didn’t think it was impossible to see three GCC wins, but considering the opponent it was tough to say Medina would be one. I was not shy in saying they had a pretty disappointing regular season. But a win like that makes up for it all. The team with the toughest draw in the state has another tough one waiting.

Too bad Euclid couldn’t complete the cycle. They just didn’t have a consistent enough offense this year.
 
Mike Gully said:
Just some notes:

• Elyria is a lot better than 2019. With that being said they were astronomically terrible last season. The improvements are systematic and coaching and players developing. Unfortunately they still are bad. 2019 F, 2020 F also, a few percentage points from a D.

• Strongsville actually regressed IMO from last year. After the Euclid win I thought they would improve but just slid back into the abyss. The GCC is a solid tough conference so they really had no weeks off schedule wise. 2020 D

• Brunswick looks like a low level contender. While in a normal year I wouldn’t pick them to compete with the D1 powers, I would pick them to beat all of the pretenders. Impressive win over Medina who is Jekyll & Hyde this year but all the potentialbad loss to a Mediocre Euclid squad. We’ll see how good they are against the Pups this weekend. 2020 B

• Medina gets my “Dude You Blew It” award this season. I thought the Bees would take step up be a contender this year. Maybe not on Mentors level but a cut above Brunswick. Medina cannot get out if it’s own way and has some unimpressive losses. After the opener I thought Medina would run the table. Clearly not the case. 2020 C

• Mentor is Mentor. Still cage fighting with the big boys and kicking everyone else’s . After two average wins against Medina & Euclid, the Cards are back to form railroading everyone else. Mentor could easily be undefeated. 2020 A

• Euclid has been unimpressive but steadfast. 4-2 in the 6 game schedule is good.The loss to Strongsville is puzzling after a solid showing against Mentor. Euclid has won close games but I have them on par with Medina. 2020 C

• Solon I wish I could give you a grade or review or something but I have seen zero from this team. Outside of the Kirtland and Medina losses I know nothing about the Comets. 0-4 and horrible decision making from the administration. 2020 Incomplete

Please excuse any typos or misspellings -MG
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Good luck in the SWC ... and that's not a jab at Elyria (you probably know by now I've got a lot of EHS ties and wish the Pioneers well). Personally, I think you guys will do ok there. Elyria will struggle against Avon and Avon Lake, but outside that, don't see many auto losses. Elyria has had the misfortune of being in a league that was above its weight class (why nobody wants in), but they never gave up (see the Euclid playoff game).

So, much respect to the Elyria community and will be rooting for you guys for sure, and I don't think anybody who roots for another GCC school faults Elyria for making (the right decision) to getting into a league closer to home.

Though, I'll miss basketball, where Elyria is defintely a GCC tier school. I'm guessing we will still still see Medina-Elyria there almost annually.
 
Maybe Mike Gully will give the Medina Bees a better grade after what was accomplished tonight by defeating St. Edward. When was the last time an 8 seed defeated a 1 seed in division 1?
 
Publican said:
Maybe Mike Gully will give the Medina Bees a better grade after what was accomplished tonight by defeating St. Edward. When was the last time an 8 seed defeated a 1 seed in division 1?
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Not sure if it was the last time, but 10 years ago #8 Medina knocked off #1 Mckinley....
 
Publican said:
Maybe Mike Gully will give the Medina Bees a better grade after what was accomplished tonight by defeating St. Edward. When was the last time an 8 seed defeated a 1 seed in division 1?
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That win alone would bump them up to an A season. Gully was fair in that up to that point, Medina deserved an underwhelming grade. But yesterday’s win was easily the biggest and best in program history. Dare I say one of the biggest in county history?
 
cardzfan1234 said:
That win alone would bump them up to an A season. Gully was fair in that up to that point, Medina deserved an underwhelming grade. But yesterday’s win was easily the biggest and best in program history. Dare I say one of the biggest in county history?
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I'd agree. They rose up. I always saw them as a threat with their passing attack. I was hoping for Medina and the two saints on the other side of the bracket. We got a very good draw

Mentor should beat Brunswick (although nothing is guaranteed). Mentor will have to play much better than they did last night to beat Ignatius or Medina which would be a rematch

Great job GCC. . Too bad Euclid couldnt get it done. Still 3 GCC teams winning and Eds going down made for a very good night of football ?
 
cardzfan1234 said:
That win alone would bump them up to an A season. Gully was fair in that up to that point, Medina deserved an underwhelming grade. But yesterday’s win was easily the biggest and best in program history. Dare I say one of the biggest in county history?
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Its tough to say a regional quarterfinal win being the best in Medina County history, especially since Brunswick has won a couple regional titles, but I can't think of a bigger win when looking at the opponent.

Ed's has been the overall top program in Ohio for the past decade and again was a legitimate state title contender.

Then when you look at this: outside of Mentor (which has amazingly done it seven times) the last time Ed's lost to an Ohio public school (outside of Mentor) was Week 2 of the 2007 season when Euclid beat them 14-13 (Strongsville beat them 39-0 in Week 1 of that same year).

I know Ed's doesn't play a lot of publics (instead has filled its slate with a bunch of national powerhouses/GCL/Iggy/Mentor), but the playoff list is a who's who of top publics who have played them in the playoffs.

And since Ed's began its dominant run in 2010, the list of public schools to beat Ed's is:

1. Mentor (7 times)
2. Detroit Cass Tech (21-20 ... and IIR that was on a hail Mary on the final play of the game).
3. Medina

Going back to that 2007 loss to Euclid, and Ed's has a record of 70-10 against Public schools since then (seven of the 10 losses were to Mentor ... incredible stat for Mentor). The only other you would add to the list from above is Inkster (Mich.), which beat them 14-7 in 2009.

The Ed's wins include: Mentor (4 times) Glenville (a bunch, including at the end of their run), Euclid (several times), Whitmer, Wayne (three times), Solon, Austintown Fitch, Olentangy Liberty, Westerville Central, Canton McKinley, Colerain, Winton Woods and Massillon. Then wins against pretty much all the D1 public in the Cleveland area at the time (Brunswick, Hudson, Stow, Cleveland Heights, Medina, Mayfield, etc.) and a bunch of out of state teams (Penn Hills (Pa.), Inkster (Mich.), Cass Tech (Mich.), Naperville Central (Ill.), McDowell (Pa.), Pine-Richland (Pa.).
 
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You have to give the Medina coaches a lot of credit. They knew Eds would counter their empty backfield, 5 WR spread offense with a 3 man rush and 8 back in coverage like they did in last year's 73-38 playoff win. Medina knew their only chance would be to change their offensive game plan and run a balanced offense. Eds was caught off guard and Medina was able to rip off huge runs against a defense back on their heels. You know that Iggy will be studying this game video all week and will be prepared for whatever the Bees throw at them. It should be a great game and will be interesting to watch the strategy. I predict another Medina upset 31-27.
I compare Ian Kipp's game to that of Baker Mayfield last week. With an interception and 2 fumbles, Kipp has an opportunity to learn without suffering a defeat. Brunswick looks like a much better team than when Mentor dominated them 38-0 just 4 weeks ago. I expect Brunswick to play a little better the 2nd time around, but they won't come anywhere near the 40 ppg they have averaged against teams not named Mentor. I see Mentor winning easily, 41-14.
 
FightingCardinal said:
You have to give the Medina coaches a lot of credit. They knew Eds would counter their empty backfield, 5 WR spread offense with a 3 man rush and 8 back in coverage like they did in last year's 73-38 playoff win. Medina knew their only chance would be to change their offensive game plan and run a balanced offense. Eds was caught off guard and Medina was able to rip off huge runs against a defense back on their heels. You know that Iggy will be studying this game video all week and will be prepared for whatever the Bees throw at them. It should be a great game and will be interesting to watch the strategy. I predict another Medina upset 31-27.
I compare Ian Kipp's game to that of Baker Mayfield last week. With an interception and 2 fumbles, Kipp has an opportunity to learn without suffering a defeat. Brunswick looks like a much better team than when Mentor dominated them 38-0 just 4 weeks ago. I expect Brunswick to play a little better the 2nd time around, but they won't come anywhere near the 40 ppg they have averaged against teams not named Mentor. I see Mentor winning easily, 41-14.
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Medina and Ignatius is a tossup. It wouldn't be an upset if Medina won. Eds shutout Ignatius 17-0. The upset was beating eds

I don't even know who I'd rather play from a mentor perspective. I can't see Brunswick beating us but after this coming week , Mentor has to play better than yesterday to win. 3 turnovers and all those yards given up in the regional final and on will lead to a loss
 
FightingCardinal said:
You have to give the Medina coaches a lot of credit. They knew Eds would counter their empty backfield, 5 WR spread offense with a 3 man rush and 8 back in coverage like they did in last year's 73-38 playoff win. Medina knew their only chance would be to change their offensive game plan and run a balanced offense. Eds was caught off guard and Medina was able to rip off huge runs against a defense back on their heels. You know that Iggy will be studying this game video all week and will be prepared for whatever the Bees throw at them. It should be a great game and will be interesting to watch the strategy. I predict another Medina upset 31-27.
I compare Ian Kipp's game to that of Baker Mayfield last week. With an interception and 2 fumbles, Kipp has an opportunity to learn without suffering a defeat. Brunswick looks like a much better team than when Mentor dominated them 38-0 just 4 weeks ago. I expect Brunswick to play a little better the 2nd time around, but they won't come anywhere near the 40 ppg they have averaged against teams not named Mentor. I see Mentor winning easily, 41-14.
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Medina didn't catch St. Edward's off guard with their power formations. They knew it was coming because Medina has been incorporating those more the past four or five weeks, and every time Medina subbed in the personnel for their tight formations (offset I or Maryland I), Ed's subbed and countered with a five-man front, so they weren't caught in bad personnel matchups, Medina just executed out of them (and did enough in their five-wide sets to get the win).

I even said that in the R1 thread that I expected Medina was going to incorporate those formations more ... and that was hardly inside information, just going by what I have seen in recent weeks. I'm sure Ed's saw the same things in scouting the game.

Medina's win definitely opens up the bracket a bit for Mentor, which I agree will beat Brunswick again (and they would've beat McKinley anyway, too)... Hopefully, I'm not wrong (again) by thinking that Brunswick could make it a game. But I'll say it again, there is no way Brunswick is blanked for the fifth time in a row in this series, lol.

As for Medina and Ignatius, I agree about it being a toss-up (my argument about Ignatius getting the No. 5 seed was never about talent). I haven't seen Ignatius so going off of things I've read on here. Sounds like from a defensive standpoint for Medina, it will be the same as it was against Ed's ... in stop the run enough to get them into third and passing downs and then make a stop. Ed's (mostly the QB Ramos) did break a bunch of big runs and I think Ignatius will do the same. It'll be up to Medina to make enough plays to put Ignatius in throwing situations (though the Iggy QB ... though looks like they made a change recently ... is still probably a better passer than Ramos). Offensively, we'll see. While Medina isn't going to go back to the five-wide sets exclusively, because they are a much better team when they are balanced, and Dorian Boyland is a load to bring down, especially if he gets a head of steam, but Ignatius was torched by St. X through the air, so this may be a game where Allar may be asked to do more than he did yesterday.

I do think the teams are pretty similar as far as overall talent, and that's because I know Iggy is always going to have talent, but I've never doubted the players Medina has. That alone should make it a good game. There is something about facing a Chuck Kyle team in the playoffs that has to play a part, though. Tough draw for Medina, but you know what, this is a program that has expectations of becoming a player on the regional/state level so no better way to prove that by taking down the other big R1 "Saint", and they have an opportunity to do that, which is all you can ask for.
 
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MentorGrad2002 said:
Medina and Ignatius is a tossup. It wouldn't be an upset if Medina won. Eds shutout Ignatius 17-0. The upset was beating eds

I don't even know who I'd rather play from a mentor perspective. I can't see Brunswick beating us but after this coming week , Mentor has to play better than yesterday to win. 3 turnovers and all those yards given up in the regional final and on will lead to a loss
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Mentor held a very good QB, Owen Bainbridge, to 123 yards. Mentor had about 150 more yards than Stow.
I still would consider Medina beating both Saints a huge upset. Iggy started the season late and their 3 losses were to 3 of the best teams in the state. It's definitely a down year for Iggy, but they are still a tough out. Medina lost to Brunswick and Euclid this year, they will need another outstanding performance to top Iggy, but I think they are capable.
 
SVillegrad said:
Medina didn't catch St. Edward's off guard with their power formations. They knew it was coming because Medina has been incorporating those more the past four or five weeks, and every time Medina subbed in the personal for their tight formations (offset I or Maryland I), Ed's subbed and countered with a five-man front, so they weren't caught in bad personnel matchups, Medina just executed out of them (and did enough in their five-wide sets to get the win).

I even said that in the R1 thread that I expected Medina was going to incorporate those formations more ... and that was hardly inside information, just going by what I have seen in recent weeks. I'm sure Ed's saw the same things in scouting the game.
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Good info. I only saw Medina play in week one and they were exclusively in 5 WR sets vs Mentor before Allar got hurt. Even with Gillespie in, they only ran a couple plays with a RB in the backfield.
 
FightingCardinal said:
Good info. I only saw Medina play in week one and they were exclusively in 5 WR sets vs Mentor before Allar got hurt. Even with Gillespie in, they only ran a couple plays with a RB in the backfield.
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I will admit that Mentor will desperately need Vernon back by the Regional Final. There is a huge drop off without Vernon, and it will be much more difficult against either Iggy or Medina without him.
 
FightingCardinal said:
Good info. I only saw Medina play in week one and they were exclusively in 5 WR sets vs Mentor before Allar got hurt. Even with Gillespie in, they only ran a couple plays with a RB in the backfield.
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Very different offense from Week 1 (and the past couple of years).

One more note, I know Ed's wasn't caught off guard by Medina's personnel too based off a situation in the first half where Medina had it 4th and 3 at the Ed's 40. Ed's actually ran in their five-man front before Medina even brought in their tight personnel. It was like the Ed's coaches saw a pattern on tape where they knew what Medina was going to do in that situation. I was thinking that was a perfect opportunity to keep the five-wide set out there and take a shot deep, but instead they subbed in their tight package ... and was then stuffed, lol.
 
I'm going to go back to Medina beating Ed's for a minute, because I went back on joeeitel and looked at how dominant Ed's has been. I guess it's not a huge shock, but once you really digest it, their past 11 years has been amazing. More amazing, IMO, that most outside of Mentor fans probably don't realize, is how good Mentor has played them.

I already mentioned Ed's domination over public schools in general, but even looking at the private schools they have played, it's also incredible. They have now suffered only 23 losses in the last 11 years. Fourteen of them have been to Mentor (7) and Ignatius (7). Here is the complete list of schools that have beat Ed's in that period and those school' record against the Eagles:

1. Mentor - 7-4
2. St. Ignatius - 7-7
3. Elder - 2-8
4. Don Bosco Prep (NJ) - 1-0
5. Medina - 1-1
6. Cass Tech (Mich.) - 1-1
7. Hoban - 1-1
8. St. Joseph Regional (NJ) - 1-1
9. Bergen Catholic (NJ) - 1-1
10. St. Xavier - 1-2

Not counting national power Don Bosco Prep's lone victory, Mentor is the only school to have a winning record against the Eagles since 2010, and the list of schools to beat them at all is pretty much a who's who of state/national powerhouses ... and now Medina.

There are a couple powers who have not beaten Ed's either ... Moeller (0-10), Indianapolis Cathedral (0-2), Gillman (0-2), Erie Cathedral Prep (0-2).
 
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SVillegrad said:
Very different offense from Week 1 (and the past couple of years).
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Mentor knows you need a running game to compliment the spread to keep defenses honest. Stow played 2 LBs to try to stop Mentor’s typical 4 WR set and Ryan Coughlin and the offensive line just crushed Stow’s defensive front.
Mentor has been holding Coughlin back to keep him healthy for just this time. Same with Kipp. Hopefully, they are just being extra cautious with Vernon, knowing they can win without him until the regional finals. Vernon makes everyone on the defense better as he draws double teams and the additional pressure on the QB means the DBs don’t have to hold their coverage as long. Mentor hasn’t had Kipp, Coughlin and Vernon all healthy at the same time yet this season.
Mentor will need everyone at 100% if they hope to beat teams like Pick Central and St X.
 
This is Mentors 10th or 11th best team since 2002. With a good draw they could make the finals which would be amazing. They could also fail to win the region.

Beating PC or St X would be a miracle imo. I can't see this team getting the title.
 
Wow wow wow kids! Medina Battling Bees! Back to back over the Cleveland Catholic Big Two! Yes guys Medina has definitely boosted their season grade in my book! Amazing run here by the Bees to set up a must watch GCC showdown/rematch with Mentor. This Medina team is what we all thought they would be and more in the beginning of the season.
 
SVillegrad said:
Good luck in the SWC ... and that's not a jab at Elyria (you probably know by now I've got a lot of EHS ties and wish the Pioneers well). Personally, I think you guys will do ok there. Elyria will struggle against Avon and Avon Lake, but outside that, don't see many auto losses. Elyria has had the misfortune of being in a league that was above its weight class (why nobody wants in), but they never gave up (see the Euclid playoff game).

So, much respect to the Elyria community and will be rooting for you guys for sure, and I don't think anybody who roots for another GCC school faults Elyria for making (the right decision) to getting into a league closer to home.

Though, I'll miss basketball, where Elyria is defintely a GCC tier school. I'm guessing we will still still see Medina-Elyria there almost annually.
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No jab at all SVille! It’s kinda cool because with Elyria being down over these past few years it’s been easy to forget how the GCC is a murders row. It’s nice to see the how Elyria dominated Midview this week and dominated Berea Midpark for the majority of the game last week (How they blew a 48-33 lead in 6 minutes is another story ?). It’s an ode to the league. If you look at Brunswick, Euclid and Medina as well, they have learned to win in this conference. We are all witnessing what Medina is doing and how good Brunswick was this year. Playing against Mentor every year isn’t the ideal situation for every school but it makes all of the GCC teams better.
I am excited for my district as they have wanted this for the past few decades. It will help the district save some money and renew some local rivalries which is good from a former players/students perspective.
I have really enjoyed being apart of all of your forums. Mentor Grad, SvilleGrad, CardzFan1234, Mr. Red Raider all of you guys are awesome ambassadors for your schools. High school football is my favorite football and I’ll still be watching all of your schools no doubt about it. I’m hoping the GCC gets a solid school to join. Keep that league going for the next 20 years!
 
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