Greater Cleveland Conference 2019

cardzfan1234

cardzfan1234

Well-known member
I haven't noticed a thread for this, so here we go. The GCC in 2019 probably will have a pretty similar feel as it did in 2018. Mentor, Solon, and Euclid at the top. Medina and Strongsville in the middle. Shaker, Brunswick, and Elyria bringing up the rear. The top three teams all graduated a lot of key parts of their 2018 identities and success. But the foundation is strong for all three and there are enough talented returning players to see the top three teams in the league all make the playoffs. Last year, Strongsville gave the league a 4th playoff team. I'm not very confident that the 4th place team in the GCC this year will make the playoffs, unless Medina can get off to a good start and win 2 or 3 out of the gate.

My prediction for how the teams will finish in the league:

Mentor (7-0)
Solon (6-1)
Euclid (5-2)
Medina (4-3)
Strongsville (3-4)
Shaker (2-5)
Elyria (1-6)
Brunswick (0-7)

Ranking the strength of non-conference schedules:

1. Mentor (St Eds, St Ignatius, Football North)
2. Euclid (McKinley, Glenville, Canisius)
3. Medina (Wadsworth, Highland, Cleveland Heights)
4. Shaker (Garfield, Benedictine, Cleveland Heights)
5. Solon (Stow, Hudson, Twinsburg)
6. Strongsville (Berea, Hudson, Brecksville)
7. Elyria (Lorain, Bedford, Midview)
8. Brunswick (Lorain, North Royalton, Rhodes)
 
 
Shaker is in their last year as well going to the LEL in 2020. Are we going to have ,7 teams in 2020 or will some school join ?
 
Hoping the big westside schools improve this year. No reason for them not to compete with their numbers and great communties
 
On the Shaker front, they will get a taste of LEL football play and atmosphere with their non-conference schedule (Heights, Garfield, Benedictine). In terms of football, it’s a good move to join the LEL with Garfield.

As for replacing them, I can’t think of any team that would be interested in joining the GCC in football. There are some large NEO schools outside of the GCC (Lorain and Berea come to mind), but there is no incentive to leave their current situation. I’m sure Ignatius or Eds would gladly schedule any of the remaining teams during their late season open weeks.
 
My opinion is that Euclid will beat Solon and figures to be Mentor's biggest threat in the conference - my reasoning being that Solon was extremely lucky to play their best game of the season last year during a week in which Mentor played poorly and I believe were also missing their starting QB Kipp that week. The Cardinals will be looking to repay the Comets in spades during Triv's last season as Head Coach. I'm circling that game as probably being one where Mentor puts on one of their better performances of the year.

Additionally, I work with someone who's tapped into the state of the Euclid program and from what I've been told, despite losing some pretty key skill position players they're going to be a better (and bigger) team on both sides of the ball in terms of their line play.

Also to MentorGrad2002 - regarding your hope for some improvement among the bigger westside publics, from what I hear Strongsville has some solid younger classes coming up, coinciding with some internal changes to the way that they're running the younger teams.
 
Euclid could definitely be Mentor's biggest threat. I don't doubt it. For now, I choose Solon for a few reasons. They bring back an experienced QB in McQuaide, a talented returning RB in Eichelberg, some decent receivers, and a standout player at each level on defense. Euclid has more unknowns. Solon's biggest question will be line play. I believe that Euclid will have a decided edge in size, possibly in talent too.
 
cardzfan1234 said:
I haven't noticed a thread for this, so here we go. The GCC in 2019 probably will have a pretty similar feel as it did in 2018. Mentor, Solon, and Euclid at the top. Medina and Strongsville in the middle. Shaker, Brunswick, and Elyria bringing up the rear. The top three teams all graduated a lot of key parts of their 2018 identities and success. But the foundation is strong for all three and there are enough talented returning players to see the top three teams in the league all make the playoffs. Last year, Strongsville gave the league a 4th playoff team. I'm not very confident that the 4th place team in the GCC this year will make the playoffs, unless Medina can get off to a good start and win 2 or 3 out of the gate.

My prediction for how the teams will finish in the league:

Mentor (7-0)
Solon (6-1)
Euclid (5-2)
Medina (4-3)
Strongsville (3-4)
Shaker (2-5)
Elyria (1-6)
Brunswick (0-7)

Ranking the strength of non-conference schedules:

1. Mentor (St Eds, St Ignatius, Football North)
2. Euclid (McKinley, Glenville, Canisius)
3. Medina (Wadsworth, Highland, Cleveland Heights)
4. Shaker (Garfield, Benedictine, Cleveland Heights)
5. Solon (Stow, Hudson, Twinsburg)
6. Strongsville (Berea, Hudson, Brecksville)
7. Elyria (Lorain, Bedford, Midview)
8. Brunswick (Lorain, North Royalton, Rhodes)
Click to expand...

I agree with the top four, and I think the gap between the No. 4 team and 5 team will be significant this year. But I don't think the standings will be as linear as you have them.

For one, I don't think anybody runs the table. Mentor, which I think will take a slight step back this year, didn't do it last year and somebody in the group of Euclid, Solon, Medina will trip them up again this year. Overall, those four will split up some games between them and all should beat the bottom four. As for the bottom four, they all will be mediocre/bad and I'd put it more like:

1. Euclid (6-1, 8-2) ... Beating Mentor and Medina, losing to Solon
2. Mentor (6-1, 7-3) ... Beating Solon, Medina, losing to Euclid
3. Medina (5-2, 7-3) ... Beating Solon, losing to Euclid and Mentor
4. Solon (5-2, 8-2) ... Beating Euclid, losing to Medina and Mentor
5. Strongsville (2-5, 4-6)
6. Brunswick (2-5, 3-7)
7. Shaker Heights (2-5, 3-7)
8. Elyria (0-7, 0-10)

I think this is the year where Medina, which has been the only westside school that has competed with the big three on the eastside, joins that group to make it a big 4 (and Medina is still probably one year away from really turning that corner). On the flip side, I think Strongsville takes a big step back this year due to losing a huge senior class and not having much in numbers to replace them this year (only something like 10 seniors on the roster). But they could be back in the playoff mix in 2020 because the junior and sophomore classes look good. The freshmen class is small in numbers and not very good, but they kept their best player in that class, who was rumored to be heading to Eds.
 
Mentor took a huge hit on the lines. That trio (Potter, Jacoby, Simac) are all at Ohio State or Michigan State. Irreparable guys. But returning Kipp, Trobel, and Floriea is huge. I don’t think Mentor has brought back their top WR/RB plus QB since 2003. 2012 was close, but there wasn’t a RB in 2011.

Defensively, Mentor won’t drop off too much. Secondary should be steady. Linebackers are pretty close. The best (Benz) graduated, but two other starters return. On the line, Potter will be sorely missed. That will be the biggest difference between 2018 and 2019 defense.

If the offensive trio stays healthy, something they didn’t do last year, they will be far superior to what Euclid or Solon has back. Mentor had the best QB, the best RB, and the best WR in the league. The offense should be really good.

Solon and Euclid will be a challenge. But I think Mentor can win out. Last year’s lost to Solon was a bit of a fluke. No Kipp. Trobel got banged up in the game. Solon offense had five first downs in the game.
 
Can we pull up these threads and see how many years in a row Sville has talked about Medina making a jump ? Swear it happens every year

Mentor lost last year to Solon without their starting Qb and rb. That made a huge difference. And they still barely lost and it was a fluke type game

Mentor will definitely be capable of running the table in the gcc but of course anyone can win or lose in a given week
 
cardzfan1234 said:
Euclid could definitely be Mentor's biggest threat. I don't doubt it. For now, I choose Solon for a few reasons. They bring back an experienced QB in McQuaide, a talented returning RB in Eichelberg, some decent receivers, and a standout player at each level on defense. Euclid has more unknowns. Solon's biggest question will be line play. I believe that Euclid will have a decided edge in size, possibly in talent too.
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How many apartment buildings did roskey buy in Euclid, how many kids did roskey recruit to come to euclid?
 
MentorGrad2002 said:
Can we pull up these threads and see how many years in a row Sville has talked about Medina making a jump ? Swear it happens every year

Mentor lost last year to Solon without their starting Qb and rb. That made a huge difference. And they still barely lost and it was a fluke type game

Mentor will definitely be capable of running the table in the gcc but of course anyone can win or lose in a given week
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How many years have you predicted Mentor to run the table in the GCC? Swear it happens every year.

How many times has that happened?

You don't need to tell me, I know Mentor will be right in the mix for the title this year. But Solon has taken three of the last four, regardless of what happened last year. And the Mentor-Euclid games, outside of last year, have been close ... each with a win and then that 61-59 barnburner a couple years ago.

BTW, here is a thread from prior to last year. Tell me where I was completely off base?

yappi.com

Elyria, Strongsville, Brunswick and Medina 2018 outlook. Greater Cleveland Conference

I haven’t seen a ton of information on the west side GCC schools. I’ve heard Strongsville is going to be pretty good. Medina usually has a good pool of talent to play with. Brunswick is always tough even when bad and Elyria is continuing to trend downward currently. What have you heard or what...
yappi.com yappi.com
 
SVillegrad said:
How many years have you predicted Mentor to run the table in the GCC? Swear it happens every year.

How many times has that happened?

You don't need to tell me, I know Mentor will be right in the mix for the title this year. But Solon has taken three of the last four, regardless of what happened last year. And the Mentor-Euclid games, outside of last year, have been close ... each with a win and then that 61-59 barnburner a couple years ago.

BTW, here is a thread from prior to last year. Tell me where I was completely off base?

yappi.com

Elyria, Strongsville, Brunswick and Medina 2018 outlook. Greater Cleveland Conference

I haven’t seen a ton of information on the west side GCC schools. I’ve heard Strongsville is going to be pretty good. Medina usually has a good pool of talent to play with. Brunswick is always tough even when bad and Elyria is continuing to trend downward currently. What have you heard or what...
yappi.com yappi.com
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I actually havent many of times said that. Nice try at deflection but you know damn well you have said this stuff about Medina for many years. If you say it every year it's bound to happen sometime

Mentor could slip up. It happens. If they had kipp last year that game is a win though vs Solon. Kipp was worlds better at qb over anyone else on that roster

Mentor could lose to Euclid or Solon. Doubt we lose to Medina in our stadium but the mighty fighting bees are bound to beat Mentor one of these years ...

And let's be honest. Mentor has come a lot closer to running the table each year than Medina has of winning the league or even competing for the league title
 
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Pre-Season All GCC Team

Offense QB Ian Kipp, Mentor - All eyes will be on the talented dual threat junior QB (1,427 passing yards, 12 TD's in 2018) that has sev...
mentorfootball.blogspot.com mentorfootball.blogspot.com

Here is my shot at a pre-season All-GCC Team. Feel free to share your thoughts/criticisms on my list.

Out of the 22 players listed, Mentor is at the top with 7, then Solon (4), Euclid (3), Strongsville (3), Medina (2), Shaker (2), and Brunswick (1). Nobody from Elyria.
 
MentorGrad2002 said:
I actually havent many of times said that. Nice try at deflection but you know damn well you have said this stuff about Medina for many years. If you say it every year it's bound to happen sometime

Mentor could slip up. It happens. If they had kipp last year that game is a win though vs Solon. Kipp was worlds better at qb over anyone else on that roster

Mentor could lose to Euclid or Solon. Doubt we lose to Medina in our stadium but the mighty fighting bees are bound to beat Mentor one of these years ...
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Yeah, probably won't be this year. 2020 looks like it could be a good game, though even with no Triv, Mentor will have Kipp and Trobel and I'm sure plenty of other talent.

I'm not sure why you are catching feelings over me saying Medina is going to be good in the coming years. They were an inexplicable loss to Shaker last year from 6-4 and making the playoffs, two years before I thought they would be in the mix. On paper, they look to be better this year and based off of the number of players in the program and the results the younger guys have been putting up, I'm not sure why anybody would think this is a fluke, especially now that Laird is back and doesn't look like he will be leaving anytime soon. Not with what he sees coming up.

Every program had to start from somewhere. I don't remember Mentor being a power before 1998. ... and really it was a couple years later before they established themselves.

I've never heard one person on this site ever predict a Medina win over Mentor, because it has never been realistic. Most of the Medina stuff has been why isn't it a better program? They are a huge school that always has a great track program and has very good football demographics. But that could be changing. Medina has beat Solon the past two years (and nearly have won three straight against them). They beat Euclid three years ago. Not saying they have been anything special but getting wins like that for a program that is trying to establish itself, shows that the talent is not void. And that talent is just getting better and they now look to have coaching stability on top of it.

In this carnation of the GCC, the westside schools have a combined 4 wins against Mentor/Solon/Euclid... Medina has 3 of them. Elyria over Mentor (the overall worst program in the league against the best) somehow is the other. Medina also has played those three teams a total of 12 times. 6 of those have been either wins or went down to the wire and ended in one possession games. No other westside GCC program can come close to that.
 
Not catching feelings at all over your hometown mighty fighting bees. It's just the same old story on here every preseason with you touting them and saying they will make a move. Then you say something like well Mentor wasn't anything before the last 20 or so years. Which isn't true because they really just had 2 lost decades before that. Medina has never done anything substantial so I'll believe it when I see it
 
MentorGrad2002 said:
Not catching feelings at all over your hometown mighty fighting bees. It's just the same old story on here every preseason with you touting them and saying they will make a move. Then you say something like well Mentor wasn't anything before the last 20 or so years. Which isn't true because they really just had 2 lost decades before that. Medina has never done anything substantial so I'll believe it when I see it
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Hometown, I guess and glad we are not only mighty but also fighting, lol. Though I didn't go to Medina but guess I do have skin in the game now. Mentor has been a huge school back to the 60s/70s. Medina was a small town/podunk Montville and Medina Twp. school up until the early 2000s. It took Mentor 20 years before it caught up on the field vs. size of the school. We are both old enough and been around long enough to know that communities and programs change and either evolve or devolve. Medina is evolving. Its actually not even growing anymore either, just like Mentor, but both communities seem to be following a similar path in being more diverse while still maintaining that sense of pride of where we live.

There is a lot of similarities. Medina just 20 years behind from where Mentor was... I'm sure if yappi was around in the 80s/early 90s, there would be threads calling Mentor a sleeping giant.
 
When you are talking about a program being nothing over 20 years ago , you've lost the argument. It's weak. That was a long time ago. When you have to go to that to make your point , you have nothing

Mentor has proven itself. Medina has never done anything. So yeah illl believe it when I see it. The touting of Medina by you ever preseason is expected but it's just getting a little old
 
MentorGrad2002 said:
When you are talking about a program being nothing over 20 years ago , you've lost the argument. It's weak. That was a long time ago. When you have to go to that to make your point , you have nothing

Mentor has proven itself. Medina has never done anything. So yeah illl believe it when I see it. The touting of Medina by you ever preseason is expected but it's just getting a little old
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My point, which is based in facts, flies right over your Mentor is the greatest head. So I'm done getting in another tit for tat argument that you, for whatever reason, try to get into ... on any thread you post on.
 
SVillegrad said:
My point, which is based in facts, flies right over your Mentor is the greatest head. So I'm done getting in another tit for tat argument that you, for whatever reason, try to get into ... on any thread you post on.
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You are grasping at straws and it's weak. You can make the same case for any program that hasn't done squat using your rationale

Nothing flew over my head. It's just the same pie in the sky optimistic view on Medina that you post every preseason

As I said , I will believe it when I see it
 
MentorGrad2002 said:
You are grasping at straws and it's weak. You can make the same case for any program that hasn't done squat using your rationale

Nothing flew over my head. It's just the same pie in the sky optimistic view on Medina that you post every preseason

As I said , I will believe it when I see it
Click to expand...

I'm done getting baited. I predicted Medina to finish fifth last year in the GCC and maybe make the playoffs (if they went 2-1 non conference and beat one of the three top eastside schools). They did just that... though didn't expect them to lose to Shaker. Still just missed narrowly finishing 9th.

So come with facts on my pie in the sky outlook. Link one where I said Medina is for sure playoff bound, bet you can't find one.... I go back to 2005.
 
Stop saying you are done and then come right back

You know damn well you make sleeping giant comments on Medina every preseason. I'm not going to waste hours of search time to point it out to randoms on a message board.
 
SVillegrad said:
Trust me, Medina will make some noise in both football and basketball in the next couple years. A lot of people (myself included) have been saying that Medina is a sleeping giant for the past 10 years. Its finally coming. The talent and numbers at the MS/freshmenlevel is legit.

It likely won't be this year, or even next, but Medina will shed that country label soon (especially since they are doing a better job of keeping the Union Square area kids in the programs.)
Click to expand...

Is this the comment? You think they are a sleeping giant (have been), but you also don't claim that they have arrived yet. And you didn't even predict 2019 was the year. Debate settled. Let's move on and focus on the league for 2019.
 
I'll go with Strongsville as the biggest threat of the westside schools in beating Mentor this year. They have played us tough in their home stadium before

Also are there any updates on Elyria and their new stadium ? All done and are there pictures ? Thought it was done last year but didn't know if there were additions to it. Easy to park and is it nice ?
 
MG2002 - Cleveland.com had a preview of Elyria in their highschool coverage kick-off. I didn't read the article but you may want to check there for starters?
 
Elyrias new stadium is very nice. A little bit smaller than most of the other facilities in the league but still nice. The parking behind the visitor stands was not completed last year but shuttle from the high school and other lots make for easy access. Definitely a massive upgrade from old Eli stadium.
 
An Insider has told me that Strongsville had a good off season workout program with 70 to 80 kids working out 4 and 5 days a week. Some might say they were practicing as much as they were working out.
 
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