cardzfan1234
Well-known member
The 2023 season didn't meet expectations. The regular season wasn't terribly bad, but losing in the way they did to St Ignatius and Riverside left a poor taste in the mouth of everyone involved and the Mentor supporters who were watching. Mentor did play better in Weeks 4-10, but then the offense laid an egg against St Ignatius in the playoff rematch in Week 11. The talent on the 2023 team shouldn't have walked away with zero playoff wins, plain and simple.
The 2024 team has higher expectations. If you ask the coaching staff and players, they will say that the state championship is the goal. That is not an expectation unique to Mentor. And like many other programs that say the same thing, sometimes they say these things without having true faith that it is achievable. But, I think it is very reasonable for Mentor to optimistically build toward trying to compete to win Region 1 this year. After making four straight regional finals and winning three of them from 2017-2020, the Gray-led Mentor Cardinals have seen a significant slip. Two first round exits are sandwiched around a very solid 2022 playoff run. This is now year five under Coach Gray and I am of the belief that it is "put up or shut up" time. If the team loses to anyone other than St Edward in the Region 1 playoffs, this 2024 season will be a failure. And I don't know that Gray will make it to 2025 without showing the program is headed in the right direction. On paper, the offensive talent coming back is better than any in the area.
West Virginia-commit Scotty Fox returns for a 4th season as varsity starting QB. His 2023 stats and play took a step back from 2022, but overall he still played like one of the top QB's in the region. Fox earned 2nd Team All-Ohio recognition, which is a great accomplishment. His top two receivers return: Austin VanHuss (Class of 2025) and junior Justen Hodge (Class of 2026). VanHuss should continue to build on a solid junior season and be one of the top receivers in the GCC. Hodge, a player with a lot of DI college attention, is on his way to bigger offers. Cerny and Sierputowksi are returning receivers with experience and potential that should give Fox plenty of talented weapons to throw to. Hodge could end up being one of the top offensive players in the area. Blocking up front are two a pair of Class of 2026 lineman with DI offers: Landry Brede (a probable B10 lineman with tremendous size and potential) and JoJo LoDuca (6'3, 270). Fox took on a lot of the running game this past season. Mentor's "running back by committee" worked fine in 2023, but they will need something more consistent in 2024. The probable return of Mason Coughlin will help. The projected starter at running back for 2023 was injured the entire season. Jackson Farley, one of the three running backs that shared duties in 2023, did fine as a sophomore. He will bring some depth to the position with Coughlin. Mentor really needs to improve their running game to help take the necessary steps forward on offense.
Defensively, I am not sure what to expect. The first year under a new defensive coordinator Nick DeCesare was a good one. Mentor had to replace a ton of starters and defensive talent from the 2022 team. The 2023 defense stepped up and became the strength of a team you thought would be built on offense. The top returning starters are defense end Julian Solis, linebacker Caden Clair, and linebacker Spencer Barninger. The team's defensive identity was very much wrapped in the excellent play of a pair of safeties that were seniors. Replacing Markowski and Shelley will be incredibly difficult.
Kicker Dylan Tackett was an All-Ohio kind of talent that also returns.
On paper (depending on how the Week 3 game gets scheduled), this is a team that should have no less than 9 regular season wins. The St Ignatius game will be tough. Cleveland Heights has a Mr. Football candidate returning at running back in Davis. Splitting those games and winning the rest is my regular season prediction. Medina is likely taking a step back, but probably still will be a competitive team. The rest of the GCC should be no problem for Mentor. The September 20th game with Cleveland Heights is likely the league deciding game.
Schedule:
08/23 H Massillon Jackson
08/30 A Cleveland St. Ignatius
09/06 H Erie McDowell (PA)
09/13 A Medina
09/20 H Cleveland Heights
09/28 H River Rouge (MI)
10/04 A Shaker Heights
10/11 A Brunswick
10/18 H Strongsville
10/25 A Euclid
The 2024 team has higher expectations. If you ask the coaching staff and players, they will say that the state championship is the goal. That is not an expectation unique to Mentor. And like many other programs that say the same thing, sometimes they say these things without having true faith that it is achievable. But, I think it is very reasonable for Mentor to optimistically build toward trying to compete to win Region 1 this year. After making four straight regional finals and winning three of them from 2017-2020, the Gray-led Mentor Cardinals have seen a significant slip. Two first round exits are sandwiched around a very solid 2022 playoff run. This is now year five under Coach Gray and I am of the belief that it is "put up or shut up" time. If the team loses to anyone other than St Edward in the Region 1 playoffs, this 2024 season will be a failure. And I don't know that Gray will make it to 2025 without showing the program is headed in the right direction. On paper, the offensive talent coming back is better than any in the area.
West Virginia-commit Scotty Fox returns for a 4th season as varsity starting QB. His 2023 stats and play took a step back from 2022, but overall he still played like one of the top QB's in the region. Fox earned 2nd Team All-Ohio recognition, which is a great accomplishment. His top two receivers return: Austin VanHuss (Class of 2025) and junior Justen Hodge (Class of 2026). VanHuss should continue to build on a solid junior season and be one of the top receivers in the GCC. Hodge, a player with a lot of DI college attention, is on his way to bigger offers. Cerny and Sierputowksi are returning receivers with experience and potential that should give Fox plenty of talented weapons to throw to. Hodge could end up being one of the top offensive players in the area. Blocking up front are two a pair of Class of 2026 lineman with DI offers: Landry Brede (a probable B10 lineman with tremendous size and potential) and JoJo LoDuca (6'3, 270). Fox took on a lot of the running game this past season. Mentor's "running back by committee" worked fine in 2023, but they will need something more consistent in 2024. The probable return of Mason Coughlin will help. The projected starter at running back for 2023 was injured the entire season. Jackson Farley, one of the three running backs that shared duties in 2023, did fine as a sophomore. He will bring some depth to the position with Coughlin. Mentor really needs to improve their running game to help take the necessary steps forward on offense.
Defensively, I am not sure what to expect. The first year under a new defensive coordinator Nick DeCesare was a good one. Mentor had to replace a ton of starters and defensive talent from the 2022 team. The 2023 defense stepped up and became the strength of a team you thought would be built on offense. The top returning starters are defense end Julian Solis, linebacker Caden Clair, and linebacker Spencer Barninger. The team's defensive identity was very much wrapped in the excellent play of a pair of safeties that were seniors. Replacing Markowski and Shelley will be incredibly difficult.
Kicker Dylan Tackett was an All-Ohio kind of talent that also returns.
On paper (depending on how the Week 3 game gets scheduled), this is a team that should have no less than 9 regular season wins. The St Ignatius game will be tough. Cleveland Heights has a Mr. Football candidate returning at running back in Davis. Splitting those games and winning the rest is my regular season prediction. Medina is likely taking a step back, but probably still will be a competitive team. The rest of the GCC should be no problem for Mentor. The September 20th game with Cleveland Heights is likely the league deciding game.
Schedule:
08/23 H Massillon Jackson
08/30 A Cleveland St. Ignatius
09/06 H Erie McDowell (PA)
09/13 A Medina
09/20 H Cleveland Heights
09/28 H River Rouge (MI)
10/04 A Shaker Heights
10/11 A Brunswick
10/18 H Strongsville
10/25 A Euclid
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