CometFan87
Member
Solon may still be to young to compete with the top teams in the conference, Solon Shaker is a matchup with a similar history to Solon Nordonia. This week will tell a lot about the Comets.
Greater Cleveland Conference 2024
- Thread starter cardzfan1234
- Start date
Willow_Hub
Active member
Why is Euclid's bench on the "Visitor's" side of the field? The Panthers bench is on the East side of the stadium looking into the sun.
Also, unfortunately an incident an hour or so after the game, near the highschool:
www.news5cleveland.com
Also, unfortunately an incident an hour or so after the game, near the highschool:
1 dead, 4 wounded in shooting outside Euclid fire station on East 222nd
A teen was killed, and four others were injured in a shooting Friday evening, according to Euclid Police.
www.news5cleveland.com
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
There's a reason Solon will schedule Strongsville and Shaker but not Mentor and Medina . Just saying
I was sad to see Solon bail on the rivalry game with Mentor but it is what it is. They aren't in the GCC. They bailed on that and the Mentor rivalry. So they can be talked about in the suburban thread
Picking between Euclid, Solon , Brunswick and Strongsville would be like judging a tallest midget contest. In the end they are all still short (and suck)
Doesn't make me happy saying that as a public school supporter, but it's just the truth.
Lorain could be the third or fourth best team in this conference right now if they were here a year early. That says a lot
CometFan87
Member
Unfortunately school enrollment has declined to the point where football classes have simply not been able to compete with a Mentor or Medina. However, Solon's sophomore class is loaded with several d1 prospects along with the youth program picking back up with several exciting players. I hope one day Solon will return to the rivalry when Solon isn't half the size of Mentor but that may still be a ways away. Solon is trending toward a breakout year but I suppose time will tell.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Strongsville has 684. Medina has 754 or so something.
Not a huge difference. Just about competition level. If Strongsville got good, Solon would drop them too.
I'd like to see the math of half the enrollment of Mentor. Solon is almost at 600. Mentor is at 850 or so I believe in boys . Mentors been bigger than Solon awhile. It's again about level of play. If Mentor reverted to 90s form, Solon would play them
But Solon again ran away from the GCC. They aren't relevant to the GCC thread
CometFan87
Member
If level of play was the case, why would Solon schedule an Olmsted Falls team who consistently has 9 win+ seasons or move to a traditionally strong conference with the likes of Wadsworth...
Solons move was motivated by playing schools of similar size with much better drive times for the students who attend one of the best academic schools in the state.
As for numbers, Solon's enrollment at the high school is around 1450 while Mentor is at 2,400.
Solon football currently has around 60 players while Mentor has over 100
I digress, I have nothing but respect for Mentor and wish them well the rest of the year.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Boys enrollment is what matters. Girls aren't playing football. Your numbers were way off
Solon is playing worse teams in the GCC and running from the best. That's factually what is happening . Give me a break on dropping the Mentor rivalry to play Shaker hts.
I did have respect for Solon. Really don't anymore. Can stick to the suburban thread. They aren't a GCC team so not relevant here
God we can’t wait!! In front of a packed house in Wads, too
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Lorain beats Elyria 47-13
Beat Brush worse than Shaker too 40-25 vs 28-20
Could be a better add than I thought especially with Euclid , Brunswick and Strongsville still being bad
Beat Brush worse than Shaker too 40-25 vs 28-20
Could be a better add than I thought especially with Euclid , Brunswick and Strongsville still being bad
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cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Anybody know anything about the Cleveland Heights game? I found a couple articles from Michigan:
www.si.com
detroitsports.org
Heights WR/QB Amere Atkins went off for over 200 yards receiving and three TD's. He also rushed for 143 yards, I assume those rushing yards came when he had plays at QB. It sounds like Marquise "Do it Allllll..." Davis was stuffed most of the game. He only had two yards rushing in the first half.
Detroit King football win border battle against Cleveland Heights: 4 takeaways
DETROIT – Detroit King (1-0) edged out Cleveland Heights 25-21 in the finale of the 2024 MHSAA Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University Friday nigh
www.si.com
King Outpaces Cleveland Heights in 2024 XPKC finale - Detroit Sports Commission
Michael Dukes saved the Crusaders with 184 yards rushing and King on for a 25-21 victory for Coach Terel Patrick's first win.
detroitsports.org
Heights WR/QB Amere Atkins went off for over 200 yards receiving and three TD's. He also rushed for 143 yards, I assume those rushing yards came when he had plays at QB. It sounds like Marquise "Do it Allllll..." Davis was stuffed most of the game. He only had two yards rushing in the first half.
Lorain should be decent. I really like the new coach and expected him to build upon the foundation and enthusiasm that Creel established. Now if Lorain replaces their boys hoops coach with a better coach the GCC will have got their money’s worth adding Lorain.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Lorain won’t last long is my guess. When you join a league where every school is at least a 40 minute drive, you’re desperate. If/when a closer league comes calling, Lorain will bolt. But while they’re in the league, let’s hope they raise the level of competitiveness in football.
They have nowhere else to go.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
And that sums up the existence of the GCC. The "we have nowhere else to go" league. When they do have somewhere else (Solon, Elyria, whomever leaves next), they leave. Unfortunately, the league is made up of a lot of schools that are isolated from their nearest local conferences due to size and/or competitiveness.
Well actually he was splitting time at runningback with freshman, running back Elijah Harris, and senior running back Marcella Harris, coaches are being cautious with him. He played mostly linebacker on defense and punting the ball, still giving rest to that injured ankle. He hurt doing the first week of the season.Anybody know anything about the Cleveland Heights game? I found a couple articles from Michigan:
Detroit King football win border battle against Cleveland Heights: 4 takeaways
DETROIT – Detroit King (1-0) edged out Cleveland Heights 25-21 in the finale of the 2024 MHSAA Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University Friday nigh
King Outpaces Cleveland Heights in 2024 XPKC finale - Detroit Sports Commission
Michael Dukes saved the Crusaders with 184 yards rushing and King on for a 25-21 victory for Coach Terel Patrick's first win.
Heights WR/QB Amere Atkins went off for over 200 yards receiving and three TD's. He also rushed for 143 yards, I assume those rushing yards came when he had plays at QB. It sounds like Marquise "Do it Allllll..." Davis was stuffed most of the game. He only had two yards rushing in the first half.
SVillegrad
Well-known member
I'm almost positive that story should read that Atkins went off for over 200 TOTAL yards and 3 Tds.Anybody know anything about the Cleveland Heights game? I found a couple articles from Michigan:
Detroit King football win border battle against Cleveland Heights: 4 takeaways
DETROIT – Detroit King (1-0) edged out Cleveland Heights 25-21 in the finale of the 2024 MHSAA Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University Friday nigh
King Outpaces Cleveland Heights in 2024 XPKC finale - Detroit Sports Commission
Michael Dukes saved the Crusaders with 184 yards rushing and King on for a 25-21 victory for Coach Terel Patrick's first win.
Heights WR/QB Amere Atkins went off for over 200 yards receiving and three TD's. He also rushed for 143 yards, I assume those rushing yards came when he had plays at QB. It sounds like Marquise "Do it Allllll..." Davis was stuffed most of the game. He only had two yards rushing in the first half.
He had a long TD reception and then broke off two long TD runs out of the Wildcat. From what I saw, Atkins took about half the snaps and the other kid (the "passing" QB) took the others.
They also went from out the shotgun the entire game, so looks like they are trying to open the offense up. That seemed to come at the expense of Davis who didn't do anything when he got the ball, though looked like they tried getting him on the edge and King's defense was fast to the ball and got to Davis before he could hit a seam. I think he got hurt in the second half but can't remember if he came back in.
It'll be interesting to see, though, how the Heights offense evolves. They showed a different look than last year (and the times I flipped over in Week 1 I don't remember seeing them do anything outside of the wishbone), but that shotgun 1 back look seemed to take Davis out of it. If they can incorporate him out of the shotgun spread formation (with the wishbone to fall back on in certain situations), it's still a team that has a shot at making it to the regional finals.
The loss was disappointing but that King team had a bunch of good athletes (QB was electric and the RB was fast and ran tough). It's still Mentor and Heights way above the rest of the league.
SVillegrad
Well-known member
Mentor may put a running clock on everybody, smh.
At least Strongsville had a fairly impressive performance against Berea-Midpark. Only 21-6, but Strongsville had two drives end on downs inside the Berea-Midpark 10 and muffled a snap on a short FG attempt. The Mustangs defense only gave up a couple first downs the second half.
Euclid I think also got what may be their only win this season.
At least Strongsville had a fairly impressive performance against Berea-Midpark. Only 21-6, but Strongsville had two drives end on downs inside the Berea-Midpark 10 and muffled a snap on a short FG attempt. The Mustangs defense only gave up a couple first downs the second half.
Euclid I think also got what may be their only win this season.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Good night for me. Went to Mentor. Live in Wadsworth
Would like more competition though as I always say. But the league stinks right now in football. Rest gotta get it together
Needs to turn around and be good like the league in basketball
UnDone
Active member
Other than Euclid , GCC is super strong in Baseball.
Mentor , Medina , Brunswick , Strongsville all legit, Shaker and Heights are at the bottom there but are also decent teams ,
SVillegrad
Well-known member
Here's my take on the league after three weeks.
Meeting expectations:
Mentor - Taking care of business like a regional final contender should be and looking like they will enter the playoffs 10-0.
Strongsville - Defense was the side of the ball coming in that had to replace a bunch of starters and has been better than expected. Offense had almost everybody back but struggled the first 2 games in a new system. The offense wasn't great tonight (especially in the red zone) but at least there was significant progress being made, which really can't be said for any other team in the league (outside Mentor). But need to take another step on offense (win or lose) next week against Benedictine before I'll think maybe it's a team that can win a playoff game.
Disappointments:
Cleveland Heights - The offense just doesn't seem to be working. Maybe they need to scrap the spread and go back to the wishbone with Atkins at QB. They won't beat Ed’s or Mentor like that, but right now a very mediocre team and who knows if they can make the spread work. I'm not completely given up on them but a regional final type team would be 3-0 with their schedule, not 1-2.
Shaker Heights- Another team, based solely on looking at results, that seems pretty mediocre so far. I didn't think Shaker was going to compete with Mentor or Heights for the title, but figured a team that has one of the best athletes in the country would be able to drill Willoughby South and a horrible Brush team; and get by an admittedly better than I thought, Solon team. But they are 2-1 and the only other team outside Mentor with a winning record so got that going for them I guess.
Medina - There isn't much good to say. The defense returned almost everyone but they have gotten torched two weeks in a row. The offense had major questions, but one that has talent where if they got good QB play, they are a team that still could be competitive. Bad defense and bad QB play in that type offense is not a recipe for success. They were a team I thought could be anywhere from 6-4 to 3-7. What may save them from 3-7 is how average to bad the league has been thus far.
Neither here or there:
Brunswick- New coach and their would be 3-year starting QB transferred to Hoban this summer. They were a huge question mark coming in and I thought they would only be better than Euclid, which is what it's looking like.
Euclid - Got blown out by two good teams and beat a team that is probably the equivalent of JFK, so hard to say. But there were absolutely no expectations to begin with.
Meeting expectations:
Mentor - Taking care of business like a regional final contender should be and looking like they will enter the playoffs 10-0.
Strongsville - Defense was the side of the ball coming in that had to replace a bunch of starters and has been better than expected. Offense had almost everybody back but struggled the first 2 games in a new system. The offense wasn't great tonight (especially in the red zone) but at least there was significant progress being made, which really can't be said for any other team in the league (outside Mentor). But need to take another step on offense (win or lose) next week against Benedictine before I'll think maybe it's a team that can win a playoff game.
Disappointments:
Cleveland Heights - The offense just doesn't seem to be working. Maybe they need to scrap the spread and go back to the wishbone with Atkins at QB. They won't beat Ed’s or Mentor like that, but right now a very mediocre team and who knows if they can make the spread work. I'm not completely given up on them but a regional final type team would be 3-0 with their schedule, not 1-2.
Shaker Heights- Another team, based solely on looking at results, that seems pretty mediocre so far. I didn't think Shaker was going to compete with Mentor or Heights for the title, but figured a team that has one of the best athletes in the country would be able to drill Willoughby South and a horrible Brush team; and get by an admittedly better than I thought, Solon team. But they are 2-1 and the only other team outside Mentor with a winning record so got that going for them I guess.
Medina - There isn't much good to say. The defense returned almost everyone but they have gotten torched two weeks in a row. The offense had major questions, but one that has talent where if they got good QB play, they are a team that still could be competitive. Bad defense and bad QB play in that type offense is not a recipe for success. They were a team I thought could be anywhere from 6-4 to 3-7. What may save them from 3-7 is how average to bad the league has been thus far.
Neither here or there:
Brunswick- New coach and their would be 3-year starting QB transferred to Hoban this summer. They were a huge question mark coming in and I thought they would only be better than Euclid, which is what it's looking like.
Euclid - Got blown out by two good teams and beat a team that is probably the equivalent of JFK, so hard to say. But there were absolutely no expectations to begin with.
SVillegrad
Well-known member
I know he got hurt against Detroit MLK. I went over to the stream tonight for about 5 minutes and thought I saw him catch a screen pass for 20 yards but maybe that wasn't him.
If he was out, it makes the loss a little less bad (though he did nothing against King last week when he was in there)
UnDone
Active member
He must be banged up , that Harris got the bulk of the Carrie’s according to the paper.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
I know the league is good as a whole when talking all sports. And a league is about all sports and scheduling so that is why I'm fine with the GCC
That said, I only follow football and boys basketball. Boys basketball is very fun in league play. Football needs to get better
There's no way Strongsville and Brunswick should be this bad . Medina looks down but they were solid for years lately. There are always fluctuations with closed enrollment public schools so they are understandable
raising4daughters
Well-known member
I agree. I lost track of them way back when the old Pioneer Conference folded (as I have ties to Brecksville and NoRo) and marvel at their demise. No explanation from me, just missing the days of the 80s and 90s when they were elite (or at least much better) programs.
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Right. They were solid programs for awhile.
A lot of them say it's because privates take all their best kids and I agree they do take some.
But Avon is a closer trip to both Eds and Ignatius and look what they have built. Mentor is a minute or two further from Ignatius and 6 minutes further from Eds. And we've been solid for a long time now
Brunswick and Strongsville shouldn't be this bad. They have to fix it. Hopefully the new coaches can do so
Don’t know about Brunswick, but when I go into Strongsville anymore I feel like I’m at the United Nations. Meaning no offense to those fine folks, I tend to see a lot more future futbol players rather than football players roaming the area. Similar to how the demographics of Lakewood changed back in the 1990s and the football program success never returned.
raising4daughters
Well-known member
Interesting point. I realize the trepidation in talking about demographics but they very much influence popularity of various sports (and non-athletic clubs). I frequently see groups of Indian kids in Strongsville playing cricket. That's not something one saw 10-20 years ago.