Wildcat97
Well-known member
Thank you for probably being the only team we will earn L2 from this year
Mentor Football 2023
- Thread starter cardzfan1234
- Start date
BlackandGold
RollSide
Congrats, Cards!!!
FightingCardinal
Well-known member
Incredible one handed catch by Hodge on 45 yd game winning TD. Wonder how badly Fox is hurt, looked like a late hit out of bounds that wasn't flagged.
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MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
I thought he was in bounds but he got nailed. Guessing a concussion.
Heck of an effort to win the game with a backup QB after that.
Probably one of the most miraculous outcomes I've seen us pull out just because of the circumstances and opponent
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
This was a huge win for this team. After the last two tough late losses, a win with late game heroics over arguably the best team they have played so far, and without a doubt the best offensive team they have played.
To make a late comeback with your most important player going down with an injury makes it all the more impressive. The backup QB was on the field for the two late scores that gave Mentor the win.
That catch and run by Hodge was one of the best plays I have seen for a Mentor receiver all things considered.
Gray gets a big win, his biggest and most important regular season win. The team heads to Cleveland Heights with a chance to fully right the ship and get the team on track for an 8-2 finish…which would be incredibly impressive considering where they were a week ago.
To make a late comeback with your most important player going down with an injury makes it all the more impressive. The backup QB was on the field for the two late scores that gave Mentor the win.
That catch and run by Hodge was one of the best plays I have seen for a Mentor receiver all things considered.
Gray gets a big win, his biggest and most important regular season win. The team heads to Cleveland Heights with a chance to fully right the ship and get the team on track for an 8-2 finish…which would be incredibly impressive considering where they were a week ago.
bkmk1
Well-known member
It was a late hit, it was out of bounds. From my view it was a big hit to his sternum area. At first I thought it was to his head. His head may have hit the turf pretty hard. He got blown up. I also thought he may have been knocked out cold. But based on how quickly he got up, I'm not sure he was out or not. The trainer took him to the locker room and he came back out without helmet or pads. He may or may not have been concussed and may or may not be out at least 1 more game. But another great ball game right down to the wire!!!! And yes, what a catch that WR made. Wow.
FightingCardinal
Well-known member
I think it was a helmet to helmet shot to his head, possibly to his chin. I don't think his head hit the turf. You could hear the helmets hit from across the field.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Mentor vs Medina - September 8th, 2023
www.youtube.com
Jump to 2:46:30 in the video. Clean hit to me. One block downfield from a receiver would’ve been the difference between a touchdown and your QB getting drilled. Doesn’t look like a helmet to helmet or a late hit out of bounds. Hope that Scotty is OK.
Funny, I thought as I read your posts that you were the other kid’s mom or dad.
bkmk1
Well-known member
Mentor vs Medina - September 8th, 2023
Jump to 2:46:30 in the video. Clean hit to me. One block downfield from a receiver would’ve been the difference between a touchdown and your QB getting drilled. Doesn’t look like a helmet to helmet or a late hit out of bounds. Hope that Scotty is OK.
I was at the game and it looked like it was out of bounds, as well as not a head shot (that was live but across the field, and it happens so fast. I just watched the video that cardzfan1234 posted (thanks for that because you get to see things much better because it's a closer view and you can slow it down), and I now feel that he may have been hit in bounds, but confirms to me that it was NOT a hit to the head. The other thing I noticed on the video that I was unsure about, is that he was never unconscious. Thank God for that. Prayers for the young man that he will be ok.
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bkmk1
Well-known member
I very much agree with you about the catch. I was stunned he caught that. Amazing concentration, I think was even tipped or he didn't catch it clean at first then kind of tipped it and pulled it in. Clearly the play of the game. And the backup Qb earlier dropped a dime into the WR going down the right sideline. I couldn't believe that pass. That was very impressive.
FightingCardinal
Well-known member
After watching the video, it appears it may have been a shoulder pad hit to the face mask.Mentor vs Medina - September 8th, 2023
Jump to 2:46:30 in the video. Clean hit to me. One block downfield from a receiver would’ve been the difference between a touchdown and your QB getting drilled. Doesn’t look like a helmet to helmet or a late hit out of bounds. Hope that Scotty is OK.
bkmk1
Well-known member
A couple other side notes from the game.
1. I can't believe how many 4th downs the Medina coach went for. I also can't believe how many they converted. At 1 point they may have been 8 for 8. Unreal. And it didn't matter where on the field they were, he would go for it.
2. Medina played the entire first half with no RB. They come out in the second half with an RB. And were having success. Then they stopped running that.
3. The Medina coach was aggressive the ENTIRE night. Then they got the ball with 1:23 left down 1. He threw it on first down. Then they went into a shell. That's when he started throwing downs away running the ball. And I know the QB was under pressure. Mentors defense really stepped up and made some very timely plays, picks, stops.
Great football game all the way around. Kind of surprised that the Medina crowd wasn't larger.
1. I can't believe how many 4th downs the Medina coach went for. I also can't believe how many they converted. At 1 point they may have been 8 for 8. Unreal. And it didn't matter where on the field they were, he would go for it.
2. Medina played the entire first half with no RB. They come out in the second half with an RB. And were having success. Then they stopped running that.
3. The Medina coach was aggressive the ENTIRE night. Then they got the ball with 1:23 left down 1. He threw it on first down. Then they went into a shell. That's when he started throwing downs away running the ball. And I know the QB was under pressure. Mentors defense really stepped up and made some very timely plays, picks, stops.
Great football game all the way around. Kind of surprised that the Medina crowd wasn't larger.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Do you have the field camera angle to share?
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Mentor refused to do anything but rush 3 on all these long third and fourth down plays. That let the Medina QB continually have all day to throw and he converted. Pretty hard to not get pressure and not be able to cover dropping 8 at the same time. Mentor somehow manages to do so....
MentorGrad2002
Well-known member
Medina is lucky Fox got hurt and the Mentor staff refused to pressure the QB on all those long 3rd and 4th down plays
Still lost to the backup QB
bkmk1
Well-known member
I would love to see that camera. Based on the video, it was not helmet to helmet. But I still think it was out of bounds and should have been flagged for a late hit. But it was close.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
It was a hard hit. A very hard hit. But still looked clean to me in every way, including the location. It was certainly no less violent than the hit Shelley put on the Ignatius receiver (which most Mentor fans including myself felt a penalty was unwarranted). And Shelley’s hit was on a much more defenseless player as opposed to Fox’s situation. The safety got right into his chest just launched him. Fox more or less saw the hit coming. Too bad he couldn’t have gotten a block from his receiver. It looked like a very reasonable situation for the receiver to help his QB out.
Hope Fox is recovering well and that the prognosis wasn’t too serious. As much as his play on the field hasn’t met expectations (especially in comparison to his status as one of the top recruited QB’s in Ohio), Fox is still by far the most important player to the team’s success. Mentor will very likely lose to Cleveland Heights without him. And few remaining games on the schedule would be a guaranteed win with the backup QB play we saw last night.
bkmk1
Well-known member
I agree about Fox. He is the key to their season long offensive success. Period. Back to the hit. I am agreeing that it was clean with the exception of being was it late, in bounds, out of bounds, right on the sideline. Those are what I am not 100% sure of. It was very close. I think based on what I saw last night and the 1 video, I think it should have been flagged for late hit. But again, it was very close. I'm just glad he wasn't knocked out cold. Because last night I thought he was out cold.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
We arrive at the halfway point of the regular season. A 2-3 record...could be better, but absolutely could be worse. That win over Medina was very much needed. I feel like 1-4 would feel like a complete mess. We know that the past four games have all come down to a final play at the end. Unfortunately, Mentor came out of on the short end of that three out of four times. The only "good" loss was this past week due to the circumstances of being without Fox.
The most pleasant surprise so far has been the play of the defense. I'm not going to say they have been Mentor's best, or even quite as good as last year's. But I can say they have definitely surpassed expectations. Throughout the season we have the offense go in multi-quarter funks. The defense has mostly been up to the task of keeping things from slipping away when that takes place. In my opinion, the safeties (Markowski and Shelly) are among the highlights of the team, let alone just the defense. These two are hard hitting, sure tacklers, disciplined, solid in coverage, and some of the best individual playmakers and athletes on the team. The front seven is playing pretty well, highlighted in my eyes by linebacker Henry Schenk.
Offensively, they haven't been what I expected. The offensive line has been progressing, which is great. By November, maybe we can see the running game open up with more consistent line play. When Fox gets back to health, he will need to take his game to the next level in order for Mentor to reach the ceiling that is before them. The sharing of three running backs is something we haven't seen since 2008 with Worden, Korecz, and Hanzlik.
Special teams has been better than in most of the past years, so that is helping the team stay afloat a bit in these games.
I expect the final five regular season games to be wins. Any more games without Fox won't be easy, but I still expect wins. A 7-3 regular season won't be good enough for a top four seed in Region 1, but it will be good enough for a Week 11 home game. Mentor needed a win against Heights or Riverside to get in position for a top four seed with two home playoff games.
The most pleasant surprise so far has been the play of the defense. I'm not going to say they have been Mentor's best, or even quite as good as last year's. But I can say they have definitely surpassed expectations. Throughout the season we have the offense go in multi-quarter funks. The defense has mostly been up to the task of keeping things from slipping away when that takes place. In my opinion, the safeties (Markowski and Shelly) are among the highlights of the team, let alone just the defense. These two are hard hitting, sure tacklers, disciplined, solid in coverage, and some of the best individual playmakers and athletes on the team. The front seven is playing pretty well, highlighted in my eyes by linebacker Henry Schenk.
Offensively, they haven't been what I expected. The offensive line has been progressing, which is great. By November, maybe we can see the running game open up with more consistent line play. When Fox gets back to health, he will need to take his game to the next level in order for Mentor to reach the ceiling that is before them. The sharing of three running backs is something we haven't seen since 2008 with Worden, Korecz, and Hanzlik.
Special teams has been better than in most of the past years, so that is helping the team stay afloat a bit in these games.
I expect the final five regular season games to be wins. Any more games without Fox won't be easy, but I still expect wins. A 7-3 regular season won't be good enough for a top four seed in Region 1, but it will be good enough for a Week 11 home game. Mentor needed a win against Heights or Riverside to get in position for a top four seed with two home playoff games.
Cardgrad90
Active member
I appreciate your mid season state of the union and couldn't agree more with your perspective.
The defense will continue to improve and get better, I hope everyone is healthy after Schenk looked to be using one arm and Schwalm didn't return to the game on Friday. Shelley looked to be a bit effected and Markowski even took some time getting up once or twice. Even if some guys miss a game or two to get healthy the playoffs are most important.
The offense should have Fox back sooner than later and they will continue their progressive improvement. The line will continue to learn and get better helping the running game. Also improvement on pass protection will afford Fox a better analysis of relievers, improving that aspect of the offense. We never know, Coughlin might even come back late in the season to help even more.
We all hope it comes together in time for both sides to have an exciting playoff run.
brian1227
Well-known member
With help from the fed and nordonia.you get a top 4 seed.
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
There are two teams that are almost a certainty to be ahead of a 7-3 Mentor: St Eds and the Medina/Heights winner. The Medina/Heights loser is probably also incredibly certain
The McKinley/Jackson winner (especially if it's Jackson) is another. The Medina/Heights loser is also very likely to pass Mentor, especially if it is Cleveland Heights. Those are four teams I think it will be very difficult to pass. It will help if Wadsworth loses to Hudson and Nordonia. It will also help if Jackson loses to Lake this week.
Mentor is in a strange spot in that their two big Level 2 wins (Medina and Jackson) are also two of their competitors for the top four seeds. So the more those teams win, it gives Mentor more L2's. But the more they win, they move up and can potentially pass Mentor.
The McKinley/Jackson winner (especially if it's Jackson) is another. The Medina/Heights loser is also very likely to pass Mentor, especially if it is Cleveland Heights. Those are four teams I think it will be very difficult to pass. It will help if Wadsworth loses to Hudson and Nordonia. It will also help if Jackson loses to Lake this week.
Mentor is in a strange spot in that their two big Level 2 wins (Medina and Jackson) are also two of their competitors for the top four seeds. So the more those teams win, it gives Mentor more L2's. But the more they win, they move up and can potentially pass Mentor.
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cardzfan1234
Well-known member
Drew Pasteur's Fantastic 50
Rankings, weekly predictions, and playoff projections for Ohio high school football
www.fantastic50.net
On second thought, Drew Pasteur's simulations look somewhat favorably upon Mentor's chances at two home games with a 7-3 record. Had they beaten Cleveland Heights (or Riverside), a top four seed would've been a lock. Probably a top two seed.
1. Cleveland Heights
2. St Edward
3. McKinley
4. Mentor
5. Jackson
6. Wadsworth
7. Medina
8. Lorain
Sign me up for that! Mentor's potential opponents under this seeding would be the 13 seed, a home game with Jackson, and then Cleveland Heights in a regional semifinal. Of course, it is silly to count on these things at this point. But I am surprised that Mentor is right there in the thick of it.
MahoningFan
Active member
So bad
cardzfan1234
Well-known member
An ode to Solon:
Mentor plays Solon this week for what appears to be the last time in a while. Solon is making a logical move to the Suburban in football next season. Mentor will be open in non-conference play going forward, but I don't see the Comets chomping at the bit to play Mentor going forward. I don't blame them. Honestly, I would much rather have Riverside on the schedule in Week 3 than Solon anyways. Who would have thought we would be saying that?
Solon and Mentor have played in the regular season every year since 1998 except for the goofy 2020 season. Solon leads the regular season series 13-10. Mentor lost the first five games of the series from 1998-2002. The 2002 game at Mentor was supposed to be the "coming out party" for the program in a high profiled game. Instead, the Comets squashed the Cards 21-3. Mentor would win the playoff rematch in 2OT, 24-17. In fact, Mentor won all four playoff games between the two (2002, 2006, 2007, 2011). From 2006-2017, Mentor beat Solon 11 out of 15 games (including playoffs).
Since 1998, the all-time series (including playoffs) is a narrow 14-13 edge for Mentor. After dropping back to back games in 2015 and 2016 to the Comets, Mentor needed a miraculous play from Tatarunas to Floriea to barely escape beating a 5-5 Solon team on the road in 2017. Since 2018, Mentor has only beaten Solon twice. Needless to say, Solon does play Mentor pretty tough much more often than not.
I will not be there on Friday for this likely finale. But this series has been one that has been a lot of fun over the years. For a while, these were (along with Glenville) the premier big school public school programs in NEO. The series with Solon is part of the reason that I believe Mentor was able to elevate their program. And in regards to Yappi, I will always remember the friendly banter (both on the boards and in person) I had with the Comet posting legends themselves, MetaComet and Hurri-Comet (RIP).
The best games in the series:
2002 playoff game (Mentor 24 Solon 17 2OT)
2011 playoff game (Mentor 42 Solon 40)
2017 regular season (Mentor 38 Solon 34)
2018 regular season (Solon 29 Mentor 28 OT)
Mentor plays Solon this week for what appears to be the last time in a while. Solon is making a logical move to the Suburban in football next season. Mentor will be open in non-conference play going forward, but I don't see the Comets chomping at the bit to play Mentor going forward. I don't blame them. Honestly, I would much rather have Riverside on the schedule in Week 3 than Solon anyways. Who would have thought we would be saying that?
Solon and Mentor have played in the regular season every year since 1998 except for the goofy 2020 season. Solon leads the regular season series 13-10. Mentor lost the first five games of the series from 1998-2002. The 2002 game at Mentor was supposed to be the "coming out party" for the program in a high profiled game. Instead, the Comets squashed the Cards 21-3. Mentor would win the playoff rematch in 2OT, 24-17. In fact, Mentor won all four playoff games between the two (2002, 2006, 2007, 2011). From 2006-2017, Mentor beat Solon 11 out of 15 games (including playoffs).
Since 1998, the all-time series (including playoffs) is a narrow 14-13 edge for Mentor. After dropping back to back games in 2015 and 2016 to the Comets, Mentor needed a miraculous play from Tatarunas to Floriea to barely escape beating a 5-5 Solon team on the road in 2017. Since 2018, Mentor has only beaten Solon twice. Needless to say, Solon does play Mentor pretty tough much more often than not.
I will not be there on Friday for this likely finale. But this series has been one that has been a lot of fun over the years. For a while, these were (along with Glenville) the premier big school public school programs in NEO. The series with Solon is part of the reason that I believe Mentor was able to elevate their program. And in regards to Yappi, I will always remember the friendly banter (both on the boards and in person) I had with the Comet posting legends themselves, MetaComet and Hurri-Comet (RIP).
The best games in the series:
2002 playoff game (Mentor 24 Solon 17 2OT)
2011 playoff game (Mentor 42 Solon 40)
2017 regular season (Mentor 38 Solon 34)
2018 regular season (Solon 29 Mentor 28 OT)
Cardgrad90
Active member
What's your projection for this week?