by After a final season in the SWC last year that had more stops and starts then the bumper cars at Cedar Point, the North Olmsted Eagles landed in the GLC and have begun to soar. They have found their place in the conference and continue to look like a serious threat to come out of their side of the conference on top, and play in the coveted Championship Game on October 22.
After splitting their first two games, a blowout victory on the road in North Ridgeville, and then a blowout loss to Trevor Van Horn, Trey Martin and the Green Bulldogs, the Eagles have now won three straight games. In back to back weeks against Amherst and Buckeye at home, they came back from second half deficits to win in thrilling fashion each time before defeating Fairview 45-0 this past weekend on the road.
The come from behind wins against Amherst and Buckeye showed serious heart, character and belief in head coach Tim Bredigers program. I spoke with coach about the comeback wins and he had this to say, “The comeback wins are a sign our kids are invested and care about each other, and it was great to see the resilience of our guys, but also were a sign we need to start faster and limit early mistakes in games.”
Bryson Burgess has become a serious threat on both sides of the ball playing linebacker and tailback. He is big but he is also fast and rarely goes down on the first tackle. Bryson has all the ablity to lead this team to a GLC championship this season. Coach Brediger shared this when it came to Bryson, “Bryson has worked extremely hard in the weight room and as a member of the track team to increase his explosion. He’s a tough kid who earned his carries this season through his off-season efforts.
Xavier Balson is the double threat you need at quarterback, he makes smart moves with the ball, and is a deadly weapon with his feet when he decides to hold it down and run with it. This conference has some serious talent at QB when it comes to Tony Buttari of Bay Village and Braedon Spies of Rocky River just to name a few, but Balson doesn’t need to take a back seat to anyone in the GLC. He showed just how good he can be with his legs this past weekend against Fairview.
It is easy to notice the offseason work put in by Balson as well. Coach touched on that, “he has grown 3 inches and added 20 pounds to his frame since his sophomore season. He really committed to the weight room this winter, and developed into a leader. He has all the tools to be successful on the field, and is really working on being a consistent player, and taking advantage of what the defense gives us.”
Balson’s biggest threat this season has been his connection with Jared Kelley. This past weekend against Fairview they couldn’t be stopped as the Warriors had no answers. Kelley caught 7 balls for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. Kelley is a threat all over the ball, even special teams where he has a few runbacks for touchdowns already this season.
Brediger touched on the growth and electric ability of Kelley, “he is an explosive athlete who is a playmaker in all 3 phases. Another track and weight room kid, he has tremendous lower body strength and exceptional quickness. He understands the game and is versatile enough to play multiple spots.”
This team has some unsung heroes as well. Not every impact player shows up on a stat sheet but at the end of the night, they have made a difference. One of those is Sammy Capps who is in his third year on varsity. Capps went down early last season to injury but Coach Brediger knows the importance that Capps can bring into every game, “Sammy Capps missed all but one game last season with a knee injury.. but has been progressing on both sides of the ball. He gives us a nice alternative to Bryson as a running back, and has played great on defense.”
What is to come in their next five games is still to be seen, but win or lose, Coach is liking what he has seen thus far “I am happy for our kids, seeing them having success after getting their season cancelled last year early is great!! They put a ton of time in starting end of October last year in the weight room building their bodies and developing team chemistry. This entire senior class holds each other accountable and demands the most out of their teammates!”
I will be in North Olmsted this Friday night for homecoming against Westlake. Make sure to read a full recap following the game.
More on page two
