Why Medina Is No Longer The Underdog

“1 Samuel 17:49 – And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.”

Can the Bee’s sting the Cardinals and win their Division 1, Region 1 bracket? Sure, they can, a lot will have to go their way, but they have the talent. But if they do, it won’t be an “upset”. There is no “Cinderella”, there is no “Upset”, there is just a damn good football team!

There was a magic and intensity in the air this past Saturday afternoon that cannot be denied. For 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon, everyone forgot about COVID 19, and had full focus on the growing momentum of the Medina Battling Bee’s. They took flight early into the game and never looked back on their way to a 33-26 victory over St. Ignatius.

It is where hard work met perseverance, destiny combined with fate and David punched Goliath in the mouth, again! From the opening play it seemed as though Medina was going to give it everything they had, hold back nothing and advance.

That’s exactly what would occur as they marched down the field. Despite not scoring on that opening drive, they would score five times before the half was over, and six total for the game.

I had the pleasure of covering that game and I wasn’t shocked by the outcome, in fact, I expected it. Speaking with several Medina players this season on the Raising Canes podcast, the message has been loud and clear. They play as a team, and no one player is the “superstar”.

They keep a laser focus and have extreme confidence no matter the opponent. I’ll say it again, the wins over St. Edward and St. Ignatius were not upsets in my humble opinion, but simply, the better team won.

What is next for this team that has suddenly captured the heart of Northeast Ohio? A rematch with traditional powerhouse Mentor. Ironically enough this was the team they played week one in a rainstorm that soaked the field and game plans for many teams. While others may focus on the final score of that game, they need to take a deeper look at what actually happened.

At the 9:25 mark of the second quarter Medina led in that game. A Drew Allar touchdown pass to Luke Hensley made it 19-14. For Allar, it was his third touchdown pass of the game, with others to Luke Hensley and Jajuan Jackson as well. They were more than just hanging with the top team in the area, they were beating them.

Things would go south however as Allar would get hurt shorty after and Mentor used a strong attack to take over. They would retake the lead rom the Bee’s with 2:45 to go on a Ian Kipp to Bryson Gilbert touchdown pass.

With 2:07 left in the half and facing a 4th and 1 from their own 27, the Bees opted to go for it. The bold move did not pay off, and set up the visitors with excellent field position. Andrew Smith made them pay when he kicked a 46-yard field goal. The Cardinals took the 23-19 advantage into halftime. The Cardinals would tack two Riley Coughlin touchdowns on in the second half to finish it off 37-19. The Bee’s haven’t forgotten.

The following week, Drew Allar threw the ball 72 times, for 502 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a narrow 28-21 defeat against Brunswick. Since that night, they have gone 6-1 and have been one of the most dominant teams in all of the OHSAA Division 1.

They finished the regular season by winning 3 of their final 4 games with blowout wins of Strongsville & Elyria, then closed the season with a thrilling come from behind victory over Solon. They came within 2:35 of beating Euclid, or else they would be 7-2 right now and winners of 7 straight.

Strongsville never stood a chance week one of the playoffs as Medina rolled past them 37-7. Their past two road victories at St. Edward 35-31 and St. Ignatius 33-26 have already been well documented. However, this team is much more than a Cinderella on a hot streak. They are a legitimate Division 1 State championship threat and here is why.

They have a veteran coach in Larry Laird who knows how to win and isn’t worried about outside factors or going to be intimated.

A high scoring offense that has outscored their opponents 292 – 193 in 9 games.

A quarterback in Drew Allar who is not afraid to throw deep on any defense or into any tight window. He is 194 of 355 this year passing with 25 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions with most of those coming in the first few weeks.

As Drew Allar always says, he doesn’t do it alone and has a six pack of wideouts who can play well against any team in the state. If you remember the fastest show on turf with the 99-01 St. Louis Rams, then you can relate to this team. Check out these stats.

Luke Hensley who has hands of glue and legs like pogo sticks, can catch any ball thrown his way. His numbers are 61 catches for 972 yards and 15 touchdowns. Even more impressive is the fact that 406 of those yards came after the catch.

JaJuan Jackson has hauled in 24 catches for 410 yards and 2 touchdowns. He has big play skills and can burn a secondary when they least expect it. He averages nearly 18 yards a reception.

Drew Hensley has 348 yards with 4 touchdowns on 26 catches. He also has amazing foot skills as he managed to tip toe at the edge of the endzone last week to get both feet in for the final touchdown of the first half against St. Ignatius. It was a beautiful catch.

Michael Rodak’s big game against St. Ignatius came as no shock as he has been a solid option of Drew Allar all season. He now has 24 catches for 319 yards with 4 touchdowns.

Matt Rudolph is what I like to call “sneaky good”. While the others may get the attention at times, Rudolph is always a very solid option and if the opposing defense forgets about him, he will make them pay with yet another first down to continue the drive. He is at 301 yards currently, on 29 catches with a touchdown to his credit as well.

Brennen Schramm now has he fourth most receptions on the team with 26 for 297 yards. Only a sophomore, he has a world of potential we are just now beginning to see.

When the passing game puts them up late and they need to salt the game away with a strong running game, they turn to Dorian “The Tank” Boyland.

This young man is a determined rusher who is willing to run through a wall of defenders to get that extra yard. It takes multiple tacklers to bring him down and he has the athletic professional pedigree in his blood.

Boyland is at 363 yards on only 56 carries for a remarkable 6.5 yard per carry average. When they need to put the game await late, he is their man! He had the game of his life against St. Edward with 17 carries for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Eagles had no answers for “The Tank”. Will the Cardinals?

While the offense gets the headlines, the defense secures the wins! They are led by a pair of brothers Matt and Nathan “The Hammer” Spatny. The two have combined for 114 tackles, 5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles in 9 games. That is an incredible pace for the best brother defensive duo the GCC has seen in years.

They are not alone however, as the leading tackler on the team is Matt Hamula. The 5 ft 10 inch, 185 lb Junior is a force at linebacker and can close the hole quickly while making one of his team high 76 tackles.

The heart and soul of this defense may very well be Hunter Stratton. He has a knack for getting to ball and plays air tight coverage alongside fellow corner Keon Johnson.

If all of that wasn’t nearly enough, you cannot forget about the highly talented Andrew Delac. He can do it all and makes sure to be at the right spot at the right time.