D1 Football Caught in a D-II STORM!

D1 Football will take our tailgate experience one step further. We will be tailgating at the home opener for the Lake Erie Storm as they kickoff NCAA Division-II play against Gannon on Thursday August 28th.



Join us and area high school players and fans for all the food, fun and football that a D1 Tailgate Party brings. Who knows, you might even win some prizes.

We'll be there to support the team as well as OUR GUYS representing with The Storm. Mike Hounshell from NDCL, Nick Viola from VASJ, Josh Freeman from mentor and Kyle Glass from Euclid will be suiting up and tearing it up for Lake Erie College in 2008!

Head coach Mark McNellie has the team headed in the right direction and even though they have a challenging schedule, we're confident that they'll weather the Storm! Question is can any of their opponents?

Stay locked onto to www.d1football.net and check the SCOREBOARD for updates on times and when we kick it off at Lake Erie College. The fun doesn't end there. Follow our tailgate party Friday night to Kirtland Stadium where the Fighting Hornets host the Skippers of Fairport Harbor in week 2 action of Ohio high school football. High school football the way it should be played. NO ESPN2, PACKED STANDS, NO POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, JUST HARD-NOSED, HEART-FILLED FOOTBALL!

"Shut Up and Play the Game!"

PANTHERS READY TO POUNCE!

The Euclid Panthers return to action next week as they travel to Mentor to take on the Lake Catholic Cougars. Last year the Cougars represented the only blemish on Euclid's regular season record defeating them 27-13 in the opener a year ago. 9-1 during the regular season, including a thrilling win over Mentor 35-34 in what was probably the best game of the 2007 season. The journey into the post season ended quickly though as the Panthers lost to Boardman in the first round.



A lot has changed around Euclid since last season. Tom Gibbons takes over at head coach for the retired Mike Rezzola. Howard Drake and Devon Jennings have moved on to Baldwin Wallace College. Quarterback will come down to how well Dontravious Smith and David Thompson play in two a days. Early indications point to Thompson. Jeffvron Gill will be the workhorse for the Panthers this year at runningback. Another guy to keep an eye on is Donald Bell at inside linebacker in Euclid's 4-3 attack.


The first thought is Euclid will be a defensive oriented team with Gibbons at the helm, but never doubt the firepower of the Panthers on offense and special teams. Yes there are some questions and holes to be filled with the departure of Jennings, Drake and Travis Smith, but everybody from athletic director Tom Banc down to the fans all believe in their Panther football team this year.

A schedule that includes Lake Catholic, Mentor and St. Edward just boasts excitement. Head coach Gibbons' father John and the Bedford Bearcats are scheduled to return to Euclid again this year in the father - son match-up, in which the younger took the honors last year. Euclid can be humble about their team's chances, but seeing them in scrimmages and summer competition makes Euclid our dark horse to win the Lake Erie League outright.

Stealthy Teams

After a thrilling 2007 season, northeast Ohio is geared up and ready for 2008!

We know that Mentor, St. Ignatius, Glenville and possibly St. Edward will be considered in Division I. That's all well and good, BUT northeast Ohio goes way, way beyond the Division I glamor show. The other divisions are just as stacked and are full of teams that come out every weekend and lay it all out there on the field and play their hearts out. Teams that get lost in the fray of the larger schools when they deserve equal time and sometimes put out more effort on the field.

Division II sees Chardon tearing it up out east as a perennial dominant force in the Premier Athletic Conference. Avon lake is the measuring stick on the west side of Cleveland within the division while Normandy has been silent but very strong the last few seasons. Don't count out Padua with Mr. Consistent Adrew Dziak behind the controls at quarterback.

When Division III is mentioned immediately Lake Catholic, Walsh Jesuit and Rocky River come to mind, BUT never count out Dave Bors. He is in the second year of building a VERY solid program over at West Geauga after years of success as defensive coordinator at Chardon.



Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, Steubenville, Akron St. Vincent-St.Mary and Perry are teams in Division IV that can play with ANY TEAM IN ANY DIVISION. The Cardinals of Mooney are coming off a heartbreaking loss in the title game a year ago, but you can bet they'll be among the best again this year. Perry hasn't gotten much respect state wide lately, but behind Vinny Hokavar at QB and safety the Pirates are ready to start their surge back to the post-season. Keep an eye on Villa Angela-St. Joseph this year. Let's see if missing the playoffs by a handfull of points last year can drive the young Vikings back to prominence.

The smaller schools in Division V and VI represent teams that never fail to produce teams that will never quit and give 110% every week on the gridiron. The Fighting Hornets of Kirtland are a great example, not shown much respect within the Chagrin Valley Conference because of being in the smaller Valley division of their conference, they fail to garner much of a look statewide. However, with a 2006 overall conference title and a 2007 playoff appearance to his claim, head coach Tiger LaVerde looks to take his troops deeper into the playoffs and quite possibly bring home a state title. A classic match-up is brewing with very strong Cuyahoga Heights for the Hornets. A rematch of last season when the Hornets sent Heights packing! Richmond Heights came on strong last year and look for the push to continue in 2008. The same goes for Chanel who opened some eyes at the end of the 2007 campaign.

The bigger schools will get the media hype, but we all know the every team in northeast Ohio represents a tradition that goes deeper than most within this great nation. High School football in Ohio...the Cradle of High School Football.