The 2013 Beechwood Tigers finally get to play one that counts this Friday. The lifting and off season workouts, 7 on 7’s, two-a-days and scrimmages are over. Friday night all that work needs to be put to use to get win number one on the board.

 

As is their custom, the Tigers played two scrimmages versus playing one and having an in season bye. Scrimmage number one was against the Conner Cougars. That scrimmage was played with a running clock and no live action on kicks. It was a struggle early for the Tigers against the Cougars. Conner controlled the action for a big part of the game. The Tigers are working in several sophomores, including QB Kyle Fieger. It was clear the Tigers were trying to get a feel for each other and find some rhythm. But as the game wore on, the Tiger offense got better. Fieger began to go to fellow sophomore WR Brett Slusher and the offense started clicking. At the end of the varsity scrimmage, the Tigers managed to stay close to the highly ranked 5A Cougars for a final score of 21-14 in favor of Conner. It was a promising start for the Tigers despite the loss. The bad news on this night was the loss of junior RB/LB Jack Talley for the season to a knee injury. Talley started as a sophomore last year and will be missed.

 

The second scrimmage showed the Tigers had learned a lot from their game against Conner. Beechwood hosted the Goshen OH Warriors in a live, game conditions scrimmage. It was a dominating performance for the Tigers, winning 40-0 in 3 quarters. Everyone got in on the act on this night. The running game struggled against Conner but looked very good in this game. Sr. Mitch Thomas went over 100 yards on just 6 carries and scored two TD's. Soph. Ethan Stringer saw some action in the backfield and showed his speed on a TD run around right end. Fieger looked sharp hitting numerous receivers and making a wide variety of throws. The defense only allowed a few first downs all night. This game showed the Tigers are ready for game one.

 

That first game will be against the Lima OH Senior High School Spartans. Lima is a D2 school, the second largest class size in Ohio, so they are a much bigger school than Beechwood. However, Lima has been down for several years and at first glance it looks like Beechwood should be favored despite being 5x smaller in school size. There is a big difference this year though for Lima. Mike Fell, a Lima alumnus who has experienced great success as head coach at three different schools, has returned to Lima to be their head coach. Fell has been a winner every place he has coached. In one of the most competitive football states in the nation, Fell has taken teams deep into the playoffs on a regular basis. It will be surprising if he doesn’t turn Lima back into a winner. And there should be talent at Lima, as their 1996 Ohio D1 state championship should attest. Fell is already making an impact by increasing the roster size and getting talented players who didn’t play previously to come out for the football team. The question is, how big an impact can he have in one off season?

 

Mike Fell likes to throw the ball. He has 6’6” Justice Graham at QB and a number of athletic receivers chomping at the bit to put the Fell offense on display. The go to receiver looks to be Ilias Wright. Lima is moving from a triple option offense to the spread so there is a lot to learn, but Fell's record shows he knows how to teach it. Lima has also played two scrimmages. They defeated D3 Defiance 3 TD’s to 1 in their first scrimmage. In scrimmage number two, Lima took on the 2012 undefeated Ohio D5 state champions, Coldwater. Lima gave Coldwater all they wanted with Coldwater holding on for a 28-21 win. Those scores say Fell is already moving the Spartans in the right direction.

 

This game is going to be very difficult test for the Tigers. Beechwood has a lot of speed and skill players and they all will need to have their cleats laced tight and be ready to run. With Fell’s spread offense and the Tigers throwing the ball more in their scrimmages, fans of the passing game should have a lot to cheer. Lima is excited about a new era. They are bringing two busloads of fans to the 8:30 pm game at UC’s Sheakley Athletics Center and they will be pumped up. Beechwood’s fans are also excited about the young talent. It should be a fun night on the UC campus.

Nice article. Good luck to the Tigers.

Good info in this article that I had not heard or seen anywhere else. I think Lima will be a tougher opponent than some people are thinking if they just look at their record the past couple years. They almost beat the Ohio defending state champion in division 5 in a scrimmage.

Good info in this article that I had not heard or seen anywhere else. I think Lima will be a tougher opponent than some people are thinking if they just look at their record the past couple years. They almost beat the Ohio defending state champion in division 5 in a scrimmage.

 

Well, it looks like my doc is not allowing me to get over to Sheakley tomorrow to see the game. I told him my knee feels fine with Percoset at my side and I received the big stink eye. Does anyone know if the game is going to be streamed / televised?

I thought Lima might broadcast or stream it but I could not find anything. Beechwood does not broadcast or stream their games.