Opponent Preview: Twinsburg (Week 4)

Week 4

Who: Twinsburg
What:   Northeast Ohio Conference (Valley) game
Where:  Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium
When:  September 19th at 7:00pm
Opposing Coach: Joe Schiavone (3rd season at Twinsburg, 15-15 record)
History:  An original NOC member, Twinsburg joined the Valley division (2011) at the same time Mentor joined the conference.  Twinsburg upset a 9-0 Mentor team (No. 1 in AP poll at the time) in the 2011 regular season finale, 38-35.  Mentor has outscored Twinsburg by a total score of 90-0 the past two seasons.

Looking Back...

Twinsburg (2-8 in 2013) had its first losing season since 2007.  Their schedule was brutal (played seven playoff teams), and the Tigers were in a rebuilding season.  The Week 4 game at Twinsburg was called early in the second half due to severe storms and a 49-0 Mentor lead.  It was a coming out party for a Mentor offense that didn't really get on track early in the season.  The Cards put up over 400 yards of offense in barely over a half of football.  Twinsburg did improve throughout the season.  After averaging just 8 points a game in the first half of the season, the Tigers scored 20+ in four of their last five games.

Schedule...

Seven of the Tigers’ opponents made the playoffs last season.  Twinsburg maintains one of the toughest schedules of any team in Division II.  Their nonleague slate includes Aurora, Nordonia, and Avon - three teams that will all be serious contenders for a state title.  Twinsburg is stuck in the most competitive division in the NOC with the big school Valley Division.  Playing Mentor, Solon, Brunswick, Hudson, and Strongsville makes it very difficult to pick up wins in a rebuilding process.  Garfield Heights (7-3 last season) and North Royalton are the league crossovers on Twinsburg's schedule.

2014 Twinsburg Outlook...

Twinsburg took a major step back last season and it won't be easy to climb back up.  Twinsburg used a lot of seniors in key spots last year, including their QB (Mike Peelman), All-District receiver (Tailin Johnson), and top defensive players (DE Cameron Dial and LB Jacob Turray).  One of the most talented returning starters is Darius Jones, a threat on offense as a receiver or getting carries out of the back field.  Other top returning starters include DB/RB No'ah Edwards (2nd leading rusher in 2013) , DB/WR DeVonte Washington (younger brother of former QB stud Jalen Washington), RB Deyonte Groce, and LB Joe Leondarides (3rd leading tackler last season).  Considering the difficult schedule and a continued dropoff in talent/depth, it is tough to see Twinsburg winning any more than 1 or 2 games this season.

Next Preview:  Brush (Week 5)