Opponent Preview: St Edward (Week 1)

Here is the first of my previews of Mentor opponents for the 2018 season. Throughout July and August, I will post some info on each opponent starting in Week 1 with St Edward.

Week 1 

Who: St Edward Eagles

What: Non-conference

Where: Jerome T Osborne Stadium

When: August 24th at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Tom Lombardo (4th season at St Edward, 33-6 record)

History: Mentor and St Edward split a brief regular season series in 2009 and 2010. The two have met in the playoffs six times since 2003, also resulting in a split. The winner of that respective playoff game went on to the state final in five of those six years. 

Looking Back...

The Eagles finished the regular season 9-1 and earned the No. 2 seed in Region 1. Their season came to an unexpected end in Week 12 at the hands of Mentor (21-13). The Cardinals turned their season around late in 2017 thanks to some improved defensive play and balancing their offense with a strong running attack. Mentor's defense limited the Eagles to 262 yards on the night. St Edward scored 30+ in all ten of their wins, while averaging just 11.5 points in their two losses. The Eagles boasted nine players on the All-District teams. All but one were seniors.

Schedule...

The schedule is filled with some familiar powerhouses (St Ignatius, Elder, Moeller) along with a mix of out of state teams. Those three programs have combined for 20 big school state championships in Ohio. Erie Cathedral Prep is one of Pennsylvania's most successful programs. Cathedral Prep won their second consecutive state championship in 2017 with a 15-0 season. Cass Tech (Detroit) has won three state titles in Michigan since 2011. Returning on the schedule is Cathedral (Indianapolis), a program with ten state championships. Akron Buchtel, North St Joseph (Canada), and the brand new COF Academy in Columbus round off the Eagles' schedule. It is a schedule filled with mostly tough, but winnable games for a program like St Edward. It is reasonable to expect the Eagles to finish no worse than 7-2 in the non-Mentor portion of their schedule.

2018 St Edward Outlook...

As stated above, St Edward graduated a lot of talent from last year's team. Fourteen players signed national letters of intent to play collegiate football. Safety Michael Dowell, joining his older brothers to play at Michigan State this fall, was the most highly touted. Other notable graduates include fellow safety Darnell Shields (Cincinnati), LB Omar Fattah (Air Force), WR Devin Maddox (Toledo), RB Tylan Rice, and QB Zach Kincaid. Several impact lineman from both sides of the ball also graduated. But like most great programs in Ohio, the Eagles have the ability to reload.

The offense will have some talent and experience returning. Senior QB Zach Dzuro has gained a lot of exposure the past few years behind center. After splitting QB duties last season with Kincaid, Dzuro will have the opportunity to run the offense full-time. Leading receiver Quintel Kent gives Dzuoro a talented and familiar target. Kent has multiple scholarship offers, including Michigan. After sharing the carries with Rice last season, senior Jordan Castelberry is due for a big 2018. The 5-7 back had 856 yards and 10 TD's last season.  

The defensive side of the ball is where graduation hit hardest. Safety Caden Kolesar is one of the most highly recruited players at his position in Ohio. He is one of the few returning starters on that side of the ball. Daylen Jerigan (safety/linebacker) is also a returning impact player on defense. If the new starters on defense can meet the challenge, expect the Eagles to once again be among the short list of favorites to win Region 1.

Next Preview: St Ignatius (Week 2)