Opponent Preview: Hudson (Week 9)

Week 9

Who:  Hudson

What:  Northeast Ohio Conference (Valley Division) game

Where:  Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium

When:  October 25 at 7:00  

Opposing Coach:  Ron Wright (19-5 at Hudson)

History:  To my knowledge, this will be the first ever meeting 

Looking Back...

Hudson finished the 2012 regular season with and 8-2 (4-1 NOC River) record and ended up sharing the River title with North Royalton.  The Explorers defeated three playoff qualifiers during their regular season and picked up a Week 11 win on the road against GlenOak.  Hudson had a respectable 39-28 loss to Whitmer, the eventual state-runner up in Division I.  Hudson's all-everything LB/RB Ben Gedeon (Michigan recruit) terrorized opponents for the last few seasons on both sides of the ball.  Along with Gedeon, the Explorers will look to replace a couple of 1st team all-district linemen (Adam Coberly and Jadon Idoine), and their top WR's (Tim Kennedy and Leighton Antonio).  

Schedule...

Hudson’s non-league schedule includes Euclid, Uniontown Lake, and Brecksville.  These three teams combined for a 15-15 record in 2012.  The two NOC crossovers are Stow and Cuyahoga Falls.  Both finished 3-7 in 2012.  This half of the schedule is very winnable.  The other half of Hudson’s schedule is the NOC Valley.  The Explorers will have to be at the top of their game in their first season of the Valley if they want to make the playoffs for a third straight season.  The home games against Solon and Twinsburg (longtime conference foes) are the biggest games of the season.  Hudson will play at Brunswick and Strongsville. 

2013 Hudson Outlook...

Hudson begins their NOC Valley stay in 2013 after doing very well in the NOC River since 2007.  Some of their predecessors who moved up a division (Twinsburg and Mayfield) did well in the transition.  Others (Nordonia) did not fare too well.  How will Hudson do?  A lot will depend on QB Mitchell Guardagni.  Starting all season as a sophomore, Guardagni had a breakout season with over 2,000 yards passing and 26 TD's a season ago.  He threw for 324 yards and 3 TD's in a 38-6 road playoff win against GlenOak.  Guardagni was the 2nd leading rusher last season as well.  In life after Gedeon, this highly ranked QB prospect will have to pick up the offense.  John Zuccaro returns as an all-district DB that had 8 interceptions and 95 tackles in 2012.  Pierce Roster was a 1st team all-district kicker last season. 

Next:  Strongsville (Week 10)