Opponent Preview: Twinsburg (Week 4)

Week 4

Who: Twinsburg
What:   Northeast Ohio Conference (Valley) game
Where:  Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium
When:  September 14th at 7:00pm
Opposing Coach: Joe Schiavone (3rd season at Twinsburg, 13-7 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 shutout Twinsburg 41-0 last season.

Looking Back...

Twinsburg has played well (4-1 in both seasons) during their first two years in Valley Division play.  Despite finishing 1st (2011) and 2nd (2012) in the league, the Tigers have failed to make the playoffs in either season.  QB Jalen Washington used his arm and legs to lead the offense for the previous two seasons.  Washington will transition to Ohio State on a baseball scholarship.  Also graduated are 4/5 of the offensive line, leading receiver Connor Rea, and star RB John Barton (injured for most of the 2012 season).  Twinsburg has to replace a lot of skill and size on offense as well as key defensive players like Scott Tegowski (honorable mention all-district), Ben Bisesi, and Rob Williams.

Schedule...

Six of the Tigers’ opponents made the 2012 playoffs and those teams combined for 10 postseason wins.  Twinsburg plays one of the toughest non-league schedules in the NOC: Avon, Aurora, and Nordonia.  Throw in a NOC crossover with North Royalton and the always rugged NOC Valley schedule to give Twinsburg one of the most demanding schedules of any Division II team in the state.  Maintaining their steady pace in the Valley as well as adding another winning season will be a challenge.

2013 Twinsburg Outlook...

Twinsburg moves to Division II this season with the changes of adding a 7th division and decreasing the size of Division I.  The Tigers return some experience (especially on defense) from the 2nd place team in the NOC Valley.  Cameron Dial, a three year starter, is a standout defensive end that headlines the 3-4 defense.  Dial was the Valley Co-Defensive POY and 1st team all-district in 2012.  Jacob Turay (2nd leading tackler in 2012) and Mike Mickovic will man the middle positions at linebacker.  Safeties Kon Grewal and Darion Eiland also return.  On offense, there will be some speed and talent at the receiver positions.  Tailin Johnson, Mike Peelman, and Darius Jones are the names to look out for.  According to Schiavone, “the defense will be relied on heavily…speed and athleticism are our cornerstones of success.”

Next Preview:  Brush (Week 5)