Opponent Preview: Shaker Heights (Week 7)

This is the seventh of my previews of Mentor's opponents for the 2018 season. Here are the others:

St Edward
St Ignatius
Glenville
Strongsville
Brunswick
Medina

Week 7

Who: Shaker Heights Raiders (4-6 in 2017)

What: GCC Game

Where: Jerome T Osborne Stadium

When: October 5th at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Jarvis Gibson (9th season at Shaker, 29-32 record at Shaker)

History: Mentor and Shaker have been in two leagues together over the years. The Cards lead the series 14-7 that dates back to the LEL days. Mentor has won ten in a row in the series. Shaker's last win against Mentor was in 2004. In a game that was much closer than the final score, Mentor prevailed 35-12 against Shaker last season. 

Looking Back...
The Raiders had another tough season in the Greater Cleveland Conference. They started the season strong, winning all three of their non-conference games. But for the second time in three seasons, Shaker finished in last place in the GCC. They did have a surprising win over Solon in Week 10. The Raiders were led on offense by 1st Team All-District players, QB Jamir Dismukes and WR Micah Hills. Dismukes, a three-year starter, was often a thorn in the side of Mentor's defense. 

Schedule...
Shaw (2-8 in 2017), a team Shaker handled 41-6 in 2017, returns on the schedule as a winnable game to start the season. Shaker upgraded their other two non-conference games. John Adams and Collinwood (two Senate teams Shaker easily beat last season) are replaced by Fitch (6-4 in 2017) and football power Benedictine, a DII playoff team last season. In three years of playing in the GCC, Shaker has a total of four league victories. In 2018, the GCC looks to pretty strong once again. On paper, this is a very challenging schedule for the Raiders. 

2018 Shaker Outlook...
Three-year starter QB Jamir Dismukes had a fantastic career for Shaker. Dismukes and his top target, Micah Hills, were responsible for the majority of the scoring last season. Not many starters return for the Raiders. It will be a rebuilding season on offense for a team that upgraded their schedule. That is not a good recipe for wins. 

The Raiders usually have several players on their roster with potential college futures. Nasir Rashid (6'2, 225) committed to Air Force last month. The senior linebacker had 95 tackles, including 14 for loss, last season. After finishing in the GCC basement last season, I wouldn't expect to see Shaker math or surpass the four wins they had in 2017. 



Next Preview:  Solon (Week 8)