Opponent Preview: Clarkson Football North (Week 3)

This is the third of my previews of Mentor's opponents for the 2018 season.  See the Week 2 preview (St Ignatius) here

Week 3

Who: Clarkson Football North (Canada)

What: Non-league game

Where: Jerome T. Osborne Stadium 

When: September 13th at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Larry Jusdanis

History: Mentor has absolutely zero history with Clarkson Football North. This is believed to be the first time that Mentor is playing a team from Canada. 

Looking Back...
Football North is a Canadian football academy school that aims to be a big time attraction for the best of the best in Canada, and even some players from the United States. As they look to establish a talented roster, the program tries to put themselves on the map by playing quite a daunting schedule. Last season, Football North played several teams from Ohio: Moeller, Elder, St Xavier, St Ignatius, and Lorain. They went 1-4 in those games (beating Lorain), but Football North was pretty competitive in some losses. The closest was a 21-13 loss to Region 4 runner-up, Elder. Overall, the team finished 6-6. The biggest win on the year was against Erie Cathedral Prep, a state champion last season. 

Schedule...
Due to their chase of high profile status, Football North maintains their high profile schedule. Half of their schedule are Ohio schools: St Ignatius, St Edward, Elder, St Xavier, Lorain, and Mentor. If last year was any indication, don't expect a whole of computer points to come from Football North. They do play a 12 game schedule, but only 10 will be included in the computer point calculations. Cathedral Prep (PA), a two-time defending state champion, is back on the schedule. They also play one of the IMG Academy teams, Maryland powerhouse Saint Frances (a team that beat them 64-6 last season), and their partner school - St Joseph Football North. Football North managed to finish 6-6 last year, but this schedule is even tougher than last year. 

2019 Football North Outlook...
Due to the nature of being a Canadian school as well as being a type of football academy where players often come and go, it isn't easy at this point to project what Football North will bring to the table. For instance, last year's star RB (Brendan Barrow) has transferred for his senior season to a school in Florida. Barrow has several DI college offers. In terms of individual talent, this team will still have some. QB Quincy Vaughn, named the team's MVP in 2018, is a 6'4 senior that has committed to play at Old Dominion. Fellow QB Callum Wither already has a few MAC offers before his sophomore season has even started. Justin Stevens (6'6, 285) is an offensive lineman that has a few offers from MAC schools. Tyrell Lawrence (6'7, 370), who boasts an offer from Tennessee, is another huge offensive lineman. On defense, 6'1, 185-pound DB Peter Kemeni recently committed to play football at Ohio University. 

It can't be denied that there is some quality individual talent on this roster. They have several guys on their roster that will be playing college football. But throwing together a bunch of individual pieces doesn't work out so well in a team-oriented game like football. Mentor, and all of the Ohio teams they play, will have a huge advantage in continuity and consistency. Football North has bit off more than they can chew when it comes to the schedule, but wins and losses aren't as concerning for them as they are for Ohio teams. This is a game that was scheduled out of desperation on Mentor's part. Clearly, very few teams in NEO want any part of the Cardinals. Football North will get to showcase their team to a lot of talented teams across Ohio. Getting victories will be tough to come by. This is a game that Mentor should win, but not one that will generate much in terms of computer points. 

Next Preview: Elyria (Week 4)