Opponent Preview: Elyria (Week 4)

Week 4

Who: Elyria Pioneers

What: Greater Cleveland Conference game

Where: Ely Stadium

When: September 20th at 7:00pm

Opposing Coach: Devlin Culliver (1st season at Elyria)

History: Mentor and Elyria were in the LEL together in the late 90's and early 2000's. After a 13 year absence of playing, the two met up as GCC members in 2015. Elyria beat Mentor at home (27-24) that season. The Cards won the past three games against the Pioneers, averaging 55 points per game. 

Looking Back...
Nearly four years removed from one of the biggest wins in program history, Elyria has been on a down spiral ever since. After making the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 2013-2015, Elyria has fallen on hard times. The Pioneers are just 4-27 since that Week 10 win over Mentor in 2015. Last season was Coach Sean Arno's second and last season, as they were just 1-19 since 2017. They were shutout four times last season and the defense gave up 40+ points in eight games. The last thing Elyria wants to do is look back. 

Schedule...
The Pioneers begin the season with Midview (2-8 in 2018) and Bedford (1-9), a couple of teams that struggled last season as well. Bedford's only win last year was against Elyria. Lorain (6-4) is the toughest of the Pioneers' non-conference schedule. Elyria has finished last in the GCC the past three seasons. They were winless in 2018 and the closest league loss was by 23 points. Competing in league games, let alone finding a win or two, will not come easy. 

2019 Elyria Outlook...
Elyria's third coach in four seasons is hoping to turn some things around. Devlin Culliver takes over the program after coaching a few different area programs (Shaw, Harvey, Maple Heights) over the past 20 years. Culliver coached Shaw in the early 2000's before heading over to Harvey in 2006. Culliver guided Harvey to a 15-15 record in three seasons, which included two league titles. He returned to coaching in 2012 at Maple Heights, where he had guided the Mustangs to a 2014 playoff berth. Elyria is the first DI coaching job for Culliver. Under a new coaching staff, Elyria has to climb out of the basement of the GCC now in order to approach where the program was earlier this decade under coach Kevin Fell. Elyria did open up a brand new stadium last year, so this will be Mentor's first trip to the newest stadium in the GCC.

It looks like linebacker should be a position of strength for the Pioneers. Seniors Ben Doehr and Michael Knapp are returning starters that received All-District recognition in 2018. DE/TE Tyren Lee (6'6, 255) is a big two way player that also received some league and district honors last season. Halfway through the season, Elyria had a QB change as sophomore Daylan Sharlow was inserted during the Shaker Heights game. He held onto the job the rest of the season and showed some potential. This year, Sharlow is a junior QB with a good amount of varsity experience. Some other skill players got time as sophomores in 2018, such as WR Jesse Stephens and RB Jaheim Atkinson. This should help provide Sharlow with some familiarity. It will be a transition year for the Pioneers and new coach, Culliver. After an 0-10 season, they will be looking to take baby steps toward returning to being a winning football program. The first two weeks of the season are the most likely places for Elyria to find some victories. If they start 0-2 against Midview (2-8 last year) and Bedford (1-9), it could be a very long season. 

Next Preview: Medina (Week 5)