The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Dominant Eagles bring out brooms
Olmsted Falls had not lost a single set in nearly a month, ripping off 12 straight victories since Aug. 21.
That is, until Avon made the trip over to Olmsted Falls with first place in the Southwestern Conference on the line.
Winning in three straight sets, the Eagles executed a powerful game plan at the net and came away with the victory.
Coming out swinging, Avon played as good of a game as they had all season as the Eagles continued to show how good this senior group is. On the season, Olmsted Falls now has lost just six sets, all of them to the Eagles.
“I want a game like this every night, we want a match like this every night,” Avon coach Julie Bendzuck said. “The kids are into it, both teams are into it.”
“I just feel really comfortable back there in our second year with this offense.”
It’s an offense that likes to run the ball, too.
Of the team’s 1,650 yards of offense, 1,243 of them have come on the ground. The other 407 have come through the air and off the arm of senior quarterback Jimmy Schill.
Schill has only attempted 25 passes but he’s made the most of them, completing 17 of those passes for 407 yards and four TDs compared to just one interception.
“Jimmy’s done a nice job,” Passerrello said. “He has a high completion percentage when he’s asked to throw the ball.”
Schill has also rushed for 193 yards and a touchdown on 35 attempts for the Comets, who are averaging 45.5 points per game. But without the play of the offensive line, Passerrello admitted that the offense wouldn’t be where it’s at today.
“Our offensive line is continuing to improve each week to allow those guys to make big plays,” he said.
Making big plays has been nothing new for the Comets’ stingy defense, which is giving up a meager 5.5 points per game.
The defense is led by junior Aidan Johnson (44 tackles, one sack, one fumble forced) and seniors Jonathan Hice (33 tackles), Christian Velez (21 tackles, two sacks), Jacob Lezon (29 tackles, two sacks), Danny Makruski (20 tackles, one interception), and Nathan Soto (30 tackles, three sacks).
Collectively, they’ve helped bolster a defense that’s allowing just 198 yards per game to opposing offenses.
“We’re very confident,” Soto said of the defense as a whole. “We’re just trying to keep it up.”
So far, so good for Amherst, which has already pitched two shutouts.
Schill appreciates the effort the defense has given this season.
“It’s just nice knowing that we don’t have to score every time with the defense as being as good as they are,” he said.
The defense is also taking advantage of what the Comets’ offense is giving them.
“It takes a lot of pressure off us,” Soto said. “When Kennedy busts a huge run our whole momentum just goes through the roof, and we start rolling after that. It just makes a huge difference.” And what a difference it’s been for Amherst, which is looking to win its conference for the first time since 2000 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Last year, the Comets finished just two spots out of the playoffs in Division II, Region 6.
This year they’re looking to finally break through.
With Passerrello at the helm, they have a chance to do just that.
After all, Passerrello is no stranger to turning programs around.
In 2010, he took over the head coaching duties at Firelands on an interim basis in Week 3. The team went 1-7 under his guidance to finish the season 2-8, but that quickly changed. The following year, in Passerrello’s first full season, Firelands went 10-0, won the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division before losing to Chagrin Falls in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
Prior to his arrival, Firelands had just two winning seasons in 21 years and hadn’t won more than six games since 1989, when it went 9-1. Passerrello found himself in a similar position in Amherst, inheriting a Comets team that won just 10 games the previous six seasons, with their last winning season coming in 2010 when they went 8-2.
That changed in 2017, when Passerrello guided Amherst to a 6-4 season in his first year as head coach. Through 14 games as the Comets’ coach, Passerrello is 10-4 (.714 winning percentage)
“The big thing was just getting out there and competing together as a team,” he said. “The whole thing is just competing, wherever we’re at in a game situation. I think the players have done a nice job of taking to that and it’s allowed us to make some nice strides on building a program.”
And the players have taken a liking to their new coach.
“Playing for coach Passerrello is great,” Scagliozzo said. “He’s a great coach and a great guy. He’s got a great sense of humor and he’s a really good person to be around. The coaching staff that’s already been here and the coaching staff that he’s brought in it’s just a pleasure to be around all those guys. It’s just a great group of guys that we have.”
It’s made for a fun season thus far.
“It’s a lot of fun, even going to practice,” Soto said. “We’re really enjoying ourselves and trying to get better.”