Season preview: Chagrin Falls looking to contend in CVC

The Chagrin Falls Tigers are coming off an up-and-down 6-4 season and are hoping to take their game to the next level.

The low-point of the Tigers season was a 45-0 loss to the Chagrin Valley Conference co-champion, Aurora. On the other hand, Chagrin Falls played the other CVC co-champ Perry well in a 17-7 loss. The Tigers also played Kenston close before losing 19-15 and defeated Division III (sometimes Division II) West Geauga, 39-19.

So, maybe this Tiger team can compete for a league title this year. It will be tough, however, with both Aurora and Perry returning a lot of starters. But one of the Tigers goals every season is to compete for the league title and a possible playoff berth.

“If you play well in the CVC, you should have a good shot at making the playoffs, just based on how tough our conference is,” Head Coach Mark Iammarino said.

The Tigers went 4-3 in the CVC last season and return six starters on offense and four on defense. Despite losing some experience, Iammarino believes this team can be better than last season’s.

“We have high expectations,” he said. “I think we feel like we have some talented kids. We’re a little bigger and faster than last year. Our concern right now is that we lack experience. Unfortunately, the only way you can get experience is by playing games.”

The Tigers decided to get some experience in a hurry by playing against superior size, speed and talent in their scrimmages. Their last scrimmage was against Division I Willoughby South, while the Tigers are a smaller Division III school.

“It was a great challenge for us to go up against some more size and skill,” Iammarino said. “It can only help us get better.”

Iammarino also likes scrimmaging Willoughby South because they run a spread formation, which several CVC teams do as well. The Rebels, however, have a lot of speed, which makes their spread even more potent. Iammarino feels his team’s experience against the Rebels offense will help prepare his players well for regular season.

A few things stand out from last season. One is how the Tigers struggled to the run the football. Not only did Chagrin not have a 1,000-yard rusher, but the Tigers didn’t even have a 500-yard rusher.

The team as a whole barely broke 1,000 yards on the ground. That will have to improve this season. The Tigers will also have to improve against the top-tier CVC opponents, like Aurora, Perry and Kenston.

Beating West G was a start, but Chagrin will need to beat at least one more of the top teams to have a shot at the title. The talented, but inexperienced Tigers start the season off this Friday against 8-2 Woodbridge. Last season Chagrin Falls handed the Bulldogs one of their losses, 7-6.

The Tigers started off last season hot, going 6-1, before losing their last three. Chagrin will need to get off to a quick start again, because it ends the season with Aurora, Kenston and Perry. If the Tigers can beat just one of those teams, they’ll have a shot at the Division III playoffs. If they beat two, they should be a lock.

Major losses:

• Brett Axner - The multi-year starter threw for 1,573 yards last season. He also had 13 touchdown passes to just 6 interceptions. He was also the teams third leading rusher with 146 yards.
• Zach Toadtman - He led the Tigers with 486 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns.
• Mark Hammer - This defensive back led the team with 89 tackles and caused two fumbles. He also had an interception.

Rising stars:

• Dan Mignogna - Maybe the senior linebacker should already be considered a star. This will be his third year starting for the Tigers. He was third on the team last season with 69 tackles. He also caused three fumbles.
• Chris Trinetti - It’s his time to shine now that Axner is gone. The junior signal caller saw limited action last year, where threw for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Jack Karlovec - The senior receiver led the team last season in receiving yards with 396 yards and 4 touchdowns.
• Bob Winkelman - The junior linebacker was second on the team with 79 tackles and three forced fumbles. Him and Mgnogna should form one of the top linebacking duos in the CVC. They have the experience and size to take Chagrin’s defense to another level.
• Matt Diles - The senior, two-way lineman anchors both lines. He is 6′5, 235-lb. and has plenty of experience.