Keystone vs. Brookside tonight

I will be covering high school football tonight at Brookside High School as the Cardinals host the Keystone Wildcats. You can tune in to 1320 AM or listen online (replay will be available online as well). I'll be working with play-by-play announcer Bob Karlovec and sideline reporter Darrin Goats.

The annual rivalry continues as these two teams have faced each other every season for several years currently as PAC Stars division rivals and before that Lorain County Conference rivals. Keystone has won six in a row dating back to 2005.

Both teams are in transition. Keystone suffered heavy losses due to graduation from a year ago. Brookside is on their third coach in the last three months. Both teams are starting a running back as their quarterback.

For 0-5 Keystone, the number of total players this year is up to 60 from 45 a year ago. However, only three lettermen return for Coach Clarico's Wildcats.

Two of those returning players are last year's starting corners, Marcus Gunter and Kendle Stiner both are sophomores. Senior RB Ryan Clement has returned this year after suffering a season-ending dislocated elbow in the Brookside game last year. Brandon Grieve is the starting quarterback who started the year as a running back but has moved due to several injuries.

For 3-2 Brookside, they have remarkably had early success despite changes. On the coaching front, last year's coach Keenan Leichty resigned his teaching and coaching jobs due to family reasons - just two months before the next football season was to begin. Athletic Director Dick Kerschbaum was set coach the team this season but stepped down on August 23, just three days before the season opener, due to health reasons.

Now the head coach is Thom Lesiecki who was added to the Brookside coaching staff as offensive coordinator during the summer and became a Brookside teacher to replace Leichty. He was the OC for Western Reserve the last three years and had head coaching stops at New London and Lorain Catholic.

Coach Lesiecki is on his third quarterback this season. Senior Cody Shinsky was set to be starting QB but suffered a broken collarbone in three places during final scrimmage and had surgery. Freshmen Cameron Drew suffered a concussion last week against Lutheran West. Now it's senior Keyonte Francis's turn. He started the year as back-up TB and now the team’s 3rd starting QB. Francis played defensive back as a freshmen in 2008 but did not play football each of the last two years.