When Chris Brimm found Jeremy Hamilton with 28 seconds remaining in Saturday's DII Super Region One Semifinal at Shepherd Stadium it looked as though the Falcons were well on their way to another regional final. It has been common place to make deep tournament runs for NDC of late. This after Devanaire Conliffe added another to his long line of highlight reel catches taking the ball away from the defender at the six yard line.
Think about these facts: This class of football Falcons has won four MEC Championships and went to at least the regional semifinals every year since 2018. In 2016 NDC was 9-2. In 2017 they were 8-3. Most of the seniors on this team arrived in either the 2016 or 2017 seasons as a freshman. A handful of transfers just elevated the program more. In 2018 it was a regional championship all the way to the national semifinals before a 30-24 loss at Valdosta State. In 2019 it was all the way to the regional finals again before a 65-59 loss at Slippery Rock. 2020 was unique for everyone. No season for many schools, the Falcons did manage to play a four game season and then would outlast the University Of Charleston in the MEC Championship game in late April.
Fast forward seven months and the Falcons ran into the hottest quarterback in all of Division II football. With 28 seconds to go after a kick return to near midfield, and a pass by the leader in passing yards, Tyson Bagent, Shepherd was on the NDC 30 yard line. Then Josh Gontarek made a leaping diving catch with 1.9 seconds to go in the end zone. It is still hard to believe that this is the way that it ended for this class but those are the facts. This senior class consists of Ron Salters, Tyrese Bisnott, Mike Kyle, Darrell Gaddis Jr, Markus Hood, Jimmy Burchett, Brandon Nicholson, Devanaire Conliffe, Anthony DiDonato, Tanner Harding, Noah Harris-Lyles, Dylan Spaeth, and Guam Lee. They left quite a mark on the program.
This is how Kyle put it on his social media page:
" Dear NDC:
I appreciate you for giving me some of the greatest years of my life and exposing me to some of my best friends in the world. I want to thank everyone who has helped me along my journey and pushed me to work harder. There's something special brewing in South Euclid. I'm proud to say I built the foundation to make this an elite program. It still doesn't feel real I'll never get to put the blue and white on again but my journey isn't over yet. Thank you everyone love ya'll.
#51 out."
Just to put a few things into perspective: This class went 49-8 over four and a half seasons. Many including the four offensive lineman and linebacker Dylan Spaeth amongst others took advantage of the extra year of eligibility they were granted due to COVID-19. They played 18 games in the 2021 calendar year, going 16-2 and winning a pair of MEC Championships. Just think about that statement for a minute, the Falcons played the equivalent of more than an NFL season in 2021. Whether playing that many games in one year while Shepherd, being from the PSAC, only played one game in the spring to NDC's five played a factor on Saturday is anybody's guess.
This class literally changed the culture in South Euclid.
Brimm and place kicker Tanner Harding hold just about all of the NDC career records for a quarterback and a kicker. They both also hold the MEC record at their respective positions as well.
NDC Head Coach Mickey Mental put things in perspective the best that he could after the wild year that 2021 was:
"That's special. To answer the ball that many times in a year is big time. It's the hallmark of a good program. Now we just have to learn from this and become stronger and stay as tight as possible, "Mental explained.
It was one heck of a ride for the past four plus seasons.
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