Browns’ history doomed to keep repeating itself

The Cleveland Browns have had a poor record for a historically long time. Most fans say that the team is “close” to being on the next level, but others see zero signs of them being “close” in any aspects of the game.

For starters, the Browns have had 23 different starting quarterbacks since 2000. Even for people who do not understand a touchdown from a field goal, they can probably figure out this is not a good stat for the team.

It is not like any of the quarterbacks have had much potential either. Quarterback Brady Quinn had very high hopes coming into Cleveland. Fans believed he could have been the quarterback to take them to the next level; however, in 12 games, Quinn posted a 3-9 record.

All the blame cannot go on the quarterback, just like all the praise cannot go towards him. The quarterback needs to be surrounded with offensive weapons or a good defense in order to succeed. Neither of these have been the case. The Browns had high hopes in star wide receiver Josh Gordon. This was, of course, was until he could not stop smoking marijuana and found himself getting suspended more than he was actually playing. While Joe Haden has been a lockdown corner for the past five years, he has fallen off a cliff his past two seasons. This is due to him just getting burnt too often by Steeler wide receiver Antonio Brown or just getting injured every one out of every three games.

The signing of wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Brian Hartline were supposed to bring life to the Browns offense. They have done just about everything but that. The Browns have virtually zero weapons on the offensive side of the ball. If they had decided to trade away Joe Thomas before the trade deadline, some would come close to saying that their defense has more of a chance to score than the offense.

The defense has had tons of problems all year. They had high expectations coming into the season, and they did not meet any of them. The Browns rank in the bottom three for almost every category of run defense. They give up the most amount of yards and are bottom three in touchdowns and yards per carry.

It is just silly to say that the Brown’s are “close” to anything really. They do not have much potential to do anything unless they hire guys who know how to find players out of college who will succeed. No one knew the likes of Time Brady; however, picking Justin Gilbert and Johnny Manziel over Odell Beckham JR and Khalil Mack is just not going to get it done. Unless of course, the organization secretly wants to lose, because sometimes it honestly looks as so.

Bulldogs to progress to next round of playoffs

The Bulldog’s finished their regular season at a very impressive 10-0 record; however, if you ask the players, the job was not finished at that point in the season. The Bulldogs went into their first round playoff game facing the 15th seed, Berea-MidPark.

The Bulldogs went into the game with high confidence after finishing their season on a very high note. On the contrary, the Titans came into the game following a devastating loss during the final moments of the game. Whether these two things played in a factor when the two teams met Saturday night no one knows; however, everyone knows the Bulldogs came out on top with a 57-34 victory.

The Bulldogs got the game going early with a very effective rushing attack. Junior quarterback Kyle Vantrease led the team down the field before rushing it in himself for a 12-yard touchdown. This would come out to be one of Vantrease’s two rushing touchdowns this game alone.

Senior running back Jayson Gobble did not disappoint either as Gobble found the end zone three times, complementing his 284 rush yards.

At halftime the Bulldogs were winning 28-20, thanks to a last second touchdown before the half ended.

The Bulldogs did not waste this momentum going into the second-half. Stow score in under a minute into the second half from a 35-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Logan Lindsay.

Every time the Titans were within one possession of the game, the Bulldogs found answers immediately. It wasn’t until mid-way through the third quarter the Bulldogs started to pull away.

Junior Joe Gobble helped his team with a second half interception that he returned for 69 yards. This interception led to Sophomore Terrian Wray’s five yard touchdown run.

As the Titans’ season came to a close, they score the final touchdown of the game, making the final score 57-34 Stow.

The Bulldogs will travel to Infocision Stadium in Akron this Saturday to face the Solon Comets. Kickoff is at 7:00 pm and tickets will be sold starting this Wednesday.

Many students participate in annual blood drive

Every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood, and on Nov. 6 the high school hosted their annual blood drive.

The high school holds a blood drive because the large number of students donating one pint of blood can save up to three lives.

“So think about the difference we can make in this world. Together we can change the world one life at a time,” committee leader of the blood drive senior Tori Price said.

Student council started setting the date with the American Red Cross over the summer but began planning this event about a month ago.

“The hardest part of a blood drive is to really just get people involved. Most people are too afraid to donate which is hard because it lessens the number of participants we have,” Price said.

Before signing up there are age, height and weight requirements along with being healthy. Students are asked to stay hydrated the morning before giving blood.

The whole process takes around an hour but one is only giving blood for eight to ten minutes.

This morning before the blood drive, student council spent it setting up tables and chairs in the lower gym.

After students give blood, student council provides bagels, fruit, crackers and water to show their appreciation towards their participation.

The blood drive had 101 participants this year and hopes that number keeps growing for future drives.

Junior Gabriella Kingston said, “I believe the blood drive is a great way for the students to volunteer and give back to the community.”

Music Review: “Wiped Out!” by The Neighbourhood

Following their first album, “I Love You,” released in 2013, a California-based band, The Neighbourhood, debuted their sophomore album, “Wiped Out!” on Oct. 30 and has proven to long-time listeners, such as myself, they are willing to continue experimenting with different genres and sounds.

“I Love You” is a combination of the two EPs, “Thank You” and “I’m Sorry,” which were created in 2012 along with various songs not affiliated with either one of the EPs. Each individual song possessed an alternative, very soft rock sound while giving off an extremely relaxing feeling.

After that, the band completed two other projects. One being a three-song EP, “The Love Collection,” which stuck with the initial alternative sound along with introducing an unexplainable calmness in their music I have heard in other music from artists originating on the west coast.

The second project is a mixtape, “#000000 & #FFFFFF,” which possesses a completely different sound compared to their other work. Underground rappers from California are featured along with mainly hip-hop beats and various raps from lead singer Jesse Rutherford.

I can hear each individual style they have ever used in “Wiped Out!” along with the emphasis on beachy sounds and the introduction of upbeat music, which walks a fine line between the alternative and pop genres. On almost every track, you can hear waves crashing or seagulls squawking in the background. There are also longer guitar instrumentals from guitarists Zach Abels and Jeremy Freedman audible.

Personally, I believe the various challenges in musical style is what sets this album apart from the rest and why I enjoy it so much. Each track, from the acoustic sounds in “Baby Came Home 2 / Valentine” to the heavy bass in the intro of “Ferrari,” is organized almost perfectly as a song flows smoothly into the next one.

Lyrically, Rutherford has stayed the same in regards to writing lyrics all listeners can connect to at some level in their lives; however, he has also added depth in a few of their songs that really make me sit and think about the message he is trying to convey.

Rarely will I stumble across an album by a band I really like and enjoy every single song, but I find myself able to connect every track to something I am currently going through or have gone through at some point of my life.

From the lyrics, “We need to fly ourselves before someone else tells us how,” in the track “Prey” to “I don’t want to let you down, so promise you won’t let me drown,” in title track “Wiped Out!” I can find a piece of me hidden in the words, and I love that.

Overall, “Wiped Out!” still possesses the same relaxing and chill vibe I have heard and fell in love with throughout their career, but the new more quickly paced beats I really enjoy as well. Rutherford and the rest of the band have continued to prove they are able to experiment well with almost any type of music, and I cannot wait to hear what they will try next on their next album or project.

You can listen to the album here.

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