FastTakes with FastBreak: Cleveland Riff
2023 Season Review
The Cleveland Riff enter the new campaign coming off their best season in the past 6 years. The Riff recorded their first regular season win since 2021 against the Rochester Whiteout, and notched a second win in the North Division Championship, before bowing out to the Detroit Innovators in a heart-breaking next goal wins scenario. Cleveland can take many positives from 2023, and will hope to build off them entering the 2024 season.
Coaching Staff Changes
For the 2024 season, former assistant coach Jack Moseley will replace Austin Howe as head coach of the Cleveland Riff. The assistant coach role will continue to be filled by Fiona Gaffney and by new assistant coach, Peter Brechting. All three coaches have successfully captained and coached at the college or club level previously, and played together on the Ohio Apollos during the 2023-24 USQ season. A large reason for the Riff’s success last season was a result of improved coaching strategy, and that coaching strategy will need to adapt to a notably younger roster this season. Among the many choices to be made in the 2024 season, the new coaching staff will need to answer two pressing questions:
How will the Riff adapt to their lost beater core?
What changes will the Riff make to improve in the seeker game?
Departures (16 Departures) (2023 League Average: 13 Departures per Team)
The Riff have 16 departures from last season’s roster, slightly above last season’s league average of 13 departures per team. Among those leaving are several well-tenured players including Sam Beeler, Austin Howe, and Gabriel Boris. Sam Beeler was an absolute workhorse in the 2023 season, playing in 126 drives in only 9 games (the 9th most drives played by a beater in the 2023 season) as a part of Cleveland’s top line beater pair. Austin Howe served alongside Beeler in that beater pair. Prior to their mid-season injury, Howe led the team in average dodgeball possession with 1.70 dodgeballs. The loss of these two beaters, as well as five other starting roster beaters, leaves a considerable gap to be filled in the dodgeball game. In the seeker department, the departure of Gabriel Boris leaves a vacancy that has existed in the Cleveland Riff roster for the past few seasons; finding a devoted, capable seeker. As a utility keeper/seeker, Boris had contributed by leading the team with 2 flag runner catches in the 2023 season. They also had Cleveland’s sole catch in the 2022 season against the Toronto Raiders. However, the flag runner game has been a sore spot on the team for many seasons. The Riff went 3-2-4 during the 2023 season, were 1-4-1 in the 2022 season, and were 3-0-6 in the 2021 season. If the Cleveland Riff are going to win tight games this year, they will need to find more consistency in the seeker game.
Returners (14 Returners) (2023 League Average: 16 Returners per Team)
Additions (10 Additions) (2023 League Average: 13 Additions per Team)
Despite a lengthy list of departed players in the dodgeball game, the Cleveland Riff return the bulk of their veteran Quadball core in the 2024 season. The ever-steady scoring presence of Peter Brechting led the team in goals last season, and can be expected to repeat this trend in 2024. Joining alongside them will be the Riff’s leading assister Joseph Lombardi, as well as Fiona Gaffney and Jack Moseley, who all had a breakout campaign last season. With a year of MLQ experience under their belts, expect to see Dominik Twarowski and Taylor Freeman take large strides in the Quadball game. On the beater side of things, Aaron Oehler and Rae Barnes are expected tp handle significant workloads in the 2024 season. Oehler boasted 1.50 stops per game in the 2023 season - eighth overall among beaters in the league. Barnes is a highly underrated beater who’s 2023 statline fails to illustrate how invaluable they are to the Riff’s success. Expect to see Rob Beaton thrust into the spotlight as a lead beater for Cleveland this season. As the natural beater pair for Barnes, Beaton will rely on intelligent and disciplined play to accent Barnes’ aggressive, high-energy style in the 2024 campaign.
The Clevleand Riff acquired 10 players coming into the 2024 season, slightly below last season’s league average of 13 additions per team. The majority of the incoming players join from official and unofficial college programs, while the minority are transfers from other MLQ squads or are re-joining MLQ teams after taking an offseason. Of the MLQ transfers, Evalien Duyvesteyn and Rose Mournighan could be key acquisitions to round out the Riff roster. Joining from the Rochester Whiteout, Duyvesteyn boasts natural skill as an off-ball chaser on offense and the ability to win 1-on-1 defensive matchups. Also entering from the Whiteout roster, Mournighan joins Cleveland fresh off of a successful open division title win with Skyline QC. They have shown considerable improvement since joining the Whiteout last season, and they will only continue to have a larger impact as the season progresses. Claire Shuey is a noticeable addition to the Cleveland Riff roster. Previously playing for the Riff’s main roster in 2022, Shuey played critical minutes for the Ohio Apollos in the 2023-24 USQ season. Expect Shuey to hit the ground running with a large workload as they pair with Aaron Oehler. Coming into the 2024 season, several MLQ rookies standout on the Cleveland Riff roster, including Adam Thompson, Mykal Jones, Will Kozak, Connor Scott, and Braden Hawk. While it remains unclear what minutes each player will receive, expect the rookies to be called upon early and often as their inclusion will be crucial in maintaining an expected higher pace of play this season.
Players to Watch For
In a season of heavy roster changes, the Cleveland Riff’s make-or-break star, Peter Brechting, will continue to be at the core of the Riff’s success this season. Leading the team in both goals and stops last season, Brechting brings a complete package of physicality and Quadball IQ to the game. Off the field, their coaching intelligence has already improved the team tactically and has advanced individual player skills. Expect them to continue leading by example this season. Another X-factor player for the Riff will be Rae Barnes. In college, club, and MLQ Quadball, Barnes has dominated at every level of play. They can hang with any team’s top line beater pair and have been completely overlooked in season’s past. Expect Barnes to get the spotlight they deserve as they lead the Cleveland beater core this season. A rookie that everyone must keep their eye on is Adam Thompson. Thompson joins the Cleveland Riff roster from an unofficial college team, Case Western University. Despite their lack of experience, Thompson possesses an extraordinary amount of agility and speed. Along with their physicality, they are a quick learner with natural instincts for knowing where to be at the right time. As they continue to grow and improve this season, expect them to slowly begin to dominate in both the Quadball and flag runner game. The last player to watch for is Evalien Duyvesteyn. As mentioned previously, Duyvesteyn is a complete player on both sides of the Quadball. On a Riff team lacking non-gender conforming chaser depth, they will have the opportunity to make their presence felt this season.
Prediction
Regular Season Prediction: 2-10
With the North Division reverting back to a 5-team format, a team must win a minimum of two games in order to avoid being the 5th place team in their division, and to have a chance at qualifying for MLQ Championships. As a part of the return to the 5-team format, the Cleveland Riff will be facing off against the Minneapolis Monarchs and the Chicago Prowl for the first time since 2021. The Monarchs and the Prowl both are perennial elite 8 teams at the MLQ Championships, and while not impossible, will be difficult matchups to steal a win from. That being said, the Riff will have to focus their luck on beating a largely improved Detroit Innovators roster and a physically-tough Toronto Raiders team. In order to win these matchups, Cleveland will have to rely on being tactically better prepared and on their star players outplaying their opposing counterparts. Taking 4th place in the division is absolutely possible, but the Cleveland Riff will have to take a long, difficult path to get there.
Series Preview vs Toronto Raiders:
Reflecting back on last year’s matchup between the Cleveland Riff and Toronto Raiders, the series was likely closer than most expected. The Raiders swept the series but only won the first game by two goals. Considering Toronto hasn’t lost to Cleveland since their introduction into the league in 2019, this might’ve come as a surprise. This season, the Raiders enter the matchup without their third best scorer, top assister, and top seeker, Cory Smithson. Another notable loss is their second best scorer, Stevie Vindua. While the void left by both players will be impossible to immediately fill, depth chasers such as Joanne Lam and Levi Medeiros, and seekers such as Savannah Campbell and Christos Kaldis should effectively fill some of the gaps left behind. While I expect this series to be closer than in year’s past, the Toronto Raiders' beater depth could challenge the limited experience of the Cleveland Riff beaters. This will ultimately give the Raiders the edge over the Riff in both team’s first series of the 2024 season.
Series Prediction
Toronto Raiders 2 - Cleveland Riff 1
