Fast Takes with Fast Break: Detroit Innovators vs Cleveland Riff

Derby Days in Detroit

Author: David Banas

Introduction

Going into this Saturday’s matchup between the Cleveland Riff and the Detroit Innovators, both franchises are 3-6, having taken decisive losses against the North Division Champs in the Chicago Prowl and the runner-ups, the Minneapolis Monarchs (Cleveland elected to forfeit their series against Minneapolis because of the Fourth of July and travel considerations, with the travel to Minneapolis being the second hardest of North Division matchups bar Toronto to Chicago). Both teams also scored sweeps against the Toronto Raiders, albeit with the Innovators running the Raiders off their home field. Cleveland barely scraped out a sweep over Toronto due in large part to a Joe Lombardi masterclass that earned him Player of the Week. With both teams having already qualified for MLQ Championships a mere week after this matchup is set to take place, what is the incentive for either team to win this match? Surely, one could argue that third place in the North — which this series determines — could have some potential seeding implications or the potential for a bye, after Austin elected to forfeit their season, reducing the play-in bracket from six teams to five. This series, however, is the most important for both the Riff and the Innovators, not for hypothetical Championship implications, but for an old-fashioned rivalry: the Toledo Derby.

A Decade of Derbies

This grudge match has long been born out of the inherent rivalries between Michigan and Ohio. While the colleges, club teams, and tournaments that have fed into this derby over the years have changed, the rivalry remains. Gone are the Big-MAC and TOTS tournaments of yore, now having been replaced by Rust Belt League meets. Gone are the Ohio State University and Central Michigan University programs that were standard bearers in the first few meetings of the derby, their fallen banners being picked up by the Michigan/Michigan State and Case Western/Bowling Green programs. Outside of the inherent geographical rivalries and crossover from USQ seasons, this derby in recent seasons has also been either the decider or partial decider in which franchise would be the last to qualify for MLQ Champs.

Derby Diamonds

The decade the derby has taken place has produced a number of memorable gems over the years.

2015

Dan Daughtery, Meredith Taylor, Max McAdoo and David Hoops led the rest of the BGSU/OSU elite to a gutsy split series win over Detroit in the inaugural derby, finishing second behind Indy/Chicago by only a single game.

2016

After a 0-6 start to the season with sweeping losses to Rochester and Indy, Detroit pulled out an out-of-range win in Game One against the home team Riff with a Tawfik Abbas flag catch on runner Mike Pascutoi. All that momentum was to change as during Game Two, Riff point chaser Zach Conkle would lay a brutal hit on keeper and head coach Zach Scheppers that would knock him out of the game (see below). The Riff would go on to win games two and three in SWIM fashion courtesy of two Sam “Sunshine” Roitblat pulls.

2017

This derby iteration took place at the end of the season with Detroit again coming into the matchup with a 0-6 start after out-of-range losses against Indy/Chicago and Rochester. Cleveland was not much better, having picked up a pity win in Game Three against the Rochester Whiteout and a 1-5 record. Detroit raced out to a 140-60 lead before Cleveland elected to suicide catch. Youngster second-year player (and writer of this article) David Banas Jr. would add two more flag pulls to his three previous in the regular season to set a (then) Detroit regular-season record.

2018

The start to the 2018 season for the Innovators was a disappointing one as they dropped their initial game to Indy/Chicago after being up 70-0, and were swept out of Indianapolis. This Detroit squad featuring high level talent from every program in the state including CMU, GVSU, MSU, UM, and Lake Erie Elite rolled up to Cleveland hungry for revenge and eager to prove that their stumbles against the Intensity were just a fluke. Detroit pummeled Cleveland to the tune of 190*-50, 110*-10, and 230*-110 with breakout rookie JD Hopton scoring a hat-trick each game.

2019

This year’s derby would largely be overshadowed as it took place during the first-ever North Division SuperSeries with Detroit and Indy vying for the inside track of the North Division. Both Indy and Detroit would resoundingly sweep Cleveland at the blisteringly hot Detroit Rugby Club field. Cleveland would finish the regular season winless for the second year in a row, however, there was one bright spot: the introduction of the crafty and supremely talented lefty Ben Strauss. Hailing from the App State and Warriors programs, Strauss would remain a Cleveland staple in black for the next several seasons.

2021

Both Cleveland and Detroit came into this mid-season matchup sporting a 0-3 record. Cleveland had been comfortably put away by Indy/Chicago and Detroit by Minneapolis, including a heartbreaking Game Two loss where they let the Monarchs climb out of a five-goal deficit to win a golden goal scenario. Game One of the derby was the same as the past three seasons with Detroit dominance and a Banas Jr. catch putting a cute bow on the gift-wrapped 155-50 win. Game Two saw MLQ rookie Leo Fried catch for the Teal as the Innovators coasted to a 145-120 win. Game Three, however, was a different story, as Cleveland keeper John Gaffigan started to hit his shots, with the Riff leading the Innovators for large portions of the game. A Gabe Boris flag catch in front of armed Detroit beater Cam Kniffen, who elected not to throw her dodgeball, put the score at 125-90 (set score: 140). Detroit slowly began to chip away at the deficit, only allowing one goal to Cleveland to bring the score to golden goal at 135-130, the same situation the Innovators had been in two weeks earlier against the Monarchs. As Detroit scored to tie it up 135-130, Cleveland beater Ben Strauss launched a risky gamble to duel the Detroit beaters at their own hoops while his chasers were still collecting the quadball at their hoops. Strauss’ gamble ultimately failed, leaving Cleveland’s lone dodgeball at the Detroit hoops as Head Coach David Wier, Assistant Coach Banas Jr. and future Head Coach Kaegan Maddelein successfully executed a 3-person full court press, resulting in a turnover at the Cleveland keeper line, which Maddelein scooped up and slammed through the small hoop for the comeback win.

2022

The first year of the split North Division meant that Detroit and Cleveland would not meet during the regular season, but instead during the first round of playoffs on Day One of North Division Championships. The stakes for this matchup were already high because of the rivalry, but were even more elevated by the way the bracket worked. Win and your team would get to play on Day Two against Toronto for the last bid to MLQ Champs. Lose and your team would be fully eliminated from Champs contention. This season also marked the introduction and transition from the Innovators’ old guard to newer college talent with current Detroit staples like Gwen Pratt, Luc Marklin, Lyndsey Smeyers, Rei Brodeur, Ryan Hsu, Rob Butler, and Riley Hodder getting their first taste of the “Big League.” While the new talent struggled in the series — especially Hsu and Brodeur against Cleveland’s Ben Strauss — the veterans were there to right the ship and ensure that this learning experience would still result in wins. For example, Rick Wasser had a hat trick in as many minutes and Wier and Banas Jr. had a plus/minus of seven in Game One alone. The collegiate rookies started to find their footing in a nerve-wracking Game Two win before a perfunctory Game Three blowout to complete the sweep.

2023

With the same split North Division format as 2022, the Innovators and Riff met in the same scenario as the previous season with the same ramifications. Head Coach Kaegan Maddelein opted to play depth in Game One and to sit an injured Jack Levy with disastrous results. A debated “clear” call allowed Cleveland to catch and win Game One, pushing Detroit to the edge of elimination. This was the first Cleveland win in the derby since Riff seeker Sam Roitblat’s catch in Game Three of the 2016 series. Maddelein tightened up the lines and brought Levy back into the series, who led the Innovators to a comfortable 160-90 victory with his patented lethal shooting and field-marshal skills. Game Three came down to a back-and-forth affair at golden goal. Maddelein came up with a key stop as keeper and, in the ensuing transition offense, his midrange floater sealed the win and his place in the pantheon of Detroit heroes. Maddelein was instantly mobbed by his teammates.

2024

This year’s derby was much like the 2019 edition in that the matchup took place during the North SuperSeries with both teams not named Cleveland aspiring to second in the division. Detroit and Minneapolis’ attentions were both focused upon each other, and the shorthanded Riff were sent packing out of the Motor City with a 0-12 record. Of note, the talent-laden Innovators put on a defensive masterclass in the first two games against the Riff, holding Cleveland to a mere 40 points before the Motor City side played depth in Game Three to cap off a 6-0 weekend.

2025

The 2025 derby is likely to be decided by the following four factors:

Let Pete Beat!

As a chaser last season, Cleveland utility man Peter Brechting had eight goals and one assist alongside seven stops. As a beater, however, Brechting had 29 stops through 142 drives, good enough for tying second in the league with Ryan Hsu, the latter having played nine more drives (The league leader last season was Kody LaBauve at 34 stops through 136 drives). Through six games this season, Brechting in white has 12 goals, six assists, and 18 stops. As a beater, Brechting has only played nine drives with one stop. If the Riff are to slow down the Innovators, they will need to have the star power necessary to stop the first two beating lines of Detroit. The Riff return Austin Howe, Rae Barnes, Rob Beaton, and utility player Adam Thompson, who spent the bulk of the last USQ season beating for Case Western. But Cleveland is still missing an ace with an established, proven pedigree. Brechting could very well be that answer. While in recent years, Brechting has donned the white or green for Cleveland and the Ohio Geminis, some of his greatest success has come in a black headband, particularly for Miami (OH) where the Redhawks rode his and fireballer Paolo Federico-O’Murchu’s arms in deep USQ bracket runs. Can Brechting pull out the same magic that spurred Miami’s Regional Championship and unbeaten streak against every Michigan school during his tenure in black?

Will the Real Cleveland Please Stand Up?
Going into this matchup, the Riff are largely a strategic question mark. Besides their opening early season series against Toronto exhibiting some sloppy play that the Riff have hopefully corrected, the only other actual gameplay that Detroit can scout is from the Riff’s dominantly sweeping loss to Chicago — and there are only so many lessons one can take away from that series besides “Chicago is really good.” The Riff have the potential to be a strategic question mark and a surprise. Couple that with the fact that the Riff have had six weeks to prepare for this matchup, and there is sure to be another classic chapter written in the annals of the Toledo derby come this Saturday evening.

Detroit Physicality?

Against Prowl, Detroit was absent both big-man hitter Butler and Julien Theuerkauf, with both of their absences looming large. Prowl dropped 52 goals across three games on the Innovators as Detroit struggled to stop Chicago in the paint, especially without beater help. This led to a franchise worst for most points given up to Chicago in a singular game at 240 and the worst score differential against the Windy City side for Detroit in their 30 meetings at -220. Both Butler and Theuerkauf against Minneapolis (and for Butler against Toronto), came up clutch with multiple physical stops. Can the pair reinforce a sagging Detroit defense that was ran through by division winner Prowl?

The other two historical heavy hitters for the Detroit program are Luc Marklin and Gwen Pratt, with both opting for different forms of physicality. As a four-year vet, Marklin has learned to use their size while adding a considerable amount of lateral quickness this past USQ season. Pratt’s determination and fearlessness as a founding member of Detroit’s “violence squad,” combined with their high work rate and opposing teams’ underestimation, made them integral in previous seasons and against Minneapolis and Toronto (“Violence Squad” was formed in 2022 under then-Head-Coach Kaegan Maddelein as a way to empower the team’s smaller female and GNC chasers/keepers. The group provides camaraderie and encourages group members to not be afraid to play to their full potentials, especially regarding contact.). Both, however, had questionably small amounts of playtime in the Prowl series and saw the bench for extended periods. If Detroit is to reestablish their physicality, Marklin and Pratt must see extended minutes on the field along with Butler and Theuerkauf, certainly more than the pair were given against Chicago.

Seeking Answers
Coming into their series against Prowl, Detroit was three for six in flag catches this year without Neil Peterson. All three came in their trouncing of the Toronto Raiders with Sarah “Smalls” Multer recording two grabs and Jackson Massey completing the trifecta. With Peterson rostered against Chicago, hopes were high amongst the Detroit faithful that a Peterson pull (or Multer/Massey) could lead to an upset. Instead, the Innovators failed to pull at all in the series with Chicago catching twice. Which seeking corps will we see out of Detroit? The one that dominated Toronto or the one that imploded against Prowl?

The Riff are also seeking answers in the yellow headband this season. With the retirement of lethal seeker Gabe Boris after their 2023 golden goal loss to Detroit, the Riff have been searching for the right chord in yellow. Through six played games this season, the Riff have failed to pull once, with Cleveland largely electing to use a seeker-by-committee approach out of necessity. Over this season (and last), the Riff have thrown out Adam Thompson, Dom Twarowski, and Fiona Gaffney in yellow alongside Riff rookie and BU Terrier Martin Meinert. The Riff gave up a catch to the Raiders in their opening game to get themselves in a difficult position, ultimately winning the golden goal affair. Against Chicago, Cleveland again failed to catch, but so did Chicago, although this denial of catching was not necessarily a testament to the Riff’s bubbling skills but rather to flag runner Derek Parker’s prowess. Can this derby matchup inspire the Riff seekers to success? Or will they close out a catchless season?

Missing Players

Detroit is bringing a full 21, and given the season-ending injuries to both Riley Hodder, Jenny Sun, and David Banas Jr., this squad is as good as it gets for the Motor City. For Cleveland, they will also be bringing a full 21 and the top 21 players at that. This series promises to be anything but a snoozefest as the divisional rivalry looms large in both franchises’ collective minds and storied histories.

Series Prediction

Detroit has relied almost exclusively on dodgeball dominance this season to get things done. Against Minneapolis, the Monarchs beaters were still able to sweep the Motor City side, albeit with an all-too-close golden goal scenario in Game Two. Against Toronto, where the beating game heavily favored Detroit, the Raiders were roadkill. When faced with beaters who could actually match them in Chicago, Detroit’s offense sputtered and their defense collapsed. If the Riff are to find a way to win this series, their beaters must pull out a slight advantage or, at the very least, match the Innovators’ beating corps. For Detroit, Cleveland has thrived off the fastbreak and with lethal shooting, particularly from Lombardi but also Brechting, with well-timed cuts from Twarowski and Gaffney opening up those shots. Detroit must get back on defense quickly while also being cognizant and actively playing defense instead of merely sitting in a zone and giving Cleveland the space — and time — to work.

Tune in at 7 PM Eastern for this exciting conclusion to MLQ’s decade of regular season play and another scintillating chapter in the Toledo Derby!

Fast Takes with Fast Break: Detroit Innovators vs Cleveland Riff

Fast Takes With Fast Break: Chicago Prowl vs Minneapolis Monarchs

Fastbreak News