Some fun facts to whet your appetite for high school football season

Felt the urge to nerd out on some Medina County football after checking out video of scrimmages and practices on Hudl, so let's throw some fun facts on the plate as appetizers for the real fun that begins next week. … Current Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is the Medina's career leader with 9,103 passing yards. That's more than the second-, third- and fourth-best players combined, as Jim Lavery (2,880; 1997-98), Collin Minor (2,687; 2012-14) and John Curtis (2,592; 2015-16) had 8,159. Allar isn't the first Medina graduate to commit to the Nittany Lions. In 1973, linebacker/tight end Dave Brockway chose Penn State over Purdue, Michigan and Duke before injuries prematurely ended his career. Art Wright's final game as Wadsworth coach was Sept. 29, 1950, a 6-0 loss against Garfield Heights at Grandview Stadium (now named after Wright). He was called into the Navy for the Korean War, his second tour of duty after serving in World War II. Howard Dailey finished the season as coach and then piloted Grizzlies in 1951 before leaving for archrival Medina, where he won the Southwestern Conference in his first season. Legendary former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian has a county connection. His older brother, Jerry, was Brunswick's basketball coach for the 1944-45 season. Black River has an active streak of 38 seasons with at least three wins. Among the six other area schools, only Brunswick (37, 1979-2015) has had more than 25, though Buckeye is currently at 21. Brunswick had a 5-4-1 record in 1981 despite averaging only 9.1 points and 177.2 yards because the Blue Devils allowed a mere 5.0 points and 123.7 yards. Game scores included 0-0 (at Bay), 2-0 (W, vs. Lorain Admiral King), 8-0 (L, at Midpark), 7-6 (L, vs. Brecksville; L, at Strongsville) and 7-0 (W, vs. Wadsworth). Jacob Fretz, who coached Wadsworth to an 18-8 record from 1945-47, has a Wikipedia page. The Bluffton native left the Grizzlies for Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., where he compiled a 5-21 record over three seasons. The most unbreakable county record is not the Ohio-record 78 points scored by Medina's Erastus "Tunk" Simmons in a 159-6 win over Spencer in 1923. That honor belongs Wadsworth's Charles Gross, who returned a punt 102 yards for a touchdown at Orrville in 1921. The play is no longer possible (outside of an officiating error) because current rules state a kicked ball is downed when it reaches the end zone. Black River went 38 years between 1,000-yard passers. Jack Grissinger is assumed to have reached the milestone in 1961 — he has a documented 945 yards, but two games are missing — then Steve Ensign Jr. tossed for 1,103 in 1999. Highland returned four punt returns for touchdowns last season, two by Kevin Heichel and one apiece by Creed Hill and Hunter Winston. The Hornets had only three total from 1952-99. Brunswick has had only three players score 200 career points: Brit Musal (252, 2006-08), Demetrius Harris (228, 1991-94) and Dave Harris (216, 1996-98). Liverpool Township native John Otterbacher played two games at guard for the American Football League's Cleveland Panthers in 1926. Little is known about his career, other than he weighed 190 pounds and attended Ohio State. Brunswick had 44 percent of its 1969 season rushing total in one game, gaining a school-record 508 yards in a 56-8 win over West Holmes. The Blue Devils had 502 yards rushing during a 1-7 start to the season. The first game in Highland history was supposed to be against Revere in 1952 but was canceled due to a polio outbreak in the county. The Hornets instead beat Elyria Catholic 19-12 behind two touchdowns rushing and another passing by single-wing star Mert Farnsworth. The Panthers were led by Hank Janowicz, the brother of 1950 Heisman Trophy winner and Ohio State star Vic Janowicz. The county-record 100-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Wadsworth's Jake Palidar against Medina on Sept. 6, 2007 was televised live locally by Fox Sports Ohio. of lost in the magical Mr. Football season by Allar was Buckeye's Ben Barnes. In 12 games, the Buckeye senior had 283 carries for 1,320 yards, completed 5-of-6 passes for 176 yards, made six field goals and 32 extra points, compiled an incredible 26½ tackles for loss among 102 total stops and scored 154 of the team's 280 points before getting a scholarship to kick for Division I Citadel. One of my favorite individual performances was Cloverleaf's Robby Buckwald at Highland on Oct. 28, 2011. Buckwald rushed for two scores, threw to Devin Cunningham for another, kicked five extra points, made double-digit tackles while shadowing star Hornets quarterback Jerry Scholle and caught a tipped Hail Mary as time expired in a 41-35 classic. The Hail Mary was set up by Cloverleaf's recovery of Buckwald's blocked 32-yard field goal attempt on the previous play, which came two snaps after Buckwald's 20-yard reception on third-and-8. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.