High school football: Wadsworth quickly shakes off rust in preseason win over Brunswick

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth football team came out firing on all cylinders Thursday night to beat Brunswick 20-14 in the final scrimmage before kicking off the regular season Aug. 23 at Barberton. The teams played what equated to a half with starters and other key backups. There were no kick or punt returns. The Grizzlies got huge plays in all three phases to build a 17-0 lead early into the second quarter when backup quarterback Brysen Hall found junior Luke Maddox for a fantastic leaping 27-yard catch on a fade route. "They called a fade route and I went up and grabbed it," Maddox said. "I scored a touchdown. It was cool." Wadsworth, which went 9-3 and lost twice to Medina last season, scored on all four possessions, with starting quarterback Ryan Stoops ending the first with a touchdown pass. The Grizzlies also got field goals of 41 and 39 yards from All-Ohio kicker Jack Dinwiddie. Stoops went 6-for-8 for 36 yards with one touchdown, while Hall went 5-for-8 for 78 and one. The Grizzlies also gained 74 yards on nine carries using a host of runners. "We have a new quarterback in Ryan this year," Maddox said. "Will Stack was a great quarterback last year, but I think we'll have just as good of an offense this year. Our offense is going to be great." The Blue Devils were scoreless over their first three drives, including when the Grizzlies pushed them from their own 35-yard line back to the 16 on the opening possession. Brunswick, which is looking to rebound from a 3-8 season, then found its rhythm. New quarterback Sean Barnett completed six of his final seven throws to finish 9-for-14 for 101 yards and touchdowns of 31 and 10 yards to returning All-Gazette honorable mention playmaker Cooper Neel (3 catches, 46 yards). "Sean trusts me to make a play and I trust Sean to throw me the ball," Neel said. "That's really all you need in a quarterback-wide receiver connection. When you have that trust, I'm willing to just go out there and play my game." Barnett showed elusiveness in and out of the pocket. Referees were quick to blow the whistle when quarterbacks were even close to trouble, so the Blue Devils were unable to fully take advantage of those skills. Wadsworth senior Bryce Polczak was a man possessed with three of the Grizzlies' five sacks. "We liked a lot of the shifts and motions that we have. It's just finding out our personnel and what works best for us," first-year Brunswick coach Kole Carter said. "Starting off, it was on me as a coach that I called some five-step drops and rhythm routes and we didn't protect it well. Instead of starting with positive yardage, we started behind the chains." Receiver Hayden Swarm caught four passes for 49 yards and running back Eli Nichols carried the ball nine times for 44 yards for the Blue Devils, who start the season on the road against Berea-Midpark. "We're all excited to get it started," Nichols said. "We've been working all summer. We knew what we needed to fix and we've pretty much fixed everything from last season. We're going to come in and punch them in the mouth." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.