High school football: Wadsworth romps in rain against Medina

WADSWORTH — While rain peppered Art Wright Memorial Stadium at various points Friday night, the forecasted lightning never came. Neither did a competitive football game, as Wadsworth's 51-7 non-league beatdown of ancient rival Medina was a stunner to any impartial observer. The Grizzlies were, at best, a double-digit favorite but had the albatross of losing six straight in the series for the first time since World War II hanging over their heads. Making his first career start, gun-slinging freshman quarterback Brysen Hall didn't care. Gavin Madigan, Shawn Kincaid, Troy Myers, Bryce Polczak and the rest of a bone-crushing defense didn't, either, because this was their turn to right history while wearing USA flag-themed jerseys on Honor the Troops Night. Wadsworth (3-0) roared to a 21-0 lead in the opening 6:23 and went up 38-7 when Kincaid returned an interception 54 yards to the house 2:19 before recess. The Grizzlies also held the Bees (1-2) to 117 yards passing overall — the fewest since Medina switched to a five-wide offense late in the 2018 season — and Medina failed to score an offense touchdown for the first time since losing 49-10 to Mentor on Sept. 28, 2018. Though the Bees had a golden opportunity to make things interesting down 21-7 late in the first quarter, Wadsworth dominated otherwise. "It feels great, but we've just got to get on to Twinsburg (next week)," Kincaid said. "Our defense let up no points, and it was great to honor the troops that fought for us and for our country. "We've got the better athletes this year, I feel like, and we're more physical. It came down to our offense, and we executed." Hall fired short passes to Calix Lemp and Cooper Gray (14 carries, 86 yards), and they did most of the heavy lifting for 69- and 45-yard touchdowns sandwiched around a Madigan interception that put Wadsworth ahead 14-0 in the blink of an eye. The Grizzlies smartly built the game plan around one-read RPOs to give Hall confidence, and the right-hander responded by nailing bubble routes that the Bees conceded for the better part of 1½ quarters. He finished 12-for-18 for 194 yards. The night got better for the Grizzlies when Madigan (10 carries, 124 yards, 3 TDs; 2 INTs defensively) rumbled 39 yards to make the score 21-0 with 5:37 left in the opening quarter, but Medina suddenly found life when sophomore safety Korde Carey made an incredibly acrobatic play by leaping, picking off Hall at point-blank range and going 54 yards the other way to paydirt. The fury of Wadsworth momentum stalled almost instantly when rain began to pour in droves, and the Grizzlies sailed a snap 30 yards over the head of punter Jack Dinwiddie to give the Bees the ball on the 5-yard line. The first two plays saw Jude Haller and Troy Myers stuff Cooper Josefczyk and Cason Diiulio for losses. Medina then threw an complete pass on third down, and initial contact by safety Carlos Inestroza, who was making his first career start, helped stuff track star Jackson Riffle well short of the end zone on fourth down from the 11. "You've got the ball first and goal from the 5 and you don't cash in," said Bees coach Larry Laird, whose team received the second-half kickoff. "That right there snowballed on us. Couple of missed assignments here, couple of missed assignments there. "I know it sounds crazy with the score and everything else, but if we score right there it changes the complexion of the football game. Wadsworth did a great job." Wadsworth regrouped from there, as it forced a turnover on downs near the red zone and Madigan pushed the ante to 28-7 from 17 yards. Dinwiddie added a 28-yard field goal, and Kincaid's pick-six was the dagger after he jumped a wheel-stop route along the sideline that Medina has been relying on for the better part of two seasons now. The second half was window dressing. Madigan added another 17-yard TD, and sophomore third-string quarterback Kyle Schmeltzer scored from 3 yards three plays after picking off Medina backup quarterback Beckett Vogrin. "Right now, I'm really excited," Hall said. "Our team played really well. Our line had insane blocking. Nothing happens without our line. Our running backs were able to have some great rushes. They're some of the best running backs in the league." While the Bees certainly missed injured three-year starting defensive back Camden Sokolowski, they were largely powerless to stop Wadsworth's power running game that opened up nicely after Medina was forced to adjust to the quick passing off RPOs. Medina had only three tackles for loss, forced only one turnover and would have allowed more than 400 yards total offense if not for the sailed punt snap. The offense, however, continued to struggle and will take a scoreless streak of 81:55 into the Greater Cleveland Conference opener next week against Mentor. Diiulio completed 14-of-32 passes for 104 yards — 32 came on a highlight-film corner route throw — while Brian Wuchter (6 catches, 57 yards) and Sydney Lloyd (5, 28) continued to be the most consistent receivers and Josefczyk had 69 rushing yards on 11 attempts. "I don't think we came out and executed really well," Laird said. "We had opportunities. Our defense in the first half gave us some opportunities to cash in." Wadsworth had no such issues and will roll into Suburban League National Conference action at Twinsburg (2-1) having outscored Barberton, New Albany and Medina 135-28. Despite losing H-back Colton Leavitt to a torn ACL and being without starting safety Will Ries, the Grizzlies showed the next-man-up mentality by rotating defensive standouts Jacob Earnest and Zach Wise to replace Leavitt and subbing in Inestroza for Ries. The Grizzlies appear to be in midseason form — and the calendar hasn't even hit mid-September yet. "Right now, we're going to enjoy it tonight," Hall said. "Then we're on to Twinsburg next week." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 51, Medina 7 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;0 0 7 0 — 7 WADSWORTH 21 17 6 7 — 51 First W — Calix Lemp 69 pass from Brysen Hall (Jack Dinwiddie kick), 11:14. W — Cooper Gray 45 pass from Hall (Dinwiddie kick), 8:57. W — Gavin Madigan 39 run (Dinwiddie kick), 5:37. M — Korde Carey 54 interception return (Finn Kelps kick), 2:56. Second W — Madigan 17 run (Dinwiddie kick), 7:39. W — Dinwiddie 28 field goal, 3:29. W — Shawn Kincaid 54 interception return (Dinwiddie kick), 2:19. Third W — Madigan 17 run (run failed), 7:22. Fourth W — Kyle Schmeltzer 3 run (Dinwiddie kick), 4:31. &emsp;&emsp;M &emsp;&emsp;W First downs &emsp;&emsp;13 &emsp;&emsp;18 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;18/75 32/201 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;4.2 &emsp;&emsp;6.3 Passing &emsp;&emsp;15/38&emsp;&emsp;12/18 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;117 &emsp;&emsp;194 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;56/192 50/395 Punting &emsp;&emsp;3/25.0 1/32.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;5/45 &emsp;&emsp;6/65 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;1/0 &emsp;&emsp;2/0 RUSHING: Medina — Cooper Josefczyk 11-69, Sydney Lloyd 4-8, Kaeden Kostalnik 1-2, Max Meyers 1-1, Jackosn Riffle 1-(-5). Wadsworth — Madigan 10-124, Gray 14-86, Jordan Semler 2-31, Schmeltzer 1-3, Hall 1-1, Lemp 1-(-5), Team 3-(-39). PASSING: Medina — Cason Diiulio 14-32-104-3, Beckett Vogrin 1-6-13-1. Wadsworth — Hall 12-18-194-1. RECEIVING: Medina — Brian Wuchter 6-57, Lloyd 5-28, Kellen Hathaway 2-18, Bishop Burch 1-13, Riffle 1-1. Wadsworth — Lemp 3-91, Gray 1-45, Carlos Inestroza 3-40, Jacob Earnest 2-10, Tommy Hohn 3-8.