High school football: Brysen Hall passes for 317 yards as Wadsworth romps over New Albany

The New Albany football team was bound and determined to limit Wadsworth All-Ohioans Gavin Madigan and Cooper Gray on the ground Friday night. As Grizzlies fans know by now, the offense is much, much more than ground and pound. Brysen Hall had a field day with so many defenders in the box, surpassing 300 yards with ease as Wadsworth dominated 35-7 in non-league play at Art Wright Memorial Stadium. Hall, a sophomore with beyond-his-years maturity and field vision, finished 12-for-15 for 317 yards and three touchdowns. That's 26.4 yards per completion and 21.1 per attempt, gaudy numbers no matter the circumstances. The right-hander found Calix Lemp (3 catches, 119 yards) on post routes for 47- and 43-yard touchdowns that opened and closed the scoring for Wadsworth (2-0). He also flipped a wheel route up the sideline to Gray (3 catches, 101 yards; 8 carries, 74 yards), who spun out of a tackle and rumbled 48 yards to the house late in the first half. Madigan and Gray added scores on the ground as the Grizzlies rushed for 150 yards on 29 attempts, a respectable 5.2 average. Wadsworth led 7-0 after the first quarter but broke open the game with three TDs in the second. Lemp's final score initiated a running clock in the third quarter before Eagles running back Jett Jewers, who has multiple Power 4 offers, scored from 7 yards against the backups on the final play from scrimmage. Wadsworth outgained New Albany (0-2), which lost to defending Division III regional champion London 14-11 last week, 467-176 and has yet to punt this season. The Grizzlies overcame four fumbles (1 lost). The defense got tackles for loss from Boden Ballinger and Brad Watson and was outstanding on third down, limiting New Albany to two conversions on nine attempts. The biggest play came in a 7-0 game, when Ryan Stoops and Jude Haller combined to stop Lewis Justen III a yard short on fourth-and-3 from the Wadsworth 49-yard line. While Wadsworth failed to score on the ensuing drive, it got another stop and went up 14-0 on Madigan's rushing score. Gray pushed the lead into a comfortable margin on a power play to the left, getting a great down block from tight end Colton Leavitt, a kickout from pulling H-back Jacob Earnest and a hustling downfield block from pulling right guard Carter Raymond. Gray's wheel route was open off a jet-sweep fake to Kyle Schmeltzer, while Lemp gained separation over the middle on his second score. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 35, New Albany 7 NEW ALBANY &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 7 — 7 WADSWORTH&emsp;&emsp;7 21 7 0 — 35 First W — Calix Lemp 47 pass from Brysen Hall (Jack McNeill kick). Second W — Gavin Madigan 4 run (McNeill kick). W — Cooper Gray 36 run (McNeill kick). W — Gray 48 pass from Hall (McNeill kick). Third W — Lemp 43 pass from Hall (McNeill kick). Fourth N — Jett Jewers 7 run (Jate Hoovler kick). &emsp;&emsp;N &emsp;&emsp;W First downs &emsp;&emsp;11 &emsp;&emsp;21 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;32/163 29/150 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;5.1 &emsp;&emsp;5.2 Passing &emsp;&emsp;2/6&emsp;&emsp;12/16 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;13 &emsp;&emsp;317 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;38/176 45/467 Punting &emsp;&emsp;5/39.4 &emsp;&emsp;0/0.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;6/50 &emsp;&emsp;5/40 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;0/0 &emsp;&emsp;4/1 RUSHING: New Albany — Jewers 19-103, Lewis Justen III 5-31, Grant Nelson 6-23, Mason Ackerman 2-6. Wadsworth — Gray 8-74, Gavin Madigan 11-39, Noah Ries 5-30, Hall 2-7, Braden Sterpka 2-7, Lemp 1-(-7). PASSING: New Albany — Hoovler 2-6-13-0. Wadsworth — Hall 12-15-317-0, Sterpka 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING: New Albany — Avery Bastian 1-7, Amari Jones 1-6. Wadsworth — Lemp 3-119, Gray 3-101, Kyle Schmeltzer 3-43, McNeill 2-35, Colton Leavitt 1-19.