High school football: Medina's Jack Fletcher bloomed late, but is finishing in a flurry

One of the many beauties of high school football is the senior first-year starter who keeps his nose to the ground and develops into a high-end player by trusting the process. Jack Fletcher never made excuses after giving up soccer to join the Medina football program in eighth grade. He immediately thought the team-first, gladiator culture that the sport often provides was "pretty cool" and soaked up every ounce of coaching along the way, understanding he needed to catch up quickly. Fletcher waited patiently and finally broke into the starting lineup. Ten games later, he's forced his way into the top echelon of Medina County linebackers as the 11th-seeded Bees (3-7) prepare to play at No. 6 Strongsville (8-2) on Friday in the opening round of the Division I, Region 1 playoffs. "I just wanted to earn a starting spot," he said before practice Wednesday. "Last year I came really close to it. All summer I worked toward it but I never got there, so this year I wanted to finish what I had practiced all of my high school career for. "If I have to start for only one year, I might as well make it amazing, right?" Fletcher's journey has navigated the road less traveled. He was a soccer standout who lost his passion for the sport, was intrigued by the contact football allows and figured he'd give his best shot. Now listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds, Fletcher educated himself at the school of hard knocks while playing cornerback as an eighth-grader, freshman and sophomore. A change to outside linebacker broadened his horizons and led to a new understanding, especially after watching how multi-year starters Cooper Josefczyk, Brayden Smigel and Camden Sokolowski dissected how to stop opposing offenses, and playing rugby in the spring further honed his tackling. Fletcher began this season with four tackles for loss in a 21-13 win at Stow, earning him Gazette Player of the Week honors. He understandably couldn't maintain the production, but everything clicked in a wild 42-28 loss to Cleveland Heights and Fletcher has had a major impact in each game since. Understanding Medina's blitz-heavy scheme, how to explode through blocks with violence and timing angles to reach the backfield culminated last week in a 33-30 victory over Lorain, as Fletcher racked up a whopping 19 tackles (2 for loss) that included a key stop on the only punt of the game that forced the Titans to begin their final drive on the 20-yard line. "He's learned to be physical at the point of contact, which is something that took time," veteran defensive coordinator Kevin Bowers said. "When he started at corner, he really shied away from contact. It took a while to learn to like it. This year's, he really has embraced it. "It's also being able to read out the play and having enough reps — real reps — to read where the ball is going and take the right angle to get there." The 19-tackle game wasn't a fluke, as Fletcher still had 43 — and, more importantly, nine for loss — over the final four regular-season games to help Medina backdoor into the playoffs. His 14½ tackles for loss overall rank behind only Brunswick All-Ohio defensive end Eli Nichols (20) in Medina County this season, while his 19 tackles against Lorain are second to Wadsworth All-Ohio safety Gavin Madigan (20 vs. Twinsburg). Medina coaches rave about Fletcher's maturity, work ethic and coachability. Fletcher knew that he would have never reached this stage of standout play had he not possessed all three, and he also credited Josefczyk, Smigel, Sokolowski and fellow classmates Donovan Delatte and Johnny Nunn for giving him templates to follow. "It's fun, because it's something you better get after," Fletcher said. "If you're too slow, you're going to get blocked. You have to go full speed no matter what. If someone gets in your way, you've got to find your way around it or else you're not going to make the play and they're going to gain yards. "I played with my two senior friends, Johnny Nunn and Donovan Delatte, but they moved out of the position because Donny tore his MCL. That put a little more pressure on me, but I also realized my time here is coming to a close, so I've got to make my games count." Injuries to key starters Delatte, Carson Mann and Bishop Burch put the defense in a bind, so Fletcher moved to middle linebacker in the 3-3 scheme that brings pressure approximately 70% of the time. Coach Larry Laird's believes that the offense and defense must have married philosophies, so the Bees prioritize tackles for loss and turnovers over yards and points allowed. Fletcher certainly helped with a 38-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a 38-3 win over Shaker Heights that is among Medina's 20 takeaways, though some have come on onside kicks. He's now a team leader who is stressing that Medina needs to limit long touchdowns, especially considering Strongsville ripped off scoring runs of 43, 73 and 80, as well as an 89-yard kickoff return, in a 42-14 Greater Cleveland Conference game that was more competitive than it appeared. Don't bet against Fletcher, however, because he's come too far, too quickly to leave anything to chance. "We've been talking about mainly explosive plays," he said. "We're able to compete with all the teams except for these explosive plays we let up. We let our guard down, and that's really what's been getting us. "We've been practicing how to stop these plays and also working together as a layered defense rather than just a line." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.