CUYAHOGA FALLS — Barberton visits Cuyahoga Falls in a Week 4 high school football game on Sept. 12.
This is scheduled to be the final high school football game on the natural grass at Clifford Stadium and the 94th meeting in football between Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls.
Barberton is 0-3 and Cuyahoga Falls is 1-2. The winner of this game gets “The Bell.”
The Magics lead the series with the Black Tigers 50-39-4.
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Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Check back here for updates throughout the game.
Barberton tops Cuyahoga Falls 35-6 in the final football game at Clifford Stadium
Barberton tops Cuyahoga Falls 35-6 in the final football game at Clifford Stadium.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 35-6 in fourth quarter of OHSAA football game
Zachary Coleman runs 2 yard for a touchdown and then a pass fail for Cuyahoga Falls.
Barberton leads 35-6 with 4:26 to go in the fourth quarter.
The drive featured a 46-yard pass play from QB Jayden Weirs to Jordan Luster and a 22-yard pass play from Weirs to Giavanni Tuttle.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 35-0 at end of third quarter of OHSAA football game
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 35-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 35-0 in third quarter of OHSAA football game
Angelo Gotto runs 16 yard for a touchdown and Blake Leary kicks the PAT. Barberton leads 35-0 with 4:38 to go in the third quarter.
Gotto has run for 223 yards on 24 carries.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 28-0 in third quarter of OHSAA football game
Brayden Louk throws a 20-yard touchdown pass to Micah McWilliams and Blake Leary kicks the PAT. Barberton leads 28-0 with 7:51 to go in the third quarter.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 21-0 at halftime in an OHSAA football game
Barberton leads 21-0 at halftime.
Magics running back Angelo Gotto is at 176 yrads on 16 carries.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 21-0 in second quarter of OHSAA football game
Brayden Louk runs for 13 yards for a touchdown and Blake Leary kicks the PAT. Barberton leads 21-0 with 9:47 to go in the second quarter.
Angelo Gotto is up to 170 yards on 14 carries. He had a 21-yard run during the drive.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 14-0 at end of first quarter of OHSAA football game
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Angelo Gotto has run for 167 yards on 12 carries.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 14-0 in first quarter of OHSAA football game
Brayden Louk runs for 28 yards for a touchdown and Blake Leary kicks the PAT. Barberton leads 14-0 with 3:14 to go in the first quarter.
Angelo Gotto is up to 130 yards on 10 carries. He had a 28-yard run during the drive.
Barberton leads Cuyahoga Falls 7-0 in first quarter of OHSAA football game
Ricco Varner Jr. runs 1 yard for a touchdown and Blake Leary kicks the PAT. Barberton leads 7-0 with 8:42 to go in the first quarter.
Angelo Gotto ran for 89 yards on seven carries during the drive. He had a 57-yard run.
Cuyahoga Falls hosts Barberton in a OHSAA Week 4 football game
Barberton ventures to Cuyahoga Falls to play in a Suburban League American Conference game. Barberton won this matchup 49-6 last season. The Magics and the Black Tigers each finished 2-8 overall last season. Barberton was 2-5 in the SLAC in 2024 and Cuyahoga Falls was 0-7.
Barberton has won its past 10 football games against Cuyahoga Falls.
Barberton athletic director John Sabol and statistician Rocci Ratay said the rivalry with Cuyahoga Falls dates back to 1911. The two schools have played 93 football games with Barberton winning 50 games, Cuyahoga Falls winning 39 games and four games ending in a tie. The Magics won the first game 47-0 in 1911.
The Black Tigers owned a four-game winning streak in the series before the Magics ran off 10 wins in a row.
Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls have played for “The Bell” since 1966, with the Magics holding a 30-24 advantage.
How old is Clifford Stadium in Cuyahoga Falls?
Clifford Stadium opened in 1940 with bleacher seating and lights for Friday night football games after Cuyahoga Falls had played games on the lot for years prior to that. Cuyahoga Falls athletic director Kenny Johnson showed the Akron Beacon Journal photos on Wednesday, Sept. 10 of Black Tigers football teams from 1923, 1924 and 1925 standing on a field with the high school in the background.
Johnson told the Beacon Journal on Thursday, Sept. 11 that the first football game played on the grounds now known as Clifford Stadium was on Sept. 12, 1923. Cuyahoga Falls and Akron East tied 0-0.
Clifford Stadium was dedicated on Sept. 13, 1940 as more than 3,000 fans watched Cuyahoga Falls earn a 32-6 win over Austintown Fitch.
Cuyahoga Falls is scheduled to open its new stadium at its new high school against Aurora on Oct. 3.
Scouting the Barberton Magics football team
Barberton has struggled in losses to Wadsworth (55-7), Stow (49-14) and South Range (48-7).
The Magics feature Noah Wright, Jackson Hanlin, Angelo Gotto, Ricco Varner, Brice Crowe, Trent Dewitt and Jamar McCray
Barberton is coached by Tony Gotto.
Scouting the Cuyahoga Falls Black Tigers football team
Cuyahoga Falls lost 29-8 to Southeast last week after losing 34-0 to Willoughby South in Week 1 and defeating North 33-12 in Week 2.
The Black Tigers are led by Waseem Mustafa, Jordan Saunders, Zachary Coleman, Madden Horner, Josh Bell, Giavanni Tuttle and Jayden Weirs.
Cuyahoga Falls is coached by Kevin Pask.
Barberton football’s impact players in 2025
Tony Gotto said his top players are Ricco Varner, Brice Crowe, Trent Dewitt, Jamar McCray and his son, Angelo Gotto. … “Ricco is explosive off the ball and he is our most athletic offensive and defensive lineman,” Tony Gotto said. “He is only a junior and is athletic enough where I am going to put him at H-back as well.” … Crowe is getting interest from FCS colleges. … “Brice is a veteran,” Tony Gotto said. “He played in a playoff game against Hoban his freshman year. He got pushed into the varsity lineup in the playoffs his freshman year after playing freshmen ball. He is going to be a three-year starter. He is our strongest offensive lineman in the weight room.” … Tony Gotto described McCray as “a surprise player last year who helped us out tremendously on the offensive and defensive lines. He has slimmed down and might play a little tight end for us.” … Dewitt will line up at linebacker and safety on defense this year. … “Trent was our defensive MVP last year,” Tony Gotto said. “He was our leading tackler from safety. … He didn’t play any offense last year, but this year we will play him some at H-back, and he will be a threat both in the passing game and in the running game. We are expecting big things from him.” … Gotto said his son, Angelo, will line up at linebacker, safety and running back this year. … “Angelo is going to be our workhorse at tailback,” Coach Gotto said.
Cuyahoga Falls football’s impact players in 2025
Third-year coach Kevin Pask said Giavanni Tuttle will be the player Falls relies on most from the safety spot. “We really want to put him in good positions this year,” Pask said. “He had more than 100 tackles as a safety and eight of those were tackles for loss, which from 10 yards away is crazy. That’s a credit to his explosiveness.”… On offense, Falls will have four of its five starting linemen back. The core of guard Vincent Lambis, center Cyrus Fortman, right tackle Jermaine Hampton and left tackle Uly Scribner will form a base as Falls integrates a new backfield. … “They’ve had some time to mesh, which has been helpful with the transition to the new offense,” Pask said.
Barberton football’s outlook
Barberton returns 12 players with starting experience: Terrean Bailey, Brice Crowe, Trent Dewitt, Jayson Gates, Angelo Gotto, Zach Harmon, Blake Leary, Jamar McCray, Jojo Porter, Mark Tavanello, Cleophus Thompson and Ricco Varner. … Gates and Leary are both on the Barberton boys soccer team and share the kicking duties on the football team. Gates, a four-star recruit, attended a camp at the University of Arkansas and made a 54-yard field goal and a 60-yard punt. He finished second in the camp. … “We should be pretty good up front on both sides of the football,” Tony Gotto said. “… This is probably one of best offensive linemen groups on paper in a while. Brice, Zach, Ricco and Jamar return with starting experience on the offensive line with Modi moving in. Ricco was probably our best defensive linemen last year. Jamar played a lot of snaps on defense, too, so he is basically a defensive starter returning.” … Gotto is confident Barberton can “compete for the league title” and said “Highland is going to be the team to beat in the league.”
Cuyahoga Falls football’s outlook
Falls has won two games during each of Pask’s first two seasons. He wants to improve that number, but said Falls’ schedule strength remains rugged. … “I think we’re a competitive team,” he said. “I think we’re getting more and more athletic every year, which is what you need to be to compete. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to getting the ball in our athletes’ hands.” … This will be Falls’ final year in the Suburban League American Conference before moving to the Metro Athletic Conference next fall. … “In our last year in the conference, one of my goals is to get a league win,” Pask said. “I know it’s a small thing, but it will show that our kids battled against very, very good teams.”
Barberton football schedule for 2025
Home games in all CAPS. All games at 7 p.m., unless noted.
Cuyahoga Falls football schedule for 2025
Home games in all CAPS. All games at 7 p.m., unless noted.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ. Michael Leonard contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA football scores | Barberton vs Cuyahoga Falls recap, highlights at Clifford Stadium
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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