NORDONIA — Wadsworth visits Nordonia in a Week 8 high school football game on Oct. 10.
The matchup pits two of the top teams in the Suburban League National Conference.
Wadsworth is 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the SLNC. Nordonia is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SLNC.
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Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Check back here for updates throughout the game.
Nordonia trims deficit to 13-7 against Wadsworth in second quarter
Nordonia’s Connor Whapham runs 2 yards for a touchdown and Riley Edgehouse kicks the extra point. Wadsworth leads 13-7 with 9:24 to go in the second quarter.
The drive included a 5-yard pass from Steven Fakult to Dominick Jackson on a fourth down play to get a first down, and a 25-yard pass from Fakult to Karsen Fisher.
Wadsworth leads Nordonia 13-0 at end of first quarter
Wadsworth leads 13-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Wadsworth leads Nordonia 13-0 in first quarter
Gavin Madigan runs 4 yards for a touchdown and Justin Lazzaretti kicks the extra point. The Grizzlies lead the Knights 13-0 with 3:06 to go in the first quarter. The drive included a 24-yard pass from Brysen Hall to Calix Lemp.
Jude Haller grabbed an interception near midfield to give Wadsworth the ball with 5:53 to go in the first quarter.
Wadsworth leads Nordonia 6-0 in first quarter
Brysen Hall throws an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jack McNeill and the extra point is blocked. The Grizzlies lead the Knights 6-0 with 8:50 to go in the first quarter. The drive included a 31-yard pass from Hall to Kyle Schmeltzer.
Scouting the Wadsworth Grizzlies football team
Wadsworth seeks to remain atop the Suburban League National Conference by itself. Wadsworth defeated Hudson 35-17 on Oct. 3 in its closest game of the season after dominant wins over Barberton (55-7), New Albany (35-7), Medina (47-0), North Royalton (48-14), Twinsburg (39-0) and Brecksville (49-12).
Wadsworth features RB-DB Gavin Madigan, RB-DB Cooper Gray, QB Brysen Hall, WR-DB Calix Lemp, LB-TE Jacob Earnest, WR-DE Jay’len King and WR-DB Kyle Schmeltzer.
Madigan ran for three touchdowns and 151 yards on 20 carries last week against Hudson. Madigan scored on runs of 4 yards, 5 yards and 1 yard. His largest run went for 47 yards. Gray contributed a 34-yard TD run and finished with 135 yards on 26 carries. Hall threw a 4-yard TD pass to Lemp, and finished 7-of-15 passing for 70 yards. Justin Lazzaretti made 5 of 5 PATs.
Wadsworth has won three in a row over Nordonia — 37-36 in overtime in 2024, 55-14 in 2023 and 41-14 in 2022. Nordonia won the two matchups before that, topping Wadsworth 35-0 in 2021 and 63-49 in 2020.
Scouting the Nordonia Knights football team
Nordonia recorded a 35-33 comeback win over Twinsburg on Oct. 3 after losing 48-39 to North Royalton on Sept. 26. Nordonia opened the season with wins over St. Vincent-St. Mary (42-0), East (39-7), Mayfield (59-46), Brecksville (23-13) and Solon (48-14).
Nordonia is led by QB Steven Fakult, RB-LB Connor Whapham, WR-DB Dominick Jackson, WR-LB Karsen Fisher, K-P Riley Edgehouse, WR-DB Jamiere Davis, WR-DB Collin Atha and WR-LB Grant Kaminski.
Edgehouse made a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter to propel the Knights to a win over Twinsburg. Nordonia trailed 20-0 in the second quarter against Twinsburg. Jackson returned a kickoff 67 yards for a touchdown, Whapham ran for a 17-yard TD, Fakult threw a 20-yard TD pass to Davis, Fakult ran for an 11-yard TD and Edgehouse also made a 29-yard field goal.
Fakult completed 19 of 30 passes for 282 yards last week. Whapham ran for 143 yards on 22 carries, Atha had six catches for 77 yards and Kaminski had three catches for 74 yards.
Wadsworth football’s returning lettermen (28)
Nordonia football’s returning lettermen (16)
Wadsworth football’s impact players
This is the season the Grizzlies have been waiting for. With returning All-Ohioans running back Cooper Gray (211 carries, 1,673 yards, 21 TDs), safety and Army commit Gavin Madigan (92 tackles in 10 games), wide receiver, Air Force pledge and hybrid linebacker Calix Lemp (41 receptions, 722 yards, 11 TDs) and linebacker Jacob Earnest (112 tackles, 4½ for loss), Wadsworth is set for a great season. … Sophomore quarterback Brysen Hall (142-of-245 passing 2,118 yards, 22 TDs) will be the starter again and the Grizzlies the favorites to win a third consecutive Suburban League title. … “They’re obviously super important,” Todd said. “Gavin, Cooper and Jacob will all be two-way players for us. They play critical roles on both sides of the ball. They’ve continued to grow physically and mentally mature each year. We know they were good players last year. We need them to take another step.”
Nordonia’s football’s impact players
The right side of the offensive line looks strong with Luke Williams and Gavin Kanar back. They’ll be counted on quite a bit to bring the three new faces up to speed in Nordonia’s run-heavy offense. … The offense rushed for 238.8 yards per game and passed for 89.8 yards. … “We need to have the newcomers grow up and gel with Luke and Gavin and develop some depth,” Fox said. “That way the offensive line unit can be able to do big things the entire year.” … Collin Atha brings 10 catches and 188 yards back at wide receiver. With RJ Jefferson moving mainly to defense and the transfer of Sam Collins to Twinsburg, it will be up to Atha to get the passing game moving.
Wadsworth football schedule for 2025
Nordonia football schedule for 2025
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ. Brad Bournival contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: OHSAA football scores, Wadsworth vs. Nordonia high school live updates, highlights
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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