Medina’s Jimmy Daw cuts between Wadsworth’s Kole Kemppel, left, and Ryan Bojdys for a touchdown during the second quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
MEDINA — Head-spinning history happened at Kenneth Dukes Stadium on Friday and, depending on which school one was rooting for, it was either Snickers-satisfying or stomachache-depressing.
The Medina and Wadsworth football teams have played each other for more than 100 years, but they’ve never experienced a game like this, when the Bees laid down a 62-6 whoopin’ in non-league action.
Though the Grizzlies were without first-team All-Ohio running back Daniel Weinerman (concussion) for the second straight game — coach Greg Dennison expects him to return next week against Stow — no one in their right mind saw such a lop-sided score coming.
The 62 points surrendered by Wadsworth (0-3) broke a record that had stood for 88 yards (57 vs. Orrville, 1927), while the margin of defeat trails only that shutout loss to the Red Riders when Calvin Coolidge was president.
Meanwhile, Medina (2-1) beat Wadsworth at home for the first time since 1997, which also happened to be the year when it last rung up 60 points (66 vs. North Ridgeville), and crushed the Grizzlies by more than 35 points for the first time since 1913 (41-5).
“We always say, ‘Never be satisfied, keep pushing and never let your foot off the pedal,”’ Bees defensive tackle Ryan Seabrook said. “We tried to keep it going and never gave up.”
The game was all but over in 13 minutes, as Medina led 28-0 and rebounded brilliantly from blowing a double-digit second-half lead at Kenston last week.
Dylan Fultz and Collin Winters began the party with an 86-yard opening kickoff return and 85-yard punt return, giving the Bees a 14-0 lead before they ran a play from scrimmage.
When Medina’s offense finally got on the field with 5:04 left in the first quarter, it needed only six plays to cover 53 yards, as Jordan Fultz snared a 10-yard TD strike from John Curtis (5-for-9, 84 yards, TD; 10 carries, 76 yards).
Wadsworth self-destructed from there, as the Bees used fantastic field position to set up four short touchdown runs by Jimmy Daw (17 carries, 69 yards) that pushed the ante to 49-0 early in the third.
The Grizzlies finally got on the board when fullback Alex Jones (13 carries, 104 yards) rumbled 74 yards to the house — the majority of Medina’s starters exited up 55-6 — before the Bees’ Dylan Fultz (17-yard run) and Alex Whittaker (2-yard run) capped the scoring.
“You saw an angry team come out with a lot of frustration,” Bees coach Dan Sutherland said, “and they took it out on (another) team.”
Between all the scoring was a teeth-rattling performance from Medina’s defensive line of tackles Seabrook and Justice Burkey and ends Jonathan Lally, Sam Vavzincak and Jacob Wenzinger, as well as an all-around stat-stuffing showing from linebacker Chris Fryer (1ﾽ sacks, fumble recovery, int.)
Fumbling nine times and losing four, Wadsworth finished with 111 yards total offense and five first downs. Medina had a lot to do with the latter, as Burkey, Seabrook and Fryer combined for six tackles for loss (3 sacks).
“I think every bad thing that could have happened, happened,” said Dennison, whose team also fumbled away a punt return and dribbled a long snap that the punter couldn’t handle for a 16-yard loss. ”We’ll respond to it, though. Our kids will go to work and respond to it.”
The clear-cut defensive highlight of the night came in the waning minute of the first half after Zach Looser (13 carries, 55 yards) took a kickoff 58 yards and the Grizzlies eventually reached first-and-goal at the 9.
Back-to-back penalties moved the ball backward 17 yards. Wadsworth quarterback Connor Montgomery then launched a pass to the goal line, where safety Winters tipped the ball into the diving arms of Fryer to keep the shutout alive.
While the shutout wasn’t obtained, it was one of the few things that didn’t go Medina’s way.
“It feels amazing to beat them at home — the last time was 1997,” said Fryer, who was born in 1999.
