Mogadore’s Kade Thomas lays on the turf after being tackled during a first-half run on Friday.
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By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Just one year ago, a bye week to open the postseason proved to be just what the Mogadore football team needed.

In the their second-round matchup with East Palestine on Nov. 7, 2025, the Wildcats played clean and dominated on their way to a 54-7 rout.

Mogadore running back Jake Hopkins is brought down after a run in the third quarter.
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Despite a first-round bye again this season to start the playoffs, head coach Matt Adorni did not watch the same kind of crisp play from his team on Friday.

Penalties and turnovers were uncharacteristically featured throughout the Cats’ 28-7 victory over St. John in a Division VII Regional Quarterfinal.

“Well, you never know how a team is going to respond to a bye week,” Adorni said. “Last year, I think it helped us, but I think tonight you could see that we were rusty. We played behind the sticks too much because of penalties, and we had the early turnover that was tough, but we did what we needed to do. We got the win, we will move on from this one and get ready for next week.”

That will be a regional semifinal road matchup at Cuyahoga Heights on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. The Red Wolves defeated Dalton on Friday, 23-8. Mogadore defeated the Bulldogs in Week 3 this season, 30-21.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Adorni in the evaluation of his team on Friday.

“I loved how our defense flew around and made plays tonight,” he said. “They were awesome. St. John is a good football team and they have been putting up a lot of points.”

Overall, Mogadore’s defense held the Fighting Heralds to just 131 yards of total offense (99 rushing and 32 passing).

Meanwhile, the Cats leaned heavily on their running game, and largely made use of their patented wide splits on the offensive line to create a blocking advantage.

“We are never going to be very big up front on our line, so we have to do some things to help our guys have the advantage up front,” Adorni said. “Those wide splits, that is something Mogadore football has been doing for 50 years. For so many of us, including myself, it is one of those things where we are so used to it and don’t really know of anything else.”

Mogadore’s Landen Williams races down the sideline after scooping up a fumble during the second quarter.
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After a scoreless first quarter that was a little choppy for both teams, the scheme helped Mogadore (9-2) settle in offensively in the second quarter.

First Jake Hopkins got the Cats on the board with a 3-yard run with 11:26 on the clock. An extra point by Luca Ledford made it 7-0.

Mogadore doubled its lead a few minutes later. This time, Kade Thomas scored the first of his two touchdowns on the night, pushing across the goal line from 8 yards out at 4:37. Another Ledford kick made it 14-0, which was a lead that held until halftime.

On the first possession of the second half, Maddox Smith finished a drive with a 5-yard run to make it 21-0 following Ledford’s boot.

St. John made it 21-7 on a blocked punt that was returned 22 yards by Carlo Fasano with 2:01 left in the third.

The only score in the fourth quarter came by the Cats, with Thomas scoring on a 9-yard run with 8:30 to play that closed out the scoring for the game.

Mogadore rushed for 347 yards in the game, which accounted for 94 percent of the team’s overall offense (23 yards passing).

Smith led the way with 172 yards on only 16 carries and Hopkins also eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 101 yards on 12 attempts.

Thomas had 83 yards on 18 totes.

“Maddox, Jake and Kade all played well, but the great thing about them is that they block so well for each other,” Adorni said.

Mogadore’s Jayce Smith makes contact with St. John quarterback Anthony Benedict just as he releases a pass.
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