Suburban League football: 5 things to know from media day

CUYAHOGA FALLS — The annual Suburban League Football Media Day featured the usual mixture of serious and funny conversations Thursday at The Natatorium in Cuyahoga Falls.

Wadsworth (9-3, 6-0) is the defending SL National Conference champion and Aurora (11-2, 7-0) is the reigning SL American Conference champ.

Nine SL teams made the playoffs last season , including: Wadsworth in Division I; Hudson (9-3, 5-1 SLNC), Nordonia (8-3, 4-2 SLNC), Twinsburg (7-5, 3-3 SLNC), Brecksville (6-6, 2-4 SLNC), Highland (11-3, 6-1 SLAC) and Barberton (7-5, 5-2 SLAC) in Division II and Aurora and Revere (5-6, 3-4 SLAC) in Division III.

Stow athletic director Cyle Feldman served as the emcee for the luncheon.

Here are five things to know from the event:

Stow to honor former player, teacher, coach Sean Flaherty who died this summer

Stow coach Martin Poder said one Bulldogs player each week can wear No. 87 to honor former player, teacher and coach Sean Flaherty after he died unexpectedly on June 7, 2024 at the age of 44 .

Flaherty graduated from Stow in 1998. He was a high school English/Language Arts teacher at Wadsworth and Cuyahoga Falls for a combined 18 years and a football coach for 22 years, including the past two as an assistant at Stow. Flaherty initially served as an assistant at Stow and had stints at Wadsworth, Buckeye and Revere and was the head coach at Cuyahoga Falls for four seasons (2013-16).

"At Stow, because he was a tight end and offensive lineman, he never truly had one number," Poder said. "He flipped back and forth. In college, he wore 87. He was a tight end and team captain for Greg Dennison's dad, Jim Dennison. On his coffin, they engraved the number 87. Talking to the family, I didn't feel like doing a sticker [on helmets] for a year and then it goes away. He loved Stow and came back to his alma mater. His family is all Stow. I wanted to do something that had a lasting impact.

"... It might not be worn every week. The person has to represent the toughness, the accountability, the passion and the love for Stow football that Sean represented."

Poder said per OHSAA rules, offensive linemen are not eligible to wear No. 87.

Poder attended the luncheon with players Jake Harrington, Ernest Cobbin, Christian Walker and George Pontius.

What is Aurora coach Bob Mihalik saying ahead of the 2024 season

Coach Bob Mihalik and players Lucas Manderbach, Tommy Tartabini, Matt Copley and Zach Pannetti represented Aurora .

"We are excited about the season," Mihalik said. "We have six returning starters on both sides of the ball. ... Football is special. We work 12 months to prepare for 10 games."

What is Wadsworth coach Justin Todd saying ahead of the 2024 season

Wadsworth players Eli Kaufman, Zach Wise, Shawn Kincaid, Brady O'Connor and Gavin Madigan joined coach Justin Todd .

"This is our smallest senior class that we have ever had," Todd said. "We only have 12 seniors. It is the most unique senior class because all 12 seniors are going to play and be big contributors to what we want to do."

Who else attended the Suburban League Football Media Day

Other attendees were:

• Barberton coach Tony Gotto and players Elijah McDougal, Ethan Key, Terrance Davis and Romir Cody
• Brecksville coach Jason Black and players Evan Rizzo, Nate Garito, Riley McPherson and Cayden Pluhar
• Copley coach John Kromalic and players Gabriel Mansel, Lucas Tielsch, Harper Brooks and Scooby Stanford
• Cuyahoga Falls coach Kevin Pask and players Joey Earl, Caden Boyer and Nick Robinson
• Highland coach Mike Gibbons and pakyers Carson Noonan, Ryan Zywiec, Garrett Phillips and Dylan Borla
• Hudson coach Jeff Gough and players Parker Jenks, Jackson Babitsky, Nathan Judy and Nick Innamorato
• Kent coach Kardell Jackson and players Jaden Dennison, Carter Foreman, Parker D'Sidocky and Gavin Corbett
• Nordonia assistant Scott Barwidi and players Rocco DeLorenzo, DK Liverpool, Gabe Hart and Caleb Aiken
• North Royalton coach Nick Ciulli and players Nicholas Safranek, Joe Kinney, Logan Straight and Owen Bartczak
• Revere coach Bobby Nickol and players Rowan Klein, Aidan McKee, Aaron French and A.J. Hall
• Solon coach Brian Wisniewski and players Gavin Baisden, Jaylen Morgan, Davon Simmons and CJ Burney
• Tallmadge coach Mike Hay and players Ameer Yasin, Talan Natcher, Roman Rinaldi and Noah Robinson
• Twinsburg coach Charles Saulter and players Joey Pollock, JD Okuma, Ellery Geho and Christian Dunbar

Additional comments from Suburban League Football Media Day

Ciulli: "The craziness going on in this country and in this world, this is your escape. These two or three hours are your escape. ... Two hours in practice, the three hours in a game, I wouldn't trade that for anything."

Hay: "At the end of the day, football is about the brotherhood, community and life-long friendships."

Gotto: "Why do you play the game? Why is the game important to you? The reason to play the game is to learn the values and what you learn from the game will catapult you into the rest of your life."

Kromalic: "Our school district has decided to invest in our athletic facilities. We have new home and away locker rooms, coaches locker rooms, referees locker rooms and new seating. ... This is really special for our kids."

Pask: "It is an exciting time to be a Black Tiger. We have a new high school, middle school and stadium on the way."

Wisniewski: "This is our first year in the Suburban League from a football standpoint and we couldn't be more excited."

Barwidi: "The Nordonia Knights are in a unique position this year where we have 29 seniors playing football. ... It is all about the relationships that these kids have built through the years."

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Suburban League football: 5 things to know from media day