MACEDONIA, Ohio — As the playoff brackets have already been decided, the Week 6 games for the Ohio high school football season technically didn’t matter. However, that didn't stop us from seeing a high-scoring (albeit sloppy) shootout on this Friday.
The Stow-Munroe Falls Bulldogs came from behind late to beat the Nordonia Knights 53-47 in WKYC.com's High School Football Game of the Week. Owen Bainbridge's touchdown pass to Jack Costa provided the difference, and a possible game-winning punt return touchdown by Nordonia was waved off by a roughing the punter penalty.
The teams combined for 1,132 yards of total offense, with Nordonia actually outgaining Stow 602-530. But the hero of this game was Bulldog quarterback Bainbridge, who tallied 413 total yards (278 passing, 135 rushing) and six total touchdowns.
Nordonia's Billy Levak threw for 412 yards and three scores himself, and the Knights led at one point by 10 in the first half. But only one of Levak's 21 completions came in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs' normally stout defense finally stepped up.
The teams combined for seven turnovers and 18 penalties on the night, with the roughing the punter call being the back-breaker for Nordonia. The Knights finish the season 3-3, while the Bulldogs are 4-1.
Due to teams being limited to no more than six regular season games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, every school is eligible for the playoffs and brackets were already released earlier this week. Stow-Munroe Falls will host Cleveland Heights in the first round of Division I's first region, while Nordonia will stay home to play Ashtabula Lakeside in Division II's Region 5.
Re-listen to Dave "Dino" DeNatale's call of the game below, and also check out more scores from around Northeast Ohio:
