Staff file photo / Brian Yauger McDonald’s Drew Zajack carries the ball for a gain during the Blue Devils’ win vs. Lowellville on Oct. 3.

Mogadore coach Matt Adorni and McDonald coach Dan Williams know exactly what to expect tonight when the Wildcats and Blue Devils meet in the Division VII, Region 25 title game at Boliantz Stadium in Macedonia.

“Earlier this week we pulled up a video of a McDonald game from 25 years ago, and what we saw is exactly what we’re going to see (tonight),” Adorni said. “Nothing has changed. They are still running that Wing-T, they look very similar on defense as they did 25 years ago. They just do everything right and they are so good at what they do. They’ve always been a model of consistency.

“In so many ways, they are similar to us in that there’s nothing fancy in what we do. They run the Wing-T, and we run an offense that looks like it’s straight out of the 1970s. We both prefer to work under center. We both run the 4-4 base defense.”

Williams echoed the comments made by Adorni, noting that he has followed the Wildcats since the two teams first met in the playoffs in 1983. Williams later played against Mogadore in the playoffs in 1987. Tonight will mark the fifth time Williams will face Adorni and the Wildcats as a coach – all playoff games.

Mogadore (11-1) owns a 6-0 record against McDonald (12-0).

“They run the same offense and the same defense as they did when I played against them in 1987,” Williams said. “They’re not going to throw any tricks at you. They are just a tough, hard-nosed team that keeps things simple. But they are so well-coached and they are so good at what they do.

“There are a lot of similarities in how we run our programs. I think the two communities are similar in many ways and that trickles down to the football programs.”

In fact, some of the similarities between Mogadore and McDonald are uncanny.

Adorni, a Mogadore alum, was hired as the Wildcats’ head coach at the age of 29. Now in his 22nd season, he owns a 210-55 record at the school. He is the winningest coach and longest-tenured coach in program history. Adorni is just the 12th coach in the 110-year history of Mogadore football. When he took over the program in 2004, he replaced a legend in Scott Pollock, who had a 118-28 record with the Wildcats.

If Adorni’s story sounds familiar to McDonald fans, well, it should.

Williams, a McDonald alum, was also 29 years old when he took over the Blue Devils program. Now in his 26th year, he owns a 183-94 record at his alma mater. He, too, is the school’s winningest and longest-tenured coach. Williams is just the 11th coach at a program, which this year is celebrating its 100th year of football. Williams took over the program in 2000, replacing the legendary Andy Golubic Jr., who owned a 124-40-3 record at the school.

Mogadore’s resume includes 17 regional titles and four state championships.

McDonald just recorded the 17th undefeated season in program history while winning a league title for the 33rd time. The Blue Devils own three regional titles, and appeared in the state title game in 1989 and 1994.

Mogadore’s population is 3,819, compared to McDonald’s population of 3,196.

“I think it comes down to two communities who value success,” Adorni said. “As a football program, we change with the times, but we also hang on to traditions. In many communities, tradition flies out the window. Here, people want to hang on to tradition. There’s a sense of pride in wearing a Mogadore jacket when you’re out of town, and people recognize the jacket and associate it with success.

“Knowing the history of McDonald, it goes without saying that the same sort of pride and dedication to success exists throughout their community.”

Adorni said that “there’s both pros and cons” to taking over a program rich in success, especially when you’re an alum of the school.

In 2003, Mogadore went 9-3 and won its 32nd league title. In Adorni’s first year in 2004, the Wildcats went 6-5. Two short years later, Adorni guided the ‘Cats to a regional championship. He has never posted a losing record at the school.

“Today, I think I’d be terrified to take over a program like Mogadore,” Adorni said with a laugh. “In 2004, I was too young, eager and dumb to understand the pressure. But we quickly got things established, and things took off from there. I never wanted to be anywhere else but here. It’s just different. It’s special.

“When the kids and community completely buy into the program, you’re a lucky coach who would be foolish to move on.”

Williams joined the McDonald staff in 1997 after serving as the Jackson-Milton head coach for two years. He worked under Golubic, his former head coach, for two years before taking over the program.

Williams said that he came back to his alma mater under the agreement that he would assume the head coaching responsibilities upon Golubic’s retirement.

In fact, Williams never even filled out a resume or turned in an application. He never interviewed for the job; he just stepped right in.

McDonald went 9-3 in Williams’ first year, but then went through a three-year stretch which included records of 5-5, 3-7 and 5-5.

“There was a lot of pressure, Andy was my mentor, and he was the reason I got into coaching and teaching,” Williams said. “My first year in 2000, my entire staff was older than me, and the majority of my staff coached me in high school. I was basically letting those guys do their thing, I was just steering the ship and learning as much as I could from those veteran coaches.

“Beyond that, just being in McDonald added to the pressure. There are high expectations here. You don’t want to return to your hometown and let the community down.”

In 2005, Williams led McDonald to a 7-3 finish, followed by five consecutive trips to the playoffs. In 2008, McDonald went 10-0, the first of five undefeated seasons under Williams’ watch.

“McDonald is a special place, it starts with the families and the community as a whole,” Williams said. “We have people who gravitate back to McDonald, then they start families here and it just builds on the legacy and the tradition.

“The consistency we’ve had with coaches over the years, not just head coaches but entire staffs, it’s rare. But I think it’s part of what makes things work. It’s not just a football thing, it’s like that with all of our activities.”

As for tonight, neither coach is willing to provide any type of bulletin board material. In fact, both Adorni and Williams go out of their way to praise the opponent.

“McDonald is extremely efficient, especially early in games when they seem to cut through teams like a knife in butter,” Adorni said. “They have so many weapons. Offensively they beat you in so many ways. Defensively, they are so fundamentally sound and they make you earn every yard on every possession.

“I go back to 2018, when we met McDonald in the playoffs. They had a deadly quarterback-running back combination, but we felt that if we could shut them down we could win. This McDonald team has a completely different feel to it. There’s no one way to shut them down.”

Williams said that “matching Mogadore’s intensity and aggressiveness” will be the key to victory.

“They just come at you. This is a very typical Mogadore team, and that says a lot when you look at their success,” Williams said. “They don’t make mistakes. They execute to perfection. Their constant success speaks for itself.”

Tonight’s winner will play either Hillsdale or Danville next Friday for the right to advance to the Division VII state title game.