Ohio High School Football 2007 Preview: Macedonia Nordonia

Macedonia is a town in northeastern Ohio and is a part of the Greater Cleveland area. According to the 2000 census, 9,224 people live in Macedonia. The town's name is thought to come from a joke among the divinity students at Western Reserve College, which was located six miles south in Hudson during the 1800s. The students were sometimes called to preach at the neighboring town and would joke that they were "sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them," referencing Acts 16:10.

Nordonia High School is Macedonia's only high school. The school's name is a combination of Macedonia and Northfield, the two communities it primarily serves. Their sports team are known as the Knights.

Football at Nordonia High School

During the 2006 season, Nordonia only lost two games. They were defeated by Solon in September and by Pickerington Central during a playoff game in November.

At the end of the 2006 season, Nordonia head football coach Keith Boedicker resigned from his position. The 2007 season will be the Knight's first season with coach Jason Hall. Previously Hall was the head coach at Brush High School. Before that he was head coach at Southeast High School. According to Hall, "the Nordonia football program speaks for itself." He said that he applied as soon as he heard that the position was open. He stated in an interview printed by Sun News on March 29, 2007 that he wasn't "coming into this position with a lot of changes in mind." He says that coach Boedicker had built a very respectable team, putting the Nordonia Knights in a good position. Hall was a linebacker for the Purple Raiders from 1994 to 1998. Nordonia selected Hall as their head coach because of his mental and physical toughness. He focuses on execution and keeping the game simple. He hopes to lead the Knights to a winning era.

Notable Nordonia High School Football Alumni

Rob Sims began his football playing career at Nordonia High School. After graduating from Nordonia he played offensive guard at Ohio State University. In 2006 he was picked by the Seattle Seahawks in round four of the NFL Draft.

Ohio Northwestern University has three former Nordonia players on their 2007 roster for the varsity football team: Jeff Pankratz, a junior quarterback, Lenny Trusnik, a senior linebacker, and Dave Roudybuch, a sophomore offensive and defensive lineman.

Jordan Mabin, of Nordonia's 2006 team, has signed to Northwestern.