Highland homecoming football game canceled

Claiming they would not have enough healthy players available to play, officials linked to Barberton High School’s football canceled the Magics game this Friday at Highland, pulling the plug on the Hornets’ homecoming festivities and putting those in charge of them in creative mode.

Things started with a message apparently sent out at 3:10 a.m. by Barberton head coach Tony Gotto, addressed to “Parents of Magics Football Players.”

“This week’s game against Highland has been cancelled,” the message began. “After discussing the situation, the coaching staff and I believe this decision is in the best interest of the team. We met with the players and explained that, due to the number of injuries and the lack of available players, it would not be wise or safe to try to field a team this week.

“Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”

The message was undersigned, “Coach Gotto.”

In a message emailed by Highland personnel to district families, but not attributed to anyone, Highland officials said:

“Last night, we were informed by Barberton’s Athletic Director that, due to reported injuries to 10 of their starting players, they would be unable to play on Friday night.”

It went on to say that the district wanted to “preserve this event for our students and community,” so a meeting took place between Highland and Barberton officials to try to come up with a way to play the game and keep homecoming going.

In addition to regular homecoming activities, halftime of the game was to include recognition of Highland’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame inductees.

The email said the meeting included the Suburban League Commissioner Keith Walker and the head official for the game. It was agreed upon that Highland would only play starters for a limited time, quarters would be shortened and the clock would be running throughout, “among other adjustments.”

Barberton at that time committed to going forward with the event. Social media suggested other things. “Unfortunately,” the email said, “only a short time again – after seeing reports circulate on social media and various media outlets – we learned that Barberton is not, in fact, planning to play Friday night.”

What wasn’t clear was how so many Barberton starters were injured since last Friday, when the Magics lost 33-29 to Kent Roosevelt. A week earlier they lost to Tallmadge by a point and the week before that beat Cuyahoga Falls 35-6.

That was Barberton’s only victory of the season. Internet reports suggested the Magics had plenty of healthy bodies for those three games.

Highland, meanwhile, outscored its first three SL American Conference opponents 145-16, including a 62-0 shellacking of Tallmadge on Sept. 26. Since Tallmadge beat Barberton, perhaps Magics personnel caught a whiff in the air of what might be about to happen to them, regardless of who suited up on Friday.

It was suggested by many that the Hornets could take on fellow Division II powerhouse Hoban, which had an open date, or Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, which had an open date created by Youngstown Ursuline’s hazing scandal.

While there was some appeal to taking on Hoban, and it would have likely spurred a huge crowd, neither program stands much to gain from such a meeting, with both eyeing a potential playoff matchup far down the road. St. V-M, meanwhile, is winless and likely would not be too eager to face the Hornets.

According to one well-connected person within the Highland program, the Hornets are actively searching for an opponent while school officials look for other homecoming options in case they don’t find one.

The Hornets are 6-0 and play teams with winning records two of the last three weeks, so the non-game will not likely hurt their playoff position. With homecoming likely wiped out, though, that may be the least of anyone’s worries.