High school football: Avon Lake's Max Riley draws the honor of wearing Mike Medders Jr.'s No. 66

The street sign just behind the home stands of Memorial Stadium at Avon Lake High School says Medders Way. If there were an address associated with the stadium, no doubt it would be "66 Medders Way." The street is named in honor of Mike Medders Jr., who wore No. 66 when he played for the Shoremen before graduating in 2001. He was an All-Ohio offensive lineman and enrolled at Walsh University in North Canton to play football, but shortly after 9/11 Medders transferred to Bowling Green and joined the ROTC program. He joined the Army after graduation in 2005 and was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, where he was a troop leader. Medders was killed in the line of duty in Iraq on Sept. 24, 2008. His uniform number was retired and his locker remains on display in the Avon Lake locker room. Avon Lake will host its annual Armed Forces Appreciation night Friday with North Ridgeville providing the opposition. The Shoremen will wear special black jerseys, and Medder's No. 66, which has been worn by a senior every year for Armed Forces Appreciation night, will be back on the field. Max Riley, a four-year starter, will have the honor. He's already earned a full-ride scholarship to play at Ohio State and the 6-foot-5, 280-pounder plays on the offensive and defensive lines. "It's really an honor," Riley said. "Grateful for the opportunity to represent someone who really embodied what it means to be a Shoreman. Even though it's been 20 or so years ago, his legacy still lives on." "I tried to explain to the kids that we're talking about an O-lineman who's running down on kickoff as a wedge-buster," coach Matt Kostelnik said. "He was a wild man. He played both ways. We just want to honor that legacy and ability to be a great leader and give everything you've got. "He was a real fun-loving guy. He wasn't even supposed to be on the patrol that he was on. He's a great example of what he meant to this program as a leader and what he continues to bring to the program and the legacy that he leaves." The Riley-Medders connection runs deep. Riley's grandfather and dad worked with Medders' dad at the Elyria Police Department, where Medders Sr. was chief. Riley's dad and Medders Jr. lived across the hall from each other at Bowling Green. The families have remained friends over the years. Kostelnik remembered Medders when he was a freshman at Avon Lake in 2000. Medders was a senior for longtime coach Dave Dlugosz and the Shoremen, Amherst and Olmsted Falls finished tied for the Southwestern Conference championship. All three schools finished 9-1 and Avon Lake pinned the only loss of the season, 19-14, on Olmsted Falls on the final night of the regular season. Olmsted Falls went on to win the Division II state championship. Riley injured his knee early this season, sat out a couple of games but is back and ready for the stretch run for the Shoremen, who are 3-4 overall, 3-1 in the Southwestern Conference. The Rangers are 6-1, 3-1 after three straight wins. North Ridgeville is fourth in Division II, Region 6 while the Shoremen are 17th and probably can't afford any more losses if they hope to qualify for the playoffs. The top 12 teams in the region qualify for the postseason. "I played the first two games," said Riley. "Really the last play of the second game I hurt my knee playing defense. I was out for Highland and Midview. I just did my best to coach, to help my guys out those two games and take my time to just let my body recover, get better, strengthen everything. I've been back since Week 5." "I think it was a reality check," said Kostelnik. "He got to put the headphones on those two weeks he was out. He got a look inside of what's going on. Our O-line coach actually had a wedding so basically for a game (Riley) was our line coach. He draws on his experience, his leadership. He can play anywhere on the offensive line." North Ridgeville provides a stern test for Riley and his teammates. "This is a really important game for us," said Riley. "Our season's on the line pretty much every week from here on out. Anything we've got left — especially us seniors — got to give it our all. "Three of our four losses were by a score or less." Avon Lake started the year with three non-conference losses, 43-42 to Strongsville, 21-14 to Lake Catholic and 34-7 to Highland in a game that was closer than the final score indicates. The Shoremen then won their next three before losing a heartbreaker to Olmsted Falls last Friday, 25-21, after taking a 21-10 lead going into the fourth quarter. "We're 3-4 right now," said Kostelnik. "We had three games where we lost by one score. We have to continue to get better. We can't just rely on tradition. We have to go out and finish and make plays. "I thought we played a pretty clean game last week. It was a little disappointing to come away with a loss, but we've got to regroup. We're in a must-win situation if we want to be in the playoffs." Avon Lake's tradition in football plays a role not only in a winning program but also in things like honoring Medders. That tradition isn't lost on Riley, who also throws the shot and discus for the track team. "One hundred percent," Riley said. "I play for God first and foremost and my teammates and my community are next. Just the opportunity to show the little kids what it means. I remember being a kid here. I have pictures of me and some of the guys out here on this field in our Shoremen jerseys when we were in the third grade. Looking up to the upper classmen, it's a pretty fun experience." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.