The people have spoken, and the game between Dalton and Mogadore won the voting for the preseason Akron Area Football Game of the Year for the 2026-27 school year.
The Week 3 game with Mogadore hosting Dalton received an overwhelming 82.52% of the votes cast. A total of 1,876 votes were cast overall.
Look for more on the game below. Akron Area Athlete of the Week voting returns for the 2026-27 school year on beaconjournal.com next Tuesday.
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Week 3: Dalton at Mogadore
Mogadore (11-2) suffered just one 2025 regular-season loss — a 28-19 defeat at Dalton in Week 3. Well, Mogadore will host Dalton (9-4) this fall with a chance to turn the tables. Mogadore is 1-3 in the all-time series and hasn't defeated Dalton since a playoff triumph in 1996. Mogadore is coming off a run to the Division VII, Region 25 final, where it lost 42-21 to McDonald.
A look at the 2025-26 Akron-Area High School Athlete of the Week winners
- Date - girls winner | boys winner
- Sept. 6 - Abby Alden, Archbishop Hoban soccer | Buddy Willig, Norton football
- Sept. 12 - Ava Brooks, Norton tennis | Donevan Noah, Tallmadge cross country
- Sept. 19 - Addison Hovey, Woodridge tennis | Angelo Gotto, Barberton football
- Sept. 26 - Gabriela Iler, Revere tennis | Atticus Sloan, Woodridge cross country
- Oct. 3 - Bree Carpenter, Ellet soccer | Marlin Engram Jr., East football
- Oct. 10 - Maggie Gerschutz, Wadsworth cross country | Phil Partin, Manchester football
- Oct. 17 - Makayla Martuccio, Tallmadge cross country | Anderson Seredick, Nordonia cross country
- Oct. 24 - Elizabeth Coleman, Highland golf | Crew McDaniel, Hudson cross country
- Oct. 31 - Brooklynn Hampton, Archbishop Hoban soccer | Nick Myers, CVCA soccer
- Nov. 7 - Allison Hay, Tallmadge cross country | Sam Hopp, Twinsburg cross country
- Nov. 14 - Samantha Dehrmann, Archbishop Hoban volleyball | Marty Tobin, Walsh Jesuit football
- Dec. 12 - Anna Anzevino, Hudson basketball | Mason Massouh, Revere wrestling
- Dec. 19 - Melania Cornute, St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball | George Marshall, Firestone swimming
- Dec. 27 - Sarah Schueler, Firestone swimming | Dalton Keith, Coventry wrestling
- Jan. 3 - Leannah Swiger, Springfield wrestling | Chad Rusinko, Tallmadge basketball
- Jan. 9 - Rylee Kulick, Copley swimming | Tony Canfora, Wadsworth swimming
- Jan. 16 - Haydn Paul, Nordonia basketball | Percy Robinson, Streetsboro basketball
- Jan. 23 - Ashli Pearson, Hudson basketball | Reggie Edwards, Garfield basketball
- Jan. 30 - Shaylah Jones, Buchtel basketball | DeCarlo Prince, St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball
- Feb. 6 - Sydney Ferguson, St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball | John Johnson, Archbishop Hoban basketball
- Feb. 13 - Dakota Graham, Norton basketball | Rayshawn Hamilton, Garfield basketball
- Feb. 20 - Kayla Munn, Coventry basketball | Derrick Kruger, Firestone basketball
- Feb. 27 - Stella Oliverio, Firestone swimming | Dante Kimble III, Ellet basketball
- March 6 - Rylee Jackson, Archbishop Hoban swimming | Andrew Gerstenmaier, Walsh Jesuit swimming
- March 13 - Niera Stevens, Archbishop Hoban basketball | Ian Bee, Tallmadge wrestling
- March 20 - MaKenzie Grant, Archbishop Hoban basketball | Arri Caporaletti, Archbishop Hoban basketball
- March 27 - Gianna Terlop, Walsh Jesuit | Owen Anderson, Wadsworth lacrosse
- April 3 - Ella Girard, Walsh Jesuit softball | Preston Davis, Wadsworth lacrosse
- April 10 - Cassidy Piotrowski, Ellet softball | Will Tober, St. Vincent-St. Mary baseball
- April 17 - Chloe Kroslak, CVCA flag football | Ronnie Ammons, Norton baseball
- April 24 - Caitlyn Carter, Tallmadge softball | Harrison Drvenkar, Revere track and field
- May 1 - Sophia Paonessa, Tallmadge softball | Aidan Reynolds, St. Vincent-St. Mary baseball
- May 8 - Chloe White, Manchester softball | Anthony Cardarelli, Green baseball
- May 15 - Brynn Mineard, Walsh Jesuit softball | Connor Hons, Woodridge track and field
- May 22 - Ava McLendon, Nordonia flag football | Elijah Myers, Firestone volleyball
- May 29 - Caitlyn Eland, Tallmadge softball | Zachary Karhoff, Archbishop Hoban baseball
- June 5 - Katie Lippencott, Walsh Jesuit softball | Anthony Bontempo, Tallmadge track and field
- June 12 - Allison Hay, Tallmadge track and field | Colt Andrews, Archbishop Hoban baseball
- June 19 - Zac Anderson, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy baseball
- June 26 - Girls Team of the Year: Walsh Jesuit softball
- July 3 - Boys Team of the Year: St. Vincent-St. Mary volleyball
- July 10 - Girls Coach of the Year: Charlie Schrader, Walsh Jesuit softball
- July 17 - Boys Coach of the Year: Jeff Howard, Woodridge cross country
- July 24 - Boys Athlete of the Year: Rylan Hurley, St. Vincent-St. Mary
- July 31 - Girls Athlete of the Year: Allison Hay, Tallmadge
- Aug. 14 - Preseason Football Game of the Year: Dalton at Mogadore (Week 3)
Editor's note: Winners of the Akron-Area Athlete of the Week in the spring are not eligible to win it again until the fall sports season begins. Coaches and athletic directors: Submit nominees for Akron-Area High School Athlete of the Week at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2026-27 Akron Area HS football game of the year | Dalton at Mogadore wins vote