The Medina Battling Bees of Medina, Ohio will be joining the Suburban League starting officially in 2026.

The Bees will join alongside The Kenston Bombers and the Mayfield Wildcats.

The Bees, however, have been a rival in the county for a long time. The rivalry between Wadsworth and Medina stretches back 119 years, and overall, the two Medina county teams have played 78 football games against each other, with Wadsworth leading in the win category 42-34-2. 

Starting in 2026, Wadsworth will play an in-conference game against Medina every season in every sport. This means that the two teams will both be gunning for the same league championship. Wadsworth will now face more significant competition with the addition of Medina and it will increase the tension between the two teams.  

Wadsworth has won several Suburban League titles in recent years and has been dominating the National Conference. Medina, however, had a record of 2-9 last season and a 1-6 record in their conference season.

However, Medina has produced several notable football players with Drew Allar at quarterback for Penn State and Mason Schreck, a tight-end who had a stint in the National Football League with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. 

“It’ll motivate players to play better,” said Aaron Casey, a junior who has been to every football game since his freshman year as a drummer for the band. “They have been our rival forever.”

However, Medina will not be officially in the Suburban League until 2026-2027. 

Chris Beery is the head Track and Field coach and the freshman Football coach at Wadsworth High School. Beery believes that this will give Wadsworth a much needed rivalry. 

 “It is already a rivalry… It gets pretty heated.” said Beery. Even though we already play Medina almost every year, Beery believes that it will make the teams more competitive. “I think we are going to have a natural rival back in the league.” 

With the Grizzlies biggest rival coming to Suburban League, the division will see a lot more competitive.