John Matakovich – (2003)

A multi-sport star for Lorain Admiral King High School, John Matakovich excelled in both football and baseball from 1982 to 1986 for the Admirals. He extended his football career on the collegiate level starring for Youngstown State University under Coach Jim Tressel, now the head football coach at the Ohio State University. It is for his accomplishments on the football field that we welcome him into the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame.

On the gridiron for the Admirals, Matakovich received numerous honors for his work on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football. In his junior season John was named the Journal Star of the week for his game against rival Marion Harding in which he ran back two interceptions for touchdowns, recovered a fumble, knocked down two passes and had 11 tackles. That season he set a school record for intercepting five passes and returning three for touchdowns. He was also named 2nd team All-Buckeye Conference for his work as defensive back under Coach Bill Provident.

As co-captain of the Admirals during his senior season everything seemed to come together. He was named 1st team All-Buckeye Conference as a defensive back and 2nd team selection on offense for his play as fullback. He was selected as the Buckeye Conference Defensive Player of the Year for his hard hitting, defensive work. The accolades piled on after that as he was named 1st team All-Ohio by the Associated Press and 2nd team All-Ohio by the United Press International, 1st team All Northeast Ohio and 1st team All Lorain County. His outstanding defensive performance against Fremont Ross earned him the Journal Star of the Week honor. He rounded out his High School career by playing in the prestigious North-South football game featuring the state’s top high school football players.

John extended his football career for the Youngstown State Penguins. Initially, he was offered a partial scholarship, but by the end of the first semester he had a full scholarship. He immediately became a contributor of a strong program under Coach Tressel who was impressed by John’s hard-hitting defensive play. While at Youngstown he had the opportunity to play for defensive guru Mark Dantonio, the current defensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He received many honors for his play at Youngstown and was named their Defensive Player of the Year his senior season.

John and his wife, Lauri, reside in Lorain with their two children, Johnny (4) and Emily (2).