Bulldogs travel on road to face heavyweight test against longtime stalwart

 Bulldogs travel on road to face heavyweight test against longtime stalwart

By Keno Sultan 

C-Town Radio announcer and statistician

CANTON--Antonio Hall has had his share of heavyweight contests in his playing days against Warren Harding.

Aside from a 30-9 win in 1997 on the way to an undefeated season with the prizes being an Ohio big school and USA Today national championship, the 1996, 1998, and 1999 contests against the Raiders were won by a combined eight points with the 1998 and 1999 contests clinching playoff spots for Canton McKinley and the 1996 game keeping their season afloat before salvaging the final playoff spot against a Massillon team who at the time was ranked #1 in Ohio Division I and #2 in the nation.

24 years after his playing days concluded with him being the Ohio Division I player of the year and committing to the University of Kentucky for a four-year run, Hall is back in Canton as the patriarch of his alma mater's football program in his third season as McKinley commences the 2023 season Friday night against a Warren Harding team that is expected to be vastly improved than last season's 2-8 team. 

Although the Raiders graduated multitalented quarterback Dalys Jett to Walsh University, Hall quickly mentioned the four matchups with the Raiders from his prep days and knows they will be the same team, physical and hard-hitting when they take the field at 7 p.m. at Mollenkopf Stadium.

"They were a physical bunch and they have a similar tradition in common with McKinley. They will be a formidable team to play against," Hall cautioned.

One thing that has defined Harding football over the years is their always lethal special teams. The Raiders are always a kick or punt return score from changing the trajectory of any contest, and that also includes blocking a field goal or punt and scoring, something the Raiders pride themselves on.

Case in point. 21 years ago, Harding wide receiver Mario Manningham recorded two special teams touchdowns against McKinley's rival Massillon, a kickoff return for a touchdown and then a game-winning punt return touchdown in the closing seconds to complete a 31-27 win in a contest that the Tigers were dominating but the Raiders special teams proved superior in the second half when it counted most in overcoming a 27-17 deficit with over seven minutes remaining.

Although the Raiders may no longer have Manningham, who is 18 years removed from a stellar career that took him to Michigan and then a Super Bowl championship with the New York Giants, that doesn't mean they are not a threat in the special teams department. Hall knows McKinley will have to be adept in that phase and not yield any big returns or miscues that will lead to Raiders scores.

"Special teams is a big emphasis for us. We practice that for a reason. We have to be sound in all three phases of the game, offense, defense, and special teams. Northeast Ohio teams have very good special teams and utilize that well. We want to be the best coverage team and pride ourselves on that," he said.

In last week's scrimmage to Cleveland St. Ignatius, McKinley fell short by virtue of a 20-19 decision but what left Hall pleased was the fact that his team did not turn the ball over in two quarters from his varsity and senior quarterback Keaton Rode has taken the initiative to protect the football. Add in the hard running of junior tailback Nino Hill and a sturdy offensive line, the McKinley offense looks to be in early season form.

Defensively, what Hall lamented was the fact his team surrendered two long touchdown passes to the Wildcats that spanned over 50 yards. Although McKinley countered with two deep passes also spanning 50 yards for touchdowns, Hall knows his team will have to shore up the deficiency in the secondary. When asked if he will resort to an aggressive pass rush in order to take the pressure off his defensive backs, Hall attested that was not the case.

"No, that was more of our defensive backs being out of position in those situations. We were also playing a lot of guys to see who is ready to take that next step and to see who needs more work. Those scores came from blown assignments but other than that I have no question about the abilities of our secondary," he said.

Warren Harding will be paced by their running game this year. Harding will want to score more points offensively as that was missing deeply last season. It's one thing to be able to score on offense but at the same time, the Raiders know they can't be just dependent on a defensive or special teams touchdown to pace them.

A key start for them will be to jumpstart their running game. If they can get that going and move the chains, it may create difficulties for the visiting Bulldogs. One thing McKinley does not want to occur is to let Harding find themselves in second and third down situations in short yardage and the only way McKinley will avert that is getting the Raiders behind the chains.

If Harding has to pass the ball, the McKinley secondary may have an opportunity to snag some interceptions and that may assist their goal of obtaining a victory and deflate the Raiders cause.

"We have to win the first down battle and get them into some second down and third down situations where the yardage is long. If we can do that, it will bode well for us," Hall said. "They have a bruising running game and we don't want to get them in second down, third down where they have short yardage, so we have to win the first down battle."

This is a critical game for McKinley with Avon arriving to Canton for the home opener next week. It may not sound like it in reality but this is a must-win for the Bulldogs as they don't want to come back to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium next week a flat team for their home opener against an Eagles team that is a strong contender for a Division II championship.

A victory Friday night will go a long way into sparking the Bulldogs into next week's home opener.

"We will have to travel well and play well. Warren Harding is going to be a challenge and we have to come ready to play," Hall said.

Antonio Hall has had his share of heavyweight contests against Warren Harding as a player. Now he will get to live it as the head coach of the school he won two Division I state championships with.

FLIP THE SCRIPT

One thing that Hall is not proud of is his record in season openers. Twice the Bulldogs suffered thunderous losses to Mentor in 2021 and 2022 and that is something he wants to change. Scoring first will help that case. "That would mean a lot to score first. We want to start fast and finish strong. We want to put our offense in a great position to score and be aggressive defensively," Hall said.

FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE GRIDIRON

Steve Arnold enters his 12th season as the head football coach of the Raiders. A 1982 graduate of Harding, Arnold previously served as the head basketball coach of the Raiders. His 2004-05 Raiders team was ranked #2 in Ohio and battled #1 Canton McKinley for a district title, a contest won by the Bulldogs 84-41 on their way to the first of two Division I state championships. Arnold replaced Rick Rios, who was forced out after a 2-8 season back in 2011. Prior to that, Rios replaced D.J. Dota, who was picked by Thom McDaniels to be his successor after the 2006 season. McDaniels coached McKinley for 17 seasons and Harding for seven.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE

In a battle of the nation's winningest programs Friday night, Massillon will host Valdosta (GA) in a much anticipated showdown to kick off the Northeast Ohio vs. America Showcase at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Valdosta is #1 in the nation for most wins while Massillon is not far behind at #4 for wins. It will be one of four games on the showcase with the other three at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Saturday as defending two-time Division I state kingpin Lakewood St. Edward will challenge Indiana 6A state champion Center Grove, defending two-time Division II state finalist and five-time champion Akron Hoban will combat Kentucky 5A champion Frederick Douglass and the night will conclude with Division IV state champion Cleveland Glenville matching wits against Dinwiddie.

SPEAKING OF MASSILLON

No school in the state of Ohio has more wins over AP #1 ranked teams than the Tigers. The highest ranked team in the nation to play the Tigers in the Nate Moore era now spanning nine years was the East St. Louis Flyers, who came to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium boasting a #6 ranking in 2018. Massillon overcame a 20-10 deficit to outscore the Flyers 36-20 and emerge with a 46-40 victory that eventually propelled the undefeated Tigers to a much anticipated showdown with undefeated Hoban in a #1 vs. #2 matchup for the Division II state title. Although the Tigers lost 42-28 in a valiant effort that nearly saw them wipe out a 34-7 second half deficit, they finished ranked in the top 25 in the nation and once again recorded a second straight top 25 finish in the nation the following season, another stellar 14-1 season.

QUARTER ANNIVERSARY 

This season also marks the 25th anniversary of McKinley's second consecutive Division I state title team that mowed down Cincinnati St. Xavier 33-10 in front of a sold out crowd of 18,000 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. McKinley finished the 1998 season 12-1 and a four-year run with a record of 45-7 dating back to the 1996 season.

Junior Canton McKinley tailback Nino Hill runs for yardage as he wards off a St. Ignatius defender in last week's scrimmage. Hill and the Bulldogs travel to Warren for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Warren Harding Raiders at Mollenkopf Stadium. (Keno Sultan/C-Town Radio) 

Keno Sultan can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.