McKinley awaits challenge from Vikings in key league tilt
By Keno Sultan
C-Town Radio announcer and statistician
CANTON--24 years ago, Antonio Hall saw his senior season at Canton McKinley flashing before his eyes.
It was bad enough the previous week that #1 ranked McKinley saw their stranglehold on the Victory Bell end with a sickening 35-7 loss to undefeated and #3 ranked Massillon who completed a 10-0 regular season inside Fawcett Stadium.
A week later, North Canton Hoover was threatening to bring McKinley's two-year reign as Division I state champions to a thudding halt along with Hall's career as the Vikings used two field goals to erect a 6-0 halftime lead. The Bulldogs were able to escape North Canton Memorial Stadium with an unlikely 7-6 victory that extended their season one more week.
24 years later, Hall is now in his third year as the football coach at McKinley and for the second time since the 1999 season, he will return as the visiting head coach of his alma mater when his battalion of Bulldogs descend on North Canton Memorial Stadium for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Vikings in a Federal League contest that will see if the Bulldogs take a step closer toward another league title or will Hoover find a way to get back into contention.
It has been nine years since longtime veteran Hoover general and alumnus Don Hertler Jr. stepped down but the Vikings have still thrived under current head coach Brian Baum Sr. When asked if saw differences between Hertler Jr. and Baum, Hall concurred there were more similarities to their styles as head coaches.
"There is not much of a difference. Both coaches and their teams are physical with strong running backs and a strong running game, so there isn't much of a difference there," he said.
Both teams took crazy turns last week as McKinley committed an uncharacteristic five turnovers in the form of interceptions (one went back for a touchdown to end the first half) against Green and Hoover spent all evening attempting to claw back into their contest against GlenOak.
Whereas Hall was relieved that his team was able to escape with a 28-27 win, he is well aware that another performance like that will result in a two going to the loss column along with a one in league play. On the other hand, although he was pleased with the fight of his team in their 27-24 loss to GlenOak, Baum does not want to see his team fall behind and having to catch up against a Bulldogs team that is stacked with vaunted firepower at their skill positions, especially at running back.
One thing Hoover has going for them is that they are capable of winning at home. Two years ago, they terminated a 13-year losing streak to McKinley as they routed the Bulldogs 24-0 in a game that turned completely in the Vikings favor when safety Anthony Gross intercepted a pass and nearly returned it for a 100 yard touchdown. Hoover scored several plays later and it left Hall having a long chat with his charges after the dismal setback.
Although that seemed like a long time ago especially when McKinley was still recovering from a scandal that rocked their program, Baum vividly recalled that contest.
"Anthony Gross, oh man he changed the momentum of that game. McKinley was driving to get back into the game and he read it perfectly. Our defense was flying down field that night, we got it into the fourth quarter and eventually took the game away from them," he recalled.
This may be a contest in which whoever can execute in the running game department will emerge victorious. The Vikings will bring quarterback Carson Dyrlund and running back Kyler Miraglia to the table whereas the Bulldogs will counter with power back Nino Hill and Stephon Thomas.
Thomas last week provided a spark for the Bulldogs as he came off the bench to ignite an offense that had been stuck in reverse for two quarters. He and Hill both finished with over 100 yards rushing and wore down Green's defense. For McKinley to have success, both will have to be in optimum form and the same can be said for Dyrlund and Miraglia, who transferred from Northwest before the start of the season.
If both Thomas and Hill are successful, it will take the pressure off of Keaton Rode, who struggled last week and still has in front of him tasks against stout defenses in Lake, Jackson and then Massillon, who has the top-ranked defense not just in Stark County but also the state in Division II.
"We had a great second half and was able to get back into the game with our running game. We had great momentum and controlled the clock," Hall said of his backs. "Defensively, we have to alter their quarterback and running back and neutralize their running game."
Last week, North Canton was not able to complete a successful bid for victory against GlenOak. Like McKinley, there were turnovers that were ruinous to the Vikings cause. North Canton enjoyed a 10-7 lead but were outscored 20-14 the rest of the way.
Baum is well aware of what will occur if his team has not corrected their maladies before McKinley has.
"Staying away from turnovers are important. You just can't have those like we did against GlenOak and McKinley has a team that will make you pay for it, he said.
North Canton is fighting for their Federal League title lives. Losing one league contest is one thing. But no team has ever won let alone split the title with two losses. A loss will likely spell the end of the Vikings hopes of winning a second league title in three years. Since taking the Hoover post in 2015, Baum has piloted the Vikings to league crowns in 2018 and 2021 with the 2021 crown coming outright.
Friday night, a near capacity crowd of 10,000 will be expected. Baum feels that his legion of Vikings will have to set the tone with a first score and to get the crowd on their side early. When asked if there will be more pressure on his team to obtain a victory to stay in the hunt, Baum put the matter in perspective.
In Federal League football according to Baum, anyone can be a spoiler at any week.
"It will be important to get the crowd into the game. I was impressed with our fight in the second half last week so we have to bring that every minute Friday night," he said. "Far as pressure to win? In the Federal League, every game is pressure packed and we are getting a good McKinley team. They have a lot of pride and tradition and they are no different from last year as they have a lot of speed."
Going into this game, Hall knows that this Hoover team is not the same team that his charges decimated last year 42-9 via a running clock. He doesn't see his team living off of last year's result, something that may be fatal if they do so.
The league race at the same time is starting to tighten for McKinley. With Lake and Jackson facing off next week and depending on those results and how McKinley fares Friday night, the league picture will start to become clearer. However according to Hall, his team is just focused on the Vikings.
"I have not thought about anyone but just this game. We just have to play well and maximize our opportunities and take advantage of them when we can. We have traveled well during the road and we have to do that again," he said.
24 years ago, Antonio Hall saw his senior season flash before his eyes inside North Canton Memorial Stadium. 24 years later he is now the patriarch of the football program who has sights on extending their grasp on the Federal League.
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