Four local area schools out of 112 overall remain on the road to Canton

 Four local area schools out of 112 remain on the road to Canton

By Keno Sultan

C-Town Radio statistician and announcer

CANTON--The OHSAA high school playoffs enter the third week of competition and 112 high schools are still traveling on the path to Canton and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Four Stark County area schools are of the 112 in contention.

Canton McKinley, Massillon, Lake, and Canton South are the county hopefuls remaining as they attempt to edge closer to a coveted state playoff championship. Spanning back to 2016, Canton Central Catholic is the last county school to win a championship after losses in the 2014 and 2015 Division V state final to Coldwater. Since then, Perry and Massillon both have come up short with the Panthers falling to Cincinnati LaSalle in the 2015 and 2016 Division II state championship and Massillon on the short end with three consecutive losses also in the Division II championship with two losses to Akron Hoban in 2018 and 2020 and also to LaSalle in 2019 with the 2018 and 2019 losses ending the Tigers bid for an undefeated season after 14 straight wins.

Here is a look at the remaining county teams on the road to Canton:

CANTON MCKINLEY (9-3): The Bulldogs survived a feisty Cleveland St. Ignatius team with a 28-24 comeback win to punch their ticket to the regional semifinals. Their reward: a regional semifinal rematch with defending two-time Division I champion Lakewood St. Edward (11-1) at Byers Field Friday evening in Parma. McKinley does not have a healthy playoff history against the Eagles in the form of losses to them in a 2017 first round game (37-21) and most recently in 2021, a 42-0 loss. McKinley will have to absolutely play a perfect or near-perfect game to defeat an Eagles team that closed the book on GlenOak's season with a 35-0 victory. Massillon is the only squad to defeat the #1 ranked Eagles back in the fifth week of the season, a 15-13 win. St. Edward is attempting to join St. Ignatius as the most recent Division I school to win three consecutive state titles (Ignatius won five in a row from 1991-1995).

SWARMING BULLDOGS. Canton McKinley defenders K'Voune McNeal (#18), Dante McClellan (#9), Dior Garner (#54) and Keith Quincy (#11) close in on Perry running back Ryder Hartshorn during a Federal League contest earlier in the year. (Keno Sultan/C-Town Radio)

MASSILLON (12-0): The Tigers completed a third undefeated home season under the direction of ninth-year head coach Nate Moore with a 50-7 declawing of Westerville South in a second round contest. This Tigers team may be even better than the 2018, 2019, and 2020 teams that competed for titles. Massillon has the state's #1 defense and lead the state also in time of possession. They are only surrendering nine points and are averaging a staggering 35 points on offense. Their road to Canton continues with a rematch of last season's regional final against Lake, who they will face a round sooner Friday night at North Canton Memorial Stadium in a regional semifinal. Massillon last season concluded Lake's year with a 24-6 win at Byers Field.

DURABLE STRENGTH. Massillon offensive linemen Nolan Davenport (#61), Brady Jones (#64), Michael Looney (#75), Jaezen Lewis (#77) and Samuel Snodgrass (#53) have imposed their will and worn down teams on their way to an undefeated record through 12 games this season. (Keno Sultan/C-Town Radio)

LAKE (9-3): After a first round win over Perry and then an emotionally draining 21-20 triple-overtime victory over Sunbury Big Walnut, the question is just how much does the Blue Streaks have left in the tank. If their win over Big Walnut took something out of them, Massillon isn't buying it nor are the Blue Streaks showing it. Lake will have to play just about a flawless game to defeat a Massillon team, who unarguably is the best team they will see all year. Since 2015, Massillon is 20-4 against Federal League schools and have won six in a row against them, the only loss, a 26-25 loss to Green in a regional final in 2021.

INTENT FOCUS. Lake junior linebacker Charlie Christopher sits on the bench against Canton McKinley in the third quarter of an earlier contest. (Keno Sultan/C-Town Radio)

CANTON SOUTH (12-0): Under the tutelage of third year head coach Matt Dennison, the Wildcats have evolved into a team that can score anytime they are on the field with Poochie Snyder at quarterback. The Wildcats face off against West Branch in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. at Louisville Leopards Stadium in a game that will sure have fireworks across the field and on the scoreboard.

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