Mentor provides major test for Bulldogs in regional semifinal
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
CANTON--Antonio Hall's first game as Canton McKinley football coach was one that threatened to reduce a Bulldogs program to ashes in a hot kiln in the form of a 49-7 home defeat.
The Bulldogs were enduring a scandal that saw nearly an entire upheaval of their entire staff and threatened to forever tarnish a program known for it's three big school state playoff titles, two of them when Hall was a standout two-way lineman before embarking on a four-year collegiate voyage at Kentucky.
Three years after that horrifying scandal, Hall has his Bulldogs on the right track to something special within their grasp. But to continue on that track, they will have to once again oppose the top-ranked and undefeated Mentor Cardinals in a Division I, Region 1 regional semifinal Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Medina's Ken Dukes Stadium at Medina High School.
This is the same Mentor team that made life miserable for McKinley in Hall's first game as head coach that saw partisan Bulldogs fans empty the seats near halftime of that rout. Fast forward to the present, Hall is 0-3 against the Cardinals but the last two contests were very competitive in the form of a 34-21 regular season loss on the road and then an excruciating 19-14 second round loss in which then-sophomore quarterback (and now West Virginia signee) Scotty Fox escaped three game-concluding sack attempts from Bulldog linemen and found receiver Nick Jares in the back corner of the end zone ala Santonio Holmes for a walk-off touchdown, leaving McKinley players stunned amid a tearful end to their 6-6 season.
Hall has seen Mentor ascend from a team that was humiliated 49-0 when he was a starter in 1997 to where they are now as a program.
"Mentor football has become a powerhouse. They have been a power now for two decades and they have constructed that through a great youth and a great feeder system. They have consistency in their community amid that expectation and plus they are a large city and from top to bottom, left to right, they are very good," Hall said.
It was just four years ago that Mentor alumus Steve Trivisonno retired as Cardinals boss after 23 years as their head coach when he replaced Mike Pavlansky, who took the Canfield job and led them for 22 seasons, winning a state title two years ago. Upon his retirement, Trivisonno selected Matt Gray to be his successor.
All Gray has done in those four years is maintain the success that has defined Cardinals football. That is not a suprise based on what they have accomplished, especially with last week's 33-0 elimination of Strongsville. Mentor, while averaging over 40 points a game has recorded six running clock victories and while surrendering just 13 points a game, have only allowed a single team to reach the 20 point barrier.
It makes the challenge an ardous one for a McKinley program that has not competed for a regional title since 2009, a 10-7 loss to Massillon, who was a Division I, Region 2 school with the Bulldogs at the time before settling in at Division II four years later. For McKinley to send waves around the state and topple the Cardinals, they will have to play nearly just about a flawless game.
"We must have a good week of preparation and we have to have a good week of execution and we have done that since the 10th week of the season," Hall noted.
In two playoff games, McKinley has scored 76 points on offense. Last week, after trailing Jackson 14-7 at the intermission, the Bulldogs erupted like an uncontrollable volcano when they inflicted 28 points on the Polar Bears that swung their regional quarterfinal contest in their favor and an eventual 35-32 victory at Robert Fife Stadium.
Bulldogs quarterback Kam Montgomery has played turnover free football the last two weeks dating back to a late interception by Massillon QB Daylan Pringle that stifled their last comeback bid in a 16-7 road loss to the Tigers. He accounted for three touchdowns, two in the air and one using his legs to power past the Polar Bears. Hall is counting on that again this week.
"Kam is making his reads better and the game has slowed down for him more and the receivers are communicating more," Hall said.
Aside from a hiccup in the form of a 5-6 season in 2021, Mentor is 37-10. They have always been a perennial contender for years with four appearances in the Division I state championship game in 2006, 2007, 2013 and recently 2017.
The Cardinals are always lethal on offense and are a team that will not defeat themselves. They possess that same lethality on defense and special teams too. They nearly have no weaknesses and they are a team that will pounce on momentum quick if a team turns the ball over or if they score first and Mentor answers with one of their own.
Mentor is no stranger to facing a Stark County team. 13 weeks ago, the Cardinals opened up their season with a 36-13 home victory against Jackson. They have been off and running since. From that game, Hall observed what he saw in the Cardinals from that victory.
"Mentor was very balanced in that game. They have a big line on both ends of the ball. They have a lot of long and athletic players and they produce good size," he said. "Defensively, we are going to have to execute and not give up big plays, that is what it will come down to. Offensively, we will have to communicate well and we can't have penalties on both ends."
The last time McKinley was a regional champion was back in the 2006 season when they advanced to the state semifinals, where their season stalled in an 18-12 setback to Mentor at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium as the Cardinals defense stifled the Bulldogs on two separate goal line stands that proved to be the difference in stopping McKinley from playing for a state title for the second time in three years.
The winner of the McKinley-Mentor contest will face the Lakewood St. Edward-Perrysburg winner at a site to be dermined for the regional title. For McKinley to take that step, they will have to play unarguably the game of their lives and Hall believes his team has that in them.
"We will have to travel well, we can't have turnovers or penalties because Mentor will not beat themselves," he cautioned.
Antonio Hall's first game as McKinley coach was one that threatened to reduce his alma mater's program to ashes amid a 49-7 defeat. Three years later, the Bulldogs have a chance to do something that 10 teams have failed to do against the Mentor Cardinals.
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