Interception return proves vital in guiding Bulldogs to share of league title
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
CANTON--La'Nauz Brown wasn't born when his well-known uncle, running back Adrian Brown sped past Massillon to a regional final victory in 1994 and then three touchdowns in helping McKinley regain the Victory Bell against rival Massillon in 1995.
Brown wasn't even born when his father, cornerback Shaun Brown was part of two Division I state championships with the Bulldogs in 1997 and 1998.
He might have handed McKinley a near outright Federal League championship.
Brown's 24-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter of Lake quarterback Alex Quior proved to be humongous and was of urgent importance as the host Bulldogs were able to seize their 11th straight victory over a very resilient Lake football team in front of a sufficient crowd at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with a 24-21 victory that allowed them to capture at least a share of the league title.
Coupled with Jackson's 21-10 victory over GlenOak and North Canton Hoover's 35-21 win against Perry, the Bulldogs are firmly in the driver's seat for a shot at an outright league title while the Polar Bears and Vikings remained alive in the chase for a league title. Take away Brown's interception return for a score and the league race becomes a muddy mess with two games left and the Bulldogs, Vikings, Polar Bears and Blue Streaks all having a single loss.
Brown made sure McKinley did their part to avert a potential logjam.
"That play we had practiced for and watching film prepared us all week for that and when I saw that play on film, they showed it in the game," he said of stepping in front of a Lake receiver and setting the tone for the evening.
"That was awesome. We ask him to do a number of things, one of those to be a shut down cornerback for us so he has really responded and we are proud of him," McKinley first-year head coach Renzy Parnell said.
This is shaping up to be McKinley's strongest team in several seasons. It is pretty lucid that Parnell, who doubles as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator has the team operating on all pistons and cylinders.
As always, Lake refused to abdicate even in the face of two 10-point deficits in making the score very respectable. However with a second straight loss, they were eliminated from the league race with two games remaining but are still in a good position barring an unexpected collapse to qualify for the Division II state playoffs.
Parnell likened tonight's game to the heavyweight boxing trilogy between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe, who both had three fights between them in a five-year span that lasted 32 rounds with Bowe coming out on top in two of them.
"You can say the game was like that. Lake is a good football team and they came to play today. They played a really good game today and we fought back. We are used to fighting back now and it has been that way the last three of four games now," he said.
McKinley's defense is a key reason as to why they are now winners of five straight games dating back to a third week win over Cleveland Heights. But more importantly, they are valuing the importance of taking care of the football from an offensive standpoint.
McKinley only had two turnovers on the evening but Lake suffered the worst as they were the victims of three turnovers, handing the ball back to McKinley on two of the three after their defense created turnovers, especially a fumble caused on a big hit from hard-hitting linebacker Kyle Hammer, who has a very solid chance to play at the collegiate level after this year.
The Bulldogs were tested in a pivotal third quarter when Lake landed their hardest shot. Embarking on a drive coming out of the third quarter, the Blue Streaks used a healthy diet of running passing from Quior and senior tailback Davis Matson while obtaining four first downs on the drive, especially converting on a fourth down in which Quior located 6'3'' running back and wide receiver Zach Novak for a key first down on a screen pass. Lake converted a second fourth down and that one ended with a three-yard touchdown for Matson, who had two scores on the evening for the visitors while Quior had a 39-yard touchdown in the second quarter on a screen pass to Chase Fuller that tied the score at 7-7 in the second quarter.
That 17-play drive Lake had was their longest that subtracted 9:31 off the clock and pulled them to within 17-14. Lake had a chance to mount together another scoring drive but handed the ball back to McKinley when Shad Davis snagged an interception several plays after the Bulldogs turned the ball over via Hammer's hit and fumble recovery.
However, the Blue Streaks missed on two scoring opportunities that will keep them up into the evening. Two times in the first half, Quior defeated McKinley blitzes and had open teammates with no defender back in the Bulldogs secondary and both had touchdowns written all over them but both resulted in incompletions and became a reason why they are now 6-2 on the season with two games remaining.
McKinley is in position to potentially obtain a first-round bye as they came into the contest third in the Division I, Region 1 standings while Lake with a second straight loss may be in danger of having to play a week 11 game after starting the season winners of their first six.
Bulldogs quarterback Trent Hayden connected on a 15-yard touchdown to Darius Hill in the second quarter to repossess the lead after having an earlier pass intercepted in the end zone for a touchback and Kyelin West added a one-yard scoring rush for the Bulldogs, who are now 7-1 and will travel to Robert Fife Stadium next week with a chance to claim the outright Federal League title.
Last season, McKinley was in that same position to win the outright crown but a 20-7 loss to Jackson at home put their bid for the crown on ice and they were relegated to sharing the crown with their tormentors a week later when the Polar Bears turned away rival North Canton Hoover 23-20 the next week.
The last three seasons, McKinley has been on the cusp of an outright title, last attained in 2023 when Lake was subdued by Green after GlenOak had issued McKinley a stunning 7-3 loss on the final play of their contest.
Brown was a freshman in 2023 when McKinley last won the outright title. He feels that the time is now, especially with their week 10 showdown against their longtime rival, Massillon, on the horizon.
"We are going to take it one day at a time. We are going to come in and work, get some treatment, watch film and get ready to go," he said.
"It's going to be a tough game and it is another well-coached team (Jackson) and their offense is high powered and their defense flies around so it will be tough. We have to go to work and put everything we got into it," Parnell said.
La'Nauz Brown wasn't born when Adrian Brown led McKinley to a regional title and his father Shaun was a key member of two Division I state championships but his interception return for a touchdown brought energy to the Bulldogs and one victory away from an outright Federal League championship before the biggest game of their season two weeks from Saturday.
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