Bulldogs travel West in rout of GlenOak
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
PLAIN TWP.--Canton McKinley doesn't have to travel west for another six weeks.
That's OK with them and junior back Kyelin West.
McKinley got off to an inspired start by scoring on their first three possessions, all by West and were never in any danger as they inflicted a - rout of the host GlenOak Eagles at Bob Commings Field in the Federal League opener for both squads.
Canton McKinley set the tone for the evening in just only seven plays. A clean and crisp drive ended with West, the multi-talented junior tailback scoring untouched for an early touchdown drive on their opening possession and an early 7-0 advantage midway through the opening quarter. It would be the first of four touchdowns on the evening for West.
The McKinley defense came up with a deflection for an interception by defensive back Chase Ivory to stifle a promising Eagles drive.
The Bulldogs needed just four plays to locate real estate again. West turned a short pass from quarterback Braylon Crook into a 51-yard scamper for a touchdown and a quick 14-0 lead. West added a two-yard touchdown run near the end of the quarter to extend the Bulldogs advantage to three touchdowns.
It was a portent of things for the defending league champion Bulldogs who wanted to set the tone early, much to the delight of second-year boss Renzy Parnell.
"We had energy all week. We are now in the second part of our season, the Federal League and we take that seriously. The energy is natural and we had that all week," Parnell said of West's energy he brought tonight.
GlenOak showed some fight on their fourth possession in the second quarter Buoyed by a McKinley personal foul, the Eagles were fueled by the situation and a big fourth down pass from Jamel Hall to Bradnce Saunders who turned it into a 37-yard completion to the McKinley 15 yard line. Two plays later, fullback Drew Delp got the hosts on the board with 8:14 left to truncate the McKinley lead to 21-7 with most of the quarter to be played before intermission.
Veteran head coach Matt Dennison liked where his team was at the time.
"We had the momentum at 21-7 and if we were able to get a stop......they just kept on scoring and that's hard to keep that momentum if you can't get off the field," he said. "Tonight we took a step back and we just didn't do anything good offensively."
But any momentum GlenOak had was squelched. After a timeout, Crook located a wide open Legacy Lee on the right sideline and Lee found the end zone and the visitors were back up three touchdowns.
A 74-yard punt return touchdown by Darius Hill punctuated a flawless first half for the 3-1 Bulldogs, who now have obtained their seventh straight Federal League triumph. Crook also added a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hill, which actuated the running clock to commence the second half.
It was more than what GlenOak could handle as they descended to 1-3 (0-1 league) on the season. But a win against Lake next week will keep them in the hunt for a league title.
"The big thing is that we have to beat Lake next week and hope McKinley stumbles once or twice. We just have to continue to work on us and get better as we are trying to build something here," Dennison commented.
Desmond Parnell, the son of the head coach recorded an interception on the evening as well.
For the Bulldogs, they will return home for a Friday affair against Perry, who at press time lost at home to Lake in their league opener 15-9.
"Spencer Leno is a good coach and they have athletes all around who can play. We are going to get to work on them tonight," Parnell said.
Canton McKinley doesn't have to travel west for another six weeks. And that is just fine with them based on tonight's scintillating performance by Kyelin West and the rest of the Bulldogs at Bob Commings Field.
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