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http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?C...&ID=192174&r=1

Eagles soaring behind Hartline
Friday, November 12, 2004 By TODD PORTER Repository sports writer

PLAIN TWP. — About the only thing Jack Rose hasn’t used is a jackhammer. When dealing with the psyche of a young quarterback, the GlenOak head coach knows a rubber mallet is best.

His point has been driven home and heard by GlenOak quarterback Mike Hartline.

The 6-foot-6 junior is being recruited by colleges from coast to coast. Sometimes players of Hartline’s caliber believe the game is decided on their shoulders, that they have to make most of the plays. But in this case, as Rose has said time and again, Hartline has enough playmakers around him.

“We’ve told him, ‘Hey, it’s OK to punt the ball once in a while,’ ” Rose said. “Mike is doing a much better job of taking what defenses are giving him.”

Hartline gets a second shot at a McKinley defense that intercepted five of his passes in a regular-season game earlier this year. Saturday night at 7 at Fawcett Stadium, the Bulldogs will try to frustrate Hartline and his GlenOak teammates in a Division I regional semifinal.

The games began Thursday night. After most GlenOak players had showered and left, a car pulled alongside the GlenOak locker room. A group of teenagers handed a large bird’s wing to a team manager and told him to give it to the players because that would be all that’s left of them Saturday night.

The wing wasn’t dropped off by McKinley players. They were busy eating at a team dinner that started at about the same time. Rose had the wing put in a bag. It smelled, and he didn’t want it stinking up his office. His players will probably get a look at it today, and the message will be delivered.

In all fairness, neither of these teams resemble the ones that played each other in the fourth week of the season. Hartline has settled in at quarterback. Wide receivers TyShaun Brown, Harold Fannin, Brian McNew and Kirby Mayle have provided the offense with a consistent set of hands.

The development of backup quarterback Justin Allison has added comfort to the coaching staff and they are allowing Hartline to run more.

“The last three weeks we’ve really come on and we’ve been making some plays,” Rose said. “We have a nice rotation with our receivers. Mike has settled down and has been consistent.”

Hartline is a confident kid. He is a strong-armed passer with a presence in the huddle.

“He thinks he can make every throw, but sometimes you don’t have to,” Rose said. “He has a lot of confidence. The biggest thing I’ve noticed in him is his poise. He was in complete control last week. Any time he needed to make a play he was going to make one.”

Rose and Hartline have talked about the first game against McKinley. Three of his interceptions were superb defensive plays, including one that was a tipped pass. Another pass was an obvious drop that was tipped by a GlenOak receiver and the fifth came when Hartline tried to throw the ball away in the back of the end zone, but didn’t get enough muscle on the pass.

“I asked him, ‘Are you excited about this game?’ He said, ‘Yes I am, but I’m trying to be reserved about it, too,’ ” Rose said. “He’s had a great week of practice. ... I think Mike is realizing that every defense gives you something. We can’t force the ball, because someone else is sitting wide open.”

McKinley head coach Brian Cross is well aware that GlenOak has changed since the first game. He also knows his team is different as well. The Bulldogs were without running back and safety Ryan Brinson in the second half. Two-way lineman Antwon Hight was suspended. The McKinley offensive line was struggling then, but it hasn’t much in the second half of the season.

Cross also knows his team has to do something Saturday night that GlenOak won’t: Beat the same team twice in a season.

“Without a doubt that’s a hard thing to do,” Cross said. “The extra incentive goes to them. ... It’s going to be a game of who makes the least amount of mistakes. The team that comes out on top will be the team that turns the ball over the least.”

Cross saw the film of GlenOak’s win last week. He watched Fannin run past a defender and Hartline throw a perfect 40-yard touchdown pass in a dark stadium on a muddy field.

“Against us the first game, they dropped some balls they normally catch,” Cross said. “They’re playing Fannin on offense more and Mayle is coming into his own. Hartline is running the ball more, so now they have two threats (with running back B.J. Penn) in the backfield.”

What high school football fans have in Saturday night’s game is the two most talented big-school teams in Stark County. When it’s over, and it may take a while, someone is among the final eight Division I teams in the state.

“We’re on uncharted ground now at GlenOak,” said Rose, sporting a new buzz cut compliments of his co-captains at a Thursday afternoon pep rally. “We’ve never been this far. We’ve told them once you get through the first round, anything can happen. ... For us, it’s coming together at the right time. If we stay injury-free, we have a chance, and it will go down to the wire.”