Canton
Cross surprised his Bulldogs have chance to be 10-0
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By
Chris Beaven REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER
CANTON Another league title. Another trip the playoffs. A run at the state title once the regular season ends. That's the expectation every high school football season for fans of the McKinley Bulldogs.
So for most people, McKinley's 9-0 record heading into the final week of the regular season is no surprise. Don't count head coach Brian Cross among that group.
"At McKinley, people believe you're just going to come out and win every single game," Cross said. "It's good to believe that, but it's unrealistic. Our kids have worked awfully hard to be where we're at."
McKinley is at is exactly the same spot it was a year ago. The Bulldogs are unbeaten and guaranteed a first-round home playoff game heading into Saturday's 115th meeting with Massillon. What remains to be seen is if they can beat the Tigers in the 2 p.m. game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to complete a second straight 10-0 regular season for the first time in 50 years.
REBUILDING QUICKLY
To get here, McKinley has come a long way, rebuilding both lines and developing a number of leaders elsewhere.
"When we were picked to win the league, I just shook my head," Cross said. "I couldn't believe it with what we had returning. Of course, we had a good quarterback, a good tailback and three good defensive players back."
But he knew it would be hard for a relatively inexperienced team to roll through the Federal League a second straight year.
"We've been very fortunate," Cross said. "We got a move-in middle linebacker in George Tabron. That has made a big difference. I don't know where we'd be without him. And we've had some other things happen that have helped. Kids that have come around slowly and gotten better. That's all you can ask of your team."
One veteran leader, senior tailback Morgan Williams, said McKinley's success stems from its every-day work.
"I knew if everyone came to play every game and came to practice, we could be a good team," he said. "I think it starts in practice. That's where we've won our games."
VETERANS GET HELP
Williams is 518 yards and 12 points shy of becoming McKinley's career rushing and scoring leader. He has been one of the veterans meeting high expectations, with 1,524 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Quarterback Dan Grimsley has thrown 11 TDs with just four interceptions, completing 51.4 percent of his passes. Center Drew McIntyre anchors the offensive line, which helps McKinley average 35.1 points per game. Kicker Zack Campbell has six field goals, including a school-record 48-yarder.
Defensively, nose tackle Darius Willliams, linebacker Disi Alexander, and cornerbacks Will Sheeler and Brandon Mingo returned with starting experience. They have been a part of a unit that has limited teams to 11.6 points and 209.1 total yards per game.
"I believed in my teammates, and I knew we could be tougher than last year," Darius Williams said.
What's made the difference is the emergence of others.
Receivers Lonnie Richardson and Kenyard Blair became reliable targets. Jewone Snow and Steve Laubacher came along at tight end. The offensive line was rebuilt with Alex Lyon, Max Rehfus, Sean Whited, John Randall, Andrew Sewell, Isaac Gatlin and Isaiah Gatlin.
The Gatlin twins stepped up on the defensive line, along with Martavian Thigpen, Trent Bush, Charles Taylor and Gaylan Roberson. Snow became a force at outside linebacker. Tabron, a transfer from Central Catholic, became an impact player at linebacker. Derrick Gordon and Tremaine O'Neal took over at the safety.
DEFENSE GELS
Darius Williams said the defense began to hit its stride two weeks ago in overtime at Boardman. The Bulldogs tied the game on the final play of regulation. Campbell hit his 48-yard field goal to avoid a shocking upset. Boardman had the ball first in OT, and McKinley's defense stepped up with two sacks, first by Tabron, then a group effort.
"It was four guys hitting all at once," Darius Williams said. "We all just flew in there and got to the ball."
Boardman ended up missing a field goal. Three plays later, Morgan Williams scored on a 10-yard run, and the Bulldogs had another win.
Another strong performance followed last week, a 41-10 win over Jackson, leaving the Bulldogs full of confidence.
"It kind of woke us up," Darius Williams said. "It let us know we could really ... keep it going far in the playoffs."