Hoover @ Canton McKinley

Canton Repository

SITE: Fawcett Stadium, Canton, OH, 7:30 p.m.

RECORDS Hoover 4-0, 6-1; McKinley 5-0, 5-2

HEAD COACH: Ron Johnson, first season

LAST YEAR: 3-7, 3-4

LAST WEEK: Hoover 45, Fitch 42 (2OT); McKinley 38, Perry 10

LAST MEETING: Last year, Hoover won 17 - 7

WHAT TO WATCH: Two of Stark County’s top tailbacks will be on the field. Hoover’s Erick Howard is the Federal League’s top rusher with 1,214 yards and 18 TDs, veraging 6.8 a carry. “He is a great, great football player,” McKinley coach Ron Johnson said.

“He’s really something special. He can score anytime from anywhere. ... As long as he’s on the field, they’re in any game.”

McKinley’s Monterae Williams has rushed for 685 yards and 10 scores, averaging 5.8 a carry. The Bulldogs also get Bryce Wilder

(279 yards, 6.3 average) involved.

Both QBs are coming off breakout games. McKinley’s Kyle Ohradzansky threw for 248 yards and three TDs last week. His 728 yards ranks second in the league.

Hoover’s Brett Tulodzieski leads the league with 802 yard passing, throwing for 258 last week. He led the Vikings on a two-minute drill to set up

A.J. Sarbaugh’s game-tying field goal to force overtime. Tulodzieski has thrown just one interception this season.

Defensively, McKinley has been impressive throughout the five-game winning streak.

Hoover’s defense had been outstanding, too, before last week when Fitch hit the Vikings with some big plays. “It concerns us,” Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr.

“McKinley has more speed than Fitch. They’re really quick and fast and they get you playing in space. We’ve got to do a better job this week to compete with these guys.”

Game Matchup by the Numbers

Federal League Standings

LAST MEETING: Last year, Hoover won 17 - 7

RECORDS Hoover 4-0, 6-1; McKinley 5-0, 5-2

HEAD COACH: Ron Johnson, first season

LAST YEAR: 3-7, 3-4

LAST WEEK:

Hoover 45, Fitch 42 (2OT); McKinley 38, Perry 10

Foundation

The strength of the Bulldogs is on the defensive side of the ball this year.

Linebacker Jewone Snow is a junior, who when healthy last year, was a

presence on defense. He’s even stronger this year. Few outside of McKinley

have seen Steve Miller play defensive end. The kid, just a sophomore is

freskish and a difference maker. Linebacker Ronald Gillom is the strongest player on the team and is a big hitter.

Building blocks

Bryce Wilder has taken over the starting running back chores in the middle of camp, but the Pups have a nice one-two punch here. Wilder is smaller and faster than RB Montere Williams, a senior, who suffered a knee injury late last year. QB Kyle Ohradzansky tranferred in from out of state. As a freshman, he led his high school team to the playoffs in the spread offense.

Wedges

Johnson is a no-nonsense player’s coach who demands nothing but a player’s best. His spread offense with no-huddle aspects could be the kind of twist this program needs to fully utlize all of its athleticism.

The McKinley Bulldogs faced perhaps their toughest test of the season two weeks ago against GlenOak, but the Bulldogs found a way to pull out a tough 24-19 victory to knock the Golden Eagles from the ranks of the unbeaten. The win was McKinley’s fourth straight and moved the Bulldogs to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Federal League pending the game against Perry on Saturday, Oct 3 at 7:30 pm at Fawcett Stadium.

McKinley Offense

McKinley has seemingly found its rhythm under first-year coach Ron Johnson and his new spread offense. The Bulldogs weren’t firing on all cylinders in the season’s first two games but have steadily improved their execution as their grasp of Johnson’s system has increased. McKinley quarterback Kyle Ohradzansky is just a sophomore but he’s been very effective at managing games and getting the ball into the hands of the Bulldogs’ playmakers. Two of those players are senior running back Monterae Williams and junior back Bryce Wilder. Williams can pound teams between the tackles with his punishing running style, while defenses much account for Wilder whenever he is on the field, either as a running back or split outside. While the Bulldogs will operate out of the spread mostly, they did show the capability getting under center and pounding the ball in the I formation when they needed to run some clock in last week’s win over GlenOak.

McKInley Defense

McKinley’s 4-3 defense has seemingly settled in more and more as the season has progressed. The Bulldogs are a physical unit that won’t shy away from contact and will look to establish the tone early with some bone-jarring hits. LInebacker Jewone Snow and defensive end Steve Miller are two of the front sevens better playmakers, while the McKinley defensive backfield is able to add support in the running game. Defensive back Jamon McClain had a huge interception return that helped set up a McKinley touchdown last week.

McKinley Offensive Game Stats:

Rushing TD's 15; Passing TD's 7

Rushing yards 1176