MENTOR, Ohio — For the third straight year, Canton McKinley’s road to the elite eight ran through Mentor, and for the third straight year it ended there. The Cardinals beat the Bulldogs 16-13 on Friday night, November 13, at Jerome T. Osborne Senior Stadium in an OHSAA Division I, Region 1 semifinal, according to The Repository’s live game report.
McKinley led for most of the night. After a scoreless first quarter — one that included a Mentor shotgun snap sailing through quarterback Corbin Bissett’s hands at the goal line — the Bulldogs struck first on Braylon Crook’s 17-yard touchdown scramble with 8:20 left in the second quarter, and Henry Snyder’s extra point made it 7-0, The Repository reported.
The Bulldogs had already survived one scare: Dwoyne Robinson blocked Daniel Kristo’s 34-yard field goal attempt, and Chase Ivory returned it to the Mentor 31 to set up the scoring drive. But McKinley’s own gamble handed the momentum back — a failed fake punt gave Mentor the ball at the McKinley 36, and two plays later Brogan Jones threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Claridy. Kristo’s extra point hit the right upright — his first miss in 48 attempts this season, The Repository reported — and McKinley led 7-6 with 1:07 left in the half.
The half ended in heartbreak for the Bulldogs. With first-and-goal from the 4 and 13 seconds left, McKinley threw three straight incompletions, brought its kicker out for what would have been its first field goal attempt of the season, then — after a Mentor timeout and a false start — put the offense back on the field. Crook’s dump-off to DeMarlo Rozier Jr. gained 8 yards and stopped at the 1-yard line on the final play of the half, The Repository reported.
The third quarter belonged to the defenses. McKinley turned it over on downs at the Mentor 27, and Mentor’s answering drive stalled at the goal line when Bissett fumbled a snap on third down from the 1, leaving the Cardinals facing fourth-and-goal from the 5 as the fourth quarter began, according to The Repository.
Mentor took the lead on the kick instead. Kristo’s 22-yard field goal capped a 17-play, 73-yard drive and put the Cardinals up 9-7 with 11:56 to play. McKinley’s next chance died at midfield — after the Bulldogs recovered their own pooch punt that Mentor touched, Kyelin West was dropped for a loss on fourth-and-1 at the 50 — and Mentor cashed in: Ryan Orsog carried four times for 44 yards on the drive and scored from 6 yards out, and Kristo’s extra point made it 16-7 with 5:07 left, The Repository reported.
Crook gave McKinley one last chance, running for a 10-yard touchdown with 2:00 remaining. The 2-point conversion pass failed, and Mentor recovered the onside kick with under two minutes left to close out the win, according to The Repository.
The history is becoming its own storyline. Mentor has now eliminated McKinley from the playoffs three straight years — winning 25-24 on a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 20 seconds left last year, and 31-0 at Medina two years ago — and has won eight straight meetings in the series, The Repository reported. McKinley has not advanced past the third round since 2006.
Our preview of this rematch, McKinley Gets Another Shot at Mentor in Regional Semifinal Rematch Friday, noted the Bulldogs’ 900th program win at Austintown Fitch last week; Friday, the season that produced it ended at 9-4. The other half of the Region 1 final was settled across town, as covered in St. Edward Tops Hudson 38-14 to Set Up Regional Final Against Mentor.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the Region 1 final pairing is set — St. Edward (11-1) against Mentor (10-2), a rematch of sorts for two programs that have shared this round for years — but its site is not. The OHSAA will announce regional-final sites on Sunday, November 15, according to The Repository’s bracket report.
West’s return was a subplot all week. The junior running back, who averages 10.5 yards a carry and had not played since Week 9 because of a lower leg injury, was in uniform and carried four times for 13 yards in the first half, The Repository reported, while Rozier handled the bulk of the work.
For Mentor, the formula was patience: two quarterbacks, a defense that stiffened at the goal line twice, and a kicker who shook off a blocked field goal and a missed extra point to hit the go-ahead kick in the fourth quarter.
What happens next: Mentor (10-2) faces St. Edward (11-1) in the Division I, Region 1 final on Friday, November 20. The winner advances to the state semifinals on November 27 — and Mentor goes in having beaten McKinley for the eighth straight time.
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY