2025 Booster Club Report – Week 10 – Post-Warren Harding; Preview of the Canton McKinley Game
Massillon (6-3) defeated Warren Harding (3-5), 42-10. This week Massillon travels to Canton McKinley (8-1) for the 136th renewal of this long rivalry.
Link to the Warren Harding Story
Link to the Warren Harding Game Statistics
Other scores:
- 7th Grade (6-0): Defeated Lucas, 30-22. Season over.
- 8th Grade (2-6): Lost to Canton GlenOak, 52-20. Season over.
- Freshmen (2-5-1): Tied Warren Harding, 14-14. Plays at home against Canton McKinley on Wednesday, October 22, at 6:00 pm.
- Junior Varsity (2-6-1): Defeated Warren Harding, 28-22. Season over.
Review of the Warren Harding Game
Massillon jumped on Warren early, scoring two touchdowns in the first three minutes of the game as a result of turnovers enroute to a 42-10 victory. The Tigers led 28-3 at the half and scored on their second possession of the third quarter to send the game into a running clock situation. Running back Anthony McMullen Jr. had a second consecutive big night, rushing 22 times for 158 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Manny Patterson completed 12 of 17 passes for 133 yards, with TD throws to Giorgio Jackson Jr. of 14 yards and Deontay Malone of 27 yards. Linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams had a huge night, recording five total tackles, 3 TFLs and two fumble recoveries, one of which he returned 18 yards for a touchdown. The Raiders were hampered by five turnovers, three of which gave Massillon a short field and the fourth was the Williams return. The Massillon defense was suburb, holding the Warren rushing attack to just 32 yards on 25 carries. Warren’s lone TD came on a kickoff return.
Festivities
It was the evening of the annual Beat McKinley rally. On hand were the Tiger Swing Band, majorettes and cheerleaders performing their traditional routines and getting the attendees primed for the big week ahead. Later, Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore invited the senior players to the stage in order to express their favorite memories of the season. Some cited the big-crowd atmosphere in the opener against Cleveland Glenville. Others mentioned the big victory over Lakewood St. Edward. And several had fond memories of bonding with their teammates during the preseason trip to Xenia.
“We’re so lucky to have such great support from the cheerleaders and band (and majorettes),” said Moore. “Thank you, fans and supporters. The support we have here is second to none.” He said that the preparations that the Tigers perform during the week mimic that of the band. That is, practice well to play well. “It was a good Monday practice,” he said. “We’re off to a really good start. Now we need a great practice on Tuesday. We’ll enjoy all the events this week. But, our job is to win the game on Saturday. We’re going to enjoy Saturday at 4:30 or 5:00.”
Canton McKinley Scouting Report
The Bulldogs play in the Federal League, which is comprised of teams located either in or near Stark County. In the playoffs they compete in Division I. Last year they finished with an 8-5 record, with a 31-0 loss to Mentor in the third round of the playoffs. The record over the previous five years is 36-23, including a 24-5 mark in Federal League play and an 8-5 result in the post-season. Last year McKinley lost a hard-fought battle to Massillon by the score of 16-7. The Tigers lead the overall series, 77-53-5 and have won the last nine meetings and thirteen of the last fourteen. Massillon Coach Nate Moore owns a 9-1 record in the game, while this will be the first experience for Bulldogs Head Coach Renard “Renzy” Parnell II.
The chart below provides some data on McKinley against Federal League competition during the reign of Coach Moore. The data gives an indication that the Bulldogs this year are on par with the offense, but have one of their better defenses.
McKinley’s results to date:
- Warren Harding (3-5): 43-25 W
- St. Augustine, NJ (6-1): 14-24 L
- Cleveland Heights (4-5): 34-12 W
- Canton GlenOak (2-7): 38-0 W
- Massillon Perry (4-5): 28-18 W
- Green (4-5): 21-3 W
- North Canton (7-2): 21-20 W
- Uniontown Lake (7-2): 24-21 W
- Massillon Jackson (5-4): 40-9
The Bulldogs return four offensive and four defensive starters from last year. The top players on offense are:
- Senior quarterback Trent Hayden: 122 of 191 passing for 1,455 yards (11.9 ave.), with 6 interceptions and 12 touchdowns.
- Junior running back Keyelin West (5′-8″, 175): 177 carries for 1,068 yards (6.0 ave.) and 10 touchdowns.
- Junior wide receiver Deejay Britt (6′-1″, 165): 36 receptions for 577 yards (16.0 ave.) and 5 touchdowns.
- Junior wide receiver Darius Hill (5′-7″, 165): 44 receptions for 499 yards (11.3 ave.) and 6 touchdowns.
Defensive Coordinator Jeff Kent spoke about the progress his group has made and a bit on the Bulldog offense. “We’ve greatly improved on defense in the last five weeks,” he said. “It’s really starting to come together. We’re playing our best football now. We’re really working on correcting mistakes and then focusing on deeper understanding of the defense. We’ve been adjusting to formations better. The last two weeks I’ve been very pleased. It took awhile to learn the defense. We can be elite. We have the right guys. And it’s coming together.
“We want to be physical. Own the game. Bring the same intensity to every snap. We did that in practice today for the first time. We want to be relentless and consistent so the opponents don’t want to play us in the fourth quarter.”
Regarding McKinley Kent said, “They do a really good job with outside zone blocking and RPO. They try to one-on-one in the perimeter.” He added that the Tigers need to stop the run and take away the easy throws, thereby forcing the quarterback into tough throws and potential turnovers. I’m excited about Saturday. We’re spending every minute of this week trying to get an edge. These guys will be ready to go.”
The top players on defense are:
- Junior linebacker Antonio Stevens (6′-0″, 218): 13.0 tackles for loss.
- Senior defensive lineman Collin Hinkle: 13.0 tackles for loss, including 5.0 quarterback sacks.
- Linebacker Amare Mitchell (6′-3″, 205): 11.0 tackles for loss, including 4.0 quarterback sacks.
- Inside linebacker Isaac Brooks (6′-0″, 205).
- Senior safety Demare McClellan (5′-11″, 173).
Offensive Coordinator Evan Berbari said that McKinley presents an even front on defense, similar to Akron Hoban’s scheme, with man-to-man on the corners and cover-1. “The keys are “do your job” and “win 3rd down,” he said.
The top player on special teams is:
- Punter Thomas Mankowski: 23 punts for 36.2 yards per punt.
Special Teams Coach Jason Jarvis said that the Bulldog kicker is above average and can reach the end zone. But they also employ several non-standard schemes. He added that the punter is decent and all of the return players have skill and speed.
The Book on Massillon
- Junior quarterback Manny Patterson: 85 of 131 passing (65%) for 986 yards (11.6 ave.), with 6 interceptions and 15 touchdowns.
- Junior running back Savior Owens: 140 carries for 860 yards (6.1 ave.) and 11 touchdowns.
- Senior running back Anthony McMullen Jr.: 96 carries for 468 yards (4.7 ave.) and 3 touchdowns.
- Junior wide receiver Giorgio Jackson Jr.: 31 receptions for 360 yards (10.9 ave.) and 7 touchdowns.
- Junior wide receiver Deonay Malone: 26 receptions for 369 yards (14.2 ave.) and 6 touchdowns.
- Senior linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams: 89 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 quarterback sacks, 1 pass interception, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 blocked kick
- Junior linebacker Isaac Maxheimer: 47 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 quarterback sacks, 2 pass interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
- Senior defensive lineman Sam Dossous: 31 total tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 quarterback sacks.
- Sophomore punter Rasmus Haines: 24 punts, 36.5 ave.
- Junior kicker Mateo Herrera: 36 of 36 PATs, 1 of 3 field goals
Go Tigers!
