by Mentor, OH — Mentor defeated Canton McKinley in the third round of the OHSAA playoffs at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium Friday night, with a final score of 16-13. This frigid and hard-fought battle was taken across both halves, with both teams fighting to the fullest to secure their spot in the regional semifinals.
Canton McKinley kicked off Friday night’s game to Mentor, where a frigid battle ensued, full of long drives, hard-hitting plays, and even harder tackles. Mentor was quick to build momentum up the field with key rushes from Brogan Jones, quickly finding themselves close to Canton McKinley’s end zone.
Canton McKinley was quick to show Mentor that they would not go down without a fight, despite the frigid weather, bringing down Mentor’s offense on fourth down. Staving off Mentor’s offense, Canton McKinley kicked off its own offensive series in stunning fashion to open the game at the 8:00 mark.
Canton McKinley, moving to offense for its first series of the game, was met with a fierce defense from Mentor, with the Cardinals’ defensive line meeting the Bulldogs at every stop. Mentor quickly forced the downs to fourth and turned the ball over, putting possession back in their hands.
Coming off their defensive hold, Mentor was once again back on offense and quick to find momentum moving up the field. With another slate of drives from Ryan Orzog, an opening was created for Corbin Bissett to make a 73-yard rush across the field, putting the Mentor Cardinals within striking distance of the end zone.
Mentor, closing in on Canton McKinley’s end zone, was able to close out the first quarter within striking distance of scoring.
Moving into the opening of the second quarter, Canton McKinley was just able to stave off Mentor from entering the end zone. Transitioning to a field goal attempt, Mentor had its momentum quickly snatched away by Canton McKinley following a failed kick and a quick 40-yard rush from the Bulldogs.
This put momentum back into Canton McKinley’s hands, and that momentum quickly translated into a touchdown by Braylon Crook. Henry Schneider scored the extra point, making the new score 7-0 at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter.
Moving back to offense, Mentor was unable to break through Canton McKinley’s defensive line, with the stop coming fiercely from the Bulldogs. This forced a turnover on downs that put the ball back in the opponents’ hands, meaning Mentor would need to stave off another offensive drive.
Canton McKinley, moving back to offense, started its drive slowly and consistently, with minimal yardage gained on each play. Bringing out a myriad of plays, the visitors, far from home, were pulling out all the stops to keep the ball moving toward the end zone.
But Mentor brought the stop despite this, managing to take down Canton McKinley’s backfield across various plays and moving themselves back to offense. With this quick rotation, the Mentor Cardinals began another drive at the 5:04 mark of the quarter.
Mentor, back on its drive, was once again unable to break through McKinley’s defense. It was a clear shift in game pace across the quarter, as neither team was willing to give up yards on defense.
Canton McKinley shifted back to offense and continued bringing out its variety of plays to moderate effect, with many of its rushes getting stopped just past Mentor’s defensive line. Unable to get inside the 10-yard line, Canton McKinley’s offense was once again stopped by Mentor.
Mentor, wanting to switch up this field gridlock, quickly made its way up the field with assistance from Jones and Jeremiah Claridy. Making key breakthroughs through McKinley’s defensive line, Jones was able to get the ball to Claridy, marking Mentor’s first touchdown of the evening and putting six points on the board for the Cardinals.
The score was now 7-6 with 1:05 left in the second quarter, meaning Mentor was officially back within striking distance of securing the lead.
With Canton McKinley’s final drive of the half, Crook was making it clear that he would lead his team to victory in this playoff game. With a 30-yard pass to DeMarco Richardson Jr., Crook was quickly finding his team’s momentum following Mentor’s last touchdown.
Slowly closing in on Mentor’s end zone, Canton McKinley found itself at the 4-yard line with 12 seconds left on the clock. Across three plays, Mentor brought the stop in the final seconds of the half, keeping the score at 7-6 heading into halftime.
Moving into the second half, Canton McKinley started with possession and quickly found momentum with its Swiss Army knife of plays. Much of the drive consisted of passes from Crook and key rushes from Darius Hill and Derrick Gordon.
Canton McKinley used this momentum to once again close in on Mentor’s end zone, reaching the 26-yard line. But Mentor began zeroing in on Canton McKinley’s strategy, forcing a stop and a turnover at the 26-yard line and bringing the Mentor Cardinals back on offense.
The Mentor Cardinals quickly found the momentum they had struggled to maintain in the first half, with many of their plays resulting in first downs across the field. As the minutes ticked down throughout the quarter, Mentor got closer and closer to the opponents’ end zone.
Quickly finding themselves within the 10-yard line of Canton McKinley’s goal, Mentor’s attempts to get past the Bulldogs’ defensive line grew more fierce with every play. McKinley managed to make the stop, however, forcing a field goal attempt from Daniel Kristo. Kristo converted, putting three points on the board for the Mentor Cardinals and giving them the lead with a score of 9-7.
This series concluded the third quarter and carried into the beginning of the fourth, meaning the clock was ticking for Canton McKinley to snatch the lead from Mentor. But Mentor was putting on the pressure, with much of its defensive line closing in on the Bulldogs’ backfield across multiple plays. However, following a fumbled kick, Canton McKinley was able to recover the ball for another first down.
This momentum didn’t last, however, as Mentor quickly recovered another fumble and found itself back on offense with 5:00 left on the clock. Orzog quickly made his presence known once again with a 20-yard rush, and through a myriad of runs, the Cardinals once again found themselves within striking distance of the end zone.
Orzog was quick to capitalize with another touchdown for Mentor, putting another six points on the board for the Cardinals. Kristo scored the extra point, making the new score 16-7.
Trying to cling onto this game, Canton Mckinley made a strong drive across the pitch to land themselves another touchdown from Crooks, putting another 6 points on the board but not quite catching up to Mentor with a score of 16-13.
With little time left on the clock, Canton McKinley needed to make a move to put itself in the next round of the playoffs. But with little movement against Mentor’s staunch offense, the game was sealed.
Mentor moves on to the fourth round of the playoffs, where they will continue their postseason run next week. Final score: 16-13.
Player(s) of the Game:
Canton Mckinley’s Braylen Crooks – (2 TDs, 45 YDS)
Mentor’s Ryan Orzog – (1 TD, 35 YDS)
