GREEN — The 2024 high school football season in Ohio officially is in its second half. It's a point where identities should be developed and trajectories mapped out.
So what exactly do we make of these Canton McKinley Bulldogs ?
"The jury's still out," head coach Antonio Hall said.
Green kept Friday night's final verdict in doubt for most of four quarters before McKinley finished off a 26-17 win at Memorial Stadium.
Keith Quincy returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown the first time McKinley touched the ball and Nino Hill rushed for three scores as Stark County's Bulldogs improved to 4-2 overall. They are all by their lonesome atop the Federal League at 3-0. Green falls to 2-1 in the league and 4-2 overall.
It was the kind of performance McKinley has displayed a number of times this season: Flashes of greatness and dominant stretches mixed with silly penalties and a bit too much sloppiness.
"I think we have the potential to be a really great football team," Hall said. "But we have to live up to our potential, and that starts in practice. We have to keep minimizing mistakes, mitigating mistakes, trying to eliminate penalties because they always seem to resurface at the wrong time."
Green trailed 12-0 after the first quarter and 19-10 (with McKinley driving in the red zone) midway through the third quarter.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Green was down two points with possession of the football. But the Summit County Bulldogs failed to even get a first down on their next three possessions as McKinley's pressure started to overwhelm them.
Nino Hill's final touchdown, two plays after McKinley converted a third-and-9 with Kam Montgomery finding Darius Hill for 13 yards, basically put the game away with 1:42 left.
"We had every opportunity to win that game," Green head coach Mark Geis said. "Obviously, we play really hard. We played hard for 48 minutes. I just didn't like how we played special teams. I thought we definitely lost that battle. And we just didn't take advantage of situations there in the fourth quarter offensively. We just didn't execute with that."
McKinley sacked Green quarterback Tyson Hunka eight times. Antonio Martin caught nine passes for 141 yards and a touchdown. Hunka was 17-of-31 passing for 208 yards.
Friday snapped a four-game winning streak for Green and marked its first game decided by more than one score.
Here's how the game played out through our live updates.
Green drives to McKinley 35 before a couple of sacks finishes off the game.
Nino Hill plows in for a 3-yard touchdown run. Thomas Mankowski line drives a crucial PAT kick through the uprights. McKinley leads Green 26-17 with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter.
McKinley will start at Green's 45 with 3:04 left.
Green will start at its own 18 with 4:55 left, trailing 19-17.
McMichael snagged an interception on a deflection and Green had it on its own 27. But Green can't take advantage and has to punt it away. McKinley gets it at the 50 with 7:16 left, leading 19-17.
McKinley will start at Green's 47 after a nice Keith Quincy punt return.
Green forces a quick three-and-out and will have the ball at its own 25 when the fourth quarter starts.
Tyson Hunka hits a wide-open Antonio Martin for a 42-yard touchdown. Logan Noirot adds the PAT. Green cuts McKinley's lead to 19-17 with 2:14 left in the third quarter. It appeared two McKinley defenders ran into each other and lost track of Martin.
McKinley drives to Green's 10 but ends up settling for a 27-yard Thomas Mankowski field goal attempt, which misses wide left. Green still trails 19-10 with 5:00 left in the third quarter.
Nino Hill powers in for a 1-yard touchdown and Thomas Mankowski adds the PAT. McKinley leads Green 19-10 with 8:30 left in the third quarter. A 19-yard connection between Kam Montgomery and Keith Quincy on third-and-9 keyed the drive.
McKinley starts at its own 48 after Green tried an onside kick.
The penalties are hurting McKinley again. When it's not getting flagged, it's made big plays. Antonio Martin making quite an impact on both sides of the ball for Green, in particular on defense, where he's lining up man-to-man on Keith Quincy and made what might've been a touchdown-saving tackle on a Kam Montgomery keeper early in the second quarter. Martin fought off a blocker and make the tackle in space with no one else behind him. McKinley eventually turned the ball over on downs when Martin knocked down a long pass.
McKinley will get the second-half kick.
Green drove to McKinley's 35 before sacks from Isaac Brooks and K'Vuone McNeal ruined the possession.
An impressive Green drive ends with a 22-yard Logan Noirot field goal. McKinley leads 12-10 with 5:10 left in the second quarter.
Tyson Hunka scrambles for a 5-yard touchdown run and Logan Noirot adds the PAT. Green cuts McKinley's lead to 12-7 with 11:05 left in the second quarter. A couple of McKinley penalties, one a roughing the punter call on fourth-and-5, aided the Green drive.
Green has second-and-7 from McKinley's 14 when the second quarter begins.
Hill took a draw play, broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and jetted 33 yards for a touchdown. A bad snap/holder exchange leads to McKinley throwing an incompletion on the PAT try. McKinley leads Green 12-0 with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
Green has gained a pair of first downs on each of its first two possessions but punted both times. McKinley has a third-and-11 from Green's 46 coming out of a timeout.
Quincy cut to the right side and jetted through an opening to return a punt 78 yards for a McKinley touchdown. The PAT was blocked. McKinley leads Green 6-0 with 8:34 left in the first quarter.
The rain is falling pretty hard at the moment. McKinley will kick to Green.
Green won the coin toss and chose to receive.
Players to watch: Canton McKinley vs. Green
Dante McClellan, McKinley: The Missouri recruit can make plays all over the field from his outside linebacker spot. McClellan, a second team All-Ohioan last year, has five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. In last year's game against Green, McClellan had a strip sack that led to go-ahead touchdown for McKinley and later snagged the game-sealing interception.
Antonio Martin, Green: The versatile senior wide receiver and defensive back (a second-team All-Ohioan last year just like McClellan) will play his third game of the season after being sideline by offseason ACL surgery. Martin has caught 10 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns (one of five Bulldogs with more than 100 yards receiving). He also has an interception. Martin intercepted a pass in the end zone in last year's game against McKinley.
Watch Ohio High School Football Live on the NFHS Network all season
Dogged 'D': A matchup of great defenses
McKinley has a bevy of dangerous playmakers on offense and Green probably is best known for its years running the five-side spread attack. But the heart of both of these teams is defense. Green has won four straight games despite not scoring more than 21 points in any of them. It allows 16.0 points a game on average. McKinley hasn't allowed more than 21 points in a game and yields 14.6 on average.
Halfway point: Stark County-Area High School Football Midseason Awards | Best players, coaches, teams & more
Area stats: Ohio high school football stat rankings | Stark County-area leaders at 2024 midseason
McKinley vs. Green football series
Green has never beaten McKinley in nine all-time matchups. McKinley rallied from down 27-7 at the half to beat Green 28-27 during a wild game last year in Canton. Several current players had big performances that night. McKinley's Stephon Thomas rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries and Nino Hill went for 111 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. McKinley gained 350 yards on the ground out of its 491 of total offense as it survived six turnovers. Green's Anthony Fortunato, who grabbed the game-winning touchdown pass off a deflection last week against Jackson, returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown in last year's McKinley game. Evan Reed also had an interception in that game.
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On X: @jweirREP
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: OHSAA football scores | Green vs. Canton McKinley high school football recap
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