Federal League football: Carson Basham the player and leader back for Perry; GlenOak rising
PERRY TWP. — Sure, he wanted Carson Basham the player back.
But after two straight humbling league losses to Canton McKinley and Jackson, Perry High School football coach Zach Slates needed Carson Basham the leader first and foremost.
Slates ended up getting both, and the Panthers have looked like a different team the last three weeks as they prepare to face Lake (6-2, 3-1) on Friday. Basham returned from a dislocated hip suffered in the preseason and has given Perry (4-4, 1-3) a major lift.
"That's been a big change in the kids and the demeanor of practice," Slates said. "He was the guy that was vocal and the guy kids listen to."
The losses to McKinley and Jackson by a combined score of 93-20 left Perry at 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Federal League.
Basham, a starter since his sophomore season and a kid who was projected to rarely leave the field as a senior, suffered the hip injury in Perry's first scrimmage against Cleveland Heights.
He was getting close to returning by the time of the Week 5 Jackson game.
Whether he could play or not that next week, Slates didn't want Basham in street clothes at practice anymore.
"When a kid is sitting there in shorts and a T-shirt every day, he doesn't feel like he can say anything," Slates said. "He doesn't feel like he can be a leader. I told him, 'You're going to put shoulder pads and a jersey on, and you're going to be a part of it. Whether you practice or not, I don't care.'
"I didn't care if he took a single snap that week. He was going to be a leader. And he was ready to go."
Perry blew out Louisville 49-6 that week as Basham played a little bit to ease his way back in. The next week, Perry came up short in overtime 37-34 at Hoover as Basham played about half the game.
Last week, the Panthers held on for a 20-14 win at Green, about which Slates said, "In three years that was the first time I said, 'You guys played Perry football.' We finished the game and made the plays we needed to make to get to that. We don't really talk about winning. It's about playing Perry football, and being tough and physical, and finishing games."
It was Perry's second Federal League win in its last 16 tries.
Basham basically played the entire game at cornerback, totaling four tackles and breaking up a pair of passes as Perry limited Green to 250 yards of offense.
Slates believes Basham's presence also has helped spark senior Christian Ivanic. A starting linebacker, the talented Ivanic was struggling to stay on the field and play offense as well earlier in the season.
"Now it's turned into, 'I'm good to go,'" Slates said about Ivanic. "He doesn't want to come off the field."
Ivanic has rushed for a whopping 585 yards the last three games. He's also become more of a leader.
"After Carson came back, the next week we made the switch to put Ivanic at fullback, and he's really stepped up," Slates said. "I actually made him a captain. I announced that to the team (on Monday) and the kids were excited for him."
Slates said Basham, who totaled 683 yards and seven touchdowns rushing and receiving last year, hasn't played any tailback yet as the wing-T Panthers try to figure out how much of a workload is appropriate for a player coming back from a hip dislocation.
The rarity of the injury — "How many football players have you heard of having that besides Bo Jackson?" Slates asked — complicated the situation.
Basham's effort made it simpler.
"He worked his ass off," Slates said. "He just wasn't going to accept not playing this year. That wasn't going to happen."
Last week's Federal League notes: Ashby, Braucher cooking for Hoover football; Lake looks to bounce back
Hoover's Zach Braucher brushes up on QB skills
In a flash last week, Hoover junior Zach Braucher went from standout wide receiver to knocking-the-rust-off quarterback.
A hamstring injury to starting senior QB Carson Dyrlund knocked him out during the second quarter and forced Braucher behind center against a rugged Lake defense.
Mind you, Braucher played a lot of quarterback growing up and his father, Mike, was an All-Ohio quarterback for Hoover's 1984 state runner-up team.
But the younger Braucher is a two-way starter at receiver and defensive back, which doesn't allow for a lot of recent practice reps at QB.
Braucher finished 3-of-10 passing for 21 yards and two interceptions. He also rushed for 41 yards and a TD on 12 carries as the Vikings (4-4, 1-3) lost 21-7.
"As the game went on, he got better and better," Hoover coach Brian Baum said. "Against a team like Lake that is real sound and does a nice job, it's a little like getting baptized by fire. It's going to slow down for him. He's a nice athlete and the situation isn't going to be too big for him."
Dyrlund is questionable for this week's game at Green (5-3, 1-3), Baum said. Hoover is getting Braucher and sophomore John Collins (the back-up to Braucher if Dyrlund can't go) ready to play in case they're needed.
GlenOak's upward trajectory
Since an embarrassing 56-7 loss at Massillon in Week 2, GlenOak has gradually built itself back up while cleaning up mistakes.
The Golden Eagles competed better in a Week 3 home loss to Fitch, then had chances to knock off Lake in Week 4 before losing 10-7.
They beat Hoover 27-24 the following week, led Green 21-3 in the second quarter before letting it slip away 31-28 in Week 6, and earned a quality win against Jackson 21-16 in Week 7.
After blowing out Louisville 42-7 last week, GlenOak (4-4, 2-2) finds itself riding a little momentum as it prepares to take on league-leading McKinley (7-1, 5-0) on Friday.
"It's been a process getting over that hump," GlenOak coach Scott Garcia said. "We had the big loss to Massillon early in the year, and it was like, 'Here we go again.' But we kind of ground through that and they believe in what we're doing. Of course, getting a couple of wins has been big for confidence."
Beating McKinley would mean GlenOak's first three-game winning streak since 2016, which is the last time it won more than four games in a season.
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football: Federal League news Perry, Hoover, GlenOak
