Federal League football: Two-way question for McKinley & Lake; QBs beware of Fuline Island
It's one of those good problems to face as a high school football coach.
Having really talented players leads to a difficult question: How much should those players be on the field? It would be tempting to leave them out there all the time, since a really good offensive player typically is a really good defensive player, and vice versa.
But this is football, and the human body can absorb only so much punishment.
Canton McKinley and Lake are navigating that dilemma with slightly different approaches, both producing successful results. Last year's Federal League co-champions enter Friday night's showdown at Benson Stadium undefeated in league play — McKinley 3-0, Lake 2-0.
Senior Nate Baker is the only Blue Streak playing close to full time both ways, pulling off the difficult double-duty of running back and cornerback. An outstanding overall athlete, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Baker is second in the league in rushing with 668 yards at 5.3 a carry after switching to tailback from receiver in Week 2.
Local football power poll: Stark County-Area High School Football Top 5 Power Poll after six weeks of 2023 season
Standout linebackers Charlie Christopher and Joey Garro will carry the ball in small doses for Lake and linebacker Evan Brady will play some fullback, but Blue Streaks head coach Dan DeGeorge wants them to save their best for the other side of the football.
"Most of our really good defensive players are just playing defense, and that's part of the reason they've been so good," DeGeorge said. "That's been part of the plan, to keep those guys fresh. ... In years past, Ryan Lippe would be a stud tight end for us. But we're not playing him there because I want him to be an even better defensive end for us."
It is difficult to argue with Lippe's results. The 6-4, 220-pound junior defensive end leads the area in tackles for loss with 17 and sacks with 10. Meanwhile, Lake's defense has allowed one touchdown the last three weeks and yielded more than 14 points just once this season.
McKinley basically has three guys playing both ways most of the time, all of them standout juniors: OL-DL Dior Garner, WR-S Keith Quincy and WR-LB Dante McClellan. Quincy also does the punting for the Bulldogs.
McKinley head coach Antonio Hall will look for specific times to get those players breathers.
"Our philosophy is if you're a big guy we'll rest you on defense. If you're a skill guy we'll rest you on offense because we can kind of change the packages," Hall said. "That's kind of how McD (former McKinley coach Thom McDaniels) did it and that's what we've gone with. It's worked pretty well. Sometimes you get off that plan just because of the situation or how the game is going, but generally that's how we do it."
Junior WR-CB Jordan McElroy and senior WR-S Alex Vazquez also will play both sides for McKinley, but their energies are focused way more on defense.
There probably are plenty of fans in Hartville and Lake Township who would love to see the 6-1, 220-pound Christopher running the ball a ton, just like his father, Matt, did more than 30 years ago as he led the Blue Streaks to a state runner-up finish while also starring at linebacker.
The younger Christopher was limited a bit by injury early in the season, making DeGeorge's decision to keep him mostly on defense that much easier.
"We've settled in to something that works for us," DeGeorge said. "A lot of people don't like how we're winning. I don't really care. We've won five games in a row. We're winning ugly. I'd rather do that than the alternative. We lived on that recipe for years under Coach (Jeff) Durbin and he had a lot of success doing that."
Depth helps McKinley and Lake football teams
Developing some depth obviously makes it easier to get guys off the field for rest.
For McKinley, sophomore wide receiver DJ Britt, sophomore offensive lineman Logan Hayes and senior offensive lineman James Barnes have earned snaps as the season's gone on, allowing Hall to get some players a break.
For Lake, senior strong safety Caden Yoder has worked his way into regular playing time after being hampered by a hamstring injury last year. Yoder played a big role in Lake's 19-7 win against Jackson last week, totaling seven tackles and a sack. Senior Ben Keith is another player who has stepped up for a Lake secondary that lost returning starter Josh Sedmock for the year to a preseason injury.
Senior slot receiver Ryan Anderson has become a regular for Lake's offense and taken a burden off of his teammates.
"I like standing next to Ryan because I'm taller than him," DeGeorge joked about the 5-6, 135-pound Anderson. "... He's just a tough, tough kid who gives 100%. He loves being a Blue Streak and he's playing a lot for us. He's blocking way better than we ever thought he would. He's made a couple of big catches for us. It's always great to see it pay off for a kid like that, a senior, who stayed the course and gets to play a significant amount."
Quarterbacks beware of Fuline Island
Of the many individual accomplishments this season around the area, Anthony Fuline owns one of the best.
Jackson's senior wide receiver-cornerback has picked off four passes in six games. Three of them he has returned for touchdowns.
Jackson head coach Jay Rohr believe that is a first in his 18 years of coaching and eight years as a standout player for the Polar Bears and the University of Akron.
"I don't think I've ever been a part of something like that or seen it," Rohr said. "That's a credit to him and our defensive coaches. He does a great job watching film and studying opponents. He's a guy we put a lot of faith and trust in on both sides of the football."
Speaking of two-way players, Fuline rarely comes off the field for Jackson. He's caught 17 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns on offense. He also blocked a field goal attempt last week against Lake.
From Saturday mornings to Friday nights for Green's Tyson Hunka
With starting quarterback Samino Manson out for an extended period of time because of a broken collarbone, Green called on sophomore Tyson Hunka to make his varsity debut last week against GlenOak.
Hunka and the Bulldogs struggled in a first half that saw them trail 21-3 at one point. But the 5-9, 160-pound Hunka, a dual-threat QB, got going in the second half and helped rally Green to a 31-28 win. He completed 14 of 21 passes for 115 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 81 yards on 19 carries.
"We made some plays and he got involved in the run game a little bit," Green head coach Mark Geis said. "I think he just started to feel more comfortable with the speed of the game. It's just drastically different from a Saturday morning, especially when you're playing a team like GlenOak. They are physical and they are fast on defense. So things started to slow down for him and he got more comfortable running the football. He made some really good throws there in the second half."
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On X: @jweirREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football: McKinley, Lake managing two-way players
