Mentor defense swarms Canton McKinley, 34-21
Aug. 19—Cardinals with feathers travel in flocks. Mentor Cardinals with silver helmets travel in swarms toward the football.
The Cardinals played smothering defense Aug. 19 to muzzle the visiting Canton McKinley Bulldogs, 34-21, on opening night of the high school football season at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
Scotty Fox threw two touchdown passes to Jordan Stapleton and another for 32 yards to Nick James. Senior running back Mitchell Waite scored twice on the ground, once from 80 yards to move the Cardinals ahead, 14-7, and once on a three-yard pitch from Fox on an option play to make it 28-7 early in the third quarter.
But it was the alert Mentor defense and special teams that made the Bulldogs pay dearly for mistakes.
"We have to know and understand that we have to cherish each and every victory," Mentor coach Matt Gray said. "It takes a lot to be able to get to this point on Aug. 19. It feels really good to start off with a win, but our guys know we have to be so much better."
The Cardinals will be tested on Aug. 26 when they hook up with rival powerhouse St. Ignatius at FirstEnergy Stadium. But first things first. The Cardinals are allowed some time to savor the way they dispatched the Bulldogs.
Mentor linebacker Jack Geduldig recovers a Canton McKinley fumble and returns it to the Bulldogs 12 to set up the first Cardinals touchdown. @mentoredline @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/nIYcu0FTda
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) August 20, 2022
The Cardinals took the ball away three times and created another stop on downs when senior defensive end Brenan Vernon stopped Keaton Rode short of the line to gain late in the second quarter.
Senior linebacker Jack Geduldig got things going for Mentor early in the first quarter with a fumble recovery and a return to the Canton 12 to set up Fox's first touchdown pass to Stapleton on an 11-yard throw to the left side of the end zone.
Mentor coach Matt Gray praises the defense after Cardinals knock off Canton McKinley, 34-21, on opening night of the high school football season. @MentorRedline @NHPreps pic.twitter.com/XkEgnr3bY4
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) August 20, 2022
Defensive back Jacob Snow intercepted a pass to short-circuit another McKinley effort. It was not a perfect night for Snow, though. He suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the game.
Snow suffered a broken hand last year as the Cardinals quarterback. Gray is hopeful the shoulder injury isn't serious.
The Bulldogs were guilty of numerous penalties in the first half that sabotaged their efforts to stop Mentor or move the ball on their own. The aggression of the Mentor defense deserves some credit for the mistakes the Bulldogs made, even if that part of the game will never show up on the stat sheet.
Mentor scores the first touchdown of the game on a pass from Scotty Fox to Jordan Stapleton. @NHPreps @MentorRedline. Sorry for the delay on this post. Wi-Fi issues. pic.twitter.com/uOywUX6rTN
— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) August 20, 2022
McKinley came out for the third quarter determined to clean up its mistakes, but the only thing that changed was the next mistake was made on special teams, and once again, the Cardinals made them pay.
The Bulldogs had the ball first in the third quarter. They went backward on their first possession, and then a bad snap on fourth down bounced around the feet of the McKinley punter. Henry Schenk recovered the ball for Mentor. The takeaway led to the three-yard touchdown run by Waite.
"Defense saved the day, because offensively we started slow," Gray said. "We left way too many opportunities out there on the field tonight.
"I'm so proud of this defense, how they stepped up and created turnovers. We got a big turnover on special teams."
The Bulldogs tied the score 7-7 after Fox's first touchdown pass to Stapleton, but then Mentor took control on a 10-yard pass from Fox to Stapleton.
The 32-yard scoring pass from Fox to Jares put the Cardinals safely ahead, 34-14, late in the fourth quarter.
