Boardman falls to McKinley, 28-7

The Spartans couldn't stop running back Morgan Williams.
BY ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANTON -- The Boardman High football team had to be feeling pretty good about itself after the first quarter of Saturday's game against state-ranked Canton McKinley.
Still riding high off its first victory of the season against Uniontown Lake last week, the Spartans did something no other McKinley opponent has done this season -- hold the Bulldogs scoreless in the first quarter.
But coach D.J. Ogilvie isn't a proponent of moral victories. So when his team surrendered 21 points in the second quarter, including a 67-yard TD run by Morgan Williams as time expired before halftime, he was a little disheartened.
All or nothing
"We don't even talk about moral victories at Boardman," said Ogilvie. "A win is a win and a loss is a loss and that's what we want to build this program on."
McKinley and Boardman matched touchdowns in the second half and the Bulldogs held off the Spartans 28-7 in a game played in a steady rain throughout.
Boardman -- and the wet weather -- forced four McKinley turnovers, but the Spartans simply couldn't stop Williams. The junior tailback piled up 176 yards on 19 carries and scored once.
"Their all-state running back made two big plays and ran really hard," said Ogilvie. "He's a great player and if you take those two plays away, we did a decent job against him.
"The kids played hard and we went toe-to-toe with the third-best team in the state in the second half. There are a lot of positives we can take from this game, even though we didn't come away with the win."
Weiser reaches end zone
After the Bulldogs tacked on a third-quarter touchdown to take a 28-0 lead, Boardman avoided a shutout, as Mike Weiser broke loose for a 37-yard scamper with 28 seconds left to trim the deficit to 28-7.
McKinley got on the board with 5:53 left in the second quarter, taking advantage of a Boardman fumble at its own 9-yard line. On the first play, Dan Grimsley fooled the defense with a keeper around left end and went untouched for the score.
On the Bulldogs' next possession, they cashed in on a 6-yard punt by Boardman, quickly moving 40 yards in four plays.
After quarterback Dan Grimsley hit Harriel Moore on a 39-yard bomb to the Boardman 1, Mike Kirksey went airborne into the end zone for the score, padding the advantage to 14-0 with 2:24 left in the second.
With 6 seconds left before halftime, instead of taking a knee and heading into the locker room with a two-touchdown advantage, McKinley elected to run one more play. That turned out to be a good decision.
Back-breaker
Williams broke a half-dozen tackles and streaked down the sideline for 67-yard scoring jaunt to give McKinley a 21-0 halftime lead.
McKinley outgained Boardman 384-162 on offense, as the Bulldogs rushed for 315 yards.
The Spartans rushed for 162 yards, led by Tyme Hammond, who registered 58 yards on 15 attempts. Weiser finished with 49 yards on four carries.