Tradition-rich Mogadore eyes its 15th regional crown

By John BassettI

bassetti@vindy.com

McDONALD

McDonald entered the playoffs with a 10-12 postseason record, then beat Western Reserve and Dalton the last two Fridays.

That makes the Blue Devils 12-12 in the postseason.

Not bad.

But McDonald plays Mogadore in the Div. VI, Region 21 championship game this weekend in Twinsburg.

So what?

“They’ve won more regional titles than we’ve been to the playoffs,” McDonald coach Dan Williams said of the Wildcats (12-0), who have won 14 regional titles compared to the 13 postseason appearances attained by McDonald.

“They’ve got a storied program,” Williams said of Mogadore, which has 24 playoff appearances.

Part of that past includes a 3-0 record against McDonald in the playoffs (1983, 1987 and 2000).

In 1983 in Div. V, McDonald was beaten, 27-0. In 1987, the Blue Devils lost, 35-34. In 2000 in Div. VI, the defeat was by 18-6.

The teams also played in the regular season in the early 1980s.

The Wildcats, Region 21’s second-seeded team, beat New Washington Buckeye Central, 37-21, and, most recently, Thompson Ledgemont, 17-12, for a shot at another regional crown.

McDonald (10-2) was the No. 5 seeded team in the region and has won nine straight including an opening-round 13-7 win over Western Reserve, followed by a 52-28 beating of Dalton.

McDonald would take pleasure in keeping Mogadore’s regional title count at 14 and, instead, add one for itself.

McDonald’s last regional championship was in 1994 when the Blue Devils beat Ledgemont (17-0), New Washington Buckeye Central (33-0) and Beallsville (26-8) before losing to St. Henry (21-7) to finish as state runner-up in Div. VI.

At the time, only four teams from each region qualified for postseason.

“Come Friday, we face a big challenge,” Williams said of Mogadore, a team he says is run-oriented.

“They use multiple formations on offense, including the I-formation at times and split backs,” Williams said. “They have three pretty good backs,” he said after viewing some film on Sunday. “They don’t throw much — probably one-third of the time — but it’s enough to keep you honest. But they definitely want to run the football.”

Defensively, the Wildcats play an “aggressive style” out of a 4-4 alignment.

“They have a lot of quick, athletic kids,” Williams said. “They’re small and undersized, but real athletic.”

Actually, that description is similar to McDonald’s, defensively.

“We don’t have the 6-4, 280 players and neither does the other team. They have the same fast athletes as us, who get after you and play pretty aggressive.”

“But they’re doing a lot of the same stuff they did when we played them 15 or 20 years ago.”

McDonald’s winless record against Mogadore in the playoffs may not bode well for the Blue Devils, but this is 2010.

McDonald, a team that started 2010 with a 1-2 record, has come a long way.

“We’ve won nine in a row, so our kids are playing with lot of confidence and playing our best football to this point,” Williams said. “We’re excited for the opportunity to come up here [Twinsburg].”