Thursday, November 18, 2010
Photo
McDonald senior wide receiver Justin Rota hauls in a pass during a game against Western Reserve. McDonald is still alive in the Div. VI state playoff s and will face Mogadore on Friday — the same Mogadore that defeated the Blue Devils in the playoff s in 1983, 1987 and 2000. McDonald head coach Dan Williams has been a part of all three of the past meetings as a fan (83), player (87) and coach (00). He hopes his Blue Devils can rewrite the history this weekend.
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Game time
What: Division VI, Region 21 final
Matchup: McDonald vs. Mogadore.
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Twinsburg Tiger Stadium.
Radio/TV: WANR-AM (1570), WKBN-AM (570)/MyYTV (10 p.m.)
By Jon Moffett
McDonald
Dan Williams knows a thing or two about the football program at Mogadore High.
In 1987, before any of his current players were even born, Williams was dueling with the Wildcats in the playoffs. It was Williams’ senior year at quarterback. He and the Blue Devils were battling Mogadore in the first round of the state playoffs at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium.
After scoring a touchdown and with only an extra point away from a tie, McDonald elected to go for two instead. The conversion failed, and Williams was on the wrong end of a 35-34 game.
Yeah, there’s some history there.
“We know about their history and their program,” Williams said. “We’ve talked about how they’ve made 24 [playoff] appearances and have 14 regional titles. We’ve only been to the playoffs 13 times and have a handful of regional titles.”
Williams has downplayed the game from a personal standpoint. To him, it’s just his team’s week 13 opponent. But his players know there’s still some bad feelings.
“He’s trying to take it as just any other game, but I know there is some motivation there for him,” senior wide receiver Justin Rota said of his head coach. “And there’s motivation there for us to beat them for him.”
Mogadore has been McDonald’s enemy for a while.
Williams was an eighth-grader when the Wildcats beat the Blue Devils in 1983. Four years later, he suffered the heartbreaking loss as a senior. Then in 2000, Williams’ first year as coach at the school, Mogadore did it again.
It’s not exactly a trifecta Williams is thrilled with.
But Williams has put the game, and Mogadore, filed at the back of his mind. He instead focused on the opponent that was next on the list.
Prior to McDonald’s playoff opener against heated rival Western Reserve, Williams and several seniors popped in some of the coach’s old game tapes.
Guess which game made the highlight reel?
Williams swears it was a coincidence and the tape just happened to be mixed in with the rest.
Right.
“It was his senior year, you know that game meant a lot to him,” Rota said. “And we are going to use that as motivation, too.”
Williams laughed and said the film session was just for fun. He said the players got a kick out of watching him.
“They were critiquing me and my technique,” he said.
Williams said senior quarterback Matthias Tayala was pointing out Williams’ poor mechanics and footwork. He also said the team picked up on plays that both the ’87 and 2010 teams run.
What Mogadore runs is also very similar, Williams said.
“I look at them now, and I look at them 20 years ago and they’re the same team,” he said. “They love to run the football even though in their history they have had some throwers.
“They’re always physical. On defense, they’re getting after you and playing man-to-man in the secondary.”
Rota said he has seen the same thing on film.
“Every catalog or magazine about the playoffs we’ve looked at has Mogadore in there,” he said. “I actually watched them play against Mineral Ridge in their season opener two years ago. They’re a hard-hitting team and we have to come out ready for them.”
Senior fullback Zach Tura said Friday’s game won’t be easy.
“We’ve got to make big plays on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We’ve got to get some turnovers and sustain long drives to keep their offense off the field.”