Staff report

Pressure is nothing new to the Boardman Spartans.

With it, they’ve won a share of the Federal League title and can clinch it outright tonight with a win over Canton McKinley.

Without it, they probably wouldn’t have been able to even sniff a championship.

Boardman opened the year 0-2 with losses at Cleveland Benedictine and at home against Mooney.

“We’ve faced adversity losing the first two,” said senior Dayne Hammond after the team’s 17-14 win against GlenOak, last week. “After all we’ve been through, we know how to play under pressure because it’s what we’ve been used to, week in and week out.”

Now, the pressure is on even more with pride on the line. A loss to the Bulldogs, and Boardman will split the Fed crown with McKinley and maybe even Glenoak if it gets past Hoover and Perry in the next two weeks.

“This is what we set out to do since the beginning of the season,” Hammond said of an outright leage championship. “It’s what we need to do because we don’t want to share it with anybody.”

The Bulldogs hold an 11-3 series advantage since the programs first met in 1988. The last time the Spartans beat McKinley was in 1995, when a 28-0 shutout led Boardman to the regional final game. In the past seven years of Federal League play, the Spartans are winless. That includes a 45-0 blowout in 2004, as well as a 23-17 overtime loss in 2006. The Bulldogs have defeated Boardman by an average of 14.5 points in conference games.

The two teams couldn’t be coming off more opposite games. While both were wins, McKinley handled North Canton Hoover with a 41-0 beatdown. Boardman’s was a nail-biter sealed in the final minute of the game.

“This is going to be a very competitive game and this is what we’re looking forward to,” said Hammond. “You can’t ask for much more and it’s a must win for both of us.”