By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Team

Boardman

Record	Div.	Conf.
6/5	Div. II	All-American Conference Gold Tier

Boardman vs. Canton McKinley

Gallery

Canton

Coming off a big win over a GlenOak team that was undefeated in the Federal League, the Boardman High football team came to Fawcett Stadium for a big showdown against Canton McKinley, only to get beat soundly.

That storyline played out on Friday night.

In 2009, too.

“This is exactly like [my] sophomore year,” said Boardman senior running back Devin Campbell after Friday’s 41-20 loss to the Bulldogs. “We beat GlenOak. They were undefeated. We came here and got hammered sophomore year. We got hammered today.

“We’re gonna come back and [be ready for] Fitch.”

Spartans fans hope so. They weren’t ready on Friday, falling behind 34-7 early in the third quarter of a game that ran out of drama after less than 20 minutes.

If there was a key moment, it came on the game’s third play when Campbell failed to snare an interception on third down near midfield. On the next play, a fourth-and-4 at the McKinley 44, the Bulldogs picked up 25 yards on a fake punt.

Two plays later, they scored. It only got worse from there.

“This is the best game I’ve seen them play,” said Campbell, who ran nine times for 44 yards and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 137 yards and a TD. “Watching them on film, they didn’t look as good as they played today.”

Boardman (6-3, 5-1) clinched a share of its first Federal League title — and first league title of any kind since sharing the Steel Valley title with Ursuline in 2000 — with last week’s win over GlenOak and entered Friday’s game seeking its first outright conference crown since 1991.

Instead, the Spartans will share it with McKinley and GlenOak.

“We did something that’s never been done before,” Campbell said. “[Losing] is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s hard to beat McKinley at home.

“We made history. It’s not outright, but we’re still champions.”

Added first-year Spartans coach Mark D’Eramo, “We’ll put that plaque up on our wall and it will be there forever for these guys.”

Boardman, which was seventh in the Division I, Region 1 standings entering the game, had won six straight after an 0-2 start but now needs to beat its rivals to have a chance at the postseason. (It did in 2009, making the playoffs with a 7-3 record.)

“I think we’ve got a good shot if we win,” D’Eramo said. “We have to get healthy and regroup and play hard next week, I know that.”

Quarterback Tyler Foster had an outstanding game for McKinley (7-2, 5-1), completing 8 of 16 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns and running 12 times for 54 yards and two more scores.

Sa’Veon Holloway added 116 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown as the Bulldogs put together their best performance of the season — and maybe their best in coach Ron Johnson’s four-year tenure at the school.

“If it isn’t, it’s in the top three, I would think,” D’Eramo said. “They played almost a flawless game.”