By Steve ruman

sports@vindy.com

mcdonald

Since 1983, only three senior classes at McDonald High have gone through their entire high school football careers without experiencing the playoffs.

McDonald’s last playoff appearance was in 2014, meaning the current group of seniors were in the eighth grade for the Blue Devils’ last postseason run. The group wasn’t about to be on the wrong side of history, so Friday night at A.A. Burkey Stadium the Devils went out and put themselves in the school record books with a 54-0 win over Lowellville.

McDonald’s win wrapped up the 16th undefeated regular season in school history (eighth 10-0 season). In the process, the Blue Devils secured their 32nd league title, this one a Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference crown. They also assured themselves of a top eight finish in Division VI, Region 21, earning the school’s 16th playoff appearance.

“We talked about this the entire off-season, we were absolutely determined not to leave this school without going to the playoffs,” said McDonald senior running back Alex Cintron. “We were focused from day one. Our goal was always to go 10-0. We’ve waited a long time for this.”

McDonald wasted no time setting the tone against the Rockets.

The Blue Devils needed just three plays to score the game’s first points. Following an incomplete pass to start the game, Cintron reeled off a 59 yard carry, then finished things off with a six-yard touchdown run.

Lowellville’s first possession resulted in an interception by Ali Hammond – the first of three McDonald picks on the night.

This time, the Blue Devils again needed just three plays to find paydirt. Josh Celli finished off the short 30-yard drive with a six-yard score.

The Blue Devils would go on to score touchdowns on all seven of its first-half possessions to build a 48-0 halftime lead.

“The kids came ready to play, which is what I totally expected,” said McDonald coach Dan Williams. “The senior class set the tone way back last winter. We were two plays away from going 10-0 a year ago, and they had their minds set on 10-0 and the playoffs this year.

“The thing is, I don’t think these kids understand just how difficult it is to go 10-0 in high school football. So many things have to go just right. But they took the challenge head-on and they were up for the task.”

McDonald finished with a 434-41 advantage in total yards.

Cintron carried the ball just six times, but tallied 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior quarterback Josh Celli rushed for 51 yards and three scores on just seven carries. He also completed five of seven passes for 81 yards, including a touchdown. All of Cintron’s and Celli’s numbers were accumulated before halftime.

Celli also pulled in a pair of interceptions.

Micah Mamula-Zarlingo paced Lowellville with 29 rushing yards. Vinny Layko added 14 yards on the ground, while Jake Rotz completed 2 of 5 passes for 20 yards.

“Our front line came out on fire, they really set things up early on and made things easy for the rest of the offense,” Cintron said.

Lowellville ends its season 4-6.

McDonald will play its first-round game next Friday. The opponent and location will be revealed Sunday when the Ohio High School Athletic Association releases the final computer rankings.