MASSILLON — It is the 135th edition of the Canton McKinley vs. Massillon high school football rivalry. The Bulldogs and Tigers kick off today at 2 inside Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Follow along for live updates throughout the afternoon.
The Tigers win 16-7 to beat the Bulldogs for a ninth straight time in the rivalry.
The Bulldogs drop a pass on fourth-and-2 from the Massillon 49. The Tigers take over with 3:43 left, leading 16-7.
McKinley gets it at its 23 with 5:12 left.
Daylan Pringle picks off Kam Montgomery on fourth-and-9. Looked like there was some confusion among the McKinley receivers. The Tigers have it on their 30 with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter, leading 16-7.
The Bulldogs are on the move. They have a second-and-10 at the Massillon 36 when the fourth quarter begins.
Mateo Herrera misses wide left on a 31-yard field goal attempt. Massillon’s lead stays at 16-7 with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
McKinley goes nowhere and Massillon almost gets a safety. The Tigers get great field position at the 35 after making the Bulldogs punt from their own end zone.
A great punt by Massillon’s Tyler Hackenbracht has McKinley starting on its own 10.
The Tigers start on their 27, leading 16-7.
Both quarterbacks have played well. Kam Montgomery is 8-of-11 passing for 96 yards and one touchdown for the Bulldogs. Jalen Slaughter is 12-of-14 for 115 yards and two TDs. Massillon has 10 first downs and 170 yards of offense. McKinley has six first downs and 111 yards of offense. Ja’Meir Gamble has 66 total yards on 14 touches for the Tigers. Braylyn Toles has caught five passes for 51 yards. So far, the two teams have been penalized 10 combined times for 95 yards, with Massillon being responsible for six of those flags and 65 of the yards.
Massillon’s Mateo Herrera connects on a 36-yard field goal as time expires in the first half. A well-executed drive by the Tigers, who started on their 15 with 2:01 remaining and two timeouts left. Jalen Slaughter found Ja’Meir Gamble and Braylyn Toles for key gains on the drive.
Deejay Britt took a nicely designed inside screen pass from Kam Montgomery and scored a 12-yard touchdown. Thomas Mankowski adds the PAT. McKinley cuts Massillon’s lead to 13-7 with 2:07 left in the second quarter. A 33-yard hook-up from Montgomery to Darius Hill keyed that drive.
The Bulldogs drive as far as Massillon’s 23 but turn it over on downs. The Tigers lead 13-0 with 8:43 left in the second quarter.
The senior lefty dropped in an absolutely perfect 24-yard TD pass to Jacques Carter, who was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play. Mateo Herrera missed the ensuing 35-yard PAT because of the penalty, so Massillon leads McKinley 13-0 with 11:14 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers will have second-and-12 from the Bulldogs’ 26 when the second quarter begins.
Things looked to be going from bad to worse for the Bulldogs. Massillon’s Michael Wright Jr. blocked Keith Quincy’s punt, setting up the Tigers at McKinley’s 24. But the Bulldogs defense came up big, with some help from a couple of Massillon holding calls, and forced a turnover on downs.
McKinley’s Dante McClellan fumbled on the game’s first play from scrimmage and Vito McConnell recovered for Massillon. That led to Jalen Slaughter hitting Braylyn Toles for a 7-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal. Mateo Herrera kicks the PAT. Massillon leads McKinley 7-0 with 9:37 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs start on their 24.
Both the Tigers and Bulldogs have found plenty of success in the opening quarter this season. Massillon is outscoring the opposition 86-30 in the first quarter, McKinley 67-28. It’s a different story in the second quarter. Massillon has bested its opponents 122-42 in the second. McKinley actually has been outscored 73-54 in the second.
The Tigers won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half.
We’ve got about 40 minutes to kickoff.
The Tigers lead 76-53-5 in a series that dates back to 1894. Massillon has won eight in a row against McKinley — one off its longest winning streak in the series. The Tigers won nine straight from 1957-65. McKinley hasn’t reached 20 points against Massillon since 2015. The Bulldogs have scored a total of 13 points in the last 10 quarters vs. the Tigers.
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Last year’s game was ugly, and it was all Tigers. Massillon’s 35-0 win featured it outgaining McKinley 301 to 65 in total yards. Dorian Pringle ran for two touchdowns and DaOne Owens threw for a pair of scores for the Tigers. Michael Wright Jr. had three sacks. The contentious game included a combined 32 penalties for 306 yards, and the lack of composure carried over to the postgame handshake line when a chaotic scrum broke out between the two teams.
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On X: @jweirREP
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