Canton McKinley 21 - Hoover 20
October 3, 2025
Josh Weir, Canton Repository
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NORTH CANTON — Friday night at Memorial Stadium was one of those high school football games after which both teams are shaking their heads at mistakes made and opportunities missed.
The difference is Canton McKinley also leaves with a ‘W’ in its pocket.
The Bulldogs built a two-score lead against banged-up North Canton Hoover in the second half before barely hanging on for a 21-20 Federal League win on Oct. 3.
The victory leaves McKinley (6-1, 4-0) as the lone unbeaten team in league play. Hoover, which lost star playmaker Jack Andes late in the first half to a concussion, falls to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the league. That is the same record as Lake after it lost a shootout at home to Jackson on Friday.
“There are a lot of lessons from that game,” McKinley head coach Renzy Parnell said. “I told the team I’m proud of them. They found a way to win the football game. It’s always nice to learn from those mistakes in a win.”
Up 21-14, McKinley committed two turnovers in the final three minutes. A Deejay Britt fumble — caused by Chase Lukens and recovered by Carter Lukens — led to John Collins hitting Brycen Beyer for an 11-yard touchdown on fourth-and-9 with 1:57 to go.
All Hoover needed to tie was the PAT. But a low snap seemed to throw off the timing and David Wadley missed wide left to preserve the McKinley lead. For the season, the Vikings were 30-for-31 on PATs going into that kick.
Hoover head coach Brian Baum had considered going for 2 but decided against it.
“With about two minutes left, you go and play defense,” said Baum, who had all three of his timeouts. “There was too much time left. And then we ended up getting another possession.”
That was courtesy of Chase Lukens, who picked off Trent Hayden after McKinley recovered an onside kick. Lukens’ interception set up Hoover at McKinley’s 44 with 1:41 left.
But four straight incompletions, including two drops, followed from Hoover for a turnover on downs. McKinley kneeled it from there to end the game.
“Turnovers, man, that’s part of it,” Parnell said. “You turn the ball over and you give them a chance. But the defense played well. We stepped up and did some good things defensively. Battled through some tough calls, stepped up and still believed in ourselves. That’s part of football. That’s part of learning a lesson.”
McKinley sophomore running back Kyelin West finished with 114 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Hayden completed 16 of 20 passes for 149 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Britt caught five passes for 54 yards and a TD, while Elijah Finn added six catches for 53 yards.
The missed PAT wasn’t Hoover’s only special teams mistake. They punted to Darius Hill in the second quarter instead of punting it out of bounds, and the junior returned it 67 yards for a touchdown.
Collins, who missed last week’s win at GlenOak with an ankle injury, returned Friday and did not have his usual mobility for Hoover. Then he aggravated the ankle injury late in the first half and really looked hobbled the rest of the way.
But the senior gutted it out and finished 13-of-31 passing for 201 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He hit Andes for a 71-yard TD on Hoover’s opening possession for a 7-0 lead.
Junior Michael Lammlein gave Hoover a huge boost in the second half with Andes out and finished with 98 yards from scrimmage. He rushed 11 times for 53 yards and caught four passes for 45 yards.
“I told them to be proud of their effort, but just know that we can win those games,” Baum said. “We know we gave some things away. That’s what hurt the most. We left some plays on the field.”
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Source: Canton Repository