WARREN — There were plenty of mistakes, but the big-play Bulldogs overcame them as Renzy Parnell made his head coaching debut with the Canton McKinley High School football team.
Sophomore Kyelin West ran for 185 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries as McKinley opened the OHSAA season at Mollenkopf Stadium with a 43-25 win against Warren Harding on Friday, Aug. 22. The Bulldogs scored 35 second-half points.
McKinley’s six touchdowns all were 12 yards or more and were highlighted by West’s 83-yard scoring run and Chris Crook’s 92-yard interception return for a TD. Crook’s pick six was one of two defensive touchdowns for McKinley. Amare Mitchell scooped and scored a Harding fumble for a 38-yard TD.
Here is how the game played out through our live updates.
FINAL: Canton McKinley beats Warren Harding 43-25
Renzy Parnell’s head coaching debut is a winning one. The Bulldogs blow it open in the second half to win the season opener at Mollenkopf Stadium.
Amiere Cobb scores on 25-yard run for Harding
The 2-point conversion pass is incomplete. McKinley leads Harding 43-25 with 3:05 left.
McKinley scores its second defensive TD of the night
Amare Mitchell scoops up a fumble and returns it 38 yards for a touchdown. Mankowski adds the PAT. McKinley leads Harding 43-19 with 5:26 left. Looked like it was DeTryk Daniels with the sack and the strip for the Bulldogs.
Warren Harding gets its first TD of the night
James Jones hits Julius Ferrell for an 18-yard TD. Ferrell made a great leaping catch in back corner of the end zone. Edmonds adds the PAT. McKinley leads Harding 36-19 with 7:47 left.
Bulldogs pouring it on against Warren Harding
Harding throws deep into double coverage. McKinley’s Chris Crook snags the interception and returns it 92 yards for a back-breaking TD. Mankowski adds the PAT. McKinley now leads 36-12 with 9:50 left.
Canton McKinley builds on lead vs. Warren Harding
One play after dropping a TD pass, Elijah Finn hauls in a 36-yard TD pass from Trent Hayden on fourth-and-8. Hayden has thrown some pretty balls in the second half. Mankowski adds the PAT. The Bulldogs lead Harding 29-12 with 11:01 left in the fourth quarter.
Canton McKinley leads Warren Harding 22-12 after three quarters
A Harding fumble and McKinley recovery have the Bulldogs threatening to put some major separation between them and the Raiders. McKinley will have second-and-9 at Harding’s 37 when the fourth quarter starts.
Kyelin West to the house for Canton McKinley
West breaks a tackle and out runs the Harding defense for an electrifying 83-yard touchdown. Mankowski adds the PAT. McKinley leads Harding 22-12 with 1:31 left in the third. West has 189 yards on 17 carries.
McKinley defense limits damage again
Harding’s Jeremiah Crenshaw nearly housed the ensuing kickoff. McKinley got him down at the 10. The Bulldogs eventually forced Harding into another field goal attempt, and Edmonds was good again from 22 yards. McKinley leads 15-12 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
McKinley offense answers turnover in a big way
On a third-and-1 play, the Bulldogs went play action and Trent Hayden hit Darius Hill over the top for a 24-yard touchdown pass. McKinley finally got Hill involved on that drive, with him catching three balls. The Bulldogs’ Thomas Mankowski eventually made the PAT after McKinley called timeout to set up a 2-point play, then was called for a delay of game coming out of the timeout. The Bulldogs lead 15-9 with 3:36 left in the third quarter.
Harding takes advantage of McKinley turnover, grabs lead
Trent Hayden fumbled the ball when it slipped out of his hands as tried to throw, with Harding recovering on the Bulldogs’ 13. Once again, the McKinley defense held the Raiders to a field goal attempt and Jaron Edmonds connects from 28 yards to put Harding up 9-8 with 9:15 left in the third quarter.
Canton McKinley receives second-half kickoff from Warren Harding
The Bulldogs begin at their 20 after a touchback.
Halftime stats for Warren Harding and Canton McKinley
The Bulldogs completed two passes in the first half. Kyelin West has been a major bright spot for McKinley, rushing 11 times for 87 yards. The sophomore is just 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, but he is fast and he runs hard. The McKinley defense has been put in some bad positions but it has risen to the occasion. Harding has 48 yards of offense on 26 plays. LB Antonio Stevens has a team-high seven tackles for the Pups.
Halftime: Canton McKinley leads Warren Harding 8-6
The Bulldogs had a chance to score late in the half after a Darius Hill punt return set them up at Harding’s 39 with 1:34 left. But McKinley couldn’t take advantage and turned it over on downs for a second straight possession.
Long McKinley drive comes up empty
The Bulldogs go for it on fourth-and-4 on Harding’s 14. LB Tyler Smith drops Isaac Brooks for a 1-yard gain and McKinley turns it over on downs with 3:22 left in the half.
Warren Harding cuts into Canton McKinley lead
A stingy McKinley defense holds Harding to another field goal attempt, and Jaron Edmonds connects from 27 yards. McKinley leads Harding 8-6 with 10:59 left in the second quarter.
McKinley leads Harding 8-3 after one quarter
The Raiders will have second-and-11 at McKinley’s 19 when the second quarter begins. A long kickoff return by MiKing Adair set up Harding with good field position.
Quick answer for Canton McKinley
Isaac Brooks scores on an 11-yard touchdown run after sophomore Kyelin West had broken off a 46-yard run two plays before to set McKinley up. The Bulldogs convert on a 2-point conversion pass and lead Harding 8-3 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
Game back on after another slight delay
McKinley begins on its 35 after a slight delay to a player, um, losing his lunch on the field. A disjointed start in a lot of ways here in Warren.
Distaster for Canton McKinley on first play
The Bulldogs can’t connect on the handoff from Trent Hayden to Xion Culver, and Harding recovers the fumble at McKinley’s 26. The Raiders eventually settle for a 27-yard field goal by Jaron Edmonds after a nice stand by the Bulldog defense. Harding leads McKinley 3-0 with 6:35 left in the first quarter.
Raiders go three and out on first possession
Kayvon Dawkins drops Harding QB James Jones for a sack on third-and-5 to force a punt. McKinley begins on its own 39.
Warren Harding and Canton McKinley underway
It’s a toasty 80 degrees here at Mollenkopf Stadium for kickoff. The start of the game was delayed a few minutes due to a patron on the sideline needing medical attention. The Raiders start on their 20 after Thomas Mankowski boots it into the end zone for McKinley.
Canton McKinley will kick off to start season
The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred. Warren Harding will receive.
Watch Ohio High School Football Live on the NFHS Network all season
Canton McKinley vs. Warren Harding football series
These two proud programs were once All-American Conference rivals. McKinley owns a 37-23-1 advantage in the series. This is the third straight year they’ve opened the season against each other, with the Bulldogs winning 33-14 in Warren two years ago and 26-19 at home last year.
The coaches: McKinley’s Renzy Parnell and Harding’s Matt Richardson
Parnell makes his McKinley debut after a long run as Hoban’s defensive coordinator. He replaces Antonio Hall, who went 31-20 in four seasons as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Richardson begins his second season as Harding’s head coach. Parnell and Richardson spent four seasons together on Hoban’s staff coaching under Tim Tyrrell. “He’s a really good coach,” Parnell said about Richardson. “I respect him a lot. He’s building it the right way over there.”
A look at McKinley football vs. Harding
Not only does the Bulldogs’ new coach come from Hoban. So does their quarterback. Transfer Trent Hayden is set to make his McKinley debut, and he’ll have some playmakers to throw to in junior Darius Hill and senior Deejay Britt. McKinley’s defense looked good in the scrimmages, led by junior linebacker Antonio Stevens. Senior safety Damere McClellan had a pick six in McKinley’s second scrimmage vs. Olentangy Berlin. James Jones, a 6-foot-4 junior, takes over as the Raiders’ QB for the graduated Chaz Coleman (now at Penn State). About facing Harding, Parnell said, “I think they’ll be a smashmouth, run-the-football team. But they’ve got the speed and athletes on the outside to keep you honest for sure.”
Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com
On X: @jweirREP
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football scores | Canton McKinley vs Warren Harding recap, highlights
Reporting by Josh Weir, Canton Repository / The Repository
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