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Posted on Sun, Nov. 12, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Williams leads Bulldogs' charge
Star back piles up 407 all-purpose yards, 5 TDs
By Michael Beaven
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Canton McKinley senior Morgan Williams displayed his big play abilities in a variety of ways Saturday night.
The result was one of the best individual performances of the season and a 45-27 McKinley win over Brunswick in a Division I Regional semifinal played in a steady rain at Dix Stadium.
This is the third consecutive season that Brunswick's (11-1) season has ended with a loss to McKinley (11-1).
``We just had to answer back to what they were doing on offense,'' Williams said. ``They were scoring, so we had to just keep putting points on the board so we would win the game.''
McKinley advances to play Toledo Whitmer next weekend. Whitmer defeated Massillon on Saturday.
Williams' impact was visible everywhere on the field: as a rusher, receiver and kick returner. Williams scored five touchdowns and gained 407 all-purpose yards.
``You could tell he was determined to have a good night tonight,'' McKinley coach Brian Cross said.
Williams ran for 259 yards on 31 carries and scored three rushing TDs.
``It starts off with the offensive line,'' Williams said. ``When I see daylight, I was thinking about scoring a touchdown.''
Williams also became McKinley's all-time leading rusher, surpassing Ryan Brinson. In last week's 28-21 win over Toledo St. John's, Williams passed Brinson as McKinley's all-time leading scorer.
``He told me before the game he wanted to get the record,'' said Bulldogs senior Disi Alexander, who led the defense with 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks. ``I said `If you want it, go and get it.' He doesn't ever surprise me.''
``It's an honor to run the football at McKinley,'' said Williams. ``I am just worried about (winning) a state title right now.''
Brunswick hurt itself with three first half turnovers and allowing Williams to return a kickoff 97 yards with 13 seconds remaining in the first half. Williams' dash down the field gave McKinley a 24-14 halftime lead.
``There were a lot of turning points in this game,'' Brunswick coach Rich Nowak said. ``We really did a lot of stupid things in the first half, and that cost us.''
On Brunswick's first offensive play, McKinley junior Zack Angeloni forced a fumble that senior Darius Williams recovered with 11:51 remaining in the first quarter. Morgan Williams scored on a 1-yard run on the ensuing drive.
Bulldogs senior Will Sheeler forced another fumble when he ripped the ball from junior quarterback Sean Bedevelsky on the 37-yard-line and ran to midfield.
McKinley put together a five-play, 50-yard drive that took 2:26. McKinley senior quarterback Dan Grimsley and Williams connected on a screen pass that covered 47 yards for a TD to make the score 14-0.
``He's a special player,'' Nowak said. ``He can make a big play anytime he touches the ball. We stopped him a few times, but he got a step and we couldn't catch him.''
Bedevelsky completed 19 of 31 passes and threw three for TDs. He also rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries and scored a TD.
Blue Devils senior Dustin Zielaskiewicz had eight receptions for 155 yards and a TD. Senior Kyle Milano had seven catches for 106 yards and two TDs.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3800.
Canton McKinley 49, Toledo Whitmer 7
Bulldogs dominate Panthers
Senior tailback rushes 217 yards, scores five TDs for second week in a row
By Michael Beaven
Beacon Journal sportswriter
PARMA - The first-half score and statistics provided an accurate synopsis of Friday night's dominant performance by Canton McKinley.
The result was an impressive 49-7 victory over Toledo Whitmer in a Division I regional championship at Byers Field.
Bulldogs senior tailback Morgan Williams once again led the offense, scoring five touchdowns for the second consecutive week. He finished with 217 rushing yards on 24 carries and was not needed in the fourth quarter.
``He's awfully determined to carry this team to the next victory,'' McKinley coach Brian Cross said. ``That's what he is all about right now. He's a guy when, even if you don't block a play well, he can get yardage. And generally when he gets in the secondary, they have a hard time bringing him down because he is so big and strong.''
McKinley (12-1) held a 35-0 lead at halftime on the strength of four rushing touchdowns by Williams. He gained 181 yards on 20 carries in the half.
``We jumped on them early, and we got on a roll,'' Cross said.
Williams opened the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown with 7:53 left in the first quarter. He started the rush up the middle, then cut left and ran untouched.
His second touchdown came as time expired in the first quarter. The 72-yard dash began up the middle. He broke a tackle about 12 yards into the run, then burst to the right sideline.
``He's just a quiet kid,'' Cross said of Williams. ``This is a kid that doesn't say much and gives credit to somebody else. This kid has been special for us for three years and especially for the last two.''
Four plays after a Whitmer turnover on its 22, Williams scored on a 4-yard run. He capped his impressive half with a 1-yard touchdown run with 5:45 remaining in the half.
With 15 seconds left before halftime, Bulldogs junior free safety Tremaine O'Neal intercepted a pass and ran untouched for 70 yards.
``It was a team effort,'' said O'Neal, who also had a fumble recovery. ``We worked hard in practice all week, and we did exactly what we were supposed to do. We just ran to the football. We swarmed to the football.''
The Bulldogs outgained the Panthers 209-60 in the first half and 368-183 for the game.
``We just got outplayed in all three phases'' of the game, Whitmer coach Joe Palka said. ``Their kicking game was great, and Morgan is a great tailback. We weren't able to tackle him early, and we couldn't get any first downs early.''
McKinley seniors Disi Alexander, George Tabron, Darius Williams, Gaylan Roberson, Martavian Thigpen, Brandon Mingo and Will Sheeler keyed the defense all evening.
``Defensively, we were flying to the ball, and that is what this game is all about,'' Cross said. ``We pride ourselves on defense, and we didn't play well the last two weeks.''
The defense had trouble in playoff victories over Toledo St. John's and Brunswick, allowing 48 points and 856 yards.
``We were pumped up; we didn't want to get embarrassed,'' Alexander said. ``That's embarrassing when you are giving up 300, 400 yards to a team.''
Bulldogs senior Zack Campbell had a solid game kicking and punting. He converted all seven extra points, had six touchbacks on kickoffs and also had a punt to the Whitmer 2-yard line.
Whitmer finishes at 9-4.
The Repository Player of the Year: Morgan Williams
Thursday, November 23, 2006
By Chris Beaven REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER
Once Morgan Williams wraps his arms around the football, the wait begins. Defenses wait to see where the McKinley High School star tailback will attack. Coaches and fans wait for that next long run. Williams just waits. For that crease of daylight. For that perfect moment. Sometimes, he waits an split second longer for that perfect moment.
?He?s got great patience,? McKinley head coach Brian Cross has said repeatedly.
Williams is patiently creating a remarkable season this fall, becoming The Repository?s Stark County Player of the Year in the process of leading McKinley into this weekend?s Division I state semifinals.
In a game of speed and power, chaos and collisions, Williams shatters records with patience and precision.
?It?s just in my blood,? he said. ?I?m a patient person.?
?This is a kid that doesn?t say much and gives credit to everybody else,? Cross said. ?This kid has just been special.?
In two years as a starter, Williams has rushed for at least 100 yards in 25 of 26 games. The Bulldogs are 24-2 in that span. He has broken Ryan Brinson?s school records for scoring and rushing and is close to becoming Stark County?s all-time rushing leader.
Records, though, do not drive him.
?It?s something I think about, but I don?t think about it long,? Williams said. ?I?ll think, ?Dang, I scored five touchdowns two weeks in a row. That?s crazy.? ... I?m focused on winning.
?We only have two games left to win (state). It would really mean something to pull the last two out. It?s what everybody on the team and everybody in Canton wants.?
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
With 5,060 career yards, Williams needs only 103 yards in Saturday?s 7 p.m. state semifinal against Mentor to become the county?s career rushing leader. He is the third player in county history to surpass 400 career points with 402.
But watching the 6-foot, 190-pound Williams run a football gives only a small view of him and some of his talents.
?I?m amazed by him moreso off the field than on the field,? said his uncle, Fonda Williams, a former football star himself.
Fonda is ?more or less a father figure.? Morgan has been raised by his maternal grandmother, JoEmma Williams.
?Morgan?s matured a great deal,? Fonda said. ?He?s really had a rough upbringing in terms of what one young man has to go through. He?s grown up fast, faster than what he would have liked, but he?s responded to the challenges.?
Fonda graduated from Duke in 1990 after starting four years in the defensive backfield. He has played a role throughout Morgan?s life.
?I remember my mother brought him down to one of my football games in Durham,? Fonda said. ?He was too young to even remember it. I have a videotape somewhere of him running around there. He used to always jump up in my arms, and he called me, ?Uncle Fox.? ?
Fonda returned to Canton once he graduated to spend more time with his nephew.
?I?ve always tried to keep him grounded in that sense of, remember where you came from, remember the people who have helped you along the way,? Fonda said.
That?s why Morgan generally talks about his offensive line first. ?They keep making the holes, and I keep hitting them,? he said.
He is not a player who brings much attention.
?What a lot of people don?t know about Morgan is he?s a real quiet person,? Fonda said. ?He loves his friends deeply and his teammates. It?s not even about Morgan. It?s about his friends, his offensive line, coach Cross and the whole McKinley family. ... I credit that to my mother; she?s a super woman.?
Morgan isn?t perfect.
?Like most teenagers, he has lapses of judgment,? Fonda said. ?He?s been fortunate to look at those situations and learn. That?s what?s most important, especially for a teenager growing up in the inner-city, exposed to a lot of different things.?
Fonda made sure Morgan understood the need to get things done in the classroom.
?I?ve told him it?s just like practice,? Fonda said. ?I said, you excelled over some of your peers because you put extra time in, whether it was running routes, making moves. You?ve got to do the same thing in the class room.?
Morgan, who has a 2.5 GPA, received a wakeup call his sophomore year.
?Ohio State came knocking, and that was his No. 1 choice,? Fonda said. ?When his grades weren?t up to par, they stopped calling. ... He?s made a lot of progress since then. Once he passes the ACT in the second week of December, there will be a lot of people knocking.?
Indiana and Akron have offered Williams a scholarship. Clemson, Louisville, West Virginia, Purdue, Michigan and Illinois have expressed interest.
A WORK OF ART
Morgan plans to study graphic design or business in college. One of his favorite things outside of athletics is drawing.
?He?s very gifted when it comes to art, and perhaps the reason he does so well is his patience and attention to detail,? Fonda said.
Morgan likes to do pencil portraits. Fonda has his portraits of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson hanging on the refrigerator.
Morgan recently completed a portrait of rapper The Game for an art class project.
?It takes a lot of erasing ... a lot of patience in artwork to get what you want,? he said.
Morgan runs the ball the same way, waiting for holes to develop. He makes runs of 2 and 3 yards, until he gets the big one ? 76- and 67-yarders against Fitch, a 67-yarder against Brunswick, a 72-yarder against Toledo Whitmer. He has 15 TDs of 30 yards or longer this year, 30 overall.
?It almost doesn?t look like he?s running hard, but ... he?s reading the defense and seeing how they?re coming at him,? Cross said after Morgan ran for 241 yards and two TDs against Perry.
It took time for Cross to get used to Morgan?s patience. The coach fights the temptation to get after him for not hitting a hole quickly enough.
?I?m like coach Cross. It used to drive me crazy,? Fonda said. ?Morgan?s ... a hard runner, but he so smooth that sometimes it doesn?t look like he?s running hard. The next thing you know, no one has touched him, and he?s off to the races.?
Morgan gets into his top gear in a hurry, seemingly gliding past some of the opposition?s fastest players. But he is not afraid to get into the middle of a defense and mix it up.
?I try to attack defenders,? Morgan said. The way he figures, ?if I attack the defense, they?ll get tired of hitting me.?
A BULLDOG FROM THE START
Being a part of the McKinley program is important. Morgan began attending McKinley games as a kid.
?I?d go with my friends, Terrence Snell and Disi (Alexander),? he said. ?... We played midget league on Saturdays. It would get us pumped up.?
Williams and Alexander are now the offensive and defensive leaders at McKinley. When Morgan discusses records, it?s a good bet the outgoing Alexander is on the other end of the conversation.
?That?s my best friend,? Alexander said the night Williams became McKinley?s career rushing leader. ?He told me earlier he wanted to get the record. I said, ?If you want it, go and get it.? ?
Williams got it during McKinley?s 45-27 regional semifinal win over Brunswick with a signature performance ? a McKinley playoff record 257 rushing yards, five TDs and 410 all-purpose yards.
?He doesn?t ever surprise me,? Alexander said.
?He can make a big play anytime he touches the ball,? Brunswick head coach Rich Nowak said. ?It doesn?t matter if he?s got in on the goal line.?
Williams was near his own goal line when he fielded a kickoff just before halftime. Fifteen seconds later, Williams had crushed the spirits of Brunswick by returning the kick 97 yards for a touchdown. A 67-yard TD run followed in the second half.
?He?s special,? Nowak said.
Toledo Whitmer became the second straight team to get run over by Williams on his way to a five-TD performance.
?We knew he was good and would be hard to tackle, and he was as advertised,? Whitmer coach Joe Palka said.
THE LEADER OF THE PACK
Morgan realizes his days as a Bulldog are winding down.
?He?s a quiet kid, but he?s started to talk more, and you can see the determination on his face,? Cross said. ?He wants to lead this team. He wants to be a go-to guy. When the pressure?s on, you can tell he wants the ball.?
In McKinley?s playoff run, he has scored 13 touchdowns and gained 826 all-purpose yards.
?He?s been playing with more emotion than I?ve ever seen out of him,? Cross said. ?... It?s a senior realizing this is his last shot. And he wants to keep wearing the black and red.?
Williams appreciates McKinley?s history and his spot in it. He is amazed to have passed names such as Brinson, Marion Motley and Mike Doss.
?Some of the records might be sitting around awhile,? he said. ?That?s something to think about later. I want that state title. That would ... make it a sweet season.?
Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven
at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail
[email protected]
Morgan Williams by the numbers
Year-by-Year stats
Year Att Yds Avg TDs Pts
2004 49 313 6.4 3 18
2005 271 2,417 8.9 29 186
2006 285 2,330 8.2 30 198
Totals 605 5,060 8.4 62 402
McKinley records
Most points, career 402
Most points, season 198
Most rushing yards, career 5,060
Most rushing yards, season 2,417
*-Most rushing yards, game 335
Most rushing yards, playoff game 257
Most rushing yards, vs. Massillon 234
*-Shares school record
2006 game-by-Game
Opp. Att Yds Avg TD Lg
Tol. Start 17 159 9.4 4 49
Waterdown 11 170 15.5 1 62
Lake 30 183 6.1 2 36
Hoover 12 73 6.1 1 46
GlenOak 14 106 7.6 2 42
Fitch 12 165 13.8 2 76
Perry 24 241 10.0 2 74
Boardman 39 255 6.5 3 45
Jackson 17 172 10.1 2 50
Massillon 29 159 5.5 0 29
St.John?s 26 173 6.7 3 36
Brunswick 30 257 8.6 3 67
Whitmer 24 217 9.0 5 72
Totals 285 2,330 8.2 30 76
crazybuckfan40;669108; said:There is no doubt in my mind that if his grades really improved that much that he would have an offer.
OSUBuckeye4Life;669114; said:Really? With the limited schollies left and RB not being a huge need from what I understand I have a hard time seeing him with an offer.
It's a shame too. He's TALENTED.
with OSU wanting another RB since Pittan is leaving there is little doubt he would have an offer.OSUBuckeye4Life;669114; said:Really? With the limited schollies left and RB not being a huge need from what I understand I have a hard time seeing him with an offer.
It's a shame too. He's TALENTED.
The Man;672599; said:with OSU wanting another RB since Pittan is leaving there is little doubt he would have an offer.
The Man;672599; said:with OSU wanting another RB since Pittan is leaving there is little doubt he would have an offer.