Sports

Facilities Update

Crenshaw

The turf field at Crenshaw is now complete and will be the home to our middle school football team beginning next season. The turf field will also allow us the opportunity to provide practice and game space to some of our youth football teams. Additionally, we can also host soccer and football workouts and camps throughout the year. Unfortunately, the weather did not allow the all-weather track surface to be laid before the cold arrived. As soon as the weather cooperates in the spring, we will have a first-class track facility for our middle school and youth programs to use for practices and meets.

Munson Stadium

In a joint venture with the City of Canton, work is ongoing to renovate and revitalize Thurman Munson Stadium. A turf surface is currently being constructed on the main field and work will soon begin to turf the second field. An indoor pitching and batting facility is also being built. The final product will be a state-of-the-art baseball facility unlike any in the area. In addition to being the home of McKinley baseball, Munson Stadium will host youth, college and adult teams for games and practices.

– Joe Bogdan, Director of Athletics, Facilities and Partnerships

Volleyball

Canton McKinley Bulldogs 2021 edition

The Bulldog Football Team fought with pride and tenacity all season. With a record of 8-5, the Bulldogs made it to the third round of the OHSAA Division 1 Playoffs, something that has not been done since 2009. The Bulldogs had several All Federal League performers including Stefan Monahan, Harold Fannin Jr, Kris Williams, Cynceir McNeal, Nehimiah Saipaia on 1st Team. 2nd Team included Creed Patterson, Bryan Foster, Amarion Williams, Alaa Saad and Colin Ruffin. Honorable Mention includes Caleb Ruffin, Stefan McNeil and Treyton Mackey. Harold Fannin Jr earned Federal League Player of the Year. We had a fantastic night at Benson Stadium on Oct. 15 celebrating the 1981 State Championship Bulldogs! Players and coaches were introduced on the field before the McKinley 34-26 win over GlenOak!

– Head Coach Antonio Hall

Harold Fannin Jr., Federal League Player of the Year

We ended the season at 5-17. Highlights were defeating Akron Firestone and Kent Roosevelt. Our team is young, with two freshman and two sophomores being major contributors to the team. We are looking for big things next year out of these girls. Thank you to our three seniors A’Niah Culler, Frankie Campbell and Taliyah Johnson.

– Coach Patricia Rafailedes

Girls Soccer

We played some very competitive and quality tennis throughout the year. Due to some key injuries, many players were forced to play out of their normal positions. However, we continued to play hard and improve throughout the year. This hard work did not go unnoticed. Our #1 Singles Player: Allie Mayberry was named Honorable Mention for the All-Federal League team as well as Honorable Mention for the All-County Team. Our #1 Doubles Team: Eliana Shaheen and Lauren Rogers won 8 out of their last 10 matches and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Sectional Tournament. They also were named Honorable Mention for the All-County Team.

– Coach Jim Puky

Through a season of ups and downs, my players truly represented what it means to persevere. Despite the adversity the girls faced, we had the following players recognized by the Federal League and Stark County:

Federal League:

1st Team - Brittany Garner 2nd Team - Cassidy Hight HM - Kenna Loukas, Allea Graves

All Stark County:

1st Team - Brittany Garner, Cassidy Hight 2nd Team - Kenna Loukas, Allea Graves HM - Lexis Anderson, Serenity Powell Out of our 16 players, five were goal scorers this seasons: Brittany Garner, Cassidy Hight, Celebrity Daily-Brown, Kenna Loukas, Savannah Brunner Out of our 16 players, five players provided assists: Brittany Garner, Cassidy Hight, Allea Graves, Chloe Hall, Kenna Loukas

Highlights:

- Scored in a tournament game for the first time in five years - Four games were decided by only one goal - First tie in three years - Lost 5-3 in a game we played two players down

– Coach Allan Brown

Girls Cross Country

Girls Golf

McKinley Boys Soccer finished with a 4-10 record. This is the first time in over a decade that they have had four wins. Led by Seniors Jamal Mohammed (eight goals, three assists, season) and Riley Miller (five goals, six assist, season), the Bulldogs battled hard for their first Federal league win in a long time defeating Glenoak 2-1 on Senior night. Newcomers, So. defender Jose Amaya and Jr. Goalkeeper Darwin Perez, proved that language is no barrier to success. Other standouts were Jr. defender Logan Maranakis and So. striker, Malachi Christian (five goals, one assist). Coaches Jon Mathewson, Jensen Miller and Nassor Khalid were proud of their players and look forward to next year with optimism.

– Coach Jon Mathewson

It was a tough season. Our numbers were much smaller than usual and we have not been able to go to camp for the past two years. We fought through the season and ended up with all-season best performances at the end.

– Coach Stephanie Lepley

We had seven players come out and golf this season, with four of them being returning players. Our three new players began in the middle of the summer and worked really hard. Despite us losing every match, we played hard and put in a lot of effort. We had a lot of rain at the beginning of the season, but it did not stop them from going out there and giving their all.

– Coach Amanda Wisor

We had a lot of young first-year players on the team that worked hard and continued to get better as the season progressed. We wrapped up our season with our banquet at Fronimos downtown. We look forward to continuing to work in the off-season to get ourselves prepared for next year.

– Coach Bryan Herberghs

Carter Demetro Delaney Hoskins

Boys Cross Country Middle School Cross Country

Congratulations to Lehman Early College eighth grader Elijah Corrin for finishing third in his race at the OHSAA Middle School Cross Country Invitational. Full results are available here: http://live.finishtiming.com/ meets/439841/events/686

Elijah Corrin

Middle School Seventh Grade Volleyball

This seventh-grade team was determined and dedicated to this sport. They finished the season with six wins and nine losses. This team can, and will, be a force to recon with. I am very proud of these young ladies!

– Coach Yvonne Lewis

The seventh grade football team went undefeated in Federal League play finishing the season with seven wins and one loss for the second year in a row. We were lead all season by Arius Lucius, Shad Davis, Javier Moore, Trey’mere Lane, Christian Culler, Edward Webster, Cameron Jamerson, Gabe Hinkle, Darius Hill and Jayon Tate. The eighth grade team went undefeated in Federal league play, also two years in a row, finishing 7-0-1, with a season-ending defeat of arch rival Washington Middle School, 14-8! We were lead all season by Xion Culver, Jamir Pierce, Devon Chester, Marques Jackson, Cameron (6) Burton, Naz Brown, Logan Hayes, Mark Springer, Mike Fowler, Trey Smith, Damere McCullem, Thomas Mankowski and Isaac Brooks! We had a total of 80 boys on the team between the seventh and eighth grade. We started off with an explosive off-season weight room and conditioning program, which was the driving force for us throughout the season. This season marks four (two 7th two 8th) Federal League Titles for Head Coach Franco Jamerson in just two years! The coaching staff with five (payed) members offensive coordinator Carlos (Binks) Parish, defensive coordinator Lemonte Chenault, Todd Shanks, Daniel Mercer, two (volunteers) videographer Ebon Smith and equipment manager Dan (double D) Davis was amazing! The fans and administrators both showed major support throughout our season. We look forward to next season. The Bulldog varsity future looks bright! Go Dogs!

– Head Coach Franco Jamerson

Middle School Fundraiser

Football Fundraiser Honors Sister of Teammate

Members of the Middle School Football team representing Crenshaw, Hartford and Lehman gathered at Lehman Wednesday with their coach Franco Jamerson to present money raised by a fundraising event to Akron Children’s Hospital. The fundraiser was in honor of Ayanna Culler, sister of player Christian Culler, who passed away in February of 2020 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. The kids sold athletic compression arm sleeves and also took financial contributions. The Culler family and staff from Akron Children’s were on hand to accept the donation. We are very proud of their service to others.