Judging by the 32-9 halftime score inside the Charles “Red” Ash Gymnasium inside Canton South High School, the Lake Blue Streaks felt like they were catching touchdown passes from current NFL MVP Peyton Manning.
Lake had every reason to feel like the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts Tuesday night as they used an 8-0 run to open up a 13-5 first quarter lead and then opened up the floodgates with a massive 15-0 run in the second quarter to power their way to their gigantic lead and eventually overpowering a Canton South team that is well removed from their competitive days in a 63-25 triumph.
The Blue Streaks in the process also concluded a four-game losing streak and enjoyed a happier trip to Canton than what was the case last week in a 54-45 loss to Canton McKinley.
Lake has never been a team of flamboyance but the scene in the locker room afterward was understandable.
“We did it a different way tonight and that is why we are leaving the locker room a very happy team tonight,” Lake head coach Tom McBride said while fighting a hoarse voice in the excitement. “We had hard times finishing down the stretch but these guys showed up tonight and came to work and that is why we are going home with a win.”
Aside from rendering the Wildcats to six minutes without a field goal, what was of more aesthetic brilliance was the defensive wall the Blue Streaks erected with their asphyxiating defense. Canton South failed score in double-digits in every quarter.
McBride has been known to get really aggressive with the body gyrations and has been known to shout out a “let's go” every now and then during such runs. But tonight, there wasn't any of that during the ultimate game-sealing run. What was the reason?
“There was no need to get excited there, everyone was following their keys tonight,” he said when asked why he didn't show the aggression he does during runs.
Every Blue Streak player scored and saw well earned playing time. Connor Groot led the Blue Streaks with 20 points as they improved their record to 7-6 on the season.
For Canton South, the Wildcats are not the same team they were when Henry Cobb was the boss of the program. Aside from a team that experienced multiple district championships, regional appearances, and two state tournament appearances, the program is now in the hands of former South assistant and former Fairless head basketball coach Matt Kramer.
"We have a lot of youth on this team and the bottom line is that we are too young to play with anyone. Lake came out and imposed their will on us tonight,” he said. “But you know what? We will return to practice tomorrow and put this one behind us.”
For the Blue Streaks, they have a date with the Jackson Polar Bears. The Polar Bears are undefeated in the Federal League and currently have a two-game winning streak over Lake. Last year in front of a sellout crowd inside The Den, Jackson used two 7-0 and 10-0 runs in the third and fourth quarter respectively to thunder past the visiting Blue Streaks 77-56.
And it is a matchup that McBride is awaiting like a young man ready to dine at the dinner table with his family. And that is a family of not just two sons, but 17 other players you can call his sons.
“There is a sense of fatherhood here at Lake. People get the perception of me is that I am a coach and I am about intensity and passion. But look how caring we are as a staff. Not only am I a dad to two loving sons but also 17 other players inside that locker room,” he said. “You look at that moment in the locker room and there were a lot of hugs, high-fives, and that is what we want for our young men in our society.”
He then turned his sights to the Polar Bears. He feels that the experience of facing Jackson in a sellout game last year and in a sellout game against North Canton Hoover this season will help his team against a team favored at this point in the season to be district champions.
“This game will be like David and Goliath and we're going to approach it that way. We must keep this a possession game and have a chance to win it at the end,” McBride said.
The Lake Blue Streaks may have felt like they were catching balls from Peyton Manning but his presence wasn't needed on this evening.
JV Game—Lake 55, Canton South 27
The Lake junior varsity team constructed four major scoring runs and also limited the Wildcats without double-digit scoring in a rout to emerge with a 10-3 record.
Runs of 8-0 and 6-0 in the first half along with a 7-0, 9-0 and 6-0 run in the second half powered the visitors.
“We always stress defense as our top goal. If we play defense like that as showed by the runs we went on, contesting shots, and then going to the glass, we win games this way,” head coach Scott Cassidy said.
