Euclid makes key stop for signature ‘W’

“We had chances to put McKinley away and didn’t. But I’m very happy we won.” Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky

The Euclid football team didn’t get a ton of stops against Canton McKinley on Sept. 13, but the Panthers got one when they needed it most.

Junior Cameron Smith batted away a two-point conversion attempt with 1:02 remaining, preserving the Panthers’ 49-48 win over the Bulldogs at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

“Cameron had a pick-six and a pass breakup,” Euclid coach Jeff Rotsky said. “Big-time game for him. It was a huge play. Enormous.

“We had chances to put McKinley away and didn’t. But I’m very happy we won.”

Euclid (3-0) seemed to be in good shape when quarterback Dion Valentine scored on a oneyard touchdown run with five minutes remaining in the game to give Euclid a 49-35 lead.

But McKinley was far from finished.

Riding the legs of its powerful running game, which churned out 433 yards of real estate against Euclid, McKinley made it a one-score game at the 3:30 mark when Lamier Garrett ran in from 10 yards out.

Then with 1:02 remaining, Garrett scored again on an eight-yard touchdown run.

Garrett gave Euclid’s defense trouble all night, running 32 times for 217 yards. Dual-threat QB Elijah Wesley ran 21 times for 174 yards.

But when it came time for the two-point conversion, McKinley went with a pass play.

Smith came up big with the batdown.

“We knew they liked to run the ball. That’s who they are,” Rotsky said of the Bulldogs.

“They ran a boot pass. (Smith) made a great break on the ball. It was a huge play.”

Paced by its running game, McKinley outgained Euclid, 546-424.

Jabiir Mujihad carried 27 times for 192 yards to lead the Euclid offense.

Valentine and Atiba Fitz each ran for a score, while Valentine threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Euclid will travel to Medina on Sept. 20 in its Greater Cleveland Conference opener.

“I’m proud of the kids because we’ve found a way to win the last three weeks,” Rotsky said. “Everybody counted us out. We lost 19 of 22 starters from a year ago. I’m happy we won, but we have a long way to go on offense, defense and special teams. We’re still a work in progress.”