The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
CANGANELLI’S STAR ON THE RISE AT JCU
Mayfield grad had 814 all-purpose yards in October
It was a hot mid-June day at Mayfield’s Wildcat Stadium last summer.
A News-Herald Senior Bowl practice was ongoing on a late afternoon.
On the far end of the stadium away from the action on the stadium’s track was young man with a determined look. He kept to himself, running sprints for close to an hour.
Michael Canganelli graduated from Mayfield High School, so he doesn’t live far from Wildcat Stadium. It’s the venue where he first made a name for himself as a star running back. On that summer afternoon in June, Canganelli was surely thinking about the upcoming fall, and being ready when his name was called for the John Carroll football team.
That opportunity has come
this fall, but he’s not done yet. His high school coach Ross Bandiera says it best about Canganelli: “He’s so determined, so coachable and dedicated to this craft.”
In his second season at John Carroll as an all-purpose threat at running back, receiver out of the backfield and kick returner, Canganelli is a star on the rise — if he isn’t one already.
Hard work and talent have gotten him to this point, but it wasn’t easy. Canganelli isn’t a 6-foot, 210-pound bulldozer steamrolling the opposition. Blink, and he might not be noticeable out of uniform.
He’s about 5-9, 190 pounds, but plays bigger than that. He’s been brilliant since taking over as the Blue Streaks’ No. 1 running back when starter Sam Kukura of Kirtland went down with an ankle injury against Capital on Oct. 6. His time healing — Kukura is close to returning — wasn’t a time to sulk. Instead, Kukura used the time to tutor Canganelli.
“I told him, ‘I’m going to be your eyes on the sidelines. After you come off the field, we’ll talk,’ “said Kukura, a senior. “Every time, he’d say, ‘I saw this, what did you see?’ We really came together and formed a bond. The kid is eager to learn, and it’s really fun to work with him. All he wants to do is get better, and make plays.”
Canganelli has taken that opportunity, and been as good as Coach Rick Finotti hoped when the coach pitched his recruiting message to a player he’s known for a long time.
“He told me, ‘Let’s get a bunch of guys from the area, from Northeast Ohio, and let’s go compete for championships,” Canganelli said. “(Finotti) is the main reason I’m here. I was sold.”
So was Finotti, and his wife Rebecca, a health teacher at Mayfield who had Canganelli as a student in high school.
“I’m not just looking for great football players. I’m looking for great leaders,” Finotti said. “Not just vocal leaders. Guys that when you’re in the room, you just know that’s the guy. And Mike has that, and that’s confirmed by my wife, who’s the best recruiter I have on staff. She knows what I’m looking for.”
Canganelli was part of Finotti’s first JCU recruiting class in 2017. Less than two seasons in, Canganelli is one of the prized jewels of it, but it almost didn’t happen. Interest from Division II and Mid-American Conference schools was there for Canganelli as he emerged as a high school standout, but a hamstring injury as a junior didn’t allow him to attend summer camps by those interested.
When he suffered yet another injury to his hamstring, “College coaches basically forgot about me,” Canganelli said.
Finotti didn’t — mostly because he coached Canganelli’s older brother Nick at Mayfield, taught at the school, and lives in the district.
“I knew what he was all about. Michael’s a
“I’ll always have that belief. If you work your butt off in practice, it pays off in the games. But I’ll never be satisfied. It’s all about the team, and my goals is to do whatever it takes to help get us a W each week.” — John Carroll’s Michael Canganelli
spunky, tough kid,” Finotti said.
As for Canganelli’s production at the college level, the JCU coach was confident it wasn’t a matter of if, but when.
Here’s Canganelli’s allpurpose stat line since being inserted into the starter’s role:
• vs. Capital, Oct. 6: 25 touches, 203 yards, two touchdowns
• at Ohio Northern, Oct. 13: 28 touches, 216 yards, three touchdowns
• vs. Marietta, Oct. 20: 30 touches, 246 yards, two touchdowns
• at Wilmington, Oct. 27: 21 touchdowns, 149 yards, three touchdowns (in one half)
That’s an October to remember. In four games on 104 all-purpose touches, he’s amassed 814 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. That’s an average of 7.8 yards per touch, which is in the ballpark of his best season at Mayfield. As a high school junior, Canganelli averaged 8.8 yards per rushing attempt en route to 1,273 yards, and 114 points scored.
“We knew what he could do,” JCU quarterback Anthony Moeglin said. “He had his coming out party against Mount Union. We could feel it every day in practice leading up to this.”
That performance against Mount Union in JCU’s third game of the season — a 23-10 loss — was arguably Canganelli’s finest of 2018. Against the nation’s No. 1 ranked team in Division III, he totaled 245 all-purpose yards — 114 rushing, 65 receiving and 64 more on kickoff returns.
His 1,301 all-purpose yards for the season rank No. 15 nationally in D-III.
“Just a real competitor,” said JCU right tackle Drew Turner, a Mayfield Heights resident. “Give him the ball, and he’s ready to go.”
And Canganelli intends to keep working, no matter how much success comes his way.
“I’ll always have that belief,” said Canganelli, who has 834 rushing yards and 13 total TDs for 7-1 JCU. “If you work your butt off in practice, it pays off in the games. But I’ll never be satisfied. It’s all about the team, and my goal is to do whatever it takes to help get us a W each week.”