“I think it’s going to be exciting down there.”Ī town and program desperate for a marquee win will get plenty of shots. “Our home schedule is the who’s who of the best teams in the WPIAL,” Evans said. Its home schedule features powerhouses North Allegheny, Pine-Richland and Central Catholic, as well as Hempfield. Without a Week Zero contest, Canon-McMillan will jump right into its Class 6A schedule with a trip to rival Mt. Engel, who is receiving college interest, is the top safety, joining Dillon O’Donoghue and Nijenhuis. Alec Hendal is the other linebacker.Ĭuyler Rancher and Blake Joseph again will hold down the cornerback positions. The Big Macs return their leading tackler from the previous two seasons, Anthony Zanolla, at linebacker. Shane Klein, Connor McMahon, Caleb Johnson and Noble round out the unit. Tackles Jake Minnis and Jake Colosimo are back, but they will be pushed by a deep group of linemen.Ĭooper leads the defensive line after a double-digit sack season. The offensive line will be built around senior Riley Noble, who has grown two inches and gained 40 pounds this offseason.
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“He just seems to understand the route concepts, how to get open and has outstanding hands,” Evans said. On the outside, the team’s top receiver, Drew Engel, is back after playing half of last season with a broken hand. Garrett Nijenhuis, a nationally-ranked wrestler, will be in the backfield, too. “The bottom line is that the run game wasn’t good enough.”ĭavey Cooper, the team’s top defensive end, ran for 129 yards in Week 9 last year and will get a good share of touches. “We were searching for a tailback and the line play was inconsistent (last year),” he said. The rushing attack is a sour spot for him and an area he’s looking to for great improvement. Right now, they’re locked up.”Įvans elected to not play a Week Zero game in an effort to stay healthy and allow him a closer look at Lewis and Quinque. “There are things Tre does better than Jon, and there are things Jon does better than Tre. “Dead heat,” he said of the current competition.
Tre Lewis was the primary starter to begin the season, but turnovers led to Jon Quinque starting the last four games and leading the team with 967 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the field, Canon-McMillan returns 22 seniors and a handful of starters, including a pair of junior quarterbacks who split time a year ago. “You have homes where there’s probably a million dollars in the safe and you have kids that are on food stamps,” Evans said. It should be completed for the 2019 season, enhancing the football epicenter of diverse Canonsburg. “We’re looking for that big, marquee win to jumpstart the program, show we’ve arrived and give confidence to the kids,” Evans said.Īn $8 million facelift has begun on Big Mac Stadium.
They just can’t wait for it.”ĭespite competing well in games against tough opponents last year, the Big Macs finished 4-6. … I think that place would be 10-deep around the fence, standing room only. Canon-McMillan has failed to reach the postseason since 2008 and won just three games in the five seasons before he arrived. We have a blue-collar edge to us.”Įvans, entering his fourth season, admits the community is hungry for a winner. “There’s a little bit of a blue-collar feel, which I think fits. “The first thing about that stadium I love is that you have to come across the (railroad) tracks, by a cement factory,” Big Macs coach Mike Evans said. But for Canon-McMillan, when Big Mac Stadium is rocking on a Friday night, it can be an intimidating place to play. Home-field advantage may not be as important in high school football as it is in other levels of of the sport.