I say every year that special teams are overlooked in high school football. I have watched practices for teams (neither from this game) where the kickers and punters are messing around instead of practicing, all without supervision. I have seen very little work on the kicking games in practices over the years. Yet clearly this season has seen quite a bit of kicking issues. And Massillon blocking a McKinley field goal attempt was obviously huge. Try to tell either team that the kicking game is not important.
Turnovers were again a big deal, as anyone who watched this game knows. Massillon's fumble through the end zone was nearly fatal. Ultimately, McKinley's mistakes were more costly. Seems that in high school football turnovers always seem to have a large effect on the outcome.
Lastly, I see at every level this fascination with reaching for the goal line with the ball extended from the body. It starts with the NFL guys, and has filtered down to the kids. I don't blame anyone for trying hard to score. I don't blame anyone for trying to make a big play. But from my experience from both coaching and watching a whole lot of football, I would suggest to coaches that they try to eliminate this from player's minds. Way too often, the ball is turned over on a fumble. The risk is not worth the reward. Think about the alternative: You retain the ball on what is usually inside the one with another chance to score. Scoring from inside the one is pretty common. Keep the ball and try again on the next down!
