Vikings stand in way of Macks road to Highmark
- Frank Wolf
- 14 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Class A Semifinals
Grand Island (6-3) vs. McKinley Macks (7-2)
7:00 PM Kick-Off
All-High Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, > W 5mph, 42 degrees
On-Air: Carson Harper & Tom Prince (WNYA)
Buffalo, NY - McKinley will have a chance to reach Highmark Stadium for the second year in a row, but first they’ll need to knock off the Grand Island Vikings. Last season, GI was playing in Class B and went out in the semifinal round against Lackawanna.
Vikings head coach Dean Santorio will no doubt use last year’s result as motivation to help prepare his team that has more than a dozen seniors.
Thursday night’s game against the Macks is a rematch from week 8 which saw the Vikings fall 28-14. The Macks scored two-4th quarter touchdowns to pull out the victory.
Defensively, Grand Island did a good job against the pass in that game but had a hard time containing dual threat quarterback Kalaugn Ford, who rushed for a game high 177 yards and two scores. The Vikings will most likely see a lot more of that feared McKinley rushing game tonight.
Besides Ford, the Macks have another threat in Anthony Moore III who’s amassed over 1,100 yards rushing and averages over 10 yards per carry. Additionally Cardel Staples, a legitimate deep threat has also seen a number of carries in recent weeks adding another dimension on the back field.
Grand Island senior Dom Nucci is healthy again and is a tough runner to bring down. The Vikings will look to utilize Nucci’s legs and use up as much clock as they can. Sophomore quarterback Anthony Mantione is coming into his own and will have to make some plays with his arm.
The Vikings offensive line will have their work cut out for them as they are facing one of the better pass rushes in Section VI. The Macks feature three players on top of the sack leader board in Kamron Minter (19), Jamere Hill (12.5) and Tashawn Henley (8.5).
The weather shouldn’t play a huge factor in this evening's game, expect the Macks to try and establish a run early.
The Vikings program is known for winning games where they are considered the underdog. This isn’t exactly David vs Goliath, but Grand Island will need to play a near perfect game in order to beat McKinley.
The Macks just have too much on either side of the ball.
McKinley 30, Grand Island 22
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