Big Macs emerging from dark times
When Mike Evans was hired as head coach of the Canon-McMillan High School football program prior to the 2015 season, the Big Macs were at a dead end. Canon-McMillan had lost 13 games in a row and had only three victories in five years.
Under Evans, a former assistant at California University, the Big Macs have been steadily improving. They are headed in the right direction and have found the on-ramp to Respectability Road. Canon-McMillan won four of its last five games in 2016 to finish at 5-5, the Big Macs’ first non-losing season since 2008.
The goal now for the Big Macs is to keep that momentum going and reach their destination of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs out of the Southeastern Conference.
To get there this season, Canon-McMillan must overcome the loss of several record-setting skill-position players and a bevy of experienced linemen.
Evans knows winning doesn’t come easily at Canon-McMillan, but he likes that the culture within the program has changed and the Big Macs now go into games expecting to have a legitimate chance to win.
There are many other positive signs. One is the number of players in the program, especially in the lower grades, which has made the equipment manager busier. The Big Macs will field separate seventh- and eighth-grade teams this year. There also are large numbers in the junior and sophomore classes, which makes up for having only 14 seniors.
“Our senior class was decimated,” Evans said. “Before I got here, a lot of them bailed out. There are some good kids in there, but it’s not strong in numbers. Our junior class is very strong in both numbers and their commitment level.”
Gone are record-setting quarterback Jordan Castelli, talented running back Bryan Milligan, wide receiver Rahmiere Knight and four starting offensive linemen. Castelli passed for a school-record 1,501 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago. Milligan rushed for 1,160 yards despite missing about half the season with an injury and had almost 2,800 rushing yards over the past two years. Knight led C-M with 47 receptions and averaged more than 18 yards per catch.
“We lost speed on the outside, we lost our quarterback, one of the better running backs in the WPIAL, two all-league defensive players. Yes, there are a lot of things that we lost, but we have a good group,” Evans said. “I don’t know if I can replace everything, but these kids have been working this program for three years and have done everything we’ve asked them to do. The things we can control we will be better at. This team has heart, desire and knows where it wants to go.”
Getting there will require productive seasons from many players who were in complementary roles last year. Evans is high on sophomore quarterbacks Jonathan Quinque and Tre Lewis, who will battle for the starting job.
The Big Macs do have experience at running back. Senior Anthony Sacco rushed for 382 yards last year while Milligan was sidelined. Sacco, Davey Cooper and Alec Hendal give C-M several options at running back. Each player is bigger and offer different running styles than Milligan.
“One thing that is different about high school from college football is you can’t always have your system and plug guys into it,” Evans said. “You have to adapt to the players you have. We’ll probably do some different things. All our tailbacks are power runners. Milligan was maybe a once-in-a-decade guy. We don’t have a guy like him, so we’ll do some different things.”
The Big Macs have a deep and talented group of receivers, led by Drew Engel, who showed his catching skills last year with seven interceptions as a defensive back.
The line returns only one starter, first-team all-conference tackle Aaron Smith, but Evans raves about the potential of junior guard Riley Noble, who saw plenty of playing time last year.
“I’m actually encouraged by what we have up front,” Evans said.
The Big Macs’ biggest improvement last year was on defense. In four of their wins, they held the opponent to 17 points or fewer and shut out conference champion Mt. Lebanon in the first half.
“Our defensive coordinator, Damien Patragas, is very good. I don’t mess with the defense very often,” Evans said. “In our first year, we gave up tons of points and weren’t a very good tackling team. Much of that had to do with the weight room. Working in the weight room really helps with tackling. That’s what had to change. Now, we look different with our shirts off and we’ve changed the composition of bodies. Before, we were just a bunch of skinny kids. Now, the top two tiers of kids look different.” n