From 1988-90, there weren’t many scholastic football players from the area as well-rounded as this Mathews Mustang scatback.
Born October 7, 1972, he is a 1991 MHS graduate where he started as a freshman and earned four letters in football under their late head coach, Bob Woytek, also earning three letters in basketball, two in both track and field and baseball for a total of 11 letters during a stellar scholastic athletic career.
A terror on the gridiron, he played both offense and defense and at the time of his graduation set six new Mustangs standards while tying another.
As a sophomore in 1988, he carried the ball 126 times for 628 yards and eight touchdowns, an average of 4.9 yards per carry.
He also caught 11 passes for 158 yards while defensively, he registered 43 tackles, had 40 assists and three interceptions.
He also returned eight kick-offs to the tune of 16.5 yards per return.
As a junior in 1989, he picked up 1,193 yards on 193 totes, an average of 6.1 yards, scored 11 touchdowns while hauling in 13 passes for 195 yards.
Defensively, he had 92 tackles, 48 assists, four interceptions, a blocked punt and blocked extra point while going ‘8 for 11’ on PAT’s.
He averaged 21 yards per kick-off return and 9.8 yards per punt return.
His senior season – he was selected as a co-captain – in 1990 produced 707 yards rushing on 135 carries (5.2 yards per carry) with 10 touchdowns, adding 16 receptions for another 160 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, he had 67 tackles, 49 assists, pilfered six opponent passes and caused six enemy fumbles.
He averaged 30 yards on seven kick returns despite opponents kicking away from him after they scored.
Offensively, he finished his scholastic career with 2,717 yards rushing (5.6 yards per carry), 45 receptions for 540 yards (12.0 yards per catch) 29 touchdowns and six, two-point conversions while defensively he amassed 396 total hits (231 tackles, 165 assists) and 14 total interceptions.
When his scholastic eligibility had drawn to a close, he was the school’s all-time leading rusher, scorer and tackler, had set new program standards for most interceptions in a career, average yards per rush and individual yards rushing in a season while tying the existing mark for most receptions in a career.
His senior season was most memorable for he was named first-team all-Ohio in Division IV at defensive back by the UPI (United Press International) wire service, was a second-team all-Ohio pick at defensive back by the Associated Press while earning first-team all-County and first-team East Suburban Conference laurels.
The Mustangs’ nominee for Trumbull County “Player of the Year,” he played in the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association All-Star Football Game at YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium on June 21, 1991.
In basketball, he was a first-team T.I.C pick and honorable mention all-County selection as a sophomore, earned first-team T.I.C. and second-team all-County laurels as a junior then as a senior, averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.4 assists per outing en route to first-team E.S.C. and all-County honors, was a nominee for Trumbull County “Player of the Year,” earned WRRO, 1440-AM Team M.V.P. plaudits while being named to the all-NEO second-team.
He also set the 400m school record in track.
Collegiately, he earned four-letters as a member of the Westminster College football team (1991-94), helping the Titans to the 1994 NAIA, Division II national championship and a runner-up finish the previous season.
He starred as a defensive back, kick and punt return specialist, was co-captain as a senior in 1994 when he earned first-team all-conference and All-American honorable mention honors.
In four years with the Titans, he posted 278 total tackles (200 solos, 78 assists) with nine interceptions, three fumble recoveries, 19 pass break-ups and a blocked punt for 568 total defensive points.
Sadly, he passed away on June 20, 1995, at the age of 22 after being involved in a freak car accident.
The youngest of four children, he was survived at the time of his passing by his parents, father Robert L. McLain (dec. August 28, 2011), mother Sue C. McLain, three sisters, Donna L. (Thaddeus) Rieger, Carole L. (Michael) O’Dell and Bobbi S. (Orvill) Simons (Orvill) and four (now 11) nieces and nephews.
