ALLIANCE DEFEATED 46 TO 0 BY MASSILLON
HIGH ELEVEN GAINS REVENGE IN GREAT BATTLE, SATURDAY 46 to 0!
By that score orange and black clad warriors of Washington high school last Saturday afternoon gained revenge for the defeat handed them a year ago by Alliance high when they buried the gladiators from the eastern extremities of Stark county under an avalanche of seven touchdowns and four goals after touchdown in a spectacular battle on the Pearl street gridiron before about 4,000 fans. It was Massillon’s sixth straight victory of the 1922 campaign and it marked another step toward the scholastic championship of Ohio as well as the first advance toward gridiron honors of Molly Stark’s domains.
The score would indicate that Coach David B. Stewart’s gridders had a rather easy time winning from the aggregation of huskies which Harry Geltz, Alliance coach and former Mount Union star, brought to Massillon. But while the invaders found the attack of the youthful Tigers irresistible during the last three quarters, the game was a great deal harder fought than the 46 to 0 score would lead the casual observer to believe.
It was a battle all the way. Alliance, with a team that from end to end, outweighed Massillon, came here imbued with a spirit to fight to the last ditch. And fight they did. But the brilliant attack of the orange and black, which crashed its way through the Alliance line, skirted the visitors’ ends and gained frequently by the aerial route, was not to be denied. And Coach Stewart’s lads, were out to win and they won because the greatest scholastic football machine ever developed in Massillon’s history was able to outplay and outsmart its rivals from the east.
To say Massillon’s brilliant triumph was due to the playing of any one, two or three gridders would be doing an injustice to the rest of the lads who made possible that 46 to 0 victory. Every one of Coach Stewart’s warriors covered themselves with glory. They were in the game every minute and it was only the concerted team play of the orange and black that made possible the crushing defeat handed to Alliance.
But every football game brings out its stars and Saturday’s melee was not an exception. Football fans will have to travel far before they see a high school lad put up a defensive game such as “Bill” Edwards, rangy tackle, played Saturday. Edwards, without a doubt was the shining light on defense. This tall, well-built youngster, was a thorn in the side of Alliance’s attempts to gain. Into every play was Edwards. He roamed over the field like a lion unchained and few and far between were the plays that did not see Bill Edwards crash through the Alliance wall of defense and bring down the man with the ball. Alliance simply couldn’t keep Edwards at bay. And in addition to his great defensive work Edwards gave Massillon four points by showing exceptional ability as a drop kicker, hoisting the ball over the bars four times after touchdowns.
On offense Joe Define, the Navarre flash and “Dutch” Hill, the great plunging fullback, were the stars. Define ran with the speed of the wind Saturday and his great 60-yard run through the entire Alliance team for touchdown in the fourth quarter was the greatest play of the day. Hill as usual smashed his way through the Alliance team for substantial gains. The visitors were out to stop the Massillon star. All during the game they were urging each other to stop Hill but the orange and black plunger showed them it could not be done.
Hill also showed ability in punting. His twisting spiral kicks traveled high and far and it gave Massillon’s ends plenty of time to get down the field and tackle the Alliance receiver before he could move out of this tracks.
All season Coach Stewart’s team has been recognized as a wonderful defensive aggregation. On offense it had not shown a great deal outside of end runs and line plays. But Saturday the Massillon tutor ordered his warriors to open up and critics who a week or two ago were declaring that Massillon had no overhead attack worth speaking of probably find their lips sealed today.
The orange and black has an aerial offense and it proved it Saturday by shooting passes over the Alliance line that paved the way for three touchdowns. A fumble robbed the local team of another touchdown after a forward had placed it in position to score. With Hill and Thomas heaving the passes, the youthful Tigers completed four out of nine attempted forwards for a total yardage of 92.
Alliance also had an overhead attack but the visitors did not launch it until the last five minutes of play when they made a desperate effort to score. It was not until the visitors opened their overhead drive that they made a first down. Up until that time they had not been able to pierce the orange and black for any substantial gains.
With Hopkins, Alliance fullback, heaving the ball, Coach Geltz’s gridders worked four forwards and made four first downs. Their aerial drive carried the ball deep into Massillon territory and on one occasion they carried the oval to Massillon’s 10-yard line but lost it on the next play when the forward passed over their goal line. Hill immediately punted out of danger and Alliance’s chance of scoring was gone.
Although he was only in the game for about three minutes it was Captain “Tink” Ulrich, peppery, fighting dark haired leader of the orange nad black who broke the morale of the Alliance crew and instilled into his own warriors the fighting spirit which made their attack assume steam roller proportions during the last three quarters.
Still nursing an injured knee, sustained in the Youngstown South game two weeks ago, Coach Stewart did not send Ulrich into the game at the start. But when Alliance held Massillon scoreless during the first quarter, Coach Stewart gave heed to the pleading of the orange and black leader and sent him into the fray in the second period.
And Captain Ulrich had not been in the game two minutes before he grabbed an Alliance punt on the visitors’ 42-yard line and with perfect interference tore his way down the field for Massillon’s first touchdown. That play broke the fighting spirit of the east enders and it made the local team open up an advance which Alliance could not stem. Coach Stewart pulled Ulrich out of the game immediately after he had scored the touchdown. The local tutor, did not care to take any chances on having Ulrich’s knee injured again and while he hated to leave the conflict “Tink” obeyed and went to the sidelines. He had done his share to bring victory.
After Ulrich’s brilliant run the orange and black began to smash the Alliance team to shreds. Shortly, after the first touchdown, Massillon started a march from Alliance’s
45-yard line that was not halted until Hill tore around Alliance’s left end for a 20-yard gain and another set of counters. Before the quarter ended Hill shot a long pass to Weirich for a gain of 35 yards. Weirich being downed on Alliance’s five-yard line. With 40 seconds of play left Hill grabbed the ball and shot through the visitor’s for another touchdown.
Massillon twice was within scoring distance in the first quarter but was unable to gain through the Alliance line. Edwards put the local team in position to score when early in the game he blocked an Alliance punt and Massillon gained possession of the ball on Alliance’s 18-yard line when a visiting player held Edwards who was racing after the oval. But four attempts to pierce the Alliance defense failed.
Early in the third quarter Pflug broke through and blocked an Alliance punt and then covered the ball on the visitors 20-yard line. Smashes into the line took the ball to the
six-yard stripe but Define fumbled a poor pass from Roth and Mattick covered for the visitors. After an exchange of punts Massillon started another march from Alliance’s
31-yard line, which ended when Hill bucked the ball over from the third yard line.
It was a forward pass from Thomas to Potts, good for a gain of 21 yards, that paved the way for Massillon’s fifth touchdown. After tackling the pass Potts carried the ball to Alliance’s 12-yard line. Hill made 11 yards on a plunge and then Define carried it over from the one-yard line.
Early in the fourth quarter Borsa ripped off a first down and then Hill heaved a pass to Potts who carried the ball to the Alliance nine-yard line. Define made two and then Hill bucked the Alliance line twice and the ball was over. A few moments later Define made himself a hero when he took an Alliance punt on his 40-yard line and by a sensational run scored Massillon’s seventh touchdown, traveling 60 yards through the visitors. Define showed well in returning punts during the last half.
Alliance shortly after intercepted a Massillon pass on its 23-yard line and then opened its aerial attack which took the ball out of its territory and put Massillon on the defensive. Ted Roth, Massillon center, sustained a dislocated knee during the last few minutes of play and had to be carried off the field.
Sweet Revenge
Massillon – 46 Position Alliance – 0
Weirich LE Hicks
Edwards LT G. Nixon
Kallaker LG Hoiles
Roth C Reese
Pflug RG Cady
Salberg RT T. Nixon
Rohr RE Wilcoxen
Thomas Q McGrannahan
Define LH Orr
Boerner RH Harding
Hill F Hopkins
Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 19 14 13 – 46
Substitutions: Massillon – Ulrich for Define, Borsa for Ulrich,
Hax for Thomas, Miller for Kallaker, Jamison for Rohr, Potts for
Weirich, Thomas for Hax, Define for Borsa, Borsa for Boerner,
Kallaker for Miller, Hise for Roth.
Alliance – Maple for Hoiles, Mattick for Hicks.
Touchdowns – Hill 4, Define 2, Ulrich.
Goals after touchdowns – Edwards 4.
Referee – Maurer, Wooster.
Umpire – Morrison, Penn State.
Headlinesman – Wilson.
Time of quarters – 15 minutes.
