FORWARD PASSES HELP ORANGE AND BLACK TRIM
NEW PHILADELPHIA LOCAL TEAM WINS BRILLIANT TUSSLE BY 20 TO 7 SCORE
Before the largest crowd that has ever witnessed a high school football game in New Philadelphia, the orange and black eleven of Washington high, last Saturday afternoon defeated the Tuscarawas County gridders 20 to 7 at Tuscora park in a contest that was replete with gridiron thrills for a gathering of 5,500 frenzied spectators who hammed every available inch of space around the playing field at Tuscora park. Because it marked the resumption of athletic relations between Massillon and New Philadelphia after a lapse of several years and because of the interest created in the contest due to the rivalry existing between the two schools, the battle was a magnet to attract hundreds of persons from New Philadelphia and Dover and about 2,500 Massillon rooters.
The New Philadelphia team lost, but its supporters are not shedding many tears because its eleven put up a spectacular fight to stop the orange and black machine of Massillon. The Tuscarawas County lads fought like a pack of wild cats from start to finish and had it not been for the dazzling forward passing attack which Coach Stewart’s warriors uncorked, the score might have been a great deal closer.
It was the overhead attack that was largely responsible for two of the three touchdowns which the Massillon outfit scored. Except for one brilliant dash of 38 yards by Jimmy Price to score Massillon’s first touchdown, the orange and black was not very successful with its line plays and end runs, the New Philadelphia gridders throwing themselves into the battle with reckless abandon to stop the Massillon plunges.
But New Philadelphia’s defense to break up forward passes was not equal to the task of stopping the bullet like heaves of halfback King of Massillon and seven of the local team’s 11 attempts to gain ground by the air route were successful.
Despite the intensity of play and the fierceness with which both teams battled to win the game was exceptionally clean. The officiating was good and the spirited rivalry between the supporters of both teams made it a gala football event.
The New Philadelphia eleven, although defeated but once previous to Saturday’s conflict, was hardly rated strong enough to topple the orange and black from its lofty perch in the Ohio scholastic football circles but the Massillon fans who journeyed to the scene of the conflict were treated to quite a surprise when they saw the Tuscarawas County aggregation make the local team fight its hardest for every inch of ground.
Coach Stewart’s gridders were pitted against a team that had an unconquerable fighting spirit and possessed a determination to go down with colors flying. The game was nip and tuck during the first half and in the third quarter and at the start of the fourth the downstaters uncovered such a burst of strength that they actually outplayed the local team and threw quite a scare into the Massillon camp at the start of the last period by marching the ball right down under the local team’s goal posts where it stayed for quite a while until Paul Smith cut loose with a long punt to carry the oval back out of the danger zone.
New Philadelphia was in to win and the advance information of Massillon’s prowess did not shake the determination of the southerners to hand the orange and black a jolt if possible.
Massillon however, missed Vince Define, flashy halfback and punter. Vince was on the sidelines nursing an injured knee which may keep him out the balance of the season. With Vince in the game Massillon’s running attack might have been much more powerful although Jimmy Price and King cut loose with some nice gains. But it was in punting that Define was missed most.
Paul Smith and Grant, who did the kicking in Vince’s absence, did nobly but they did not measure up to Define whose ability to get his punts off quickly and for good yardage would have been of considerable help Saturday. Smith however, came back into the game to put the local team out of a really dangerous situation and during the last few minutes cut loose with two beautiful punts, one of 50 yards and the other of 70 yards.
There was however, one big thing lacking in Massillon’s offense. That was proper interference. The local team gained but very little ground Saturday on end runs compared with what it would have, had proper interference been furnished, the man toting the ball. Time after time the interference failed to get the New Philadelphia end out of the road or was turned back in such a manner that it spilled the Massillon man with the ball.
The defensive play of both teams stood out prominently. For Massillon Captain Edwards was a roving demon, romping all over the field to stop the New Philadelphia backs. He was given able assistance by McCarthy and Weidman, the two husky tackles, and King who smeared the New Philadelphia offensive time after time by his speedy charges. Zurker, New Philadelphia’s left end, was a big factor in the Tuscarawas County team’s defense, playing a whale of a game on the wing.
The bulk of New Philadelphia’s defensive work rested with Captain Mathias, a sturdy little ball lugger, and Cale. Mathias was New Philadelphia’s star, time after time carrying the ball on off tackle thrusts for considerable gains.
Massillon outplayed New Philadelphia quite decisively in the second and fourth quarters but the downstaters had the edge in the first and third periods. Massillon made 15 first downs, all but one of which were earned, while its opponents made eight, two coming through the medium of penalties.
New Philadelphia was the first to score, shoving across its lone touchdown in the first quarter when it captured a blocked Massillon punt. It was a fumble by Paul Smith that paved the way for the score. After catching a New Philadelphia punt Smith fumbled the ball on his nine-yard line where a New Philadelphia lad pounced on it.
The downstaters then worked the ball to the six-yard line before being held for downs. Grant dropped back to punt but the New Philadelphia line charged in on him like a flock of demons and blocked the punt, the ball bounding into the air and then nestling in the arms of right end Smith who stepped across the goal line for the touchdown.
This touchdown spurred the orange and black and early in the second quarter Jimmy Price tucked the oval under his arm and dashed around New Philadelphia’s right end and sped like the wind for a 38-yard dash to the New Philadelphia goal line for Massillon’s first touchdown. It was a spectacular run and the best of the game.
With the score tied the local team opened up its forward passing attack a little later with King heaving a pass to J. Price for 19 yards. Grant, on the next play, tossed the oval to King for a 26-yard gain, taking the ball to the six-yard line. Here Kammer was called into play and he carried the ball over in two smashes at the line.
New Philadelphia came out for the third quarter to show an unexpected burst of strength and kept the orange and black on the defensive throughout most of the period. But New Philadelphia’s best drive came at the start of the final period when with the ball on their 30-yard line the downstaters marched right through the orange and black to Massillon’s 17-yard line before being halted.
This march featured by the off tackle plunges of Mathias who ripped the Massillon forward wall wide open, carrying the ball beyond the mid-field. Then a 20-yard pass from Cale to Smith took the ball to the 17-yard line. Here the local team got down to brass tacks and Jimmy Price momentarily halted his opponents’ drive by intercepting a forward pass on his two-yard line.
Then Grant’s punt from behind his goal line was partly blocked and New Philadelphia covered on Massillon’s 12-yard line and opened another drive for the Massillon goal. But again danger was averted when Grant leaped high in the air on his goal line to pull down a pass. Then Paul Smith took Grant’s place in the lineup and pulled his team out of danger by cutting loose with a beautiful 50-yard punt that took the oval back to midfield.
Then King, after a 13-yard dash around end, opened up the forward passing attack with a heave to Jimmy Price for 19 yards, placing the ball on New Philadelphia’s six-yard line. Kammer made the touchdown but not until after he had made three smashes into the fighting New Philadelphia line.
Massillon was well on its way to another touchdown when the whistle blew, two successful passes by King having taken the ball deep into New Philadelphia territory.
King and Jimmy Price were Massillon’s offensive lights. Price had speed to burn Saturday while King’s best work was on the tossing end of forward passes. The dusky halfback shot the ball over the field with speed and accuracy and picked his men so well that New Philadelphia was hopelessly lost in its efforts to break them up.
The seven passes Massillon completed netted 106 yards. Three were grounded and New Philadelphia intercepted one. The downstaters completed four heaves for 55 yards while four were grounded and Massillon intercepted a like number.
The Old Punch
Massillon – 20 Pos. New Philadelphia – 7
W. Price LE Zurker
McCarthy LT Shear
J. Smith LG Mizer
Edwards C Gardner
Halco RG Haney
Weidman RT Pfaeffle
Thomas RE Smith
J. Price QB Mathias
King LHB Cale
P. Smith RHB O’Conner
Kammer FB Reger
Score by Periods:
Massillon 0 14 0 6 20
New Philadelphia 7 0 0 0 7
Substitutions:
Massillon – Grant for P. Smith, Hise for J. Smith, Gump for W. Price, Agler for Thomas, Thomas for Agler, W. Price for Gump, Borza for Kammer, Kammer for Borza, Gump for W. Price, P. Smith for Grant.
New Philadelphia – Gilgen for Pfaeffle, Pfaeffle for Smith, Togler for O’Conner, Smith for Pfaeffle, O’Conner for Reger, J. Cale for O’Conner.
Touchdowns – Kammer 2, J. Price, Smith.
Points after touchdown – Edwards 2, Cale 1.
Referee – Thellar, Oberlin.
Umpire – Howells, Sebring.
Head Linesman – Garrett, Centre.
Time of quarters – 15 minutes.
