Hard Blocking Tigers Smash Latin 44-13
16,000 Spectators See Massillon Gridders Get 25 Points First Period
By LUTHER EMERY
A rip-roaring band of Washington high school Tigers chased the proud Cathedral Latin Lions out of its stadium jungle Friday evening with a 44-13 pasting that rocked the Ohio scholastic football firmament.
Striking with lightning speed, the Tigers scored in the first 35 seconds on the second play of the game. The 16,000 shocked fans had hardly settled back in their seats before another marker went up on the board and by the time the first period was over the score read 25-0.
Two more touchdowns in the second period and another in the first two minutes of the third only served to mount the score and raise the fever of the Massillon fans who like to see their opponents melted away with touchdowns. Latin scored in the second and third periods directly or indirectly through forward passes, the second coming when second and third stringers made up the Massillon team.
Lights burned late in Tigertown last night as fans sat up to replay the game over and over again. They hadn’t had so much to make whoopee over in several moons, for it was the Tigers’ first victory over Latin since 1942 and only once in nine years of competition, 1940, did they roll up as many points; it as 64-0 that year. Likewise the 44 points represented the largest Massillon score since the Tigers beat Alliance 44-7 in 1945.
It could have been larger, most everyone believes had Coach “Chuck” Mather desired to make it so, but he gave 31 members of his squad an opportunity to play in the game and there was a lot of happy faces and some proud moms and pops because of it.
Mather, who overnight became “Mr. Football” to Massillon fans, was just as proud of his team. “I was well pleased with the boys,” he said after the game, as he massaged the side of Jim Schumacher, who was touched up a bit, not seriously, in the game. “I didn’t expect them to win anything like that,” he continued. “But we must remember that this is only one. We must forget about it now. We have nine more to play, and I can’t call this a good football team until after Nov. 20.”
That’s about all the coach had to say. He and his assistants, Carl Schroeder, Paul Schofer, Lauri Wartianinen and Dave Putts, were too busy looking after the welfare of the players to make sure everyone was all right, to take time for lengthy conversations.
* * *
THE VICTORY maintained the Tigers’ modern victory margin over opponents on its schedule. Had Latin won it would have been the only team that could have boasted an even over-all record with the local school in the last 15 years. The Lions are now trailing the Tigers three victories to five with one tie score.
From the statistics you never would have believed the game so one-sided, all of which goes to show how surely touchdowns, not first downs win games. Latin excelled in first downs, getting 12 to the Tigers’ seven, and only trailed by 10 yards, 332 to 322 in yards gained.
But the Tigers ran the string out when they got going while the Lions, who roared loudly in midfield, only whispered when they got within scoring range.
Nevertheless the visitors’ ability to roll up 322 yards, will give Coach Mather plenty to talk about when he gets his team out for practice Monday in preparation for next week’s game with Canton Lincoln in Fawcett stadium.
Mather had feared his defense was a bit on the weak side, but likewise was almost as certain that his offense could score. It did – and how! In addition to the seven touchdowns made by the Tigers they had four others called back because of penalty infractions. They made good on one of the four but eventually lost the ball on the other three occasions; all of which again causes us to wonder why we ever go to the trouble of keeping statistics.
* * *
THE TIGER offense was predicated on hard blocking. Not for a good many years has a Massillon team spilled opposing tacklers downfield with the consistent precision of last night’s gridders.
The long runs of Sophomore Irvin Crable, Capt. Al Brown and Clarence Johnson were pretty to watch but they were made possible by the chopping down of a lot of human flesh along the trail to the goal line.
When they swept the ends they threw everything but the goal posts at Latin and had men ahead of the ball carrier on most every occasion.
With blocking of this type “twas no wonder the Tigers made four touchdowns in just five plays from scrimmage in the first quarter.
That must be a high school record, though nobody seems to know.
It went like this.
On the second play of the game, Crable went 49 yards to score. The next time the Tigers got the ball, Al Brown, on second down, went 61 yards for a touchdown and had Clarence Johnson to thank for nearly knocking the last Latin tackler out of the lot. The very next time the Tigers got the ball, Crable took the leather on first down and raced 55 yards on a reverse to score. And as though that were not enough, Latin fumbled after the kickoff that followed and the ball pounced in the air into the arms of Jack Houston who ran 22 yards to score.
So there you have it; four touchdowns with the Tigers only having run five plays from scrimmage. The boys will talk about this a long time.
* * *
STRUCK with this kind of dynamite “tis a wonder that Latin ever recovered sufficiently to give the locals any opposition at all in the last three periods. But it did.
In fact it must have made the Lions Coach feel pretty good to see them strike back and score touchdowns. In the second and third periods while holding the Tigers to two in the second and one in the third; admittedly this was made partially possible by wholesale substitutions in the Massillon ranks, but the Lions showed their spunk just the same and should be a better football team for it in future weeks.
The Clevelanders were hardly the football team they were in former years. With last year’s subs playing most every position and their best ball carrying threat Dominic Cardaman, sideline with injuries, they didn’t have the fire of some Latin teams we have seen in the past.
However, they were big enough, handled the ball deceptively and turned up a good ball carrier in John Nieser.
They were first to score in the second quarter as a well aimed pass off the arm of John Wise, floated into the hands of Charles Pulka who raced to the seven-yard line before being downed. The overall gain was 49 yards. It only took one play for John Nieser to get it over, and the Tigers were completely fooled by a bit of deceptive ball handling as the good Latin fullback raced over the goal line, entirely unmolested.
* * *
A 36-YARD reverse around left end by Johnson after Latin had lost the ball on downs, produced the local team’s fifth touchdown, and Capt. Brown carried an intercepted Latin pass back to the 17 to set up the seventh. Jack Hill fired the ball to Dick Shine for 22 yards and the points.
The Massillon gridders scored to the first two minutes of the third period after Art James recovered a Latin fumble on the 19-yard line. Line plays carried the pigskin to the one yard line where Hill tunneled through center for the touchdown.
The last touchdown of the game was scored by Latin in the same period when Wise tired a 44-yarder to Robert Jarzemba for six points. Shine fell down as he pivoted to cover Jarzemba, and the latter had no one to bother him in his catch or run.
* * *
BEN RODERICK was perhaps the most unfortunate player on the Tiger team. Twice he caught touchdowns one a 31-yarder in the second period and the other a 57-yard play in the fourth quarter, but neither was allowed because of penalties. Eddie Bush also went 17 yards for a touchdown in the second period which was not allowed. However, in this instance the Tigers scored two plays later on Hill’s pass to Shine. Al Brown also scored a second touchdown that did not count in the fourth period when he waltzed over from seven yards out, but the Tigers had two men in motion on the play and the score was rightfully denied.
Fortunately the local team emerged without any serious injuries. There were the usual bumps and bruises but from all indications no one was hurt badly enough to be kept out of action next week.
The uniforms worn by the Tigers only arrived one hour and 45 minutes before game time which caused a lot of hustle in the Massillon dressing room prior to the start of the contest as shirts had to be hastily fitted on players. That accounts for no numbers being listed in the program for Massillon players.
A Fine Start
MASSILLON POS. LATIN
Roderick LE Putka
Jones LT Hilinski
Morrow LG Maruna
McVay C Glowic
Reichenbach RG Zoller
Takacs RT Cooney
Houston RE Lambert
Hill QB Wise
Crable LH Mullin
Johnson RH Immarino
Brown FB Nieser
Score by periods:
Massillon 25 13 6 0 44
Latin 0 6 7 0 13
Substitutions:
Massillon – Gleason, Streeter, Studer, Slicker, ends; DeWalt, W. Houston, Laps and Paul, guards; Art James, Mitchell, Schumacher and Stanford, tackles; Krisher and Kent, centers; Don James, Bush, Grier, Crone, Shine and Lane, backs.
Latin – Jarzemba, Langowski and Trombo, ends; Clark, tackle; Marco and Jaskoe, fullbacks.
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Crable 2; Brown; Shine; Johnson; Houston; Hill.
Latin – Neiser; Jarzemba.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Johnson; Brown (placekicks).
Latin – Wise (placekicks).
Referee – Lobach.
Umpire – Jenkins.
Head Linesman – Boone.
Field Judge – Gross.
Tiger-Latin Statistics
Mass. Latin
First downs 7 12
Passes 17 17
Passes completed 3 4
Had passes intercepted 1 8
Yards gained passing 32 132
Yards gained rushing 500 190
Total yards gained 332 322
Yards lost 28 37
Net yards gained 304 285
Times punted 2 2
Average punt (yards) 29 36
Times kicked off 8 3
Average kickoff (yards) 50 33
Punts returned (yards) 15 12
Kickoffs returned (yards) 35 133
Fumbles 1 3
Lost ball on fumbles 0 3
Times penalized 6 4
Yards penalized 50 30
