BULLDOGS WIN GAME WITH EASE
Tigers
Completely Outplayed As Red And Black Rip Local Team To Pieces Last Half To
Defeat Orange and Black First Time In Eight Years
Now Massillon knows how Canton McKinley, and all the
Tiger’s other opponents have felt these last seven years.
Saturday it was the Massillon fans turn to sit in the
stands and watch their Tiger team take a thorough 35-0 beating at the hands of
one of the finest Canton McKinley teams ever to set foot on a Massillon
gridiron.
For even long years,
the Tigers have been lashing the whip in Ohio gridiron circles. Saturday, in the closing game of the eighth
year, they were on the receiving end, with none other than their old rival,
Canton McKinley, administering a sound threshing in the 47th game to
be played between the two elevens since 1894.
The victory gave Canton 23 victories in the series, left Massillon with
21 and three have ended in tie scores.
The defeat was
Massillon’s first in 53 consecutive games, a string that began in November 1937
after the Tigers had lost to a fighting New Castle team, 7-0. But one tie marred the victory chain,
Mansfield holding the 1941 Massillon team to a 6-6 draw.
The defeat was
Massillon’s first at the hands of Canton McKinley since the 21-6 paddling the
local eleven received in 1934. That
likewise was the last time an Ohio team had been able to subdue the terrific
Tigers.
Reason For Celebration
So McKinley had
reason to celebrate. For seven years
the Bulldogs have watched the Massillon fans stream out on the field and parade
behind their band after the game.
Saturday it was Canton’s turn, and they so rejoiced at the triumph that
the officials had to call the game, despite the fact that there was time left
for one play.
The celebration went
on into the night, carried through Sunday and will be resumed today when
McKinley high practically declares a holiday to laud the achievement of their
coach Herman “Bup” Rearick and his Bulldogs.
Massillon never knew
a celebration such as the Bulldogs will be treated to. Victories have been so many for the Tigers
the past seven years that they have been taken for granted by fans and
students, and they accepted defeat with no more signs of emotion than exhibited
in their triumphs.
The sympathy of the
fans went to Coach Elwood Kammer and his Tiger team. It was the first losing game for the senior members of the squad,
the first loss for Kammer as a high school coach.
There was no
disgrace in losing to the Bulldog Saturday.
He was terrific, and when animosities created with 48 years of rivalry
are put aside in favor of common sense, the Tigers could have been beaten by no
better opponent than their old Stark county rival, McKinley.
Canton reached its
peak Saturday afternoon and played a near perfect game of football before the
crowd of between 20,000 and 22,000 spectators.
The Bulldogs scored five touchdowns, three points after touchdown, a
safety, and had two other touchdowns called back because of penalties.
That set a new scoring
record for the Massillon-Canton series, something no one even dared to dream
about before the game.
It was McKinley’s
day. Practically everything the
Bulldogs tried worked, and it was one of those days when the victors were even
opportunists, intercepting passes and being Johnny on the spot for fumbles.
It was anything but
a day for Massillon. The only break the
Tigers had was the weather. They wanted
a dry field, and the footing was fairly firm.
The rain stopped before they peeled the tarpaulin from the gridiron, and
while the sod was a bit soft, it was anything but muddy. The Tigers got off to a poor start when a
punt went straight up in the air on the 32-yard line, and in their anxiety they
contributed 15 yards in penalties that left the Bulldogs but 17 to go in their
first touchdown drive and they gave away 10 more yards on the red and black’s
second touchdown jaunt.
A poor start was
anything but what the Tigers had hoped for.
Their strategy was to score as quickly as possible, with the hope of
breaking down the Bulldog spirit so prevalent the last two weeks, and at the
same time ease the pressure on four cripples who were pieced together with
bandages in order to get them on the field.
The Massillon eleven
was not badly outplayed the first half, though Canton from the start looked the
stronger team and the eventual winner.
Three five-yard penalties, one of which gave the red and black a first
down on the Tiger five-yard line helped them to their first touchdown after a
poor punt, and another five-yard penalty gave the red and black a first down on
the 20-yard line in the second touchdown drive after the Tigers had only
yielded seven yards in three attempts.
The second touchdown came with less than a minute of the half remaining
to be played.
The Tigers gained 88
yards t he first half, all by rushing, to 109 for Canton, 19 of which were made
by passing.
It was in the second
half that McKinley rose up in all its might to subdue the Tiger and knock him
loose from his throne with a deluge of 23 points. Only a merciful gun kept the score from being any larger.
Nine of the points
crossed the Tiger goal in rapid succession just when it appeared that the local
team might salvage a scoreless third period out of the contest and 14 more were
piled over a tiring but still scrapping Tiger team.
The Bulldogs victory
throws the state championship race into an awful mess. In percentages, the Tigers have a better
record than Canton, for the Bulldogs were tied by one of their own schools,
Lincoln, and lost 21-13 to Steubenville, a team that Massillon whipped
33-13. The Big Red will put in a claim
for a share of the title, and there probably will be a lot of shouting from
several “podunks” that haven’t played anybody but that have finished the season
with an undefeated record. Most
sportsmen will say you have to beat the champ to win a title and Canton has the
honor of being the first Ohio team to do it since 1934; but Steubenville will
more than likely object, for the Big Red will boast that it is the team that
beat the team that beat the champ and has a higher percentage of victories this
season. Oh, well.
The statistics were
all in favor of McKinley, 17 first downs to Massillon’s 10 and 304 yards gained
in rushing to Massillon’s 166. In fact
when you analyze the gains by quarters you find the Tigers seldom had the ball
the last period and only tried two running plays the entire fourth quarter.
Though the local
team carried the ball into Bulldog territory three times during the game they
only threatened once. Their first march
followed the Bulldogs, first touchdown, the Tigers striking back with a drive
that moved from their 20 to the Bulldog 41, where Graber on third down with
seven yards to go, tried to snap a pass
over the center of the line to Bray, but Abe Aslanides intercepted on his 35 to
end the threat.
The second march
came the next time the Tigers got the ball and likewise started from their
20. They moved it to the bulldog 40
where they were forced to punt.
The last effort, in
the fourth period was their best.
Starting with Chuck Holt’s interception of Earl Louck’s pass on the
39-yard line, they overcame a five-yard penalty to move up to the 28-yard line
on passes. Bob Graber tossed one to Don
Willmot who put a lateral into Fred Cardinal’s hands for a first down in
midfield. Another fell into Tom
Jasinski’s fingers for a first on the 34 and another to Cardinal took the ball
to the 28. There Holt on a running play
crashed through the weak side and raced to the 10-yard line. He appeared to have generated enough
momentum to go over, but when bumped, the ball flew out of his hands and into
the arms of Jack Crider, who got back to his 28 before being downed. No once could have lateraled it any better.
Everyone in the
Massillon stands was hoping Chuckie would get the touchdown. With Graber useless as a runner because of
an injured ankle, Holt shouldered the burden of the ball carrying. Twenty times he lugged the leather during
the afternoon, often going three times in a row.
The rest of the
running was left to Keve Bray, who carried the ball 11 times. Graber carried it but once. Bray gained more yards the first quarter
than all of the Canton players together.
He ran 46 yards in six attempts, while the combined first period yardage
of the Bulldog backs was 29 yards.
Canton is heaping
words of praise on Tony Dominick and Jack Crider for their great
performances. Spear-headed by a fast
charging line that knocked the Tiger forwards on their heels the last half,
Dominick and Crider tore the locals apart the last half. Dominick ripped through center where all the
courage of little Dave Edwards and Barney Wallace couldn’t stop him. Willie Crider slipped in and around the
tackles bringing his performance to a peak with a 47-yard touchdown jaunt. Ernie Parks, the fleet-footed giant of the
Bulldog backfield was held well in check.
He only gained a net total of 36 yards in 12 attempts but his weight and
elongated body helped to wear down the Massillon eleven that spotted the red
and black 14 pounds to the man in weight.
There was no lack of
courage on the Massillon line and it wasn’t any fun for 150-pound Edward , 140
pound Wallace, and 150-pound Bray to have 192-pound Bob Zimmer, 193-pound
Parks, and 172-pound Dominick come pounding through the center of the Massillon
forward wall. Coach Elwood Kammer
occasionally relieved the Massillon lightweights and sent Bob Williams and Bob
Kanney into the game for defense.
There was no lack of
courage when fellows like Bob Wallace with a badly damaged leg; Graber with a
sore ankle; Cardinal with two injured shoulders and a damaged foot; Karl Paulik
with an injured shoulder; and Tom Jasinski with a charley horse would stay on
the firing line against a heavy eleven in tip-top condition.
Took Defeat Gamely
The Tigers have no alibi to offer that anyone quit trying. They simply got the whipping that they knew
was coming sometime or other and they took it, painful as it was, without a
whimper. That was their answer to the
question many have asked – how will Massillon take defeat? The Tiger Booster club will have an
opportunity to give its answer Tuesday evening when it meets in the Washington
high auditorium.
To recount the
scoring plays, here is what happened.
The Tigers received,
Cardinal getting the ball and coming back to his 20. Three plays gained eight yards so Romeo Pellegrini, who started
in place of Graber, dropped back to punt.
The ball went straight up going only four yards from the line of
scrimmage, so Canton took over on the Massillon 32. Crider hit for two yards, but Massillon was offside and drew
another penalty giving Canton a first down on the 22-yard line. With Dominick carrying the ball twice and
Crider once, the Bulldogs moved up to a first down on the 10-yard line.
Three substitutes
raced on to the field for Massillon, Graber, Bob Wallace, and Bob
Williams. The Tigers were charged with
delaying the game and drew another five-yard penalty giving Canton a first down
on the fire-yard line. Dominick was
stopped without gain, but he got four yards his next effort and went over on
the third attempt. Crider’s attempted
placekick for the extra point was wide.
The Tigers came back
with a couple of offensive bursts that bogged down after passing the midfield
strip and the Bulldogs finally took over when Graber punted over the goal. Here an 80-yard touchdown drive was
lunched. After Crider had drive for two
yards, Dominick in two attempts crashed a first down on his 32. Parks made nine yards, his best effort of
the day, and Dominick picked up the rest for a first down on his 44. Two more plays and Dominick had another
first on the Tiger 44. Crider hit for
four yards, but the Tigers drew a five-yard penalty on the next play. Parks was tossed for a three-yard loss, but
Crider made up for it by tossing a flat pass to him that netted a first down on
the Massillon 32. Dominick got six
yards in two attempts, but the Tigers with hopes of halting the Bulldog drive,
were guilty of offside on third down and the five-yard penalty gave Canton a
first on the 21-yard line. Dominick and
Crider on two plays powered their way to a first down on the nine-yard
line. Parks and Crider were held to a
total of three yards but Crider crossed the Tigers up on third down and flipped
a short pass to Dale Haverstock who got to the one foot line. It was only a matter of form for Dominick to
crash through for the touchdown.
Crider’s attempted placekick was blocked and the score was 12-0. Only seconds remained to be played, and the
half ended two plays later with one Massillon pass knocked down and the second
intercepted by Crider on the 34-yard line.
Canton Gets Safety
The Tigers stopped Canton drives twice in the third period before the
Bulldogs finally scored on a safety.
The first drive reached the 35-yard line after recovery of a Massillon
fumble there. The second went to the
six-yard line where the locals recovered a Canton fumble. Trying desperately to do something Graber
twice passed from behind his goal. Once
Haverstock missed a sure touchdown when the ball slipped through his hands as
he tried to intercept it. Punting on
third down, Graber was rushed by Zimmer, Bulldog quarterback, who blocked the
ball and fell on it back of the end zone for an automatic safety that gave
Canton two points.
The Tigers kicked
out from the 20-yard line and Vic Wernet got back to the Massillon 48. Parks made a yard and then Crider went for
the works in a beautiful dash through center in which he outran the Massillon
secondary. Chuck Holt made a desperate
effort to get him with a diving tackle on the five-yard line, but Crider faded
away. This time Hank Smith was rushed
in to sweep right end for the extra point and succeeded, bringing the score to
21-0.
The Bulldogs gained
at will from there on in. They kicked
off to Massillon, and on second down, Crider intercepted Graber’s pass and went
for a touchdown only to have the ball called back because a Canton player
clipped. It made no difference, for the
red and black just powered their way right on through for 48 yards with Parks
scampering around left center for the last seven and Crider pitching to Jasper
Harris for the extra point.
The next one
followed the Tigers best bid of the day when Crider recovered Holt’s fumble on
the 10 and went back to his 28. It was
first Dominick and then Crider, with the latter getting off one 32-yard run,
until the four-yard line was eventually reached. Then Crider went over for the touchdown and Dominick place-kicked
the extra point.
On the last play of
the game, Bill Cook, sub center went 30 yards with a pass interception for a
touchdown that didn’t count. Time
expired during the run and the spectators poured on to the field. But McKinley was offside on the play. The Tigers would have taken a fine-yard
penalty and there would have been one more play. The officials looked at the crowd and thought what’s the
use. Massillon would have held the ball
anyway, so they called the game.
Chain Is Cut
Massillon Pos. McKinley
Willmot LE Haverstock
Edwards LT Jordan
Kanney LG Wernet
B. Wallace C Lombardi
Weisgerber RG Schuster
Paulik RT Bell
Jasinski RE Harris
Cardinal QB Zimmer
Pellegrini LH Crider
Bray RH Parks
Holt FB Dominick
Score by periods:
McKinley 6 6
9 14 – 35
Substitutions – Massillon: Yelic, t; Williams, c; R. Wallace, g; Power,
fb; Graber, lh.
McKinley:
Aslanides, qb; Zufall, g; Hall, g; Garafolo, t; Tucci, t; Smith, hg;
Thomas, hb; Schwalenberg, e; Cook, c;
Loucks, fb; Rotunno,e.
Touchdowns – Dominick 2, Crider 2, Parks.
Points after touchdown – Smith (carried, Harris
(pass from Crider), Crider (placekick).
Safety – Zimmer
Referee – Reese.
Umpire – Gross.
Headlinesman –
Lobach.
Field judge – Long.
Statistics
Mass.
Cant.
First downs 10 17
Line plays 32 58
Yards rushing 136 304
Yards lost rushing 9 6
Net gain rushing 125 298
Yards passing 47 31
Net yards gained 172 329
Passes attempted 12 8
Had passes
intercepted 3 1
Passes incomplete 5 2
Fumbles 4 2
Lost ball on fumble 2 1
Times penalized 6 3
Yards penalized 30 25
Times punted 4 2
Punts blocked 1 0
Average punt (yards) 24 26
Yards punts returned 0 38
Kickoffs 2 6
Yards kickoffs
returned 51 0
Booster Club Meets Tuesday
Massillon’s undefeated string of 52 games has been broken
and that calls for all the more effort on the part of members of the Tiger Booster club.
The Boosters will not meet tonight, but they will gather
Tuesday evening and will elect officers for 1943 as well as make plans for
their annual banquet. It will be an open meeting. The public is invited