Tigers Wait For Poll
After
Crushing Win
65th
Game Is History
As Locals Maul
Pups, 42-0, Before 19,036
The ‘City of Champions’ has been assured of another
championship.
Combining an awesome display of offensive power, a virtually
immovable defense and an unquenchable fighting spirit which led them back from
the 19-18 loss to Warren to three irreputable victories, the No. 1 ranked
Washington high school Tigers ‘trapped’ Canton McKinley into its worst defeat
of the 65-game football series, 42-0, before 19,096 impressed fans Saturday
afternoon.
It was a sunshine filled football finale for 24
Washington high seniors who were given individual thunderous applause when
Coach Leo Strang removed them from the lineup one by one, for the last time in
their high school grid careers.
With the realization an impressive victory was
necessary to cement the top ranking they have maintained during the entire 1960
season, the Massillon gridders performed their task with precision workmanship.
* * *
STARTING with the first
time the Tigers took possession minutes after the start of the game, their
unmistakable superiority was grossly evident.
In the first six plays it had the ball, Washington high moved 76 yards,
Ken Dean rolling the final 32 for the touchdown.
* * *
HEROES WERE MANY. But Art Hastings, the sure-fire all-Ohio
fullback who scored four times with a scintillating display of broken field
running, and Lawson White, who generaled the defensive wall, were exceptionally
out-standing.
For Hastings, the afternoon was reminiscent of many
evenings throughout the past two years.
He concluded his final two years of varsity competition with 220 points,
over 2,400 yards rushing and innumerable other marks which may withstand the
assaults of future years.
* * *
THE TURNING
point of the game was when Massillon kicked off.
McKinley’s top scorer Jim Patterson covered Dean’s
kickoff on the 12. Three plays, then a
five-yard penalty netted the Bulldogs a first down, their only one in the first
half.
Sirgo punted with Bob Baker fumbling it back to the
18. He then picked it up and returned
to his own 24. Quarterback Dave Null
picked up 25 yards, Dean seven and Hastings 12 to the Pup 32. Dean then went in behind Center George Demis
and short side guard Gary Wells, broke to the west stand sideline and sprinted
32 yards into the north end zone for a 6-0 lead. Ken added the conversion but an illegal motion penalty ruled it
out. Null’s pass was then incomplete
for a 6-0 lead at the 5:48 mark.
Receiving the kick, McKinley failed to move. Sirgo booted out of bounds on Massillon’s
43.
The Tigers moved to the Canton 38 before a fumble
with McKinley’s George Smith recovering.
Again the losers failed to move.
Sirgo booted again, this time to the Massillon 24.
Martin Gugov, still hobbled by the bad knee, started
the TD drive with a 23-yard burst.
Dean, Null and Hastings quickly complemented that run by moving to the
McKinley 15 early in the second period.
* * *
HASTINGS then eluded
tacklers three different times while streaking into the end zone for his first
of our scores on another trap, this time through Demis and Jay B. Willey, long
side guard. Hastings’ PAT attempt
failed keeping the lead at 12-0.
With the Cantonians again stalling, Sirgo booted
with Baker returning the ball to the 34.
A clip on the 43 gave the locals first and 16 on their 28.
In six plays the Tigers had racked up TD No. 3 with
Hastings barreling in from 29 yards out.
Dean has chipped in 35 yards and Hastings 22 in the drive, which was
slowed by a
15-yard holding call against the hosts.
A final first half scoring bid was thwarted by a
holding call which set the locals back to the 24 after Null had combined with
Hastings, then Charlie Brown, to the Pup nine.
Hastings was tossed down on the 31 as the half came to a close. Massillon led, 18-0.
The Tigers met a similar fate at the start of the
second half as they moved from their own 32 to the McKinley 18 where a fourth
and eight pass from Null went astray.
A defensive holding penalty and a 14-yarder by
Roland DiMickele brought the ball to the mid-field stripe, for Canton. Sirgo then had to punt with Baker ripping up
the sideline while bringing the ball back to his own 49.
On the next play Hastings went through the same hole
Dean used in his first period score for 51 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Brown added the two-point conversion
for a 26-0 lead seven minutes into the final half.
* * *
DEAN’S next kickoff went
to Patterson who fumbled with Dave Smith pouncing upon the ball on the McKinley
33. In three plays, including a 15-yard
toss from Null to Larry Ehmer, the Tigers had moved to the enemy five. Hastings then bolted off his inside tackle
for the score. Quarterback John Larson
added the conversion on a keeper for a 34-0 advantage after three periods.
McKinley took Dean’s next kickoff and moved to the
hosts’ 41 before losing the ball on downs.
Hastings picked up 24, nearly breaking away for his
fifth tally. But then the Tigers
faltered. Deans’ punt on a fourth down
situation was blocked with Tom Wucinich recovering on the Tiger 37.
Three plays, including a completed pass, lost nine
yards, Sirgo booted and Baker returned it to his 36.
Joe Heflin, playing his final game, streaked for 11
and a first down on the Bengal 47. On
the next play, he ripped through the line and out-raced the defending Bulldogs
for a
53-yard touchdown.
Dave Smith went behind his outside tackle for the final two points of
the productive 348 point season.
With Strang letting each of the seniors take his
bow, the final drive by Massillon carried to the Pup six. There an incomplete pass gave Canton
possession.
They picked up 21 yards in our carries as the season
came to an abrupt halt.
* * *
THE TREMENDOUS
pressure placed on McKinley Quarterback Tom Sirgo by White, Gary Wells, Wally
Brugh, Duane Garman, Ken Herndon, Jim Houston and Ken Ivan, permitted the
usually sure-fire passer only two completions, both in the flat, for a net gain
of no yards. His first one picked up
four but the second connection lost them all back.
* * *
IT WAS also an extremely
pleasing performance for Coach Leo Strang, who with the victory, tied Chuck
Mather for the most victories gained by a Washington high team in the first
three years as Tiger coach. The win was
No. 28 against only two defeats and a tie.
In three years against the Bulldogs and losing
McKinley Coach Jim Robinson, the Tigers have turned in three straight
victories. The Saturday invaders
haven’t scored in their last 10 quarters after the 16-16 first half tie in
Strang’s initial year at the helm, 1958.
But after 11 regular season games and two weeks with
the victorious North All-Stars beginning in August, Strang was indeed ready to
call it a coaching year.
“I’m glad it’s all over,” Leo disclosed with a
beaming victory smile outside the Tiger dressing room. “It’s been a long one.”
Not once during the entire afternoon did the
Bulldogs, owners of 320 points in 10 previous games, put together what even
resembled an offensive threat. Early in
the fourth period a 15-yard gain by Matt Brown, a 15-yard holding penalty
against the Tigers, and several short gainers moved the Bulldogs to the
Massillon 41.
That’s the most the visitors could do.
* * *
THE CLIMAXING
game of the 1960 season gave the Orange and Black an impressive 10-1 slate
marred only by the one-point loss to Warren.
The win also kept Strang’s perfect home string in tact. In three years under Strang, the Tigers have
yet to bow at Tiger stadium.
With the squad in as close to perfect health during
the last three games as anytime during the season, the Tigers chewed up over a
mile rushing and passing.
The 1,657 yards came on 517 yards in the Toledo
Waite game, 544 against Springfield South and the 596 against ancient rival
Canton McKinley.
Houston, Brugh, Wells, Garman, Gugov, Bob Herring,
Joe Smith, Null, Larson , Demis, Willey, Richard Crenshaw, Ron Herbst, Virgil
Bukuts, Herndon, Pete Anzalone, Don Kurzen, Theopolis Bodiford, Jim Fuchs and
Chuck Royer along with Dave Smith, Hastings, White and Heflin closed out their
high school football careers.
It was a pleasant finale that the boys won’t soon
forget.
WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
Ends – Bodiford, Royer, Ivan, Anzalone, Ehmer,
Fuchs, Houston.
Tackles – Crenshaw, Bukuts, Brugh, Garmon, Herndon,
Herbst.
Guards – White, Willey, Wells, Radel, Whitfield.
Centers – Demis, Bradley.
Backs – Null, Larson, Baker, Alexander, Hastings, J.
Smith, Dean,
Snively, Schenkenberger, Kurzen, Herring, Gugov,
Heflin, D. Smith, Brown, Lash.
CANTON McKINLEY
Ends – Beane, Singleterry, Luchitz.
Tackles – Dragomer, Agnes, Day.
Guards – turpin, Seymour, Wucinich, Thomas, Ghezzi.
Centers – Hudak, Carr.
Backs – Sirgo, Pettersoh, DiMickele, Smith, Wood,
Cobb.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Massillon 6 12 16 8 42
SCORING
Massillon –
Dean (32, run); Hastings 4 (15, run;
29, run;
51, run; 5, run); Heflin (53, run).
CONVERSIONS
Massillon –
Larson (run); Brown (run); D. Smith (run).
STATISTICS
First downs –
rushing 22 3
First downs –
passing 2 0
First downs –
penalties 0 3
Total first downs 24 6
Yards gained
rushing 573 90
Yards lost rushing 22 17
Net yards gained
rushing 551 73
Yards gained
passing 45 0
Total yards gained 596 73
Passes attempted 6 12
Passes completed 3 2
Passes intercepted
by 0 0
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average
(yards) 41.0 48.0
Kickoff returns
(yards) 20 73
Times punted 1 8
Punt average
(yards) 0 37.6
Punt return (yards) 73 0
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 2 1
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 4 2