WHAT
A DAY!
Tigers romp
21-0
By ROLAND A. DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor
The
Massillon Tigers may not be going to the state football playoffs, but they're
number one in the hearts and minds of all their fans.
The
Tigers simply tore apart the playoff-bound Canton McKinley Bulldogs by a 21-0
score before 20,339 snow capped fans Saturday afternoon on a muddy, waterlogged
Fawcett Stadium field.
A NEAR blizzard in the second-quarter threatened to turn the game into a
"Snow Bowl," but a flurry of passes from Tiger quarterback Brent
Offenbecher and complete domination by the Massillon offensive and defensive
lines simply turned it into a rout.
Offenbecher
scored the Tigers first TD on the first play of the second quarter when he
bootlegged 11 yards around right end and literally dove over a Bulldog defender
at the goal line, falling into the end zone.
He then hit Curtis Strawder with a 50-yard touchdown pass in the
third quarter and hooked up with Greg Carpenter for a 48-yard TD toss early in
the fourth quarter.
Offenbecher
finished the day with 7 of 9 passing for 162 yards on a field that no one
thought he would be able to pass on. He ends the year with 1,369 yards passing
on 84 of 146 passes, all Tiger records.
"Bridey
(McKinley head coach John Brideweser) forgets he has to run in the mud when he
lets the field get wet." Tiger head coach Mike Currence chided in the
jubilant Massillon lockerroom after the game.
HE WAS referring of course to the fact that Brideweser had declined to put
the tarp on the field after the Tiger Booster Club brought it over Thursday.
"The
big thing," Currence said on a serious note, “was that we were able to
throw in the mud and that we controlled the line of scrimmage. They weren’t
able to run in the mud and they couldn't throw either.
"Our lines were super," he continued. "We beat
them on the line. Their backs ran hard but they had nowhere to go."
Brideweser's
explanation was simpler.
"We
just got our ass kicked," he said. "They're a good football team.
They're as good as anybody in the state. How they lost two games I’ll never
know."
BRIDEWESER said his players never thought about the computer poll even after
Barberton eliminated itself completely by losing to Cuyahoga Falls Friday
night, assuring the Bulldogs of a berth even if they lost to Massillon.
He
did agree that the loss to the Tigers would make it tough for his team Friday
night at 7:30 when the Bulldogs play Cleveland St. Joseph in the Class AAA
semifinal game in the Akron Rubber Bowl.
The 21-0 score Saturday wasn't indicative of the game the Tigers
played. It could have been worse. Massillon completely outplayed the Bulldogs
in every facet of the game, not even allowing a first down until 6:51 was left
in the game, and not many McKinley fans left in the stands.
All
the Tiger fans were there though. Glued to their seats - when they weren't
standing to cheer - by a performance many just hadn't expected to see. Sure,
they new the Tigers could win, but few expected such a performance.
The
condition of the field before the game was so bad that you had to wonder if the
Tigers' run and shoot offense might not turn into a slip and slide. It looked
like a defensive battle might be waged.
"AT THE beginning," Offenbecher said, we came in and saw the field and
thought there was no way we could pass. Then we got out there, and it was bad,
but it wasn't real bad."
Offenbecher
showed the Tigers weren't afraid to pass when he threw twice in the first
series. One was complete to Mark Pringle for the Tigers first first down of the
game and the other fell incomplete. The first drive, which included a 13-yard
bootleg by Offenbecher and some good running and blocking by his teammates,
ended when Mark Westover's 34-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
The Tiger defense forced the Bulldogs to punt and Mike Hickey
returned the ball five yards to midfield with 5:38 to go in the first quarter.
After
one first down, the Tigers faced a third and six at McKinley's 39 yard line.
Offenbecher found Pringle open for 11 yards and a first down.
The
Tigers then stuck to the ground and an eight-yard run by Carpenter gave them a
first down at McKinley's five. He then lost six yards on the last play of the
first quarter, and the Tigers faced a second and goal from the 11.
Offenbecher
took to the air again, this time by running 11 yards around right end and
diving over a Bulldog defender into the end zone. Westover's kick was no good
and the Tigers look a 6-0 lead.
Following
another Bulldog punt, Massillon took over on its own 43. Offenbecher fooled
everybody, including his coach, when be took the ball and ran 24 yards around a
wide-open left end.
That gave Massillon a first down at the McKinley 33. The Tigers
drove to the eight when Offenbecher was hit and fumbled the ball attempting to
pass on third down. McKinley recovered and ran out the clock, trailed only 6-0
at the half.
The
Tigers kicked off to open the second half and like clockwork, the Bulldogs
punted four plays later.
The
Tigers took over at their own 40 and after four running plays and an offside
penalty, faced a third and 11 at midfield.
OFFENBECHER dropped back to pass and spotted Strawder cutting across the middle at
about the 25. He threw him the ball and the junior sprinted to the zone
untouched, after his defender fell down.
Offenbecher
then rolled right and hit Pringle with a two-point conversion pass to make it
14-0 Tigers.
Following several punts by each team, the Tigers took over at
the McKinley 49 early in the fourth quarter.
Following
a holding penalty against the Tigers, a run for no gain and a 19-yard pass to
Mike Grove, the Tigers faced a third and nine at the Bulldog 48.
Offenbecher
dropped back to pass again and hit Carpenter on the left sideline at about the
25. The senior wingback then broke down the sideline and didn't stop until he
crossed the goal line. Westover's kick was good and the Tigers had a 21-0 lead
with 8:34 left in the game. Many McKinley fans headed for the exits.
IT WASN'T until 6:51 left that Rick Asberry broke off a 14-yard run for the
Pups' initial first down. They made three more in the drive, but Kevin Gowins
kept them out of the end zone when he picked off a Mike Brown aerial inside the
Massillon 10.
The
Bulldogs, who lost 7 3 to Massillon last year, have yet to score a touchdown
against Currence.
The
statistics bear out the fact that it was a super team effort by the Tigers.
They gained 162 yards passing and 115 rushing while allowing the Bulldogs 81
rushing (51 of which came in their last drive) and six passing.
GRID STICK
M C
First downs rushing 8 4
First downs passing 5 0
Total first downs 13 4
Yds. gained rushing 160 101
Yds. lost rushing 45 20
Net yds. gained rushing 115 81
Net yds. gained passing 162 6
Total yds. Gained 277 87
Passes attempted 9 5
Passes completed 7 1
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 54 5 47 0
Kickoff returns (yards) 17 68
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 39.0 23.4
Punt returns (yards) 11 1
Fumbles 1 1
Lost Fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 3 0
Yds. Penalized 25 0
TD's rushing 1 0
TD's passing 2 0
Total number of plays 52 47
Total time of possession 25:51 22:09
MASSILLON 0 6 8 7 21
McKINLEY 0 0 0 0 0
MASS - Brent Offenbecher 11 run (kick failed);
MASS - Curtis Strawder 50 pass from Offenbecher (Mark Pringle pass from
Offenbecher);
MASS - Greg Carpenter 48 pass from Offenbecher (Mark Westover kick).
Attendance: 20,339.
Massillon
upsets McKinley
despite
snowy conditions
By MILAN ZBAN
Beacon Journal Staff Writer
CANTON
- You'll never convince Massillon football Coach Mike Currence or his
quarterback Brent Offenbecher that foul weather is a passer's worst enemy.
Offenbecher
warmed up by throwing bullets through a snow storm before unloading two
"bombs" of 48 and 51 yards as Massillon upset the state's No. 2 -
ranked and previously unbeaten Canton McKinley Bulldogs 21-0 at Fawcett Stadium
Saturday.