Massillon outplays McKinley, but losses 9‑7
Pups' big plays waste
fine Tiger effort
By
ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent
Sports Editor
The Massillon Tiger lockerroom was ripe with the stunned silence of a team that had just played its heart out, outplayed its opponent and lost.
Amid the hanging heads and wet eyes stood Tiger
coach Mike Currence. The hurt he felt in his heart for his team showed on his
face.
"They're all different," he said.
True to form, Saturday's 87th Massillon‑McKinley
game was different from all the rest. The Bulldogs' 9‑6 victory before
22,828 fans in Canton's Fawcett Stadium gave them their first perfect season
since 1956 and puts them into the computer playoffs‑for the second year
in a row.
Yet, except for one play, it was a game that seemed
to belong to the Massillon Tigers.
That one play, however, was a big one. An 81‑yard
pass from Bulldog quarterback Rick Worstell to end Nick Faulkner that wiped out
a 6‑3 Tiger lead and proved to be the margin of victory.
It was just about the only defensive mistake the
Tigers made all day. However, several offensive mistakes left the Bulldogs off
the hook.
The Tigers won a decisive victory in the battle
of the statistics, but the only stat that really counts is the one in lights on
the scoreboard.
Massillon had 14 first downs to five for
McKinley, and held the Pups to 55 yards rushing in 31 carries. McKinley gained
only six yards rushing the first half, and didn't get a first down rushing
until just before the end of the third period.
The Tigers piled up 265 yards to 163 for
McKinley. Take away the one pass play, and the Bulldogs had only 82 yards total
offense.
"It's a tough one to lose, especially when
you play as well as we played and control the ball the way we did,"
Currence said.
"But we had some turnovers that caused us
bad field position. That stopped us from working our whole offense, which
stopped us from scoring more.
"I thought we moved the ball real well and
I was never worried when our defense was on the field. I thought we would score
in the second half," he added.
But two fumbles and an interception haunted the
Tigers in the second half, and the superior McKinley kicking game probably was
the overall difference.
Nick Xides had a school record 44‑yard
field goal in the first half. The boot was a low line drive that was literally
carried just over the crossbar by a strong wind.
However, Massillon's Tim Manion had the wind at
his “back when he got too far under a 30‑yard attempt and it fell short
with 4:28 to go in the third quarter.
A short punt by Manion into the wind also helped
set up field goal.
While Manion had his problems kicking, he played
an outstanding defensive game, moving from linebacker to end and causing the
Pup offense trouble all day.
He helped stop McKinley's only - other serious -
scoring threat late in the third quarter when he tipped a pass at the goal line
that was intercepted in the end zone by Matt Hickey.
Perhaps the most crucial event of the game came
with 1:53 left to play and the Tigers driving for what their fans hoped would
be the winning score.
Starting at their own 15 after a clipping
penalty on a punt return, the Tigers were grinding it out on the ground.
Greg Grimsley gained four yards, George Roknich
bolted for 10 and a first down, then
Grimsley carried for 15 and another first down.
Roknich carried for five more, Larry Newman for two and Grimsley was stopped for a two‑yard
gain on third-and‑three at the Bulldog 47.
On fourth‑and‑one, Tiger quarterback
Rick Spielman lost control of the ball after the snap and McKinley middle guard
Stan Jackson fell on it, ending the Tiger threat and insuring his team of a 10‑0
season.
Tiger tans were stunned. Their team had
outplayed the Bulldogs all day and they were certain this drive would be the
clincher.
It was ironic that Spielman would be victimized
by the fumble. He had put the Tigers in the lead with a brilliant 21‑yard
touchdown run in the second quarter.
Facing a fourth‑and‑15 at the Pup
21, he dropped back to pass. He was almost; sacked in the pocket, but broke
free and scrambled to the left. He broke another tackle and cut back across the
middle of the field. He slipped through the grasp of another Bulldog tackler at
the 15 and scooted around the right side all the way for a score. The Tiger offensive
line also did a great job of blocking off the pursuit on the play.
The score, which came at 9:42 of the second
quarter, gave the Tigers a 6‑0 lead.
But Xides booted his field goal at 3:45 and a
Ross Rankin interception (his first of two for the day) stopped another Tiger
drive at the Bulldog 19, and two plays later, Worstell and Faulkner hooked up
on their game winning play.
“Faulkner came up with the key play,"
Bulldog coach Terry Forbes said afterwards in a joyous McKinley lockerroom.
"We went deep a couple of times and that was the only time we connected
all day."
Forbes said the Pups made some minor adjustments
at halftime to counteract the Tiger air attack, which had accounted counted for
81 yards in the first half. Massillon didn't complete a pass in the second
half, with Rankin picking off Spielman's only pass in the third period, and the
Tiger senior quarterback going 0‑for‑4 in the final period.
But Currence said the Tigers hadn't planned to
pass much in the second half anyway. He and his coaches felt they could move
the ball on the ground against the McKinley defense.
They were doing just that prior to the fumble on
their final series.
Spielman ended the day with seven completions in
20 attempts for 81 yards while Worstell had five completions in 14 attempts for
108 yards.
Leading receivers for the Tigers were Roknich
with two catches for 38 yards, Robert Oliver with three for 23 yards and Newman
with three for 20 yards.
The Tigers totaled 184 yards rushing, with
Grimsley gaining 80 yards on 14 carries and Roknich picking up 41 yards on six
carries to lead the way.
Forbes had praise for the Tigers' effort, though
he wouldn't say they were the best team his Bulldogs played all year.
"We've played some fine football teams and
Massillon ranks right up there with the best."
Except for a few plays on this sunny November Saturday, no comparisons would have been necessary.
Winter arrives early
for Tiger grid faithfull
By
ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent
Sports Editor
The air was warm and the sun shone brightly as
it set on the first day of winter Saturday afternoon in Massillon.
Forget the calendar, winter started with the
sounding of the gun which ended the annual season finale between the Massillon
Tigers and the McKinley Bulldogs in Canton's Fawcett Stadium.
You see, the score stood at nine points for the
Bulldogs and but six for the Tigers.
So, for the first time since 1975, winter in
Massillon has started a month and a half early.
And for the first time in his six seasons as the
Tigers' head coach, Mike Currence won't have the glow of victory over McKinley
to warm his football thoughts until spring.
For most of the early afternoon on Saturday it
had appeared otherwise. The Tigers, undaunted by the Bulldogs' 9‑0
record, had come to play.
And play they did. Even McKinley fans agreed
afterwards that the Tigers had played the better game.
But luck was on the side of the Bulldogs this
day, and they made the big plays the Tigers couldn't.
Except for an 81‑yard touchdown pass from
quarterback Rick Worstell to end Nick Faulkner, in which Tiger defensive backs
Grady Robinson and Rodney Hill missed tackles, the Tigers controlled the game.
Even despite the pass, the Tigers could have won
had they not turned the ball over four times.
Indeed, Currence played down the Bulldogs' big
play.
“Those things happen sometimes," he said of
the Tigers misreading the coverage and then missing the tackle. He said he felt
the four turnovers were what hurt the most. That and bad field position. The
Tigers were able to roll up a lot of yards, but produce only six points. They
needed 10.
The game was hard fought, and the 22,828 fans in
the stands received more than their money's worth. It was anybody's ball game
right to the end, when the Bulldogs' Stan Jackson recovered a fumble at his own
49 to kill the Tigers' final threat.
It was sweet revenge for Bulldog fans. The Pups
had lost four straight to Mike Currence coached teams until last season, when
they won 16‑7. That didn't last long, however, as the Tigers turned
around and upset McKinley 14‑6 the following weekend in a quarter‑final
playoff game. The Tigers went on to finish second in the state, the Bulldogs
stayed home and prepared for the sudden winter.
There will be no rematch this time. The Bulldogs
will play Parma Normandy Saturday night in Canton's Fawcett Stadium in the
playoff quarter‑final match.
After Saturday's game had ended, McKinley coach
Terry Forbes paid a visit to the Tiger lockerroom to congratulate Currence on
the fine game his team played.
The coaches exchanged compliments and shook
hands.
"Good luck in the playoffs," Currence
said. "Our people will be here next week rooting for you. Beat
Moeller."
And so ended the Tigers' season. The 7‑3
record marks the first time the Tigers lost more‑than twice under
Currence. It also means the Bulldogs, after four straight losses, have won two
of the last three from the Tigers.
It was a disappointing season, but for awhile on
Saturday afternoon it looked like it was going to have a happy ending.
As it turned out, Tiger fans found themselves
muttering those four words they had almost forgotten: wait until next year.