Massillon shuts down
McKinley 24‑7
By
MARK CRAIG
Repository
sports writer
Most of the pre game know‑it‑alls had Saturday's 95th McKinley‑Massillon high school football game figured out before the 21,000 fans filed into Fawcett Stadium.
They said McKinley's ground game was too quick
for Massillon's defense. They also said Massillon's offense was good, but not
good enough to outplay McKinley's quick defenders.
Boy, were they wrong.
Final score: Massillon 24, McKinley 7.
The victory gives Massillon an 8‑2 record,
a 52‑38‑5 advantage in the McKinley‑Massillon series and a
berth in the state playoffs for the first time since 1982. Massillon held its
top spot in Region 3, while McKinley (7‑3) fell from the fourth and final
playoff spot.
The Tigers, by virtue of their top spot in
Region 3, most likely will host either Akron Garfield or Walsh Jesuit in
Saturday's opening round of the Division I playoffs. The final computer
standings and the opening round pairings will be released by the Ohio High
School Athletic Association tonight.
Massillon proved the know‑it‑alls
wrong by doing what few thought they could. The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 45
yards rushing and 179 total yards.
The McKinley running game, which has featured 13
backs this season, was field to a 2.3‑yards‑per‑carry average
on 20 carries and four first downs. The Bulldogs' leading ground‑gainer
on the season, Darnell Clark, had nine yards on 10 carries.
"This is the best defense we've played all
season, especially against the run," said Massillon defensive coordinator
Dan Boarman. 'We didn't do anything difference as far as design. We just played
a lot harder and were able to shut down their running game."
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Massillon led 14‑0
before McKinley's offense was brought onto the field.
After kick returner Donnie Blake returned the
opening kickoff 39 yards to the McKinley 47, the Tigers drove the rest of the
way on seven plays and scored on a six‑yard run by Ryan Sparkman. Gary
Miller added the first of three extra‑point kicks to give Massillon a 7‑0
lead with 9:39 left in the first quarter.
McKinley's offense had to stay on the sideline
when kick returner Kirk Moore fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Massillon's David
Whitfield recovered at the McKinley 18. The turnover was the first of four for
McKinley.
Six plays later, Sparkman followed tackles Torn
Menches and Ray Kovacsiss over the right side of the line for a two‑yard
TD to put Massillon two TDs ahead with 7:20 left in tire first quarter.
When McKinley finally got the ball, the Bulldogs
seemed to abandon the run, calling four straight pass plays and six in their
first seven snaps.
"I think our offense took a lot of heat off
our defense by scoring those two quick touchdowns," Boarman said. "I
think maybe we changed their game plan somewhat."
McKinley head coach Thom McDaniels insisted the
Bulldogs didn't stray from their original game plan.
"We planned to come out and throw like we
did," McDaniels said. "(The touchdowns) did not change that. The
situation was not out of hand at that point, by any means."
McKinley climbed back into the game following a
29‑yard punt to the Massillon 49. The Bulldogs, with the help of a pass
interference call on third‑and‑10 that put the ball on the
Massillon 32, scored with 1:30 left in the quarter.
Three plays after the interference, junior
quarterback Ryan Henry (9‑of‑23, 134 yards) fooled the entire
Massillon defense into thinking he was going to run after scrambling away from
Mike Martin's rush. Instead, Henry
threw a 32‑yard TD pass to Ron Szerokman who was wide open in the end
zone.
Massillon, however, put McKinley in a huge hole
when quarterback Lee Hurst lofted a perfectly thrown 12‑yard TD pass to
senior Rameir Martin with four seconds left in the half. Martin used every inch
of his 6‑4 frame as he leaped between two defenders, bobbled the ball and
tucked it away before falling just inbounds.
"That probably was the play of the
game," said Massillon head coach Lee Owens. "Rameir is such a
talented kid. And Lee is a gutsy kid for tossing the ball in there like he
did.”
Hurst became Massillon's record‑holder in
single‑season pass completions and passing yards with a first half that
saw him complete 12‑of‑20 passes for 166 yards. With his final
statistics reading 12‑of‑ 22 for 166 yards, Hurst finished the
regular season with 111 completions in 208 attempts for 1,485 yards and 10 TDs.
Martin caught all nine of his passes in the
first half for 110 yards.
With the lead in hand, Massillon turned the ball
over to senior running backs Ryan Sparkman and. Lamonte Dixon. The two combined
for 117 yards rushing in the second half, and set up a 27‑yard field goal
by Miller late in the third quarter.
Sparkman ended with a game high 105 yards on 25
carries.
Overall, Massillon rolled up 335 total yards and
20 first downs. The Tigers' offense also didn't turn the ball over.
"It was a case of its playing good defense
and errorless football in the first half, and then wearing out McKinley in the
second half," Owens said. "I think it's safe to say we pretty much
controlled the game the entire way."
Which is something the know‑it‑alls
never would have guessed.
*****
Massillon offensive line coach Nick Vrotsos was
coaching in his 33rd McKinley‑Massillon game, not his 31st as was
reported Thursday.
Overlooked were the 14‑6 victory over
McKinley in the 1980 playoffs and the Tigers' first victory over McKinley in
1963 (the teams played twice that year because McKinley was suspended from play
in 1962). Vrotsos is 22‑11 vs. McKinley.
Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7
Mass ‑
Sparkman 6 run (G Miller kick)
Mass ‑
Sparkman 2 run (G. Miller kick)
McK ‑
Szerokman 32 as, iron, Her,, (Woj kick)
Mass ‑ Martin
12 pass from Hurst (G. Miller kick)
Mass ‑
FG G. Miller 27
Att - 21.000
Mass Mck
Furs,
downs 20 11
Rushes
– yards 50-169 20-45
Passing 166 134
Return
Yards 35 0
Comp‑Att‑Int 12-23‑0 9-23‑2
Punts 5‑31 6‑37
Fumbles‑Lost 1‑0 3‑2
Penalties‑Yards 3‑31 3‑22
Time
of Possession 30:29 17:31
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Massilltm:
Sparkman 25‑105, Dixon 13‑50, Ashcraft 5‑23 Hurst 7‑(‑9);
McKinley:
Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Clark 10‑9, Richards 2‑1.
PASSING
Massillon:
Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0-1‑0 0;
McKinley:
Henry 9-23-2 134.
RECEIVING
Massillon: Martin
9‑110, Harig 1‑32, Manion 1‑16, Dixon 1-8.
McKinley:
Moore 4‑52, Gardner 2‑30, Szerokman 1-32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin
1-5.
'Dogs down;
Tigers stalk Walsh
Owens: Massillon's back, you can't keep us down
By
STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent
Sports Editor
It's a something old, something new, something
borrowed kind of Monday for the Massillon Tigers.
* The old (even ancient) ‑ The Tigers beat
up the McKinley Bulldogs 24‑7 Saturday at Fawcett Stadium to take a 52‑38‑5
lead in a series that started six years before the Canton school's namesake
became a U.S. president in 1900.
* The new ‑ Massillon and Walsh Jesuit
have never played each other. They will collide at 7 p.m. Saturday in Paul
Brown Tiger Stadium in a first‑round Division I playoff game.
* The borrowed ‑ Sonny Spielman, whose son
Chris was a junior the last time the Tigers made the playoffs, in 1982,
declared, "The title will ride on Tiger pride." Didn't somebody say
that somewhere along the line?
It all adds up to this: Sun's up in Tigertown
after a second straight victory over the Dastardly 'Dogs.
What's it all mean?
"The focus," said 33‑year‑old
Massillon head coach Lee Owens, who is 2‑0 against McKinley and 15-5 as
the top Tiger, "is Massillon.
"I was proud of our school. I was proud of
our city. I was proud of our players. I was proud of our coaches.
"Massillon is back. You can't keep us down.
The first year we were eligible to be back in the playoffs, we made it back.
"We aren't satisfied with just being back
in the playoffs, either. As hard as it is to get emotionally up for another
game after beating McKinley, we will find a way to do that. We will find a way
to establish the consistency needed to advance in the playoffs."
Who's going to argue with the man?
His team founds way to dominate potent
Austintown‑Fitch a week after losing 41‑7 to Cincinnati Moeller
(which, incidentally, will take on unbeaten Cincinnati Elder in another
Saturday playoff battle). It found a way to dominate favored - just ask 90
percent of the out‑of‑town media – McKinley a week after a stunning
defeat to Cleveland St. Joseph.
Saturday's game, played on an August‑meets‑October
afternoon with temperatures in the 70s, came at the end of a hair‑raising
week.
Lose and the Tigers' season would end bitterly.
Win and they would make the playoffs.
The Tigers struck early and let their thousands
of followers let their hair bang down.
Massillon led 14‑0 with less than five minutes
gone in the game. They stormed into the fourth quarter on top by the 24‑7
final score.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with half the
Massillon crowd chanting "T‑I‑G" and the other half
roaring back “E‑R‑S," red rivers of Bulldog boosters streamed
toward the exits.
Massillon got it done with a complete package:
offense, defense, special teams and crowd support.
The offense scored on the game's first series
and amassed 335 yards against a ballyhooed defense.
The defense was both lucky (McKinley dropped
several passes) and good, making numerous crunching hits and keeping the
Bulldogs from getting outside. McKinley finished with just 179 total yards.
The special teams got along kick return from
Donnie Blake to start the game and a big fumble recovery by David Whitfield
minutes later.
The coaching staff came up with an offensive
blocking scheme that took McKinley by surprise.
The crowd was large enough and loud enough to
negate McKinley's home‑field advantage ‑ an estimated 8,000 of the
crowd of 20,000 ‑ official figure remained unavailable this morning ‑
rooted for the Tigers.
The offense used an unbalanced line in which the
two biggest Tigers, Tom Menches and Ray Kovacsiss, lined up side by side.
''We recognized it as coaches," said
McKinley mentor Thom McDaniels. "But coaches recognizing it and adjusting
to it and players doing so can be two different things.
They hadn't done that in anything we'd seen in
scouting them."
Owens said his staff agreed the unbalanced look
would throw McKinley's angle defense off stride.
"We've used it during the season in goal‑line
situations, but not all over the field as we did today," he said.
Added Tiger tackle Tom Menches, "I think we
had McKinley fooled."
Senior running back Ryan Sparkman benefited from the well executed plan. He
scored two touchdowns and rushed 25 times for 105 yards.
Quarterback Lee Hurst and split end Rameir
Martin also had particularly outstanding games.
Hurst completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards. Martin
caught six passes for 110 yards, including
a leaping 12-yard touchdown catch with four seconds left in the first
half in which he outwrestled three McKinley defenders for position and landed
on his back clutching the ball.
The hard‑hitting contest left the physical
status of a few Tigers in doubt heading into the Walsh Jesuit game.
Senior lineman Tom Menches suffered a badly
sprained left ankle during a third‑quarter drive in which the Tigers
scored the only points of the second half on a field goal.
Senior defensive back Eddie Williams suffered a
knee injury in the first half. Stacy said the injury probably won't require
immediate surgery but that Williams won't play Saturday.
Sparkman aggravated a hamstring injury that has
cost him playing time this season but he probably will play Saturday, Stacy
said.
Defensive lineman Mark McGeorge, bothered by
nagging injuries late in the year, had to be helped off the field during the
McKinley game. His status is uncertain.
MASSILLON 24
McKINLEY 7
Me Mc
HALFTIME TOTALS
First
downs rushing 3 2
First
downs passing 7 2
First
downs penalty 1 1
Total
first down 11 5
Net
Yards rushing 39 30
Net
Yards Passing 166 52
Total
net Yards 205 82
Passes
attempted 21 12
Passes
completed 12 3
Passes
intercepted 0 0
Fumbles/lost 0‑0 1‑1
Punts 3 4
Punting
average 30.7 36.3
Penalties 3 3
Yards
penalized 31 22
FINAL TOTALS
First
downs rushing 12 4
First
downs passing 7 6
First
downs penalty 1 1
Total
first 20 11
Net
Yards rushing 169 45
Net
Yards passing 166 134
Total
net yards 335 179
Passes
attempted 23 23
Passes
completed 72 9
Passes
intercepted 0 2
Fumbles/lost 1‑0 3‑2
Punts 5 6
Punting
average 31.0 36.7
Penalties 3 3
Yards
penalized 31 22
Individual Statistics
Rushing
(Mas)
Sparkman 25‑1 5, Dixon 13‑ 50, Ashcraft 5‑23, Hurst 7‑minus
9.
(McK)
Clark rMj19, Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Richards 2‑1.
Passing
(Mas)
Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0‑1‑0 0. 1.
(McK)
Henry 9‑23‑2 134.
Receiving
(Mas)
Martin 9‑110, Harig 1.32, Manion 1‑ 6, Dixon 1‑8.
(McK)
Moore are 4‑52, Gardner 2‑3
Szerokman 1‑32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin 1‑5.
Kickoff returns ‑ (Mas)
Blake 1‑40, Dixon 1‑13.
(McK)
‑ Moore 2‑47, Clark 2‑18.
Punt returns ‑ (Mas)
Manion 3‑8, Blake 2‑13.
(McK)
‑ Codispoti 1.0.
Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7
Ma ‑ Sparkman
6 run. Miller kick
Ma ‑
Sparkman 2 run. Miller kick
Mc ‑
Szerokman 32 pass from Henry. Wojcik kick
Ma ‑ Martin
12 pass from Hurst. Miller kick
Ma ‑ Miller
27 field goal.
Here is a drive‑by‑drive
account of Saturday's Massillon-McKinley game, won 24‑7 by the Tigers.
MAS ‑ Donnie
Blake returns opening kickoff 37 yards to McKinley 47 Ryan Sparkman scores on 7‑yard
run on seventh play, Key play: 16‑yard Lee Hurst to Troy Manion completion
to 32 on first down. Gary Miller's P.A.T. kick good at 9:39 of first quarter.
Tigers 7, McKinley
***
McK ‑ Kirk
Moore fumbles during kickoff return. David Whitfield, recovers for Massillon.
MAS ‑ Start
on McKinley 18. Score in six plays on 2‑yard run by Sparkman. Key play: 7‑yard
Hurst to Rameir Martin pass to 11 on first down. Miller P.A.T. kick good at
7:20 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 0
***
McK ‑ Start
on own 20 after touchback. Drive to Tiger 49. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start
on own 16. Three plays. Punt.
McK ‑ Start
on Tiger 49. Score on third play, a 32‑yard pass from Ryan Henry to Ron
Szerokman. Wojcik kick good at 1:38 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 7
***
MAS ‑ Start
on own 23 after kickoff. Drive nine plays to 20 Hurst's 38‑yard field
goal attempt wide right at 9:42 of second quarter. Key play: 36‑yard
Hurst to Martin sideline pass.
McK ‑ Start
on own 20. Four plays to 37. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start
on own 11. Six plays to own 48, including 30‑yard sideline pass to Doug
Harig. Punt.
Mck ‑Start on
own 25 with 3:13 left in first half. Three plays. Punt.,
MAS ‑ Start
on own 36 with 2:00 left in half. Drive 64 yards in 10 plays for TD, 12‑yard
pass from Hurst to Martin in left corner of end zone. Key plays: 9‑yard
run to 45 by Sparkman on first down; 8‑yard reception by Martin followed
by late hit penalty to 12. Miller's P.A.T. kick good at 0:04 of first half.
First half expires on ensuing kickoff return.
Tigers 21, McKinley 7
***
McK ‑ Start
on own 6 after bobble of kickoff return. Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start
on McKinley 40. Six plays to 12. Hurst's 38‑yard field goal attempt wide
right at 6:36 of third quarter.
McK ‑ Start
on own 20, Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start
on own 47. Seven plays to 8‑yard line. 27‑yard field goal by Miller
good at 1:27 of third quarter.
Tigers 24, McKinley 7
McK ‑ Start
on own 45 after kickoff return. Seven plays to Tiger 3. Keith Rabbitt rips ball
away from Bulldog pass receiver Dorey Irven
MAS ‑ Start
on own 3. Seven plays to 43. Punt.
McK‑ Start on
own 25 with 5:53 left in game. Drive inside Massillon territory but lose ball
on interception by Chad Buckland that virtually ends game.