PUPS TOO TOUGH
Tigers make it a game,
but McKinley prevails
Tigers throw scare into
dogs with
second-half turnaround
By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor
It
started as if a rout was the order of the day. It ended with the Massillon
Tigers giving the McKinley Bulldogs a bit of a scare before succumbing 27‑14
in the 104th meeting between the two Ohio high school football giants in front
of a full house at Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in Canton this
afternoon.
The
Tigers went one‑two-three punt on each of their first three possessions,
while McKinley put together scoring drives of 4, 11 and 11 plays to jump to a
21‑0 lead early in the second quarter. At that point, the Bulldogs seemed
very deserving of their No. 1 rating in USA Today's national high school
rankings.
But
a funny thing happened to the Pups on their way to a blowout. Massillon's outmanned
Tigers, riding the grit and savvy of quarterback Tip Danzy, the hard running of
fullback Dave Hodgson and a defense that wouldn't quit when it was down, made
it a game and then some.
"The
kids came back and we made a few adjustments at halftime," said Tigers
coach Jack Rose. "I told them a lesser team would have thrown in the
towel when it was 27‑7 at halftime and get blown out.
"There's
no quit in these young men. They carne out in the second half and played their
hearts out."
McKinley
bench boss Thom McDaniels did not want to hear any talk of his team letting
down after building a three touchdown lead at the intermission.
"I
don't think we let down," he said. "I think we got a little sloppy in
the second half. I think our execution diminished, but I don't think there was
any kind of a conscious letdown. We just didn't play as well.
"The
team on the other side of the field was good. Again, you have to maintain
concentration and try to execute for 48 minutes. We had our lapses primarily
with penalties we had some really inopportune penalties."
The
Tigers got excellent field position when Julian Miller returned the opening
kickoff to the Tiger 44, but three plays and just two yards later were forced
to punt. McKinley took over at its 45 after an 18 yard return by Fred Wilcox.
On
third‑and‑six from the 49, Ben McDaniels found Matt Curry on a
short slant pattern, and Curry did the rest, sprinting across the grain to the
Tiger 26. On the next play, DeMarlo Rozier took a pitch around left end and
outran the Massillon defense to the end zone. Phil Armatas' conversion kick
made it 7‑0 McKinley at 9:22 of the first period.
Once
again Miller ‑ and a facemask penalty on the Pups ‑ gave the Tigers
good field position at their 45. But Massillon could pick up just five yards in
three snaps and were forced to punt.
Rozier
got the ball on the first four snaps of McKinley's second possession, as the
Bulldogs moved from their 29 to just beyond midfield. Then McDaniels bootlegged
left and hit Wilcox for 22 yards to the Tigers 26. Rozier again got the ball on
four consecutive snaps, setting up second and goal at the Massillon 8.
McDaniels scrambled for five yards to the 3, before Isaiah Robinson found a
small hole over right guard and scored the second TD of the game.
Armatas
was again true with the PAT and McKinley, led 14‑0 at 2:59 of the first
quarter.
McKinley's
third touchdown drive again followed a Massillon punt and began at its 41. A
third down roughing the passer penalty gave the march life at the Tigers 40. On
third and four from the 34, Rozier ripped off a nine‑yard gain over left
guard for a first down at the 25.
McDaniels
hooked up with Curry for 11 yards to the 16 and three plays later Rozier burst
through a hole over his right guard and into the end zone from seven yards out.
Armatas capped off the 11play drive with the PAT at 9:33 of the second quarter
to make it 21‑0 and McKinley fans were ready to party.
It
looked like they'd get their chance after Massillon again couldn't move the
football and was forced to punt from its 18. But Josh Hill turned the game
around by slicing through the McKinley offensive line to nail Richard Bradley
for an 11‑yard loss on a sweep play. Josh Kreider forced McKinley to punt
by bringing Bradley down in the open field after he snared a McDaniels third‑down
pass in the flat.
"What
happened defensively is we finally adapted to their speed," explained Rose.
"Initially we were taken aback a little. They have such great speed and it
is difficult to simulate that in practice. Once we got in the flow a little
bit, we did better."
Massillon
took over at its 27 after McKinley punted. Hodgson got the ball on four
straight plays and picked up 25 yards, including 13 on a draw play that moved
the ball to the McKinley 48. On third and 10, Danzy dropped back to pass, saw a
seam open up in the middle, and took off for an 11-yard gain and a first down.
Then
Danzy found Andy Cocklin on the right sideline for 16 yards. A late hit flag on
McKinley moved the ball to the 10. After a first down play lost four yards,
Danzy again dropped back and again saw the red sea of Bulldogs jerseys part.
He never hesitated, sprinting 14 yards to paydirt and Massillon was on the
board at 21‑7 with 2:37 left in the half.
The
rejuvenated Massillon defense stopped McKinley after a couple first downs and
forced the punt. But Massillon couldn't move the football either and was forced
to punt from its 24 with under :30 left in the half.
Les
Thompson broke through the Tigers blocking scheme and blocked Luke Shilling's
kick. Robinson scooped up the ball at the 15 and raced to the end zone for the
back breaking touchdown. A missed PAT made it 27‑7 at halftime.
"The
last thing we wanted was to fall behind by three touchdowns to this team,"
Rose said. "I said that earlier in the week.
"The
blocked punt really hurt, but we had a couple plays there that if we would have
executed them, we wouldn't be punting. In a big game like this, you have to
execute every time and we had a few plays where we didn't get the job
done."
Massillon
stuffed McKinley on the Bulldogs first possession of the second half. The
Tigers then moved from their 33 to McKinley's 30, where they faced a pivotal
fourth-and‑one. But the option blew up in their face for a seven yard
loss and a scoring opportunity went by the wayside.
McKinley's
next two series' ended in a punt and a missed field goal, the latter setting
the Tigers up at their own 20. After Massillon gained a first down at the 31,
Hodgson raced 18 yards on a draw play and a personal foul on McKinley moved the
ball into Bulldog territory at the 42. On third and seven from the 39, Danzy
rolled left, then scrambled back to the right and finally found Christian
Morgan over the middle for a 21‑yard gain to the 18.
Hodgson
again made the Pups pay for their over‑pursuit by grinding out 12 yards
on the draw to the McKinley 5. One play later, Danzy rolled left and completed
a pass to Neil Buckosh in the end zone for the touchdown. Josh Hose was true
with the PAT kick and it was McKinley 27, Massillon 14 with 10:37 to play.
The
Massillon defense, smelling blood now, again shut down the McKinley attack on
three plays to force a punt that Kreider fair caught at the Tiger 34. On third
and four from the 40, Danzy and Hodgson executed the shovel pass to perfection
to pick up 15 yards to the Bulldogs 45 and the locals were rolling.
Danzy
dropped back to throw on second and seven. Tyrie Clifford made a twisting grab
of the wounded duck at the McKinley 8 and the Bulldogs faithful were concerned.
But
the Tigers failed to execute a handoff following an audible on the next snap
and McKinley's Mike Doss came up with the fumble to quell the threat and
effectively secure a perfect 10‑0 regular season for the Pups.
Again
the Tigers could have rolled over. There was still nearly seven minutes to play
in the contest and the Bulldogs would've loved nothing more than to tack on
another touchdown, just for celebration purposes.
But
the Massillon defense stood tall and gave the offense another shot in the
waning moments. Danzy was standing in the pocket still pitching at the final
gun, not willing to concede anything, even in defeat.
As
the Tigers trudged off the field, there was no griping from the Massillon fans.
Just thank‑yous for making a game against the nation's top ranked high
school football team.
"I've
got to give our fans a lot of credit," Rose concluded. "They hung in
there with us today the entire time. The team appreciated that and I did, too.
The fans were a great help in this."
McKinley 27, Massillon 14
Massilion McKinley
First
downs rushing 9 9
First
downs passing 6 5
First
downs by penalty 0 3
total
first downs 15 17
rushing
yards 146 183
passing
Yards 151 134
total
offense 297 317
passing
attempts 31 23
completions 15 13
touchdown
passes 1 0
interceptions 1 0
punts 6 6
punting
average 26.3 37.5
fumbles 5 2
fumbles
lost 2 0
Penalties 5 8
yards
penalized 57 86
QUARTER SCORES 1 2
3 4
Massillon 0 7
0 7 14
McKinley 14 13
0 0 27
Massillon rushing:
Morgan 5‑0
Hodgson 18‑109
Danzy 8‑26
Spicer 1-11
McKinley rushing:
Rozser 23‑141
McDaniels 4‑12
Robinson 2 6
Doss 3‑3
Bradley 8‑21
Massillon passing:
Danzy 15‑31 151 yards 1 TD,
McKinley Passing:
McDanels 13‑23 134 yards
Massillon receiving:
Morgan 4‑34
Venables 1‑4
Cocklin 2‑19
Hodgson 3‑25
Clifford 4‑64
Buckush 1‑5
McKinley receiving:
Curry 6‑83
Razier 3‑25
Wilcox 1‑22
Bradley 1‑3
Robinson 1‑(2)
Lucrus 1 3