Tigers' ground game
rips Woodrow
Wilson
Oliver,
Johnson top century mark
By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor
On.a damp and dreary night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, the Massillon
Tigers got some valuable work for the first team, rested some injured starters,
and rewarded their loyal second‑
and third‑teamers with extended playing
time, all while walloping winless Youngstown Woodrow Wilson 56‑8, Friday
in front of 5,850 fans.
Early
in the week, Woodrow Wilson coach, Mark Lyden said he
hoped Tiger mentor Shepas would call
the dogs off early, conceding that his Division III Redmen
had no chance of staying with
“They’re
struggling," Shepas said of Woodrow Wilson. "There's no other way to
say that. They’re just struggling.
"We
wanted to come out and play solid. We were able to do that on defense. We gave
up a couple of plays. But it is unfortunate for them. It's a shame it has come
to that for them."
With
a heavy downpour drenching the field at the opening kickoff, the usually pass‑happy
Tigers spent much of the first half running the football through gaping holes
in the Wilson defense and amassing 244 yards and 13 first downs on the ground.
"Justin
Zwick called a majority of the offensive plays,"
Shepas revealed, "and he was unselfish in going to the running game the
way he did. We ended up with two 100‑yard rushers tonight.”
Marquis
Williams set up
0n
first down from there, junior running back Rickey Johnson went into the line, juked twice, then shot through a gap and into the end zone.
David Abdul's point after made it 7‑0
Tiger
defensive lineman Marquice Johnson stopped the next
Three
plays and a
Oliver
- who totaled 102 yards in eight carries ‑ wasted little time in adding
to his statistics, skirting around right end for 30 yards on first down. One play later Johnson went around the same side for 13 yards to
the
Then
Ryan Boyd went off the left side of the Tiger line, breaking two tackles and
bursting into the end zone for a 19‑yard touchdown run. Abdul's boot was
true and
The
Johnson
put the finishing touches on a very productive evening by taking a Zwick handoff and.attacking the
right side of the offensive line.
He
broke a tackle at the 37, cut back to the left at the 25 and sprinted into the
end zone for a 50‑yard touchdown run. Abdul's kick made it 28‑0
Williams
displayed fine balance and athleticism on a 19‑yard punt return that set
up the Tigers next tally.
On
first down from the
Abdul's
conversion kick
split the uprights to make the Tiger lead 35‑0 at 5:23 of the second
quarter.
The
Tigers final first half scoring drive was a display of Zwick's
passing accuracy.
Starting
at the
A
scramble netted five yards and Zwick then hit
On
the next play, Zwick found Williams standing alone in
the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Abdul tacked on the PAT and it
was 42‑0 at the half.
Billy
Relford returned the second half kickoff to the
They
took advantage, mounting an eight‑play drive that featured runs of 11‑
and. 13‑yards by Oliver an capped by Ryan Boyd's six‑yard sweep
around right end for a touchdown at 7:22 of the third period.
Chris
Reinhart tacked on the extra point and
The
Tigers final score came on a seven‑play, 30-yard drive capped by Terrence
Roddy's one‑yard touchdown dive at 2:08 of the
fourth quarter. Max Shafer added the point after.
"We
got a chance to play a lot of people and we got a chance to freshen up a little
bit," Shepas said.
And
with that the coach was off to the Tiger locker room to dry off, warm up and
begin preparations for next week’s invasion by Fremont Ross, a 10-0 winner over
Toledo Whitmer Friday night.
M W
First downs rushing 18 3
First downs passing 5 1
First downs by penalty 0 0
TOTAL first downs 23 4
Net yards rushing 409 104
Net yards passing 71 33
TOTAL yards 480 137
Passes attempted 10 10
Passes completed 5 6
Passes intercepted 1 0
Punts 0 7
Punting average 0 31
Fumbles/Lost 5/3 2/1
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 37 12
SCORING
M
‑ Rickey Johnson 8 run (Abdul kick)
M
- Oliver 20 run (Abdul kick)
M
‑ Ryan Boyd 19 run (Abdul kick)
M
‑ Johnson 50 run (Abdul kick)
M
‑
M
‑ Williams 2 pass from Zwick (Abdul :kick)
M
‑ Boyd 6 run (Reinhart kick)
W
‑ West 68 fumble return (S. Lane pass to Jones)
M
‑ Roddy 1 run (Shafer kick)
INDIVIDUAL' STATISTICS
Statistics
courtesy Richard Cunningham