ON TO THE FINAL FOUR
Tigers are regional champions
By
JOE SHAHEEN
Independent
Sports Editor
Rick Shepas saw that
look in his players eyes at halftime. Maybe it was the Eye of the Tiger.
Whatever it was, the
Massillon Tigers came out and dominated the second half of play to secure a 14‑0
Division I regional championship game victory over the Pickerington Tigers in
front of 12,234 fans at Arlin Field in Mansfield, Saturday.
"I saw a
difference in our kids in the locker room at halftime," Shepas said following
the post game handshake. "It was a different feeling than we've had in the
five years that I've been here." That feeling translated into a victory
that sends the Tigers to the state semifinals for the second year in a row.
The Massillon defense
made it all possible by holding Pickerington without a first down on three
third‑quarter drives. It set up the second Tiger touchdown when Shawn
Crable forced and Markeys Scott recovered a Pickerington fumble at the 30‑yard
line.
"We took
ownership of this football game," Shepas said. Massillon scored the only
touchdown it would need on a seven‑play, 80‑yard drive on its
second possession of the third quarter.
A pair of sideline
passes to James Helscel got them rolling and the march was capped off when Matt
Martin hit Devin Jordan on a crossing Pattern that caught the Pickerington
defense flowing the opposite direction. Jordan snared the ball at the 25 and
scampered the rest of the way to pay dirt. Max Shafer hit the extra point and
it was a 7‑0 game at 2:54 of the third quarter.
Following the ensuing
kickoff, Scott fell on a Pickerington fumble at the Pickerington 30.
After a holding
penalty against the Tigers, Martin found A.J. Collins open for a 15 yard gain
to the 21. Ricky Johnson picked up nine yards up the middle and one play later
Martin dropped a pass into the waiting arms of Jordan in the right corner of
the end zone for the two touchdown cushion.
"A couple of the
big plays we ran and moved the ball well on were called by (senior wide
receiver) James Helscel," Shepas said. "He called the scat pass for
the touchdown about three plays before. Then he mentioned snag and we hit Devin
in the corner on the snag pass.
"Our offense came
out and did what it needed to do. I'm glad for these kids. They play hard and
they deserved it. We talked about what we needed to do and they challenged
themselves."
Martin completed six
consecutive passes during Massillon's third quarter surge. But he deflected the
credit to the coaching staff. "The coaches made some great adjustments,"
he said. "They put some new plays in for us and we just executed. The line
blocked well. The receivers caught everything. Ricky ran hard and blocked good.
"We just came together in the second half."
Pickerington never did
manage a first down in the third quarter and only had six first downs to go
with three turnovers in the entire second half.
"We came in at
halftime and said we need to get it done for each other and came out in the
second half and dominated the football game," said Massillon co‑captain
Keith Wade.
The First had tug‑of‑war
a for field position as both defenses
flexed their muscles while both offenses tried mostly unsuccessfully ‑ to
deal with the slippery field conditions.
Massillon best drive came on its opening possession.
Two consecutive Martin to Jordan passes, petted 23 yards and got the Tigers the
Pickerington 42 but the drive was doomed when a shotgun snap from center sailed
over Martin's head.
Two huge plays by
Shawn Crable on Pickerington's initial drive accounted for negative 15 yards
forcing the purple Tigers to punt.
The balance of the
first half went about the same way as each offense managed a big play or two,
only to see their possessions snuffed out by penalties, dropped passes and
solid defensive play.
Massillon and
Pickerington combined for only 129 yards of total offense in the first two
quarters, with only 50 of that total on the orange‑and‑black's
ledger.
Massillon could have
been in deep trouble, fumbling the ball three times in the first 24 minutes of
play. Fortunately for the locals, they recovered all three bobbles.
One of the Massillon's
wilder miscues came on a muffed punt at its own 20. It appeared Pickerington
recovered the ball but a huge pile‑up ensued and when the officials finally
pulled all the bodies off the heap, it was Massillon with the pigskin.
Late in the first half, Relford returned a
Pickerington punt to near midfield. On first down, Martin lofted a pass deep
down the left sideline that Stephon Ashcraft caught inside the Pickerington 15.
But the play was nullified when a chop block penalty was whistled on
Massillon.
While that was
disappointing to the Massillon sideline, the Tigers would not be denied.
"No one wanted to
quit here," said Martin. "We wanted to go the rest of the way."
"They're a good
football team," said Pickerington coach Jack Johnson. "No doubt about
it. I wish them all the luck in the world and I hope they go all the way."
Massillon 14
Pickerington 00
M
P
First downs rushing 3
7
First downs passing 10
3
First downs by penalty 0
1
TOTAL first downs 13
11
Net yards rushing 46
116
Net yards passing 172
61
TOTAL yards 218 177
Passes attempted 23
17
Passes completed 12
7
Passes intercepted 2
1
Punts 5 4
Punting average 31.4 33.0
Fumbles/Lost 3/0 2/2
Penalties 6 4
Yards penalized 59
25
Massillon 00 00 14
00 14
Pickerington 00 00
00 00 00
SCORING
M ‑ Jordan 40 pass from Martin (Shafer
kick)
M ‑ Jordan 11 pass from Martin (Shafer
kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Massillon rushing: R. Johnson 20‑64.
Pickerington rushing: Trapasso17‑68,
Ultican 11‑27.
Massillon passing: Martin 12‑23‑112,
2TDs, 2 Ints.
Pickerington passing: Ultican 7‑15‑61,
1 Int. Trapasso 0‑1‑0.
Massillon receiving: Jordan 7‑108 2 TDs,
Collins 2‑41, HeIscel 2‑21, R. Johnson 1‑2.
Pickerington receiving, J. Jablonka 1‑22.
Harrison 2‑14.