Massillon can’t escape Warren with a win
Fourth‑quarter lead slips away for Tigers in tough 31‑27 loss
By
JOE SHAHEEN
Independent
Sports Editor
In the end the Massillon Tigers undoing was a player who had caught just two passes and returned one punt all season long.
Warren Harding
sophomore Mario Manningham returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in the
first half, and caught two touchdown passes in the second half ‑ the
second one with just :49 left to play ‑ to spark the undefeated and
No.1ranked Raiders to a heart‑pounding 31‑27 victory over the
Tigers in front of 11,500 at Mollenkopf Stadium Saturday.
Warren coach Thom
McDaniels, who is now 12‑5 all‑time against the Tigers, admitted
Manningham's performance caught him by surprise. "Very obviously he is a
very talented kid," McDaniels said. "We've been bringing him along
slowly. Maybe I don't need to bring him along as slowly as I have been."
Everything seemed to
point to a Massillon win on the post‑game stat sheet. The Tigers out
gained Warren 348‑202, senior running back Ricky Johnson led all rushers
with 107 yards in 20 carries and quarterback Matt Martin passed for over 200
yards and three touchdowns.
But Warren Harding
compiled 147 yards on three kickoff returns and 78 yards on three punt returns
to more than balance the scales.
"It was all about
the kicking game," said Tiger coach Rick Shepas. "They scored two
touchdowns on our defense and our offense did a great job against them scoring
27 points. "It was just about the kicking game unfortunately and that's
the way it goes."
Massillon took a 20‑17
lead with 2:54 to go in the third quarter when Martin dropped a perfectly
thrown deep ball into the hands of Devin Jordan running a post pattern for a 49‑yard
touchdown.
The Tigers appeared to
have Warren on the ropes when junior running back Tuffy Woods ran through a
gaping hole in the middle of the Raider defensive line and went 33 yards to pay
dirt at 7:29 of the fourth quarter to make it a 27‑17 ball game. Zach
Smith tacked on both PATs.
"Our offensive
and defensive game plans were outstanding," Shepas said. "We did
exactly what we wanted to do in a big ball game. Our kids stayed level."
After having kicked off out of bounds the previous two times to negate Warren's
return game, the final Tiger kickoff of the evening found Rob Massucci, who
returned it 54 yards to the Massillon 26. "We were trying to kick the ball
out of bounds but it just didn't happen," Shepas explained.
Warren quarterback
Mike Kokal found Tremayne Warfield for 14 yards on the first snap following
Massucci's return. One play later he hit Manningham in the right corner of the
end zone from 13 yards out. Joe Spain tacked on the extra point and Massillon's
lead was down to 27‑24 with 6:29 to play.
Massillon went three‑and‑out
on its next possession when a third‑and‑one run was stuffed at the
line of scrimmage by the Warren defense.
After a 33‑yard
punt, Warren set up shop at its own 35 and on first down Kokal hit Manningham
over the middle for 27 yards to the Massillon 38. Five plays later, on second‑and‑three
from the 12‑yard line, Kokal zipped a short pass to Manningham at the
three and he squirted into the end zone to all but vanquish the Tigers 2002
playoff aspirations.
"We played
hard," remarked Tiger linebacker Shawn Crable, who made plays all over the
field this night. "It's kind of hard to lose a game like that. As hard as
we played to just give up the last touchdown, it's a bit hard to swallow."
Asked if it just
wasn't meant to be, Shepas said, "I guess not and we're going to have to
figure out why that is. Warren Harding‑ opened the scoring in the opening
seconds of the second quarter when Manningham fielded a low line drive punt at
the Raider 32, cut to his left, found a seam and scooted 68 yards for a
touchdown. Manningham had just one obstacle after crossing midfield, but used a
juke move to buckle the potential tackler's knees. Spain tacked on the extra
point and Warren led 7‑0 at 11:45 of the second quarter.
The teams traded punts
with the Tigers then taking over at their own 20 yard line with 8:12 until
halftime.
On second down, Martin
rolled left and found James Helscel open for a 12‑yard gain to the 35.
One play later, Martin dropped a perfect 35‑yard rainbow pass into the
hands of Relford at the Warren Harding 30. After two Johnson runs, Martin
executed a perfect play action fake and found tight end A.J. Collins wide open
at the 15. The senior tight end caught the ball and rambled untouched into the
end zone. Smith's point after kick was true and it was a 7‑7 game at 4:58
of the second quarter.
Relford got the ball
right back for the Tigers with a grass‑top interception of a Kokal pass
at the Massillon 44. The teams then exchanged punts with Massillon beginning
its final first half possession at its own 35.
On second and 10,
Martin operating out of the shotgun ‑ found Relford in one‑on‑one
coverage and dropped a pass just over the defensive backs hands for a 37 yard
completion to the Warren Harding28. Martin would pick up a key first down on a
fourth‑and-one keeper play to the 15. On first down from there, Martin
ran the same play that produced the Tigers first touchdown. Once again the play
action fake freed up Collins, who pulled in Martin's short pass and sauntered
into the end zone. Smith's kick made it 14‑7 with just :31 until the
break.
But Warren Harding
struck back like lightening bolt as Manningham fielded the ensuing kickoff at
the Raider 18 and streaked up the middle for an 82‑yard touchdown return.
Spain's PAT made it a 14‑14 game at the band show.
Warren Harding 31
Massillon 27
M
WH
First downs rushing 5
2
First downs passing 7
8
First downs by penalty 0
0
TOTAL first downs
13 10
Net yards rushing 144
36
Net yards passing 204 166
TOTAL yards
348 202
Passes attempted 20
26
Passes completed 9
14
Passes intercepted 1
2
Punts 7 6
Punting average 31.6
28.0
Fumbles/Lost 0/0 0/0
Penalties 5 3
Yards penalized 29
23
Massillon 00 14 06 07
27
Warren 00 14 03
14 31
SCORING
W ‑ Manningham 68 punt return (Spain kick)
M ‑ Martin 27 pass to Collins (Smith kick)
M ‑ Martin 15 pass to Collins (Smith
kick)
W ‑ Manningham 82 kick return (Spain kick)
W ‑ Spain 31 field goal
M ‑ Martin 49 pass to Jordan (kick failed)
M ‑ Woods 33 run (Smith kick)
W ‑ Phillips 13 pass to Manningham (Spain
kick)
W ‑ Kokal 12 pass to Manningh am (Spain
kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Massillon rushing: Johnson 20‑106, Woods 8‑52.
Warren Harding rushing: Davis 13-23.
Massillon passing: Martin 9‑20‑204 3 TDs 1 int.
Warren Harding passing: Kokal 9‑16‑91
1 TD 1 INT, Phillips 5‑10‑75 1 TD.
Massillon receiving: Relford 4‑100, Jordan
1‑48, Collins 2‑41, Heischel 1‑12.
Warren Harding receiving: Manningham 4‑68,
Warfield 4‑29