TIGERS OVERPOWER BULLDOGS 19-6 TO CLAIM STATE TITLE STATE HONORS
GO TO MASSILLON GRIDDERS THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
Orange and Black Surprises Canton Foe With New Offense Especially Prepared for a Slippery Gridiron; Wins by Decisive Margin
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers today laid claim to their third successive state scholastic football championship. Out of the thunderous ovation that greeted their 19-6 triumph over Canton McKinley Saturday afternoon on Lehman field, Canton came recognition. They had soundly trounced the undefeated team that would have been crowned with the mythical title had it beaten the Tiger.
But the Tiger was not to be beaten Saturday. It clawed and fought with cunning as it had never done this season and backed up a stubborn Bulldog over an icy gridiron for three touchdowns.
Once the Bulldog struck and like a surprise air-raid in the night, caught the Tiger off its guard and scored a touchdown while the latter was feasting on six easily earned points. That was in the first period.
From there on the Tiger played heads-up football and after an even first half, unleashed its power to score touchdowns in the third and fourth period and leave no doubt as to it being the better team on the field.
Overflow Crowd Sees Rout of Bulldog
An overflow crowd of between 12,000 and 13,000 strictly partisan fans, shivered and shouted as the two 175-pound lines smashed each other on a slippery field. The Massillon trenchmen hit the harder and the quicker and tore apart the Canton forwards for All-Ohio Bobby Glass and Red Snyder, the new found hero, to romp through.
Give the line credit. Its play was superb. Messrs. Fred Toles, Gus Peters, Bill MacMichael, Earl Martin, Lynn Houston, Junior Anderson and Don Snavely, were in the thick of the battle every minute. They held the Bulldog running attack to a net gain of 51 yards and drove back the Canton linemen when on the offense.
It was the last game for Anderson, Peters, Snavely and Glass and the victory was a grand diploma for each.
Snavely’s defensive work was superb. In the face of a severe and almost constant roughing, he made tackle after tackle to stop the charges of the Canton backs. Once he had to take time out because of an injured knee, but he shook out the kink and continued in the game was did every other Massillon player from the opening whistle to the finish. It was the second straight that the Tigers had played through an entire game without a single substitution.
33 Points against Canton
As for Glass, he had an honor that few other Massillon backs can claim, that of scoring on Canton in three successive years. He did it in 1935 when the Tigers won 6-0. He pushed two over in 1936 and Saturday he scored two more. In addition he kicked four points from placement. Thirty-three points against Canton in three years – that is his record.
But it was not all Glass in a ball carrying way Saturday as it had been so many times this season. The Tigers uncovered a new ball carrier in Snyder, that likable red head from the west side who is ready to try his hand at anything.
Red blocked all last year and all this year until a week ago when he carried the ball for the first time against Barberton.
He ran right over his interference then and fans shook their heads uncertainly. Not Saturday, Red was on his way like a streak of lightning and when his interference clogged he circled it and kept going. He carried the ball 31 times for an average of 4.3 yards on each play and in this average, even out shown Glass who in 32 attempts averaged 3.7 yards.
Bill Zimmerman who had confined his work of the afternoon to blocking, lugged the leather only once, in next to the last play of the game. He did not gain, but it mattered naught; he had turned in a great job of blocking as did Sammy Doroslov, the blocking quarterback.
Tigers Superior
The Massillon gridders were superior in every department with the exception of forward passing and punting. They out rushed the Bulldogs 252 yards to 51 yards and they made 13 first downs to Canton’s eight. The Bulldogs on the other hand, gained 152 yards from passing which included the touchdown pass of 70 yards and Charles Rotar averaged 47 yards on his punts compared with Bob Glass’ 34 yards. Rotar, however did virtually all of his punting with the wind at his back and kept the ball in the center of the field, while Glass punted only once with the wind and on virtually every occasion kicked it out of bounds. Because Glass hoisted the ball out of bounds, Rotar as safety man was able to return his punts only a total of 10 yards, while Snyder returned Rotar’s punts 40 yards.
While in the business of heaping praise on the Massillon team, the performance of one Canton ball carrier, Tip Lockard, should not be overlooked. Carrying the ball seven times, he gained 33 yards for an average of 4.7 yards, the best average of any ball carrier on the field.
Lockard, by the way, formerly lived in Massillon.
Did the Tiger coaching staff outsmart John Reed and crew?
That practice behind closed gates here last week meant on thing – a new offense. Yes, Massillon had worked on defense but Coach Paul Brown had also equipped his team with a new offense, a series of sharp cutback plays directed both inside and outside of tackle, especially useful on a muddy field. The theory behind it all was to get the Bulldogs moving one way, then suddenly dash the opposite direction, figuring the Bulldogs in their surprise would be caught flat footed in the mud and would not be able to shift back in time to stop the ball carrier. The theory worked time and again.
Score Touchdown Early
The new offense revealed itself the first time the Tigers came into possession of the ball and they marched 40 yards for a touchdown, Glass going over. Canton came right back with a dazzling pass, Biasella to Roman for 70 yards and a touchdown, and it looked like a great offensive game was in the making.
Better defensive play and great punting by Glass and Rotar staved off any further scoring the rest of the half. The Tiger power could not be denied, however, and two drives in the last two periods, one of 61 yards and another of 29 sealed the verdict. Glass and Snyder carried the ball over and Glass placekicked the extra point after the last touchdown.
It was the fourth time in five years that the winning team had scored three touchdowns. Canton made three in defeating the Tigers in1932, 1933 and 1934 and Massillon scored three last year.
The game was played in a flurry of snow. It was fluttering over the field when the two teams lined up for the opening kickoff. Snavely had won the toss and elected to defend the west goal.
Canton received. Glass toe dug heavily into the leather, the ball rode and the wind and the game was on. Lockard only came back to the 11-yard line. The Bulldogs made a daring play as Biasella tossed a pass that was grounded. Fearing a fumble, Rotar dropped back and booted the ball to his own 40 where it was grounded without return.
Tigers Score
The Massillon steamroller began moving. Revealing a new offense consisting of sharp
cut-back plays, Snyder and Glass ripped through the Bulldog line. On the very first play the red head rammed through for 14 yards and a first down on the 26. Glass smashed through for one yard; then nine. Snyder lost a yard but Glass hammered hard on fourth down and got his first down on the 12-yard stripe. Snyder picked up two, Glass got two more and then on his old pet lugged the leather straight down the alley for eight yards and a touchdown. A yawning hole was opened up for him and he went over with yards to spare. It was the same play Heine Krier used to score on the Bulldogs in 1934. Glass made one on it in 1935 too. His attempted kick for the extra point went wild.
Feasting on the six points, the Tigers were caught asleep immediately after the next kickoff to Lockard who got back to near the 30. A sleeper was trotted out to the opposite side of the field to catch a pass. The attention of the Massillon backfield was directed toward him and at the very instant the Bulldogs snapped the ball, Roman headed straight down the sideline, got by Doroslov who slipped as he stepped backward to block the pass. Roman caught the ball, cut sharply across the field and with fine interference scampered 60 yards for a touchdown. A sigh of relief was heard from the Massillon rooters when Fife’s attempted kick was wide of the posts.
With the score tied 6-6 the teams battled furiously the remainder of the period and throughout the second quarter.
Once the Tigers hammered down to the 15-yard line, but Kark broke through and tossed Glass for a five-yard loss to end the threat. It was the closest either team was able to get the remainder of the half. Rotar’s booming punts keeping the Tigers in safe territory throughout the second period.
Launch 61-yard Drive
The second time the Tigers got their hands on the ball in the third period they launched a 61-yard drive from their 39-yard line. Roughing of Snavely seemed to fire the Massillon team to the attack. Glass circled his right end for eight yards and Snyder picked up 11 more for a first down on the Canton 42. Glass hit for five and Snyder picked up seven for another first down on the 30. They took turns hammering Canton’s right tackle for four yards and Glass smashed for a first down on the 18.
Snyder ran hard and wide around his left end and got way down to the five-yard line but he slipped out of bounds on the 12. He smashed through to the eight and a first down by inches.
The going was hard from there and it seemed like the Bulldogs might stem the attack when they held Glass and Snyder to six yards in three downs. They massed their defense in the center probably expecting another thrust at the line, but Snyder had one play in the bag he had not used and he brought it out at the right time. His line shifted to the left and the backs to the right and Glass running hard, circled wide around in his right end, nearly the width of the field to cross the Canton goal. The pass from center rolled on the ground and the attempt for the extra point failed.
Fred Toles who waited until Saturday to play his best game of the season and only his second as left end and defensive right halfback, paved the way for the Tigers third and last touchdown.
It was early in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs, making a desperate bid to catch up, flung a pass from their 27. Toles left his feet to snare the ball before it could get to the receiver and got clear back to the 19-yard line before being put down.
Snyder rammed for four and Glass carried to within a foot of a first down. They were looking for Glass to make that extra foot but instead Snyder took the ball and smashed straight through to the three-yard line in two attempts he went over for a touchdown and this time Glass sent a perfect kick between the bars.
On the following kickoff the Bulldogs made their longest sustained march of the day. Starting from their 20 after Glass had booted the ball out of the end zone, they tossed passes which mixed in with an occasional good gain by Lockard and Jack Barthel, carried the ball to a first down on the 16-yard line.
Motley grounded a pass behind the goal. Barthel failed to gain and the second pass in the series was intercepted behind the goal. It gave the Tigers the ball on their own 20.
On the first play Glass broke loose for the longest run of the day from scrimmage, a dash of 26 yards. The Tigers failed to make a second first down however and Canton took the ball on its 44 only to lose it when Biasella’s pass hit an ineligible receiver. The game ended with the Tigers still holding the ball.
Into the dressing rooms the two teams rushed, the Tigers beaming with victory, but white from the cold and fatigue of a hard game. They slapped each other on the back and got slapped by several close friends who poured into the dressing room after them. It was their third straight victory over McKinley. It enabled them to lay claim to their third straight Ohio championship. It was their third straight Stark county title and it was equal to eye for an eye revenge for the three straight defeats the Bulldogs had handed them back in 1932-34.
Someone stepped up with the remark, “Nice game, Fred, I knew you had it in you.”
“Yes, Freddy, why didn’t you turn that loose long ago?” said Wyatt.
But before Freddy could answer, Charley piped up, “Because I told him so; didn’t I, Freddy? Didn’t I tell you to hold everything until today?”
Freddy looked around to see if anyone was looking and nodded, yes.
Charley expects to finish school this year and would like to go away off somewhere and play football. He admitted he would like to have old Mike Byelene tossing the ball to him. “All I had to do was say, ‘Charley, jump,’ and Mike always had the ball there for me.” Mike is on the freshman eleven at Purdue.
The game was the last the two schools will play in Lehmans’ stadium. Canton expects to have its new stadium completed by next year. With the addition of temporary seats it will accommodate nearly twice the crowd that attended Saturday’s game.
A TASK WELL DONE, TIGERS!
MASSILLON Pos. CANTON
TOLES LE ROTAR
PETERS LT KAMP
MacMICHAEL LG RYAN
MARTIN C FIFE
HOUSTON RG MOTLEY
ANDERSON RT KARK
SNAVELY RE ROMAN
DOROSLOV QB BIASELLA
SNYDER LH BARTHEL
ZIMMERMAN RH FEHN
GLASS FB LACKARD
Score by periods:
MASSILLON 6 0 6 7 19
CANTON 6 0 0 0 6
Substitutions:
Canton – Long, e; Miller, c; Robertson, t.
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Glass 2; Snyder.
Canton – Roman.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Glass (placekick).
Referee – Reese.
Umpire – Finsterwald.
Head Linesman – Graf.
Field Judge – Jenkins.
Game Statistics
Mass. Can.
First downs rushing 13 2
First downs passing 0 5
Total first downs 13 8
Yards gained rushing 265 61
Yards lost rushing 13 10
Net gain rushing 252 51
Yards gained passing 0 152
Total yards gained 252 203
Passes attempted 1 15
Passes completed 0 7
Passes incomplete 1 6
Passes intercepted 0 2
Times penalized 1 3
Yards penalized 5 35
Times punted 5 6
Average punt 35 47
Returned punts (yards) 40 10
Times kicked off 4 2
Yards kickoff returned 19 36
Fumbles committed 2 1
Fumbles recovered 2 1
Ball Carriers Statistics
Player Times Gained Lost Av.
Snyder 31 131 1 4.3
Glass 32 131 12 3.7
Zimmerman 1 0 0 0
Lockard 7 33 0 4.7
Barthel 10 21 2 1.9
Fehn 4 7 8 -.2
