GRABER RETURNS PASS 97 YARDS
With Steubenville Coach In Stands, Massillon Eleven Runs Most of Its Plays From Punt And Spread Formations
By Luther Emery
The Alliance Aviators turned out to be zero fighters Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers held them scoreless before a record Alliance crowd of 10,000 fans while running and passing five touchdowns over the goal for a 34-0 victory.
It was the Tigers 47th game without a defeat and the first loss of the season for Alliance which had previously leveled three opponents in a row.
Alliance Made More First Downs
A screwy game statistically, you would never guess from a look at yardage gained and first downs made by the two teams that the winner would hold a 34-point advantage.
But that was the way it was. Alliance made more first downs than the Tigers, 12 to 9, and gained a net total of 150 yards from scrimmage, but could show narry a point for its efforts while the Tigers collected 34.
All can be explained.
The Tigers scored on long runs and touchdown runs do not count as first downs even though the ball carrier travels more than 10 yards.
Score On Long Runs
Four of the Tigers five touchdowns came on long jaunts and as a result do not show in the first downs. Likewise, two of the touchdowns do not show in yards gained from scrimmage because they were scored on a blocked punt and an intercepted pass. Together they totaled 135 yards.
Then too, Alliance rolled up more first downs than the Tigers and gained a sizeable amount of yardage against the Massillon second team but could not score because Coach Elwood Kammer sent in this first team – not so much to deny the Aviators a touchdown, but more for the opportunity to test the regulars in an eight-man line.
The Tigers won, and in so doing found the bomb of the Aviators a dud.
Alliance was expected to give the Tiger varsity more of a game than was in evidence last night, but the Tigers, quickly taking the initiative struck early, built up their score and fooled around the rest of the game.
In fact the local eleven ran most of its plays from punt formation and a wide spread that it used for the first time this season.
The Tigers deployed the width of the field on their spread and Bob Graber had himself a picnic in deep punt formation, running and passing all evening.
It only took two plays to get the first touchdown. Graber pitching to Tom Jasinski for 18 yards on the spread formation and Keve Bray ripping around his left end for the last 25 on second down.
A 76-yard march produced the second with Graber tossing to Bray for the touchdown, and Holt kicking the extra point.
The third was chalked up with the same lightning rapidity as the opening score. The Tigers received at the start of the second half and Chuck Holt got away for a touchdown as he brought the kickoff back to midfield. Graber took it to the 27 and tossed a pass from there to Don Willmot who went the rest of the distance.
Score On Breaks
The last two touchdowns came on breaks which the Tigers converted into points. Vernon Weisgarber got his big hands in the way of one of Dick McClure’s punts and the ball sank in the chest of Fred Cardinal who only had 35 yards to run to reach the promised land.
Graber got milk and honey later too in the fourth quarter in the longest run of the year when he went up in the air on the goal line to haul down McClure’s pass and ran approximately 97 yards to score. Bob Wallace put the finishing touches to the last tackler with a neat bit of blocking near midfield. The run was executed almost as perfectly as that made by Graber after intercepting a pass against Lincoln Nebraska a week ago.
Both touchdowns came when the Tigers were messing around trying to polish up their punt formation passing and end sweeps. The first ream had sufficient power and skill to handle the Aviators without difficulty. Not so with the second team.
It was against the seconds that the red and blue gained most of its ground, and twice the Tiger regulars had to rush in to shame the youngsters for not holding.
The Aviators had a first down on the five-yard line on one occasion, were inside the 10-yard line a second time, and were down to the 14 a third time, but couldn’t get the ball over. This burst of offensive power, however, took place in the last period when the Tiger regulars were on the bench and the Aviators didn’t like it a little bit as Coach Kammer sent in his first team when the goal line was threatened.
Good Blocking
The Tigers long runs for touchdowns can be attributed principally to another demonstration of great blocking by the ball carriers teammates.
The blocking as a whole was good and made possible Grabers long touchdown dash with an intercepted pass.
There’s a brother act in the Tiger line that is worth watching too. Barney and Bob Wallace time and again broke through Friday evening to throw Alliance runners for losses. Dick McClure, who did most of the passing especially came in for this punishment. Always rushed, he had to pick out his receivers quickly, or pick himself off the ground.
While the Tigers as a whole remained strong last night their glaring weakness was the second team line. In previous games this year the second stringers usually were able to play opponents first teams after the varsity had managed to wear them down a bit.
Not last night. The Aviators could do little offensively with the first team, but just as soon as the second team took over the Aviators moved. In fact the Tigers only had the ball in their hands three times the entire fourth quarter and on one of these occasions they punted on first down.
Maybe one of the reason why they were content to perform from a punt and spread formation last night was the fact that Howard Brinker, former Massillon junior high and now head football coach at Steubenville, was in the stands.
Coach Kammer didn’t want to give “Brink” anything to take back to show his Big Red team which plays here next Friday evening.
Alliance Gains on Passes
Discounting two long runs made by Aviator backs against the Tiger second team, the forward pass was Alliance’s most effective weapon as far as ground gaining was concerned, but it backfired at the goal line when one pass was intercepted for a touchdown and another for a touchback.
The Aviators gained 118 yards and lost 57 trying to carry the ball for a net gain of 61 yards from rushing. Considering that two runs against the second team totaled 69 yards you can see that Alliance lost more than it gained from rushing the rest of the game.
In passing, however, the Aviators connected eight times in 21 attempts for 98 yards. The Tigers intercepted four passes. The local eleven completed four passes in 11 attempts for 81 yards and had two intercepted. The 81 yards added to a net of 163 yards from rushing gave the Tigers a net gain of 244 yards for their evening’s work.
Fans saw something in the way of good punting last night too. McClure got off the first one, a 74-yarder that sent the Tigers back deep into their own territory. In the fourth period Graber duplicated the stunt by catching the Alliance safety man off guard and kicking the ball 72 yards.
It was raining on both occasions, but the moisture didn’t appear to hamper the operations at any time.
The Tigers sent the Aviators into a tail spin ere fans had settled in their seats. Alliance took the kickoff, and when two plays only advanced the leather to the Tiger 22, McClure punted high to his own 43. On the first play Graber, throwing from spread formation, pitched a beauty to Tom Jasinski who caught the ball just past the line of scrimmage and ran to the Alliance 25. The locals wheeled Bray around left end on the next play and all he had to do was run behind the superb blocking thrown up in front of him. Holt carried the extra point across.
Recovers Kickoff
The Tigers recovered the next kickoff when the ball was driven off the chest of an Alliance player and back into the hands of Dave Edwards who covered on the Alliance 49. The drive extended to the (information unavailable) where Graber punted into the end zone.
Alliance gained its only first down of the period when Geltz plunged for eight yards after McClure had made four. But the Tigers plugged the hole in the left side of the line and forced Alliance to punt.
The quarter ended with the score 7-6. Getting the ball on the 24-yard line, the locals launched a 76-yard drive. Holt and Graber carried to the 11-yard line and when Holt was tossed for a yard loss, Graber threw to Bray for the touchdown. Holt placekicked the extra point.
Nothing of any importance took place the rest of the period and the half closed at 14-0.
Holt nearly got away on the kick-off that opened the second half. He was hauled down on the 50 after exploding right through the middle of the Aviator team. Graber nearly got away but was pulled down from behind on the 37. On the next play he fired the ball to Willmot for a touchdown. Holt’s kick was low.
Graber nearly got loose again when he ran from his own 32 to the Alliance 30 but an Alliance player ticked him on the heels from behind in a desperate tackle. The ball was moved to the 11-yard line where the Tigers tried to pass their way across, failed and were held for downs. McClure tried to punt out but Weisgarber half blocked the ball and it fell into the arms of Cardinal on the 35-yard line. He powered his way down the sidelines behind good blocking for a touchdown and Holt kicked the ball out of the park on a successful attempt for the extra point.
With the second stringers taking over, Alliance gained ground. Passes from McClure to Faulkner and Hahlen took the ball to a first down on the seven-yard line. The Tiger regulars took over, stopped three running plays with a net gain of three yards and Holt intercepted a pass behind the goal on fourth down to end the threat.
Graber got off a booming kick to the Alliance eight-yard line and the Tiger second team went back into the game. But Alliance came down the field, again on long runs by Geltz and McClure and a 15-yard penalty against Massillon that gave the Aviators a first down on the 10.
Again, the first team took over, threw the Aviators back, and when McClure tried to flip the ball over the line on a short pass, Graber pulled it down and ran 97 yards for a touchdown. Holt again kicked the extra point, and the Tiger subs took over once more. Geltz and McClure ran the ball back to the Tiger 13 where the second stringers stopped the threat without the aid of the varsity. Henry Mastriann plunged for a first down and the game ended as the Tigers punted back to midfield.
It Was 34-0
Massillon Pos. Alliance
Willmot le D. Hahlen
Edwards lt Pegler
R. Wallace lg Iannotti
B. Wallace c Andreanni
Weisgarber rg Gempler
Paulik rt J. Hahlen
Jasinski re Faulkner
Cardinal qb McClure
Graber lh Ulbrecht
Bray rh Castiglione
Holt fb Geltz
Score by periods:
Massillon 7 7 13 7 – 34
Substitutions: Massillon: Power, qb; Yelic, rt; Turkall, rh; Kanney, lg; Schuler, rg; Oberlin, le; Gable, re; Williams, c; Gibson, rt; Pellegrini, lt;
Mastriann, fb; Bamberger, rt.
Alliance: Zink, Thomas, Mayer, Skillern, Grimes, Hardy, Dickey.
Touchdowns – Bray 2, Cardinal, Graber, Willmot.
Points after touchdown – Holt 4 (one plunge, three placekicks).
Referee – Mackey.
Umpire – Rupp.
Headlineman – Boone.
Field judge – Klocker.
Game Statistics
Tigers Alliance
Total First Downs 8 13
Yards Gained by Rushing 178 118
Yards Lost by Rushing 10 17
Net Yards Gained by Rushing 168 101
Net Yards Gained by Passing 81 98
Forward Passes Attempted 11 21
Forward Passes Completed 4 8
Passes Had Intercepted 2 4
Number of Punts 3 6
Average Distance of Punts (b) 39 36
Number of Kickoffs 6 1
Average Distance of Kickoffs 30 30
Number of Fumbles 0 2
Times Ball Lost on Fumbles 0 0
Number of Penalties Against 5 2
Yards Lost by Penalties 35 10
10,000 WATCH AVIATORS LOSE FIRST OF YEAR
Tigers Roll to Touchdown in 2 Plays
After Getting Ball
ALLIANCE, OH., Oct. 9 – Massillon’s mighty Tigers chalked up their fourth straight victory here tonight as they routed the Alliance Aviators 33-0. A throng of 10,000 saw Alliance suffer its first loss in four games.
The Tigers scored their first touchdown in two plays after gaining possession of the ball in the opening quarter. A pass from Graber to Jasinski picked up 20 yards and Keve Bray ran 20 more on a sweep.
A 15-yard aerial toss from Graber to Bray brought a second period touchdown. Holt placed kicked goal. In the third frame Graber passed 20 yards to Willmot for another counter.
The victory extended mighty Massillon’s unbeaten steak to 47 games. Cardinal recovered a partially blocked Alliance punt and returned 25 yards to score and Holt placed kicked goal.
In the fourth quarter when Alliance was threatening the Massillon goal line, Graber erased the threat by intercepting a pass from McClure on the Massillon 5 and rumbling 5 yards to the promised land. Holt’s placement made it 33-0.
ALLIANCE MASSILLON
D. Hahlen LE Willmot
Pegler LT Edwards
Iannotti LG R. Wallace
Andreanni C B. Wallace
Gempler RG Weisgarber
J. Hahlen RT Paulik
Faulkner RE Jasinski
Skillern QB Cardinal
Ulbrecht LH Graber
Castiglione RH Bray
Geltz F Holt
Massillon 6 7 13 7 – 34
Touchdowns – Bray 2, Willmot, Cardinal,
Graber
Points after touchdown – Holt 3 (placements)
Substitutions – Massillon: Oberlin, Tongas, Bamberger, Gibson, Williams, Turkall, Yelic, Kanney, Mastriann, Power, Schuler, Gable, Ilsch.
Alliance: Zink, Thomas, Mayer, Grimes, Hardy, Dickey.
