Slashing Tiger Ground Attack Trims Big Red 33 To 6
LOCAL LADS SHOW POWER DRIVE
Entire Massillon Team Plays Brilliant Game With Wallace, Pellegrini And Mastriann Sparking Attack With Long Gains
By FRED J. BECKER
Independent Sports Editor
A dream of conquest that had been carefully nursed along for a month by the Big Red football team of Steubenville Wells high school today lay scattered in the dust and dead brown grass in Harding stadium in the eastern Ohio river city.
Striking with all the savagery of the jungle cat from which they get their name, the Tigers of Washington high school, Friday night chewed the Big Red into shreds and wiped out for another year, at least, Steubenville’s hopes of conquering the orange and black when they registered a very, very convincing 33 to 6 victory before a capacity crowed of over 7,000 howling fans jammed into Steubenville’s Harding stadium tighter than the OPA today would ever permit sardines to be rammed into a can.
Achieved Triumph the Hard Way
The Tigers achieved their triumph the hard way – by plunging and running through and over the Stubbers, by smashing great, gaping holes in their defense wide enough to drive a tank through, in short by simply smashing to smithereens any defense the Big Red thought it might have had and blasting to bits, so thoroughly, any idea the eastern Ohio gladiators had that they were the equal or superior of the Tigers that today all the Stubbers have to console themselves with as they nurse their bruises and shattered spirits is the thought that they were lucky the score was not higher.
For Steubenville it was the first defeat in four games; for the Tigers it was their fourth straight victory of the 1943 campaign and a demonstration of the growing power that has been theirs as each succeeding week rolls by.
Tigers Show Improvement
More than 500 Massillon rooters were among the more than 7,000 persons who witnessed the combat under ideal weather conditions. They saw an exhibition of slashing Tiger power that at times, to Steubenville players and fans, must have been awe-inspiring. For the thousands of Massillon fans who were unable to get to the scene of battle it can truthfully be reported the Tigers Friday night were a harder driving, harder hitting outfit than they have been at any time this season.
Their tactics were savage, to say the least, but clean. The chips were down once again and the Tigers last night were playing for keeps. As a matter of fact it seems the chips are down everytime the Tigers take the field and each time in four big engagements they have come through and each time they have looked better while fulfilling their pledge to keep Massillon football on top of the scholastic heap in Ohio and elsewhere.
The Tigers looked better Friday night in all departments of the game than they did in their exhibition a week ago against Akron St. Vincent’s with one exception – forward passing. Their aerial game did not click last night, only one pass good for 12 yards, being completed by the jungle cats. But they did not particularly need an overhead attack against the Big Red, not when their ground plays were working with such smooth and deadly precision.
As for Steubenville’s Big Red, it lived up to all the advance information received here except one thing. The Stubbers were reported to have a fast, hard fighting ball club. They did have. They also were reported to possess a deadly aerial attack. And they had that, their one and only touchdown being set up through a long forward pass. Steubenville’s defense was never touted very highly and last night against the deadly penetrating attack of the Tigers, it resembled a piece of Swiss cheese in which there are more holes than cheese.
In only one thing did the Stubbers not live up to advance information. That was in their backfield where they were said to have two guys – Captain Dick Roush and Louie Zuk, who were as fast as the wind, and Dick Fletcher, a line-cracking fullback. These boys may be every bit as good as they were hailed, but against the Tigers they failed to look impressive. The Massillon boys nailed them and nailed them hard. Roush and Zuk, nursing injured legs, might not have been up to par, but Fletcher was in good shape and showed his ability on a few occasions by dashing through the Tiger line for some good gains. But he never got too far away to cause the Bengals any worry.
Brilliant Powerful Offense
Displaying a brilliant offensive attack in which Captain Bob Wallace and Romeo Pellegrini, behind almost perfect interference that was beautiful to watch, ran wide through the tackles or around the ends for big gains and with Henry Mastriann cracking right through the heart of the Big Red line for substantial and consistent yardage, the Tigers five times rolled back the Stubbers and chalked up touchdowns. Three times Mastriann converted on placekicks and for once the orange and black seems to have a dependable lad for this job, a task which some day may mean the difference between defeat and victory.
To pick out an individual hero would be an almost impossible job and unfair to the other boys. They all played their heads off and their performance was what one has come to expect of a Washington high school football team. The line performed splendidly, ripping the Steubenville forward wall to shreds. Individually the players tackled like demons.
In the backfield Captain Wallace ran and plunged like nobody’s business. It was by far Bob’s best offensive exhibition. He had plenty of that old drive last night. Pellegrini was his usual brilliant self, ripping off long gains and scoring four of Massillon’s five touchdowns. Wallace scored the other. Mastriann continued to prove his worth, particularly in the second half when he seldom failed to gain when given the ball. He’s another boy who has plenty of drive.
And don’t forget the blocking and defensive work of Glenn Keller who led a lot of those sweeps around the ends until he was forced out late in the game with an injured arm. It was Wallace to the left, Pellegrini to the right and Mastriann through the line with such destructive success that the Steubenville boys will be dreaming about them for some time.
Then there was big Tom Jasinski whose punting last night was something to watch. Big Tom really put his foot behind the ball, several of his kicks going well over 50 yards.
Coach Elwood Kammer made nine substitutions in the backfield and line during the game and each and every boy did his part and did it well.
Argument About Ball
An argument between Kammer and Coach Bill Ellis before the game about the color of the ball to be used did not help the Big Red any, because it just made the Tigers that much more determined to mow’em down. A week ago Kammer had talked with Ellis by telephone about the ball and Ellis agreed it would be all right to use a white ball. Before the game last night he came to the Tiger dressing room and said a white ball was out. He wanted to use a dark brown ball. A rather heated argument ensued with a natural tan ball finally being decided upon.
The statistics show the Tiger superiority over the Big Red in everything except forward passing. The orange and black made 15 first down to eight for Steubenville. Massillon gaine 373 yards from scrimmage with a loss of 15 for a net gain of 358 yards. Steubenville gained 76 yards from scrimmage with a loss of 17 for a net gain of 59. Massillon tried nine passes and completed but one. Steubenville tried 20, 16 of them in the first half and completed seven, six in the first half, for a net gain of 140 yards. Each team intercepted three passes.
With Louie Zuk in the game, the Stubbers were a ways more dangerous through the air. This lad is really a passing wizard but the Tigers learned quite a lot in the first half when the Stubbers were going wild on passes and they practically erased this threat in the final two periods with the result that Steubenville’s attack subsided like a punctured balloon.
Steubenville received to open the game and threw a scare into the Tiger camp early when Ray Ensell, heaved a pass to Bill Snyder that brought an overall gain of 32 yards before Snyder was pulled down on Massillon’s 26. But then two Big Red passes were batted down and the Tigers took the ball on their 23. With Wallace dashing wide through left tackle, Pellegrini doing the same at right tackle and Mastriann plugging through the line the Tigers rushed the ball to Steubenville’s 49 before being slowed down. Here Jasinski punted but the Tigers got a break when the Big Red was guilty of roughing the Massillon punter and were penalized down on the Stubber’s 35. Pellegrini dashed wide through right tackle to the 17, Wallace scampered around left end to the 10 and then when it looked as if points were soon to be put on the board for Massillon, Pellegrini fumbled and Flectcher covered for the Big Red on its 10.
Ensell got away a quick kick but Massillon’s next bid was soon checked when Ensell intercepted a Pellegrini pass on his 41. But Pellegrini did the same thing for the Tigers, snaring Ensell’s pass on his 40 and lugging the ball back to the Big Red’s 46. The Tigers, however, were guilty of clipping on their 45 and a 15 yard penalty took the ball back to their 30.
But the first Massillon touchdown was in the making and in six plays the Tigers carried the ball 70 yards for their first score. Running behind beautiful interference Wallace and Pellegini skirted the ends for heavy gains.
First Tiger Score
Wallace breezed around left end for 11 yards to his 41. Pellegini whizzed around right end for 32 to Steubenville’s 27. Mastriann made two at the line and then Wallace racing down the left side of the field on a spectacular dash, got as far as the two yard line before being forced out. It was a 23-yard gain. Mastriann was stopped without gain and then Pellegrini, behind a wall of interference and a big hole at right tackle, went over for the first Tiger points. Mastriann’s placekick was good and the Bengals were out in front 7 to 0.
Zuk, because of a leg injury, did not start the game but Coach Ellis sent him into action after Massillon’s score and immediately the Big Red passing expert made his presence felt. Early in the second quarter he heaved a pass to Chadnock good for 15 to put the ball on Massillon’s 45. His next pass to Robinson was incomplete but then he flipped a long one to Snyder and before the dusky Steubenville end had been brought to earth he had gained 34 yards and carried the ball to Massillon’s 13, giving the Stubbers a distinct scoring threat. Here the Tigers dug in and Captain Roush gained six yards in three attempts and Zuk’s pass to Porter was incomplete. The Big Red was offside on this play and the Tigers refused the penalty, taking the ball on their seven. Pellegrini and Wallace in two plays carried the ball to Massillon’s 47 but here the attack was slowed and Jasinski then got off one of his fine punts, hoofing the ball over the goal line. With the ball on their 20, the Stubbers made a first down before Jasinski intercepted a Zuk pass on the Big Red’s 44. But Pellegrini’s attempted pass backfired. Roush intercepted and returning from his 35 to the 46.
Pass Aids Stubbers
A Zuk-Roush pass was good for 17 yards to the Tiger 38 but here the Bengals checked the enemy’s aerial game only to run into a bad break when they were penalized 15 for roughing the kicker, when Ensell punted. This gave the Stubbers a first down on the Massillon 28. Zuk tired a pass to Ensell, which failed, and then heaved one to Gillam good for five. Zuk’s next long heave to Snyder on the goal line was batted down but he was more careful on his next one, dodging Tiger tacklers until he found Chadnock out in the clear and rifling the ball to the Big Red fullback who carried it to Massillon’s four for a gain of 19 yards. Roush made two at the line, Fletcher was halted without gain but on the third play Roush went over for Steubenville’s first and only touchdown. Roe’s attempted placekick was wide.
In the second half two Steubenville fumbles, covered by the alert Tigers, paved the way for two Massillon touchdowns and definitely washed the Stubbers out of the ball game. They never got inside Massillon’s 20 in the last two periods and their aerial game bogged down with a thud.
Along with their ground gaining sweeps the Tigers introduced a new play in the last half which confused the Stubbers no end and resulted in a lot of fine gains through the line. With a flanker dropping far out on the end, Mastriann would take the ball and plunge through for hefty gains.
The Tigers reeled off two first downs after taking the kickoff to open the third period before they were stopped and Jasinski punted to the Big Red’s six yard line.
Fletcher, however, fumbled on the first Big Red play and Mastriann covered on the Stubbers’ 11 yard line. Pellegrini lost three on a reverse but Wallace picked up eight at left end. Mastriann on a spinner plunged to the two-yard line and then Pellegrini went off right tackle for the touchdown. Mastriann converted and the Tigers were out in front 14 to 6.
On the first play after Massillon kicked off to the Big Red, Chadnock fumbled on his 38-yard line and Julius Tonges pounced on the ball. Wallace running wide around left end, sailed down the sideline on a beautiful dash that did not end until after he had planted the ball behind the Big Red’s goal line. On his 38-yard sprint his final splurge to the Steubenville goal was helped by Jasinski who took out the last Big Red tackler between Bob and the goal line. Mastriann’s placekick was wide.
53 Yards in Six Plays
Shortly after another Massillon touchdown was in the making Zuk punted and Willmot was downed on his 47. Six plays later the Tigers had covered 53 yards and registered their fourth touchdown. Pellegrini made seven at right end. Mastriann picked up 12 in two smashed through the line. Wallace gained seven at left end and Mastriann through tackle went to the Big Red’s 12. Pellegrini zoomed around right end behind fine interference for the remaining distance and another touchdown. Mastriann’s placekick was good.
Massillon’s fifth and final touchdown came early in the fourth quarter and again the Tigers marched 62 yards without giving up the ball. It started when Willmot intercepted a pass and raced it back 33 yards to Steubenville’s 38. Wallace made nine at left end with Wilbert Pedrotty, who had replaced the injured, Keller, helping him along with a neat block. Pellegrini swept right end but Willmot was guilty of holding and incurred a 15-yard penalty, taking the ball back to the Stubbers’ 43. Mastriann and Wallace lugged the leather to the Big Red’s 22 in two plays. Two more plunges and Mastriann had marched to the 12.
A five-yard penalty for having a man in motion, set the Tigers back to the 17. Wallace made one, Pellegrini’s attempted pass to Mastriann failed but on the next play Romeo tossed the ball to Wallace for Massillon’s first and only completed forward. It was good for 12 yards to the four from where Pellegrini skirted his right end for the fifth Tiger set of counters. Mastriann was wide on his placekick.
Fletcher sparked a last-minute Steubenville drive but the Big Red failed to get beyond midfield and Zuk was vainly trying to connect on passes as the game ended.
A Big Night
Mass. – 33 Pos. Steub. – 6
Willmot LE Snyder
Arrington LT Barsuk
Tonges LG Roe
Williams C Lawrence
Gable RG Miller
Belch RT Schaeffer
Jasinski RE Porter
Keller QB Chadnock
Pellegrini LHB Ensell
Wallace RHB Roush
Mastriann FB Fletcher
Score by quarters:
Massillon 7 0 20 6 – 33
Steubenville 0 6 0 0 – 6
Touchdowns: Pellegrini 4, Wallace, Roush 1.
Points after: Mastriann 3 (placekicks)
Substitutes: Massillon: Berger, Heltzel, Luke, Ielsch, Pedrotty, Profant, Sedjo, Webb, Turkall.
Steubenville: Robinson, Hastwell, Zuk, Gillom
Referee: Cavanaugh. Umpire, Gannon,
Headlinesman, McFee.
Statistics
Tigers Big Red
Total first down 15 8
Yards gained by rushing 373 76
Yards lost by rushing 15 17
Net yards gained by rushing 358 59
Forward passes attempted 9 20
Forward passes incompleted 1 7
Yards gained by passing 12 140
Passes had intercepted 3 3
