Tigers Defeat Barberton 28-0 Before 13,000 Fans
Three Players Hurt In What May Prove To Be A Costly Victory
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high school Tigers chalked up their eighth triumph in nine games before 13,000 fans in Tiger Stadium Friday evening, as they defeated the Barberton Magics 28-0, but it was a costly victory, for three Massillon regulars were removed from the game with injuries that may slow them for next week’s bread and butter game with Canton McKinley high school.
The three injured were Jack McVey and Clarence Johnson, regular center and right halfback, respectively and Ben Roderick, who plays left end and right halfback.
Johnson and McVey sustained leg injuries while Roderick suffered a hip bruise. The three injuries bring to four the number of cripples on the Tiger team, for Jack Houston, regular right end has been hobbling around all week on a leg injured in last week’s game with Toledo Waite high school.
Coach Chuck Mather and Dr. Merle Singer, are hoping none of the injuries will be serious enough to keep the boys out of next week’s all important contest, but as Dr. Singer said after the game, “You just can’t tell the extent of the injuries now.”
Coach Mather used 43 players in the contest and the free substituting had everyone confused including the players, fans and himself, but a lot of boys managed to get in their lick and may become better football players some day because of it.
The free substituting undoubtedly held down the score, which gives the lie to first downs, for the Tigers only made six to Barberton’s 11 while gaining 244 yards to Barberton’s 180.
It was a screwy and uninteresting game for the most part with play frequently interrupted because of penalties and substitutions. The officials walked off 75 yards against the Tigers, and twice penalized the locals for having too many players on the field.
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THE TOUCHDOWNS, all of them, were, on the other hand, of a sensational variety and furnished most of the excitement. Capt. Al Brown, who had done a lot of long running this season, got two on runs of 55 and 21 yards, Irvin Crable scored on an explosion run of 19 yards through center and Bill Morrow pulled a Notre Dame stunt by scoring the first points of the game as he snared Mark Scarr’s lateral to Bob Yoak and went 46 yards for his only points in his three years of varsity competition. He was perhaps the happiest “kid” in the dressing room after the game for a touchdown is a touchdown to a backfield man but to a guard it’s a TOUCHDOWN.
While the Tigers frequently bogged down offensively, the shining light in their performance last night was the work of their defense. They tackled harder than at any time this season and gave the opposing ball carriers a heavy shoulder when brining them to earth.
The defensive spirit of the team reached its peak in the second quarter when the cats bristled over a 15-yard penalty that gave Barberton a first down on the Massillon
three-yard line. Bob Confer on first down took it to the one, but thereafter there was no Magic in the Barberton attack. In three plays the visitors were thrown back 25 yards to their 26-yard line where the Tigers took over.
Barberton had but one other touchdown opportunity, that on a Tiger pass thrown short in the flat. Mike Kulcsar had a chance for an easy interception with a clear field ahead of him, but he bobbled the ball and dropped it.
The defensive play of Bill Paul and little Eddie Bush, were outstanding contributions to the Tiger victory. Both socked their opponents regularly and helped to set them back for losses. The Tigers will need that kind of hard hitting next Saturday if they hope to tame the McKinley Bulldogs.
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THE LOCALS only completed two of eight passes but with better receiving could have made good on 50 percent of their throws. One of the passes was a 42-yarder from Al Brown to Don Studer that moved the ball into position for the last touchdown of the game. It put the ball on the Barberton 19, and Irvin Crable went through like a rifle shot on the next play for the remaining distance.
Brown’s 55-yard run for the second touchdown was the prettiest piece of footwork seen all evening. He was given a lot of good blocking, but he likewise had to run right over three Barberton tacklers while doing a right wire walk along the side line to keep from going out of bounds.
Barberton presented a smooth running team, that might have caused the Tigers some difficulty on one or two nights this season, but which went up against the locals when the latter were at their best defensively.
The Magics early in the game confined their efforts to running the ends, but ball carriers were frequently tossed for big losses, especially after the second period 15-yard penalty that was slapped on the local team for defensive holding. It appeared to arouse the Tigers to play a better brand of football. It also irked Coach Mather, who argued long and hard with the officials over the decision, contending the penalty should have been five yards and first down. The penalty for offensive holding is 15 yards.
Local fans also didn’t like a 15-yard penalty slapped on the local team for unnecessary roughness when tackling a Barberton passer and throwing him back on his own five-yard line. He still had the ball when downed.
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THE FIRST period was nearly half over before the Tigers scored their opening touchdown. The locals for the second straight week elected to kickoff after winning the toss. The Tigers stopped Barberton on its first series of plays and the latter halted the locals on their own 40-yard line. Then on third down and the ball on the 46-yard line, Scarr attempted to pitch out a lateral to Yoak. Morrow came busting through from his guard position to grab the ball and run unmolested for a touchdown. Johnson placekicked the extra point.
The Tigers scored the next time they got the sphere, with Brown going 55 yards for his sideline run on the first play from scrimmage. Johnson again kicked the extra point.
Neither team threatened in the second quarter until Barberton got a Tiger punt on its own 41 and began a drive which with the aid of 20 yards in penalties brought a first down on the Massillon three.
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CONFER hit center for two, and then the Tigers got mad. Stimac was tossed for a
nine-yard loss, Confer for a nine-yard loss and Cain on an end around play for a
seven-yard loss to end the threat and gain the ball for the locals on the Massillon 26-yard line.
The Tigers’ third touchdown came the first time they got the ball in the second half. Jacobs brought a Barberton punt back to his 46, Johnson ran to the Barberton 35 and Jacobs and Brown produced another first down on the Magics’ 21. Brown went through for the remaining distance and also kicked the extra point.
The drive for the last touchdown began late in the third quarter from the Massillon 28 and ran into the fourth period. Brown and Dick Shine, who replaced the injured Johnson, carried to a first down on the Tiger 39. There Hill pitched a lateral to Brown who drifted back and fired a long pass that Studer caught on the 19. On the next play Crable went through for the final points of the game and Krisher kicked the extra point. Neither team threatened again.
Now For Canton
MASSILLON
ENDS – RODERICK, STUDER, Slicker, Gleason, Streeter, Negley, Zellers.
TACKLES – JONES, TAKACS, A. James, Krisher, Stanford, Schumacher, Campbell, Pizzino.
GUARDS – MORROW, REICHENBACH, De Walt, Paul, W. Houston, Turkal, Rohr, Leinenveber.
CENTERS – McVEY, Patt, Kent.
QUARTERBACKS – HILL, D. James, Close.
HALFBACKS – JOHNSON, JACOBS, Crable, Bush, Shine, Grier, Russell, Waikem, Clinage, Crone.
FULLBACKS – BROWN, Lane, Howe, Ebbert.
BARBERTON
ENDS – CAIN, CRAIG, Murphy, Welch.
TACKLES – JENCO, ARVEY, Foky.
GUARDS – BLANAR, STEWART, Potinger, Kulcsar.
CENTERS – PETERMAN, Yoder, Krisey.
QUARTERBACKS – SCARR, Stimac.
HALFBACKS – MITCHELL, YOAK, Confer, Miller.
FULLBACKS – MADJERAC, Cox.
Score by periods:
Massillon 14 0 7 7 28
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Brown 2; Crable; Morrow.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Johnson 2 (placekicks); Brown (placekick); Krisher (placekick).
Referee – George Brown.
Umpire – George Ellis.
Head Linesman – Lawrence Gilboy.
Field Judge – R.E. Petrequin.
Statistics Of The Game
Mass. Barb.
First downs 6 11
Passes attempted 8 18
Passes completed 2 5
Had Passes intercepted 1 2
Yards gained passing 59 28
Yards gained rushing 185 152
Total yards gained 244 180
Yards lost 2 65
Net yards gained 242 113
Times kicked off 6 0
Average kickoff (yards) 48 —
Yards kickoffs returned by — 59
Times punted 2 6
Average punt (yards) 19 29
Yards punts returned by 49 0
Fumbles 2 1
Lost ball on fumbles 2 0
Times penalized 9 2
Yards penalized 75 20
