Tigers Roll Over Steubenville 63-0
Long Runs, Dazzling Passes Feature Locals’ Fourth Victory Of Year
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high school Tiger bared its fangs at Steubenville Friday evening and the Big Red football team was clawed 63-0 under the most potent attack unleashed by the Massillon team this season.
As a result, Massillon Coach Chuck Mather was a rather unpopular fellow today in the place he once called home. Steubenville fans from their booing in the stands accused him of trying to run up a score, though he used 36 players in the game, experimented with passes throughout the third period and played a second, third and part of a fourth team the last quarter.
It was the 13th game of the present Massillon – Steubenville series, which began in 1937, and the Tigers 12th victory. The 1945 game ended in a tie score. Prior to 1937, Steubenville won twice, in 1930 and 1931.
For the greater part of the first period of last night’s game it appeared that a spirited but lighter Steubenville team might make a game out of it as the Big Red drove to a first down on the Tiger 15-yard line , but when the locals braced, stopped the threat and scored a touchdown, the spark began to disappear and left completely after the second TD.
After the second touchdown it was just a question how large the score would be and by the end of the half it had already mounted to 35-0.
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MATHER used his second team on defense throughout the last two periods, while his first team did offensive duty the third period but experimented with passes which also scored touchdowns and when the second team finally took over the offense, in the fourth quarter, it maneuvered to the final points of the game.
The Tigers ran and passed for the distance last night which will account for their being short in only one department of the statistics – first downs. They only made nine to Steubenville’s 11, but you do not count touchdown runs of 40 and 50 yards as first downs. They show up in the yardage where the locals were overwhelmingly superior, gaining 180 by passing and 399 by rushing for a total of 579. They lost but 11, giving them a net offense from scrimmage of 568 yards to Steubenville’s net of 188 yards.
Seldom has a Massillon team flashed on offense like that seen last night, and best of all, not one player but every member of the backfield had a hand in it. Ace Crable went 33 yards for one of his two touchdowns; Clarence Johnson ran 44 and 33 yards for his two and threw a 57-yard pass to Don Slicker for another; Dick Jacobs scooted 57 yards for one of a pair and Don James fired a long one to Joe Gleason good for 56 yards and a set of points. The final score coming with every position filled by a member of the second team was turned in by Freddie Waikem on a 15-yard right end jaunt on a double handoff.
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AS THOUGH sensational runs and passes were not enough, the locals also set what probably was a record for kicking points after touchdown by ganging nine in a row without a miss through the uprights. Jerry Krisher booted seven and Clarence Johnson two.
Maybe it was only a coincidence but the kickers for the first time were using a tape made famous by Lou (The Toe) Groza, specialty kicker of the Cleveland Browns. They got it Thursday, practiced one evening and came through with out a miss last night.
It was too bad Ray Hoyman, former Tiger football player and head coach of the Big Red had to be the victim of the Tigers’ sharpest attack of the year. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
The Steubenville folk didn’t like it too well either. Every time the Massillon first team took over on offense the second half, a hoot went up from the stands. But Chuck had some pass plays he wanted his varsity to try out against competition for future games and it was unfortunate for Ray that they worked.
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IT WAS HIS intention to do some experimenting the second half, which ordinarily slows down a game, but last night the Tigers were on, and everything they tried seemed to work, while the Big Red after a fast start, ran into a series of disheartening fumbles that gave the Tigers the ball six times.
That’s the kind of a game it was – the limit on everything. A team ordinarily recovers some of its fumbles, but not for the Big Red last night. It lost the ball on every bobble.
The Tigers escaped with only the injury, Jerry Krisher sustaining a bruised hip, which did not appear serious. Richard Davison, Steubenville tackle, was carried off the field on a stretcher, but an examination in the dressing room revealed that he had only received a painful shoulder separation which should not keep him out more than a couple of weeks.
Mather was pleased with the improved showing of his forward pass weapon which hasn’t been too potent this year. The percentage of completions wasn’t too good, five of 15, but that was more than made up in the 180 yards gained.
Steubenville presented a sharp running attack to start the evening with its twin halfbacks, Larry and Parry Jeter and Freshman Fullback Bennie Bunch, shoving the Tigers back on their heels.
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THE BIG RED likewise stopped the local team the first time it got the gall when Bunch intercepted Don James’ pass.
It was different the next time the pigskin changed hands, however. Dick Jacobs ran 62 yards to a touchdown but the ball was called back and the Tigers penalized 15 yards for Johnson’s needless clip. On the next play Johnson made up for it by lashing out around his left end in a 44-yard dash to pay dirt.
The quarter ended without further scoring, but the Tigers made it 14-0 early in the second period when Krisher covered Harry Thompson’s fumble on the Big Red 33-yard line. On the first play Crable scooted around his right end, twisting away from several groups of tacklers, for the six points.
An intercepted pass by Dick Shine who ran the ball back to his 43-yard line set the stage for the third touchdown, which came three plays later with Jacobs running beautifully for 57 yards and the score mounted to 21-0.
A fumble by Larry Jeter on the first play after the following kickoff was covered by Waikem on the Big Red 36. The Tigers maneuvered to a first down on the 13 and Crable on fourth down carried seven yards across the goal. That and the extra point swelled the total to 28-0.
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THE SCORE mounted to 35-0 when the Tigers got the ball on their own 35 through a punt, lugged it to the Big Red 33 where Johnson shot through left tackle on a quick opener for the remaining distance.
Mather decided to experiment the second half and that he did. The Big Red kicked to Johnson who got back to his 43 and on the first play he started out as through to run his left end, cut back and when he was just about to be surrounded, fired a long pass up the field that Slicker took on the dead run and went over. The ….(line is unreadable)…air. Johnson throwing it five yards behind the line of scrimmage and Slicker gathering it in on the 15.
Steubenville again gave the ball to the Tigers on a fumble covered by Bob Howe on the 29. James’ pass to Jacobs put it on the three-yard line and three plays later, Jacobs went around right end to score and bring the total up to 49-0.
Another fumble by Larry Jeter, covered by Craig Kelly on the Tiger 44, got things in motion for the eighth touchdown of the game. It only took one play to get it, James tossed to Gleason for the remaining yards.
The Tiger second and third teams played the entire fourth quarter and scored one touchdown with Waikem carrying over from the 15 after he, Lane and Glenn Tunning had advanced the ball on a march of 65 yards.
Power To Spare
MASSILLON
ENDS – SLICKER, GLEASON, Studer, W. Brenner, Houston, Corbett, Murray.
TACKLES – KRISHER, SCHUMACHER, Stanford, M. Roderick, Duke, Gibson.
GUARDS – SHINE, REICHENBACH, Laps, Kelly, Gibson.
CENTERS – PATT, Turkal, Vliet, Martin.
QUARTERBACKS – JAMES, Close, Francisco.
HALFBACKS – JOHNSON, JACOBS, Waikem, Lane, B. Brenner, Tunning, Russell, Woolbert.
FULLBACKS – CRABLE, F. Grier, R. Grier, Howe.
STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – WASHINGTON, JONES.
TACKLES – DAVISON, LINN, Yohn, Ruggieri.
GUARDS – CHURCHWELL, BODO, Morrow.
CENTERS – WELLS, Henderson.
QUARTERBACKS – LELLI, Beattle.
HALFBACKS – L. JETER, P. JETER, Thompson, Brokaw, Lawson.
FULLBACKS – BUNCH.
Score by periods:
Massillon 7 28 21 7 63
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Johnson 2; Crable 2; Jacobs 2; Slicker; Gleason; Waikem.
Points after touchdowns:
Massillon – Krisher 7; Johnson 2 (placekicks).
Referee – Gross.
Umpire – C.W. Rupp.
Head Linesman – Schill.
Field Judge – Long.
Statistics
Mass. Steub.
First downs 9 11
Passes attempted 15 9
Passes completed 5 3
Had passes intercepted 2 1
Yards gained passing 180 57
Yards gained rushing 399 174
Total yards gained 579 231
Yards lost 11 43
Net yards gained 568 183
Times kicked off 10 1
Average kickoff 44 37
Yards kickoffs returned 20 170
Times punted 2 5
Average punt 38 29
Yards punts returned 0 13
Times penalized 8 2
Yards penalized 60 20
Times fumbled 2 6
Lost ball on fumbles 1 6
