Tigers Beat Youngstown South 38-13 Before 11,166
Massillon Gridders sharpen Their Claws For Canton McKinley
By LUTHER EMERY
BEAT McKINLEY!
These words were more important to Massillonians today than the fact that their Washington high school Tigers trimmed Youngstown South 38-13 Friday evening in a not too good an exhibition of football before 11,166 fans.
BEAT McKINLEY!
You will see these words wherever you go the next week as the fuse is ignited to a hysterical bombshell that Massillon citizens will explode in an all out effort to whip the Bulldogs from McKinley high next Saturday afternoon in Canton’s Fawcett stadium.
The BEAT McKINLEY drive began Friday evening just as soon as the whistle ended the Tiger Youngstown South game, as students unfurled BEAT McKINLEY banners before the Massillon band while cheerleaders led the crowd in a pep rally.
Some folks thought the fans wouldn’t stay for it after the game was once over, but they remained and apparently loved it.
But the Tigers must play better ball next Saturday afternoon than they did last night if they hope to BEAT McKINLEY!
They sputtered around too much both offensively and defensively for a team of championship caliber.
Maybe Bulldogs were dancing around in their minds, or maybe they just hadn’t taken South seriously, but whatever it was they were dull compared with a week ago when they whaled Toledo Waite 59-19.
As has been the case so many times this season, they got into a hole at the start and had to come from behind to win as South scored the first touchdown of the game early in the second period.
In fact, even though the Tigers looked the stronger of the two at all times, there were moments in the third quarter after South had scored its second touchdown that had Massillon fans, worrying, lest some fluke upset the applecart.
* * *
ONE CAN readily understand why the local team wasn’t in the proper mental mood, knowing that its Youngstown opponent had lost four games and that the traditional clash with the McKinley Bulldogs was only another week away.
Fortunately, however, the Tigers had touchdowns to spare and came out of the contest as Coach Chuck Mather had hoped, without any serious injuries to first stringers.
One member of the squad, however, Rudy Grunder, sustained a fracture of the right leg on the opening kickoff when blocked as he started down the field after booting the ball. The Massillon city hospital reported his condition as good today.
Break away runs for touchdowns produced most of the Tigers’ points, while forward passes gained most of South’s yardage and placed the ball in position for touchdowns.
In fact the Tigers’ pass defense failed to show a whole lot of improvement as the visitors completed 10 of 20 throws for 162 yards. The local team completed five of 12 for 101 yards.
* * *
SOUTH TWICE was able to drive four-fifths the distance of the field for touchdowns which brings to 12 the number of touchdowns scored against the locals in their last five games.
While the Tigers were outnumbered in first downs 17-11, they on the other hand rolled up 374 yards on the ground to South’s 144.
Yards were hard to get, particularly early in the game when the visitors held the Tigers scoreless the first quarter. The two South ends, Pete Popovich and James Oliver were hard to move, and the latter moved the best target for Tailback Ernest Brantley, who passed from the single wing offense.
Dick Jacobs, Tiger co-captain, had a big night, getting four touchdowns, two on long runs, one on a 36-yard pass and a fourth on a short plunge. Irvin Crable and Fred Grier each scored for the Tigers on some fancy open field running.
Although Mather used 30 players, the first stringers played a major portion of the contest, and not until the Tigers scored their final touchdown were the ranks completely filled with substitutes.
Clarence Johnson and Jerry Krisher, both of whom have been on the injured list, played only a small portion of the game. Johnson tried a few passes and Krisher warmed up for a few plays. Neither aggravated their injuries.
* * *
SOUTH registered its first touchdown on the second play of the second quarter after an
80-yard march. David Delfino took it over from one yard out, but Dyke Hall missed the try for the extra point.
The Tigers tied it up when they took the following kickoff and went over in six plays, a
36-yard pass, Don James to Dick Jacobs, completing the march. Jerry Krisher missed the try for the extra point.
The locals scored twice again in the period, Crable running 54 yards around right end for one, with Dick Shine removing the last obstacle from his path with a pretty block. Jacobs went over from the one-yard line for the other with only 37 seconds of the half remaining to be played after Crable and Joe Gleason had covered a South fumble on the South 33.
Crable brought the second half kickoff back to the 37 and on the first play Jacobs exploded through right tackle and went 63 yards to score. Krisher kicked this point that made it
25-6. It only took 37 seconds to get this touchdown.
The visitors staged another 80-yard march and aided largely by two passes from Brantley to Oliver, one for 29 yards and the other for 28, took the oval to the four yard line where Lingar Humphrey banged it over the goal for six points. Joe Byrdy added another from placement which gave the visitors’ 13.
* * *
JACOBS scored his fourth touchdown of the game in the fourth period after the Tigers had stopped a South offensive flurry on their own 35. It only took two plays to go the 65, Crable carrying on the first one to the visitors’ 40 and Jacobs going the rest of the way.
Ready Freddy Grier came through with the last six points. He and Russell in two nice runs, moved the ball to the visitors’ 25 where Grier wiggled through left tackle to score. This time Krisher kicked the extra point which proved to be the last of the game.
South was still blazing away for a touchdown as the gun sounded and had the ball on a first down on the Tiger 12-yard line.
The victory was Massillon’s eighth in nine games and the defeat was South’s fifth in nine. The 38 points exceeded by 18 the number scored by any other opponent of the Youngstown school.
MASSILLON
ENDS – SLICKER, GLEASON, Studer, W. Brenner, B. Brenner, Houston.
TACKLES – STANFORD, SCHUMACHER, Gibson, Duke, Krisher, Tunning
GUARDS – SHINE, REICHENBACH, Laps, Grunder, Turkal.
CENTERS – PATT, Vliet, Martin.
QUARTERBACKS – JAMES, Francisco.
HALFBACKS – GRIER, JACOBS, Johnson, Waikem, Russell, Lane.
FULLBACKS – CRABLE, Howe.
YOUNGSTOWN SOUTH
ENDS – OLIVER, POPOVICH, McBride.
TACKLES – LAMARCO, GOIST, Nadrich.
GUARDS – CUNNINGHAM, DANESSA, Sobnosky.
CENTER – GEORGE.
QUARTERBACK – STAWARSKI.
HALFBACKS – BRANTLEY, BYRDY, Rosso, Cain, Hall.
FULLBACKS – DELFINO, Humphrey.
Score by periods:
Massillon 0 18 7 13 38
South 0 6 7 0 13
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Crable; Jacobs 4; Grier.
South – Delfino; Humphrey.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Krisher 2 (placekicks).
South – Byrdy (placekick).
Referee – Grubbs.
Umpire – Rainsberger.
Head Linesman – Hamill.
Field Judge – Smith.
Statistics Of The Game
Mass. South
First downs 11 17
Passes attempted 12 20
Passes completed 5 10
Had passes intercepted 0 0
Yards gained passing 101 162
Yards gained rushing 374 144
Total yards gained 475 306
Yards lost 28 17
Net yards gained 447 289
Times punted 2 5
Average punt (yards) 37 32
Punts returned by (yards) 10 18
Times kicked off 7 3
Average kickoff (yards) 52 50
Kickoffs returned (yards) 86 84
Fumbles 0 4
Lost ball on fumbles 0 1
Times penalized 9 4
Yards penalized 52 20
