Tigers Blast Toledo Waite High 60-19
Massillon Gridders Roll Up 47 Points In First Half To Win Eighth Game
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high school Tigers drove to their eighth victory of the season here Friday evening through more red flag waving than could be seen on a May Day in Moscow Square.
Toledo Waite was their victim and 8,992 fans saw the Tigers run roughshod over the Indians 60-19 while flags were dropping everywhere on the field for rule violations.
Never have we seen so many penalties. The Tigers were penalized 12 times, Toledo Waite seven, and the headache was big enough without trying to add up how many more were called but refused by the two teams.
It reached a high at one time in the second period when Massillon players were penalized on eight consecutive plays. In most instances they were the result of a group of substitutes getting off side or in motion in their eagerness to beat down the foe.
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WITH THEIR offense in high gear, the Massillon boys ran over four touchdowns the first period, had two others called back, and led by 47-0 at the end of the half.
Waite, better organized the last half, outscored the Tigers 19-13 as Coach Chuck Mather filled his ranks with substitutes. A team of Massillon sophomores was on the field part of the time.
The 60-19 score should be enough to get the Tigers additional prestige in the Associated Press poll. It probably could have been 100 to 0 had Coach Mather permitted his first team to play the entire game.
But Chuck opened the gates of mercy early. In fact he began sending in numerous substitutes in the first quarter after the Tigers had scored their fourth touchdown in rapid succession, and the field seemed flooded with humanity from there on in. If you knew who was playing or who played you had better vision than the pairs of eyes of those trying to keep track of players from the press box. We had to call on Chuck after the game to give us the names of all who participated. There were 51 in all.
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THE SUBSTITUTIONS combined with flag waving served to slow the Tiger drive in the second half.
Seldom have we seen a team strike with the power unleashed by the Tigers in the first period of last night’s game. The linemen leveled the Toledo forward wall with their charge and the Tiger backs ran with ease. There seemed to be nothing to it at all and the Waite collapse was complete toward the end of the period when Johnny Traylor went 98 yards for the fourth touchdown of the game. Just two plays before, Lee Nussbaum had gone 99 yards for a touchdown but it was not allowed because the Tigers were in motion.
Mather began pouring in the subs after that and they too got into the scoring act and scored three touchdowns all by themselves in the second period.
Leading by 47-0 at the half, the locals pushed over single touchdowns in each of the third and fourth periods, while Waite was scoring thrice against a defensive team composed of substitutes.
The crowd was the smallest, the game the longest, and the poorest from the standpoint of fan interest and the penalties the heaviest we have seen in many a day.
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THE END of the contest found only about half the spectators remaining in the stands. The wholesale substitutions and the delays and ground lost through the continuous string of penalties resulted in many fans walking out from the third period on.
We’ll defend the substituting for it gave a lot of boys who have been working hard every night, their first opportunity to participate in a game, and that’s a big moment for them and their parents.
Eight Tigers shared in the 60 points, Traylor and Nussbaum each scoring two touchdowns. John Francisco, John Tasseff, Bob Khoenle, Bob Crone and Clarence Stewart getting one each and Tom Boone kicking six extra points.
What fired the Tigers or what caused Toledo Waite to virtually throw up the white flag from the start we will never know.
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IT TOOK ONLY four plays to get the first touchdown from the kickoff, Traylor skirting left end for the last 45 yards and the six points. Only a minute and 42 seconds had expired. Bob Khoenle’s interception of a Toledo pass on the 18, set up the second touchdown and John Francisco lugged it from that spot for the six points. The clock showed seven minutes and 51 seconds of the period remaining. It took only a minute and 11 seconds to get the next one. Sam Williams started it off by covering a Waite fumble on the 35. He snatched a 13-yard pass for a first on the 22 and Francisco lugged it to the 11. A pitchout to Nussbaum was the next play and he went over with all Indians in pursuit.
Traylor’s 98-yard run produced the fourth of the period after one by Nussbaum had not been allowed. Before the period was over Traylor was away for a 51-yard touchdown return of a punt but it was not allowed and the Tigers had to eventually punt.
Continually stopped by penalties a team of Tiger substitutes finally got going and scored again when Roy Johnson pitched to Bob Crone for 18 yards and a first down on the three and Stewart chugged over with the score.
A 36-yard return of a punt by Traylor to the Waite 44, and a 32-yard jaunt by John Mlincek, put the ball on the 12 where John Tasseff took it over for the sixth touchdown of the game. The seventh came when Willie Longshore covered a Waite fumble on the 18 and Johnson promptly pitched to Crone for the six points.
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THE TIGER first team struggled through most of the third period before it could again ram over a touchdown. Interference was called on a 34-yard pass, Misere to Khoenle that put the ball in position on the 18, and Nussbaum took it over on two plays.
The Tigers last points came in the fourth with Misere completing three passes to Khoenle, the last being good for 24 yards and a T.D.
While the Tiger first offensive team played most of the second half, the locals’ defensive unit was composed of second ,third, fourth and fifth stringers. It was against this group that Waite managed to shove over three touchdowns.
The first was made by John McNeil from the one-half-yard line, culminating a drive of 71 yards. The score was 53-0 against Waite at the time. The visitors scored again on a well executed pass, Joe Knosky to Jack Thompson. The play was good for 65 yards. The visitors’ final points were likewise scored on a pass, Knosky to Ron Lane, good for 22 yards.
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THE STATISTICS were just was strongly as the scoreboard in the Tigers’ favor: 23 first downs to seven and 574 yards gained to 216 yards. The percentage of pass completions was not so good; with the receivers being as much at fault as the passers. Only six of 23 Tiger throws hit the mark for 127 yards. Waite completed eight of 20 for 182 yards.
The Tigers’ early period rush was helped a lot through fumbles by Waite and pass interceptions.
The Indians had four fumbles during the night and lost the ball all four times. They likewise had five passes intercepted. In fact their first three passes were intercepted, and when one was finally completed somebody wryly commented in the press box “up to now he has a perfect record.”
The Waite team was the poorest Waite team we have seen, and yet the Indians were supposed to have one of their best this year. We tried to find out what was wrong but always received the answer, “Waite just doesn’t have it this year.”
We knew as much, for the Indians are still looking for their first victory. Their best effort this season was a 14-14- ties with Canton McKinley.
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FOR STATE CHAMPS, the Tigers were guilty of an inexcusable blunder in the fourth quarter when they permitted a Waite kickoff to roll untouched on the field. A kickoff is a free ball, and a Waite player pounced on it to gain the leather on the Massillon 22. Only good that could possibly result from the error was that in as one-sided a contest as that of last night, it didn’t hurt any, and should alert the Tigers so that it will never happen again.
Fans got a bang out of Stewart’s chugging. Once he tried to stiff-arm a Waite tackler, but couldn’t reach his chin.
The Massillon gridders in their fooling around gave Traylor and Francisco an opportunity to throw their first passes of the season. Fans also got a peek at the two boys who will do the quarterbacking next year, Roy Johnson and Richie Crescenze, and wondered where the former got all the power in his small frame to throw the ball 50 yards.
Attention pollsters!
When comparing scores for voting purposes note these:
Springfield 28, Lima Central 0.
Lima Central 21, Toledo Waite 19.
Massillon 60, Toledo Waite 19.
A Bit One-Sided
MASSILLON
ENDS – Williams, Khoenle, Letcavits, Crone, R. Francisco, Getz, Gardner, Speck, Lentz, Longshore.
TACKLES – Geiser, Schram, Younkers, Gumpp, Woolley, Lopez, Rubio, Dean.
GUARDS – Clinage, Shilling, Kraus, Fabianich, Rohrbaugh, Yoder, Eaglowski, Agnes.
CENTERS – Corral, Kimmins, Jones, Grant, Fisher.
QUARTERBACKS – Misere, R. Johnson, Crescenze, Porter, Fromholtz.
HALFBACKS – Francisco, Traylor, Tasseff, Boone, Floyd, Boekel, Byrd, Mlincek, Millar, Climo.
FULLBACKS – Nussbaum, Stewart, Stone, Lorch, Bob Johnson.
WAITE
ENDS – Blanton, Alexander, Schaefer, Lane.
TACKLES – Veres, Durham, Knitz, Barber, Yost, Cummings, Kuebbler.
GUARDS – Alello, Mlynek, Corns.
CENTERS – Scott, Heider.
QUARTERBACKS – Knosky, Galyas.
HALFBACKS – Veler, Thompson, Pickering, Wlodarz.
FULLBACKS – McNeil, Youngs.
Score by periods:
Massillon 28 19 6 7 60
Waite 0 0 7 12 19
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Traylor 2; Francisco; Nussbaum 2; Stewart; Crone; Khoenle; Tasseff.
Waite – McNeil; Thompson; Lane.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Boone 6 (placekicks).
Waite – Veres (placekicks).
Officials:
Referee – Rupp.
Umpire – Donges.
Head Linesman – Newman.
Field Judge – Machock.
STATISTICS
Mass. Waite
First downs 23 7
Passes attempted 23 20
Passes completed 6 8
Had passes intercepted 1 5
Yards gained passing 127 182
Yards gained rushing 447 34
Total yards gained 574 216
Yards lost 43 52
Net yards gained 531 164
Times kicked off 9 5
Average kickoffs (yards) 45 43
Yards kickoffs returned by 84 204
Times punted 4 4
Average punt (yards) 37 46
Yards punts returned by 49 32
Times fumbled 3 4
Lost ball on fumbles 2 4
Times penalized 12 7
Yards penalized 106 83
