Tigers Crush Youngstown South 68-13
Massillon Team Scores Five Touchdowns On 10 Plays From Scrimmage
By LUTHER EMERY
Ever see a football team gain 412 yards from the line of scrimmage and still get walloped 68-13? Or did you ever see a player carry the ball three times and make three touchdowns; or a team make five touchdowns in its first 10 plays?
That’s what happened in Tiger stadium Friday evening when the Washington high school gridders swamped Youngstown South before 8,496 fans, the smallest crowd of the season.
Sports writers couldn’t believe their own statistics at the end of the game and made a recheck before being satisfied that:
South in losing had made 20 first downs and had gained 412 yards from scrimmage.
John Traylor was given the ball only three times and scored on each attempt.
Five touchdowns were scored on the first 10 plays the Tigers’ ran from scrimmage, four of the downs being consumed to get the first one.
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OF COURSE the Tigers made more first downs and rolled up more yardage, 21 and 531. With losses deducted, the locals had 526 but South still had a net of 346, enough to win most football games.
The big hunk of yardage they gained, sort of tempered the shellacking for the visiting Warriors who for some reason or other appeared scared when they set foot in the stadium.
Certainly they were not the football team that had rolled to victory in its last four games including a triumph over Ursuline, the latter’s only loss of the season.
The Tigers, taking advantage of the visitors’ fright, shoved over five touchdowns on their first 10 plays from scrimmage, an almost unbelievable feat, and rolled along on a mass of substitutions the last three periods of the game.
Coach Chuck Mather gave 41 boys a chance to show off before their fathers on Dads’ Night, and there were a lot of proud papas in the group as backs raced to long runs behind some of the sharpest blocking and best timing ever seen in Tiger stadium.
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SIX MEMBERS of the team got into the scoring act, John Tasseff, ably replacing the injured John Francisco, scored three times; so did John Traylor. Lee Nussbaum went over twice, while Clarence Stewart, chugged for one and Bobby Joe Johnson another. Tom Boone, kicking better than anytime this season booted eight of 10 attempts from placement.
The score could have been whatever Coach Mather had wanted it that night. He began filling his lineup with substitutes immediately after the fourth touchdown in the first period, and it went on and on throughout the game. And some of the boys really sparkled. Prominent among them was Roy Johnson, who did a neat job of quarterbacking, and Chug Chug Stewart, who was just about unstoppable. Up front was Jim Letcavits, and we will excuse his fumble in the last minute of the game, which could have given the Tigers the highest point total made by a Massillon team in the last quarter of a century. We’ll excuse it because the team was shooting for a total score. It probably could have set a new all-time high for Massillon teams last week, as well as this, had Mather permitted his regulars to run for most of the game.
In rolling to their ninth straight victory of the season, the regulars barely got warmed up for their finale with Canton McKinley next week, practice for which will begin in secrecy Monday afternoon.
“We are not going to let this one throw us off guard,” Coach Mather said after the game. “We know McKinley will be tough next Saturday and will be prepared to give us our hardest game of the season. So we are going to take extra precautions to be ready for it.”
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THE TIGERS emerged from last night’s clash without any serious injuries. Most seriously hurt is John Francisco, the left halfback, who pulled a muscle in his right leg while (of all things) sprinting in a race for backs at the close of practice Wednesday. John was kept out of last night’s game but he should be ready to go against the Bulldogs next Saturday.
While Chug Stewart did the entertaining in the second half of the game, the boy who grabbed the limelight early in the contest and who put South to rout was little Johnny Traylor. The Mighty Atom had as perfect a night as a halfback could have. He carried the ball three times and scored three touchdowns. He went 85 yards for one, 66 yards for another and four yards for his third. And that friends, was all there was. He didn’t carry anymore. Try to match that one. He should have been wearing No. 77 instead of 52.
While the Tigers had their stars, so did South. Bob Zack, did some good passing and hard running for the visitors and L.C. Morgan was all over the place, running fairly well, and catching passes along with sticky fingers Russell Taylor. Passes accounted for 296 of the Warriors’ yards and they completed 15 of their 37 throws. They would have had a T.D. early in the game had the receiver looked around for the ball in the end zone before Morgan hit him on the back with it. They lost another touchdown later on in being offside on a successful pass play.
The first period was only two minutes and five seconds old when the Tigers got their first touchdown. John Climo gained the ball by flopping on a fumbled lateral on the 10-yard line. Lee Nussbaum went over from the one on fourth down to get the Tiger team into production.
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SOUTH came right back with a fancy attack that moved from its 17 to the Tiger four where Morgan was thrown back to his 15 trying to pass. On the first play, Traylor flanked his line and sped 85 yards for the locals’ second score. It only took a minute and 53 seconds to get another. The Tigers got the ball on the 34 when the visitors; Bob Ripple punted out of bounds. Traylor was turned loose around his left side and he went all the way again with half a dozen Tigers convoying him over the goal.
It took two plays to get the next. Ripple kicked the ball to his 48 where it rolled dead without a return. Bob Misere passed to Khoenle for a first down on the Tiger 36, and then pitched a lateral to Nussbaum who went the rest of the distance.
On the second play of the second quarter, Boone intercepted one of Zacks’ passes on his 48 and it took Tasseff two plays to go the remainder of the distance. He went for 12, then for 40 and the Tigers were in front 34-0.
The Warriors came back with a flourish and crossed the Tiger goal twice before they were allowed a legitimate touchdown. Once Morgan pitched to Bob Scheidemantel for 25 yards, but South was offside and drew a five-yard penalty. The Tigers took the ball on downs, but South regained it on Wesley Overly on the Massillon 49. A six-yard pass, Morgan to Zack and a 40-yarder, Morgan to Traylor put the ball on the three, where Morgan went over for the touchdown.
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BILL STONE’S interception of Zack’s pass and his run back to the 33, set up the Tigers’ sixth touchdown of the first half. Misere pitched out to Nussbaum for a gain of 12 and Tasseff raced 17 yards to the four. Traylor circled end for his third touchdown and the half ended with the score 41-7.
Coach Mather used a second team throughout most of the last half, and the boys showed their strength by taking the kickoff on the 29 and marching straight up the field to score, with Stewart going the last 25 on a pitchout.
The next time they got the ball (through a punt) they marched 74 yards in five plays to score. It went like this: Tasseff 25, Stewart 16, Stewart 11, John Mlincek 11, Tasseff 11 and a touchdown. That concluded the third period point production which ended 54-7.
The fourth period was less than four minutes old when the Tigers scored again. This time they went 55 yards in their march with Tasseff running hard for the last 18.
Another followed in just 31 seconds. Tasseff covered Morgan’s fumble of the kickoff and on the first play Bobby Joe Johnson dashed for the six points – Massillon’s last touchdown.
* * *
SOUTH CAME back with an aerial attack that carried from when the kickoff was downed on the 36 to the Tiger 26. At this point Morgan tossed a screen pass to Bob Durkin who went all the way.
The game was in its closing stages as Mlincek made a fine return of the kickoff to his 40 and then raced 32 yards to his 26. The Tigers moved it forward six more when Roy Johnson pitched a beauty to Jim Letcavits who caught the ball on the 10 and went to the one, where he fumbled when tackled. The ball rolled over the goal line and out of bounds in the end zone, thus becoming a touchback and giving South the ball on its 20.
Had Letcavits hung on the Tigers probably would have scored and rolled up the highest number of points made by a Massillon team since the defeat of Erie East 74-0 in 1940; had they kicked the extra point it would have been the biggest total since the locals won from Alliance, 77-0 in 1924.
The game was unusual for its lack of rule infractions. Only five times did the officials step off penalties and none for more than five yards. The Tigers had three of them and South two.
MASSILLON
ENDS – Williams, Khoenle, Letcavits, Crone, Gardner, Lantz.
TACKLES – Geiser, Schram, Lopez, Agnes, Dean, Rubio, Woolley, Feather, Gumpp Younkers.
GUARDS – Clinage, Shilling, Fabianich, Kraus, Eaglowski.
CENTERS – Corral, Kimmins, Fisher.
QUARTERBACKS – Misere, Porter, Crescenze, R. Johnson.
HALFBACKS – Traylor, Tasseff, Floyd, Longshore, Mlincek, Millar, Boekel, Boone, Climo, Byrd, Bob Johnson.
FULLBACKS – Nussbaum, Stone, Stewart.
SOUTH
ENDS – Chmielewski, Schoessel, Cercone, Burich, Sedlar, Taylor.
TACKLES – McMullen, Marriott, Bergman, Balocco.
GUARDS – Drotlieff, Ripple, Soos, Booker.
CENTER – Soller.
QUARTERBACKS – Durkin, Simon.
HALFBACKS – Morgan, Scheidemantel, McElroy, Tomlin, Mancini,
Overly.
FULLBACK – Zack.
Score by periods:
Massillon 27 14 13 14 68
Waite 0 7 0 6 13
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Traylor 3; Tasseff 3; Nussbaum 2; Stewart, Johnson.
South – Morgan; Durkin.
Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Boone 8 (placement).
South – Durkin (placement).
Referee – Pianowski.
Umpire – Lymper.
Head Linesman – Landrum.
Field Judge – Walker.
STATISTICS
Mass. South
First downs 21 20
Passes attempted 14 37
Passes completed 5 15
Had passes intercepted 4 2
Yards gained passing 89 296
Yards gained rushing 442 116
Total yards gained 531 412
Yards lost 5 66
Net yards gained 526 346
Times kicked off 10 3
Average kickoff (yards) 46 34
Yards kickoffs returned by 51 150
Times punted 1 6
Average punt (yards) 45 34
Yards punts returned by 5 19
Times fumbled 3 7
Lost ball on fumbles 1 2
Times penalized 3 2
Yards penalized 15 10
