Tiger Passes Beat Benedictine 19-0
Massillon Gridders Halt State Champions’ 18-Game Victory Streak
By CHARLIE POWELL
The seed that may grow into a healthy return of the days when this man’s town was known far and wide as No. 1 in the football parade last night was planted by the 1958 Massillon Tigers.
They became a real, honest-to-goodness football team as they snapped the 18-game win streak of big, bold Cleveland Benedictine, by a 19-0 count before 13,965 paid admissions.
They outplayed and outfought a determined Benedictine array which relied strictly on power. They out ran them, they out passed them and they out foxed them, parlaying a “multiplied multiple” offense and a rock ribbed defense into the most coveted triumph of the season.
Surely their prestige soared both locally and statewide and any praise that came their way last night or that which will be coming the next couple of days, is entirely justified.
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COACH LEO STRANG of the Tigers and the losing coach, Augie Bossu, were quick to point up the toughness of the orange and black after the game.
“We improved and we beat a real, tough football team. Our blocking on internal plays was a lot better and that made our outside plays and our passing attack go,” said Strang.
“You had too much balance and too much depth for us. You were just too strong,” said Bossu whose attitude was very pleasant because he was beamingly pleased with the way his charges played ball.
Now that the revenge victory has gone into the archives, Strang is trusting that that performance will prove a harbinger of what he and Tiger fans can expect in the future.
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“OUR OFFENSE looked real good. We beat a real tough defensive team and our defense played another good game (it was the third time in four wins that the local lads shout-out the opposition).
“We can improve more. We have a lot of work to do because we’re not out of the woods yet,” he added.
Certainly he was thinking about next week’s game at Mansfield and the following week’s battle at Warren – and the fact that the rest of the schedule has no soft touches.
The Bengals, Massillon variety, knew they had vanquished a very fine opponent. They were a weary bunch at the finish but luckily, there was no cause for deep concern about more injuries. Three heavy duty performers, Ken Bordner, Corky Pledgure and Jerry Allen, plus Co-Captain Al Pierce, (the latter in uniform for the first time this year) did not play at all.
The additional rest apparently will do them good and barring the unforeseen, all should be in tip-top shape for the Mansfield fracas.
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BENEDICTINE, which now has lost three of four starts to the Tigers, may have been looking for Massillon to go with its “smorgasbord” attack but the Benies had a rugged time finding the right remedy.
The orange and black, with the line doing a good job ahead of ball carriers Joe Sparma, Dave Dean, Jim Snively and Art Hastings, moved that big Benie line for a total of 180 yards.
An additional 113 yards came on some pin-point passing by Sparma with a late assist from Bill Finney, who threw for the third touchdown, and some catching, just short of terrific, by Bob Vogel, Bill Zorn and Jerry Mitchell.
Massillon’s defense, braced by Vogel, Zorn, Hase McKey, Gail Karrenbauer and “Sluggo” Bednar, to name a few, gave up only six first downs and a net total of 83 yards.
Benedictine had a tricky quarterback in veteran Larry Hradisky but the blue and white’s twirler had his troubles hitting the target.
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SNIVELY, hitting off tackle and sweeping the flanks, was the Tiger workhorse as he carried 23 times for 104 yards. Dean, bothered at times by an ouchy leg, made 39 yards in 15 trips and Hastings gained 30 in seven tries. Dean scored the second TD of the night from one foot out.
Vogel caught three passes for 59 yards and scored one touchdown. Zorn tallied the third six-pointer on a three-yard pass play and Mitchell had on reception for 14 yards.
Two passes, both caught by Vogel, were responsible as the host team moved out front with 6:54 left in the opening quarter. After an exchange of punts, Massillon had possession on the Benie 45 and on the first play, Sparma threw down the middle to Vogel who snagged the pigskin at the 26 and was felled at the 20. Snively was held at the line but it was 6-0 as Vogel, out in the left flat, took Sparma’s soft, perfect-leading peg over his shoulder at the one and stepped into pay dirt.
On the conversion try, Sparma ran to his right but was stopped short of the final stripe.
It was a cause of “almost, not quite,” for Strang’s gang soon afterward. They got the ball as Mitchell leaped high to intercept a pass at his own 18. At the end of the quarter the Tigers were at the Benie 25 – following a 13-yard effort by Snively and Sparma’s pass to Mitchell who made a circus catch – one-handed as he was heading earthward – at the 25.
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ART HASTINGS entered the lineup at the start of the second panel and in three carries, he placed the ball at the 12. But two running plays netted six and a pass went incomplete as Hradisky broke up a throw intended for Jim Wood in the end zone. On fourth down Sparma uncorked another aerial but it was Hradisky again, breaking up the toss just as it got to Snively, also in the end zone.
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BENEDICTINE did nothing and was forced to kick. Cornelius Clark pranced and danced his way for 37 yards on the return as Zorn threw a nifty block, but Massillon got no farther than the enemy 16.
The score was 6-0 at the half and still the same at the end of a third period which found the orange braking the visitors at every turn.
A 63-yard march got its take-off power near the end of the period. A 14-yard pass, Sparma to Vogel and the running of Dean and Snively featured as the Tigers moved to the 12 as the final session got under way.
In five plays Dean, on a second try from within the one-yard line, rammed across. Bob Oliver tried the end-around but his attempt fell short and it was 12-0 at 10:03.
With the aid of a penalty, the Benies got three first downs in three plays. They got nine in two more rushes but with McKey swarming through, the ball carrier failed to make even a foot on the next two plays.
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THEN MASSILLON had to kick. Benedictine turned the ball over on a fumble after four plays but two plays later the Tigers played “give-away.” Then two plays later Hradisky, back to pass, had the boom lowered on him by Zorn and the Benie quarterback fumbled with Vogel recovering at the Benedictine 44. This led to another Tiger score.
Sparma threw long and about as perfect as you can get, Vogel catching again, to place the ball at the Benie eight. On the next play the visitors were penalized for being off-side. Then, with only 17 seconds remaining, Finney tossed into the end zone, right into the hands of Zorn near the boundary line.
Getting Tougher
MASSILLON
Ends – Vogel, Mitchell, Zorn, Barkman, Oliver.
Tackles – Donat, Slicker, Haines, Appleby, Bukuts, Herndon.
Guards – Perry, Karrenbauer, Bednar, J. Kasunick, Willey.
Centers – Shilling ,Snyder.
Quarterbacks – Sparma, Finney.
Halfbacks – Snivley, Wood, Radtke, Clark, Hershberger.
Fullbacks – Dean, Hastings, Morrow, McKey.
BENEDICTINE
Ends – Marek, Grigalianas, Jaskinski.
Tackles – DeFiore, Gibbons, Zahorski, Krisinski.
Guards – Marcin, Siath, Baumbick, Liederbach.
Centers – Coufalik, Janiak, D. Kestner.
Quarterback – Hradisky.
Halfbacks – Davis, Rini, Haggerty, Jambor, Malinak.
Fullbacks – Schepis, J. Kestner, Catanza.
Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 6 0 0 12 19
Benedictine 0 0 0 0 0
Touchdowns – Vogel (20-pass); Zorn (3-pass); Dean (1-run).
Extra point – Hershberger (placement)
OFFICIALS
Referee – William Holzwarth.
Umpire – Don Belknap.
Head Linesman – Marv English.
Field Judge – Horace Rainsberger.
STATISTICS
M B
First Downs – Rushing 9 6
First Downs – Passing 4 0
First Downs – Penalties 1 1
Total First Downs 14 7
Number of Rushing Plays 62 40
Yards Gained – Running Plays 190 94
Yards Lost – Running Plays 10 19
Net Yardage – Running 180 75
Passes Attempted 12 7
Passes Completed 7 1
Passes Had Intercepted 0 2
Yards Returned –
Intercepted Passes 2 0
Yards Gained –Passing 113 8
Net Yardage – Running
and Passing 293 83
Number of Kickoff Returns 1 4
Yardage – Kickoff Returns 15 57
Average Length of Kickoff
Returns 15 14.2
Number of Punt Returns 3 2
Yardage – Punt Returns 55 12
Average length of Punt
Return 18.3 6
Number of Punts 3 4
Total Yardage on Punts 97 162
Average Length of Punts 32.3 40.5
Number of Penalties 5 5
Yards Lost on Penalties 45 41
Number of Fumbles 3 4
Own Fumbles Recovered 1 1
Ball Lost on Fumbles 2 3
