Steubenville Fifth Victim of Tigers
Bengals Hand Big Red First Loss 38-14
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Webster’s dictionary defines a pile driver as a machine for driving down piles.
Washington high’s Tigers came up with a new definition Friday night. There could be no more apt description of the Bengals offensive machine.
The Tigers literally drove a here-to-fore undefeated Steubenville Big Red team down to submission, 38-14, before an overflow crowd of some 10,000 fans at Harding stadium in the River City.
For the unbeaten Bengals it was win No. 5 on the road to a third straight Ohio schoolboy championship. It was the first loss in five contests for the Big Red.
After the game an utterly flabbergasted Steubenville coach, Ray Hoyman, said, “You’ve got quite a team there.” He also added, “We’re not thick enough for you,” meaning Hoyman didn’t have the depth to cope with the Tiger juggernaut.
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MASSILLON COACH Leo Strang said, “This was the best game away from home since I’ve been here. Our power offense was also the best this season.”
He mentioned the aerial game. We had tough luck with our passing. Steubenville made some beautiful saves he said. The Big Red intercepted two passes. Four were incomplete.
Although the Bengals played every bit as well as against Alliance last week, Friday marked the first time any team had scored more than one touchdown against Massillon. Two bad breaks late in the game caused that situation.
With the Massillon second liners in and less than two minutes left to play in the game, Halfback Chuck Weiher intercepted one of Bob Baker’s aerials on the Big Red 20-yard line and got back to the 24. With the exception of this and two other times, Massillon scored every time it got its hands on the ball.
Quarterback Bill Hoyman, the coach’s son and Co-captain, picked up seven yards around left end. Then he passed to Co-Captain and End Ken Potts for 17 more and a first down.
On the next play Halfback Ray Terry shot through the middle, cut to the right sideline and was gone 52 yards for the score at 1:43. He fumbled a pitchout on the conversion try to prevent any further damage there.
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MASSILLON RAN seven plays after the kickoff, was penalized on three of them and Jim Alexander dropped back to punt on his own 28. The snap was bad. He fell on it but being fourth down, it became Steubenville’s ball when the Bengals failed to make the necessary yardage.
The Big Red took over on the Massillon nine with 10 seconds remaining. Wilson took a flat pass off a pitch and raced around the right side to the one. Terry carried over through the center on the final play of the game. Wilson took a pitch and passed to Paul Cunningham for the conversion.
Steubenville was in Massillon territory only two other times during the game. Earlier in the last stanza, Harry Wilson, the Big Red’s leading scorer, grabbed Wilbur Paisley’s kickoff after the final Tiger score on the Steubenville 20 and raced down the sideline to the Massillon 23.
Confusion reigned among the Washington high ranks with the reserves in on the kickoff. Paisley almost kicked the ball before Referee Bill Holzwarth sounded his whistle. Then the Tigers didn’t seem to know who was supposed to do what on Wilson’s long run.
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THE BIG RED lost the ball on an incompleted pass on fourth down four plays later on the Massillon 27. On one of those plays Bob Baker knocked down a Hoyman pass in the end zone to prevent a score.
Steubenville didn’t get onto Bengal ground until the third period had seen about 10 minutes of play go by. After the Tigers fourth score, the Big Red took over on its 35 and moved to the Massillon 33 where a pass was incomplete on fourth down, again thanks to an alert Bengal secondary.
Although Massillon didn’t blitz as much Friday as against Alliance, because Steubenville didn’t have the explosive attack of the Aviators, its Oklahoma 5-4 and Eagle six defenses were more than adequate, holding Steubenville to 136 net yards rushing and 53 passing. The Tigers had 361 rushing and 25 passing. Steubenville completed only one of 13 passes, Massillon two of eight.
The Tigers gained a lot of yardage on the trap between the outside tackle and long side end. With Steubenville playing a wide 6-2 most of the night, the Big Red was a sucker for this type of play.
Massillon started off the night as if it owned Steubenville. Although the Tigers failed to score the fist time, they got their hands on the ball, they dominated play for the rest of the night after that.
The Bengals lost the toss again for the fourth time in five tries, but Steubenville elected to defend the East goal. The Big Red kicked to Co-Captain Charlie Brown on the 30. His runback was only three yards.
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WITH BROWN, Fred Philpott and Ken Dean alternating on the running, the Tigers carried to the Steubenville five in 12 plays and four first downs, using short gainers for their yardage. Then with the ball on the five, third and three, the Tigers were caught holding. The ball was moved back to the 18. Two plays later a pass incompletion stopped the drive on the 14.
Bob Baker intercepted a pass on the Steubenville 25 to set up the Tigers’ first score. Alexander threw to Wingback Ron Schenkenberger on the hook pattern for a first down on the 16. Brown gained a yard and Philpott 10 through the middle.
Then Brown went between the center and the long side guard for the score at 2:37. The same play netted two more points on the conversion.
This was to be the first of four two-pointers for the Bengals. They seemed to have found the answer to all of their conversion attempts, which went awry in the previous four games.
The Tigers scored again after getting the ball via a punt mid way in the second frame. They marched from their own 25 to pay dirt in nine plays with three first downs.
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BROWNS 42-YARD run down the center on the first play from scrimmage helped set up the score. Dean took the ball over on the wedge from the one on third down at 6:13. Philpott swept left end for the conversion.
The Bengals had one other chance in the second quarter, but were forced to punt the first of two times during the night when they failed to get beyond their 37.
Receiving again at the start of the second half, Washington high lost no time in scoring. It took the Tigers five plays and two first downs, starting from their own 33.
Brown had an 11-yard romp through from his 48 to the Steubenville 41 on second down in the first series. Two plays later on second and three on the 34 Philpott went through between the outside tackle and long side end for the tall at 9:15.
When Steubenville was penalized to the 1 ½ for delay of game, Dean tried to use his favorite play, the wedge, for the conversion, but missed. It was the only time during the night the Tigers did.
A little later the Bengals forced the Big Red to punt again, taking over on their own 36. Massillon covered 64 yards in eight plays and three first downs for the fourth TD.
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THE BIG RUNS were by Alexander and Brown, both between the tackles. Alexander moved the ball from his 42 to Steubenville’s 33 on second and four, Brown raced from the
22 to the nine.
Brown then cracked over, again between the tackles, at 3:43 on second and four from the four. Philpott’s sweep off a pitch left made it 30-0.
Massillon’s final tally came after a Big Red incomplete pass in the final quarter. The Bengals took over on their own 33 and reeled off 67 yards in eight plays with three first downs.
Philpott’s long run from his 33 to the Steubenville 39 on a second and 10 situation helped set up the last score. Davis finally carried in, between the outside tackle and long side end for the score on third and one from the one at 7:51. Alexander tallied the conversion off the short side.
The long trip to Cincinnati for the Roger Bacon game comes next Friday as the Tigers take step No. 6 in the climb toward the state title.
Chalk Up No. 5
MASSILLON
Ends – Ivan, L. Ehmer, Garland, McDew, Pierce and Dewald.
Tackles – Spees, Strobel, Dekan, Profant, Magliacho, Mercer, C. Bradley and Clendening.
Guards – Clendenin, Migge, Geckler, J. Ehmer, Poole, Whitfield, Mickley, Caldwell, Relford, Radel and Matecheck.
Centers – B. Bradley and Heckathorn.
Backs – Alexander, Schenkenberger, Brown, Philpott, Dean, Baker, Snively, Franklin, Jarvis, Lash, Getz, Williams, Sullivan, Davis and Kanney.
STEUBENVILLE
Ends – Potts, Ray and Herring.
Tackles – S. Schaeffer, Mazzaferre and Peters.
Guards – Newman, Ohle, Lawson and Sheffert.
Centers – Archer and Duncan.
Backs – Hoyman, Weiher, Wilson, Terry, Cunningham and Barnes.
Score by Quarters
Massillon 8 8 14 8 38
Steubenville 0 0 0 14 14
SCORING
Massillon
Touchdowns – Brown 2 (five and four-yard runs); Philpott (34-yard run); Dean (one-yard plunge); Davis (one-yard plunge).
Conversions – Philpott (2) Brown, Alexander.
Steubenville
Touchdowns – Terry (52 and one-yard runs).
Conversions – Cunningham (pass from Wilson).
OFFICIALS
Referee – Bill Holzwarth.
Umpire – Wilson Murray.
Head Linesman – Ted Humphrey.
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck.
STATISTICS
Massillon Big Red
First downs – rushing 18 3
First downs – passing 2 2
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 20 8
Yards gained rushing 382 130
Yards lost rushing 21 3
Net yards gained rushing 361 136
Yards gained passing 25 53
Total yards gained 386 180
Passes attempted 8 13
Passes completed 2 5
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 26.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 8 97
Times punted 1 3
Punt average (yards) 27.0 30.6
Punt return (yards) 2 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 5 5
Yards penalized 40 75
