Tigers’ ability to move ball tops Alliance
Hold Aviators to 5 net yards
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
You can’t beat good defensive football, but when the other team is matching your effort, you’d better be able to move the ball when you get the chance.
That was the difference Friday night at Hartshorn stadium in Alliance as the Massillon Tigers picked up their third consecutive victory, beating the Aviators 32-6 before an estimated 10,000 fans.
The near-capacity crowd watched the Orange and black capitalize one a couple of breaks and put together two 50-yard drives to score in each quarter except the first and jump into a tie for first place in the All-American conference with Niles McKinley. The Tigers will play at Niles next Saturday. Both are 1-0 in league play.
For Alliance it was an unhappy league debut and its second loss in four outings.
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“SOMEBODY ELSE made the mistakes instead of us for a change,” Massillon Coach Bob Seaman said, adding, “Our defense hit like the devil.”
“I felt our defense played a good game, “Alliance coach Mel Knowlton commented, “but we couldn’t move the ball and errors killed us. You can’t play defense all night and expect to be great.”
“When you’re playing a team whose backs can run like Massillon’s, somebody’s bound to get loose sooner or later.”
The miscue, which damaged Alliance the most, came shortly before the end of the first half with Massillon leading 8-6. Punter Ray Biery had to chase an errant snap from the
28-yard line into the end zone, got back out to the three, but was stopped by end Dave Couto.
Two plays later quarterback Marc Malinowski burst through the center from the two for Massillon’s second touchdown with 26 seconds left. Tailback Jim Smith scored the second of his three conversions for a 16-6 lead. He also accounted for a six-pointer.
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BOTH KNOWLTON and Seaman pointed out that a safety at this point would have been better for the Alliance cause. “That mistake really broke out backs,” Knowlton said.
The Aviators had taken a 6-0 first quarter lead when junior John Fromholtz, punting for the first time this year, saw his effort downed on the Massillon 45. Quarterback Jim Albu found end Rowland Purdy on two of the next three plays for a quick tally for Alliance. The first pass was a 14-yarder, the paydirt toss went for 28 yards with 1:48 left.
Albu chose the aerial route in a try for a conversion, but safety Chuck Stoner intercepted.
The Carnation City eleven failed to get out of its own territory again with the exception of late in the final quarter when an unsportsman like conduct penalty aided them. The Tigers held Alliance to five net yards on the ground and 81 passing for their best defensive effort of the season.
Washington high in turn picked up 142 net on the ground and 37 via the sky. Smith claimed 101 of the ground yardage in 23 tries for a 4.4 average as the Tigers spent a good part of the game in Alliance territory, running 70 plays to Alliance’s 51.
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HE PUT THE TIGERS on the scoreboard with 4:29 left in the second period with a
four-yard off-tackle jaunt and gave them the lead with a conversion run on the same play. He ran all five plays in the TD march after Mark McDew had run a punt back 18 yards to the Aviator 22.
Larry Shumar’s 13-yard punt runback to the Alliance 37 in the third quarter started the Tigers towards the Promised Land once again. Malinowski aided with a 19-yard trip through the center, fumbling on the way, but tight end Tom Engler, who started his first game as a replacement for the injured Tom Robinson, recovered.
Malinowski passed to McDew in the center of the end zone from 14 yards out for the TD as the period ended. Smith smashed over right tackle for the conversion.
Guard Tim Arnott recovered a Pilot fumble on the Alliance 32 just after the start of the fourth stanza. In eight plays the “M & M Special” clicked again as Malinowski deposited the ball in McDew’s arms in the right side of the end zone with 7:36 left. Darnell Streeter scored the conversion.
Seaman explained that the Tigers were able to pass effectively in the second half because the Aviators’ defensive alignment left the passing game open.
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CO-CAPTAIN and linebacker George Whitfield and safety Chuck Stoner both picked off passes in the second half and Dave Hout, a junior middle guard, grabbed a fumble in the second quarter but the steals led to nothing. The interceptions aborted Alliance drives and Whit’s runback almost resulted in a touchdown.
On the first play of the game, Purdy got loose deep in Massillon territory but couldn’t hold Albu’s pass.
“He was as open as you can ever be,” Knowlton moaned, “as open as a corn field. If you can score one like that you can really shake a team.”
MASSILLON – 32
Ends – James, Engler, Cline, Dorman, Conley.
Tackles – McGeorge, Laase, Midgley, Doll, Harris.
Guards – Whitfield, Harig, Hout, Couto, Indorf, Arnott.
Center – Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Malinowski, Herring, Fromholtz.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Shumar, K. Autrey, Hodgson, Stoner,
McLin, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – M. Autrey, Streeter, Johnson.
ALLIANCE
Ends – Beiry, Grimes, Malone, Purdy.
Tackles – Dietrich, Ferguson, Brienza, Bruderly.
Guards – Gemberling, Crockett, Post, Brunie, Horton.
Centers – Trieff, Fulop.
Quarterback – Albu.
Halfbacks – Terrell, Slifkin, Golden, Rogers, King, Young.
Fullbacks – Geltz, Petersberger.
Massillon 0 16 8 8 – 32
Alliance 6 0 0 0 – 6
Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith, (4-yard run); Malinowski, (12-yard run); McDew 2 (8 and 13-yard passes from Malinowski).
Alliance – Purdy (26-yard pass from Albu).
Extra points: Massillon – Smith 2 (runs); Streeter 2 (runs).
THE GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs –rushing 11 1
First downs – passing 3 4
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 13 6
Yards gained rushing 152 20
Yards lost rushing 40 45
Net yards gained rushing 142 3
Net yards gained passing 37 62
Total yards gained 179 84
Passes completed 4-11 6-15
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 52 0
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average (yards) 42.2 45.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 33 29
Punt average (yards) 4-25 4-35
Punt return (yards) 38 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 35 25
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 2 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 70 51
