A nice crowd turned out at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday night to watch Massillon and Lakewood St. Edward square off in a final pre-season scrimmage.  Unfortunately, the Eagles had the better of it, winning 31-0 in one half of football.

St. Eds showed why they won Division 1 state titles in 2014 and 2015, while losing in overtime in a regional finals game last year.  They have great size and speed, plus a wealth of experience.  And their intensity level is beyond what Massillon saw in its first two scrimmages against Avon and Berea MIdpark.  The youthful Tigers just didn’t match up well in this one.

The Eagles scored three touchdowns and a field goal in their first four possessions to open up a 24-0 advantage as the second quarter got underway. For the night, they rolled up 343 yards of offense, scoring on runs of 23, 25, 25 and 2 yards and kicking a 25-yard field goal.  Defensively, they held Massillon to just 44 yards and three first downs.  In fact, the Tigers never crossed midfield, except when Jamir Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it to the Eagle 31.  Only they turned the ball over on downs four plays later.

On the bright side, the coaching staff has plenty of game film to use in pointing out areas that must be improved upon prior to the season opener against Mentor.

In earlier action, both the JV and the Freshmen teams scrimmaged.  The format was four 10-play series each, starting at the opponent’s 40 yardline.  The JV team lost to St. Eds four touchdowns to two.  The Freshmen team defeated St. Eds six touchdowns to three.