Likened to an annual rite of passage, several hundred Tiger fans gather each spring to revel in another upcoming Massillon football season and eagerly take in the words of the head coach as he offers his prognosis for future success. The event this year will be held on May 3rd at the Massillon Eagles and will highlight guest speaker Mike Leach, the head coach of Washington State University. Leach’s presence comes on the heels of Alabama Coach Nick Saban and former Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer, who addressed the Tiger faithful during the previous two years.
Mike Leach is entering his eighth season as head coach of the Cougars and sports an overall record there of 49-40. However, most of his success has been over the past four years, where he compiled a mark of 37-15 (26-10 in the PAC-12) and finished in the Top 3 of its conference division each year. Having split four bowl games during this time period, last year he defeated Matt Campbell’s Iowa State University team, 28-26, and finished 10th in the country, while setting a new school benchmark for total wins in a season (11). Coach Leach last year also recruited Jamir Thomas, Massillon’s all-time leading rusher and scorer. Prior to coming to WSU, Leach was the head coach of Texas Tech, leaving with an impressive 84-43 record through ten years and participating in a bowl game each season.
Nate Moore returns to coach Massillon for a fifth time, fresh off a Division 2 state finals appearance, where the Tigers lost a close game to Akron Hoban. Following a 4-6 start in Massillon, Moore has since compiled a win-loss record of 32-8, including three trips to the playoffs, two regional championships and the aforementioned state runner-up. Expectations are high again in Tigertown as a fine nucleus returns from last year’s 14-1 squad, including a 2-year starter at both quarterback and inside linebacker and a wealth of talent manning the skill positions. Massillon will open the 2019 season on Friday, August 30 against state-power Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. Last year the Tigers defeated the Irish 35-7 enroute to an undefeated regular season.
See you at the Eagles.
