2024: Massillon 41, Canisius, NY 7

September 14, 2024October 1, 2024
by Don Engelhardt

Massillon Uses Big Plays to Take Down Canisius

Coaches will tell you that there are three phases to the game of football: offense, defense and special teams. And the performance of each is measured following the game. If one looked at just the scoring statistics, all three measured up quite well for the Tigers, as they cruised to their third win in four starts, defeating Canisius, 41-7.

Massillon scored in nearly any way they could in the game of football. There were two rushing touchdowns. There was a passing touchdown. There was a pick-6 interception return. A punt was returned for a score. And even a fumble was returned to the house. All of that negated a fine defensive performance by the Crusaders.

On Canisius’ first possession they ran the ball twice to set up a 3^rd and 5 from their own 40. The situation against the stingy Tiger defense called for a pass. Only, quarterback Matteo Brusco threw the ball right into the hands of Massillon’s Lennox Lemon, who promptly returned it 44 yards to pay dirt. Mateo Herrera’’s kick gave the locals a 7-0 early advantage.

Following a punt by the Crusaders, the Tigers went on a 9-play, 83-yard drive for their second score. The key play was a 43-yard pass from quarterback Jalen Slaughter to Jacques Carter. Carter was covered by a glove as he headed down the middle of field and both players had a hand on the ball. But after it received several more touches Carter managed to secure it at the six yard line. Then, after losing five yards on the next play, Mylen Lenix took a handoff from the jumbo set, the first time it had been used this year, and sped around the right side for the score.

In the second quarter, Canisius punted from their own ten and the ball bounced past return player Tyler Hackenbracht. It looked as if he was going to just let it go, but the ball had a lot of momentum. So, in order to protect field position, he caught it on the bounce while running toward his own end zone and pulled an Austin Brawley by reversing field. Following some fine blocking down the left sideline, he raced for a 52-yard touchdown return. That made the score 21-0.

Nolen Hendricks placed the ensuing kickoff on the three yard line and the return player was content to let it bound into the end zone. Only, Hendricks used a 9 iron on this one and the ball checked up. By the time the returner realized this he quickly retrieved the ball, but was promptly tackled at his own three yard line. An encroachment penalty advanced it to the eight. But three plays later the handoff was fumbled and picked up by Lenix, who had friendly company as he strolled into the end zone. The game was essentially over at that point.

The final score of the half came on a 24-yard bomb to the corner of the end zone from Slaughter to Carter. So, the two teams headed into the locker room with the score sitting at 35-0 and second half to be played under a running-clock situation.

On the Tigers’ first possession after the break they advanced the ball to their own 38 and punted. Only, the ball was fumbled by the Crusaders and recovered by Lo’Quan Young at the 24. Two plays later Ja’Meir Gamble showed his speed in racing around the left side, while eluding two would-be tacklers, for a 9-yard score.

At that point the first team was done for the night, with 1:41 left in the third quarter. The unit had put up six touchdowns: three by the offense, two by the defense and one by special teams. Meanwhile, d Canisius was held under 40 yards of total offense. For the night, Massillon led in first downs 10-8 and total yards 209-131. Gamble rushed 10 times for 63 yards and a touchdown and Slaughter completed 10 of 12 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Carter caught 4 passes for 91 yards and two scores. On defense, Lenix and Logan Allman collected five tackles each. Herrera has now converted 41 straight varsity extra points through last season.

It should be noted that the Crusaders were operating just a bit shorthanded in two different ways. The first was that their best player, 3-star recruit running back/receiver/cornerback Elijah Kimble, who holds offers from Michigan and Oregon, had suffered a broken hand earlier in the week when he fell off a bicycle and had the injured limb in a wrap. In a conversation with Canisius Coach Kraig Kurzanski prior to the game, the coach said that running was doubtful and receiving was out of the question, but he would play some defense. In the end Kimble gutted it out and did what he could, rushing 10 times for 15 yards and playing some on defense. He also caught a kickoff one-handed.

The second issue was their small roster size, around 35 players. Coach Kurzanski explained that, unlike the large parochial powers in Ohio that gather good players from the public schools and pay little or no tuition, Canisius experiences the complete opposite situation in that each player is responsible for paying some amount of tuition. Also, in the city of Buffalo, public students can attend any school they desire. As a result, some schools are loading up with talented football players, similar to Cleveland Glenville, and in fact are raiding Canisius, given that no tuition would be required in a public school. Hence, the small roster. Nevertheless, the players the Crusaders do have certainly play good football and they play hard to the end.

For Massillon, the Tigers had difficulty running the ball against a stout Canisius from-7 and gained just 59 yards in 19 carries. In addition, Slaughter was under pressure most times when he dropped back to pass. Sure, the Crusaders had some big defensive linemen. But this is an area that needs to be shored up. The return of the injured senior Gavin Kappes may help and he did perform well when he subbed in. But he was slated in this game mostly for defense, which has its own problems as Coach Nate Moore appears to be still searching for the right players to start, with the goal of keeping All-Ohio Mike Wright in the middle, where he is most effective. Nevertheless, the defense overall did put in a fine performance, particularly against the rush, giving up just 84 yards, mostLY coming against the backups.

Next week Massillon (3-1) travels to Lakewood to face St. Edward. Canisius (1-1) is also on the road, at Erie Cathedral Prep.

Go Tigers!