2024 Booster Club Report – Week 8 – Post-Legacy Sport; Preview of the Warren Harding Game
Massillon (6-2) defeated Legacy School of Sport Sciences, a team from Spring, Texas (3-4), 41-0. It was historical win No. 954. This week Massillon travels to Warren Harding (6-2).
Link to the Legacy Sport Game Story
Link to the Legacy Sport Game Statistics
Other scores:
- 7th Grade (3-5): Lost to Canton, 14-8. Season finished.
- 8th Grade (6-2): Lost to Canton, 30-0. Season finished.
- Freshmen (3-5): Lost to Akron Hoban, 35-8. Plays home against Warren Harding on Thursday, October 17, at 6:00 pm.
- Junior Varsity (3-1-2): The game against Ironton was canceled. Plays home against Warren Harding on Saturday, October 18, at 10:00 am.
Review of the Legacy Sport game
Massillon used a devastating running attack along with a crushing defense to shut down Legacy School of Sport Sciences, 41-0. Ja’Meir Gamble had a career night, rushing 15 times for 290 yards and five touchdowns. His 290 yards is 3rd in the Tiger record book, while his 19.0 yards per carry is second. Meanwhile, the defense held the Titans to just 41 yards rushing and twice turned the opponent away scoreless in the red zone. Tyler Hackenbracht recorded nine tackles, while Mylen Lenix had seven, along with 2.5 quarterback sacks and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Unfortunately, the game was marred by 25 penalties, fifteen by Massillon and ten by Legacy.
“We had a lot of great things on the field,” said Tiger head coach Nate Moore. “Our defense played really, really well. They (Legacy) had three really good receivers. But we really made the quarterback uncomfortable. The offensive line had their best game of the year. They executed really well.” That, he said, was what led to Gamble’s big night. He also mentioned that Tyler Hackenbracht showed great effort punting, with his two kicks going 64 and 48 yards. Finally, he singled out the play of inside linebacker Logan Allman, whom he said had his best game of the year. He played more physical.
The guest players were offensive tackle Nolan Davenport and defensive lineman Michael Wright Jr. Davenport said it was a good night for the offense, also noting that Ja’Meir had a great game. “We’re trying to get better this week,” he added.
Warren Harding Scouting Report
Harding enters the game with a fine 6-2 record, although none of the six wins were against strong competition. Their season to date:
- Canton McKinley (6-2): 19-26 L
- Akron Buchtel (3-5): 20-18
- Massillon Perry (3-5): 15-9
- Akron St. Vincent (1-7): 26-0
- Youngstown Ursuline (7-1): 0-35 L
- Solon (2-6): 24-0
- Boardman (5-3): 19-14
- Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (2-6): 20-6
Last season Warren finished with a 5-7 record, including a 48-14 loss to Massillon, and lost in the second round of the playoffs to Hudson, 24-21. Their 5-year record is 25-29 and they qualified for the playoffs four times in that span. The series with Warren is the Tigers’ second longest and stands at 60-25-3 in favor of Massillon. The Tigers have also won the last eight meetings.
Moore liked that Massillon is playing an Ohio team this week. “It’s like being in the playoffs,” he remarked. “It will feel strange to have someone familiar. It’s been a strange schedule.”
The Warren offense, which returns three starters, operates out of both the spread and pro formations with multiple 12 and 21 personnel. The focus is on senior quarterback Chaz Coleman (6′-5″, 230). He is a 3-star recruit with an offer from Penn State, among others. Against Massillon last year he completed 9 of 20 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. This season he has completed 34 of 54 passes (63%) for 411 yards and four TDs and, as also the leading ball carrier, rushing 103 times for 500 yards (4.9 ave.) and five scores. “He is a good thrower, really good runner,” said Moore. A lot of called quartertback runs. Wright said that the game plan is the same as last week; i.e., get after the quarterback. Look for a lot of power reads, iso and draw plays. At times Harding will insert the backup quarterback and Coleman will line up at wide receiver.
The running back is senior B.J. Coleman (5′-1-“, 200). He hits the hole hard and is a good runner, according to Moore. The most targeted receiver when Coleman is not at QB is Marcus Crum, who has caught 18 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Also keep an eye on senior Airiz Coleman-Bey (5′-10″, 165). Two of their lineman have shown good football prowess, including senior Kenneth Byrd (6′-1″, 249) and senior Anthony Simpson (6′-2″, 265).
This is a much improved offense from earlier in the season. They want to power it up the middle, but will use their speed at times to get to the edges with jet sweeps and screens. They will also test the secondary with deep throws. Per game, Warren averages 168 yards rushing (4.8 ave.) and 70 passing for a total of 238 (5.1 ave.). Their run/pass ratio is 75%.
The 3-4, cover-4 defense returns five starters, including Chaz Coleman, who has also been pressed into also playing defense this year. But it also comes as no surprise that he is their best defender. He lines up at outside linebacker and will be standing upright on the edge of the line for most plays. Watch for his spin move on the pass rush to defeat blocks. Coleman has been in on 53 tackles, including 13 tackles-for-loss, five quarterback sacks and three pass interceptions. Junior inside linebacker Rai’Twan Hill (5′-9″, 195) leads the team with 65 tackles. He plays bigger than he is and is a good tackler. He is also the primary blitzer. Linebacker mate Junior Tyler Smith (6′-0”, 200) has recorded 33 tackles. He is very good at filling holes and tackling. Both of the offensive lineman mentioned above also start on the defensive line, where they appear to be much more effective.
Go Tigers!
