2024 Booster Club Report – Week 12 – Post-Canal Winchester; Preview of the Teays Valley Game
Massillon (10-2) defeated Canal Winchester (8-4), 37-7. It was historical win No. 958. This week Massillon travels to Zanesville for a Round 3 playoff game against Teays Valley (8-4).
Link to the Canal Winchester Game Story
Link to the Canal Winchester Game Statistics
Review of the Canal Winchester game
Massillon advanced to Round 3 of the state playoffs with a 37-7 victory over Canal Winchester. The Tigers led 31-7 at the half behind a balanced offensive attack, while holding the Indians to a mere twenty yards of total offense. A final score midway through the third quarter sent the game into a running clock situation. Ja’Meir Gamble led all rushers with 15 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown. With another fine outing, quarterback Jalen Slaughter completed 10 of 19 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Jacques Carter caught a touchdown pass of 72 yards. Not to be outdone, Braylyn Toles caught a touchdown pass of 81 yards, the team’s longest of the season and good enough the make the Massillon record book Top Ten. The third TD pass, of six yards, went to Vito McConnell, who also led the team on defense with six tackles. Mylen Lenix added a rushing touchdown and Mateo Herrera connected on a half-ending 29-yard field goal. On defense Michael Wright Jr. recorded 2.0 quarterback sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
“I thought our guys played a great,” said Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore. “The guys took care of business.”
The guest players were defensive back Daylan Pringle and wide receiver Jacques Carter. “Last Friday was a great team win,” said Pringle. “We all played our best. We outplayed then.”
Now twelve weeks into what is a very long season, Carter was asked about the team’s energy as they head down the stretch. “The energy is still high and we’re going to work our butts off to win the state championship,” added Carter. He said that the players have fun during the week, but “we lock in on game day and get it done.”
Preview of the Teays Valley Game
Teays Valley enters the game with an 8-4 record. Their season to date:
- Grove City (7-4): 7-42 L
- Bloom-Carroll (9-3): 28-10 W
- Watkins Memorial (3-8): 35-12
- Lancaster (3-8): 35-28 W
- Reynoldsburg (4-7): 17-7 W
- Groveport Madison (7-5): 21-14
- Canal Winchester (8-4): 10-30 L
- Newark (7-4): 7-35 L
- Pickerington Central (9-3): 23-49 L
- Logan (1-10): 24-3 W
- Columbus Briggs (6-5): 31-14
- Worthington Kilbourne (5-7): 10-7 W
In the playoffs the Vikings defeated Columbus Briggs and Worthington Kilbourne to set up the match against the Tigers. In the regular season they lost 30-10 to Canal Winchester, a team that the Tigers beat last week, 37-7. They average 20 points per game and give up 21. Teays Valley is seeded 7th in Region 7 by Harbin. They are also rated as the 8th best team in the region by Calpreps.com and 9th best by Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50.
The Indians participate in the Buckeye Division of the Ohio Capital Conference, which is located in the Columbus area. Over the past five years they have compiled an overall record of 29-23, including a 3-2 mark in the Division II state playoffs, an event in which they participated three times. Their best finish in the 5-year span was 9-2, which occurred in 2021. They are led by second year head coach Brian Cross, who during his career has spent time at multiple high schools, including Canton McKinley from 2003-07. In 2020 Cross was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Offensively, Teays Valley utilizes the pro-style I-formation, mixing in some Wing-T and unbalanced and also some shotgun. Mostly in 21 personnel. This year they have run the ball 73% of the time, behind a group of good-sized, downhill running backs. The primary ball carrier is sophomore Carson Payne (5′-10″, 200), who has 157 carries for 742 yards (4.7 ave.) and 8 touchdowns. He is considered one of their best offensive players. He is quick through the line, runs hard and gets vertical. Payne splits time with two other runners, including junior Spike Woods (6′-1″, 205) and sophomore Evan Maynard (5′-9″, 165). Woods has 66 carries for 472 yards (7.2 ave.) and 3 TDs and Maynard has 53 carries for 250 yards (4.7 ave.) and one TD.
Junior quarterback Brady Farmer (6′-5″, 190) also totes the ball on designed plays and has 86 attempts for 272 yards (3.2 ave.) and 3 touchdowns. In the passing game, Farmer has completed 75 of 153 passes (49%) for 903 yards (12.0 ave.) and 10 TDs. Moore considers him a decent passer. His favorite target is junior Cavin McDowell (5′-10″, 165), who has 20 receptions for 246 yards (12.3 ave.) and 3 touchdowns. McDowell has decent speed and is good out of breaks. He also runs the jet sweep.
The offensive line is not the best the Tigers have seen this year, starting two sophomores and a junior, but they do have good size, averaging 6′-0″, 267 lbs. Their best player is sophomore left guard Hayden Kellough (5′-8″, 230). Not the biggest player, but he plays hard and is aggressive to the whistle.
The defense aligns in a 4-2-5, with cover-3, and some cover-2. They will occasionally blitz. The secondary is mostly in zone, but will switch to man-to-man when the matchup calls for it. The leading tacklers are senior nose tackle Tristian Graham (6′-1″, 270), who has 86 stops, and senior Sam linebacker Tyler Mathews (6′-0″, 190), who has 80 stops. Graham also plays center on offense. Mathews will play on the edge and is the primary blitzer. He is quick through the line of scrimmage.
The secondary is anchored by junior cornerback Cavin McDowell, who also plays wide receiver. He has good feet and plays well in zone coverage. He also does well in press coverage. Keep an eye on senior safety Weston Gray (5′-9″, 165). He is very aggressive and will disrupt a pass play. Gray also comes into the game in 3-receiver sets.
Massillon will be the home team in this game.
To Tigers!
