A Look Back at Past Massillon Teams – Part 10 – The 1999 Season

This is the tenth of a 10-part series looking back at all of the Massillon teams of the 1990s.

Head Coach: Rick Shepas (2nd Year)
Overall Record: 10-1
Regular Season Record: 10-0
Playoff Results: Division I, Region 3, 1st; lost to Perry in the first round
Key Players: Quarterback Dave Irwin, running back Jesse Scott, wide receiver Rocky Price, wide receiver Joe Price, wide receiver Rocky Dorsey, linebacker Dan Studer
All-Ohio: Ellery Moore (1st), Rocky Dorsey (SM), Jesse Scott (SM)

A new head coach in Massillon is always given a “free pass” by the fans during the his first year at the helm, thereby providing time to establish his program.  But in the second year he is then expected to produce.  For Coach Rick Shepas it couldn’t have gone any better, at least during the regular season.  Not only did the team win every game, it also handily defeated Perry, Lakewood St. Edward and Canton McKinley along the way.  All was well in Tigertown.  Only, in the playoffs it came crashing down, as the region’s No. 1 seeded Tigers stumbled right out of the gate, losing at home to Perry in the first round, 23-6.  But the year was not without a second drama incident, this one occurring prior to the season.  The focus was on 1998 Perry running back Jesse Scott, who had transferred to Massillon right after the season had ended.  That did not sit well with Panther Head Coach Keith Wakefield, who promptly filed a complaint with the OHSAA.  Only, the transfer was ruled to be legal, setting the stage for the two Massillon-Perry games to come, with Scott as the Tigers’ starting running back.

PIVOTAL GAMES

Massillon Perry (regular season) –  It had been fourteen years since Massillon  and Perry had hooked up for a football game.  What made this one happen was an unusual home-and-home contract whereby the first game (1999) would be played at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and the second at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium, which served in this game as the home field for Perry.  In the home encounter it was all Massillon, as they ran away with a 35-14 victory in front of a large crowd of 14,185.  Each team scored in the first half, with Jesse Scott crossing the goal line from the one.  But the Tigers turned it on in the second half with fourteen points in each quarter.  In the third Scott scored on a 5-yard run and Rocky Dorsey tallied on a 22-yard pass from Dave Irwin.  After Perry closed the margin to 21-14, Massillon put the game away in the fourth on a 43-yard pass to Dorsey and a 9-yard pass to Joe Price.  The Panthers were strong against the run, holding the Tigers to just 94 yards.  But they simply couldn’t defend the pass owing to the Tigers’ speedy receivers and the accurate arm of Irwin, who ended up completing 18 of 25 passes for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Price caught 6 of the passes for 61 yards and a score.  And Dorsey had his 2 TD receptions.

Lakewood St. Edward – St. Edward was not the formidable team in 1999 that they are today, entering the contest with a 3-5 record.  But the big story was the loss of quarterback Dave Irwin to a thumb injury that occurred in shop class on the day of the game.  That quickly put backup QB Brett Marshall in the spotlight.  And he didn’t disappoint, completing 8 of 13 passes for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns.  What a marvelous performance.  The Tigers led 17-7 at the half on two TD passes from Marshall and a Marshall 29-yard field goal.  The passes went to John Stanke (14 yards) and Jesse Scott (71 yards).  In the third quarter Irwin toughed it out with his thumb heavily bandaged.  He did well, completing 7 of 12 passes for 113 yards and a TD 30 yards to Jesse Scott.  But Marshall eventually relieved him and finished game off with a 60-yard toss to Dave Bumgarner, making the final tally 31-14.  Massillon rolled up 425 yards of total offense, including 125 on the ground and 300 in the air.  Anthony Battle led the receiver corps with five receptions for 75 yards.

Canton McKinley – It was unbeaten Massillon against 7-2 McKinley at Fawcett Stadium.  In an unusual start the Tigers scored in the first quarter on a 31-yard pass interception return by Steve Eyerman and then the Bulldogs countered in the second with an interception return of their own.  That made the score 7-7 at the half.  In the second half Massillon took over and completely overwhelmed the opponent by scoring 28 unanswered points and winning 35-7.  All four scores came on pass plays from Dave Irwin: Jon Stanke (12 yards), Jeremiah Drobney (10 yards), Rocky Dorsey (39-yard catch and run on a crossing pattern) and Jesse Robinson (35-yard bomb).  Irwin ended up completing 12 of 21 passes for 130 yards and 3 TDs.  Jesse Scott added 93 yards rushing, while Dorsey had five receptions and Price had four.  In the playoffs, the Bulldogs would defeat Hoover 7-6 in the first round and then lose 7-0 to Perry the following week.

Massillon Perry (playoffs) – In a surprising turnaround from the regular season game, Perry upset Region 3’s top-seeded Massillon in the first round of the playoffs, 23-6.  The big change for the Panthers was incorporating a delay blitz package that put constant pressure on Tiger quarterback Dave Irwin, who made all the difference in the first match with three touchdown passes.  The blitz was effective enough that Irwin was able to complete just 9 of 24 passes for 137 yards and zero touchdowns.  On offense, Perry this time around was also able to finish drives with a more consistent ground game.  Massillon’s lone touchdown came in the first quarter when Jesse Scott scored from the four.  Perry led in total yards, 282-213, including a 261-76 advantage on the ground.  With the win, it would appear that Perry Coach Keith Wakefield got the last laugh.  The Panthers would go on to beat McKinley 7-0 the following week, before losing 16-14 to Pickerington in the regional finals.  In the state semifinals, Pickerington would lose to eventual state champion Cleveland St. Ignatius, 48-8.