A History of Massillon Football Comeback Victories
Few events in football are more exciting than watching a team come from behind in the fourth quarter to win the game. Perhaps not surprisingly, Massillon has not seen a lot of that, since the vast majority of its games are well into the right end of the score by that time. But who can forget the ones that weren’t.
Including the time of Paul Brown, starting with 1932, Massillon has played 1,030 games through 2025. That occurring across 94 different seasons. Of those, the Tigers have won 78% of the time (807 wins, 195 losses and 18 ties). And 86% of those wins were by a touchdown or more. But the other 14% were a bit of struggle in that the Tigers were behind at some point in the fourth quarter, but were able to pull out a win by game’s end. It is indeed a small number over a long period of time: just 32 times, or 4% of the 807 wins.
When factored with the total number of losses, the comeback success ratio is 14%. In other words, Massillon has recovered to win 14% of the games in which they fell behind in the fourth, around one in seven. Conversely, Tigers have lost games after having the lead entering the fourth period 32 times, or just 4%.
The chart below lists all 33 comebacks. The yellow highlights indicate the games in which Massillon trailed by more than a touchdown.
The Greatest Comeback Victories
The largest fourth quarter deficit occurred in the 1964 road game against Canton McKinley. Both teams entered the game with 9-0 records and ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the state. The Bulldogs put two scores on the board in the first quarter and that 14-0 lead held up as the two foes entered the fourth quarter. But the final frame belonged to the Tigers. Jim Lawrence and Bob Hewitt each scored from the one yard line and quarterback David Sheegog, who had replace the injured starter, converted the PAT after the second TD to tie the game at 14 apiece. With one chance remaining to win the game, Sheegog returned a McKinley punt 33 yards to the Bulldog 17. Then, on third and seven, he faked a handoff and broke clear of the line, only to be met by the goal line by two defenders. But by shear determination, Sheegog was able to will himself into the end zone for the winning points. It came with just 54 seconds left in the game. With the 20-14 victory, the Tigers were awarded their 22nd state title.
Next in line was a 12-point deficit against Cleveland St. Ignatius in the 2005 game at Byers Field. The fourth quarter began with the Wildcats up 26-14. That’s when Massillon engineered a 16-play, 90-yard drive, closing the margin to 26-21 when Brian Gamble went over from the one. It then took another long drive, of 13 plays and 72 yards, to pull out the victory. Substitute quarterback Shawn Weisend was the difference maker with a 5-yard run, coming with just ten seconds remaining in the game. The Tigers went on to play in the Division I state finals.
In 2014 Massillon trailed Perry by 11, 30-19, entering the fourth quarter, but then rebounded to score 18 unanswered points to secure a 37-30 victory. Included in the barrage was a 49-yard field goal by Andrew David, a 5-yard run by JD Crabtree that tied the score and a 16-yard scamper by Danny Robinson for the winning points, which came with just under a minute remaining in the game.
Twice Massillon came from ten points behind in the fourth. In 1978, the Tigers trailed McKinley 10-0, but quarterback Brent Offenbecher passed his team to a pair of TDs for a 13-10 victory. Then in 2005, Massillon trailed Lakewood St. Edward 17-7 in the state semifinal game. Gamble again stepped up, with an 18-yard TD pass from Bobby Huth and a 5-yard run with 1:56 remaining in the game for a 21-17 win. Gamble also converted a 3rd and 30 situation on a pass reception from Huth during the second drive.
One of the more exciting comebacks had to be the 2018 game against East St. Louis, Missouri. Massillon was down 20-7 in the second quarter and clawed back to take 24-20 lead. Then they were down 34-24 late in the third, but came back to take a 38-34 lead midway through the fourth. But once again they fell behind, 40-38. But the Tigers were not done. With three minutes left, quarterback Aidan Longwell hoisted a perfect 39-yard touchdown pass to Jayen Ballard. The defense then played the final few minutes to perfection to take home the victory. The two teams ended up combining for 960 yards of offense. The win also preserved a potential undefeated season, with the Tigers not losing a game until the state finals.
In 2000, in a game at St. Edward, the Tigers fell behind 27-18 in the fourth. But a 20-yard halfback pass from Terrence King to Montale Watkins was followed by a 36-yard David Abdul field goal to complete a 28-27 comeback victory. The final score came with just 12 seconds remaining in the game. The field goal followed a 52-yard pass/run completion from quarterback Justin Zwick to Watkins that moved the ball into scoring territory.
Older fans will remember the 1974 McKinley game when Greg Wood connected with Eddy “Tinker” Bell on a 33-yard pass into the end zone with just seconds left to give the 5-4 Tigers a 20-15 victory. In that one, the Bulldogs roared back from a 14-point deficit to go up by one with less than two minutes remaining. But Bell engineered the final drive using several key pass receptions, including the game winner. The upset also knocked the unbeaten Bulldogs out of the playoffs.
Then there was the 1961 game against Parma Senior, which was played at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Massillon was behind 20-8 at halftime and then 20-15 entering the fourth quarter. But Ken Dean’s 1-yard TD run at the end made the difference in a 21-20 victory. The following week the Tigers bested Canton McKinley 7-6 to wrap up a perfect 11-0 season. Subsequently, they were awarded their third consecutive state championship and second national championship in three years.
Comeback Data for the Head Coaches
Below is comeback data for all of the coaches, starting with Paul Brown, through the 2025 season.
Some interesting information among long-term coaches:
- Chuck Mather won 57 of 60 games, for a winning percentage of 95%, tops among all coaches. Paul Brown is second at 90%.
- Nate Moore has the most games decided by less than a touchdown, while owning a 10-4 record in these games. Jack Rose has the highest percentage of close games, at 20%, with an 8-5 record.
- Moore has the most games pulled out in the fourth quarter, with 6. Leo Strang has the best comeback success ratio in the fourth quarter, recovering 20% of the time.
- Jason Hall and Lee Owens lost 10% of the time when leading in the fourth quarter. At the other end of the spectrum, Brown never lost a game in which his team was ahead in the fourth. However, Brown also never won a game in which he was behind in the fourth, joining Bob Commings and Chuck Mather in this category.
For short-term coaches:
- Earl Bruce won all three games in which his teams were behind in the fourth quarter. He also never lost a game in which the Tigers were ahead in the fourth. He joins a list of Tom Harp, Bud Houghton, Elwood Kammer and Augie Morningstar in the latter category.
- Augie Morningstar had the most close games, with five. Interestingly, all five games ended in ties during his 5-0-5 season.
