Massillon Dominates Canton GlenOak Once Again

August 30, 2026
by Don Engelhardt

Massillon Dominates Canton GlenOak Once Again

There was a time not too long ago when the Tigers and Eagles enjoyed some very competitive games. In 2015, Nate Moore’s first year as head coach, it was GlenOak that won the day, with a 37-21 victory. The next two games were also along that manner, with Massillon winning 24-21 and 24-10. But since then, it has been completely one-sided in the Tigers’ favor. In fact, the average score over the past eight years has been a whopping 47-6, when including Friday’s 54-7 margin. But this game may finally mark the end of the series after 16 contests due to the persistent disparity between the two programs. GlenOak will almost certainly move in another direction and Massillon’s constant challenge to find opponents will only get worse.

Massillon scored a touchdown on each of its first four drives. The initial two were by Savior Owens and a third came from Brayton Feister, each at the end of a long drive. With the Tigers owning a comfortable 21-0 lead, Eagles finally showed some life, first completing a long bomb into Tiger territory and then and coming right back with another long bomb for a score. But any momentum they gained at that time was quickly erased when the speedy sophomore Gary Yeager weaved his way through the entire GlenOak secondary and didn’t stop until he had covered 85 yards for a touchdown. The fifth Massillon possession of the half ended with a pass interception in the end zone. So, at the break Massillon was up 28-7.

The start of the second half was disastrous for the Eagles. First, they failed to cover Mateo Herrera’s kickoff inside the ten yard line by treating it as an uncaught punt. The Tigers raced to recover the ball and then kicked a field goal. Then, on the next kickoff, the return player was hit so hard that the ball popped up into the air and was recovered by Massillon. That led to another touchdown and the game was essentially over at that point. Early in the fourth quarter, Herrera converted a career-long 45-yard field goal, ending the night for the starters. With the backups in and with fourth quarter coming to a close, quarterback Manny Patterson kept on a fake handoff and strolled untouched into the end zone, making the final score 54-7.

Next week Massillon will host NFL Academy-London, a team they played in Oregon two years ago. GlenOak will play Cleveland Heights on a neutral field.

(More details later)

(Photos by Marlene Kanipe)