Massillon holds off Lakewood St. Edward in a Battle of Unbeatens

September 19, 2026September 19, 2026
by Don Engelhardt

Massillon holds off Lakewood St. Edward in a Battle of Unbeatens

Massillon and St. Edward fans are fully aware that no lead is safe when these two nationally-ranked teams get together. And Friday’s encounter at Baldwin Wallace’s Finney Stadium was no exception, with the Tigers taking home a hard-fought 23-21 victory. As expected, this one came right down to the wire.

Massillon led throughout most of the game, but the Eagles had one last chance on a Hail Mary pass as time expired. Quarterback Langston Lucas took the snap at midfield, rolled to his right to buy time and then lofted it deep to the end zone. It appeared for a moment that wide receiver Caleb Hall had broken loose from the coverage and was in position to catch the winning TD at the goal line. Only, speedy Tiger corner Deontay Malone closed quickly and swatted the ball away at the last second to secure the win. Malone on that play alone showed why he is headed to Ohio State.

The other big story of the night was Massillon sophomore running back Gary Yeager. With Michigan State-bound running back Savior Owens hampered by a nagging ankle issue, Yeager was thrust into the game with a more prominent role. And did he ever deliver, rushing the ball 16 times for 232 yards and two touchdowns, while average a whopping 14.4 yards per carry against a very stout St. Ed front group. But that is not unusual for Yeager. Through five games he is now averaging an incredible 12.6 yards per carry. He surely reminds older Tiger fans of OSU’s great Archie Griffin, with his great speed and running ability.

Massillon’s offense stayed mostly to the ground using the 2-headed monster of Owens and Yeager. But why not. It was working. It was also the game plan. St. Eds was obviously concerned about the three talented Tiger receivers and defended that part of the field using all four secondary defenders plus an outside linebacker. That left just six in the box to defend the run. This set up the anticipated matchup: the Tigers’ speed versus the Eagles’ size. While Owens struggled to break loose throughout the game, it was Yeager that had the better success, in that with his quickness off the ball, he didn’t need much of a crease to explode into the secondary for long gains.

Defensively, Massillon played well against the run, in spite of the Eagles’ tendency to run toward the opposite side of the field than stellar linebacker Brayton Feister. But the Tigers had difficulty defending the passing combination of Lucas to 6’-4”, 230 lb. tight end Joe Moore. He was the recipient of several tosses over the middle in front of the Tiger 2-deep zone. Massillon just didn’t have an answer for that. And that scheme greatly contributed to keeping St. Eds in the game.

The Eagles received the opening kickoff and drove to midfield before punting. On the Tigers’ first possession they advanced the ball into St. Ed territory, but lost it on a 3rd down pass interception, while covering the distance of a punt.

The next time Massillon had the ball they were more effective, moving 53 yards for a second quarter score, with Owens blasting in from the 16 yardline. Owens headed toward the middle of the line and, realizing that the path was closed, cut it to the right edge and worked his way across the goal line for the TD. All of the plays in the drive were on the ground.

St. Edward tied the score with 15 seconds remaining in the half on a 10-yard pass from Lucas to Moore.

The Tigers began the second half with the ball their own 30. After moving to midfield, they caught a huge break. The snap to quarterback Rasmus Haines was high and bounced off his hands into the air. But right into the grasp of Yeager. He immediately headed to his left and was able to turn the corner. In spite of several defenders poised for the stop, he managed to elude each one and didn’t stop running into he had earned a 50-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, the extra point was blocked, giving the Tigers a 13-7 lead.

Malone intercepted a pass on the ensuing Eagle possession, but the drive stalled at midfield after a bomb to an open Braylon Gamble was just overthrown. Nevertheless, the Tigers did move the ball the length of the field on their next possession, which ended in a 30-yard field goal by Mateo Herrera. The key plays were two long runs by Yeager, of 56 and 26 yards. Ironically, prior to the field goal, Owens was dragged down by the facemask. Had a penalty been assessed, the Tigers would have had a first and goal situation. It was one of many infractions on the night that were not called, a situation that seemed to affect both teams.

The Eagles responded with a long drive and a 5-yard TD run by Colin Tedesco, closing the margin to 16-14, with just over five minutes remaining. After failing to recover the subsequent onside kick, Massillon was right back in business. Yeager kickstarted it with a 29-yard run to the 14 yardline with 1:24 left in the game. He then finished the drive with a 10-yard run, upping the score to 23-14.

But St. Eds refused to quit, returning the favor with a 12-yard touchdown pass. Score: 23-21. Again, an onside kick and a Massillon recovery, by Malone. Only, the Tigers failed to move the ball sufficiently to run out the clock. Following a failed attempt to punt the ball deep and out of bounds, St. Edward had their final opportunity to score on the Hail Mary pass from midfield. So, the Tigers escaped with the win, their fifth straight over St. Edward, and now lead the overall series, 8-4.

Next week Massillon hosts Football North, the all-star team from Ontario, Canada. St. Edward hosts St. John’s College from D.C., the team that the Tigers had issues with between plays a couple of years ago, with the game being called in the fourth quarter.

Go Tigers!

Photos by Marlene Kanipe