2026 Booster Club Report – Week 9 – Post Cornerstone Christian; Preview of the Warren Harding Game
Massillon (7-1) lost to Cornerstone Christian, TX (5-2), 35-28. This week Massillon travels to Warren Harding (4-4). Last season the Tigers topped the Raiders, 42-10.
Other scores:
- 7th Grade (8-0): Defeated Canton, 38-20. Season complete.
- 8th Grade (6-1): Defeated Canton, 34-6.
- Freshmen (1-6): Lost to Akron Buchtel, 16-6. Plays at home against Warren Harding on Thursday, October 15, at 6:00.
- Junior Varsity (2-5): Lost to Avon, 14-6. Plays at home against Warren Harding on Saturday, October 17, at 10:00 am.
Review of the Cornerstone Christian Game
Massillon’s 7-game winning streak was erased by Cornerstone Christian, the No. 24 team in Texas, by the score of 35-21. The major difference in the game was Warriors’ speed advantage that resulted in more big-gain plays than the Tigers. The score was tied at 14 apiece entering the fourth quarter and 21 apiece with just over five minutes remaining, but Massillon could not answer Cornerstone’s next score on account of penalties and a dropped pass. The Tigers running game was stifled throughout, but quarterback Rasmus Haines contributed with a season-high 250 yards passing and two touchdowns: 24 yards Gio Jackson Jr. and 73 yards to Deontay Malone. Running back Savior Owens also scored a TD from 12 yards out. Massillon’s defense seemed out of sync, while being hampered with several starters unavailable for the game and the previous week’s cancellation of the match with Farrell, PA.
Ironically, in the past few weeks Cornerstone beat Massillon, who beat Lakewood St. Edward, who beat St. John’s College, DC, who beat Cornerstone. All of these teams are high in the national rankings.
“We took a loss last week,” said Massillon Head Coach Nate at the weekly Booster Club meeting. “I’m really proud of how hard the guys played. It (Cornerstone) was a really good team. They have really good players. We have really good players. We had a chance to win in spite of the mistakes. A lot to build off of. A loss is the greatest teacher. We have a lot to learn from that game. Overall, the effort was there. We didn’t out-physical them. But we had a chance to win. Give Cornerstone credit. They were the better team last Friday.
Moore also praised the punt team, saying that they provided good protection for the punter. He also thought that the Tigers handled the size mismatch on the lines well.
The guest speakers were offensive lineman Davionne Floyd and defensive back Chayce White.
Floyd – A sloppy night. Shot ourselves in the foot. But we need to move on. Warren’s defensive line has some size. As long as we do our jobs, we’ll be OK.
White – We had a lack of focus during the game. All of us weren’t there. Just not enough.
Preview of the Warren Harding Game
Warren scores to date:
- Canton McKinley (7-1): 0-33 L
- Youngstown (2-5): 20-12 W
- Massillon Perry (3-5): 34-7 W
- Massillon Jackson (6-2): 37-44 L
- Youngstown Ursuline (5-3): 7-40 L
- Toledo Scott (1-7): 52-0 W
- Boardman (1-7): 33-14 W
- Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (5-3): 3-24 L
Harding is a Division II program that competes in the All-American Conference. Over the past five years they have compiled a record of 28-29, including 3-6 last year. Four times during that period they qualified for the playoffs, where they have a 3-4 record. Massillon has played Warren more than any other opponent, with the exception of Canton McKinley, and lead in the series 62-25-3. The Raiders return 8 starters on offense and 6 on defense, including defensive back Matt Richardson (3rd Team All-Ohio) and offensive lineman Zayvion Smith (HM All-Ohio. In last year’s game Makhai Brogden rushed 8 times 27 yards and Richardson caught 2 passes for 36 yards.
“They have a lot of good players,” said Moore.
Offense – Good sized line, averaging 6′-2″, 297 lbs. All are either 6′-2″ and 6′-3″, with the lightest weighing 270 lbs. The best lineman is senior right tackle and returning starter Michael Wade (6′-3″, 310). The quarterback is senior James Jones (6′-3″, 215). Jones was a backup last season. His numbers are 68 of 127 (54%) for 937 yards (13.8 ave.) and 9 touchdowns. The best player on offense is junior running back Makhi Brogdon (5′-10″, 195). To date he has rushed 93 times for 536 yards (5.8 ave.) and 5 touchdowns. The leading receiver is senor Matt Richardson (5′-10″, 175), a 2-year returning starter, who has caught more passes than the rest of the receiving corps combined, with 38 receptions for 607 yards and 5 TDs. A spread offense team, the warriors employ a lot of different formations. They will line up in a lot of heavy set, 13-personal, formations and then add in some empty sets and 10-personal alignments.
Defense – The odd-front line also has good size averaging 6′-1″, 250 lbs. The best lineman is senior Zayvion Smith (6′-5″, 275), a 2-year returning starter. He has four tackles for loss. Three of four linebackers return from last year, led by junior outside linebacker Asa Burch (6′-5″, 235), who is a potential Power-4 recruit. Through eight games Burch has recorded a team-high 65 tackles and 10.0 tackles for loss. The best player in the secondary is Richardson, a 2-way player.
On special teams, senior Jeron Edmonds excels in kicking and punting. Twenty-five of his 31 kickoffs have gone into the end zone. He averages 35.2 yards per punt. And he was good on a 47-yard field goal.
Go Tigers!
