INTERCEPTED PASSES BRING 14 – 0 VICTORY OVER WARREN HIGH
LONG DASHES IN 4th QUARTER WIN FLASHY DUEL

Fighting with the ferocity of a Tiger at bay and hurdling obstacles that would have broken the spirit of a less courageous aggregation a determined Washington high school football team last Saturday afternoon at Warren swept over Warren high school’s eleven in relentless fury and came through with a spectacular 14 to 0 victory over its Trumbull county rival in the annual tussle between these two foes.

Two intercepted forward passes in the fourth quarter followed by brilliant dashes down the field of 90 and 95 yards stayed off defeat, routed a dangerous and hard playing opponent and added another victory to the orange and black banner.

With their captain and five other teammates on the sidelines, the victims of a ruling affecting their eligibility, the local team took the field Saturday in a shattered condition but with a fighting spirit that could not be broken and won from a team, that according to all the statistics piled up during the battle, should have won. But that determination to do or die, that comes when adverse odds are greatest, and the ability to play heads up football from start to finish, turned the tide of victory to Massillon.

To the keen foresight and quick judgment of “Whitey” Laughlin and Elwood Kammer must go the credit for Massillon’s sensational triumph. It was these two lads who in the fourth quarter, pulled Warren forward passes out of the air in the shadow of Massillon’s goal posts and converted them into touchdowns for their team by scintillating dashes down the field. Coach Stewart’s athletes were outplayed, no one can deny that but they were not out gamed and because they fought the hardest when their goal line was in danger is the reason they are the victors and Warren the vanquished today.
WEATHER IDEAL
With ideal weather conditions prevailing, the first in many weeks, the game attracted a record crowd that packed every inch in the Moose Park at Warren. And the local team was not without support, about 1,500 Massillonians making the trip to Warren. It was a perfect day for football with the field in good condition with the exception of one spot in the center.

Weakened by the loss of six players through the recent eligibility ruling of Commissioner Townsend, among them Captain Define and Paul Smith, star halfbacks and punter, and Paul Storrie, brilliant end, who has a bad knee, Coach Stewart’s team went into Saturday’s game with all the odds against it. It was stacking up against a formidable opponent that had been pointed for its annual duel with Massillon and with its regulars in the best of condition. But yet it won, another indication that the fighting spirit and courage of a local scholastic team is still without equal in the state.

The orange and black was out played quite decisively by the sturdy Warren team so far as the matter of gaining ground is concerned, making but four first downs to 13 for the eastern Ohio lads but it’s points that win football games and not first downs and Massillon had the margin on points when the battle was over. Warren’s punch, that twice carried its team within Massillon’s 15-yard line, spent itself in a futile attempt to break the orange and black and went to pieces as Massillon swept on to victory.

There are some who might say Massillon was lucky to win Saturday. Sure, the breaks came Massillon’s way and the element of luck might have entered into the deciding issues in the contest but after all if Laughlin and Kammer had not been playing an on-toe type of football they would not have been in position to snare those Warren passes when then came their way. They were doing what they were supposed to do; what any intelligent football player would be doing in a situation of that kind and when the opportunity presented itself for them to place themselves between the Warren forward passer and the receiver they made the most of their opportunities and the result was a Massillon victory. Call it luck if you want to but if that’s luck then the playing of most every so called smart football team must be about 100 percent luck.

With two regular half backs and punters out of the game Coach Stewart sent Brown, Kammer, Laughlin and McConnell into the fray as the Massillon backfield quartet with McConnell to do the punting. Considering that it was the first time this season he has had a chance to do any punting, McConnell performed like a veteran, out-punting his Warren rival throughout the game.

Kammer, of course, carried the bulk of the Massillon offense. He was closely watched and his interference did not work as smoothly as it would have worked with Define and Smith in the game but the sturdy Massillon ace ran and smashed his way through the Warren team for substantial gains.
LAUGHLIN STARS
Laughlin, handicapped all season by a bad leg and playing his first full game of the year, was one of the big stars. This stocky youngster played a great game on defense, tackling hard and being in most every play. Sharing honors with Laughlin on defense was Bill Price, the fighting center, who also had a lot to do in stopping the Warren attack.

Massillon’s line was given a rather stiff battering by the husky Warren backs and had it not been for the splendid playing of the secondary defense the eastern Ohio team might have scored. Kammer, who played safety man, until Warren got within scoring distance, also performed well, twice stopping Warren touchdowns by tackling Warren men after they had gotten away from the balance of the local team.

McKee, whose long dashes around the Massillon ends seldom failed to gain ground, was Warren’s shining light. He was a hard man to stop and a clever ground gainer.

Warren showed its best offense in the third quarter when it took the ball on its 20-yard line and marched it down the field for five first downs in a row before being halted on Massillon’s 16-yard stripe as the fourth quarter opened and then lost its chance to score when Laughlin intercepted a pass and ran 90 yards for the first touchdown.

Both teams were in position to score in the first half but neither possessed the punch to put the ball over the line, either for a touchdown or field goal. In the first quarter Laughlin, ever on the alert, pulled a Warren forward pass out of the air on his 32-yard line and ran it back 47 yards to Warren’s 21-yard line before being halted. Kammer tried for a field goal from the 19-yard line but the kick failed.

Then early in the second quarter Fritz Gump made a brilliant catch of a long forward pass from Brown that would have put Massillon on Warren’s 20-yard line but he was tackled hard by two Warren players and fumbled, Warren covering.

Near the end of the quarter Warren threatened to score when Horner tossed a pass to Polena who gained 30 yards, being downed on Massillon’s 12-yard line. Kammer was the only man in front of Polena and the goal line but he saved the day by bringing the Warren quarterback to earth. Then the Massillon line stiffened and held and McKee dropped back to the 23-yard line for a shot at the goal posts but he dropped the pass from center and Crone fell on the ball.

A few momens later Horner’s fighting spirit got the better of him and he robbed his team of another chance to score. He broke through the Massillon line and made a brilliant dash of 22 yards before being tackled by Kammer. He had carried the ball within Massillon’s 20-yard line but lost the gain when he attempted to stick his fingers into Kammer’s eyes when the Massillonian tackled him.

Early in the third quarter Kammer shot around Warren’s right end for 36 yards, taking the ball to the 15-yard line before being downed. But three shots at the line failed to gain and when Kammer tried another field goal the kick was blocked and Warren got the ball on its 17-yard line.

Then after an exchange of punts the easteners opened their most dangerous march of the day. With McKee and Horner hammering the line and skirting the ends Warren marched the ball down the field for five first downs in a row having the oval on Massillon’s 19-yard line and a touchdown in sight when the quarter ended. They were working smoothly and Massillon seemed unable to stop them.

But with their backs to the wall the Massillon team took a new lease on life and held Warren on the 16-yard line. With fourth down coming and several yards to gain Polena attempted a forward pass in a last desperate effort to score. It was then that Laughlin jumped into the spotlight to snare the pass on his 10-yard line and turn it into a touchdown by racing 90 yards with the Warren team in close pursuit but unable to reach him. Kammer added the extra point by kicking a goal from placement.

Warren, however, was far from being licked and shortly after was again marching up the field. They blocked one of McConnell’s punts and covered the ball on the 40-yard line. With McKee thundering around ends and Horner charging through the line Warren soon had the ball back inside Massillon’s 20-yard line.

They got it as far as the seven-yard line with fourth down and seven to gain. Once again Massillon was fighting fiercely.

Polena again called for a forward pass in an attempt to make the yardage or score a touchdown and again his effort was frustrated for this time Kammer shot across the field, grabbed the ball a yard or two in front of the Warren man who was waiting for the pass and ran 95 yards for the second touchdown. Kammer, fast as lightning, had left the entire Warren team far behind by the time he had reached midfield and had clear sailing. Kammer failed to kick goal but Massillon was awarded a point because Captain Baker of Warren used his hands too freely when the attempt to add the extra point was made.

These two touchdowns took a lot of steam out of Warren and a short time later W. Harris covered a fumble on Warren’s 23-yard line. Massillon however could not gain and McConnell tried a drop kick, which never got beyond the line of scrimmage. As the game ended Warren had carried the ball back to midfield on a long end run by McKee.

Massillon attempted nine forward passes Saturday, working three for only 10 yards while five failed. Warren tried seven, completing three for a total gain of 48 yards. Massillon intercepted three, two of which were turned into touchdowns.
Bring On Canton
Massillon – 18 Pos. Warren – 0
Gump LE Blakely
W. Harris LT Klippert
Crone LG Bawn
Price C Baker
N. Harris RG Marhszll
Kelly RT Braunberms
Thomas RE unreadable print
Brown QB Polena
McConnell LHB Young
Kammer RHB McKee
Laughlin FB Conway

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 0 0 14 14

Substitutions:
Massillon – Spencer for N. Harris, Singer for Spencer, Agler for Gump, Gump for Agler, Dommer for Kelly, Hax for Brown.

Warren – Horner for Young, Young for Horner, Horner for Conway, Zahn for Klippert, Consider for Bawn.

Touchdowns – Laughlin, Kammer.

Point after touchdown – Kammer, Awarded point for Warren roughness.

Referee – Scullion , Salem.
Umpire – O’Brien, Mt. Union.
Head Linesman – Howells, Sebring.

Time of quarters – 12 minutes.