2024: Massillon 14, DeMatha Catholic, MD 20

September 28, 2024October 1, 2024
by Don Engelhardt

Massillon Edged by Maryland’s DeMatha Catholic

Game Statistics

In a matchup of two nationally ranked high school football teams, parochial school power DeMatha Catholic (3-1) came out on top of Massillon (4-2) 20-14 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Simply put, although the Tigers played to their capabilities, the Stag were bigger, stronger and faster, and they used those assets to control the game from start to finish.

When on offense, DeMatha was inclined to hand the ball to 4-star running back Bud Coombs (Maryland), who followed his 295 lb. offensive line to tune of 171 yards and a touchdown in 24 carries. The Stag also took advantage of a short field on three of their four scores. But the Tiger defense never quit and kept the game score under control.

DeMatha was equally effective on defense, keying on running back Ja’Meir Gamble the entire night. Gamble netted just 38 yards in 14 carries. Quarterback Jalen Slaughter did complete 15 of 25 passes, but for just 104 yards. He struggled all night to find receivers open against DeMatha’s extremely fast secondary and was left with screen passes and sideline tosses. It was commendable that the Tiger offense was even able to score. On a positive note, the Tiger offensive line did a great job against DeMatha’s constant blitzing and surrendered just two quarterback sacks.

DeMatha received the opening kickoff and began at their own 40, owing to a Massillon offsides on the first kickoff attempt and a kick out of bounds on the second. Following a 5-play, 69-yard drive that stalled at the Tiger 22, Alex Amaya kicked a 39-yard field goal.

Following an exchange of punts, with DeMatha’s punt coming after a 26-yard penalty for intentional grounding, Massillon fumbled on its own 33. It then took the Stag seven plays to cover the necessary yards for Elijah Lee’s 1-yard touchdown run. That made the score 10-0.

On the Tigers’ next possession, they were forced to punt from their own 37. Tyler Hackenbracht is a great punter, but in this game his long punts were a detriment as were going beyond his team’s coverage. With the speed possessed by the Stag return players it caused serious problems. In this instant, his 45-yard punt was returned 39 yards to the to the Massillon 43. From there, hampered by a series of offensive penalties, DeMatha ultimately failed on a 56-yard field attempt.

Finally, starting at their own 22, the Tigers were able to put together a meaningful drive. Going mostly to the air, they covered the 78 yards in ten plays. The key plays were a 19-yard pass to Deontay Malone and a 22-yard run by Slaughter, during which he scrambled from the pocket and eluded several tackles on the way to the end zone. So, at halftime, the score was 10-7.

DeMatha responded in the third quarter when Hackenbracht’s 43-yard punt was returned 74 yards to the Massillon seven. Two plays later they were in the end zone. Score: 20-7. The Tigers did come back with a nice drive a bit later. Mylen Lenix was inserted at running back and he carried the ball five times for 43 hard gained yards. But the drive stalled at the Stag 33 with two incomplete passes, followed by a fourth down quarterback sack.

The game might have ended quietly at 20-7, except that with 3-1/2 minutes left the DeMatha punter mishandled a punt snap that gave the Tigers the ball at the six. Lenix then did the honors from the one. Subsequently, with 2:43 left, Nolan Hendricks attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by DeMatha, effectively ending the game.

DeMatha led in first downs 15-13, total yards 288-195 and rushing yards 210-91.

The stag might have left a good impression on the Massillon fans based on their superior play, but it was lost in the constant chirping and extracurricular activities following the whistle, something that the referees were disinclined to address. It also didn’t help that they committed 16 execution penalties.

With the loss, Massillon will now need to focus on winning their final four games in order to grab a favorable ranking in the very flawed Harbin computer poll. It will begin with a home game next week against Football North (Clarkson), Ontario. DeMatha will host Life Christian Academy, from Virginia.