A Look Back at Past Massillon Teams – Part 6 – The 1995 Season

This is the sixth of a 10-part series looking back at all of the Massillon teams of the 1990s.

Head Coach: Jack Rose (4th Year)
Overall Record: 7-3
Regular Season Record: 7-3
Playoff Results: Did not qualify
Key Players: George Whitfield (QB), Vinnie Turner (RB), Devin Williams (WR), Brett Wiles (WR), Ben Mast (OL/DL), Paul Salvino (OL/DL), Elijah Blake (DB), Eric Lightfoot DB)
All-Ohio: Vinnie Turner (SM)

Senior quarterback George Whitfield was under center leading a predominantly underclass team.  After college, George founded a professional quarterback training business.  Massillon defeated Cincinnati Moeller for the first time in eight tries by the score of 21-18.  The Tigers hosted one of the best teams from Florida in Miami Southridge (8-1), losing 21-7, with the visitors breaking a 7-7 tie in the fourth quarter.  The Tigers nearly overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit against Canton McKinley with a courageous second half comeback.  For the season, running back Vinnie Turner carried the ball 204 times for 1,227 yards (6.0 ave.) and led the team in scoring with 108 points.  Whitfield of completed half of his passes for 929 yards and six touchdowns.

PIVOTAL GAMES

Cincinnati Moeller – Massillon led the entire way in defeating Moeller for the first time in eight tries, by the score of 21-18.  The two teams combined for seven fumbles, three by the Tigers and four by the Crusaders.  Massillon took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Turner sped for 38 yards.  Turner scored again on a 1-yard run in the second to up the margin to 14-0.  Moeller then responded with a 27-yard field goal before halftime.  In the third quarter the Crusaders closed the margin to 14-11, before Turner scored his third TD of the night on a 13-yard run.  Josh Hose then added his third PAT kick.  Moeller tallied their final points with three minutes left in the fourth on a short run, but the Tigers held on  for the win.  Team statistics were slightly in favor of the Crusaders, but Turner had perhaps his best night of the season, rushing 25 times for 196 yards (7.8 ave.) and three touchdowns.

Miami Southrange, FL – Massillon took a foray into the national scene with a home game against Southrange and put up a good fight in a 20-7 loss.  The Tigers opened the scoring in the second quarter when Turner caught a 6-yard pass from Whitfield in the end zone and took that lead into the locker room at halftime.  Southrange tied the score in the third on a 1-yard run and then tallied again in the fourth from 12-yards out to complete a 15-play drive.  Their final points came on a 12-yard pick-six.  Turner gained 129 of Massillon’s total 180 yards.  But the speed of Southrange really made the difference in this game.  That and a pair of turnovers.

Canton McKinley – The Bulldogs led 17-7 at the half and then needed to stave off a hard-charging Tiger team, eventually winning 24-21.  But not before Massillon fumbled at the McKinley five yard line with under a minute left to play.  That, and four turnovers cost Massillon dearly in this one in an evenly played game yardage-wise.  Adrian Brown (Youngstown State) scored all three of McKinley’s touchdowns, on long runs of 72, 72 and 24 yards.  Massillon’s scores came from Lavell Everett/Weaver (1-yard run), Brett Wiles (17-yard pass from Whitfield) and Vinnie Turner (12-yard pass from Whitfield).  In his final Tiger game, Whitfield completed 18 of 30 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns.