TIGERS ARE TESTED BY PLUCKY ALLIANCE TEAM
Aviators Throw Up Crafty Defense and Hold Massillon Eleven to Lowest Score of Season, 27-0;
Washington High Band Deserves Big Hand

By LUTHER EMERY

Crafty Dr. George Wilcoxon, brought a big scrappy Alliance team to Massillon last night and gave the Washington high Tigers all they cared to handle.

A crowd of 5,000 fans, incidentally the smallest of the season, saw the Aviators hold Massillon scoreless until hear the end of the second period; watched them force the Tigers to punt more often than they had in all five previous games put together and in the end cheered when the visitors broke loose with a sensational passing attack that carried the ball to the 15-yard line, where Walter Woods threw himself on a fumble to end the most serious scoring threat of an opponent this season.

Game Filled With Trickery
The score was 27-0 and that about represents the difference between the two teams. An assistant Alliance coach had said before the game that the Aviators would hold the Tigers to 25 points.

It was a good game to watch and was filled with hard football and the trickery of Dr. Wilcoxon. The Tiger linemen presented a solid front on defense and moved the visitors backward every time they attempted to run with the ball. The equally husky Alliance linemen, flanked with two great ends in Starks and Seufts made the local gridders fight for every inch and forced them inside tackles for gains.

Dr. Wilcoxon devised a shifting defense which baffled the Tigers and rendered the forward pass, one of their chief offensive weapons, almost useless. Nobody knew just what defense the visitors would assemble when the ball was passed. They waited until the Tigers came out of the huddle. Then they shifted their forces, occasionally hopping a man into the line and on several occasions pulling one out to present a five man front.

Tigers Use Spread Formation
Coach Paul Brown, likewise pulled a couple of surprises. He came out with a spread formation, but only managed to work one play off it. On other occasions the Alliance boys broke through when the Tigers shifted and Raber, their center pounced on the ball to keep Voss from passing it.

Brown had equipped his team with the spread formation in the belief that Wilcoxon would introduce a spread against the Tigers. The Alliance coach had one up his sleeve, but used it only once. Had the Tigers not shown him from the start that they were familiar with this type of formation, he might have used it more often.

The right side of the Tiger line looked none too strong in the Barberton, Brown realizing he was scouted, moved Glass to right end on defense last night and put Updegraff on the secondary. Glass is a better defensive player. Updegraff more rangy for pass defense.

The maneuver outguessed Wilcoxon for just as Brown had expected. Alliance centered much of its running attack on the right side of the Massillon line and as on the left – “got nowhere.”

Tigers Hit to the Weak Side
Brown on the other hand anticipated Wilcoxon would have a defense built to stop the hard right tackle smashes of the Massillon team and in this was correct. Jake Gillom needed only to lug the ball once to show he could get nowhere last night so Dutton played his ace in the hole and took turns with chunky Bob Glass attacking the weak side.

These two goys gained practically all the yardage on every touchdown, Glass banding over the Alliance goal all four times and Dutton crossing it twice and Ed herring once on plunges for extra points.

It was the first time this season that the Tigers met their match in weight. The linemen acquitted themselves nobly by forcing a retreat on all Alliance ball carrying efforts and the backs, finding a mass of Alliance men on the right, had to content themselves with short gains through the weak side.

The Tigers might have succeeded in opening the visitors’ defense had they snared passes with more success, but as it was the receivers had a case of butter fingers last night and could not hold the dew soaked ball.

Wilcoxon Pulls One at Start
The craft of Dr. Wilcoxon was displayed at the start when the visitors after winning the toss, elected to kick. The ball was then placed in position, not in the center of the field but 15 yards in from the sideline. Oyster faked a pick up the center of the field, but Madison cut over from the sideline and booted the ball almost laterally across the field. It went out of bounds. Alliance kicked over and this time Oyster booted the ball to Jake Gillom who received on his 20 and raced back to his 48 before being tackled. Gillom, Dutton and Glass carried to a first down on the 36 but here the Aviators mustered their forces and held the Tigers to one yard on three plays, two of which were incomplete passes.
Dutton dropped back and punted the ball into the coffin corner. It went out on the
three-yard line. In two plays Alliance was forced back to the one-yard stripe and when Huffman tried to punt, Tiger linemen broke through blocked the kick and Glass recovered back of the goal line. However, the officials ruled Massillon offside on the play and penalized the Tigers five yards. Huffman kicked out safely to Gillom who was stopped on the 30-yard line and the threat was over.

Alliance had only gained two yards on two plays when Woods, who has developed into quite a ball hawk, covered Huffman’s fumble on the Alliance 35-yard line. A pass, Dutton to Gillom netted a first on the 20 but Massillon was in motion on the play and was set back five. The Tiger could do nothing carrying the ball and Dutton punted over the goal line. On the series of plays that followed Long got away for a 13-yard gain and Alliance’s first first down of the game, but Anderson and Voss made him pay for it by throwing him for losses of four and 10 yards respectively the next two times he carried the ball.

Alliance Holds on 25-yard Line
Huffman punted out on the 40 and Massillon was penalized five yards for being in motion. Dutton got away for a 20-yard run to a first down on the 25-yard line but here again Alliance braced and turned back the Tigers’ scoring threats, finally regaining the ball on the 23-yard line.

Three plays netted a loss of one yard and Huffman punted to Gillom who returned eight yards to the Alliance 48. Bog Glass led an assault that carried the pigskin to the 14-yard line, where Seufts covered a Massillon fumble to end the threat. Alliance’s attempt to gain resulted in the Tigers pushing them back to the two-yard line. Huffman dropped behind his goal and punted to Gillom who was downed on the Alliance 39 with no return. There the first touchdown drive was launched. Gillom muffed Dutton’s pass, but Glass rammed for three yards, then for 10 and a first down on the 26. Gillom only got a yard before he was hit hard by Oyster. Dutton failed to gain but Alliance was offside and was penalized five yards. Gillom slipped though attempts to gain resulted in the launched. Gillom muffed Dutton for a first down on the 15-yard line. Dutton slipped through for six yards and Glass made it first down on the four-yard line. Glass put it on the three-yard stripe and with 50 seconds of the period left to play, lunged over for the touchdown. Dutton then plunged for the extra point.

It didn’t take the Tigers long to score in the second half. Neri Buggs covered the kickoff on the Alliance 40 and a touchdown was in the making. Dutton hurled a pass to Anderson good for a 12-yard gain and a first down on the 30-yard line. Glass made four yards, Dutton two and then 10 more for a first down on the 14-yard line. Glass rammed through for the touchdown. Jake Gillom tried to plunge the extra point over but failed by inches.

Morningstar kicked off to Madison who returned to his 34. Two plays netted Alliance a loss of 15 yards but the visitors recovered their own blocked kick for a first down on the 36 yard line. Held and Anderson tossed Reed and Long for losses and Huffman punted to Gillom who was dropped on the Alliance 45 after a 12 yard gain.

Gillom failed to gain but Dutton wiggled through the weak side for seven and Glass went 18 yards to the 20 yard line. Dutton made three on a spinner and Glass got loose for 15 more yards and a first down on the two-yard line. Dutton made a yard and Glass went over the goal. Alliance was offside on the play but Massillon naturally took the touchdown. Dutton plunged the extra point over.

Morningstar kicked off to long and the Aviators immediately launched an aerial offensive that netted a first down on their own 27 yard line before Eddie Molinski got his hands on one of Long’s throws and was dropped on the 30-yard line. Ed Herring who substituted for Jake Gillom, immediately reeled off 17 yards around right end. Dutton made five and Glass three more before the period ended with the ball on the Alliance five yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Glass plunged through for the touchdown. He came out of the huddle standing up. Ed Herring plunged through for the extra point.

Madison got back to the 20 yard line with Glass’ kickoff where he was hit hard by Willie McDew. When three plays failed to gain Huffman kicked to Herring who only got back seven yards when he slipped and fell on the Alliance 43. Dutton lost 12 yards when he couldn’t find a receiver. He pegged the ball to McDew for a 14 yard gain but when other passes failed, kicked off the side of his foot and out of bounds on the 35.

Alliance Resumes Passing
The Aviators resumed their bombing, but without success and Anderson covered Newman’s fumble on the 23 yard line. Dutton ran to a first down but the effort was lost when the Tigers were penalized 15 yards for holding on the play. Oyster intercepted Dutton’s pass and ran back to his own 41 yard line before being tackled.

Again the visitors began tossing passes and this time to success. Huffman to Long gained a first down on the Massillon 49. Huffman to Starks made it first down on the 39. Huffman to Long brought another first down on the 28. Huffman to Redd gained seven yards and Long to Starks made it first down on the 15 yard line. That was as deep as Massillon territory had been penetrated this season.

Two more Alliance passes were grounded when Woods broke through to cover Huffman’s fumble, partially the result of a poor pass on the 30 yard line.

It ended the most serious scoring threat that has confronted the Tigers this season.

Not discouraged the Aviators fought back and stopped efforts of the Tigers to advance the ball so McDew kicked the ball out of bounds in midfield. The visitors made four attempts to gain but lost on downs on the Massillon 45. Mike Byelene immediately reeled off the longest run of the game as he dashed back 40 yards to the Alliance 15 yard line, where he was tackled from behind. Snyder made two yards and Herring put the ball on the five yard line when the gun cracked to end the game.

While Alliance gained more yardage and made four first downs in the fourth quarter, four to Massillon’s one ,the Tigers in the game as a whole were superior making 13 first downs to Alliance’s six.

Massillon, however, only completed two passes for a gain of 26 yards, had nine incomplete and one intercepted, while Alliance completed nine of 20 passes for a gain of 76 yards. One pass was intercepted by Massillon.

The Tigers were penalized 45 yards, Alliance 15 yards.
An attraction which is rapidly becoming the equal of the team is the drill and music of the Washington high band.

Wear New Caps
Equipped with new white caps, the band gave a demonstration in drilling which might make the American Legion drum and bugle corps jealous, were it not for the fact that its own drill master, Capt. B.L. Kilper, has spent many hours putting the band through its paces.

The Washington high school band which only a few years ago was a straggly outfit with insufficient uniforms to equip everyone, has been built into one of the outstanding bands in the state by C.J. Morrison, its director.

Morrison has been given able assistance by the Band Mothers’ Club, and Capt. Kilper. The young musicians have shown a will to work and a love for music, so much so that they practice the year round, vacation season included and respond for a public appearance every time they are called upon.

Massillon is just as proud of its band as its football team.

A Hard Battle
Massillon Pos. Alliance
Anderson LE Seufts
Held LT Zamaltis
Updegraff LG Carli
Voss C Raber
Woods RG Oyster
Buggs RT Wenzel
Morningstar RE Starks
Dutton QB Long
Gillom LH Huffman
Molinski RH Sina
Glass FB Madison

Score by periods:
Massillon 0 7 13 7 27

Substitutions:
Massillon – Byelene, qb; Herring, lh; Spillman, rh; Snyder, fb; O. Gillom, le; Anderson, lt; Miller,lg; Snavely, c; Russ, rg; Moffett, rt; McDew, re.
Alliance – Grimes, le; Adams, re; Vacarlu, lg; Newman, qb; Reed, rh; Kacarab, fb; Hartley, lt; James, fb.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Glass 4.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Dutton 2; Herring (plunges).

Referee – Rupp.
Umpire – Jenkins.
Head Linesman – Rang.