1937: Massillon 13, Steubenville 0

August 6, 1937May 22, 2017
by Eric Smith

TIGERS DEFEAT STEUBENVILLE 13-0 ON MUDDY GRIDIRON GLASS AND SNAVELY REGISTER TOUCHDOWNS
Massillon Points Scored in First and Last Periods; Stout Defense Holds Big Red to Net Gain of One Yard

By LUTHER EMERY

Out of the murk, the Washington high Tigers came, Friday evening, to overpower the Big Red of Steubenville 13-0 and write another score in the record books which Massillon fans hope will give the local team its third successive state championship.

With the elements against them, the Tigers splashed and plunged to show 7,000 fans, 1,000 of them from Massillon, why they have been proclaimed state champions the last two years.

Score in First Quarter
They struck fast. Stopped once on the one-yard line after recovering a Steubenville fumble, Bob Glass led the local eleven to its first touchdown in a 25-yard drive that ended when he plunged through stubborn resistance from the one-yard line. He also carried the ball across for the extra point.

The longer the game progressed the more it appeared the seven points would be the margin of difference.

The Big Red yielded ground in midfield but when waddling in the shadows of its goal posts, would not be moved.

Snavely Blocks Punt
Minutes were slipping in the fourth quarter when the Tigers with a series of offensive maneuvers and well placed punts shoved Steubenville back to its four-yard line and forced them to punt. But Fingers never got the ball away. Don Snavely crashed through, blocked the punt and covered it behind the Big Red goal for a touchdown.

The Stubbers tossed passes recklessly after that but could not connect.

The Big Red was a stubborn football tam. Massing its superior weight when pushed back to its goal line, it twice stopped Massillon touchdown drives within the three-yard line and on three other occasions turned back threats within the 20-yard stripe.

But the Tigers were not to be denied victory. Though the breaks helped them to their touchdowns, they helped to make the breaks and deserved the 13-point advantage as the following statistics will show.

Looking more like gingerbread boys after rolling about in the mud and water, the Massillon boys gained the sum total of 209 yards to Steubenville’s one and made 12 first downs to Steubenville’s one. In fact Steubenville’s only first down was made on a penalty and was not gained by rushing.

In every department the Tigers excelled. They tossed three passes and completed two for a gain of 29 yards. The Big Red failed to complete a pass.

Linemen Play Great Game
The Massillon line out-charged the heavier Steubenville forward wall and too much credit cannot be given the defensive playing of Don Snavely and Messrs. Gus Peters, Junior Anderson, Lynn Houston, Earl Martin and Bud Lucius for their fine defensive work.

The gangly Tiger center twice smacked through and smeared the 190-pound Di Carlo for successive losses.

The heavy footing, however, slowed the offensive charge of the Massillon gridders and they found it hard to dig the Big Red out of their goal line stands.

An all-night and all-day rain left a heavy gridiron, but thanks to solid turf, the field was not a quagmire.
Backfield men, however, found it hard from the start to handle the slimy ball and there were frequent fumbles, each team recovering the ball from opponents.

A fumble, in fact gave the Tigers their first chance in the opening minutes of the game.

Tigers Recover Fumble
The Big Red had kicked off and Glass getting but seven yards, in two attempts had punted back to the Stubbers 15-yard line. On the second play, Fingers fumbled and a Massillon boy pounced on the ball on the nine-yard line.

Then and there the Tigers found they were up against a more than average line. Bob Glass hammered through for four yards but lost three of them the next time he carried. He carried the ball two more times but could only gain seven more yards and the Big Red took the ball on their one-yard stripe.

Standing deep behind his goal line, Fingers punted out to George Slusser who made a daring catch on the Big Red 30 and got back five yards more. It was a great job of ball handling on the part of Slusser and the way he handled the slippery pigskin throughout the night is worthy of credit.

Glass Scores Touchdown
With Glass carrying the leather, the Tigers required three smashes to push it forward to a first down on the Stubbers’ 13-yard line. He whacked right tackle for one yard on a reverse and crashed through the left side for nine more and a first down on the three-yard line. The Tiger halfback required two more plays, both directed at the center of the Steubenville line, to get the ball over. Both sides were offside when an attempted kick for the extra point went wild of the posts, so Glass lugged the leather across on the second attempt for the seventh point.

Playing a break, the Big Red chose to kickoff but the Tigers held on to the ball and swept back up the field on a 24-yard dash by Slusser on a fake kick and a 10-yard sweep by Glass. The Stubbers stopped the drive on their 15-yard line, however when they twice held Glass without gain and nailed Slusser to a spinner.

The Tigers again got the ball on a punt in midfield and Glass and Zimmerman drove back to the 30 where a 15-yard penalty ended their threat. After another exchange of punts, Massillon took the ball on the Stubber’s 40 and aided by a 15-yard flip over center, Slusser to Snavely, marched the ball to the three-yard line, where Glass on fourth down with two yards to go, missed a first down by a foot. He dug his head into the tummy of Straka, 265-pound Steubenville tackle and through dazed, continued in the game.

Fingers punted out of danger but the Tigers came right back again driving down to the 20-yard line where Fingers intercepted Slusser’s toss to Snavely and got back to his 24-yard line before being tackled. Fingers got away for four yards on the next play, Steubenville’s longest gain of the game.

Neither team threatened in the third quarter. The Big Red had a chance when Di Carlo covered a Massillon fumble on the Tiger 25, but on the first play he fumbled and Lucius got the ball back for Massillon.

Early in the fourth period the Tigers began a series of maneuvers that gradually shoved the Big Red back into its own territory and paved the way for the final touchdown.

They took the ball to the 12-yard line, where a 22-yard loss on a widely tossed lateral set them back to the 34. Bob Glass planted a high punt that dropped to the four-yard line where Don Snavely downed the ball.

Snavely Blocks Punt
Fingers kicked back to Slusser who made another of those daring catches on the 32-yard line and only got forward two steps before being downed. A five-yard penalty stopped the threat and Glass, not taking any chances, punted to Fingers who was dropped by Snavely for no return on the three-yard line.

When two passes were knocked down, Fingers dropped back to punt. Don Snavely came crashing through and blocked the ball. It rolled to the side. Both players plunged for the ball. Fingers hit it first but like a greased pig it slipped from his arms and Snavely crawled on it for a touchdown.

Glass tried to kick the extra point but the ball slipped from the fingers of Red Snyder who was holding it for him. Gathering up the leather, Glass sidestepped two Stubber tackles but fell a yard short of making the extra point.

The Big Red tried to pass the wet ball but it only resulted in Bog Howard intercepting it on the Massillon 35-yard line. The game ended with the Tigers completing a first down in midfield.

The Massillon gridders emerged from the game in good condition. Though there was a lot of piling up, particularly in the closing minutes of the game, none appeared hurt except Glass who aggravated an old shoulder injury. He played with a rubber doughnut on the sore spot and though twice injured, lasted the entire game, however.

Sweaters were nearly plastered to the skin with mud and water and players of both teams had a hard time “skinning” them off after the game.

The Massillon band proved every bit as good mudders as the Tiger gridders. The Big Red turned over the entire intermission period to the local musicians, who tossed off their rain coats and drilled on the field. “The best band that has ever drilled here,” was the compliment of the Steubenville announcer.

Rained Throughout Game
Put on your rain coat, fill the bath tub with water and crawl in. You may then better realize the drenching spectators received. But it was not as severe as at New Castle last year and fans were better prepared. They had their rain coats, blankets, hats, umbrellas and boots this time. The rain had one redeeming feature, however. It kept down the fog and the vanguard of the Massillon delegation began arriving home at 11:30 p.m.

The special train which conveyed the band and several hundred fans to Steubenville pulled in an hour and a half later. It did not leave Steubenville until after 11 p.m.

Many Massillon fans remained in Steubenville all night and continued on to Pittsburgh today. The same program will be enjoyed by members of the team. They spent the night at the Fort Steuben hotel and this morning left for Pittsburgh to attend the Wisconsin – University of Pittsburgh game. They will return to Massillon tonight.

The lineup and summary:
Massillon Pos. Steubenville
Lechleiter LE Knowalezuk
Peters LT Straka
Houston LG Fryer
Martin C Bell
Lucius RG Barsuck
Anderson RT Mike
Snavely RE Williams
Slusser QB Roe
Glass LH Fingers
Snyder RG Di Carlo
Zimmerman FB Olson

Game Statistics
Mass. Steub.
Yards gained rushing 209 18
Yards lost rushing 29* 17
Net yards gained 180 1
Yards gained passing 29 0
Total yards gained 209 1
First downs 12 1x
Times punted 6 7
Average punts in yards 36 32
Average punts returned 4.8 1.5
Penalties 40 9
Lost ball on fumble 2 2
Passes completed 2 0
Passes intercepted 1 2
Passes incomplete 0 4
* – 22 of 29 yards lost in fumbled lateral
x – Penalty gave first down