WEISGARBER HAS LARGE EVENING
Crowd of 13,467 Fans Sees Tiger Lineman Throw Warren Runners For Four Losses In A Row; Graber Injured
By Luther Emery
The Washington high Tigers ran their undefeated string to 50 games Friday evening in a slugfest with Warren Harding high in Tiger Stadium that ended in a 32-0 triumph for the Tigers and injury to their triple threat halfback, Bob Graber.
There is news to both, but at this stage of the season with Canton McKinley only three weeks away, injuries are more important to the Massillon fan’s eyes, and that’s why so many flocked into the Tiger dressing room after the game.
Sprained Ankle
Graber sustained a severe sprain to his left ankle, while tackling Warren’s fine fullback, Tony Marcarello, in the fourth quarter. An examination after the game failed to reveal any broken bones, but x-ray pictures will be taken today in order to thoroughly establish the extent of the injury.
Graber’s injury was the climax of the roughest and toughest game played in Tiger Stadium this year in which players more than once appeared to lose their temper. Only one penalty was called for unnecessary roughness, that when a Warren player was caught slugging, but throughout the evening, players showed a willingness to pile on.
The crowd of 13,467 even warmed up to the temper of the game, and several times booed the fisticuffs.
Tigers Not In Form
Still showing a tendency to fumble, and giving a poor exhibition of forward passing, the Tigers were not in form last night. They played, good hard football the first half, when they established their superiority over the visiting team and toyed with Warren the rest of the way, throwing pass after pass but only completing two out of 13 attempts for the small gain of 29 yards.
Thirty-two points as a whole are enough for any game, but the Massillon gridders did not appear to be point hungry last night. The drive they exhibited early in the game, faded the last half, and injuries immediately began to crop out.
The Tigers found in Warren just what they expected, a heavy but slow team. It may be the locals were themselves down the first two periods pushing the Presidents around. At least they looked as bad off and exhausted after the game as at anytime this season, though the only serious injury appeared to be to Graber’s ankle. Bob Wood, of Warren was carried from the field in the second half but only received a slight sprain it was revealed.
The Tigers crossed the Warren goal twice in the first period, and once in each of the remaining periods, and were denied a sixth touchdown because of a clipping penalty.
Warren threatened the Massillon goal but once, and then lost the ball on second down, when Bob Wallace covered a fumble on the four-yard line.
Vernon Weisgarber and Bob Wallace grabbed the limelight as linemen last night. The former, playing his third year of varsity football never gave a better exhibition than he did in the first quarter when he tossed Warren ball carriers for four losses in succession that totaled 21 yards. In addition he recovered a couple of Warren fumbles. Bob was battling hard throughout the night too and had a big share in the Tiger defensive line play.
Warren, as expected, showed Massillon some offense in Marcarello, who is an A-1 fullback who drives hard and does not quit driving until his nose is on the ground.
The statistics show the Tigers only gained two more first downs than the Presidents, the total was 12-10, and rolled up 332 yards to 142 yards.
You can put it down in the book that most of Warren’s 142 yards were made by Marcarello. What Coach Elwood Kammer wouldn’t give for him now that Graber has gone lame?
Two Touchdowns, One Counts
You can give Keve Bray and Chuck Holt credit for gaining most of theTiger yards. They turned in the two prettiest runs of the evening. Keve’s counted. Holt’s did not. The former’s produced the last touchdown of the game, a 74-yard gallop on a deep weak side reverse that was accompanied with a screen of fine blocking. Bray took the ball off Romeo Pellegrini almost on the east side line, and then ran fast across the field toward the west side line. He followed the great circle route, had the speed to do it and outlegged the first couple of Warren players who caught on to what was taking place. At the 50-yard line he saw his blockers forming, so he cut over toward the middle of the field to gain their support and they cut down the Warren tacklers one at a time. He found himself still in good company when he crossed into the promised land.
There wasn’t any milk and honey served up to Holt on a near similar dash in the second quarter, but his run was just as spectacular. He intercepted Tony Marcarello’s pass on his own 20, and through his own power driving and some good blocking ran straight up the middle of the field for what appeared to be a touchdown. A clipping penalty was called on the Tiger 38-yard line, however, the touchdown was denied and the Tigers were set back to their 23-yard line.
Warren finished better than its reporters thought it would, but they don’t like the idea of winning moral victories, and are not classifying last night’s contest as such. The Tiger team had them guessing just as it had many Massillon fans confused when the firing was over. They wondered how an eleven so good the first period and a half could fade so badly the remainder of the game.
An analysis seems to indicate that the Tigers concentrated more on a pass rehearsal with a 19-point lead than it did on making more points. At least the offense bogged down once two and three throws were worked into a series.
One shining bit of defensive work loomed in the fourth period when the Presidents made their only bid. Marching from their own 39-yard line, they carried the ball with the assistance of two five-yard penalties to the Tigers’ 20-yard line, where Marcarello broke loose for a 15-yard gain, and planted the ball on the five-yard line with four downs to make it in.
Marcarello was thrown into the Massillon trench to start with but the Tigers refused to yield. Then Luke White was called upon to do his stuff. He went into the pileup on the eight-man line, but lost the ball in the scuffle, and when all of the bodies were exhumed, Bob Wallace was found clutching the ball on the four-yard stripe. This ended the threat.
Moving Day
The Tigers didn’t experience any difficulty moving the Warren beef the first period even though the local line gave away 24 pounds to the man. They did a good job of rendering lard on 265-pound George Bollas, a guard, and forced him out of the game at an early stage of the contest.
Throughout the first half, the local team beat the Presidents to the first foot of ground and hit them so hard at the start, it looked as through the score could be just as high was they wanted.
Warren was the victim of “jitteritis”, or something, and fumbled frequently. On the fourth play of the game, Marcarello fumbled, and Jasinski came up with the ball on the 25-yard line. Capt. Holt deployed his team the width of the field on a spread, and Graber instead of passing, chose to run with the ball and gained seven yards. Bray reeled off 10 around left end and Graber smashed through for the touchdown. Cardinal missed the placekick for the extra point. Two fumbles and an intercepted pass later and the Tigers got the ball on a poor punt on the Warren 33. Holt moved the ball up four yards and Graber, running from a T went to a first down on the 13-yard line. Bray dribbled the ball along four yards and then knifed through left tackle for the touchdown. Holt plunged the extra point over.
Don Willmot recovered Tom Brogdon’s fumble on the Tiger 36-yard line, to start the third touchdown series. Two plays had gained six yards when Holt broke loose and ran 45 yards to the 13-yard line. Graber went over for the touchdown. Holt missed the attempted kick.
The Tigers moved down to the Warren 13 the next time they gained possession of the ball, but surrendered it on downs.
The Presidents’ defense stiffened the third period and threw the Tigers back on the 25-yard line in the opening minutes of the second half. Bray hauled in one of Tony Marcarcello’s passes on the Tiger 44 and, fumbled when tackled, Bob Wallace pounced on the ball for Massillon. Graber passed to Jasinski for 12 yards, one of two passes worked by the Tigers all evening, and another first down. In two attempts Holt lugged the leather through a mass of humanity to the 33-yard line; then plunged to another first on the 13. In three plays Holt and Graber plunged to the one-yard line and Fred Cardinal took it over. He attempted to kick the extra point but it was wide of the uprights.
The final points came in the fourth period on Bray’s 74-yard run from a deep reverse.
String Of 50
Massillon Pos. Warren
Willmot le Ecker
Williams lt Wood
R. Wallace lg Bollas
B. Wallace c Kujala
Weisgarber rg Sicuro
Paulik rt Horvath
Jasinski re Palchick
Cardinal qb T. Moarcarello
Graber lh White
Bray rh Barzak
Holt fb A. Marcarello
Score by periods:
Massillon 13 6 6 7 – 32
Substitutions – Massillon: Edwards, lt; Williams, c; Power, qb; Gibson, rh; Mastriann, fb; Yelic, lt; Kaney, lg; Pellegrini, lh.
Warren: Georges, le; Gillen, lg; Fisher, qb; Crowe, le; Brogdon, lh; Bevan, lt; Martin, rg.
Touchdowns – Graber 2, Bray 2, Cardinal.
Points after touchdown – Holt 2 (plunge and carry).
Referee – Lobach.
Umpire – Brubaker.
Headlineman – Jenkins.
Field judge – Shafer.
Statistics
Mass. Warren
First Downs 12 10
Yards Gained Rushing 327 136
Yards Lost Rushing 24 23
Net Gain Rushing 303 113
Yards Gained Passing 29 29
Total Yards Gained 332 142
Passes Attempted 13 16
Passes Completed 2 2
Had Passes Intercepted 2 7
Passes Incomplete 9 7
Times Punted 2 2
Average Punt (yards) 40 12
Yards Punts Returned 0 18
Times Kicked Off 6 1
Average Kickoff (yards) 51 54
Yards Kickoff Returned 24 88
Times Penalized 6 3
Yards Penalized 60 25
