Tigers Blast Steubenville 52-0
Bengal Line Rips Big Red To Win First Game In All-American Loop
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
They never knew what hit them!
It was as if someone alternated between placing a speeding locomotive and the Rock of Gibraltar on the Harding stadium gridiron in Steubenville Friday night.
The Massillon Tigers, utilizing devastating offensive and defensive football, crushed a game but outclassed and crippled up Steubenville high eleven 52-0 on the Ohio river before a disappointing 6,327 fans. It was the biggest score of the season for the Bengals.
It was the first game for the new All-American High School Football league. The Washington high team has the honor of being the first to lead the circuit with two points. Steubenville got minus-one for the defeat.
The Bengals raised their season’s record to 4-1. Akron Garfield, the only team to beat the Orange and Black, also remains the lone team to score upon the Tigers. Steubenville dropped to a 2-3 mark at the season’s halfway point.
Massillon rolled up 446 total yards to the Big Red’s 58 and 21 first downs to Steubenville’s 11 – one in each half. Massillon rushed for 341 net yards to Steubenville’s 43 and got 105 to the Big Red’s 15 in the air.
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NO ONE BOY can be singled out for his efforts. It was another of those jobs well done by all concerned. It took linemen opening good holes for hard-running backs, hard-charging by the defensive line and linebackers to stop Steubenville’s backs time and again before they could get started, heads up pass coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks and outstanding tackling by all to get the victory.
Several boys contributed to the scoring. Terry Getz, senior halfback, tallied two touchdowns and two conversions. Senior halfbacks Bill (Rabbit) Blunt got two touchdowns and a conversion; sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks scored a touchdown and a conversion. Senior tailback Phil Harris got one six-pointer, so did junior fullback Jim Lawrence.
When the Tigers got the ball, they stuck mostly to the ground, pounding first one side of the Steubenville line and then the other like air hammers taking chucks out of cement. They used up great gobs of time on the clock.
When Steubenville had the ball The Big Red could get only one series at a time except once in the second and once in the third quarter. Try as they might – and they never gave up trying – the Big Red could not move the ball. They kept hitting hard on defense but could not stop the Tiger juggernaut.
“The boys really banged away on defense,” Massillon Coach Leo Strang said, “They did a real good job. I’ll bet Lindsey (Steubenville halfback Herb) never got hit that hard in his life.”
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COACH RAY HOYMAN of Steubenville said sadly, “We just don’t have it this year and won’t have it for a couple of years. We have a good freshman team but have only five sophomores out for football and a junior class very light in numbers.”
He did not mention that he had four front liners on crutches.
There was one part of Hoyman’s strategy which succeeded. He didn’t let the Bengals get any long punt runbacks. The kicks from Bob McCosky either went to the opposite side from the Tigers’ planned return, out of bounds or were grounded.
The Bengals equaled their biggest first half of the season in scoring 32 points. They had tallied an identical amount of points against Cleveland East in the opener.
Three scores came on sustained ground drives. The last was helped out by a long pass.
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THE TIGERS matched 69 yards with the opening kickoff after a 19-yard runback of the kick by senior Grady Eckard. They used up 6:40, 12 plays and got four first downs in the effort.
Halfback Terry Getz capped the drive at the 5:20 mark, going off tackle on fourth down from the eight. He got the extra two points the same way.
The Bengals started on another drive after forcing Steubenville to punt following the kickoff. They used up 5:35 seconds this time, moving into the second quarter in the process. This time the march covered 56 yards, starting at the Orange and Black 44. Four first downs and 14 plays were involved.
Getz went over off right guard on second down from the four at 9:46. He converted the same way.
Then came another Big Red punt and the Tigers went 70 yards, using up 3:36, eight plays and picking up four first downs. A 21-yard pass from Ron Swartz to Blunt took the ball to the Big Red 39. Blunt might have gone all the way but was knocked out of bounds.
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BLUNT LEAPED among three defenders at the three two plays later to snare another Swartz aerial. Lawrence went through the center on second down with 4:16 left. Swartz threw to Blunt on a look-in pass to the left for the extra two points.
The last touchdown in the second quarter came after a 55-yard drive following a punt. This drive took four plays and one first down.
A key play was a second down pass from the Steubenville 48 to the four – a distance of 44 yards. Swartz connected with senior long side end Will Perry.
Blunt went in off tackle on the next play. But Massillon was guilty of illegal use of the hands, setting the ball back to the 20. Swartz then threw to Blunt for the score with 2:10 remaining. Junior fullback Bobby Hewitt swept to the left for the extra two points.
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THE BENGALS allowed the Big Red just one series after the second half kickoff and took over on their own 40 after a punt, setting the stage for another score. After a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, Blunt took off on a pitchout to the right behind some nice blocking and raced 65 yards for his second six-pointer at the 9:49 mark. Getz missed the conversion over right tackle.
Late in the period, Steve Tarle, senior tackle, recovered a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 10 and two plays later senior tailback Phil Harris wedged in from the three with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks converted on a pitchout to the right.
The final Tiger score came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Floyd (Duke) Pierce, senior safetyman, intercepted a pass on his 35 and ran it back to the 50 as the third quarter ended.
Two plays into the last stanza Marks shot through the middle on fourth down from 41 yards away and scored at 10:43. Junior Fullback Edgar Herring missed the conversion on a pitchout to the right.
MASSILLON – 52
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones, Goodnough, Gilmore and Franklin.
Tackles – Tarle, Morgan, Lash, Passalacqua, Binge, Stevens and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Roderick, Muhlback, Rivera, Mathias, Rearick, Martin, T. Whitfield and D. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Rambaud and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Harris, Marks, Stroh, Herring, Gamble and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Hewitt and Thomas.
STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Cuthbert, Cole and Blanchard.
Tackles – Estes, Sampson and Williams.
Guards – DiLoreti, Ohle, Mahfood and Wrenn.
Centers – Beard and Garofalo.
Quarterbacks – McCosky and Spon.
Halfbacks – Lindsey, Hawkins, Terry and Smith.
Fullbacks – Schaeffer.
Massillon 8 24 14 6 52
Touchdowns:
Getz 2 (eight and four-yard runs); Blunt 2 (20-yard pass from Swartz, 65-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run); Harris (three-yard run) and Marks (41-yard run).
Points after touchdown:
Getz 2 (runs); Blunt (pass from Swartz); Hewitt (run); and Marks (run).
Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bob McPhee (St. Clairsville).
GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 17 2
First downs, passing 4 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 21 2
Yards gained rushing 344 54
Yards lost rushing 3 11
Net yards gained rushing 341 43
Yards gained passing 105 15
Total yards gained 446 58
Passes attempted 12 10
Passes completed 5 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48.3 47
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 121
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 42.5 36.4
Punt returns (yards) 17 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 0
Yards penalized. 20 0
