CANTON HIGH WAS DEFEATED
Orange and Black Victorious Saturday.
SCORE: MASSILLON 6, CANTON 2
Hard Fought Battle on the High School Grounds
Blackburn Picked Up Punt
and Ran Forty Yards for the Only Touchdown
Canton Scored a Safety.
After forty-five minutes of strenuous play on the high school grounds Saturday afternoon, between the Canton and Massillon high school football teams, for the second time in the memory of living man, the orange and black landed on top with the long end of a 6 to 2 score. Although the game was at times ragged and loose on the part of both teams, at no time was there slowness or listlessness. During the entire game both teams played to the limit of their strength and endurance, if not to the possibilities of their skill. The battle was fast and furious from start to finish and all points scored either by Massillon or the east side suburb, were due to individual and not to team work.
All of Massillon’s six points are credited to Blackburn, who played right half for the local institution. The only touchdown was made by him after a forty yard run through a clear field. One of Heyman’s punts was blocked by Canton, and fell a short distance from where it was put in play. The ball touched the ground first and bounded with several men of each team in pursuit. Blackburn was the first on the ground and after fumbling once scooped the ball up and ran unhindered to the goal. By kicking a perfect goal another point was added.
Canton’s points were made on a safety near the southeast corner of the field when Heyman, attempting a punt, was downed behind the line after missing a bad pass. These were the only points scored against Massillon out of the first three games.
An unprecedented crowd of 1,500 banked the high school gridiron on four sides. The large delegation from Canton displayed the red and black profusely, held forth on the south side of the field, while the north side was a band of orange and black, where Massillon’s rooting club, led by Raymond Bowers, made Rome howl with yells and songs from the referee’s whistle to the timekeeper’s whistle.
The final score is perhaps a good comparison of the two teams as they showed up in the game, but hardly of their real strength. Massillon’s team did not come anywhere near the form displayed in the two former games. The line which has here-to-fore held against anything was punctured time and again, both on offense and defense. The team work in the back field was ragged and the interference loose. Massillon was able but twice and for short spaces to gain consistently through the line, but worked two tricks time and again for large gains. These were a fake punt and a double pass to end.
Canton, with a team of new men, was not particularly strong in any department, but played a plucky game from start to finish. The lines of the two teams played the game about equally, but Canton was playing to the limit while Massillon was loafing on the job. The same may be said of the backfield with the exception of McCay, at quarter, who was Canton’s particular star. His speed in circling the ends was his great asset. Aside from straight football Canton had but two plays. One was a tandem play in which the fullback hit the opposite side of the line, and the other a forward pass. Neither was successful at any time.
In the first half Massillon kept the ball in Canton’s territory, and once carried it within a few yards of the goal, only to lose it on a fumble. In the second half, however, Canton braced up and Massillon’s goal was threatened several times. Massillon’s line in turn braced up and held for downs, always punting out of danger. It was near the goal that Canton tried her forward passes but they failed to materialize. When Canton’s safety was made Massillon had regained the ball on downs on the five-yard line and was attempting to punt out. After the safety the ball was kicked out from the twenty-five yard line and the game ended soon after with the ball in Massillon’s possession in the center of the field.
Following is the line-up:
Canton – 2 Pos. Massillon – 6
Lash c Leahy
Howell, Repputh lg Heyman
Austin, Bonner rg Zintsmaster
Lothamer rt Erb
Seftovitz rt Clay
Gauchot re Ellis
Kahler le Miller
McCoy qb Atwater
Steiner lh Wells
Price rh Blackburn
Blanchard fb Sonnhalter
Time of halves: 25 and 20 minutes.
Score at the end of first half – 0 – 0.
Touchdown:
Massillon – Blackburn.
Goal:
Massillon – Blackburn.
Safety:
Canton – Price downed Heyman.
Referee and umpire, alternating:
Wittmann, Massillon
Smith, Canton.
Head Linesman – Bast.
Timekeeper:
Merwin, Massillon.
Zazlett, Canton.
