Maxpreps.com Honors Tigers in Top 50 All-Time Rankings

Maxpreps.com, a high school sports website, includes in their archives a Top 50 all-time national team rankings.  How good is their Top 50?  Who knows.  And who really cares.  After all, for football junkies, it’s great stuff to talk about.

Over 14,000 high schools annually field football teams in a sport that has been ongoing for at least 125 years.  Over that time, it’s conceivable that there have been over a million different teams.  Creating a listing like this is certainly a tall task in that it recognizes just one out every 20,000+ schools.  So it’s the rare team that would make a list like this.

A grain salt must be added in that any team on the list must have been good for the era of that time, not necessarily across all time.  For instance, a top team from the mid-1900s would certainly not be expected to defeat a good team from the modern era.  So that must be taken into consideration.

What brings traditionally strong Massillon into the discussion is that they placed four teams in the Top 50, at least as many as any other school.  The Massillon teams include:

• 3rd – 1940. Coached by Paul Brown, Massillon finished 10-0, outscoring its opponents 477-6, with the lone defensive touchdown scored by Canton McKinley in a 34-6 victory.  Along the way, the Tigers handed four teams their only loss of the season.  Massillon was awarded both the state and national titles.  Brown would leave after the season to become the head coach at Ohio State University.  The 1940 team is the highest rated public school in the Maxpreps.com list.
• 31st – 1950. Coached by Chuck Mather, Massillon ran over all ten opponents, outscoring them 407-37.  For the effort, the Tigers were named both state and national champions.
• 37th – 1936. Coached by Paul Brown, it was one of several great Brown teams.  This one went 10-0 and topped its opponents 443-14.  Single touchdowns were scored by Mansfield and Barberton in one-sided affairs.  In the finale, the Tigers defeated unbeaten Canton McKinley 21-0 to capture the state and national crowns.
• 41st – 1953. Coached by Chuck Mather, it was his final team leading the Massillon eleven.  The Tigers were unchallenged in each of their ten games, outscoring their opponents 399-55.  Massillon was successful in defending its state and national titles from the previous year.  Mather left after the season to become the head coach of Kansas University.

The Top 50 list is headed by California’s De La Salle, which placed their 2001 and 2003 teams in the Nos. 1 and 2 positions.  The 2002 team extended De La Salle’s winning streak to 151 games.  De La Salle also placed two additional teams: 1998 and 2004, placing 19^th and 38^th respectively.

Valdosta, Georgia, placed four teams on the list: 1961 at 18^th, 1971 at 28^th, 1986 at 36^th and 1984 at 44^th.

Both Cincinnati Moeller and Cleveland St. Ignatius were honored three times.

• 4 – 1976 Cincinnati Moeller. Defeated Gahanna Lincoln in the state finals, 43-5.
• 6 – 1980 Cincinnati Moeller. Defeated Massillon in state finals, 30-7.
• 15 – 1993 Cleveland St. Ignatius. Defeated Cincinnati Moeller for the state title, 38-20.
• 17 – 1982 Cincinnati Moeller. Defeated Massillon in state finals, 35-14.
• 43 – 1995 Cleveland St. Ignatius. Defeated Brunswick for the state title, 41-21.
• 46 – 1989 Cleveland St. Ignatius. Defeated Massillon the state semifinals, 42-21.  Defeated Cincinnati Moeller for the state title, 34-28.

Bishop Gorman’s 2018 team was ranked 5^th.  Massillon was scheduled to open with the Nevada team in 2020, but the Covid Pandemic forced a cancellation.

From a state distribution, Ohio dominates the list with ten placings.  Texas and California have six, Florida five and Georgia four.  Thirty-three are public schools and 17 are private.

Thirty-two of the fifty teams were in the past 50 years.  Nine were prior to the 1940s.

From the beginning of football through the mid-1930s the primary offensive focus was the run game.  The best team during that period was Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 1925.  From then through the mid-1970s, teams were mostly focused on the run, but threw the ball 20% of the time.  The best team in that group was Massillon in 1940.  Onward through the 1990s the passing frequency increased to 30%.  The best team during that time was Cincinnati Moeller in 1980.  Finally, in modern spread offense football the pass is used 40% of the time.  The best team in that period is De La Salle from California in 2001.

Here is the complete list:

1. De La Salle (CA), 2001
2. De La Salle (CA), 2003
3. Massillon Washington (OH), 1940
4. Cincinnati Moeller (OH), 1976
5. Bishop Gorman (NV), 2016
6. Cincinnati Moeller (OH), 1980
7. Mater Dei (CA), 2017
8. Katy (TX), 2015
9. Hampton (VA), 1996
10. East St. Louis (IL), 1985
11. Pine Bluff (AK), 1925
12. Waco (TX), 1927
13. Southlake Carroll (TX), 2005
14. Abilene (TX), 1956
15. Cleveland St. Ignatius (OH), 1993
16. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ), 2011
17. Cincinnati Moeller (OH), 1982
18. Valdosta (GA), 1962
19. De La Salle (CA), 1998
20. Everett (MA), 1914
21. Lakeland (FL), 2005
22. Harrisburg Tech (PA), 1919
23. John Curtis Christian (LA), 2012
24. Oak Park-River Forest (IL), 1912
25. Charlotte Independence (NC), 2004
26. Berwick (PA), 1983
27. Coral Gables (FL), 1967
28. Valdosta (GA), 1971
29. Little Rock Central (AK), 1957
30. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), 2008
31. Massillon Washington (OH), 1950
32. Miami Northwestern (FL), 2007
33. Miami Booker T. Washington (FL), 2013
34. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), 2010
35. Berwick (PA), 1992
36. Valdosta (GA), 1986
37. Massillon Washington (OH), 1936
38. De La Salle (CA), 1994
39. Odessa Permian (TX), 1989
40. Tuscaloosa (AL), 1926
41. Massillon Washington (OH), 1953
42. Louisville Trinity (KY), 2011
43. Cleveland St. Ignatius (OH), 1995
44. Valdosta (GA), 1984
45. Batesville South Panola (MS), 2010
46. Cleveland St. Ignatius (OH), 1989
47. Allen (TX), 2013
48. St. John Bosco (CA), 2013
49. Portland Jefferson (OR), 1958
50. Austin Reagan (TX), 1968

2020 Season Wrap-up

Massillon advanced to the Division 2 State Finals for the third consecutive year, but once again came up short in their quest for a first-ever playoff-era championship.  Nevertheless, 2020 was still regarded as an immensely successful season, especially given the impacts felt from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

In a normal year the Tigers would begin off-season workouts in January with weight lifting, conditioning and instructional sessions by position group.  Then during summer the players would participate in 7-on-7 passing contests and attend various college camps.  But by the end of February the spread of the virus had rapidly intensified and government health agencies had shut all of this down.  Students were sent home and provided daily instruction online, while all sports activities were curtailed.  Thus, the team wasn’t together again as a whole until the beginning of August.  As a substitute, coaches maintained contact with the players using Zoom Meeting.  Also, a computer program was engaged for the players to use in recording their daily workout regimens as provided by the lifting coach.  For those that didn’t have equipment, the Booster Club provided some help.

Safety of the players was of the utmost importance and the Ohio Department of Health took charge and it looked for a while that there wasn’t going to be a football season at all this year, given the seriousness of the disease.  But the Ohio High School Athletic Association was able to work with the ODH to develop appropriate protocols that would enable sports to resume.  But the question was to what extent would seasons be played.

In a compromise between the two organizations, the regular season was designed to start on time, but would be reduced in length to just six games.  Also, there would be no pre-season scrimmages.  And the playoffs would be open to any team that elected to participate.  So with six weeks of regular games and seven weeks of playoffs, the entire season would be completed by Thanksgiving.  This plan met the ODH’s requirement that all games be played by that date, fearing an increase in the spread of the virus as winter approaches.

Players and coaches were required to follow specific safety procedures, such as face coverings and social distancing while on the sidelines and frequent sanitation of equipment.  There was also a provision for games to be canceled on account of a specific team’s exposure to the virus at the time of play.

Fan attendance was limited to immediate family members of players, cheerleaders and bandsmen, but not to exceed the lower of either 15% of stadium capacity or 1500.  So a stadium the size of Massillon’s, with 16,000+ seats, was restricted to just 1500, but in actuality was held to much less when the family count restriction was brought into play.  Also, bands were not permitted to travel.  Fortunately, the Massillon City Schools did a great job making each game available via internet broadcasting.

With the lateness of the decision to proceed, schools had just two weeks to construct 6-game schedules.  Naturally, leagues opted to stay exclusively within their own ranks, leaving independent teams like Massillon to schedule each other.  Fortunately, Federal League member Canton McKinley was able to accommodate the Tigers on its schedule.

Massillon had originally been slated to open the season with Nevada Bishop Gorman in a Nike Classic to be held at Benson Stadium in Canton.  But that event went away early.  Gorman was replaced with Pickerington North in a game that would be played at PBTS and televised by ESPN.  Only, that game was canceled too when the Ohio Capital Conference scheduled North to play Pickerington Central in Week 1.

Thus, the Tigers were about to face one of the most difficult regular season schedules they had ever encountered.  It included the likes of Lakewood St. Edward and Cleveland St. Ignatius and Cleveland Benedictine and Warren Harding and Canton McKinley.  But at least they had six games and, fortunately, they were able to get them all in without any cancellations.  One positive was that all six games were at home.

Most Booster Club events, such as the Duncan Plaza Kickoff, McKinley game festivities and season ending banquet, were canceled or held on Zoom Meeting.  For example, the Spring Kickoff was also held in this manner, where the guest speaker was Ryan Day, head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, participating from his home in Columbus.

For the playoffs, Massillon was assigned to Region 7, a Columbus-Stark region they had participated in during the 2018 season.  This meant that a potential matchup with state-champ favorite Akron Hoban could wait until the state finals.  And that’s exactly what happened.

The Regular Season

• Lakewood St. Edward (home) – In a game that had the flavor of a first scrimmage, Massillon rolled up 396 yards of total offense, including 262 yards and two touchdowns passing by Zach Catrone.  But the Tigers lost 24-23 on account of a kickoff return and a late trick play.
• Columbus Bishop Sycamore (home) – Backup sophomore quarterback Jayvian Crable filled in admirably for the injured Catrone in leading the Tigers to a 35-0 victory.  It was Massillon 900^th all-time win.
• Warren Harding (home) – Massillon continued its recent domination of the Raiders with a 24-0 victory.  Catrone completed 21 of 31 passes, eight to Jayden Ballard and six to Martavien Johnson.
• Cleveland Benedictine (home) – Johnson and Isaiah Clark combined for three pass interceptions to keep the Bennies at bay in a 28-10 victory.
• Cleveland St. Ignatius (home) – Massillon recorded its second all-time victory over the Wildcats, 21-14.  Iggy assumed a 14-6 lead late in the third quarter following an 80-yard pass interception return.  But the Tigers came right back to tie the game on a Raekwon Venson 1-yard run.  On the Wildcat’s next possession they failed to control a backward pass and Jaiden Wise pounced on the loose ball.  Venson then ran it in on the first play from scrimmage to secure the win.  Unfortunately, Venson was injured near the end of the game and was lost for the rest of the season.

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  Canton McKinley (home) – There were many heroes in this 35-7 victory.  Sophomore Willtrell Hartson (8.5 yards per carry) and senior Nick Liebler (6.3 yards per carry) filled in superbly for Venson and rushed for a combined 257 yards and three touchdowns.  Austin Brawley had eight solo tackles.  But, all-in-all it was a great team effort.  It was Massillon 5^th win in a row over the Bulldogs and 9^th of the last ten.

The Playoffs

• Bye Week – Having a week off following the McKinley game re-energized the Tigers as they were about to initiate playoff competition.  No hangover funk this year.

• Columbus Walnut Ridge (home) – Massillon opened up a 42-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 56-0 victory.
• North Canton (home) – The Hoover passing attack tested the Tigers secondary.  But it wasn’t enough and Massillon rolled to a 48-23 win.  Hartson rushed for 196 yards (15.1 yards per carry) and Catrone completed 9 of 10 passes.  It was the local’s 500^th all-time win at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
• Westerville South (home) – The Wildcats had the best quarterback-receiver combination in Division 2 and played a competitive game with the Tigers, losing just 45-36, after falling behind 42-9 after three quarters.  Hartson set a new Massillon single-game record with 324 yards rushing.  He also averaged 12.0 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.
• Massillon Perry (regional finals) (at Perry) – Up just 7-6 at the half over the region’s top seeded Panthers, the Tigers ran away in the second half to secure a 43-13 victory.  Quarterback Zach Catrone completed all ten passes and recorded a pass efficiency rating of 396 to set new Massillon marks in those categories.  He also racked up 234 yards and three touchdowns.  Ballard had seven catches for 150 yards.  Liebler became second all-time with 17.0 tackle points (11 solo, 12 assists).  Clark had 11.0 tackle points.

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  Cincinnati LaSalle (at Marysville) – Massillon avenged the previous year’s state finals loss to the Lancers, winning 14-10.  Down 10-7 late in the fourth quarter, Catrone connected with Martavien Johnson on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 2:44 left in the game and the Tigers then held on at the end to secure the victory.

• Akron Hoban (state finals) (home) – The Knights showed why they were one of the top ten teams in the country by dominating the Tigers 35-6.  They also gained revenge from their 2019 loss to Massillon.

The formula for success for the season was running the football and playing good defense.  However, this was disrupted temporarily in Game 5 against Cleveland St. Ignatius when leading rusher Raekwan Venson (438 yards) was lost to an injury for the remainder of the season with the McKinley game looming the following week.  But it was “next man up,” and sophomore Willtrell Hartson and senior Nick Liebler answered the bell.  Hartson would finish the season rushing 138 times for 1,111 yards (8.1/att.) and 13 touchdowns.

You cannot have a stout running attack without a good offensive line.  And this group did themselves proud, finding their way with the power run game.  It might have been that much better, save for an
injury to 320 lb. Rager Els, who was lost for the season in Game 1.  His loss was severely felt against the stout front 7 of Akron Hoban.

On defense, in spite of returning just a single starter, Massillon was able to assemble one of the best groups on that side of the in many years.  This is especially significant given the difficulty of the schedule.  Credit the program the Tigers now have in place as all eleven players were keys to this success.  When weighed against other Massillon teams that faced spread offenses (23-year period starting in 1998), the Tigers were able to produce the following defensive results:

• Points per game – 14.3 (4^th)
• Rushing yards per game – 110 (2^nd)
• Total yards per game – 233 (3^rd)
• Yards per rush – 3.2 (3^rd)
• Yards per play – 4.1 (4^th)

The Tigers finished the season with 909 wins and have now moved up to third in the national rankings.  The 21-game regular season winning streak ended with the loss to St. Edward.  Against public schools, the Tigers have extended their winning streak to 31 games.

Jayden Ballard set a new record for career pass reception yards (2,363) and touchdowns (37).  He was also invited to participate in the Under Armour All-American All-Star game.  Unfortunately, the game was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

In other records, kicker Alex Bauer established career marks for total attempts (213) and total conversions (205); he also tied the record for field goal percentage (77.8); punter Magnus Haines set new career records for punt attempts (119) and punt yards (4,405); Caiden Woullard tied the record for career quarterback sacks (8.5).

Eleven players were named to the Stark County All-Star Team.  Sixteen were honored on the Division 2 All-Inland District Team, headlined by Jaeden Wise, who was named Defensive Player of the Year.  Nine advanced to the Division 2 All-Ohio Team, including first teamers Jayden Ballard, Terrence Rankl and Caiden Woullard.

Three players took advantage of NCAA early signing: Jayden Ballard (Ohio State), Terrence Rankl (Pittsburgh) and Andrew Wilson-Lamp (West Virginia).  Many other players will be signing later.

The state finals were originally scheduled to be played in Columbus at Fortress Obetz Stadium and it was in fact the site for the Division 1 game, which was played a week prior to the other divisions.  But during the following week, the City of Columbus put further restrictions on sporting events and it needed to be relocated.  In a late move, Massillon stepped up to the plate and hosted the remaining six games over a 3-day period to the relief of the OHSAA.

Let’s hope that in 2021 the football season returns to normal.

All-Ohio Team Dotted with Tigers

Nine Massillon players have been named to the 2020 Division 2 All-Ohio Team, four on offense, four on defense and one on special teams.  Included are:

• Jayden Ballard – First team wide receiver, senior
• Terrence Rankl – First team offensive line, senior
• Caiden Woullard – First team defensive line, senior
• Jaiden Wise – First team linebacker, senior
• Mike Miller – Second team defensive line, senior
• Martavien Johnson – Second team defensive back, senior
• Magnus Haines – Second team punter, senior
• Willtrell Hartson – Honorable mention running back, sophomore
• Andrew Wilson-Lamp – Honorable mention wide receiver, senior

Massillon finished as the Division 2 playoff state runner-up for the third consecutive year, winning 10 of 12 games.  They also during the season recorded their 900th all-time victory and currently rank 3rd in the nation in total wins.  Over the past three years, the Tigers have compiled an outstanding 38-4 record and placed 24 players on the All-Ohio teams.

Tigers Dominate All-County Team

Eleven senior Massillon football players were voted by the Stark County Coaches Association to their 2020 all-star team.  This, following the Tigers’ third consecutive trip to the state finals.  In an unusual year of schedule adjustments on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, Massillon won five of six regular season games, including a 2nd all-time win over Cleveland St. Ignatius and a 35-7 pasting of Canton McKinley.  Then they survived a grueling 7-game playoff road to reach the state finals, culminating in a fine 10-2 record.  Over the past three seasons the Tigers have posted a mark of 38 wins against just three losses.

Here are the all-stars:

Jayden Ballard: Wide receiver, 3-year starter, Ohio State commit.  Ballard caught 36 passes for 573 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Included in that were 8 catches against Warren Harding, 6 against North Canton and 7 against Perry.  He also had three TD catches vs. the Panthers and two against Lakewood St. Edward.  Ballard is Massillon’s all-time leading receiver for yards and touchdowns.

Terrence Rankl: Offensive lineman, 6′-5″, 285 lbs., 2-year starter, University of Pittsburgh commit.

John Kouth: Offensive lineman, 6′-1″, 320 lbs., 2-year starter.

Rankl and Kouth were instrumental in leading a Tiger rushing attack that averaged 5.0 yards per rush attempt and surrendered just eight quarterback sacks going in to the finale.  The 6.1 yards per play stat ranks 9th among Massillon’s spread offense teams over the past 33 years.  They indeed showcased a clinic on power run football.

Alex Bauer: Kicker, 4-year starter.  Bauer connected on 46 of 47 extra points and was perfect until the last try, when a 15-yard penalty hurt his chances on that one.  He also converted 8 of 11 field goal tries.  Bauer holds the all-time career marks for extra point attempts and conversions.

Caiden Woullard: Defensive lineman,  6′-4″, 235 lbs., 2-year starter.  Woullard finished the year with 33.5 tackle points, 10.5 tackles-for-loss (2nd on the team) and 2.5 quarterback sacks (1st on the team).  Last year he set a season high record of 18.0 tackles-for-loss.

Mike Miller: Defensive lineman, 6′-2″, 235 lbs..  Miller had 43.5 tackle points and was a force on the edge, constantly hounding the opposing quarterbacks.

Jaiden Wise: Outside linebacker, 6′-1″, 200 lbs.  Wise showcased his talents in the preseason and earned a starting position to begin the season, covering the wide side of the field.  He recorded 54.0 tackle points (2nd on the team), 11.0 tackles-for-loss (1st on the team) and two pass interceptions.

Andrew Wilson-Lamp: Cornerback, 2-year starter, West Virginia commit.  Also played wide receiver.  Lamp was a shut-down corner that finished the year with 19.5 tackle points, including 3.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack.  He also had eight pass breakups.  Offensively, Lamp caught 11 passes for 319 yards and one touchdown.

Martavien Johnson: Cornerback.  Also played wide receiver.  Johnson had 30.0 tackle points and 7.0 tackles-for-loss.  He also intercepted two passes and recorded 7 pass breakups.  On offense, he caught 33 passes for 486 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 46-yard game-winner against Cincinnati LaSalle.  He also rushed 21 times for 134 yards and a touchdown.

Magnus Haines: Punter, 4-year starter.  This year he punted 36 times for 1,492 yards, an average of 41.1 yards per try (3rd all-time).  Haines holds the career marks for total punts and total yards.  Magnus also kicked off, averaging 53.6 yards per kick with 11 touchbacks.

Nick Liebler: Most Valuable Player, inside linebacker. 5′-11″, 190 lbs.  Liebler finished with 79.0 tackle points (3rd on the team), including 4 tackles-for-loss.  This was an incredible year for Nick, having returned to football following a serious leg injury.  Two of his performances stand out especially.  The first came against Canton McKinley, when running back Raekwon Venson was lost to injury in the previous game.  As a backup to replacement starter Willtrell Hartson, he rushed 11 times for 69 yards and a touchdown.  The second was during a 43-13 playoff win over Perry, when he recorded 11 solo tackles and 12 assists.  This effort ranks second all-time for the Tigers, behind Chuck Vliet in 1950.

Congratulations to these fine Tiger football players.