2021 Booster Club Report – Week 5

Massillon dropped a hard fought game against Lakewood St. Edward (5-0), 35-18.  Next up is a road game against Austintown Fitch (3-1).

• 7th Grade (5-0): Defeated Akron Kenmore-Garfield, 48-26.  Plays Austintown at home on Tuesday, September 21, at 6:00 pm.
• 8th Grade (4-1): Lost to Akron Buchtel, 22-20.  Plays Austintown away on Wednesday, September 22, at 6:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (4-1): Lost to Lakewood St. Edward, 28-12.  Plays Austintown Fitch at home on Thursday, September 23 at 6:00 pm.
• JV (4-2): Lost to Lakewood St. Edward, 35-0.  Plays Austintown Fitch at home on Saturday, September 25 at 11:00 am.

Lakewood St. Edward, the No. 37 team in the nation according calpreps.com, came into Brown Brown Tiger Stadium with a balanced offense and stingy defense and showed why they are a serious contender this year to capture the Division 1 state title.  But Massillon fought hard for four quarters, in  spite of missing several players due to injury, and were actually in the game until the Eagles scored the clinching touchdown with 4:41 remaining in the contest.

“I’m really proud of the kids and how we played,” said Head Coach Nate Moore at the weekly Booster Club meeting.  “Our kids fought their tails off.  The defense played as good as expected.  We played well enough to to win, defensively.  We need more things offensively.  But we got it going in the second half.”

St.  Eds opened up a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter, helped by pass completions of 40 yards and 42 yards.  But the Tiger offense was stymied until freshman substitute kicker Nolan Hendricks, connected on a 28-yard field goal last in the first half.  The key play was a 72-yard run by 3rd string running back Ressieo Kirksey in which he first tried the right side of the line, reversed field, broke a few tackles and then sped for the end zone, just getting caught at the 8 yard line.  It was an “unbelievable play” according to Moore.

In the second half, backup quarterback Jalen Slaughter entered the game for the injured Darrius McElroy and completed a pretty 43-yard pass to Austin Brawley in the end zone for a score, with the Eagle defender draped all over him.  In the next possession Slaughter hooked up with Ardell Banks on a fade route for another.   “At 28-18 we had an onside kick,” said Moore.  “To be in that position at that time of the game was a good thing.”

Late in the fourth quarter, Slaughter just overthrew a wide-open Riley Campbell for what would have been a third TD.  Not a bad outing for the freshman.

Meanwhile, St. Edward quarterback Christian Ramos was the catalyst that keyed the Eagle attack.  He completed 15 of 20 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 46.

Guest players were quarterback Darrius McElroy and outside linebacker Nate Watkins.

Coach Moore thought Watkins did a great job at his position filling in for Camden Beasley.  He also singled out the play of freshmen nose tackle Michael Wright Jr., defensive lineman Marcus Moore, Brawley and Banks.  “I thought he was the best payer on the field,” said Moore of Brawley.  He noted that all of the freshmen stepped up and played well.  In fact, Massillon fielded as many as twenty underclass players throughout the game on either offense or defense, which bodes well for the future.

Player stats:

• Darrius McElroy – 4 of 4 passing for 16 yards
• Jalen Slaughter – 9 of 22 passing for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns
• Ressieo Kirksey – 11 carries for 78 yards, including a long of 72 yards
• Austin Brawley – 5 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown; 60-yard kickoff return; 8.0 (7-2) tackle points
• Ardell Banks – 5 receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown
• Nolan Hendricks – 24-yard field goal
• Riley Campbell – 7.0 (4-6) tackle points
• Ryan Zentkovich – 6.5 (5-3) tackle points

This week Massillon will face Austintown Fitch (3-1).  Their results are as follows:

• Youngstown Chaney (2-3): 27-0
• Canton McKinley (3-2): 42-28
• Canton GlenOak (0-4): canceled
• Youngstown Ursuline (4-1): 47-48 L
• Youngtown Cardinal Mooney (0-5): 42-7

Massillon’s owns an 18-8-0 series mark against the Falcons, including wins in the last four games.  In games played at Austintown, Massillon owns a 7-6 edge.

Fitch operates out of the spread offense, with the quarterback in the gun and a single running back.  Some tight end.  Some empty sets.  Lots of outside zone blocking.  The offensive line is considered by Moore to be athletic and they play well as a group.  Engineering the attack is senior quarterback Devin Sherwood (5′-11″, 185), who last week became their all-time leading passer.  While he’s more of a thrower, he will run some.  “He may be the best quarterback we’ve played this year,” Moore added.  The “go-to” receiver is Tyler Evans (5′-10″, 180).  Evans also plays safety.

The defense aligns in a 3-3 stack with some 4-down, and cover 1 with some cover 3.  The line is the strength on that side of the ball, led by senior Aaron Hivley (6′-3″, 225).  The linebackers are pretty good, with senior AJ Byrd (5′-11, 245) manning the middle.

Fitch averages 40 points a game and hasn’t had to punt much this year.  So this one could turn into a high-scoring affair.  It all depends on how well  the Tigers control the play of the Falcon quarterback.  Then again, Fitch is also battling the injury bug.  Finally, expect 2-3 trick plays, particularly on kickoffs.

See you in Austintown.

2021: Lakewood St. Edward 35, Massillon 18

St. Edward football stays unbeaten, eventually puts away injury-riddled Massillon Tigers

MASSILLON — Massillon had multiple starters out from the very start Friday. Its star running back lasted only two drives. Its starting quarterback had to leave the game midway through the second quarter.

Still, with half of the fourth quarter to go, Massillon found itself only down 10 to St. Edward on Friday night. Those absences, among others, ultimately proved too much to handle on top of the undefeated Eagles, who emerged from Paul Brown Tiger Stadium with a 35-18 win over the Tigers.

“Our kids absolutely played their butts off from start to finish,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after his team fell to 3-2. “We’re not happy with the outcome. We’re really happy with the effort we got out of them, especially considering we didn’t have a great draw from the deck tonight.”

The Tigers lost Wiltrell Hartson, who entered Friday with a Stark County-best 736 rushing yards through the four games, on their second possession to what appeared to be an ankle injury. Then, senior quarterback Darrius McElroy left the game with an undisclosed injury on Massillon’s second possession of the second quarter.

Moore declined to speak on either injury specifically. Massillon plays next Friday night at Austintown Fitch, which is 3-1.

That left the running game in the hands of Reesieo Kirksey and sophomore Ta’Shaun Smith. Those two combined for 88 yards on 16 carries in Hartson’s place.

McElroy’s injury, which came after he completed his first four passes for 16 yards, opened the door for freshman Jalen Slaughter. Slaughter completed just one of his first five passes, including an interception.

However, after that pick midway through the third quarter, the freshman started to settle down a bit. He completed six of his next seven passes for 94 yards and not one, but two touchdown passes.

The first was a 43-yarder to Austin Brawley, who made a diving grab in the end zone with a St. Edward defender draped on him to pull Massillon within 21-10 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. The second was a perfectly-placed 14-yard corner route to Ardell Banks with 8:49 remaining to help make it a 28-18 game.

“He operated really well,” Moore said. “He hit some big throws for us. Made some plays like we’ve seen him do the last couple of years where he’s staying alive in the pocket with his feet and he’s able to see receivers downfield and make an off-balanced, unorthodox throw and hit the guy in stride.”

Slaughter finished the game 9-of-22 for 137 yards passing. He did throw a second interception in the fourth quarter on a ball that deflected off the hands of a receiver.

At the time Slaughter entered the game, St. Edward had opened up a 14-0 lead with just over six minutes left in the first half. The Eagles scored on the first of three Danny Enovitch TD runs, a 2-yarder with 3:58 left in the first quarter, then came back with a 42-yard Christian Ramos-to-Rayshawn Manning Jr. score with 6:11 left in the half.

Enovitch, who rushed for 146 yards on 25 carries, added two more rushing TDs in the second half. The first, a 3-yarder, made it 21-3 Eagles in the third quarter, followed by a 13-yarder in the fourth to make it 28-10.

Ramos threw a second TD in the fourth quarter, a 14-yarder to Ryan Micklich to provide the final margin with 4:41 remaining. Ramos completed 15 of 20 passes for 233 yards, with an interception late in the first half.

“I don’t think it was our cleanest victory, but it was a victory,” said Eagles coach Tom Lombardo, whose team improved to 5-0 while holding Massillon to 252 total yards. “We made some stops when we needed to. We stopped the running game really well. We were surprised a little bit … by how well he (Slaughter) could perform under pressure.”

Massillon’s first points came from another freshman, kicker Nolan Hendricks. Hendricks knocked through a 24-yard field goal with 4:22 remaining to pull the Tigers within 14-3.

Slaughter and Hendricks were two of three different freshman to play meaningful snaps on Friday for Massillon. Mike Wright started at defensive tackle for the Tigers and finished with three solo and two assisted tackles.

Wright was part of a defense that bent a lot during the game, but didn’t necessarily break. While 11 of St. Edward’s 12 drives reached Massillon territory, only five resulted in points.

“A lot of great stuff out of our defense, especially early when we weren’t able to get them much help with field position,” Moore said.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

2021 Booster Club Report – Week 4

Massillon held off high-scoring Warren Harding and departed Mollenkopf Stadium with a 49-46 victory, improving its record to 3-1.  Next up is a home game against Lakewood St. Edward (4-0).

• 7th Grade (4-0): Defeated Warren, 20-8.  Plays Akron Kenmore at home on Tuesday, September 14, at 6:00 pm.
• 8th Grade (4-0): Defeated Warren, 56-20. Plays Akron Buchtel at home on Wednesday, September 15, at 6:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (4-0): Defeated Warren Harding, 28-0.  Plays Lakewood St. Edward away on Thursday, September 16 at 6:00 pm.
• JV (4-1): Defeated Warren Harding, 32-0.  Plays Lakewood St. Edward away on Saturday, September 18 at 11:00 am.

At last week’s Booster Club meeting, the players offered that they had a goal in the Warren game of starting early and then taking care of business.  Last Friday they did both.  First they opened up a 28-7 lead halfway through the second quarter and then they held off Warren’s “in the zone” passing attack to secure the victory.  The Tigers ended up scoring seven touchdowns.  And it could have been two more, save for a fumble and a dropped pass deep in Warren territory.

Austin Brawley kick-started the affair with an 89-yard return of the opening kickoff for a touchdown.  Then Willtrell Hartson went to work, rushing 10 times for 75 yards as Massillon rang up three unanswered touchdowns to lead 28-7.  By game’s end, Hartson had accumulated 287 yards on the ground, placing him third all-time in the single-game rushing column, behind his own record of 324 yards in last year’s Westerville South game and Travis McGuire’s 302 yards against Canton McKinley in the 1991 contest.

Credit the offensive line for opening up holes all night long using a variety of interior blocking schemes.  They were so efficient that the Tigers only punted twice, once in each half.  It also enable Hartson to run for more than ten yards on 13 of his 35 carries.

Sandwiched in there was a 35-yard touchdown pass from Darrius McElroy to Ardell Banks, who caught it around the 25 and then outraced the defense to the end zone.  McElroy, who is getting more and more comfortable in the pocket as the season goes along, may have finally found that “go-to” receiver.

“What a ballgame,” beamed Head Coach Nate Moore.  “I’m proud of the guys.  The offense played well.  The offensive line took over the game.  The quarterback had his best game.  Banks had a huge game.  There were a lot of really good things.”

But Warren, in the second half, was able to respond each time Massillon scored and eventually lost by extra points, thanks to a pair of PAT blocks by Austin Brawley.  In the first three games this year the Syracuse-bound Dom Foster was playing quarterback after being used last season solely as a wide receiver.  Occasionally, Dalys Jett, a late transfer from Indiana, was inserted at QB because he was considered the better passer.  But in this game, Jett was the quarterback all the way.

Apparently, Head Coach Steve Arnold knew his team could not run on the Tigers, as the Raiders’ 23 carries for 94 yards could attest.  So he went pass all the way with Jett, a move apparently unexpected by the Massillon coaching staff, who were perhaps gaming for the running prowess of the swift Dom Foster.  But the junior Jett responded with a career day, completing 21 of 34 passes for 358 yards and six touchdowns, which was the 4^th most yards ever thrown against a Massillon team.  Included in that were completions of 29, 38, 33, 65, 33, 33 and 26 yards, six of which went for scores.

The Tigers tried several defensive schemes throughout the game to stop the attack.  They tried blitzing, but the players were not “getting home.”  They tried double-covering Foster, who caught five passes for 100 yards.  But that gave more opportunities to the speedy Tyriq Ivory, who ended up with ten receptions for 182 yards and three touchdowns.  But Jett kept extending plays with his scrambling ability, converting passes mostly when the coverage would break down.   IMG Academy would be envious of the speed and athletic ability of this passing combination.

“We were pretty dominant early and we had a chance to put it away,” said Moore.  “But you have to give Warren credit.  They played really hard.  We didn’t have much film on the quarterback.  He threw the ball really well and they had two great receivers.  We need to play better when the ball is in the air, especially on the long balls.  We need to get better there.”

Guest players were McElroy, Brawley and Nate Watkins.   Their comments, along with some of Moore’s, were as follows:

• It was a dog fight the whole game.  But we came away with the win.
• We started off fast.  The game is slowing down and we’re coming together as a team.
• We almost recovered a pooch kick with the 28-7 lead.  It would have sealed the game.
• The PAT blocks were huge.  Now they’re chasing points.
• It’s hard to hold onto the receiver when the quarterback is scrambling and receivers have left the intended routes.

Player Stats:

• Willtrell Hartson – 35 carries for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns
• Darrius McElroy – 10 of 16 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown; 1 rushing TD
• Ardell Banks – 4 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown
• Ryan Zentkovich – 7.5 tackle points (6-3)
• Austin Brawley – 6.5 tackle points (6-1); 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown; two blocked extra points
• Camden Beasley – pass interception

This week Massillon will face Lakewood St. Edward, which owns the following wins:

• Toledo Central Catholic (2-2): 33-10
• Rock Creek Christian, MD (1-1): 56-18
• Mentor (2-2): 47-7
• Cincinnati Elder (2-2): 48-14

It will be a tall task for the Tigers to come away with a victory, as the Eagles seem to have outstanding athletes at every position.

Offensively, St. Ed’s uses the spread.  The best player is quarterback Christian Ramos (6’-2”, 200).  Last year against the Tigers he rushed 14 times for 49 yards and completed 4 of 12 passes for 35 yards.  But he is much improved this year and is the catalyst for their offense.  Moore says that he is an outstanding runner and possesses great speed.

The offensive lie is not huge, with most players around 275 lbs., but they play extremely well as a unit.  They come off the ball and have good feet.  The wide receivers are all good players.  So far this season, the Eagles have only punted twice.

Defensively, they use four down lineman, two inside linebackers and five defensive backs, with one high.  They also favor the blitz on nearly every play, featuring any number of defensive backs providing the pressure.

The defensive line is really good, similar to Pickerington Central.  They are very active, have good speed, come off the ball well and use their hands well.  The linebackers are active and play downhill.  The safeties are all good in coverage.

“I like our game plan,” said Moore.  “Our kids will play really hard, but we’ll need to make some plays.  We can’t beat ourselves.  We may also need a break or two.”

2021: Massillon 49, Warren Harding 46

Austin Brawley’s return, Willtrell Hartson running help Massillon football top Warren

2021 Booster Club Report – Week 2

Massillon picked up its first win of the season and evened the slate at 1-1 with a 34-0 thumping of Canton GlenOak.  Next up is home game against Reynoldsburg, with the kickoff slated for 7:30 pm.

• 7th Grade (2-0): Defeated Warren, 28-16.  Plays Akron East 8th Grade at home (PBTS) on Wednesday, September 1, at 6:00 pm (schedule change)
• 8th Grade (2-0): Defeated Cleveland Heights Roxboro, 40-6.  Plays Oakwood away on Wednesday, September 1 a6 6:00 pm (schedule change)
• 9th Grade (2-0): Defeated Canton GlenOak, 18-14.  Plays Louisville away on Thursday, September 2 at 6:00 pm.
• JV (1-1): Defeated Canton GlenOak, 47-0.  The “A” team plays Canton McKinley at home on Monday, September 6 at noon; the “B” team plays  Louisville at home on Saturday, September 4 at 10:00 am.

GlenOak (1-1), under new / returning head coach Scott Garcia, is in the process of putting the program back together and they provided a good test for Massillon’s  young offense.  The Tigers netted just one touchdown and a pair field goals to take a slim 13-0 lead into the lockeroom and needed to execute the 2-minute drill perfectly in order to grab the lone TD.  Fortunately, Massillon was able to break it open in the second half with three scores, one coming via a punt return.  Meanwhile, the Eagle offense struggled to move the ball against a stout Tiger defense and finished the game with just 66 yards of total offense, 48 on the ground and 18 in the air on 3 of 13 completions.  In fact, GlenOak never passed midfield throughout the game.

‘It was a great day to be a Tiger,” said Head Coach Nate Moore about the victory over GlenOak.  “The offense got it going from the last drive of the first half.  They had a nice plan against us defensively; 11 guys playing the run.”  But in the second half, as quarterback Darrius McElroy began to fine the range, the Eagles were forced to respect the pass a bit more and that provided additional opportunities for the Massillon run game.  “Our defense played really well for the second week in a row,” Moore added.  “We feel really good the way we’re going.”

Moore also talked about several players emerging from the sophomore group that were able to contribute at the varsity level, this from a class that was thought not to be exceptionally talented.  “We’re playing a lot of young kids and they’re going to get better and better,” he said.

Four unit leaders were on hand, including senior running back / outside linebacker Camden Beasley, senior inside linebacker Nathan DePuy, senior wide receiver / safety Austin Brawley  and senior wide receiver / cornerback Kurtis Miller.  The four addressed several questions from the Booster Club members and noted the following:

• The defense played “lights out.”
• They met the challenge of holding GlenOak under 100 yards.
• Reynoldsburg is really fast.
• The offense needs to get rolling early.

Player stats:

• Willtrell Hartson: 21 carries for 167 yards and a touchdown.
• Darrius McElroy: 8 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown; 12 for 21 passing for 116 yards and a touchdown.
• Kurtis Miller: 6 receptions for 35 yards.
• Zach Liebler: 4 receptions for 30 yards.
• Camden Beasley: 6.0 tackle points (5-2)
• Austin Brawley: 5 punt returns for 140 yards and a touchdown.

This week’s opponent is Reynoldsburg (0-2), which will be a first-time opponent for the Tigers.  They play in the same league division as Pickerington Central.  In week one the Raiders lost to Upper Arlington 42-41 and last week they dropped a close one to Huber Heights Wayne, 17-15, in a game that was decided in the final minutes.

Expect to see a large number of athletes on the field come Friday, especially on offense, which appears to be their strength.  In fact, according to the Massillon coach, Reynoldsburg has 3 or 4 players that are being sought after by Power-5 colleges.

Offensively, they run out of the spread 90% of the time.  They will also throw in some 2-back and 3-back sets.  The best player is senior quarterback Dijon Jennings (6′-1″, 185), who is a returning starter.  He is adept at scrambling and is effective both running and throwing the ball on the run.  Definitely a play-maker.  Moore said that he is the best QB the Tigers have faced this year.

The running back is senior Zion Jackson-Wilborn (5′-11″, 210).  He handles the position decently and is physical.  The line in front of him is considered average, but senior guard Caleb Turner (6′-1″, 330) is a powerful player.  The wide receivers are all excellent.  The fastest is senior Markez Gillam (5′-5″, 155), who runs a 4.3 forty.

The defensive line, in their 4-3 alignment, is the strength on that side of the ball.  The best player is senior 2-year returning starter Keyshaun Slaughter (6′-2″, 345).  While the linebacker corps is average, it is supported by a very good secondary.  Junior safety Alex Crump-Whitson (6′-0″, 185) is extremely fast and can cover a lot of ground.

“This is a good football team,” said Nate Moore.  Massillon will need to exploit a defense that has shown some vulnerability to the run and minimize the big plays while on the other side of the ball.  Let’s hope this one doesn’t turn into a track meet.

The meeting next week will be at the Eagles 190.

Go Tigers!

2021: Massillon 34, Canton GlenOak 0

Darrius McElroy, Willtrell Hartson help Massillon offense come alive to roll past GlenOak

2021 Booster Club Report – Week 1

Massillon opened the season with a 26-7 loss to Pickerington Central.  Central was the Division 1 runner-up in 2020.  Next up is a home game against Canton GlenOak, with the kickoff slated for 7:30 pm.

• 7th Grade (1-0): Defeated Canal Fulton Northwest, 34-18.  Plays Warren at home (PBTS) on Tuesday, August 24, at 6:00 pm (schedule change)
• 8th Grade (1-0): Defeated Canal Fulton Northwest, 30-0.  Plays Cleveland Heights Roxboro at home (MMS) on Wednesday, August 25 a6 6:00 pm (schedule change)
• 9th Grade (1-0): Defeated Pickerington Central, 17-3.  Plays Canton GlenOak home on Thursday, August 25 at 6:00 pm (location change).
• JV (0-1): Lost to Pickerington Central, 14-12.  Plays Canton GlenOak away on Saturday, August 27 at 10:00 am.

“It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but we got a lot of feedback,” said Head Coach Nate Moore.  “Our kids played their tails off.  The defense played a great game against a very good team.”

Under Moore the Tigers have traditionally opened with strong competition in order to expose their weaknesses and correct them before they get too far into the season.  Pickerington Central, with several potential collegiate Division 1 players on hand, provided just such a test.  Moore said that in spite of a disappointing outcome, there were a lot of good takeaways.  And he was certainly not disappointed in the play of the kids.

Four unit leaders were on hand, including senior running back / outside linebacker Camden Beasley, senior wide receiver / safety Austin Brawley, senior inside linebacker Nathan DePuy and senior long snapper / co-captain Dominic Salvino.  The four addressed many questions from the Booster Club members and noted the following:

• It was a very physical game.
• In spite of seemingly adequate hydration and pickle juice, still several players still suffered from cramps.
• There were just a few plays that made the difference in the final outcome.
• They need to fix the mistakes.
• They were pumped up by the big crowd, something that was lacking last season due to the Covid Pandemic.
• The goal line stand was the highlight of the defensive effort.

Coach Moore noted during the film  session that Pickerington running back Olando Kamara was exceptional and ran behind a really big offensive line.  On offense, the coaches knew it would be difficult to protect the quarterback against such a great front-7, but quarterback Darrius McElroy did a tremendous job taking care of the ball.  Moore also singled out the play of several starting underclassmen.

Player stats:

• Willtrell Hartson: 14 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown.
• Camden Beasley: 7 carries for 28 yards.
• Ressieo Kirksey: 8.5 tackle points, including a tackle for loss
• Jaden Welch: 8.0 tackle points, including an interception and return for 32 yards
• Austin Brawley: 7.5 tackle points, including a tackle for  loss

GlenOak, next week’s opponent, returns to the schedule after a 1-year absence, now under the guidance of Scott Garcia, who coached there previously.  Last Friday they defeated Shaker Heights 31-22, recording their first victory since the first game of the 2019 season.  This will be the 17th meeting of these two teams, with Massillon owning a 16-4 advantage in the series.  In 2019 the Tigers came out on top, 55-13.

Offensively, the Eagles operate out of a 2-back set, but will throw in some spread and wildcat.  Also, look for some buck sweeps, screens and deep passes.  The best player on this side of the ball is senior quarterback Isaiah Knox, a 2-year starter.  Keep an eye on Avantae Burt, who tops the group in skill level.  The line has three underclassmen.

The defense will align in a 3-4 with cover-4 and some press coverage.  Nearly every player on the defensive side also sees significant time on offense, indicating a lack of depth, which may be a factor Friday in the hot weather.

Go Tigers!