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Booster Club Report – Week 8

Massillon extended its regular season winning streak last Friday to 19 with a 49-24 victory over Barberton.  It was all-time win No. 893.

Scores from last week:

• Varsity defeated Barberton, 49-24
• Junior Varsity lost to Barberton, 34-7
• Freshmen lost to Barterton, 22-16
• 8th Grade defeated Jennings Middle School (Akron), 41-8, finishing the season with a record of 5-1-1
• 7th Grade defeated Perry Middle School, 44-24, finishing the season with a record of 7-1

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich at pribich@att.net or Mary Lou Wilton at marylouanddon24@gmailcom.  Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.

Massillon and Louisville are holding a contest in conjunction Goodwill Industries to see which community can collect the most donated clothing.  Massillon’s bin is located in the upper west parking lot of the stadium.  The most weight collected wins the contest.

The Massillon-McKinley Blood Drive will be held at the Massillon Rec Center on Monday from 12:00 noon to 7:00 pm.

A good crowd was again in attendance at the Booster Club meeting to hear head Coach Nate Moore review last week’s victory over Barberton and discuss this week’s opponent, Louisville.  In spite of giving up 24 points to the Magics, the highest of the season, the coaches still felt that it was a very good performance by the defense.  Barberton did drive the ball early for a field goal and then scored a passing touchdown off a missed tackle at midfield.  But second offensive TD came late in the game against the backups.  In between, the Magics returned a pass interception for a score.  Meanwhile, folllowing a punt in the first series, the Tigers scored touchdowns on six of their next seven possessions to essentially salt the game away by early in the fourth quarter.  Leading the offense was running back Terrance Keyes, wno carried the ball 30 times for 255 yards and scored five touchdowns.  The 255 yards ranks sixth all-time for a single game performance and the five touchdowns also ranks 6th.  Quarterback Aidan Longwell tossed a pair of TD passes to Jayden Ballard, who eclipsed 100 yards in receiving.  Defensively, Luke Murphy and Robby Page each had five solo tackles and one assist.  Page, Caiden Woullard and TJ Williams had pass interceptions.  The defense gave up just 1.3 yards per carry to the Magics.

Offensive lineman Cole Jones and inside linebacker Ben Krichbaum were the guest players at the Booster Club meeting.  “Defensively, we’re going to keep rolling to get wins,” said Krichbaum when looking back at the Barberton win.  His defensive group has surrendered just 2.7 yards per rush through eight games, the best mark since the 1979 season.  Jones,however, was more reserved when it came to discussing the offense.  “I don’t think we played to our standards,” he said.  “So we’re coming into this week trying to be an elite team.”

The guest coach was  co-offensive coordinator / offensive line coach John Mazur.  Mazur remarked that Massillon is a “handful” offensively, attacking the whole field.  He discussed the different defense the Tigers have faced over the last two weeks from Gateway and Barberton .  Since balanced alignments have simply not worked against the explosive offense, teams are now playing the wide receivers man-to-man with a single safety over the top.  The remaining defenders are committed to the run and they blitz on every play, except for one linebacker who stays back to cover the running back.  The strategy is to plug the lanes on running plays and on pass plays get to the quarterback before he can set up.  But in spite of Barberton’s best effort, Keyes still managed to have a career day and Longwell was not far off his normal pace.  According to Mazur, the Tigers have readily accepted the challenge.  it’s simply a matter of adjusting the play set, using more deep throws and underneath routes.  Nevertheless, with an offense that averages 50 points a game, the Tigers are spending a lot of practice time working against this scheme in anticipation of more teams utilizing the same.

Louisville enters the game this week with a 5-3 record, with victories over North Canton (43-36), Green (49-35), Warren Howland (34-7), Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (20-14 o.t.) and Point Pleasant, WV (40-21).  Losses have come to 5-3 Canfield (24-21), 4-4 Lake (37-27) and 7-1 Perry (30-28).  Last year Massillon defeated Louisville 41-0 in a game that was over by halftime.  But the Leopards appear to be better this year by at least a touchdown according to calpreps.com, in spite of having a new coaching staff.

“This is a good football team,” said Coach Moore.  “They could easily be 7-1.”  Moore summed up the Louisville personnel as follows:

• The best player is 6′-5″, 252 lb. senior Jason Goard, who plays tight end, fullback and defensive end.  “He is a D1 kid and he plays like it,” said Moore.  “He’s a very good player.”  He’s also the most physical fullback the Tigers have faced this year.
• The next best player is 6′-3″, 202 lb. Davis Burick, who plays both side receiver and linebacker.  This the best skill player on the team.
• The defensive line is the best position group and has good size, averaging 6′-3″, 234 lbs.
• The defense aligns in a 4-3, which Massillon rarely sees now against their spread offense.
• The offensive line personnel are all new this year.  The best lineman is 6′-2″, 241 lb. senior BlakeRobbins,
• The offensive line is on the smaller side, averaging 6′-2″, 229 lbs.
• The running back is not featured and is considered as an average high school player.
• Quarterback Colton Jones returns from last year and is an above average high school quarterback according to Moore..  The 6′-1″, 192 lb. senior has completed 149 of 224 (67%) of his passes for 1,837 yards (12.3 yard per catch).  Against Massillon last year Jones completed 17 of 39 passes for 149  yards.  He also had three interceptions.
• Jones’ favorite target is 5′-11″, 161 lb. senior wide receiver Ryan Pukys, a returning starter.  He has caught 37 passes for 427 yards.

The Massillon-Louisville series will end with just two games played as the Leopards have opted not to renew the contract.

Booster Club Report – Week 7

Massillon extended its regular season winning streak last Friday to 18 with a 48-12 victory over Gateway, of Monroeville, Pennsylvania.  It was also the Tigers’ 892nd all-time victory, which is the 5th best in the nation.

Scores from last week:

• Varsity defeated Gateway, PA, 48-12
• Junior varsity lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius, 17-14
• Freshmen lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius, 42-14
• 8th Grade defeated Akron East, 32-6
• 7th Grade lost to the Western Crusaders, 22-18

The Booster Club is sponsoring one or two buses to the October 18 Barberton game for the cost of $25.00, not including the game ticket.  A sub sandwich and drink will be provided.  The buses will depart from the old K-Mart parking lot at 5:00 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Supply.

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich at pribich@att.net or Mary Lou Wilton at marylouanddon24@gmailcom.  Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.

The guest players this week were defensive lineman Manny McElroy and outside linebacker / running back Preston Hodges, their team coming off a big win over previously once-beaten Gateway.  “We played a really good game,” said Hodges.  “They were very fast.  We tackled very well.  We’re playing really well right now and that’s very dangerous.  A lot of teams come in here thinking we’re just another high school team.  But there are not a lot of teams that play like we do.  No one outworks us.”  Next up is Barberton.  “They’re a pretty good team,” remarked McElroy.  They have some big linemen.  But I know what we can do.”

Gateway came into Tigertown last week as one of the better teams on Massillon’s schedule, sporting a 6-1 record and having outscored their previous five opponents, 217-7.  Granted the opposition wasn’t great, but you have to be doing something right to dominate the way they did.  The Gator defense was the strength of the team on this particular night since they had the ability to nearly match the speed of the Tiger receivers.  This permitted them to play man-to-man press coverage with a single safety over the top.  That meant all of the remaining defenders were committed to the run.  As a result, Massillon was forced to build a 20-7 halftime lead off the running ability of Terrence Keyes, since the passing game netted just four completions in 11 attempts.

With the Tiger offense limited early on, it became a night for the defense to shine.  “It took awhile to really get going,” said head coach Nate Moore.  So the defensive stepped it up and really put pressure on the Gator front-7.  With five blockers against three Tiger linemen, the Gateway scheme was for two double-teams and a single-team.  Only, the single-teamed Tiger constantly broke through to pressure the quarterback.  “Guys are just doing their jobs,” said Moore.

Gateway featured stellar running back Derrick Davis, who has been recruited by dozens of power-5 Division 1 schools.  But on this night he struggled, gaining just 17 yards in 12 carries against the Massillon first team.  So the Gators went to the air.  Except that it was mostly unproductive against the strong pass rush.  In fact, nearly every completed pass was a screen and the quarterback’s 18 completions went for just 7.3 yards per catch and 3.9 yards per play.

Offensively, Massillon finally got it in gear in the second half by outscoring Gateway 28-6 to break the game open and ended up with 387 yards of total offense.  Keyes led the way with 142 yards and 3 scores.  Quarterback Aidan Longwell did his best against mostly-covered receivers and ended up completing 10 of 21 for 223 yards and pair of TDs.  But one of those completions combined with Jayden Ballard to set a new Massillon record.  Backed up at the five, Ballard ran a hitch, which allowed him to shed the defender and Longwell hit him in stride for a 95-yard touchdown.  The tally broke the previous longest pass completion mark of 89 yards set by Seth Blankenship and Austin Jasiinski in 2016 against Dublin Scioto.  Moore said that being backed up toward the end zone greatly lowers the odds of completing a pass like this.  But the players got it done in all phases (blocking, route running, passing, receiving and sprinting to the end zone).

“The battle the Tigers fought all night was our running back vs. their unblocked player.”  Gateway committed the minimum number of players to the pass and the remaining defenders to the run, sending all but one on each play.  That one player’s responsibility was to key on running back.  Per Moore, they had one more guy than we did in the box and it was important that right play be called in order to defeat that unblocked player and achieve success in this area.

Massillon travels to Barberton on Friday for a 7:00 pm kickoff.  It will be the 46th meeting between these two on-and-off rivals, the first game being in 1904 and the last one in 1995.  The Tigers own a 37-7-1 record in the series.  This will be the first visit to Magic Stadium since the 1950s.

While the Tigers sit on a perfect 7-0 mark, Barberton’s hope for a similar record at this point in the season were dashed by 4-3 Stow (21-34) and 7-0 Aurora last week (7-31).  Although some of the luster has been taken off of the contest with the two losses, it’s still a road game and is a relatively new opponent for this current group of players.  And with a big crowd expected, it will still be a good show.

Here is a quick rundown on Barberton, as provided by Coach Moore:

• The strength of the offense is the skill positions.
• Quarterback – Senior Chase Haywood (5′-11″, 160 lb.). Good player.  Makes some good throws.
• Wide receivers – Best players are senior Kaeleb Vega (6′-200 lb.) and senior Ryan Watkins (6′-0″, 185 lb.).  All of the receivers are pretty good.
• Running back – No. 34 (name unknown) – Pretty good.  Good size and speed.
• Offensive line – Averages 5′-11″, 220 lbs.  A couple of undersized players.  Best players are senior left tackle Kyle Hutchison (6′-2″, 180 lb.) and senior right guard Logan Kaisk (5′-11″, 290 lb.).  They play great technique and come off the ball hard.  But size may be an issue with this group.
• Formations similar to Massillon, with 3 and 4 wide receiver sets.
• Defensive line – Also undersized, averaging 6′-0″, 215 lbs.  Sophomore nose tackle John Jackson (6′-2″, 255 lbs.) is the best player.
• Linebackers – Good position group.  All seniors.  Not big, but good players.
• Defensive backs – Corners better than safeties.  Best player is senior cornerback Maliq Spragling (6′-0″, 175 lbs.).
• Defense consistently aligns in an odd front with two high safeties in cover-4, similar to Massillon.

See you in Barberton.  Go Tigers!

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Massillon-McKinley Food Drive Contest Underway

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich at pribich@att.net or Mary Lou Wilton at marylouanddon24@gmailcom. Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.  Help us beat McKinley for the second year in a row.

Booster Club Report – Week 6

After a blowout win over Austintown Fitch, it’s time to get back to business with a good Monroeville Gateway, Pennsylvania, team coming to town.

Scores from last week:

• The varsity defeated Austintown Fitch 55-7 (All-time win No. 891)
• The JV game vs. Fitch was canceled
• The Freshmen lost to Fitch 44-42
• The 8th Grade tied Fitch 14-14
• The 7th Grade defeated Fitch 8-6

The Booster Club is sponsoring one or two buses to the October 18 Barberton game for the cost of $25.00, not including the game ticket.  A sub sandwich and drink will be provided.  The buses will depart from the old K-Mart parking lot at 4:30 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Supply.

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich or Mary Lou Wilton.  Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.

Funds raised by the Gateway parents for a bus to travel to this week’s game ran short, so some of the Tiger Moms raised $500 to help out.  It was enough and the parents will be in Tigertown on Friday.

The guest players this week were senior quarterback Aidan Longwell and senior center Cole Jones.  In addressing the upcoming game with Gateway, Longwell said, “We’re preparing for everything.  They’re a really good team.  We have a good game plan.”  “Practices are tough this week, but are going pretty well,” added Jones.  “Their defensive line is not huge, but quick.  It will be challenging.”

Head Coach Nate Moore started his presentation by showing films from last week’s victory over Fitch.  “Our offensive line really had a dominating performance,” he said.  “Great blocking.  Keyes also had a really good game.”  He also commented on the experience of Longwell at quarterback using as an example Massillon’s first play of the game.  Expecting a single safety over the top, the play called a deep throw to the end zone to one of two receivers left uncovered by the safety.  However, Fitch aligned with two safeties instead, which meant that both deep receivers would be covered.  So Aidan immediately altered the scheme by focusing on Jayden Ballard, who was running a crossing route short of the safeties.  Longwell hit Ballard in stride with a bullet pass and Jayden then took it to the house, giving the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead.  Experience counts.

Traditionally very tough at home, Fitch had great trouble matching up with Massillon offensive line and complementary skill players.  The net result was a 48-7 Tiger halftime lead with six touchdowns scored in six possessions.  With the Falcons aligning their defense to stop the pass, it was a night for the run.  Following that first passing touchdown, the Tigers went almost exclusively to the ground for the rest of the night.  With the offensive line completely dismantling Fitch’s front seven, running back Terrence Keyes had his biggest game as a Tiger, gaining 185 yards in 16 carries (11.6 yards per attempt) and scoring four touchdowns.  And there were no turnovers, for the second consecutive game.

A seventh touchdown came via special teams when Austin Brawley blocked a punt and Isaiah Clark scooped up the ball at the three yard line and carried it into the end zone for the score.  In fact, it was the second blocked punt on the night for this group.  The special teams had a great night, keeping the Falcons pinned deep in their own territory the entire game with exceptional kicking and kick coverage .

Defensively, Massillon was focused on stopping the running of Fitch’s alternating quarterbacks, who combined had put up some big numbers this year.  But the Tigers were able to keep the pair in check the entire night, limiting them to just 60 yards in 18 carries.  Stat-wise, the Falcons gained just 123 yards in 43 carries (2.9 yard per attempt).

Additional notes:

• Massillon has scored a touchdown in each of its last 18 first-half possessions.
• For  the season, the Tigers are averaging 39.3 points per game in first-half action (50.2 per full game).
• Massillon has surrendered just seven second-half points.
• The Tigers have scored 25 touchdowns out of 26 attempts in the red zone.
• The offense has an efficiency rating (first down, touchdown, field goal) of 92%, higher than any Tiger team during the era of the spread offense
• Defensively, the Tigers are limiting the opponent to just 2.6 yards per carry, the best of any Tiger team during the era of the spread offense.
• Massillon owns a 17-game regular season winning streak.

Gateway enters this week’s game with a 6-1 record, the lone loss having come in Game 2 against previous Massillon opponent Penn-Trafford, 28-7.  Tied 7-7 at the half, the Gators surrendered the ball six times in the second half to spell doom.  Since that game, Gateway has outscored its opponents 213-7.  “This is a very, very good football team,” said Moore.  “The best comparison is East St. Louis (Massillon opponent last year), but necessarily not at all positions.”  For instance, while the Gators do possess some exceptional athletes, the offensive line is average and this may be a big mismatch against the Tiger front 7.  The defensive line is also on the smaller side.

But the story for Gateway is really about those East St. Louis-type athletes.

• Derrick Davis – 6′-1″, 190 lb. junior running back / safety.  He has rushed 60 times for 835 yards (13.9 yards per attempt) and 15 touchdowns.  He has also caught eight passes for 241 yards (30.1 yards per catch) and scored two TDs.  A Rivals 4-Star recruit, he currently holds dozens of Power-5 offers, including Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama.
• Tui Faumunia-Brown – 6’3, 210 lb. senior tight end / fullback / linebacker.  He is a Rivals 2-Star recruit that holds several offers from Mid-American Conference schools.
• Jacques Taylor – 6′-1″, 240 lb. junior offensive lineman / defensive end.  While he is considered their best offensive lineman, he is a big-time player on defense.  He is very active and makes a lot of plays, according to Moore.
• Shane Thrift – 6′-170 lb. junior cornerback / backup wide receiver.  A Rivals 2-Star recruit, he has been offered by several 1-AA schools.

Senior quarterback Bryson Venanzio (5′-10:, 180) has completed 105 of 165 passes (64%) for 1,563 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions.  Moore says that he is really effective and very accurate, although not blessed with speed.  He distributes the ball well and will utilize some run option and some run / pass option out of the spread offense.  Look for a lot of 4-receiver sets.  The wide receivers are all good and are all 6′-1″ and around 180 lbs.  And they all run well after the catch.  The offensive line averages 6′-1″, 241 lbs.

Defensively, the Gators utilize a 3-4 alignment, similar to Penn-Trafford.  Both corners are pretty good and of course there is Davis at safety.  The defensive line averages 6′-0″, 230 lbs. and Massillon should have an advantage there.

Go Tigers!

Booster Club Report – Week 5

The meeting was a bit shorter this week owing to minimal discussion of last week’s 56-0 blowout of Akron Firestone, which was incidentally Massillon’s 890th all-time victory.  “That was fun, but it’s over,”: said Tiger head coach Nate Moore.

Scores from last week:

• The varsity defeated Firestone 56-0 to run their record to 5-0.
• The JV game with Firestone was canceled.
• The freshmen defeated the combined Firestone freshmen and sophomores 32-0.  Their record is now 3-2.
• The 8th Grade defeated Barberton 27-13.  They are now 3-1.
• The 7th Grade defeated Barberton 48-6 to remain unbeaten at 5-0.

Around fifty seats are available on the buses to Austintown Fitch for the cost of $25.00.  The bus will arrive at the K-Mart parking lot at 4:00 pm and depart around 4:30 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Supply.

The guest players this week were senior linebacker Ben Krichbaum and senior linebacker / running back Preston Hodges.  In the last three games Krichbaum has recorded six solo tackles and eight assists.  Hodges leads the team in tackle points with nine solo tackles and 20 assists.  He also has three tackles for loss and three pass interceptions.  Against Firestone Hodges blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and intercepted a pass that led to another score.  Both players briefly addressed this week’s opponent, Austintown Fitch.  “It’s going to be a big challenge this Friday,” said Krichbaum.  “They have a good front seven.”:

Fitch will host Massillon on Friday in a 7:00 pm start and enters the fray with a 3-2 record, with an average game score of 22-23.  Both teams have played Canton GlenOak and Warren Harding, with the Tigers defeating each handily and the Falcons suffering a setback against Warren.  Their scores are as follows:

• Erie, PA (3-3): W 48-26
• Youngstown Ursuline (0-5): W 27-7
• Canton GlenOak (1-4): W 49-27
• Warren Harding (4-1): L 7-10
• Cleveland Benedictine (5-0): L 27-47

The Fitch offense revolves around a pair of alternating quarterbacks in junior Nate Leskovac (6′-0″, 187) and sophomore Devin Sherwood (5′-10″, 174), both of whom are adept at running the football.  This year they have favored the run 70% of the time, often utilizing the QB option.  The passing has been handled almost exclusively by Sherwood, who throws mostly off a sprint rather from the pocket.  Running back senior CJ Woodberry (5’9″, 168) is a returning starter and is very capable.  A couple of their wide receiver may be missing this week, but sophomore Tyler Evans (5’9″, 188) is good one to watch.  He is a talented “kid” according to Moore.  All of their skill players have good speed.  The offensive line averages 6′-0, 256 lbs. and returns two starters from last year, including senior Kyle Moore (6′-5″, 285) and senior Payton Short (5′-8″, 288).  They play well and finish blocks.

Defensively, Fitch operates out of a 3-3 odd stack with a cover-3 in the secondary.  Expect lots of blitzing, more than from any previous opponent to date.  The best player is senior defensive end Christian Armstrong, a 2-year returning starter.  In fact, all three linemen return from last year, including senior Joe Perez (5′-10″, 218), who Moore calls a “pretty good player.”  Leskovac, also one of the quarterbacks, is their best linebacker and is very active at the position.  The secondary rotates a lot of players, but the group is led by Evans, who doubles as a wide receiver.

The special teams should be exciting to watch with multiple schemes used for both kickoffs and punts.  Regardless of the given situation, the Tigers will need to guard against on-side kicks, pooch kicks and short sideline kicks.  Don’t expect any deep ones.  And a fake punt is always in play.

“We’re thoroughly looking forward to this,” said Moore.

Halfway through the regular season, Massillon is averaging a whopping 49 points per game and giving up just 11.  They are also averaging 399 yards per game, 170 on the ground and 220 through the air vs. 189 total yards by the opponent.  The leading ball carrier is Terrence Keyes, who has toted the ball 65 times for 397 yards and six touchdowns with a 6.1 per carry average.  Quarterback Aidan Longwell has completed 56 of 71 passes (79%) for 955 yards and 12 scores.  Against Penn-Trafford Longwell set a new record for career passing touchdowns and against Firestone he set a new mark for career passing yards.  Most of the passes this year have gone to Jayden Ballard (22-422, 8 TDs) and Andrew Wilson-Lamp (19-378, 3 TDs).  Ballard is also the leading scorer with 60 points.  The Tigers have only punted four times this year vs. 26 times for the opponents.  On defense, the top three tacklers are Preston Hodges, Luke Murphy and Caiden Woullard.  Alex Bauer has converted 34 of 35 extra point tries.  The Tigers have not attempted a field goal this year owing to a 95% (20 of 21) success rate in the red zone.

See you in Austintown.  Go Tigers!

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Tigers Gain National Exposure

During the third quarter of the Cleveland-Los Angeles football game, NBC aired a short clip highlighting the Massillon Tigers and John McVay, the grandfather of Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams.  You can view the video here.