The Website Corner – Week 4

Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.

Ursuline coach Larry Kempe said, “For the first time in four weeks we played with great passion.”  Despite winning by 29 points the game was much closer than the score indicates.  Our Tigers had 418 yards in total offense while Ursuline had 375 yards.  That is a difference of just 43 yards.  To state the obvious our Tigers have to keep getting better.  Getting better means working to contain the speed of this week’s opponent, Bedford.  So, Tiger fans we need to get out and support our guys with great energy.  This is a BIG GAME! — GV

The Tigers showed continued growth this week vs. Youngstown Ursuline. While our defense was challenged by what appears to be a very talented running back in Joe Floyd, the Tigers never broke and held Ursuline out of the endzone for most of the game. This week the Tigers will again face a talented team that will surely test them and show if they continue to grow. Offensively our Tigers continue to gel in both the running and passing game. Our special team’s punting and field goal kicking have been very good for us. Our freshman punter Magnus Haines is averaging 33.1 yards per punt and has had two downed inside the 20 yard line. Klay Moll is 2-2 on his FG attempts this season and 15-15 on his extra points for the season! – ES

We’re four games into the season and just one team in Massillon’s region remains unbeaten: Columbus Walnut Ridge.  Based on performances so far and considering the remaining opponents, it appears that ten teams are in contention for the coveted eight playoff spots.  They are Massillon, Boardman, Westerville South, Wooster, New Albany, Canal Winchester, Licking Heights, Columbus Walnut Ridge, Columbus Mifflin and Columbus West.  Another five teams are on the bubble, including North Canton, Westerville North, Ashland, Franklin Heights and Columbus Northland.  Wooster (1-3) will need to win out, but may stumble against Mansfield in Week 8.  New Albany (1-3) will also need to win out.  North Canton will need to beat either Columbus Bishop Hartley (3-1) or Jackson (3-1).  Ashland may fall short even with an 8-2 record due to poor scheduling.  This week, keep an eye on Massillon vs. Bedford, Boardman vs. Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, North Canton vs. Canton McKinley and Columbus West vs. Columbus Marion Franklin. — DE

The Tigers are no stranger to fierce competition and annually seem defeat a team or two that finishes 8-2 or better.  This week’s test is Bedford, which comes in with a 4-0 record and is on a quest to post an undefeated season.  Although the schedule so far has been substandard, Bedford has won each game convincingly like a good team should.  The Bearcats possess a host of athletic talent at the skill positions, particular at running back and wide receiver.  Offensively, the they will line up in a Power-I formation and run the ball between the tackles utilizing No. 11 Kenneth Wilkins.  When they need to pass, it’s down the field to No. 4 Davion Johnson. Both of these players have track speed.  The offensive line is not as big as Massillon’s earlier opponents, but they fired off the ball well. According to Coach Nate Moore, the Tigers will need to line up correctly, read their keys, react properly and gang tackle.  Defensively, the normal alignment is 4-2, with the linebackers over the defensive ends, but they occasionally push one inside.  Moore expects something similar to what Youngstown Ursuline did in the first half of last Friday’s game; i.e., pushing a safety up into the box.  The linebackers are the strength of the defense, while the secondary also plays well.  The line is undersized and does not seem to have an overwhelming pass rush.  The kicking game is a challenge for them. — DE

The Website Corner – Week 3

Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.

There were a number of things one could point to in describing the Tiger’s efforts that resulted in a victory over Warren Friday.  The defense contained a pretty good Warren running game, our passing game was very efficient, but our ground game was the clincher.  Those two fourth quarter drives are examples of how to play with a lead.  They ate up the clock and kept the Warren offense off the field.  The first drive was huge as it ended with a Klay Moll 21-yard field goal that gave the Tigers a two score lead.  The second ate up the clock and ended with Aiden Longwell taking a knee to end the game.  That is how to finish.  A like effort will be needed this Friday against Youngtown Ursuline.  We will need a good defense against the run, timely passing and of course a physical run game. — GV

Three weeks into the season, just three unbeaten teams remain in Division II, Region 7: Columbus Mifflin, Boardman and Columbus Walnut Ridge.  Massillon continues to position itself for a qualifying position with a big win over Warren Harding, which should provide plenty of second-level points down the road.  Hoover, which lost to Akron East last week 27-20, remains a mystery team.  But it should sort itself out on Friday when the Vikings travel to GlenOak.  Licking Heights edged New Albany 35-30, but both teams should finish in the Top 8.  The crystal ball says that the final eight teams in Region 7 should come from this group: Columbus Walnut Ridge,  Massillon, Columbus Mifflin, Licking Heights, Canal Winchester, New Albany, Boardman, Dublin Scioto and Columbus West.  Time will tell for North Canton, Lake, Ashland, Westerville South and Worthington Kilbourne. — DE

Youngstown Ursuline comes to Massillon sporting a 1-2 record.  The lone win was over hapless Youngstown East 40-19, while losses were to Cleveland Benedictine 39-29 and Akron Hoban 49-0.  The offense revolves around the quarterback, who returns from last year.  Coach Nate Moore says that he throws and runs equally well. The running backs have good size, but not the speed of Warren’s.  The receiver corps is all new.  The offense uses a similar scheme to Massillon, except that the running backs are aligned closer to the QB.  A weaker area would be the defense, which returns just three starters, one on the line, one at linebacker (although he was a defensive end last year) and one in the secondary.  The two corners are both sophomores and just 5’9″ tall.  The Irish operate out of a 4-3 alignment.  Six players go both ways. — DE

In the Warren game you may have noticed the Warren quarterback threw a backward pass to the receiver while they were behind the line of scrimmage. If the pass is completed the statistician makes the judgment, if the pass is forward or backward. If the pass was backward the play is recorded as a rushing play. If incomplete the action of the game officials determines if the pass is a forward pass or a lateral. In the Warren game the play was recorded as a rushing play. There were a couple of other stats that are interesting from the Warren game. Massillon made 4 of 8 third down conversions and Warren made 2 or 8. On fourth downs, Warren only made 1 or 3 forth down conversions. Massillon was winning at half time but the time of possession was in Warren’s favor 8 minutes to Massillon’s 4 minutes. That was turned around by Massillon in the second half, Massillon controlled for 16:32 minutes and Warren for 7:28 minutes. Warren only having 8 plays from scrimmage in the 4 quarter. — JB

The Website Corner – Week 2

Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.

Great week for the Tigers! I am really enjoying watching this young team develop. Names that you may not have expected to hear all season are being large contributors early in the 2017 season. Dyson Berry and Zion Phifer both come to mind immediately on defense and offense respectively. Defensively the Tigers did a great job of forcing Rhoads to get the ball out of his hands and limit his running ability. The Tigers went the entire 1st half without a penalty, but emotions got the best of them in the second half. We have to eliminate the drive extending penalties going forward. This game was a great building block for what is expected to be a tough road game next week vs. Warren. — ES

One additional note, this is the second week in a row where we have seen the impact of the NFHS new rule on defenseless players. Last week it was a crack back block and this week it was in the 4th qtr. on a Glenoak player falling to the ground on an incomplete pass and subsequently getting cracked by Dean Clark. The stands were up in arms about this play and getting on the refs, but as we know, this is the way the NFHS and OHSAA are trending and that has to be communicated to everybody from fan to team. — ES

A lot of kudos to go around after our Tigers out hit Glenoak 24-10.  The Tiger defense limited Glenoak to just 43 yards rushing which forced the Golden Eagles to rely on their passing game.  A like effort will be needed this week at Mollenkopf Stadium against Warren.  The Raiders passed for just 30 yards in their opening game loss to Canton McKinley.  Warren was open in week two and undoubtedly worked on their passing game, but expect them to rely on their strength which is running the football.  Our Tigers will need another physical effort against the Raiders.  So, get out to Mollenkopf Friday and help our Tigers attain their second victory of the season. — GV

Friday will mark the 17th meeting between Massillon and Warren Harding in the current series, which started in 1989 and stands at eight wins and eight losses for each team.  The Tigers’ record at Mollencopf Stadium during that time is 2-5, with the last win coming in 2013 by the score of 35-14. Massillon’s wins there have been by an average of 21 points, whereas the losses have been by an average of 7 points.  This year Warren appears to be favoring the ground attack, as they possess two pretty good running backs who operate behind a big offensive line.  However, in the passing department, they are still searching for an identify, alternating two quarterbacks and occasionally running the Wildcat.  Against Canton McKinley, the Raiders aligned their defense in a 4-3 with a cover-4 secondary. Although the skill level here is decent, the defense has many new players from last year.  But they do return a pair of good ones in safety Jalen Hooks (6′-1″, 190 lb. Sr.) and defensive tackle Kaprice Sledge (5’11”, 325 lb. Jr.).  Hooks has received several D1 offers. Warren has only played one game so far and has had two weeks to prepare for the Massillon invasion.  So Coach Moore doesn’t know what Warren will bring.  But he also said an early season bye does not necessarily provide an advantage.  He emphasized that you need to play games in order to improve.– DE

After two weeks of competition only 5 of the 27 teams in Division 2, Region 7 are still unbeaten, attesting to the weakness of the region.  Those five are Columbus Northland, Columbus Walnut Ridge, North Canton, Boardman and Columbus Briggs.  The big surprise was Westerville South, a 50-14 victor over Dublin Scioto in Week 1.  Last Friday South lost to a resurging Gahanna Lincoln team, 34-0.  Other highlights included Lake losing to Dover, Ashland losing to Clyde, and Wooster and Dublin Scioto both starting out 0-2.  I know it’s early, but the current teams to keep an eye on are Massillon, North Canton, Boardman, New Albany and LIcking Heights.  Others in the hunt include Ashland, Lake, Worthington Kilbourne and Westerville South.  Once again, there may be several teams qualifying with just six wins.  And there may just be two Columbus City teams qualifying.  Games of interest this week include Massillon (1-1) vs. Warren Harding (1-1), Boardman (2-0) vs. Jackson (2-0), New Albany (1-1) vs. Licking Heights (1-1), Westerville South (1-1) vs. Hilliard Darby (1-1), and Lake (1-1) vs. Copley (1-1).  More as the season goes along. – DE

I have been asked why there are “Team” statistics in the game stats. There are several reasons for this. The most common is when a quarterback “takes a knee” after the snap from center. The loss that results is recorded as a “Team” rush and and the lost yards are charged to “Team”. Another reason you will see “Team” yardage is on a wild pass from center where there is a loss of yards. However, If after a wild pass from center the ball is picked up and a yardage gain is the result, the play is recorded as the if the wild pass from center did not occur. On an unblocked punt the entry is similar. If in the opinion of the scorer an improperly centered ball prevents the punter from carrying out his assignment the resulting loss is recorded as a “Team” loss. If the punter is able to recover the ball and punt, but the ball goes for a loss or out of bounds the punt is recorded as a “Team” punt. If the center snap is proper and it the judgment of the scorer the punter miss handles the ball the result of the rush or pass or kick is charged to the punter. — JB

The Website Corner – Week 1

Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.

Week one was a rough night.  We have to move on to Canton GlenOak who also lost.  They lost to Toledo Whitmer 38-24.  The outcome of the GlenOak game is essential to the success of our 2017 season.  Next week’s winner will depend on which team is most successful in regrouping and improving on week one.  We all need to get behind our Tigers as our support is critical this week.  Go Tigers! — GV

This year the Tigers are competing in Division 2, Region 7 for one of the eight post-season playoff spots.  Based on last weekend’s scores, certain teams have already established themselves as contenders.  Start with Westerville South.  They competed last year in Division 1 and posted a 1-9 record.  But they moved down this year and started off with a bang, trouncing Dublin Scioto, 50-14.  Running back Jaelen Gill, an OSU recruit, led the Wildcats with 138 yards rushing and four touchdowns.  North Canton’s 43-12 victory over Brush looks good on paper, but aside from that, there were no real eye openers.  Here are the teams that should contend: Massillon, North Canton, Lake, Boardman, Ashland, Wooster, Westerville South, Worthington Kilbourne, Dublin Scioto, New Albany and LIcking Heights. And save a spot for one of the Columbus city teams.  In what is arguably the weakest region in D2, only 12 of the 27 teams posted victories last weekend.  Normally a team would need win seven or eight teams to qualify.  But with the weakness of this region, it is conceivable that one or more teams could get in with just six victories. — DE

This will be the 9th game with GlenOak in the recent series.  In that six of the last seven were decided by three points or less, one can expect the same type of nail biter this time around.  GlenOak’s offense revolves around Tate Rhoads, a returning starter at quarterback.  Stop him, according to Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore, and you win the game. Rhoads is a threat to both run and throw the ball off the read option.  He knows when to run and he knows where to run, causing headaches for opposing defenses. In the passing department, Rhoads favors the short toss, particularly to receiver Darius Stokes.  So it is imperative that the Tigers get pressure on him in passing situations.  Although the skill position starters are a talented group, nearly all of them play both ways.  The offensive and defensive lines, dominated by underclassmen, are considered their weak areas.  — DE

Game statistics start from the line of scrimmage so the first thing I want to talk about is how the yard line (spotting the ball for statistics) is determined. If any part of the ball lies on or above a yard line future action is computed from that yard line. If all of the football has been advanced beyond a yard line the next yard line is the yard line used for spotting the ball and calculating statistics. However, for statistical purposes there must always be at least one yard to be gained for a first down or touchdown This comes into play when the game officials spot the ball within one yard of a first down, or within one yard of the goal line, or between the 11 and 10 yard line. The statistical yard line is one yard back. — JB