Author: <span>Don Engelhardt</span>

Obie Logo (Large) News

Mel Knowlton is the Latest Inductee to the WHS…

At halftime of Friday night’s game, former Massillon player and assistant coach Mel Knowlton will be inducted into the Washington High School “Wall of Champions” for his skill on the gridiron and his contribution to the sport of football.

Coach Mel Knowlton

Mel grew up on Massillon’s west side and attended Lorin Andrews Junior High School, where he excelled in both football and basketball.  His athletic prowess continued at Washington High.  He was All-Ohio in basketball during the 1932 – 1933 season and was Paul Brown’s first quarterback in 1932.  He went on to play at Miami of Ohio where he was a three year letterman in both football and basketball.

Mel’s coaching career began at Edmund A. Jones Junior High, where he was head football and basketball coach from 1937 to 1940.  In 1941 he accepted the head coaching job for the Steubenville Big Red.

World War II interrupted his coaching career, with Mel serving from 1942 to 1946 as an Air Navigation Instructor.  Upon discharge he resumed coaching,  this time at Alliance High School, and remained head coach there until 1969, finishing with a career record at Alliance of 150–86–6.  His Alliance teams had 7 top ten finishes in the AP Ohio High School Poll.  But the 1958 team could be considered his best, tying Massillon 8-8 and winning the Associated Press State Championship.  Mel was also named the AP Ohio Coach of the Year.

Mel also received numerous other awards.  In 1972 he was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. In 1993 he was inducted into the famed Miami of Ohio “Cradle of Coaches” Hall of Fame.  And in 2007 he was inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame.  Now in 2017 he is being inducted into the Massillon Washington High School “Wall of Champions.”

Obie Logo (Large) Booster Club

Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 3

Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary

The third General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Monday 9/11/2017.  Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance.  Steve made the following announcements:

There was a moment of silence in recognition of those lost during 9-11.

Scores from the week: 8th grade won vs. Warren 34-28, 9th grade won vs. Warren 28-14 and the JV lost vs. Warren 20-7.

On-line ordering is being added to the website.  Ben Liebermann is working with our Treasurer (Vince Pedro) on this project.

Coach Nate Moore brought Coach Rob Oviatt, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, to the meeting.  Coach Oviatt has been a college Strength coach for 30 years and talked about coming to Massillon and specifics about conditioning.  He answered questions from the group.

 Coach Moore also brought two senior football players to the meeting.  Game Captains Senior WR Austin Kutscher and Senior DB Dyson Berry addressed the club on the Warren Harding game and the upcoming game vs. Ursuline.  They also answered questions from the audience.

Coach Moore commented on the Warren game and the upcoming Youngstown Ursuline game. He showed film clips from the Warren game and commented on the action. Then he reviewed the Ursuline game by showing game film from their games and reviewing their potential lineup and players.  He also answered questions from the audience.

The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Monday September 18, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Media Center of WHS.  Memberships will be available at the door.

Massillon Tigers Letter Logo Editorial

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

Obie Logo (Large) Booster Club

Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 2

Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary

The second General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Tuesday 9/5/2017.  Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance.  Steve made the following announcements:

There was a moment of silence on the passing of long-time booster Karen Rogers.

Scores from the week: 8th grade lost to Glenoak 20-10, 9th grade won against Glenoak 28-13 and the JV won against Glenoak 40-6.

Schedule this week: Freshman at home on Thursday 9/7/17 at 6:00 pm vs. Warren Harding.

Booster Club bus to Warren leaves the Town Plaza shopping center at 4:30 pm this Friday (9/8/17).  Tickets cost $25; include a snack but not a game ticket.  Tickets are on sale at Keller’s Office Equipment store.

Remember to bring the booster coupons from the newspapers to future meetings.

Booster Club meetings will be on Monday nights the rest of the football season.

Remember to bring canned goods to future meetings to help us win the “Beat McKinley” food drive.

Coach Moore brought two senior football players to the meeting.  Senior WR Austin Kutscher and Senior OL Jared Foss addressed the club on the Glenoak game and the upcoming Warren Harding game.  They also answered questions from the audience.

Coach Moore commented on the GlenOak game and the upcoming Warren Harding game. He showed film clips from the GlenOak game and commented on the action. Then he reviewed the Warren Harding game by showing game film from their first game and reviewing their potential lineup and players.  He also answered questions from the audience.

The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Monday September 11, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Media Center of WHS.  Memberships will be available at the door.

Massillon Tigers Letter Logo Booster Club

Booster Club Bus to Warren

The Booster Club will be offering bus transportation to the game at Warren this Friday, September 8.  The bus tickets are $25 and do not include a game ticket.  A sub sandwich and a bottle of water will be provided.  The bus will leave Towne Plaza at 4:30 PM, not 11:00 as advertised in the Independent.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Furniture or contact Bill Brown at (330) 704-2548 for further information.  Buses will also be provided for the Austintown Fitch game on September 29.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo Editorial

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

Obie Logo (Large) Booster Club

Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 1

Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary

The first General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Monday 8/28/2017.  New Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance.  The following events took place:

Gary Vogt briefly gave an update on the new Booster Club web-site.  He thanked all who worked on this project and then introduced Don Engelhardt, who presented an overview of the new web-site. The site is a work in process but the amount of information available and its design is very impressive.  Be sure to check it out.

Ron Prunty who has been filming the Massillon Tiger football games since 1979 asked if anyone would be interested helping him carry his equipment from his car before the game up onto the stadium roof.  The stairs to the roof have been removed and the only access is through a “hole” in the press box. Ron also would like some help getting the equipment down and back to his car after the game. If anyone is interested in helping please contact President Berecek or Ron.

Coach Moore brought two senior football players to the meeting.  Senior WR Austin Kutscher and Senior DE, RT Ty Keirns addressed the club on the Mentor game and the upcoming GlenOak game.  They also answered questions from the audience.

Coach Moore commented on the Mentor game and how the team was preparing for the next game against GlenOak. He gave an injury update and mentioned several positive performances. He showed film clips from the Mentor game and gave comments on the action. Then he previewed the GlenOak game by showing game film from their first game and reviewing their potential lineup and players.

John Lieberman reminded Boosters to clip the booster coupons from the local newspapers and bring them to future meetings.  We are trying to win this $2,000 contest for the 5th straight year.

Away game bus tickets for Warren and Fitch are available at Keller’s in downtown Massillon for $25 each. See Matt Keller if interested in purchasing one.

Nick Pribich reminded Boosters to bring canned goods to future meetings to help us win the annual food drive vs. McKinley.

The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Tuesday September 5, 2017 at 7:00pm in the Media Center of WHS.  Memberships will be available at the door.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

Massillon and Mentor Eclipsed 100 Points in 2007 Game

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that this 6-4 Massillon team had put up 52 points on the eventual Division 1 state runner-up.  It’s also hard to believe that they also lost the game.  But the offenses prevailed in this one.  And if you weren’t a fan of either team, then it just might have been one of the most entertaining high school games you ever saw.  The final score was 56-52 in favor of Mentor.

Jason Hall’s Tigers entered Week 5 with a 2-2 record, having unexpectedly lost to both Solon and Parma Normandy.  Mentor, meanwhile, dropped their opener to eventual Division 4 runner-up Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, but stormed back to take the next three, beating Strongsville (44-28), Solon (27-0) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (38-17).  So there was no doubt that Mentor was the favored team.  Only the Cardinals have always struggled when playing in Tigertown and this one turned out to be no different.

The two teams lit up the scoreboard right from the onset, with Mentor taking a 21-17 lead after three possessions by each squad.  Following a 29-yard field goal by Steve Schott, KJ Herring scored from 50 yards out and then JB Price returned a fumbled punt 36 yards for a TD.

The onslaught continued right to halftime with 28 more points, 14 by each team, and Mentor holding onto a slim 4-point lead.  For the Tigers, it was two Devoe Torrence rushing touchdowns, from nine and one-yards out, finishing off a pair of 80-yard drives.  Could either team stop the other in the second half?  Not likely.

Each team scored once in the third quarter to set up a thrilling fourth.  Torrence had tallied his third from the nine yardline following a missed 49-yard field goal attempt from Schott.  So entering the fourth quarter, Mentor was up 42-38.

It was one of those games where the team that scored last was going to win.  It started quietly with a Mentor punt.  Then a 24-yard TD by Torrence with 7:25 remaining, gave the Tigers a 45-42 lead.  Mentor answered with a 2-yard TD with 4:01 to play, completing a 16-play methodical drive.  Now it was Massillon’s turn.  JT Turner returned the kickoff to the Mentor 49, with a 15-yard Cardinal penalty tacked on, placing the ball at the Mentor 34.  From there, it took just eight plays, with big Steve Yoder bulling his way up the middle for 21 yards and the score, seemingly carrying half the Cardinal defense on his back.  Schott’s kick was good and the Tigers were up 52-49.

But scoring was not the intent on that play and the TD came too early, leaving 1:52 on the clock.  Too much time for the high-powered Mentor offense.  And they did just what they were expected to.  The winning 8-yard scoring pass came at the end of a 10-play, 79-yard drive, leaving a mere 24 seconds on the clock.  Not enough time for Tigers to pull it out.

Massillon finished with 498 yards, rushing for 433 and passing for another 65.  Chris Willoughby was 6 of 17.  Devoe Torrence rushed 36 times for 283 yards and four touchdowns and KJ Herring added another 109.

Mentor rolled up 588 yards, rushing for 289 and passing for 299.  Bart Tanski was 25 of 38.  Tom Worden rushed 27 times for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns.

So how could a Massillon team that had been basically written off a week before do this to a Mentor team that was destined for greatness?  Simple.  Pure effort and intensity.  And they kept that up for the rest of the season.  Although they dropped a decision to Cleveland St. Ignatius the following week, the Tigers finished strong, winning their final four games and posting a winning record.

 

Obie Logo (Large) News

Massillon Struggles in Final Scrimmage

A nice crowd turned out at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday night to watch Massillon and Lakewood St. Edward square off in a final pre-season scrimmage.  Unfortunately, the Eagles had the better of it, winning 31-0 in one half of football.

St. Eds showed why they won Division 1 state titles in 2014 and 2015, while losing in overtime in a regional finals game last year.  They have great size and speed, plus a wealth of experience.  And their intensity level is beyond what Massillon saw in its first two scrimmages against Avon and Berea MIdpark.  The youthful Tigers just didn’t match up well in this one.

The Eagles scored three touchdowns and a field goal in their first four possessions to open up a 24-0 advantage as the second quarter got underway. For the night, they rolled up 343 yards of offense, scoring on runs of 23, 25, 25 and 2 yards and kicking a 25-yard field goal.  Defensively, they held Massillon to just 44 yards and three first downs.  In fact, the Tigers never crossed midfield, except when Jamir Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it to the Eagle 31.  Only they turned the ball over on downs four plays later.

On the bright side, the coaching staff has plenty of game film to use in pointing out areas that must be improved upon prior to the season opener against Mentor.

In earlier action, both the JV and the Freshmen teams scrimmaged.  The format was four 10-play series each, starting at the opponent’s 40 yardline.  The JV team lost to St. Eds four touchdowns to two.  The Freshmen team defeated St. Eds six touchdowns to three.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo News

Tigers Prepare to Face Challenging Schedule

This Friday evening, the Tigers will conclude their preseason when they take on perennial state power Lakewood St. Edward.  It will be a difficult task to be sure. But they hope to parlay that experience into a victory over another power in Mentor, which invades Paul Brown Tiger Stadium the following Friday.  For without a league title in which to contend, it’s all about making the state playoffs, which must come before any talk about post-season success.

The magic number is “7.”  That’s the number of wins a typical Massillon team would need to qualify for the playoffs.  But there’s more to it than just winning games. The win total must also include a significant number of teams that are also winners in order to accumulate sufficient computer points.

The playoffs have been around since 1972.  Here’s a look back at the win totals of past Tiger teams regarding the number of teams that would have finished in the top eight of the region, taking into account that the present setup was not in place until 1999.

  • 10 wins: 5 of 5 qualified for the playoffs
  • 9 wins: 7 of 8
  • 8 wins: 12 of 12
  • 7 wins: 8 of 10
  • 6 wins: 3 of 7
  • 5 wins: 0 of 1
  • 4 wins: 0 of 4

So with at least seven wins, the Tigers qualified for the playoffs 91% of the time.  Even with six wins there was a fighting chance.  Of course, seven wins isn’t a guarantee, since a weak schedule can work against you, as it did in both 1978 (9-0-1) and 2011 (7-3).  But an overly strong schedule can also work against.  In some years, the schedule was just too difficult to overcome as the following discussion will point out.

We’ll start by rating the strength-of-schedule for each year using the following point system:

  • Rating 0 – The team is flat out not very good at football; ex. Toledo Bowsher
  • Rating 1 – Public or smaller parochial school that did not win at least seven games and did not qualify for the playoffs
  • Rating 2 – Public or smaller parochial school that did win at least seven games or qualified for the playoffs
  • Rating 3 – Large parochial school

The overall strength-of-schedule is then determined by summing all of the ratings for the ten-game regular season.  For example, in 2015 the strength-of-schedule was 18, given that 9 teams made the playoffs (rating = 2) and one team was rated zero.

In case you were wondering, here is Massillon’s winning percentage against each of these groups since 1972:

  • Rating 0: 32-0-0 (100%)
  • Rating 1: 215-15-1 (93%)
  • Rating 2: 84-80-3 (51%)
  • Rating 3: 2-18-0 (10%)

If you pull out the Massillon teams that won at least seven games, here are the percentages:

  • Rating 0: 21-0-0 (100%
  • Rating 1: 178-8-1 (95%)
  • Rating 2: 69-40-2 (63%)
  • Rating 3: 2-9-0 (18%)

Therefore, it could be concluded that the difference between the Massillon teams that qualified for the playoffs and those that didn’t was better performance against the Rated 2 opponents.  The qualifiers won 63% of these games, whereas the non-qualifiers won just 27%.  Pretty obvious, of course.  But strength-of-schedule still factors in when you consider both number of better opponents on the schedule and Massillon’s traditional winning percentage against those teams.  The list below shows the number of teams that qualified for the playoffs for each total strength-of-schedule rating:

  • Strength-of-schedule 11 to 12: 7 of 10 qualified for the playoffs
  • Strength-of-schedule 13 to 14: 21 of 22
  • Strength-of-schedule 15: 4 of 9
  • Strength-of-schedule 16 to 18: 2 of 7

The data shows that the optimum strength-of-schedule rating is 13 to 14.  But it also shows the problems of both weak and overly strong schedules.  With a weak schedule, the computer points are lacking in spite of having a lot of wins.  Conversely, with a strong schedule, the wins are sometimes lacking, resulting in insufficient computer points.

Historically, since the introduction of the playoffs, Massillon’s strength-of-schedule has trended upward from 13.5 to the current 14.5, right around the optimum.  Last year’s rating was 14.  For the previous year, Coach Nate Moore’s first, it was 18.

Keep in mind that for the majority of public school programs across the state, these statistics do not hold up.  When these teams are good, they’re good.  And when they’re bad, they’re bad.  Strength-of-schedule doesn’t seem to matter much.  That’s because their programs are not as solid and predictable as Massillon’s.  The Tigers tend to put out a good product every year, so it’s the strength-of-schedule that can have a larger influence on the outcome.

That brings us to this year.  How strong is the schedule and is it conducive based on the statistics for the Tigers to make the playoffs?-  Let’s start by looking at each opponent.

  • Mentor – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Returns a 3-year starter at quarterback for a team that emphasizes the pass.  Rating = 2.
  • Canton GlenOak – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.
  • Warren Harding – Would have qualified for the D2 playoffs in 5 of the last 10 years. Rating = 1.5.
  • Youngstown Ursuline – Struggled last year. Expected to struggle again.  Rating = 1.
  • Bedford – Now a D2 team, would have qualified for the D2 playoffs in 3 of the last 4 years. Returns a good nucleus of skilled athletes.  Rating = 2.
  • Austintown Fitch – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 5 of the last 6 years. Rating = 1.5.
  • Canisius, NY – Large parochial school from New York. Parochial state champs last year.  Rating = 3.
  • Akron Firestone – Finished 4-6 in 2016. Expected to be better this year.  Rating = 1.
  • Akron St. Vincent – Qualified for the playoffs in 9 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.
  • Canton McKinley – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.

Based on the above, the strength-of-schedule for the 2017 season is predicted to be 18.  This would make it the most difficult schedule the Tigers have faced since the introduction of the playoffs, matching that of the 1989 and 2014 seasons.  Seven or eight of the opponents would be expected to qualify for the playoffs and that includes Canisius.  But it is not an impossible task as demonstrated by second-year coach Lee Owens, who also faced a strength-of-schedule rating of 18.  He fashioned his 1989 team into an 8-2 record and advanced to the D1 regional finals before losing to eventual state champ Cleveland St. Ignatius. And Coach Moore’s first team was one play away from qualifying.

Based on both the strength-of-schedule and the expectations of the other teams in the region, with this schedule six wins might just be enough to be playing in Week 11.  But let’s not settle for that.  Let’s just win them all!