Author: Don Engelhardt

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

Massillon’s Tigers Make the Playoffs – 2008

Story by Gary Vogt

In what is one of the most unlikely chain of events, the Massillon Tigers qualified for the playoffs in 2008.  After week nine there were four teams vying for the eighth and final spot in Division One, Region Two.  Massillon finished in eighth place, and qualified with 21.4912 points, ninth was Fremont Ross with 21.4187, Toledo St. Johns with 21.1429 and Akron Garfield with 21.0500.  These four were vying for the eighth spot and there could have been another spot available had Nordonia lost to Garfield Heights.  Nordonia won 32-12 and thus locked up the sixth seed.

The following series of events had to occur in order for the Tigers to make the playoffs that year.

  • Massillon had to defeat Canton McKinley, which they did 17-0.
  • Parma Normandy (5-5), which the Tigers defeated earlier in the season, had to beat North Royalton (5-5) which they did 35–21.
  • Brantford Ontario Collegiate defeated highly favored Pauline Johnson 20–17 by completing an eighty-yard hook and lateral pass on the last play of the game, giving the Tigers the essential computer points.
  • Holland Springfield (6-4) defeated Perrysburg (6-4) 40-24. If Perrysburg wins, Fremont Ross would have qualified with 21.9742 points. Had any of the above three events not occurred, Fremont Ross would have qualified for the playoffs.
  • Toledo Bowsher defeated Toledo Rogers in overtime, 23-16. If Rogers wins, Toledo St. Johns would have made the playoffs with 21.7551 points.
  • Beaver Local (4-6) defeated Akron North (6-4) 15-14. Akron North was ahead 14-0 at the end of three quarters. Beaver scored a TD minutes into the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 14-7.  With less than two minutes left in the game, Beaver scored again and was successful on their two-point conversion to win by a point.  Had Akron North won, Akron Garfield would have made the playoffs with 21.5500 points.

This unlikely series of events led Massillon to qualify for the playoffs in 2008.  Unfortunately, the Tigers lost the next week to North Canton Hoover 14-7 and bowed out of playoff contention.

It is amazing that all six of these events had to occur for the Tigers to qualify.  This is certainly one of the most unlikely scenarios that led to a team making it in.  Think about it: a win in a rivalry game, two wins by teams whose opponents had like records, a win by successfully going for a two point conversion, an overtime win and an eighty-yard touchdown on the last play of a game, played outside the Unite States.  In the history of the playoffs in Ohio, there probably have been other remarkable scenarios whereby a team qualified, but very, very few more astounding than the 2008 Massillon Tigers.

Illinois High School Association Logo News

Football, Illinois Style

Ever wonder how other states conduct their high school football playoffs?  One worth looking at is Illinois.  There are no divisions in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) system, yet they end up with eight state champions at the end of the day.  Here’s how they do it.

Approximately 580 schools play football in Illinois.  Take away the 42 teams that compete in the Chicago Public League (they don’t participate in the playoffs) and that leaves around 538 that are eligible for the playoffs.  Of that, a whopping 256 qualify, or 48% of the total.  Contrast that with Ohio, which has 749 teams playing football.  Of that group, 224 or just 30% participate in the playoffs.

Unlike Ohio, Illinois does not select their qualifiers using a computer.  Instead, they follow this hierarchy:

  1. Champions of conferences with six or more teams.
  2. Most regular season victories.
  3. Combined wins of all opponents (strength of schedule)
  4. Combined wins of all defeated opponents.

In most years, all teams with at least six wins will qualify and most of those with five will also (after tie-breakers are used).  It should be noted, however, that Illinois teams play 9-game schedules.

Once the 256 teams are selected, they are ordered from the largest enrollment to the smallest regardless of record.  Then eight brackets of 32 teams each are created, starting with the largest 32 and working toward the bottom.  Each bracket is divided into two halves of 16 teams each, based on location.  Finally, the teams within each half are seeded using the same qualification hierarchy as shown above.

In a curious twist, the total school enrollment is used, so the number of girls is factored in as well.  In rare cases, the enrollment is increased by 1.65.  The IHSA calls this the “Success Adjustment.”  Only two teams were affected last year.

What if the Illinois method was used in the Buckeye state?  Staying with seven brackets and based on 224 teams qualifying, a team would need an 8-2 record to guarantee a spot.  Around 80% of those finishing 7-3 would qualify.  But 14 teams that were in the playoffs last year with records of 6-4 and below would be booted, including ironically Cincinnati St. Xavier, Ohio’s playoff state champion.  Others left behind include Canton McKinley, GlenOak, Lancaster, Cincinnati Elder, Lake and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.  Also, 20% of the teams with 7-3 records would fail to qualify, depending on the “strength of schedule” tie breaker.

Interestingly, Divisions 1 and 2 would qualify just 10% and 13% of their teams, respectively, while the majority of the playoff teams would come from Divisions 5 through 7.  While Division 1 would advance around 23 teams, the remaining seven for the top bracket would come from Division 2, pulling in Perry and Warren Harding.  Although Massillon would be an automatic qualifier based on its 8-2 record, the enrollment level would place it in the second division.

Could the Illinois playoff system work in Ohio?  Probably, to an extent.  The winners of conferences receive automatic bids regardless of record, so that is probably a good thing.  The remaining conference teams would need to finish well and take care of those early non-conference games, not dissimilar to the current system.  However, for the independent schools, there is no extra credit for playing tough schedules (except for 7-3 record tie breakers).  These teams would need to select opponents wisely and mostly avoid playing the tougher schools for fear that an 8-2 record might not so easily be achieved.  Case in point: Cincinnati St. Xavier and its 5-5 mark.  And then there is the new OHSAA Competitive Advantage format.  It’s possible that this experiment might meet with greater success using the Illinois system, provided an effective multiplier is applied to the schools affected the most.  At least it might be accepted better by the masses.  As expected, there would be pros and cons.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

Youth Football Camp

FREE Youth camp open to students first through eighth grade
Date: Saturday, May 20
Registration: 8:15 a.m.  –  Camp: 9 – 11 a.m.
Location: Paul David Indoor Facility

MCS Youth Football Camp
Night At the Races Fundraiser 2017 Booster Club

FUNDRAISER: A Night At the Races

The Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club in conjunction with St. George’s Serbian Men’s Club is excited to host “A Night at the Races Fundraiser” on May 20, 2017, at St. George’s Serbian Hall, located at 4667 Applegrove St. NW, North Canton, OH.

Doors open at 5:00 pm.  Food will be available 5:30 pm and racing with Monte Carlo Games begins at 6:30 pm.  The cost is $15.00, with beer and soft drinks included.

Own a horse for $10.00 and collect $50.00 for each race won.  Presold tickets will be entered into a drawing for an autographed football signed by the 2017 Tigers.

For tickets and other info, please contact Steve Berecek at (330) 704-7693 or inquire at Keller’s Office Furniture at (330) 832-7358.