Major Shakeup in OHSAA Playoff Regional Assignments

The Ohio High School Athletic Association has released its regional assignments for the 2018 football playoffs.  With the incorporated changes, Massillon’s Region 7 just got a little tougher with the addition of Massillon Perry plus several Division 2 powers from just west of Cleveland.

Gone is Dublin Scioto, which defeated the Tigers in the first round of the 2015 playoffs.  They are now in Region 8.  Also transferring to other regions within Division 2 are Boardman, Westerville North, Franklin Heights, Youngstown East, Big Walnut and Columbus Briggs.

The newcomers via transfer have significantly improved Region 7.  They include Barberton, Medina Highland, Wadsworth and Green.  Also coming in are Perry from Division 1 and Dover from Division 3.  Tri-Valley returns to Division 2 after a 1-year stay in D3.

Region 5 remains largely intact, with Akron Hoban the dominant power, competing with the likes of Cleveland Benedictine, Walsh Jesuit and Hudson.  Barberton has been moved to Region 7.

Region 6 is also much the same, aside from the significant addition of Toledo Central Catholic.  With a base enrollment matched for Division 4, competitive balance numbers have pushed them up the ladder to Division 2.  Central has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last 5 years, all in Division 3.  Four times they were regional champs and once they were regional runner-up.  In 2014 they captured the state title.  Central will compete with Avon, Grafton Midview, Toledo St. John’s and Toledo St. Francis.  Highland and Wadsworth have been moved to Region 7.

Region 7, as noted above, is significantly stronger owing to the addition of Perry and transfers from within the division.  Here is a short rundown:

• Massillon – 2018 Region 7 champion.  Qualified in 4 of the last 5 years.
• Perry – 2016 and 2017 state runner-up.  Qualified in 4 of the last 5 years, including last year in Division 1.
• Medina Highland – 2013 Region 6 champion.  Qualified in 4 of the last 5 years.
• New Albany – Qualified in 3 of the last 5 years.
• Tri-Valley – Qualified in 4 of the last 5 years, albeit 3 times in Division 3.
• Worthington Kilbourne – Qualified 3 times in the last five years, none since 2015.
• Barberton – 2017 Region 5 runner-up to Akron Hoban.  Only appearance in the last 5 years.
• Lake – Qualified twice in the last 5 years.
• Dover – Qualified 3 times in the last 5 years, all in Division 3.

Challenging in Region 8 will be Cincinnati LaSalle and Cincinnati Winton Woods.  However, Dublin Scioto has been moved from Region 7 to add some strength.

Robert Partridge Needs Our Help

Former Massillon Tiger quarterback Robert Partridge was recently involved in a serious auto accident and unfortunately suffered a severe spinal cord injury.  A gofundme page has been set up to enable financial support to help cover the cost of rehab.

Robert was a 2-year starting quarterback for the Tigers.  In 2008 he passed for 471 yards and four touchdowns.  He followed that up with a stellar 2009 year in which he passed for 2,631 yards and 22 touchdowns, leading his team to the state playoff semifinals against Cleveland Glenville.  Robert is 6th all-time in career yards passing and 3rd for total yards passing in a single season.  Following Massillon, he accepted a scholarship to play football at Miami of Ohio and later transferred to Hiram College, where he set a new single-season passing record, including 410 yards against Kenyon.

Please help if you can.

7th Grade Football Information

From Coach Greg Corsale

7th Grade football is no longer a youth sport.  It is now run through MJHS just as 8th Grade football is.  To sign your child up for football you need to register on final forms.  This will include everything on one site that you just update throughout the years for other sports.  No more paper forms.  https://massillon-oh.finalforms.com

Sports physicals this year will not be offered through the Boys & Girls Club.  With the hospital closing they lost the volunteers that offered that for our kids.  You are responsible to get your child a physical and a physical form filled out and turned in.  A copy of that of that physical form can be found at massillontigersathletics.org

Summer workouts will start June 5th.  Workouts will be held at MJHS on Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:00 – 7:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 – 11:00 am.  These workouts are not mandatory, but are encouraged for children not playing a sport through the summer.  If your child is playing a summer sport, they made a commitment to that team and that comes first.

I need any child that is coming to the workout to have the final forms registration completed before they arrive.  This will include contact information that I need in case of an emergency.

Please share this information with any parent that has a child going into 7th Grade.  With the changeover from youth to junior high this season, I expected to have some confusion.  Any questions that you might have, please contact me.  I have included my email below.  Looking forward to a fun season.  Go Tigers!!!

Coach Greg Corsale

gregcorsale6@yahoo.com

FUNDRAISER: 2018 Golf Outing

Massillon Tiger Football Alumni Association GOLF SCRAMBLE

WHEN: Saturday, June 6th, 2018
WHERE: Elms Country Club
TIME: Shotgun Start: 9 a.m.
COST: $300 foursome or $75 per golfer

Price Includes:
Green fees & cart, lunch & dinner at the course, beverage truck, football challenges, & raffle prizes!

SPONSOR A HOLE

SPONSOR LEVELS
Individual Sponsorship: $100.00 (One hole sponsor sign included)
Corporate level sponsorship: $500 (Two hole Sponsor signs and foursome)

Make check payable to: MTFAA
Mail to: MTFAA
C/O Glen Weirich, 725 Woodview Dr. NE, Massillon, OH 44646.

The Massillon Tigers and Coach Moore thanks you for your support.

For more information you can contact Glen Weirich at 330-844-8462 or Jason Jarvis at 330-933-4814. Glen’s Email: uabulldog91@gmail.com.

Former Tiger Coach Earle Bruce Passes Away

He was only in Massillon for a brief amount of time, but Earle Bruce left an indelible mark on this town with his success on the football field, compiling a 20-0 win-loss record and capturing two Ohio High School State Championships.  He died at 87.

Having prepped with stints at Mansfield, Salem and Sandusky, Bruce took over the Massillon job in 1964, replacing long-time, highly successful coach Leo Strang, who had moved on to Kent State.  But it didn’t take long for Bruce to experience the pressure to win.  Following a rocky start against Cleveland East, Game No. 2 was slated against Niles McKinley, which owned a 48-game winning streak and had topped the Tigers in the state championship voting just a few years before when both teams finished undefeated.  The venue was the Akron Rubber Bowl, selected as a neutral site for this intense battle.  After falling behind 8-0 early in the second quarter, Massillon fought back to take a 14-8 lead by halftime.  And that score stood up in front of a near-capacity crowd of 30,128.  After the game, Earle Bruce stated that “it was night I became a Tiger.”

The comeback victory was characteristic of several more games to come that season, particularly the one against Canton McKinley.  Both teams entered the season finale with 9-0 marks, with Massillon No. 1 and the Bulldogs No. 2 in the A.P. Poll. The interest in the game was so high that a Cleveland television station opted to broadcast it live throughout northeast Ohio.  After falling behind 14-0 at the half, the Tigers roared back to score 20 fourth-quarter points behind backup quarterback Dave Sheegog to pull out a 20-14 win, capturing the state title and finishing second in the national poll.  For the year, Massillon scored 297 points (a high amount for that era) and gave up just 46.

Season No. 2 for Bruce went a little easier, but again it was a déjà vu struggle against Canton McKinley, with the Tigers again falling behind 14-0 by halftime.  This time, however, the comeback starter earlier and Massillon escaped with an 18-14 victory and another state title.  It was also Bruce’s 43^rd consecutive win.  Looking back later, Bruce said that he felt more pressure to win the Massillon-McKinley game than he ever did when facing Michigan while at Ohio State.

The predominant characteristic of Bruce’s teams was defense.  In 20 games his teams surrendered just 126 points or just six points per game.  They also recorded nine shutouts and only one team scored more than twice.  Offensively, no opponent held the Tigers to less than two touchdowns.  His methodical full house T, grind-em out offense was the rule of the day and the “smash mouth” football style seemed to be the right formula for this future Buckeye boss.

Based on his success in Tigertown, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes hired Bruce away to become an assistant coach.  Bruce stayed six years there and left to become the head coach of Tampa, but stayed for just a single year, finishing 9-1.  This writer particularly remembers his close win in the Rubber Bowl against the Akron Zips.  The next stop was head coach of Iowa State (current position of former Perry player Matt Campbell).  Following Hayes dismissal by OSU, Bruce took over the reigns there for the next nine years.  He finished his college coaching with short tenures at Northern Iowa and Colorado State before moving on to the professional American Football League.

By the end of his career Earle Bruce had compiled high school mark of 82-12-3 and a collegiate mark of 154-90-2.  But for Massillon, he will always be remembered for his two unbeaten seasons and a pair of state titles. And he was also a superb gentleman off the field.  Earl will be missed.

Massillon to Host Ohio North-South Football Classic

Ohio – The Ohio high school football 73rd annual North South Classic all-star game will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Massillon, Ohio at Washington High School’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The North South Classic is contested between the top senior football players in the state of Ohio as selected by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.

Two games will be played. The first at 12:00 noon, featuring senior athletes from high school football divisions IV, V, VI and VII. The second at 4:00 p.m., featuring senior athletes from high school football divisions I, II and III.

Team Rosters:

North Team DI-III Roster     South Team DI-III Roster     North Team DIV-VII Roster     South Team DIV-VII Roster

A $10 ticket includes admission to both games and can be purchased online at massillontigersathletics.org (direct link https://ticketracker.com/store?schoolId=1360&departmentId=190), or at the gates on game day.

First held in 1946, the North South Classic is the nation’s oldest-running high school football all-star game. The game boasts a legacy of top athletes who have participated in it over the years, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Roger Staubach, Jack Lambert, Alan Page, Larry Csonka and Paul Warfield.

The Ohio High School Football Coaches Association operates the North South Classic with the support of Tournament Director Steve Channel, Head Football Coach at Miamisburg High School. The game is supported locally by professional staff and volunteers from Visit Canton, the City of Massillon, the Massillon City School District and Ohio’s Region 7 high school football coaches.

Event sponsors from Massillon and the greater Stark County business community include: Visit Canton, The City of Massillon, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Aultman Sports Medicine, Massillon Parks & Recreation Department, The Canton Repository, Massillon Eagles Aerie #190, Donatos Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings in Massillon, Kimble Recycling & Disposal, Papa John’s Pizza in Massillon, Farmers National Bank, New-Talk 1480 WHBC, Massillon Washington High School Alumni Association, Up in Smoke BBQ and Catering, TIG Grille & Catering, Smiley’s Ristorante & Pizzeria, Bella Sera Pizzeria, Mid’s Homestyle Pasta Sauces, and Farris Produce Inc. For more information on becoming an event sponsor contact Mary Vlahos, Vice President of Sales at Visit Canton, at MaryV@VisitCanton.com or 330.454.1439.

CONTACTS:

Steve Channell, Region XV Director/All Star Game Coordinator, schannell@miamisburg.k12.oh.us

James France, President – Ohio High School Football Coaches Association, james.france@manchester-panthers.org Tony Carr, Region VII Director – Ohio High School Football Coaches Association, Phone, tony.carr@perrylocal.org