MIDDLETOWN – The Massillon Tigers spent Saturday night at the Holiday Inn, but first they went to the funhouse.
When the park closed they had a souvenir, a 17-7 high school football win over the Middletown Middies. That was very nice, since it put their record at 3-0, but it was almost incidental to the numerous sideshows that put nearby Kings Island to shame.
Among them:
The jungle beast – Massillon’s Ed Annen held one end of the leash as Obie XX, the live Tiger mascot, playfully wrapped his paws around the knee of those whistle-toting zebras.
The chopper – The game ball arrived in a TV news helicopter that buzzed Barnitz Stadium then touched down at the 20-yard line. Massillon head coach Lee Owens screamed (although no one could hear him) to get the bird back in the air because his players could not come out on the field.
“We’d hoped to have Paul Brown (the ex-Massillon coach now living in nearby Cincinnati) in the helicopter,” Middletown head coach Jim Place said. “Unfortunately, he was tied up with the Bengals.”
The roller coaster – On fourth and nine in the second quarter, Tiger quarterback Lee Hurst hurled a bomb toward the left corner of the end zone. Receiver Troy Manion maneuvered through two defenders, ran as fast as he could, reached as far as he could, and fingertip snagged the ball for a 31-yard touchdown and a 17-0 lead. On the next play from scrimmage, Middletown tailback Jeff Cothran raced 68 yards for a touchdown.
Zebras on parade – After Cothran’s run, the Tigers roared back. Ryan Sparkman’s strong run put the ball on the Middletown 30. But wait. Clipping! But wait again! Unsportsmanlike conduct for an editorial comment on the clipping. Fifteen more yards. Next play, holding, Tiger. Instead of a first down on the Middie 30. It’s third and 45 on the Tiger 15. You know any good plays?
The male cheerleader – Usually, only college football has them, but Middletown featured a strapping fellow dressed in purple pants, who after Cothran’s long TD run, leaped and bounded along the sideline, wildly gyrating as he exhorted the Middie faithful to stand up and cheer. The cheerleader was Place, the Middie coach.
“It’s that way every game down here,” Place said. “All of our games are wild and crazy.”
The light show – It was 83 degrees and sunny at kickoff time. By halftime, it was dark, except for streaks of lightning, and a fierce wind kicked up.
Something flashed behind the home grandstand. Two stands of lights went dark, one on each side of the field. Few among the 8,000 spectators noticed, but a transformer had caught on fire.
The great debate – Wait for the lights to come back on? Or keep playing under the four stands of lights still shining? The game stopped for 10 minutes as a debate raged. The verdict: Play on, but only on the half of the better lit field. Play resumed with 2:50 left in the half. The Tigers got the ball back and Ryan Sparkman rushed nine yards to midfield. Had he kept going, he’d have run into the dark side of the field. After the play, officials pointed the Tigers the other way, as if the quarter had changed.
“The situation was to our disadvantage,” Owens said later. “If we’re driving into the darkness, the wind is at our backs and that helps our passing game. But we have to drive into the light. Middletown is a running team, and it’s no big deal for them to have to drive into the wind, into the light.
“I didn’t want to go along with it. But I didn’t have much choice in the matter.”
Band on the run – With lightning came rain. It started shortly after band No 1, the one that plays Tiger Rag, strutted. It got wet and juicy at the end of the “Marching Middies” turn. It rained so hard that band No. 2 disdained decorum, running helter-skelter off the field.
The lock-up rooms – A regular in the Middletown press box eyed the lightning and shook his head.
“Two football players died in the country within the last couple of weeks because of lightning strikes,” he said.
“Football people are being awfully careful.” The Tigers were back on the field only seconds when Owens, having surveyed the skies, herded them back to the locker room. Halftime wound up lasting an hour. Massillon had nearly as many fans as Middletown at the start. Most Middletown rooters didn’t return for the second half, when Tiger fans outnumbered their hosts. They hadn’t driven 4 ½ hours to spend the second half at Taco Bell.
The scare – Ambulance lights flashed behind the Massillon grandstand throughout the intermission. The rumor mill went to work. Middletown radio station WPFB reported that two fans apparently had been struck by lightning. It was a false report. Paramedics actually were treating fans who had suffered heat exhaustion. Despite the fact the “fall sport” was into its third week, the temperature at kickoff was 83 degrees.
In the end, they got the lights fixed and played another half of football.
It was an uneventful second half, but all that transpired earlier made you wonder. The Barnitz fellow wose name is on the stadium. Is there a Barnitz and Bailey circus, too?
MASSILLON 17 MIDDLETOWN 7
STATISTICS MA MI First downs rushing 4 10 First downs passing 9 1 First downs by penalty 4 3 Totals first downs 17 14 Yards gained rushing 119 244 Yards lost rushing 20 16 Net yards rushing 99 228 Net yards passing 199 29 Total yards gained 298 249 Passes attempted 27 12 Passes completed 16 3 Passes int. by 0 1 Times kicked off 4 2 Kickoff average 50.0 47.5 Kickoff return yards 43 54 Punts 4 5 Punting average 38.0 28.6 Punt return yards 0 20 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 4 3 Penalties 10 10 Yards penalized 136 88 Number of plays 67 47 Time of possession 26:01 21:59 Attendance 8,000
Half a loaf was better than none for the Massillon Tigers Friday night.
Heck, half a loaf was better than butter compared to what Steubenville got last week.
The Massillon Tigers baked up a first half that was savory as could be en route to a 24-0 high school victory over Youngstown East in front of 10,458 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
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The second half left some of the Tiger coaches looking like they had just bit into burnt toast. The Tigers out-gained East just 75-65 in second half yardage after a first half in which the numbers were 204-71.
But what the heck. This was the same East that had made like yeast seven days earlier in stunning Steubenville (1988 Division II state runner-up) 12-7.
And, even though one coach said, “The teams that get to Columbus are the ones that put teams away,” isn’t week two maybe too early to be perfect.
If the first half wasn’t perfect, it was at least a 9.9 on the Bo Derek scale. The offense scored on all four of its possessions. The defense didn’t give East a sniff of the 50-yard line, much less the goal stripe.
The passing game clicked.
“Their defensive backs were playing really far off us and we took advantage,” said senior flanker Troy Manion, who seemed unfazed by a hyper-extended knee in catching four passes for 28 yards in the first half.
“I was a lot more relaxed tonight,” added senior wide receiver Rameir Martin, whose first-half numbers were three catches, 71 yards, and one touchdown. “I was pretty tense last week. It was my first game of my senior year.”
“We’d heard they had the best talent of anybody we play this year,” said quarterback Lee Hurst, whose first half included eight completions in 10 throws for 107 yards. “We just came out and we were ready for them.”
“The first week the offense tried too hard. All the captains felt we had to get everybody ready and we got too high ourselves.”
All three players agreed the Tigers lost their touch in the second half.
That’ll be the topic of locker room discussion throughout the coming week.
Meanwhile, next week’s game at Middletown looks less imposing than it once did in the wake of the Middies’ 34-6 loss Friday at Cincinnati Princeton.
But it’s safe to suppose perennially strong Middletown, whose home opener will be against the Tigers, will be jacked up for Massillon where Middie head coach Jim Place lived when he was playing football at Central Catholic High.
Like everyone else on the team Owens was disappointed in the second half.
“But the thing to do, I think, is to emphasize the positive things that happened in the first half,” he said.
Ownes was talking to the players at halftime when he said. “That’s got to be the best half of football I’ve seen the Tigers play. Then (tight end) Dough Harwig said, “Better than St. Joseph last year?” He had a point. Those two halves were close.”
The game plan called for the Tigers to run left and throw right. That combination kayoed East early, working to perfection on the game’s opening drive when Massillon used 11 plays to drive 62 yards. Pass plays netted 7, 6, 11 and 16 yards. Runs went for 5, 7, 10 and 2 yards.
The 2-yard run punched the ball to the 3, from where fullback Ryan Sparkman followed the blocks of Ray Kovacsiss, Mike Silverthorn and Lou LoCoco into the end zone. Gary Miller’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
East punted and the Tigers drove again, this time 72 yards in only seven plays. The big one came in one of the many formations the Tigers used to confuse the Bears. Three receivers flooded the right side with Hurst standing over an unbalanced line. Martin took off deep, but defensive back Elwen Freeman hung with him.
Hurst had plenty of time to loft a bomb to the right sideline. The 6-foot-3 Martin went up with the 5-8 Freeman, wrestling the ball away at the 11, spinning as Freeman fell, and racing into the end zone on a nifty 43-yard gain. Miller’s kick made it 14-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
It was Hurst who was the extra-point kicker last year, but he has given up those duties. He remains, however, as the kickoff man (he was superb in that role Friday) and the guy who tires any long field goals. He got his first chance in the latter category and delivered a 42-yard field goal that soared high and sneaked over the crossbar to make it 17-0 with 7:55 left in the first half.
The first of two Keith Rabbit interceptions set up a 34-yard touchdown mini-march capped by Sparkman’s 1-yard blast with 2:10 left in the half.
Rabbitt had an amazing average of one interception a game in sophomore and junior varsity action. He is ahead of that pace as a varsity player with three thefts in two games.
The key to the shutout, though, was stopping the likes of East tailback Steve Woodberry.
“Our goal was to stop the running game and we did that,” Rabbit said. “We looked at them as a real strong team and it was nice to get a shutout against them.”
Woodberry was held to 18 yards in 14 carries. Several times, it looked as though the Tigers knew what the play would be as well as the East players did.
First-year East head coach Jerron Jenkins, the same age as Owens at 33, was puzzled about the first half.
“Tackling? There wasn’t any,” he said. “We did not come to play. They passed on us all night, even though we knew they were going to try to pass.”
“I don’t understand it. We pounded Steubenville from the start. I’ll tell you one thing, though. We’re going to find out what the problem is and do some serious work to fix it.”
Hel’’ have to work fast. The Bears face Austintown Fitch next week.
“We’ll find out how good East is next week,” Owens said.
As for the Tigers’ game at Middletown next week?
“Our team will have to be together,” Owens said. “We’ve got to make sure everything’s together.”
Meaning he wants the rest of that loaf.
A rundown of each drive Friday:
Mas – Start with opening kickoff on own 38; drive 62 yards in 11 plays; Sparkman 3-yard TD run; Miller kick. Big play, 16-yard Hurst-to-Martin pass on second-and-15. Tigers 7-0 East – Start on own 24; five plays, 15 yards, punt. Mas – Start on own 28; drive 72 yards in seven plays; Hurst 43-yard TD pass to Martin, Miller kick. Tigers 14-0 East – Start on own 23; six plays, 12 yards, punt. Mas – Start on own 34; drive 41 yards in seven plays; Hurst 42-yard field goal. Big play, 31-yard Sparkman run on fake punt. Tigers 17-0 East – Start on own 20; six plays, lose ball on interception by Rabbitt. Mas – Start on East 38; eight plays, 38 yards; Sparkman 1-yard TD run; Miller kick. Tigers 24, East 0. East – Start on own 20; six plays, 23 yards; end of first half.
▪ ▪ ▪ East – Start with second-half kickoff on own 25; eight plays, 43 yards ; lose ball on interception by Rabbitt. Mas – Start on own 15; four plays, 24 yards; punt. East – Start on own 41; eight plays, 28 yards; lose ball when quarterback Regal Reese is sacked for 11-yard loss. Mas – Start on own 31; seven plays, 25 yards; lose ball on interception by Aldrige Jones. East – Start on own 25; three plays, zero yards, punt. Mas – Start on own 38; three plays, 7 yards; fake punt on with Kevin McCue completing pass for first down to Joe Pierce; “illegal participation” penalty on East over-rides play; three more plays, punt. East – Take over on own 10; three plays, punt; Tigers run out clock.
MASSILLON 24 YOUNGSTOWN EAST 0
STATISTICS M E First downs rushing 7 5 First downs passing 6 3 First downs by penalty 2 1 Totals first downs 15 9 Yards gained rushing 149 98 Yards lost rushing 37 44 Net yards rushing 112 54 Net yards passing 167 82 Total yards gained 279 136 Passes attempted 16 16 Passes completed 12 6 Passes int. by 1 2 Times kicked off 5 1 Kickoff average 55.8 45.0 Kickoff return yards 23 51 Punts 2 4 Punting average 24.5 42.0 Punt return yards 30 0 Fumbles 1 2 Fumbles lost 0 0 Penalties 2 8 Yards penalized 20 56 Number of plays 57 45 Time of possession 23:13 24:47 Attendance 10,458
East 0 0 0 0 00 MASSILLON 14 10 0 0 24
M – Sparkman 3 run (Miller kick) M – Martin 43 pass from Hurst (Miller kick) M – FG Hurst 42 M – Sparkman 1 run (Miller kick)
Fired-Up Tiger defense stops GlenOak 16,359 see Massillon win
By STEVE DOERSCHUK Independent Sports Editor
You didn’t read it here, but the Massillon Tigers heard it somewhere that their defense was a chunk of Swiss cheese headin’ for a raging kiln.
They took it personally.
When it got out that somebody was picking us to give up 34 points in our home opener, it fired us up,” said Massillon linebacker Craig Turkalj.
The defense was superb in a 16-6 victory over GlenOak before a Paul Brown Tiger Stadium mob of 16,359, which probably will stand as the best crowd in Ohio this opening weekend of the high school football season.
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“We showed the people saying how bad we are that they’re wrong,” said Turkalj, whose team out-gained the Golden Eagles 331-123 in total offensive yards.
“They got one score, but it was a cheapie.”
GlenOak took a 6-0 lead after the Tigers fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, setting up a 15-yard Eagle scoring drive.
The point-after kick failed, allowing the Tigers to take a 7-6 lead with a touchdown midway through the second quarter.
Ryan Sparkman scored from a yard out, following a wall of blockers packed so tight it looked as if they were making sure no one would get left out of a photograph. Tiger fans, remembering last year’s troubles on conversion attempts, cheered loudly when Gary Miller connected to make it 7-6, Massillon, with 6:28 left in the first half.
A bone-jarring tackle by Tiger end Mike Martin created a safety and a 9-6 lead at 8:23 of the fourth quarter.
Tight end Doug Harig out-maneuvered a pack of defenders to catch a 17-yard touchdown pass from Lee Hurst in the corner of the end zone with 1:35 left.
“I made what Coach (Tom) Stacy calls a sight adjustment,” said Harig, who caught a touchdown pass in last year’s season-ending overtime win over McKinley. “Their guy jumped too soon and Lee put the ball in a perfect spot.”
Miller, who has a set of goalposts in his yard at home, connected again to close the scoring. GlenOak never got in the same zip code as the end zone after its first scoring, taking no drive further than the Massillon 41-yard line.
“We’ll have to see how good Massillon is going to be,” said GlenOak head coach Bob Commings, who was gridmaster at Massillon from 1969-73. “They looked awfully good to me tonight. Their defense played extremely well.”
The physical contest took a toll on the Eagles, who already have lost all-county tailback Kenne Boyd to grades but now face at least three weeks without Boyd’s heir as featured ball carrier, Brian Frenz, who suffered a separated shoulder in the first half.
Frenz rushed eight times for 38 yards before getting hurt.
Todd Dean, GlenOak’s best receiver, kept playing despite being noticeably slowed by a sprained ankle suffered during the game.
Dean’s replacement as the go-to ball carrier, 140-pound sophomore Reggie Brown, got a rude introduction to Division I varsity football. Tiger defenders left no room for Brown to get started in holding him to two yards in 10 carries.
The game was supposed by some to become a shoot-out between teams with talented, experienced offenses. It turned into a defensive struggle.
“I didn’t anticipate that we would have to play such great defense and that our offense would put us in such a hole because of turnovers and poor execution,” said Massillon head coach Lee Owens.
Owens said Tiger fans shouldn’t fret over the offense.
“It will get there,” he said. “I’m sure it will.”
The defense, riddled by All-Ohio Akron Buchtel back Rickey Powers in a scrimmage last Friday, was there when the bell rang against GlenOak.
“We said all week that the films of the Buchtel scrimmage looked better than the live action, and that there weren’t major causes for concern,” Owens said. “I think some people found out tonight that we have one of the quicker defenses around. That’s its strength. Quickness.”
“We weren’t worried about the Buchtel scrimmage,” Turkalj said. “We didn’t show our whole defense against them. Our guys were confident we could do the job. When Coach Commings said GlenOak has one of the area’s best passing offenses, we wanted to show we could stop it.”
Commings has been a “running coach” through most of his GlenOak career but notes he passed 50 percent of the time in the 1960s at Struthers.
On Friday, GlenOak tried 23 passes and 22 runs.
Quarterback John Vesley, a returning starter, completed nine of 22 passes for 82 yards. He also was victimized by two key second-half interceptions by Joe Pierce and Keith Rabbitt at times GlenOak was only a big play away from taking the lead.
Hurst connected on 11 of 18 passes.
MASSILLON…………16 GLENOAK……………. 6
Tiger-Eagle grid lineups Here are the probable starting lineups for tonight’s game between the Massillon Tigers and GlenOak Golden Eagles. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
TIGER OFFENSE Quarterback – No. 15 Lee Hurt, 6-3, 180, Sr. A-back – No. 44, Lamonte Dixon, 5-9, 185, Sr. B-back – No. 34, Ryan Sparkman, 5-8, 175, Sr. Flanker – No. 8, Troy Manion, 6-0, 180, Sr. Wide receiver – No. 21, Rameir Martin, 6-4, 170, Sr. Tight end – No. 83, Doug Harig, 6-2, 195, Sr.; No. 87, Steve Brown, 6-5, 195, Jr. Center – No. 57, Nick Hill, 5-10, 165, Sr. Guards – No. 65, Mike Silverthorn, 6-1, 230, Sr.; No. 60, Jim Goff, 6-0, 180, Sr. Tackles – No. 74, Ray Kovacsiss, 6-4, 265, Sr.; No. 66, Tom Menches, 6-0, 240, Sr.
TIGER DEFENSE Tackles – No. 80, Chris Roth, 6-6, 225, Jr.; No. 77, Brent Bach, 6-1, 225, Jr. Ends – No. 94, Jeff Perry, 6-1, 180, Jr.; No. 95, Mike Martin, 6-1, 185, Jr.; Inside linebackers – No. 37, Craig Turkalj 6-2, 206, Sr.; No, 55, Mark McGeorge, 5-8, 205, Jr.; So. Eric Wright. Outside linebacks – No. 9, Joe Pierce, 6-2, 190, Sr.; No. 22, Kevin McCue, 6-3, 167, Sr. Backs – No. 20, Keith Rabbit, 6-4, 170, Sr.; No. 5, Chad Buckland, 6-0, 185, Jr.; Eddie Williams, Sr.; No. 23, Don Blake, 6-1, 165, Jr.
GLENOAK OFFENSE Quarterback – No. 14, John Vesley, 5-7, 155, Jr. Running backs – No. 40, Brian Frenz, 6-0, 205, Sr.; No. 44, Mike Williams, 5-11, 217, Sr. Split ends – No. 11, Mike Herman, 5-11, 165, Sr.; No. 13, Todd Dean, 5-9, 155, Sr.; No. 15, John McMullan, 5-10, 173, Sr. Tight end – No. 17, Cory Jackson, 6-3, 189, Jr.; No. 48, Glen Hartman, 5-11, 195, Sr. Center – No. 53, Brian Villono, 5-11, 230, Sr. Guards – No. 64, Dave Halter, 5-11, 190, Sr.; No. 67, Jeff Mathot, 6-1, 220, Sr. Tackles – No. 72, Scott Esporite, 6-3, 235, Sr.; No. 74, Tom Hawthorne, 6-3, 225, Sr.
STATISTICS M G First downs rushing 7 3 First downs passing 9 4 First downs by penalty 3 1 Total first downs 19 8 Yards gained rushing 177 53 Yards lost rushing 31 12 Net yards rushing 146 41 Net yards passing 185 82 Total yards gained 331 123 Passes attempted 19 23 Passes completed 12 9 Passes int. by 2 3 Times kick off 3 2 Kickoff average 48.7 44.0 Kickoff return yards 30 58 Punts 3 4 Punting average 32.7 34.3 Fumbles 3 0 Fumbles lost 2 0 Penalties 4 8 Yards penalized 36 42 Number of plays 64 46 Time of possession 25:03 22:57 Attendance 16.359
Glenoak 6 0 0 0 6 Massillon 0 7 0 9 16
G – Williams 1 run (kick failed) M – Sparkman 1 run (Miller kick) M – Safety (Vesley recovers fumble in end zone) M – Harig 17 pass from Hurst (Miller kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing (M) Dixon 15-60, Sparkman 23-107. (G) Frenz 8-38, Williams 3-0, Brown 10-2.
MASSILLON ‑ It looked like plain old mud wrestling, but Massillon defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie said it had a name.
“It’s called our sci‑fi stomp,” he said after the Tigers’ dramatic 10‑7 overtime high school football victory over McKinley Saturday before 17,000 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
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After McKinley’s Akram Alzught missed a 38‑yard field goal on the last play of the game, Massillon’s players sprinted to the 50-yard line and began rolling around in the mud. They got up for a little dancing, and then it was back down in the muck for more celebrating.
But even the guy who has to wash the jerseys had to be smiling. The victory snapped a four‑game losing streak for the Tigers against McKinley, and some say it could even make the difference Tuesday when Massillon voters decide whether they want a new high school.
“I won a state championship (at Galion in 1985), but this is bigger, “ said Massillon coach Lee Owens. “This community has been down, and we needed it. This is just an unbelievable win.”
The deciding points came on a 23‑yard field goal by junior Lee Hurst on Massillon’s first series of overtime. It was Hurst’s first field goal of the season.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988
As if the way he won it wasn’t spectacular enough, Hurst almost won the game in more dramatic fashion. With 2:07 left in regulation, his 47‑yard field goal attempt was wide right by about two feet.
“That was frustrating because I thought I had it, and it just went, wide,” said Hurst, who pounded the turf in agony after the kick. “But I was able to get it out of mind quickly.
McKinley (6‑4) won the overtime toss, and e!ected to let the Tigers (7‑3) have the first possession. Beginning at the McKinley 20, Massillon got one first down, but the drive stalled at the 7, and Hurst booted the go‑ahead field goal.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988
In the first half, a driving rain and severe winds hampered the kicking game. But, fortunately for Hurst, there was no rain and little wind when the game was on the line.
On the second play of McKinley’s overtime possession, Bulldogs quarterback Ryan Henry threw the ball into the end zone to a wide‑open Alfred Hill, but the ball slipped through Hill’s hands.
“When I saw him wide open, my heart missed one full beat,” Owens said. “When I saw we were still alive, I said to myself, ‘Thank God, we finally got a break this season.”
Two plays later, Alzught squibbed his field‑goal attempt to the left, and pandemonium erupted.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988
While it was one of the most dramatic endings in the 94‑year old rivalry (Massillon leads the series 51‑38‑5), much of the game matched every cliche uttered by the two coaches all week. It was hard‑hitting and intense. Nobody literally left their heart on the field, but some players came very close.
Both touchdowns were scored in the second quarter. With 7:40 left in the half, McKinley halfback Derrick Gordon, who gained 77 yards on 22 carries, scored on a one‑yard run, and Alzught added the extra point.
With 2:09 left before intermission, Jamie Slutz hit Doug Harig with a seven‑yard TD toss, and Hurst kicked the extra point. Slutz is the Tigers’ backup quarterback, but he was in the game thanks to the latest surprise from Owens.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988
While the chains were being moved for a first down, Owens sneaked Slutz into the game as a running back. Before McKinley had a chance to react, quarterback Hurst had handed the ball off to Slutz, who flipped the ball to a wide‑open Harig.
“Coach put that in a couple of weeks ago, but we didn’t want to use it until then,” Slutz said. “We were saving it for McKinley.”
“I recognized it right away, and I was yelling to the players,” said McKinley coach Thom McDaniels. “But it’s hard when you’re 30 yards away and 17,000 people are screaming.
The story in the second half was defense. When McKinley got down to the Massillon 9 late in the third quarter linebacker David Lewell smashed Lamuel Flowers for a one‑yard loss on fourth‑and‑1.
Led by the running of Jason Stafford, who gained 123 yards on 21 carries, Massillon twice advanced inside the McKinley 40‑yard line. But twice McKinley’s defense forced fumbles.
By the fourth quarter, the Tigers’ defense was frustrating McKinley to such a degree that McDaniels felt he needed to take a huge gamble.
With 5:53 left and the Bulldogs facing fourth‑and‑2 at the 50, McKinley tried a fake punt. The ball was snapped to up‑back Darnell Clark, but he was stopped a half‑yard short of the first down.
McDaniels said he thought it was a “win or lose” gamble, but it was neither after Hurst’s 47‑yarder just missed on Massillon’s ensuing possession.
Tiger back: Defense ‘ ‘main factor’
Key plays in overtime hidden factors in victory vs. McKinley
MASSILLON 10 McKINLEY 7 MAS MCK Total first downs 13 11 Rushing attempts 42 43 Net yards rushing 197 138 Net yards passing 38 119 Total yards gained 235 257 Passes attempted 13 19 Passes completed 4 8 Passes Int. by 0 1 Punts 5 4 Punting average 33.0 32.8 Fumbles 3 2 Fumbles lost 1 2 Penalties 1 3 Yards penalized 10 19 Attendance 17,750
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing (Mas) Stafford 21‑123, Dixon 6-48, Hurst 10‑9, Dunwiddle 4‑18 (McK) Gordon 22‑77, Flowers 11‑42, Henry 2‑15, White 4‑7.
Receiving (Mas) Stafford 2‑24, D. Harig 1‑7, Spencer 1‑7. (McK) Flowers 3‑27, Hunter 3-52, Hedrick 1-15, White 1-13.
McKINLEY 0 7 0 0 0 7 MASSILLON 0 7 0 0 3 10
McK ‑ Gordon 1 run (Alzught kick) Mas ‑ D. Harig 7 pass from Slutz (Hurst Kick) Mas – FG Hurst 23
Key plays in overtime hidden factors in victory vs. McKinley
By STEVE DOERSCHUK Independent Sports Editor
If they had a draft of Stark County’s high school football players Jason Stafford might be the first pick in the whole thing.
Stafford did his usual thing Saturday, rushing for 123 yards in the Massillon Tigers’ 10‑7 overtime victory over the McKinley Bulldogs.
Yet, Stafford’s view of the glorious day was that, if there was a draft of high school players and he was picking, he’d say, “I’ll start with defense … and I’ll take those Massillon guys.”
“The defense played great Stafford said in a mud‑caked locker room after the Tigers sealed a 7‑3 season and froze McKinley’s final ’88 mark at 6‑4.
“The defense,” Stafford said, “was the main factor in the game.”
Sure, it was Lee Hurst’s clutch 23‑yard overtime field goal that put the Tigers ahead 10‑7. And it was a missed 38‑yard field goal by McKinley’s Akram Alzught that ended the game.
But it was the defense that kept McKinley from winning the game in regulation.
And it was the defense that made it so Alzught’s final field goal attempt was 38 yards ‑ a mile by high school standards, especially on the muddy field the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium gridiron became as a result of Friday/Saturday cloudbursts.
“We came together when we had to come together,” said nose guard Steve Harlan, who played despite a torn shoulder. “They broke through a couple of times, but we sucked it up.”
Late in the third quarter, with McKinley driving toward what could have been a killing touchdown, the Bulldogs elected to go for a first down on fourth‑and‑one from the Tiger 10. Bulldog fullback Lamuel Flowers had been playing with fire all day, and the give went to him. Tiger linebacker David Ledwell also went to him, smashing Flowers into a standup position, The Tiger line drove him backward and Massillon got the ball on downs.
“They tried to run off tackle and we stuffed it,” said Tiger end Steve Snodgrass, who was in on the play.
Now the game was in overtime. Both teams got a chance to line up at the 20 and try to score.
The Tigers, losing the coin toss and having to go first, rammed inside the 10 before settling for Hurst’s field goal.
Hurst’s heart leaped when the snap was slightly off line, but Todd Porter managed to make a clean spot.
“I have to do it,” is what Hurst ,said he was thinking. He did, with his first field goal of the season.
Now McKinley had a chance to counter, getting the ball on first down at the 20.
Chad Buckland and Jason Relford slammed tailback Derrick Gordon for a yard loss. Then came the play that made 17,750 hearts jump. McKinley quarterback Ryan Henry rolled right and looked to the end zone. At the last minute he unleashed a bullet toward tight end Alfred Hill, wide open in the end zone. Hill didn’t get in front of the ball and it zipped by his fingers.
Most fans were locked in on the wide‑open Hill. Many missed the fact Henry was pummeled by Tiger tackle Trace Liggett as he threw. Without Liggett’s rush, Henry would have been able to case the ball to Hill. Instead, he had to fire a rocket shot that was ever so slightly off line. With the ball as slippery as it was, ever so slightly can be ever so much.
The Tigers survived. On the next play, senior defensive back Mike Pritchard made a superb play in knifing in front of Gordon and knocking away what could have been a critical completion at the 7.
Now McKinley had to try a long field goal. The attempt did not come close, being kicked on a low line far short of the uprights. The Massillon part of the crowd ‑ which was the vast majority ‑ erupted while the ball was in the air.
McKinley’s four‑game winning streak against Massillon was over. The Tigers had won.
The game was played on a roller coaster, both in terms of the action and the weather.
Rain that started during the previous night and gained momentum as the game approached left the field soaked. The contest started in a drizzle, but, in the second quarter, that turned to one of the heaviest downpours the series has seen.
First‑year head coach Lee Owens has brought a lot of good things to Tigertown. One, of them nobody knew about was PAM.
Tiger equipment manager Keith Herring said PAM ‑ a slick vegetable spray ‑ was used liberally on the bottoms of the Tigers’ spikes.
“It really helped keep the mud off our shoes,” said running back Lamont Dixon.
The Tigers mounted an outstanding ground attack late in the first half and through most of the second half.
The rain subsided by the third quarter and the sun actually broke through the clouds early in the fourth.
It was McKinley breaking through first on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs won the battle of field position early and, on their third possession, had to drive only 37 yards following a punt for a touchdown.
Henry’s fourth‑and‑three bootleg run worked to perfection and gave McKinley first and goal at the 8. On fourth down at the 1, McKinley called time out, then sent Gordon, who finished with 77 yards in 22 carries, over the left side for a touchdown. Alzught’s kick made it 7‑0 with 7:40 left in the first half.
A deflected pass and interception gave McKinley the ball back moments later, but the Pups lost a promising series when Tiger linebacker Tom Mattox pounced on a Flowers fumble at the Massillon 35. From there, Stafford and junior running back Lamont Dixon followed the Tiger line down the field.
Stafford gained 8 yards and Dixon stormed for 10. An 8‑yard bootleg run by Hurst put the ball on the McKinley 37, then Hurst connected with Stafford on a wide‑open screen pass for 30 yards to the 7.
Owens then sent in one of the secret plays the Tigers were saving for the McKinley game. Jamie Slutz, a senior who has performed well all year in the role of backup quarterback/trick play artist, sprinted into the game and lined up at “A‑back,” which usually is Dixon’s position.
“We’ve practiced that for three weeks,” Slutz said. “We were saving it for this game.”
McKinley’s defense didn’t have a chance to react to Bulldog coaches screaming from the sidelines. Slutz took a handoff from Hurst, backed up a step, and spotted junior Doug Harig breaking free in the end zone. Slutz gently lofted a perfect pass over the only McKinley defender in the neighborhood and Harig made an over‑the‑shoulder catch. Hurst’s kick made it 7‑7 with 2:07 left in the half.
Momentum had shifted.
“It was a 949 special,” Harig said. “The ball looked like a pea when it was coming to me. But I figured I’d better catch it, or just keeping running to the locker room.”
McKinley controlled much of the first half, but the Tigers dominated the second half after McKinley’s big third‑quarter drive was stopped at the 10.
A 19‑yard scramble by Hurst got Massillon out of the hole, and a 31-yard sideline scamper by Stafford put the Tigers in scoring position at the McKinley 34. Dixon made a nice run to the 22 but fumbled and the Bulldogs took over.
The Massillon defense forced a three‑and‑out series and the Tigers drove again, this time to the McKinley 38 before Hurst and Stafford missed a handoff and the Bulldogs recovered at the 41 midway through the fourth quarter.
McKinley gambled on fourth down on its resulting possession, when a run on a faked punt was stopped near midfield.
Hurst wound up trying a 47‑yard field goal with 2:07 left.
When it was over, Jeff Harig, Doug’s brother, wore a huge grin that shone through a face hidden by mud.
“They had a lot of people going both ways, and maybe we were a little fresher at the end,” said Jeff, who was on the field as a blocker, as was Doug, in the double tight end set the Tigers used to run the ball into position for Hurst in overtime.
“We won. That’s all that matters.
McKinley streak goes ‘poof’
Tiger tight end Harig says he was helped by a cream puff
By MIKE KEATING Independent Correspondent
Doug Harig enjoyed a post‑game hotdog moments after the Massillon Tigers devoured some ‘Dogs on the football field Saturday.
The tight end offered some food for thought on the significance of the Tigers’ 10‑7 overtime victory over arch‑rival Canton McKinley.
“We finally got our pride back,” said, Harig. “This win offsets our three losses.”
Sure, the setbacks to Austintown Fitch, Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary and Warren Harding hurt. The last second defeats at Fitch and at Warren were especially heartbreaking. But a fifth consecutive loss to McKinley undoubtedly would have exceeded all those combined.
Backyard bragging rights were at stake Saturday afternoon and there hasn’t been anything for Tiger fans to hoot and holler about in this rivalry since the days of Chris Spielman, Brian Dewitz, Tom Gruno, Craig Johnson and Company.
Lee Owens understood. The first year Massillon head coach was extremely emotional after his team’s seventh and unquestionably most important victory of the season.
“This town has been hungry the last four years and this win was for the entire Massillon community,” he said.
No added incentive was needed for Massillon. But Harig said he had a personal one after a surprise package was delivered to his home earlier in the week.
“There was a cream puff in it with a note,” he explained. The note read: Dear Jeff, you’re the only cream puff bigger than this. Feed it to your brother too.
“We didn’t eat it. We don’t know who sent it, but whoever did, thank you. It fired us up.”
Jeff Harig, the senior tight end, was held without a pass reception Saturday. But he concluded the year with 26 catches for 259 yards, and three touchdowns – hardly cream puff kind of numbers.
His younger brother snagged a Jamie Slutz toss as easily as catching a cream puff in the second quarter. The seven‑yard touchdown catch whetted the Tigers’ appetite that set up the dramatic win.
Jeff finished his high school career at Massillon on a winning note. Doug, a 6‑1, 173‑pound junior, can’t wait for 1989.
“This win will carry over to next year and we need some momentum because we play Moeller and Middletown early,” he said .
Starting free safety Joe Pierce had a touchdown‑saving tackle in the fourth quarter. The 6‑0, 161pound junior echoed Harig’s sentiments.
“This is a big win for the juniors and will make it easier to work harder (in preparation) for next season,” said Pierce.
Of course, the victory also meant a lot to the seniors. It was their last McKinley game. Defensive tackle Trace Liggett couldn’t have asked for anything more.
“I don’t think I’ll ever play in as big a game, unless it’s the Super Bowl,” said Liggett, who is regarded as a major college prospect. “It was a great win and a great way to end the season.”
Last May 13, Owens was hired as the new football coach. Liggett attended the press conference where Owens was introduced. He was impressed with the youthful coach then and even more so after playing for him.
“He is an inspiration to us. He is a good teacher and made practice fun. The players wanted to work hard for him,” said Liggett.
“This win is a big springboard to next year,” said Owens. “I feel that we would have had to start all over (with the program) if we had lost.”
As it worked out, cream puffs ‑and victory ‑ never tasted better.
Expectations fulfilled
Hurst’s winning field goal puts finishing touch on Tigers’ year
By CHRIS TOMASSON Repository sports writer
MASSILLON ‑ When your quarterback’s passing percentage is better than your kicker’s extra point percentage, it usually means you’ve either got a great quarterback or a lousy kicker.
That is, except in Massillon. Tigers’ coach Lee Owens says he has a great quarterback and a great kicker.
Lee Hurst handles both jobs for the Tigers. He’s done an excellent job at quarterback all season. As far as his kicking performance is concerned, until Saturday, the less said about it the better.
But in Massillon’s 10‑7 overtime victory over McKinley at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Hurst showed that Owens knows what he’s talking about.
Hurst, who had made only 11‑of-21 previous extra points and had not made a field goal all season. made his only extra‑point attempt and he kicked a 23‑yard field goal in overtime that gave the Tigers the win.
“I never lost confidence in Lee,” Owens said. “He’s been taking a lot of heat all season, but he did the job.”
Hurst’s most impressive kick was actually one that he missed. With 2:09 left in the game, Massillon faced fourth‑and‑13 from the McKinley 30. A field goal from there would have to travel 47 yards, one yard shorter than the Massillon record.
“I asked Lee if he could make a field goal from the distance, and he said, ‘I can make it,” Owens said. “He almost did.”
Hurst’s kick had plenty of distance, but it was wide right by about two feet.
After the game, while being hugged by most of the population of Massillon, Hurst dedicated the victory to the Tigers’ seniors.
“I’m only a junior, so next year will be my year, ” Hurst said. “But this year belongs to our seniors.”
The seniors are the players who have suffered the most at the hands of McKinley. The Bulldogs had defeated the Tigers four straight times, the most consecutive victories for a McKinley team since the early 1900s.
“This game meant everything to our season,” said senior running back Jason Stafford, who rushed for 123 yards on 21 carries. “I didn’t care if we started out the’ season 0‑9 as long as we beat McKinley.”
“This is just a great feeling,” said senior defensive tackle Trace Liggett, who spearheaded a Massillon defense that held the Bulldogs to 117 yards and no points in the second half and overtime. “I can’t even describe how I feel right now, To beat McKinley is what it’s all about.”
Interestingly, in 1983, the last time Massillon beat McKinley, Tigers’ defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie was pulling for the Bulldogs.
“Sure, I was cheering for McKinley,” Dunwiddie said. “I lived in Canton and attended Souers Junior High through the seventh grade, Then in the eighth grade I moved to Massillon and became Tiger.”
Owens said beating the Bulldogs meant everything to the Tigers’ season.
“If we had lost it would have been just like starting over,” Owens said. “But winning means that we’ve achieved the type of season we wanted. It’s rubber stamped the season. And it’s also a building block for next year.”
The Tigers finished the year 7‑3, one game better than last season. Massillon lost its three games by a combined margin of nine points.
The Massillon Tigers have lost exactly two McKinley tuneups since 1932.
It was obvious by 8:15 p.m. Saturday that the 1988 get‑ready game Would follow the old pattern.
Program Cover
Informed of the Tigers’ amazing record in pre‑McKinley games, head coach Lee Owens smiled wryly and said, “That doesn’t have anything to do with scheduling, does it?” Well, it just might.
The Woodson High team from Washington, D.C., that fell to the Tigers 46‑12 was stocked with talented players.
“We could put eight or nine of them to good use,” one Massillon coach said on the sideline while watching the carnage.
Talent not withstanding, Woodson lacked numerous aspects of the Massillon machine that have made football here what it is ‑ which is pretty darned good, even if it’s not what it once was.
“I’ve been coaching for 26 years, and that’s probably one of the best teams I’ve ever seen,” Woodson head coach Bob Headen said.
The Tigers led 40‑6 at halftime, by which time junior running back Lamont Dixon had done most of his damage in a night that included 104 rushing yards in only seven carries, with touchdown runs of 10, 29 and 53 yards. Senior fullback Jason Stafford rushed 12 times for 97 yards, giving him 875 yards on the year. He scored two touchdowns.
Stafford said he is at “95 percent” in his recovery from a pulled hamstring.
Quarterbacks Lee Hurst and Jamie Slutz combined to complete 10 of 13 passes for 90 yards.
The Tiger defense almost could have passed for an offense, based on the amount of time it spent in the Woodson backfield. Warrior players were thrown for 56 yards in losses.
Both teams ran 46 plays. Therein the similarities ended.
The Tigers pronounced themselves fully tuned for Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against McKinley at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The fans are ready, too. Hundreds of them were lined up outside the Tiger Stadium ticket office this morning at 7, 30 minutes before the window opened. Tickets were to be sold through 4 p.m. today.
The Tigers and Bulldogs both enter Saturday’s showdown (the Tigers lead the series that started in 1894 50‑38‑5) with identical 6‑3 records. This is the result of McKinley having been stunned 9‑6 Saturday night at Fawcett Stadium by Central Catholic.
Jeff Mayle, a lineman who helped open gaping holes for Dixon and Stafford Saturday, didn’t know and seemed not to care what impact McKinley’s loss would have on the Bulldogs.
“I wouldn’t say we ever root for McKinley,” Mayle said. “I just want to help us beat them. The key will be for us to block their speed. Their nose guard, (Lamuel) Flowers, is really quick.”
Mayle didn’t know that Flowers, who made the Stark County coaches’ all‑county team last year as a junior, missed Saturday’s game because of a disciplinary suspension. Whether he will play this week is uncertain, although fans and coaches from Massillon are presuming Flowers will suit up.
Tiger senior Shawn Ashcraft was surprised by the McKinley score.
“I was hoping we’d both win so we’d both come into the game on a bubble, and we could burst theirs,” he said.
Bob Dunwiddie, Massillon’s senior defensive tackle/bull offense running back, figures the Bulldogs can worry about themselves.
“I don’t think we could be any more ready after beating St. Joseph and killing these guys (Woodson),” he said.
The mood among the Massillon coaches was tense in the locker room after the Woodson game.
Everyone was laughing heartily the previous week, when the Tigers drilled Cleveland St. Joseph 33‑8. Now it was different. It was time to think about McKinley, which has defeated Massillon four straight times.
“There’s only one thought running through my mind,” Owens said. “There’s been only one thought running through my mind all week. I kept getting messed up in practice and I had to catch myself.”
The thought, of course, was beating McKinley.
“That thought has dominated since day one,” Owens said.
The 32‑year‑old, first‑year Massillon coach said he had hoped Woodson would give the Tigers a greater challenge in Game Nine.
On the plus side, Owens said, “We were able to play an opponent where it didn’t make as much a difference if we looked ahead. We were running things designed for McKinley all week.”
Anticipation for the game seems to be at the same level as it has been in past years when both teams entered with superior records.
Owens shares that impression, citing “McKinley’s streak, a new head coach in Massillon, and the fact both teams have been outstanding somewhere along the line this year.”
Behind the scenes is another factor. Owens and Thom McDaniels, the seventh‑year head coach at McKinley, are not the best of friends. McDaniels is miffed that Owens said during the pre‑season that he would not participate in a film exchange between the teams.
As for Massillon‑Woodson, it was not the best of games, although it did feature some entertaining moments before most of the fans began clearing out in the third quarter.
The Tigers drove 41 yards on six plays with their first possession, scoring on a 10‑yard counter play blocked so well Dixon could have jogged into the end zone.
A snap far over the Woodson punter’s head set up the Tigers at the 4‑yard line moments later. Stafford scored from 2 yards out and it was 13‑0.
Woodson quickly had to punt, and the Tigers quickly drove to score 57 yards in three plays, the last of which was a 29‑yard blast by Dixon.
It was 20‑6 after one quarter, the result of Woodson benefiting from a tipped ball that became a 40‑yard scoring pass.
The Tigers added touchdowns from Dixon (his 53‑yard explosion), Stafford (on a 4‑yard Hurst Pass), Hurst (on a 2‑yard run) and Desmond Carpenter (on a 3‑yard pass from Slutz).
Running back Kyen Hill was a bright spot for Woodson with 97 rushing yards in 20 carries. Hill, who says he runs a 4.3 40 and is strongly considering playing at Ohio State, enjoyed the trip to Tigertown.
“The hospitality of the people in town was fantastic,” he said. “We didn’t do well in the game, but they were just ready for us.
“I liked their players. No. 81 (Monte McGuire) … tell him I’d like to meet him again some day. I’d like to shake his hand.”
If they meet again, McGuire wants to be able to say, “Hey, Kyen, remember when we played you guys the week before we beat McKinley…”
M W First downs rushing 12 6 First downs passing 5 3 First downs by penalty 2 0 Totals first downs 19 9 Yards gained rushing 280 157 Yards lost rushing 11 56 Net yards rushing 269 101 Net yards passing 90 93 Total yards gained 359 194 Passes attempted 13 9 Passes completed 10 3 Passes Int. by 1 0 Times kicked off 8 3 Kickoff average 55.6 43.3 Kickoff return yards 65 83 Punts 0 5 Punting average 00.0 27.8 Punt return yards 0 0 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 1 0 Penalties 4 6 Yards penalized 31 60 Number of plays 46 46 Time of possession 21.07 26.53 Attendance 8,378
EUCLID ‑ Brother, did the Massillon Tigers need a win.
And, boy, did they ever get one, against one of The Big Brothers of Ohio high school football, Cleveland St. Joseph.
”This heals a lot of wounds,” Massillon tight end Doug Harig said on the muddy sidelines as Tiger fans stomped their feet in the background toward the end of Saturday night’s stunning 33‑8 victory at Euclid Panther Stadium.
Harig and his brother Doug both had a hand in what head coach Lee Owens called “as good a first half as I’ve ever seen played.”
Another Lee ‑ Hurst ‑ the quarterback, said Jeff’s younger brother Doug had been bugging him for weeks.
“Why don’t you throw me a pass,” Jeff wanted to know.
He got one, from 5 yards away in the corner of the end zone, for as Massillon’s second touchdown. Brother Doug snared a conversion pass for 14‑0 Tiger lead with the game not yet nine minutes old.
A minute into the second quarter, Jeff Harig caught a 4‑yard Hurst pass for another touchdown.
Six minutes later, fullback Bob Dunwiddie plowed an inch or two for another touchdown.
Incredibly, a Tiger team that had lost three straight games led 26‑0 at halftime.
And there was no way St. Joseph, a ball‑control team, was going to come back.
“We didn’t seem flat,” said Bill Gutbrod, who is 255‑97‑17 as the only head coach St. Joseph has had. “You’ve gotta give them credit. They just killed us. I can’t figure out how they lost three ball games.”
This was the same St. Joseph team that beat Akron Garfield, Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and Toledo Whitmer in succession before losing back‑to‑back to McKinley and Cleveland St. Ignatius. The Vikings made a huge statement by beating what is supposed to be an awesome Mooney team 14‑0. The same Mooney team socked it to a solid Cincinnati Xavier squad 37‑0 Saturday.
“I’d say right now that they’re superior to anyone we’ve played,” Gutbrod said.
This was easily the most dazzling Massillon win over a powerful team since an 18‑7 victory over McKinley in 1983.
It couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only had the Tigers lost consecutively to Fitch, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Warren Harding, but they were 4‑6 dating back to last year’s 8‑0 defeat in a brutal mud bath against St. Joseph.
“Not counting our loss to McKinley, last year’s St. Joseph game was the worst loss I’ve been through,” said Trace Liggett, a defensive tackle who helped the Tigers limit St. Joseph to one first down in the first half.
“They were not a passing team and we forced them to pass. I thought the defense played well. Mostly, though, we were just sick of losing.”
Liggett said Saturday’s field conditions were nowhere close to as bad as the ones that greeted the team in Euclid last year.
Still, strong winds and freezing rain pelted players’ faces as the game began. Mounting a steady offense seemed unlikely.
Surprisingly, the Tigers passed on the first play. Hurst’s attempt was incomplete, but the Tigers had made a statement.
“Passing is always in our game plan and the coaches had decided we were going to pass no matter what the field conditions,” Hurst said.
Passing drifted to the background, though, when the Tigers ran wild right off the bat.
On the game’s second play, fullback Jason Stafford, who finished with 105 yards, streaked for 13. On the next play, Stafford ran for 11.
“The offensive line was blowing them 5 yards off the ball,” Stafford said. “Basically, everybody was real fired up,”
An overlooked factor during the losing streak was Stafford’s health. He was playing, but with a right leg hampered by a hamstring pull. If you’ve ever had one of those, you know they can be nasty and slow to heal.
“To be honest, I’m still not 100 percent. Stafford said. “But I’m feeling better. I’m getting there.”
THE BIG FIRST HALF
MAS CSJ First downs rushing 10 0 First downs passing 0 0 First downs by penalty 1 0 Totals first downs 11 0 Yards gained rushing 157 38 Yards lost rushing 7 12 Net yards rushing 150 26 Net yards passing 32 0 Total yards gained 182 26 Passes attempted 7 0 Passes completed 6 0 Times kicked off 4 2 Kickoff average 53.8 48.0 Punts 0 3 Punting average xx.x 26.3 Punt return yards 0 0 Fumbles 1 1 Fumbles lost 1 1 Penalties 0 3 Yards penalized 0 25 Number of plays 37 14 Time of possession 15.53 8.07
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING (Mas) Stafford 11‑50, Hurst 6-47, Dixon 5‑41, Sparkman 4-8, Dunwiddie 4‑4. (Joe) Miller 5‑21, Woodfolk 6‑9, Clark 2‑1.
PASSING (Mas) Hurst 6‑7‑0 32, 2 TDs. (Joe) no attemts.
Hurst and A‑back Lamont Dixon were the other key men in Massillon’s gaining 150 rushing yards in the first half.
“After those three losses, everybody said all week in practice that we’ve got to do something,” Dixon said.
Dixon’s “something” was 41 rip roaring yards in five first‑half carries. Hurst had his best night of the year on the bootleg run, rushing 47 yards in the first half on six carries. Hurst turned over the chores to Jamie Slutz after the Tigers built a’ 33‑0 lead.
“That quarterback impressed the hell out of me,” Gutbrod said.
Gutbrod had to be at least as awed by Massillon’s first‑half defense. The Tigers sat in a 6‑2 (six linemen, two linebackers), same as, they had against the other sock‑it‑to‑you team on their schedule, Fairfield. St. Joseph amassed only 26yards in the first half, all on the ground, and arrived at their final figure of 195 with lots of yards with the outcome long‑earlier decided.
“We wanted it,” said Tiger defensive end Monte McGuire. “The last few weeks have been tough. Real tough. We hardly talked about the games. We’ll talk about this one.”
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and drove 76 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown. Short passes to Jeff Harig and Troy Manion kept St. Joseph off balance and aided the running game.
On first and goal from the 6, “bull offense” backs Liggett and Dunwiddie checked in, but the Vikings stopped two runs for 2 total yards. The “bull” checked out, and Stafford took a lightning‑quick handoff on third down, zooming the 4 yards for a touchdown. Hurst’s kick was wide and the Tigers led 6‑0 with 7:02 left in the first quarter.
Dunwiddie, now playing defensive tackle, pounced on a Sam Clark fumble three plays later and Massillon was in business at the Viking 30. Dixon’s 15‑yard run keyed a TD mini‑march capped by Hurst’s 5yard pass to Doug Harig on third down. Jeff Harig’s conversion catch made it 14‑0 with 3:27 left in the quarter.
Again, the defense made an impact, with David Ledwell and Dunwiddie combining for a sack that set up a St. Joseph punt.
Massillon took over 2 yards short of midfield and ran toughshod to the 4. Stafford, Dixon and Hurst each made key runs, setting up the 4 yard touchdown toss on first and goal to Jeff Harig. Hurst’s kick misfired but the Tigers led 20‑0 with 10:49 left in the second period.
Yet another strong defensive stand forced a three‑and‑out for the Vikings. This time, a short punt plopped dead on the St. Joseph 37. An 8‑yard pass to Desmond Carpenter fueled a 37‑yard drive that ended with the bull offense back on the field and Dunwiddie carrying it in on fourth‑and‑inches.
The conversion pass failed and the Tigers settled for a 26‑0 lead with 4:06 left in the half.
Stafford galloped 50 yards around the left side for an insurance touchdown, looking quite like his old self, at 6:28 of the third quarter. Hurst, still struggling with his placekicking but saying his injured leg is feeling better, drilled the P.A.T. this time to create the 33‑0 lead.
“Making that one was important to me,” he said.
The Vikings drove 55 yards for their touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
When it was over, the Massillon players frolicked in the mud. Many of their fans hung around outside the locker room and chanted gleefully.
“You’ve got to say something about our fans,” Owens said. “To drive all this way in the rain and sit in the cold … we felt such a responsibility to them.”
Nobody dressed in orange was heard asking for a refund.
MASSILLON 33 ST. JOSEPH 8 M J First downs rushing 13 6 First downs passing 0 4 First downs by penalty 1 0 Totals first downs 13 6 Yards gained rushing 246 142 Yards lost rushing 15 22 Net yards rushing 231 120 Not yards passing 49 75 Total yards gained 280 195 Passes attempted 10 12 Passes completed 8 5 Passes int. by 1 0 Times kicked off 6 2 Kickoff average 55.7 35.5 Kickoff return yards 12 27 Punts 2 5 Punting average 31.0 22.6 Punt return yards., 0 9 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 2 5 Yards penalized 17 51 Number of plays 56 44 Time of possession 25.56 22.04
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING (Mas) Stafford 15‑105, Hurst 6‑47, Dixon 9‑39, Slutz 3‑16, Dunwiddie 5‑5. (Joe) Woodfolk 13‑56, Miller 12‑59, Moore 2‑6.
RECEIVING (Mas) J. Harig 3‑17, D. Harig 1‑5, Manion 1‑3, Carpenter 1‑8, Stafford 1‑11. (Joe) Gardner 3‑47, Robertson 1‑25.
MASSILLON 14 12 7 G 33 ST. JOSEPH 0 0 0 8 8
M ‑ Sparkman 4 run (kick failed) M ‑ D. Harig 5 pass from Hurst (J. Harig pass from Hurst) M ‑ D. Harig 4 pass from Hurst (kick failed) M ‑ Dunwiddie 1 run (pass failed) M ‑ Stafford 50 run (Hurst kick) J ‑ Gardner 3 run (Miller run)
WHS-Warren rivalry may be over Coach Owens enraged at referees as Tigers fall 25-22
By STEVE DOERSCHUK Independent Sports Editor
WARREN: Today is Sweetest Day for lovers.
Friday was Bitterest Day for Tigers.
The Tigers’ high school football series with Warren Harding has lived long and prospered. It may have died Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium, when the Black Panthers were awarded a controversial touchdown with 30 seconds left that gave them a 25‑22 victory.
If it is dead, the coffin will be draped with a giant yellow flag.
Massillon head coach Lee Owens believed the Tigers were, to put it bluntly, homered.
“It’s not fair to our kids to have happen what happened here tonight,” said Owens, referring to the officiating. “As long as I’m the head coach in Massillon, we’ll never schedule them again.”
Owens was enraged by the volume of penalties against his team ‑ 12 for 149 yards ‑ and the timing.
Two yellow hankies bothered him the most.
One was a 15‑yard personal foul against fullback Jason Stafford, who leaped out of a pile thinking he had scored, but was informed he had been stopped short of the goal line.
Stafford, who had rushed for 120 yards to that point in the fourth quarter, was ejected from the game with the Tigers trailing 19‑14 and facing second and goal from the 16 ‑ after the penalty ‑ with 4:55 left in the game.
After a five‑yard encroachment penalty against Warren, quarterback Lee Hurst rolled right and threw left to tight end Jeff Harig, who caught the ball in the end zone.
Surprise, no flags. Touchdown.
Defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie, suddenly a running back in a Tiger surprise called the “Bull Offense,” carried for the two‑point conversion and Massillon led 22‑19 with 4:29 left.
Several Clayton Waite completions, a pass interference panelty and a personal foul infraction later, Warren had the ball a few inches short of the goal stripe on fourth down.
Warren head coach Frank Thomas, a former Massillon assistant, called for a quarterback sneak during a timeout. Waite drove over center into a huge Massillon, pile and bedlam ensured while the 6,000 fans waited for the official call. After a five‑second delay, the referee’s hands went up. Touchdown.
Interestingly, Massillon lineman T.R. Rivera had the ball when the touchdown was signaled. “Half my body was over the goal line,” Waite said. “I’m sure it was a touchdown. The Massillon camp disagreed.
“I talked to our players and 11 guys told me it wasn’t a touchdown,” Owens said. “Waite hit the pile and was stopped. When he realized he was stopped he reached ahead and while he did that the ball came loose. T.R. recovered the fumble.”
The Tigers have not been a heavily penalized team this year. They were averaging 48 penalty yards against them per game heading into Friday.
Did they suddenly turn into a team of Jack Tatums‑gone-berserk? Or was there another explanation? Namely, that Warren’s reputation as a homer palace has been built on actual hose jobs?
Thomas, whose team was penalized eight times for 71 yards, rejected the “homer” theory.
“I have to believe the officials are ‑ there because they like athletes and they like kids,” Thomas said. “Whether you’re talking about Warren, Steubenville or Massillon, I don’t believe high school officials purposely try to take a game away from a team. I feel strongly about that.”
Informed of Thomas’ comment, Owens said, “I disagree.
“I’ve never complained to a newspaper about the officiating,” he said. “But I have to say something tonight. I’ve never seen anything like this as long as I’ve been coaching. If beating Massillon is so important that circumstances like this are created, I can’t accept that.
There is no question beating Massillon was important to the Black Panthers.
“I didn’t care if we went 1‑9 this season as long as we beat Massillon,” said Waite, a 6‑foot‑3 senior who completed 19 of 36 passes for 195 yards, rushed seven times for 28 yards, and intercepted three passes, two coming one play after clipping penalties against Massillon.
“We never beat Massillon, and that goes all the way back through my junior high days. This isn’t just at the top. It’s at the tippy top.”
Gerald Simpson, a 6‑foot‑4 senior who missed most of the season with a broken arm, was a big factor Friday, catching seven passes for 92 yards and running 33 yards for a touchdown.
He credited the victory, however, to Waite.
“In my opinion, Clayton is the best quarterback in the country,” Simpson said of Waite, who says he will play college football at Michigan or South Carolina.
The victory pushed Harding’s record to 5‑2 and reduced Massillon’s lead in the all‑time series to 44‑17‑3. The Panthers, however, owns a 7‑6-2 lead in games played at Mollenkopf since 1960.
Owens, whose team dropped to 4-3 with its third straight loss, was not sure if there is a contract to play Warren next year in Massillon, but he talked about the possibility of voiding it if there is.
Warren and Massillon first faced each other in 1921.
The first time the Tigers touched the ball Friday, they moved to midfield but were stalled when Hurst was sacked for a three‑yard loss, followed by a five‑yard encroachment penalty and a 15‑yard clipping foul.
Three punts later Massillon had the ball at its own 45 but quickly lost it right there on a fumble. Harding overcame a 10‑yard holding penalty against a Panther linemen that set up a second and 20. Waite scrambled 16 yards and, on third down, passed for 17 yards to Simpson. Moments later, Simpson made a leaping catch in the end zone on a 10 yard scoring play. The P.A.T. kick gave the Panthers a 7‑0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
Massillon struck back quickly. Lamont Dixon’s 49‑yard kickoff return put the ball at the Warren 41. Two plays later the Tigers were hit with another clipping penalty but that was negated two plays later still by a personal foul against Harding. On first down from the 17, Hurst took off around left end on a bootleg run and maneuvered his way through traffic for a touchdown as the first quarter expired. The point‑after kick failed and the Harding kept the lead,,7‑6.
Warren took over at its 27 after the kickoff and, on second‑and‑10, moved to the 42 on a pass interference call. Two Waite completions advanced the ball to the 33, where on third and two Simpson swept right and seemed to be caught in the backfield. He bounced off the pack, however, and sprinted left, breaking into the clear and scoring. The kick failed, and Warren led 13‑6 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.
Massillon drove 57 yards to the Warren 15 before running out of downs on its next possession but soon got the ball back on an 11‑yard punt that rolled dead on the Harding 31. A 19‑yard sideline pass to Jeff Harig put the ball at the 12, and three runs by Stafford setup fourth-and‑two at the 4.
That’s when the Tigers sent in their “bull offense,” featuring Dunwiddie (6‑3, 225) and his fellow defensive lineman Trace Liggett (6‑3, 268) in the offensive backfield.
Liggett and Dunwiddie had run through the pre‑game hoop together and with more than the usual gusto, so one might have guessed they were up to something.
Their presence made an impact the first time the “bull offense” hit the field, with Liggett throwing a block that helped spring Dunwiddie for a three‑yard touchdown run. Hurst passed to Stafford for a two‑point conversion and the Tigers led 13‑12 with 1: 39 left in the half.
The Panthers, however, struck quickly and scored an important touchdown with seven seconds left in the half. A 70‑yard drive featured a 22‑yard scramble by Waite, two completions for 25 yards, and a third‑down run of five yards for the touchdown. The conversion run attempt failed and Warren settled for a 19‑14 halftime lead.
The Tigers spent most of the second half in scoring range. Tom Mattox’s interception on the second play of the third quarter gave Massillon possession at the Warren 33, but on second and eight from the 12, another clipping penalty put the Tigers in a hole. Waite’s intercepted Hurst on the next play.
Waite put Warren on the move again but Massillon linebacker David Ledwell intercepted him at the Massillon 41.
This time, Warren’s defense stopped the Tigers, who ran out of downs at the Panthers 31. Warren eventually punted and Massillon threatened again when Hurst, fooling the Panthers on third‑and‑one, found Harig all alone deep. The play might have gone for more than 39 yards but Hurst had to throw with a Harding defender tugging at his leg and Harig had to come back for the ball. Stafford ran five yards to the 20, then an apparent Tiger touchdown run on the next play was called back by still another clipping penalty. Again, Waite intercepted Hurst on the next play, with 10:34 left in the game.
Again, the Tigers forced a punt, getting the ball at midfield. They drove to the 12, where it was fourth and five, and they lined up to go for it. This time, it was Massillon helped by a penalty, as Warren lined up offsides, giving the Tigers a first‑and‑goal at the 7.
The “bull offense” re‑appeared, but this time Dunwiddie lined up at fullback, Liggett was beside him at wingback, and Stafford was the tailback. Stafford followed the big bulls for six yards to the 1, and followed them again to what he thought was a touchdown, but at that point found out his carry was not ruled a score, and was subsequently ejected for his reaction.
The ball was marched 15 yards backward, and then five yards ahead when Warren encroached on the next play. Hurst then hit Harig with the go‑ahead TD, and Dunwiddie, again lining up in the “bull,” carried for the two‑point conversion.
Massillon led 22‑19 with 4:29 left.
Warren had trouble with the kickoff and set up on its own 7. Waite passed the Panthers to the 20 but faced second and 10. He passed again, long down the right sideline. the ball was nearly intercepted by safety Joe Pierce but pass interference was ruled and Warren had another first down. Waite clicked for big passes of 27 and 17 yards to Keith Jordan, with the latter play having a half‑the‑distance penalty tacked on when Chad Buckland, was ruled for leading a tackle with his helmet ‑ another call that upset Owens greatly.
“That play never gets called … and to call it there,” Owens said.
Eventually, it was fourth and inches, and Waite was ruled in for the touchdown.
The Tigers now must try to rally for a battle next Saturday at Cleveland St. Joseph, which fell to 5‑2 Friday by losing to Cleveland St. Ignatius.
WARREN 25 MASSILLON 22 W M First downs rushing 7 6 First downs passing 6 11 First downs by penalty 3 3 Totals first downs 16 20 Yards gained rushing 192 136 Yards lost rushing 12 15 Net yards rushing 180 121 Net yards passing 158 195 Total yards gained 338 316 Passes attempted 26 36 Passes completed 13 19 Passes int. by 2 3 Times kicked off 4 5 Kickoff average 47.0 40.4 Kickoff return yards 77 49 Punts 2 5 Punting average 22.0 25.6 Punt return yards -2 0 Fumbles 2 0 Fumbles lost 1 0 Penalties 12 8 Yards penalized 149 71 Number of plays 60 63 Time of possession 21.51 26.09 Attendance 6,000
Was it that the opponent was that hot? Or were the Massillon Tigers simply cold?
At any rate, you thought maybe Jamie Slutz would have been cold as he went in for his first work of the season at quarterback.
“I wasn’t cold,” Slutz said. “I was ready to play.
“The coach told me to do my best. He said, ‘Score some touchdowns.’”
The senior delivered. He fired two fourth‑quarter touchdown passes to junior Troy Manion. He did his best.
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It wasn’t enough. Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary did so much in the first three quarters ‑ holding the Tigers without a first down in the first two ‑ that the carryover was a 17‑12 high school football victory.
“We attacked and played as a team,” said linebacker Steve Nagy, who helped the Fighting Irish improve to 6‑0. “1 wasn’t surprised. We’ve shut down good offenses this season. We’ve done this before.”
If Nagy wasn’t surprised, the Tigers, 4‑2, were. Their next blockbuster game was supposed to be against Cleveland St. Joseph. As it turns out, they have lost two straight heading into next Friday’s game at Warren Harding (4‑2), a 14‑6 winner over Niles Friday.
“We were flat,” Massillon head coach Lee Owens said, using a word on many lips in the grandstand.
“It was,” the coach added, “a nightmare.”
It didn’t have to be that way. The Tigers recovered a fumble deep in Irish territory on the game’s first play from scrimmage. But they couldn’t score. The Irish set the tone with defense. Then their offense plowed 78 yards before settling for a field goal.
The Tigers’ confidence, Owens said, eroded as the drive proceeded.
It may have started as overconfidence.
The Tigers may have recalled that the Irish went peacefully in Massillon last year, losing 28‑14. Too, there was the perception that the Irish opponents in ’88 had been more a “who’s he?” than a “who’s who. ”
One score that stuck out was St. V’s 9‑8 win over Cleveland West Tech. Everyone knows good teams destroy Cleveland public schools teams, right?
“West Tech surprised us,” explained David Houston, the Irish quarterback whose father, Jim, started for the Cleveland Browns 1964 NFL championship team after a high school career in Massillon. “They used a shotgun formation the whole night, which they hadn’t done before. We weren’t ready for it.”
They were more than ready for the Tigers.
The Irish had reasons aplenty to be in fighting trim. For starters, they think they can challenge Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and others for the Division III state title (Mooney and St. V collide next week in Youngstown). For clinchers, they have never defeated Massillon.
“I was a junior at St. Vincent when we lost to them in 1947,” said 25th‑year Irish head coach John Cistone. “Before this, we were 0‑9 against them all‑time.”
Cistone’s teams won state playoff titles in 1972, ’81 and ’82.
“I’d put this win right up there with those,” Cistone said.
Every half second or so, the night air around Cistone was pierced with an Irish player screaming at the top of his lungs. The players, obviously, felt as their coach did.
The celebration might have wound up in the other locker room.
The score was 17‑0 and Massillon had launched a drive late in the third quarter when Slutz was sent in to replace junior Lee Hurst.
One reason Slutz wasn’t cold was the fact he was the starting quarterback in the Tigers’ practice Wednesday, when Hurst was home with the flu. Hurst practiced Thursday, but he was still not himself by game time. His physical problems were compounded by a pulled right hamstring muscle he has battled for a couple of weeks. He spent the postgame in the trainers’ room with an ice pack on his right leg.
Owens said the quarterback switch was a combination of physical condition and performance.
“We needed to do something,” he said.
‘The coaches will “take a serious look at both quarterbacks” before deciding who will start at Warren,
Owens added.
Slutz’s first work ended with the Tigers running out of downs on the 5.
The Irish kept their 17‑0 lead but got a scare when running back Peter Gori appeared to fumble at the 2. The play, however, had been blown dead at the 11:00 mark of the fourth quarter. That became critical because, even though the Tigers forced a short punt moments later and proceeded to drive 23 yards for a touchdown, there was only 7:50 left in the game when they scored.
On second down from the 11, Slutz zipped a pass to the 3, where Manion grabbed it, spun away from two defenders. and scored. A two‑point conversion pass failed.
A holding penalty on St. V’s next possession helped the Tigers get the ball back quickly with a punt. They took over at their own 32 with 6:15 left and advanced 15 yards on a personal foul and another 15 on a roughing‑the‑passer call.
Slutz then zipped a pass 10 yards downfield to Marlon Smith, who wheeled and pitched to the trailing Stafford. Stafford raced from the 30 to the 9, and the Massillon grandstand was jumping.
On the next play, Slutz whistled a pass toward the left corner of the end zone to Manion, who outleaped Rob Wallace at the goal line and went in for another touchdown. A conversion pass attempt again failed, but the Tigers had closed to 17‑12 with 5: 13 left.
Two touchdowns in less than three minutes. It was a ball game again.
But the defense had to hold. The game boiled down to an Irish third-and‑five from the Massillon 20, set up by a nuclear hit on second‑and-five by Massillon linebacker David Ledwell. The Irish called a quick trap to running back Chris Littler. It worked, Littler gaining 10 yards.
The Tigers did get the ball back with 52 seconds left, but instead of setting up at the 30, as it appeared they would because an Irish punt was angled toward the sideline away from the return man, the ball took a right‑angle bounce and rolled all the way to 3. From there the Tigers ran out of downs.
The Irish ruled the first half. Few Massillon teams have ever been dominated so thoroughly for two quarters.
The Irish led 150‑15 in total yards at halftime. They ran 38 plays to the Tigers’ 14 and possessed the ball for 18:18, compared to the host’s 5:42.
Yet, the Tigers trailed only 10‑0.
A 78‑yard march yielded only a 31‑yard field goal by Mike Barbetta with 2:14 left in the first quarter.
And it was a break, not a drive, that netted a touchdown. Late in the first half, Tiger punt returner Mark Owens couldn’t field the ball, and the Irish recovered on the Massillon 15. Pete Gori’s 2‑yard run provided the TD and Barbetta’s kick made it 10‑0 with 3:52 left in the half.
Another turnover, this time an interception, set up the second Irish touchdown. Thanks to the pickoff, the Irish had to travel only 26 yards in six plays, with Gori again going in from the 2 and Barbetta adding the PAT kick to make it 17‑0 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
The 6‑1, 205‑pound Littler finished with 121 rushing yards in 21 carries. The Tigers tried to spring their ace, Stafford, but St. V’s ferocious defense showed few openings, and held him to 28 yards in 13 carries.’
The Irish have a new offensive coordinator, Dan Pappano, who gives the team a new look. The team ran out of the T‑formation on its first scoring drive but showed several different looks after that. One that was effective sent two wide receivers to either side of the ball, with one back.
“We hadn’t done that yet this year,” Cistone said. “We saved a few things for this game.”
The Tigers now must “try to get the wheels back on,” Owens said.
“It’s easy to panic, but a lot of times when your inclination is to panic you find that you’re not that faraway,” the coach said. “If there was anything positive, it was that the guys fought right to the end. But we stopped making progress. We made tremendous progress the first four weeks of the season. Then it stopped. We have to get it back.”
ST VINCENT 17 MASSILLON 12 M SV First downs rushing 3 11 First downs passing 4 2 First downs by penalty 2 0 Totals first downs 9 13 Yards gained rushing 74 195 Yards lost rushing 15 29 Net yards rushing 59 166 Net yards passing 98 56 Total yards gained 157 222 Passes attempted 25 9 Passes completed 9 4 Passes int. by 1 1 Times kicked off 3 4 Kickoff average 39.7 48.0 Kickoff return yards 81 18 Punts 4 6 Punting average 29.8 37.8 Punt return yards 12 12 Fumbles 1 1 Fumbles lost 1 1 Penalties 3 9 Yards penalized 14 86 Number of plays 48 63 Time of possession 16.16 31.44 Attendance 10,058
St. V ‑ FG Barbetta 31 St. V ‑ Gori 2 run (Barbetta kick) St. V ‑ Gori 2 run (Barbetta kick) Mas ‑ Manion 11 pass from Slutz (pass failed) Mas ‑ Manion 9 pass from Slutz (pass failed)
AUSTINTOWN ‑ Defeat came like a knuckle sandwich for the Massillon Tigers Friday night.
Two thin slices of bread ‑ the first play of the game and the last ‑ were enough to smother a middle that belonged to Massillon. Enough to put Austintown‑Fitch in the money with a 20‑19 high school football victory.
The end came as time expired on a 43‑yard field goal by Fitch junior Jeff Wilkins, who said he was “scared to death.”
“It was like the life was taken out of all of us,” Massillon head coach Lee Owens said. “That’s the toughest loss I’ve ever been through … and the players, too.”
The Tiger locker room, caked with mud, sweat and tears, was anger and dejection.
As the players showered, dressed and walked out, though, they were greeted by a scene that touched Owens.
Massillon fans lined up to form a tunnel at the door, cheering and applauding the Tigers as they headed to the bus.
“I worked my tail off to get the players back up in the ‘locker room,” Owens said. “Those fans did a lot better job than I could have.”
Fitch got the ball back on a punt with 1:57 left and drove 50 yards in 12 plays. Quarterback Derick Fletcher scrambled for what proved to be three had‑to‑have‑’em yards to the Massillon 26. He went out of bounds with three seconds left.
Forty‑three yards is a helluva distance for a high school place‑kicker. You see NFL kickers miss from there every Sunday. But Massillon fans had watched Wilkins boom two kickoffs into the end zone twice after he was penalized five yards for kicking off out of bounds.
There was an eerie sense that he had a chance.
The Fitch head coach, former Massillon player David Hartman, was not optimistic. He had hoped the play on which Fletcher scrambled for three would net 12 on a sideline pass.
He watched Wilkins get off the kick from the left hash mark.
“I couldn’t tell if it was good,” he said. “It was crazy. I just waited for the signal.”
This reporter stood five yards behind the goal post as the ball boomed high into the night air. The line was perfect. But would it have enough juice?
It did. Barely, clearing the crossbar by no more than six inches. The referee’s hands shot skyward. Fitch had won.
“How often is a high school kicker going to make a 43‑yarder under that kind of pressure?” Owens said.
Minutes later, a victory bell rang in the distance. It had the sound of a funeral knell as orange‑clad fans filed out of what had been a packed visitors’ grandstand.
For those who had seen Massillon play at Fitch two years earlier, the ring carried a haunting echo.
Then, as on this night, the Tigers entered the fourth quarter seeming to have victory put away. But on that night, Fitch scored twice in the closing minutes, including on a short run by Leo Hawkins on the last play from scrimmage for the win.
The outcome left both teams with 4‑1 records.
It left the two camps in quite different moods.
Owens was fighting tears and could barely speak.
“We had opportunities to win and we didn’t win,” the coach said quietly. “We needed to make a couple of first downs the last time we had the ball and we didn’t. We gave the opponent an opportunity to make a great kick.”
The Tigers overcame a shocking start. On the first play from scrimmage, 5‑foot‑8 junior halfback Chuck Wesson broke through the left side of the line on a counter play and raced 80 yards for a touchdown.
By the start of the fourth quarter, though, Massillon seemed in command, having just pushed a 12‑10 halftime lead to 19‑10.
Wesson had outrun Tiger safety Joe Pierce on that 80‑yard play. But late in the third quarter, Wesson fumbled after fielding a punt, and, Pierce recovered at the Fitch 35. On fourth‑and‑two from the 7, quarterback Lee Hurst scored on a bootleg run and kicked the extra point to create the 19‑10 score with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.
Fitch, however, drove 61 yards for a touchdown on its next possession, thanks largely to a 40‑yard Fletcher‑to‑Wesson pass on third-and‑long. Matt Zokle scored from six yards out, Wilkins’ kick was good, and the Tiger lead shrank to 19‑17 with 7:51 left.
The Tigers didn’t “go conservative.” On fourth‑and‑inches from his own 30, Owens gambled big with a “go‑for‑it” call. But then, giving Fitch the ball back would have been a gamble, too, because the Falcons had looked good on that 61‑yard drive.
Hurst sneaked for two yards and, the first down.
On third‑and‑nine, the Tigers gambled again with a pass. This time it didn’t work. Fitch safety Chuck Campbell intercepted and the Falcons had the ball at the Tiger 41.
The Tigers staged a big defensive stand, highlighted by T.R. Rivera’s sack of Fletcher that set up fourth-and‑nine. This time, it was Fitch going for it on fourth down … but failing to make it. An incomplete pass returned the ball to Massillon on the Tiger 33 with 3:18 left.
“I thought it might be over,” Fletcher said.
The Tigers rushed three times for six yards and elected to punt. Hurst’s boot sailed 22 yards and went out of bounds at the Fitch 33 with 1:48 remaining.
Fletcher went to work. He completed a 13‑yard pass at 1:42, escaped what seemed to be a sure interception at 1:20 and completed a nine‑yard toss to set up fourth-and‑one at 0:44. Wesson rammed for four yards and a first down at 0:23, when Hartman used his final timeout.
At 0:12, Rob Tofil went out of bounds after catching a 12‑yard pass from Fletcher. At 0:08, Fletcher took off on the scramble that set up the winning field goal.
“We had the desire to win,” Fletcher said. “Some of us went both ways the whole game (Fletcher among them ‑ he even played on kickoff teams), but we’re in excellent shape. I wasn’t ever tired, really.”
The Tigers would have been in better shape had they converted their extra points.
The sting of Wesson’s 80‑yard TD trek was erased quickly enough. On the Tigers’ second play from scrimmage, fullback Jason Stafford grabbed a short rollout pass from Hurst, streaked down the left sideline, amazingly broke out of a box of tacklers, and sprinted home on a 69‑yard touchdown play. Hurst’s booming PAT attempt, however, was called wide right.
The Massillon defense put on good stands in Fitch’s next three series. After the third one, Mark Owens returned a punt 20 yards to the Fitch 32.
On fourth‑and‑four from the 26, Stafford slanted over the right side for a first down, hurdled over the safety Fletcher like Edwin Moses in his prime, and exploded into the end zone on a 26‑yard run.
The Tigers went for two and moved to within 1 1/2 yards of the goal stripe after a pass interference call against Fitch. A run up the middle failed, and what would have been two valuable points were nixed.
Fitch then drove 66 yards in 16 plays to where Wilkins made a 25-yard field goal nine seconds before the band show. Fletcher’s mastery at running the wing‑T offense was as much a factor as anything. He was the same sort of elusive quarterback as Barberton’s Butch Momchilov proved to be against the Tigers on Sept. 16.
Fletcher’s value went beyond his statistics ‑ 40 yards rushing and 117 yards passing.
The Tigers did a good job bottling up hard‑running fullback Matt Mrakovich (20 yards in eight carries), although Mrakovich managed three pass receptions for 30 yards on bootleg plays. After Wesson’s 80‑yarder, he added 38 yards in 11 carries for 108 yards on the night.
Stafford rushed 78 yards in 13 carries and caught two passes for 82 yards, giving him 160 combined yards. Hurst completed six of 11 passes for 128 yards and two interceptions.
Fitch wound up with a 325‑278 edge in total yardage.
Hartman now owns a 3‑1 record against his alma mater.
“I’m just so proud of the team,” the Fitch coach said. “Last year, it seemed a number of times we were destined to lose some tough ball games. Maybe the way we won tonight is a sign something else is destined for us this year. Maybe this is our year.”
Massillon’s year isn’t over, the Tigers’ head coach said.
“There’s not much time for feeling sorry for ourselves,” he said. “We’ll come back. I promise that.”
FITCH 20 MASSILLON 19 M F First downs rushing 8 9 First downs passing 3 6 First downs by penalty 0 0 Total first downs 11 15 Yards gained rushing 162 208 Yards lost rushing 12 6 Net yards rushing 150 208 Net yards passing 128 117 Total yards gained 278 325 Passes attempted 11 17 Passes completed 6 9 Passes intercepted 2 0 Times kicked off 4 4 Kickoff average 53.8 52.0 Kickoff return yards 36 81 Punts 3 3 Punting average 30.7 38.0 Punt return yards 48 0 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 4 6 Yards penalized 43 35 Number of plays 41 62 Time of possession 17:06 30:54 Attendance 8,500
F – Wesson 80 run (Wilkins kick) M ‑ Stafford 69 pass from Hurst (kick failed) M ‑ Stafford 26 run (run failed) F ‑ FG Wilkins 25 M ‑ Hurst 7 run (Hurst kick) F ‑ Zokle 6 run (Wilkins kick) F ‑ FG Wilkins 43
Massillon packaged a musical postcard for southwestern Ohio Saturday night.
Splashed on the front was a collage of band members who were playing when Paul Brown was coaching, a few thousand balloons, fireworks, and a Massillon football player smashing a ball carrier backward.
The inscription on the back of the postcard read: “Massillon 14, Fairfield 6. You guys got anything like this down there?”
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The overwhelming display may or may not have had something to do with Fairfield’s quarterback on one play lining up to take a snap from the guard.
If not, the answer to the question was still clear, Southwestern Ohio may have teams as good as the one up here. But the overall show doesn’t compare.
“There are too many distractions here,” said Ben Hubbard, the nine-year head coach at Fairfield. “Of course, that’s the way it’s planned.”
“It’s way different playing up here,” said Fairfield running back Mike Ritzie, who was a sophomore starter on the 1986 Indian team that won the Division I state title.
A game in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is always unusual by high school football standards. But a few things were added Saturday to the end of puttin’ on the ritz.
Most notable was the band show. A halftime blockbuster featured nearly 300 members of Tiger Swing Bands past and present in a 50th anniversary bash. Almost every year of the band’s history, 1938‑88, was represented by somebody tooting “Tiger Rag.”
Fireworks exploded. White birthday balloons filled the sky on this crisp, clear September night.
The home folks responded with a spontaneous, spine‑tingling roar.
For the first two 1988 home games, paid attendance figures were the ones announced. This time, a decision was made to punctuate the message to southwestern Ohio. The total, in‑house crowd was announced ‑ an impressive 12.869.
It is important to note that by halftime the score was 14‑0, Massillon.
An old Massillon guy, Jim Place, now the head coach at Fairfield’s Greater Miami Conference rival Middletown, sensed that the kill had already been made.
“If you want to win in Massillon,” said Place, here to scout Fairfield, “something good has to happen for you early. If it doesn’t, and you don’t set the tone, the kids start to wonder. They start looking at the crowd.”
The outcome left the Tigers with a 4‑0 record and in position to move from No. 5 to No. 4 in the statewide Associated Press poll, since No. 4 Boardman lost to McKinley Friday.
The Tigers will play at Austintown‑Fitch Friday.
Fairfield, 3‑1, probably will lose its No. 7 state ranking, although there will be a quick chance for recovery, since the Indians take on No. 1 Princeton ‑ their next‑door neighbor ‑ on Friday.
“We lost the fourth game in 1986 and won the state title,” said Ritzie. “Now we’ve lost the fourth game in 1988. I hope there’s a connection.
“We just lost to a good team tonight. We’ve played two very tough teams already this year (Oak Hills and Purcell‑Marian). Each of them had one thing they didn’t do real well. Massillon is more balanced. Everything they do, they do well.”
Something good did happen early, but for the Tigers, not the Indians
On the sixth play of the game, Tiger linebacker David Ledwell intercepted a Briany Noster pass over the middle and returned it 39 yards to the 6‑yard line.
“Our guys put their hats on their quarterback and he couldn’t see where he was throwing,” Ledwell said. “It was a pretty easy interception.”
The Tigers set up their offense for the first time this season without tailback Jason Stafford, who couldn’t get sharp in practice after suffering a hamstring pull the previous week against Barberton. Stafford played later, but juniors Lamont Dixon and Ryan Sparkman were the running backs most of the night.
It was Dixon who blasted 11 yards for a touchdown, going over left tackle and following Sparkman’s block, after the Tigers were backed up by a procedure penalty. Lee Hurst’s kick made it 7‑0 with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
Something else good happened three plays later: Again, it was something good for the Tigers.
Ballyhooed Fairfield running back Oliver Whyte, was nailed after a short gain and fumbled the ball away to Tiger safety Joe Pierce at the Indians’ 38‑yard line.
The Tigers nickeled and dimed into scoring position, running for gains of 4, 1, 2, 5, 4 and 1 yards and passing for 4, 9, 4 and 4 yards. On fourth‑and‑two from the five, Dixon plowed four yards to the 1. Two plays later, Hurst sneaked in for a touchdown, added the point‑after kick, and the Tigers stunningly led 14‑0 with only 10:51 gone in the game.
Another Ledwell interception set up the Tigers at the Fairfield 27 late in the first half. Massillon head coach Lee Owens elected to go for a touchdown and the kill instead of a field goal when the Tigers had fourth and goal from the 2. Stafford was stopped at the line of scrimmage on a sweep left with 1:43 left in the half.
“We wound up scoring a touchdown after going for it on fourth down earlier,” Owens said. “After debating both sides for a while, we thought we could get the yards.”
The Tigers didn’t, and the score stayed 14‑0 at halftime.
Early in the fourth quarter it was looking like three extra points would’ve come in handy. Fairfield, which got the ball on an interception at the Tiger 26, now had first-and‑goal at the 3. Ledwell and T.R. Rivera ‑ part of what was at times a 10‑man front on the Tiger defensive line ‑ stuffed Fairfield’s T-formation attack on first down. Fairfield again gained nothing on second down, then Keith Warstler racked Whyte for a two‑yard loss on third down. A fourth‑down pass was incomplete and the Tigers had their second big goal‑line stand of the year, the first having come at Altoona.
It was part of a great night for the defense, which held Fairfield to 16l yards prior to a meaningless 54. yard scoring drive that ended with a 34‑yard TD pass on the last play of the game.
“Last week, the offense carried us,” said Tiger defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie. ”This week, we carried them.”
“Fairfield kind of had a down night, maybe because we were so up,” Rivera said. “They’re not a passing team. We had a lot of guys on the line and we stuffed them pretty good.”
Stafford came in to the game having rushed 52 times for 450 yards. He was held to six yards in seven carries.
“I wanted to start but the coaches decided that I shouldn’t,” he said. “Maybe that was just as well. Maybe I couldn’t have helped the team. I’ll be 100 percent for the next game.
Owens said the offense had an off night but the defense was superb.
“Give (defensive coordinator) Jim Letcavits and the defensive guys a lot of credit,” Owens said. “We had 10 guys on the line at times and dared them to pass. When they did, they didn’t do it very well. In a way, it was a gambling defense. But it was a calculated gamble.”
MASSILLON 14 FAIRFIELD 6 M F First downs rushing 10 8 First downs passing 2 6 First downs by penalty 2 2 Totals first downs 14 16 Yards gained rushing 136 125 Yards lost rushing 37 26 Net yards rushing 99 99 Net yards passing 76 116 Total yards gained 175 215 Passes attempted 16 24 Passes completed 10 9 Passes Int. by 2 1 Times kicked off 3 1 Kickoff average 49.7 42.0 Kickoff return yards 14 47 Punts 3 2 Punting average 29.0 35.5 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 2 1 Penalties 7 6 Yards penalized 53 23 Number of plays 57 59 Time of possession 23.59 24.01 Attendance 12,869
Individual statistics
Rushing (Mas) Sparkman 10‑20, Dixon 16‑89, Stafford 7‑6, Hurst 7 for minus‑15, Owens 1 for minus‑1. (Fair) Ritzie 5‑35, Whyte 12‑18, Noster 8‑15, Roberts 9‑22, Eppard 1‑9.
History 
