Eric Smith, Author at MassillonTigers.com

1965: Massillon 50, Cleveland Glenville 0

September 10, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Claw Cleveland Glenville 50-0

Bengals’ Defense Shares Opening Night Limelight With Sparkling Offense

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They ran it here! They ran it there! They ran that pigskin everywhere!

Like “Hurricane Betsy,” which dropped some of its remaining rain on Tiger stadium, the Massillon Tigers roared up and down the gridiron for 48 minutes in their opener Friday night. They left the plucky but out manned Cleveland Glenville Tarblooders in the devastation of a 50-00 shellacking before 10,253 fans.

The Washington high eleven had its ground game operating to perfection in its first quest for a 21st state championship. The Orange and Black line chopped down the opposition like a machete fells sugar cane. The backs hit their holes like a scared rabbit evading a hunter’s gun.

But the defense deserves a pat on the back, too, for its multiple-player, bone-crunching tackles and lightning-like charges. The Tarblooders were held to a minus 3 yards on the ground, losing 76 yards.

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GLENVILLE got only 2 sustained drives going all night but was stopped both times by a determined Tiger defense. The Tarblooders moved from their 41-yard line to the Obiemen’s one-foot line in the first period and from the Massillon 48 to the 5 in the fourth quarter.

Had Glenville scored in the driving rain, which hit in the first quarter and kept on sporadically the rest of the night, the Tarblooders might have tied the score. It was 8-0 at the time. But halfback Johnny Pollard was stopped short.

“I thought we were over and so did Pollard,” Glenville coach Phil Crawley said later. “That hurt us and so did the fact we have a lot of green kids and Massillon has a lot of depth. We figured we would be in trouble on those 2 counts.

Tiger Coach Earle Bruce thought, “Those 2 goal line stands helped a lot, especially since some of the younger boys were involved.” Bruce was happy that a lot of juniors got a chance to play and that he had the opportunity to get his running game into shape. He felt the rain hampered his team’s ground efforts.

The wet stuff not withstanding, the Bengals rolled up 337 net yards to 80 for Glenville and 19 first downs to 6. The Tigers gained nothing through the air in 5 tries.

The rain played havoc with the ball-handling, 10 fumbles resulting. Massillon lost 3 of 4 and Glenville 2 of 6.

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THE TIGERTOWNERS scored in every quarter with the most points – 20 – coming in the second. Several players figured in the fireworks. Quarterback Dave Sheegog scored 2 touchdowns, 2 conversions and passed for 2. Halfback Tommy James, Jr., tallied twice for 6-pointers. Halfback Walt Lemon got 2 and a conversion and halfback Will Foster one. End Rick Healy got the other conversion.

The defending state champions scored the second time they got their hands on the ball. They almost went in the first time after a pass interception but fumbled on the Glenville 13.

Safety Rick Paige intercepted another Glenville aerial on the Tarblooder 35 and ran it back to the 8. Lemon got the call on the option play to the right on the next play and “Sweet Walter” scored with 7:07 left in the first quarter. Sheegog converted via a run.

After stopping Glenville on the one-foot line, the Tigers ground machine, with Sheegog, Foster, Lemon and fullback Terry Manson all taking turns, moved the pigskin to the Glenville 42. Lemon shot off left tackle for the remaining distance with 9:35 remaining in the second canto. The conversion attempt missed when a fumble occurred on the option.

The Tigers scored the next 2 times they got the ball in the second quarter, after bottling up Glenville in its own territory. The first chance came when tackle Dick Hartley made a teeth-rattling tackle which threw Glenville to its 14 after a bad fourth-down snap.

************
JAMES, bringing back memories of his famous father’s 1940 running, carried to the 3 on the first play. Foster, like James a junior, slanted left for the TD on the next play for a 20-0 lead at 7:26. The conversion attempt went awry.

The third second-period score came when Paige intercepted a pass on his 45 and
long-legged it back to the Glenville 38.

Four plays later, with first down on the 26, James saw daylight between left guard and left tackle and “Red, Jr.” was gone for a score at 3:27. Sheegog kept for the conversion.

Paige intercepted another pass near the end of the half on his 35 and returned to the Glenville 32. This time “Ramblin’ Rick” was injured and sat out the rest of the game with a left bruise, which does not appear too serious. Sheegog came up with a slight “Charlie Horse.”

A Tiger fumble on the 22 aborted this scoring try.

************
THE BENGALS activated the scoreboard lights twice in the third stanza. Driving straight down the field on the ground after the kickoff, the Tigers scored at 7:44. They covered 67 yards in 10 plays with Sheegog keeping off the “I” on first down from the 7. “Dandy Dave” tossed to Healy for 2 extra points.

Another bad fourth-down pass from center and fumble gave Massillon the ball first down on the Tarblooders’ 7. Three plays later Sheegog went off the right side for the Tigers’ sixth TD. Sheegog passed for the conversion with the ball bouncing off end Bill Williams’ hands and into the outstretched arms of Lemon.

The final Massillon score came at 8:16 of the fourth quarter. Safetyman Craig Maurer ran back a punt from his 40 to Glenville’s 40. Four plays later it was “TJ” again. This time James slipped through a trap hole at left guard on first down from the 9. The conversion missed.

Bruce felt that Lemon, Foster and James ran well. He thought junior Mike Kraft did a good line backing job but generally was pleased overall with his team’s performance.

Although he wouldn’t admit it, the Skipper was obviously running under wraps. He must play a tough Cleveland Benedictine team here next week in the second of 5 straight home games. Benedictine defeated Cleveland St. Edward 13-12 in its opener last night.

A Good Start!

GLENVILLE – 0
Ends – Stewart, Smith, Bullard.
Tackles – Wilson, Binder, Gibbs.
Guards – Kince, King.
Centers – Greene, Kitt.
Quarterback – Patrick
Halfbacks – Harris, White, Dean, Holton, Pollard.
Fullbacks – Reese, Robbins.

MASSILLON – 50
Ends – Healy, Griffin, Gallion, Moyer, B. Williams, Humphrey, Crone,
Paige, Riese, Russell.
Tackles – Petroff, Hartley, Campbell, Neago, Croop, Sherrett.
Guards – Rose, Kraft, Beiter, Mazon, Whitfield, Richards, Porrini.
Centers – Marks, Ehmer, Croop, Williams.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Maurer, Doolittle.

Halfbacks – Lemon, Smith, McLendon, James, Foster, Muhlbach,
McFaden.
Fullback – Manson

Score by quarters:
Glenville………………… 0 0 0 0 – 0
Massillon……………….. 8 20 16 6 – 50

Touchdowns: Sheegog 2 (7 and 2 yard runs); Lemon 2 (8 and 42 yard runs);
James 2 (26 and 9-yard runs); Foster 1 (3-yard run).

Extra Points: Sheegog 4 (2 runs); Lemon 2 (pass from Sheegog);
Healy 2 (pass from Sheegog).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Umpire – Jack McLain (Columbus).
Head Linesman – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Field Judge – Don Welsh (Wooster).

Statistics
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 17 2
First downs—passing 0 3
First downs—penalties 2 1
Total first downs 19 6
Yards gained rushing 351 73
Yards lost rushing 14 76
Net yards gained rushing 337 (3)
Net yards gained passing 0 83
Total yards gained 337 80
Passes attempted 5 17
Passes completed 0 3
Passes intercepted by 3 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 36 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 42.2 28
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 157
Times punted 0 3
Punt average (yards) 0 25½
Punt returns (yards) 62 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 6
Lost fumbled ball 3 2
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized 30 35
Touchdowns rushing 7 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 54 56

History

1964: Massillon 20, Canton McKinley 14

November 14, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

TIGER CHAMPS AWAIT CROWNING

State Title Assured By Comeback Victory Over McKinley, 20-14

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

There’s no truth to the rumor the ABC Television Network has offered the 1964 Massillon Tigers mass employment as scriptwriters.

The network well might hire the Tigers because the Ohio State high school football champions came up with as great a finish to a perfect season as any scriptwriter could dream up in his wildest imagination.

Trailing 14-0 going into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Canton McKinley, a game that had the state championship at stake, an undefeated season hanging in the balance, 22,685 emotionally charged fans watching in Tiger stadium and un-numbered thousands viewing on television, the Tigers staged one of the greatest come-from-behind victories any Massillon team has put together to win 20-14.

The Tigers, who led the Associated Press poll voting as the No. 1 team in the state most of the season, should be officially crowned state champs when the final poll comes out Tuesday.

Outplayed by the hard hitting McKinley squad, stopped at the 1-yard line by the McKinley defense in the second quarter, stopped again at the 14 and at the 3-yard line in the 3rd quarter, Massillon for better than 2½ quarters of the game was a toothless Tiger held at bay by a pack of angry Bulldogs.

BUT THEN the unwritten script began to unfold, putting junior quarterback Dave Sheegog in the starring role. Sheegog, 5’ 10”, 170-pounds, came into the contest on offense when regular quarterback Steve Kanner went out with cramps in his leg. The Tigers started to move with Sheegog at the controls and by the time the gun went off signaling one of the greatest mob scenes ever seen in the stadium, the Tigers were on top, with a brand new set of teeth that look like they will last another year.

There were other hero’s in the Tiger comeback that will rate as one of the greatest in Massillon football. Gene Biddle replaced the injured John Muhlbach at center in the second half when Muhlbach sustained a severely bruised hip; Jim Lawrence, who was the most consistent runner for the Tigers beside Sheegog, and Walt Lemon who took some of the pressure off Sheegog in the late stages of the drive with his running.

Determination and persistence paid off for the Tigers who kept the pressure on McKinley despite the 14-point deficit and wore down the Bulldogs. McKinley played almost the entire game without Ed Jones, the roving cornerback, in the “monster” defense and Larry Haines who broke a finger in the second quarter, but managed to come back and almost bring the Bulldogs into the lead with a drive in the wining second of the ball game. In the final analysis, Massillon’s depth told the story. The Tigers had Sheegog, Biddle and Lemon.

The Bulldogs broke on top with 5:32 left in the first quarter. Massillon took the opening kickoff and on the third play from scrimmage lost the ball on a fumble by Ed Herring on the McKinley 49. With Kalogeras banging into the line for consistent yardage and Fred Mathews picking up a 12-yard gain, the bulldogs took 11plays to get to the 9 from where Haines hit Emanuel Bradley all alone in the end zone for the first score. Guard Henry Vafides kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

Sheegog fumbled the ensuing kickoff with the Bulldog’s guard Tom Bradbury recovering on the Massillon 19. Kalogeras picked up 15 yards on 4 carries. With a third and 9, Haines hit end Nick Roman with a pass but Roman was stopped inches short of the goal. With fourth and inches, Kalogeras plowed over for the score. Vafides kicked what was to be the Bulldog’s final point.

************

THE TIGERS MOUNTED one offensive more in the second quarter moving from their own 46 to the McKinley 1. A penalty against McKinley for grabbing a facemask gave the Tigers the ball at the Bulldog 10 with first down. Lawrence picked up a yard up the middle, Kanner sneaked out for 3 and Hewitt went 5 to the one. With fourth and 1 Lawrence went high into the middle of the line but McKinley replused him short of the goal.

The third quarter looked no better for the Tigers despite the recovery of 2 McKinley fumbles. On the second play from scrimmage following the kickoff for the second half, Willie Hall fumbled and end Wes Goodnough recovered at the Bulldog 23. Lawrence gained 6 yards in 2 carries and Herring 3. With the ball at the 14 the Bulldogs held Lawrence on a fourth and 1 to no gain.

McKinley moved the ball to the 21 when Will Hall fumbled and Massillon’s Tom Whitifield recovered on the 19. Lawrence picked up 6 to the 13 and another 5 to the 9. After a 2-yard loss, Bobby Hewitt carried to the 4. Lawrence gained a yard and on fourth and 3 Herring was stopped at the 2 by Mathews the last man with a chance to get him.

After moving to the 11, the Bulldogs punted, Romans’ kick coming to rest at McKinley 40. There were 3 minutes and 54 seconds left in the third quarter when the Tigers started their greatest comeback in many a year.

Hewitt picked up 2 and Kanner 3. Kanner left the game and Sheegog came in. Giving a sign of things to come, Sheegog picked up 10 yards on a roll out. Hewitt picked up 4 on a second down and with third and 6 Sheegog hit end Ken Gillmore with an 8-yard pass putting the ball on the 13 with a first down coming up. Lemon squirted off for 6 yards as the quarter ended. With second and 4, Herring went to the 4 and then to the one from where Lawrence scored the first touchdown at 10:11. The extra point run by Lawrence failed and the score stood at 14-6.

McKinley couldn’t move the ball and punted to the Tiger 39 where the Tigers started a 9 play 61-yard drive. Sheegog picked up 6 yards and then hit Herring with a pass up the middle to the Bulldog 35. Lawrence gained 4 and Lemon 9 before Sheegog hit Lawrence with a pass at the 10. Lemon picked up 7 to the 3 and Lawrence 3 more.

Sheegog gained a yard to the 2 and with fourth and 1 Hewitt just made it over the goal line for the score. Sheegog tied the score at 14-all by scoring the extra points over the left side with 3:32 left in the game.

************

McKINLEY TOOK Paul Marks’ kick to the 12 and gained 6 yards in 3 carries. Roman punted to the Massillon 45 where Sheegog fielded the ball and returned it 33 yards to the Tiger 17.

Massillon missed connections on a pass and Sheegog gained 3 yards to the 14. With third and 7 Sheegog faked to Lawrence going into the line, kept the ball and went over right tackle. He broke into the clear only to be met by McKinley’s Ray Kinnard at the 3 and Mark Mathieu at the 1, but he just strained forward for the touchdown that put the Tigers ahead 20-14 with 54 seconds remaining.

But the ball game wasn’t over. With 48 second left on their own 24 the Bulldogs moved to the 42 on an 18-yard gain picked up by Haines. A halfback pass from Mathews to Hall picked up 8 yards and another pass from Haines to Mathews, the Bulldogs most dangerous runner, put the ball on the Tiger 24. On first down, Haines tried to hit Mathews with a pass inside the 5-yard line but Dave Whitfield deflected it and Mathews never had a chance for it with 11 seconds left. Mathews got another pass to move it to the 17. Thinking time had run out Massillon fans swarmed on the field, but with 1 second left to play, officials and 15 Massillon policemen cleared the field and McKinley tried one more play, Haines throwing the ball to center Jim Roman after being rushed by the Massillon defense.

Bedlam reigned for a long time on the field and in the Tiger locker room.

Coach Earle Bruce being congratulated in a packed office said, “I still can’t believe it.” Asked if he made any adjustments in the second half, Bruce replied, “No. Sheegog came through with flying colors. He’s a calm, cool and collected quarterback. We went with the quarterback keep off the inside belly series. Our game plan was to run the ball. We fumbled in the first half and didn’t in the second. Physically we came on in the second half.”

Asked if he thought the Tiger could come back while trailing 14-0, Bruce said. “You know, once you’ve come back, you always think about coming back,” Bruce said referring to the Niles game. “They just made mistakes in the second half. We made ours in the first half.”

************

FOR DON NEHLEN, who brought the Bulldogs up to contention for the state title after taking over a team that was 6-4 last year, it was a bitter defeat.

“Massillon didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves. Our mistakes beat us,” he said after the game.
“Sheegog was great for them, but Kalogeras was by far the best football player on the field. We just didn’t have quite the depth.”

Asked if his team tired late in the game, Nehlen said, “No, I don’t think so. You’d look that way too if you had your back to the wall like that. Let’s just say our daubers were down a bit.”

Nehlen was unhappy with the officiating.

“We recovered 3 of their fumbles, but we didn’t get the ball. None of the officials even looked at it,” he said.

Statistically, Massillon had the slight edge getting 215 yards to 214 for the Bulldogs and 10 first downs to McKinley’s 7. The Tigers got 158 yards rushing while McKinley had 156. In passing it was 58 for McKinley to 57 for Massillon. Massillon held the ball for 57 plays while McKinley had it for 51.

Statistics
Mass. McKin.
First downs—rushing 10 7
First downs—passing 4 2
First downs—penalties 1 0
Total first downs 15 9
Yards gained rushing 173 170
Yards lost rushing 15 14
Net yards gained rushing 158 156
Net yards gained passing 57 58
Total yards gained 215 214
Passes attempted 10 7
Passes completed 5 5
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 22 0
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 46.5 53.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 62 27
Times punted 1 5
Punt average (yards) 34.0 30.6
Punt returns (yards) 52 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 3
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 0 5
Yards penalized 0 40
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 57 51

McKINLEY – 14
Ends – N. Roman, E. Bradley, Ring, Chaney.
Tackles – Scott, Miller, Carpenelli, R. Kinnard, Dodd,
Frazier, Shaheen.
Guards – Spencer, Bradbury, Vafides, Ra. Spencer.
Center – J. Roman.
Backs – Haines, Mathieu, Mathews, Hall, Rippey. E. Bradley,
Kalogeras, Dunnerstick.

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Gilmore, Franklin, Paige, Goodnough, Garcia,
D. Whitfield.
Tackles – Binge, Morgan, Rambaud.
Guards – T. Whitifield, Laursel, Zorger.
Centers – Muhlbach, Biddle.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Herring, Hewitt, Lawrence, Frieg,
Pribich, Manson, Lemmon, Conti, Marks, Schenkenberger.

Massillon…………. 0 0 0 20 – 20
McKinley………… 14 0 0 14 — 14

Touchdowns – McKinley: Bradley (9-yard pass from Haines); Kalogeras (1-yard run).
Massillon: Lawrence (1-yard); Hewitt (1-yard run); Sheegog (14-yard run).

Extra points – Vafides 2 (kicks); Sheegog 2 (run).

Officials:
Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Umpire – Harold Rolf (Ironton).
Head Linesman – Joe Romano (Mansfield).
Field Judge – Russ Kemper (Cincinnati).

History

1964: Massillon 36, Eastlake North 0

November 6, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Set Stage For McKinley Title Duel

Kanner-Paige Passes Trounce Eastlake 36-0

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The stage is set. . . Massillon and Canton McKinley meet head on for the state championship next Saturday afternoon in what the politicians call an eye-to-eyeball confrontation.

Both won their ninth straight game Friday night, the Tigers beating Eastlake Willoughby North 36-0 and McKinley romping over Paul Cary’s Cuyahoga Falls team 53-0 at Fawcett stadium.

Massillon and McKinley have run 1-2 in the Associated Press poll most of the season. The poll and its emblematic state championship are at stake in next week’s annual classic between the schoolboy and grid giants.

“We’re looking for McKinley,” said Tiger Coach Earle Bruce in the post game meeting with reporters Friday night. “They want us and we want them. The state championship is on the line Nov. 14,” Bruce said.

************

NEXT WEEK’S GAME, the 69th meeting between the 2 schools, is already sold out. More than 22,000 fans are expected to jam Tiger stadium to witness what promises to be one of the greatest games in the long series.

And the final audience, which sees the clash, may go well into the millions if plans to have the game televised materialize. Adding to the pre-game hoopla is the visit of ABC television coming to make a special feature on the Tigers and the game itself.

The week promises to be one of the most hectic and exciting in Tiger history. But there was a game played last night.

The Tigers started out sluggishly and were never as sharp as they have been in past games. “We were flat,” said Bruce. Massillon didn’t get on the board until 4:38 left in the first quarter after failing to move the ball the first time it had possession.

Willoughby had the ball twice moving once from its own 29 to its 36. The second time the Rangers went from their own 31 to the Massillon 47.

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THE SECOND TIME the Tigers got the ball, they wasted little time. On the very first play, Steve Kanner hit end Rick Paige with a pass at the Willoughby 42 from his own 28 and the big end went all the way on a 72-yard play for the first of 3 touchdowns he was to score. A kick for the extra point by Dave Paul was wide to the left.

Massillon got the ball again on its own 11 after a punt by Willoughby’s Chuck Hoban. It took the Tigers 11 plays to cover the 89 yards before Kanner found Paige in the end zone again from 21 yards out for the score, making it 12-0. The drive was highlighted by a 14-yard run by Brock Herring. Jim Lawrence, who was to score 2 touchdowns, picked up the extra points on a run around end.

Willoughby got the ball on its own 15 and moved it to the 19 when Hoban went back to kick again. A bad snap from center wound up in the Ranger end zone and Hoban tried kicking out but the ball went out of bounds at the Willoughby 13.

Dave Sheegog came in to quarterback and in 2 plays he carried to the 1 from where Lawrence plowed over to make the score 20-0. Sheegog hit Paige with a pass for the extra points.

Willoughby had the ball for 3 plays when halfback Bob May fumbled at the 29 with Tiger linebacker Paul Marks recovering at the 33. Sheegog hit Walt Lemon with a pass and the junior back carried it to the 18. Three smashes by Terry Manson and Lawrence put the ball at the 7, then Lawrence went over the left side. A pass for the extra points was incomplete and the 28-0 score stood at halftime.

************

BRUCE SALTED his lineup liberally with second-liners and Willoughby, finding its pass receivers held up, went to the ground game. The Rangers moved from their own 29 to the Tigers 24 before running out of downs. Neither team scored in the third quarter.

The Tigers got the ball for the second time in the fourth quarter with 8:04 left to play. From their own 11 the Tigers went 89 yards in 13 plays with the help of a 5-yard penalty.

Runs of 11 yards by Don Schenkenberger, 16 by Hewitt and 15 by Kanner sparked the drive. With a third and 11 on their own 16, Massillon scored its final touchdown when Kanner connected with Paige again. The pass bounced off Willoughby’s safety Bill Nose with Paige getting the bouncing ball about the 2 and taking it in. Paul Shanor ran the extra points, with the clock showing 2:06.

Willougby Coach Vic McIntire blamed the loss on “big mistakes—The long bombs, the bad snap, the fumble.”

“The long bomb has never happened to us this year. Our boys missed their keys,” he said explaining the long passes.

“Masillon has a fine football team,” McIntire said. Not having seen McKinley, and just on what he has been told by others, McIntire said, “If McKinley does a job on defense, they can beat Massillon,” when asked how the Tigers would fare against the Bulldogs.

Massillon gained 359 yards to Willoughby’s 97 and had 16 first downs to the Rangers’ 6. The Tigers hit on 4 of 9 passes while Willoughby hit 4 of 12 for 22 yards. On the ground the Rangers made 75 yards.

Attendance at last night’s game was 9,363.

EASTLAKE WILLOUGHBY NORTH – 0
Ends – Hoban, Kerschensteiner, Nose.
Tackles – Effron, Dodds, R. Carter.
Guards – Fordyce, Zaharewicz, Beccia.
Centers – Mikulak, Flavin.
Backs –J. Carter, Pintaric, Stenot, Noggy, R. Infalvi, Howarth, Lunder,
D. Infalvi, R. May.

MASSILLON – 36
Ends – Paige, Goodnough, D. Whitfield, Crone, Williams, Gilmore, Franklin,
Garcia, McGuire.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Hartley, Petroff, Paul, Croop.
Guards – Laursel, T. Whitfield.
Center – Muhlbach, F. Williams, Rambaud.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Doolittle, Manson, Herring, Hewitt, Lawrence,
Lemon, Schenkenberger, Conti, Marks, Shanor.

Massillon……….. 6 22 0 8 – 36
Willoughby…….. 0 0 0 0 – 0

Touchdowns – Paige 3 (72-yard pass-run from Kanner; 21-yard pass from Kanner;
16-yard pass from Kanner); Lawrence 2 (runs of 1 and 7 yards).

Extra points – Lawrence 2 (run); Paige 2 (pass from Sheegog); Shanor 2 (run).

Officials:
Referee, Howard White (Cincinnati).
Umpire, Robert Strimer (Delaware).
Field Judge – W.P Shaughnessy (Akron).
Head Linesman – George Pappas (Akron).

Statistics
Mass. Eastlake
First downs—rushing 16 6
First downs—passing 4 0
First downs—penalties 0 1
Total first downs 20 7
Yards gained rushing 245 87
Yards lost rushing 10 12
Net yards gained rushing 235 75
Net yards gained passing 124 22
Total yards gained 359 97
Passes attempted 9 12
Passes completed 4 4
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (yards) 45.5 42
Kickoff returns (yards) 19 101
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 38.3 30
Punt returns (yards) 19 10
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 7 2
Yards penalized 55 20
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 3 0
Total number of plays 55 48

History

1964: Massillon 12, Warren Harding 0

October 31, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Beat Warren 12-0 For 8th Victory

Lawrence’s 2 TDs Pace Massillon Win

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

Two possession-type offenses clashed at Mollenkopf stadium in Warren Friday and when the trick or treats were over Massillon out-crunched the Warren Panthers 12-0 before an estimated 13,000 for their 8th straight victory.

Fullback Jim Lawrence’s 2 touchdowns accounted for the Massillon scoring as the senior, 5’10”, 170-pounder proved to be the Tigers most consistent ground gainer and the back the big, stubborn Panther defense couldn’t contain often enough. Lawrence gained 97 yards in 19 attempts, much of it on his own effort.

Massillon’s defense was also tough, especially on running plays, allowing Warren 76 yards rushing. Warren completed 4 of 8 passes for 25 yards via the air and a total of 101 altogether.

The Tigers made 195 yards on the ground and 15 passing on one completion in 4 attempts for a total of 210 net yards.

************

WARREN BLEW a big opportunity early in the first quarter when on the second play from scrimmage the Tigers fumbled and Warren recovered on the Tiger 33. Three smashes into the Massillon line yielded the Panther’s 5 yards and on 4th down quarterback Bruce Brewster passed to halfback James Hill at the 24, but the Panthers were short of a first down.

The Tigers threatened once in the first period when with 4th and 11 on the Warren 33 quarterback Steve Kanner hit halfback Brock Herring in the end zone with a pass, but Herring couldn’t hang on with an over-the-shoulder grab.

Each team had the ball one more time before Massillon took over on its own 34 with 7:25 left to be played in the second quarter. The Tigers moved the 66-yards in 9 plays with Lawrence scoring from 11 yards out. Key play’s in the drive were a 13-yard run by Herring, a 12-yarder by Lawrence and a 15-yard pass from Kanner to Rick Paige that put the ball on the 11 and set the stage for Lawrence’s touchdown on the very next play.

The third quarter Warren had the ball for 7 plays, moving from its 31 to the Tiger 44 before punting to the Tiger 35. Massillon moved from the 35 to the Warren 20, but with 4th and 3 Kanner was thrown for a loss to the 25. Warren kicked after getting only to its 31. Massillon drove down to the Warren 28 in 9 plays covering the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th period, but couldn’t connect on a 4th and 11 pass.

Warren took over on its own 28. Brewster was thrown for a loss of 11 yards back to the 17, a run netted no gain and on 3rd down Brewster was thrown for a 5-yard loss by Goodnough, Larsuel and Muhlbach. Larsuel was especially effective harrying the Warren passing game. Al Anderson kicked to the Warren 36, the ball rolling out of bounds.

FROM THE 36 it took the Tigers 8 plays to score. Kanner picked up 5 and Hewitt 9 for the first down at the Warren 23. Herring got 3 and Lawrence 9 for another first down at the 11. Lawrence made 4 through the line and then picked up 3 more to put the ball on the 4. Hewitt took it to the 2. With 4th and 1 needed for a first down Lawrence leaped over the Warren right side for the score. The extra point try failed.

Bill Stredney substituted for Brewster and moved the Panthers from their own 25 to the Massillon 20 for the deepest penetration the Panthers made on their own, mainly on a
20-yard run by fullback Dave Binko. Two incomplete passes and two runs gave Massillon the ball on its own 20. The drive started with 4:15 seconds left to play and ended with Massillon getting the ball with 44 seconds showing on the clock.

Warren Coach Ben Wilson felt the difference in the game was Massillon’s speed. He termed his team’s inability to capitalize on the Massillon fumble at its own 33 in the opening minutes of the game as the turning point in the contest.

Asked to compare Massillon and McKinley, which beat Warren 34-8 in the second game of the season, Wilson said, “McKinley is stronger physically than Massillon. Massillon is quicker than McKinley. They’re (Massillon) very aggressive.”

Coach Earle Bruce credited Warren with its effort. “Warren played one of its finest games of the year. They did a great job defensing our offense. They played big and tough.” Bruce was unhappy with the Tiger offense saying, “Our halfback’s weren’t running very well.” Defensive work pleased the Tiger mentor.

MASSILLON—12
Ends – Garcia, Franklin, Gilmore, Paige, Goodnough.
Tackles – Binge, Morgan, Rambaud, Hartley.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitfield, D. Whitfield.
Center – Muhlbach.
Backs – Sheegog, Frieg, Kanner, Manson, Lawrence, Conti,
Hewitt, Herring, Marks, Schenkenberger.

WARREN – 0
Ends – Totterdale, Ochtyun, Turner, Franklin.
Tackles – Capers, Clark, Hrenko, Shively, Kujals.
Guards – Montagna, Kermode, Argeras, E. Johnson, Schumacher.
Centers – Toda, Benson.
Backs – Brewster, Stredney, Krataas, Butler, Dishong, Hill, Binko.

Massillon………. 0 6 0 6 – 12

Touchdowns – Lawrence 2 (runs of 11 and 2 yards).

Officials:
Referee – Jim Langhurst (Williard).
Umpire – Paul Tobin (Akron).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bernard Wilhelm (Akron).

History

1964: Massillon 34, Altoona, PA 18

October 24, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers ‘Owned” Lion Defense In 34-18 Win

Altoona Coach Lauds Massillon’s Blocking

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

A few years ago when the Green Bay Packers ruled the professional football roost, Coach Vince Lombardi made it a point to play to the opponent’s strength, beat him at his own game.

The Massillon Tigers played to the Altoona, Pa., strength, a tough defensive line, and overpowered the Mountain Lions on the ground for a 34-18 victory Saturday night in as an exciting a ball game as the 16,109 fans present at the weekend’s colorful inter-state game will see this season.

Not since 1954 has anyone scored 34 points on the Mountain Lions and the bulk of the credit belongs to the center of the Tiger offensive line, guards Larry Larsuel and Tom Whitfield and center John Muhlbach.

“THEY OWNED US down the middle in the second half,” said Altoona Coach Earl Strohm, headman of the Lions now in his 11th year at the Pennsylvania football
power house. The veteran coach was especially impressed with Larsuel, terming the senior all-county and all-state guard “a real good football player.”

Trapping the Altoona defensive line, the Tiger trio opened up holes for halfbacks Brock Herring and Bob Hewitt and fullback Jim Lawrence who played one of the best games of his career. Herring scored 4 touchdowns one of them a 37-yard run where he bolted through a hole and past the Altoona secondary before it realized what was happening.

************

Lawrence scored once, but the 186-pound senior was the Tigers’ bread-and-butter man getting yardage in crucial situations and faking beautifully when he wasn’t carrying the ball. Lawrence carried 22 times for 166 yards averaging 7 yards per carry. All told the Tigers rolled up 340 yards on the ground, with Herring carrying 19 times for 137 yards and a 7-yard average.

While the Tigers ground out the winning score, Altoona hit a porous Tiger pass defense with 9 completions in 19 attempts for 216 yards including 2 touchdowns of 62 and 42 yards.

Lion quarterback Dick Frasca connected on 8 of those to show Massillon fans one of the best high school passers seen this year. He also turned receiver on the last scoring effort taking a pass from halfback Buddy Geis, his best receiver, and stumbling into the end zone from 15 yards out for the final Altoona score. It was a 42-yard play. Frasca will be back next year when the Tigers go to Mansion Park in Altoona for a return match.

************

MASSILLON SCORED its first touchdown with 2:01 left to play in the first quarter when Herring went over from the 6 to cap a 56-yard drive in 8 plays.

The Tigers took a 12-0 lead in the second quarter when Herring went 9 yards to climax a 10-play, 64-yard drive highlighted by a Herring 14-yard gain and one of 13 yards by Hewitt. There were 7 minutes and 12 seconds left to play when Herring scored as Lawrence faked into the line, complementing quarterback Steve Kanner’s deft ball handling.

Altoona got back into the game as Frasca hit end Dave Thompson with an 11-yard pass and Geis with a 42-yard pass play up the middle, the shifty Geis lugging to the 14. Mike Reid, the Altoona 225-pound fullback just returning to offensive action and still slowed by a knee injury picked up 2 yards and halfback Dick Beard 5. On the following play Reid fumbled after being hit about the one, the ball squirting into the end zone where Mike Grove, the Altoona center, recovered for the touchdown.

Altoona tied it up with 4:51 left in the 3rd quarter when Frasca hit Geis with a 24-yard pass at the Massillon 38. Geis went down the east sideline the 38 yards for the score on a play covering 62 yards, bringing the better than 2,700 Altoona fans, who accompanied the Lions to their feet.

The score was set up when Altoona drove from its own 24 to its own 45 where with 3rd and 10 the Lions were called for holding. Massillon chose to accept the penalty making it 3rd and 25 instead of 4th and 10 and a punting situation coming up. With 3rd and 25 Frasca hit Geis with the 62-yard pass play.

************

MASSILLON BOUNCED back, starting a 74-yard drive with Lawrence going over from the 3 with 11:19 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Tigers picked up the extra points when quarterback Dave Sheegog lateraled to Herring just as he was about to hit the ground. The score put the Tigers ahead 20-12.

Altoona couldn’t move the ball past the 47 on the next series and lost 2 yards on a 4th and 3 situation with the Tigers taking over on the 45. Lawrence made 11 to the 37 on the second play and on the 3rd play Herring bolted out of a quick opener up the middle for the score.

The Tigers drove 58-yard in 11 plays featuring a 24-yard run by Herring to score from the 7 with Herring cutting over center for the TD. Kanner’s pass to end Rick Paige for the extra points made it 34-12 with 1:26 remaining.

On the following kickoff, Paul Marks tipped the ball, which rolled only 2 yards and the Lions had it on the 42 since it did not travel the necessary 10 yards.

On the next play, Geis got the ball started around his right end, stopped and hit Frasca who had gone down the west side with a pass at the 15. Frasca was almost tripped up but stumbled to the 2 where he lunged into the end zone for the score. A kick by Reid failed and the game ended 34-18.

************

COACH EARLE BRUCE called the Mountain Lions, “a tough ball club, with the best passer we’ve seen, and a good receiver in Geis.” While happy with the victory, Bruce said the outcome would call for some “real analyzation” of the Tigers pass defense.

Based on the game movies, fullback Lawrence was named player of the week for his running and faking. Lineman of the week was guard Tom Whitfield with Larsuel the runner-up. Back of the week was Herring, followed by Lawrence and Paul Marks who made 9 tackles and 10 assists on defense.

ALTOONA – 18
Ends – thompson, Ellis, Steinbugl, Williams.
Tackles – Kaltenbrunner, Ebersole, Showalter.
Guards – Hobson, Jeffco, Phillips, R. Geis, Nedimeyer, Brenner.
Center – Grove.
Backs – Frasca, B. Geis, Andros, Lepore, Beard, Reid, Noonan, Russo.

MASSILLON – 34
Ends – Franklin, Gilmore, Williams, Paige, Goodnough, D. Whitfield, Garcia.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Rambaud, Croop.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitifield, Richards.
Center – Muhlbach.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Hewitt, Herring, Manson, Conti,
Foster, Shanor, Marks.

Massillon ……………… 6 6 0 22 – 34
Altoona ……………….. 0 6 6 6 – 18

Touchdowns – Massillon: Herring 4 (runs of 6, 9, 37 and 7 yards);
Lawrence (3-yard run).

Altoona: Grove (covered fumble in end zone); B. Geis (62-yard
pass-run) from Frasca; Frasca (42-yard pass-run from B. Geis).

Extra Points – Herring 2 (run); Paige 2 (pass from Kanner).

Officials:
Referee – Harvey Hodgson (Massillon).
Umpire – Joe Romano (Mansfield).
Field Judge – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Head linesman – Jack McLain (Columbus).

Statistics
Mass. Altoona
First downs—rushing 18 6
First downs—passing 0 8
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 18 14
Yards gained rushing 340 102
Yards lost rushing 0 2
Net yards gained rushing 340 100
Net yards gained passing 11 216
Total yards gained 351 316
Passes attempted 3 19
Passes completed 2 9
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage, passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 6 4
Kickoff average (yards) 36.6 48.75
Kickoff returns (yards) 82 85
Times punted 3 2
Punt average (yards) 41.3 33
Punt returns (yards) 9 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 15 20
Touchdowns rushing 5 1
Touchdowns passing 0 2
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 55 51

History

1964: Massillon 55, Cleveland Benedictine 0

October 16, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Rock, Roll Benedictine In 55-0 Waltz

Herring Is Top Back In Biggest Win Of Series

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

A bunch of Swingin’ Cats dug the Bossu-Novak beat provided by the Benedictine Bengals at Tiger Stadium Saturday night and turned what was expected to be a Pier 6 brawl into a waltz.

It was the wildest party of the 10 rock’em sock’em football socials played between the 2 foes and when it was over the mighty Massillon Tigers walked off with a 55-0 victory.

The 11,097 who saw the game were amazed at the outcome. Never did they expect to see a Benedictine team beaten as badly as this one. Not since 1961 when the Benies lost 40-0 to Cleveland Holy Name had the Benies had such a score rolled up against them. It was the worst beating the Benies have suffered in the series with Massillon, which now stands at 8-2 in the Tigers’ favor.

Benedictine Coach Augie Bossu, obviously unhappy with the outcome, was asked if he had any comments on the game and came back with a standard reply, “What can you say? We got beat by a good ball club.” Asked if the absence of his 2 stars, halfback Larry Zelina and Captain Greg Betts, both out with leg injuries, hurt his club, he replied, “How the heck should I know? You can’t tell what they would have done. I won’t take away from their (the Tigers) effort.”

************

AND IT WAS quite an effort by the Tigers who almost duplicated their 58-0 victory of last week over Steubenville.

The Tiger touchdown parade started after Benie quarterback Glenn Novak picked up 9 yards on 2 roll outs, failed to get the necessary yard on a 3rd and 1 at the Benie 44 and booted to the Tiger 36 where Dave Sheegog ran it back 2 yards.

Halfback Edgar Herring got 6 yards in 2 tries and then his running mate Bob Hewitt broke inside the Benie left end from his own 44 to the visitors’ 9 for a 47-yard gain. Herring went off tackle for 9 yards for the touchdown and the Tigers were on the scoreboard with 8:04 to be played. Herring made the 2 extra points on a run over his left side.

Benedictine had the ball for 2 plays including the kickoff when safety man Nick Pribich intercepted a Novak pass on the 50 for the Tigers. A Massillon pass was incomplete and on second down, Hewitt went off his right side and down the west sideline for a 50-yard touchdown romp. Fullback Jim Lawrence scored the extra points and the Tigers led 16-0 with 5:57 to play in the first quarter.
Benedictine moved from its 32 to its 47 where Konrad Kmetz punted out of bounds at the Massillon 22. Massillon moved from its 22 to the Benie 47 in 9 plays where Kanner punted to the 12 when the Tigers ran out of downs. Jack Dienes returned to the 15.

THE BENIES picked up 5 yards in 3 tries and Kmetz went back to kick on a 4th and 5. However, linebacker Paul Marks broke through and blocked the kick and defensive end Dave Whitfield picked up the ball about the 6 and went in for the score making it 22-0 with 9:06 to go in the second quarter. The extra point try failed.

Three plays netted the Benies 7 yards after the kickoff and Massillon got the ball on a punt at its own 48.

Seven plays later a 52-yard drive sparked by an 11-yard gain by quarterback Steve Kanner and another dazzling run, this one for 20-yard by Hewitt, was climaxed by an 8-yard cut off tackle for a touchdown by Lawrence. Hewitt picked up the extra points and a 30-0 score with 4:38 left to be played in the first half.

The half ended with the Tigers in possession on the Benie 44.

In the third quarter an 8-play, 49-yard Tiger drive stalled on the Benie 10, wasting a
25-yard gain by Herring. With a 4th and 13 for Benedictine on its own 13, the Tigers blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone, but an offside penalty nullified the score and Kmetz kicked out to his 45 where Sheegog returned it to the 25. The Tigers moved in to the Benie 18 from where Herring ran a gauntlet of Benedictine tacklers, twisting out of the arms of the last one at the 5 and scored to make it 46-0.

************

THE CLEVELANDERS then made their deepest penetration to the Massillon 10 from their own 34 in 12 plays. With a 4th and 1 on their own 14 as a result of a penalty, the Bengals’ tried to pass but Tiger safety John Frieg intercepted at the 5 and returned to the 18.

An 82-yard drive in 12 plays highlighted by a 15-yard run by Terry Manson and aided by a 15-yard penalty on the Benies ended when halfback Walt Lemon scored for 19 yards out to make the score 42-0. Junior place-kicker Bill Pearch made his first conversion of the season to put the score at 43-0.

Benedictine never got past its 46 on the following series and punted to Sheegog at the 16, the junior quarterback returning to his 33. The Tigers moved to the Benie 34 from where Sheegog connected with end Rick Paige who took the pass on the 25 and went down the sideline, lunging into the end zone for the score making it 49-0.

Co-captain Don Schenkenberger recovered a Bengal fumble on the Benie 48 with 41 seconds left in the game. The Benies were called for offside and when a disgusted Bengal kicked the official flag, a 15-yard penalty for unsportsman like conduct was called on the visitors putting the ball at the Benie 28. Sheegog hit end Phil Garcia with a 12 yarder putting the ball on the 16. Two passes failed before Sheegog found Paige alone in the end zone for the final tally with 6 seconds left.

Massillon Coach Earle Bruce’s only comment along with surprise that the Tigers were able to score so much on Benedictine, was that his team came up with “a real good offensive effort.” He added, “We had some good blocking, especially at the point of attack by tackles Dennis Morgan and Dennis Rambaud.” Morgan got his man 90 per cent of the time and Rambaud 80 per cent.

ON THE BASIS of the movies grades, John Muhlbach, center and co-captain, was named player of the week, guard Tom Whitfield the lineman of the week and Edgar Herring the back of the week.

Muhlbach received an overall grade of 67 per cent and was credited with 10 tackles and 1 assist. Whitfield got a 66 per cent grade, was accredited with 4 tackles and 6 assists, applied pressure on the Benedictine passer, and blocked a Benedictine punt.

Herring got an 84 per cent grade. The movies showed Herring did a real fine job of blocking.

BENEDICTINE – 0
Ends – Petrus, Hodakievic, Ciccone, Kane, Pilcavage.
Tackles – Iwan, McManamon, Koprowski, Inman, Russ.
Guards – Busi, Morgan, Treska, Hyclak, Braschwitz.
Center – Baumbick.
Backs – Novak, Ellis, Kmetz, Marn, Dienes, Scanlon, Roff, Mihalek, Grim.

MASSILLON – 55
Ends – Goodnough, Paige, Crone, B. Williams, Gilmore, Franklin,
Garcia, McGuire, Pollock, Lash, D. Whitfield.
Tackles – Croop, Morgan, Binge, Hartley, Petroff, Paul, Anderson.
Guards – Zorger, Larsuel, Richards, Whitfield, Mazon, T. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlbach, Biddle, Rambaud, F. Williams, Hartman.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Schenkenberger, Marks,
Shanor, James, Foster, Herring, Hewitt, Lemon, Schaar,
Lawrence, Healy, Conti.

BENEDICTINE …………… 0 0 0 0 – 0
MASSILLON ……………. 16 14 6 19 – 55

Touchdowns – Herring 2 (runs of 9 and 18 yards), Paige 2 (passes
of 34 and 16 yards from Sheegog), Hewitt (50-yard
run), D. Whitifield (6-yard run with blocked kick
recovery), Lawrence (8-yard run), Lemon (19-yard
run).

Extra Points – Herring 2 (run), Lawrence 2 (run), Hewitt 2 (run),
Pearch 1 (kick).

Officials:
Referee – Don Welsh (Wooster).
Umpire – Russ Kemper (Cincinnati).
Head Linesman – Clarence Rich (Canton).
Field Judge – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls).

Statistics
Mass. Ben’e
First downs—rushing 18 5
First downs—passing 4 4
First downs—penalties 2 0
Total first downs 24 9
Yards gained rushing 397 109
Yards lost rushing 4 57
Net yards gained rushing 393 52
Net yards gained passing 79 75
Total yards gained 472 127
Passes attempted 17 13
Passes completed 4 5
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage, on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 9 1
Kickoff average (yards) 47.2 33
Kickoff returns (yards) 12 166
Times punted 2 6
Punt average (yards) 25.5 30.3
Punt returns (yards) 49 4
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 1 7
Yards penalized 5 54
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdowns passing 2 0
Touchdowns by miscellaneous 0 0
Miscellaneous 1 0
Total number of plays 66 54

History

1964: Massillon 58, Steubenville 0

October 9, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Trounce Steubenville Big Red 58-0

55 Players See Action In ‘Dad’s Night’ Game

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The Massillon Tigers reached the half-way point of the 1964 football season Friday night by blasting an out-manned Steubenville Big Red team 58-0 before 12,754 fans at Tiger stadium

It was the fifth straight win for the Tigers and the 27th straight for head coach Earle Bruce who carried a 22-game winning streak with him from Sandusky before taking over as head man at Massillon this year.

The victory was a “nice game for Dad’s Night,” as Bruce used 55 players in the rout, which saw the Tigers tie a 58-0 score of 1941. This stands as the highest score Massillon has ever made against the Stubbers in 27 games.

The Tigers didn’t get their first score until there were 2 seconds left in the first quarter. After the opening kickoff Massillon went from its own 35 to the Steubenville 15 where the drive ended on a 4th and 1 situation. Steubenville couldn’t move and punted to the Tiger 42.

Taking the ball with 4:10 left to play the Tigers moved the 57 yards in 9 plays with fullback Jim Lawrence going the four yards for the score with 2 seconds left. The extra point play failed and the Tigers kicked off to the Stubber 38 as the quarter ended.

************

STEUBENVILLE made on yard in 3 carries and went back to punt, but a bad pass from center got away and fullback Dennis Conti recovered for the Tigers on the Stubber 26. Quarterback Steve Kanner wasted little time and hit Ed Franklin all alone at the 5 with a pass. The senior end stepped into the end zone unmolested. Dave Sheegog made the first of 6 extra points around end to put the score at 14-0 with 10:25 left to play. Before the period was ended the Tigers were to score 30 points.

The outgunned Stubbers picked up a first down at their own 24 and were forced to punt 2 plays later from their 29, but Conti blocked a kick on the 23 and recovered. On the first play, halfback Ed Herring, went off his left tackle, broke outside and went the 23 yards for the score. Sheegog picked up the extra points and the Tigers were ahead 22-0.

An interception of a Steubenville pass by cornerman Franklin set up the next Massillon touchdown, the Tigers taking the ball on the visitor’s 45. A 19-yard pass play from Kanner to halfback Bobby Hewitt put the ball on the Stubber 7 and 2 cracks at the line by Paul Shanor and Herring put the ball on the one from where fullback Terry Manson made the first of his 2 touchdowns. The extra points by Jim Lawrence brought the score to 30-0 with 1:15 left to play.

The Tigers booted to the Steubenville 25 where guard Tom Whitfield recovered a Bob Smith fumble. Edgar Herring picked up 12 to 15 from where Kanner hit Ken Gilmore in the end zone with 41 seconds left to make the score 36-0. The extra points were no good.

With the second unit in for the start of the second half, the Tigers went 62-yards in 13 plays, highlighted by 10-yard runs by Sheegog, Shanor and an 11-yarder by Walt Lemon. Shanor went over from the 3 for the 42-0 score and picked up the extra points on nifty fake around end by Sheegog, who pitched out to Shanor going wide to make the score 44-0.

************

STEUBENVILLE moved to the Massillon 37 from its own 24, mainly on a sparkling run by quarterback Bob Endres but couldn’t penetrate any farther.

The Tigers then took the ball and went 63 yards in 10 plays with Lemon ripping off a
42-yard run to the Stubber 16. Two runs and an 8-yard pass from Sheegog to Shanor put the ball on the 4 where Manson got his second touchdown. Sheegog made the extra points on another wide run to make it 52-0.

Shanor recovered a Steubenville fumble on the 38 on the first scrimmage play after the kickoff, to set up the final Tiger tally. Jim Schaar picked up 30 yards, Sheegog 8 and an offside penalty put the ball on the Stubber 10. Sheegog then hit Lemon with a pass, the junior halfback making a lunging catch and being carried into the end zone by his momentum. Place-kicker Bill Pearch tried to boot the extra point, but the kick was blocked.

Neither Steubenville coach Abe Bryan nor Bruce had much to say after the ball game. Bryan commented, “Massillon has a fine club. Solid in every aspect. We were outplayed and out coached.”

Bruce was pleased that his offense was “starting to come around a little bit.” “Now we come into the meat of our schedule when we get it thrown at us,” he said looking head to the second half of the season which calls for successive games with Benedictine, Altoona, Pa., Warren, Eastlake North and Canton McKinley.

The Tigers next two home games, against Benedictine and Altoona will be Saturday night affairs. Both teams play tonight, the Bennies meeting Cleveland East and Altoona traveling to Easton.

STEUBENVILLE –0
Ends – Henry, Hicks, Johnson, Sims, Spahn, Burkey.
Tackles – D. Wilson, Simmons, Jones, Garofalo, Bass.
Guards Ohle, Mahfood, Anderson , D. Smith, Parris.
Center – Beard.
Quarterbacks – Spon, Endres, Vacarro.
Backs – Cunningham, West, R. Smith, Palmer, Wise, Davis.

MASSILLON – 58
Ends – Goodnough, Crone ,Hoffman, B. Williams, Gilmore, Franklin,
Garcia, McGuire, Pollock, Lash.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Stevens, Paul, Ehmer, Petroff, Rhine,
Anderson, Simon, Bednar, Hartley.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitfield, Mazon, D. Whitfield, McGeorge,
Richards, Zorger, Rose.
Center – Muhlbach, Hartman, F. Williams, Rambaud, Biddle.
Quarterbacks – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Doolittle.
Backs – Herring, Hewitt, Schaar, Manson, Lawrence, Lemon,
Foster, Healy, Shanor, Marks, Schenkenberger, Sainato,
Shammo, Smith, Pearch, Conti.

MASSILLON …………. 6 30 8 14 – 58
STEUBENVILLE …….. 0 0 0 0 – 0

Touchdowns – Lawrence (4-yard run), Manson 2 (runs of 1 and 4 yards),
Shanor (3-yard run), Herring (3-yard run),
Franklin (26-yard pass from Kanner).

STATISTICS
M S
First downs—rushing 17 6
First downs—passing 6 1
First downs—penalties 1 1
Total first downs 24 8
Yards gained rushing 320 121
Yards lost rushing 6 41
Net yards gained rushing 314 80
Net yards gained passing 95 31
Total yards gained 409 111
Passes attempted 15 8
Passes completed 6 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage, passes intercepted 5 0
Times kicked off 9 1
Kickoff average (yards) 49.2 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 155
Times punted 0 1
Punt average (yards) 0 29.0
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 3
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 35 15
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdowns passing 3 0
Total number of plays 68 45

History

1964: Massillon 26, Alliance 8

October 2, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Massillon Rolls Over Alliance 26-8

Tiger Ground Game Pulverizes Aviators

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The Massillon Tiger ground game geared into high Friday night to crush the Alliance Aviators 26-8 before an estimated 12,000 fans at Hartshorn field in Alliance. It was the worst beating the Tigers have given Alliance on its home field since 1950 when Massillon won 29-7.

With halfbacks Bob Hewitt and Ed Herring darting and fullback Jim Lawrence battering through the Alliance line, the Tigers rolled up 271 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Mel Knowlton’s game but outmuscled squad.

However, it was the Massillon air arm, which goes into action about as often as the Slobovian air force in an Al Capp comic strip, that came up with the key play of the game.

Trailing 8-6 in the second quarter with a 4th and 12 on the Alliance 17, quarterback Steve Kanner flipped a 14-yard pass to end Rick Paige. The lanky Paige gathered the ball in on the three and skip-stepped into the end zone for the score that put the Tigers ahead to stay. Jim Lawrence plowed over for the extra points making the score 14-8.

Massillon Coach Earle Bruce thought the pass, the first the Tigers tried last night, was the key play of the game. Knowlton, when asked if he felt the same, said, “It didn’t help things.”

THE MASSILLON defense, kept loose while looking for Alliance passes and sweeps, wasn’t as sharp as in previous games. But it did provide the Tigers with their first scoring opportunity early in the first quarter.

Alliance took the kick off to its own 38. Two tries at the Massillon line yielded no gain and with 3rd and 8 Bruce Robb, the dandy Alliance quarterback found his favorite target, end Jeff Zumbar, with a pass about the 30. However, linebacker and co-captain John Muhlbach took the ball from Zumbar’s hands and returned it to the Tiger 37.

Bob Hewitt, playing his best game to date, picked up 21 yards on a burst through the middle to the Alliance 16. Herring picked up 2 and Hewitt again scrambled through the Alliance line for 9 yards. He picked up another yard before Lawrence gunned over for the score from the 4. The Tigers had 6 points on the scoreboard 3:36 into the game. A run by Hewitt failed to net the extra points.

Alliance moved from its own 44 to the Massillon 35 with the aid of a 17-yard pass from Robb to zumbar before the drive ran out of downs. A 15-yard personal foul penalty and a 5-yard offside penalty stalled a Massillon drive and forced the Tigers to punt for the first and only time.

Alliance took the ball on its own 32 and started an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive
high-lighted by 30-yard pass from Robb to end Dave Wolpert and 28-yard run by Robb who took off when he couldn’t find an open receiver, getting to the Tiger 25. Halfback Gary Rasile picked up 13 to the 14-yard line and the Aviators wound up on the 13 at the quarter.

TWO PLAYS later Alliance was at the Tiger 2 from where Carl Dunn swept his left end for the touchdown tying the score. The Aviators went ahead on a pass from Robb to end Tom Offenbecher that went through the outstretched hands of Tiger safetyman Nick Pribich.

The Tiger ground game came into play as Massillon crunched out 43 yards to 9, with Hewitt getting 19 yards, Herring 22 and Lawrence 12. With 3 and 3 on the Alliance 9, Massillon was penalized 15-yards for holding, moving the ball to the 21 from the spot of the foul at the 6. Herring picked up 4, which left 4th and 17 and brought up the key Kanner to Paige touchdown pass and the lead again.

The Tigers took the second half kickoff and went 66-yards in 12 plays with Ed Herring’s 35-yard run to Alliance 19 high lighting the march. Paul Shanor, Hewitt and Lawrence moved the ball to the 7, Herring picked up 23 yards in 2 carries to the 3 from where Hewitt scooted over for the touchdown with 5:28 remaining.

Alliance moved from its own 28 to the 45 with the aid of a 22-yard pass from Robb to Dunn before being forced to punt. Robb punted to Dave Sheegog on the 15 and the junior quarterback returned it to the 27 from where the Tigers went 73 yards in 11 plays.
Back-to-back runs of 16 and 20 yards by Lawrence and Herring, respectively, put the ball on the 14 at the quarter. Four runs put the ball on the 1, but Massillon was penalized to the 6 for being offside. Herring moved the ball to the 2 from where Hewitt scored through the middle for the final tally of the game.

Alliance came back with 5 first downs in 6 plays to move from its own 19 to the Massillon 12, but the Tiger defense took over, held two line smashes to no gain, gave up 6 to the 6 and then smeared Robb for a 9-yard loss on the 15.

The Tigers moved to the 32 where a Sheegog pass was intercepted. With 59 seconds left, Alliance tried to pass, but it was incomplete. Robb ran the ball to the 35, going out of bounds to stop the clock. Robb tried to run out of bounds again and did but was hit. This was a costly attempt for Alliance. Robb was hurt on the play and may be lost to the Aviators for a good while because of a damaged knee.

With 17 seconds left, the Aviators never got off another play. The Aviators may also lose first- string guard Mike Cindia with knee trouble. He was hit on a vicious block by Dave Whitfield on a kickoff play. Both boys were to be x-rayed today. Also out indefinitely with cracked ribs is end Jeff Zumbar.

Mel knowlton credited his team with fighting all the way. “We just weren’t big enough. Massillon’s going to be tough for anyone to beat,” said the veteran Alliance coach. “They’re very strong physically. They hit quick and are experienced.”
COACH EARLE BRUCE was pleased with the Tiger backfield. “They must have wanted to be back of the week,” he said, referring to last week’s game against Mansfield when no back was selected for the weekly honors because of 5 fumbles. Informed the Tigers hadn’t fumbled at all against the Aviators, Bruce grinned a happy “Wonderful.”

And that sums up the victory.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Franklin, Garcia, Paige, Goodnough, Williams, Gilmore, Hoffman.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge.
Guards – T. Whitfield, Larsuel, D. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlbach, Biddle, Rambaud.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Hewitt, Herring, Lawrence, Manson, Pribich,
Shanor, Schaar, Conti, Lemon, Marks.

ALLIANCE – 8
Ends – Zumbar, Wolpert, Offenbecher, Lloyd, Ross, Jenkins.
Tackles – Beall, Admonious, Hahlen.
Guards – Candusso, Lyons, Irwin, Cindia, Ramsayer.
Centers – Allen, Garns.
Backs – Robb, Rasile, Cundiff, Dunn, Codrea, Haskins, Bossert,
Penturf, Ross, Wright, Wood, Lear.

MASSILLON………… 6 8 6 6 – 26
ALLIANCE ………….. 0 8 0 0 – 8

Scoring – Massillon: Touchdowns – Lawrence (run, 4 yards);
Paige (pass from Kanner, 17 yards);
Hewitt 2 (runs, 3 and 2 yards).
Extra Points – Lawrence 2 (run).

Alliance – Touchdowns – Dunn (run, 2 yards).
Extra Points – Offenbecher 2 (pass from Robb).

Officials:
Nick Fracella (Akron), referee.
C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls), umpire.
Tony Grant (Loudonville), field judge.
John Holzbach (Youngstown), head linesman.

Statistics
M A
First downs—rushing 15 6
First downs—passing 2 8
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 12
Yards gained rushing 272 129
Yards lost rushing 1 23
Net yards gained rushing 271 106
Net yards gained passing 52 116
Total yards gained 323 222
Passes attempted 5 12
Passes completed 2 6
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 43.6 38.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 24 85
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 36 31
Punt returns (yards) 14 4
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 4 1
Yards penalized 40 5
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 57 44

History

1964: Massillon 26, Mansfield 0

September 25, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger Defense Sparkles In 3rd Victory 26-0

Line Holds Mansfield Offense To 46 Yards

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

A sparkling defense that held the Mansfield Tygers to a total of 46 yards while its offense sputtered along gave the Massillon Tigers a 26-0 victory before 9,500 fans at Mansfield’s Arlin field Friday night.

The Tigers’ third straight victory belonged mainly to the defensive line which bottled the Mansfield running attack, holding it to a minus 5 yards rushing and gave quarterback Kerry Dean little time to find and hit his receivers. The Mansfield quarterback threw 8 passes and completed only 3.

Massillon coach Earle Bruce could find little fault with his offensive line, which opened up large and frequent holes in the bigger Mansfield defensive line only to have the backs fail to hit the hole. The Tiger backfield also had problems hanging onto the ball, fumbling 5 times. On 4 of those occasions the Tigers lost the ball and had a drive stopped.

However, the backs did something right as the score indicates. Mostly they ground out yardage behind a line that fired out into a bigger opponent. The Tiger line earned the praise of Mansfield Coach Jim Dougherty who liked its blocking and speed.

************

THE TIGERS didn’t score until the second quarter after the first period saw them lose the ball on a fumble at the Mansfield one-yard line after Tiger tackle Jim Binge recovered a Mansfield fumble on the Tyger 8. With the ball on the 1, Mansfield picked up 2 yards into the line. On second down Dave Hutchins, who punted 6 times for a 34-yard average,
quick-kicked to Massillon’s 47 from the 3. Five plays later the Tigers gave up the ball on downs.

With a first and 10 on his own 31, Hutchins fumbled with guard Tom Whitfield recovering on the Mansfield 32. In 2 plays Massillon moved to the 20 as the quarter ended. On the first play of the second quarter, the Tigers fumbled and Mansfield recovered on its own 20.

With first and 5, after a Massillon offside, the Tygers were offside on the following play, the ball going to the 20. Following a 3-yard gain the Tygers decided to quick-kick on second down. Hutchins booted the ball but it struck his center who had backed up, the ball going 16 yards. Dougherty called this the turning point in the game.

With Edgar Herring, Jim Lawrence and Bob Hewitt taking short hunks of yardage the Tigers moved into the 2 in 7 plays from where Hewitt went over right guard for the score with 7:09 remaining. The extra point try failed as quarterback Steve Kanner was downed after a mix-up in the Massillon backfield.

Hutchins made a 46-yard kickoff return to the 50 and Mansfield moved to the Massillon 25 with the aide of a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty. With fourth and 11 on the Tiger 25, Mansfield tried to pass but Dean was thrown for an 11-yard loss.

HERRING MADE a first down in 2 carries and with first and 10 picked up 20 yards on a double reverse to the 29. Here the Tigers got a break when Mansfield was called for piling on after Herring had gone out of bounds. The 15-yard penalty moved the ball to the 14. Three plays took it into the 4, from where with 4th and goal, junior quarterback Dave Sheegog sprinted around his right end for the touchdown making the score 12-0. The extra point try by Herring failed. The score came with 1:46 left in the half.

In the third quarter Massillon got to Mansfield 28 but fumbled away its first drive. The next time the Tigers got the ball the Tigers got to the Mansfield 18 on a 23-yard pass from Kanner to Herring but were called for clipping and lost the ball on a fumble on the next play.

The third time Massillon got the ball in the third quarter it started an 11-play, 56-yard drive that went into the fourth quarter for a score. Junior fullback Terry Manson had the longest run of the drive, an 11-yard gain. The score came on a 4-yard run by fullback Jim Lawrence for his first touchdown of the night. Manson scored the Tiger’s only extra points on a burst into the line.

The Tigers forced Mansfield to kick from its own 40. Hutchins lofted a 34-yard kick to Sheegog who with some tricky running returned to the Mansfield 29 for a 45-yard punt return. The last man between him and the goal tripped the shifty Sheegog.

On the first play from the 29, Kanner fired a strike to end Rick Paige in the end zone, but Paige in full stride, couldn’t hang onto the ball. He kept on going until he fell over a fence enclosing the end zone. Luckily, he wasn’t injured. Lawrence and Herring then drove the ball into the 3 from where Lawrence went inside his left end for the score. Paul Marks tried to kick the extra point, but the ball was partially blocked and didn’t have the distance.

MASSILLON safety man John Frieg intercepted a Mansfield pass on the Tyger 44 to give the Tigers another opportunity to score, but after picking up a first down, the threat ended with Hutchins intercepting a Massillon pass in the end zone on a 4th and 7 situation.

“The punt return was our best offensive weapon,” Bruce said half dejectedly after the game. And it was, with Sheegog getting off returns of 30 and 45 yards. “The defense played a great game,” the Tiger boss said singling out end Ed Franklin, for handling the Mansfield dealing defense, and brothers Tom and Dave Whitfield, Tom for his rushing the passer and Dave for his play, especially blocking on punt returns.

Mansfield coach Dougherty called the Tigers a “great team” because the “line fired out; they block well and have good speed.”

“That Muhlback is a heck of a ball player,” said Dougherty, shaking his head admiringly. “We played pretty good defense, but we couldn’t get our offense to move.”
Massillon had the edge statistically, getting 17 first downs to Mansfield’s 3 and gaining 276 yards to the Tygers’ 46.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Garcia, Franklin, Williams, Paige, Goodnough, D. Whitfield.
Tackles – Binge, Morgan, Hartley, Croop.
Guards – Larsuel, D. Whitfield, Richards.
Centers – Muhlback, Rambaud, Biddle.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Manson, Lawrence,
Hewitt, Herring, Conti, Shanor, Marks, James.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Gonzales, Westerfield, Swarn.
Tackles – Williams, Stehle, Bautz, Harpster.
Guards – Palm, Jameison, Dworski.
Centers – Horvath, Coe.
Backs – Dean , Schnuerer, Earick, Parr, Hutchins, King.

Massillon………….. 0 12 0 14 – 26
Mansfield …………. 0 0 0 0 – 0

Touchdowns – Hewitt (2 yard run); Sheegog (2 yard run);
Lawrence 2 (runs of 4 and 3 yards).

Extra points – Manson 2 (runs).

Officials
Jim Langhurst (Williard) referee.
Dom Ruggerio (Gibsonburg) umpire.
John Mickley (Mt. Vernon) head linesman.
Bill Holsworth (Louisville) field judge.

Statistics
Mass. Mans.
First downs—rushing 15 0
First downs—passing 2 2
First downs—penalties 0 1
Total first downs 17 3
Yards gained rushing 261 36
Yards lost rushing 8 41
Net yards gained rushing 253 -5
Net yards gained passing 23 51
Total yards gained 276 46
Passes attempted 6 8
Passes completed 2 3
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 50.2 46.9
Kickoff returns (yards) 33 126
Times punted 1 6
Punt average (yards) 40 34
Punt returns (yards) 102 6
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 5 3
Lost fumbled ball 4 2
Penalties 5 4
Yards penalized 45 30
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 67 37

History

1964: Massillon 14, Niles McKinley 8

September 19, 1964July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Winning Tigers Replace Niles On ‘Cloud 9’

Record 28,169 Watch 48-Game Streak End

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

Cloud 9, the nimbus heaven reserved for great moments, lost its most recent occupant today as the Massillon Tigers began preparing for Friday’s game against the Mansfield Tygers at Mansfield.

The Tigers reached the heights Saturday night in defeating Niles McKinley 14-8 at the Akron Rubber bowl. Massillon came from behind to dump last years state champions and snap a Red Dragon 48-game undefeated streak started in 1959.

The crowd, a record 28,169 attendance for a high school game, sat throughout a tense and bruising battle and watched as Niles threatened to tie and possibly go ahead with 2:21 remaining. But the Tigers held, and again lived up to a rich and proud tradition of being the best in Ohio schoolboy football.

“I’ve seen it so many times before,” said a visiting newspaperman, well-acquainted with the Tigers. “Your boys come up to the BIG game with poise and confidence, no matter how much of an underdog they happen to be.”

And the 1964 Tigers had plenty of both as they halted the Niles streak that threatened to beak the 52-game undefeated streak compiled by Massillon in the late 30’s and early 40’s.

************

BOTH TEAMS had the ball twice in the first quarter with the Tigers losing it the first time on a fumble at the Niles 28. Niles was unable to move the ball past its 38 and punted to the Massillon 33. The Tigers, who wound up with a minus 2 yards in the first quarter, booted out to the 32 after failing to make a first down.

Niles took possession of the ball and started a 15-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that extended into the second quarter. With Mel Dixon and Cee Ellison, the 215-pound, honorable-mention All-Ohioan fullback carrying and quarterback George Infante connecting with passes of 16 and 11 yards to Dixon and McQueen, respectively, Niles moved to the Massillon 6 at the end of the first quarter.

Ellison cracked the Tiger line for 3 yards and tried a second time for no gain. Dixon then took the ball to a foot from the goal line. With fourth and inches to go Ellison went over his left guard to score for Niles with the clock showing 10:12 in the second quarter. Ellison ran the 2 points on a pitchout around his right end, shaking off a neck tackle, to make the score 8-0 in Niles’ favor.

Massillon took the kickoff on its 15 and Dave Sheegog, junior, quarterback, ran it back to the 38. Ed Herring advanced it 3 yards to the 41, Jim Lawrence, who rejoined the team last week, moved the ball another 3 to the 44. Halfback Bob Hewitt picked up another 3 but the Tigers were forced to punt. While the series of plays did not gain much yardage it was important in one phase. The Tiger backfield found its timing, something it lacked in its first game against Cleveland East. Kanner punted to the 30 to end the drive.

Niles picked up a first down in 3 plays and then got 2 more on the ground before Infante had 2 incomplete passes with safety-man John Frieg breaking up the second. Infante, punted to the Massillon 28 from where Sheegog ran it back to the 39, and the Tigers were on their way.

************

KANNER THREW a quick 13-yard pass to end Rick Paige for a first down on the Niles 48. Herring slashed into the Niles line for 7 yards to the 41and Hewitt picked up 3 more to the 38 for the first down.

On the next play, Lawrence started wide around his left end, evaded 2 Niles tacklers at the line of scrimmage and set sail down the sidelines for a 38-yard touchdown run. The last Niles defender was cleared out of the way at the 2 by a jolting block thrown by 160-pound guard Tom Whitfield. Hewitt picked up the 2 extra points over his right side to tie the score at 8-all with 2:52 remaining.

Massillon’s Dave Paul booted to the 12 and Niles brought the ball out to the 25. The Dragons picked up a yard as the Massillon defense held on. With second and 9, Ellison started around the Tiger left end. Wes Goodnough grabbed onto the big fullback’s elbows and as more Tigers hit him Ellison fumbled and the ball bounced loose on the 27 where linebacker John Muhlback and safety John Frieg recovered.

A quick pass to Paige from Kanner for 5 yards. Lawrence hit into the line for a first down on the 16. Kanner then found Paige all alone in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. A run for the extra points by Herring was short and the Tigers were ahead 14-8 with 59 seconds in the half.

The third quarter found both teams shoving each other between the 30-yard lines. Massillon fans had a few anxious moments when the Tigers went for a 4th and 1 situation on their own 47 and failed to make the yard. Niles tried 3 straight passes and all were incomplete. A short kick gave Niles the ball on their own 44 after the Tigers failed to move. Halfback Phil Ziegler picked down with an 8-yard pickup. Ellison got 8 and Dixon 4 more for another first down on the Massillon 33.

************

THE TIGERS DEFENSE stiffened as 2 tries at the Massillon line yielded 5 yards. On a 3rd and 5 situation Niles tried a pass that was incomplete. Niles relied on Ellison with 4th and 5 but he was able to get only a yard against the Tiger defense.

With Sheegog replacing Kanner at quarterback after the senior signal caller suffered leg cramps, the Tigers held the ball (unreadable) plays and picked up 3 first downs in moving to the (unreadable). With 4th and 7, Sheegog was thrown for a 6-yard loss, giving the Dragons the ball on their own 33 with 4:26 remaining.

In 3 plays Niles had a first down on their 47. A 6-yard run by Zielger moved the ball to the 46. Two incomplete passes made it 4th and four. Infante found Mel Dixon all alone up the middle for a 22-yard gain, the Tiger secondary bringing the speedy back down on the 24 with 2:21 remaining.

Ellison picked up a yard and Dixon gained 7 to the 16. Dixon picked up a first down to the 13. Niles tried the pass up the middle and almost made it but the ball was a little too high for the receiver.

With second and 10, Infante went back to pass but found tackle Jim Binge looming in front of him and tried to run to the left where Larry Larsuel knifed through and dropped him for a 5-yard loss to the 18, with 1:28 left in the game. Niles tried 2 more passes, both of which were incomplete and Massillon took over on its own 17 and ran out the clock for its second win of the season.

************

THE MASSILLON dressing room was a scene of bedlam when Tiger fans and well-wishers were admitted after the game. Coach Earle Bruce, whose first Massillon team hurdled the defending state champs in the second game of the season, said he felt “like somebody gave me a million dollars.” Bruce termed Lawrence’s touchdown run the key play of the game and said the Tigers stopped the powerful Niles running attack by hitting hard.

In the Niles dressing room, Coach Glenn Stennett, who took over when Tony Mason left for the University of Michigan, was downcast as were his boys. Stennett said, “Massillon played a great game. We have no excuses. Our kids played a good game, but not good enough. My congratulations to Massillon.”

While the Massillon victory was really a team effort, there were several standout performances as the game films showed. Co-captain John Muhlback earned the player-of-the-week award by getting his man 72 per cent of the time. On defense Muhlback made 13 individual tackles and had 5 assists.

Lineman honors went to guard Larry Larsuel who got his man 65 per cent of the time and who on defense freed Muhlback by handling the Niles tackles. Backfield honors went to Bob Hewitt for his blocking and running.

The movies also showed guard Tom Whitfield as one of the out-standing 2-way players. Dave Whitfield came in for a share of the honors on defense as did Jim Binge. Terry Manson and Ed Herring also did well on blocking assignments and Herring kept up the fine running he displayed in the East game. Offensive tackles Dennis Rambaud and Dennis Morgan also were praised.

BRUCE ALSO credited Sheegog and Gene Biddle for the job they did in replacing injured regulars. Sheegog played quarterback after Kanner went out with leg cramps and Biddle took over at linebacker when Paul Marks also left with leg cramps.

Special credit went to the sophomore team which last week ran the Niles offensive and defensive patterns in scrimmage.

Saturday’s game was the fifth meeting between the schools. Massillon has won all 5, scoring 160 points to Niles 14.

STATISTICS
Mass. Niles
First downs—rushing 6 8
First downs—passing 3 3
First downs—penalties 0 1
Total first downs 9 12
Yards gained rushing 150 132
Yards lost rushing 20 15
Total number of plays 45 61
Net yards gained rushing 130 117
Net yards gained passing 48 67
Total yards gained 178 184
Passes attempted 5 19
Passes completed 4 5
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average (yards) 46 46
Kickoff returns (yards) 36 36
Times punted 4 4
Punt average (yards) 30.3 32
Punt returns (yards) 31 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 1 2
Yards penalized 15 10
Touchdowns rushing 1 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – Garcia, Franklin, Gilmore, Paige, Goodnough, Williams, McGuire.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Paul.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitfield, D. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlback, Rambaud, Biddle.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Manson, Marks, Schenkenberger,
Herring, Lawrence, Conti.

NILES – 8
End – Miller, Gibson, Fasanelli, Cella, Courtney, Petrella.
Tackles – Corrado, Sprague, Berenics, Ferro.
Guards – Krok, Lukz, Morrison.
Center – Watterson.
Backs – Infante, Dixon, McQueen, Zielger, Rowbotham, Butto,
Murray, Croft, Biviano, Ellison, Brutz.

Massillon………….0 14 0 0 – 14
Niles……………….0 8 0 0 – 0

Scoring:
Niles – Ellison (run, 6 inches).
Massillon – Lawrence (38-yard run), Paige (16-yard pass from Kanner)

Points after touchdown:
Niles – Ellison 2, run.
Massillon – Hewitt 2, run.

Officials
John Agnone (Youngstown) referee.
Joe Romano (Mansfield) umpire.
Jim Langhurst (Williard) field judge.
John Holzback (Youngstown) head linesman.
Bill Shaughnessy (Akron) back judge.

Author: <span>Eric Smith</span>