Author: <span>Eric Smith</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1957: Massillon 26, Steubenville 7

Tigers Roll Over Steubenville 26-7
Bengals Come From Behind To Beat Fired Up Foe In Last Half

By CHARLIE POWELL

Fumbles, penalties, an intercepted pass and messed-up assignments on offense kept Massillon in a hole and Tiger fans in a tizzy the first half but the Bengals proceeded to give the Steubenville Big Red a football lesson as they kept their record unstained before some 8,500 fans at Steubenville’s Harding stadium Friday night.

A lesson?

Sure. Once they uncoiled the Tigers were definitely the superior team with a high-geared attack sparkling in a 26-7 romp for victory No. 4.

For the first time this season the Tigers found themselves on the deck but they regained their poise, cut loose an offense that had halfbacks Ivory Benjamin and Gene Stewart driving the Steubers mad and regrouped the defensive troops to slam the door oln the upset-minded Big Red.
* * *
A FUMBLE led to Steubenville’s touchdown which came with five minutes gone in the opening quarter. A 43-yard pass play set up the first Massillon touchdown, which helped bring about a 7-7 deadlock at intermission.

But the second half was all Massillon.

The Tigers reigned supreme, both offensively and defensively. A 27-yard scamper by Benjamin paved the way for the Tigers to break the tie early in the third heat and clinching TDs came in the first and last minutes of the final round.

Steubenville, its coaches and fans, were “up” for this battle you could write a book about.

The Steubers tried, tried hard, and for quite a few minutes the Tigers were sweating it out. But the classy, more experienced backs, the harder hitting blockers and the teeth-jarring tacklers were too much.

When it was all over the Bengals had chalked up 18 first downs to 11, on the ground gained 272 yards to 73 and the over-all picture showed Massillon with 339 yards, the Big Red with 150.
* * *
IN THE OZONE the Steubers made four more yards than they did on the ground as quarterback Jim Roach, a junior star-in-the-making, hit on four of seven aerials. The Tigers, with Bob Getz and Stewart doing the tossing, completed two of five and had two intercepted.

With Co-Captain Chuck Beiter bottled up in the middle, most of the running was put in the hands of Benjamin and Stewart and this duo was a dandy.

Benjamin winged his way to 163 yards in 16 tries while Stewart carted 11 times for 65. Mark Anthony, who shared the signal-calling role with Getz, pitched in with 26 yards in four trips as he added a spark enroute to the third touchdown.
* * *
STEWART checked in two touchdown runs, both on short gainers, Beiter tallied once from a yard out and Benjamin scored on a 29-yard glitter-sprint with only 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

It was a hard-played game and both sides came out with numerous bumps and bruises.

And this story would hardly be classed a complete one if we would overlook some of the decisions made by the men in the striped-shirts.

One of the most controversial ones of the night came after Stewart scored from the seven and Hase McKey kicked the equalizer in the second period. Childers then kicked off with the ball landing around the four and going into the end zone. Halfback Wally Neel of the Big Red picked it up and tried to run but Pete Heimann, Tiger guard, zoomed in and lowered the boom. Was it a safety or a touchback? The officials ruled a touchback because the impetus of the kick not Neel’s actions, carried the ball past the goal line.

Another one that had the fans buzzing happened a few moments later. Steubenville punted from its 34 and Leaman Williamson, rugged defensive end for the Bengals, blocked it with Tackle John Donat recovering at the five. But the Tigers, instead of having the ball, were called for defensive holding and penalized 15 yards with the Steubers getting a first down at the 49.

Tiger Coach Lee Tressel was not all together pleased with the game but commented that “The boys buckled down and played good ball after the first quarter.

“They hit hard, especially in the second half. Steubenville was just as tough as we thought. The next one will be another battle too.”
* * *
THE TIGERS were a confused lot at the outset of the game. Plays went haywire during their first series after receiving the opening kickoff and Steubenville was able to rip off yardage in short chunks very reminiscent of the 1956 Mansfield team. The Steubers got the ball on a fumble on Massillon’s third play and eight plays later and with only five minutes off the clock, the Big Red have seven points.

Stewart, taking off on a sweep, couldn’t find the handle and Rufus Simmons, Red end, came up with the ball on the Tiger 25.

The Tigers gave ground little by little before a 12-yard pass play, Roach to Weinman, helped put the oval on the eight. Al White and Ed Weinman went to the three from which point Halfback Dave Cunningham veered off left tackle and reached the Promised Land after being hit at the one-yard line. Roach sneaked across for the extra point and the local boys experienced something new – they were behind for the first time this season. And also it was the first TD scored through the Massillon line.

On the kickoffs Steubenville was keeping them short and on the ensuing one, Childers grabbed the ball on the 30 and was downed on the 34. A pass failed and Getz, keeping the ball after a mix-up in the backfield, was downed for a loss of a yard. Troubles still bounded the Tresselmen, it seemed, but an unrehearsed lateral play kept the Tigers from bogging down.

On third down Stewart struck off the right side and just as he was grabbed at the 31, he flipped the pigskin to Benjamin and Ivory scooted goal ward. After this 34-yard foray the Tigers appeared to be sailing a little easier but on the very next play Steubenville’s Neel made a terrific interception of Stewart’s pass in the end zone.
* * *
THE PASS was intended for Childers but Neel, leaping high, came down with the ball for a touchback. Starting from their own 20, the hosts had their fans clamoring for another score. White, Neel and Weinman turned the ends and George Hugus and Dave Cunningham hit the middle as the Big Red rolled to the Tiger 39 before the first period came to a close.

They might have gone all the way but with fourth and one at the 35 Neel tried the right side, and Williamson barreled through to toss the runner for a two-yard deficit. However, Steubenville got possession again three plays later as Benjamin muffed a pitch-out and fell down trying to recover. Dave Cunningham pounced on it for Steubenville at the 36 but again the orange nad black got tough.

On third down Corky Pledgure came up to smack Roach down with a 10-yard loss and he punted on the next play, his boot going out of bounds at the Tiger 14.

Thanks to a nicely executed pass play, the Bengals zoomed to their first score in seven plays. After Stewart and Benjamin made a first down at the 26, the former whizzed for 10 yards to the 36. Beiter gained four and Benjamin five as he just missed a first down. On the next play, a 43-yard pass hit the bullseye.
* * *
GETZ did the tossing and Childers the catching with Clyde pulling it in at the 30 and going down to the 12. A delay-of-game penalty against the Big Red moved it to the seven and from that point Stewart found a hole at left tackle and raced across standing up. Joe Sparma came in and they lined up for a placement but Sparma took a direct, but high pass from center and twirled into the end zone where Childers was all-alone on the left side. The tie score at 4:48 was followed by the play that will be talked about for a while.

Childers kicked off and the ball landed near Steubenville’s Neel around the four. He went back into the end zone to retrieve it but just before he got up to the final stripe Heimann brought him crashing to the ground. A touchback was ruled and the Steubers began operating from the 20.
They made three first downs, one on the ground, one on a defensive holding penalty and one on a 24-yard pass. The holding penalty was ruled when the host club stalled at the 34 and Roach punted. The ball didn’t go far, though, as Williamson blocked it and Center Dan Swartz recovered for the Tigers at the Steuber 25. However, the penalty gave the host team the ball on the 49 and on the last play of the half a reverse pass, Roach to Hugus, was good to the 36.
* * *
ON THE SIXTH play after the second half kickoff Williamson recovered a Big Red fumble at the Red 46 and a few minutes later Tiger fans were able to make plenty of noise.

Benjamin, on a sweep, banged for 27 yards to the 19 before Allen made three, Benjamin six, Stewart four (on a third and a foot situation), Benjamin five and then Stewart one for the tie-breaking touchdown. Hase McKey came in to boot the extra point to make it 14-7 about halfway through the quarter.

After the next kickoff Steubenville had to punt and at the end of the period the Bengals were well on their way to pay dirt again.

Benjamin fumbled Roach’s punt at the 30 but returned 16 yards to the 46. Beiter, Benjamin and Stewart got some running help from Anthony and Jerry Allen as the Tigers advanced for a clincher.

Before the end of the period Anthony, on option plays, ran twice for 10 yards and Allen inserted an eight-yard gain. On the first play of the last panel Anthony kept again for six and Benjamin got a yard for first and goal at the one.

Beiter then scored, hitting a maze of youthful gladiators on the right side, and it didn’t matter much when McKey’s placement went to the right.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE was forced to punt after the kickoff but got the pigskin back as Neel intercepted Getz’s pass intended for Ron Williams. Aided by a 31-yard pass play Roach to Weinman, a roughness penalty (piling on) against the Tigers and then an off-side call against the visitors, the Steubers planted the ball on the locals’ 12 before the Bengals stiffened.

Sub Fullback Tom Cunningham was held to a gain of two on a sweep. White dropped a throw from Roach and then Cornelius Clark broke up a peg intended for White in the end zone. On fourth down Toach hit White on a screen pass to the left but the receiver was stopped shy of the first down and with 4:08 remaining the only job the Tigers had was to run out the clock.

But they didn’t fool around.

Stewart swept the left side and was almost away for a real longie but the defenders had the angle and the hard-running righthalf was nailed after a 27-yard gain. Benjamin followed with a 12-yard run and then a 14-yarder. A clipping penalty was digested as Getz tossed to Benjamin for a gain of 24 yards to the 30.

Five plays later it was on the Big Red 29 with only 25 seconds remaining in the game. Benjamin dashed to pay dirt as a double reverse, with Ivory doing some heady running, completely fooled the Steubenville defense. McKey again kicked to the right on the conversion attempt.

After the kickoff, an onside try by Childers who downed the ball short of the necessary 10 yards, Steubenville had time for one more play, Roach went back to pass but a host of Tigers grassed him 15-yards back of the line of scrimmage and as the Red quarterback was hit, the siren signaled the Tigers’ fourth-straight win and Steubenville’s second loss in four starts.

Steubenville, which returned to the Tiger schedule after an absence of two years, has not beaten Massillon since 1931. The series now stands 18-2-1.

The summary:

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Simmons, Milosevich, Sizemore, Hutter.
TACKLES – Anderson, Lewis, Walton, Campbell, Speaker.
GUARDS – Gianamore, Farmer, Pierce, Deiderich.
CENTERS—Barren, Fisher.
QUARTERBACKS – Roach, Crossley.
HALFBACKS – White, D. Cunningham, Weinman, Neel.
FULLBACKS – Hugue, T. Cunningham.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Hagan, Snavely, Pierce, Dean.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, A. Slicker, Donat, Halter, Brownlee.
GUARDS – Heine, Heimann, Bednar, McKey, Taylor.
CENTERS – Swartz, Williamson
QUARTERBACKS – Getz, Anthony, Sparma.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Allen, Snively, Clark,
Mitchell, Pledgure, Lawson.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Reese, Kanney.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 7 7 12 26
Steubenville 7 0 0 0 7

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Stewart (2), runs-7; Beiter run-1; Benjamin run-29.
Extra points – Childers (pass); McKey (placement).

Steubenville scoring:
Touchdown – D. Cunningham run-3.
Extra point – Roach, run.

STATISTICS
Mass. Steub.
First downs, rushing 16 6
First downs, passing 2 3
First downs, penalties 0 2
First downs, total 18 11
Yards gained, running plays 283 115
Yards lost, running plays 11 42
Net yardage, running plays 272 73
Passes attempted 5 7
Passes completed 2 4
Passes had intercepted 2 0
Yards returned, int. passes 0 -4
Yards gained, passing 67 77
Total net yards 330 150
Number of kickoff returns 2 3
Yards, kickoff returns 4 71
Average length of kickoff returns 2 23.6
Number of punt returns 2 0
Yardage, punt returns 11 0
Average length of punt returns 5.5 32
Number of punts 0 3
Total yardage on punts 0 100
Average length of punts 0 33.3
Number of penalties 6 4
Yards lost on penalties 60 20
Number of fumbles 3 2
Own fumbles recovered 3 1
Ball lost on fumble 2 1

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1957: Massillon 28, Alliance 6

Tigers Smash Alliance Aviators 28-6
Massillon Gridders Excel In Blocking And Tackling

By CHARLIE POWELL

Most football games are won by superior blocking and tackling.

Last night the Massillon Tigers did a jolly good job of pasting Alliance and in doing so should have made believers out of themselves – that they can get the job done by throwing their weight into those fundamentals that are as old as the game itself.

They did not dallying, either in opening up wide paths for a classy corps of ball carriers or jamming a monkey wrench into the Alliance offense. They were determined to win and win they did, 28-6, sending the Aviators down to their first defeat and hiking their own stock in Ohio pigskin circles.
* * *
EVEN BEFORE the 15,762 fans saw a minute of action at Tiger stadium; even before the season began, this one loomed as a paper-thin issue. There were many possibilities and even without the assumptions and the intangibles the game figured to be pretty bloomin’ close

But much to Massillon’s joy, it wasn’t. How much more lop-sided can you get?

The Tigers had a first period bid thwarted but then tuned up with a safety and a touchdown in the second quarter, added six more points early in the third period and on the first play of the final stanza the orange and black had a total of 21 points while the stunned Aviators still had a great big zero to show for their efforts.

Lee Tressel’s boys stood out like a walrus at a goldfish ball.
* * *
THEY SPLURGED to 21 first downs. On land and in the air they accumulated 387 yards, 338 by rushing. A defense as tough as a two-bit steak made the vaunted Aviator running game as tame as a kitten.

Fullback Chuck Beiter played his best game of the young season and the halfbacks, Ivory Benjamin and Gene Stewart, popped through and around the Alliance line with reckless abandon. This trio alone accounted for 286 yards and Benjamin and Stewart divided the four touchdowns.

Bob Getz, the stocky senior, moved in at quarterback midway in the second period and the Tigers then started the massacre but both Mark Anthony and Joe Sparma gave tidy, if not spectacular, performances.
* * *
UP FRONT there were a lot of stouties…the job of pointing out one or two “stars” will be left to the foolhardy. The situation was the same on defense. All played hard, heads-up ball. But to overlook the work of Linebackers Beiter and Roger Reese and flanker Leaman Williamson would mean an apology or two. They were outstanding, to say the least, but their tasks were softened by their hustling teammates.

One good thing about Alliance was its linebackers, Harry Angle, Tom Goosby and Les Traver. They did most of the tackling for Mel Knowlton’s team, a team that could do little right against this fighting gang of Tigers.

Coach Tressel was “real pleased” with his boys.

“They hit hard. They wanted to win and I guess desire always counts.”

“We maintained possession of the ball and that helped our defense,” he said.
* * *
FOR THE RECORDS, the Tigers had the ball for 64 running and passing plays. Alliance had it for 32 plays.

Tressel also praised the defensive stalwarts who limited the enemy to six first downs (four by passing) and a net of 44 yards. The opposition has yet to score on the ground against Massillon.

“All the quarterbacks looked good although Getz was probably the best tonight. Mark wasn’t too sharp at the beginning because the Alliance boys were yelling and drowning out his signals.”

“Several times the ball was snapped on the wrong count,” he added.

Tressel is never one to go completely overboard.

“The season is still young and we don’t want to make the mistake of looking too far ahead. We play Steubenville next week and we should take them one at a time,” he said.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE got back on the victory trail by walloping Youngstown Rayen 53-7 last night. Steuber scouts here last night asserted that the Big Red outplayed Weirton last week but that a couple mistakes gave the West Virginians a one-point decision.

Apparently Alliance geared its defense to stop Beiter and Benjamin but both boys had a big hand in the mop-up. Beiter averaged six yards per try and Benjamin, who now has scored seven touchdowns, averaged five.

Stewart, however, bore the brunt of the ground work. He carried 14 times and gained 109 yards – that’s almost eight yards a crack – with his 45-yard foray on the first play of the final quarter giving the Tigers plenty of steam.

Halfback Jerry Allen came into action late and averaged over eight yards a try as he toted five times.

On the other hand Alliance’s touted runners, Gary Wilson, Bob Brown and Dick Plummer (with pre-game averages of 5.2, 8.0 and 8.6, respectively), made little headway against the swash-buckling Tiger defenders. Wilson carried five times for 18 yards, Brown 10 times for 20 and Plummer four time for nine.
* * *
AFTER AN EXCHANGE of punts in the initial round, the Bengals gave an idea of things to come.

Srarting from their own 23, they stuck to the ground with Anthony in the pilot’s position to control the ball the rest of the period.

Anthony, Beiter, Benjamin and Stewart handled the running chores and the locals carved out four first downs to reach the Alliance 27. But after Benjamin made three, a holding penalty put them back on the 39 and the drive fizzled out. There was no hole on the right side and Benjamin made only three and on fourth down Anthony had to “eat” the ball as he went back to pass.

On the first play of the second canto the Tigers punted but Alliance was forced to kick back after a holding penalty set the blue-shirted team back to its own four-yard line. End Roy Allen’s kick was grounded on the Massillon 42 and the first two Tiger points were not long in coming. At the Alliance 43, the Bengal attacked stalled and lanky Clyde Childres punted again. The ball soared to the one where it was fielded by Brown, who was trapped in the end zone by Guard Pete Heimann. As he was tackled Brown fumbled and the ball squirted into the arms of another Alliance player who was immediately tackled by Al Slicker and with 8:22 remaining in the half it was 2-0.

And so Alliance had to kick off from its own 20. Beiter returned 12 yards to midfield and the Tigers started clicking again, digesting a holding penalty on the way. Beiter ran twice for a total of 10 before Benjamin whizzed for 12, then 10, then another 12. The Tigers were pounding at the 18 but then Beiter fumbled after barreling to the nine and Tackle Archie Joseph grabbed the ball out of the air and Alliance had the oval at its own 10.
* * *
THE AVIATORS ran seven plays before Allen, who did a terrific job punting (but his were only slightly better than Childer’s booming boots), kicked dead at the Massillon 49. This time the Tigers were not to be stopped.

After Benjamin gained a yard, Stewart winged one of his long ones. Benjamin caught the ball on the Aviator 40, hurdled one would-be tackler and twisted away from another before they managed to bring him down on the nine. The play was good for 41 yards and was the big play the Tigers needed. Beiter got one and Benjamin two before the latter tallied on a dandy play.

Getz, who had replaced Anthony after the punt, beautifully faked a give to Beiter who in turn faked a thrust off tackle. Alliance converged on the big boy but he didn’t have the ball. Ivory did, though, and his six-yard run was fairly easy. Sparma came in to try the extra point, his kick was blocked, and it was 8-0 with only 40 seconds remaining in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff Wilson fumbled and Williamson, a boy who kept gumming the works for Alliance all night, recovered at the Aviator 35. With 35 seconds left, Getz passed but the ball wound up in the possession of Angle who returned to the 21 before he lost the ball. However, a teammate recovered and the visitors kept for one more play. On a double reverse Brown appeared to be off to the races but slipped as he cut the corner and had to settle for a yard.
* * *
IN THE SECOND half Alliance picked up only a total of one yard on the ground and the first time Knowlton’s crew had the ball they finished minus two yards before Allen had to punt.

A fine return by sub halfback Jim Snively set the stage for the Tigers to make it 15-0 with only four minutes gone in the third period.

Allen, aided by four cracking blocks, returned from 39 to the Alliance 43 and in six plays the Tresselmen had their second TD. The big play was Benjamin’s 13-yard drive off tackle and the next play saw Stewart bang off the opposite side for the last four yards – carrying a defender into the end zone – and Sparma’s placement made the score read 15-0.

Alliance then took to the air and two straight pegs by Walt Zingg gained 30. But then two running plays made only two yards and once again Alliance was forced to punt. Massillon punted back after one first down on a 13-yarder by Stewart and Allen punted again after Zingg was caught twice attempting to pass. Benjamin returned the last punt to the Aviator 49 and on the next play, with Anthony at the throttle, another touchdown was registered by the Tigers.
* * *
STEWART caught the Aviators flat-footed as he cut around left end and got into the clear at the 34. He wriggled out of the grasp of one Alliance player at the 15 and went across standing up. Sparma’s kick was blocked but it was 21-0 and the Bengals had it iced.

The Aviators, although it was too late, struck back quickly. The kickoff was returned to the Aviator 37 and Zingg passed to Brown for 16 yards, then the same duo clicked for a touchdown strike. Brown got behind the defense, caught the ball on the run at the nine and trotted past the final stripe to complete a 47-yard scoring play. Jerry Quick’s placement was low and it was 21-6 at 11:15.

Apparently this only riled the Tigers.

They took the following kickoff and marched 65 yards for another insurance TD. Allen fought his way for 14, Beiter used his blocking to advantage for 15 and Getz passed to Allen for eight yards to help move the pigskin to the three from which point Benjamin tallied on a sweep. Hase McKey kicked the 28th point.

Alliance punted after making six yards in three plays and the Bengals went to work again, only to have time run out on them. A roughing penalty against Alliance plus runs by Allen and Stewart advanced the ball to the 12 with eight seconds remaining. Sparma’s pass was too far for Benjamin but there was time for one more play after the Aviators were penalized to the seven for encroachment. On the last play of the game Reese became a ball carrier. He hit off the right side and was stopped only inches short of pay dirt.

End Bobo Hagan of the Tigers did not play because of an injury and a sprained ankle sustained in practice Wednesday confined Al Pierce to limited duty. During the game Bill Zorn, continuing to improve as a defensive end, suffered a badly sprained ankle.

The summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Mitchell, Steele, A. Pierce, Snavely, Zorn.
TACKLES – A. Slicker, Slabaugh, Halter, Bordner, Brownlee, Donat.
GUARDS – B. Kasunick, Heimann, Heine, McKey, J. Kasunick, Taylor, Cook.
CENTERS – Williamson, Swartz, Reese.
QUARTERBACKS – Anthony, Getz, Sparma.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Allen, Pledgure, Snively, Clark.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Kanney.

ALLIANCE
ENDS – Traver, Allen.
TACKLES – Johnson, Oprandi, Joseph.
GUARDS – Goosby, Coldsnow, Quick.
CENTERS – Furcolow, Giesse.
QUARTERBACK – Zingg.
HALFBACKS – Wilson, Brown, Venables.
FULLBACKS – Angle, Plummer.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 8 7 13 28
Alliance 0 0 0 6 6

Scoring:
Massillon Touchdowns – Benjamin 2 (runs of 6 and 3 yards); Stewart 2 (runs of 45 and 4 yards);

Massillon Extra points – Sparma (placement); McKey (placement), safety.

Alliance Touchdown – Brown (pass, 47 yards).

STATISTICS
Mass. All.
First downs, rushing 18 2
First downs, passing 2 4
First downs, penalties 1 0
First downs, total 21 6
Yards gained, running plays 353 58
Yards lost, running plays 15 14
Net yardage, running plays 338 44
Passes attempted 4 7
Passes completed 2 4
Passes had intercepted 1 0
Yards returned, int. passes 0 4
Yards gained passing 49 93
Total yardage, running, passing 387 137
Number of kickoff returns 3 5
Yardage, kickoff returns 35 50
Number of punt returns 4 1
Yardage, punt returns 40 2
Average length of punt returns 10 2
Number of punts 4 7
Average length of punts 38.2 39.5
Number of penalties 3 6
Yards lost on penalties 35 65
Number of fumbles 4 6
Own fumbles recovered 3 4
Ball lost on fumbles. 1 2

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1957: Massillon 19, Canton Lincoln 0

Tigers’ Long Runs Beat Lincoln 19-0
Bengal Team Shows Improvement As It Chalks Up Win No. 2

By CHARLIE POWELL

Ah, but there was joy in Tigertown.

Reason No. 1 – the good warriors of Washington high turned back the challenge of Canton Lincoln for a prized hard-earned victory. Reason No. 2 – the failure of that “other” team from the burg to the east.

Yep, while Massillon’s explosive ball toters served as a hypo in the 19-0 conquest of the Lions here last night, the mighty McKinley Bulldogs ran into more than they could handle and their 21-game winning streak came to an abrupt end, 31-7, at the hands of a do-nothing-wrong Warren crew.

Program Cover

So there was plenty to laugh and talk about. In fact McKinley’s setback was just as much the center of conversation today as the Tigers’ second win in as many starts and their 12th in a row over a Lincoln team.

The noise from most of the 11,954 fans at the stadium last night was good noise every time Massillon scored or a member of the orange and black turned in a long run. But you should have heard the roar when the house heard the announcement that Warren was paddling the Bulldogs at the half.
* * *
RIGHT HERE and now let’s add a sober note: the Tigers will meet Warren here Oct. 25. Prior to that date they will face stern tests in Alliance, Steubenville, Cleveland Benedictine and Mansfield, in that order.

It will be out of the frying pan into the fire because Alliance comes here next week. Apparently, the Tigers have still a long way to go. Neither the offense or the defense are up to snuff in Coach Lee Tressel’s book. He said as much following last night’s fracas, a hard, cleanly played one on a soggy turf.

But don’t get Tressel wrong. Last night the Tigers played a good ball club. The Lions have plenty of size and speed and it will require them some time, also, to function without some ping in the motor.

If you didn’t before, you will know now that Lincoln was no push-over by looking at the statistics.

The Lions made 11 first downs to Massillon’s 10 and it was close in total net yards gained with the Tigers grinding out 211 to Lincoln’s 186. Lincoln completed three of seven passes for 39 yards while neither of two Tiger aerials clicked.

The offense smoothed out a little bit and Tressel said, “we didn’t make as many mistakes offensively but on defense there were more glaring errors.”

However, he quickly pointed out that Lincoln was a better team than Akron South. The Lions kept shifting their trenchmen and linebackers and 9 and 10-man lines frequently greeted the attackers.
* * *
THE TRESSELMEN sat on their lead after a pair of fancy dashes by Ivory Benjamin and Jim Hershberger’s place kick made it 13-0 at the half. With conditions as they were, they weren’t taking any chances by going to the air lanes.

The defense kept the goal line uncrossed after taking its belt up a notch on three different occasions. Three times the invaders had the Tigers with their backs to the wall with drives reaching the orange 3, 9 and 17-yard lines.

Lincoln controlled the ball most of the first, third and fourth quarters and the entire final period was played in Massillon territory.

But the break-away backs spelled the difference.

With less than two minutes gone in the second panel, Benjamin showed his heels on a
37-yard touchdown scamper. A few minutes later it was his 54-yard punt return that put the locals in business. They didn’t score that time as the bid ended at the Lion 13 but Al Pierce, the scrappy junior end, recovered a fumble and the Tigers had a second touchdown as Benjamin turned the right flank for the final 17 yards.

Sub Halfback Jerry Allen, one of the fastest boys on the squad, came off the bench early in the third period and inserted a 35-yard jaunt that paved the way for a 10-yard TD run by another sub Halfback, Corky Pledgure.

That was it. Massillon stopped a Lincoln bid at the nine just before the end of the period, then spent the rest of the game keeping the Paul Dellebra-coached outfit away from pay dirt.
* * *
ALTHOUGH the Tigers failed to muster more than one sustained drive, the blocking showed improvement over the opening game.

There was quite a few telltale downfield blocks on the long gainers by Gene Stewart, Benjamin, Allen, et al.

Mark Anthony went most of the way at quarterback and there was little difficulty in the timing and ball-handling departments. However, Chuck Beiter’s running was noticeably absent.

The muscular fullback carried only five times for 23 yards as Tressel gave him as much rest as possible. An oxygen mixture alleviated his asthma.

Benjamin, the club’s chief ground gainer, made 92 yards in 14 trips with the mail while Stewart netted 29 in three carries and Allen 36 in three. For Lincoln Saimes carried nine for 42, DeOrio 13 for 34 and Lyke 10 for 39.
* * *
THE CANTONIANS gave a display of their tight T offense after receiving the
game-opening kickoff. From their own 38 they marched all the way to the Tiger two as Vic DeOrio, George Saimes, Dick VanBethuysen, Jerry Pikna, Jerry Lyke and Tom Dinkins hit the inside.

A pass play, VanBenthuysen to end Gary Anderson, was good for 15 yards and all the runs did not gain more than five yards on any one play. Lincoln had four downs to make the last 11 yards but the Bengals repulsed the enemy and with 4:39 remaining in the quarter took over at the two.

Massillon’s blocking was conspicuous by its absence and the first time the Tigers had the pigskin and they were forced to punt. Dinkins punted right back with his boot going into the end zone. And from their own 20, the orangemen started to get serious.

After Beiter made one, Anthony sped for 10 on a keeper around the right side and on the first play of the second frame. Stewart hit off left tackle and picked up 18 yards with Saimes, the last man having a chance to get him, bringing him down on the 49. Anthony kept again, this time for 14 yards to put the ball on the 37 and then came Benjamin’s first touchdown which broke the ice.

Ivory hit over right tackle on a quick opener, went straight ahead for 10 yards, then veered toward the east sidelines. He stepped on the gas and easily outran his pursuers into the end zone. Sophomore Halfback Jim Hershberger came in to boot the extra point and it was 7-0 at 10:34.
* * *
THE VISITORS had to punt after gaining nine and Benjamin had the crowd roaring with his 54-yard return of the kick by Dinkins, Ivory fielded the ball at the 44, faked a reverse to Jim Snively, and with the help of some nifty blocking, sped to the Lion nine.

But four plays later the locals were on the Lincoln 13 as Lyke sifted in to nail Anthony for a six-yard loss and a bad exchange cost the locals a yard to offset three-yarders by Beiter and Benjamin.

After VanBenthuysen gained one, Lyke fumbled on the next play and Pierce’s recovery gave Massillon possession at the Lion 17. Center Dan Swartz recovered a fumble at the line of scrimmage following a mix-up in the backfield and on the next play the scoreboard figures changed to 13-0.

Benjamin skirted right end and went over standing up as Beiter’s block erased the last defender with a possible chance of stopping the shifty halfback. Hershberger’s kick was low and to the left and the score remained 13-0 with 3:35 left in the period.
* * *
LINCOLN RETURNED the kickoff to its 34 and after making one first down, stuck to the ground to run out the clock in the first half.

At the outset of the third quarter the Canton team was unable to check the Tiger attack.

They marched 71 yards after Snively returned the kickoff by Dinkins to the Tiger 29. Beiter, Benjamin and Stewart advanced the oval to the Lion 39 before Allen, on a sweep, came up with one of the better individual efforts of the night.

The junior speedster ran like a fullback, shedding tacklers right and left, after he got past the line of scrimmage.

Three times he appeared to be stopped but he buzzed to the four before being grassed. Following his 35-yard sprint, Anthony was thrown for a six-yard loss on a keeper but from the 10 Pledgure dashed across and once again it was a block by Beiter, which made the score possible. Hershberger’s kick was blocked by Anderson at 5:35 but it made little difference.

There was a lot of action crammed in the remaining time. The Lions received and went on the prowl with Saimes and Lyke hitting off the tackles effectively. From their own 42 the maroons moved to the Tiger nine. With the Bengals getting tougher by the minute, the Lions picked up only three yards after getting a first and 10 at the 12.

The locals had to punt out and Lincoln set up shop again, this time from the Tiger 40, shortly after the fourth stanza got under way. On the first play of the quarter Allen swept right end but was tripped up at the 18 after a nine-yard gain, otherwise he might have been long gone.

This time Lincoln moved to the Bengal 17 before tackle John Donat smacked Dinkins for an 11-yard loss. Consequently, when Lyke hit end Wilbur Billings on a 15-yard pass play the enemy lacked the necessary yardage for a first down.

Five plays later Anthony tried a jump pass. Lyke intercepted at the 24 but then fumbled and Tom Heine, Tiger guard, grabbed the ball out of the air on the nine and made like a fullback to the Tiger 22. A few moments later the Tigers had to punt and four plays later halfback, Cornelius Clark intercepted a pass by Dinkins and returned from the two to the eight. Sub fullback Scott Kanney picked up nine and Benjamin 11 as the tussle came to a close.

Apparently the Tigers came through without any serious injuries. They played without the services of end Bobo Hagan who has a badly sprained ankle.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Pierce, Snavely, Zorn, Mitchell.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, Slicker, Halter, Donat, Karrenbauer.
GUARDS – Heine, Heimann, Cook, Taylor, J. Kasunick.
CENTERS – Swartz, Reese, Williamson.
QUARTERBACKS – Anthony, Getz.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Pledgure, Clark, Allen, Hershberger, Snively.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Kanney, McKey, Dean.

CANTON LINCOLN
ENDS – Billings, Anderson, Dan English, Wetzel
TACKLES – Thewes, Caughey, McCoul, Shyrock, Thompson.
GUARDS – DePasquale, Baird, Paratore.
CENTERS – Knight, Olson.
QUARTERBACKS – Dinkins, Crowse.
HALFBACKS – VanBenthuysen, Saimes, DeOrio, Dave English.
FULLBACKS – Pikna, Wilson.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 13 6 0 19
Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0

Massillon scoring: Touchdowns – Benjamin 3; Pledgure.

Extra Points – Hershberger (placement)

STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs, rushing 10 10
First downs, passing 0 1
First downs, penalties 0 0
First downs, total 10 11
Yards gained, running plays 243 108
Yards lost, running plays 27 18
Net yardage, running plays 211 147
Passes attempted 2 7
Passes completed 0 3
Passes had intercepted 1 1
Yards returned,
intercepted passes 8 0
Yards gained, passing 0 30
Total net yards,
running, passing 211 186
Number of kickoff returns 1 4
Yards, kickoff returns 15 72
Average length of
kickoff returns 15 18.5
Number of punt returns 1 3
Yardage, punt returns 54 15
Average length of
punt returns 54 5.0
Number of punts 3 2
Total yardage on punts 104 44
Average length of punts 34.6 22.0
Number of penalties 4 0
Yards lost on penalties 30 0
Number of fumbles 3 4
Own fumbles recovered 2 2
Ball lost on fumble 1 2

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1957: Massillon 33, Akron South 0

Tigers Beat Akron South 33-0
Massillon Defense Outshines Offense In Football Opener

By CHARLIE POWELL

The jitters…missed…tackles…missed blocking assignments…fumbles…off-the-beam passes…he zigged when he should’ve zagged…all were evident as the Massillon Tigers blew the lid on a new football season at the stadium Friday night.

Very, very conspicuous also was a Tiger victory – their 11th straight opening triumph – with the count being 33-0 over an out-manned but scrappy Akron South team.

The better part of over 10,000 fans (9,621 paid) toasted the Tigers after they completely outplayed the enemy.

But the orange and black had to work, work, work every inch of the way in a maiden gridiron voyage that was just about as typical as any of them.

Program Cover

Despite the fact that they hit for five touchdowns, three of them by hurryin’ Ivory Benjamin, the home town boys were not too impressive. They simply were not a good offensive football team. Their longest sustained drive of the night was only 35 yards and they never made more than three first downs in any one series of plays but a mixture of long-distance strikes and a fairly soft South defense let them come home without being subject to too much pressure.
* * *
COACH LEE TRESSEL, whose team some time ago indicated that it was far better fixed defensively, had little to say about the offense.

“A look at the statistics reveals quite a difference but it really didn’t seem like we moved the ball that much,” he said.

To this we add that the statistics were deceiving. Before subtracting losses, the Tigers made 305 yards by rushing. But two runs by Benjamin accounted for half of that total.

Tressel was not satisfied with the quarterbacking and it looks like there will be a lot of work ahead for the trio which took their turns guiding the club last night. Starter Bob Getz, Mark Anthony and Joe Sparma had looked like fine passers in pre-season scrimmages but weren’t consistent in their first real test. Tressel found fault in the blocking department and answered “could be” when somebody reasoned that the offense might have been sharper had not injuries and sickness kept the team from practicing as a unit more often.
* * *
THE TIGER TUTOR smiled when the talk shifted to defense.
Anchored by the line-backing of Chuck Beiter and Roger Reese, the Tigers limited the Cavaliers to two first downs over land and a net total of 38 yards.

“We’ll know who did the jobs after we see the movies,” Tressel said.

It might be said, too, that the Bengals appeared to let down after clicking for two quick touchdowns…both gifts after South fumbled the ball away deep in its own back yard.

With only about two minutes gone, Benjamin scored the first of his three TDs. It came three plays after Reese recovered a fumble at the Cavalier nine.

Beiter, limited to light work because his asthma took the wind out of his sails early in the evening, tallied the second touchdown with just two seconds remaining in the first
period – eight plays after he had recovered a South bobble at the enemy 35.
* * *
THE SCOREBOARD timer showed only six seconds left in the first half when Benjamin winged his way 74 yards and clinching touchdowns were added in the third and fourth quarters – by Benjamin on a 10-yard run midway in the third frame and by Ron Williams, the big right end, on a 37yard pass play with Halfback Gene Stewart on the gunning end on the first play of the final stanza.

The final quarter was a real comedy of errors. Massillon had two passes intercepted but hauled in four South forwards.

Another look at the figures and we find that Benjamin gained 153 yards in 15 carries while Stewart lugged 10 times for 55 yards and Beiter seven for 54.

Corky Pledgure, who has been waging a battle with Stewart for the right half job, came up with the second longest jaunt of the evening when he raced 50 yards to the South 30 in the last quarter. However, the nice run was wiped off the books by an in motion penalty against the locals.

South was not the worst team ever to appear here. The Cavaliers got themselves in hot water right off the bat and never completely recovered. Otherwise, the battle that was predicted might have materialized.
* * *
ON THE THIRD play of the game Halfback Willie Gray fumbled, Reese recovered, and the Tigers had possession on the South nine. After Benjamin lost a yard on a sweep, Stewart came back with six at the middle and then on third down, Benjamin found a hole at right tackle and followed Beiter through and into pay dirt. Sophomore Hase McKey tried the extra point but the ball hit the left upright and bounced back.

South received again and made one first down before wingback Henry Adams, the team’s hardest runner, fumbled on a double reverse attempt. McKey covered the oval this time but after four plays picked up 19 yards, the Tigers lost the ball on an interception.

Bob Getz’s toss was short at the South nine and Rudy Bell, defensive halfback, grabbed the pigskin and returned to the South 34. Adams recovered his own fumble at the line of scrimmage before Quarterback Bill McFrey’s fumble was recovered by Beiter at the Invader 35.

Beiter made 21 yards on two runs and Stewart got four before a three-yard loss put the ball on the 13. Then Mark Anthony went to the air. With South converging on a short man, end Clyde Childers went deep and snagged the ball, fighting his way to the one from which point Beiter smashed over right guard for a score with only two seconds left in the quarter. McKey’s placement this time was low and to the right.

Massillon indicated that it was going to get tougher the first time the Tigers had possession in the second canto. From the 26 Benjamin got six and Stewart three before the slippery Ivory, helped by Tom Heine’s fine block, rambled for 27 to the South 38. But after Benjamin came back with two and Beiter lost four on a sweep, the ball went over to the blue and white clad forces again.
* * *
GETZ HIT Williams down the middle but after pulling a juggling act, Williams fumbled (after a 15-yard gain) and South recovered. South couldn’t move the Orange forward-wall and had to punt but the local lads relinquished possession again on another pass interception.

Then came Massillon’s best defensive performance of the night. As a pass, Johnny Williams to Adams, was good for 25 yards the visitors moved to a first and 10 goal situation at the five. Adams was held for no gain and Gray got three on a dive play, then the same lad was stopped at the line of scrimmage two more times and the Tigers assumed command at the two.

They moved out, with Beiter making 10 on a trap and Stewart nine on an off-tackle slant, and were on the 26 when Benjamin took it off the right side. Given nifty blocking, he hit the jackpot – twisting away from one defender and then giving another a hip. One Akron boy appeared to be catching up around the Cavalier 30 but Ivory just shifted into overdrive and went in unmolested. There were only six seconds remaining in the half when McKey booted the extra point to make it 19-0.

The Tresselman received the third period kickoff and advanced from their own 17 to the 47 but were forced to punt. During this effort Benjamin raced for 11 on an option play, for 10 off tackle and Beiter got 10 up the middle.
* * *
CHILDER’S PUNTED 41 yards to the South 12 and the Cavaliers got back to the 33 before fumbling again. This time Leaman Williamson, the defensive left end, recovered at the South 27.

Steward whizzed for 17 before Benjamin followed his blockers beautifully for 10 yards and his third six-pointer. At 4:33 Jim Hershberger, another sophomore kicker, came in to convert.

On the last play of the quarter Bill Woodard’s punt was grounded on the South 37.

On the first play of the final session the Stewart-Williams combination wound up the scoring. Stewart took the ball on a reverse and as he was hit, threw far into the right corner. Williams made a nonchalant catch at the two and stepped past the final stripe at 11:52. Hershberger again converted.

A lot could be said about the rest of the game but all the action was meaningless. Neither side could work up anything resembling a sustained drive. It was in this period that the Tigers intercepted four South passes – two by safety man Cornelius Clark, one by middle guard Noan Taylor, and the other by big Bill Zorn after Taylor had batted the ball.

Second and third stringers played most of the quarter.

The summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Snavely, Zorn, Hagan, Pierce, Mitchell, Dean.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, A. Slicker, Donat, Karrenbauer, Brownlee, Bordner.
GUARDS – Haine, Heimann, McKey, Taylor, J. Kasunick, Cook.
CENTERS – Swartz, Williamson, Shilling, Reese.
QUARTERBACKS – Getz, Anthony, Sparma.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Pledgure, Snively, Clark, Garcia,
Young, Hershberger.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Kanney.

AKRON SOUTH
ENDS – Toomer, Wims, Scott, Bell.
TACKLES – Woodard, Bioniarz, Slater, Ivey.
GUARDS – Green, Pearson, Burrell, Spencer.
CENTERS – Power, Nicolinio.
QUARTERBACKS – McFrye, Campbell, Williams, Carruthers.
HALFBACKS – Haynes, Owens, Stradwick, Smith, Gsellman, Bell, Gray.
FULLBACK – Adams.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 12 7 7 7 – 33
Akron South 0 0 0 0 – 0

OFFICIALS
Referee – Leo Less, Youngstown.
Umpire – John Russ, Youngstown.
Head Linesman – Ed Corsi, Shaker Heights.
Field Judge – Andy Moran – Berea

Scoring plays: Massillon
First period – Benjamin, 4-yard run; Beiter 1-yard plunge.
Second period – Benjamin 74-yard run.
Third period – Benjamin 10-yard run.
Fourth period – Williams (pass from Stewart), 37 yards.

Extra Points: Massillon – McKey (placement); Hershberger 2 (placements)

STATISTICS
Mass. Ak. South
First downs, rushing 11 2
First downs, passing 3 4
First downs, penalties 1 1
First downs, total 15 7
Plays 57 49
Rushing yardage 305 45
Yards lost, rushing 24 7
Net yards, rushing 281 38
Passing yardage 76 82
Total yardage 356 120
Passes Attempted 12 23
Passes Completed 4 5
Passes had intercepted 4 4
Fumbles 5 10
Own fumbles recovered 3 5
Punts 1 2
Punts, average 41 20
Penalties 7 2
Yards penalized 55 10

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1956: Massillon 7, Canton McKinley 34

McKinley Has Too Many Guns For Tigers
Martin Ball Of Fire Against Tresselman

By CHARLIE POWELL

A COMBINATION OF the irresistible force and the immovable object.

That would be an apropo description for Canton McKinley’s Bulldogs who, before over 23,000 fans at Tiger stadium Saturday afternoon, provided proof that they are worthy of the title, “1956 Oho state football champions.”

The best ball club to face a Massillon team in many a year and probably the best of all McKinley arrays without a doubt played its best game of the season and proceeded to paddle the out-manned but always-fighting Tigers by a stunning 34-7 count.

Let’s give McKinley credit. It had the horses as it:
1. Went undefeated for a second straight year and extended the school record to 20 triumphs in a row.
2. Beat Massillon for a second season in a row, the first time this trick has been pulled since 1933.
3. Handed the Tigers their first loss on home sod for the first time since Mansfield turned the tide in 1949.
4. Gave a Massillon team its worst beating since the 35-0 thrashing of 1942.
5. Registered 34 points to hike its school record to a season total of 490 points in 10 games. The old mark was 487 points in 11 contests.
6. And captured the state title for a second straight year, another first for a Bulldog team.

Program Cover

According the Bulldogs the championship and the Rutgers Hall of Fame trophy that goes with it is only a matter of formality.

The loss for the Tigers was the sixth over the last 10 campaigns and it marked the first time since 1947 the Bengals dropped two in one year. The Tiger record of eight wins, two setbacks, is the school’s worst since the 6-4 mark of 1947.

McKinley thus scored as many points in one game as it did against the Bengals in the seven previous years combined. And the win was the Bulldogs’ 27th in the ancient and colorful rivalry. Massillon, which has been the victor 29 times (five battles ended in ties) now has won 22, lost 12 and tied three over the last 36 years.

It was the ninth straight year the Tigers and Bulldogs had met with the state title riding on the outcome. Up until last season the locals had grabbed the brass ring seven consecutive years.

And now let us give credit to the local team, the more inexperienced and immature of the two.
* * *
LEE TRESSEL’S aggregation might have folded after being hit so hard early in the game but the Tigers never gave up trying. And when they realized they were a beaten ball club they fought back even harder.

But some bad breaks, their own mistakes and the stout McKinley defense left them a cropper.

Coach Tressel said the fumble on the first play after the kickoff following McKinley’s initial touchdown hurt his team immensely and who is there to disagree? There was another fumble after the second Bulldog TD and the Tigers were in a hole they were never able to get out of.

Three fumbles lost to the enemy and two pass interceptions stalled the Tiger attack and Tressel attributed the local defense to a “good McKinley offense.”

“They were a great ball club Saturday but I felt we were better than we showed. We certainly could have done a better job,” he said.

That sterling McKinley offense was centered around Quarterback Ron “Ike” Grimsley, the magician who directed the Bulldogs in his usual fine fashion; All-Ohio Bob Williams, who was simply great on defense and plucked two Massillon passes out of the air and also pounced on a Tiger fumble, all in the third period; little Phil Martin, a will-o-wisp who wrecked the Tigers with his sensational running in the first half; and Wayne Fontes, his running mate at halfback who ran equally as well inside as he did outside.

The mercury-footed Martin tallied on runs of five, 57 and 77 yards in that order and finished up the day with 191 yards in 15 carries – an average of 12.7 yards per trip. Fontes made 95 in 16 runs and Grimsley gained 81 in 14. The latter’s passing wasn’t anything to brag about but the Bulldogs were hardly pressed into going to the sky.

Mike Hershberger, the boy with a man-sized heart, led the Tiger attack despite the fact he was hampered by his bad knee. He carried 13 times for 68 yards, blocked with abandon and turned in an outstanding defensive game. Speedy Ivory Benjamin collected 74 yards in 15 carries and “Chuck” Beiter, took over for Chester Brown at fullback and picked up 43 yards in eight trips. Even for a losing cause, there were other Tiger stats.
* * *
THE BULLDOGS, who did very little wrong, went on the prowl after they won the toss of the coin and elected to receive. They pounded off the tackles and skirted the end like demons for 14 plays.

Fontes too Tim Krier’s kickoff on the 22 and got back to the McKinley 35 from which point Grimsley went on the air. Big Williams got behind the defenders at the Tiger 35 but the pass sailed over his head and the invaders then decided to hoof it.

Fontes had a hole at the left side for 10 yards and four plays later, on a fourth and two situation, blasted through center for four yards as he kept his team rolling at the Tiger 43. Only Hershberger kept Grimsley from going all the way and after Ike’s 16-yarder the Bulldogs chopped off short yardage to reach the five. At 6:01 Martin, with the aid of a nice block by Fontes, raced around the right flank for the first Bulldog TD and Grimsley followed with the first of his three conversions.

This had happened to the Tigers on many other occasions in the past and usually the Orangemen retaliated with a bang. But after Brown returned Williams’ kickoff 13 yards to the Massillon 38, Benjamin fumbled after dashing eight-yards.

Linebacker Jesse Chenault covered the pigskin at the Bulldog 38 and McKinley was in business again. After Fontes and Fullback Arnold Lewis made two a piece, Martin wowed the crowd and stunned the Tigers again. He got off a 56-yard pay dirt jaunt by going off right tackle, working himself loose from three would-be tacklers and cutting away from two more. In the clear at the Orange 40, he raced to the end zone without too much effort. Grimsley again converted with (text unreadable) the period.

Less than a minute later Rinehart fumbled and McKinley had a break again, this time at the Tiger 18. After a 15-yard holding penalty, Grimsley tossed to End Bob Burchfield for 15 yards and from the 13, Grimsley threw again. Martin made a beautiful catch as he fought off two defenders but he was out of the end zone and the Bulldogs were stymied, temporarily anyway.
* * *
IN THE SECOND period, following a punt exchange, Benjamin recovered his own fumble on a punt and from their own 19 the Orangemen picked up steam. They made one first down on the ground and another via the airlanes as a reverse pass, Gene Stewart to End Don Elavsky, netted 19. But from the Bulldog 40 the Tigers had to kick. Hershberger’s kick was taken by Fontes, hit immediately by Benjamin and the ball was on the eight.

Mr. Martin made it 20-0 in a jiffy. After he lost two, Fontes picked his way for 17 yards to the 23 to set the stage for Martin’s third touchdown dash of the half. On a 77-yarder, the scatback went to his right, faked two defenders out of the way and sped to the end zone.

The Tigers came up with their first real thrust after Washington returned the kickoff to the Bengal 36. Benjamin did a neat bit of running for 19 and Hershberger spun and fought his way for 20 and a first down at the Bulldog 26. Tiger fans were yelling for a score but Massillonians were to be denied this time. Hershberger made three and Benjamin five to make it third and about two at the 18.

Then the Tigers, trying to catch the enemy by surprise, decided to take to the air. Rinehart intended to slip the oval to lanky Clyde Childers but Childers slipped and fell and the smooth Tiger quarterback was forced to “eat it.”

Coach Tressel later explained that the coaches had noticed the McKinley halfbacks coming up fast as the Tigers stayed on the ground. The strategy called for a long throw to Childers but things went haywire as Childers fell and the other eligible receiver, Benjamin, was covered. On the next play Tackle Harry Sylvester knifed in to throw Beiter for a six-yard deficit and the locals’ bid was stopped.

Williams was the fly in the Massillon ointment during the third period. The Tigers had possession four times but twice Williams intercepted a pass and on anther occasion be recovered a fumble.

At the outset of the canto he hauled in a Rinehart pitch and ran back to the Massillon 32. In just six plays the Bulldogs tallied again. Fontes started the drive with a 17-yard sprint and from the four he bulled over to make it
27-0 at 7:41.
* * *
THREE PLAYS after the kickoff Williams covered the Tiger fumble at the Bengal 18 and soon McKinley hit the jackpot for the fifth time. From the 13 Grimsley went back to pass, decided he had to run with it, and run he did. He ran to the left, then cut back toward the west sidelines and wasn’t hit until he crossed the final stripe.

Near the end of the period Fontes punted into the west stands and the Tigers began to percolate from their own 48. Hershberger made eight, Beiter seven and Benjamin made 11 yards on the last play of the session.

Benjamin sandwiched five yards between five by Hershberger for a first down at the 16 and the Tigers weren’t to be shutout even though they lost four on a fumble. Hershberger came back with five before Beiter tallied from the 15. The junior fullback ploughed through right tackle and had good blocking as he scored at 9:40. Davie Richardson converted for the 21st time this season – his 11th one in a row.

After an exchange of punts the Bulldogs began to move again. Hershberger punted, with his beauty going out of bounds at the eight, and the McKinley lads advanced to the Tiger 30 before the game came to a close.

The 22,993 paid admissions brought Massillon’s total attendance for seven home games to 98,159. This was the third largest number to see Tiger teams play at home in modern history.

It was the last football game in a Tiger uniform for 16 boys – Elavsky, Krier, Rinehart, Hershberger, Richardson, Washington, Chester Brown, Bob Brown, Dick Brenner, Joe Wells, Tom Mays, Dick Whitfield, Jim Mercer, Bruce Bixler, Tom Meldrum and Bob Kiplinger. McKinley will lose 12 by graduation, including such boys as Grimsley, Fontes, Bob Williams, Phil Martin, Dick Martins, Dick Roknich, and Burchfield, plus Guard John Ifantides, who will be too old for scholastic competition next fall.

The summary:
MASSILLON – 7
ENDS – Elavsky, Brenner, Hagan, Childers, Wells, Mays.
TACKLES – Mercer, Whitfield, Halter, Bixler, Brownlee.
GUARDS – Meldrum, B. Brown, Heine, Herimann.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart, Stewart.
HALFBACKS – Hershberger, Benjamin, Bivings, Washington, Richardson.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Reese.

McKINLEY – 34
ENDS – B. Williams, Burchfield, Reeves.
TACKLES – Roknich, Paul Martin, Koeliner, Sylvester, S. Williams, Patterson.
GUARDS – Ifantides, Bender, Chenault.
QUARTERBACK – Grimsley.
HALFBACKS – Phil Martin, Fontes.
FULLBACKS – Lewis, D. Martins.

McKinley 14 7 13 0 34
Massillon 0 0 0 7 7

McKinley scoring:
Touchdowns – Phil Martin 3; Fontes, Grimsley.
Extra points – Grimsley 3 (placements).

Massillon scoring:
Touchdown – Beiter.
Extra point – Richardson (placement).

STATISTICS
Massillon McKinley
First downs, rushing 10 17
First downs, passing 1 1
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 11 18
Yards gained rushing 207 396
Yards lost rushing 32 6
Net yards gained rushing 175 392
Yards gained passing 19 28
Total yards gained 192 420
Passes attempted 4 9
Passes completed 1 2
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Times kicked off 2 6
Kickoff average (yards) 35.0 43.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 86 29
Times punted 2 2
Punt average (yards) 31.7 18.5
Punt returns 9yards) 1 -2
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 6 2
Lost fumbled ball 3 0
Penalties 2 6
Yards penalized 6 60

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 35, Akron Garfield 0

Tigers Top Garfield, Turn To Bulldogs
Benjamin Leads Rout As Massillon Hands Presidents 1st Loss

By CHARLIE POWELL

BEAT McKINLEY!

This phrase will be emoted by more Massillon people the next seven days than any other two words in the English language.

BEAT McKINLEY. You heard it before last night’s victory over heretofore undefeated Akron Garfield became official. The enthusiasm and that cry was whipped up in fine fashion after the final gun.

With the scoreboard clock showing a minute and 36 seconds remaining and the Tigers out front by 35-0, which was the way it ended, a big sign, strung from wires between the light standards at the north end of the stadium and reading BEAT McKINLEY was unfurled.

After action ceased a small but spirited group of Tiger fans staged a brief pep rally.

Tiger followers including adults broke out their small BEAT McKINLEY banners. In a few short words they praised the charges of Lee Tressel and staff for another job well
done – then it was BEAT McKINLEY.
* * *
THE BIG ONE, the one the Tigers have been pointing to since that narrow loss to Mansfield, comes off here next Saturday afternoon. All seats have been sold. The gates will open at 12 noon and there will be standing room only. In the events to follow the Orange and Black will be out to avenge last year’s setback by pinning the defeat label on the powerhouse from the city to the east.

If the Tigers do it they should hit the jackpot. What could keep them from regaining that state championship?
BEAT McKINLEY!
Against Garfield before close to 10,000 fans including 9,381 paid, the Orangemen weren’t “up.” Undoubtedly the circumstances prevented them from getting too “high” even though the Presidents had only a couple of ties marring an otherwise perfect mark.

But the locals had more than enough to put the damper on the Prexies. Sparked by twinkle-toed Ivory Benjamin who got great support from Bob Rinehart, Chuck Beiter, Chester Brown, Larry Washington and a host of others, the attack was just about as sharp as any time previously this season. The defense was crisp as the night air.

If you like scythe-like blocking and some teeth-jarring tackling put together with some fancy running, you were satisfied.

True, there were times when it looked like the Garfield ball carriers might have been grassed back of the line of scrimmage or with little yardage to show for their efforts. You can’t have everything, can you?

After all, the Tigers held the invaders to a total of 161 yards – only 23 through the air. And the Prexies had been averaging over six yards per rush.

Coach Tressel couldn’t find much fault with the offense although he agreed that it looked like his charges would “never get started.” Garfield was threatening three times in the opening period but it was completely shackled after that. The Tiger mentor, whose team now has won eight, the last three in a row, had some warm words for the line play, the running of Benjamin, Brown and Beiter, and the ball handling of Rinehart, who completed two of his four passes, one for a touchdown.

The Tigers zipped to a net of 381yards on the ground with Benjamin making 182 in 16 carries, Beiter 63 in eight and Brown 50 in seven. Washington, who started in place of Mike Hershberger, lugged seven times for 26 yards and Rinehart ran a keeper once for 13 yards as Benjamin waylaid three men with a crunching block.
* * *
OF COURSE ball carriers would get exactly nowhere without blocking from the boys up on the line. In this department the local youngsters appeared to be in peak form.

And all this came about with Hershberger and guard Bob Brown watching form the sidelines. Hershberger could have played but Tressel wasn’t about to take an unnecessary chances. “We’ll need them next week,” he said.

Dave Richardson, who booted five extra points, tackle Dick Whitfield and sub tackle John Halter were banged up a little but all will probably be ready for the Bulldogs, who were to meet Akron South this afternoon.

Richardson converted after Benjamin tallied three times, Beiter once and end Clyde Childers, who was on the receiving end of both Tiger pass completions, once.

Actually Garfield was never in the running after the initial panel. Probably because of a good scouting job and a bunch of kids who weren’t going to let another loss interfere with their plans.

In all fairness to the Presidents it must be emphasized that had a couple of first quarter aerials not gone awry they might have been able to make an issue of it as many expected them to do. On the second play the first time Garfield got possession its sterling halfback, Sterling Shephard, passed from the Tiger 49. The Tigers were apparently worrying about Manzie Winters, the President’s pass catching star, and let the other end, Don Gibson, get in the clear at the 20.

Shephard probably thought Gibson was going to cut to his right but he didn’t and a
sure-fire touchdown play went with the wind. Two plays later Garfield had to punt but got the pigskin right back as Benjamin fumbled at the Tiger 21. Shephard moved seven yards to the Orange 14 and after Chet Brown and Pete Heimann tossed Fullback Nick Arshinkoff for a one-yard deficit, Massillon gained possession again as Beiter intercepted Shephard’s spread play pass at the six.

Three plays later, after Benjamin got loose from a 30-yard scamper from his own eight to the 38, the locals lost the ball on another fumble. This time it was Garfield’s ball at the Massillon 44.

With the help of a twisting 17-yard run by Shephard, the Prexies advanced to the Tiger 17. But on fourth down linebacker Roger Reese barreled in and smacked Shephard down for an 11-yard loss to end the thrust.

Then the Tigers went ahead as two long runs, one by Brown and one by Benjamin, paved the way. Benjamin ran twice for 12 before Brown, stiff-arming one, veering away from three and getting blocks from Whitfield and Childers, galloped 29 to the Garfield 35. Washington picked up three and Benjamin sped to the left – with Dick Brenner springing him loose with a fine block at the 33 – and rambled all the way standing up. Three minutes 27 seconds were left in the quarter when Richardson converted his first time.

The Akron array bounced back but to no avail. From the 32 they made three first downs to the Tiger 22 as an 18-yard jaunt by halfback Frank Misker and a 13-yarder by Shephard provided the spark. Shephard tried two passes and sub Lindsey Humphrey two but none made connections.
* * *
ONCE WASHINGTON batted the ball down, once three Tigers outfought two Presidents, once Shephard dropped a Humphrey toss on the 10 and on fourth down the latter’s heave overshot the lanky Winters. Thus it was Massillon’s ball at its own 40.

On the last two running plays of the period Benjamin made nine and Brown four. A penalty against Garfield helped put the oval on the Massillon 40 as the second frame got underway. Benjamin netted 12 in two carries, Brown boomed through tackle for 14 and Beiter went up the middle for eight before the latter tallied on a 26-yard run. The hefty junior, who has been playing both fullback and righthalf, shot inside guard, and cut to his outside and was only 10 yards from pay dirt before most everybody in the stadium knew who had the ball.

This score came with 10:01 left and less than five minutes later the Orange had their third.

Beiter rushed Humphrey on a punt from the Garfield 31 and the ball sailed out of bounds at the 35. Beiter sandwiched eight and nine-yard gains around a three run pickup by Benjamin and from the 15 Irvory scooted the rest of the way on a double reverse that worked to near-perfection. Only one hand touched him and he twisted away from that lone defender.

The rest of the first half was meaningless. But things livened a bit for the home side at the outset of the third period as another bad punt by Humphrey led to the Tigers’ fourth TD.

Massillon had to move only 30 yards this time. Benjamin, Brown and Beiter carried to the 19 before Rinehart unwound. His pass hit Childers on the 10 and the big boy got away from the last would be tackler after Benjamin had thrown a key block. It was 28-0 with seven and a half minutes to go in that stanza.
* * *
THE ORANGEMEN made a strong bid before the quarter came to a close. From their own 37 they rolled to the one as a Rinehart-to-Childers pass clicked for 21 yards and Benjamin inserted a 20-yard sprint. However, an offside penalty set them back to the six and on last down Rinehart was three yards short on a sneak.

The Prexies were deep in their own territory as the final stanza began and from the seven sub Wayne McFarland kicked out of bounds at the Garfield 38.

On the first play Benjamin struck off the right side and streaked to pay dirt.

After that Tressel made use of his second stringers and twice Richardson, defensive safety, stymied the visitors by hauling in passes.

Looking Sharp

MASSILLON – 35
ENDS – Brenner, Elavsky, Mitchell, Wells, Snavely, Childers, Hagan, Williams, Mays.
TACKLES – Whitfield, Mercer, Ortiz, Slabaugh, Brownlee, Bixler, Halter.
GUARDS — Meldrum, Heine, Heimann, Cook.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart, Getz, Reese, Dutton.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Washington, Pledgure, Richardson, Bivings.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Dean.

AKRON GARFIELD – 0
ENDS – Winters, Hubbard, Gibson.
TACKLES – Wiseman, Flanders, Hicks, Truza.
GUARDS – Balca, Rekettye, Phillips, Capatosta, McFarland.
CENTERS – Blouir, Smith, Sabatino.
QUARTERBACK – Rossi.
HALFBACKS – Shephard, Miskar, Humphrey, Rogers.
FULLBACKS – Arshinkoff, Vic Rich.

Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 7 14 7 7 35
Garfield 0 0 0 0 0

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Benjamin (3, runs of 32, 15 and 28 yards); Beiter (run 26 yards); Childers (pass 19 yards).
Extra points – Richardson 5 (placements).

STATISTICS
Massillon Garfield
First downs, rushing 17 9
First downs, passing 2 1
First downs, penalties 1 1
Total first downs 20 11
Yards gained rushing 401 159
Yards lost rushing 20 21
Net yards gained rushing 381 138
Yards gained passing 42 23
Total yards gained 423 161
Passes attempted 4 18
Passes completed 2 4
Passes intercepted by 3 0
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (yards) 43 54
Kickoff returns 9yards) 12 92
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 32.2 19.7
Punt returns (yards) 16 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 1
Lost fumbled ball 2 0
Penalties 6 9
Yards penalized 50 85

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 35, Barberton 6

Tigers Beat Barberton 35-6
Score Three Touchdowns In First 10 Minutes

By CHARLIE POWELL

Rolling up 159 yards via 10 running plays, Massillon’s Tigers rocked Barberton with three touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of play Friday evening and it looked like a simon-pure rout was in the making at Tiger stadium.

But the Orangemen apparently suffered a let down except for brief spurts in the third and fourth periods and a Dads’ Night crowd, including only 9,945 paid admissions, watched them grind out a methodical 35-6 triumph, their seventh in eight starts.

The Magics, anything but tricky or reminiscent of some of their previous arrays, were outplayed all around and had it not been for their passing game would have been sadly outclassed.

There wasn’t much difference in first downs as the Tigers had only two more than the opposition but the host crew hipper-dippered and blasted its way for 258 net yards rushing while the Magics gained only 96 on the ground.

Passing gave the Magics their only touchdown and all told netted them 105 yards on eight compleltions in 15 attempts.

The aerial game benefited the Tigers too as one connection went for the jackpot and Bob Rinehart, the sweet thrower and neat manipulator of the Tiger “T”, had a pretty fair night with five completions in seven tosses.

The handwriting was on the wall in a jiffy. There wasn’t much for Bengal followers to shout about the last three periods but Coach Lee Tressel was not too discouraged.

He thought the defense, on Barberton running plays, was more than adequate and noted that the pass defense needs polishing up. The only time the Magics didn’t fare too well in the airlanes came in the final session when they resorted to spread formations.

Until that time Junie Ferrall stayed with the straight T with a balanced line and the Magics’ tactics in the ozone kept the Tigers on their toes.

Barberton was weak at the middle and the Tigers quickly took advantage of the situation as Chester Brown, the big fullback who hammers then gallops, carved out the first two scores on lengthy jaunts of 48 and 53 yards. Then Ivory Benjamin, the twinkle-toed speedster, took over the burden and made the last three six-pointers, two on runs (six and 16 yards) and the other on a pass play which covered 16 yards.

Little Davie Richardson, with Mike Hershberger sidelined by a pulled leg muscle, handled the conversion chores in fine fashion. He split the uprights on four with his other shot barely clearing the crossbar.
* * *
BROWN and Benjamin each gained more yards than the entire Barberton team on the ground as chuggin’ Chester averaged over 14 yards per try on 143 yards in 10 trips and hurrying Ivory made 107 in 15 carries. Larry Washington, Jimmy Bivings and “Chuck” Beiter worked at Hershberger’s right half slot and although none of the trio was scintillating, all were just as instrumental in giving Massillon its 16th victory in 20 meetings with Barberton teams. Beiter also played some at fullback.

It required the Tresselmen just 53 seconds to draw blood.

Washington grabbed up a short kickoff and got back to the Tiger 27. Benjamin made four at right tackle, then came back and zipped around the right flank. The junior standout reeled off a 21-yard run (the last man having a chance shot at him got him) to put the oval on the Magic 48.

Then Brown got a big hole at the middle, wriggled free at the 34 and raced into the end zone standing up.

Barberton made one first down after the kickoff and on a fourth and two situation at the Massillon 36, Bob Savage, the tank-like fullback, fumbled the center pass and Tackle Jim Mercer pounced on the bobble to give the Tigers possession at their own 44.
* * *
AFTER BROWN made 11 (Barberton’s Dave Lee Bartee came up with a shoe-string tackle to stop him from going the distance) and Bivings lost eight on a sweep, Massillon reached the Promised Land again.

It was Brown again. The play was the same as on his first trip. Given a key block by End Don Elavsky, Chester raced 53 vards, Richardson again converted and the Tigers led 14-0 with 5:22 remaining in the opening heat.

The third tally was set up by Benjamin’s interception of a pass by Magic Quarterback Marco Burnette. Massillon was pounding at the visitor’s 27 after Ivory returned 28 yards.

In five plays six more points flashed up. Beiter pounded for seven, ditto for Brown before Benjamin picked his way 10 yards to the three.

Barberton was then penalized to the one for being offside and on the next play Rinehart sneaked across. But the locals were offside and penalized five yards back to the six. From that point Benjamin found a hole at right tackle and his spurt came easy at 1:46.

Early in the second period Rinehart hit Clyde Childers for 18 yards but the locals stalled and Burnette returned Jim Dutton’s punt to the 32. The Magics digested a five-yard penalty and marched the rest of the way with three passes doing the damage.
* * *
BURNETTE did all the throwing with Moses Iverson catching one for 13, Bartee one for 10 and Les Jones one for 27 – the final 27 yards. A 15-yard dash by Jim Hatula kept the drive going.

On the touchdown, which came at 3:40, the toss down the middle was snagged by Jones at the five and he could have walked past the final stripe. Barberton had to settle for six after Jones’ placement sailed wide to the right.

Tackle John Halter leaped on a Barberton bobble at the Magic 28 on the third play of the third frame and Massillon jacked the margin four plays later. Benjamin got one, Brown three before Ivory squirted eight to the 16. Rinehart then went to the air. His pitch to the left hit Benjamin, who juggled the oval momentarily at the 10, turned around, twisted away from one would-be tackler and fought his way into the end zone at 9:22.

An exchange of punts followed the kickoff and Barberton then threatened to score. Burnette passed to Sub End Bob Velloney, Regular End Alan Cooksey and another sub, Jerry Mattingly accounted for 41 yards with a 10-yard completion to Mattingly placing the ball on the Massillon 10 as the quarter came to a close.

But Barberton magic failed, and after three aerials went for naught, the locals took over. Benjamin, Beiter, Brown and Washington (text missing)

HOWEVER a holding penalty cost the locals. A Rinehart to Bivings pass made six but Brown got only six and Bivings just one and Dutton was called on to kick again.

Barberton fumbled four plays later and Mercer again recovered.

With 4:09 left and the ball at the 34, Rinehart sneaked for one, Benjamin ran three times for nine, Beiter got five and Brown three before Benjamin made his third TD trip from 16 yards out. He simply got some fine blocking off the left side and outran the defenders to pay dirt at 1:04. Three plays later it was all over.

In addition to the aforementioned Hershberger, Bob Brown, regular right left guard, missed the game because of a broken bone in his left hand. Luckily the locals came out of the scrap without any more serious injuries.

The summary:
MASSILLON – 35
ENDS – Brenner, Elavsky, Childers, Mitchell, Hagan, Williams, Zorn, Wells, Steele, Mays.
TACKLES – Whitfield, Meldrum, Bixler, Halter, Slabaugh, Mercer.
GUARDS – Heine, Meldrum, Heimann, Cook.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart, Dutton.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Washington, Beiter, Bivings, Pledgure, Richardson.
FULLBACKS – G. Brown, Reese, Dean, Beiter.

BARBERTON – 6
ENDS – Cooksey, Bartee, Gissinger, Bob Velloney, Hampton.
TACKLES – Creager, Shaffer, Goletz, Reeves.
GUARDS – Mystovich, Chaykoski, Dilbeck, Gardner, Johnson.
CENTER – Schens.
QUARTERBACKS – Burnette, Mobley.
HALFBACKS – Jones, Iverson, Mattingly, Spencer, Savage.
FULLBACKS – Savage, Hatula.

Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 21 0 7 7 35
Barberton 0 6 0 0 6

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Benjamin 3 (runs 16, 6, pass 16); Brown 2 (runs 48 and 53)
Extra points – Richardson 5.

Barberton scoring – Touchdown – Jones (pass 27).

STATISTICS
Massillon Barberton
First downs, rushing 11 5
First downs, passing 3 7
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 14 12
Yards gained rushing 280 126
Yards lost rushing 22 30
Net yards gained rushing 258 96
Yards gained passing 66 105
Total yards gained 324 201
Passes attempted 7 15
Passes completed 5 8
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Times kicked off 6 2
Kickoff average (yards) 47.5 37.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 17 130
Times punted 4 3
Punt average (yards) 34.3 30.7
Punt returns (yards) 15 20
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 6
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 4 3
Yards penalized 40 12

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 26, Warren Harding 6

Benjamin, Bivings, Brown Running Stars 13 Points In Final Quarter
Cinch Massillon’s Sixth Victory At Warren

By CHARLIE POWELL

The magic number is now three.

Barberton next week, Akron Garfield the week following and then McKinley…all on Tiger stadium soil…these were the obstacles left in Massillon’s path after win No. 6 was chalked up, 26-6, at the expense of Warren’s Panthers last night at Warren Harding stadium.

The victory, the Tigers’ fifth straight over Warren teams which now trail in the long series that shows Massillon with 24 triumphs, seven reversals and a tie, did not come as easy as the final spread would indicate.

It was a 13-6 ball game for over three quarters.
* * *
AND IT WASN’T locked up by the Bengals until sub halfback Jim Bivings and
antelope-gaited Ivory Benjamin winged off a couple of long runs in the last period.

The Panthers, who had won four and lost two before the contest, were rarin’ to knock the wind out of the Tiger sails but Lee Tressel’s charges gained control of the situation before the first quarter was halfway gone. Halfback Wally Armour cut the gap to 13-6 late in the second period when he dashed 46 yards with a punt but on only two other occasions did the Red and Black knock at touchdown door.

With an assist from a Tiger fumble, Warren reached the 23 in the second period before Dick Brenner, defensive safety, hauled in an errant pass. Warren did not threaten again until after Massillon had its 26 points. This time the Panthers moved to the Tiger 22 before the Orangemen stiffened and took the ball on downs.

For four days the Tigers went about tightening the defense which gave up so much ground to Mansfield and the extra work evidently paid off in a big way.

The statistics showed just how funny a bounce a porkhide will take. Against Mansfield the Tigers had possession only 34 plays as compared to 65 for Mansfield. Last night Warren ran 53 plays to Massillon’s 50.

But the Tigers held the upper hand in just about every phase of the game.

They gained 257 yards on the ground, 47 by passing for a net of 304. The defense, tougher from flank to flank, held the host team to 157 yards including 10 by a lone aerial connection. The Orange had 12 first downs to seven for the Panthers.
* * *
COACH TRESSEL started using substitutes in the first half and before the final horn 38 Massillon players had entered the fray. The fleet Bivings, a junior, was the top gainer – thanks to his 61-yard TD scamper, followed by chuggin’ Chet Brown and the snake-hipped Benjamin. Bivings carried six times for 90 yards, Brown six for 63 and Benjamin 11 for 52. Mike Hershberger, who had a case of indigestion before the opening kickoff and then suffered a leg injury in the second period, carted only six times and picked up 20 yards while husky “Chuck” Beiter, the junior fullback, made 15 in as many trips.

When Hershberger was in action the work-horse, who had been averaging over five yards per try was not his usual self because of his illness. But the injury to his right leg will cause more concern than his tummy. As will the hand injury offensive guard Bob Brown sustained.

Hershberger is likely to miss out on one or perhaps two games while Brown, invaluable as a blocker, could be absent for all three remaining encounters. Only time will tell.

Otherwise the Bengals came out of it in good shape. However, these injuries are enough to keep Tressel a mite worried. Tressel, who pointed out that the tackling showed some improvement, was extremely satisfied by the performances of the shock troopers.

He didn’t name names but one could not overlook the running of Bivings and the defensive play of John Heimann, who replaced Hershberger at halfback on defense. There were other standouts to be sure. The boys were bent on starting to redeem themselves and it looks like they are off to a fine start.

Benjamin had two touchdowns, his other coming on a seven yard slam off tackle on the first play of the second stanza while the fourth Tiger TD was made by Brown, whose
40-yard gallop started the Orange on the right track.

Warren stopped the Tigers after the game opening kickoff and Massillon thwarted the initial bid by the fired-up Panthers. The Tigers worked the criss-cross on Armour’s kick with Benjamin taking the handoff from Hershberger at the Bengal 14 and rushing out to the 30.
* * *
IT REQUIRED the Tigers nine plays to go 70 yards. Hershberger got four and Benjamin zipped for 10 to the 44. Beiter, Brown and Hershberger gained eight in three plays and on fourth down, Benjamin kept the march functioning.

He cut around the right side on a nifty bit of foot-work for eight yards to the 39 and after Hershberger lost one and Bob Rinehart’s pass to Benjamin was short, Brown hit the jackpot.

Getting some excellent blocking, Chet roared around left end for 40 yards as Massillon fans in the crowd of 10,000 roared, and Massillon led with 4:28 left in the heat. With Hershberger feeling badly, Tressel called on Dave Richardson to boot the point.

Massillon capitalized on an unusual fumble for its second touchdown. Warren had to punt from the Tiger 47 and Armour, back to do the booting, missed the ball. Brown dove on it and the Tigers started pounding at the Panther 44.

Rinehart unlimbered his arm, hit Benjamin at the 25 and Ivory made it to the 12 – a
32-yard pick-up. Hershberger made five and Beiter was held at the line of scrimmage on the last play of the opening round.

Benjamin whizzed into the end zone standing up on the first play of the second panel and after Richardson’s placement went wide, the Tigers were in front 13-0 with only three seconds gone in the quarter.

After the next kickoff Armour, Grover Danage, Jim Dotson and Jim Abrams carried to the Panther 37 before Armour punted. But Benjamin dropped the ball at the Tiger 26 and Warren recovered at that spot.

Danage got two and Dotson one before Abrams went to the airways. Instead of end Bill Greskovich, his peg reached the arms of Brenner in the end zone. Brenner got out to the two and from that point Massillon began to move. Bivings went into the line up and inserted a 15-yard run but the attack bogged down and Hershberger was forced to punt from the 11 after a clipping penalty and Rinehart’s nine yard loss hurt.

ARMOUR FIELDED the punt on the Tiger 46, went to his right, got free at the Bengal 40 and wasn’t stopped. John Petiela’s placement was wide and it was 13-6 at 3:25.

Massillon was on the prowl again. From the 23 Hershberger made six before Bivings got loose for 12 and following a six-yarder by Benjamin, Rinehart hit sub Larry Washington on a 13-yard pass play. Washington gained six and Benjamin, on a reverse scooted 18. But time ran out on the Tigers after Beiter got to the seven.

Both teams picked up two first downs in a third period, which was dull compared to the others.

On the first play of the final canto Jim Dutton, who did a nice punting job after Hershberger left the field, kicked and Armour was stopped at the Warren 22. The Panthers got a first down but from the 34 Abrams’ pass was hauled in by Bivings, who slid out of bounds at the Tiger 39. On the next play the same youngster went the distance. He got a big hole on the right side, wriggled free at the Warren 41 and outran everybody to touchdownland. Richardson’s kick was wide again but Massillon had a 19-6 lead at 9:36.

Warren decided to take to the air after that. Sub Malone completed one to Greskovich for 12 but the Tigers fouled up a statue-of-liberty play and Armour had to punt. Benjamin grabbed the ball on the Massillon 35, faked a handoff, and skipped down the sidelines with nary a Warren player getting a good shot at him. This time Richardson converted to make it 26-6 at 6:19.

After the kickoff Tim Krier’s kickoff was returned to the 29 and Armour ran for 38 but Massillon braced. The Tigers then were forced to punt and Warren was at its own 47 when the game ended.

MASSILLON – 26
ENDS – Childers, Elavsky, Brenner, Wells, Snavely, Hagan, Williams.
TACKLES – Mercer, Whitfield, Ortiz, Slabaugh, Brownlee, Bixler, Halter.
GUARDS – B. Brown, Meldrum, Kasunick, Heimann, Cook, Heine.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger, Williamson.
BACKS – Rinehart, Benjamin, Hershberger, C. Brown, Beiter, Pledgure. Richardson, Bivings, Garcia, Dutton, Stewart, Washington, Getz, Reese.

WARREN – 6
ENDS – Greskovich, Smith, Tutish, Shelly.
TACKLES – Johnson, Romig, Maras, J. Mnotti, Yaugo, Mrofchak, Rudolph.
GUARDS – Foy, Ostrosky, McCrea, Petiela, Lengel, Hammerchek, Perfetti.
CENTERS – McEwen, Sims.
BACKS – Abrams, Gorby, Danage, Saffold, Dotson, Amour, Szuch,
Spithogianis, Malone, Apple, F. Miller.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 7 6 0 13 26
Warren 0 6 0 0 6

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Brown (run 40); Benjamin (run 7 and punt return 65); Bivings (run 61).
Extra points – Richardson 2 (placements).

Warren scoring:
Touchdown – Armour (punt return 46).

STATISTICS
Massillon Warren
First downs, rushing 10 6
First downs, passing 2 –
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 12 7
Yards gained rushing 293 183
Yards lost rushing 36 26
Net yards gained rushing 257 157
Yards gained passing 47 10
Total yards gained 304 167
Passes attempted 4 8
Passes completed 2 1
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 46.2 43.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 21 66
Times punted 5 6
Punt average (yards) 32.6 21.0
Punt returns (yards) 81 62
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 6
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 2 2
Yards penalized 11 10

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 6, Mansfield 14

Mansfield Power Plays Stop Tigers 14-6
Penalties, Injuries Slow Massillon; Hershberger Tallies On 83-Yard Scamper

The bubble burst out at Mansfield last night.

And having yielded to a five-and-dime Mansfield team – a determined Mansfield team which had a one-track mind – the Tigers of Massillon today looked forward to salvaging some glory out of the season with the big catch being, of course, Canton McKinley’s Bulldogs.

That 14-6 defeat was a stunning blow but Massillon teams have been beaten before, then roared back to finish at the top of the heap.

Tigers fans are only hoping it will happen again.
* * *
THEY’LL BE RE-PLAYING last night’s scuffle for many a moon. We can talk about the penalties, the gainers that just missed by inches, the tackles that came a yard too late, the injuries – anything – but in the final analysis we must all agree – Mansfield had a mighty good football team on Arlin field, which was jammed to overflowing by around 13,000 fans.

The Tygers ability to control the ball probably proved Massillon’s downfall.

When the final gun sounded, Mansfield had possession of the pigskin for 75 plays, Massillon had it 34 times.

Massillon out-gained the sky-high host crew, 312 yards to 292. The Tigers out-passed them. But as everyone knows for sure, statistics don’t win ball games.

Of course these statistics do not include the 27-yard pass play that clicked for a second quarter touchdown that was nullified by a backfield-in-motion penalty nor the fourth down gain of four yards scooter Ivory Benjamin made which would have given the Orangemen a first down at the Mansfield 15 a few moments after the TD was wiped out.

Nor do the figures show a couple of almost-but-not-quite cases where Massillon needed only one more block or one more step to go all the way.

Penalties hurt the Orange – without a doubt – but Lee Tressel, who saw his personal winning streak come to an end at 39 straight, offered no excuse as he sadly recalled the turn of events after the battle.

“WE COULDN’T stop those hard-running backs. They were making one and two yards after they were hit and we couldn’t do much about it.

“We were weak physically. Especially Meldrum (Tom) and Whitfield (Dick). Some of the other boys weren’t able to go at full steam. We made mistakes – we were just beaten,” Lee said.

The hard-running backs Lee was talking about were Jim Lutz, the tank-like fullback, and halfbacks Pistol Pete Zivkoff, high-stepping “Chuck” Taylor and speedy John White.

Stopping these charges was like trying to knock over the Bank of England. The
piston-legged Lutz found his way for 97 yards in 16 tries, Zivkoff raced 94 in 19 carries, Taylor punched for 53 in 10 and White gained 37 in 10.
* * *
THE MANSFIELDERS, who thus beat a Massillon team for the second time in
history – and the victory set off a major display of frolicking in the Richland county
seat – were generalized by Jack Ward, who tried only one pass and didn’t complete it.

The Tigers, who gained 259 yards on the ground as compared to Mansfield’s 292, were sparked by spunky Mike Hershberger who picked his way for 143 yards in seven trips and Benjamin, who lugged six times for 53 yards.

Hershberger, who was virtually out on his feet at the final gun, got loose on an 83-yard jaunt for the Tigers’ only touchdown early in the final period.

Mansfield threatened only twice and the Bob McNea – coached boys cashed in both times.

Massillon was deep in Mansfield territory twice in the second stanza and once more after Hershberger’s scintillating spring in the fourth. But it just wasn’t Massillon’s night.

Hershberger banged for 12 yards on the first play following the game-opening kickoff, returned by Benjamin from the nine to the host 49 after Ivory got out of a trap at his own 20. But a holding penalty messed things up. Mansfield jammed up two plays at the middle, a Bob Rinehart toss was too far and Hershberger kicked into the end zone.

Mansfield marched all the way in 20 plays with Zivkoff, White and Lutz toting. It was on the Massillon seven at the end of the period and on the first play of the second panel, Zivkoff smacked across, Ward booted the point and the Red and White led 7-0 with five seconds gone.

The Tresselmen came storming back. They threw everything but the bench at the Tygers but their efforts went for naught as the little red flag was down on three of eight plays it required them to go from their own 32 to the Mansfield 24.
* * *
ON THE FIRST play there was an in-motion penalty. Then the Tygers were caught flat-footed. Hershberger went to his left on an apparent reverse but he stopped and threw deep to lanky Clyde Childers, who got behind the secondary at the Mansfield 46.

Childers was hauled down after a 46-yard gain and the Orange was knocking on touchdown door. Childers snagged another pass for a touchdown on the next play. Gene Stewart was sent in to replace Benjamin and the Tigers pulled the same play, only Gene reversed to his right. Childers made a beautiful catch in the end zone but Massillon was called for backfield-in-motion – much to the chagrin of Tiger followers – and six points went with the wind.

Chet Brown was thrown for a loss of a yard on a trap play, Hershberger was stopped by his own teammate at the line of scrimmage before the Rinehart-Hershberger combo clicked for 15 yards to the 19.

This brought up a fourth and one situation and Benjamin easily made it (he gained about four) but again the penalty flag put a crimp in Massillon plans. This time the Tigers were penalized because of an offside call. The drive ended as Rinehart’s pass was a shade too far for Benjamin at the 15.

An exchange of punts followed and with two minutes left in the first half the Orangemen were in business again.

From the 24, Benjamin wriggled for 22 yards on a double reverse. That put the oval on the 46. Hershberger, running to his left on the reverse, picked up a couple of nifty blocks and high-tailed it 37 yards to the Tyger 17.
* * *
RINEHART INTENDED to go to the air for two plays but both times he couldn’t locate a receiver ran instead, and had to be content with two yards. On the last play of the half, Benjamin out to his right and wheeled to the six before being grassed.

Mansfield struck for its second touchdown after receiving at the start of the second half. Zivkoff returned to the 35 and in 11 plays the Tygers reached pay dirt.

Taylor came in to help Lutz, Zivkoff and White carried the mail with the biggest gain being a 15-yarder by Taylor. From the four the same lad blasted through right tackle for another six, Ward again split the uprights and Massillon trailed 14-0 at 5:50 in the period.

Benjamin stepped for 21 yards after “Chuck” Beiter returned the kickoff to the 42 and the only boy that had a chance to stop Benjamin did just that. But the Tiger attack stalled and Hershberger had to kick. Mansfield drove again with their movement carrying over into the final quarter.

After Mansfield advanced to its own 44 it had to punt with Ward’s boot being returned 30 yards by Hershberger. From the 17 Mike then found a hole at left tackle and was gone – 83 yards. He was past the Tyger secondary defenders before they knew it. Mike outran them but only after a bit of labor.
* * *
A TIRED Hershberger attempted the extra point but his kick was too low and the scoreboard read Mansfield 14, Massillon 6 with 10 minutes remaining.

After the kickoff was brought back to the 26, the hosts netted a first down as Lutz zipped for 27 yards (the hard-nosed Hershberger kept him from going the distance) and they gambled after gaining eight more yards to the Tiger 34.

Massillon came up with an 18-karat stand. Zivkoff was held at the line of scrimmage, ditto Lutz, and the Tigers took over at the 34.

The Tresselmen weren’t about to say uncle. They gave it another giant effort. In trying to pass Rinehart ran for six, then was dropped for a four-yard deficit before he twirled to Hershberger for 11 yards.

Chet Brown, in one of the few times he carried, steamed around left end for 30 yards to the Mansfield 23 but the Tigers stalled. Hershberger made three but Rinehart lost one. In came Jimmy Bivings and he got five. On the next play Bivings was thrown for a yard loss but might have raced to pay dirt had he received one or two key blocks.

So Mansfield had the ball again. The Tygers made two first downs and with seconds left the Tigers’ Jim Mercer recovered a fumble at the enemy 35. There was time for one play and Rinehart kept for nine yards.

That was it. The Tigers suffered their first loss in six games.

The defeat will probably cost the Orange and Black second place in the state scholastic poll and undoubtedly Mansfield, previously rated 10th, will climb a few notches.

The summary:
MASSILLON – 6
ENDS – Childers, Elavsky, Brenner,Hagan, Wells.
TACKLES – Whitfield, Mercer, A. Slicker, Slabaugh, Brownlee, Bixler, Halter.
GUARDS – Meldrum, B. Brown, Heine, Kasunick.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart, Reese.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Hershberger, Pledgure, Bivings, Garcia, Stewart, Washington.
FULLBACKS – C .Brown, Beiter.

MANSFIELD – 14
ENDS – Horsman, Ackerman, Bell, Hunter.
TACKLES – Franta, Henkel, Bernat.
GUARDS – Roth, Hood, Kolb, Bauman.
CENTERS – Groves, Mathews.
QUARTERBACK – Ward.
HALFBACKS – Zivkoff, Taylor, White, Balcolm.
FULLBACKS – Lutz, Tanner.

Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 0 0 0 6 6
Mansfield 0 7 7 0 14

Massillon scoring:
Touchdown – Hershberger (run, 83).

Mansfield scoring: Touchdowns – Zivkoff (run, 7); Taylor (run, 4).
Extra points – Ward 2 (placements).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Don McPhee, Youngstown.
Head Linesman – Carl Spossard, Cuyahoga Falls.
Umpire – Bob Walker, Youngstown.
Field Judge – Clint Emmerish, Cuyahoga Falls.

STATISTICS
Massillon Mans.
First downs rushing 7 16
First downs passing 2 0
First downs by penalties 0 0
Total first downs 9 16
Yards gained rushing 255 295
Yards lost rushing 15 3
Net yards gained rushing 240 292
Yards gained passing 72 0
Total yards gained 312 292
Passes attempted 6 1
Passes completed 3 0
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average (yards) 42.5 41.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 69 35
Times punted 2 3
Punt average (yards) 44 40.3
Punt returns (yards) 12 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 2
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 5 2
Yards penalized 45 20

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 27, Cleveland Benedictine 18

Tigers Fight Back For 27-18 Victory
Whitfield Out With Injury As Orange Racks Up Its 5th

By CHARLIE POWELL

It was five down and five to go for the Washington high school gridders after a Friday night donnybrook in which our Tigers proved they have all the ingredients of a true champion.

Rallying behind a determined defense and their quick-hitting offense, featuring speed afoot, nimbleness, headiness and just plain high-octane power, the Orange and Black outlasted a Cleveland Benedictine club which lived up to expectations, and then some, by a 27-18 tune.

Some 13,000 fans, including 12,556 paid, were in Tiger stadium for the big battle and few Tiger followers, if any, held high hope for a fifth straight victory after the first two minutes and 18 seconds of play. It took the Bengals from the lakefront just that little bit of time to wheel out a 12-0 lead.

But this inexperienced Massillon club, outweighed, out-passed and minus tackle and
co-captain Dick Whitfield, was only momentarily stunned by the order of events – an
85-yard kickoff return, an intercepted pass and then a 40-yard aerial for a second touchdown.

Showing their mettle and living up to their reputation as an outfit content to parlay short gainers into gold-dust, Lee Tressel’s hustlers came roaring back. With 4:26 left in the opening chapter they hit pay dirt for the first time and with 4:22 remaining in the second period and they barged ahead.

The first drive involved 11 plays and 68 yards, the second 20 plays, 79 yards, two vital gambles and a 15-yard penalty. So it was Massillon by the margin of Mike Hershberger’s conversion at intermission.
* * *
THE TIGERS received the second half kickoff and went on the prowl again. The drive fizzled out at the enemy 15 but the next thing Benedictine knew was that Fancy-Dan, Ivory Benjamin hit them. His 50-yard TD jaunt on a punt return widened the gap and Massillon pulses returned to normal after a 72-yard march paid off early in the final quarter.

Benedictine battled back for another score but it meant nothing. In fact, it came as Coach Tressel was dotting his lineup with reserves.

When the Tiger celebration in their dressing room died down, Tressel and Co. started thinking about their next foe, the Tygers of Mansfield.

This may sound like a broken record but the Orangemen are facing a fourth straight toughie. If you don’t believe us, ask the local scouts who have put a “tougher than Benedictine” tag on the Tygers.

Before Tressel’s mind turned to next Friday’s road opponent, the Tiger tutor directed a verbal bouquet toward his charges.

“I guess I can’t say much about the first couple of minutes. Everybody knows what happened. But our boys were tremendous after that. It shows you what desire can do,” he said.

The Massillon mentor, whose personal win streak now stands at 39, declared it a team victory – “there were no real standouts” – and said the three boys who fitted into things as replacements for the rugged Whitfield; Bruce Bixler, Al Slicker and John Halter, indicated by their performances that the coaching staff may have little to worry about as long as Whitfield is out.
* * *
WHITFIELD, WITH HIS injured foot encased in a special shoe, was suited up in case of an emergency and Tressel was happy because he didn’t have to call on the spunky senior co-captain.

Dick received the foot injury Wednesday but said nothing about it. He couldn’t walk Thursday morning and X-rays taken yesterday morning showed a chip in the large bone of his right foot.

When Whitfield will be able to return to action is a real question. Tressel is hopeful he’ll be available in a couple of weeks.

The Tigers, with the “5-man” backfield of Bob Rinehart, Benjamin, Hershberger, Chet Brown and “Chuck” Beiter shining all the way, held the upper hand in most phases of the statistical department. They made 17 first downs to Benedictine’s nine and ground out 257 yards rushing to a total of 123 for the Bengals.

The Clevelanders enjoyed an edge in the passing game as Quarterback Paul Hriske, who doubled as a fine defensive performer, lived up to his press notices. The Bengals hit on seven of 13 for 102 yards while the locals connected on two of five for 61 yards. And both of Rinehart’s pitches helped no end – the first completion of 17 yards setting up Massillon’s second touchdown and a strike good for 20 aiding the drive that led to the fourth.

Another bright spot for the Tigers was in the ball-handling department. They fumbled only once, and recovered same. They had one pass intercepted with that interception paving the way for Benedictine’s second quickie.

Benedictine won the toss and elected to receive. The decision was just right for the Bengals as Halfback George Sefcik, sturdy and swift, hauled it back for a touchdown that rocked the locals on their heels. Sefcik eyed an alley up the middle, cut to his right and away from a couple of would-be tacklers and after getting free at the Tiger 22, zipped into the end zone, past the final stripe to wind up an 85-yard return. His placement sailed to the left but the Orangemen were trailing 6-0 with only 11 seconds gone.

Benjamin returned the ensuing kickoff from his 15 to the 24 and after Brown picked up a guard, Dame Fortune turned a cold shoulder on the Tigers. Rinehart’s pass intended for childers at the enemy 40 was the target for Childers, Benjamin and Sefcik. Ivory got a hand on the ball but it came to rest in Sefcik’s and the Bendictine scooter got to the Tiger 43.
* * *
AFTER GARY HANSLEY, right half, made three yards at right tackle, Hrisko and Hansley clicked for a second Bengal TD. Hansley was all by his lonesome at the 25 and when he grabbed the pass at the 25 and raced into the end zone, Massillon was really in trouble.

Sefcik’s placement was again wide. Then the Tigers got plenty mean.

Hershberger returned the kickoff seven yards to the 32 and then teamed with Benjamin, Brown and Beiter for two first downs to the Bengal 41. Brown put the ball in scoring position via a 36-yard blast featuring some sharp blocking and Chester’s fancy footwork. Benjamin made three and Hershberger one before Mike banged the middle to make it a
12-6 ball game. It was still that way after his placement was blocked.

Benedictine had to punt two minutes later and on the last three plays of the quarter the Tigers moved from their own 21 to the 35. Controlling the ball as Rinehart, the two halfbacks and the two fullbacks carried the load, the locals used up 17 plays and over seven minutes for the tying touchdown. Benjamin’s 10-yard sweep and Beiter’s 13-yard buck up the middle helped place the pigskin on the one from where Benjamin tallied at right tackle. This time Hershberger’s kick was good and it was Massillon 13, Benedictine 12.

Twice during this drive the locals gambled, and won. On a fourth and four situation Benjamin got off his 10-yarder and with fourth and one at the four, Hershberger slammed off tackle for three.

Besides all this action, the Tigers were halted momentarily by a 15-yard clipping penalty.

During the remaining time neither team mustered a threat.

The Tigers marched 48 yards after receiving the second half kickoff. Hershberger’s 14-yard scamper was the chief gainer as they moved to the 15 before an offside violation put a crimp in their hopes for a third touchdown.
* * *
HOWEVER, MASSILLON chalked it up just a few seconds later. Benedictine had to punt but actually Benjamin didn’t get the chance to get on the go until Guard Joe Chapon punted three times.

The first time Benedictine was offside and the Tigers elected to have the Bengals punt again and the second time the visitors were offside and Massillon was called for clipping on Hershberger’s return. Finally there was nothing to wipe out the play – for which Tiger fans were happy.

Benjamin fielded Chapon’s boot at midfield, faked a handoff, and shifted into high gear. He was in “daylight” at the Bengal 35 and the rest of the chore was easy for the
swivel-hipped halfback. Hershberger again converted to make it 20-12 at 4:41.

Benedictine got to the Massillon 28 before Benjamin broke up a fourth down pitch by Hrisko and from that point the Tigers moved goal ward again. After Brown made 11 (he would have been long gone had not the last defender tripped him), Hershberger slipped and fell for a one-yard loss but sub halfback Jimmy Bivings sneaked behind the secondary, grabbed Rinehart’s toss and the 20-yard gainer put the oval on the Bengal 18 as the final period got under way.

Beiter gained two, Brown nine, Ivory four and Hershberger lost one before Beiter, moving to left half, cracked tackle for the score from the four. Once again Hershberger booted the point-after.

After Benedictine’s drive was stopped at the Tiger 31 the Orange had to punt and from their own 29 the Clevelanders went all the way as Hansley (once for 21 yards) and Sefcik (once for 16) ran for the needed yardage and Hrisko hit on three straight passes, the last one a 3-yarder to End Tom Pacl for the six-pointer.

Massillon made one first down and then lost 10 on a fumble before the contest came to an end.

The Tigers came out of the clean-played encounter with some bumps and bruises while Benedictine’s chief injury was Center Frank Kozlevchar’s twisted ankle.

The summary:
MASSILLON – 27
ENDS – Brenner, Elavsky, Wells, Childres, Mays, Hagan.
TACKLES – Mercer, Bixler, Halter, A. Slicker, Brownlee, Slabuagh.
GUARDS – B. Brown, Meldrum, Heine, Heimann.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Hershberger, Washington, Bivings, Pledgure, Stewart.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Reese.

BENEDICTINE – 18
ENDS – Pacl, Mayher, Marek.
TACKLES – Skufca, Jakubowski, Zmarsly.
GUARDS – Sczurek, Chapon, Pusateri, Misencik.
CENTERS – Halasz, Kozlevchar, Naymik.
QUARTERBACK – Hrisko.
HALFBACKS – Hansley, Sefcik, Davis.
FULLBACKS – Kuretz, Kucera.

Scoring by quarters:
Benedictine 12 0 0 6 18
Massillon 6 7 7 7 27

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Beiter (4-run); Hershberger (1-run); Benjamin 2 (1-run, 50-yard punt return).
Extra points – Hershberger 3 (placements).

Benedictine scoring:
Touchdowns – Sefcik (85-kickoff return); Hansley (40-pass from Hrisko); Pacl (3-pass from Hrisko).

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs rushing 16 5
First downs passing 1 4
First downs by penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 9
Yards gained rushing 257 123
Yards lost rushing 24 6
Passes attempted 5 13
Passes completed 2 7
Yards gained passing 61 102
Net yards gained 294 219
Times kicked off 5 4
Average kickoff return 8.8 30.6
Yards kickoffs returned by 35 153
Times punted 2 3
Average punts (yards) 33 32
Yards punts returned by 50 -5
Had punts blocked 0 0
Total fumbles 1 1
Times lost ball on fumbles 0 0
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 25 30

Mike Hershberger