ERIE, Pa., NOV. 16 – A scrappy Erie East high band of Warriors gave the highly-touted championship Massillon Tigers quite a “surprise party” here Saturday afternoon. But the Ohioans managed to eke out a 13 to 6 decision on a snow-covered field before a scant gathering of 6,000 fans.
It was as close a call to defeat that the Tigers have had since they began their streak in 1937 that has seen them go through 52 games without a defeat, although a Mansfield tie mars the 1941 season.
There was a reason why they should enjoy only a seven-point advantage when hostilities were ended on Saturday.
There were seven good reasons – the East high forward wall, which consistently broke through the Massillon offense to spill ball carriers for sizable losses.
Tigers Have Edge In Statistics
However, class told and the Tigers held a decided edge in ground gaining. The Ohio backs being especially adept at skirting the ends. In the net yards rushing department the Tigers picked up a total of 156 yards as compared to 31 for East.
And speaking of statistics they pretty well tell the story.
The Tigers rang up 11 first downs against nine for the Warriors. They batted .500 in pass completion’s, connecting on four out of eight attempts for 80 yards, while Warrior passes were the rule rather than the exception as the Hydemen tossed 19, completing only five for a gain of 78 yards.
But of course, there is a story behind the story buried deep down in the statistics. There you’ll find that Massillon fumbled on six occasions – and on six occasions there was a Warrior atop the ball when the pileup was finally untangled.
And you’ll find also that East’s John Swanseger, complied a punting average of 43 yards against a 39-yard average by Massillon’s Romeo Pellegrini, and to make the story complete it should be added that one of Swanseger’s punts that rolled out of bounds on the Tiger four-yard line set the stage for the East score.
Those two items were the factors chiefly responsible for the surprising showing of the Hydemen, who were supposed to be just another team with eleven guys named “Joe” in the lineup. Then too, it was figured that East would be a good game to rest up the regulars for the coming Canton McKinley clash this weekend. East didn’t like that idea and put up a battle.
Tigers Score Early
The two touchdowns by the Massillonians came before East shook off a bad case of what appeared to be stage fright or a recent accurate facsimile.
The first one came about three minutes into the first canto—in fact it was on the sixth offensive thrust of the game.
An exchange of kicks that saw the Warriors finally wind up with the ball in their possession set the state indirectly.
Several running plays failed to solve the Massillon defense and Swanseger faded back of the 50-yard line and chucked one downfield only to have it intercepted by Fred Cardinal, Massillon quarterback, who returned it to the East 30.
The Tigers tried a pass that was grounded. Then Pellegrini, sophomore flash, who was one of the game’s offensive stars, lost four yards at right end. On the next play he dropped back and tossed a pass to Fullback Charles Holt that was good for 24 yards, when Holt reversed his field on the East 13 and romped over. A sneak through the line from place kick formation was smashed by the Warriors as the Tigers strove for the point after touchdown.
Steals the Ball
A smart play by Karl Paulik, Massillon right tackle, set up the Tigers’ second touchdown. Paulik “stole” the ball from the grasp of an East runner on the Warriors’ 29-yard line and after a Pellegrini to Willmot pass had picked up nine yards, Holt went into action.
Aided by an eight-yard jaunt by Keve Bray, Holt moved the ball up to the one-yard stripe and it was only a formality for him to smack the line for the score.
Cardinal sent a placement kick through the uprights for the extra point.
(Next line unreadable)
The recovery of a Massillon fumble by Frank Barnowski, East right end, on the Tigers 10-yard line, set in motion the Warriors’ touchdown drive in the second period.
A five-yard penalty and a grounded pass stalled the Warriors before they even got started. But (name unreadable) dropped back and tossed a pass to Klimow, who ran to the Massillon 15 for a first down. Grunzel lugged the leather to the 10 on the next play. However, a five-yard penalty set the Hydemen back again.
But Dellnski was still in the game as the Tigers found out a moment later when he ripped around right end behind perfect blocking and shook off a couple tacklers. (unreadable text) Then Klimow pranced across the goal for the score on the next play. (try for extra point text unreadable)
That’s the story of the scoring but there was plenty of action in this ball game beside the touchdown moments.
Lose Ball On Fumbles
For instance in the third stanza with the aid of a 15 yard-penalty the Tigers marched to the East 28, but there Pellegrini fumbled and Klimow pounced on the leather for the Warriors, who also aided by a 15-penalty for Massillon drove to the Massillon 36 where the attack stopped when Bray intercepted an East pass.
After one of Swanseger’s punts had rolled over the goal line later in the third period, the Tigers started on their 20 and using power alone, as only the Tigers can, battered their way to the 30 as the period ended.
Several seconds later Bray fumbled and the Warriors covered on the East 31.
The rest of the game was a see-saw affair with the Warriors countering almost punch for punch with the Tigers.
The halftime show by the Massillon band was featured by the Tigers’ strip tease routine as the band provided a musical backdrop.
This alone would have brought down the stadium roof with applause if stadiums had roofs.
Not Comforting
Massillon – 13 Pos. East – 6 Willmot le Santi Edwards lt Perantoni Bob Wallace lg Katoski Williams c Kelleher Weisgarber rg Mahon Paulik rt Burek Kanney re Baruowakl Cardinal qb unreadable Pellegrini lh Swanseger Bray rh Dellnsky Holt fb Grunzel
(Rest of information here unreadable)
Statistics East Massillon First Downs 9 11 Yards Gained Rushing 78 Yards Lost Rushing 17 Net Yards Gained Rushing 31 156 Forward Passes Attempted 19 8 Forward Passes Completed 5 4 Forward Passes Intercepted 0 2 Yards Gained by Forward Passing 78 80 Lateral Passes Attempted 0 1 Yards Gained by Lateral Passes 1 0 Punting Average (from scrimmage) 43 39 Total Yards Kicks Returned Fumbles 1 6 Own Fumbles Recovered 0 0 Rest of information is unreadable
Visitors Make More First Downs Than Massillon But they Pay Off On Points, So Tigers Stretch Undefeated String to 51 Games
By Luther Emery
The war drums of the Toledo Waite Indians were still ringing in the ears of the Washington high school Tigers today as they looked at the statistics and wondered how they ever escaped being ambushed in last night’s game at Tiger stadium.
Program Cover
A crowd of 16,621 fans looked on amazed as the Indians outgained the Tigers from scrimmage and rolled up more first downs, but lost 34-14. It was Massillon’s 51st consecutive game without a defeat.
Waite Expected to Spring Upset
Jack Mollenkopf brought Waite to Massillon, convinced that the Tigers were ripe for a trimming. He had planned to ambush Massillon with a passing attack that had been developed but not entirely uncovered this season until last night’s battle.
He, too, knew that he had a better team than most people had credited him with, and most of all, a team that wouldn’t quit.
Having carefully studied and scouted the Tiger team, Mollenkopf thought he was all set to spring the biggest upset of the 1942 football season and might well have done so with the assistance of good luck and the fulfillment of a few “ifs.”
Take out the blocked punt that produced the third Massillon touchdown, remove a couple of costly Waite fumbles, and substitute completed passes for two “touchdown” passes, one of which was dropped by the receiver and the other intercepted by a Massillon gridder, and you might well have had a tie score. On the other hand, the Tigers too can play the “if” game, and from their viewpoint they might have won by more points had they 10 seconds more time left in the first half which ended with them in possession of the ball, first down and goal to go on Waite’s one yard line.
Mollenkopf Ambushed
Mollenkopf admitted that while he had set a trap for Massillon, he was ambushed himself by the throwing of Romeo Pellegrini, who replaced the injured Bob Graber at left halfback.
“I never knew that little fellow could throw so far,” the Toledo coach said after the game as he ground a crust of bread between his fingers at the dinner table. “I never knew Massillon to throw from the left, either. I was fooled there.”
The play-by-play account shows that Pellegrini completed passes of 57, 51, 14, and 15 yards for touchdown. In fact it was the first time this season that the forward pass developed into a potent scoring weapon for the Tigers, and it was well it did, for they did not run the ball over once last night. Their fifth touchdown was the result of a blocked punt.
Some of the things that Mollenkopf figured on were correct. The Tigers were ripe for some trouble and have been getting riper since their defeat of Steubenville. They have two games to go, both Saturday afternoon contests – Erie East next week and Canton McKinley two weeks hence. The locals should begin coming up again, and it is hoped the rebound will be too much for both Erie East and McKinley.
In Waite the Tigers found a better than average team that had been underestimated by most fans, and possibly the players sensed this same feeling of superiority.
Better Waite Team Than 1941
“It is a far better team than I had last year,” Mollenkopf confided after the game, “and we would have done a lot better this season had it not been for several unfortunate breaks.”
The Toledo coach was especially proud that his team did not quit on him, and it was one of few teams that have not folded under Tiger pressure.
The Indians were battling just as hard at the end of the game as they were at the start, and were on their way to a last minute touchdown, when an intercepted pass ended in a safety that gave them two points.
It has been three years since the Tigers have had to explain their victory to readers of the statistical column. From yards gained and first downs you would have thought Waite a certain winner. The Indians made 14 first downs to the Tigers 10 and gained 259 yards to the Tigers 230 yards but Massillon converted its yardage into scores instead of first downs to win 34-14.
The long shot touchdown passes to Willmot and the other two pegs to Cardinal and Holt, don’t show in the first down column through all covered more than 10 yards. The yardage is figured I, however and there’s just nothing you can do about trying to explain why Waite gained more yards except to say that the Indians had a good defense and a tough defensive end in Harold Raether.
The Tigers only gained 73 yards lugging the ball last night and made 173 yards with their passes, which is better passing than they have done at anytime this season and poorer running.
A Fine Passer
Waite’s passing attack was the fanciest thing seen here in a forward pass way for several seasons. You can give most of the credit to straight-shooting Joseph Horvath and if Uncle Sam needs a grenade thrower to clean out machine gun nests, Horvath has our recommendation. He pitched so accurately that he seldom missed his mark and most of the night did all the throwing to the same man, Paul Hrabovsky, Indian quarterback.
They worked pass after pass all evening, connecting for three of 17 yards, 22 yards and eight yards, in the series that led to their first touchdown, and completed two more, one for 32 yards and another for 11 in the second touchdown march. Mixed in the latter effort was an 18-yard toss to Raether.
Second guessers might accuse both teams of a poor selection of plays at intervals during the game. Waite, for instance advance the ball to the Tiger 25-yard line on passes in the third quarter, then ran four consecutive ground plays for a net loss of 13 yards. The Tigers at one time worked into Waite territory, then with only two yards necessary for a first down, wasted two attempts trying to pass and were forced to punt.
The Tigers pushed over two touchdowns before Waite could score. Midway in the first period, when Waite was pressing its secondary to stop Tiger ball carriers, Pellegrini raced back and fired a long pass over the heads of the Indians’ safety to Willmot, who had to wait for the ball to float into his arms. He still had time to go the rest of the route for 51 yards. The pass changed the complexion of the game, for only two plays before, Willmot went high in the air to spear one of Horvath’s passes that had touchdown written all over it, for Hrabovsky had gotten behind Willmot and would have went for the works had not the latter left his feet to haul in the leather and return 29 yards to his 49-yard line, from where the Massillon touchdown pass was completed. Cardinal kicked the extra point that followed to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
The local team struck back quickly for a second touchdown when Pellegrini kicked off and covered Howard Schatzke’s fumbled return on the Waite 41. Pellegrini ran to the 26 and Holt plunged to the 15 but a 15-yard penalty for holding put the Tigers back momentarily. Here the old Statue of Liberty was hauled out of the bag, and Bray, taking the ball from Pellegini, ran 22 yards to the 20-yard line. Holt plunged for a first down and Pellegrini tossed to Cardinal for the rest of the distance. He again kicked the extra point to bring the score to 14-0.
Waite Comes Back
Waite took the following kickoff and did not stop until it crossed the Massillon goal. A poor kickoff went out of bounds on the Indians’ 49. Lamoreaux was thrown for a six-yard loss, so Horvath began tossing to Hrabovsky, once for 17 yards, again for 22 yards which brought a first down on the 18-yard line, and another for eight yards. A five-yard penalty for off-side gave the Indians a first down on the Tigers’ four-yard line and here the Massillonians bristled in good old fashioned spirit. Louis Smith hit for three yards, but the ball still remained on the one-yard line after the next two plays. Waite didn’t shift on fourth down, however, and with a quick opening play, Horvath broke through for the touchdown. Richard Wandtke was sent in to hold the ball for the attempted kick but fumbled it and the Indians lost the point.
The Tigers scored their only touchdown of the period on a blocked punt. Horvath intercepted Pellegrini’s pass on the seven-yard line after the Massillonians had carried the kickoff deep into Toledo territory. Horvath tried to punt on first down, but Barney Wallace got his face in the way of the ball, blocked the punt and Chuck Holt scooped up the leather and ambled over for the score. Cardinal’s kick for the extra point was wide. The Tigers tried for another in the period and nearly got it. Time expired as Pellegrini tossed to Bray for 23 yards and a first down on the one yard line. Waite was offside. The Tigers had the choice of the ball or the penalty. They took the ball, which meant the half was over. Had they taken the penalty, Waite would have been penalized which would have placed the ball on the 19-yard line and there would have been time left for one play.
The fans didn’t understand the ruling and thought the officials had wasted precious seconds, conferring with the Massillon players which caused time to expire before the ball could be put in play again. As a result they let out a big boo when the arbitrators walked off the field. The ruling was explained during intermission.
Scoreless Third Period
Neither team scored in the third quarter, Waite advancing he greatest distance, reaching the Massillon 25-yard line on one occasion.
The Tigers got in motion early in the fourth period, however and passed and ran their way 88 yards. A 17-yard toss to Cardinal moved the ball into position for a 15-yard toss to Holt for the touchdown. Cardinal booted the extra point.
The last score came shortly after when Pellegrini again caught the Waite secondary asleep and tossed the ball to Willmot for 56 yards and a touchdown. Willmot caught the ball on the 15-yard line, which means the leather traveled approximately 56 yards through the air, since Pellegrini was almost 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he fired. Holt plunged the extra point.
Coach Kammer sent in his second team, and Waite soon was knocking on the Tiger door. Horvath tossed to Hrabovsky for 32 yards, and another for 11 yards put the ball on the Tiger 25. A peg to Raether advanced it to the seven and the Massillon first team went in. That made too many times out and the Tigers were penalized five yards to the two, from which Louis Smith exploded for the touchdown. Another attempt for the extra point was muffed.
The Indians still were not stopped. The next time they got the ball they struck back, Horvath tossing to Hrabovsky for 34 yards and nine yards. He tried to pitch for the touchdown, but Sam Yelic hauled to the leather on the one-yard stripe and began to run with the ball. He was tossed behind the goal for a safety and two points for Waite. The game ended before the Tigers could kick out.
Still Winners
Massillon Waite Willmott le Collins Williams lt V. smith R. Wallace lg Lehman B. Wallace c Kimpon Weisgarber rg Foster Paulik rt Westenkirchner Jasinski re Raether Cardinal qb Hrabovsky Pellegrini lh Horvath Bray rh Lamoreaux Holt fb L. Smith
Statistics Mass. Waite First Downs 10 14 Yards Rushing 72 103 Yards Lost Rushing 16 34 Net Gain Rushing 57 69 Yards Passing 173 190 Total Net Gain 230 259 Passes Attempted 14 19 Passes Completed 6 12 Times Punted 4 3 Average Punt (yards) 32 34 Times Kicked Off 6 3 Times Penalized 9 4 Yards Penalized 65 20 Fumbles 3 4 Lost Ball on Fumble 0 3
Crowd of 13,467 Fans Sees Tiger Lineman Throw Warren Runners For Four Losses In A Row; Graber Injured
By Luther Emery
The Washington high Tigers ran their undefeated string to 50 games Friday evening in a slugfest with Warren Harding high in Tiger Stadium that ended in a 32-0 triumph for the Tigers and injury to their triple threat halfback, Bob Graber.
There is news to both, but at this stage of the season with Canton McKinley only three weeks away, injuries are more important to the Massillon fan’s eyes, and that’s why so many flocked into the Tiger dressing room after the game.
Sprained Ankle
Graber sustained a severe sprain to his left ankle, while tackling Warren’s fine fullback, Tony Marcarello, in the fourth quarter. An examination after the game failed to reveal any broken bones, but x-ray pictures will be taken today in order to thoroughly establish the extent of the injury.
Graber’s injury was the climax of the roughest and toughest game played in Tiger Stadium this year in which players more than once appeared to lose their temper. Only one penalty was called for unnecessary roughness, that when a Warren player was caught slugging, but throughout the evening, players showed a willingness to pile on.
The crowd of 13,467 even warmed up to the temper of the game, and several times booed the fisticuffs.
Tigers Not In Form
Still showing a tendency to fumble, and giving a poor exhibition of forward passing, the Tigers were not in form last night. They played, good hard football the first half, when they established their superiority over the visiting team and toyed with Warren the rest of the way, throwing pass after pass but only completing two out of 13 attempts for the small gain of 29 yards.
Thirty-two points as a whole are enough for any game, but the Massillon gridders did not appear to be point hungry last night. The drive they exhibited early in the game, faded the last half, and injuries immediately began to crop out.
The Tigers found in Warren just what they expected, a heavy but slow team. It may be the locals were themselves down the first two periods pushing the Presidents around. At least they looked as bad off and exhausted after the game as at anytime this season, though the only serious injury appeared to be to Graber’s ankle. Bob Wood, of Warren was carried from the field in the second half but only received a slight sprain it was revealed.
The Tigers crossed the Warren goal twice in the first period, and once in each of the remaining periods, and were denied a sixth touchdown because of a clipping penalty.
Warren threatened the Massillon goal but once, and then lost the ball on second down, when Bob Wallace covered a fumble on the four-yard line. Vernon Weisgarber and Bob Wallace grabbed the limelight as linemen last night. The former, playing his third year of varsity football never gave a better exhibition than he did in the first quarter when he tossed Warren ball carriers for four losses in succession that totaled 21 yards. In addition he recovered a couple of Warren fumbles. Bob was battling hard throughout the night too and had a big share in the Tiger defensive line play.
Warren, as expected, showed Massillon some offense in Marcarello, who is an A-1 fullback who drives hard and does not quit driving until his nose is on the ground.
The statistics show the Tigers only gained two more first downs than the Presidents, the total was 12-10, and rolled up 332 yards to 142 yards.
You can put it down in the book that most of Warren’s 142 yards were made by Marcarello. What Coach Elwood Kammer wouldn’t give for him now that Graber has gone lame?
Two Touchdowns, One Counts
You can give Keve Bray and Chuck Holt credit for gaining most of theTiger yards. They turned in the two prettiest runs of the evening. Keve’s counted. Holt’s did not. The former’s produced the last touchdown of the game, a 74-yard gallop on a deep weak side reverse that was accompanied with a screen of fine blocking. Bray took the ball off Romeo Pellegrini almost on the east side line, and then ran fast across the field toward the west side line. He followed the great circle route, had the speed to do it and outlegged the first couple of Warren players who caught on to what was taking place. At the 50-yard line he saw his blockers forming, so he cut over toward the middle of the field to gain their support and they cut down the Warren tacklers one at a time. He found himself still in good company when he crossed into the promised land.
There wasn’t any milk and honey served up to Holt on a near similar dash in the second quarter, but his run was just as spectacular. He intercepted Tony Marcarello’s pass on his own 20, and through his own power driving and some good blocking ran straight up the middle of the field for what appeared to be a touchdown. A clipping penalty was called on the Tiger 38-yard line, however, the touchdown was denied and the Tigers were set back to their 23-yard line.
Warren finished better than its reporters thought it would, but they don’t like the idea of winning moral victories, and are not classifying last night’s contest as such. The Tiger team had them guessing just as it had many Massillon fans confused when the firing was over. They wondered how an eleven so good the first period and a half could fade so badly the remainder of the game.
An analysis seems to indicate that the Tigers concentrated more on a pass rehearsal with a 19-point lead than it did on making more points. At least the offense bogged down once two and three throws were worked into a series.
One shining bit of defensive work loomed in the fourth period when the Presidents made their only bid. Marching from their own 39-yard line, they carried the ball with the assistance of two five-yard penalties to the Tigers’ 20-yard line, where Marcarello broke loose for a 15-yard gain, and planted the ball on the five-yard line with four downs to make it in.
Marcarello was thrown into the Massillon trench to start with but the Tigers refused to yield. Then Luke White was called upon to do his stuff. He went into the pileup on the eight-man line, but lost the ball in the scuffle, and when all of the bodies were exhumed, Bob Wallace was found clutching the ball on the four-yard stripe. This ended the threat.
Moving Day
The Tigers didn’t experience any difficulty moving the Warren beef the first period even though the local line gave away 24 pounds to the man. They did a good job of rendering lard on 265-pound George Bollas, a guard, and forced him out of the game at an early stage of the contest.
Throughout the first half, the local team beat the Presidents to the first foot of ground and hit them so hard at the start, it looked as through the score could be just as high was they wanted.
Warren was the victim of “jitteritis”, or something, and fumbled frequently. On the fourth play of the game, Marcarello fumbled, and Jasinski came up with the ball on the 25-yard line. Capt. Holt deployed his team the width of the field on a spread, and Graber instead of passing, chose to run with the ball and gained seven yards. Bray reeled off 10 around left end and Graber smashed through for the touchdown. Cardinal missed the placekick for the extra point. Two fumbles and an intercepted pass later and the Tigers got the ball on a poor punt on the Warren 33. Holt moved the ball up four yards and Graber, running from a T went to a first down on the 13-yard line. Bray dribbled the ball along four yards and then knifed through left tackle for the touchdown. Holt plunged the extra point over.
Don Willmot recovered Tom Brogdon’s fumble on the Tiger 36-yard line, to start the third touchdown series. Two plays had gained six yards when Holt broke loose and ran 45 yards to the 13-yard line. Graber went over for the touchdown. Holt missed the attempted kick.
The Tigers moved down to the Warren 13 the next time they gained possession of the ball, but surrendered it on downs.
The Presidents’ defense stiffened the third period and threw the Tigers back on the 25-yard line in the opening minutes of the second half. Bray hauled in one of Tony Marcarcello’s passes on the Tiger 44 and, fumbled when tackled, Bob Wallace pounced on the ball for Massillon. Graber passed to Jasinski for 12 yards, one of two passes worked by the Tigers all evening, and another first down. In two attempts Holt lugged the leather through a mass of humanity to the 33-yard line; then plunged to another first on the 13. In three plays Holt and Graber plunged to the one-yard line and Fred Cardinal took it over. He attempted to kick the extra point but it was wide of the uprights.
The final points came in the fourth period on Bray’s 74-yard run from a deep reverse.
String Of 50
Massillon Pos. Warren Willmot le Ecker Williams lt Wood R. Wallace lg Bollas B. Wallace c Kujala Weisgarber rg Sicuro Paulik rt Horvath Jasinski re Palchick Cardinal qb T. Moarcarello Graber lh White Bray rh Barzak Holt fb A. Marcarello
Approximately 9,000 Fans See Bob Graber And Keve Bray Pace Massillon Eleven In 49th Combat Without A Defeat
By Luther Emery
The Washington high Tigers played their poorest football of the season before 9,000 fans at Mansfield Friday evening and were paid the highest possible compliment for it.
They sputtered and they fumbled, and as they walked off the field with a 32-0 victory, their 49th game without a defeat, some Mansfield fans rejoiced, for they had expected to be beaten by as many as 72 points. No greater honor could be bestowed upon any team than to be a moral loser on 32 points.
Revamped Lineup
The Tigers were not at their best but neither were they their strongest. Their blocking quarterback, Fred Cardinal, sat on the bench the entire contest, two of the players, Don Willmot and Barney Wallace, were working on their nerve, and Tom Jasinski was put out in the second period for exchanging blows with a Mansfield substitute.
What the score doesn’t show is a touchdown that was not allowed because of the above mentioned fisticuffs, and the loss of six more points on a fumble at the goal line in the last 15 second.
But Mansfield has had a habit of winning its victories from Massillon the moral way and last night’s was no exception. It’s largely because the Tigers have entered every Mansfield game the heavy favorite only to find the Richland county team geared to top pitch, and ready to play its best brand of football for the season.
Only Team To Tie Tigers
Two of these so-called moral victories were credited to Richland county pigskin history in 1937 and again in 1941 when Mansfield tied the Tigers and on each occasion put a crimp in Massillon victory streaks. In fact Mansfield is the only Ohio eleven to get that near the Tigers since Canton McKinley whipped the local team 21-6 in the last game of the 1934 season.
In 1940 the Massillon eleven traveled to Mansfield, the favorite by 60 points, and wound up in the 30’s just as it did last night. The Tyger fans rejoiced that their team had held Massillon to its lowest score thus far that season. Snyder had cooked up a right smart defense that foiled the best efforts of the great array of Tom James, Fred Blunt, Ray Getz, and Horace Gillom for the greater part of the first half.
Mansfield was riding in the clouds again last night and during the greater part of the first quarter it was the Tygers not the Tigers who were doing most of the ground gaining.
But lightning split the clouds in the form of Keve Bray ere the first quarter was about to end without a score, and the Tiger halfback raced 46 yards after taking a lateral pass, for a touchdown and Chuck Holt slam-banged his way over for the extra point that showed who was going to set the pace the rest of the game.
It took sensational ones like that to get scores last night – there was no fooling around with this Mansfield team, and the latter probably said the same about the Tigers when midway in the second period, Bob Graber dropped back into punt formation on third down with 15 to go, tucked the ball under this arm and ran 37 yards for a touchdown.
18 Points Last Half
That was enough for the half and the third quarter was well along before another 33-yard run by Graber was followed by a 14-yarder by Bray for the third touchdown of the game.
Fireworks were touched off to set up the fourth score as Bray lugged an intercepted pass 46 yards to the 19-yard line, from which it was put over in two plays with Chuck Holt carrying the ball.
The only forward pass completed by the varsity all evening, a 31-yard toss, Graber to Willmot, set up the final score of the game, with Bray lugging the leather the last five yards to the goal line.
Fumbles and interception of passes made the Tigers look bad. They lost the ball six times on fumbles and had two passes intercepted, which is kicking away a good many scoring opportunities. Since Mansfield also lost the ball several times on fumbles and pass interceptions it appears a wet ball may have been responsible for the loose ball handling. Though the field was not muddy and did not even appear soggy to the fans, it was like a sponge. Players had a hard time getting good footing, and this helped to throw off their timing.
The Tigers sought to split Mansfield with a series of quick opening plays the first half but found the Tygers a stubborn outfit, hard to run through and hard to throw against. They kept five men deployed in their secondary and Graber wasn’t pitching accurately.
Carried Ball Well
The Tiger halfback was running hard, however, and time and again got loose for long gains. It was largely a case of long gains or none. You sat with your chin in your hands when two cracks at the line failed to dent the Mansfield forward wall, but the next moment you were on your toes, when somebody broke loose for 35 yards. Then perhaps all went for naught when the ball was lost on a fumble.
That in brief, was the trend of most of the game, though the Tigers managed to hang on to the leather sufficiently to cross the goal five times, and succeeded in keeping Mansfield behind the 40-yard line.
Long runs do not make a showing in first downs but they account for yardage in the statistics. That’s why the Tigers only made 10 first downs to Mansfield’s six; but on the other hand they had a net total of 300 yards from rushing and 87 more from passing against Mansfield’s net rushing gains of 103 yards and eight yards from passing.
Roland Schmidt, a sophomore halfback, who runs fast and with knees high gained most of Mansfield’s yards in the first quarter and gave the left side of the Tiger line and the backer uppers a series of headaches, before they finally got next to stopping him. He carried the ball for three first downs in three different series of plays the opening period, getting away once for a run of 17 yards. He didn’t do much the last three periods.
Three Sophomore Backs
Three members of the Mansfield backfield were sophomores, which looks as though Coach Snyder’s strategy is to come up with a good team once every three years. He started that way four years ago and wound up with last year’s Mansfield team. He has a flock of sophs and juniors on his squad this season.
One thing about the rules of football, a player can’t defend himself from the rage of an opposing player without being put out of the game.
A good example happened last night and because of it Bray is not credited with a 55-yard touchdown sprint, which would have been the longest run of the game.
While Keve was loping along near the 20-yard line, Jasinski removed the last possible obstacle from his path by nearly knocking Joe Parry, Mansfield guard, into the stands with a vicious shoulder block. Parry was first to swing and Jasinski punched back, and in so doing punched himself right out of the game.
The touchdown was not allowed. The ball was brought back to its original position on the Massillon 45-yard line and both players were put out of the game.
Both teams were equally guilty as far as the rules are concerned, but the penalty governing this type of infraction is far from being equal. The Tigers lost a touchdown, and one of their regular players. Mansfield’s only loss was a substitute player.
Fumble Costs Touchdown
The Tiger second team only played a few minutes last night, and a fumble robbed the youngsters of an opportunity to score. Two passes thrown by Romeo Pellegrini, one for 35 yards to Bill Gable and another for 14 yards to Henry Mastriann, put the ball on the five-yard line. Mastriann plunged to within a yard of the goal, but the ball was lost on a fumble on the next play and Mansfield recovered. The game ended before the Tygers could get going.
The first quarter was almost over and the Tigers found themselves being pushed around by Mansfield, when they cut loose with their first touchdown effort. Starting from his own 20, Graber raced 34 yards around his right end to he Mansfield 46. It looked as though he was loose for a touchdown, but a Mansfield player managed to tag him on the heel causing him to lose his balance and fall. On the very next play, Bray wheeled around his left end behind fine blocking, to pick up the remaining 46 yards and Holt plunged for the extra point. On the second series of the second quarter, Bray made his fruitless touchdown run, and the ball was restored to the 45. Graber picked up 23 yards to take the ball to the 32, and when two more plays resulted in a net loss of five yards through a penalty, he dropped into punt formation. Instead of punting he ran hard to his right, then cut back to his left and crossed the goal with ease. Holt kicked the extra point and the score was 14-0 at the half.
The Tigers threatened once in the third quarter when they blocked a Mansfield kick on the 20-yard line but they only moved up a yard in four attempts and lost the ball. They stopped Mansfield, too, and Graber brought Lewis’ fine punt back to the Tyger 47. Grabbing a lateral pass he raced around end to the 14-yard line, for a dash of 33 yards, and Bray on the next play was turned loose through left tackle for the remaining distance. Holt missed his attempted kick for the extra point.
Three fumbles and two intercepted passes later, and the Tigers were in position to score their fourth touchdown. Bray grabbed Schmidt’s pass after the Tygers had reached the Massillon 40-yard line and raced to the 19 before he was thrown out of bounds. He turned end to the one yard line on the following play and Holt banged through for the touchdown, but missed the kick for the extra point.
A 29-yard pass from Graber to Willmot planted the ball on the 10-yard line and set up the last score. Power sneaked for five yards and Bray took it over. Holt’s attempted kick was wide of the posts.
Good Enough
Massillon Pos. Mansfield Willmot le Burrage Edwards lt Snyder R. Wallace lg Geattle B. Wallace c Snowland Weisgarber rg Hatler Paulik rt Guy Jasinski re Lewis Power qb Rachel Graber lh Schmidt Bray rh Zivkoff Holt fb Boyce
Statistics Tigers Mansfield Total First Downs 10 6 Yards Gained by Rushing 316 107 Yards Lost by Rushing 16 4 Net Yards Gained by Rushing 300 108 Net Yards Gained by Passing(a) 87 8 Forward Passes Attempted 11 7 Forward Passes Completed 3 2 Passes Had Intercepted 2 2 Times Ball Lost on Fumbles 6 4 Number of Penalties Against 2 2 Yards Lost by Penalties 10 20
Largest Crowd of Season Moans And Applauds As Steubenville Outplays Massillon Eleven First Two Periods
By Luther Emery
An inspired Steubenville football team, guided by a capable son of Massillon, outplayed the Washington high Tigers for two periods here Friday evening, while 18,372 hearts pounded, but succumbed to its own spent efforts to absorb a 33-13 beating, its first of the season.
Program Cover
The initial loss was far from disgraceful. The Big Red gave Massillon fans what they have wanted to see, a ding dong battle with the decision hanging in the balance and for the first time since the Tigers were defeated by New Castle, Pa., in 1937, they trailed at half. It was 7-6 at intermission.
Big Red’s First Half
Points and first downs were all in the Big Red’s favor the first two periods, and though a fumble cost Massillon a touchdown in the opening period, the Tigers were fortunate to as much as score thereafter in the half. It took a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness which nullified a loss of 15 yards on an attempt to pass, and moved the ball into position for their only score of the first half which came with 25 seconds left to play.
It was a poor first half as far as the Tiger brand of football was concerned, but it was a brilliant first half for the Big Red and an exciting one for fans of both teams as hopes flared and faded with fumbles and pass interceptions.
The Tigers began to find themselves in the last five minutes, but not until after the Big Red’s No. 1 player, Johnny Stojack, and the best to set foot on the local gridiron this fall, was carried off with injuries.
A Great Player
Stojack, who scored the Stubbers first touchdown, and gained practically all of the yards on the ground, was a bear as well on defense and played his heart out for his coach and team.
He returned to the game thrice after being hurt, but was only a shadow of the athlete who slashed through the Tigers the first period and a half.
Had he and Guido Mastroianna escaped injury and been able to have stuck out the entire contest, Massillon physicians would have found themselves overrun with heart cases today—the score would have been too close for comfort.
The star end and halfback, however, couldn’t stand up under the pounding and had to give way to substitutes who were far inferior to them in point of performance. An x-ray will be taken of Stojack’s shoulder today, but it is not believed serious. Mastroianna may have sustained one or more damaged ribs.
Here the Tigers had an edge. Their condition was superior and they had better replacements, two items that had a big influence on the score, and extended their undefeated string to 48 games.
It was evident from the opening kickoff that Brinker had the Big Red flaring. They raced out of the huddle and over the ball in a business like way and took off with the center snap so eagerly that they were frequently penalized for being offside. They were beating the Tigers to the first yard of turf, however, and when this is going on, you can expect an occasional offside penalty.
The Massillon attack, on the other hand sputtered under what appeared to be a poor selection of plays the first two periods, and poor ball handling had the team in the hole time and again.
The Big Red set up a 5-4-2 defense when the Tigers came out of the huddle, but jumped two men into the line just before the ball was snapped on single-wing plays thereby confusing the local players and at the same time massing the defense to face the ball carrier.
When the Tigers threw from punt formation, the Big Red secondary stayed put, and had men spread all over the field to guard against the aerial attack.
Once the locals began concentrating on a ground attack inside the Big Red tackles, they began to move, and soon had Steubenville on the defensive.
Changed Cleats
A change of cleats between halves may have contributed to the improved offense. The Tigers wore their short cleats the first two periods, and had a hard time standing up. Everyone worked feverishly in the dressing room during intermission to make the change over to long cleats and players had firmer footing the last two periods.
It was a big relief to Tiger fans to see their team finally begin hitting on all eleven and launch sustained drives that carried them into the promised land.
With the Big Red showing signs of weakening the last few minutes of the first half, most Massillon fans felt the Tigers would come through the last two periods, but few expected the score to mount to 33 points.
But with the exception of a couple of long passes over the heads of a second string Massillon backfield that produced a touchdown in the fourth period, the Big Red showed nothing the second half. They had packed all of their energy into the first two periods and when the Tigers came out after intermission to take the kickoff and march 56 yards to a touchdown, the collapse was complete.
Where the Big Red made seven points to Massillon’s six and rolled up six first downs to Massillon’s four the first half, the Tigers made 10 first downs to the Stubbvers two the last two periods and 27 points to their six.
The second half offensive gave the local team what margin it enjoyed in the statistics. First downs were 14-8 and the net gain in yardage was 344 to 233.
“Now maybe they will believe me,” was Coach Elwood Kammer’s comment after the game. “They were definitely the best team we played this year and if you don’t think it was hard going out there, look at these kids.”
The youngsters were emerging from the coach’s room at this moment and as each came out of the door, he swallowed a conditioning pill.
There were limps, bruised lips, weak wrists and skinned faces, nine names were on the casualty list with orders to report for physical examinations and possible treatment Saturday.
Big Red Suffered, Too
The same condition existed in the Big Red dressing room where Brinker and his assistant made hasty examinations of players and wondered whether several would be able to carry on next week.
When you think back over the first half, you wonder whether the Tiger team will be able to stand up under the battering it has been absorbing at the hands of heavier opponents this year. When you recall how the lines fairly rattled when they clashed as each eleven sought to push over the first touchdown, you realize why both squads bore visible marks of the struggle.
The play during the first half was terrific, with breaks figuring in nearly every series, which resulted in the ball changing hands most of the time without a punt. In fact the Tigers punted but once the entire game.
The Tigers were first to threaten, and would have scored were it not for an unfortunate fumble. Keve Bray put the locals in position when he intercepted Stojack’s pass that had been deflected by Weisgarber, on the 26-yard line. A five-yard penalty and two plunges by Holt gained a first down on the 14 and Holt smashed his way to the five on the next play where he fumbled and Stojack covered for the Stubbers.
That got the Big Red hopped up and though they were in poor position to do anything offensively on the next series, Roush intercepted a pass for them after they punted out and it looked like the Steubenville teams of 10 years ago as the Tigers rolled back to their 10-yard line. A 25-yard pass, Stojack to Percy Brown figured in the march and the Big Red appeared off to the races as Stojack in two attempts crossed the goal. But the ball was called back the second time and the Stubbers drew a five-yard penalty. The officials made up for it on the next play, however and gave the Big Red a first down on the Tiger one yard line for unnecessary Massillon roughness. Call what followed, “The Siege of Stalingrad.” The Tigers imitated the gallant Russian defenders as they throw back the Big Red invasion and four ball carrying attempts for a net loss of five yards.
Threat Stopped
The eight man Massillon line bounced back everything that came its way and refused to budge. Brown was hurled at the center. He couldn’t gain an inch. Stojack took a crack at the middle. He got half a yard. Brown was tossed at the center again. He went down on a knee as he piled in for the loss of half a yard. Stojack was turned loose around his right end. Keve Bray sifted through and nailed him for a five-yard loss and the Tigers took over. They were doing nicely too, until Holt fumbled again on the 24-yard line and Johnny Chadnock covered for Steubenville.
Fred Cardinal had an opportunity to put on the feed bag when Stojack’s pass came his way, but in his anxiety to head for the oats bin he dropped the ball with a clear field ahead. Stopped in the air, Stojack took to the ground and on the next play a fake reverse, raced around right end for a touchdown. The shout that went up from the Steubenville stands was enough to roll the Ohio river. Mastroianna calmly kicked the extra point and the Tigers for the second time this season – trailed.
On the first play after the kickoff, the inspired Stubbers were given another lift when Roush intercepted Graber’s pass from punt formation on the Tiger 44. But Stojack was also injured on the play and the peppery Stubbers had an immediate relapse.
Brown tried to pass but Graber intercepted on his 38 and the door of the Tiger cage was open. Graber passed to Tom Jasinski for a first down on the Stubber 34 and the ball was advanced five more yards when Steubenville took a time out to get Stojack back into the contest. Graber fumbled and Holt covered for a loss of 17 yards. The Tigers were thrown back 15 more yards when Graber couldn’t find a receiver for his pass, but it did not count for the Big Red was charged with unnecessary roughness and penalized 15 yards, giving the Tigers the ball on the 28-yard line. Bray circled left end for nine yards and Holt took it to the 10. Stojack was again taken from the game with injuries. On the next play Holt plunged over the touchdown and the Tiger fans let loose a roar that must have been heard in Canton. Holt was thrown back when he tried to plunge the extra point across.
Only 55 seconds remained of the half and it closed two plays after the following kickoff.
Touchdown Parade
The second half was a Massillon parade most of the way, with the two most sensational plays, touchdown runs by Chuck Holt, called back because of penalties.
It was a tough break for Chuck. He went 51 yards on the one effort, but the officials tagged a penalty of illegal use of the hands on one player on the three-yard line and the Tigers drew a 15-yard penalty. They went over just the same.
On another occasion Graber tossed a 20-yard pass to Holt who juggled the ball on the 30-yard line, finally caught it and ran the rest of the way, only to have the effort nullified by an offside penalty. In this instance as well, the Tigers did not surrender the ball until they had crossed the goal. The Massillon sails were set right after the kickoff of the third period. Fred Cardinal nearly got away but was tossed on his 44. Carrying the ball five consecutive plays, as the Tigers worked inside the Big Red tackles, Holt put the pigskin on the 21-yard line. The Big Red looked for Holt again, but his time Bray came around his left end behind good blocking and carried to the five-yard line where he was hauled down from behind while slowing up to give his blockers an opportunity to finish the job ahead. Holt was over in two plays and the Tigers had taken the lead. Graber ran the extra point across outside right end and the score was 13-7.
The next time the Tigers gained possession of the ball they marched to another score. It was a drive of 56 yards with Holt and Bray carrying to the 12-yard line. There they drew a five-yard penalty, but Holt more than got it back as he carried to the eight-yard line and Bray circled his left end for a touchdown. The Stubbers stopped the first bid for the extra point, but were offside. On the second attempt, Graber went over to boost the score to 20-7.
Holt’s 51-yard no touchdown run followed the next Steubenville series. After the penalization for illegal use of the hands, the Tigers were given the ball on the Big Red 18. Holt went to the one-yard line and Dallas Power took over. Holt kicked the extra point and it was 27-7.
Score On Second Backfield
Kammer sent three new faces into his backfield to make the change in the ball carrying department complete. Weisgarber blocked a Steubenville punt and the Tigers covered on the 36. The second string backs moved the ball to the two-yard line where they lost it on downs. The youngsters held, but were tagged with roughing the kicker, and the Big Red was given a first down on its 10-yard line. Throwing from behind his goal, Brown pitched to Bill Snyder for 38 yards and a yard short of midfield. On the very next play he fired to Dick Roush, who caught the leather on the 30 and went the rest of the distance for Big Red’s second touchdown.
An attempt to kick the extra point failed.
Kammer sent in his first string backs again and Holt immediately took the kickoff and raced back to the Big Red 48 before being downed. The Tigers drew a 15-yard penalty for clipping on the play, however and lost the ball on Bray’s fumble. Graber got it back on an intercepted pass and the locals were on the march again. Came the beautiful no count, catch by Holt followed by a five-yard penalty for offside that set the locals back to their own 45. Another five-yarder for too many times out pushed them back to their 40, but a 39-yard pass, Graber to Jasinski, gained a first down on the Big Red 20 and the backs alternated carrying the ball to the one-yard line where Graber went over for the final points of the game. On the first play after the kickoff, Graber intercepted Brown’s pass and got back to the Big Red 25 but the game ended before another play could be run off.
Thrilling
Massillon Steubenville Willmot le Snyder Edwards lt not readable R. Wallace lg not readable B. Wallace c not readable Weisgarber rg not readable Paulik rt not readable Jasinski re Mastroianna Cardinal qb Chadnock Graber lh Stojack Bray rh Roush Holt fb Brown
Score by periods Massillon 0 6 21 6 – 33 Steubenville 0 7 0 6 – 13
Game Statistics Tigers Big Red Total First Downs 14 3 Yards Gained by Rushing 266 127 Yards Lost by Rushing 18 16 Net Yards Gained by Rushing 248 111 Net Yards Gained by Passing (a) 96 122 Forward Passes Attempted 10 14 Forward Passes Completed 4 4 Passes Had Intercepted 2 4 Number of Punts 1 1 Average Distance of Punts (b) 24 24 Yards Punts Returned 18 0 Number of Kickoffs 7 2 Number of Fumbles 4 2 Times Ball Lost on Fumbles 3 0 Number of Penalties 9 10 Yards Lost by Penalties 78 56
MASSILLON SENDS STREAK TO 48 IN 33-13 TRIUMPH
Steubenville Succumbs After Leading at Half, 7 to 6
MASSILLON, OH., Oct. 16 – Trailing at half time, the Massillon High Tigers, undefeated since 1937, struck back in the two final periods to trounce a fighting Steubenville Big Red eleven, 33 to 13, before 18,372 fans here tonight.
It was Massillon’s 48th straight game without defeat.
Paced by John Stojack, hardest driving halfback seen in Tiger Stadium in four years, Steubenville led Massillon, 7 to 6, at half time.
Stojack repeatedly raced through the Massillon defense, finally scoring on a 23-yard jaunt off right tackle. Guido Mastrioanni, left end, kicked the extra point and the visitors took a second-quarter lead of 7 to 0.
The Tigers then lashed back. After an exchange of intercepted passes Massillon started from its 43. Capt. Chuck Holt culminated the advance by smashing left guard from the 9-yard line. Holt missed the extra point when he bucked the line. The half closed a minute later with the Stubbers in front 7 to 6.
Previous to the invaders’ touchdown the Tigers held for downs on their 1-yard line. Steubenville finally ended up on the 6-yard line.
In the third quarter the Tigers reeled off three touchdowns while the Stubbes were checked without a threat. Starting from their 44, the Tigers took the lead when Holt shot over from the 1-yard line. Graber ran over the extra point and the Tigers jumped ahead, 13 to 7.
The Tigers then started another march from their 44 with Right Halfback Keve Bray circling left end from the 8. Graber ran around right end for the 20th point.
A 52-yard drive ended the third-period scoring. Substitute Dallas Power went over from the 2 on a quarterback sneak. Holt converted and Coach Elwood Kammer’s club led 27 to 7.
Both teams registered six points in the final stanza. A series of aerials produced the second Steubenville touchdown. Standing on his 49-yard line, Percy Brown, fullback, pitched a long heave to Right Halfback Dick Roush, who dashed over unmolested.
With the score at 27 to 13, the Massillon first-string backfield again was inserted. On fourth down Graber drove off right tackle from the one, making the final score 33-13.
With Steubenville Coach In Stands, Massillon Eleven Runs Most of Its Plays From Punt And Spread Formations
By Luther Emery
The Alliance Aviators turned out to be zero fighters Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers held them scoreless before a record Alliance crowd of 10,000 fans while running and passing five touchdowns over the goal for a 34-0 victory.
It was the Tigers 47th game without a defeat and the first loss of the season for Alliance which had previously leveled three opponents in a row.
Alliance Made More First Downs
A screwy game statistically, you would never guess from a look at yardage gained and first downs made by the two teams that the winner would hold a 34-point advantage.
But that was the way it was. Alliance made more first downs than the Tigers, 12 to 9, and gained a net total of 150 yards from scrimmage, but could show narry a point for its efforts while the Tigers collected 34.
All can be explained.
The Tigers scored on long runs and touchdown runs do not count as first downs even though the ball carrier travels more than 10 yards.
Score On Long Runs
Four of the Tigers five touchdowns came on long jaunts and as a result do not show in the first downs. Likewise, two of the touchdowns do not show in yards gained from scrimmage because they were scored on a blocked punt and an intercepted pass. Together they totaled 135 yards.
Then too, Alliance rolled up more first downs than the Tigers and gained a sizeable amount of yardage against the Massillon second team but could not score because Coach Elwood Kammer sent in this first team – not so much to deny the Aviators a touchdown, but more for the opportunity to test the regulars in an eight-man line.
The Tigers won, and in so doing found the bomb of the Aviators a dud.
Alliance was expected to give the Tiger varsity more of a game than was in evidence last night, but the Tigers, quickly taking the initiative struck early, built up their score and fooled around the rest of the game.
In fact the local eleven ran most of its plays from punt formation and a wide spread that it used for the first time this season.
The Tigers deployed the width of the field on their spread and Bob Graber had himself a picnic in deep punt formation, running and passing all evening.
It only took two plays to get the first touchdown. Graber pitching to Tom Jasinski for 18 yards on the spread formation and Keve Bray ripping around his left end for the last 25 on second down.
A 76-yard march produced the second with Graber tossing to Bray for the touchdown, and Holt kicking the extra point.
The third was chalked up with the same lightning rapidity as the opening score. The Tigers received at the start of the second half and Chuck Holt got away for a touchdown as he brought the kickoff back to midfield. Graber took it to the 27 and tossed a pass from there to Don Willmot who went the rest of the distance.
Score On Breaks
The last two touchdowns came on breaks which the Tigers converted into points. Vernon Weisgarber got his big hands in the way of one of Dick McClure’s punts and the ball sank in the chest of Fred Cardinal who only had 35 yards to run to reach the promised land.
Graber got milk and honey later too in the fourth quarter in the longest run of the year when he went up in the air on the goal line to haul down McClure’s pass and ran approximately 97 yards to score. Bob Wallace put the finishing touches to the last tackler with a neat bit of blocking near midfield. The run was executed almost as perfectly as that made by Graber after intercepting a pass against Lincoln Nebraska a week ago.
Both touchdowns came when the Tigers were messing around trying to polish up their punt formation passing and end sweeps. The first ream had sufficient power and skill to handle the Aviators without difficulty. Not so with the second team.
It was against the seconds that the red and blue gained most of its ground, and twice the Tiger regulars had to rush in to shame the youngsters for not holding.
The Aviators had a first down on the five-yard line on one occasion, were inside the 10-yard line a second time, and were down to the 14 a third time, but couldn’t get the ball over. This burst of offensive power, however, took place in the last period when the Tiger regulars were on the bench and the Aviators didn’t like it a little bit as Coach Kammer sent in his first team when the goal line was threatened.
Good Blocking
The Tigers long runs for touchdowns can be attributed principally to another demonstration of great blocking by the ball carriers teammates.
The blocking as a whole was good and made possible Grabers long touchdown dash with an intercepted pass.
There’s a brother act in the Tiger line that is worth watching too. Barney and Bob Wallace time and again broke through Friday evening to throw Alliance runners for losses. Dick McClure, who did most of the passing especially came in for this punishment. Always rushed, he had to pick out his receivers quickly, or pick himself off the ground.
While the Tigers as a whole remained strong last night their glaring weakness was the second team line. In previous games this year the second stringers usually were able to play opponents first teams after the varsity had managed to wear them down a bit.
Not last night. The Aviators could do little offensively with the first team, but just as soon as the second team took over the Aviators moved. In fact the Tigers only had the ball in their hands three times the entire fourth quarter and on one of these occasions they punted on first down.
Maybe one of the reason why they were content to perform from a punt and spread formation last night was the fact that Howard Brinker, former Massillon junior high and now head football coach at Steubenville, was in the stands.
Coach Kammer didn’t want to give “Brink” anything to take back to show his Big Red team which plays here next Friday evening.
Alliance Gains on Passes
Discounting two long runs made by Aviator backs against the Tiger second team, the forward pass was Alliance’s most effective weapon as far as ground gaining was concerned, but it backfired at the goal line when one pass was intercepted for a touchdown and another for a touchback.
The Aviators gained 118 yards and lost 57 trying to carry the ball for a net gain of 61 yards from rushing. Considering that two runs against the second team totaled 69 yards you can see that Alliance lost more than it gained from rushing the rest of the game.
In passing, however, the Aviators connected eight times in 21 attempts for 98 yards. The Tigers intercepted four passes. The local eleven completed four passes in 11 attempts for 81 yards and had two intercepted. The 81 yards added to a net of 163 yards from rushing gave the Tigers a net gain of 244 yards for their evening’s work.
Fans saw something in the way of good punting last night too. McClure got off the first one, a 74-yarder that sent the Tigers back deep into their own territory. In the fourth period Graber duplicated the stunt by catching the Alliance safety man off guard and kicking the ball 72 yards.
It was raining on both occasions, but the moisture didn’t appear to hamper the operations at any time.
The Tigers sent the Aviators into a tail spin ere fans had settled in their seats. Alliance took the kickoff, and when two plays only advanced the leather to the Tiger 22, McClure punted high to his own 43. On the first play Graber, throwing from spread formation, pitched a beauty to Tom Jasinski who caught the ball just past the line of scrimmage and ran to the Alliance 25. The locals wheeled Bray around left end on the next play and all he had to do was run behind the superb blocking thrown up in front of him. Holt carried the extra point across.
Recovers Kickoff
The Tigers recovered the next kickoff when the ball was driven off the chest of an Alliance player and back into the hands of Dave Edwards who covered on the Alliance 49. The drive extended to the (information unavailable) where Graber punted into the end zone.
Alliance gained its only first down of the period when Geltz plunged for eight yards after McClure had made four. But the Tigers plugged the hole in the left side of the line and forced Alliance to punt.
The quarter ended with the score 7-6. Getting the ball on the 24-yard line, the locals launched a 76-yard drive. Holt and Graber carried to the 11-yard line and when Holt was tossed for a yard loss, Graber threw to Bray for the touchdown. Holt placekicked the extra point.
Nothing of any importance took place the rest of the period and the half closed at 14-0.
Holt nearly got away on the kick-off that opened the second half. He was hauled down on the 50 after exploding right through the middle of the Aviator team. Graber nearly got away but was pulled down from behind on the 37. On the next play he fired the ball to Willmot for a touchdown. Holt’s kick was low.
Graber nearly got loose again when he ran from his own 32 to the Alliance 30 but an Alliance player ticked him on the heels from behind in a desperate tackle. The ball was moved to the 11-yard line where the Tigers tried to pass their way across, failed and were held for downs. McClure tried to punt out but Weisgarber half blocked the ball and it fell into the arms of Cardinal on the 35-yard line. He powered his way down the sidelines behind good blocking for a touchdown and Holt kicked the ball out of the park on a successful attempt for the extra point.
With the second stringers taking over, Alliance gained ground. Passes from McClure to Faulkner and Hahlen took the ball to a first down on the seven-yard line. The Tiger regulars took over, stopped three running plays with a net gain of three yards and Holt intercepted a pass behind the goal on fourth down to end the threat.
Graber got off a booming kick to the Alliance eight-yard line and the Tiger second team went back into the game. But Alliance came down the field, again on long runs by Geltz and McClure and a 15-yard penalty against Massillon that gave the Aviators a first down on the 10.
Again, the first team took over, threw the Aviators back, and when McClure tried to flip the ball over the line on a short pass, Graber pulled it down and ran 97 yards for a touchdown. Holt again kicked the extra point, and the Tiger subs took over once more. Geltz and McClure ran the ball back to the Tiger 13 where the second stringers stopped the threat without the aid of the varsity. Henry Mastriann plunged for a first down and the game ended as the Tigers punted back to midfield.
It Was 34-0
Massillon Pos. Alliance Willmot le D. Hahlen Edwards lt Pegler R. Wallace lg Iannotti B. Wallace c Andreanni Weisgarber rg Gempler Paulik rt J. Hahlen Jasinski re Faulkner Cardinal qb McClure Graber lh Ulbrecht Bray rh Castiglione Holt fb Geltz
Game Statistics Tigers Alliance Total First Downs 8 13 Yards Gained by Rushing 178 118 Yards Lost by Rushing 10 17 Net Yards Gained by Rushing 168 101 Net Yards Gained by Passing 81 98 Forward Passes Attempted 11 21 Forward Passes Completed 4 8 Passes Had Intercepted 2 4 Number of Punts 3 6 Average Distance of Punts (b) 39 36 Number of Kickoffs 6 1 Average Distance of Kickoffs 30 30 Number of Fumbles 0 2 Times Ball Lost on Fumbles 0 0 Number of Penalties Against 5 2 Yards Lost by Penalties 35 10
10,000 WATCH AVIATORS LOSE FIRST OF YEAR
Tigers Roll to Touchdown in 2 Plays After Getting Ball
ALLIANCE, OH., Oct. 9 – Massillon’s mighty Tigers chalked up their fourth straight victory here tonight as they routed the Alliance Aviators 33-0. A throng of 10,000 saw Alliance suffer its first loss in four games.
The Tigers scored their first touchdown in two plays after gaining possession of the ball in the opening quarter. A pass from Graber to Jasinski picked up 20 yards and Keve Bray ran 20 more on a sweep.
A 15-yard aerial toss from Graber to Bray brought a second period touchdown. Holt placed kicked goal. In the third frame Graber passed 20 yards to Willmot for another counter.
The victory extended mighty Massillon’s unbeaten steak to 47 games. Cardinal recovered a partially blocked Alliance punt and returned 25 yards to score and Holt placed kicked goal.
In the fourth quarter when Alliance was threatening the Massillon goal line, Graber erased the threat by intercepting a pass from McClure on the Massillon 5 and rumbling 5 yards to the promised land. Holt’s placement made it 33-0.
ALLIANCE MASSILLON D. Hahlen LE Willmot Pegler LT Edwards Iannotti LG R. Wallace Andreanni C B. Wallace Gempler RG Weisgarber J. Hahlen RT Paulik Faulkner RE Jasinski Skillern QB Cardinal Ulbrecht LH Graber Castiglione RH Bray Geltz F Holt
Ball Carriers Given As Fine An Exhibition Of Downfield Blocking As Has Ever Been Seen Here; 15,819 Fans Stand Up and Cheer
By Luther Emery
Ox cannot lick Tiger.
This was proved convincingly to 15,819 fans who saw the Washington high Tigers outspeed and outfight a heavier Lincoln, Neb., high school team here Friday evening to extend their undefeated string of games to 46 with a rousing 40-6 victory.
There was fear in more than one Massillonian’s heart when the towering Lincoln players took the field, packing from eight to 10 more pounds per player than the Tigers.
Speed Excells Weight
The fears were justified in the first period, when Lincoln covered a Massillon fumble inside the 30-yard line and charged back after being stopped once, to score on a well executed forward pass that had the Tigers trailing 6-0 at the end of the quarter.
Then lightning struck with the suddenness of the jungle cat and it was evident to all that the superior speed and fight of the Massillonians could more than offset the weight advantage held by the visitors.
The Tigers were mad and even that isn’t saying it. Any fan who thought they might fold, folded under his own astonishment when the locals grabbed the kickoff following the Lincoln touchdown and in three running plays, tied the score at 6-6. Keve Bray lugged the leather over in a jaunt to the sidelines then a reverse of his field for 30 yards, on the opening play of the second period.
Holt was thrown back when he tried to lug the ball over for the extra point, but it mattered not as the final score shows, and the Nebraskans might well have turned to corn huskin’ the rest of the game as far as football was concerned.
The Lincoln defense collapsed completely after the touchdown and it was one steady parade of touchdowns through the heralded Nebraska forward wall from there on in.
Lead of 20-6 At Half
The Tigers drove 58 yards for another the next time they got the ball, with Chuck Holt bouncing over for the last six inches. Then came the third and final Massillon touchdown of the half, an 85-yard return of an intercepted Lincoln pass by halfback, Bob Graber. Brother, you can watch the ball carriers, our eyes are on the blockers from now on in.
Members of the Tiger team convoyed Graber, those 85 yards just like Uncle Sam protects his transports. All Bob had to do was run down the side line, and run he did. One tackler came after him just as he intercepted the ball. Wham, and Keve Bray removed him from his path. Fifteen yards down the sidelines, another Lincoln tackler boomed in, you could hear the thud in the stands when Tom Jasinski knocked him out of the play. Graber found another tackler awaiting him at the 50-yard stripe. Chuck Holt almost cut him in two. At the 35-yard line the last Lincoln player cut across the field to make the tackle. Bob was running a straight line, three feet in from the sidelines. He slowed up a bit, when up came Bob Wallace with a leveler that gave Graber a clear path the rest of the way. The stands roared for once the blockers were getting the same share of glory as a ball carrier. Old high school players who were stars in their day, like “Swig” Thomas bounced right out of their seats. “Never saw anything like it.”
Graber’s Run Is Longest
Massillon’s mighty Tigers, state title claimants the last seven years continued to prowl with a 40 to 6 win over Nebraska’s state champs from Lincoln – the 46th straight game without defeat for the Stark county powerhouse. Bob Graber, Massillon back, intercepted a pass and raced 80 yards for the week’s longest touchdown run.
It was a clear out demonstration of what good, hard blocking can do.
In fact the Tiger offense began to improve just as soon as Fred Cardinal, their regular blocker, got into the game. Dallas Power started in his place and did just as good as could be expected, considering that he has worked most of the time with the backs of the second team, and was not sufficiently timed with the first team backs. His blocking showed to better advantage when he was working with the second team than when he was on the first string eleven, and he laid some beauties into his opponents.
The 85-yard touchdown run by Graber, gave the Tigers a comfortable 20-6 lead at the end of the first half and fans leaned back in their seats the last two periods to enjoy the game with greater assurance of victory.
Lincoln Flashed “T”
Lincoln shot the works, forwards off laterals, spinners, and sneakers off the “T” formation, but the visitors lacked the speed to cope with the local eleven. Their best weapon was the forward pass and they had a fine thrower in Gene Kirkendall, who completed five throws for 87-yards, but his team lost more yards than it gained on running plays and as a result showed but two first downs in the summary, one in each half, against the Tigers 18 first downs, nine in each half.
The Tigers gained 380 yards by rushing, only lost one yard, and completed two passes for gains of 36 yards. They completed another for a touchdown but it was not allowed because Don Willmott, the receiver, was offside on the play.
To the spectator, the game was far better than the 40-6 score would indicate. The powerful first quarter, alone paid its dividends in interest and enthusiasm and the band show at the half would be a cinch in Madison Square Garden.
To the Massillon fan, the Tiger football team has doubled in improvements with each succeeding game, and in the opinion of Coach Elwood Kammer, it will have to double again in order to take the measure of Alliance high next Friday evening. Kammer trying to conceal his joy of victory after the game, got his players into a huddle and reminded them that a Youngstown newspaperman last week picked Alliance to win the Stark county championship this year.
At the other end of the stadium, in the Lincoln dressing room, players and coaches were trying to figure out what had happened. “We don’t know,” one of the players remarked, and he was sporting about it.
No Alibi For Defeat
Noticing his disappointment, we ventured the suggestion that it isn’t easy to ride all night in a railroad coach and play football the next day.
“No, that didn’t have anything to do with it,” the game youngsters replied, “we are not going to use that for an alibi, we were beaten good, and that’s all there is to it. But we didn’t quit, did we? I know I didn’t,” and the abrasions on his nose, forehead, and cheek certainly testified to that.
The visitors were sporting about the whole affair, and admitted that this venture into Ohio football, was considerably different from the two occasions years ago, when they knocked Toledo Waite loose from the Ohio pedestal when the Maumee gridders were ruling the Buckeye football throne.
The whole story seems to be that the Massillon eleven last night actually showed the type of football it is capable of playing. The Links, with a big, strong and heavier forward wall, thought they could stop the Tiger running attack with a six-man line, so they deployed five men in the secondary in 2-2-1 fashion to guard against passes. The latter worked fairly successful, but the six-man line wasn’t equal to the task as was clearly demonstrated when the Tigers roared back in three plays after the Lincoln touchdown to tie the score. Occasional passes were thrown, and even though only two of them worked, they were effective from a strategic standpoint in that they forced the Lincoln secondary to stay back, and thereby opened the way for the running attack.
The Tigers were in a hole most of the first period, and though they pulled themselves out, a bad punt or a bit of bad judgment got them in again and helped to open the way for Lincoln’s touchdown.
On the second play of the game, Holt fumbled and Bob Patton of Lincoln flopped on the ball on the Tiger 32. You could almost get a ping out of the tense anxiety in the stands, but on fourth down, Graber ended the threat when he snared on of Kirkendall’s passes on the 17-yard stripe.
Lincoln Scores First
Then and there Lincoln showed signs of not being any too strong defensively, for the Tigers marched up the field to the Lincoln 43. Then with fourth down coming up and a yard needed for a first down, Graber punted and the ball slanted off his foot and out of bounds on the 35-yard line. The Links gained 10 yards on an exchange of punts and got the ball on their 45. They went to work and made Massillon hearts sink as they moved deeper and deeper into Tiger territory. Kirkendall worked a pass to Roger O’Donnell for a first down on the Tiger 35-yard line, but three more downs only gained five yards and it was fourth down and five to go. Everybody in the park seemed to know a forward pass was coming and so did the Tigers, but this fellow O’Donnell has the fightin’ Irish in his blood and he took off over the heads of the Massillon secondary to pull in the leather and stiff arm one-two-three tacklers before going over the goal in a heap. He went down in a thud with a Massillon player on top of him, but there’s no denying he made it and everybody in the stands asked the same question, “Is this the night!”
They felt a little better when Patton’s attempted kick for the extra point was wide of the upright for they saw the possibility of a 7-6 defeat removed, but still neither team had been thoroughly tested and it was only the first period.
Coach Kammer was concerned too, for he sent Cardinal, his first string blocker, into the lineup, to muster all the strength possible for this next thrust.
Maybe the Tigers didn’t need Cardinal. Maybe they could have done it without him, but what followed was legalized mayhem on the football field.
Cardinal got the kickoff and went back 20 yards to his 36. Holt’s blockers exploded a bomb in the middle of the Lincoln line and he raced to the visitors 46, a dash of 18 yards. Graber tried to pass but it didn’t connect, so he turned again to the running attack. This time he carried the ball and went 16 yards to he Lincoln 30. There the quarter ended.
Bray Ties It Up
Now it was Keve Bray’s turn to show what he could do and did he do it? He came around left end like the Broadway limited and cut back through the middle of the field to go over with room to spare, a 30-yard run that tied the score. An attempt to plunge the ball over failed.
The Tiger defense bristled and stopped Lincoln after the kickoff with a one-yard gain in three plays. Kirkendall kicked to the Massillon 42, and the Tigers were on the loose again. Holt banged to the Lincoln 34 and Graber, almost stopped twice, ran to a first down on the Lincoln 34. Thus in five running plays the Tigers had made four first downs and a touchdown.
Graber pitched to Willmot for what looked like a touchdown but Willmot got a head start on the ball and was offside, so Graber turned around and threw it to Bray for a first down on the 19.
Holt and Bray put the leather on the six-inch line and Holt carried it over, for the touchdown and Cardinal for the extra point.
The two teams took turns intercepting passes after that, but Graber got in the last lick on the brilliant 85-yard dash you have already been told about.
Just to show they had no intention of letting up, the bloodthirsty Tigers scored the first time they got their hands on the ball in the third period. Lincoln received the kickoff, and failing to make more than five yards, punted to Graber who came back to his 33. Graber and Holt smashed for 12 and a 20-yard pass to Jasinski, placed the leather on the Lincoln 38. Graber and Cardinal carried to the 22 and the whole left side of the Lincoln line was torn apart as Graber circled right end for the touchdown. Holt kicked the extra point.
Tiger substitutes were steaming into the game the rest of the way as they made two touchdowns. They marched 58 yards with Gibson and Henry Mastriann doing most of the lugging. The latter plunged over from the 12-yard line for the score. His attempted kick for the extra point was blocked, but Jasinski was on the alert, picked up the bouncing ball and lugged it over to hoist the score to 34-6.
The final touchdown came on another 53-yard drive, with Gibson running 15 yards to the 35, then 21 yards to the 10, nine yards to the one-yard line, where Romeo Pellegrini took it over.
Coach Kammer cleaned his bench of substitutes the last period, giving every boy an opportunity to play.
Game Statistics Tigers Lincoln Total First Downs 18 2 Yards Gained by Rushing 380 19 Yards Lost by Rushing 1 83 Net Yards Gained by Rushing 379 -64 Net Yards Gained by Passing (a) 36 87 Forward Passes Attempted 18 39 Forward Passes Completed 2 5 Passes Had Intercepted 3 6 Number of Punts 4 1 Average Distance of Punts (b) 34 42 Number of Kickoffs 8 2 Number of Fumbles 2 0 Times Ball Lost on Fumbles 1 0 Number of Penalties Against 2 6 Yards Lost By Penalties 20 45
Great Victory
Massillon Pos. Lincoln Willmot le Kremarik Edwards lt McKay R. Wallace lg Means B. Wallace c Galter Weisgarber rg Lee Paulik rt Patton Jasinski re Fox Power qb O’Donnell Graber lh Kirkendall Bray rh Valencia Holt fb Glenn
Score by periods: Massillon 0 20 7 13 – 40 Lincoln 6 0 0 0 – 6
The Greatest Show On Earth! That’s Massillon Grid Extravaganza
By Jeff Schlemmer
You will pardon, I hope, the many rave notices on Massillon high school football which appear on these pages.
There is one real reason for them. The Massillon Tigers and the Tiger band make up the greatest football show in this part of the country, and until there is evidence to the contrary, the greatest football show in the nation.
This great spectacle is coming to an end, of course. All such spectacles are nearing the end for the duration. I fully believe I am doing Akronites a favor by urging that they see the Massillon show at least once before the season’s end.
The diminutive Tiger gridders who beat the Lincoln Neb. giant Links Friday night 40-6 represented the best coordinated, most precise ball club seen around these parts in years.
Forty-six games have gone into the books since Massillon last lost. That defeat was by new Castle in 1937. No Ohio team has beaten the Tigers since 1934. And this is 1942!
Elwood Kammer is the third head coach the Tigers have had in three years. Paul Brown was the originating wizard behind the “Massillon system.” When he went to Ohio State, Bud Houghton took over and became the “miracle man of 1941” with he undefeated team.
Now comes Kammer up from the junior high level to head the Tiger football squad and in three games he has proved to the most critical fans that this year’s team, lacking big name stars, is playing better football than its predecessors for as far back as memory can be stretched.
Long ago we exhausted our supply of superlatives in describing George “Red” Bird’s band. To go into that subject now would only be to say the greatest tribute paid it is that other high school bands try to copy its every move and every feature…and none comes close.
A new feature was added Friday night when the G.A.B.S. made their debut. The G.A.B.S. are the girls’ auxiliary band salesmen corps, a group of 80 brilliantly uniformed girls from Washington high school, 79 of whom have a father or brother in the armed forces. The 80th had a brother in the service. He was killed.
Directed by Bernadine Bell, a teacher in the high school, with Norma Ackley as commander and Caroline Smith as vice commander, these girls sold stamps and war bonds to Friday’s crowd after having been beautifully introduced in conjunction with the band show.
What was the result? Well, they took only $1,200 in stamps to the stadium . They sold all $1,200 worth in a few minutes. In addition they sold $500 in bonds, without really emphasizing bond sales.
This was their first attempt. The G.A.B.S. will be a regular feature at the Massillon football show for the duration. Who can say this isn’t worthwhile?
Massillon Backfield Men Lug Leather For Many Yards While Graber Throws Strikes To Jasinski And Willmot
By Luther Emery
They came, they saw, but they did not conquer. Several thousand football fans of Weirton, W. Va., their hopes high for victory, wended their way home from Tiger Stadium, Friday evening disappointed but not all disgruntled with the performance of their high school football team.
They were part of a crowd of 16,632 fans who saw the Red Raiders badly beaten 26-6 by a superior Massillon eleven, but they found satisfaction in their six points, the first scored against the Tigers this season and the first ever made against Massillon by a Weirton team.
A Capacity Crowd
The crowd which from all indications will go down in the 1942 records as one of the largest of the season, was treated to football de-luxe as only seen in Massillon and the Weirton team and band had much to do with it.
The Red Raiders, noticeably on edge for the contest which they considered their greatest opportunity to beat Massillon, scrapped from the opening gun to the final whistle and kept apace, with the Tigers in scoring the second half.
They tossed laterals, combination laterals and passes and otherwise tried to give the spectators their money’s worth, even though it was evident after the middle of the second period that they couldn’t wrap up a victory for their loyal hometown followers.
The Weirton band was all they said it would be, an organization that is developing rapidly and which will be remembered as one of the best to set foot in Tiger stadium this year.
Though Weirton scored six points the second half, as many as the Tigers could tally, it wasn’t enough and did not make up for the trouncing they received the first two periods, when the Massillon eleven played the game for “keeps.”
Fine First Half
The Tigers seemed to do everything right the first half, but the backfield sputtered the last two periods and couldn’t get coordinated for more than the one touchdown drive.
Do not forget that a shifting Weirton defense had something to do with Massillon’s troubles. “It was doggone tough trying to figure out what to do,” said Coach Elwood Kammer after the game. “The way they ganged up on us made it tough for the ball carriers.”
Carl Hamill, the Weirton coach, was complimentary of the Tigers performance. “You have a good team,” he said. “We figured you had a couple of ends who could catch the ball and we tried to set up a defense for them, but they caught it anyway. I like to see boys fight for the ball the way they do. A couple of the passes they caught in the first half really hurt us.”
The Tiger gridders for the most part emerged from the game in fairly good condition. Fred Cardinal, Karl Paulik, and Barney Wallace sustained charley horses and Don Willmot twisted an ankle. None of the injuries is believed serious.
The hats were off to Keve Bray and his performance made you wish that some others would do well to harvest a few boils. Keve didn’t have a chance to practice this week, because of boils in each armpit. They were lanced only Thursday, but when the Tigers trotted out for the kickoff, Keve was at right halfback as usual. Despite his boils, he played a fine game and his hard running and pass reception produced two touchdowns and helped to account for others.
Rivaling Bray for ball carrying ability, was Capt. Chuck Holt, who slam-banged his way through the Red Riders’ line for many a long gain.
Bob Graber, though he gained little ground carrying the ball, had his fun throwing strikes at the Tiger ends and backs. He had himself a big first half.
As a blocker, Cardinal hits to kill. In fact he smacked himself right out of the game with a series of hard smashes that aggravated an old shoulder injury and put him on the sidelines.
Line Gets Jump
The Tiger line, for the second straight game got the jump on its heavier opponent and moved Weirton backward most of the evening.
Football games are won and lost on the line, so the Massillon trenchmen get their share of credit for the 26 points, even though they did bulge sufficiently to allow Weirton’s Ted Bouyoucas to knife through for the first points scored against them this season.
Out of the score came the revelation that the Tigers can take it, and hand it back – for they bounced right back to score their fourth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, and were driving for another when the end came.
There were no flukes connected with any of the Massillon touchdowns. They worked hard for them. An 80-yard march with Holt carrying that last 34 yards, produced the first. An 85-yard drive got the second, with Bray sweeping in the last 15; a series of passes from Graber, produced the third, Bray gathered a short peg over the line for the points and a 48-yard march got in the fourth and final score, Graber carrying the leather across from the five-yard line.
One For Weirton
Weirton commanded the ball most of the time in the third quarter in its march from the Tiger 42-yard line where a Red Rider came up with Graber’s fumble. The visitors had everything but the book of rules to get them over the hump and into the promised land. Once Cardinal intercepted one of Pete Ziniach’s passes to stop the threat, but Massillon was offside and the penalty gave Weirton a first down on the Tiger 29. Pete Ziniach poured a screen pass to Frankie Wypasek for a first on the Tiger 17, only to have Ted Bouyoucas tossed for a 10-yard loss on the play. That seemed to end another Weir threat. Interference was called on a pass that gave the Riders a first down on the Tiger 16 and nullified Bouyoucas’ loss. Ziniach managed to use the screen pass successfully again as he pegged the ball to Dickie Glover, sub halfback, and the latter got to within nine yards of the goal. He moved it two yards nearer and Bouyoucas lugged it over with room to spare.
It took the visitors 12 plays to get the touchdown, with passes accounting for most of the yardage. In the five ball carrying attempts the Riders gained 14 yards and lost 11.
It was the first time a Weirton team has been able to cross the Tiger goal. The Red Riders were trimmed 48-0 in 1940 and 6-0 last year.
The statistics show the Tigers just as superior as the score. They made 31 first downs to the Riders six and gained 414 yards to their opponents’ 103 yards. Of the 414 yards, 131 were made on eight completed passes while the visitors gained 26 yards on six completed passes.
The Massillon passing attack was brilliant the first half with Graber throwing as though he had his toe in the pitcher’s box and Tom Masinski and Don Willmot making almost impossible catches. Graber threw 14 times the first half and completed eight. The Tigers didn’t gain a yard with their forwards the last half though they managed to complete one for no gain.
Improved Performance
The hard hitting performance of the local team the opening periods showed considerable improvement over their play in the opening game against Cathedral Latin a week ago. Running from both T and single wing, the Massillon eleven smashed viciously at the visitors and ball carriers were accorded good interference. In the early moments Bray gained large sections of territory on sweeps around his left end and Holt pounded the tackles for more yards. The hammering drew the Red Riders’ secondary in and opened the way for a second period passing attack.
Going into the second half 20 points to the good, the Tigers began experimenting with passes in an attempt to improve this weapon. The visitors, however, came back fighting too and the Massillon attack fizzled out. The blockers began missing their blocks and passes were either intercepted or grounded. Then came Weirton’s opportunity and the Riders capitalized.
Coach Kammer started the same team that swung the axe on Cathedral Latin last week.
The Tigers got off to a jittery start, “shades of the 1941 game,” when Holt fumbled the kickoff, but the ball rolled back of the goal, where he went down on a knee, picked it up and then came out to the five. The ball was dead when he covered it behind the goal, however, so the Tigers started their march from the 20.
Holt gained nine yards and Bray put the leather on his 44 with a left end sweep. Two five yard penalties pulled the Tigers out of a hole after the Riders apparently had them stopped. A first down on the Weir 43 set the Massillon team in motion again, but three plays only gained eight and one-half yards. With fourth down coming up and a yard and a half to go, Holt exploded inside right tackle and raced over the goal. He tried to plunge the extra point across but failed.
Another Touchdown
Weirton took the kickoff but had to punt back to Graber who returned from his 15 to the 29. Bray raced around his left end on a lateral for a first down on the Weir 34. He was in the clear, but got bottled up along the sideline. It was a run of … yards. Holt followed it up with a 10-yard gallop and a penalty for defensive holding brought a first down on the 18. Graber and Cardinal moved the ball up three yards and Bray grabbed off the rest of the distance on a sweep over the goal. Holt plunged for the extra point.
The Tigers had to overcome two penalties to score their third touchdown. They started from the 30 when Graber returned a punt from that point to the 45, but were ticketed 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. A pass to Bray advanced the leather to the Weir 47 and Cardinal sneaked through for a first on the 33. Graber passed from there to Holt for a touchdown, but it was nullified with a 15-yard penalty for clipping. Jasinski made up the loss by going over the heads of four Weir secondary to snare a pass on the 10, and another flip to Bray got the six points. Holt kicked the extra one. A pass to Tyre Gibson gave the Tigers a first down on the Weir 10-yard line when the half ended.
The locals did not threaten the third period, and you have already been given the sequence of plays that led to Weirton’s touchdown.
A poor Weirton punt that went nearly straight up in the air gave the Tigers their last scoring opportunity. Getting the ball out of bounds on the Weir 48, Holt raced 24 yards, and cooperating with Graber, moved it to the five-yard line where Graber took the leather over. Holt’s attempted kick for the extra point bounced off the goal posts.
The Tigers second team played the last half of the fourth period and the youngsters had just succeeded in getting a first down on the Weir 46 when the game ended.
Sweet Victory
Massillon Pos. Weirton Willmot LE Zgurski Edwards LT Wargacki R. Wallce LG Cimino B. Wallace C Ostovich Weisgarber RG Mestrovic Paulik RT Battista Jasinski RE Wypasek Cardinal QB J. Ziniach Graber LH Rojak Bray RH Bouyoucas Holt FB P. Ziniach
Runs Unbeaten String to 45 as Graber Stars in Passing Role Before 16,632
MASSILLON, O., Sept. 25 – The Massillon Washington Tigers piled up a 20-point lead at halftime and then coasted to a 26-6 victory over the Weirton (W.Va.) High Red Raiders here tonight before 16,632 fans in Tiger Stadium.
In running their unbeaten string to 45 games, the Tigers relied on their ace passer, Bob Graber, who spiced the Massillon offense with a fine exhibition of throwing. The Tiger passer pitched perfect strikes which accounted for two touchdowns.
The Tigers faced a spirited West Virginia attack in the last half. It was all Weirton in the third period. Taking advantage of a fumble by Graber, Weirton drove 42 yards in nine plays. Then Ted Bouyoucas, right halfback, crashed center from the seven for the Raiders only six-pointer.
The Massillon club again hit pay dirt in the final quarter. A 68-yard drive culminated when Graber, running from punt formation, raced off right tackle from the six-yard line.
Aided by two Weirton offside penalties, the Tigers took the opening kick-off and marched 80 yards for their first touchdown. Chuck Holt, speedy fullback, climaxed the drive by knifing through right guard for the last 35 yards.
After receiving the kick-off Weirton picked up only three yards and punted out on the Massillon 31. The Tigers then proceeded to duplicate their first scoring advance. Fine running by Bray produced the marker. Off the T formation he raced 35 yards to the Red Raiders’ 29 and then from the 18, cut around left end for the six-pointer.
Weirton Fans Disappointed
The game belonged in the same category because it was interesting throughout. The outcome, of course, was a great disappointment to the Weirton fans, a majority of whom came here confident of victory. Weirton was well represented at the game.
Particularly pleasing to the Massillon fans was the passing demonstration put on by the Tigers during the first half. As one interested spectator put it.
“I thought Weirton was going to do the passing. Where are some of those 50 and 60 yard passes we’ve been hearing about?”
It was during the Tigers’ aerial show that it was reported that the St. Louis Cardinals were thinking about signing Bob Graber as a pitcher. He certainly pitched that ball last night.
MASSILLON – 26 WEIRTON W.VA. – 6 Willmot LE Zgurski Edwards LT Wargacki R. Wallace LG Cimino B. Wallace C Ostovich Weisgarber RG Mestrovic Paulik RT Battista Jasinski RE Wypasek Cardinal QB J. Ziniach Graber LH Rojak Bray RH Bouyoucas Holt FB P. Ziniach
Hard Blocking And Tackling Testifies To Training; Players Escape Serious Injury; Weirton Coming Next Week
By Luther Emery
Set it in big type – tell the boys in camp – the Tigers are going to be tough again this year – that you can count on them and George Bird’s band to do their part in keeping up the morale at home.
Program Cover
Both organizations demonstrated it Friday evening before 13,532 fans in Tiger Stadium – the Tigers, by defeating Cathedral Latin 38-0, and the band, by giving a superior exhibition complimentary to any professional organization. There is none other like it.
Score On Ground
Cutting down Latin tacklers with vicious blocks, the Massillon gridders laid a well planned ground attack to snare the Cleveland Lions and scored all six touchdowns by carrying the ball across the Latin goal.
It was the blocking of the Massillon team that signaled it as a possible future powerhouse. Linemen stood up the Latin defense while the backs romped through the holes. Out in the open, they were supported by blocks that sent the visitors tumbling backward, out of the path of the ball carrier.
Three complete teams were tossed at the visiting eleven by Coach Elwood Kammer, and only for the fact that second and third teams played the entire fourth quarter, the score would have been larger.
Latin Outcharged
Latin battled hard all the way, but was outcharged and overpowered by the local team, which earned every touchdown it made. Most sensational of all was the last of the game, when Tyre Gibson, substitute right halfback, running from the position that Pokey Blunt made famous last year, maneuvered around like a jeep until he beat the last Latin tackler to the goal.
The others were obtained the hard way. They smashed 70 yards with Bob Graber knifing through right tackle for the last four to get the opening score. The second came on a 36-yard drive that ended with Chuck Holt banging his way over from the two-yard distance. A 92-yard march got the third, with Holt picking up the last seven yards.
The fourth was produced by the Wallace brothers, Bob blocking a Latin punt and Barney scooping it up and dashing 18 yards to the promised land. The fifth followed an 80-yard drive with Keve Bray the contributing factor and he carried it the last 25 when he roamed through a big hole Don Willmot and Dave Edwards had opened for him at left tackle.
The Tigers clicked as well as they have in any opening night performance. Maybe it was because Latin wasn’t too strong – that at least had Coach Kammer wondering. “I’m not too sure,” he said. “We looked pretty good, but Latin didn’t look so good to me in spots either. Maybe that is why we looked good. Anyway, don’t judge Weirton, our next week’s opponent, by Latin. You are going to see a toughie when these West Virginians come to town and I want my boys to realize it.””
There were no serious injuries John Mazurowski, Latin center, suffered the only blackout, but even he recuperated in time to get back into the game the second half.
Kammer surveyed his players after the game and did not find any unusual bumps or bruises. These frequently do not show up for one or two days and the Tiger coach will know more Sunday just how well his team survived its opening duel.
Fortunately, those players who entered the game with old injuries, appeared to have come out of it in good condition. In fact, from the way they played no one could have guessed how much they have been babied in practice this season.
Gamble Works
The big gamble of the Massillon coaches worked to success. To scrimmage or not to scrimmage was the question that confronted them at the start of the practice season. They chose the latter – a radical departure from the procedure of former years when a player who emerged from the first practice session without a black eye or skinned nose was considered some sort of a sissy.
The Tigers practiced hard in their pre-game preparations for Latin – got in a lot of leg and machine work, and held light scrimmages – but nothing of the actual combat variety.
They got their first taste of action last night and liked it. It was the go signal for Coach Kammer, and if they block like that without body contact in practice, what will they do with more experience?
The tackling was good enough too. Few were missed – otherwise Latin would not show more yards lost than gained by rushing.
The visitors had a couple of backs in Raymond Rakar and Joseph Petkovic who might have done some good if the Lions line had been able to shake them loose, but they had to fight their way lone handed for the few yards they did manage to move beyond the scrimmage line. Between them they shared most of Latin’’ burden.
Gained with Passes
What ground Latin gained was covered in an aerial blitz the last period, that failed to produce anything more than 36 yards and a couple of first downs. The Lions tossed 11 of them, completed three and had two intercepted.
The Tigers aerial attack sputtered badly, but Bob Graber and Henry Mastriann managed to get four to receivers for 54 yards. Ten were grounded and three intercepted.
It was on the ground that the local team was best, despite the fact that Latin was using a tight defense, with a seven-man line and three backer uppers who sometimes worked only a yard behind the tackles and center.
This opened the way for passing but the throwers had difficulty getting the ball to the receivers and the latter sometimes had a hard time shaking themselves loose to get out in the secondary at all.
Tiger ball carriers lugged the leather 417 yards against the Lions, which is a good sized total in any man’s game. Their efforts at running and passing produced 16 first downs to Latin’s six, and their only punt was called back when Latin was offside.
Speaking of punting, Dick Brown, of the visiting team, showed how a football should be kicked. He laid his foot against the leather several times with tremendous force that sent the ball spinning for long distances. His best punt was 61 yards.
Quick Kicks Blocked
The visitors had a quick kick play that would have worked had its line not been badly outcharged. As it was, two of these were blocked, and one recovered by the Tigers.
It is too early to pick a star and not always the best policy. There actually wasn’t a one last night. Bray looked far better at right half than he did in the spring exhibition game, and appeared to get up more steam the longer he played. Where he hesitated the first couple of periods, he ran over them the third.
Pinch hitting for Bob Williams, regular center, who watched from the sidelines because of illness last week, Barney Wallace not only scored a touchdown, but knifed in several times to spill Latin ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage.
The peppy performance of the second stringers and the rapidity with which they shoved over a touchdown, was plenty pleasing to the Massillon fans, who are accustomed to seeing spirited performances by their teams.
The varsity maintained an old Massillon tradition the first time it laid hands on the ball by marching to a touchdown. After stopping Latin on the kickoff and getting the ball in midfield as a result of high punt, the Tigers went to work for the fans. It was what all had been waiting for. Bray and Graber lugged the leather 12 yards in two attempts and it was Capt. Holt the rest of the way. He powered his way for 16 yards in one effort to the four-yard line and Graber took it over.
Holt had two chances to kick it over, but missed both. The score mounted to 12-0 a couple of minutes later when Graber pulled in one of Rakar’s passes and ran back to the Latin 36 before Petkovic got him down. Cardinal gained nine by grabbing a pass in the flat and Holt banged through to the 17. Holt took it the rest of the way, a five-yard penalty helping and a pickup of Bray’s fumble moving the ball to the four-yard line, where the captain took it over.
The first quarter ended with the score 12-0 and it wasn’t long until the locals got in motion again. Frustrated once on the 12 by penalties, the Tigers roared back with a successful 92-yard march the next time. It was hard going most of the way, with a 17-yard dash by Graber, the feature number. Holt plunged over and kicked the 19th point. Tiger seconds played the remainder of the second period.
There was a lot of scoring the third period. Barney Wallace starting it when he scooped up a loose ball after brother Bob had blocked Brown’s punt, and ran 18 yards to score. Holt got the ball between the uprights on another placekick and it was 26-0.
The very next time the Tigers got the ball they maneuvered for a touchdown. The drive began on the Massillon 32, and a pass from Graber to Willmot, good for 17 yards helped to advance the pigskin. Bray applied the finishing spark when he raced 25 yards through the left side of his line, to score.
The last touchdown was Gibson’s scintillating run of 90 yards. Dallas Power convoyed him through the Latin line and T.Y. with the aid of some timely blocking did the rest.
A Real Start
Massillon Pos. Latin Willmot le Brown Edwards lt Rigof R. Wallace lg Weimals B. Wallace c Mazurowski Weisgarber rg Marolt Paulik rt Boerem Jasinski re Patrizi Cardinal qb Zoller Graber lh Rakar Bray rh Cousineau Holt fb Petkovic
Bulldogs Speared With Passes As Tigers Record New Margin of Victory Over Ancient Foe And Boost Record to 43 Games Without Defeat
By Luther Emery
Orchids to Bud Houghton and his Washington high Tigers.
The team that didn’t have a chance at the start of the season is still champion of Ohio, and you can write it in the records—seven consecutive state titles—undefeated in 43 games.
While 25,000 fans blinked with amazement the Tigers blasted their way to the seventh title in Fawcett stadium, Canton, Saturday afternoon, to knock Canton McKinley out of the picture with a 32-0 triumph, the largest margin of points on record for a Massillon team in a game with Canton.
Passes Baffle Bulldogs
Stunned by the suddenness of an unexpected aerial assault, the Bulldogs were never able to recover long enough to organize a protection against the Massillon air forces.
Program Cover
They had concentrated on stopping the Tigers by land and sea as evidenced by their refusal of the tarpaulin, but their gamble that Massillon could not use the air, backfired and the strategy went out with the exhaust.
Tiger coaches had anticipated it. They knew in their own hearts that the Massillon passing attack had not looked good all year, so they set out the past two weeks to improve it, did, and when the bulldogs tossed an eight-man line against them on the first play, and crowded the three-man secondary against it, the Tigers had the necessary weapons to fight with.
Passes Did It
Tail-backs Bob Graber and Dick Adams, just rared back and let fly, and far out in the Bulldog secondary, the receivers bobbed up to haul in the ball with little or no interference.
It was Graber to Fred Blunt for 37 yards and a near touchdown; Graber to Keve Bray for 12; Graber to Blunt for 36 and a touchdown; Adams to Bray for 32; Graber to Joe De Mando for 44; Adams to Bray for 34; Graber to Bray for 49; Adams to Fred Cardinal for 22; and Adams to Tom Jasinski for five.
There you have the list that shows the potency of the Tiger attack, nine completed passes in 17 attempts for one direct touchdown and 271 yards. While passes only accounted directly for one touchdown, they set up all the others and might have produced two more scores, had not the receivers lost their balance after working themselves in the clear in tremendous efforts to catch the ball.
That is one-half of the passing game.
The other half is the defense set-up by Houghton and his staff to stop the Bulldogs in the air. The Massillon coaches, using a 6-3-2 defense instead of their usual seven diamond, guarded the secondary carefully. They were willing to give the Bulldogs from two to three yards on the line as long as they could prevent any long shots. The strategy was successful. Canton hurled 27 passes but only completed 10, and only one of the 10 gained any great distance. Four passes were intercepted. The Bulldogs did gain considerable yardage on the ground, but only once did they get within scoring distance, that effort coming in the last minute when they lost the ball on downs on the nine-yard line.
The Tigers were in the pink. Smartly quarterbacked from the opening minute to the final gun; they surveyed their opponents’ weaknesses, and struck at the opportune moment.
Sweeps Bring Touchdowns
They showed no mercy with a vicious running attack once passes had placed them in a position to score, and in powerful sweeps, Keve Bray, John Hill, Joe De Mando, and Fred Cardinal would lead Graber, Blunt, and Adams to touchdowns. One by one, you could see the Bulldog ends and secondary chopped down as Tiger blockers cleared the way for their ball carrier.
Sweeps were the only weapon the Massillonians had on hand. The Bulldogs had so thoroughly concentrated on the off-tackle and spinner plays, that Capt. Fred Blunt, Chuck Holt, and Bob Graber found it next to impossible to move. Blunt, who has been the big ground gainer all season, was virtually stopped all afternoon, but he did get loose for one of the touchdown sweeps.
The Tigers, in their new defensive setup, prepared especially for this game, found Tom Harris, but Bulldog fullback, the hardest of the Canton ball carriers to bring down. Canton built its whole attack around him. He carried the leather 19 times and tossed most of the 27 passes. A spinner with Dominick carrying the ball was the red and black’s best ground gainer.
The Bulldogs used three different defenses going from an eight to a seven to a six-man line, but the Tigers outguessed them most of the way and tossed passes when the secondary was least protected.
You will be looking for heroes, but you need not hunt. Take all 11 of them into your arms. The linemen from tip to tip played fine football and every member of the backfield put in his contribution.
Bray’s Greatest Game
Don’t overlook Keve Bray; who played his greatest game; and don’t forget little Dave Miller, the 140-pounder who went in when Bob Wallace came out with an injury. The way he submarined when the Canton power drives were turned loose through center was terrific. Only a stout heart could do it. That’s it! That was Houghton’s first comment after being carried to the dressing room by his players. “They were a great bunch of goys. They fought their hearts out this afternoon.”
They did. They carried out the promise made by Capt. Blunt as he dashed out of the pre-game huddle and ran to the Massillon bench while his teammates took their positions on the field. “Don’t worry coach, we’re going to lick them this afternoon. We’ll win this one for you,” he said, and how!
Wow!
How the Massillon passes clicked. Fans who had seen the Tiger aerial game sputter all season couldn’t believe their eyes. All efforts to jam in the Tiger backs and receivers and keep them from getting into the open, failed, and you must give the linemen, Don Fuchs, Vernon Weisgarber, Karl Paulik, and Bob Wallace, plenty of credit for keeping the Canton linemen from sifting through while Graber and Adams picked out their receivers. The latter had plenty of time to throw, something they have lacked all year, and they tossed the ball as though they were shooting a rifle. And the receivers held on to it.
There was no dropping the pigskin. Everything that was close was caught and in most instances the receivers were beyond the secondary when they took the leather.
Because the passes were completed for long gains, the first down total is not commensurate with the 32 points. Each team made 11. Yardage gained tells the story better, 431 to 109.
The Tigers gained 189 yards on the ground and lost 29 for a net total of 160. Leading ground gainer for the Tigers was Dick Adams who gained 113 of the 189 yards himself. He made the longest run of the game, 59 yards and was hauled down from behind. He raced 26 yards for a touchdown on another occasion.
Great Punting Exhibition
And while you are still thinking in terms of heroes, don’t overlook the tremendous punting of Graber, especially the 51-yard boot from his nine-yard line that took the Tigers out of a hole early in the third quarter. Graber actually was behind his goal line when he kicked the ball. It soared 60 yards over the McKinley secondary.
The average of 43 yards per punt would be a compliment to any college kicker.
The Tigers scored in all but the third period. They got their first touchdown in the middle of the opening quarter, as you would expect by now – through passes, two of them in a row, a 12-yarder to Bray and a 36 yard toss to Blunt, who raced across the goal with no one near him. Graber was the thrower.
They scored two touchdowns in the second period. A 44-yard peg from Graber to De Mando took the ball to the Canton 15. Big Joe could have made the rest of the distance had he not lost his balance reaching out to catch the ball. He stumbled along for 10 yards before he finally went down in a heap. But it only took one play to get the remaining 15. Bray, Hill, and Cardinal blasted the right flank of the Bulldogs to pieces as Graber swept his end for the score.
Dick Adams’ 34-yard pass to Bray, set the stage for the third with a first down on the nine-yard line. And again Adams circled the right end for the touchdown while his teammates threw everything but the goal posts at Canton tacklers to clear each and every one out of Dick’s path.
Tigers Score Two More
The fourth touchdown came early in the fourth quarter after Canton had had a bit of an edge in the third period. A 49-yard peg from Graber to Bray produced a first down. The Tigers powered their way the rest of the distance through the most determined resistance put up by the Bulldogs all afternoon. Chuck Holt smashed his way for a first down on the one-yard line, but he couldn’t get it over in three attempts and came up fighting once when everyone piled on. It was left to Capt. Blunt to score and with everyone expecting another smash by Holt, Blunt circled his left end behind the same great blocking that had accompanied Graber and Adams and crossed the Bulldog goal.
The extra point that had previously been missed through two kicks from placements and an attempt to carry the ball, was made good this time by Graber who hammered his way through right guard.
The final Massillon score followed two completed passes, a 22-yarder from Adams to Cardinal, and a five-yard toss to Jasinski that took the ball to the 26-yard line. There Adams struck through a hole at right tackle opened by De Mando, Blunt, and Cardinal and behind fine blocking led by Hill and Holt, stepped 26-yards to the promised land. Holt went over for the 32nd and final point of the game.
The Bulldogs got on the march twice, once at the end of the first half, and once at the end of the game.
In their first half effort they moved the moved the ball from their 35 to the 18 where the gun ended play with fourth down coming up and a foot needed for a first down. Passes gained 19 of the yards.
At the end of the game they marched the kickoff back from their 36 and aided by a 38—yard pass, Tom Harris to Pickard, planted the ball on the 12-yard line for a first down. Four plays only gained three yards from there on, however and the leather was lost on the nine-yard line.
The game was officiated better than any we have seen this season including Big Ten contests. Dr. David Reese and his officials kept the contest moving, called only two penalties both against Massillon for being in motion. Canton took five yards on the one but refused the other penalty and accepted the down.
The game brought to a close the first year of Houghton as coach, and he did what none at the start of the season expected him to do, retain the state title for Massillon a seventh straight year.
Others may claim it. Martins Ferry, Mansfield, Toledo Libbey, but none has beaten the champ and if they analyze the record, they will join in the admission that Massillon is still on top.
Never before has a Massillon team beaten McKinley by as many points as Houghton and his Tigers rolled up on Saturday. Last year’s previous margin of 28 points was topped by four. Canton still has the high score for the series, however, a 43-0 walloping handed the Massillon team in 1907. The Bulldogs likewise have an edge in the series that began way back in 1894, but the Tiger team has whittled it down to a game now. Canton has won 22. Massillon 21 and three have ended in tie scores.
You could go on and on writing about the game, but why use all the metaphors this year. Seven of the 11 starters will be back next season. None was seriously injured.
Still Champions
Massillon McKinley Bray LE Parks Paulik LT Parshall B. Wallace LG Zimmer Fuchs C Cook Hill RG Schuster Weisgarber RT Smith De Mando RE Pickard Cardinal QB Williams Graber LH Dominick Blunt RH J. Harris Holt FB T. Harris
Referee – David Reese (Dayton) Umpire – Earl Gross (New Philadelphia) Headlineman – A.B. Long (New Philadelphia) Field Judge – Titus Lobach (Akron)
Boosters Have Open Meeting
Do you want to celebrate Saturday’s 32-0 triumph over Canton McKinley high school?
Then turn out at Washington high school tonight, Booster member or not, and let off steam. The club is holding an open meeting tonight to give every Massillon citizen, men and women, boys and girls, an opportunity to celebrate. The program starts at 7:30 p.m.
MASSILLON’S TIGERS turned Ohio’s most famous high school football rivalry into a shambles Saturday afternoon when they handed Canton McKinley’s Bulldogs a pitiless 32-0 larruping before 20,000 not too astonished customers at Canton’s Fawcett stadium.
The defeat was the seventh straight the Bulldogs have absorbed at the hands of their deadliest rivals. McKinley last whipped the Tigers in 1934 and recently they haven’t even been able to make it close in this traditional battle.
The triumph yesterday merely continued the amazing saga that is Massillon’s. The Tigers now have gone through 43 successive games without tasting defeat, their last setback having come at the hands of New Castle, PA., in 1937.
For William “Bud” Houghton the decisive Massillon triumph meant a great season in his first year as Paul Brown’s successor. The youthful Tiger mentor took a green eleven at the start of the current campaign and wielded it into a machine that won nine of 10 games. Mansfield tied the Tigers, 6-6, although badly outplayed by Massillon.
Yesterdays’ game was decided in the air, for on the ground, the Bulldog line showed up surprisingly strong.
But McKinley had no semblance of defense against the passes of Bob Graber and Dick Adams. The two Massillon passers had all the time they needed to get set and their receivers found no trouble at all in eluding the McKinley secondary defense.
The Tigers pitched 17 passes and completed 10 of them for the amazing total of 266 yards. To appreciate just how helpless the Bulldogs actually were against the Massillon passes, one had to see the game. Mere words won’t describe it.
On the ground, the Tigers had far too much speed for their rivals. The crisp, deadly blocking which has always marked Massillon play was still there, especially on two of the touchdown gallops.
McKinley equaled the Tigers in rolling up first downs, each team making 11, but still the Bulldogs failed to make a serious threat. McKinley outgained the Bengals rushing, 187 yards to 128 and completed eight of 24 passes for 69 yards.
McKinley put itself in a hole right at the start when its two safety-men played far too shallow on a punt by the Tiger’s Bob Graber. The boot went over their heads with the Bulldogs finally winding up on their seven-yard line.
MASSILLON VS. CANTON Mass. Can. First downs 11 11 First downs rushing 4 7 First downs passing 7 3 First down penalties 0 1 Net yards rushing 128 187 Yards gained passing 266 69 Total yards gained 394 256 Passes attempted 17 24 Passes completed 10 8 Passes intercepted by 2 3 Number of punts 5 8 Average of punts 43 31 Number of kickoffs 5 3 Fumbles by 2 1 Opponents’ fumbles recovered 1 1 Yards lost by penalties 5 0
