MASSILLON ROUTS CHANEY, 38 TO 0 Tigers Roll on to 22nd Consecutive Triumph
(From Plain Dealer Bureau)
MASSILLON, O., Nov. 11 – Youngstown Chaney joined the passing parade of Massillon Tiger victims here this afternoon as the champions coasted to their ninth consecutive victory of the season 38 to 0.
Chalking up their 22nd consecutive victory, the Tigers rolled up eighteen first downs and held Youngstown for three periods without any.
In the final stanza, with Tiger second and third stringers in the fray, Supanic drove to Chaney’s only first down of the afternoon. He was not even listed in the lineups. In this quarter Red James punted for the first time for the Tigers.
Tiger first stringers George Slusser and Red James, who for the first time this season did not start, led the afternoon’s scoring with two touchdowns apiece. Pokey Blunt, who poked his way into a staring lineup for the first time scored another and Junior White, third string back scored one also. 80-Yard March An 80-yard drive in the first quarter culminated with Slusser piling over for the first Tiger touchdown. Blunt had sparked the attack with two first down smashes.
In the second quarter, Slusser heaved a 25-yard pass to Ray Getz, who was brought down on the Chaney 13. On the next play, Slusser tallied on a wide end sweep.
For the second touchdown of the period the Tigers started from their 8 after Bill Reed had punted accurately to the sidelines.
A first down by Bill Zimmerman on the 22, a 20-yard sprint by Blunt and Slusser’s dash to the 4 from where Blunt scored, turned the trick.
Two snappy plays gave them their first score of the third quarter. A recovery of a Chaney fumble by John Swezey gave them the ball on the 27. On his first play of the game, Red James sprinted for the touchdown. After two passes failed, James was again given the ball. He broke through and was on his way for a touchdown for the longest run of the afternoon – 61 yards.
Junior White, Tiger third-stringer, scored late in the final stanza on a 9-yard end sweep around his own left end.
MASSILLON POS. YOUNGSTOWN Getz LE Stamm Croop LT Pietra Russell LG M. Evans Martin C R. Balog Henderson RG Polando Swezey RT Mailey Gillom RE J. Evans Foster Q Reid Slusser LH Mancino Blunt RH Williams Zimmerman F Thompson
POLAR BEARS STAGE AERIAL CIRCUS AS TIGERS WIN 47-6 CROWD THRILLED BY FINE OFFENSIVE GAME Lehman Second Team Of Season To Score On Massillon Eleven; Tally Touchdown On Intercepted Pass After Having Two Scoring Attempts Stopped
By LUTHER EMERY
It was Polar Bear weather, but Tiger might, and today Washington high school’s consecutive victory chain had the 21st link welded into it, a 47-6 triumph over Canton Lehman, last night before 10,000 shivering fans in Tiger Stadium.
Not a one of the 10,000 regretted sitting through the game and most of those who had intended leaving at the half remained to the very end. All Sorts of Formations The lopsided score doesn’t tell the reason why, but had you been there, the intricate formations of the Lehman gridders would have had an appealing effect to your football weakness too.
Were it not for the difference in suits, you might have thought it was the Massillon band when the Lehman gridders spread themselves over the field in squares and something resembling a company front.
It was effective in pushing twice as many first downs over the Tigers than any other opponent has been able to do and most of all, it kept the fans in an excited mood, wondering what to expect next. Intercepted Passes Inevitable But when you spread your team offensively, you also spread your protecting defense for the play should anything go wrong and here the boomerang bounced back on the Polar Bears. Four passes went into the arms of Tiger players and two of them, Horace Gillom and Jim Moody, had nothing to do but run 80 and 60 yards respectively for touchdowns. A third intercepted pass by George Fabian, behind the goal line, stopped a Lehman touchdown drive that had reached the seven-yard line.
The Polar Bears were just as unruly on defense. They lined up with only two men on the line of scrimmage, then as the Tigers shifted, hopped from four to five players into the line and moved two and three of the secondary forward several paces in an attempt to confuse the Tigers in their blocking assignments and upset the Massillon offense.
It didn’t work so successfully, however, for the varsity moved over the Polar Bear goal three times the first quarter and then went to the bench to watch the second and third stringers play the remainder of the game.
Aside from the Lehman offense and defense the game was screwy from another standpoint. The first quarter and part of the second was played without an official timekeeper.
It appears that someone had told Head Linesman Barrett that C.P. Hoffee, who goes to bed and gets up with a stop watch, would keep time. But nobody told Hoffee. The coaches thought Barrett was timing the game.
After the first quarter had lasted 14 minutes, Hoffee, who sure enough was following his hobby of timekeeping for fun, reported to Coach Brown. The Head Linesman was notified. He didn’t have a gun. Time was called. The coaches and officials held a discussion. The quarter ended there and it was agreed that the two minutes would be deducted from the second period which was cut to 10 minutes. Hoffee times the remainder of the game.
The Polar Bears’ desire to make a game of it and give the fans their money’s worth carried them deep into Tiger territory twice in the first half, once to the 16-yard line and again to the seven-yard line. Their fervent desire to score on the local eleven, something only Cathedral Latin had previously been able to do, was finally rewarded in the third quarter and Massillon fans were glad for it. Santora Intercepts Pass The Tigers here hammering down on the Polar Bear 31-yard line when Fabian tried to pass; the ball was partially blocked as it left his hand and Pete Santora gathered it in and headed for the east sideline and south goal. Running with all his might he raced by several Massillon players who attempted to tackle him and collapsed when tackled behind the goal. The attempt by Elsaesser to kick the extra point failed, but it mattered not, for Lehman’s work was done.
The Polar Bears ability to move the ball, kept the game an offensive duel from start to finish. In the entire first three periods, there was but one punt that coming at the end of the first series of plays, when Fuller punted after his team had failed to gain after the kickoff.
The punt put the ball in Massillon’s possession on the Lehman 40. Spectators’ eyes popped out at the sight of Lehman defense and Red James, carrying the ball on the first Massillon play was thrown for a three-yard loss by Bob Fuller. George Slusser felt the Polar Bears out as he got back the three yards on a charge at left tackle. He sized up the situation immediately and the Polar Bear unorthodox defense paid dearly. Slusser dropped back and Horace Gillom streaked down the east sideline toward the south goal.
He was past the Lehman secondary in a flash and took Slusser’s perfect pass with no one between himself and the goal. All he had to do was run and Gillom can do that right handily. Ray Getz kicked the extra point, the ball striking the left post and bounding over the crossbar.
Did that touchdown discourage Lehman? No, sir. The Polar Bears took the kickoff and came right back with their razzle – dazzle, spraddles that carried the ball from their own 27-yard line down to the Tiger 16. Fuller started it out by sweeping right end for 14 yards. Then Panella tossed a 20-yarder to Fuller for a first down on the Massillon 39. He came right back with another 20-yard heave to Fuller that caused the poor Tigers to take time out on their own 19 as Capt. Martin noticed the goal line wasn’t so very far behind him. Tigers Get Ball Fuller tried to carry the ball but was tossed for a three-yard loss. Panella’s pass was grounded. Panella tossed another to Fuller for a six-yard gain that took the ball to the Tiger 16-yard line. The Bears tried another wide spread formation, but took too much time. The referee blew his whistle just as the ball was passed. Fuller passed to Elsaesser and he went over the goal line, but about half the Tigers and Lehman players who heard the whistle, didn’t take part in the play. Lehman attempted another pass but Gillom grounded it and the Tigers took the ball on downs on their 21, thus ending the threat.
Three plays later the Tigers had their second touchdown. Slusser made three yards at left tackle and on a quick break, Foster sneaked through for 11 and a first down on his 35. There Slusser tucked the ball under his arm and raced 65 yards for a touchdown, outrunning Fuller and another Lehman secondary as he streaked down the west sideline to the south goal. Getz booted the extra point on a perfect bullseye between the uprights and the score was 14-0.
The Tigers kicked off to the Polar Bears and back they came with their razz-a-ma-taz. A shot from Fuller to Elsaesser gained 16 yards, another to Uebing produced five and a 15-yard penalty on Massillon put the ball on the Tiger 35.
Clear the decks for Gillom. And that’s what his teammates did as he gathered in Panella’s next pass on the 20-yard line and headed for the south goal. It was an 80-yard run and the third touchdown of the game.
Out came the Lehman first team and in went the second stringers. Getz booted the 21st point and the varsity’s evenings work was finished. In went the Tiger second stringers and with it, Coach Jim Robinson of Lehman shoved his first team back on the field.
The Polar Bears received, but when Fuller tried a pass, Freddie Blunt gathered it in on the Lehman 37 to launch another Tiger drive. The Tigers got down to the 25-yard line, overcoming a 15-yard penalty for clipping that nullified a fine 22-yard mouse trap end run by George Kester, when the prolonged first period ended. Blunt Goes Over Fabian, Blunt and Clendening took turns carrying the ball until they reached the two-yard line. Lehman was offside and a one-yard penalty advanced the ball to the one-yard line where Blunt took it over. He failed to make the extra point and the score was 27-0.
Lehman struck back again after the kickoff was downed on the 27-yard line. A 10-yard peg, Panella to Fuller put the ball on the 37-yard line and there followed the prettiest play of the game. Fuller passed laterally two-thirds the width of the field to Panella who in turn heaved the ball 23 yards to Elsaesser for a first down on the Tiger 32-yard line. A 15-yard penalty on Massillon advanced the ball to the 17. Santora and Fuller made it first down on the seven and sent the Tiger team into an eight-man line. Fuller tried to buck it but hit a stone wall. Panella then attempted a pass, but George Fabian hauled the ball in behind the goal and ran back to the five-yard line. The half ended two plays later.
Lehman kicked off as the third period got underway and Clendening was downed with the ball on his 28-yard line. On the first play he broke fast through the Lehman team and was hauled down from behind on the Lehman 27, after a run of 45 yards. Kester went to the 15 on an end around play and Blunt hit through tackle for the touchdown, Clendening went over for the extra point.
The Polar Bears were still on the loose, however, and aided by a 15-yard pass from Panella to Fuller, came back to the Tiger 44-yard line. They had Jim Moody to reckon with, however, and Jim timed Fuller’s next throw to intercept the ball and race 60 yards for a touchdown. Fabian attempted to toss a pass for the extra point but it failed. Santora Brings Joy To Lehman The following kickoff found the Bears pecking away again. Fuller found Panella for a 25-yar pass as the visitors took the ball to the Tiger 30. There the locals stopped the drive and marched back to the Lehman 31, where Fabian’s blocked pass found the waiting arms of Santora who raced for Lehman’s touchdown. At this stage of the game, the score was about as good as a victory for the Lehman rooters who shouted themselves hoarse. And they were joined by almost as many Massillon supporters who were glad to see the Bears rewarded for their pleasing efforts.
The Tigers scored but once the last period in a drive that began from their own 42. It was Clendening seven yards, Fabian seven yards and a first down on the 28. Fabian lost two but got back five on his second attempt. The Bears left an opening on the left side of their line on the next play and that was all Pokey Blunt needed. He was through and away for a 25-yard touchdown dash, the last of the game. Clendening plunged the 47th point across.
The statistics would not indicate the Tigers as 41 points better than Lehman. They made 13 first downs to the Polar Bears’ dozen and gained 342 yards rushing to the Bears’ 40. On the other hand the Bears’ made the huge total of 155 yards passing to the Tigers’ 40.
Massillon attempted but three passes, completing one, while the visitors made 11 of 21. The Tigers punted but once and Lehman three times, three of the four punts coming in the last quarter.
That both teams were in fine condition, there was no doubt. There were few times out for injury and no dragging on the field. The Polar Bears had a wealth of spirit but were poor in tackling and blocking, particularly the former. Many a time Bear defensive players had opportunities to spill Tiger ball carriers for losses, but spoiled the opportunity with weak tackling.
Good Old Bear Massillon Pos. Lehman Getz LE Uebing Pedrotty LT Lee Russell LG Cline Martin C Wilson Henderson RG Butler Swezey RT Mack Gillom RE Loucks Foster QB Panella Slusser LH Fuller James RH Elsaesser Zimmerman FB Santora
TIGERS CRUSH NEW CASTLE IN LAST HALF 46-0 FORWARD PASSES WIN GAME FOR MASSILLON Aerial Plays Figure In Six Of Seven Touchdowns; Great Tiger Goal Line Stand Broke New Castle Spirit
By LUTHER EMERY
Stars fell out of heaven for the Washington high Tigers in Tiger Stadium Friday evening as they forward passed their way to a 46-0 victory over New Castle’s Red Hurricane before a crowd of between 15,000 and 16,000 fans.
Halted by a fast charging New Castle line flanked by two fine ends, the Tigers had to take to the air to bomb their way into the lead. Yielded Ground Stubbornly It was not an easy matter, gaining ground through the New Castle players. They were the Hurricane and more and were their hopes not jolted by a firm Tiger stand on the one-yard line when the score was only 6-0, you might have seen a closer game.
Driven away from the Massillon goal and chased back in a second Tiger march that produced a touchdown with only 10 seconds of the first half left to play, the New Castle morale was broken and the local eleven had things pretty much its own way as it rolled to five more touchdowns the last two periods.
‘Twas a game not unlike that at Warren late last month, when the Tigers wore down their opponents with superior conditioning. The New Castle boys were dragging at the end and although still eager to make a game of it as evidenced by injured players going back into the melee, lacked strength to even compete with the Tiger second and third stringers the last period. Line Makes Tigers Dig Too much cannot be said of the play of the visiting line. It made the Tiger trenchmen dig in and hit with all they had. Tiger ball carriers were thrown for 30 yards in losses and the local eleven can thank its lucky stars it had a passing attack.
Just when line plays were stopped, the Tigers seemed able to pass their way for first downs. Two long pegs, one for 34 and the other for 25 put the ball on the six-yard line in position for the first touchdown.
A 21-yard pass put the ball on the seven-yard line for the second and another good for 56 yards took the leather to the six-yard line for the third score. A blocked punt got the fourth, but a 34-yard pass picked off the fifth. An intercepted pass gave the Tigers the ball prior to the sixth and an intercepted pass followed by a 40-yard run, produced the seventh and last.
So you see forward passes figured in all but one of the Massillon eleven’s seven touchdowns.
In fact the Tiger eleven used the forward pass to gain 199 yards, an unusually large amount.
The visitors by the nature of their defense invited passing and because they jammed their secondary at times near the Tiger forward wall, were able to stop the Massillon running attack. Then too the Red Hurricane defenders committed the unpardonable sin of permitting a Massillon receiver to get behind them. No coach will excuse it, but the Massillon ends are fast and are hard to watch when you are pressing the line of scrimmage.
When the Tiger passes began finding receivers, the Hurricane secondary moved back and the Massillon running attack functioned more consistently thereafter.
Fans felt none secure the first half when they saw the vaunted running attack of their team vaunted running attack of their team bottled up by the Hurricane’s fast charging line.
Particularly did they feel concerned when their end sweeps frequently resulted in losses. You can give credit to Cenname and Zarilla, the New Castle wingmen, for that. They were hard to take out of plays and though they did not always make the tackle, they so jammed the interference in front of the ball carrier that someone could charge in from the secondary to nail the runner.
The first half was not as one-sided as the 14-0 score indicates. Remember it was 7-0 with only 10 seconds of the half remaining to be played and with a few ifs and ands, could just as well have been a 7-7 deadlock. A Great First Half Those first two periods were honeys, the kind Massillon fans have been looking forward to. They were treated to a good first half at Warren, a good first half here with Alliance and another last night. Though all three games ended in routs, all were far better than the one-sided scores would indicate.
That would tend to prove that superior conditioning is winning football games for the Tigers this year.
While the Massillon eleven twice took time out for injuries, the visitors on many occasions had to call for time and make replacements. Both teams apparently escaped unscathed as far as serious injuries were concerned and although one of the visitors was carried to the clubhouse, he was not hurt severely, but was only shaken up.
The game was the fourth between Massillon and New Castle. The Tigers have won three to the Hurricane’s one and remain the only school over which New Castle does not hold a majority of victories.
The Hurricane, however, still holds the honor of being the last team to beat Massillon. They did it 7-0 in October, 1937.
Save for a series of passes that carried them from the 37-yard line where they covered a Massillon fumble, to the one-yard line, the Hurricane had little in an offensive way last night.
They were badly outclassed for first downs, 20-5 and they only gained 59 yards, 22 of them by passing.
Playing a leading role in the Tiger defense was Capt. Earl Martin, Tackle John Swezey, Guard Jim Russell and Line Backer Upper De Luxe Howard Gillom. They were breaking through and playing in the Hurricane backfield all evening. The manner in which they hurried Lindy Lauro when he tried to pass, helped stop the effectiveness of his aerial heaves. He only completed four of 14 attempts. Statistics Favor Tigers The Tiger line from end to end, hit hard enough to give Massillon a big advantage in statistics. The locals gained 484 yards from scrimmage, 285 of them by rushing and with losses deducted, finished the evening with a net gain of 454 yards to New Castle’s net 41 yards.
The game to which the Tigers resorted when stopped on land, produced many a thrill for the fan, but none was more sudden than that which accompanied the fourth touchdown when Gillom and Martin blocked Gilboy’s punt and Gillom picked it up to race 18 yards for the score.
The greatest thrill of all, however, came in the second period when the Tigers with their backs to the goal went into an eight-man line and held the visitors to five yards in four ball carrying attempts.
The Tigers continued to find the ball hard to hold last night. Their play had been practically void of fumbling up until last week when they began juggling the ball at Steubenville.
They lost if once on a fumble last night and it was that muff by Red James making a desperate effort to catch a New Castle punt that put the Hurricane in scoring position the only time during the night.
The Tigers were leading 7-0 at the time, thanks to a touchdown fro the three-yard line by George Slusser and his two fine passes, one of 34 yards to Ray Getz and another of 25 yards to Gillom that made the touchdown possible. Zarilla covered the fumble for New Castle and the Hurricane began to blow. Three line plays left the visitors four yards short of a first down, but Laruo shot a pass to Joe Gender for a first down on the Massillon 23-yard line.
Lauro threw another to Cenname for two yards and when Lauro attempted to toss to Cenname behind the goal, he was tackled as the ball left his hands. The officials called roughing the passer and slapped a 15-yard penalty on the Tigers that moved the ball down to the six-yard line. An Eight-Man Line The Tigers went into an eight-man line and the crowd got to its feet with every play. Lauro made a yard. He flicked a pass to Gender for three more. Lauro advanced the ball one more yard placing it one the one-yard line. Again he hit the line, but couldn’t make it. Lauro claimed he did but the officials said no and anyway they penalized the Hurricane 15 yards for shoving the ball carrier. Martin took the penalty which left the visitors with one more chance. Lauro again tried to pass, but the ball w as knocked down and the Tigers took it on their own 16-yard line.
That was New Castle’s only threat and the players were more than a little upset over their failure to cross the Tiger goal. In fact before they could recover, the Massillon gridders were down to their goal, a 29-yard pass, Gillom to Getz and another of 21 yards, Slusser to Foster, placing the ball on the seven-yard line where Red James was turned loose for a run around left end that produced a touchdown with only 10 seconds of the first half remaining to be played. Getz kicked both goals from placement.
The Tigers got a touchdown the second time they put their hands on the ball in the third period. Stopped in their first bid by a 15-yard penalty, another 15 yards for clipping put them in starting position for the march form their own 10-yard line. Slusser and Roscoe Clendening hammered their way to their 38 where Slusser fired a 15-yard pass that Foster took and carried to the six-yard line before being downed, a gain of 56 yards.
It was Slusser for two yards; Clendening for two and finally Slusser for the last two and the touchdown. Getz’s attempt kick for the extra point was blocked. The ball bounded into Slusser’s arms and he nearly ran it across, being dropped half a yard short of goal. Gillom Scores On Blocked Punt New Castle took the kickoff and when it failed to gain, Gilboy dropped back to punt. Martin and Gillom, however, pounded through the Hurricane line and blocked the ball, Gillom scooping it up to run some 18 yards for a touchdown. This time Getz kicked the goal and boosted the score to 27-0.
The Tigers lost no time when they next came into possession of the leather. James returned Gilboy’s punt 12 yards to his 48 and on a Statue of Liberty play moved the ball to within inches of a first down. Slusser’s plunge brought a first on the 34-yard line and he stepped back on the very next play to fire a perfect pass to Gillom who stepped over the goal line for a touchdown. This time Getz’s kick for the extra point was again blocked.
Fred Blunt went into the game at this stage for Massillon. After losing the ball on the 34-yard line Fred Moody intercepted Lauro’s pass as the Hurricane tried desperately to score. Jim Moody got back to the New Castle 46 before being tackled. John Pizzino and Dick Adams advanced the ball to the 14-yard line where Blunt score easily on an end sweep and went through tackle for the extra point to hike the total to 40-0.
The visitors tossed two passes after the following kickoff, the second floating into the waiting arms of George Kester who intercepted and ran back 40 yards for the Tigers seventh and final touchdown of the game. Again Blunt carried the extra point across the goal.
20 For Tigers Massillon Pos. New Castle Getz LE Cenname Pedrotty LT Kulnis Russell LG Gilboy Martin C Morgan Henderson RG Pierillo Swezey RT Castrucci Gillom RE Zarilla Foster QB Gender Slusser LH Roberts James RH Glazza Clendening FB Lauro
Game Statistics Mass. N.C. First downs 20 5 Passes 14 14 Passes completed 6 7 Passes incomplete 7 8 Passes intercepted 1 2 Yards gained passing 199 22 Yards gained rushing 285 37 Total yards gained 484 59 Yards lost 30 18 Net yards gained 454 41 Kickoffs 7 2 Average kickoffs (yards) 37 39 Kickoffs returned (yards) 19 123 Punts 2 6 Punts blocked 0 1 Average punt(yards) 45.5 35.3 Punts returned (yards) 19 7 Fumbles 4 0 Lost ball on fumbles 1 0 Times penalized 10 4 Yards penalized 90 30
Massillon Tries To Please So Fans Pour Through Gates Purchase Of Tarpaulin On Field Makes Possible Good Game and Show and Likewise Saves Turf From Heavy Damage
The Massillon–New Castle game Friday evening was a good example why fans flock to Massillon to see Tiger football shows. In the first place every attempt is made by the athletic board to give the fan the kind of show he wants.
No spectator likes, to see two teams waddling in the mud. That’s one reason why school officials last year purchased a big tarpaulin at a cost of $2,600.
You saw the result last night. The canvas protected the field against the heavy rains of Thursday evening and Friday morning and provided a fairly dry surface for the game and a great band show.
The sum paid for the tarpaulin has the appearance of a lot of money, but the investment will pay dividends. Think how the field would have been torn up had it not been protected from the heavy rains.
After two periods of play on soggy turf, it is doubtful if it would have been at all possible to have staged the brilliant band spectacle that thrilled spectators between halves. Bands Stage Great Show There you have another reason why fans are blocking to Massillon for their football treat. The New Castle band of 110 pieces, led by six majorettes and directed in its routine by a white suited young lady, spread out in a huge V before the Tiger stands and played the “Donkey Serenade” while the majorettes gave an exhibition of twirling and the flag fearer a demonstration of flag throwing.
The New Castle musicians played unusually well and were given a great ovation as they marched from the field. The uniforms they wore last night were worn for the first time two years ago when New Castle paid its first visit to Massillon.
George Bird’s Tiger swing band was hot again and your head did a spin trying to watch the band and the accompanying fireworks display at the same time.
In its half time show the Tiger musicians saluted New Castle to a thunder of rockets and bombs that ended with a Tiger lighting up on the hilltop at the north end of the field. The band marched to the goal line where “Obie” on his second attempt, succeeded in putting the baton over the goal post and catching it. Back up the field the Massillon musicians came in their “Parade of the Jitterbugs”, which featured “Obie” holding his own “jam session.”
The band concluded the half-time show by forming a block M for the Alma Mater.
At the end of the game, the band again appeared for “Retreat” while the colors were lowered with another blast of fireworks. This accomplished, the performance was concluded with “The Old Grey Mare” and “Tiger Rag”. Bands Raised Colors The two combined bands appeared together prior to the opening kickoff marching to the end of the field where the colors were raised while the National Anthem was played. Joe F. Raplogle, director of the New Castle band, directed the combined bands. As the colors reached the top of the flag pole, rockets were fired into the air and two set pieces, one reading “NC” and the other “M”, were touched off.
Folks unable to get to the game got a good idea of how the Tigers were coming off from the firing of bombs that greeted every Massillon touchdown. It was a new idea and made a hit with fans at the game as well as those who remained at home.
Put the crowd at somewhere between 15,000 and 16,000 and then imagine what it would have been were it not for threatening weather. The stadium with its new portable seats on the north end now can accommodate 16,400. There were some vacancies in the special section at the south end of the field and the portable bleachers were not solidly packed.
The weatherman certainly gave everyone a “break” however. After an all-day rain, the clouds broke slightly before evening the rain ceased and held off until after the game.
A light sprinkle began to fall within a few minutes after the final whistle. The weatherman certainly has been kind to Massillon. 1,000 New Castle Fans Here New Castle brought about 1,000 fans to Massillon, 400 of them riding the special train that reached here shortly after 7 p.m. and unloaded at the 16th Street S.E. crossing. The band also rode the train.
The Tiger cheerleaders and New Castle cheerleaders vied for honors. The visitors had eight of them, four boys and four girls and they were not at all downcast by the defeat. They contributed to the pep of the evening to the very end.
Unless Coach Phil Bridenbaught of New Castle has a change of heart, the game may be the last between the two teams. The Tigers have won three out of the four-year series. ‘Twould be a pity to end a rivalry that has never failed to draw fewer than 10,000 fans. Massillon fans hope that Bridenbaugh will reconsider and sign for a game in New Castle in 1940.
Not often do you see a team penalized for deliberately grounding a pass or for helping the ball carrier by pushing or other methods. New Castle was penalized for both offenses last night, 15 yards each time.
Most people are in too big a hurry to leave the park to get a glimpse of one of the best sights—autos leaving the stadium after the game. Every direction you look you see nothing but headlights. Press Box Filled The press box was jammed to capacity last night. It contained newspapermen from New Castle, New Philadelphia, Canton, Cleveland, Toledo, Bowling Green, Wooster, Akron, New Castle radio men and of course Tiger assistant coaches who take a bird’s eye view of the game, noting any Tiger errors and reporting them immediately to Coach Paul Brown on the Massillon bench.
The visiting newsmen enjoy watching Massillon play. The publicity the Tigers are getting attests to that. And then it is evidenced in another way. Two members of the Beacon Journal staff laid cash on the line for 72 reserved seats for last night’s game, for friends who had heard them talking and writing about the Massillon football show.
The blocking of the Massillon team continues to startle visitors. The New Castle gridders did a fairly good job of jamming things up the first two periods, but in the last half it was not an unfamiliar sight to see a Tiger ball carrier pounding around end with three to four men screening him from tacklers.
TIGER GRIDDERS CRUSH STEUBENVILLE FOR 19th VICTORY GEORGE SLUSSER SETS PACE IN 50-0 TRIUMPH Scores Three Touchdowns, Throws Passes For Two Others; Huge Crowd See Undefeated Massillon Machine Roll Onward
By LUTHER EMERY
Steubenville’s Big Red wave was only another ripple on the Ohio river today, as the Washington high Tigers calmed the troubled waters with a 50-0 victory before 10,000 fans Friday evening, a record football crowd for Steubenville.
Displaying the same steam roller offense and rugged defense that has carried them through to an undefeated season the Tigers marked up their 19th consecutive triumph last night in a grand gridiron pageant. Another Fine Show The huge crowd, that necessitated closing all ticket windows before the start of the game, the march and rhythm of the bands and the antics of the Steubenville bear and the Massillon Tiger, gave the fans the show they had come to see and though the score was one-sided, every yard of territory was stoutly contested by the Stubs to the satisfaction of their loyal supporters.
The Big Red wouldn’t quit as touchdown after touchdown went over their goal and they were still scrapping at the final gun. In fact Steubenville reporters declared their team displayed more fight last night than at anytime this season.
In Defeating Steubenville 50-0, the Tigers won by a more decisive score than did Portsmouth, which beat the Big Red 39-6 on the same gridiron two weeks ago.
Portsmouth laid claim to the state title last year and was prepared to shout again this season, but the Tigers succeeded in hushing their claims last night. Says Tigers Stronger Team Bill Workman, sports writer for the Herald Star, Steubenville, declared Massillon was far superior to Portsmouth. He feels the Trojans were no more than three if not two touchdowns better than the Big Red. They got four of their touchdowns through breaks of the game.
Breaks helped place the ball in position for three of the Tiger touchdowns last night when Steubenville fumbles were recovered between the 20 and 30-yard lines and a 15-yard penalty inflicted on the Big Red helped the local eleven in a fourth touchdown march.
On the other hand penalties also helped to retard the Massillon steam roller at times and were it not for these additional scores might have been shoved over the Big Red goal.
The Tigers got a good break at the start when Bernie Cybulski fumbled the opening kickoff and Gil Pedrotty recovered on the 20-yard line. In three plays George Slusser gained seven yards, Red James nine and Slusser four more and a touchdown. Only a minute of the game had transpired when Slusser crossed the goal.
The touchdown parade continued throughout the game. A second went over the Big Red goal in the opening period and three more were put over in the second quarter. The Stubs succeeded in slowing down the invasion in the third period when they held the Tigers to one touchdown, but the Massillon gridders nearly pushed the home team back into the Ohio river with a wave of fourth period offense that produced two quick touchdowns and ended only when Coach Paul Brown put his second and third stringers in the game. Big Red Completely Outplayed The Big Red had the fight, but all their pepper could not save them from taking a beating in points and statistics.
They were out rushed, out passed, out kicked and even out penalized.
The Tigers gained a total of 488 yards from rushing and passing to the Stubs’ 45 yards and showed a net gain, losses deducted of 468 yards to 26 yards.
The linemen of any team that holds Steubenville to a net gain of 26 yards, deserve particular mention and that’s why Massillonians doff their hats today to Ray Getz, Roscoe Clendening, Gil Pedrotty, Jim Russell, Earl Martin, John Swezey, Gene Henderson, Ray Getz and backer upper Horace Gillom.
Gillom punting as he never has before, averaged 42 yards from scrimmage as he kicked the ball 31, 50 and 45 yards in three attempts.
Walter Lonas, the Steubenville punter, averaged 33.3 yards on his 10 punts, most of which were placed out of bounds to keep Fred Blunt, Red James and Dick Adams, Tiger safety men from running the ball back.
And the Tigers were penalized 110 yards to the Stubs’ 55 yards. Most of the penalties inflicted on Massillon were for failing to pause sufficiently on the shift. It was the first time this year they were penalized for this violation a frequent cause for penalization in past years.
First downs were 15 to 1 in favor of the local team, Steubenville’s only first down coming on a penalty for pass interference. Big Red In Shape But for all the beating they took the Big Red stoop up and fought back gamely. That they were in condition, no one can deny. There were few injuries, the most serious of which was George Fabian, Tiger substitute halfback who it is believed suffered a cracked rib in the fourth quarter. He was removed from the game, but at his own request, continued on with the team to Pittsburgh, where today the Massillon eleven will see the Duquesne – University of Pittsburgh game.
If the Big Red succeeded in any single effort last night it was in bottling up Pokey Blunt. The Tiger sophomore had never been stopped before. He made one touchdown against the Stubs going over from the two-yard line, but his long runs that featured other games were missing.
You can give Ed. Mike, the Steubenville right end, most of the credit for stopping Pokey. The Massillon boy usually runs to his left and defending the right Steubenville flank, was Mike. He acted as though he knew where Pokey was going for he usually beat the Tiger carrier to the hole.
Mike’s defensive work was a highlight of the Steubenville attack. The Big Red line as a whole was badly out charged, though it seemed to come to life on point after touchdown plays. Several times the Stubs’ blocked Ray Getz’s attempted placekicks and they rushed him badly on other occasions. He only got two over the bar and between the uprights in eight attempts.
The vicious blocking of the Tigers caused a stir in the press box as Big Red tacklers were cut down cleanly. The Steubenville reporters liked that kind of football.
Inability of the Stub blockers to accord their ball carriers the same kind of support, kept their offense from making any great inroads on the Tigers.
While the Tigers crossed the Stubs’ goal eight times, the Big Red never seriously threatened. Cas Myslinski recovered. Slusser’s fumble on the Tiger 33 in the first period but in four downs the Stubs could make but three yards and they lost the ball on their 30-yard line. Slusser Scores Three Leading Massillon’s touchdown parade was George Slusser. He crossed the Big Red goal three times. James, Blunt, Gillom, Getz and Foster all succeeded in reaching the Promised Land once during the course of the game.
Most sensational of the eight touchdowns was a beautiful 58-yard run by Red James for the second score of the game, a 23-yard touchdown pass from Slusser to Gillom and a 47-yard touchdown pass tossed by Slusser that Ray Getz took on the dead run.
The fans had hardly recovered from the thrill of the kickoff and Pedrotty’s recovery of Cybulski’s fumble when Slusser plunged over the Big Red goal from the four-yard line with the first touchdown of the game. Getz missed the attempted placekick for the extra point.
When the Big Red failed to gain after the following kickoff, Lonas punted it out on the Massillon 41. The Tigers were penalized 15 yards for holding and they lost the ball when Slusser fumbled and Myslinski, recovered for Steubenville. They stopped the Big Red’s ball carrying attempts and took the ball on their own 30. There they began another drive that took them to their 42-yard line where James was turned loose for a 58-yard touchdown jaunt. He sidestepped Cybulski, the Stub safety man, who slipped and fell when he tried to wheel in the same direction to block the Tiger ball carrier. Getz kicked the extra point from placement and the score was 13-0.
The Tigers kicked off and when the Stubs couldn’t gain, they booted it back to the Massillon 36-yard line. The Tigers drove down to the nine-yard line, where a 15-yard penalty stopped their bid for a touchdown and forced Gillom to punt, the ball rolling over the goal. Foster Sneaks Over The Stubs kicked on the third down to James who was dropped on the Stubs’ 46. With James leading the way, the Tigers marched to the 10-yard line. Slusser took t he ball to within a yard of the goal and Foster sneaked through for the touchdown. Getz’s kick for the extra point was blocked. Score 19 to 0.
The Big Red received, but Lonas was forced to punt out of bounds on the Massillon 48. Blunt whirled to the 32 and Slusser running hard, carried the ball to the seven-yard line. In two more plays he banged his way over for the touchdown. Getz’s kick was wide of the goal posts. Score 25-0.
On the first play after the following kickoff, Cybulski fumbled and Foster was on the job to cover the ball on the Big Red 30. Blunt was thrown for a nine-yard loss and Hillis blocked Slusser’s pass to Gillom. The Big Red was penalized 15 yards, however, for roughing Slusser and in three attempts, Slusser and Clendening lugged the leather to the three-yard line where Blunt went over for the touchdown. Getz’s attempted kick for the extra point was low. Score 31-0.
The Tigers got the kickoff in the second half, but their advance was stopped by the Big Red who came out playing inspired football. Gillom punted over the goal. The Stubs couldn’t gain either and kicked back to the local eleven. James making a beautiful return of the ball, only to have the run nullified by a 15-yard penalty for clipping that put the ball back on the Tiger 40. A touchdown drive immediately got underway with Slusser and James doing most of the ball carrying and Slusser finally driving over through tough Big Red resistance, from the two-yard line. Again Getz’s kick was no good but the score was 37-0.
And 37 it stood until the fourth quarter when Clendening in the first minute pounced on Stauffer’s fumble on the Stub’s 23-yard line then lightning began to strike the Big Red. On the first play, Slusser stepped back and pegged the ball to Gillom who raced over for the touchdown. Getz’s kick was blocked. Score 43-0.
The Tigers kicked off to the Stubs, but got the ball back on a punt that went out of bounds on the Big Red 47. In another lightning stroke Slusser faded back 10 yards and fired a long pass that Getz took at full speed on the 20-yard line and crossed the goal with no one near him. This time he kicked the extra point.
From here on in, a continual parade of substitutes entered the game for the Tigers, several third stringers being in the lineup at the finish.
Tigers Roll On Massillon Pos. Steubenville Getz LE Adams Pedrotty LT R. Mike Russell LG Harvey Martin C Myslinski Henderson RG Peterson Swezey RT Starr Gillom RE E. Mike Foster QB Cybulski Slusser LH Lonas James RH Gilliam Clendening FB Hillis
TIGERS CRUSH STUBBORN ALLIANCE GRIDDERS 47-0 HILLIS HUME UNABLE TO CROSS GOAL LINE State’s Leading Scorer, Always A Threat, Proves Better Punter Than Runner As Season’s Largest Crowd Looks On
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers defied the air raid of the Alliance Aviators Friday evening and turned back the bombers 47-0 before the largest crowd that has ever attended a football game in Massillon exclusive of Massillon-Canton McKinley games.
Between 16,000 and 17,000 fans overflowed Tiger Stadium to form a background for a setting of color that has gained the Massillon gridders a wide reputation in the state. Aviators Weaken Last Period For three periods the two undefeated elevens were locked in terrific combat, but Alliance gradually weakened in the fourth quarter and the tiring Aviators could not gear themselves to the phenomenal speed of “Pokey” Blunt, Tiger substitute halfback and the hard running of George Slusser.
By sheer strength and force the Tigers managed to shove over a touchdown in each of the first two periods to lead 13-0 at the half and they got a cheap third one in the opening minutes of the third quarter when they recovered an Alliance fumble on the six-yard line.
But even in the face of 20 points the Aviators lost none of their grit and refused to be scared by the four-time Ohio champions. They yielded ground stubbornly as they fought back yard by yard, until finally the local eleven managed to crash through for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Aviators Finally Crash Those were the points that finally broke down Alliance. Gains came easier thereafter and the Tigers crossed the goal line three more times on long runs by Slusser and Blunt.
Never did Alliance get near the Tiger goal. Twice in the second period the Aviators carried the ball by the midfield stripe, but never got closer than the 40-yard line. Only once in the last half did they get into Massillon territory and that came on a fancy return of a kickoff by Hillis Hume, star back of the Aviators, who tucked the ball under his arm and raced 33 yards before being downed on the Tiger 49-yard line. He picked up a yard from scrimmage, but on the second play, Horace Gillom regained the ball for the Tigers when he intercepted Hume’s pass and ran the ball back into Alliance territory.
Hume was a constant threat. There was no letting down one minute in vigilance or the Alliance star would have gotten away. The state’s leading scorer, he made two good runs from scrimmage, one for 17 yards and one for 14, but his best effort was the brilliant return of Getz’s kickoff early in the fourth quarter. He nearly got away, but was bottled up on the sidelines just as he crossed the midfield stripe.
The Tigers had every respect for Hume. On only two occasions did he get the kickoff. All other times, Getz carried out his instructions and kicked the ball out of bounds as far back as possible. Coach Paul Brown didn’t want any part of Hume in an open field such as a kickoff provides. The Alliance ace was accorded little support on his ball carrying efforts from scrimmage, so hard did the Massillon tacklers charge in.
He carried the ball 15 times, gained 45 yards and was thrown for a total of six yards in losses.
But while Hume did not sparkle in running last night, he attracted attention in another way with his accurate punting. The statistics show Gillom averaged more yards on his kicks, but Hume’s ability to place the ball out of bounds in the vicinity of the five-yard line contributed a major portion to the Alliance defense.
The punting throughout the night was the best that has been seen here in years. Each team kicked five times; Gillom averaging 43.4 yards and Hume 38.4 yards from the line of scrimmage. Gillom Kicks A Beauty Gillom got off a dazzling punt from the goal line in the second period; Hume taking the ball on his own 33. While the ball actually traveled 67 yards, punts are computed from the line of scrimmage and as a result the boot can only be listed in the statistics at 56 yards.
The Tiger eleven, playing without the services of two regulars, Capt. Earl Martin and Fullback Bill Zimmerman, displayed all of their vaunted power in routing the Aviators. They mouse trapped the tackles for their first touchdown, completed two out of four passes for 48 yards and gained 414 additional yards by rushing. Of the 414 yards, 189 were made as the Aviators weakened in the fourth quarter. First downs were 14 to five in Massillon’s favor.
The Tigers followed the usual procedure of trying to crush their opponents’ morale by scoring the first time they got the ball. They succeeded but it took 12 plays to march the ball 63 yards. Two mouse traps were set to catch the touchdown and both worked. Ray Getz whirling around right end for 12 yards on the first and Gillom following around left end for the last 17 and a touchdown.
The Tigers began another drive late in the opening period from their own six-yard line that went far into the second period before the Alliance goal was finally reached. Alliance actually had stopped the drive back on the Massillon 35-yard line, but a 15-yard penalty for roughing Gillom when he punted, moved the ball up to midfield and enabled the locals to continue their attack. The teams battled over every yard of ground the remaining 50 yards. Red James finally going over from the two-yard line. Getz kicked goal.
Alliance struck back after the second touchdown with its first threat of the game as Hume got away for one run of 17 yards to carry the ball into Tiger territory. The Tiger linemen entrenched themselves on the 42-yard line, however, and forced Hume to punt. He placed a beauty out of bounds on the five-yard line.
The Tigers threatened again in the closing minutes of the half when Slusser pegged a pass to Getz from the Alliance 32. Getz got down to the five-yard line before he was tackled. A five-yard penalty moved the ball back 10 yards from the goal and an attempt to set a mouse trap lost 15 more when the ball was fumbled. Break Sets up Touchdown Alliance had just succeeded in stopping a Tiger drive and had forced Gillom to punt out of bounds on the 12-yard line, when a break in the game put the ball in position for the Tigers third touchdown in the third period. An Alliance fumble was covered by Massillon on the six-yard line and on the first play Clendening went through his right tackle for the touchdown without a hand being laid on him. Getz kicked the point.
The fourth touchdown drive began late in the third period when Slusser intercepted Hume’s pass on the 30-yard stripe and stepped off four yards before being tackled. Nine plays were run off before Roscoe Clendening finally plunged over from the two-yard line. Getz’s placement kick increased the score to 27-0, the touchdown coming early in the fourth quarter.
Hume got away to a 33-yard run on the following kickoff and the Aviators worked the ball into Tiger territory only to lose it when Gillom intercepted Hume’s pass and ran back to the Alliance 34. Slusser, cut hard through tackle and ran around Hume in a 34-yard touchdown dash.
The Aviators came back with another drive that barely got over the 50-yard line before it was finally smothered and Hume was forced to punt out on the Massillon 17.
Clendening in two attempts smashed to a first down on his 29 and that set the stage for Pokey Blunt. He ripped off 48 yards for a first down on the Alliance 23 and after Clendening was thrown for a two-yard loss. Blunt ran another 25 yards for a touchdown around left end. Again Getz kicked goal.
The Tigers kicked off to Alliance and on the first series, Bob Foster pulled down one of Hume’s passes and ran back five yards to the Alliance 39-yard line. Slusser moved the pigskin to the 32 and Blunt was again paged to take the ball around left end on a deep reverse for the remaining 32 yards. Getz kicked another point, his fifth in seven attempts, to end the scoring at 47 points. Last Period Scoring Saves Wagers The Tigers’ 27-point barrage in the last quarter saved the day for quite a few sportsmen who gave away 30 points in wagers. They were plenty nervous the first three periods of the game.
The victory was the Tigers’ seventh straight over Alliance. Not since 1932 have the Aviators succeeded in taking the measure of the local eleven – but Alliance is building this year and there may come a day.
The victory was Massillon’s 18th straight and the defeat was the first of the season for Alliance.
As expected the Aviators tried to confuse their Tiger opponents defensively. They frequently hopped a seventh man into their six-man line and at times presented a 6-2-3 defense for pass protection.
What hopes Alliance had of bombing the Tigers with touchdowns were blasted by a good pass defense that five times turned Alliance aerial attempts into boomerangs. These pass interceptions helped stop Alliance drives. The hard charge of the Massillon line rushed Hume and he had little time to pick out his receivers. 18 For Tigers Massillon Pos. Alliance Getz LE Welbush Pedrotty LT Chernikovic Russell LG Iannotti Appleby C Dawson Henderson RG Stoica Swezey RT Comsa Gillom RE Stanfield Foster QB Hume Slusser LH Rogel James RH McGregor Clendening FB Zupanic
TIGERS UNLEASH POWER AS THEY CRUSH ERIE EAST 66-0 MASSILLON LINEMEN OUTCHARGE WARRIORS
Tiger Forward Wall Tears Visiting Pennsylvanians Into Shreds As Backs Get Away To Long Touchdown Runs; 2,000 See Game
By LUTHER EMERY
Erie East’s battle scarred Warriors of the gridiron, left for home today with deep respect for Washington high school football and mindful of the 66-0 defeat, the largest score by which an Erie East team has been defeated since 1920, the first year football was played at the school. East dropped a 68-0 decision that year and it has stood as the height of humiliation since.
And it still stands. The Tigers might have broken it had they wanted to last night, but Coach Paul Brown preferred using his second and third teams. Tigers Too Fast for Erie The route came as a complete surprise for the heavier Warriors were expected to make a fight of it. But that probably tells the story. The Warriors were too heavy for their own good. They were out maneuvered by the faster and more agile Tigers, whose lightning like thrusts split the visitors’ ranks wide open and picked touchdowns out of the sky for cheap points.
Though Erie showed more offense than Warren, last week’s opponent, it lacked the hard fighting defense the Tigers faced a week ago and appeared slow afoot.
The Warriors showed a couple of good halfbacks in Clark Tyzinski and Bill Crotty, but just as at Warren, the Erie line was so badly out charged, the backs had a difficult time advancing.
The Tiger linemen hit and hit hard and the blockers scalped Warrior tacklers at every turn. Erie came to Massillon with what was considered a good opportunity for winning the northwestern Pennsylvania championship, but it returned home, feeling the sting of football as played by the Ohio champions. Never Quit Trying One thing in favor of the Warriors, they never quit trying. They were still pegging away for a touchdown when the final gun sounded and had just succeeded in turning back a threatening advance of the Tiger third team which had it succeeded would have set a new scoring record for Erie East opponents. That’s where the Warriors managed to save themselves. Scribes cannot refer to them as the team that took the worst beating in Erie history.
The Warriors likewise took their defeat gracefully and in a sportsmanlike manner. Too frequently teams resort to unfair tactics when they find themselves taking a terrific beating on the gridiron. Not the Warriors. They played the game cleanly and squarely.
In fact the teams finished on such friendly terms and Erie was so impressed with the Massillon football spectacle, that talk was already started last night of getting Massillon to Erie for a game next year, band and all.
The Warriors appeared nervous as they took the field, but they shouldn’t have been for they have played before crowds larger than the 12,000 that saw last night’s game.
Probably it was because their coach had them on the field 45 minutes before the game, or maybe it was a certain fear for the Tigers that gave the Warriors a bad case of butter fingers from the start of the game. They couldn’t catch a kickoff or pick a rolling ball off the ground.
Be what it was, fear or nerves, the Tigers gave reason for both when they pile drove through the visitors line for their first touchdown from kickoff, smashed through for another in the same period and bagged five more in the second. The varsity was removed from the game with several minutes of the second period remaining to be played and three more touchdowns were shoved across the goal line in the third and fourth quarters by the second and third stringers.
While the varsity started the visitors and took much of the starch out of them with their sudden and vicious attack, it remained for three second string backfield men to score seven of the 10 touchdowns.
Roscoe Clendening got one on a dazzling run; Pokey Blunt scored two, George Fabian three and Fred Moody one. Used Versatile Attack They used a versatile attack that made it difficult for fans in the stands to follow the ball. The Warrior were victims of the same deception and once they found trace of the leather, the ball carrier was on his way with little chance to catch him.
Seldom do you see a game with as many long, sensational runs as that of last night. As it turned out, it’s too bad all were made by the one side. A couple of Erie touchdowns would have made the second half more interesting.
But the Warriors never threatened dangerously. Only twice did they work the ball into Massillon territory and on both occasions the attacks were repelled before they could reach the 40-yard line.
Even so, Erie made more yards than Warren which last week finished with a net gain of five. The Warriors gained 136 last night which with 41 in losses deducted, left them with a net gain of 95 yards or 90 more than Warren.
What the Warriors lacked principally was drive. The Tiger linemen moved them to any designated spot. Capt. Vic Klein, was troublesome at times, but one of the most sensational plays of the evening, a short pass from Slusser to Ray Getz, went straight through Vic’s tackle for a gain of 61 yards and a touchdown.
The long runs for touchdowns, cut down the Tigers’ chances for first downs. They made a dozen to Erie’s five. Slusser Scores Touchdown They put three of their first downs together to score their first touchdown after the opening kickoff. Starting on the Tiger 42, Slusser and Clendening marched the leather to the one-yard line where Slusser took it over for the touchdown. Getz’s attempted kick for the extra point was blocked, but Slusser scooped the ball up and tried to fight his way over. He was thrown hard on the one-yard line and did not succeed.
After an exchange of punts, Red James took an Erie punt from his 40 to his 49-yard line. Slusser tossed a pass to James for another 16-yard gain and a first down on the 35. Clendening then went through his right tackle as though fired from a cannon and ran 35 yards for a touchdown. This time Getz’s kick for the extra point was low.
That was all for he first quarter which ended 12-0 but it looked as though everyone on the team would reach the Promised Land in the second period so fast did the Warriors yield ground.
On the second play of the period, Slusser whipped a 20-yard pass to Getz, who ran another 20 for a touchdown. Again his kick was blocked and the score remained 18-0.
But it didn’t stand at 18-0 very long, for Pokey Blunt was sent into the game and that meant more hard times for the Warriors. Standing on his own 39-yard line, Slusser tossed a short over hand pass, about the length of a shovel, to Getz as the latter came tearing through his right tackle. Getz never stopped until he crossed the Erie goal, a run of 61 yards.
Horace Gillom reoved Getz’s last obstacle from his path with a pretty block on the 20-yard line. This time Getz kicked a bullseye to hoist the count to 25-0.
Within a minute they score another. The kickoff struck an Erie player and Gillom and Slusser recovered on the Erie 45. Slusser picked up three yards and then turned Blunt loose for a 42-yard dash around left end and a touchdown. He also carried the extra point across to boost the score to 32-0.
Erie struck back after the kickoff to march the ball from their 20 to the Tiger 43, a 22-yard pass from Tysinski to Maxumerzyk, being the chief ground gainer of the series. It was a gallant effort. Tyzinski punted out on the Tiger 30 and on the very next play Fabian shook himself loose and ran 70 yards for a touchdown, the longest of the evening. Getz’s kick for the extra point, struck an Erie player and bounced over the crossbar. Those points boosted the Tiger score to 39-0. Fabian Intercepts Pass The Tigers kicked off to the Warriors and on the second play Tyzinski tried to dump a pass over the line. Fabian was there, however, pulled the ball out of the air and galloped 34 yards for the touchdown. Pizzino carried the 46th point across.
That was all the scoring for the first half. The second team had more difficulty scoring touchdowns than the varsity.
They took the second half kickoff on their 33-yard line and marched to the eight-yard line where Moody carried it over the goal on an end around play. Pizzino carried the extra point over.
On the following kickoff, Erie again advanced the ball into Tiger territory, reaching the 44-yard line on this attempt, only to have Bill Croop of the Tigers, recover a fumble. On an end around play, Kester took the ball to the 26-yard line and Blunt made the rest of the distance on the next jaunt. Offside penalties gave the Tigers three cracks at the extra point. Fabian was over once but it was not allowed and the last bid, an end around play by Kester failed leaving the score 59-0.
A 15-yard penalty forced the locals to punt the next time they got the ball and the fourth quarter was half over before they could score again. This time Fabian got away for a 48-yard touchdown run and he passed to Kester for the extra point. The third team played t he last five minutes. Power To Spare Massillon Pos. Erie East Getz LE Forgash Pedrotty LT Klein Russell LG Hart Martin C C. Thomas Henderson RG Ebisch Swezey RT Swanson Gillom RE Flanagan Foster QB Skovron Slusser LH Lundstrom James RH Tyzinski Clendening FB Lininger
TIGERS CRUSH WARREN 33-0 BEFORE CAPACITY CROWD SUPERIOR CONDITION OF LOCAL ELEVEN WINS
Presidents Unable To Withstand Battering Of Great Massillon Line and Hard Hitting Backs; Bands Stage Spectacle
By LUTHER EMERY
The Warren Presidents are no longer candidates for the state high school championship. Their ambitions were smothered under a deluge of five touchdowns Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers pounced into Harding high stadium to extend their victory streak to 16 games and strengthen their position in 1939 Ohio football circles.
The score was 33-0, but the score does not tell the kind of game it was, a rough and tumble affair that had the overflow crowd of 9,000 fans, the largest that has ever attended a football game in Warren, seething with excitement for the first three periods of the game. Touchdowns Hard to Get Though the Tiger was superior throughout, touchdowns were hard to get and it was slam-bang for two and one-half periods before the Warren Presidents finally wilted under the terrific hammering and did not choose to run any longer.
The Tigers, who had scored one touchdown in the second period to lead 6-0 at the half, piled two more on top of them in the last five minutes of the third period and made a complete run-a-way in the fourth as the local eleven’s superior condition had the Warren players dragging.
The charge of the line was terrific. Even though outweighed, the Tiger forwards moved the Warren linemen backward and opened huge holes for the backs to romp through.
And defensively – well, it can be best summed up by saying the Presidents might just as well have thrown their forces against the Maginot line as to have tried to pierce the Tiger forward wall last night, their net gain was five yards. Games are won and lost on the line, so they say and Messrs. Ray Getz, Gil Pedrotty, Jim Russell, Earl Martin, Gene Henderson, John Swezey and Horace Gillom, gave a remarkable exhibition. Most fans watch the ball carrier, but the ball carriers, can’t move without a charging line and good blocking in front of them.
Ex-Local Coach Praises Tigers
Sidney Jones, former Washington high school football and basketball coach and now probate judge of Trumbull County, of which Warren is the county seat, was among the 9,000 spectators who saw the Tigers run rampant over the Warren Harding Presidents last night.
And Judge Jones really was impressed.
“Massillon had the greatest high school football team I have ever seen,” said the judge, following the game.
“We all thought we had a great team in Warren. We do but that Massillon team really has what it takes.”
Judge Jones coached at the local school back in 1912 and 1913 when scholastic football was far from being the sport it is today.
Vicious Blocking The Tigers had both last night. The blocking was vicious, Warren newspaper reporters commented on it after the first couple of plays and the ball carriers plunged and sidestepped with more than ordinary ability.
Heading the scoring was George Slusser and Red James, each with two touchdowns. Fred Blunt also reached the Promised Land in the short time he played.
It was long runs by Slusser, one for 71 yards and James, one for 32 yards, with surprise sneaks by Bob Foster and some hard plunges by Roscoe Clendening that finished the fireworks for Massillon fans. Prettiest of all, was a brilliant 75-yard return of a punt by Red James that was not allowed because Referee Russell Rupp called unnecessary roughness on Capt. Martin.
There was more drama in the game than most of the fans could appreciate. Only the players knew what was going on. They knew the importance of the game and its bearing on the state championship and they knew that each team had been pointed to the limit to win.
The Presidents went into the melee keyed to the limit and made a hard fight of it for two and one-half periods, only to wilt before superior conditioning. Save for an injured ankle suffered in the second period by Bill Zimmerman, the best ground gainer in the early minutes of the game, the local squad emerged unscathed and raced to the bench when removed for substitutes in the third and fourth quarters.
On the other hand, the Warren gridders, beaten and bruised, limped to the sidelines, disappointed, but not disgraced for fans knew they were beaten by a superior team. Tigers Superior Every Way Yes, the Tigers had all the better of it in virtually every department of the game, 15 first downs, to Warren’s two. They completed three of seven passes for 29 yards and intercepted one of Warren’s five attempts.
They gained 409 yards by rushing to Warren’s 27 and they finished with a net offensive gain, passing and ball carrying of 418 yards to Warren’s five yards.
They stopped Mackey Johnson, ace ball carrier of the Presidents and Tom Decavitch, a quick cutting runner, in their tracks. Give Horace Gillom a lot of credit for keeping Mackey behind the line of scrimmage. When all figures are added up, Mackey lost three more yards than he gained. He carried the ball six times, gained six yards and lost nine.
The Tigers in one department, forward passing, failed to function as they have in previous games. Warren met them with a 6-2-2-1 defense. The Presidents line up with a five-man line, but hopped a sixth into the expected point of combat. The Presidents covered Tiger pass receivers closely and only short tosses into the flats worked.
Not only did the Tigers out-man the Presidents, but they also out-smarted them. They gambled and won. Take the closing minutes of the first half as an example. It was fourth down with 18 yards to go and the ball on the Warren 44-yard line. Gillom dropped back to punt, but around came James to take the ball off his back stretched hand and race to a first down on the Warren 21-yard line. The gun stopped the Tigers’ on the five-yard line in this touchdown bid or they might have had a more comfortable lead at the end of the first half. First March Fails The Tigers made a touchdown bid after the opening kickoff. They lugged the ball from the 20-yard line to the Warren 18, Zimmerman missing a first down by inches. Warren came back to gain 12 yards in two attempts and one of its two first downs of the game. It got the other on a penalty.
After an exchange of punts, Slusser recovered a Warren fumble in midfield and there, in the closing minute of the first period, began the first successful touchdown march. After James had lost a yard at end, Slusser picked up seven yards and Zimmerman plunged for a first down on the Warren 40. Slusser and Zimmerman in three attempts carried to a first down on the Warren 28. There little Red James set up the touchdown, racing around left end on a double reverse to the six-yard line. Zimmerman put the ball on the one yard line but Warren was offside and penalized five yards which took the ball to the same spot. Slusser hit his right tackle for the touchdown and Getz kicked the extra point. Two plays after the following kickoff, Zimmerman was injured and removed from the lineup for the rest of the game. He was replaced by Clendening who did a great job of filling his shoes. An exchange of punts and Warren worked its best offensive maneuver of the game, an intended lateral pass, but the ball traveled forward instead of laterally and the play was not allowed. It would have gained 18 yards.
Taking the ball on their own 39-yard line, the Tigers launched another drive with Clendening plunging for 14 yards and James getting away for some fancy stepping off the fake kick formation, but with first down coming up and the ball on the five-yard line, the gun cracked, ending the half.
The third period was full of thrills. The Tigers were stopped in midfield after taking the kickoff and were forced to punt back to the Presidents. Warren opened up with laterals and passes but went backward. Decavitch hoisted a beautiful punt that James picked up near his goal and raced back through nearly the entire Warren team before being downed on the 24-yard line. It wasn’t allowed because of a roughing penalty and Warren got the ball on first down on its 47-yard line.
Gillom did his best to make up for it on the next play, however, when he leaped high in the air to intercept Decavitch’s pass on his own 40 and carry the ball back to the 44-yard line.
There another successful touchdown drive was launched. Foster fooled his opponents as he sneaked through guard and cut around the secondary for a 36-yard gain to the 20-yard line. Slusser on the next play smashed through to the 11 and James completely crossed up his opponents as he slipped around his left end for the 11 yards and touchdown. Getz’s attempted placekick for the extra point was wide of the posts and the score was 13-0. That touchdown signaled the breaking point of the Warren morale and when after an exchange of punts, James romped 32 yards for his second touchdown of the game, the rout was begun. Getz kicked the point this time and the quarter closed after the following kickoff. Warren Crumbles Warren had little left the last period. It couldn’t gain ground and its defense crumbled before the Tiger charge. Failing to move the ball more than eight yards after the kickoff, the Presidents punted to the Massillon 24. Clendening moved the ball to the Massillon 29 and there Slusser on a cutback play ran 71 yards for a touchdown. Getz kicked the 27th point of the game.
Pokey Blunt was sent in and more trouble loomed for the Presidents. Getting the ball on a punt, the Tigers moved it up to the 15-yard line and there Blunt slipped around his left end and fought his way over the goal. Getz’a attempts kicked for the extra point was blocked and it was the signal for a complete new Massillon team to take the field. There was no further scoring, neither team as much as threatening.
Warren tried to work a fake kick in the remaining minutes but Price, the ball carrier, was tossed for an 11-yard loss.
The game was staged in a riot of color with the field completely surrounded with spectators. The Warren band with 32 majorettes and the Tiger band with eight majorettes, participated in a flag raising ceremony before the game. They were back again between halves, each with a fine show. The Tiger band gave a complete new performance that featured an Apache dance by Obie the Tiger and the “Alma Mater Massillon” ran across the field with spectators joining in the singing.
The Warren band formed a flag, with the 32 drum majorettes as the staff and while in this formation played “God Bless America.” A couple of the Warren majorettes gave a tap dance during another number on a platform beneath which was placed the microphone of the public address system.
Members of the bands renewed acquaintances prior to the game when entertained at dinner in Warren. Massillon musicians were loud in their praise of the hospitality they enjoyed in Warren.
The crowd was the largest that has ever attended a football game there. More than 9,000 were present, according to estimates. When no more could be accommodated the ticket booths and gates were locked. More than 2,000 Massillon fans were included in the group. Two thousand tickets were sold here and many more who were unable to buy tickets, went to Warren early and sat in the general admission section. Warren kept its promise and held the Massillon section for Massillon patrons. Massillon fans who rode the special train and there were 538 of them, found seats awaiting them when they reached Warren. They arrived in plenty of time for the game and praised the train as the finest ever provided for a football game.
Though the sky was overcast with clouds, not enough rain fell to dampen the sheepheads of the drums.
And that was a surprise to Massillon fans, particularly those who rode the special train. The train was in a downpour all the way from Barberton to Newton Falls, but by the time Warren was reached, the rain had stopped and the threatening skies only dumped a few buckets full during the last minute of the first half.
The game was originally scheduled for 8 p.m. was moved back to 8:15 by Warren officials.
You probably saw Coach Paul Brown and Coach Pierre Hill of Warren arguing between halves of the game. Brown insisted on using the brown ball, while Hill wanted to use the white ball the last half. Brown objected because Warren was wearing white jerseys.
Mackey Johnson, the Warren backfield ace wore a leather guard on his face. He had three teeth knocked loose two weeks ago.
A Real Victory Massillon Pos. Warren Getz LE Crognale Pedrotty LT Hoffman Russell LG Mrus Martin C Canzeonetta Henderson RG Deutsch Swezey RT Dixon Gillom RE Holmes Foster QB Henry Slusser LH Decavitch James RH M. Johnson Zimmerman FB Layton
TIGERS BEGIN PREPARATION FOR WARREN PRESIDENTS BETTER THAN MANSFIELD
Massillon Team’s Lightning Thrusts Demoralized Mansfield Gridders In First Period Last Saturday And 73-0 Route Followed
By LUTHER EMERY
Having stripped the Mansfield Tyger of its stripes to the score of 73-0 here Saturday afternoon, the Washington high Tigers today turned their attention toward preparations for meeting a more formidable foe at Warren Friday evening.
The Presidents have won two games, defeating Cleveland Rhodes 7-0 in a mediocre performance in their season’s opener and smashing Erie Academy 19-0 last week with a surprising display of power. Both Teams Scouted Pierre Hill of Warren is priming for the Tigers just as Coach Paul Brown is pointing his team for the Presidents. Both coaches looked each other over last week and will busy themselves the next three days setting up a defense that each hopes will stop the other.
Warren will definitely outweigh the Tigers. The Presidents will put practically a veteran team on the field, built from a large squad that included 36 members of the 1938 club, among them Mackey Johnson, ace ball carrier, who you saw sprint for several long runs here last year.
Warren will be by far the toughest of the teams the Tigers have met to date. There’s no mystery connected with them as with Mansfield. In the latter instance, the mystery now seems to be, how did Mansfield Tygers ever beat Akron West 26-0.
Mansfield for two plays Saturday showed a promising charge that held the Tigers to two yards and for a moment caused one to believe that the Tygers might be as strong defensively as their no first down performance against Akron West had indicated. But when George Slusser slid off his left guard on a spin for what nearly amounted to a first down on the third play of the game, the Tyger defense was questioned and by the middle of the first period it was very evident that the Mansfield gridders lacked the power of stopping the Massillon football machine. Tigers Work Together The local Tigers played as a machine, doing everything well. They scored four touchdowns the first quarter and two more the second to command a 41-0 lead at the half. The first team didn’t play a second of the second half. The second team played on and one-half periods and the third stringers finished up the game, rushing five more touchdowns over the Mansfield goal Four other touchdowns were not counted when the ball was called back because of penalties and two additional ones were not allowed because the runner stepped out of bounds.
It was the Massillon Tigers third victory in the four-yard series with the Mansfield Tyger and by far the most convincing. In fact a Mansfield scribes scratched their heads in the press box here trying to recall when a Tyger team had taken as terrific a beating. Massillon fans at the same time debated whether this year’s team was as great or greater than the undefeated elevens of 1935-36 and ’38. Mansfield scribes said, “yes” without a moment’s hesitation and wondered what the score would have been had Paul Brown permitted his team to play the entire game.
From a spectator’s standpoint it was too one-sided to be interesting and yet no one could do anything about it. Coach Brown substituted his second and third teams trying to hold down the score and Coach Paul Snyder restocked his lineup in an effort to bolster it, but the rout continued and definitely so as the second and third teams produced their star performances. Blunt Pleases Fans “Pokey” Blunt caught the fans’ eyes with his fleet dashes, the best of which was a 51-yard touchdown sprint. Roscoe Clendening too got away for a long touchdown dash only to lose the points when the ball was called back and a penalty inflicted on the Tigers. Then there was Junior White, another ball carrier, and Bill Wallace, George Fabian and Larry Cardinal, hard hitting linemen.
As for the Tiger first team, it played as a unit. With Eli Broglio doing a capable job of filling the shoes of Jim Russell, left guard, who was ill, the veterans mouse trapped the Mansfield tackles, gained almost at will and played the entire first half without punting. In fact only once did the Tigers punt and that was a honey of a boot by George Kester, 57 yards from the line of scrimmage. All told, the Tigers made 17 first downs to Mansfield’s 5 and gained 522 yards from scrimmage, 165 with the forward pass. Deducting seven yards lost from scrimmage the Tigers finished the game with a net gain of 515 yards.
Mansfield had little in an offensive way. It threatened but once that in the early minutes of the second half when a series of passes and laterals advanced the ball through Massillon’s second team to the 20-yard line. Here the locals braced and Jim Moody intercepted Jim Le Munyon’s pass and dashed back to the Tyger 40-yard line before being downed. The Tygers had a weak running attack. Completely out charged by the Massillon linemen, they only gained 49 yards rushing and lost 23 leaving them the net gain of 26 yards for their whole afternoon’s effort. Sixty-two additional yards were gained through the completion of four passes.
Gene Henderson, was a bull on defense Saturday and time and again dumped Mansfield plays directed his way.
The Massillon linemen so badly out charged the Tyger forwards that the latter’s backs couldn’t get started. On the offense they opened big gaps in the Mansfield wall and the ball carrier followed a wave of interference through the opening. The blocking was vicious, with Bob Foster and Bill Zimmerman in particular leading the way in spilling opposing tacklers. Scoring Distributed Scoring was well distributed among the Tiger players. George Slusser, whose accurate arm accounted for most of the Tiger passes, made two touchdowns, one on a 25-yard run, Ray Getz scored two, one on a 33-yard pass and the other on a 12-yard dash around end in which two of the Mansfield secondary blocked each other out of the play.
Zimmerman crashed through for two on plunges and Clendening, George Fabian, Blunt, Dick Adams and White crossed the Mansfield goal once. Incidentally, Fabian showed great improvement Saturday over his play of a week ago.
Unleashing a lightning thrust that tends to demoralize the opponent, the Tigers took the kickoff and did not surrender the ball until they crossed the Mansfield goal. The drive started from their own 38-yard line. It took four downs to gain a first down, but from there on they came easy. A 26-yard pass from Slusser to Gillom put the ball on the 15-yard line. Slusser, Zimmerman and Slusser in that order, took the leather to the one-yard line where Slusser carried it over and Getz placekicked the extra point.
Mansfield couldn’t gain ground on the following kickoff so Howard Hershey punted out on the Massillon 47. Slusser put the ball on the mid-stripe and Getz on an end around play raced 19 yards. Gillom went six yard on an end around and Slusser ran the remaining 25 for the second touchdown. Again Getz kicked goal.
Zimmerman set the Tigers up for their third touchdown when he pulled down Le Munyon’s pass on the Mansfield 36. Slusser immediately fired a long one that Horace Gillom took and ran to the eight-yard line. Red James knocked himself out on the play as he threw a block into the Mansfield tackler. Zimmerman plunged the ball over the goal and Getz kicked his third straight point.
In the waning minutes of the period, Le Munyon tried to run from a fake punt formation on fourth down, but failed to gain and the Tigers took the ball on the Mansfield 33.
On the first play, Slusser shot the ball to Getz for a touchdown. Getz’s attempted kick for the extra point was blocked and the quarter ended with the score 27-0.
A poor punt that went out of bounds on the Mansfield 30-yard line set up another touchdown early in the second period. James whirled around left end to the 12-yard line and Getz circled right end for the touchdown. Zimmerman plunged the extra point across to bring the score to 34-0. Gillom Loses Six Points A 36-yard pass to Gillom produced another touchdown that was not allowed when the Tigers were penalized for holding. They eventually lost the ball on downs, but got it back on their own 43 through a punt. Zimmerman and Slusser alternated carrying the ball to the seven-yard line where Zimmerman took it over. Getz kicked goal and the half ended with the score 41-0.
Mansfield opened the third period with a burst of offense that carried the ball from its 35 to the Tiger 20-yard line. An intercepted pass ended the razzle dazzle threat, however when Jim Moody got his hands on the ball.
Mansfield recovered a Tiger fumble but was forced to punt, Blunt hauling the leather back to his 47-yard line after a 20-yard dash. Fabian found a big opening in the middle of the Mansfield wall and got to the one-yard line before being downed. He went over for a touchdown on the next play but both sides were offside and the ball was called back. Clendening was then given the oval and he crashed through for the points. An attempted pass for the extra point failed and the score stood at 47-0.
An exchange of punts ended with Blunt taking the ball to the Mansfield 32. It was hard going from there on in, but with Fabian bearing the brunt of the burden, the drive ended with him going over from the one-yard line. Kester tried to knife through for the extra point but failed.
Mansfield fumbled the following kickoff and Bill Wallace promptly planted himself on the ball on his own 49-yard line. Blunt, coming around end as though fired out of a cannon, raced 51 yards for the touchdown and Clendening plunged the extra point across.
A Mansfield punt gave the Tigers the ball on their own 44. After Clendening had gained three yards, Blunt whirled around end for a touchdown dash but the ball was called back to the 27-yard line where he had slipped out of bounds. Pizzino on the next play went for a touchdown but this time the Tigers were offside and were penalized five yards. Still not to be denied the points, Pizzino and Dick Adams advanced the ball to the five-yard line where Adams went over and Pizzino plunged for the extra point, to hoist the score to 67-0.
Losing the ball on downs after the kickoff on the Mansfield 46-yard line the Mansfield Tygers again were put on the defensive. Joe De Mando was blocked while attempting to snare a pass and interference was called giving the Tigers a first down on the Mansfield 22-yard line. There Junior White got up steam and crossed the Tyger goal for the last touchdown of the game. Pizzino hit a stone wall in attempting to buck the extra point across.
Don Armour intercepted a Mansfield pass to again set the Tigers in motion, but the gun ended their drive. No Congestion Saturday The improved handling of parking facilities and seating of spectators was as gratifying as the victory. There was little or no congestion in the drives leading to the stadium or in parking lots and ushers, more familiar with the seating arrangement, made fewer mistakes and showed spectators to their seats quickly. A reporter, intentionally trying to “crash” the gate to test the ticket takers and ushers, found himself turned back at every entrance. You must have a ticket to get into Massillon field and this is done as a protection to reserved seat holders.
A portion of the scoreboard failed in the early minutes of the game and timing had to be done on the field.
The visiting band and drum corps members formed an airplane in their drill, a low roll of the drums, indicating the roar of the motor. The Tiger band showed off a snappy drill, with the Beer Barrel Polka still the favorite of the crowd.
The Tiger band is swinging it again.
Points to Spare Massillon Pos. Mansfield Getz LE Miller Pedrotty LT M. Horvath Broglio LG Weaver Martin C White Henderson RG Henke Swezey RT Goettl Gillom RE Beer Foster QB Smith Slusser LH Hershey James RH Logan Zimmerman FB D. Templeton
Game Statistics Massillon Mansfield First downs 17 5 Passes attempted 12 22 Passes completed 6 4 Passes incompleted 6 14 Passes intercepted 0 4 Yards gained passing 165 62 Yards gained rushing 357 49 Total yards gained 522 111 Yards lost rushing 7 23 Net yards gained 515 88 Times penalized 7 3 Yards penalized 55 20 Fumbles 2 4 Lost ball on fumbles 1 1
Booster Club Meets Tonight
The Tiger Booster club will meet tonight at 7:30 in the school auditorium. Arrangements for chartering a special train to Warren will be discussed. The train is scheduled to leave Massillon at 5:30 p.m. arriving in Warren one-half hour before the game. Fans who intend to ride the train should purchase their tickets early. The Booster club needs 300 fares to guarantee the train.
TIGERS SHOW POWER TO CRUSH CATHEDRAL LATIN LIONS 40-13 OVERFLOW CROWD SEES NEW STADIUM OPENED WITH COLORFUL SHOW
Massillon Team Demonstrates Power From Start; Forward Pass Again Important Weapon; Lions Display Fight and Play Fine Second Half Game
By LUTHER EMERY
With an overflow crowd of 15,000 spectators looking on, the Washington high school Tigers erased the dedication jinx Friday evening and opened their fine new football plant with a 40-13 triumph over a plucky Cathedral Latin high school team of Cleveland.
No longer is the Lion the king of bests – not as far as Massillon fans are concerned. The Tiger that has held the state championship four consecutive years still rules the jungle. Footballs Instead of Grenades The Latin Lion could not withstand the lightning thrusts and aerial bombardment of the Massillon Bengal.
Those words sound like the descriptive phrases from that which is taking places overseas, but when the Latin band played “God Bless America”, the crowd must have breathed a prayer that free America may continue to place footballs instead of hand grenades in the hands of her youth.
Previous to last night the Latin Lions had won 17 straight games and had only been defeated once in their last 28 starts. With only one regular of last year’s team in the lineup, the Lions had little hope of taming the Tiger but had a hope of taming the Tiger, but had a fond desire of keeping the score as low as possible.
Panicky at the start as a result of a late arrival which necessitated hurried dressing, the Clevelanders settled down after a poor first half and battled the Tigers on virtually even terms the last two periods, a part of which was played by an entire Massillon second team.
Though beaten, the Lions were not exactly disappointed and were far from dissatisfied. “We wouldn’t be ashamed to lose 100- 0 to a team like that,” one of the high officials of the school exclaimed, as he praised the treatment accorded the Latin players, band and students.
Massillon had the same good feeling. Coach Paul Brown only played his first team about two and one-half periods in an effort to avoid exhaustion in the extreme heat and at the same time give the yearlings a chance to gain practical experience.
The Tigers found in Latin a good competitor, a sporting team, with an excellent band and a lot of good fans. Tigers Click From Start It was evident from the opening kickoff that the lions were in for a bad evening, however.
That the Brown machine was all advance reports said of it was very evident as the Tigers in six plays scampered over the goal, using a fake kick formation from which Red James ran 39 yards to score the touchdown.
Before the end of the period, James was over again, this time on a 31-yard dash. The ball was chased over the goal two more times in the second period, Slusser carrying once from the one-yard line after a march from the Latin 32 and Gillom taking a 26-yard pass from Slusser as he loped along to step off the remaining 20 yards to the goal. Ray Getz kicked two of the points from placement and the half closed with the Tigers leading 26-0.
It took eight plays to get the ball over the goal after the kickoff opening the second half, a march of 56 yards ending in Zimmerman scoring from the four-yard line.
That appeared to awaking the Lion and it charged back with a rush that carried 60 yards and ended with Eddie Prokop, the only veteran remaining from last year, diving over the line of scrimmage for the last yard. He also kicked goal.
Both teams scored in the fourth quarter, Slusser going over from the 10-yard line in the third play of the period and Prokop circling his right end in the closing minutes of the game to score from the one-yard line.
In brief, that’s how the touchdowns were made. They came easy for the Tigers the first half but were harder to get the longer the game progressed.
The Lions lined up with a defensive six-man line or a 6-1-2-2 defense. The backer, however, nearly always hopped into the line with the idea of jamming things up and changing the Tigers’ blocking assignments at the last moment.
As long as the first team was on the field, the line for the most part could handle the last minute poundage, but the subs found the situation confusing and were able to make little headway. Tigers Blocking Good The Tiger offense, though ragged at intervals, was smooth as a whole, especially for an opening game. The blocking for the most part was good and fans saw Bob Foster, more than once lay as pretty a block as you would want to see on the Latin foes. On one occasion he nearly bowled a Latin player into the stands. The line charged hard and big Jim Russell and Horace Gillom playing outstanding roles.
The forward pass was again a potent weapon of the Tiger offense. Statistics tend to show a lack of efficiency with its use, but most of the incompleted passes were charged to the second team.
Three of the first five passes tossed by the varsity gained 93 yards and produced one of its touchdowns.
Collectively the Tigers completed only five of 18 passes for a total gain of 112 yards. One was intercepted.
Passes also played an important part in Latin’s last half attack, the visitors putting the ball on the one-yard line with passes in both of their touchdown attempts. The first was a 12-yard toss that Red James tipped into the arms of Hank Zolnoski, Latin end. The second, a sneak pass, that caused a lot of money to change hands between point betters, was thrown by Jack Sague to Prokop for a 24-yard gain.
The Lions attempted 15 passes and completed seven for a gain of 101 yards. One was intercepted.
The Tigers had the edge in all statistics. They made 12 first downs to Latin’s eight and the ball carriers made a net gain of 310 yards to the Lion backfield’s 45 yards.
The visitors twice, lost the ball on fumbles, while the Tigers clung to it in good shape. Fine Punting The punting of both teams was excellent. Horace Gillom averaged 48 yards while Paul Vitonis of the Lions struck a 39-yard average.
On the other hand neither team appeared able to kickoff. Prokop got a good one his first attempt and Ray Getz had two good kicks out of six efforts.
Prokop was easily the outstanding member of the Latin team. Somewhat heavier than listed in the program, he carried himself well, did most of the passing, the kicking off and gained most of the yardage.
Prokop was supported in the backfield by Sague, but neither ball carrier was accorded the blocking given the Massillon backs. On the line, Zolnoski and Bernard Meter stood out for the Lions.
There were thrills for both sides to cheer, Massillon fans particularly liked James’ long run from the fake kick formation and Gillom’s leaping catch of Slusser’s very accurate pass for the fourth Tiger touchdown. The visitors got their big thrill from the sneak pass in which Prokop laid along the sideline while his team took its time in the huddle before running off the play. Massillon fans on the east side of the field made such a rumpus trying to call the attention of the Tiger secondary to Prokop that fans on the west side got up to see whether the Galento-Nova fight had been transplanted in Massillon. Sague tossed a well aimed pass to Eddie and he almost got over for a touchdown. He made it with ease on the next play, following Head Linesman Eddie Howells who looked as though he was running interference.
Massillon spectators also got a kick out of Jitterbug Blunt’s fancy stepping when he took Chase’s punt in the second period and sidestepped his way for a 25-yard run. He’s only a sophomore.
Three of the Tigers’ six touchdowns came on long gains. The others were harder to get. Offside Proves A Blessing The Tigers launched their first drive on the opening kickoff. They marched the ball down to the Latin 39 where the Lions appeared to stop them. On fourth down, Gillom placed a beautiful punt out of bounds on the five-yard line but both sides were offside and the fans moaned the loss of such a good kick. It was fourth down and Gillom again dropped back to kick. Slusser saw his opportunity and seized it. Instead of punting the ball, Gillom faked the kick and James took the ball out of his hands on a variation of the old Michigan Statue of Liberty and ran 39 yards around right end for the touchdown.
An exchange of punts following the kickoff gave James an opportunity to return the Latin boot 22 yards to the Lion 43-yard line. He reeled off 11 more on a dash around left end and after Slusser had gained a yard, the little red head shot through his left tackle for 31 yards and the second touchdown.
The Lions tried a pass after the following kickoff, but Gillom, covering the center zone, dropped back to spear the ball and carry it past midfield before being tackled. Here the first period ended. On the first play of the second quarter, Slusser fired a 33-yard pass to Gillom for a first down on the 12-yard stripe. Slusser and Zimmerman carried the ball to the one-yard line, Slusser lugging it over.
Ten new faces entered the game for Latin. On the first play after the following kickoff, Russell pounced on a Latin fumble on the 46-yard line. Before the Lions could recover, Slusser had hurled a 26-yard pass to Gillom who caught the ball on his own 20 and raced over the goal.
A new team went into the game for Massillon and played the rest of the period. In the closing minutes of the period Prokop tossed a 15-yard pass to Zolnoski for Latin’s first first down of the game. Zimmerman In Action The Tiger veterans took the field for the third period and launched a drive from their 44-yard line with Bill Zimmerman as the spearhead. It was Zimmerman nine, Slusser 17, Zimmerman one and Slusser two. A pass Slusser to Zimmerman gained six more and Zimmerman again carried the leather to a first down on the nine-yard line. In two plays he was over.
That sparked the Lion to breathing fire and it came back to score a touchdown, not through the second team, but through the varsity eleven. It started from the Latin 40 with Sague getting three yards and Prokop picking up 14 in two attempts. Prokop hurled a pass to Zolnoski for a first down on the 30 and Sague, running well behind his interference, carried the ball in two attempts to a first down on the Tiger 16. Prokop was chased back for an eight-yard loss and Slusser knocked down an attempted pass to Zolnoski but Prokop kept pecking away at his target and shot an 11-yarder to Zolnoski that put the ball on the 13-yard line with fourth down coming up. Again Prokop passed the ball. Red James had Zolnoski covered, but tipped the ball into the latter’s arms and he fell on the one-yard line. Prokop dove over the line for the touchdown.
The Tigers took the kickoff on their 42 and drove straight down the field for another touchdown. Zimmerman and James gained five yards and Slusser ripped off 35 for a first down on the Latin 18. Zimmerman took the ball to the nine-yard line and Slusser in two attempts went across.
It looked as though the score would stand at 40-7, but in the closing minutes the visitors launched another aerial bombardment against the Massillon second team which started from the Latin 46-yard line. Prokop passed 14 yards to Egert for a first down on the Tiger 40 and a 16-yard toss to Chase gained another first down on the Massillon 24. Sague grounded a pass, but fired the next one on the sideline sleeper play to Prokop who got down to the one-yard line before being tackled. Prokop ran wide around his right end to score the last yard and the final points of the game.
The game was practically free from injuries despite the intense heat. Time was called out for injury to one Massillon and one Latin player, but neither was seriously hurt.
As one veteran Cleveland sports writer pointed out, it is the first time “I ever covered a football game in my shirt sleeves.”
A Good Start Massillon Pos. Latin Getz LE Zolnoski Pedrotty LT Shisila Russell LG Hersch Martin C Fresco Henderson RG Meter Swezey RT Fouferousse Gillom RE Pitts Foster QB Vitonis Slusser LH Prokop James RH Sague Zimmerman FB Chase
Score by periods: Massillon 13 13 7 7 40 Latin 0 0 7 6 13
Substitutions: Massillon – St. Johns; Jansen, rh; White; Fabian; Kingham; Hill; De Hoff; Rogich, Blunt; Pizzino; De Mando; Appleby; Armour; Kester; Moody; Cardinal; Broglio; Wallace; Croop; Clendening. Latin – Bindokas; Dillon; Egert; Gyevet; R. Hackman; Kinkopf; Lange; Mahon; Mason; Ostendorf; Paltani; Phillips; Winterich.
Touchdowns: Massillon – James 2; Slusser 2; Gillom; Zimmerman. Latin – Prokop 2.
Points after touchdowns: Massillon – Getz 4 (placekicks). Latin – Prokop (placekick).
Referee – Gross. Umpire – Graf. Head Linesman – Howells.
Game Statistics Mass. Latin First downs 12 6 Yards gained rushing 320 68 Yards lost rushing 10 23 Net gain rushing 310 45 Yards gained passing 112 101 Total yards gained 422 146 Passes attempted 18 15 Passes completed 5 7 Passes intercepted 1 1 Times penalized 5 3 Yards lost in penalties 45 15 Lost ball on fumble 0 2 Number of punts 2 6 Average punts (yards) 48 39 Number of kickoffs 6 4 Average kickoffs (yards) 34 26
TIGERS BEAT BULLDOGS 12-0 TO WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWD OF 18,000 GETS THRILL AT MASSILLON DEFENSE ON GOAL LINE
Bulldogs Turned Back Three Times In Bid For Touchdowns; Snyder And Zimmerman Score For Massillon; Band Sparkles In Snappy Drill
By LUTHER EMERY
The Ohio scholastic football championship stays in Massillon for a fourth straight year and any of the 18,000 or more fans who saw the Massillon high Tigers put another twist in the tail of the Canton Bulldog Saturday will tell you here is where it belongs.
Two powerful offensive marches in the second period moved forward over the Canton goal to give the Massillon gridders a 12-point lead and they protected it with three gallant goal line stands in the second half that could never be surpassed for sheer courage and grit.
Four In a Row Over Canton The 12-0 triumph was the 10th of the season for the Tigers, their fourth in a row over Canton McKinley, their 13th straight triumph and their 47th in their last 50 games. They were last beaten by Canton in the finale of the 1934 season and after undefeated years in 1935 and 1936, finally dropped a game to New Castle and were tied by Mansfield in 1937.
This fine record and the music and pageantry of Saturday’s classic is another reason why Massillon is recognized as the capital of Ohio scholastic football, even though the state has several other undefeated high school teams.
There was no doubt as to the Tigers’ superiority Saturday. They had three opportunities to score, all in the first half, made good on two and lost on the other on two unfortunate breaks. Canton had three opportunities to score, all in the second half, but failed each time, because it could not penetrate a Tiger line that summoned super-human courage when forced back to its goal. Praise the Line Every credit is due the backfield but give extra praise to the linemen, who too often are forgotten when the praises of victory are sung.
The Massillon trenchmen badly out charged the Bulldog forward wall the first half. They stopped Canton’s famed Marion Motley, something no other team has done this year and they refused to back up any further when thrice the Bulldogs advanced the ball to within the eight-yard line.
Those three courageous goal line stands were the climax of the ball game. Massillon fans didn’t think they could do it and Canton fans couldn’t understand it, but the greatly outweighed Tiger linemen had 12 precious hard earned points to preserve and they smote down everything that came their way.
The Bulldogs did not have Motley to hurl into the Tiger forward wall on any of their touchdown bids. He was a party to the first march that began in midfield, but Lynn Houston tackled him so viciously on the 10-yard line that Motley left the ball game, never to come back again. Tip Lockard, who learned his first football at Longfellow junior high before moving to Canton, carried the ball to the three-yard line in two plays, but on fourth down Marantides tried to flip a pass over the center to Nick Roman and found Freddie Toles was where Nick should have been and Canton’s first touchdown effort ended with Massillon getting the ball on the 20-yard line.
The Bulldogs, who produced all the offense of the second half, charged back twice more in the fourth quarter. A pesky shovel pass, Marantides to Athie Garrison that sent the latter through the weak side, bothered the Tigers throughout the second half and was good for 23 yards and a first down on the Massillon eight-yard line.
Hope rose in the breasts of Canton fans and Massillon hearts beat heavy as the Tigers moved into an eight-man line to stop the threat.
Marantides tried to skirt his right end but wound up five yards behind where he had started. The Bulldogs tried to cross the Tigers with another shovel pass, but this time Garrison was flopped without gain. Toles Bats Pass Down Marantides faded back and fired a long pass to the southeast corner of the field. Tony Fehn was out there trying to get it and got behind Toles, the defending halfback, but Freddie leaped at the right time and tipped the ball just enough to knock it out of Tony’s reach. It would have been a touchdown had he caught it. A Massillon fan was so elated at Toles’ deflecting the ball that he reached out over the guard rail, grabbed Toles and patted him on the back, until Freddie finally broke away and got into position for the fourth down.
Marantides tried the only thing he could, another pass, this one intended for Nick Roman, his lanky end, but the ball was batted down and the Tigers took it on their 14-yard line, six yards back from where Canton started.
The Bulldogs still weren’t through. Whatever kind of a “pep-hyp” Coach Johnny Reed shot into his boys between halves, was lasting and the closing minutes of the fourth quarter again found them knocking at the Massillon goal.
Two well executed passes, a 21-yard circus catch by Roman followed by a 33-yard toss to Fehn, gave the Bulldogs a first down on the Tiger five-yard line.
Here the Massillon forward wall gave its greatest demonstration of courage. Lockard smashed through center for three yards and put the ball on the two-yard line. He hit the same spot again, but little Bud Lucius, who covered himself with glory, submarined under the pack, grabbed all the legs he could get hold of and was found hanging on to one of Lockard’s when the pileup was finally untangled. Tip only advanced the ball a yard on the play but was within a yard of the goal with two downs still to make it in.
Again Lockard was given the ball. This time he tried to dive over the line, but Sophomore Gene Henderson rose up to meet his flying body and smite him down for a loss of one-half yard.
Still another down remained and the ball was only a yard and a half away. This time the Bulldogs sought to work a cutback with Garrison carrying the ball. The Tigers were not to be fooled, however and Athie was thrown for a one-half yard loss and the Tigers took possession of the pigskin. Horace Gillom punted out to the 20-yard line and when Marantides tried to pass on third down, Capt. Red Snyder hauled in the leather behind the goal for a touchback.
That is why Canton failed to make good on its opportunities. Tigers Have Extra Punch Where Canton dominated the offense the second half, but lacked the punch to cross the goal, the Tigers summoned the same extra courage and strength that enabled them to shove over two touchdowns the first half to collar and stop the Bulldogs in the last two periods.
It took only a few minutes after the kickoff for the Tigers to show they really meant business. Stopped after receiving the kick for a net gain of eight yards on three downs, Gillom lofted a beautiful high punt that Motley took on his 20-yard line. When Bud Lucius met him as soon as he caught the ball and single-handed flopped him for no return, it was evident that Motley was in for a bad afternoon. The Dogs couldn’t gain and punted back to Capt. Snyder, who returned 17 yards to the Canton 47. Slusser and Getz were tossed backward five yards in two plays and the Bulldog fans were jubilant.
Into his bag of tricks reached Capt. Snyder for what is known as a delayed deep weak side reverse. The ball sent to Slusser and he swept wide to his right. As he cut in toward the line of scrimmage, however, Slusser slipped the ball backward to Getz who swept hard toward the left. Getz just got up momentum when he bumped into Referee Dave Reese. The collision spun him around but he kept on going. Tony Fehn took after him but was leveled to the ground by Jim Russell. Motley tried to reach him, but found Toles in the way and when Nick Roman tried to down him, he was met by Earl Martin.
Getz was finally bumped out of bounds on the 18-yard line after a run of 34 yards. He probably would have reached the goal line had he not bumped into the referee. It was an error for which Referee Reese apologized not only once but many times after the game. But why blame him when 11 members of the Canton team and most of the crowd of 18,000 didn’t know where the ball was?
Slusser smashed for eight yards and Getz on a cut back, the same play that fooled Canton a year ago, ran to the four-yard line where he fumbled when tackled and of all players, Bill Lee, a former member of the Massillon squad recovered for Canton.
That ended the Tigers’ first threat and after an exchange of punts they came hammering back again. Snyder brought a punt back to the Massillon 44 from which point the march started. Getz, Slusser and Snyder in turn carried the ball to a first down on the Canton 45.
Getz lost a yard on a mouse trap, but on the next play caught the first pass thrown by Slusser for a gain of 17 yards and a first down on the Canton 27.
To the disappointment of those folks at the north end of the field, the quarter ended here. It took four hard smashes at the Bulldog line to get another first down on the Canton 14. Snyder had made it on his fourth try, but Canton was offside and a five-yard penalty advanced it a couple of yards nearer the goal than it otherwise would have been.
Slusser in two plays made nine yards and Zimmerman sneaked through for another yard and a first down on the Canton line. Snyder Goes Over Here the Bulldogs dug their cleats into the goal line and the Tigers summoned the extra courage and punch the Canton gridders could not collect in their second half efforts. It was Red Snyder three times in a row. He gained two yards and the first time, another yard the second and with the ball a yard short of a touchdown dug his head into the tummy of Emil Kamp, while his line moved forward to send him sprawling over the goal. A terrific roar went up from the Massillon stands. The Tigers were ahead 6-0.
They had the Bulldogs fooled completely on the try for point, but Slusser was off balance and couldn’t reach Snyder’s pass into the end zone. Nobody was near him.
Getz kicked off to Motley who got back to his 27-yard line where Toles met him solidly. Getz tossed Jackson for a nine-yard loss and after Motley had gained but two yards at right end, Getz broke through again to toss Roman for a 10-yard loss after he had taken a lateral from Motley.
Roman tried to cross the Tigers up and run the ball form punt formation with fourth down coming up and some 27 yards to go. He got back 23 yards but was dumped on the 31-yard line where the Tigers took over the pigskin. In four plays they failed to make a first down by a yard and Canton got it on the 22.
On the very first play, Motley was hit so hard that he fumbled and Toles was Johnny on the spot and covered the leather on the Canton 27.
Slusser shot his second pass of the day and Horace Gillom made a sensational catch between two Canton secondary for a first down on the 15-yard line.
It was slam-bang from there on. It was Snyder for four yards. Getz for three, Getz for two and Snyder for a first down on the four-yard line.
Getz tried a left end sweep but was downed without gain. Then came Bill Zimmerman’s big moment. The blocking halfback who seldom carried the ball, but sacrifices stardom and showmanship to help his fellow backs gain ground and the limelight took the ball on a sneak play and went through left guard with such momentum that he hurtled over the goal line with a yard or more to spare. It was his first touchdown and what a spot for it. When Getz tried to kick the extra point, the Bulldog line broke through to block the kick and the score remained 12-0.
In fact that’s where it stood the rest of the half and the game.
Garrison brought the kickoff after the second touchdown back to the 42-yard line and Tip Lockard broke through on a fake kick to carry the ball to a first down on the Tiger 46. It was the Bulldogs’ first, first down of the game and the first time they had penetrated into Massillon territory. The half ended three plays later with Canton in possession of the ball on Massillon’s 42-yard line.
The play was so one-sided the first half that few expected the Bulldogs to comeback with the offensive rush they showed the last two periods. Massillon Protects Lead Their ability to penetrate into Massillon territory immediately after the third period kickoff, kept Massillon in dangerous territory and when the Tigers did have the ball they were afraid to play anything but straight football. Canton knew that and moved its secondary close to the line of scrimmage. In possession of a 12-point lead, the Massillon eleven would not take any chances with forward passes and with the Bulldog secondary massed near the line of scrimmage, the ball carriers were unable to gain ground. Coach Brown had warned his team not to get reckless with passes unless it gathered a three-touchdown lead.
Well, the Tigers never got that far ahead so they played it safe the second half and preserved their 12-point lead. Furthermore, their passer, George Slusser was forced out of the game in the third period when he was bumped in the head while tackling Motley head on. Zimmerman, Slusser and Toles were binged in a row by Motley, but only Slusser was injured seriously enough to force his removal from the game. He didn’t know what it was all about even after the final whistle. He’s all right today, however and he will be back again next year.
When Motley, in the second half began trying to butt the boys out of the ball game with his head, it spelled trouble for him.
He only got rid of Slusser, but binged Toles and Zimmerman badly. He barreled into Gillom too along the east side line and the Tiger end whispered into his ear that it had better be the last time.
But before Gillom could get revenge, Lynn Houston met Motley squarely on the 10-yard line. It was a terrific low tackle that the Bulldog ace never got over. He limped off the field and was lost to Canton for its three pointless drives.
The Bulldogs’ second half rush enabled them to tie the Tigers in the matter of first downs. Each team made nine.
The Massillon eleven out gained the Bulldogs rushing but Canton gained the most yards passing and totaled more yards from scrimmage than the local team, 174 to 146.
Gillom gave a beautiful exhibition of punting. Only a misplaced coffin corner kick that was only good for two yards, kept his average below that of Nick Roman. Gillom’s punts, however, were lofty and gave the ends plenty of time to get down under them. As a result only 13 yards were made by Canton in returning punts.
The Tigers received a 15-yard penalty once when Lucius dropped Marantides after the latter had signaled for a fair catch. Bud didn’t see the Canton safety man put up his hand as a signal. A Clean Game All in all, it was one of the hardest fought yet cleanest Canton-Massillon games ever played. The lines fairly rattled when they crashed together and yet not a penalty was called for unnecessary roughness, holding, clipping or roughing the kicker. The Tigers were penalized three times, for a total of 25 yards and Canton twice for 10 yards.
It would have been interesting to have seen how well the Massillon passing attack would have worked had the Tigers cut loose as they have in many other games this season. They only attempted two from scrimmage and completed both for a gain of 30 yards. A third one on a try for extra point was grounded.
Canton tried 18 passes of all varieties and completed nine for a gain of 106 yards. Many of these yards were picked up on a shovel pass from Marantides to Garrison or McFarland. The Tigers had set up a defense for just such a pass, but the Bulldogs didn’t run it at the same spot as in past games and shot it inside of Martin. The one time Garrison ran to the usual spot and that was near the goal line, Martin smeared the play for no gain.
Trying to pick an individual star is hardly justifiable to the other 10 boys on the team. Every fan had his favorite. The spectacular work of Lucius, 142-pounder and the smallest man on either team, had many tongues a wagging. Time and again he smashed through to drop Motley and other ball carriers for no gain and losses and frequently he was the first player down under punts.
But don’t overlook the other linemen, Bill Croop, for instance. He went into the game at Henderson’s tackle to give more weight to the Tiger line. He not only had the weight, but he played a brilliant game. Nothing came through his side and he helped in the softening up process. Henderson Stops Lockard Henderson was sent in for the last two goal line stands, however and the way he rose up to smite Lockard down in Canton’s last great effort must have caused some proud father to swell his chest and say, “that’s my boy.”
The Tiger line was like a stone wall. Jim Russell, Lynn Houston and Earl Martin smashed and tore with all they had in them. On defense Ray Getz played a great game and his ball carrying was of the best. He and Gillom caught the only two passes thrown by Slusser. Gillom and Toles were in the thick of the backing up and saw to it that no one got loose. Toles was hurt when Fehn got around him to snare a pass from Marantides for Canton’s third touchdown bid, but he was on the job two other times and intercepted one pass and knocked down another that had points written all over them for Canton.
Not a poor pass did Martin make all day and the performance of Slusser and Zimmerman inspires high hopes for next season, for both will be back.
As for Rocky Red Snyder, it was his last game and that’s one thing for which every Massillon fan is sorry and every Canton fan glad. It was the third straight year that Capt. Snyder had played every minute of the Canton game and the Tigers won all three years. He gained more ground than any other player, 62 yards, was never thrown for a loss and made most of them the hard driving way.
Only three substitutes were used by Coach Brown. George Fabian replaced Slusser in the third quarter and though he didn’t do much offensively played a good defensive game and intercepted a Canton pass near the goal line just as the game ended.
Henderson replaced Croop at the start of the fourth period and Bill McMichael, who had not played a minute since laid low by a charley horse at Alliance, Oct. 14, was put in with two minutes of the game to play.
How well the Tigers stopped Motley, the statistics show. He gained 35 yards and lost seven for the net total of 28. Lockard was the Bulldogs’ best ball carrier. He gained 33 and lost one for a total of 32. Getz with a gain of 41 yards was second only to Capt. Snyder.
It was the last high school game not only for Snyder but for Toles, Lucius, McMichael and Houston. The other boys including the substitutes will be back again next year. Band Gets Big Hand There was color and humor to the game.
That Massillon band was given almost as big an ovation as the touchdowns. Canton fans were liberal in their applause of the Tiger musicians. They folded into a block like the bellows of an accordion and came out of it into an McK. They did the “Bugle Call Rag,” the “Lambeth Walk,” “Flat Foot Floogie,” and the “Parade of the Wooden Soldier,” to special dance steps that brought loud applause.
Assisting them in their performance was Pep Paulson as Obie the Tiger, who donned skirt and hat for the Flat Foot number. The band’s performance was concluded with the singing of “Alma Mater Massillon” by the fans and with their team 12 points ahead, they really made themselves heard.
The Canton band gave a military drill, forming McK, a ring, a large M and spelling Tiger. The bands were liberal with their music throughout the game.
Both schools presented acrobatic cheerleaders. The Massillon youngsters had more opportunities to cheer and do their flip-flops as a result of their team’s two touchdowns.
B.F. Fairless, president of the United States Steel Corp., was among those who sat on the Massillon bench. He made it his business to shake hands with Coach Brown after every goal line stand.
Nearly 10,000 words on the game were sent out form the press box over four telegraph wires. Station WHBC with Vic Decker at the microphone, also gave a play-by-play description to an unseen audience which undoubtedly numbered many times the thousands who actually witnessed the game.
The Tiger Booster club served the newspaper guests hot chocolate and sandwiches between halves. “That’s more than you get at most college games,” one Cleveland scribe announced.
A telegraph operator, who incidentally was from Canton, got so excited on one of the goal line stands that he spilled his hot chocolate over his instrument, shorted it, and had to send out a call for another. Crowd Exceeds 18,000 Schools officials estimate the crowd was between 18,000 and 19,000. More inches per person were allowed spectators this year than two years ago, which accounts for the crowd not being as large as some of former years. However, if you include those standing on the hills and the usher force, the crowd probably reached 19,000.
As it was the field was dry, thanks to the thoughtfulness of those who had it covered early last week with a tarpaulin. The last strip was removed an hour before the game and nature cooperated by not drenching it with any more rain.
As a whole, the crowd was orderly and well handled – congratulations to Earl Ackley and Russell Zepp, to whom the Massillon-Canton game is one big headache. It is their job to look after the many little details and see that everything moves along without a hitch. It did and they can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Massillon victory will be celebrated by the Tiger Booster club tonight. Coach Paul Brown will be present and will tell of preparations his team made for the game. Brown did not attend last week’s booster meeting since it is not customary for him to do so the week before the Canton game.
The booster will also discuss plans for their annual banquet, Dec. 12 at the Swiss club. Lou Little, Columbia university coach, will be the principal speaker. Dramatic Finish Massillon Pos. Canton Toles LE Fehn Lucius LT Kamp Russell LG Rotz Martin C Lee Houston RG Prusser Croop RT Mack Gillom RE Roman Slusser QB McFarland Getz LH Goodman Zimmerman RH Motley Snyder FB Lockard
Score by periods: Massillon 0 12 0 0 12
Substitutions: Canton – Ondo for Mack; Savage for McFarland; Jackson for Goodman; Mack for Ondo; Marantides for Jackson; Garrison for Fehn; Zugrave for lee; Fehn for Garrison; Garrison for Motley; Lee for Zugrave, Savage for Garrison; Zugrave for Lee. Massillon – Fabian for Slusser; Henderson for Croop; McMichael for Henderson.
Touchdowns: Massillon – Snyder; Zimmerman.
Officials: Referee – Reese (Denison). Umpire – Jenkins (Akron). Head Linesman – Graf (Ohio State). Field Judge – Lobach (F. & M.)
Statistics Mass. Canton First downs 9 9 Yards gained rushing 137 98 Yards lost rushing 21 32 Net yards gained 116 68 Passes attempted 2 18 Passes completed 2 9 Passes intercepted 0 3 Yards gained passing 30 106 Total yards gained 146 174 Punts 6 4 Average punts yards 31 44 Punts returned yards 51 13 Kickoffs 3 1 Yards returned kickoff 23 50 Times penalized 3 2 Yards penalized 25 10 Fumbles 3 4 Lost ball on fumble 1 1
INDIVIDUAL BALL CARRYING Massillon PLAYER GAINED LOST TOTAL Snyder 62 0 62 Getz 41 0 41 Slusser 24 6 18 Zimmerman 10 0 10 Toles 0 10 -10 Fabian 0 0 – 5 Totals 137 16 116
Canton Motley 35 7 28 Lockard 33 1 32 Roman 20 8 12 Marantides 8 7 1 Goodman 2 0 2 Jackson 0 9 9 Totals 98 32 68
Tigers Showed Real Courage Tough Break For Official Little Bud Lucius Real Hero
By FRED J. BECKER Independent Sport Editor
And what did you think of Saturday’s football game?
So do we.
And how about those three goal line stands in the third and fourth quarters.
Pretty nifty, eh ! Quite an exhibition of red-blooded courage, or something, if you ask us! Great opportunity there for some one with a pen that drips high sounding adjectives to write a thrilling story about how those Tiger kids, with their backs to the wall, three times repulsed a big, touchdown hungry foe. And how they repulsed them! What did you say Canton? * * * * One guy we really felt sorry for during that ball game was Dr. David Reese, Dayton dentist and former Massillon man who ranks as one of Ohio’s best football and basketball officials. It was unfortunate that he had to be in the way when Ray Getz, fleet-footed halfback, took the leather early in the first quarter and set sail for Canton’s goal. It looked like the perfect touchdown play and probably would have proved so had not that unfortunate collision between Reese and Getz occurred back of the line just as the Tiger flash took the ball on as brilliant a reverse play as we have ever seen.
Dr. Reese probably didn’t know that play was coming any more than Canton and one can’t blame him too much for being right in the middle of it. Look what it did to those 11 Canton boys. It certainly pulled them right away from the spot where Getz was going to run and had he not been slowed up momentarily by that collision Getz probably would have romped unmolested across the Canton goal. Bumping into the referee threw Getz off stride just long enough to permit Canton’s secondary to get its bearings and scamper back across the field to knock him out of bounds on the Canton 18-yard line. * * * * Despite that unfortunate occurrence we still believe Dr. Reese is the best qualified official available in Ohio to officiate at such an important contest as a Massillon-Canton battle. He knows the game from A to Z. He is absolutely impartial and he never lets the game get away from him. And don’t forget that officiating in such a contest as Saturday’s is a responsibility If you don’t believe it try it sometime. Dr. Reese has been referee in the last four Massillon-Canton shindigs and Massillon has won them all. The work of all the officials was first class and the game, as hard fought as it was, was remarkably free of dirty work. * * * * Dr. Reese said after the game that in all years he has been officiating he only has been bumped by players on three occasions. Two of them occurred here Saturday. The first was the collision with Getz, the other came a few minutes later when Fred Toles, on a wide sweep around end, smacked into the official. In case you don’t know it, Dr. Reese is a former Massillon high football and basketball star and while attending Denison University was one of the state’s outstanding football centers and basketball forwards. * * * * Better blocking, charging and tackling probably have never been put on display by any Tiger team than those Washington high lads showed Saturday. When they blocked out a Canton foe he stayed blocked out. Teeth shattering blocks is about as good a description for them as any. The tackling also was hard at all times and that orange and black line out charged the Canton forward wall so fast, especially during the first two quarters, that those in the stands thought the Bulldogs were spiked to the ground. * * * * And now a few words about the gentleman who has made all those Massillon victories over Canton possible. We mean Coach Paul Brown. We know we are covering a lot of ground and we may have to eat our words but somebody will have to do a lot of convincing to make us retract the statement that the Washington high school football mentor is the most successful coach, in either high school or college, in the state of Ohio. Any man who can turn out football teams such as the one which mopped up on the Bulldogs Saturday knows football from every angle and knows how to impart it to his athletes. We were for “Brownie” long before he was named coach at the local school and we’ve been for him ever since. He’s only a kid himself but he knows how to teach football – the kind of football that wins games. How long we’ll keep him here is a question. The Booster club might organize a vigilance committee to shoo away any strangers coming to town making inquiries about the Tiger mentor. * * * * But Brown is not alone in deserving credit for Massillon’s splendid scholastic football record over the last four or five years. Paul has instituted the system that produces the athletes you see romp over Canton McKinley each fall but he has been aided by some very capable assistants. Take those three gentlemen who spend their week days helping Brown coach the Tigers and then never see the team play a game until the final of the season, because they are out on the road scouting future opponents. We mean C.C. Widdoes, Hugh McGranahan and Fred Heisler. They not only do a lot of mighty fine coaching but they also know their business when it comes to scouting a future opponent. * * * * And then don’t forget the boys who are handling football in the junior highs. That’s where the Tiger stars of today were given their initial training and that’s where the future Tiger stars will come from. The junior high coaches are Elwood Kammer and James Hollinger at Lorin Adnrews, Bud Houghton and Roy Woods at Longfellow and Mel Knowlton and Francis Baxter at Edmund Jones. They are teaching their boys the football system Brown uses at the senior high school and it’s no wonder the boys know what it is all about when they get down to Washington high. * * * * Oh yes, we almost forgot – or did we – about that Tiger band. Did they march and play Saturday? What do you think? They’re the nuts and no fooling.
With Paul Brown turning out football teams and George Red Bird turning out bands what more could you want? * * * * And who would you nominate as the outstanding hero of Saturday’s game?
Well our vote goes to Bud Lucius, as game a little fighter as one would want to see. Weighing only 142 pounds, soaking wet, this little Tiger lineman was in the thick of every play. He was a decided pain in the neck to Mr. Marion Motley, Canton’s ace backfielder, all during the time Motley was in the game and when the big Negro limped off the field in the third quarter he probably was thinking anything but kind thoughts of Lucius and Lynn Houston. It was Houston who nailed him out in the open just when Motley thought he was going somewhere – said somewhere being in the general direction of Massillon’s goal line. And did you notice that in about 75 per cent of the pileups the last guy to be dug out from the entwined arms and legs was little Bud. No wonder those Tigers couldn’t be beat – not with a kid with that kind of fight in him in the line up. * * * * Those Massillon goal line stands were really beauties. Canton, after looking woefully weak in the first half, came out with a real display of fight and this combined with its great advantage in weight slowly but surely took its toll on the lighter Massillon team but the Tigers never quit fighting. They might have been pushed around a bit in midfield and they might have been mystified for a time by Canton’s shovel passes, the Bulldogs’ best play, but when it came right down to the point where the Tigers had to dig in and show their stuff to escape being scored upon they had what it takes and plenty of it. In fact they had so much that on the last stand inside the five yard line one almost gained the impression that Canton realized it couldn’t get the ball over that final white line and was ready to run up the white flag of surrender.
