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.
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP AT STAKE IN TIGER-BULLDOG GAME MASSILLON SPOTTY IN BEATING CHANEY 26-13
Tigers Play Listless Ball, But Score Touchdowns When They Need Them; Team Will Practice Behind Closed Gates Tonight
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers and the Canton McKinley Bulldogs having kept their slates clean last week by winning from Youngstown Chaney 26-13 and Mansfield 32-0 respectively, will battle for the state championship Saturday afternoon on Massillon field.
The two elevens have mopped up on many of the best teams in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York and with Massillon in the role of defending champion and Canton, the challenger, one of the finest football games in many years is in the making. Large Crowd Expected The largest crowd of the season will jam every inch of space in Massillon field to see the two elevens’ battle. Most of the tickets are held by fans of the two cities, though hundreds of people from other cities, as far away as Honolulu will be in the stands.
The splendid undefeated and untied records of the competitors and the championship recognition that will be given the winner would draw a crowd from two to three times that which will witness the game, if seating space were only available. No attempt has been made to sell tickets to any other but Massillon and Canton fans and there even will be insufficient room for as many of them as would like to attend.
Most of the reserved seats have been sold, but a few seats were still available today. Likewise, 5,000 general admission seats will be available Saturday. The general admission price will be 50 cents to adults and 25 cents to students.
The nearer the game approaches the more it appears a tossup. There was a time a few weeks ago when fans were picking Massillon by 18 points, but in the last three weeks, Canton has played three teams defeated by Massillon and a comparison of the scores offers little choice. The Tigers beat Alliance 19-6, Canton beat Alliance 33-26. Massillon beat Steubenville 31-0. Massillon beat Mansfield 33-7. Canton beat Mansfield 32-0. Massillon beat Canton Lehman 52-0. Canton beat Canton Lehman 48-6. Massillon Has Won Nine Games The Tigers have played nine games, the Bulldogs eight.
In addition to the four victories already mentioned the Tigers have defeated McKeesport, Pa., 19-7; Warren 21-0; Sharon, Pa., 37-20; New Castle, Pa., 52-7; and Youngstown Chaney, 26-13. The Bulldogs defeated Akron South, 32-0; Erie Academy, 7-6; Huntington, W.Va., 19-6 and Elmira, N.Y., 52-6 in addition to Lehman, Alliance, Steubenville and Mansfield.
In their nine games the Tigers scored 290 points to their opponents 60, an average of 32.1 points to the opponents’ 6.66 points per game. The Bulldogs scored 255 points to the opponents’ 50, an average of 31.87 points to the opponents’ 6.25.
Of the two teams, the Tigers had the harder game Saturday. Chaney, recognized as a good team, met a Martinless Massillon at a time when the entire eleven was low.
The visitors, playing inspired ball, gave local fans their biggest thrill of the season when trailing 14-0 going into the fourth quarter they scored two touchdowns, one on a completed pass and another on an intercepted pass to pull up to within a point of the orange and black.
But the Tigers came to life after the second Chaney touchdown to play their best ball of the afternoon and score twice in the last seven minutes to win 26-13.
The Chaney team was one of the best to show here this season. Score comparisons showed it to be such in advance for it had beaten Farrell, Pa., a team that trimmed Warren and the Tigers were glad for a three-touchdown victory over Warren.
The Tigers were far superior from a statistical standpoint for they made 18 first downs to Chaney’s seven and gained a total of 393 yards to Chaney’s 97. Chaney Stubborn However, the Youngstown boys offered stubborn resistance when fighting with their backs to the wall and penalties and fumbles halted Massillon drives.
Inability to complete passes slowed the Massillon offense. Chaney was responsible for that too. With a big advantage in weight, the visitors safely used a 5-3-2-1 defense that furnished good protection to the secondary. It left openings for Massillon ball carriers, but virtually stopped the Tiger passing attack. Only two of 11 passes were completed for gains of 27 yards. Here Chaney had the edge in statistics. It completed seven of 17, including laterals for a total of 94 yards.
Capt. Red Snyder and Ray Getz were the chief Tiger ground gainers. Snyder picked up 174 yards and Getz the net total of 156. Frendenrich, Sinkwich and Chockey were the shining lights of the Chaney offense.
Chaney started with a rush and with Frendenrich getting away for a run of 41 yards before being hauled down by Capt. Snyder, advanced the ball from the kickoff to the 26-yard line. Here interference was called on a Chaney pass receiver and the visitors were given the ball on the Tiger 10-yard line. Three downs only gained a yard and Sinkwich missed an attempted field goal.
Getting the ball on their own 20, the Tigers marched 80 yards for a touchdown with Snyder going over. Getz kicked the extra point.
Two 15-yard penalties, one for clipping and another for holding stopped two more Tiger touchdown drives in the first period. In the second quarter the Tigers marched the ball to the Chaney 25 where three incomplete passes in a row gave the visitors the ball again.
The Tigers did not score until midway in the third period, when they began a drive from their own 41 where they got the ball on a punt. The locals’ only two passes of the game, both caught by Getz, helped advance the ball to the three-yard line where Snyder took it over and Getz kicked goal. Chaney Scores Twice The period was drawing to a close when Wellington covered Getz’s fumble on the Massillon 45. Sinkwich in two plays went to the 30 and Chockey executed a perfect lateral to him for another first down on the eight-yard line. Two plays failed to gain a yard but on fourth down, Chockey flipped a pass over the line to Soltas who took it back of the goal for a touchdown. Sinkwich missed his try for point. ******** Boosters Meet
The Tiger Booster club will meet this evening at 8:15 in the high school auditorium. The Canton game will be the big subject of conversation. ******** The Tigers received and charged back to the 50, but when Slusser tried a long pass to Toles, Sinkwich left his feet to snare the ball, head down the west sideline then reverse his field to run 70 yards for Chaney’s second touchdown. He kicked the extra point and the score was 14-13.
Here the Tiger team took account of itself and used the kickoff as a starting point for a 66-yard drive that ended with Snyder smashing over from the one-yard line on the 10th play. Getz missed the try for point and the score was 20-13.
Chaney trying desperately to upset the dope in the closing minutes began flinging passes. Snyder intercepted one to end what had the appearance of a threat on the 36-yard line and Gillom pulled down another on the Chaney 34 and ran back to the 14 before the visitors finally downed him. In two plays Snyder went to the one-yard line where Getz took it over for the final points of the game.
Unimpressive as the Tigers were Saturday, it was not an alarming condition considering that they virtually overlooked Chaney last week while pointing for the Canton Bulldogs.
It is dangerous enough to take a second rate ball team in the stride and Chaney was a far better eleven than that. Furthermore you need only think back to other years and you will recall that Massillon teams the past three seasons have looked ragged the week before the Canton game.
Spotty as their performance was Saturday, it is worthy of note, that 10 plays after Chaney had pulled up to within a point of them, the Tigers were over the goal for another touchdown.
Gordon Appleby and Jim Mauger did a good job at center but the ball carriers do not have the same confidence in either boy that they retain in Earl Martin who has been snapping the leather back to them for two years.
Martin is a key man on offense and the center of the line on defense and every attempt will be made to have his injured shoulder repaired by Saturday afternoon. However, coaches said it was extremely doubtful if he would be able to face the Bulldogs. May Make Center Of Kingham Brown this week will attempt to turn Dick Kingham into a center to give “boom” to that portion of the line. Kingham, a sophomore, has been the third string blocking halfback.
The Tigers emerged from the Chaney game with the usual number of bumps and bruises, none of which appeared serious. Practice this week will be secret. The field will be policed and not a spectator will be permitted on it.
McKinley had little difficulty subduing Mansfield. The Bulldogs scored one touchdown in the first quarter, two in the second and two in the third and made 19 first downs to Mansfield’s nine. The Bulldog subs played all of the fourth period and several minutes of the third. The Bulldogs uncovered a new backfield speedster in Bill Goodman, a sophomore. He started his first game Saturday. Motley and Roman each made two touchdowns and Goodman got the fifth.
The Tiger and McKinley bands will put on a first class show between halves here Saturday. The Massillon band was at its best during intermission of the Chaney game featuring “The Bugle Call Rag” and a dance step. It was a special arrangement prepared by Director George Bird and received a great ovation.
The singing showed improvement. Though the crowd was by far the smallest of the season the vocal music was the best.
Among the spectators was H.R. Townsend, of Columbus, commissioner of the Ohio high school athletics. Townsend expressed surprise at the size of the Massillon team. He expected to find a string of box cars on the line instead of a team averaging 162 pounds.
A representative of the Erie Times watched the game from the press box. He was particularly impressed with the band and would like to bring the Massillon show to Erie. Good Enough Massillon Pos. Chaney Toles LE Soltas Lucius LT Dasen Russell LG Jakupsic Appleby C Wellington Houston RG Rominger Henderson RT Williams Gillom RE Machingo Slusser QB Chockey Getz LH Sinkwich Zimmerman RH Frandenrich Snyder FB Gaglione
CROWD OF 13,000 SEES TIGERS BEAT LEHMAN 52-0 SECOND TEAM PLAYS OVER HALF OF GAME
Long Pass And Interception Crack Stubborn Lehman Resistance In Second Period; Band Sparkles In Flat Foot Floogie
By LUTHER EMERY
Those Gold Dust twins, Fred Toles and Horace Gillom and an up and coming substitute, George Fabian, by name, pulled downs heaps of glory here Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers stretched their season’s record to eight straight victories and advanced a step in the Stark county series at the expense of Canton Lehman 52-0.
A crowd of between 13,000 and 14,000 spectators, as large as any this season, was treated to another of those football shows that have made this season’s attendance a record in the history of Washington high athletics. Already 87,000 people have seen the Tigers play and two games that will draw at least 25,000 more, remain to be played. Fabian Leading Ground Gainer Give every member of the team credit and place the Massillon and Lehman bands high in your praise, but don’t overlook the performance of Toles, Gillom and Fabian.
It was the Gold Dust twins, first Toles, and then Gillom that made a stubborn Lehman team crack early in the second period and it was Fabian in the role of substitute who scored more yards than any other person on the field as well as the honor of making the longest run of the evening.
And while handing out the glory, don’t forget the weatherman, who held off a rain storm for two hours. And keep your fingers crossed, for that is what the Tigers want Nov. 19 when they meet their second Canton foe and arch rival, McKinley high.
McKinley beat Lehman, 48-6 and there you have a comparison.
The Tigers chalked up their 52-0 triumph last night with the first team on the bench for two and one-half periods. The victory was more than anyone had expected in view of Lehman’s achievement last week in trimming the previously unbeaten Columbus North, the potential central Ohio champions. Tigers Improving The varsity, from all indications is just beginning to come into its own. Its performances of the last three weeks have heaped surprise on surprise until one wonders just how strong the eleven really is.
It didn’t look a whole lot better than Lehman the first quarter, but Lehman weakened after Toles speared Fuller’s pass to end its only scoring threat and it lost its spirit completely when Gillom six plays later went high into the air to pull down George Slusser’s pass from his own 41-yard line and race 25 yards to a touchdown.
Those two plays cracked Lehman wide open and before the period could end the Tigers had dug their cleats behind the Lehman goal three more times.
“My team appeared to lose all of the fight after that touchdown pass,” said James Robinson, Lehman coach, after the game. “I think I have a better ball club than the score indicates. In fact I know I have.”
Then turning to Coach Paul Brown, Robinson added, “I want to thank you for playing your substitutes, but honestly I wish you would have let your first team continue in the game.”
Brown replied, “Your players are young and –“. But Robinson broke in with, “I know, but if a team can run up 100 points, it has a right to do so. That is my honest opinion.”
Lehman used an unorthodox defense that confused the Tigers in the early stages of the game. The Bears lined up with a five-man line, but hopped one and sometimes two players in as the ball was passed to confuse the Massillon linemen on their blocking assignments.
“It was the only thing I could do,” Robinson said after the game. “I was afraid of that flat pass and I tried to come up with the wings as long as possible.”
Brown was well pleased with the performance of his eleven and most of all he was gratified that none of the first stringers suffered any injuries. To chance injury as little as possible and to give the subs an opportunity to play was the principal reason why he only used his regulars one and one-half periods. A second team carried on for two quarters and the third stringers finished the last half of the fourth period. The second stringers scored one half of the points, the score being 26-0 when they took over the evening’s work. Tiger Line Shines Again For the third straight week, the Tiger line played a whale of a game. It held the Polar Bears to two first downs while clearing the way for 16 for Massillon. It yielded but 66 yards from scrimmage and threw back players for 16 yards in losses. It charged forward to make it possible for Massillon backs to gain the net total of 365 yards from scrimmage and it helped the blockers in protecting Slusser so thoroughly that he had loads of time to pick out his receivers and hurl his passes down the field.
From tackle to tackle, there wasn’t an outstanding performer on varsity or yannigan teams. To name one you must name them all and that is done in the lineup. Every boy made his contribution to the victory which places Massillon on a level with Canton McKinley in the county series. Each team has won two games.
The Tigers resorted to little passing last night. They didn’t need to. In fact, the second stringers didn’t throw one the last two and one-half periods and Slusser tossed but four. Two of these were completed, both to Gillom. The first was good for a gain of 59 yards and a touchdown and the second also to Gillom for 11 yards and a first down on the 12-yard line.
A high wind made punters look good when kicking with their backs to it and just the opposite when kicking against it.
In punting Lehman held its only advantage in the statistics. Wallick averaged 36 yards on his punts while Gillom and Kaspar Lechleiter averaged only 23 yards. However, with one exception all of the Tiger punts were against the wind. The exception was a boot that rode the crest of a wave, 65 yards from scrimmage. Add 10 more yards for the distance Lechleiter stood behind the line of scrimmage and you find the flight of the ball was 75 yards.
Shriver also got off one of the same kind early in the game.
With Lehman tackling fiercely, there was no indication the first quarter of the game would develop into the walk-a-way it did. In fact the Polar Bears came fighting back after the first Tiger touchdown to wage a successful punting duel in the wind. A well placed boot went outside on the Massillon five-yard line and when Gillom tried to kick back, the wind caught the ball and blew it back to the 17-yard line. Lehmans’ Big Moment It was Lehman’s big moment and when two plays only gained two yards Fuller tried a southpaw pass to Shriver, Fred Toles was on the job and hauled in the ball on the eight-yard line to end the threat. In five plays, Getz and Snyder carried the ball to a first down on their 41. There Slusser took the oval, dropped back and pegged it toward the speeding Gillom, who raced in between two Polar Bear players, timed a perfect leap, snatched it away from them and scampered 25 yards for a touchdown. Lehman seemed to realize it was useless after that, for touchdowns came cheaply the rest of the game and even a string of substitutes failed to stem the scoring.
Hooray For Subs Massillon Pos. Lehman Toles LE Uebing Lucius LT Hale Russell LG Bauer Martin C Banks Houston RG Steineck Henderson RT Wallick Gillom RE Oyler Slusser QB Fuller Getz LH Hankes Zimmerman RH Shriver Snyder FB Clark
TIGERS SMOTHER NEW CASTLE 52-7 BEFORE CROWD OF 12,000 HARD CHARGING LINE RIPS RED HURRICANE Massillon Eleven Gives Peak Performance Of Season In Winning Seventh Game On Schedule; Band Scores Again In Flashy Exhibition
By LUTHER EMERY
A pack of Tigers, thirsting for revenge and fighting to obtain an objective for their coach, swept out of Ohio and into Pennsylvania Friday evening to take the wind out of New Castle’s Red Hurricane 52-7.
While 12,000 fans, the largest football crowd in New Castle history, looked on, the Massillon eleven gave the greatest exhibition of football its supporters have seen since the great 1936 team whipped Canton McKinley here 21-0. Score Eight Touchdowns With George Slusser’s strong right arm firing deadly accuracy and the backs, even to the substitutes, pile driving behind a sturdy line, the Tigers scored twice in every period, rolled up 21 first downs and gained the net total of 372 yards by rushing and 155 by passing.
If the Red Hurricane had any wind, it did all itS blowing before the game. The sturdy Massillon line, giving its best performance of the season, threw back the New Castle ball carriers for a net loss of 25 yards from scrimmage. Their two first downs were made on forward passes which made it possible for them to finish with a total gain of 14 yards from scrimmage.
The Hurricane struck once, in the third period when with a Massillon second team in the game, Rip Roberts took a Massillon kickoff and in a beautiful sideline dash, raced 85 yards for a touchdown.
That run and a 31-yard pass that took the ball to the Massillon 44-yard line, represented the only two times the Red Hurricane was able to penetrate into Massillon territory. New Castle Gallant In Defeat Badly beaten as their team was, New Castle fans were gallant in defeat and Massillon citizenry should remember New Castle sportsmanship when some day victory will go to the opponents.
The crowd was orderly, it gave the Tiger band a great ovation and spectators lined the streets after the game to applaud, not “boo” Massillon cars as they passed by.
It was back in 1936 after the Tigers waded out of the mud and rain at New Castle with a 13-0 triumph, that Coach Paul Brown was quoted in New Castle, as saying, “If it hadn’t rained tonight we would have beat them 45 or 50 to nothing.”
The statement irked Brown. He denied ever making it and wasn’t exactly pleased with the way New Castle teased him with it in pre-Massillon game ballyhoo last year and this.
So Brown determined long ago, he was going to turn the statement into a boomerang and go out and get those 50 points.
He announced his team was primed to shoot the works and it did. It shelled New Castle with passes, it launched one offensive after another and the few times the Hurricane succeeded in blowing it back, the orange and black countered with another scoring drive.
“The fellow who misquoted me can be blamed for those 50 points,” Brown said in the dressing room after the game. Uses Every Member of Squad His team to a man helped him accomplish the objective and the score mounted one touchdown after another, even with a second and third team in the game. Every boy who wore a sweater saw service and when the Tiger coach glanced around at the sidelines in the closing minutes of play, we wondered if he had designs on sending in the cheerleaders.
In front of the brilliant performance of the Massillon ball carriers was a Tiger line that for the second straight week earned the title of seven blocks of granite. The forward wall, composed of Fred Toles, Bud Lucius, Jim Russell, Earl Martin, Lynn Houston, Red Henderson and Horace Gillom played brilliant ball.
Their vicious charge opened huge holes in the New Castle line and frequently enabled the ball carrier to sprint through without a hand being laid on him.
On defense they were superb. New Castle’s attempts to carry the ball from scrimmage resulted in a net loss of 25 yards. The backs gained 15, but they were thrown for 40 yards in losses. Martin On The Go Leading this display of defense was Earl Martin, the elongated Tiger center who is developing into one of the best snapper-backers the school has ever had.
Martin was in the thick of the fight and on several occasions penetrated into the Hurricane backfield to smear the ball carrier for losses.
Offensively, there was little to choose from in the statistics. In fact to find the ground gainer with the best average you must leaf into the page of substitutes and stop at the name of Roscoe Clendening. He only carried the ball twice, in sneak plays through guard, but he went 30 yards on one and 13 for a touchdown on another, to average 21.5 yards per try.
Red Snyder in 14 attempts gained the net total of 122 yards. George Slusser in 16 attempts gained 92 yards. Ray Getz in seven attempts made 32 yards. George Fabian in nine runs went 48 yards and little John Pizzino in three attempts went 41 yards.
The Tigers completed nine of 16 passes for 155 yards and had one intercepted. New Castle completed two of 12 passes for 39 yards and had four intercepted. Theoretically the policy of fighting fire with fire is sound, but it failed for the Hurricane as far as forward passing was concerned last night. Getz Shines As Receiver Contrary to the usual procedure, it wasn’t Toles or Gillom who did the catching last night. It was Ray Getz in straight shots down the alley. The Hurricane left Toles get by to snag the first touchdown pass, but kept him and Gillom covered the rest of the evening.
The Tigers, however, are blessed with the best lot of receivers they have ever had and Getz was the boy who hauled in the leather last night.
He made several sensational catches, one of which was the finest play seen in many a game that was not allowed because of an offside penalty. It is worth describing.
The Tigers had the ball on their own 40 and Horace Gillom was called back into punt formation. Standing on his own 28, he caught the ball, faded back to the 20 and then fired a long, bullet pass that Getz snared on the New Castle 25 yard line and raced across the goal. Getz ran hard between two New Castle players to make the catch and was away with the ball before they knew what had happened. The Head Linesman, however, ruled a Massillon player offside, did not allow the touchdown and penalized the Tigers five yards. The pass is not recorded in the statistics of the game.
The statistics likewise do not describe the quality of punting Gillom put on last night. He booted the ball skillfully with one exception, that a sideline kick that only traveled five yards from scrimmage and cut down his average. Three of his punts were good for over 40 yards from scrimmage, which means that with Gillom standing 15 yards behind the line, the ball actually traveled over 55 yards.
Rocky Red Snyder had his customary luck of winning the toss and elected to receive. For the first minute it appeared the Red Hurricane would play inspired ball as it held the Tigers on the Massillon 45 and forced them to punt. It is the customary thing for the orange and black to drive for a touchdown from the kickoff and New Castle scribes made note of the fact that the Hurricane had stopped Massillon. Tigers Get First Touchdown The resistance was only temporary however, for the Tigers forced the Hurricane to kick back, the ball rolling dead on the Massillon 31. It took just three plays to get a touchdown.
After Snyder had picked up a yard, Slusser ran hard through right tackle, reversed his field and was hauled down from behind the New Castle 28-yard line.
He caught the Hurricane asleep on the next play as he faded back and shot the ball to Toles who took it on the one-yard line to out distance the New Castle secondary and cross the goal.
A 50-yard drive produced another touchdown the same period. An exchange of punts and the Tigers secured the ball in midfield.
Getz ripped through for 16 yards and Snyder battered his way for 15 more. Fred Toles went to the nine-yard line on a mouse trap and Getz circled the other side to pick up the remaining yards and a touchdown. He was hit just as he reached the goal line but had the drive to carry over the stripe. Intercepted Pass Starts It Again Early in the second period Slusser intercepted Laruo’s pass on the Hurricane 45 and dashed back to the 17 before being brought down. Two plays only gained three yards but on third down Snyder found a big hole at right tackle, cut through it and smartly sidestepped the Hurricane for the third touchdown.
A 43-yard drive produced the fourth touchdown in the closing minutes of the second quarter. Snyder dashed to the 18-yard line. A line play and a pass resulted in the loss of five yards, so Slusser took the ball and gained five. On fourth down he fired it to Getz who made a leaping catch and fell as he caught the ball on the five-yard line. Slusser walked through standing up for the touchdown. Getz who had missed the three previous attempted placekicks for the extra point booted the ball between the uprights this time to raise the score to 25-0 at the half.
The Tigers came out with a rush to open the third period and marched back with a 70-yard drive for a touchdown. Two passes, one for 20 yards and another for 18, took the ball to the 17-yard line. Slusser and Snyder carried it the rest of the way with the red head going over for the touchdown. Again Getz’s toe produced the extra point and the score was 32-0.
A Statue of Liberty play was smeared for a 14-yard loss and enabled the Hurricane to hold the Tigers next time they procured the ball.
They scored again in the third quarter, however, after getting the ball on the Hurricane 46. A 14-yard loss when Slusser muffed the ball from center, set the locals back to their own 40 where Gillom executed his long pass to Getz that was not allowed. A five-yard penalty set the ball back to the 35. Snyder Scores Another On a fake kick, Snyder ran 27 yards to the New Castle 38 and Slusser on fourth down rammed through to a first and 10 on the Hurricane 34. He ran 14 yards behind good interference to the 20-yard line on the next play and got the ball in position for Snyder to cover the remaining distance on a fine bit of broken field running. Getz kicked his third straight point to hoist the total to 39-0 and Brown sent in a flock of substitutes.
Gillom booted the kickoff to Roberts, who caught the ball on his 15-yard line, bobbled it momentarily and then headed straight up the east sideline. He outraced the Tigers though Gillom nearly caught him on the five-yard line but was taken out with a questionable block. It was a run of 85 yards and brought joy to the New Castle stands.
Lauro kicked the extra point and the score was 39-7.
Clendening took over the spotlight for Massillon after the following kickoff and with a 30-yard run, in which New Castle players bounced off him like rubber balls, carried the ball to the Hurricane 30. Fabian moved the leather to the 13 in two plays and Clendening sneaked through for 13 yards and the touchdown. Fabian tried to buck the extra point but was stopped and the score stood at 45-7.
A complete second and third team finished the game for the Tigers. With Fabian doing most of the ball carrying, the Tigers marched 60 yards to the one-yard line, Fabian going over for the touchdown. Pizzino bagged the extra point, the last of the game.
Bill McMichael was the only member of the Tiger team who did not compete. He put on his uniform but was kept on the sidelines throughout the game, lest he aggravate a charley horse that has bothered him for several weeks.
New Castle likewise had its casualties, Joe Gender, regular halfback, did not play nor did Castrucci, a quarterback.
The Tiger team had dinner in New Castle after the game, then continued on to Pittsburgh to spend the night in the Fort Pitt hotel. Today the players will attend the Pitt-Fordham game and return home tonight. Massillon Well Represented Massillon was well represented. Several thousand local grid fans drove to New Castle or rode the special train which pulled out of this city at 5:15 and which arrived in time for the kickoff.
There was a rush for seats, however and many a Massillon patron did not get the seat his ticket called for.
The Massillon special train delegation followed the Tiger band to the stadium and the band, putting all the routine it has used this season together, gave a fine performance during intermission.
The finest tribute that has yet been paid to the Tiger musical organization took place at the close of the game. At the moment the contest ended the Tiger band marched up the field. Instead of spectators rushing for theexits, they stood up. The show between halves had pleased them so they wanted to see more and as one New Castle sports writer said in the press box, “your band is just as outstanding as your football team.”
The band held the audience for five minutes after the game and few Massillon or New Castle fans left the field during the demonstration. Singing Not So Good Massillon spectators will need a lot of brushing up on the “Alma Mater”, if they are going to make themselves heard. Only occasionally was the singing audible.
Prior to going to New Castle, the band was the guest of the athletic association at a dinner at the Green Tree.
New Castle had a fancy band, too, a particularly good playing band and marched through several letter formations.
Tom Henrich, of the New York Yankees, has decided never to sit in the press box again. Especially if paged. He was so besieged by youngsters wanting his autograph that he had little time to watch the last three quarters of the game. But Tom accommodated and there were a lot of happy faces among the boys.
Restaurants and eating places in New Castle and all along the way enjoyed the patronage of Massillon fans. The Leslie hotel, where the Tiger team made its headquarters during the several hours in the city, was crowded with diners but had made elaborate preparations to serve everybody.
The treatment accorded the Massillon team and fans was complimentary to the Pennsylvania city. Massillon fans spoke well of it and hope that the friendly relations continue. They Got The 50 Massillon Pos. New Castle Toles LE Motsko Lucius LT Kuinis Russell LG Castrucci Martin C Adamo Houston RG Rucker Henderson RT Roussos Gillom RE Toscano Slusser QB Davies Getz LH Roberts Zimmerman RH Sowinski Snyder FB Lauro
Score by periods: Massillon 12 13 14 13 52 New Castle 0 0 7 0 7
TIGERS TURN BACK BIG RED 31-0 BEFORE 14,000 GRID FANS MASSILLON LINEMEN GALLANT IN VICTORY
Largest Crowd Of Season Treated To Great Gridiron Show With Steubenville And Washington High Bands Strutting Color
By LUTHER EMERY
The Big Red wave of Steubenville, washed up from the Ohio river Friday evening and splashed harmlessly against a granite Massillon wall that would not allow as much as a touchdown to trickle through.
When the Red Tide receded after 48 minutes of hammering, the Massillon record built on three state championships, was strengthened with the sixth straight victory of the season, a 31-0 triumph. Record Crowd Gets Real Treat An immense crowd which school officials estimated at between 13,000 and 14,000 fans, saw the Tigers produce an open exhibition of sensational football as they throttled all offensive efforts of the Big Red and tore it apart for six touchdowns.
They saw a dazzling performance by two high school bands, who will take their hats off to no other musical organizations in the state and they witnessed a gridiron festival, the like of which has made this 1938 season the biggest and best in the history of Washington high school.
From the moment the Tiger band took the field before the game until it again swept triumphantly down the gridiron after the final whistle, the evening was filled with activity and between half entertainment such as caused one ticket purchaser to request “two reserved seats for the floor show please.” No Blocking For Stubs As expected the Big Red brought to Massillon a hard tackling team, but one that failed to put into use the important fundamental of hard blocking. Without blocking the Stub’s offense was stagnant and they only gained the sum total of four first downs and a net of 49 yards.
The superiority of the Tigers was shown not only in the score but in the statistics as well. They were credited with 17 first downs and a net total of 361 yards, 146 of which were made on the completion of nine forward passes.
Seven blocks of granite you could have called the Massillon line last night as it withstood the wash of the Red Wave.
Seven blocks of granite they were and the line can be given a whale of a lot of credit for the victory. Standing out defensively were Lynn Houston, Horace Gillom, Jim Russell and little Bud Lucius. Lucius played a great game and time and again his 142 pounds circled the giant 260-pound George Straka, Stub tackle before the latter could get in motion.
From Lucius to Bill Croop, who swept through in the late stages of the game to drop a Big Red runner for a 15-yard loss, the Tiger wall stood out last night. There is reason to rejoice over it, for all season the principal weakness of the Massillon team has been its defense. Coach Paul Brown set out to strengthen this department last night and how well he succeeded the statistics show. Henderson Plugs Gap Red Henderson, plugged the gap left vacant by the injured McMichael in worthy fashion, McMichael sitting on the bench throughout the game, felt good that he would have a worthy successor when he graduates next June. Earl Martin never made a bad pass from center and so jammed things up in the middle of the line that the Big Red could never find anything but a pileup when they struck that spot.
But out of the joy and glory that goes with victory, there comes gloom that may and again may not be forgotten in a few days.
Getz who has improved with every ball game and who came out of last night’s contest as the leading scorer with 13 points, sustained an injury to his right leg that caused coaches some concern. It may be another charley horse and a charley horse goes particularly bad with a ball carrier. Then too, Fred Toles, who was a big part of the Tiger defense, suffered a shoulder injury which may handicap his defensive play for a couple of weeks. Freddie was taken out of the game. He may not have been seriously hurt, but football injuries frequently do not show up until the next day.
The most serious casualty of all was a dislocated shoulder suffered by Ernest Carducci, 140-pound Steubenville end. The injury will put him out of service for several weeks.
Few there were who thought the game would approach the one-sided proportions it did.
There were those who picked the Tigers winners by two and three touchdowns but the fellow who said 32-0 in a certain cigar store before the game was called plumb crazy. He only missed it by a point. Score In Every Period The Tigers took the kickoff and as Massillon teams have been accustomed to doing, did not give up the ball until they crossed the Big Red goal. They scored a second touchdown in the second period, another in the third and two in the fourth.
The Big Red failed to threaten. In fact it never got the ball inside the Massillon 41-yard line. But in defeat the Stubs had their stars. One was Eddie Mike, a substitute back who had been kept on the bench all season. Eddie tackled and ran better than any other Stubber and threw the only two Big Red passes that were completed.
Cartledge apparently came out with the intention of playing a defensive game, punting on third down, hoping to hold the Tigers and capitalize on breaks. His strategy did not work. There were no breaks save for penalties that halted two Tiger touchdown marches and the Big Red could not hold. The Tigers picked out the Stubs 260-pound co-captain. George Straka as one of the weak spots in the Big Red line and time and again his belly was dented with Rocky Red Snyder’s head.
Cartledge substituted frequently in an attempt to halt the touchdown parade and even called upon those players he had benched last week because of their failure to give a satisfactory performance. It was Massillon’s night, however, and there was nothing Steubenville could do about it.
It was evident from the opening kickoff that the Massillon eleven was determined to even the series with the Big Red at two games each, by avenging the 68-0 licking the 1931 Tiger team took at Steubenville.
Winning the toss, the local team elected to receive at the north goal and a touchdown march began when Snyder took Hank Zawack’s kickoff on the 15-yard line and ran back to his 32 where Rogers and Wallace downed him. Tigers Score Early Getz ripped for two, Snyder made two more and with third down coming up and six to go, Getz raced around his left end for 15 yards and a first down on the Stub’s 49-yard line. Slusser put his trusty right arm into play. He whipped the ball to Zimmerman who gathered it in on the 40-yard line and ran beautifully along the sideline to a first down on the Stub’s eight-yard line. Bob Mike threw Getz for a four-yard loss on the next play and Toles was stopped for no gain on an end around play. The Stubs were offside on the play, however and a five-yard penalty moved the ball up to the seven-yard line and Snyder took it over in two hard cracks at the line. Getz kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Tigers worked the ball into Big Red territory again in the closing minutes of the quarter, but the Stubs’ held for downs on the 35 when Gillom tried to run from punt formation.
Lucius’ recovery of Golembeski’s fumble when he was tackled as he attempted to pass, gave the Tigers the ball on their own 43 and set the stage for the second touchdown. Snyder and Getz took turns at ramming the ball through the Stub’s forward wall for two first downs as they reached the 10-yard line. Slusser moved it up to the five, but when Getz was thrown for a five-yard loss, the Big Red became the victim of a penalty for offside that put the ball on Steubenville’s one-yard line. Getz went over for the touchdown but missed the kick for the extra point.
The Tigers struck again in the closing minutes of the second period and carried the ball to the two-yard line where a five-yard penalty for too many times out ended their threat.
They had no intention of taking time out at the spot and no one knew exactly how it happened. Slusster thought Snyder had called time out and shouted to Red, asking if he had. The referee heard it, thought Massillon was taking time out and a five-yard penalty was the result. It would have been a costly mix-up in a close game. Statue Of Liberty Scores Michigan’s old Statue of Liberty produced the third touchdown early in the second half. All evening the Big Red ends had been rushing Slusser and the Massillon quarterback was patiently awaiting the opportunity to cross them up. He had put the ball on the 20-yard line with a twisting 24-yard dash through tackle and he was rushed hard as he passed to Roscoe Clendening in the flat for a two-yard gain.
That was enough. Out came the Statue of Liberty and as Slusser faded back for what appeared to be another pass, Getz took the ball off his outstretched arm and sped around the left side of the Big Red flank. The Big Red ends had rushed as usual and Getz was by them running hard, 18 yards for a touchdown. His kick for the extra point went to the right of the uprights.
The same play worked again in the fourth quarter with Getz running to a first down on the six-yard line. A 15-yard penalty, for failing to hesitate on the shift, throttled the touchdown attempt and it was not until the middle of the last quarter that the Tigers could again score.
The drive began when Snyder was tackled on the Stubs’ 35 just as he caught Stauffer’s punt. A 15-yard penalty for clipping put the ball back on the 50. A 15-yard pass to Getz and a 28-yard toss to Gillom took the ball to the one-yard line where Slusser went through a big hole at right tackle, standing up.
The sixth and last touchdown came cheap. Trying desperately to score, Charley Albritten threw a short pass from behind his own goal line which Foster, substitute Massillon end, gathered in on the 10-yard line and raced over the payoff stripe. An attempt to plunge the extra point failed. The game ended on the following kickoff.
As the crowd streamed out of the stands, the Tiger band marched triumphantly down the field in recognition of its team’s victory. That band is helping to pack them in. The investment the athletic board risked in buying new uniforms and instruments has come back many fold. Present New Routine A new routine, in which the young musicians were on the move every minute during their share of the intermission period, kept the fans away from the refreshment stand. A series of quick maneuvers spelled the words “Big Red” and ended with a capital S in front of the Steubenville stands. Back to the Massillon side of the field the band came to form an M while the alma mater was being played. “Obie” the Tiger was introduced from the goal posts. He scampered over the field to pick up Miss Margaret Busse, acrobatic cheerleader, who did 11 back flips to the roll of the band’s drums.
Steubenville’s state champion band, marching in militaristic step, likewise maneuvered brilliantly, writing Stub on the field and forming a Tiger head in front of the Massillon stands. The Big Red band is an excellent playing band and finished second in a national contest last year.
The crowd was the largest that has witnessed a football game here with the exception of the 1934 and 1936 Massillon-Canton games. Additions the past two days have increased the seating capacity of the field from 14,000 to 15,000 and most of the seats were filled. School officials estimated the crowd at between 13,000 and 14,000.
The game was relayed by two telegraph sets and a P.A. telephone system to Steubenville where three different football parties were held. Several thousand attended one of the parties held in the open air.
Six In A Row Massillon Pos. Steubenville Toles LE Balkun Lucius LT Mike Russell LG Dunkle Martin C Wallace Houston RG Rogers Henderson RT Straka Gillom RE Williams Slusser QB Gaich Getz LH Golombeski Zimmerman RH Stauffer Snyder FB Zawacki
TIGERS DEFEAT ALLIANCE 19-6 BEFORE CROWD OF 10,000 TWO PERFECT PLAYS BRING VICTORY HERE
Capt. Red Snyder and Ray Getz Dash For Touchdowns As Every Player Gets His Man; Alliance Scores On Forward Pass In Third Period
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers plowed on toward the Ohio scholastic football title before an overflow crowd of 10,000 fans at Mt. Union stadium, Friday evening and executed two perfect plays to defeat Alliance’s up and coming Aviators 19-6.
It was Alliance’s first lost in five games and the Tigers fifth successive triumph of the season and their eighth in a row. Perfect Plays Win Game Two lightning like first period thrusts gave the Massillon eleven its first period margin and it can thank its lucky star that Alliance had not encountered any strong opposition in previous games.
The lightning struck on the second play of the game and the Alliance line, not knowing what it was to be hit, was flattened to the ground by the Tiger forwards as Capt. Red Snyder dashed 70 yards for a touchdown.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, they say, but when “Horse” Gillom intercepted an Alliance pass on the third play after the following kickoff, the Alliance linemen again found themselves looking up at the stars while Ray Getz dashed 77 yards for another touchdown. Alliance Fights Back Those first two came cheap, but the fire sale ended then and there when the Aviators took time out and decided they must charge. And charge they did, from there on to the final gun, to battle the Tigers on even terms.
Touchdowns were hard to get after that. The Massillon eleven capitalized on Red Henderson’s recovery of a fumble in the second period to shove over a third touchdown from the Alliance 24-yard line, but found it impossible to roll back the Aviator defenses for any more scores. Once they were stopped by inches on the one-yard line and again they lost the ball by less than a foot on the 10-yard stripe.
It was a terrific struggled, with the Tigers showing the effects of the body beating they took at Sharon last week and Alliance, playing an inspired game that bottled the Massillon offense.
Hillis Hume, ace of the Aviator bombers, was all that they said of him. He didn’t break loose for a touchdown dash as he had done in every previous game this year but he was dynamite every time he carried the ball and dangerous until Tiger tacklers brought him to earth.
He tossed the pass that gave Alliance its only touchdown in the third period and he threw a lot of others that would have hit their mark were it not for an alert Massillon secondary.
It was on the fourth play of the second half, following Eugene Grimes’ recovery of a Massillon fumble on the Tiger 35-yard line, that Alliance scored. Stopped once in an attempt to carry the ball, Hume faded back and fired a perfect pass to August Palozzi, who streaked through the Massillon secondary to snare the ball in a leaping catch inside the five-yard line and race into rainbow land.
Save for that, Alliance never got close to the Tiger goal.
The touchdown pass was one of two completed and Alliance made both; Hume tossing another to Palozzi for 28 yards in the closing minutes of the game. Massillon Relies On Running Alliance presented a well guarded secondary with which the Tigers took no chances. Though the forward pass has been Massillon’s most potent weapon this year, it was kept undercover last night. Only once did George Slusser pitch and the ball was too high for Gillom to catch in the flat.
Save for their two perfect play executions in the first period and their ability to keep Hume from crossing the goal where others had failed, the Massillon team possessed little in the way of superiority over the Aviators. First downs were 14 to 13 in its favor and Gillom had the edge on Hume in punting.
With low level press box and the crowd standing on chairs on the sidelines, nearly one-half the field was invisible to reporters and it was impossible to collect other statistics on the game. From the middle of the first quarter on to the final gun, the two elevens gathered approximately the same yardage.
The heat of the struggle could be traced on the faces of players after the game. The Tiger eleven which has been wading through the toughest schedule ever arranged for a Massillon team, had additional stripes whipped on top of those sustained at Sharon. Bruised lips and swollen eyes told a painful story in the dressing room. Bill McMichael, right tackle was the most serious casualty. He sustained a charley horse that forced him to the bench for a rest and may cause him more trouble before the season is over.
Injuries kept two Massillon players, Jim Russell, sophomore guard and Bill Zimmerman, blocking halfback, from starting the gamer.
Zimmerman never got in at all but Russell was rushed into the breach when Alliance showed signs of getting dangerous in the fourth quarter.
The crowd had no more than eased back from the thrill of the kickoff when it was shocked by the first two Massillon touchdowns. Every Player Gets His Man The plays were so perfectly executed that they are worthy of repetition. It was second down, 10 to go with the ball on the 30-yard line. Snyder’s signal was called. He drove to the line with perfect blocking in front of him. Each of his 10 teammates took out an opponent and Snyder had only to outrun the safety man and that he did in his 70-yard touchdown dash. The Alliance line fell as one on the play as though it were knocked over backward. In reality most of the Aviator players were prone on the ground with only the stars to look at.
The second touchdown was executed with the same precision. Hume nearly got loose on the kickoff as he raced the ball back from his own 15-yard line and reversed the field to the Massillon 47. When he tried a forward pass, however, Gillom was on the job to gather in the ball on his own 23-yard line. On the very next play Getz ran 77 yards for a touchdown with 10 Alliance men on the ground and one making a futile effort to catch him.
Alliance braced after that and the Tigers had to fight for every yard.
The Aviators’ courage was bolstered when they recovered a Massillon fumble to end another touchdown threat on the 17-yard line.
Play was confined to each eleven’s respective section on the field until the last five minutes of the second period when the Tigers advanced the ball to a first down on the Alliance 25. Wood covered a Massillon fumble on the 24-yard line but on the very next play, Hume fumbled and Henderson pounced on the ball to regain it for Massillon on the 25.
Getz and Snyder rammed to a first down on the 15-yard line and after Snyder and Slusser had picked up four, Fred Toles circled his right end for five more and Snyder rammed through for a first down on the two-yard line. The redhead rammed the ball over the goal on the next play.
That ended Massillons scoring. Getz placekicked the first point through the bars but missed on his last two attempts. Alliance Scores On Pass The half ended at 19-0 but Alliance made the most of a break on the opening kickoff of the second half to score. Snyder brought the kickoff to the 35, but a fumble on second down with eight to go was covered by Alliance’s Grimes on the Massillon 35. Hume picked up five yards and on second down backed up and shot the ball to Palozzi for the touchdown. Two Massillon men were near the Alliance end when he snared the pass but they were off balance and couldn’t’ get to the ball. Two steps and he was over the goal after the catch.
The Tigers struck right back with a terrific drive that carried the ball to the four-yard line. where they lost it on fourth down by inches.
Alliance worked it right back up the field to the Massillon 43 before it was required to punt. Then back came Massillon to carry the ball from its own 15 to the Alliance 14 where again it lost the pigskin by inches.
An exchange of punts and Alliance unleashed its last bid, a long pass that Hume threw from the 32-yard line to Palozzi who caught it on the Massillon 40. A five-yard penalty and a bad pass from center, sent the Aviators reeling back to their own 35 where the game ended.
Call the last three periods what you may, a let down on the Massillon team or an inspired Alliance eleven bottling the Tiger offense and making it look bad, the game was worthy of the patronage it received.
The crowd was the largest that ever saw a football game in Alliance, exceeding the previous record attendance of 1932 when Alliance won its last victory over the Tigers.
Alliance capitalized on this game every two years and the lust for finances resulted in the stadium being oversold. So much so in fact that persons who plunked down their 75 cents for a seat stood throughout the game and many of them could only see one-half the field.
A large section of the crowd was composed of Massillon fans. The Massillon-Alliance Rd., was one continual string of autos from 6 p.m. until game time and cars were bumper to bumper on the return trip. Give That Band A Hand The Tiger band was splendid as it went through its best exhibition of the season. A tin soldier number, with the young musicians acting the part brought down the house. Then too the band, maneuvering quickly and without hesitation, formed an airplane, with rolling drums indicating the roar of the “motors”. Persons situated in the top of the stands declared it one of the best formations they have ever seen. Block letters were also formed in front of the Alliance and Massillon sections.
Too much praise cannot be given the young musicians for their performance, the result of tireless work, five nights a week.
Praise for the band was not confined to Massillon fans alone but to Alliance spectators as well. They joined the local delegation in giving the young musicians a tremendous cheer during their maneuvers and when they walked off the field.
The Alliance band also gave a pleasing drill between halves, with two acrobatic girl drum majors in the lead. The Alliance band is handicapped with lack of time and a place to practice.
The young Massillon musicians were accorded rather rough treatment on their return trip through Canton. Jubilant over their team’s victory, their cheers were met with a barrage of tomatoes and garbage.
A Hard Battle Massillon Pos. Alliance Toles LE Cironi Henderson LT Taylor Lucius LG Zupanic Martin C Dawson Houston RG Chester McMichael RT Chernikovich Gillom RE Grimes Slusser QB Hume Getz LH Murari Clendening RH Wood Snyder FB Koch
TIGER GRIDDERS DEFEAT SHARON 37-20 IN THRILLING GAME MASSILLON’S PASSES BEWILDER OPPONENTS
Aerial Fireworks Save Game For Local Team; There Will Never Be Another Like It, 10,000 Fans Say Today
By LUTHER EMERY
A courageous band of Washington high school Tigers, wrote pigskin history with skill and speed before 10,000 people Friday evening as they raced through the fog at Sharon to a 37-20 victory.
Ox cannot lick Tiger, the old adage goes and history repeated itself last night in one of the finest football games anyone could ever hope to witness. Best Game in Tiger History There have been none like it in Washington high school history and you may never see another. There have been sensational finishes such as the 7-6 triumph over Shaw in 1922, but never have four quarters been packed with more offensive football and thrills than the 48 minutes of last night’s game.
The Massillon Tigers won because they had a passing attack, knew how and when to use it and out-smarted their opponents. Using brains and speed to overcome a tremendous advantage in weight, they came back fighting after two bad breaks, to wrest victory out of turmoil that completely exhausted both teams.
So tired were both elevens that they went through their maneuvers in “slow motion” fashion the last few minutes of the game. Roscoe Clendening looked line a 10-second man among the tiring players when he replaced Zimmerman in the fourth quarter. Yet he is one of the slowest of the backfield squad – but a honey in a pinch.
It was an offensive game from the start, beginning like the big game with Canton in 1934, but maintaining the pace throughout the four periods. Neither Team Would Quit The elevens tossed touchdowns at each other with reckless abandon. The Tigers picked off two before the teams had hardly got warmed up, only to have Sharon make the most of two breaks and the score at 13-13 in the second quarter.
The blow was enough to crack the heart of any player but the Massillon eleven struck right back in the dying minutes of the first half with two passes, shoved over a third touchdown to flaunt a 19-13 lead at the intermission.
The third period began right where the second left off. Some 2,000 Massillon fans who went by auto and special train to Sharon, were fearful lest their team fade in the third quarter as it had done on three previous occasions this year. But the Tigers quickly relieved their apprehensions and struck back with another scoring march that hoisted the lead to 25-13.
That gallant Sharon team wouldn’t give up, however. Harold Matthews, had not yet done what he wanted to do to close his athletic career in a blaze of glory. Hs turn was coming and he found it in a hole in the right side of the Massillon line though which he raced 54 yards to Sharon’s third and last touchdown of the game. It and the following point after touchdown narrowed the margin to 25-20 and again made Massillon hearts pound, but the Tigers struck right back as only a good ball team can and chalked up two more touchdowns to shove their margin of superiority to 17 points. Thanks For Passing Massillon should give thanks for its passing attack. Without it the score might have been different. Anyone who saw the game can tell you. They saw how the smaller Tiger gridders had to virtually block their opponents to the ground to gain yards from scrimmage. They saw Fred Toles snare two consecutive passes, one an almost impossible catch to wipe out the 13-13 tie. They saw Horace Gillom go high in the air to pull down another behind the goal after Sharon had crept dangerously close in the third quarter. They saw Ray Getz haul down another to put the ball in position to score.
Without a passing attack to keep the Sharon secondary from crowding the line of scrimmage, the Tiger ball carriers would have had an even harder time of it. But George Slusser’s accurate right arm kept the Pennsylvanians on the alert and the Tiger backs were able to pick up three and four yards before they could meet up with the play.
“Massillon has a great team,” said David B. Stewart, smiling through disappointment after the game. “Your team can do anything and that’s what licked us. It was an excellent game.”
Paul Brown, who played quarterback for Washington high when Stewart coached here 13 years ago, was pleased with the courageous spirit of the team. “You could see for yourself we were badly outweighed. We had to knock them down to get anywhere. They were two tired teams when that final gun popped. Did you ever see such a game before. I didn’t.”
“Nor I,” piped up Hugh McGranahan, assistant coach, who himself went into action in the third period when a spectator edged in on the Massillon bench and took a swing at Pizzino, a sub-fullback. “P, (P is for Paul), you can send me away scouting after this. I won’t be able to stand another like that.”
And McGranahan expressed the sentiments of practically every Massillon fan there.
Both teams were so “high” that neither would quit under pressure that would make most elevens surrender.
They had seasonal and traditional records to preserve and gave every effort toward that end. Today the Tiger record of having lost but one game in 34 still existed, but Sharon’s string of 15 straight was broken. It was the Pennsylvanian’s first loss in 19 games. Statistics Favor Tigers Not only the score but the statistics in general were with Massillon. The forward pass made the difference.
The Tigers rolled up 13 first downs to Sharon’s four and not one did the latter team get in the last half.
The local eleven made 191 yards rushing to Sharon’s 174 and gained 123 yards passing to none for Sharon.
The Pennsylvanians had a slight edge on running back punts and kickoffs and owned a margin in punting. Penalties were the same.
To pick out an outstanding player would do an injustice to other members of the Massillon team. From end to end and throughout the backfield each individual gave everything he had.
The same can be said for Sharon, though the defensive playing of O’Brien and Wolansky and Matthews’ ball carrying ability demanded attention.
Two Tiger players went out with injuries. Jim Russell, who injured an ankle in practice Wednesday evening, was forced out early in the first half and was replaced by Red Henderson, sophomore, playing his second game. Henderson was hurt in the McKeesport game and had not played since. Bill Zimmerman aggravated an ankle injury in the second half but hobbled around on it for 10 minutes before he got another bump that put him out. Clendening took his place.
The game was packed with the unexpected, recovery of fumbles, long runs for touchdowns and sensational passes. Tigers Score Early Joe Cvelbar fumbled on the second play of the game and the alert Freddie Toles flopped on the ball on the Sharon 37-yard line. There began your first touchdown drive. Red Snyder ripped through for nine yards at right tackle and Ray Getz cut through left tackle for a first down on the 21-yard line. Snyder and Slusser running hard made it first down on the seven-yard line. Snyder moved the ball three yards nearer the goal, but a stubborn Sharon defense, ganged up on Fred Toles when he tried to circle on an end around play and Wolansky tossed him for an 11-yard loss. On the very next play, Getz swept the left flank and carried to the two-yard line before being downed. With fourth down and two yards needed for a touchdown, Capt. Snyder, head down, smacked the center of the line and went through standing up. Getz kicked the extra point and it was 7-0.
Sharon received and when three downs lacked a yard and a half of a first down, Wolansky punted to Capt. Red Snyder. The red head caught the ball on his own 20-yard line and almost doing a tight wire act as he raced along the line, ran straight up the field 80 yards for a touchdown without a hand being laid on him.
The play came so fast that few saw Snyder’s interference form as a screen between the Sharon players and the Massillon ball carrier. Little blocking was needed for before the Sharon gridders could get to him, Snyder was past them and traveling at top speed in midfield. Massillon fans were hilarious. It was the signal for a rout and would have resulted in just that were it not for the stout hearts of Dave Stewart’s boys. They fought back after Getz missed the extra point from placement, took the kickoff and worked the ball to midfield where Freddie Toles intercepted Cvelbar’s pass to give Massillon the ball. Sharon Scores After Fumble Both teams stopped each others’ scoring efforts until early in the second quarter when Wolansky got off a good punt which bounded in front of Capt. Snyder. Red tried to pick it up on the 15-yard line but the ball rolled out of his hands and Cvelbar recovered for Sharon on the Tiger one-yard line. On the first play Wolansky crashed through center for the touchdown and Cvelbar kicked the extra point. It was a tough break for Massillon and Shaorn made the most of it.
Another break went to Sharon after the following kickoff. The Tigers marched the ball to midfield where Slusser was tackled hard while attempting to pass. He fumbled the ball and O’Brien recovered for Sharon on the Massillon 31.
The Tigers apparently stemmed the attack until a five-yard penalty for offside moved the ball up for Sharon to third down on the 26-yard line. Wolansky and Matthews made a first down by inches on the 21.
There Matthews was turned loose and he carried one tackler after another until he was finally downed with six on his back on the 14-yard line. Wolansky, Matthews and Izenas got a first down on the nine-yard line and here Sharon was faced with a problem. The big Pennsylvania backs had to fight for every yard. In three downs they got to the one-yard line. Matthews was given the ball on fourth down. He moved forward, the lines piled high, but the officials found the ball had gone over by a few inches. There was tumult in the Sharon bleachers. The score was tied 13-13. Wolansky tried to sneak the extra point over but was met by a fast charging Massillon line.
Only two minutes of the half remained when Wolansky kicked off to Gillom. He got back 11 yards to his 41 when downed. Slusser dropped back and protected this time by his fellow backs fired a long pass to Freddie Toles. A Sharon player was there to get it but Freddie went over his head to pull down the ball o n the Sharon 30. Back Slusser dropped for another pass. This time Toles cut diagonally across the field, snared the all on the 10-yard line and went over. The touchdown came so quickly that 10,000 spectators watched in silence a moment, then let loose with a terrific blast of groans and cheers.
Getz’s attempt to kick the extra point was wide of the uprights but the Tigers were ahead 19-13 and Sharon could run but one play before expiration of the first half. Another March Begins Both teams came out strong the third quarter and neither threatened until mid-way in the third period when Snyder on a 10-yard return of a punt was forced out of bounds on his own 40-yard line. The local eleven didn’t look particularly dangerous then, but quickly launched its longest offensive of the evening.
Stopped on a sweep around right end, Slusser hurled a long pass to Gillom for a first down on the Sharon 43. A pass to Getz was a little too high and Slusser and Getz moved the ball within a foot of a first down. Snyder banged through for extra yards and a first down on the 31.
There the Massillon eleven pulled the old Michigan Statue of Liberty out of the bag. With the ends crashing in to block Slusser who dropped back to pass, Getz circled behind him took the ball off the palm of his hand and pranced to a first-down on the Sharon 20. Slusser hit for seven yards, but after Getz was thrown for no gain, Snyder tore through center and ran to the three-yard line before being downed. On the next play he plunged for the touchdown, Getz’s kick was wide of the post.
That hoisted the Massillon margin to 25-13 and it looked safe enough until Sharon took the kickoff, moved up the field to its 46-yard line where Matthews found a hole in the left side of the Tiger line and ran 54 yards for a touchdown. Cvelbar placekicked the extra point and the score in two minutes had changed to 25-20.
Sharon was too close so Slusser began throwing again after the kickoff. He fired a long one to Getz who caught the ball on the Sharon 30 and ran to the 18-yard line before being tossed out of bounds. Two line plays only gained two yards and Slusser’s pass to Getz on third down dropped into the end zone. With fourth down and eight to go, Slusser dropped back for another pass. He looked toward Toles cutting diagonally across the field, then turned and fired to Gillom who was moving diagonally the other way. It was a wobbly pass but Gillom sprang into the iar at the right time and hauled down the ball behind the goal line while a Sharon player made a frantic effort to block it.
Slusser tried to carry the ball over for the extra point this time but was stopped. Clendening Starts Drive Both teams were tiring rapidly as the fourth quarter began to wane. Then Clendening, sent in to replace the injured Zimmerman, took Wolansky’s punt and ran hard down the east side line to the Sharon 22-yard line. He did not know he stepped out of bounds on the 22 and raced on across the goal with tackler after tackler bouncing off him.
Snyder found a hole at right guard and ran to a first down on the two-yard line. Slusser went through the same spot for the sixth and final touchdown. Again the kick for the extra point was wide.
You would have thought that would have finished the Sharon team, but Stewart coached teams are typically courageous elevens and Izenas, sub-fullback, took the kickoff and ran to the Massillon 22-yard line where he was tackled from behind by Getz after being out in the clear. The Pennsylvanians in four downs only advanced the ball three yards and the Tigers took the pigskin and kept it until the game ended, three plays later.
The two elevens dragged themselves off the field and the Massillon gridders were too tired to rejoice over their victory. The 10,000 spectators flooded the gates, piled into their autos and immediately there was a traffic jam.
Massillon fans who drove to the game feared a heavy fog on their way home. It was already descending on the field in the third quarter but apparently centered on the hill top. Little fog was encountered elsewhere until Canton was reached.
It was a fine night for the return trip. A bright moon made driving easy and fans who had expected to grope their way in fog were treated instead to a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis.
The special train which conveyed the band and 200 fans to the game arrived in Sharon ahead of schedule and reached home shortly after 2 a.m.
And did the Massillon band click! Sharon has no small band, it won the state championship last year. Sharon sports writers were unusually enthusiastic over the performance put on by the Massillon musicians. “Why that’s better than you see in most of the big universities,” they said. “Boy how they can swing it.”
The bands appeared simultaneously on the field. The Sharon musicians wearing orange and black cadet uniforms took position on the field and the Massillon band marched through the ranks both playing in unison.
The Massillon spectators took big appetites with them. The “sold out” sign was hung up in many restaurants. Schoolboys were sitting three deep on the stools in one hamburger shop.
Miss Margaret Busse, Massillon’s acrobatic cheerleader, covered up last night. It was a bit too frosty for the tights. The drum major lassies strutted as usual but made good use of blankets when off the field.
Occasionally fists flew in the stands and police found it necessary to escort a fan to the gates now and then, but all in all this crowd was unusually orderly, especially considering how tense the game was and Massillon people returned home praising the sportsmanship of fans and police of the Pennsylvania city.
One In A Million Massillon Pos. Sharon Toles LE Wild Lucius LT Dunn Russell LG Bruno Martin C Sasala Houston RG Lysohir McMichael RT Kalwarski Gillom RE Colclaser Slusser QB Wolansky Getz LH Marstellar Zimmerman RH Matthews Snyder FB Cvelbar
CROWD OF 12,000 SEES TIGERS DEFEAT WARREN HIGH 21-0 MASSILLON TURNS TO POWER PLAYS TO WIN
Ball Carriers Shove Over Three Touchdowns When Visitors Spread Defense Over Passing Zone; Game Abundant In Color
By LUTHER EMERY
A driving offense that gained yardage the hard way, kept the Washington high Tigers into the top spot of northeastern Ohio football Friday evening as they stemmed the invasion of the battling Presidents of Warren before a crowd of 12,000 cheering fans.
Thrice the Tigers plowed their way to touchdowns and thrice the toe of Ray Getz, sophomore halfback sent the ball spinning between the bars for a 21-0 triumph in a game that has never been surpassed in color here. Color and Class Fully 12,000 fans poured into Massillon field, which already has been enlarged to a 13,000 seating capacity. The packed stands formed a colorful back drop for the green stage and one of the finest football shows ever put on.
Both teams had its performers, but in the entire cast there were none more dangerous or more sparkling than the Johnson brothers, Mackey and Levi, Warren’s fleet and dangerous halfbacks.
Their dazzling sprints, the skillful maneuvers of the 81-piece Warren band, the snappy new drill of the Tiger musicians, the princely marching of the Ohio champion American Legion drum and bugle corps and the downright determination of both teams to battle to the final whistle completed a show that sent losers as well as winners home talking. Warren Primed For Game As expected, Warren was loaded to the guns. Several thousand President supporters drove the 70 miles to Massillon and another several thousand gathered around public address systems at home to see and hear their team in one of northeastern Ohio’s most important football games of the year.
It was billed as a game that would go a long way toward determining the northeastern Ohio champion and it did just that.
Warren came to Massillon with an uncrossed goal line, but went back home with three touchdowns shoved over it.
The first followed the kickoff to Massillon and a Tiger drive of 80 yards that ended with Ray Getz lashing through a stubborn left tackle for one yard and a touchdown.
Another bristling drive that started from the Tiger 29-yard line late in the first period and took up a third of the next quarter produced the second score with Capt. Red Snyder diving over from the one yard line after the visitors had twice stood their ground.
An intercepted pass on the Warren 40-yard line and a drive that moved forward with the aid of a 15-yard penalty produced the third touchdown in the fourth quarter with Freddie Toles winging his way around right end from the four-yard line.
Those three touchdowns briefly sum up Massillon’s offensive efforts for the evening. Warren Always Dangerous Warren with two backs in the Johnson boys, who were faster and who could twist and squirm better than any of the Tiger ball carriers was dangerous at all times.
Again and again Mackey or Levi would break through the Massillon line as though fired from a cannon, but there was always a Tiger somewhere handy to haul them down before they could reach the Promised Land.
Once it was Red Snyder who leaped on Levi’s back after he was on his way down the sidelines. Again Mackey was carrying the mail up the middle with four men ahead of him for interference and no one to be taken out of the way when Bill Zimmerman gathered himself off the ground and took the fleet Negro from behind.
The Johnson boys’ runs with one exception were the only long ones of the evening, the Tigers gathering virtually all of their yardage in power plays through the line or hard sweeps around the ends. Visitors Defense Bothered Tigers The Warren defense which continually shifted from a five-man to a six, seven and even eight man line, confused Tiger linemen on their blocking assignments and frequently resulted in Massillon ball carriers being stacked up without gain.
But troublesome as it was, Warren’s defense was pierced for 254 yards and 15 first downs while the visitors were held to 163 yards and seven first downs.
Warren, however, did succeed in stopping the Tiger passing attack to a fair degree of success. Carefully guarding their secondary, the Presidents only allowed two completed passes, one figuring in the second touchdown drive.
Using a 6-3-2 defense, the Tigers likewise guarded their secondary and only allowed the completion of one Warren pass while intercepting three, one of which started the final touchdown drive.
Though it broke occasionally and allowed the Johnson brother to tear through, the Tigers forward wall gave a creditable performance and out charged the visitors for three periods. By gaining the first foot of ground Toles, Houston, Russell, McMichael, Gillom, Martin and Lucius made it possible for their ball carrying teammates to smash through for gains which though not long, paid off in the end. Tigers Score After Kickoff The Tigers won the toss and received at the north end of the field. It was slam-bang from then on. Mackey Johnson booted the kickoff into the end zone and Massillon took the ball on its own 20. The going was tough with two and three downs being necessary to get the required first down. With Getz, Snyder and Slusser alternating at carrying the ball the Tigers rolled up six first downs as they moved down the field. They got a first down on their 32, their 46, the Warren 44, the 25, the 12 and Snyder finally rammed through for a first on the one-yard line. It took two plays to get it over from there, Getz carrying it across and kicking the extra point. The drive consumed half of the first quarter.
When Warren failed to gain after the following kickoff, Lindsey booted the ball to Snyder who came back to the visitor’s 46. There was second touchdown drive was launched despite two 15-yard penalties for holding. A fake kick from which Snyder ran 33 yards to a first down on the Warren 29-yard overcame the penalty losses. It was Massillon’s longest run of the game.
The mouse trap with Toles carrying the ball gained 11 yards and brought a first down on the one-yard line and Snyder went over after Warren had twice stopped thrusts at the line.
The visitors flashed their first offensive late in the second period when the Johnson boys got hot feet and carried the leather to the 15-yard line. There on fourth down, Zimmerman and Getz dumped Mackey hard after he had taken a lateral from Exler and Warren lost the ball. Warren Takes Initiative The third quarter was all Warren. Not a first down did the Tigers make in that frame while Warren came through with three in two unsuccessful bids for touchdowns. Once Levi Johnson raced through to the Massillon 31-yard line where Snyder charged over to the sideline to stop him. Warren only got two yards its next four plays and lost the ball on the 29.
They charged back again, however, and were well on their way with a first down on the Tiger 32-yard line when Manus fumbled the ball and Getz recovered for Massillon to end the threat. Came the fourth quarter and the tide again turned in favor of the Tigers. In a desperate effort to score, Warren opened up with passes into a secondary that was closely guarded by Massillon. Horace Gillom went up into the air to pull one down on the Warren 40 and got back five yards before being downed. Slusser in two plays ran to a first down on the 19-yard line. As he was tossed out of bounds, an over anxious Warren player piled in on his legs and a 15-yard penalty was stepped off. It advanced the ball to a first down on the four-yard line. On the first play, Toles swept wide around his right end, outrunning Edwards of Warren to get the touchdown. Getz for the third time blasted a perfect shot between the uprights for the extra point.
The victory was the Tigers’ third and their hardest game of the season. Apparently they came out of it in better shape than either the McKeesport or Mansfield games and will point for Sharon next week.
The coaching staff of Miami University viewed the game from the enlarged press box and were amazed at the show put on. “We can see now how you can draw crowds of 12,000 at your football games,” was their comment.
They were particularly interested in the Massillon band. “Better than most college bands,” they said.
Maestro George Bird had his musicians primed for a new number and transferred the scene to the old Chicago Fair and “little Egypt’s gyrations”. It case you don’t know Pep Paulson was inside the skin. Warren Band Impresses The Warren band presented a fine drill between halves and an acrobatic drum major in Miss Helen Johnson. She knows here “taps” too so they say. The Warren male drum major who did such fancy baton twirling is one of the four Keller brothers, a family of drum majors.
The Warren band paraded the streets late Friday afternoon and marched to the Washington high gymnasium where members were served a lunch by the Band Mother’s club. Members of the Massillon band were on hand to greet the visiting musicians.
The Legion drum and bugle corps put in its annual football appearance before the game. The corps usually participates in the opening night exercises but was on its way to Los Angeles this year when the Tigers opened their season with McKeesport.
The Ohio champions and the 10th best corps in the United States were given a great ovation as they left the field.
Miss Margaret Busse, Massillon’s acrobatic cheerleader was given a big hand.
There was one fight, but the fan who took the pass at one of the Massillon ‘coppers” regretted it. He was not locked up however, but was put out of the field.
Good Plunging Massillon Pos. Warren Toles LE Edwards Lucius LT Hoffman Russell LG Brownlee Martin C Canzonetti Houston RG Hyde MacMichale RT Lindsey Gillom RE Holmes Slusser QB Henry Getz LH Manus Zimmerman RH Johnson Snyder FB Layton
Score by periods: Massillon 7 7 0 7 21
Substitutions: Massillon – Lechleiter, le; Foster, le; Fabian, fb. Warren – L. Johnson, fb; Exler, lh; Leutsch,; E. Wilson; Thompson; Terrell; Mustas; R. Wilson; Webster; Lohret; Mrus.
Touchdowns: Massillon – Getz; Snyder; Toles.
Points after touchdown: Massillon – Getz 3 (placekicks).
Referee – Jenkins. Umpire – Rupp. Head Linesman – Hetra. Field Judge – Ensign.
Game Statistics Massillon Warren First Downs 15 7 Yards rushing 254 163 Yds. Lost rushing 14 13 Net yards rushing 240 150 Yards passing 22 18 Total Yds. Gained 262 168 Passes attempted 7 7 Passes completed 2 1 Passes incomplete 5 3 Passes intercepted 0 3 Times punted 5 3 Av. Punts (Yds.) 37.4 37.6 Yards penalized 65 35
