LORAIN PASSES WAY TO 20-0 VICTORY OVER WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL GRIDDERS ORANGE AND BLACK FAILS TO FLASH ANY OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Lorain, the tornado swept Lake Erie city, battered by the winds four years ago, knows the power of air, and harnessed the ozone last Saturday afternoon to pass its way to a 20 to 0 victory over the orange and black of Washington high school.
Lorain was entertaining fears of a second tornado Saturday when the Washington high eleven blew into the city, but as the game proceeded the host team showed that it knew a little more about tornadoes than the Massillon eleven and preceded to sweep the local gridders off their feet. It was a false wind that blew from Massillon. The orange and black showed nothing Saturday but a good punter and a strong line from tackle to tackle and was completely outclassed by its opponents.
Lorain, in beating the local team, shook off the jinx that follows dedications of football stadiums, and in a colorful and brilliant manner opened its new field to athletics.
Massillon was honored by having the opportunity to play the first scholastic game in the new stadium. No athlete was permitted to trod on the heavy turf until last Wednesday when the Lorain gridders began prepping on the new field for the “hard” tussle with the orange and black. Only five minutes before the referee’s whistle sounded for the start of the duel, the Stars and Stripes were raised to be fanned by the breeze for the first time from the top of the new flagpole. It was the formal opening of the stadium and approximately 3,500 fans, one-fourth of whom were from Massillon, gathered for the event.
The dedicatory exercises were simple. Led by the flag and the school’s pennant, a parade formed in front of the Lorain bleachers and proceeded to the flagpole, marching to music of the Lorain high school band. The two football squads, Lorain’s 95 strong, followed the band as well as officials and coaches. As customary, Old Glory was raised to the tune of “the Star Spangled Banner,” at the conclusion of which the whistle sounded and the teams took the field.
Lorain found in Massillon, Saturday, a team with a stout line, weak on the ends, with a good punter, and weak offense. The Lorain gridders failed to gain through the orange and black’s line, but skirted the ends for substantial gains and hurled passes for touchdowns.
The game had hardly started until Giasomo, as speedy a back as ever tucked a ball under his arm, took a pass from Chaszar and scampered 35 yards around Massillon’s right end for a touchdown. Jones missed his attempted kick, but Massillon was ruled offside on the play by the referee and the point counted. Chaszar scored Lorain’s second touchdown on a run around Massillon’s left end. The ball was placed in a scoring position as a result of Hageman recovering a Massillon fumble on the 35-yard line. A Massillon man offside again contributed the extra point to Lorain. The home team’s third set of points came in the middle of the fourth quarter, the result of another pass from Chaszar to Giasomo, who ran 29 yards before crossing the goal line. Again Lorain failed on the try for point, and Massillon did not get offside on the play.
The orange and black seldom had the ball in Lorain territory, due to the fact that the local team failed to show any offensive strength. The nearest the youthful tigers came to the windy city’s goal was the 23-yard line, but with fourth down and three yards to go a pass fell short of its receiver and the ball went into Lorain’s hands. The local team never came close after that, being kept behind the 40-yard line by the scrappy Lake Erie gridders.
The orange and black made but two first downs, and one of these as a result of a 15-yard penalty. Lorain made the required yardage eight times.
The local team’s forward passing attack was woefully wear. Two passes out of 14 attempts were completed for a gain of seven yards, while Lorain completed five passes out of 13 attempts for a gain of 81 yards. Four of Massillon’s passes were intercepted while Captain Potts and Houriet grabbed three of Lorain’s heaves.
The local team finished the game in good shape. Garland was the only player hurt and forced to take time out. He suffered an injured leg.
Had it not been for the punting of Kester, the Lorain gridders might have scored more points. Kester had the advantage on Chaszar in kicking, but the Lorain team gained on exchanges of punts due to the superior runs of Giasomo in returning the ball.
Captain Potts played a fine defensive game for the youthful tigers. In addition to pulling down two Lorain passes and batting down several others, he made it his business to get into practically every play that came through the line or around the ends. The Lorain runners were accorded good interference on their sweeping end runs and the orange and black ends were boxed out of most every play.
The Lorain team had only two lettermen on it, but was picked from a squad of 105 youths who reported to Coach McCaskey at the opening of the season. Ninety-five members of the squad were in uniform Saturday, the lightweights playing a preliminary to the varsity tilt in which they took a 21 to 0 beating from Wellington high school.
A large number of Massillon fans attended the game. Orange and black colors were in evidence everywhere and it is probable that one-fourth if not one-third of the crowd was from this city.
Substitutions: Massillon – Slinger for Geis, Mann for Garland, Houriet for Hollwager, Hollwager for Minger, Geis for Slinger, G. Hess for Lewis. Lorain – Ursic for Andrews, Newman for Romoser, McGue for Urbanic, B. Andorka for Newman, Lepkowski for Jones, J. Pincura for McGew.
Touchdowns – Giasomo 2, Chaszar.
Officials—Referee: Houghton (Oberlin); Umpire: Close (Oberlin); Headlinesman: Johnson (Navy).
AKRON EAST SCORES SAFETY TO BEAT WASHINGTON HIGH 2-0 IN OPENING GAME CONSECUTIVE BREAKS COSTLY; OFFENSE OF LOCAL TEAM IS WEAK
Safety brings its rewards. It saves lives, and property and—it wins football games.
By the score of 2 to 0 did the orange and black tigers of Washington high school fall before East high of Akron at Massillon Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the gridiron season, and those two points were the only ones scored during the entire 48 minutes of play.
Safely and safety, with a few other words linked between, tell the story in short order. The Akron punter kicked the ball safely out of danger to the Massillon safety man who failed to play it safely and was tackled behind his own goal line for a safety.
It all happened so quickly that even the Akron East fans in their surprise did not applaud the scoring of two points that won the football game for their team. Neither did the followers of the orange and black feel downcast for few thought that two points would decide the football game. But as some one rightfully said on the bench between halves, “two points are pretty handy things to have,” and they were extremely valuable Saturday.
A warm September sun, a crowd of 2,000 or more, two bands, and a “peppy” student body, made a colorful setting for the game. The rooting section sensing the handicap under which the team was playing, with two veterans on the bench through injuries, kept up a lively din during the afternoon and went down cheering as the team went down fighting.
An old, old story was retold in East’s victory only it was lengthened somewhat Saturday afternoon. Instead of a break it was a couple of breaks that decided the game. True the breaks were evenly divided between the two teams, but the rubber city gridders were fortunate enough to get two breaks in a row and that produced their victory. The first break, a recovered fumble, gave East the ball. While the second, a muff by Schnierle, and a little thoughtless playing when, in an effort to return the punt he stepped and was tackled behind his goal line, gave Akron its two points.
One wouldn’t be fair if he didn’t say that Akron deserved to win, but one also wouldn’t be doing justice to the strong defense of the local gridders if he didn’t add—but by no more than two points.
The score just about revealed the relative merits of the two teams. East made three first downs to the youthful tigers’ one, one coming as a result of a forward pass. Akron ball carriers found it impossible to gain ground as did the Massillon gridders. Neither team failed to register two consecutive first downs. These two statements tell what a defensive battle was staged on Massillon Field Saturday afternoon. But it speaks better for Massillon than it does for East for Akron had a veteran backfield while Massillon’s was green.
Three of the backfield men on the Akron team were veterans of last year, and Pokorosky, the captain, is looked upon as the best ball carrier in all six of Akron’s high schools. Thus the Summit county school was considered as having a great offensive team. The quartette looked worthy of the reputation when it lined up and ran off plays rapidly, but the fast charging Massillon line broke up the plays before the ball carrier could get underway and that took the punch out of the Akron offense. Even the highly touted Pokorosky found out at the close of the game that he had lost more yards than he had gained during the afternoon.
With Coach Elmer McGrew’s defense looking the strongest the school has had in three years, encouragement is given to the hope that this year’s football team will become a winner as the season progresses.
The offense, hampered by inexperience and stage fright, should function better as the season advances. Where East had three veterans of last year in the backfield, Coach McGrew did not have a regular backfield man in the game. Schnierle, a letterman, alternated at end and halfback last year, while George Hess was a substitute in 1926. Houriet, was on the squad last fall but only played a few minutes. Kester and Don Hess, the other youths used Saturday are sophomores and last year played at Longfellow and Lorin Andrews junior high schools respectively. With additional experience the backfield should develop on a par with the defense.
Buttermore Stars.
If there was an individual star in the game it was Buttermore who played a combination tackle, guard and end position on the left side of the line. Buttermore repeatedly dived over the line of scrimmage and picked off the runner for a loss of several yards. His 200 pounds could be found anywhere on the ground, under, or near most every play.
The fact that the game was a defensive battle wiped away most of the thrills usually accorded an evenly fought gridiron game, but other features during the day’s play were Kester’s long punts and Morgan’s run of 40 yards before being tackled by Kester on the seven-yard line.
Another noticeable factor of the afternoon was the wonderful condition of both teams for the opening game of the season. Time out was called but once for both sides and the injuries were of such a minor nature that both players resumed play and apparently were not slowed up by the bumps.
The orange and black scored its only first down during the last minute of play, when the quick calling of signals caught the Akron gridders off balance and produced 28 yards on four cracks at the Akron line, the longest run being a 17-yard off tackle dash by Schnierle. This sudden spurt of offense might help the backfield to find itself in the game with Lorain next week.
The aerial game of the local team was somewhat disappointing. Hollwager, who showed fine ability at receiving forward passes in scrimmage sessions last week, evidently was struck with a bad case of stage fright, and dropped one ball that might have resulted in a touchdown for the local team. The youthful tigers on one other occasion at the start of the second half caught the Akron gridders asleep and might have scored a touchdown had the pass to Houriet been more accurate. As it was, the local team failed to complete a single pass in six attempts, one of which was intercepted, while East completed two passes for a gain of 16 yards, four attempts being batted to the ground by Washington high backs.
East lost more ground than the orange and black on penalties, being set back a total of 40 yards while Massillon was penalized but 10 yards. A 15-yard penalty on one occasion spoiled an Akron scoring opportunity.
The game got underway on scheduled time, Capt. Potts winning the toss and electing to receive the ball and defend the south goal. Fontaine kicked to Buttermore who returned from the 33 to the 38-yard line. Schnierle made three yards at left tackle but G. Hess lost four yards when the line failed to hold. Schnierle then got off a beautiful kick that was downed by Massillon on East’s one-yard line. Pokorosky returned the punt to his own 31-yard line. George Hess hit center for three yards, but Schnierle’s pass to Hollwager was high. Houriet got two yards at center and Schnierle’s pass to Hollwager was high. Houriet got two yards at center and Schnierle’s pass to Hollwager was batted down, giving Akron the ball on its own 26-yard line. Ostravich slipped through for a gain of five yards and Fessler picked up two more, but when Ostravich failed to gain on his second attempt, Capt. Pokorosky punted out of danger to Massillon’s 48-yard line, Schnierle returning to the Akron 45-yard line. Houriet fumbled on the first play and Tayman recovered for East. Pokorosky gained two yards and Ostravich made four through the left side of the Massillon line. Pokorosky gained another yard and on the next play punted to Massillon’s 14-yard line. Hollwager dropped Schnierle’s pass, losing a wonderful chance for a long gain and a possible touchdown. Schnierle punted to the Akron 48-yard line. Ostravich gained two yards and Pokorosky another. Fontaine’s pass was batted down by Houriet, and East was penalized five yards for the backfield being in motion on the play. Pokorosky got off a nice kick to the Massillon 16-yard line, Schnierle returning five yards. Houriet made three on an end run and Schnierle got off a poor punt that went out of bounds on his own 43-yard line. Ostravich gained four yards as the quarter came to a close.
Second Quarter
Buttermore tossed Pokorosky for a five-yard loss. East was offside and was penalized five yards. Pokorosky punted to the Massillon five-yard line. Schnierle got off another poor kick, the ball going out of bounds on his own 14-yard line. Fessler made but three yards on two attempts and Morgan gathered in but one yard on an end around play. Pokorosky’s attempted dropkick rolled on the ground and Washington high was given the ball on its own 20-yard line. Kester entered the game and immediately punted to the Akron 40-yard line. Morgan picked up three yards on an end around play but G. Hess tossed Pokorosky for a one-yard loss. A pass Fontaine to Pokorosky brought the first down of the game, the latter being tackled on the Massillon 33-yard line. Fessler picked up two yards through center and Morgan failed to gain on a triple pass. Pokorosky missed his field goal, Massillon being given the ball on the 20-yard line. Schnierle gained one yard in two attempts after which Kester punted to Ostravich in midfield, who fumbled the ball when tackled, Houriet recovering on Akron’s 44-yard line. Houriet gained two yards on a run around right end. Schnierle gained three more but the orange and black was penalized five yards for the backfield being in motion. G. Hess failed to gain and Walker covered Houriet’s fumble on the next play. Fontaine was thrown for a 10-yard loss on an end around play. Pokorosky gained a yard. Pokorosky punted to Schnierle who dropped the ball near the 18-yard line, the latter chasing the ball back to within a yard of his own goal line, where he picked it up while on the run and was tackled back of the goal line giving Akron a safety.
The Massillon team lined up for a free kick on the 20-yard line, Kester booting the ball to Morgan who carried the ball back to the Massillon 18-yard line before being tackled. Ostravich picked up four yards through left tackle, but failed to gain on his second attempt. Morgan made but one yard on an end around play and the half ended with the ball on the orange and black’s 11-yard line.
Third Quarter
Fontaine kicked to Schnierle on the 20-yard line who returned the ball 10 yards before being tackled. An attempted pass to Houriet was out of the latter’s reach, which had he caught might have resulted in a touchdown. Houriet failed to gain, and Kester punted to the Akron 30-yard line, East fumbling and Massillon recovering on the 25-yard line. George Hess made five yards but the orange and black was penalized five yards for being offside. Hess made another five yards, but Schnierle failed to gain. On the fourth down Kester attempted a drop kick which went into the hands of Ostravich who returned to his own 28-yard line. Ostravich made seven yards on a sneak play. Pokorosky picked up another but the East team was penalized 15 yards for not stopping on the (missing text–shift). Pokorosky then missed a field goal by a foot.
Massillon again gained the ball on her own 20-yard line. Schnierle made two yards through left guard. Kester punted to the Akron 48-yard line. Morgan made five yards on a double pass and Ostravich slipped through for the longest run of the game, a 40-yard dash to the Massillon seven-yard line where he was thrown by Kester, safety man. Ostravich lost one yard. Fessler made two yards placing the ball on the six-yard line. Morgan lost a yard and Pokorosky failed to gain, but officials again declared the Akron backs failed to stop on the shift and penalized the team 15 yards. An attempted pass was grounded and the orange and black took the ball on the 22-yard line. Schnierle lost 12 yards on a fumble. Kester punted high to his own 35-yard line as the quarter ended.
Fourth Quarter
Morgan lost five yards on an end run and fumbled, Pokorosky recovering. Ostravich made two yards after which Pokorosky punted to the Massillon 12-yard line. Houriet lost four yards and Kester kicked back and out of bounds in midfield. Shaffer lost a yard on a guard around play. An Akron pass was incomplete and a second pass, Pokorosky to Morgan gained a yard. Pokorosky punted to Massillon’s 10-yard line. Schnierle made three yards and Kester booted the ball out of bounds on Akron’s 37-yard line. Pokorosky gained four yards, Ostravich failed to gain and Fessler picked up two more. Pokorosky kicked to the Massillon 22-yard line. Schnierle and Houriet failed to gain and a pass was grounded. Kester punted to the Akron 45-yard line. Ostravich made three, and Buttermore tossed Pokorosky for a three-yard loss. Morgan was pushed back three more yards and East was penalized five yards. Pokorosky punted to Kester who was downed on the 33-yard line. Kester rammed center for four yards. Schnierle hit through left tackle for 17 yards and Massillon’s first down on East’s 46-yard line. Kester bucked the line for three yards and Schnierle picked up four more as the gun cracked ending the game.
Lineup:
Akron East—2. Pos. Massillon—0.
Fontaine LE Geis
Kinney LT Buttermore
Shaffer LG Mann
Tayman C Lewis
Thomas RG Blatz
Gilbert RT Garland
Morgan RE Hollwager
Pokorosky QB Schnierle
Ostravich HB G. Hess
Fessler HB Houriet
Walker FB D. Hess Score by periods: Akron 0 2 0 0 2
Substitutions – Akron East: Taylor for Gilbert; Massillon: Kester for D. Hess, Goodman for Mann, D. Hess for Houriet.
Safety—Schnierle (tackled by Morgan).
Time of periods—12 minutes. Officials—Referee: Howells (W. Va. Wesleyan); Umpire: Barrett (Westminister); Headlinesman: Jenkins (Akron U.).
WASHINGTON HIGH BOWS TO CANTON Local Gridders Hold Canton Scoreless for Two Periods, Then Weaken to Lose, 13 to 0
Eleven members of Washington high school’s greatly tossed about football team, dug their cleats into the hard wrinkled turn of Lakeside stadium, Canton, Saturday afternoon and showed 7,500 fans how a never die spirit could hold Canton McKinley’s high vaunted grid machine to two touchdowns and a score of 13 to 0.
For 24 minutes those snarling Tigers from Massillon turned back the desperate thrusts of the attacking Bulldog and for 12 minutes they held a decided advantage over their eastern rivals.
But a defensive game is a hard strain on any team and with the opening of the second half, things took a different turn. The orange and black, battered badly in its efforts to stem the Canton attack, failed to come back with its gallant defensive stand and was brushed aside by a powerful red and black offense which swept across the Massillon goal line after five minutes of the third period had expired. In these few minutes of the game, the condition of the two teams was the deciding factor and the McKinley players showed greater endurance than the youthful Tigers.
Two forward passes tossed by Lab, Canton substitute, carried the ball across the muddy part of the gridiron to within striking distance of the Massillon goal and paved the way for a touchdown. Then Canton’s galloping ghost, Sam Hodnick, forgot about his injured nose and began ripping the orange and black line to shreds. He carried the ball to the 12-yard mark for a first down. It appeared as though the youthful Tigers, fighting within the shadow of their own goal posts, would turn back the Canton threat. Three times McKinley backs smashed at the orange and black. Once it held. Then it yielded three yards and then five more. With fourth down coming, the ball on the four-yard line and two yards needed for a first down, Hodnick’s signal was called and the McKinley ace drove this165-pounds through the left side of the line with a force that carried him across the Massillon goal.
It was McKinley’s first touchdown. It took the red and black gridders 29 minutes to do what they should have accomplished in five minutes if comparative scores mean anything. McKinley scored one other touchdown, that coming when only half a minute of the game was left to play and was a direct result of a poor pass from the Massillon center which Leiber recovered on the orange and black’s 13-yard line. Goss and Maurer plunged the pigskin to the youthful Tigers one-yard line for a first down and Maurer went across on the next play. McKinley had one other opportunity to score, the ball being placed in position on the local team’s 37-yard line as a result of a blocked punt recovered by the Canton gridders, but after passes had carried the oval to within 12 yards of the goal, the McKinley quarterback like President Coolidge, did not choose to carry the ball, but elected to pass and the pigskin was grounded behind the orange and black goal line. The way in which Reese Price brought Hodnick to the earth after he had received a pass placing the ball on the 13-yard line, probably had as much to do with stopping the Canton gridders from scoring on that occasion as anything. Hodnick had evaded several tacklers until Price pounced on him, bringing the plunging fullback down with a heavy thud and injuring his nose, which slowed him up considerably for the remainder of the half.
While McKinley scored twice on three of its opportunities, the orange and black failed to even threaten the Canton goal line, The local lads got the ball once on the red and black’s 37-yard line after an exchange of punts, but there the Cantonians braced and forced the youthful Tigers to punt. Play during the greater part of the game was between the 35-yard markers and with the exception when McKinley scored its first touchdown; the ball was seldom advanced into enemy territory except through a poor punt or a break in the game.
The game Saturday was a case of a well oiled, fine functioning football machine pitted against an outfit with an unbeatable, defiant spirit. When the orange and black squad trotted out on the field it could be likened to that famous painting, “The Spirit of Seventy-Six.” Several of the players had slight limps, others possessed injuries that they vainly tried to cover and only a great determination to hold Canton to a low score and preserve Massillon’s high score record, kept them in the game. One player, Dommer, a tackle, tossed away his crutches in order to play Saturday afternoon; another with a torn ear and a heavy bandage over the side of his face, went in and mixed it roughly with the Canton boys, while still another took a chance of being put on crutches for a week or more by playing his first game in five weeks, all because Massillon’s record on the gridiron had to be preserved and such it was. The McKinley team failed to do the thing that it most desired: to set a new high score for a Massillon-Canton game. When the two elevens met five years ago with Massillon being much the stronger team, the Washington high gridders set a record by beating the red and black 24 to 0 and that record still stands as a result of Canton being unable to score more than 13 points Saturday.
At that, granting that McKinley did play a better brand of football than the orange and black Saturday, its game was in reality only one touchdown better than the youthful Tigers. While the teams shared evenly in the breaks, McKinley’s were far more valuable for they came in Massillon territory, one of which contributed to a touchdown. On the other hand the youthful Tigers benefited very little by the breaks they received, practically all coming in their own territory, 50 yards or more from the Canton goal line.
First downs also show that McKinley failed to outplay the youthful Tigers by more than seven points. The red and black made nine first downs to Massillon’s four, but four of the host team’s downs were made on their first touchdown march while the others were scattered throughout the game. McKinley failed to make the required yardage a single time in the second period, while the orange and black negotiated the distance twice. The youthful Tigers had an edge on the red and black that period, outplaying the McKinley gridders. Two more first downs were rolled up by the Massillon aggregation in the fourth quarter, one as a result of a forward pass in the last few seconds of the game and the other on a 15-yard run by “Whitey” Laughlin on a triple pass.
The local eleven never managed to get a pass away until the final period because of the fast charging McKinley linemen. On several occasions Grant was smothered for a loss by a host of tacklers when he was attempting to find a man uncovered to receive a pass. Thus the youthful Tigers were unable to harness the air for gains until after the game was lost. McKinley completed three passes for a gain of 65 yards, while the local gridders made three passes, gaining 35 yards.
The Massillonians lost many yards on poor passes from center. Buttermore played a whale of a defensive game and was a regular bulwark in the center of the line, but after the first quarter he was badly used up by the McKinley players and was unable to bend over sufficiently to pass the ball accurately to the backfield receivers. He was taken from the game shortly after the start of the second half and soon after McKinley scored a touchdown. Whether McKinley would have scored had not Buttermore been injured and taken from the game will never be known but the fact remains that he made it miserable for Canton line smashes when he was playing.
The bad passes from center caused Foster plenty of trouble in getting away his punts. In spite of the fact that the ball was rolled back to him on the ground four times, he had only one kick blocked. These grounders, however, did cut many yards off his punts, as he had to boot the ball hurriedly when surrounded by Canton players, with the result that Kauffman had the edge in the punting for the day though that edge was very slight. Had Foster received as good passes from center as Kauffman, there is every reason to believe that he would have out punted the Canton player by many yards.
His punting held the Cantonians in check during the first half but in the third quarter his kicks failed to travel as far and McKinley gained ground on nearly every exchange. To the fans it appeared at the end of the first half that 1926 history might be repeated and the game result in another scoreless tie. Up to that time, each team had scored but two first downs and neither was able to get anywhere in advancing the ball. Captain Laughlin and Grant had smashed the McKinley line twice for the required distance, while Hodnick, through a forward pass and off tackle dashes, had made McKinley’s yardage.
However, with the opening of the third period McKinley showing greater recuperating power began to mix passes with its running attack. The touchdown march started when the Canton gridders took a Massillon punt in midfield. Hodnick made two yards at right end and Kauffman’s pass fell into unpopulated territory. Lab then heaved the ball to Hodnick for 12 yards, placing the ball on the 36-yard line. With the orange and black on the run, Lab tossed another pass to Farrell for a gain of 13 yards, placing the ball on the orange and black’s 23-yard line. Then Hodnick, forgetting the bump handed him by Price, began a series of plunges. Two drives at the Massillon line brought him a first down on the 13-yard line. Sam then struck to his right for two more. Brinson attempted to carry the ball but was smothered in his tracks, after a gain of two yards. Lab then found an opening and gained four more. With the ball only four yards from the Massillon goal and two yards needed for a first down, Hodnick smashed through Massillon’s right guard for a touchdown. Kauffman kicked the extra point from placement.
Briggs made a neat return of the kickoff, carrying the ball back 25 yards to the 48-yard line before being downed. That was one of two runs that featured the orange and black’s play during the afternoon. The other was Captain Laughlin’s 15-yard dash on a triple pass. Following the touchdown, the ball see-sawed back and forth, with neither team threatening to score until the last minute of the game. Then with the ball on the Massillon 28-yard line, Evans passed the oval over Laughlin’s head, McKinley recovering on the orange and black’s 13-yard line. On the first play, Maurer slashed through the left side of the Massillon line for six yards. Goss then hit the same spot for six more and a first down within half a yard of the goal. Maurer, carried the ball across. L. Miller’s kick was blocked.
A large number of Massillon fans attended the game, although not as many turned out as in former years. There were probably 2,000 or more fans from this city present, including Mrs. Mary Merrell, Massillon’s 87-yard old football fan. Mrs. Merrell attended the game, unaccompanied, via trolley car. If you don’t think she’s a rabid fan, you should have heard her discussing the game on her way to Canton.
The roughness that was a common factor in Canton-Massillon games 10 years back has disappeared. Instead of the customary sight of flying fists between halves, the bands of the two schools staged a drill on the field in front of their respective student bleachers. Everything was orderly Saturday. The sidelines were well guarded and the crowd was kept back of a strong fence so that it could not surge on to the field as it did two years ago. It was as orderly a Canton-Massillon game as has ever been played and credit should be given to the Canton management for making it so.
The game ends the season for the two elevens. In point of victories it has been one of the most successful for McKinley which dropped but one game, an early season 19 to 0 contest to Steubenville. The season, however has been just as disastrous for the orange and black as it has been good for McKinley. The youthful Tigers have won three games, lost five and tied one. In the last three years that Canton and Massillon have met, the McKinley gridders have won two games while last year’s contest ended in a scoreless tie. Lineup and summary: Canton – 13 Pos. Massillon – 0 Farrell LE Fox Miller LT Dommer Samuels LG Henderson Rittersbaugh C Buttermore Zeren RG Mauger Esmont RT Price Barrett RE Straughn Kauffman QB Grant Combs LHB Foster Brinson RHB Briggs Hodnick FB Laughlin
Score by periods: Canton 0 0 7 6 13
Substitutions: Massillon – Evans for Straugh, Shanabrook for Fox, Fox for Shanabrook, Shanabrook for Evans, Evans for Buttermore, Garland for Dommer, Schnierle for Shanabrook.
Canton – Lab for Combs, Jurekovic for Farrell, Farrell for Barrett, Leiber for Zeren, Maurer for Brinson, Goss for Lab, Lab for Kauffman, Beidler for Jurekovic, Fraunfelter for Samuels, Schubach for Esmont, Green for Hodnick, Harbert for Miller, Kelly for Farrell.
Touchdowns – Hodnick, Maurer.
Point after touchdown – Kauffman (placekick).
Officials: Referee – Shafer (Akron). Umpire – Morgan (Youngstown). Head Linesman – Barrett (Sebring).
WASHINGTON HIGH TRAMPLES WARREN Orange and Black Score 12 to 0 Victory Over Trumbull County Gridders Saturday
Football gridders of Washington high school unraveled a supposed tightly tied knot of defeat Saturday afternoon and brought forth a 12 to 0 victory over Warren high in a fast game in the Trumbull county seat.
The sun was rapidly setting in the west, casting deep shadows over the field, announcing the approach of evening, when the final whistle blew, ending the contest, a victory for Massillon.
To the 2,000 or more fans who filled the narrow Warren bleachers or stood along the sidelines, it seemed as though the game would never end. The fourth period was a long drawn out affair. Warren only came close to scoring in the entire contest and this threat was turned back by the youthful Tigers. The last 12 minutes of the game, however, certainly seemed like 25 minutes to the fans who began shivering when the strong rays of the sun passed below the horizon.
It was a great showing put up Saturday by the youthful Tigers, who probably played their beat game of the season and at that showed little more than straight football since Canton McKinley’s assistant coach was perched at an advantageous spot in the stands where he could scout the Massillon team.
The local team had a better offensive attack than Warren, showed a little better defense and secured nearly every break of the game. In fact the local school was so favored by the breaks that it recovered within the 20-yard line, but the Warren gridders were equal on these two occasions and held the Massillon threat on the two and three yard lines, respectively.
Warren, however, was by no means a setup for the Massillon team. The host team showed a speedy backfield that could run the ends with ability. The Trumbull county gridders evidently have been scouting the orange and black and had seen the poor showing of the Massillon ends in games earlier in the season. However, the red and white’s sweeping runs around the flanks often resulted in large losses, as the Massillon ends dumped the interference and the secondary defense smothered the ball carrier. Warren was able to do little through the center of the Massillon line. Buttermore, the rolly polly boy holding down that position as a result of the ineligibility of Evans and Pott’s injury, played a whale of a game. He clearly demonstrated to the Warren center that it takes two men and a derrick to hoist him out of a play when it’s coming through the bulls-eye of the line. But Buttermore did not distinguish himself any better than the other 10 wearers of orange and black Saturday, for all played a nip and tuck game. Captain Laughlin bore the brunt of the attack and ripped the Warren line to shreds. He brought a moan out of the Warren rooters’ throats when he intercepted a pass on his own 35-yard line and nearly got away for a touchdown. And the Warren fans had reasons to moan for it was “Whitey” who snagged two Warren passes out of the air two years ago within the 20-yard line and made long runs, one of which resulted in a touchdown.
The lateral pass was used consistently against the Massillon gridders for the first time this season, but never failed to gain more than a few yards and often resulted in losses. The orange and black pulled several tricks out of its bag, one of which worked successfully and resulted in a nice gain.
However, the youthful Tigers played nothing but straight football during most of the game.
Warren might have kept the local eleven from scoring had it had a better punter. Pohto, who did the booting the greater part of the time, had a habit of getting off miserable kicks when standing near his own goal line. This assisted the youthful Tigers considerably in scoring their touchdowns.
Massillon’s first touchdown came in the first minute of the second quarter. Getting the ball on their own 30-yard line on a punt, the local eleven made a determined drive toward the Warren goal line. Laughlin made three yards and Briggs got away for a gain of six. Massillon was penalized five yards for being offside. Laughlin then tore through for five more and on the next play carried the ball to Warren’s 18-yard line. In three more attempts Captain Laughlin had pushed the pigskin to the seven-yard line for another first down. Here the quarter ended and the teams exchanged goals. Briggs made a yard with the opening of the second period. Laughlin made two more. With the ball on the three-yard line, “Whitey” put all his weight behind a plunge that made the red and while line wilt and the Massillon captain was across for the first score of the game. He attempted to buck the ball over for the extra point but failed.
The second touchdown came in the last period. The drive started when Photo’s punt dropped on the 28-yard line. The orange and black had previously carried the ball to the three-yard line where it was surrendered on downs to the Trumbull county gridders. Pohto was hurried with his kick by the Massillon ends and was lucky to boot the ball as far as the 28-yard marker. On the first play, Briggs made nine yards on a triple pass. Laughlin then went through for a yard making a first down on the 18-yard line. Grant made four yards and Schnierle hit left tackle for three more. Laughlin could gain but a yard. With fourth down coming and two yards needed for a first down, Grant heaved a short pass to Briggs that placed the ball on the eight-yard line. Schnierle made a yard and Briggs stepped along the sidelines on the next play not stopping until the goal line was behind him. His attempted drop kick for the extra point was short.
On several other occasions the local team was in scoring position, but lacked the punch to push the pigskin across. Had the youthful Tigers shown a determined touchdown punch they might have run up a score of 24 to 0 on the Trumbull county gridders, but as it was, they lost the ball on the three, four and five-yard line and two other times within the 22-yard line. The nearest Warren got to the Massillon goal was the 16-yard line where the local eleven braced and held for downs. This position of the Warren gridders was attained largely through the brilliant running of Pohto, chunky halfback.
In first downs, the youthful Tigers also excelled the red and white, making the required 10 yards on 14 occasions, while Warren negotiated the distance but six times. The youthful Tigers were penalized 30 yards and Warren 35 yards.
While the orange and black secured nearly all the breaks of the game, yet none of the breaks were directly responsible for touchdowns. Pohto’s two worst punts went out of bounds with the 12-yard line, but on neither of these occasions did the local team muster sufficient strength to score. However, the poor punts did aid materially for they kept the ball deep in Warren territory when play might have been in midfield had Warren had a punter the equal of Earl Foster, who got off a number of nice kicks during the afternoon.
While there was not the Massillon crowd in the stands that attended the last two games played in the Trumbull county seat, a large number of orange and black rooters did attend. No estimate could be made of the size of the Massillon delegation however, since they were scattered among Warren fans.
The defeat was the third for Warren this season, the easterners having previously dropped games to Youngstown South and Rayen high schools. It was the sixth consecutive triumph for a Massillon team over Warren high school.
The lineup and summary: Massillon – 12 Pos. Warren – 0 Fox LE Puegner Garland LT Pardee Henderson LG Baltzly Buttermore C Lea Mauger RG Mills Anthony RT Yeager Straughn RE Reed Grant QB Boyd Foster LHB Pohto Briggs RHB De Santis Laughlin FB Lattimer
Score by periods: Massillon 0 6 0 6 12
Substitutions: Massillon – Fisher for Garland, Shanabrook for Fox, Schnierle for Foster, Hourriet for Briggs, Minger for Fisher, Mann for Minger.
Warren – Dann for Pardee, Dirk for Mills, Allen for Yeager, Lodge for Pohto, Campbell for Lattimer, Horner for De Santis, De Santis for Horner.
WASHINGTON HIGH WINS SECOND TILT Beats New Philadelphia 13 to 7 Here Saturday; Local Team Scores touchdown With Second to Go
Washington high school chalked up its second victory of the season, Saturday afternoon when it defeated the red and black of New Philadelphia, 13 to 7 on Massillon Field.
The game was marked by few thrills and was not a typical Massillon-New Philadelphia game. The strong rivalry that usually displays itself when the two teams battle was lacking Saturday afternoon, and New Philadelphia fans strongly accused their team for not displaying the proper amount of fighting spirit.
The orange and black showed little football Saturday afternoon in an offensive way. The only time the Massillon gladiators showed any punch was when their captain, “Whitey” Laughlin got into the game. “Whitey” played about eight minutes Saturday and during that time the youthful Tigers chalked up their two touchdowns.
With a secondary backfield starting for Massillon and New Philadelphia lacking sufficient drive to gain much ground through the heavier orange and black line, neither team threatened to score until late in the second period.
The drive for a touchdown was started when Briggs took Kobelt’s punt on the New Philadelphia 48-yard line. On the next play he made three yards, while Grant went through right tackle for eight more and a first down on the visitor’s 37-yard line. With less than a minute remaining in the half, the local team began a forward passing attack. Grant tossed a four-yard pass to Laughlin and on the next play tossed another to Foster for a first down on the red and black’s 22-yard line. A pass from Grant to Briggs was good for 22 yards and brought a touchdown. Only one second remained in the half when the play was started. Laughlin carried the ball through left tackle for the extra point.
The second Massillon touchdown came early in the fourth quarter. With the ball on the Massillon 41-yard line, Fox circled right end on an end around play for a gain of 20 yards, but the ball was called back and the locals penalized 15 yards on a Massillon foul. Laughlin ripped off five on the next play and Evans then duplicated Fox’s stunt by circling left end behind good interference for 25 yards and a first down. Grant made five yards and Laughlin four more. Laughlin then found an opening and raced to the 28-yard line before he was tackled. Briggs made six yards on two plays and Laughlin made three more. Laughlin then plowed through for eight yards and a first down on “Philly’s” 12-yard line. Briggs made five yards and Laughlin four more, placing the ball three yards from the red and black’s goal. Laughlin made two yards on the next play and it was first down and goal with only a yard to go. “Whitey” plunged across. An attempted pass for the extra point was grounded.
A flock of substitutions followed the second Massillon touchdown and “Philly” found it comparatively easy to gain ground against the less experienced orange and black team. It was against these players that the visitors scored their touchdown in the last two and one-half minutes of the game. Getting the ball on their own 40-yard line, the red and black gridders began a passing attack. The first was completed for eight yards and the second brought a gain of 25-yards. From all appearances the second pass should not have been allowed for the receiver was not the first New Philadelphia man to touch the ball. The pass, however, was declared complete and a 15-yard penalty inflicted on the youthful Tigers gave “Philly” the ball on the 12-yard line. Four plays netted first down and Witmer went across for a touchdown from the one-foot line in two plays. Olmstead drop-kicked the extra point across.
The orange and black excelled in number of first downs, making the required yardage 12 times to “Philly’s” nine. The youthful Tigers completed four out of seven passes for a gain of 37 yards, while New Philadelphia gained 31 yard by the aerial game. Massillon was penalized 65 yards and the r4ed and black 70 yards.
Several hundred rooters attended the game from the Tuscarawas county seat. The team was accompanied by the school’s 55-piece uniform band which paraded the gridiron between halves. The Massillon school band also staged a drill, forming a large “M” in front of the student section.
New Philadelphia has failed to make much of a showing on the gridiron yet this year. The red and black has yet to win a game and has been defeated by two secondary teams.
However ,it is hopeful of taking Dover high into camp in the big game of the year, Thanksgiving Day. Lineup and Summary: Massillon – 13 Pos. New Philadelphia – 7 Fox LE Noble Geis LT Carey Henderson LG Fish Buttermore C Alexander Mauger RG Wheatley Anthony RT Knauss Shanabrook RE Shaffer Grant QB Olmstead Foster LHB Jenkins Schnierle RHB Ankney Andrews FB Kobelt
Score by periods: Massillon 0 7 0 6 13 New Philadelphia 0 0 0 7 7
Substitutions: Massillon – Fisher for Geis, Evans for Shanabrook, Garland for Anthony, Laughlin for Andrews, Briggs for Schnierle, Swaford for Laughlin, Andrews for Swaford, Laughlin for Andrews, Schnierle for Laughlin, Harris for Evans, Malone for Fox, Appleby for Fisher, Mann for Garland, Hourriet for Briggs, Straughn for Malone, Anthony for Appleby.
New Philadelphia – Airhart for Carey, Carey for Airhart, Witmer for Kobelt, Tinker for Carey.
Touchdowns – Briggs, Laughlin, Witmer.
Points after touchdown – Laughlin (carried), Olmstead (Drop kick).
Officials: Referee – Lobach (F. & M.). Umpire – Connors (Bates). Head Linesman – Kirk (O.W.U.).
ALLIANCE DOWNS WASHINGTON HIGH Uncorks Powerful Deceptive Offense in Second Half to Beat Orange and Black 13 – 0
Fighting with blood in their eyes, the orange and black of Washington high school made a gallant but vain attempt to show the Massillon public Saturday afternoon it could beat Alliance and went down to a 13 to 0 defeat in the second half of the game under a powerful and deceptive Alliance offense.
The team fought as it never fought before this season, and might have accomplished its purpose had not injures wrecked the backbone of the squad at crucial moments when it was apparent that the team was marching to victory. Had not Laughlin been injured in the first quarter when the local team lost the ball on downs on the Alliance 12-yard line, the game might have had a different ending.
Although “Whitey” continued in the game, the injury sapped his strength and his knee gave way when he failed by a yard to make a first down on Alliance’s 12-yard line. On the visitor’s return punt, “Whitey’s” knee again gave way and he had to be taken from the game. With Laughlin out of the game, the local team had little to show in an offensive way. Injuries also wrecked the line in the last two periods of play which helped the visitors no little in pushing across their two touchdowns.
The fighting spirit of the team Saturday won favor with the fans even though the youthful Tigers were defeated. The players were out to vindicate themselves after an idle week of practice and three weeks of steady criticism. They had signed a statement three days before to stand by their coach and their only end Saturday was to go in and fight for him, something they failed to at any other time this year. The boos and hisses which accompanied misplays on other days were not heard Saturday. Words of encouragement took their place for those in the stands could see that the team was not laying down but was making every effort to win and that is what the citizens of Massillon have been clamoring for since the second game of the year – a fighting team.
Yes, it was evident to all that the players were using the best of their football knowledge Saturday, but that was not of a high caliber. Their attack was not deceptive and the team itself was in poor condition, as the number of injuries plainly show. A week’s idleness may have been partly responsible for the battered condition of the Massillon squad and again may have had nothing to do with it. Nevertheless it looked pitiful to see five players on the bench from injuries. Captain Laughlin was taken to the city hospital where his injured hip was treated Saturday night. However, he was removed from the institution later in the evening and was able to get about Sunday.
In tackling Alliance Saturday, the youthful Tigers bumped into the strongest opposition of the year. The eastern county gridders are large and rangy, have a very deceptive attack, are hard as nails, and team nicely together. When Coach Wilcoxen ordered his men out to practice at the start of the season, he found he had but two lettermen in the pack and that nine vacancies had to be filled. This he completed in short order and the team opened the season by playing two tie games with Akron Central and Warren. At this time in the year, however, the green players have become seasoned veterans and from all indications the team as yet does not realize its strength, it may wind up the season without a defeat. At least it has that possibility before it.
The victory Alliance registered over Washington high Saturday was the first since 1921 when a badly battered wrecked Washington high team was given a trouncing on Mt. Union field.
Alliance made but one substitution during the entire game and with one or two exceptions the team appeared in as good a shape at the end of the 48 minutes of playing as at the start of the battle.
The local team had but one good scoring opportunity and that was in the first period. Alliance started off with a rush and worked the pigskin to the Massillon 21-yard line where an incomplete pass on the fourth down gave the locals the ball. Then the best offensive punch of the day was shown by the youthful Tigers. On a series of line plays and end runs, the team carried the ball to the Alliance 19-yard line, where a group of visiting players bent Laughlin into the shape of a crooked banana and “Whitey” slumped on the ground with a painful injury to his right knee. The spirit of the Massillon captain, however, kept him in the game and when he should have been carrying the ball, were it not for the injury, he was content with forming interference for Grant and Briggs. On the fourth down, however he was given the pigskin with four yards to go for a first down. He made three of the yards and would have made the required distance had not his knee buckled throwing him a yard short of a first down and a possible touchdown. It was the only real scoring opportunity for the orange and black and the youthful gridders appeared disheartened as their captain was taken from the field on the next play with his leg again injured. Injuries to players who make up the backbone strength of the team kept the playing eleven continually weakened and a little less confident than it otherwise would have been. Dommer, Potts and Straughn were all forced from the contest, which made it necessary for Coach Atkinson to shift tackles to ends and a guard to center in an effort to strengthen his line where most necessary.
Although this is not meant to detract from the fine showing of the visitors, Alliance’s two touchdowns were scored under such conditions.
The red and white scored its first touchdown near the middle of the third period. Taking the ball on their own 40-yard line, the visitors used a deceptive open formation that carried the ball to the Massillon 34-yard line. Here a sneak play was worked successfully with the ball snapped back when the backfield appeared in an argument and Grimes was not downed until he had reached the Massillon 15-yard line. On the next play Massillon was penalized half the distance to the goal line, giving Alliance the ball on the 7y yard line, with four chances to put it over.
Grimes, however, carried the ball across in two crashes at the center of the line and the Alliance rooters seeing the first victory in seven years over Massillon in sight, went wild with joy. Raber kicked the extra point from placement.
The visitors brought their score to 13 points in the fourth period, after a steady march of 46 yards down the field. Passes figured largely in advancing the ball, one being completed for a gain of 20 yards and another for a gain of nine yards. Dickens carried the ball across from the one-yard line. Raber’s attempted placekick went wild. Shortly afterwards Trump, Alliance halfback, took a Massillon punt in midfield and crossed the goal line after a pretty run along the side of the field. However, the touchdown was not allowed, the umpire ruling he stepped out of bounds on the 24-yard line. From this point the visitors began another hammering attack on the Massillon line and had the ball on the two-yard line with two chances to put it over when the whistle blew ending the game.
A large crowd turned out to see the first game of the county series, approximately 3,000 fans finding places in the stands, a thousand or more coming from Alliance.
The visitors were far superior to the orange and black in the number of first downs scored. Massillon made the yardage seven times, five times in the first quarter and twice in the third period, but Alliance made first downs on 15 occasions, nine coming in the last two periods. Massillon completed three passes for a gain of 23 yards; had nine incomplete and two intercepted. Alliance completed five passes in nine attempts for a gain of 85 yards. Three were batted down by Massillon backs while one was intercepted. The local team was penalized 40 yards and Alliance 45 yards.
The high school students showed a much better spirit Saturday than in any of the other games this year. The cheering was far better than at any other time. The band too showed a little more ginger by getting out on the field and drilling between halves. It looked as though the spirit of the students had come back to what it used to be. Lineup and summary: Alliance – 13 Pos. Massillon – 0 Daly LE Straughn Kunkle LT Fox Miller LG Henderson Dixon C Potts Speidel RG Mauger Hammontree RT Dommer Raber RE Shanabrook Keefe QB Grant Dicken LHB Schnierle Trump RHB Briggs Grimes FB Laughlin
Score by periods: Alliance 0 0 7 6 – 13
Substitutions: Alliance – Nagy for Millre.
Massillon – Foster for Laughlin, Gise for Straughn, Laughlin for Schnierle, Straughn for Gise, Gise for Fox, Anthony for Shanabrook, Fox for Straughn, Buttermore for Potts, Baltzly for Buttermore, Schnierle for Dommer, Garland for Fox, Fisher for Gise, Swaford for Laughlin.
SOUTH DRUBS HIGH GRIDDERS 20 TO 0 Orange and Black, Showing Lack of Proper Training, Proves Easy for Old Rival in Slow Contest Here
Washington high school’s football team, after putting up a fairly good game of football the greater part of the first half, Saturday, went to pieces in the last two quarters and was decisively beaten 20 to 0, by the fighting Corsairs of Akron South high school.
The Massillon team began to slip about the middle of the second period and from then on the South backs ripped the line to pieces while the Massillon offense failed to retaliate.
Contrary to other games played this year, it was the poor defensive game put up by the Massillon eleven that brought about South’s victory.
The defense was poor from the very start and only braced in the last period of the game when it turned back the thrusts of the Akron backs on the one-foot line, thus thwarting the enlarging of the score to 26 points or a possible 27. The orange and black offense got off to a good start and ripped the Akron line to pieces, carrying the ball from its own 20-yard line to Akron’s 30-yard line before losing the pigskin on downs. Then again in the second period the local team smashed its way from its 20-yard line to Akron’s 15-yard line where the visitors braced and held for downs. Turned back twice in its efforts to score, the local gridders appeared to lose heart, while the Akronites gained in confidence, strengthened their defense and kept the local team out of scoring distance the remainder of the game.
The South gridders tallied 10 first downs to Massillon’s eight during the first half and then made the required yardage nine more times in the last two periods, while the local gridders failed to make a first down.
Akron’s first touchdown came shortly after the start of the second quarter, Hedderly going across after a 20-yard run and a march of 40 yards down the field. Grahame caught the local team napping by carrying the ball across for the extra point instead of kicking.
The second set of points made by Akron was the result of a break. With the locals in possession of the ball on their own 35-yard line, a fumble occurred in the Massillon backfield when the ball was snapped back and Geisinger, Akron end, scooped up the oval and raced for a touchdown. A pass, Grahame to Winkleman was completed after being bounced around between three players and brought Akron’s score to 14 points. The last touchdown was made in the final period, penalties being greatly responsible. Akron was continually playing in Massillon territory the second half and shortly after the start of the fourth quarter worked the ball to the five-yard line where the local team held for downs. Briggs punted the ball back to the 25-yard line, Grahame returning five yards. Captain Laughlin declared Grahame stepped out of bounds but Umpire Barrett could not see it so where upon Whitey’s language became strong and the local team was penalized. This enraged the Massillon captain so that he used his fists on the umpire and the referee again began stepping off the yards, stopping at the one-yard line. Here South had difficulty in shoving the ball across. Massillon was offside on the very first play and the referee moved the ball up to within a foot of the goal line. Hedderly then plunged across with the ball after three attempts. In the final minutes of the game South again carried the ball to the one-yard line where it lost it on downs.
South’s opportunities to score were many, while Massillon had but one good chance. The local team had the ball on very few occasions in the last half, and failed to make any progress when it did try to carry the pigskin.
Akron surprised fans with a powerful offense. Heretofore this department of the team failed to respond for Coach Weltner, but Hedderly and Sauer had their day Saturday and the orange and black tacklers had difficulty in stopping them.
Unless the local team braces and plays better football than it has to date, Canton is going to have easy sailing on November 19, for the McKinley gridders took over South 33 to 0 a week ago and Saturday beat Youngstown Rayen 19 to 0.
Massillon was hurt by penalties, being set back 40 yards, but South suffered even worse, being penalized a total of 50 yards. Lineup and summary: Akron South – 20 Pos. Massillon – 0 Klipstein LE Straughn Robinson LT Fox Piry LG Mauger Bowers C Potts Harty RG Henderson Smith RT Anthony Winkleman RE Evans Grahame QB Grant Shepparde LHB Garland Sauer RHB Briggs Hedderly FB Laughlin
Score by periods: Akron 0 7 7 6 20
Substitutions: Massillon – Dommer for Fox, Andrews for Garland, Buttermore for Potts, Potts for Buttermore, Fox for Anthony, Price for Dommer, Anthony for Price, Baltzly for Mauger, Mauger for Baltzly, Shanabrook for Evans, Evans for Henderson.
Akron – Geisinger for Klipstein, Klipstein for Geisinger, Roeger for Smith, Schill for Sauer.
Touchdown – Hedderly 2, Geisinger.
Point after touchdown – Grahamme (carried), Winkleman (forward pass).
HIGH GRIDDERS TRIM WOOSTER 12 TO 6 FOR SEASON’S FIRST WIN
A well directed offense in the second period, Saturday afternoon, brought the season’s first gridiron victory for the orange and black of Washington high school, when the South Mill street institution, with difficulty, succeeded in bowling over the fighting purple warriors from Wooster high, 12 to 6 on Massillon Field.
Though the youthful Tigers won, there is little glory in the victory, for the same Wooster team was trampled upon earlier in the season by Canton McKinley, 46 to 0. In fact many Wooster fans expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the game and even though their team was on the short side of the score, considered the result a moral victory for Wooster.
And such it probably was, for the fighting purple squad not only held the Massillon team to a pair of touchdowns, but crossed the orange and black goal line once, registered 11 first downs to Massillon’s eight and decisively outplayed and outfought the youthful Tigers in the last half of the game.
True the local team was hampered somewhat with injuries, Briggs, Dommer and Schnierle being out of the game. Yet, these injuries should not have kept Massillon high from being at least four touchdowns better than their Wooster rivals. However, it must be said in fairness to the orange and black’s defense that several of Wooster’s first downs were made as a result of penalties inflicted on the Massillon team.
The Massillon crew showed its most powerful drive near the middle of the second quarter which resulted in the scoring of two touchdowns. Getting a punt on the Wooster 41-yard line the youthful Tigers started a drive that did not end until Grant carried the ball across from the two-yard line. It all happened this way. Wooster punted to Foster who was downed in his tracks on the visiting team’s 41-yard line. Grant lost a few yards, but on the next play, Foster tossed a pass that was knocked down by a Wooster player into the arms of Shanabrook. Massillon end, who scampered several yards before being tackled. The play was good for 16 yards and brought a first down on Wooster’s 27-yard line. Laughlin rammed through for five yards and Grant dashed off left tackle on the next play for a gain of 20 yards, placing the ball on Wooster’s two-yard line. Andres failed to gain and Laughlin failed to move the ball any closer to the goal. On the next play, however, Grant bucked his way through left tackle for the first points of the game. The kick was missed.
The second touchdown for Massillon came shortly afterwards and was the direct result of a forward pass and a pretty run for 40 yards for a touchdown by Captain Laughlin. Foster tossed the pass to Laughlin.
Fans expected to be treated to another offensive drive by the orange and black in the second half, but it did not come. Instead, however, Wooster began hammering the Massillon line and tossing passes, to score a touchdown early in the last period, W. Franks carrying the ball across. The visitors; chance came as a result of the recovery of a blocked Massillon punt on the local team’s 19-yard line, by Ralph Rutter, a former Massillon boy. Three plays netted nine yards for Wooster and on the fourth play, Franks bucked his way through the Massillon line for three yards and a first down on the seven-yard line. In two cracks at the Massillon line the same diminutive Wooster player carried the pigskin across for his team’s only points.
In winning Saturday the local team showed a greatly improved aerial attack, completing six passes out of 12 attempts for a total gain of 99 yards. Five of the passes were incomplete and one intercepted. Wooster completed three passes for a gain of 18 yards. Two of the visitors’ overhead attempts to gain were not complete and one was intercepted.
Massillon was set back 35 yards in penalties and Wooster five yards.
The game Saturday brought out several facts, chief of which was the lack of spirit displayed by the Massillon team, on the bench as well as on the field. The team does not have the pepper, snap and spirit of confidence and alertness that will give it the jump on its opponents and cause its members to fight to the last notch and give every ounce of its efforts to keep pushing ahead. Either the members of the team are not of a fighting nature or else the spirit of battle has not been instilled into them. The same lack of sprit was shown on the bench Saturday afternoon. In the second half of the game, two orange and black players were pulled from the conflict when they weakened under the strain of the battle. Tired and perspiring freely so that their jerseys and moleskins were wet with perspiration, they made their way to the bench and took their places beside fellow players. A gentle breeze was blowing across the field, making an excellent condition for the two benched players to catch a bold and yet in spite of the fact that plenty of blankets were about and in the hands of other players on the bench, neither of the lads were offered any cover for several minutes and during that time no one made it his duty to see that the tired youths were provided with wraps to protect them from the weather.
Another factor was again demonstrated Saturday and that is that the local team lacks the last and greatest team lacks the last and greatest punch to push cross a touchdown. Had the orange and black had this final punch, the score Saturday might have been larger, for the youthful Tigers on several occasions had the ball within the 20 and 30-yard zones but lacked the drive to push it across. This same factor was demonstrated in the Akron East and Lorain games and appears to be the result of poor interference accorded the ball carrier. Either the backfield forgets the art of giving interference when facing opposition, cannot learn, or has not been properly instructed in this department of the game. The fact remains, there was certainly little interference accorded a runner Saturday afternoon or in any of the other games this year.
In Donald Grant, Coach John Atkinson has uncovered a quarterback who runs the team in good style, using a varied attack continually to bewilder his opponents, Grant also made several nice gains Saturday.
The management of Washington high sprung a surprise on the fans Saturday afternoon by placing markers designating the difference yard zones. It makes it much easier for the fans in the bleachers to tell where the ball is in play with the yard lines marked. The lineup and summary: Massillon – 12 Pos. Wooster –6 Straughn LE Gerig Fox LT Bridenstine Henderson LG R. Franks Potts C Conrad Mauger RG Cappola Price RT Gelewicks Shanabrook RE Ports Grant QB W. Franks Foster LHB Dalby Bickle RHB Rutter Laughlin FB Shelly
Substitutions: Massillon – Anthony for Price, Andrews for Bickle, Wofle for Laughlin, Price for Anthony, Laughlin for Wolfe, Evans for Shanabrook, Anthony for Price, Shanabrook for Straughn.
Wooster – Stehlhorn for Rutter, Rutter for Stehlhorn, Strock for Franks.
LORAIN HANDS WASHINGTON HIGH 12 – 0 TRIMMING POOR OFFENSE ROBS MASSILLON OF ANY CHANCE OF WINNING
Lacking a smooth working or well directed offense, without which no football team can go very far, Washington high’s gridiron aggregation took a 12 to 0 pasting from Lorain high’s stocky eleven in last Saturday afternoon’s torrid tussle on Massillon Field, the first scholastic grid combat to be staged here this fall. Shoving over touchdowns in the first and fourth quarters Lorain piled up enough points to win its first scholastic battle with a Massillon team and displayed a clean cut superiority over the orange and black throughout most of the contest.
Massillon lost because it lacked a consistent attack. Its offense lacked punch and only once was the Massillon outfit able to work the ball inside Lorain’s 20-yard line. However, the orange and black several times was within scoring distance but twice lost chances for touchdowns because its aerial attack failed to function and its other chances went glimmering when the Lorain defense was too tough to crack.
The defense work of the line was the only bright spot in Massillon’s performance. Playing under a boiling sun, that brought mid summer temperatures, the orange and black forward wall for three quarters stood off the crushing line plunges of the heavy Lorain backs. But the pace was too much for the local boys and they cracked early in the fourth quarter when the visitors began a steady line hammering attack that carried the ball 40 yards down the field and across the Massillon goal line for their second set of counters.
Lorain, however, put the game on ice early in the first quarter. The fans had hardly become settled in their seats before the visitors had scored a touchdown. It took three minutes to do it and a brilliant 45-yard dash by Kissel, Lorain halfback, paved the way for the points. Massillon received and punted. Mauger stopped Ujhelyi, the Lorain quarterback, on Lorain’s 48-yard line.
On the first play Kissel tucked the ball under his arm and with splendid interference circled Massillon’s left end and dashed down the field as his teammates boxed in or spilled the Massillon secondary defense. Seven yards from the Massillon goal he was pulled to earth by Captain Laughlin and tackle Fox. But Lorain was not to be stopped within sight of Massillon’s goal. Wolfe, Lorain’s giant fullback, smashed through the Massillon line on the second play and planted the ball back of the goal line. Ujhelyi missed a place kick for the extra point.
With their backs to the wall the orange and black tried desperately to even up the score but Lorain’s defense was too tough. The local team confined itself almost entirely to line bucking plays in the first quarter. It gained some ground but could not dent the Lorain forward wall when in scoring precincts.
Near the close of the period Wolfe pulled his team out of a hole when he grabbed a Massillon forward on his 20-yard line and raced the ball back 19 yards before being forced out of bounds.
Massillon’s best chance of scoring came in the second quarter but the chance was lost when its aerial attack failed to materialize. Foster returned one of Wolfe’s punts to Lorain’s 20-yard line. Briggs flipped a pass to Shanabrook for 18 yards and the ball was on the visitor’s 21-yard mark. Then Briggs tried to pass to Straughn but it went over the Massillon end’s head when he turned and stopped to see where the ball was. Had Straughn pulled the pass out of the air he might have gone over for a touchdown.
A few minutes later Briggs covered a fumble on Lorain’s 34-yard line. Once again he attempted a pass to Straughn and again the ball went over Straughn’s head with a clear field ahead.
The third quarter was played largely in midfield. Massillon might have gained ground on end runs with proper interference, but only a few were tried. Most of them, however, produced some yardage.
It was at the start of the fourth quarter that Lorain showed its best punch of the day. The Massillon line, however, by this time was beginning to feel the effects of its battering and the heat. Ujhelyi intercepted a Massillon pass on Massillon’s 40-yard line as the quarter opened. He went through for 20 yards before being downed by Dommer. Three plunges gave Lorain a first down, putting the ball on the 25-yard line. With another first down in sight Lorain was penalized 15 for holding but it made up the penalty and gained enough ground for a first down when Ujhelyi tossed a pass to Kissel for 17 yards, taking the ball to the 14-yard line. Uhhelyi and Wolfe toted the leather to the one-yard line in three plunges. Ujhelyi plunged into the line again. He was stopped a half yard from his goal but on the next play he went over. He again missed a place kick for the additional point.
With the forward pass left as its only hope for overcoming the Lorain lead in the closing minutes of play, Massillon began to toss passes in a desperate fashion but only one out of 10 attempts in the final period worked and the game ended with Lorain in possession of the long end of the count.
Up until the fourth quarter the ground gaining ability of the two teams was about equal. But in the final period Lorain ripped off five first downs and had Massillon shaded 10 to six when the game ended. Massillon tried the air game a lot in an effort to gain but got nowhere with it.
The orange and black attempted 19 passes, but only two were completed, one in the second quarter for 18 yards and the other in the fourth for 10. Two were intercepted by Lorain. The visitors did not depend a great deal on passes for their gains. They attempted but four, working only one for 17 yards. Massillon intercepted one. Lineup and summary: Massillon – 0 Pos. Lorain – 12 Straughn LE Stevenson Fox LT Crehore Henderson LG Armstrong Potts C Glorioso Mauger RG Traub Anthony RT Towner Shanabrook RE Delcey Briggs QB Ujhelyi Foster LHB Kissel Grant RHB Burge Laughlin FB Wolfe
Score by quarters: Lorain 6 0 0 6 12
Substitutions: Massillon – Dommer for Fox, Schnerlie for Straughn, Nichols for Briggs, Fox for Dommer, Dommer for Anthony, Straughn for Schnerlie, Briggs for Nichols, Evans for Fox, Garland for Henderson, Schnerlie for Dommer.
Lorain – Fitzgerald forTowner, Shade for Burge, Towner for Fitzgerald, Burge for Shade.
Touchdowns – Wolfe, Uhhelyi
Offiicals: Referee – Maurer (Wooster). Umpire – Lobach (F. & M.). Head Linesman – Jenkins (Akron).
WASHINGTON HIGH GRIDDERS TIE AKRON EAST 6 T0 6 STIRRING RALLY IN SECOND HALF SHOWS TEAM HAS STRENGTH
A gallant-little band of grid warriors of Washington high school withstood the thrusts of a powerful Akron East team, and earned a well deserved 6 to 6 tie in a rather slow game on Sieberling Field, Akron, Saturday afternoon.
Outplayed in the first half and trailing 6 to 0, the youthful Tigers lashed back with a determined attack in the third quarter, and swept the surprised Akron gridders off their feet until they reached the 10-yard zone where the rubber city crew rallied sufficiently to turn back the onslaught of the Massillon backs led by Captain Laughlin.
But the local gridders undaunted by their failure to cross the goal line, made two more attempts to tie the score, pushing the ball across on the final opportunity just as the gun ended the period.
It was a rejuvenated Massillon team that entered that second half. Battered badly during the latter part of the first and most of the second quarter, and outscored four to one on first downs, Captain Laughlin led his warriors into a terrific attack that not only tied the score but piled up a total of eight first downs to Akron’s two for the third and fourth periods of play. Reading the running story of the game as it was taken down, play by play, it is easily seen that Massillon outplayed Akron more decisively in the last half than the rubber city crew did the locals in the first and second periods.
Akron was making a final attempt to win the game when the gun cracked, ending the contest on the 16-yard line, the ball being placed in that position through a 20-yard pass, the only one completed during the day, and several line plunges. It was third down and nine to go when the referee’s signal sounded. Those two first downs were the only ones East could make in the last half of the battle. The orange and black had the ball practically all the time during the third period, and the greater part of the fourth and it was not until the last few minutes in the final quarter that East could again get its offense working.
Keeney, Akron’s four-year quarterback, and Earl Foster, Washington high halfback, made the only sensational runs of the day. Kenney’s was good for a touchdown and the stocky signal barker stepped 28 yards behind perfect interference for his team’s only points. Foster’s run came at the end of the second period and was the only flash of offense the local team showed during the entire first half. The small halfback, on a quarterback sneak, stepped 20 yards through the secondary defense, placing the ball in the middle of the field just as the half ended. That run undoubtedly put confidence in the Massillon crew for the determined drive in the following quarters. At least it proved that the Akron defense was not impregnable, and could be battered down with a little more exertion.
Although the game was slow, with few exciting moments, it was well played considering it was the opener of the season for both teams. There were few injuries and few penalties and this hustled it through in “jig” time.
Massillon’s touchdown was helped considerably by a penalty, Captain “Squirt” Kenney of East being guilty of dirty playing in a critical moment of the battle when he came in with a hit on Paul Briggs after the latter had already been downed and the referee’s whistle sounded. When Kenney resorted to these tactics to stop the threatening Massillon score, the orange and black had the ball on the 10-yard line. The result was that the locals were given the ball within the one-yard of the East goal, Briggs taking it across on the second play. However the orange and black might have pushed the ball across without the assistance of the penalty for the offensive machine was working smoothly when Kenney used his feet too freely.
Both teams were evenly matched. If there was an edge, Massillon had it in view of the fact that it made nine first downs to East’s six, which alone shows a better offense and defense.
The number of first downs were held low because of the strong defensive playing of both teams and because both teams, with few exceptions, resorted to nothing but straight football. Only three passes were tried, one by Massillon and two by East. The local school’s only attempt was a wild heave that was grounded while East completed both of its throws. One was good for 20 yards and the other for three, but the latter was not counted in the game since Massillon was offside on the play and was penalized five yards.
As expected, Reese Price, veteran tackle, left the game in the second quarter with his “pet” leg injured again. It looks as though he will be of little value to Coach Atkinson this year. Anthony took his place and played a good game until put out towards the close of the battle for roughing it.
In weight, the teams were nearly matched. From tackle to tackle, Akron was heavier but its ends did not possess as much weight as the Massillon wingmen. The backfields probably weighed about the same.
Coach Atkinson’s team looks good and should develop into a smooth running machine by the end of the season. However, the attack Saturday did not appear varied enough and Briggs called but once for a forward pass, while few end runs were attempted.
Foster held his own with Keeney in punting, his kicks, averaging about 35 yards. However, unless Earl can put more yardage on his boots, the local team will be handicapped no little when it bumps up against a punter who can boot the ball 50 yards.
Foster does not claim to be a champion kicker, but he is the best man Atkinson has in the backfield for booting the ball and he at least gets this kicks away in time not to be blocked.
The local team made a fine appearance as it trotted down the field in new uniforms of orange with a large black “M” on the front. The jerseys have leather elbow guards and are very attractive.
Probably one of the biggest surprises of the afternoon was the large crowd that turned out from Massillon. With schools not yet in session and the general high school “pepper” not revived, few expected to see so many Washington high students and older fans in the bleachers. They made themselves plainly heard, the 1,500 who were there, when the second half offensive got underway. Akron also had a large delegation at the game.
It was Akron’s greatest wish to win the game Saturday and do what no other school has been able to do in recent years, beat Massillon high in two consecutive seasons. The rubber city crew won the opening game 6 to 0 here in 1926 and was out to make it two in a row Saturday but the close of the game found the local school still holding its record.
True, Youngstown South claims two consecutive victories over Massillon but the second was a tainted one and was secured only through a forfeit when former Coach David B. Stewart took his team off the field after he saw it was impossible to win the game with the partial officiating.
Here’s the way the opening game was played: FIRST QUARTER Dommer kicked off to Keeney who was downed on the 30-yard line. Averitt made two yards and Keeney three more. Pokorosky lost the ball on a wild pass from center but recovered for a 15-yard loss. Keeney punted to Briggs who was downed on his own 35-yard line. Dommer waded through for four and made two more on his next attempt. Briggs added another yard and Foster then punted to the Akron 30-yard line. Averitt made eight yards on two plunges while Pokorosky made it first down on the 38-yard line.
Averitt carried the ball twice again making five yards. Keeney then punted to the Massillon 35-yard line. Laughlin made two and Briggs one, but Foster attempting to punt, fumbled the ball and recovered on his own 30-yard line. He then punted on the next play to Pokorosky who returned from the 40-yard line to midfield.
Three plays netted a first down as the quarter ended. SECOND QUARTER East was given possession of the ball on the Massillon 28-yard line. Pokorosky failed to gain, but on the next play, Kenney stepped through right tackle behind perfect interference for his team’s touchdown which later proved to be its only points. He missed his attempted dropkick, the ball going wide of the bar.
Kenney kicked off to Briggs on the Massillon 25-yard line, Briggs returning to the 32-yard line. Laughlin failed to gain after which Foster punted to Akron’s 40-yard line. Price was hurt on the play and Anthony took his place. Averitt made three yards, but time was taken out when it was found he was injured on the play. He continued, however, and went through for eight yards and a first down on the next play. Morgan made three and Keeney and Averitt each two yards. With fourth down and three to go Keeney punted to Foster on the five-yard line. Foster immediately punted back to his own 45-yard line. Keeney returning 10 yards, but East was penalized 15 yards on the play placing the ball on its own 45-yard line. Keeney ripped around left end for 15 yards. Averitt made a yard while Pokorosky was held without gain. Pokorosky then passed three yards to Averitt but the play was called back when it was found that a Massillon player was offside. Keeney then punted to Laughlin on the 10-yard line. Briggs punted 20 yards, the ball rolling out on his own 30-yard line. Keeney made three yards and Pokorosky five, but Keeney was tossed for a three yard loss on the next play by Anthony. He then punted over the goal line. The orange and black was given the ball on its own 20-yard line. Laughlin got a bad pass from center and lost 10 yards. Foster punted to the 45-yard line; Polorosky fumbling, but recovering. Keeney made a yard and then punted to Briggs on his own 27-yard line. Foster then showed the only flash of offense for Massillon in this half by carrying the ball to midfield on a sneak play. Dommer failed to gain as the half ended. THIRD QUARTER Keeney kicked off to Briggs on the 30-yard line, Briggs returned to the 40-yard line. Laughlin drove through for 11 yards placing the ball in midfield. He carried the ball a second time for nine yards and then smashed through for 11 yards and another first down on the 30-yard line. Briggs made three yards and Laughlin made it first down on the 20-yard line. Briggs made four and Laughlin two more, but with the ball on the 14-yard line. East held Foster for no gain and Briggs’ pass was grounded. East took the ball on downs, Keeney immediately punting back to his own 38-yard line. Foster returning to the 30-yard mark. Laughlin made four yards and Briggs two. In two more attempts Laughlin made nine yards and a first down on East’s 16-yard line. Briggs made a yard and Laughlin five more, but the Massillon gridder fumbled on the play, Shanabrook recovering on the 11-yard line Briggs and Laughlin failed to gain in two cracks at the line, East getting the ball on its own 11-yard line. Anthony tossed Keeney for a four-yard loss. Averitt was held without a gain. Keeney then punted to Briggs on the 27-yard line, Briggs returning the ball to the 21-yard line. Briggs made three yards and six more on the next play. Laughlin bucked the ball over for a first down on the 11-yard line. Briggs made a yard and Keeney jumped feet first on the pile of players, drawing a penalty for his action. The referee gave Massillon the ball on the Akron one-yard line. Laughlin failed to gain, but on the next play made a hole for Briggs who scored the touchdown just as the quarter ended. Foster failed in attempted dropkick. FOURTH QUARTER East kicked off to Briggs who received the ball on his 20-yard line carrying it back three yards. Laughlin made a yard but Briggs slipped through for seven more. He then made a first down on the next play on the 33-yard line. Laughlin bucked…..SOME COPY MISSING ….yard line the orange and black elected to punt and Foster booted the ball to Keeney on the latter’s 40-yard line. Averitt made seven yards on two plays and Pokorosky lost two. Keeney then booted the ball to Massillon’s 20-yard line. Dommer made four while Briggs added two more. Briggs lost three on the next play. Foster punted to Pokorosky on the 43-yard line. Pokorosky failed to gain. Keeney then dropped back and passed 20 yards to Pokorosky who was dropped on the orange and black’s 23-yard line. Anthony was put out for roughing it, Garland taking his place. Keeney slipped through for six yards and Averitt made five more for a first down on the 12-yard line. Potts went in for Garland. Keeney made three yards but the play was called back and East penalized five yards for offside. Keeney then made two yards on an end run as the game ended. A Good Start Massillon – 6 Pos. Akron East – 6 Straughn LE Fela Fox LT Bell Henderson LG Gilbert Evans C Sheppard Mauger RG Walker Price RT Growdon Schnierle RE Kinney Briggs QB Keeney Foster LHB Pokorosky Laughlin RHB Averitt Dommer FB Morgan
Score by periods: Massillon 0 0 6 0 6 Akron East 0 6 0 0 6
Substitutions: Massillon – Anthony for Price, Shanabrook for Schnierle, Garland for Anthony, Potts for Evans, Evans for Garland.
Touchdowns – Keeney, Briggs.
Officials: Referee – Michaels (Goodyear). Umpire – Kester (Mt. Union). Head Linesman – Thomas (Penn U.)
