Category: <span>History</span>

2020: Massillon 45, Westerville South 36

Record run: Willtrell Hartson’s mark carries Massillon into regional final

Chris Easterling, The Independent
Oct 30, 2020 11:45 PM

GAME STATS

MASSILLON Five weeks ago, Willtrell Hartson wasn’t even starting for Massillon. Five weeks and four games later, Hartson has helped carry the Tigers back into the regional championship game — breaking a school record in the process.

Hartson set Massillon’s single-game rushing record with 324 yards on Friday night. That helped the Tigers run to a 45-36 Division II, Region 7 semifinal win over previously-undefeated Westerville South at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The sophomore’s rushing total, which included three touchdowns on 27 carries, broke Travis McGuire’s old record which he set in 1991 against McKinley. McGuire rushed for 302 yards in that game, the only back to top the 300-yard plateau in Massillon history.

Until Hartson joined him Friday night. In doing so, he helped the 8-1 Tigers advance to next Friday night’s regional final at No 1-seed and undefeated Perry.

“Where he really separates himself is once he gets to that third level,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said of Hartson, who has rushed for 773 yards on 68 carries over the last four games since replacing the injured Raekwon Venson. “How he’s able to both break tackles and accelerate and choose to correct angles and cuts to finish runs through that third level. That’s where he’s been outstanding.”

The win also provided Moore with his 100th career head-coaching win. He is 100-37 in 11 years as a coach, including 58-16 in six years at Massillon.

More important, though, to Moore was the fact his team is making its fourth consecutive regional final appearance.

“It really doesn’t matter what they mean to me,” Moore said. “This football team’s been working hard to get to the point that they’re at right now. We’re 8-1 heading into the regional championship. We don’t really sit around and think about that. We have a tall task at hand and have to have a great week of preparation this week.”

The first of Hartson’s three TD runs, a 53-yarder with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter, gave the Tigers the lead for good at 14-9. Hartson’s last two scoring runs, of 54 and 25 yards, gave Massillon a 42-9 lead with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter.

As good as the middle quarter-and-a-half were for the Tigers, the first quarter-and-a-half and the final quarter were enough to give Moore plenty to work with over the next week. Westerville South led 6-0 after Kaden Saunders’s 4-yard touchdown catch from Peter Pedrozo on its first drive, and 9-7 with 8:52 remaining in the second quarter on Matthew Bame’s 32-yard field goal.

After Massillon forced the running clock on Hartson’s third scoring run, Westerville South scored 27 points and rolled up 219 total yards in the fourth quarter. Pedrozo, who completed 25 of 48 passes for 337 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, threw and caught scoring passes in the final 9:07 of the game.

“You just have to give all the credit in the world to Westerville South,” said Moore, whose team’s previous season-high in points allowed was 24 Week 1 against St. Edward and yards allowed was 361 last week against Hoover. “They played well, played hard. Fought back into it. Congratulations to them.”

Saunders, the junior Penn State commit, finished with 169 receiving yards on nine catches. He had two TDs, including one off of a deflected pass with four seconds remaining in the game to provide the final margin.

Massillon forced a pair of turnovers, both interceptions by Isaiah Clark. The biggest of those came late in the second quarter when Clark outfought Bame for the ball in the end zone to preserve a 21-9 Tiger halftime lead.

“The first half, I think we missed a couple of opportunities for scores,” Westerville South coach Matthew Christ said after his team falls to 7-1. “Put it on my shoulders at the end of the day for the clock management at the end of the half. We probably should’ve just kicked the field goal. I thought that was a touchdown, but interception, it is what it is.”

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2020: Massillon 48, North Canton Hoover 23

Willtrell Hartson, Massillon run wild in knocking out Hoover
Chris Easterling, The Independent

GAME STATS

MASSILLON It was almost like a sign.

Willtrell Hartson took the handoff, hit the hole and raced untouched into the end zone for the 23-yard Massillon touchdown with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. No sooner had he crossed the goal line than lightning flashed above Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

To Hoover’s defense, Hartson must have felt like a flash of lightning himself. The sophomore running back found the end zone four times Friday night, helping the Tigers take down the Vikings 48-23 in a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal.

The lightning after Hartson’s scoring run with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, sent the game into a delay at 8:54 p.m. with Massillon up by what would be the final margin. The teams returned to the field at 10:32 p.m., with the Tigers failing on a 2-point conversion pass.

“He ran well, ran hard,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, who won his 99th career game, including 57th with the Tigers. “He played with great vision. Ran with speed, ran with power. A really good day.”

Massillon, which has won seven in a row to improve to 7-1, will likely play host to Westerville South next week in a regional semifinal. South led Olentangy Berlin 42-10 in the third quarter on Friday when that game was suspended due to storms.

The storm was about the only thing to slow down Hartson on the night. He finished with 196 yards on 13 carries, gashing Hoover for six runs of at least 13 yards.

It’s the second time in three games since replacing the injured Raekwon Venson as the starting running back that Hartson has rushed for at least 180 yards. Turns out, he may really like running against Stark County defenses.

Hartson’s other 100-plus-yard rushing game came in Massillon’s Week 6 win over rival McKinley. He gained 188 yards and scored two TDs in the 35-7 win.

That game against the Bulldogs was also the Tigers’ best rushing performance as a team coming into Friday’s contest, with 286 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. By the time Massillon finished off the Vikings, they had gained a season-high 335 yards on 36 attempts.

“This game was won in the trenches,” Hoover coach Brian Baum said. “Their offensive line did a great job. Their backs found the open hole. I knew it was going to come down to the trenches. I was worried about the size of their O-line, and they were able to move some people and did a good job.”

It wasn’t just Hartson. Cam Beasley added 54 yards on 11 carries, while receiver Martavien Johnson had 47 yards and one score on just three carries.

For all of the running, though, Massillon actually threw it efficiently as well. Zach Catrone was 9-of-10 for 142 yards and a touchdown, with Jayden Ballard catching six passes for a season-high 96 yards.

“I thought Zach did a really nice job operating our offense,” Moore said. “Spreading the ball around. Very efficient.”

Ballard had the spectacular play of the night on his 42-yard TD catch that put Massillon in front 35-10 with just under two minutes left in the first half. He was hit by a Hoover defender as the ball hit his hands, knocking it free, but he secured it as he hit the ground for the score.

Despite the Tigers’ steady offensive success, the 5-3 Vikings were able to stay within striking distance through the early portion of the third quarter. A big reason for that was the play of senior quarterback Connor Ashby.

It was Ashby’s ability to keep plays alive that helped him connect twice with Brock Henne, on catches of 22 and 29 yards, on Hoover’s first scoring drive. That drive, which pulled the Vikings within 14-7 with 3:57 left in the first quarter, was capped by a Drew Robinson 3-yard touchdown run.

“I didn’t think they were going to be able to beat us doing that,” Moore said, referring to Ashby’s ability to prolong plays. “The couple they completed on that drive really were, especially that second one, desperation passes. Kudos to them for making the throw and the kids catching it. It was a little different than escaping the pocket and having a really nice throw to an open receiver.”

Ashby connected on a 46-yard pass to Robinson, then followed that up with a 17-yard run of his own, as the Vikings pulled within 28-10 with 1:55 left in the first half on Yanni Velas’ 26-yard field goal. He connected again with Robinson, this time on an 11-yard TD pass, to make it 35-16 Massillon just 37 seconds into the second half.

Hoover recovered an onside kick after that score at the Tiger 49. However, that drive, hurt by an offensive pass interference call, ended on a punt from the Viking 44.

The Viking senior was 9-of-18 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown. However, he netted just 17 rushing yards on 16 carries thanks to the pursuit of the Tiger defense which dropped him for a total of 33 yards lost.

“I thought our guys did a pretty good job overall,” Moore said.

Michael Billman had a pair of sacks on Ashby as part of a 3.5 tackle-for-loss night. Mike Miller added one sack, while Xavier Andrews had 1.5 tackles for loss.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

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2020: Massillon 56, Columbus Walnut Ridge 0

No rust as Massillon has no problem with Walnut Ridge
Chris Easterling, The Independent

GAME STATS

MASSILLON There was a certain amount of uncertainty surrounding Massillon as it came off of a first-round bye on Friday night. There was a question of rust after having a week off while Columbus Walnut Ridge had played a game.

Turns out, it was unfounded uncertainty.

The Tigers scored early and often, rolling to a 56-0 win over the Scots in a Division II Region 7 second-round game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Massillon (6-1) advances to next week’s home regional quarterfinal against Hoover (5-2), which defeated Lake on Friday.

“They did everything we asked them to do,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “Good performance. Pretty clean game. Very efficient. Did a good job.”

Massillon had already topped its season high in points at halftime, at which time it led 42-0. The previous high for the Tigers this season was 35 points against Columbus Bishop Sycamore in Week 2 and McKinley in Week 6.

It also was Massillon’s third shutout in seven games. It blanked Bishop Sycamore and Warren Harding in back-to-back games in Weeks 2 and 3.

“How about our backups and JVs holding the shutout?,” Moore said. “That doesn’t happen all the time. I’m really proud of those guys. The starters did their job in the first half, went into the locker room at halftime 42-0, and our younger guys or backups or whoever was playing in the second half, the non-starters, put two scores on their No. 1 defense.”

The question of rust was put to bed in just over a minute of play. On the Tigers’ third play, Zach Catrone hit Jayden Ballard for a 63-yard touchdown pass, putting them in front 7-0 only 1:09 into the game.

Just 1:44 later, it was 14-0 Massillon after Catrone’s second touchdown pass in as many attempts, this one a 32-yarder to Andrew Wilson-Lamp. The score was set up by Jaidan Wise’s interception at the Walnut Ridge 37.

Catrone was 5-of-8 for 121 yards with two TDs and an interception in a quarter-and-a-half of work. Sophomore Jay Crable played the final two-and-a-half quarters.

The Tigers made it 21-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter on Cam Beasley’s 5-yard scoring run to cap their third possession. Beasley finished with 108 yards on 15 carries.

“Cam did a nice,” Moore said. “Really happy for him. The offensive line and fullbacks blocked it up well for him.”

Massillon added another 21 points in the second quarter. Two scores came on runs by Jumacius Portis (3-yarder) and Willtrell Hartson (47-yarder).

Hartson finished with 65 yards on six carries, while Portis added a fourth-quarter scoring run to make it 49-0. The Tigers rushed for 199 yards for the game.

The other score, sandwiched between the two runs, came when T.J. Williams picked up a fumbled pitch at the Scot 21 and raced untouched to the end zone. The fumble recovery was one of five turnovers the Tiger defense came up with in the game.

“Happy for T.J.,” Moore said. “He deserved that. He’s doing a great job for us. He’s a senior. I’m really proud of him.”

Massillon’s defense limited Walnut Ridge to just 43 first-half yards on 33 plays, including minus-11 rushing yards on 15 attempts. For the game, the Scots had 56 total yards, including just 2 net rushing yards.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

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2020: Massillon 21, Cleveland St. Ignatius 14

Fourth-quarter rally carries Massillon football past St. Ignatius

GAME STATS

Chris Easterling

MASSILLON A little more than fifteen seconds. That, in real time, is barely more than a couple of blinks of the eyes.

On Friday night, it was enough time for Massillon to turn a potential loss into a 21-14 win over St. Ignatius.

“Those guys play hard,” Tigers coach Nate Moore said after his team improved to 4-1 heading into next Saturday’s home showdown with rival McKinley. “I’ve said that from the start. Led by the senior class. These guys just play hard, man. You just let everything play out.”

With 7:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, Raekwon Venson’s 1-yard touchdown, plus Jayden Ballard’s two-point conversion pass to Zach Catrone, allowed the Tigers to tie the game at 14-14. That, however, was just the start.

On the first play of the Wildcats’ next possession, Jaidan Wise fell on a lateral at the Ignatius 15. The next play, Venson tore up the middle of the defense into the end zone for a TD, giving Massillon the 21-14 lead with 7:02 remaining.

“I mean, I think that’s effort,” Moore said of Wise’s recovery. “Why wouldn’t you? I think that’s the right question. It’s not, ‘Why did he?,’ it’s ‘Why wouldn’t he?’ I think that’s effort.”

Venson finished with 96 rushing yards on 29 carries.

The two fourth-quarter TDs contrasted with what the Tigers had been able to generate through the first three quarters. Despite a 209-147 yardage advantage over the initial 36 minutes, their only two scores were a pair of Alex Bauer field goals which gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 26 seconds into the second quarter.

St. Ignatius, meanwhile, was able to make sure its two scores were touchdowns. The first came on a 20-yard Marty Lenehan TD run with 3:45 remaining in the first half.

The second TD, even bigger for both, was Emmett Hanna’s 80-yard interception return with 2:56 remaining in the third. That gave the Wildcats a 14-6 lead.

“The defense did a nice job,” said St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle, whose team fell to 1-2. “They were out there really too long. Let’s face it, that’s what we started seeing.”

As good as the Wildcats’ defense was, the Massillon defense was just as good. If not better. The Tigers limited St. Ignatius to 152 net yards.

Wise’s recovery was one of three turnovers the Tigers were able to get their hands on. The senior linebacker also came up with an interception in the first quarter which helped to set up Bauer’s second field goal.

Austin Brawley also made an interception in the fourth quarter to set Massillon up at the St. Ignatius 26 with just under six minutes remaining.

“Discipline and effort,” Moore said of his defense.

The Tigers, though, would give the Wildcats a bit more life when they reciprocated with their own interception on a fourth-and-14 play that Chris Snyder returned to midfield with just over four minutes left. Massillon’s defense did not let St. Ignatius get any closer than the Tiger 41 before taking over on downs.

Venson and Jumacius Portis, who added 58 yards on 12 carries, then ran out the rest of the clock.

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2020: Massillon 28, Cleveland Benedictine 10

Massillon football plays takeaway to take down Benedictine

GAME STATS

MASSILLON The last two games, Massillon’s defense has been like a brick wall for opposing offenses to try and penetrate. On Friday night against Benedictine, that defense had a little more give to it than previously, but it was still far from giving.

And when the Tigers needed a big play, that defense was more than happy to provide it as well. That was a big reason why Massillon was able to win its third consecutive game, a 28-10 victory over the Bengals at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after his team improved to 2-1 heading into next Friday’s game with St. Ignatius. “They really answered the bell from last week. … Defense played really well again. Ran to the football, physicality, tackling and picked up some turnovers, which were huge.”

Benedictine was able to post 285 yards of offense on 68 plays, both of which were season highs for Tiger opponents by a wide margin. The Bengals also scored the first points – a first-quarter Ivan Shuran 42-yard field goal – and first touchdown – a fourth-quarter 26-yard Ronnie Schultz-to-Christopher Gales pass to make it 14-10 – that Massillon had allowed since Week 1 against St. Edward.

However, none of that ultimately hurt the Tigers in the final tally. That’s because their defense was able to get the big takeaway when it needed to get one.

“They had 285 yards, which is more than we want,” said Moore, whose offense had 266 total yards on 49 plays. “It’s a huge number, but they ran 68 plays. That’s the biggest thing. Our offense has to protect our defense more. We have to retain possession more, keep the chains moving more and that will help our defense out.”

On three different occasions in the second half, the Tigers were able to come up with interceptions to keep Benedictine from making things more difficult for them. Not only that, but Massillon converted all three of them into touchdowns to turn a 7-3 halftime lead into the final margin.

Two of those interceptions were courtesy of Martavien Johnson on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions. The biggest, though, may have come courtesy of Isaiah Clark late in the third quarter.

Benedictine, which only trailed by four, had marched on 17 plays to the Tiger 10, where it faced third-and-goal. Clark jumped the route at the 5, picking off the pass and bringing it back to Bengal 43.

“Just a great break on the ball,” Moore said. “Played very aggressive.”

Three plays later, Raekwon Venson runs it in from the 3 to give Massillon a 14-3 lead with 1:41 left in the third. It was the second of what was three touchdown runs for Venson, who finished with 108 yards on 23 carries.

Johnson would set up Venson’s third scoring run with his first pick of the night, which was brought back 38 yards into Benedictine territory. Five plays later, aided by a Bengal personal foul, Massillon made it 21-10 on a 5-yard scoring run with 6:54 left.

“I just thought he came out and ran hard,” Moore said of Venson. “That’s all we’re asking him to do. He answered the bell. He came out and ran hard.”

Benedictine’s third pick in four possessions came when Johnson pulled one in on Massillon’s side of the 50. The Tigers would turn that into a game-sealing Jumacius Portis 6-yard run with 29 seconds remaining.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

Obie Logo (Large)

Booster Club Report – Week 4

Massillon picked up win No. 901 with a convincing 24-0 victory over Warren Harding.  With the win, the Tigers have moved up in the national ranking of historical wins and is now tied for 3rd place with Ft. Thomas Highlands, KY.

“It was a good week for the Tigers,” said Moore in opening the Booster Club Meeting.  “The defense is playing lights out.  It was also the second shutout in a row.  There’s really not a lot more good you can say about our defense.  All the guys are playing well.  Our offense is doing a lot of good things. But we need to be better on 3rd down and limit penalties.  But we’re doing a lot of things well.  Today was a pretty good practice.  So we’re off to a good start.”

Here are some other scores:

  • 7th Grade (2-1): Defeated Warren.  Plays Oakwood on Thursday away at 5:30 pm.
  • 8th Grade (3-0): Defeated Warren, 40-13.  Plays Green on Wednesday at away at 6:00 pm.
  • 9th Grade (2-1): Defeated Warren, 26-8.  Plays Cleveland Benedictine on Thursday at home at 6:00 pm.
  • JV (2-2): Defeated Warren, 24-22.  JV-A plays Cleveland Benedictine on Saturday at home at 10:00 am; JV-B plays Woodridge on Saturday at home at 1:00 pm.

The defense led the way against Warren with a smothering attack, holding the Raiders to a mere 49 yards of total offense, including negative five yards rushing.  Defensive end Mike Miller was stellar, recording five solo tackles and six assists, including a sack for a 10-yard loss.  Isaiah Clark had an interception that he ran back for 18 yards, setting up a Tiger score.  Alex Bauer kicked his fifth field goal out of six tries for the season and Magnus Haines averaged nearly 40 yards on three punts.  Another high mark was Jayden Ballard, Martavien Johnson and Caiden Woullard combining for 124 punt return yards.

The offense racked up 19 first downs and 344 yards of total offense.  But there continues to be room for improvement in converting third downs and finishing drives, according to Head Coach Nate Moore.  Against Lakewood St. Edward, the Tigers failed to convert a 3rd down in ten tries and against Bishop Sycamore was just 4 of 11.  In the first half of the Warren game the stat was 1 of 6, but that improved in the second half with a 4 of 7 mark.  Of course, Massillon’s offensive line seems to wear down opponents as the game moves along.  Watch for the coach to mix it up more among his three primary running backs as he searches for the right combination of players based on down and distance situations in order to shorten the yardage on 3rd down.

Quarterback Zach Catrone returned from injury and had a fine night, connecting on 21 of 31 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown.  Eight of the catches were to Ballard and six went to Johnson.  Many of the completions were of the short variety as Warren was giving room on the edges and dropping the safeties deep to take away the long pass.  Such is the weekly chess match as opposing coaches try to stop Tigers’ highly talented receivers.

But penalties continued to plague the team.  In three weeks they have been flagged 34 times for 329 yards, mostly of the 15-yard variety.  That’s a game’s worth.  It won’t be long until opponents begin to bait the Massillon players into committing more of those fouls.

Guest players this week were co-captains Zach Catrone and Xavier Andrews.  “It was an alright outing,” said Catrone.  “We could have done better.  We need to clean up the penalties.”  The offense has been criticized by fans recently for lack of dominating performances, but Catrone promised that the offense was going to “make a statement” this week.  “We’re really looking forward to playing this week,” added Andrews.  “We’re going for another shutout.”

Moore believes that Cleveland Benedictine, this week’s opponent, is the best team his Tigers have faced this season.  They have a better offensive line and better skill players than St. Edward.  The quarterback can throw the deep ball and their wide receivers are bigger.

The Bennies enter the contest with a 2-1 record, fresh off a 1-touchdown loss to perennial power Akron Hoban (3-0).  Their wins came against Warren Harding (1-2), 24-17, and Akron St. Vincent (2-1), 42-28.  Against Warren they had difficulty running the ball, but has since changed running backs, going to sophomore Duane Jackson (5′-9″, 190).  It’s important to keep him contained.

But the offense really revolves around an excellent quarterback in senior Ronnie Schultz (6′-0″, 180), who engineers their spread offense.  He can throw short and long and spreads the ball among his receivers.  He can also scramble out of trouble and run well in both designed plays and away from pass rushers.  Moore says that he plays with a lot of confidence.  Last year he threw for over 2,000 yards in leading his team to a 10-2 record.  Stop Schultz and you will go a long way toward stopping Benedictine.  Interested fans can check him out on YouTube, which has the full Benedictine-Hoban game from last week.

The offensive line is a veteran group, led by senior center Luke Beltavski (6′-1″, 290).  As a unit they have good size (6′-1″. 275 ave.) and are very athletic.  While not great in straight ahead blocking, they do fine job running outside zone and in pass protection.  The best position group on the team is the wide receivers, according to Moore.  Junior Marvin Conkle is featured on both the jet sweep and the deep pass, while senior Christopher Gales, although not as fast as Conkle, is the most targeted.

The defense aligns in a 3-4, similar to Massillon.  The linebacker corps is a good one, very fast and active.  Junior outside linebacker Derell Bedingfield (6′-3″, 190) is a play-maker, according Moore.  He is fast and athletic, and has a couple of D1 offers.  The rest of the defense is very capable.  The kicking game is also very good.  Coverage teams are average.

Go Tigers!

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

2020: Massillon 24, Warren Harding 0

Defense swarms as Massillon shuts down Warren Harding

GAME STATS

MASSILLON It’s awfully easy to win a football game when the other team can’t cross midfield. It’s even easier when they don’t score a point.

It may not have been the easiest of Massillon’s 901 all-time wins on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. That said, the 24-0 victory over Warren Harding was made a lot easier by the performance of the Tiger defense throughout.

“We’re used to our offense really setting the tone in every ballgame that we play in,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose 2-1 team will meet 2-1 Benedictine next Friday night. “It just hasn’t been like that necessarily this year. The defense has. The defense has been outstanding all three weeks that we’ve played. Those guys are playing their tails off.”

The Tigers head into next week’s cat fight on a two-game win streak that has been highlights by a pair of glistening defensive efforts. Massillon has posted back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since doing it to Youngstown Woodrow Wilson and, interestingly enough, Warren, in Weeks 7 and 8 of the 2005 season.

For the second week in a row, the Tigers limited a team to less than 50 net yards of offense, including negative rushing yards. Columbus Bishop Sycamore managed just 46 net yards on 43 plays, including minus-26 rushing yards on 23 attempts, in last week’s 35-0 Massillon win.

Warren was only able to muster 49 net yards on 43 plays on Friday night. The Raiders’ 25 rushing yards netted them minus-5 yards.

Their record-setting senior quarterback, Elijah Taylor, was held to just 54 passing yards while completing 8-of-20 passes with one interception. Despite holding all of Warren’s career passing records, he will depart having not even topped 100 passing yards in three of his four games all-time against Massillon.

“It’s everybody doing their job on every play,” Moore said. “When guys do their job, that gives us a chance. When you have guys who can win one-on-one battles, out of 11 guys on the field, if you have nine, 10, 11 guys winning their one-on-one battle, you’re going to be pretty good.”

That defense also set up Massillon, which led 7-0 at halftime, to deliver the second-half haymaker. It turned a Caiden Woullard blocked punt into a 4-yard Raekwon Venson touchdown, then an Isaiah Clark interception into a 28-yard Alex Bauer field goal for a 17-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers’ defensive performance kept Warren in its own territory throughout the game. The Raiders’ 11 possessions, not counting a kneel-down at the end of the first half, never crossed midfield.

The opposite was true for the Tigers’ offense, which finished with 344 net yards on 67 plays. That included 216 passing yards, 209 of those by Zach Catrone, who returned from a one-game absence due to injury.

Catrone completed 21-of-31 passes with a pair of interceptions. It was his 17-yard pass to Martavien Johnson which gave Massillon a 7-0 first-half lead.

“He was wheeling-and-dealing a little bit,” Moore said of Catrone. “‘Taking what the defense was giving him.”

Massillon would have 12 possessions in the game, with the only one not reaching Warren territory the final one of the game. What cost the Tigers a chance to maximize many of those drives were 13 penalties for 145 yards, as well as three turnovers.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

2020: Massillon 35, Columbus Bishop Sycamore 0

Milestone for Massillon: Tigers pick up win No. 900 against Bishop Sycamore

Sep 04, 2020 11:11 PM

GAME STATS

MASSILLON The win itself was historic for Massillon. The path to getting to the historic win, though, had more than its share of bumps for the Tigers.

Massilon became the first team in Ohio history to win 900 games all-time on Friday night thanks to a 35-0 victory over Columbus Bishop Sycamore at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The Tigers’ win total is tied for fourth with Mayfield (Ky.) nationally.

In order to get No. 900 in the books, though, Massillon had to battle through both its share of choppy play as well as some key injuries both before and during the game. In the end, though, the Tigers were able to overcome all of that to not just hit that milestone, but also move to 1-1 this season.

“We’re really happy to put another brick on the pile,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “Whether it’s 900 or 901 or 902, I don’t think that really makes much of a difference to us. That’s more a 30-years-down-the-road question, I think. We’re just trying to stack bricks right now.”

The Tigers played the entire game without starting quarterback Zach Catrone, who did not dress due while recovering from an injury suffered in the season opener. Moore declined to comment on Catrone’s injury, or any other injuries Massillon suffered during the first half Friday.

In Catrone’s place started Jayvian Crable, the son of former Tiger and University of Michigan star Shawn Crable. The sophomore appeared to get more and more comfortable as the game went on, both running the ball and throwing it.

Crable threw his first career touchdown pass with 11:07 remaining, finding Austin Brawley for a 20-yard strike to go in front 28-0. It was a milestone he had appeared to gain the previous play, when he found Martavien Johnson on a 10-yard strike, but a holding call negated the play.

The sophomore finished 11-of-18 passing for 123 yards with the one touchdown and one interception. He also ran the ball eight times for a team-high 78 yards.

“I don’t think he was, I guess, nervous going into the game,” Moore said of Crable. “I thought he was ready to go. When you’re out there with bullets flying for the first time, that’s always going to take some getting used to. Even that being said, when he pulled the ball down and took off, those were good plays.”

Multiple lengthy injury delays took some of the rhythm out of the first half. However, the two teams also contributed the choppiness by combining for four turnovers — two each — as well as 14 penalties, 11 by the Centurions, over the initial two quarters.

Despite that, however, Massillon was able to make the most of its opportunities to open up a 21-0 halftime lead. Like the game itself, it was an unconventional way the Tigers took to get to that number.

They bookended the half with a pair of safeties thanks to two bad punt snaps by Sycamore. They also got a pair of Raekwon Venson touchdown runs, an 8-yarder and a 4-yarder.

Alex Bauer’s 25-yard field goal with 11:08 remaining in the second quarter was the middle of the scoring sandwich Massillon put together in the first half. That boot gave the Tigers a 12-0 lead.

That lead alone would’ve been enough against Sycamore, a non-OHSAA online-only charter school which was a late replacement when the regular season was reduced to six games in mid-August. The Centurions struggled to consistently move the ball throughout the evening, often hurting themselves with penalty after penalty.

At halftime alone, Sycamore was flagged 11 times for 76 yards, while its 24 offensive plays netted just 3 yards. By the time the game was over, the Centurions had 18 flags for 108 yards, compared to just 46 net yards on 43 plays.

“Our defense played lights out,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of really good things going on over there. So, I think the first thing you have to acknowledge is to tip your hat to the defense. Those cats played their tails off and played really well.”

The deepest penetration for Sycamore was to the Massillon 21 on the first possession of the third quarter. That possession, though, ended with an dropped pass on fourth down from the Tiger 38.

Only two other Centurion drives moved into Tiger territory, but both never got past the 44.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

2020: Lakewood St. Edward 24, Massillon 23

Turnover, trickery helps St. Edward rally to stun Massillon

Aug 28, 2020 11:35 PM

GAME STATS

MASSILLON Massillon seemed to have its hands grasped around an impressive season-opening win on Friday night.

Despite the challenges of a strange offseason and then a mid-game lightning delay, the Tigers found themselves in control of the football and a six-point lead over St. Edward with less than five minutes remaining. However, five minutes later, it was all gone for Massillon.

“Very bleak,” St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo said of his team’s chances late.

Bleak turned into brilliant for the Eagles as they converted a fourth-quarter Tiger pick into a little razzle-dazzle touchdown of their own, and it was the difference in what became a 24-23 victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The go-ahead touchdown came when Justin Slattery took a lateral pass from quarterback Christian Ramos, then threw a strike to a wide-open Joshua Kerekes for a 72-yard touchdown with 4:01 remaining.

Kerekes’ catch-and-run, which included him tight-roping the sidelines for the final 15 or so yards, was one of just five passes caught by Eagle receivers in the game. Two of those five went for second-half touchdowns, the other a Ramos-to-Andrew Cook 4-yard pass with 3:23 left in the third to cut Massillon’s lead to 20-17.

“Being the first game and the first scrimmage, we said, ‘Just play four quarters and keep playing,'” Lombardo said. “Obviously, we were having trouble stopping them early. … Our defense really made some plays at the end and obviously, we got the double pass.”

St. Edward was just 5-of-13 passing for 107 yards. The Eagles also had just 97 rushing yards.

The loss was Massillon’s first regular-season setback since falling to St. Vincent-St. Mary in Week 9 of the 2017 season. Since that setback, the Tigers had won 32 of 35 games, including 21 consecutive in the regular season.

It appeared that the streak was going to increase to 22 in a row after Massillon, while in possession of a 23-17 lead, had the ball at the Eagle 35 with the clock nearing four minutes. However, on third-and-8, a pass to the middle of the field was intercepted by St. Edward’s C.J. Hankins, who brought it back to the Eagle 41.

“In-game mistakes, you have to self-correct and move on,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “We don’t have time to sit around and mope about anything. … As a player on the field, you have to self-correct and move forward. You can’t let one negative play turn into two negative plays and all those things.’

Two plays later, what had been a Tiger lead turned into a Massillon deficit. The Tigers would have two possessions after giving up the lead, going three-and-out and punting from their own 15 on the first.

The second one, which started with 37 seconds remaining at the Massillon 31, reached the St. Edward 40. However, four incomplete passes – the final one with two seconds remaining – ended the Tigers’ hopes.

The ending spoiled what was, in many ways, a solid start for Massillon. After giving up a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Joal Castleberry with 8:07 remaining in the third quarter to fall behind the Eagles 7-3, the Tigers would score 14 straight points – on a pair of Zach Catrone-to-Jayden Ballard touchdowns – to lead 17-7 in the second quarter.

Catrone finished his first career start 14-of-29 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Ballard had a team-high 68 yards and the two touchdowns on two catches.

Raekwon Venson made his first career start as well at running back for the Tigers, rushing for 113 yards on 25 carries. That helped Massillon outgain St. Edward 396-204.

The probably for the Tigers was that they had to settle for three field goal, two of which were of less than 30 yards. Alex Bauer had two field goals of 26 yards, the last of those giving Massillon a 23-17 lead with 9:38 remaining, plus a career-long 41-yard boot.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Football is a “Go,” but with Restrictions

Ten days before the first scheduled game of the 2020 season, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gave the state’s 700+ schools the go ahead to proceed with fall football games.  His theme is that it’s all about the student-athletes and the mental strain that not playing the games would have on them.  However, given the continuing presence of the Covid-19 virus, the release comes with several constraints.

In essence, the directive issued a few weeks ago by the Ohio Department of Health still stands.  But the requirement to (1) test participants for the virus within 72 hours of the game and (2) have the results in hand at game-time have been waived for high schools.  That plus the declining number of daily virus cases in Ohio open the door for this decision.  So here are several of the restrictions in place and the impacts of each:

  • The season will consist of six regular season games followed by seven weeks of playoffs.  All teams are eligible to participate in the playoffs – The ODH wants the season wrapped up prior to Thanksgiving, fearing a rebound of the virus during the winter months.  The revised season plan does this.  However, the Governor hopes that the it won’t need to be cut short, which would result in the remaining games either canceled or perhaps played in the spring.  DeWine also gave schools the option to defer to spring football.  However, no playoffs would exist for those that elect spring.
  • Teams are limited to 60 dressed players – Massillon currently has 88 varsity players.  Therefore 28, presumably assigned to the junior varsity, will not suit up and will lose the enjoyment that comes with being on the sidelines with their brothers on Friday night.  For them the mental impact is increased.
  • Players must socially distance between the 10 yard lines while on the sidelines – This will be difficult to enforce, given that the players want to be close to the action and it will be up to the very busy coaches to police this.  It’s also a strange rule given that it never occurs throughout the many practices leading up to the games.
  • Teams are permitted one scrimmage during the week prior to the first game – This is awfully late notice.  It is not known at this time if Massillon will take advantage.
  • Fan attendance is limited only to parents and others that have close influence on the players, cheerleaders and bandsmen – This one strikes communities at the heart, with nearly a million fans affected at a time when some positive aspect of life is surely needed.  No consideration was given to those communities that have been minimally exposed to the virus.  The only alternative then is video broadcasting.  In Massillon, the high school airs games live over the Internet via pay-per-view to those that live at least 30 miles away.  The distance requirement is expected to be waived, so everyone with a computer will be able to at least view the games.  But there is still the matter of season tickets for approximately 3,500 fans.  This is a serious issue involving thousands of dollars and will need to be worked out quickly by the ticket office.  Collectively across Ohio, schools could lose out on over $50 million dollars in ticket proceeds, which help to fund football in the first place.  Finally, there is the OHSAA, which relies heavily on ticket sales, particularly during the last two weeks of the playoffs, to fund nearly their entire program.  The impact of these lost revenues will be huge.
  • Marching bands are only permitted to perform at home games – For most schools, that’s a lot of work for two or three games.  Fortunately, Massillon was able to schedule all six games at home.  The Tigers also hope to make a deep run in the playoffs, which would give the band additional opportunities to perform in front of those few hundred in attendance.

On another note, Head Coach Nate Moore has finalized the 6-game schedule.  All games are at home and on Friday night, except for the one against Canton McKinley, which will start at its traditional time of 2:00 pm on Saturday.

  • Lakewood St. Edward
  • Columbus Bishop Sycamore
  • Warren Harding
  • Cleveland Benedictine
  • Cleveland St. Ignatius
  • Canton McKinley