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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 lineswhile 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 homegames – 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.
In Chinese lore 1970 was dubbed “The Year of the Tiger.” According to traditional myth, “Nian,” a beastly creature, tore through the countryside eating people on the night before the New Year. So, red decorations and firecrackers were used to frighten away the beast as the holiday approached. Such is the respect afforded the Tiger.
For Massillon, “The Year of the Tiger” is also special, because that was the year their beloved Tiger football team fashioned one of the most perfect seasons the town had ever witnessed: a 10-0 record, a state championship and a return to the glory years of the past.
In 1964 and 1965, under coach Earl Bruce, Massillon won all 20 games and was awarded back-to-back state titles. But Coach Bruce left for Ohio State and the Tigers fell upon hard times during the next three seasons. So the search was on for a coach that would return Massillon to the top. In the spring of 1969, Bob Commings was hired to assume the coaching duties, having won his last 22 games at Struthers. Coach Commings would stay for five seasons before accepting the position of head coach at his alma mater, the University of Iowa. But what a glorious five seasons it was.
The first real chance for Massillon fans to meet the new coach came during the spring kickoff at the Massillon American Legion. It was there that Coach Commings would display the fire and enthusiasm that was so prevalent in his personality. His love for the game would just envelop anyone who got near. There were handshakes aplenty as fans would hope that some of the vigor would rub off. Each person at the event left with the feeling that this man was someone special and was situated in exactly the right place and the right time atop the Tiger program.
Coach Commings inherited a team that was lean on senior talent, but he began to assemble the pieces and fill the voids with promising underclassmen. Suffering through the usual growing pains of a first-year coach, the 1969 Tigers finished the season 7-2-1. But they were competitive in every game, including in a 14-7 last minute loss to Canton McKinley (9-1). That set the stage for a run to the top.
In 1970, with several outstanding players returning and Commings’ football philosophy firmly in place, Massillon rolled to ten consecutive victories, completely dominating every opponent. This 1970 team was duly acclaimed first in the state and second in the nation. As a personal reward, Commings was selected to lead the North All-Star team in the following year’s summer classic. With several Massillon players suited up, the North won the game 14-0.
But back to the 1970 season, which became a showdown between Massillon and Upper Arlington. In 1966, the Golden Bears played the Tigers for the first time and won on the road, 21-6. That victory firmly cemented UA as a state power. Arlington went on to post a 9-1 record, dropping their finale to Columbus Watterson (10-0), which was awarded the title. But the Bears ran the table for the next three years and were awarded the Associated Press state title each time. Included in that a 7-6 triumph over a 9-1 Tiger team in 1967. However, preseason prognosticators believed that the 1970 Massillon team had the talent to wrestle the state title away from Upper Arlington.
The Tigers were led by a stellar cast, including:
Mike Mauger: 6’-0”, 195 lb. senior tailback; Ohio Class AAA player of the year; rushed for 1200 yards at 7.5 yards per carry; scored 152 points; University of Wisconsin and Kent State University; tried out with the Dallas Cowboys.
Dennis Franklin: 6’-0”, 180 lb. senior quarterback; second team all-Ohio; University of Michigan, 3-year starter at quarterback; Detroit Lions.
Larry Harper: 5’-8”, 156 lb. senior wingback; Miami of Ohio; Churchman’s Magazine All-American; executive with Poloraid and Nike.
Steve Luke: 6’-2”, 186 lb. senior linebacker/tight end; third team all-Ohio; The Ohio State University; Green Bay Packers; co-founder USAthletes. Brother Bill also played in 1970.
Tim Ridgley: 5’-10”, 210 lb. senior defensive tackle; first team all-Ohio; Wyoming (football/baseball); Massillon head baseball coach.
Steve Studer: 5’-11”, 200 lb. junior center; all-Ohio (1971); Bowling Green; tried out with Chicago Bears; Massillon strength and conditioning coach.
Massillon opened the season with a 71-0 shellacking of Trotwood Madison, behind an offense that rolled up 533 yards. Tailback Mike Mauger set the tone for the season by romping 80 yards for a touchdown on the very first play of the game. Then, after disposing of Cleveland Benedictine 32-7 and Alliance 36-12, it was time to get down to business.
The opponent was Niles McKinley, an All-American Conference game that would be played on the road in front of a sellout crowd of 15,000. It turned out to be a defensive affair, with the ground-oriented Tigers hampered by a gimpy Mauger at tailback, who was injured the previous week. In fact, the only scoring of the first half was on a late field goal by Niles. But Massillon came roaring back in the second half to score three unanswered touchdowns and win 22-3. They also held the Red Dragons to just 132 yards. Niles would finish the season with a 7-2-1 record.
With the tough one behind them the Tigers went on a tear, outscoring their next six opponents 251-7. First up was Toledo Whitmer (7-3), a 41-0 victory in which Massillon surrendered just 69 yards. Next came a 40-0 blanking of Steubenville (6-4), behind a 416-yard offensive effort. It took just 40 plays to take care of Barberton, winning 52-0.
In a conference game at Warren, 15,000 rain-soaked fans watched the Tigers take the Black Panthers apart 22-0. Defense was the tone of the day and Massillon held Warren (5-5) to just three first downs and 29 yards of offense, none in the air. As expected, there was a bit of complacency when hapless Akron St. Vincent came to town. Massillon scored easily the first time it touched the ball to assume a 6-0 lead, only to see the Irish come right back on an 80-yard drive to take an early second quarter lead, 7-6. But the Tigers came back to life and showed why they were destined for greatness, scoring 36 points during the remainder of the quarter enroute to a 68-7 blowout. St. Vincent would manage just three yards for the rest of the night.
Here’s the Tigers vs. McKinley
Entering Game Ten against Canton McKinley, the Tigers were in first place in the Associated Press Poll, Upper Arlington at 9-0 was a close second and McKinley at 8-0-1 was third (the tie was vs. Niles). Based on these standings, all that was left for the Tigers to finish in first place was to defeat the Pups. Fans woke up that Saturday to a cold downpour, conditions that would persist for the entire day. It wasn’t pleasant for the 22,500 fans in attendance, but the players didn’t seem to mind. The victory dance started early when Massillon’s Larry Harper returned the opening kickoff 94-yards for a touchdown to give the locals an early 8-0 lead. Keeping the ball on the ground for the entire game, the Tigers ground out three more scores, two by Mike Mauger and one by quarterback Dennis Franklin on a 37-yard naked boot. The celebration was on as Massillon rolled to a 28-0 victory behind a 258-yard rushing attack. Mauger led the way with 27 carries for 137 yards. Franklin would throw just two passes. Meanwhile, McKinley was held to a mere 115 yards, threatening to score just once.
Massillon game scores:
Trotwood Madison (71-0)
Cleveland Benedictine (32-7) – finished 9-1
Alliance (36-12)
Niles (22-3) – finished 7-2-1
Toledo Whitmer (41-0)
Steubenville (40-0)
Barberton (52-0)
Warren Harding (22-0)
Akron St. Vincent (68-7)
Canton McKinley (28-0) – No. 3; finished 8-1-1
10-0 Record: 412-29
Upper Arlington ended their season 10-0, which at least kept them in contention for the crown. Below are their season results:
Mentor (27-6)
Worthington (35-6)
Cincinnati Princeton (24-7) – finished 8-2
Portsmouth (27-0)
Akron Garfield (41-7)
Lancaster (21-20) – No. 6; finished 8-1-1
Zanesville (34-10)
Chillicothe (49-0)
Newark (51-0)
Marietta (27-8)
10-0 Record: 336-64
Massillon was ranked No.1 throughout most of entire season, continuously from Week 5 on, and solidified that ranking in the final voting with the big victory over previously undefeated and state-ranked Canton McKinley. Arlington was certainly hurt by a 1-point victory over Lancaster. Here’s how the final A.P. voting went:
Massillon (10-0) – 223
Upper Arlington (10-0) – 210
Canton McKinley (8-1-1) – 119
Sidney (10-0) – 116
Cincinnati Moeller (9-1) – 115
Lancaster (8-1-1) – 104
Sandusky (9-1) – 92
Warren Western Reserve (9-1) – 84
Columbus East (8-1) – 50
Troy (10-0) – 25
Of course, 3-time defending champion Upper Arlington was none too pleased with the final results and there were informal talks about a post-season game to decide it in a playoff format. The proceeds would be used to benefit the Marshall University football program, which suffered the loss of their entire team that year from a plane crash. But the OHSAA would not approve the game. So the final results would stand with Massillon as the state champs. Nevertheless, the two teams met in Columbus two years later and the Tigers emerged a 14-0 victor.
1970 would be that last time Massillon was accorded Ohio Championship status. Two years later the OHSAA would institute the state playoffs and, in spite of numerous state semifinal and final game appearances, the Tigers would never take the crown due to the dominance of the parochial schools, something that wasn’t present prior to the playoffs. But the accomplishments of that 1970 team are still remembered by many Massillon faithful. It was a team that outscored its opponents 412-29. It averaged 6.5 yards per play while holding its opponents to a mere 2.2. It wasn’t a huge team size-wise, but it possessed outstanding speed on both sides of the ball. It also had some very talented players, several of whom played major college and professional ball. But most of all it was a group of players that just wanted to win and win big, never letting down their guard.
The offense was a unit that could be relied upon to score the first time it touched the ball. Its consistency to move up and down the field was uncanny. The “bread and butter” play was a simple toss sweep to Mauger. But the speed of the offensive line enabled the blockers to fly to the outside and pave the way for the 210 lb. tailback who, while not being the swiftest of running backs, was extremely adept at following his blockers. When QB Dennis Franklin was not handing off to Mauger in the wing-T scheme, he would flip the ball to Larry Harper on the jet sweep. That play was just devastating against opponents. Franklin himself was an average passer, but he possessed great leadership ability, a trait that aided him throughout a 3-year stint as QB at the University of Michigan.
The defense was simply smothering. Commings believed in an attacking system, one that placed eight men near the line of scrimmage to cut down opposing players before they had a chance to establish their blocks. In fact, opponents averaged just four first down rushing per game. Few Massillon teams controlled the line of scrimmage as well as this eleven did. That coupled with an outstanding offense was a formula for success.
At the end of the season Coach Bob Commings was selected as the Class AAA Coach of the Year. After two years as coach of the Tigers his record stood at 17-2-1 having outscored the opposition by an average of 36-7. For his achievement he was selected as the North head coach in the 1971 Ohio All-Star Game. Commings would coach for three more years before taking over the head reigns at the University of Iowa, after compiling a record of 43-6-2, including a pair of undefeated regular seasons.
Mike Mauger was named Class AAA Back of the Year. Tim Ridgley was awarded first team all-state offensive lineman and Steve Luke was named as second team linebacker. Unfortunately, a couple of outstanding seniors were overlooked on this team. They included quarterback Dennis Franklin and flanker Larry Harper.
Coaching staff:
Head Coach Bob Commings
Larry Coyer
Edward Kinney
Jim Letcavits
Gus Pachis
Ducky Schroeder
Nick Vrotsos
Dale Walterhouse
The following photos are courtesy of Rob Engelhardt (1970 WHS Hi-Times)
Quarterback Dennis Franklin under centerMike Mauger (22) heads for another touchdown; Mike McGuire (84)Willie Spencer (82) presesures the quarerback; John Nussbaumer (68)Kirk Strobel (76) leads the way for Tom Cardinal (33)
The Ohio High School Athletic Association has released its revised divisional and regional team assignments for the 2020 post-season playoffs. With last year’s competitive balance formula essentially in place once again this year, there are very few changes to Division 2.
One Division 1 team, Toledo Bowsher, moved down to Division 2, while interestingly no team moved up to replace them. Cincinnati Elder, the 2019 Division 1 state runner-up, had the potential to also drop down on account of reduced enrollment, but the competitive advantage was sufficient to keep them in the top group. Five Division 2 teams are now in Division 3, including Columbus DeSales, Chillicothe, Alliance, Sylvania Southview and Parma Padua. Replacing them are University School, Dayton Belmont and Independence, which moved up from Division 3.
Massillon remains in Region 5 along with Akron Hoban. The only change to the region is the departure of Alliance.
It appears that once again Division 2 will be a formidable challenge for any team. So one has to ask: who among the 106 teams in that Division are expected to dominate? A few names readily jump to the top, such as Akron Hoban, Cincinnati LaSalle, Massillon and Cincinnati Winton Woods. And several others can also be thought of as in the mix; teams such as Mayfield, Toledo Central, Hudson and Avon.
So to figure out who are the contenders, the two best factors to consider are regular season record and playoff success. A time span of the last seven years is considered, since this is the period of time since the OHSAA created a new Division 2 by dropping several former Division 1 teams into its ranks. Also, only teams that have won at least 40 regular season games over those past seven years are considered. The chart below matches these two factors against each other.
The “red” data points indicate teams that have won state titles. The “green” data points represent teams that have won regional titles, but not state titles. The remaining teams under consideration are as indicated in “black.” The “blue” line is a curve fit of all data points shown. Those teams located above the line appear to excel more than their regular season record would predict otherwise. Conversely, those below the line appear to struggle in the playoffs.
One can see that most of the teams are located in the vicinity of the “blue” line, although some, like Kings and Columbus Walnut Ridge win a lot of regular season games, but then fail in the playoffs against the better teams. The most likely reason for this is apparent weaker schedules.
Well at the opposite end of the spectrum are the highly successful parochial schools, including Cincinnati LaSalle, Akron Hoban and Toledo Central (aside from Cleveland Benedictine, which has just a “black” data point). These three schools have combined for six Division 2 state titles and four Division 3 state titles. This in spite of the wide discrepancy in regular season marks, which of course vary on account of their difficulty of schedule.
Among the public schools Avon, Massillon and Hudson lead the pack. All have shown great success both during the regular season and in the playoffs. Although none has won that coveted season-ending prize, they have combined for nine regional titles and two state finals appearances. Next up are Massillon Perry and Cincinnati Winton Woods. They have garnered four regional titles and three state finals appearances.
Next year the OHSAA will increase the number of playoff qualifiers in each region from eight to twelve, giving many more teams the opportunity to record playoff wins. Incidentally, had this system been place for the past seven years and had the teams in the region been the same as this year, Massillon would have been the only team in Region 5 to qualify for the playoffs in each and every year, while Hudson, Perry and Bedford would have qualified six times. The Tigers would have had a bye in the first-round in five of those years; Hudson, Perry and Akron Hoban, three times each.
Below are details of all the teams that are considered the best in Division 2.
Cincinnati LaSalle
Regular Season Record: 48-22
Playoff Appearances: 5
Playoff Record: 22-1
Playoff Highlights: 4 state titles
Akron Hoban
Regular Season Record: 57-13
Playoff Appearances: 5
Playoff Record: 22-1
Playoff Highlights: D2: 2 state titles; D3: 2 state titles
Toledo Central Catholic
Regular Season Record: 64-6
Playoff Appearances: 7
Playoff Record: 22-4
Playoff Highlights: D2: 1 regional title; D3: 1 state title; 3 regional titles; 1 state finals appearance
Avon
Regular Season Record: 67-3
Playoff Appearances: 7
Playoff Record: 14-6
Playoff Highlights: 3 regional titles
Massillon
Regular Season Record: 54-16
Playoff Appearances: 6
Playoff Record: 12-6
Playoff Highlights: 3 regional titles; 2 state finals appearances
Hudson
Regular Season Record: 52-18
Playoff Appearances: 6
Playoff Record: 10-6
Playoff Highlights: 3 regional titles
Massillon Perry
Regular Season Record: 47-23
Playoff Appearances: 4
Playoff Record: 9-4
Playoff Highlights: 2 regional titles; 2 state finals appearances
Cincinnati Winton Woods
Regular Season Record: 47-23
Playoff Appearances: 3
Playoff Record: 8-3
Playoff Highlights: 2 regional titles; 1 state finals appearance
Olentangy Lewis Center
Regular Season Record: 51-19
Playoff Appearances: 4
Playoff Record: 8-4
Playoff Highlights: 1 regional title
Mayfield
Regular Season Record: 48-22
Playoff Appearances: 5
Playoff Record: 6-5
Playoff Highlights: 1 regional title
Anthony Wayne
Regular Season Record: 47-23
Playoff Appearances: 4
Playoff Record: 5-4
Playoff Highlights: 1 regional title
Nordonia
Regular Season Record: 44-26
Playoff Appearances: 3
Playoff Record: 5-3
Playoff Highlights: 1 regional title; 1 state finals appearance
The first real chance for Massillon fans to meet the new coach came during the spring kickoff at the Massillon American Legion. It was there that Coach Commings would display the fire and enthusiasm that was so prevalent in his personality. His love for the game would just envelop anyone who got near. There were handshakes aplenty as fans would hope that some of the vigor would rub off. Each person at the event left with the feeling that this man was someone special and was situated in exactly the right place and the right time atop the Tiger program.
1970 would be that last time Massillon was accorded Ohio Championship status. Two years later the OHSAA would institute the state playoffs and, in spite of numerous state semifinal and final game appearances, the Tigers would never take the crown due to the dominance of the parochial schools, something that wasn’t present prior to the playoffs. But the accomplishments of that 1970 team are still remembered by many Massillon faithful. It was a team that outscored its opponents 412-29. It averaged 6.5 yards per play while holding its opponents to a mere 2.2. It wasn’t a huge team size-wise, but it possessed outstanding speed on both sides of the ball. It also had some very talented players, several of whom played major college and professional ball. But most of all it was a group of players that just wanted to win and win big, never letting down their guard.
