2017: Massillon 38 Austintown Fitch 28

September 29, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Massillon ditches Fitch to keep roll going

Chris Easterling – The Independent

AUSTINTOWN There aren’t many places in which Massillon has played multiple games at where it can say it has accumulated a losing record over the years. The home of the Austintown Fitch Falcons, however, is one of those places.

Well, the proper verb tense would be the past tense of “was” now.

The Tigers went into Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium on Friday night and both evened their all-time record there while extending their 2017 win streak with a 38-28 victory over Fitch.

“We’re definitely proud of our guys tonight,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “They played hard tonight. It was a hard-fought victory.”

The win, the fifth in a row for the Tigers, improves them to 5-1 on the season. Meanwhile, Massillon – which had lost its previous two trips to Fitch – is now 6-6 all-time in Austintown.

Like most trips to Fitch, the Tigers had to fight through their share of adversity. That started before the game even began with a scoreboard clock which didn’t operate, requiring the officials on the field to keep them abreast of the time.

“It was awful,” Moore said. “It’s not their fault; their scoreboard malfunctioned. It was difficult. We kept our own time on the sideline. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, but it was going to be a good estimate. The referees did a great job of communicating time to us. It was handled as well as it could possibly be handled.”

There was also a blocked punt which Fitch’s Mike Ferree recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to help the Falcons tie the game at 14-14 in the second quarter. That punt came at the end of a series in which Massillon was flagged for an offensive pass interference to put them well behind the chains.

It was one of only two times the Tigers – or either team, really – punted on the night. But it would the second of four times in which Fitch was able to tie the game, also matching Massillon at 7-7, 21-21 and 28-28.

The Tigers, though, never had to play from behind. A big reason for that was a punishing offensive game plan which featured a whole lot of running the football with Jamir Thomas and Zion Phifer.

Thomas ran for a game-high 163 yards on 30 carries, while scoring touchdowns to give Massillon leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 28-21. Phifer added 92 yards on 21 carries and a score which gave the Tigers a 21-14 third-quarter lead.

“That’s pretty much the game plan,” said Moore, whose team ran for 254 yards on 52 carries in the game. “We used our offensive line that’s played really well. They played really well tonight.”

The go-ahead touchdown for Massillon, though, came through the air. Aidan Longwell found Tre’Von Morgan for a 12-yard touchdown with roughly 4:30 remaining for a 35-28 lead.

Longwell was 7-of-13 for 113 yards with the one score. Morgan had four of those catches for 78 yards.

The Tigers would add a 39-yard field goal by Klay Moll with roughly two minutes remaining for a 10-point cushion. The field goal was set up by the lone turnover of the game, a fumble by Fitch which was returned 35 yards by Dyson Berry.

Fitch would remain in the game thanks to its own rushing attack, which gained 296 yards on 38 attempts. Ralph Fitzgerald’s 58-yard run on the Falcons’ second play tied the game at 7-7 and was part of his 107-yard rushing night.

However, the Falcons’ biggest threat was quarterback Joey Zielinski. Zielinski rushed for 106 of his 114 yards and both of his touchdowns in the second half.

“They’re a good football team that runs the ball well,” said Moore, whose team came up with four fourth-down stops, including three on their side of the 50. “That’s what they do. Their quarterback’s a middle linebacker, so throwing the football’s not going to be their thing. They’re a good team.”

2017: Massillon 56, Bedford 46

September 22, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Massillon outlasts Bedford in shootout

Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 22, 2017 11:06 PM

MASSILLON – Massillon knew what Bedford was coming to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for Friday night. The Tigers knew that three years ago when the Bearcats called them up to schedule the game in the first place.

Bedford was coming down trying to make a statement. Instead, it was Massillon which, ultimately, made the statement.

The Tigers showed they could light up a scoreboard as well as the highly-touted and explosive Bearcats. They handed Bedford, the state’s No. 9-ranked Division II team, its first loss of the season while winning their fourth in a row with a wild 56-46 victory.

“We needed our offense tonight,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “It was a great team with great players that we knew was going to be hard to contain. We got a couple of stops, not enough, but our offense stepped up big. We’re happy with the 10-point victory.”

Massillon scored on eight of its first 10 possessions in leading by as many as 26 points after the third quarter. The Tigers took that lead when Aidan Longwell threw the third of his three touchdown passes, this one a 25-yarder to Austin Kutscher with 5 seconds remaining in the quarter.

That was one of four Massillon third-quarter touchdowns which helped turn a 28-22 halftime lead into a 56-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.

While the touchdown pass capped the scoring in the third for the Tigers, it was touchdown runs which were the story of the quarter. Massillon rushed for 126 yards on 20 third-quarter carries, with Zion Phifer scoring on a pair of runs and Jamir Thomas adding a score.

Phifer had 91 of his career-best 196 yards on 10 third-quarter carries. Thomas had 35 of his 99 rushing yards on 10 third-quarter carries.

“We just ran the football,” Moore said of the third-quarter burst. “Our offensive line played great.”

Massillon finished with 292 rushing yards for the game on 58 carries. The Tigers added 128 passing yards as Longwell was 7-of-10 with two scores to Kutscher and one to Jayden Ballard.

The Tigers needed every one of those yards they gained and each of the points they scored. Bedford showed why its offense was so highly regarded by gaining 476 yards of their own and pulling within 56-46 on the second of a pair of Emmanuel Jenkins-to-Davion Johnson fourth-quarter touchdown passes with 7:03 remaining.

Jenkins was 21-of-36 for 313 yards with three touchdowns and one interceptions. Johnson had 16 catches for 259 yards and two scores.

Kenny Wilkins’ fourth two-point conversion run provided the final Bearcat points. Bedford converted five two-point tries, including a Wilkins-to-Jenkins throwback pass.

Massillon couldn’t have gone to the best Hollywood scriptwriter and not come up with a better start to the game. Two Bedford possessions, two turnovers; two Tiger possession, two touchdowns.

Logan Anania’s interception turned into a Longwell-to-Ballard touchdown pass on Massillon’s first offensive play. A Hunter Wantz fumble recovery ended up with a 17-yard Phifer touchdown run for a 14-0 Tiger lead with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Wilkins, though, gave Bedford a 16-14 lead – its lone lead of the game – with a pair of scoring runs as part of his 162-yard rushing night. One was a 65-yard run one play after Massillon went up two scores; the other a 6-yard run five seconds into the second quarter.

Both two-point tries were good for the Bearcats.

Massillon executed a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive to re-take the lead for good on Thomas’ 3-yard run with 7:09 left in the half. Longwell threaded a pass between a Bedford defender’s hands to Kutscher for a 16-yard touchdown and a 28-16 lead with 2:39 left in the half.

The Bearcats would get a controversial 11-yard touchdown pass from Jenkins to DeCarleen Townsend as the half expired to make it 28-22. Bedford was flagged twice for penalties after being stopped at the 1-yard line with 2 seconds left in the half.

GAME STATS

2017: Massillon 42, Youngstown Ursuline 13

September 15, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Tigers air it out for third consecutive win

Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 15, 2017 10:32 PM

MASSILLON – Massillon had won behind a punishing running game over a modest two-game winning streak. To make it a three-game win streak, the Tigers decided to show they could throw the ball as well.

Sophomore quarterback Aidan Longwell looked anything but like a sophomore has he lit up the Ursuline defense to the tune of 324 yards and five touchdowns as Massillon rolled to a 42-13 win Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

“Aidan had a great game,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after his team improved to 3-1. “You have to give credit to Ursuline; they did a great job up front. Their defense gave us tough sledding running the football, which is what we had been good at. We needed to go to the air, and Aidan threw great balls and made great decisions; our receivers caught the ball well. That was really the difference for us.”

If there was a black cloud to come over the night, it came late in the third quarter when Longwell was hurt on a second-down play. Longwell, who was 11-of-17 passing for the game, was walking without an apparent limp during the postgame handshake line, but Moore wouldn’t state for certain the true extent without speaking to the trainer.

The tone of the night was set early by the Tiger quarterback, who was making just his fourth career start. After sandwiching two incompletions around a 10-yard completition to start, he would complete nine of his next 13 passes – four of which went for touchdowns – for 283 yards to help Massillon open up a 28-7 halftime lead.

Longwell was 10-of-16 for 293 yards with the four scores in the first half alone. To put that in perspective, in the Week 3 win at Warren Harding, he was 8-of-11 for 120 yards and two touchdowns for the whole game.

By the end of the first quarter against Ursuline, Longwell had completed 7-of-11 passes for 156 yards and two scores, both to Austin Kutscher. Kutscher had a 39-yard scoring catch on a second-and-25 play to give Massillon a 7-0 lead on its opening drive, then caught a 34-yarder from Longwell on third-and-8 on the second possession for a 14-0 lead.

“He throws a wonderful ball,” Ursuline coach Larry Kempe said of Longwell. “He throws a good ball. He’s smart enough to get rid of the ball very quick. I think he’s going to be a real, real nice player.”

Longwell and Kutscher would hook up against on Massillon’s first play after stopping Ursuline on downs at the Tiger 31. The 69-yard strike marked the seventh time this season the two had connected for scores, this time giving the Tigers a 21-7 lead just under three minutes into the second quarter.

Kutscher finished with 198 receiving yards on seven catches. He added a 31-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter which made it 35-7.

“He’s a great player,” Moore said of Kutscher. “He’s one of our captains tonight. Nobody works harder than Austin. He’s very skilled, very savvy as a receiver.”

Aydrik Ford became the first Massillon player to catch a touchdown pass other than Kutscher when he brought in a 47-yard pass from Longwell on third-and-9. The play made it 28-7 with 3:01 left in the half.

All of the passing proved to be somewhat necessary, as Ursuline was doing its part to not allow Massillon to go to its bread-and-butter, the power running game. Jamir Thomas’ 10-yard run on the fourth play of the Tigers’ second second-quarter possession alone proved to more than double the team’s first-half rushing totals.

Massillon went into halftime with just 19 net rushing yards on 13 attempts, a number only slightly skewed by a pair of kneel-downs to end the half. The Tigers would finish with 117 rushing yards, 71 by Zion Phifer who scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 42-13.

“On film, we saw what they were trying to do with the running game,” Kempe said. “We had three different plans of attack that worked very well for us. Truth be told, for the first time in four weeks, played with great passion.”

Ursuline, meanwhile, was moving the ball consistently on the ground. The Irish, though, struggled to finish off drives.

The first-half drives for Ursuline all reached at least the Tiger 37. However, only the Irish’s second possession reached the end zone, on Joe Floyd’s 7-yard run to pull them within 14-7 with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

Ursuline punted from the Tigers 40 and 39, while being stopped on downs at the Massillon 29 and 16 in the first half. The Irish also had second-half drives reach the Tiger 1 and 34 without scoring.

The Irish, who had 215 rushing yards in the first half, finished with 269 on the ground. They would add a 4-yard touchdown run by Floyd to make it 35-13 with 7:10 remaining.

Floyd rushed for 132 yards on 35 carries for Ursuline. Quarterback Jared Fabry added 113 yards on 17 attempts.

GAME STATS

2017: Massillon 31, Warren Harding 21

September 8, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Massillon runs past Warren Harding for second win

Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 08, 2017 10:11 PM

WARREN Massillon and Warren Harding have engaged in more than their share of shootouts over the last two or three seasons. While the faces may have changed, that trend didn’t change on Friday night as they renewed acquaintances at Mollenkopf Stadium.

There were no Austin Jasinskis or Lynn Bowdens on the field. However, players such as Jamir Thomas and Kayron Adams were, both of whom had a hand in what ultimately became a 31-21 Massillon win on “Throwback Night” in Warren.

“First off, (Warren’s) a good football team with some good running backs,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team is 2-1 heading into Week 4’s home game with Ursuline. “We had a hard time tackling those guys, plain and simple. You just swing harder. You just swing hard and keep playing hard.”

The biggest hammer the Tigers were able to swing was Thomas, who rushed for 148 yards and a score – which gave Massillon a 14-7 first-quarter lead – on 27 carries. He helped Massillon rush for 209 yards on 45 carries as a team, with Zion Phifer adding 61 yards on 14 carries.

Those rushing numbers helped the Tigers offset a Warren offense which gained 276 yards of its own on the ground in the game.

Of those, 202 yards and all three touchdowns came from Kayron Adams. However, 66 yards came on the Raiders’ lone second-half score, a third-quarter touchdown that cut it to 28-21 with 3:50 remaining in the quarter.

“We were vastly improved from Week 1,” said Warren coach Steve Arnold, whose team – which was paying tribute to the old Warren G. Harding Panther teams – falls to 0-2. “We threw the ball better. We’re going to be able to run the ball all year; I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”

For Massillon, it was a case of never having to play from behind. That meant from the opening seconds of the game.

Anthony Ballard drew up the perfect start to the game for Massillon. Ballard took the opening kickoff at his own 16, found a crease in the blocking and raced virtually untouched to the end zone for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the game.

“We wanted to kick the ball down the numbers and we kicked the ball down the middle,” Arnold said. “That’s not what we practiced all week. So, consequently, you kick it down the middle on a shift, we have an overload on one side.”

Almost like a starter’s gun at a track meet, Ballard’s kickoff signaled the start of an early shootout between the two long-time rivals. Four consecutive combined possessions between the teams would result in four combined touchdowns, the last of which was a 15-yard pass from Aidan Longwell to Austin Kutscher with 7:46 remaining in the first half to give Massillon a 21-14 lead.

The two would also hook up for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter which made it 28-14 Tigers. Longwell finished 8-of-11 for 120 yards, while Kutscher had four catches for 82 yards.

Adams had both first-half touchdowns for Warren: a 7-yard run to tie it at 7-7 and a 15-yard run to even things up at 14-14. The last came with 8:52 remaining in the half.

Adams added a 66-yard touchdown run one play after the second Longwell-to-Kutscher touchdown pass, cutting the Massillon lead to 28-21. Warren would get inside the Tiger 20 only once more after that, while Massillon would tack on a 21-yard Klay Moll field goal with 6:03 remaining.

Massillon had a hand in both Raider first-half scoring drives thanks to what has been an early-season issue: penalties. The Tigers had back-to-back flags on the first – a late hit and a pass interference – to move the ball from their own 33 to the 9.

The second drive was aided by a iffy pass-interference call in the end zone on a 50-50 ball on fourth-and-12 from the Massillon 30. The next play, Adams scored his second touchdown of the night.

The Tigers were flagged eight times for 83 yards in the game. That includes six flags for 69 yards in the first half.

“We have to get back to the drawing board and watch the film and get things corrected,” said Moore, whose team has been flagged 39 times in three games. “It’s a continuous process of getting better every week. That’s just part of it.”

One other early-season trend helped Massillon come up with the game’s first defensive stop. Dyson Berry intercepted a pass in the end zone on third-and-31 for Warren with 3:28 remaining in the half. It was the third pick in as many games for Berry.

GAME STATS

2017: Massillon 24, Canton Glenoak 10

September 1, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Massillon Keeps Ball, Win Away From GlenOak

Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 01, 2017 10:45 PM

Massillon played a game of keep-away on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers spent much of the game keeping the ball away from GlenOak. That led directly to Massillon keeping the win away from the Golden Eagles as well, as it emerged with a 24-10 victory to even its record at 1-1.

Aided by a 33-carry, 107-yard effort from Jamir Thomas, Massillon was able to run 80 plays in the game to just 43 for GlenOak, which is 0-2 for the first time since 1998. The Tigers finished with 356 total yards, while the Golden Eagles’ 188.

“There’s no doubt about it he was a part of it,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said of Thomas, who had missed the season-opening loss to Mentor due to disciplinary reasons. “But great performance by our offense and a great performance by our defense, especially in the first half. I’m proud of those guys.”

The tone of the game was set in the first half. Massillon’s first two drives took 19 and 21 plays, respectively.

Even more importantly, they both resulted in points. Klay Moll ended the first one with a 23-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead; Thomas ended the second one with a 1-yard plunge to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead.

By halftime, Massillon had already run 45 plays for 166 yards to just 16 plays for GlenOak for 61 yards. Of those, nine plays and 30 yards came on the Golden Eagles’ first drive, which ended in a Dean Sarris 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.

“The first half, obviously, we just couldn’t get off the field defensively,” GlenOak coach Scott Garcia said. “They ran the ball right down our throats. I think it was 45 plays for them in the first half to 16 for us. You’re not going to win games like that.”

The running game certainly was the backbone of the Tiger win. Massillon ran for 157 net yards on 55 carries – including 28 yards on 12 carries on a 15-play, game-sealing fourth-quarter scoring drive that ended on an Aidan Longwell 1-yard run with 2:33 remaining.

However, two pass plays may have been the ultimate difference. The first was a 33-yard Longwell-to-Austin Kutscher touchdown pass immediately after a Dyson Berry interception in the third quarter to put the Tigers in front 17-3.

The second, maybe bigger, one came on the final scoring drive. Facing a second-and-21 from the GlenOak 38, Longwell hit Dean Clark on a wheel route for 36 yards to the Eagle 2.

Three plays later, Longwell powered in from the 1 for a 24-10 Tiger lead. GlenOak would go four-and-out on its next possession to squelch any further threat.

“It was a great throw,” Moore said of the Longwell-to-Clark pass. “It was sort of a back-shoulder throw. Great call by our offensive coaching staff. The kids executed, and that’s what it takes to win big games.”

Longwell, in his second start, was 15-of-25 for 209 yards with the one touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, GlenOak quarterback Tate Rhoads was never able to get the one part of his game that had Tiger defensive coaches most concerned in the week leading to the game. That would be his rushing ability.

Rhoads, who had 78 yards on six first-half carries before leaving with a broken collarbone in the teams’ 2016 meeting, was held to just six rushing yards on four carries.

“He missed a couple of reads that he should’ve given the ball,” Garcia said. “He just didn’t do it. He didn’t play very well and he knows it, and we’re going to move on.”

Rhoads was 16-of-24 for 145 yards with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chris Armstead with 8:01 remaining to cut Massillon’s lead to 17-10. He also had the interception, which Berry made on a diving catch after the ball deflected off of the receiver.
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2017: Massillon 14, Mentor 49

August 25, 2017March 27, 2018
by Eric Smith

Momentum Shift Buries Massillon In Opener

Chris Easterling
The Independent
Aug 25, 2017 10:48 PM

MASSILLON Things were going just fine for Massillon for a quarter in its season opener against Mentor at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The Tigers held the lead and were keeping the high-flying Cardinals out of the end zone.

Then, on Massillon’s second play of the second quarter, a tipped deep ball was intercepted by Mentor’s Billy Gorka – with Gorka lying on his back.

Almost like it was an omen, that play changed everything.

The Cardinals would score on their next seven possessions, turning a seven-point Tiger lead into a 49-14 Mentor opening-night rout.

“They played well,” a subdued Massillon coach Nate Moore said afterwards. “They’re really good offensively.”

After being held to just 40 yards on 11 first-quarter plays, which ended with Massillon in front 7-0, the Cardinals would gain 413 over 29 plays in the next two quarters alone. They would lead 42-14 after three quarters, then make it 49-14 three plays into the fourth quarters.

Mentor finished the game with 501 yards. Massillon, which had 96 yards in the first quarter, ended things with 249 total yards.

Of those 249 yards, 66 came on a touchdown pass from Aidan Longwell to Austin Kutscher in the third quarter. That made it briefly 28-14.

“We just needed to settle in,” Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno said. “They were really geared up, and probably too much. I tried to crack a joke, but it didn’t work. After that, we were a really good football team.”

The ending was such a far cry from the beginning, especially for the Tigers.

Massillon couldn’t have scripted a better start to the football season. A three-and-out by the Tiger defense on the first Cardinals possession led to great starting field position, at the Mentor 42.

A bad snap on first down, though, was followed by a 23-yard pass from Aidan Longwell to Austin Kutscher. The very next play, Marcellus Blake raced virtually untouched for a 21-yard touchdown run to give Massillon a 7-0 lead 94 seconds into the season.

“It was a good start,” Moore said.

Blake, who finished with 10 yards on 47 carries, found himself in a featured role due to the absence of a pair of Tigers, Jamir Thomas and Louis Partridge. Both players did not play, according to Moore, due to internal matters he wouldn’t discuss further.

Compounding things, Blake left the game early in the third quarter with an injury on a punt coverage. His status for the Week 2 home game against GlenOak is unknown.

Mentor’s offense began to get going on the next two first-quarter drives, reaching Massillon’s 25 and 34, respectively. The first one, though, ended on a diving interception by Dyson Berry, while the second one was halted on a fourth-down incomplete pass in the end zone on the first play of the second quarter.

Gorka’s interception may have been the play that stood out the most as the momentum-changer, but it wasn’t the only one. Massillon’s second possession reached the Mentor 16, but the Tigers fumbled the ball away on first down.

“Not punching it in for a second touchdown also hurt,” Moore said. “If we stick that in, we go up 14-0. Obviously, that puts us in a much better position.”

That’s when the Mentor offense, which had been tuning up in the first quarter, hit the gear for which it’s become known. Three second-quarter possessions led to three second-quarter touchdowns for the Cardinals, who took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Outside of a Tiger personal foul flag on the first play of the first second-quarter possession and a Massillon offsides flag on the sixth play of the third, the three drives were textbook displays of crisp offensive football. A combined 23 plays over those three drives: 15 rushing plays for 103 yards, while 7-of-8 for 59 yards passing for quarterback Tadas Tatarunas.

All three scores were rushing for Mentor: 3-yard game-tying run by Chris Edmond; a 12-yard Tatarunas scamper for a 14-7 lead; and a 1-yard Nick Saginario plunge for a 21-7 lead.

Edmond finished with 111 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown run to make it 28-7 Mentor. Tatarunas rushed for 66 yards while completing 17-of-25 passes for 188 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns.

Massillon and Mentor Eclipsed 100 Points in 2007 Game

August 21, 2017August 25, 2017
by Don Engelhardt

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that this 6-4 Massillon team had put up 52 points on the eventual Division 1 state runner-up. It’s also hard to believe that they also lost the game. But the offenses prevailed in this one. And if you weren’t a fan of either team, then it just might have been one of the most entertaining high school games you ever saw. The final score was 56-52 in favor of Mentor.

Jason Hall’s Tigers entered Week 5 with a 2-2 record, having unexpectedly lost to both Solon and Parma Normandy. Mentor, meanwhile, dropped their opener to eventual Division 4 runner-up Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, but stormed back to take the next three, beating Strongsville (44-28), Solon (27-0) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (38-17). So there was no doubt that Mentor was the favored team. Only the Cardinals have always struggled when playing in Tigertown and this one turned out to be no different.

The two teams lit up the scoreboard right from the onset, with Mentor taking a 21-17 lead after three possessions by each squad. Following a 29-yard field goal by Steve Schott, KJ Herring scored from 50 yards out and then JB Price returned a fumbled punt 36 yards for a TD.

The onslaught continued right to halftime with 28 more points, 14 by each team, and Mentor holding onto a slim 4-point lead. For the Tigers, it was two Devoe Torrence rushing touchdowns, from nine and one-yards out, finishing off a pair of 80-yard drives. Could either team stop the other in the second half? Not likely.

Each team scored once in the third quarter to set up a thrilling fourth. Torrence had tallied his third from the nine yardline following a missed 49-yard field goal attempt from Schott. So entering the fourth quarter, Mentor was up 42-38.

It was one of those games where the team that scored last was going to win. It started quietly with a Mentor punt. Then a 24-yard TD by Torrence with 7:25 remaining, gave the Tigers a 45-42 lead. Mentor answered with a 2-yard TD with 4:01 to play, completing a 16-play methodical drive. Now it was Massillon’s turn. JT Turner returned the kickoff to the Mentor 49, with a 15-yard Cardinal penalty tacked on, placing the ball at the Mentor 34. From there, it took just eight plays, with big Steve Yoder bulling his way up the middle for 21 yards and the score, seemingly carrying half the Cardinal defense on his back. Schott’s kick was good and the Tigers were up 52-49.

But scoring was not the intent on that play and the TD came too early, leaving 1:52 on the clock. Too much time for the high-powered Mentor offense. And they did just what they were expected to. The winning 8-yard scoring pass came at the end of a 10-play, 79-yard drive, leaving a mere 24 seconds on the clock. Not enough time for Tigers to pull it out.

Massillon finished with 498 yards, rushing for 433 and passing for another 65. Chris Willoughby was 6 of 17. Devoe Torrence rushed 36 times for 283 yards and four touchdowns and KJ Herring added another 109.

Mentor rolled up 588 yards, rushing for 289 and passing for 299. Bart Tanski was 25 of 38. Tom Worden rushed 27 times for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns.

So how could a Massillon team that had been basically written off a week before do this to a Mentor team that was destined for greatness? Simple. Pure effort and intensity. And they kept that up for the rest of the season. Although they dropped a decision to Cleveland St. Ignatius the following week, the Tigers finished strong, winning their final four games and posting a winning record.

The Buddy LaRosa Football Classic

July 20, 2017August 2, 2017
by Don Engelhardt

It began as a modest 30 x 30 square foot neighborhood eatery and grew in size to over 50 locations throughout the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. Today, LaRosa’s Restaurants employ some 2,000 full and part-time workers and are one of the most popular venues in the Queen City. As a way of giving back to the community that supported him so well, Buddy LaRosa staged one of the finest high school football invitationals that Ohio has ever seen.

The event was held in Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium on September 1, 1990, and billed as “Cincinnati versus the USA.” In fact, the list of opponents for the classic was a literal “who’s-who” of prep school football, matched in the following five games (1989 records shown):

GAME 1: Brentwood Academy, TN (11-2), currently ranked No. 1 in the nation vs. Cincinnati LaSalle (7-3)

GAME 2: Berwick, PA (14-1) vs. Fairfield (5-5)

GAME 3: Massillon (10-3) vs. Covington Catholic, KY (11-2)

GAME 4: Mount Carmel, Chicago, IL (13-1), the 1989 Illinois state champion, vs. Cincinnati Moeller (11-3), Ohio’s 1989 state runner-up

GAME 5: Booker T. Washington, Tulsa, OK (13-2) vs. Cincinnati Elder (10-1)

In the opening game LaSalle upset Brentwood Academy 10-0 and then Fairfield beat Berwick 20-6, giving Cincinnati a 2-0 edge in the series. Now it was time for the orange and black to take the field.

Covington returned an experienced team under 15^th year head coach Lyn Ray. In fact, the Colonels were 38-4 over the past three years, including a pair of state titles. Massillon was coached by Lee Owens, who was in his third year as headman of the Tigers. Considered as one of the top powers in Ohio each year, Massillon was coming off an impressive 51-0 opening week victory over Stow, which finished the 1990 season with an 8-2 record.

Covington struck first, one minute into the game, by intercepting a pass and returning it 35 yards for touchdown. On their second attempt, the Tigers stalled at their own 25 and were faced with a punt situation. Only it was a fake. Up man Troy Burick took a direct snap and tossed a flair pass to Travis McGuire, who had adjusted his position to the outside. McGuire gathered the ball and raced 20 yards for a first down. From there, the Tigers drove to the end zone, with James McCullough scoring from the three. The PAT failed, but the gap was closed to 7-6.

In the second quarter Massillon began to take control, with touchdowns by Quarterback Barry Shertzer and McGuire, putting the Tigers up a halftime, 18-7.

Covington scored in the 3^rd to close the deficit to four points, but the Tigers exploded for 21 points late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. First Shertzer went over from the 15 following a recovered fumble. Then Falando Ashcraft tallied from 35 yards out. Finally, Scott Karenbauer returned a punt 77 yards for a TD to ice the game. Ryan John converted all three PATs. All of this occurred in less than two minutes of play.

The Tigers ended up completely dominating the Colonels in the stats department, leading in total yards, 369-111. On top of that, Ashcraft had a career day, rushing 28 times for 190 yards and was named the game’s MVP. It made for a great ride home from Cincinnati.

In the late games, Mount Carmel bested Moeller 20-7, and Booker T. Washington turned back Elder 21-9, giving USA the edge, 3-2.

Covington Catholic finished 9-1 that year, winning a District championship, while Massillon ended up 8-3, losing to Sandusky in the playoff regional finals. But this victory and rest of the season would set the stage for a greater 1991 season to follow.

’72 Game Against Upper Arlington Was a Classic

June 10, 2017August 4, 2017
by Don Engelhardt

Throughout Massillon’s storied football history numerous games have been played that significantly impacted the season, whether it be a league championship, the final A.P. Poll, a trip to the playoffs or determination of the state champion. But few were as big as the 1972 rematch between the Tigers and the Golden Bears of Upper Arlington, a buildup of which garnered instant statewide attention.

There was a bitter taste in the mouths of many Massillon fans back in 1966 for more than one reason. After showing complete dominance on the gridiron for the better part of four decades and coming off of consecutive state championships, the Tigers were sitting on an uncharacteristic record of 3-3-1. Compounding that was a 21-6 defeat in Tiger Stadium at the hands of Upper Arlington, a relative unknown from Columbus. It didn’t matter that future Ohio State head coach Earl Bruce had just left town and newcomer Bob Seaman had taken over. There was no room in Massillon rebuilding. It got even worse when during the following year the Tigers’ bid for an undefeated season was derailed at home by this same team, 7-6.

Although the Golden Bears lost the final game of that 1966 season to Columbus Watterson 35-0, negating an undefeated season and potential state title, they would go on to win the next three. In fact, UA’s head coach Marv Morehead would remain through the 1970 season and finish his 15-year career having lost just once (Watterson) in his last seven years. As a side note, both Arlington and Mentor finished 10-0 in 1968, but the title went to the defending champion Bears. Meanwhile Mentor, a 19-0 winner over the Tigers that year, would open with UA in 1969, only to lose 7-6.

But Massillon was able to turn the program around and ease the pain somewhat with the arrival of new coach Bob Commings, who finished 7-2-1 in 1969 and 10-0 in 1970, while capturing the A.P. state championship. The problem was that the sportswriters supplanted Upper Arlington in the top spot, in spite of the defending champ Golden Bears also going 10-0. This didn’t sit too well with a lot of football fans across state. So it was time for a rematch.

The Massillon Offense (Photo by Massillon Independent)

The game was set for 1972, the venue being Marv Morehead Stadium, located in Upper Arlington. Both teams were 2-0 and primed for outstanding seasons. As was the case in Massillon, there was also a big buildup in Columbus. So it was no surprise that a capacity crowd of 11,500 showed up for the game, including some 4,000 Tiger fans As was tradition at that time, many cars traveling to the road game were decorated with signs and ribbons displaying their support of the Tigers.

But surprisingly to the Massillon fans, all pre-sale tickets were general admission. So those 4,000 fans showed up early to get the choice seats, assembling at the north end zone visitors’ entrance. Only the visitors’ side also numbered around 4,000. That would have been OK, except that the gate for the home fans opened a half hour early and many of these patrons, having been sold GA tickets, began finding their way to visitors’ stands. This angered the Massillon contingent and upon the gate being opened, they rushed the stands without their tickets being checked. Within five minutes all of the seats on the visitors’ side were occupied. Anyone coming later was forced to stand.

Massillon’s Tommy Hannon blows through the Upper Arlington line (Photo from 1973 Massillon WHS Yearbook)

As far as Tiger fans were concerned, the game did not disappoint. After a scoreless first half, Upper Arlington fumbled the second half kickoff and Massillon recovered at the UA 33, launching a march to the end zone. Following a 19-yard draw play by Tommy Hannon, Terry Edwards went over from the one for the initial score. Hannon’s PAT run made it 8-0. Then early in the fourth, the Tigers scored again following a Brian Bach interception at the UA 25. Massillon needed just two plays for the clincher. Again it was Edwards, tallying his second TD, this time on a 13-yard run. It followed a 12-yard jaunt by Hannon. The game ended with the Golden Bears on the Tigers 14 yard line. But it didn’t matter as Massillon fans celebrated the huge 14-0 victory throughout the long ride home. They enjoyed that the Tigers were victorious and all was right in the world.

Massillon dominated play, leading in total yardage 328-130, yards rushing 306-60 and first downs 15-6. The only turnovers were the ones mentioned above. After the game, Coach Commings remarked, “I’m very happy…it’s always a nice feeling when you beat a good, strong football team and Upper Arlington is a strong, well-coached team that never quits. No question, our defense won if for us.” Upper Arlington Coach Pete Corey took the loss well, saying, ““Massillon is a great team, they execute as well as any football team I have ever seen. That Tom Hannon is one of the best runners we have ever faced, he can seem to be running at top speed and then shift into high gear…he’s a fine one.”

The loss was Upper Arlington’s first at home since opening their new field four years earlier. A second loss that year eliminated them from potential qualification in this the first year of the state playoffs. But two years later they were back in the hunt, losing to Warren Harding in the state finals.

Massillon would go on to post an undefeated season, but drop a 17-14 heartbreaker to Cincinnati Princeton in the state semifinals, a game that was played in OSU Stadium. Tommy Hannon was named high school All-American and would later star for Michigan State and the Minnesota Vikings. Coach Bob Commings coached for one more year before taking over the head duties at the University of Iowa. Later he would mentor GlenOak.

Massillon and Upper Arlington faced each other three more times following the 1972 game, with the Tigers winning in ’73 and the Golden Bears winning the next two.

Massillon’s Tigers Make the Playoffs – 2008

May 28, 2017
by Don Engelhardt

Story by Gary Vogt

In what is one of the most unlikely chain of events, the Massillon Tigers qualified for the playoffs in 2008. After week nine there were four teams vying for the eighth and final spot in Division One, Region Two. Massillon finished in eighth place, and qualified with 21.4912 points, ninth was Fremont Ross with 21.4187, Toledo St. Johns with 21.1429 and Akron Garfield with 21.0500. These four were vying for the eighth spot and there could have been another spot available had Nordonia lost to Garfield Heights. Nordonia won 32-12 and thus locked up the sixth seed.

The following series of events had to occur in order for the Tigers to make the playoffs that year.

Massillon had to defeat Canton McKinley, which they did 17-0.
Parma Normandy (5-5), which the Tigers defeated earlier in the season, had to beat North Royalton (5-5) which they did 35–21.
Brantford Ontario Collegiate defeated highly favored Pauline Johnson 20–17 by completing an eighty-yard hook and lateral pass on the last play of the game, giving the Tigers the essential computer points.
Holland Springfield (6-4) defeated Perrysburg (6-4) 40-24. If Perrysburg wins, Fremont Ross would have qualified with 21.9742 points. Had any of the above three events not occurred, Fremont Ross would have qualified for the playoffs.
Toledo Bowsher defeated Toledo Rogers in overtime, 23-16. If Rogers wins, Toledo St. Johns would have made the playoffs with 21.7551 points.
Beaver Local (4-6) defeated Akron North (6-4) 15-14. Akron North was ahead 14-0 at the end of three quarters. Beaver scored a TD minutes into the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 14-7. With less than two minutes left in the game, Beaver scored again and was successful on their two-point conversion to win by a point. Had Akron North won, Akron Garfield would have made the playoffs with 21.5500 points.

This unlikely series of events led Massillon to qualify for the playoffs in 2008. Unfortunately, the Tigers lost the next week to North Canton Hoover 14-7 and bowed out of playoff contention.

It is amazing that all six of these events had to occur for the Tigers to qualify. This is certainly one of the most unlikely scenarios that led to a team making it in. Think about it: a win in a rivalry game, two wins by teams whose opponents had like records, a win by successfully going for a two point conversion, an overtime win and an eighty-yard touchdown on the last play of a game, played outside the Unite States. In the history of the playoffs in Ohio, there probably have been other remarkable scenarios whereby a team qualified, but very, very few more astounding than the 2008 Massillon Tigers.

Category: <span>History</span>