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1998: Massillon 0, Glen Mills, PA 19

October 9, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘You can run but you can’t hide’

Depleted Tigers can’t cope with speed of Glen Mills

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers learned the cliche “speed kills” is more than just a warning about driving too fast.

The Battling Bulls of Glen Mills High used lightning speed on both sides of the football to great advantage in handing the Tigers a convincing 19‑0 setback in front of 8,018 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday night.

Glen Mills put eight defenders at the line of scrimmage and recorded nine sacks of Tigers quarterback Steve Eyerman, completely overwhelming Massillon’s offensive line at the point of attack.

The Bulls flashed the same blinding speed on special teams and offense, scoring on three big plays:
A 49‑yard punt return by Myron Farley with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter.

An 88 yard run from scrimmage by tailback Sessions Boyd with 2:01 left in the opening stanza.

A 42‑yard run from scrimmage by Maurice Costello with 5:03 left in the ball game.

“It’s the old cliche ‘speed kills,”’ acknowledged Glen Mills head coach Ken Banks. “We knew if we could get our kids out to the open field, we’ve got two pretty fast tailbacks and a pretty fast fullback. That’s all we try to do; get them through the line and then let their athletic ability take over.”

Tailback Sessions Byrd paced the GIen Mills running attack with 116 yards on just nine carries. Fullback Eugene Smith wasn’t far behind, racking up 114 yards in only 11 carries as the Battling Bulls rushed for 340 yards on the night.

“I was surprised how dominant we were,” Banks said. “They have some pretty good football players over there. I was concerned about their two big kids up front on defense (Ellery Moore and Chris Turner). We were able to do some things to play to some of their weaknesses. We had a real good week of practice. When we do that we generally execute really well.”

Tigers coach Rick Shepas was not surprised by how fast Glen Mills was, having seen that very attribute on the team’s game tapes.

The first year mentor was not down after the game, preaching patience and faith on the part of Tiger fans.

“Where we’re at right now is going to take some courage,” Shepas said. “This is a situation that we as a town aren’t used to. It’s going to take some courage and some belief in what we’re doing and some conviction to get the job done.

“I believe in these kids. These kids work hard. They played a hard fought game today. We had kids cramping up and playing to the very end. We just go from here.”

Massillon took the opening kickoff and moved from its 26 to midfield, but on a second‑and-two play turned the ball over on an interception.

The same Fate befell the Tigers on their second possession of the evening as Glen Mills relentless pass rush and pressure at the line of scrimmage paid immediate dividends in the first quarter.

“That’s the style of defense we play,” Banks said. “Its a very aggressive style of defense. We got a very good secondary and we have a lot of confidence in them. That enables us to do a lot of man to man coverage and that in turn gives us the opportunity to do a lot of blitzing with our linebackers and stunts up front because we have faith in our defensive backfield to play man to man.”

Massillon’s defense held the fort after both first quarter turnovers, forcing the visitors to ‑punt the ball back to the Tigers.

The second punt, however, pinned the locals back on their 11‑yard line and three plays later it was time to punt.

Glen Mills’ Farley caught Luke Shilling’s punt at the visitors’ 48-yard line, he cut to the right sideline and raced virtually untouched to the end zone. Danny Young tacked on the extra point and the Bulls led 7‑0.

Massillon went three‑and‑out on its next possession ‑ which included a sack that cost the Tigers nine yards ‑ and was forced to punt again. This time Shilling boomed a 57‑yarder and Glen Mills had to take over at its 12.

On first down, Byrd swept around his right end. He broke a tackle at the 20‑yard line, then turned on the afterburners for an 88‑yard scoring run that saw him pulling away from the pursuing defenders even as he crossed the goal line. The extra point was partially blocked and Glen Mills’ lead was 13‑0 with two minutes remaining in the initial quarter of play.

At that point, it appeared Massillon was simply overmatched athletically. But the Tigers sucked it up and held the Pennsylvania entry scoreless the rest of the half, thanks to some standout individual plays by linebacker Mike Mattox, and defensive linemen Chris Turner and Ellery Moore.

But Massillon’s offense never got untracked. It generated just 70 yards in the first half and
averaged only 1.9 yards per rushing play. The passing game was a non‑factor because quarterback Steve Eyerman was being harassed on virtually every snap as the Tigers patchwork offensive line could not secure the line of scrimmage with any consistency.

“We’re trying,” Shepas said when asked about the play of his O-line. “We’re going to continue to work hard. We did some positive things out there, but this is where we’re at.”

GLEN MILLS 19
MASSILLON 0
G M
First downs rushing 9 4
First downs passing 0 4
First downs by penalty 1 2
TOTAL first downs 10 10
Net yards rushing 370 98
Net yards passing 0 99
TOTAL yards 340 123
Passes attempted 5 24
Passes completed 0 13
Passes intercepted 0 2
Punts 6 10
Punting average 37.3 36
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 4/0
Penalties 3 9
Yards penalized 35 95

MASSILLON 00 00 00 00 00
GLEN MILLS 13 00 06 00 19

SCORING
G ‑ Farley 49‑yard punt return (Young kick)
G ‑ Byrd 80‑yard run (PAT failed)
G ‑ Costello 40‑yard run (run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Miller 7‑23,
Cleveland 9-34,
Eyerman 13‑33.
Glen Mills rushing:
Smith 11‑114,
Byrd 9-116,
Mitchell 14‑64,
Costello 7‑46.

Massillon passing:
Eyerman 13‑24‑99.
Glen Mills passing:
Mitchell 0‑4‑0,
Newlkirk 0‑1‑0.

Massillon receiving:
Allman 5‑61.
Cleveland 2‑17,
Clemens 1‑12,
Miller 1‑10,
Buckosh 1‑1,
Lynn 3‑ ‑2.
Glen Mills receiving:
none.

Statistics courtesy of
Richard Cunningham

Marc Cleveland

1998: Massillon 10, Austintown Fitch 3

October 2, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers end first half with road win

Massillon improves to 3‑2 with 10‑7 victory at Fitch

By CHRIS BEERS
Independent Staff Writer

Chalk this one up to the defense and to the right foot of punter Luke Shilling.

The Massillon Tigers’ football team used a stellar effort from its defensive unit and another outstanding performance from Shilling to post a 10‑3 victory Friday night over host Austintown Fitch before an estimated 4,800 fans.

Massillon’s defensive unit, led by its front four, limited Austintown (2‑3) to a single field goal in the second quarter and to just 154 total yards of offense to improve the Tigers to 3‑2 on the year.

On the offensive side of the ball, Massillon put together a 76-yard touchdown drive midway through the second quarter, and closed out !he scoring with a 26-yard field goal from junior place kicker Brett Marshall with just 61 seconds to play.

But the difference in the game was the right foot of Shilling, who consistently kept the Falcons pinned deep in their own territory with his towering punts. The 5‑foot‑9, 162‑pounder booted the ball just four times, but averaged 44.5 yards, a kick.

By comparison, the Austintown punter, Brian Sudetic, kicked the ball seven times, but averaged just 28.1 yards a kick. As a result, the Falcons lost a large chunk of yardage every time they exchanged punts with the Tigers.

“Their punter controlled the field position all night long,” said Austintown coach Brian Fedyski,. “He’s a super punter. They have a real weapon when he kicks like that.”

Also controlling the action on the field was the Tigers’ defensive front wall, which recorded six sacks and hurried Fitch quarterback John Belak on a number of other occasions. Belak threw the ball an amazing 26 times, but completed just 9 of those passes for only 96 yards and one interception.

It was a sloppy game, but our defense did a great job,” said Tigers’ coach Rick Shepas. “Chris Turner made some big stops, and Jason Hahn and Ellery Moore also played solid games.”

Hahn, Moore and Turner each recorded a quarterback sack, while defensive end Neil Buckosh received credit for two QB sacks. All tolled, the Tigers, sacked the Falcons’ quarterback
six times for minus 45 yards.
Despite scoring just 10 points, Massillon quarterback Steve Eyerman made an impressive debut as the Tigers’ starter. Eyerman, who was filling in for the injured Tom Fichter, showed
his athleticism by scrambling out of a number of tight situations throughout the night. The junior QB wound up completing 8‑of‑18 passes for 127 yards. He also threw an interception.

“This was a tough night for offensive football, but I think Eyerman may have come into his own a little bit tonight,” said Shepas. “He made some nice plays when we needed him to make them. He seemed to get more comfortable out there as the game went on. We’ve been waiting for one of the quarterbacks to step it up.”

By contrast, senior tailback Marc Cleveland had his roughest night of the season. Cleveland entered the game with 468 yards on the ground and a 6.4 yards per carry average. But the Fitch defense limited him to just 55 yards on 23 Carries for a 2.4 per carry average. Cleveland did manage to score the lone touchdown in the game, with a one‑yard run over left guard midway through the second period.

“Marc was running a little stiff in the second half. His muscles tightened up on him during the half,” said Shepas. “But what really hurts is we don’t have much of a running game from our fullback spot, so the other teams can zero in on Marc.”

“We wanted to stop Cleveland. He was the guy we wanted to stop,” said the Falcons’ Fedyski. “We figured Massillon would run the ball more with the starting quarterback out. But Eyerman did a nice job for them. He hurt us with his scrambles when we had the pressure on him.”

Fedyski said the absence of the freshman phenom running back Maurice Clarett also hurt the Falcons’ chances. Clarett had rushed for 469 vards on 61 carries and scored six touchdowns in Austintown’s first four games. But he injured an ankle during the second half of last week’s loss to Madison, and was on crutches during the game with Massillon.

” Not having Clarett hurt us,” said Fedyski. “Although he’ s just a freshman, he leads the Steel Valley Conference in all purpose yards with nearly 180 yards a game. It takes a lot of our offense when you lose a player of his stature.”

With Clarett on the sideline the bulk of Austintown’s ground game fell on the shoulders of senior fullback Tom Italiano. He rushed for 85 yards in 14 carries, most right up the middle into the heart of the Massillon defense.

After the two teams exchanged interceptions in the first quarter, Massillon finally put a sustained drive together midway through the second period. The Tigers moved the ball 76 yards in 12 plays, capped by the one‑yard run by Cleveland. During the drive, Eyerman completed four key passes, totaling 58 yards. Marshall added the PAT kick to make the score 7‑0.

Fitch responded by taking the Tigers’ kickoff from their own 22 down to the Massillon 21
before their 14 play drive stalled. Junior place kicker Jacob Stewart then booted a 38 yard field goal with just five seconds left in the half to make the score 7‑3.

Neither team could sustain a drive throughout the third quarter and well into the fourth period. Finally, after several exchanges of punts, the Tigers got close enough to score making a 26 yard, field goal with 1:01 to play capped a 10-play Massillon drive, which began on the Fitch 34‑vard‑line.
The Falcons were unable to mount another scoring threat as Massillon walked off the field with its third win of the season. The Tigers will begin the second half of the 1998 campaign next Friday night when they host Pennsylvania football power Glen Mills High.

MASSILLON 10
FITCH 3
M F
First down rushing 4 6
First downs passing 7 5
First downs by penalty 0 1
TOTAL first downs 11 12
Net yards rushing 72 58
Net yards passing 127 96
TOTAL yards 199 154
Passes attempted 18 26
Passes completed 8 9
Passes intercepted 1 1
Punts 4 7
Punting average 44.5 28.1
Fumbles/Lost 4/1 1/1
Penalties 6 8
Yards penalized 69 65

MASSILLON 7 0 0 3 10
FITCH 0 3 0 0 3

SCORING
M ‑ Marc Cleveland 1 run (Brett Marshall kick)
F ‑ Stewart 38 field goal
M ‑ Marshall 26 field goal

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Cleveland 23‑55,
Miller 8‑17,
Lynn 1‑2.
Fitch rushing:
Italiano 14‑85.

Massillon passing:
Eyerman 8‑18 127 1 INT.
Fitch passing:
Belak 9‑26‑96 1 INT

Massillon receiving:
Allman 2‑36,
Dorsey 2-33,
Cleveland 2‑19,
Clemens 1‑31,
Jarvis 1-8.
Fitch receiving:
Sucletic 2‑24,
Burd 2‑23,
Densevich 2‑22,
Giordano 1‑11,
Wakiters 1‑10,
Italiano 1‑6.

Statistics courtesy of Richard Cunningham

Marc Cleveland

1998: Massillon 0, Mansfield Senior 21

September 25, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers run into a buzzsaw at Mansfield
Massillon never gets offense untracked against the Tygers

By CHRIS BEERS
Independent‑Staff Writer

A quick and athletic Mansfield Senior football team dominated visiting Massillon for four quarters Friday night en route to 21-0 whitewashing of the Tigers.

Some 8,317 fans watched at Mansfield’s Arlin Field as the host Tygers scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters to remain unbeaten after the first four games of the season.

Senior quarterback Jeremy Butts scored on a 2-yard scamper in the first quarter and tossed scoring strikes of 9 yards and 18 yards to senior tight end Jermaine Bradley in both the second and third periods to hand Massillon its second loss in four outings.

“Mansfield did an outstanding job offensively. They mixed up their plays well,” said Massillon coach Rick Shepas after the game. “Their quarterback ran their option well and made good decisions when he had to. Their offense keep us off-balance.

“But once again, we shot ourselves in the foot at the most inopportune times.” Added the Tigers’ first-year coach. “We weren’t effective through the air and Mansfield has a lot of team speed on their defense. But we just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had. We have to create points to get some life on this team.”

The statistics show how dominant Mansfield was in the 45th renewal of the battle of the Tigers. The host ran 75 plays compared to Massillon’s 47, and accumulated 359 total yard to the visitors’ 191.

The closest Massillon got to scoring came late in the first quarter when the Tigers reached the Mansfield 11. But a delay of game penalty and an incomplete pass forced Massillon to attempt a field goal from 32 yards away. Brett Marshall’s kick sailed “wide right, leaving the Tigers empty-handed despite a 10-play drive.

Massillon’s only other legitimate scoring threat came late in the fourth quarter when the Tigers drove from their own 20 to the Mansfield 18. But senior tailback Marc Cleveland was stopped short on a fourth-down run, effectively ending Massillon’s attempt to avert the shutout.

Despite the loss, Cleveland turned in another solid game. The 5-foot-9, 186-pound senior gained 122 yards on 19 carries for a 6.4 average. His longest run was 26 yards.

However, Cleveland’s teammates failed to produce similar numbers. Senior quarterback Tom Fichter completed just 1-of-7 passes for 24 yards before leaving the game with a knee injury near the end of the second quarter.

Fichter’s replacement junior Steve Eyerman, fared a little better, completing 4-of-6 passes, but for only 18 yards. The Tigers also lost two fumbles and were penalized 10 times for a total of 109 yards.

“This was a big win for us,” said Mansfield coach Stanley Jefferson. “In fact, it was just one year ago that we went 2-8 and lost to Massillon 42-0. Not many people realized it at the time, but we started six sophomores and had 10 first-year juniors on last year’s team. That experience is paying off for us now.

“Although we beat them tonight, we respect Massillon and their tradition,” Jefferson added. “I respect very much their rich tradition and their 700 wins. To beat a Massillon team you just don’t fluke one out. Their program is just too good to fluke out a win.

“We had to play a great game to beat them, and our kids rose to the occasion. Our kids have worked exceptionally hard to get where they are at right now.”

Mansfield’s first score came midway through the first quarter. The Tygers drove 52-yards in six plays, capped by a 2-yard scamper around right end by Butts.

Mansfield’s second TD followed a fumbled snap midway through the second quarter. This time, the Tygers drove 40 yards in eight plays. The touchdown came on a 12-yard toss from Butts to Bradley, but only after the Tygers’ QB ducked an on rushing Massillon defender to get rid of the ball.

Mansfield’s final TD came midway through the third period. The Tygers took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 13 plays. The touchdown came on another toss from Butts to Bradley. Place kicker Nick Shasky added his third PAT kick to make the score 21-0.

Butts finished with 11 completions in 24 attempts for 155 yards and no interceptions. The Tygers’ leading ball carrier was senior tailback Littleton Lloyd, who gained 162 yards on 25 carries. His longest run was 27 yards.

“I felt we did a good job adjusting at the half. But the kids just didn’t execute well,” said Shepas. “We had a good game plan, but Mansfield has a good solid football team.

“I told the kids that a loss like this is supposed to hurt,” Shepas added. “The only thing that can make the hurt go away is our next game seven days from now.”

Fichter sidelined

By CHRIS EASTERLING
Independent Correspondent

The Massillon Tigers might have lost more than just a football game Friday night against Mansfield Senior at Arlin Field. They also might have lost their starting quarterback for a while.

Senior signal caller Tom Fichter suffered an injury to his right knee in the 21-0 loss to the Tygers when he was sacked by Mansfield linebacker Jeremy Haynes at the Massillon 26-yard line with 2:37 remaining in the first half.

The severity of the injury was not immediately known but Fichter is scheduled to undergo an MRI on the knee this weekend.

Tigers coach Rick Shepas said Fichter’s status for next week’s game at Austintown Fitch is questionable at this moment contingent on the results of the tests on the knee.

Fichter was rolling to his left on a third-and-10 play in order to avoid the oncoming rush when Haynes grabbed him by his jersey and threw him to the turf. Fichter’s cleats caught in the turf as he went down awkwardly, twisting his knee. He was writhing on the ground in obvious pain when the Massillon trainers got to him, but after a short while managed to get up and walk off under his own power.

Junior Steve Eyerman, who had been locked into a heated battle with Fichter for the starting job throughout two-a-days, replaced Fichter for the remainder of the game. He completed four-of-six passes for 18-yards while also being sacked once for a 10-yard loss.

Meanwhile, starting senior defensive tackle Alex Borbely will have to sit out next week’s game against Austintown Fitch due to a state mandated suspension after he was ejected from the Mansfield game with 45 seconds remaining for taunting the referees.

MANSFIELD 21
MASSILLON 0
Man Mas
First downs rushing 13 7
First downs passing 1 2
First downs by penalty 4 0
TOTAL first downs 24 9
Net yards rushing 204 149
Net yards passing 155 42
TOTAL yards 351 191
Passes attempted 24 14
Passes Completed 11 5
Passes intercepted 0 0
Punts 2 3
Punting average 27.5 42.7
Fumbles/Lost 3/1 2/2
Penalties 9 10
Yards penalized 67 109

MANSFIELD 7 7 7 0 21
MASSILLON 0 0 0 0

SCORING
Man Butts 2 run (Shasky kick)
Man Bradley 9 pass from Butts (Shasky kick)
Man Bradley 18 pass from Butts (Shasky kick)

Marc Cleveland

1998: Massillon 21, Akron Garfield 10

September 18, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers’ attack hits high gear

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers put the air back into the football Friday night, scoring three first half touchdowns ‑ two through the air ‑ in handing the Akron Garfield Rams their third straight defeat 21‑10 in front of 10,180 fans on a warm, late summer evening at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

One week after passing the football just nine times in a. drubbing of Lima Senior, the Tigers (2‑1) put it up 14 times in the first half alone, completing eight of those aerials, including scoring tosses of 34 and 25 yards to Neil Buckosh and Marc Cleveland.

Senior quarterback Tom Fichter connected on 8‑of‑14 first half throws for 120 yards, putting the winless Rams back on their heels and in a hole from which they never recovered.

Jon Stanke set the Massillon offense up with exceptional field position by returning the opening kickoff all the way for a touchdown. Unfortunately for Stanke and the Tigers, a holding call negated the score and put the ball at the Garfield 37.

After two incompletions and facing a fourth‑and‑7, Fichter dropped back to pass, got excellent protection, and laid a perfectly thrown pass over the right shoulder of Buckosh. The senior tight end pulled the foot in at the 10‑yard line and dashed to the end zone to put Massillon up 6‑0.

Brett Marshall’s conversion kick made it 7‑0 at 10:58 of the first quarter.

“We do a lot of distraction drills in practice,” Buckosh said afterward. “On that play their guy ran right across my line of sight and those practice drills paid off. I stayed on the ball.”

“Tommy made a great throw for me. I give all the credit to Tommy Fichter.”

Fichter made a pre‑snap read on the play and recognized his tight end might be open.

“I knew the route Buckosh was going to run and I saw who was going to cover him,” Fichter said. “I know Neil has good hands and I knew I had to put the ball where it had to be. I got lucky and put it right there and Neil made a great catch and good run and we got six points out of it.

The Tigers defense nearly got an interception from cornerback Brandon Clark on Garfield’s initial drive and forced the Rams into a three-and‑out series. Rocky Dorsey’s punt return set Massillon up with a first down near midfield ‘

Fichter found Buckosh open over the middle on the very first snap for 20 yards to the Garfield 32. After Ronnie Lynn picked up 12 yards to the Rams’ 15, two Marc Cleveland sweeps did the rest. The second, a pitch sweep around left end from seven yards out, made it 13‑0 with 7:13 to play in the first quarter.

Marshall tacked on the PAT and it was a 14‑0 Tiger cushion.

“We came out and we did exactly what we wanted to do,” said head coach Rick Shepas. “We know that Garfield is a well coached football team. We know they are very talented and they play hard and if they know they’re in the football game then we’re going to have problems with them.

“Getting nicked twice in their first two games made it a different atmosphere for them. Fortunately we were able to come out and get the good kick return and get it in the end
zone, get a good defensive stop, get it in the end zone again and now they might question themselves a little bit.”

Garfield got on the scoreboard on an eight‑play, 43‑yard drive capped by Greg Kulick’s 28‑yard field goal that made it a 14‑3 game with 5:04 left in the first half. The Rams had first-and‑10 from the Tigers 12, but consecutive outstanding defensive plays by Ellery Moore, Clark and Jamie Allman prevented any further incursion into Tiger territory.

Massillon took the ensuing kickoff and put together a well executed drive. The first big play on the march was an 11-yard Fichter‑to‑Jason Clemens sideline pass on third‑and‑eight that moved the ball into Garfield territory as well as netting a first down.

Then on fourth‑and‑five from the Rams’ 43, Fichter found Cleveland open for 18 yards along the right hash mark for another do‑or‑die first down.

Three snaps later, on third-and‑10, Fichter dropped back and floated the football into Cleveland’s waiting hands in the end zone from 25 yards out. Marshall again converted and the Tigers were up 21‑3 with just :35 until the band show.

“We started to get things going,” Fichter said in the locker room. “We started to feel good about ourselves again.”

Shepas built on that theme. “I think the kids feel better about themselves,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.’

“I was pleased with Tom’s performance in the first half. We’re still not seeing all the field and you can see that in a number of instances. But we did a better job for the quarterbacks this week in practice, giving them a better look at what they were going to see coverage‑wise to make them more comfortable. Every week we’re going to start over again. We’re going to go out and teach for four days before we play a football game. We’re going to see if we get better and we’re going to start to understand more things as the games go by.”

The Massillon defense was as much the story as the re‑emergence of Shepas’ West Coast Offense. The Tigers held Garfield to 145 yards of total offense for the entire game. The Rams did not complete a pass in eight attempts and scrambling quarterback Eli Ward only gained 45 yards in 11 totes.

“If offense can go out and get some scores and put some points on the board, the defense doesn’t have to worry about where they are on the field,” pointed out Shepas. “They can fly around and make plays. Hey, we have our marquee players on defense. We want to play good defense. We’re taking steps to improve in that area, too. We did eliminate some mistakes and we’re one week better, but that’s all we are.”

“What’s taking more time than anything is getting to know who our people are and how to use our people. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve done a 360 degree turn since the summer and we’re starting to find out more and more who to play in these football games. It’s going to take the entire season to get a feel for who we got.”

“The offense is coming around,” said Buckosh, who finished with three catches for 59 yards. “We had a great first half on offense The second half we didn’t score any points so we’ve got to get better. We’re in great shape, better shape than our opponents. We just need to focus on not putting the defense in jeopardy.”

Garfield got its only touchdown of the game late in the third period on a 43‑yard drive set up by Massillon’s second interception of the evening. It took the Rams 11 plays, but they finally punched it in from a foot out after three tries from inside the 5‑yard line.

“For us it’s been a lack of consistency,” explained Garfield coach Bill McGee after the game. “Our defense has been tough in the first half the first two weeks. Tonight we gave them a couple of easy ones in the first half and we had breakdown in the kicking game which gave them good field position.”
.
“This was an improvement for us in some areas. After the first seven or eight minutes of the game we outscored them, but we put ourselves into too big a hole.’

MASSSILLON 21
GARFIELD 10
M G
First downs rushing 5 8
First downs passing 6 0
First downs by penalty 0 2
TOTAL first downs 11 10
Net yards rushing 91 145
Net yards passing 136 0
TOTAL yards 227 145
Passes attempted 18 8
Passes completed 10 0
Passes intercepted 2 0
Punts 3 5
Punting average 47 29.4
Fumbles/Lost 3/0 2/0
Penalties 7 4
Yards penalized 57 20

MASSILLON 14 7 0 0 21
GARFIELD 0 3 7 0 10

SCORING
M – Buckosh 34 pass from Fichter (Marshall kick)
M ‑ Cleveland 7 run (Marshall kick)
G ‑ Kulick 28 field goal
M ‑ Cleveland 25 pass from Fichter (Marshall kick)
G – Ross 1 run (Kulick kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Cleveland 18‑79,
Lynn 1‑16,
Miller 6‑5.
Garfield rushing:
Jones 14‑53,
Ross 14‑46,
Ward 11‑45.

Massillon passing:
Fichter 8‑16‑2 120, 2 TDs,
Eyerman 2‑2‑0 16.
Garfield passing:
Ward 0‑8‑0 0

Massillon receiving:
Buckosh 3‑59,
Cleveland 3‑46,
Clemens 2‑22,
Dorsey 1‑7,
Miller 1‑2.

Marc Cleveland

1998: Massillon 28, Lima Senior 18

September 11, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Shepas’ first Tigers win
is ugly

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The first victory of the Rick Shepas era at Massillon is not one the Tigers 33‑year old head coach is going to look back on with any degree of satisfaction.

But Massillon’s mistake marred 28‑18 victory over Lima Senior in front of 10,981 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium is a start and now Shepas and his staff of assistants must go about the task of building on the win while eliminating the errors that kept the Spartans in the game well into the fourth quarter.

“I’m not that happy after this one,” Shepas said afterward. “It really wasn’t a well played game. Hey, the game lasted three full hours. In high school you know what kind of ugly football that is, so… .”

How ugly was it?

Well, there were 11 Tiger penalties for 116 yards.

There were five Massillon fumbles, four of which were recovered by the visitors.

And the West Coast offense was put in mothballs for a week against Lima’s blitzing defense as the Tigers concentrated on pounding the ball with the running game.

In fact, after putting the ball in the air 27 times last week, Massillon threw just nine passes all night long.

“If we have to play a game like this and be patient with the offense, then that’s what we have to do,” explained Shepas. “One good thing on the offensive side is we got a blitz on every down and our guys did get better against it. The adjustments did pay off some. But it did limit the way we call offensive plays. That’s not really the way I want to go with the offense but as we get some time under our belts we’ll get some confidence and get going.”

One of the recurring problems Friday was on center-quarterback exchanges and on handoffs to the running backs.

“Fundamentally we want to continue to work on the exchange and work on the handoff,” Shepas vowed. “Our quarterbacks have to look the hall in and our backs are getting a little bit high. We’ve got a young team and because of their inexperience when we get a lot of blitz, it’s a reflex action to rush the handoff and fumbles are what you get as a result.”

The Tigers defense made the play of the game just as it appeared Lima Senior was ready to make a serious run at the lead.

Massillon was up by four at 22-18 when it was forced to punt late in the third quarter. Lima Senior took over at its 25 and two plays later faced a third‑and‑two from the 33. Sophomore quarterback Nick Morris took a three step drop, looked to his right and, fired a quick out‑pattern.

Tigers senior safety Corey Ball stepped in front of the receiver, made the interception and raced untouched 34 yards for a touchdown. The conversion kick failed but Massillon was up by two scores and was able to relax a little against an equally mistake‑prone Lima attack.

“Coach was telling me to watch the three‑step drop and I’d have a pick,” Ball recalled, “And sure enough they came with the three‑step drop and I did what Coach (Mark) Black told me. I stepped up for the interception and scored a touchdown.

“I saw when the quarterback had his hands up that he was coming my way. I knew it was a pick and I saw I had an open field and no one could catch me.”

Ball says the veteran Tigers defense realizes it has to hold up the offense until it gains some vital game experience.

“I knew I had to step it up because our offense is so young,” Ball said. “The defense has to step it up until they get it together.”

“Our offense will thrive off what our defense does. If we do something good, they’re going to do something good. We just have to keep doing good things and keep it going.”

One offensive player doing good things for the second week in a row was starting tailback
Marc Cleveland, who rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in 17 first half carries. A knee injury kept Cleveland on the sidelines the entire second half.

“It was a big first half because our offensive line came off the ball really well,” Cleveland said. “They blocked for me and I delivered for them.”

“I’ll be back next week and this offense will get better and better each week. We’ve got to just keep coming off the ball and good things will happen.”

Good things happened for the Tigers the first time Cleveland touched the football. Trailing 6‑0 after a long kickoff return set up Lima’s first touchdown, Massillon took over on its own 40‑yard line.

On first down, the 5‑foot‑9, 186‑pound senior took a handoff and went over his left guard and tackle. Cleveland broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, found a seam in the Spartan defense and raced 60 yards, diving the final five to the left pylon for the touchdown.

Brett Marshall’s kick made it 7‑6 Tigers with just 10:13 gone in the first quarter.

Lima Senior, taking, advantage of a Massillon fumble inside the Tigers’ 40, marched 36 yards in

six plays to take a 12‑7 lead on Greg Johnson’s five‑yard TD run at 5:33 of the first quarter.

After Julian Miller’s brilliant 70‑yard kickoff return, Massillon took over at the Lima Senior 12. Three plays later Cleveland again went over left guard, this time from the three, for his second touchdown of the night. Marshall’s kick was true and the Tigers were up 14‑12 with just over four minutes to play in the opening period.

“Marc Cleveland is one of those guys who wants the ball in his hands,” praised Shepas. “In pressure situation he wants the ball. He’s going to make big plays. His mind is geared for that and that’s why that happens. He made a lot of big plays in the first half.”

Massillon’s lead stood through the second quarter, but the Tigers sputtered after getting the opening kickoff of the second half. In fact, they committed three penalties in their first series of the third quarter before punting the ball away on fourth‑and‑23.

“Lima Senior did not move on its first possession of the second half, either. The Spartans poor punt set Massillon up with first and-ten and its own 46 and it was Julian Miller’s turn for some heroics.

The 5‑9, 173‑pound senior took a handoff and found a seam over his right guard, hit into the Lima secondary, then cut back at the Spartans’ 40 and headed to the left sideline. Forty‑eight yards later the visitors finally pulled Miller down at their 5‑yard line. On the next snap, Miller skirted his right end, broke a tackle at the goal line and scored to give Massillon a 22‑12 cushion with 8:26 left in the third.

The defense took over from there with Jason Bradley and Brandon Clark combining to stuff Lima Senior for a yard loss on a critical fourth‑and‑three play at the Massillon 7‑yard line.

However, two plays later the Tigers fumbled the hall back to the Spartans, who promptly scored on a Nick Morris to Terry Cannon 12‑yard aerial that made it 22‑18 with 2:55 left in the third.

Massillon could not move on its next possession, setting up Ball’s big interception that seemed to sap the spirit from the Lima Senior sideline.

“We put our best players on defense at the beginning of the season knowing we were going to have a young offense and inexperience up front,” Shepas said.

“There’s a lot of things we could find positive tonight. But what’s going to keep us working hard is to be critical of what’s going on. That’s where we’ll always be. We’re going to keep working and keep getting better. We have a whole season to get better.”

MASSILLON 28
LIMA SR. 18
M L
First downs rushing 8 5
First downs passing 0 5
First downs by penalty 1 4
TOTAL first downs 9 14
Net yards rushing 250 108
Net yards passing 6 79
TOTAL yards 256 187
Passes attempted 2 6
Passes completed 2 9
Passes intercepted 0 3
Punts 7 7
Punting average 43.9 26.3
Fumbles/Lost 5/4 3/1
Penalties 11 8
Yards penalized 116 60

MASSILLON 14 0 8 6 28
LIMA SR. 12 0 6 0 18

SCORING
L ‑ Simpson 6 run (Pass failed)
M ‑ Cleveland 60 run (Marshall kick)
L ‑ Johnson 5 (Pass failed)
M ‑ Cleveland 3 run (Marshall kick)
M ‑ Miller 5 run (Miller run)
L ‑ Morris 12 pass to Cannon (Pass failed)
M ‑ Ball 34 pass interception return (Kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Cleveland 17‑155,
Miller 12‑97,
Radich 2‑19,
Lynn 2‑7.
Lima rushing:
T. Cannon 20‑53,
Johnson 15‑48.

Massillon passing:
Fichter 2 9 6 yards, 0 Ints, 0 TDs.
Lima passing:
Morris 9‑24‑79 3 Ints, 1 TD

Massillon receiving:
Dorsey 1‑8.
Lima receiving:
Collins 4‑43.

Marc Cleveland

1998: Massillon 9, Clovis West, CA 21

September 4, 1998September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Picked off!

Interceptions turn tide against the Tigers

Tigers fall in Shepas debut

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The first game of the Rick Shepas era at Massillon began on a positive note but a pair of third quarter interceptions were fatal to the homestanding Tigers who fell to Clovis West of California 21‑9 in front of 13,147 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday.

The Tigers, unveiling Shepas’ multiple pro offense, jumped out to a 7‑0 lead late in the first quarter and held that advantage at halftime. But the Tigers threw an interception inside the Clovis West 10‑yard line which turned the tide late in the third quarter and the visitors never let Massillon regain momentum.

“We hung tight at the beginning of the game,” observed Clovis West coach Randy Blankenship. “Massillon plays good defense.”

“But we wear people down. We just keep pounding and find the right combinations and we wore them down. We didn’t make any adjustments at half’ time. We just talked about getting our pads down and hitting somebody. They started to get tired if we got any more than four offensive plays in a row.”

“That interception after a good defensive stand was huge,” said Shepas. “Our offense and defense need to feed off each other. When the defense does a good job, the offense needs to kick it into gear. That’s what this program needs to work on. It is hinging on those important things taking place.”

It appeared Clovis might jump out early, stopping Massillon inside its 5‑yard line on the Tigers initial drive. After a nice punt return gave the Eagles possession at the Tiger 26, the visitors marched to the 6, but were stopped on downs by a swarming Massillon defense.

Massillon stopped Clovis West’s second possession when Alex Borbely fell on a fumble at the Tiger 23.

The Tigers launched their first sustained drive of the game, moving 77 yards in 11 plays. Tom Fichter hit Neil Buckosh for 11 yards and then found Rocky Dorsey along the right sideline for 11 more to move the ball to the Massillon 45. Three plays later Marc Cleveland burst off right tackle for 14 and the Tigers were in business at the Eagles’ 28.

After an incompletion, Fichter hooked up with Dorsey along the left sideline at the Clovis West 10. The junior wide out made a leaping catch, then turned to find nothing but green between him and the end zone as the Tigers drew first blood.

Brett Marshall tacked on the extra point and Massillon led 7‑0 at the :12 mark of the first quarter.

Massillon mounted another sustained drive late in the first half, moving from its 20 to the Clovis West 20 as Fichter went 4 of 5 through the air. The senior hit Marcus Simpson for 17 yards to the Massillon 38 on the second snap of the drive, then connected with Jason Clemens on a third‑and‑10 play for 19 yards to the Clovis West 43.

After two more completions to Dorsey moved the ball to the Clovis 20, a 15‑yard offensive pass interference call stalled the drive.

Clovis took the second half kickoff and moved the ball from its 28 to Massillon’s 26 on eight consecutive running plays, but the Tiger defense stiffened an the Eagles turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth‑and‑two.

“The defense played a good, solid game,” said Shepas. “That’s a good Wing‑T team we faced. A good executing team we faced. With a little more offensive productivity they get less chances to touch the football and that makes it easier on our defense.”

Massillon and Clovis exchanged punts following the Tigers defensive stand, setting up the game’s turning point. Following a 10‑yard punt return by Dorsey, the Tigers took over at their 49 and Cleveland immediately made a big play, spinning off a hit in the backfield to pick up 21 tough yards around his right end.

“Our offense and defense need to feed off each other. when the defense does a good job the offense needs to kick it into gear” ‑ Rick Shepas,

The senior running back, added 14 more yards, carrying the ball on each of the next three snaps. Then on second‑and‑eight from the Clovis 16, Massillon tried a quick pass to the left sideline. Clovis West’s Perron Wiley stepped in front of the throw and returned the ball 54 yards to the Massillon 36.

On the very next play, Sean Soares hit into the middle of the line and burst free for a 36‑yard touchdown run. The conversion kick tied the game at 7‑7 with 3:57 left in the third quarter.

“That interception was huge,” Blankenship said. “That was really big. The kid who made the play wasn’t able to play last year and I was really happy for him.

“Massillon threw some outs on us. I’m not worried about teams throwing outs because if you make a mistake you’re going to get it picked off. It’s a matter of time and being patient. We were just inches away (from interceptions) a couple of times.”

The Tigers appeared to be ready to strike back when Cleveland ran 17 yards on Massillon’s first snap after the ensuing kickoff. But three plays later, Clovis West’s Brandon Gonzales stepped in front of an out pattern to the right sideline, made the interception and sprinted untouched 38 yards to pay dirt.

The point‑after made it 14‑7 in favor of Clovis West with 1:53 to play in the third.

An illegal participation penalty and a sack doomed Massillon’s next drive and the Eagles took over at their own 37 following a punt. Two illegal procedure penalties moved the visitors back to their 27, but on first‑and‑20, Soares hit into the middle of the Massillon line and came free. The 6‑foot‑1, 199 pound.senior turned on the jets and outran the Tigers defense for a 63‑yard touchdown that seemed to seal the outcome with 9:32 to play.

Massillon moved to the Clovis 33 on its next possession, but consecutive penalties ended the threat.

The Tigers last gasp came when Clovis snapped the ball out of its end zone on a punt for a Tiger safety with 4:06 left. But on Massillon’s first play after the Eagles’ free kick, the Tigers took an 11‑yard sack to turn out the lights.

“We had a couple holding penalties and the procedure penalties are frustrating,” said Shepas. “Those came from our wide receivers, not our interior lineman. It changes the play call when you go from second‑and-six to second‑and‑11. The play call you send in has to change.”

“But we have to continue to believe in what we’re building here. We’re a football program that’s only four months old. I think we improved again. The thing is we’re still in an infancy state on offense and we may have to simplify more and more.”

Cleveland certainly did his part in the opener. The 5‑9, 186-pound senior toted the football 19 times for 97 yards, impressing Shepas along the way.

“Marc Cleveland pours his heart and soul into the football game,” Shepas said.

CLOVIS WEST 21
MASSILLON 9
C M
First downs rushing 11 8
First downs passing 0 8
First downs by penalty 0 0
TOTAL first downs 11 16
Net yards rushing 237 88
Net yards passing 0 158
TOTAL yards 237 246
Passes attempted 7 27
Passes completed 0 13
Passes intercepted 0 2
Punts 5 9
Punting average 26.2 40.3
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 1/0
Penalties 3 10
Yards penalized 15 80

CLOVIS 0 0 14 7 21
MASSILLON 7 0 0 2 9

SCORING
M ‑ Dorsey 28 pass from Fichter (Marshall kick)
C ‑ Scares 36 run (Potteroff kick)
C ‑ Gonzales 43‑yard interception return (Potteroff kick)
C ‑ Scares 72 run (Potteroff kick)
M ‑ Safety, Clovis snap rolls out of end zone

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Cleveland 19‑97,
Miller 7‑33,
Radich 5‑9,
Burrigarner 2‑8.
Clovis rushing:
Scares 14‑162,
Chayly 2-26.

Massillon passing:
Fichter 8‑18‑2 107,
Eyerman 5‑9‑0 51.

Clovis passing:
Elbert 0‑7‑0 0.
Massillon receiving:
Dorsey 7‑104,
Clemens 1‑19,
Simpson 1‑17,
Buckosh 1‑11.

1997: Massillon 14, Canton McKinley 27

November 1, 1997September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

PUPS TOO TOUGH

Tigers make it a game, but McKinley prevails

Tigers throw scare into dogs with second-half turnaround

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

It started as if a rout was the order of the day. It ended with the Massillon Tigers giving the McKinley Bulldogs a bit of a scare before succumbing 27‑14 in the 104th meeting between the two Ohio high school football giants in front of a full house at Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in Canton this afternoon.

The Tigers went one‑two-three punt on each of their first three possessions, while McKinley put together scoring drives of 4, 11 and 11 plays to jump to a 21‑0 lead early in the second quarter. At that point, the Bulldogs seemed very deserving of their No. 1 rating in USA Today’s national high school rankings.

But a funny thing happened to the Pups on their way to a blowout. Massillon’s outmanned Tigers, riding the grit and savvy of quarterback Tip Danzy, the hard running of fullback Dave Hodgson and a defense that wouldn’t quit when it was down, made it a game and then some.

“The kids came back and we made a few adjustments at halftime,” said Tigers coach Jack Rose. “I told them a lesser team would have thrown in the towel when it was 27‑7 at halftime and get blown out.

“There’s no quit in these young men. They carne out in the second half and played their hearts out.”

McKinley bench boss Thom McDaniels did not want to hear any talk of his team letting down after building a three touchdown lead at the intermission.

“I don’t think we let down,” he said. “I think we got a little sloppy in the second half. I think our execution diminished, but I don’t think there was any kind of a conscious letdown. We just didn’t play as well.

“The team on the other side of the field was good. Again, you have to maintain concentration and try to execute for 48 minutes. We had our lapses primarily with penalties we had some really inopportune penalties.”

The Tigers got excellent field position when Julian Miller returned the opening kickoff to the Tiger 44, but three plays and just two yards later were forced to punt. McKinley took over at its 45 after an 18 yard return by Fred Wilcox.

On third‑and‑six from the 49, Ben McDaniels found Matt Curry on a short slant pattern, and Curry did the rest, sprinting across the grain to the Tiger 26. On the next play, DeMarlo Rozier took a pitch around left end and outran the Massillon defense to the end zone. Phil Armatas’ conversion kick made it 7‑0 McKinley at 9:22 of the first period.

Once again Miller ‑ and a facemask penalty on the Pups ‑ gave the Tigers good field position at their 45. But Massillon could pick up just five yards in three snaps and were forced to punt.

Rozier got the ball on the first four snaps of McKinley’s second possession, as the Bulldogs moved from their 29 to just beyond midfield. Then McDaniels bootlegged left and hit Wilcox for 22 yards to the Tigers 26. Rozier again got the ball on four consecutive snaps, setting up second and goal at the Massillon 8. McDaniels scrambled for five yards to the 3, before Isaiah Robinson found a small hole over right guard and scored the second TD of the game.

Armatas was again true with the PAT and McKinley, led 14‑0 at 2:59 of the first quarter.

McKinley’s third touchdown drive again followed a Massillon punt and began at its 41. A third down roughing the passer penalty gave the march life at the Tigers 40. On third and four from the 34, Rozier ripped off a nine‑yard gain over left guard for a first down at the 25.

McDaniels hooked up with Curry for 11 yards to the 16 and three plays later Rozier burst through a hole over his right guard and into the end zone from seven yards out. Armatas capped off the 11play drive with the PAT at 9:33 of the second quarter to make it 21‑0 and McKinley fans were ready to party.

It looked like they’d get their chance after Massillon again couldn’t move the football and was forced to punt from its 18. But Josh Hill turned the game around by slicing through the McKinley offensive line to nail Richard Bradley for an 11‑yard loss on a sweep play. Josh Kreider forced McKinley to punt by bringing Bradley down in the open field after he snared a McDaniels third‑down pass in the flat.

“What happened defensively is we finally adapted to their speed,” explained Rose. “Initially we were taken aback a little. They have such great speed and it is difficult to simulate that in practice. Once we got in the flow a little bit, we did better.”

Massillon took over at its 27 after McKinley punted. Hodgson got the ball on four straight plays and picked up 25 yards, including 13 on a draw play that moved the ball to the McKinley 48. On third and 10, Danzy dropped back to pass, saw a seam open up in the middle, and took off for an 11-yard gain and a first down.

Then Danzy found Andy Cocklin on the right sideline for 16 yards. A late hit flag on McKinley moved the ball to the 10. After a first down play lost four yards, Danzy again dropped back and again saw the red sea of Bulldogs jerseys part. He never hesitated, sprinting 14 yards to paydirt and Massillon was on the board at 21‑7 with 2:37 left in the half.

The rejuvenated Massillon defense stopped McKinley after a couple first downs and forced the punt. But Massillon couldn’t move the football either and was forced to punt from its 24 with under :30 left in the half.

Les Thompson broke through the Tigers blocking scheme and blocked Luke Shilling’s kick. Robinson scooped up the ball at the 15 and raced to the end zone for the back breaking touchdown. A missed PAT made it 27‑7 at halftime.

“The last thing we wanted was to fall behind by three touchdowns to this team,” Rose said. “I said that earlier in the week.

“The blocked punt really hurt, but we had a couple plays there that if we would have executed them, we wouldn’t be punting. In a big game like this, you have to execute every time and we had a few plays where we didn’t get the job done.”

Massillon stuffed McKinley on the Bulldogs first possession of the second half. The Tigers then moved from their 33 to McKinley’s 30, where they faced a pivotal fourth-and‑one. But the option blew up in their face for a seven yard loss and a scoring opportunity went by the wayside.

McKinley’s next two series’ ended in a punt and a missed field goal, the latter setting the Tigers up at their own 20. After Massillon gained a first down at the 31, Hodgson raced 18 yards on a draw play and a personal foul on McKinley moved the ball into Bulldog territory at the 42. On third and seven from the 39, Danzy rolled left, then scrambled back to the right and finally found Christian Morgan over the middle for a 21‑yard gain to the 18.

Hodgson again made the Pups pay for their over‑pursuit by grinding out 12 yards on the draw to the McKinley 5. One play later, Danzy rolled left and completed a pass to Neil Buckosh in the end zone for the touchdown. Josh Hose was true with the PAT kick and it was McKinley 27, Massillon 14 with 10:37 to play.

The Massillon defense, smelling blood now, again shut down the McKinley attack on three plays to force a punt that Kreider fair caught at the Tiger 34. On third and four from the 40, Danzy and Hodgson executed the shovel pass to perfection to pick up 15 yards to the Bulldogs 45 and the locals were rolling.

Danzy dropped back to throw on second and seven. Tyrie Clifford made a twisting grab of the wounded duck at the McKinley 8 and the Bulldogs faithful were concerned.

But the Tigers failed to execute a handoff following an audible on the next snap and McKinley’s Mike Doss came up with the fumble to quell the threat and effectively secure a perfect 10‑0 regular season for the Pups.

Again the Tigers could have rolled over. There was still nearly seven minutes to play in the contest and the Bulldogs would’ve loved nothing more than to tack on another touchdown, just for celebration purposes.

But the Massillon defense stood tall and gave the offense another shot in the waning moments. Danzy was standing in the pocket still pitching at the final gun, not willing to concede anything, even in defeat.

As the Tigers trudged off the field, there was no griping from the Massillon fans. Just thank‑yous for making a game against the nation’s top ranked high school football team.

“I’ve got to give our fans a lot of credit,” Rose concluded. “They hung in there with us today the entire time. The team appreciated that and I did, too. The fans were a great help in this.”

McKinley 27, Massillon 14
Massilion McKinley
First downs rushing 9 9
First downs passing 6 5
First downs by penalty 0 3
total first downs 15 17
rushing yards 146 183
passing Yards 151 134
total offense 297 317
passing attempts 31 23
completions 15 13
touchdown passes 1 0
interceptions 1 0
punts 6 6
punting average 26.3 37.5
fumbles 5 2
fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 5 8
yards penalized 57 86

QUARTER SCORES 1 2 3 4
Massillon 0 7 0 7 14
McKinley 14 13 0 0 27

Massillon rushing:
Morgan 5‑0
Hodgson 18‑109
Danzy 8‑26
Spicer 1-11
McKinley rushing:
Rozier 23‑141
McDaniels 4‑12
Robinson 2 6
Doss 3‑3
Bradley 8‑21
Massillon passing:
Danzy 15‑31 151 yards 1 TD,
McKinley Passing:
McDanels 13‑23 134 yards

Massillon receiving:
Morgan 4‑34
Venables 1‑4
Cocklin 2‑19
Hodgson 3‑25
Clifford 4‑64
Buckush 1‑5
McKinley receiving:
Curry 6‑83
Rozier 3‑25
Wilcox 1‑22
Bradley 1‑3
Robinson 1‑(2)
Lucrus 1 3

Jared Stefanko

1997: Massillon 10, Akron St. Vincent St. Mary 3

October 24, 1997September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers win isn’t pretty

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

If the Massillon Tigers were trying to keep the McKinley Bulldogs in the dark for next week’s annual season‑ending showdown, they did a good job of it with a lackluster 10‑3 victory over Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary, in a light drizzle Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers, coming off last week’s disappointment at Cincinnati Moeller, struggled all night long and trailed 3-0 at halftime. They lost three of four fumbles and had seven penalties for 55 yards, negating 336 yards of total offense.

“As good as we played last week offensively, we played just that poorly tonight,” said Tigers coach Jack Rose. “I was concerned about a letdown from last week. It’s a tough week to coach here, with McKinley up next. And St. Vincent‑St. Mary seems to always give us fits.”

Part of the reason for the Tigers troubles was a fired up Fighting Irish team that was playing for its playoff life. The St. V defense was stout all night long and the offense kept Massillon off balance enough to hold a nearly four minute time of possession advantage the first half.

“Our kids are tough kids,” said Irish first year coach Jim Meyer. “They work hard and they’re in great shape.

“But the better team won. We couldn’t make big plays when we needed it. Massillon is a great team. Give them credit.”

The Tigers, 7‑2 on the season, won it with a 10-play march on the opening possession of the second half. Christian Morgan carried the ball on five of those snaps, ripping off a 17 yard gain over left tackle that moved the ball to the Irish 12 yard line. Two plays later, junior Marc Cleveland took an option pitch from quarterback Tip Danzy and outsprinted the visitors’ defense to the right corner of the end zone for the only touch of the game.

Josh Hose drilled the point after conversion kick and Massillon led for the first time 7‑3 at 7:34 of the third period.

Actually, the Tigers most impressive drive of the night was on its final possession and began at the 7:12 mark of the fourth period at the Massillon 12.

On the fourth play of the march, Massillon faced a third down and 11 situation at its own 22, too deep in Tiger territory to pass the football. So Danzy gave, the ball to, Morgan who willed his way to a 15‑yard gain, a first down and across the 1,000‑yard season rushing barrier.

The senior tailback came out of the game at that point, having aggravated a hip pointer he suffered last week.

“Christian made some runs tonight where he didn’t have any help at all,” observed Rose. “On the one he got injured, I think he ran through their whole team. it was a terrific effort. He picked it up as the game went on. I think both of our backs did.”

Morgan admitted the 1,000-yard plateau has special meaning, especially the second time around.

“I think a lot of people thought I wasn’t going to get it this year, so I had to prove them wrong,” Morgan said.

Meyer also took time to tip his hat to Morgan, who carried the ball 30 times for 167 yards.

“We thought the guy who did a good job was the tailback,” Meyer said. “He was awesome.”

After Morgan left the game, Danzy hooked up with tight end Seth Venables (4 receptions, 54 yards) for a 20 yard gain to the St. V 43.

“When the running game is going that well, you key on it and something else comes open,” observed Meyer. “In this case it was their tight end.”

Two plays later, Dave Hodgson tore off a 20 yard gain on a draw play, then added 15 more on the very next snap to set up Massillon with first and goal from the 5‑yard line.

But the Irish defense stiffened, and three plays later, Hose kicked a field goal to close the scoring with 1:23 left to play.

St. V had one more shot, but the Tigers defense pressured quarterback Ross Marconi all over the field and the possession went nowhere.

In fact, Josh Hill was in the Irish backfield throughout the contest, making Marconi’s night very unpleasant.

“I like going after the quarterback,” Hill said. “That’s the best part about playing outside linebacker, going after the quarterback. So I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“He’s a great player,” Rose said of Hill. “He’s played that way all year. He’s a great pass rusher and his speed lets him run down plays from behind.”

Hill then turned his attention toward next week’s showdown with McKinley.

“We’re ready for them,” Hill said. “They rained on our parade last year so it’s our turn this time.”

Morgan agreed. “We just got to pull it together for this final week,” he said.

MASSILLON 10
ST. V‑St. M 3
M S
First downs rushing 14 1
First downs passing 5 4
First downs by penalty 0 1
TOTAL first downs 19 6
Net yards rushing 264 13
Net yards passing 68 103
TOTAL yards 332 116
Passes attempted 10 23
Passes completed 5 9
Passes intercepted 0 0
Punts 3 8
Punting average 40.3 27.6
Fumbles/Lost 4/3 1/0
Penalties 7 3
Yards penalized 55 15

MASSILLON 0 0 7 3 10
ST. V‑ST. M 3 0 0 0 3

S ‑ Williamson 23 field goal
M ‑ Cleveland 8 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Hose 24 field goal

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Morgan 30‑167,
Hodgson 12‑70,
Danzy 10‑14,
Cleveland 1‑8,
Miller 3‑5.
St. V rushing:
Skipper 12‑39

Massillon passing:
Danzy 5‑10‑68
St, V passing:
Marconi 9‑23‑103

Massillon receiving:
Venables 4‑54
St. V receiving:
Irvin 4‑43,
Alvarado 1‑26,
Ja. Walter 1‑14,
Hlivko 1‑8,
Skipper 1‑5,
Jo. Walter 1-7

Jared Stefanko

1997: Massillon 24, Cincinnati Moeller 28

October 19, 1997September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers falter in 4th

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Afterward, Moeller coach Steve Klonne talked like some who had dodged a bullet, while Massillon’s Jack Rose had the look of someone who’d stopped one.

Moeller had just rallied from a seemingly insurmountable 24-7 fourth quarter Massillon lead to hand the Tigers a devastating 28‑24 set back at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Saturday. The Crusaders lingered on the field for a half hour following the game, reveling in their victory.

The Tigers sat stunned in their locker room, physically and emotionally spent from the drastic turn of events that saw them on the verge of upsetting the state’s No. 3 ranked Division 1 squad only to see the game and a strong shot at the playoffs slip away.

The turning point, in Klonne’s eyes, came when his offense went to a three wide receiver, set and spread out the Massillon defense.

“We’re down 24‑7 and things aren’t looking very good,” Klonne said. “We got in trips and the two‑minute offense right away. The game came down to trips and our running backs running the football a little bit. We were fortunate to complete some passes and get into the end zone.”

From Rose’s perspective, the Tigers lost the game much earlier, when they failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the first three quarters.

“We had our chances to blow the game wide open,” he said. “But those dropped balls … .”

“When you play a team like that you don’t feel comfortable with a 17‑point lead even in the fourth quarter because they have the ability to make the big play. The difference in the game was … except for one pass play where we make the big play, they have two or three plays that they make big plays out of and we didn’t.”

Massillon trailed 7‑6 at halftime, thanks to a 21‑yard Ryan Cooper to Casey Clark pass early in the second quarter. The Tigers came within a missed extra point of tying the score when Christian Morgan capped off a five‑play, 80‑yard drive by sweeping right into the end zone from three yards out with eight minutes until the band show. Two 25‑yard Tip Danzy to Dave Hodgson pass plays set up the score.

But the Tigers could have owned a one or two touchdown advantage at that point, if not for eight penalties (five for illegal procedure) and a couple dropped passes deep in Moeller territory.

“At halftime, I told the guys ‘Catch the hall. Just catch the football,”‘ Rose said. “We had played good defense except for the one pass play they popped on us.

Massillon owned the third quarter, as Morgan steamed 80 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after taking a pitch from Danzy around his left end. Danzy scored the two‑point conversion and the Tigers led 14‑7 before the fans had settled back into their seats.

The Tigers marched 80 yards in 11 plays on their second possession of the half, keyed by two long Hodgson runs on draw plays. Danzy put the finishing touches on the drive when he lofted a perfectly thrown 28‑yard pass into the right corner of the end zone that Tyrie Clifford snagged for a touchdown with 1:38 left in the third period. Hose hit the PAT and it was 21‑7 Tigers.

Hose extended the lead to 24-7 when he split the uprights with a 36‑yard field goal at 9:11 of the fourth quarter, but the lead began to crumble on Moeller’s next possession.

After Hose’s deep kickoff pinned the Crusaders at their 6‑yard line, the hosts went to a three wide receiver set. Moeller gained a first down on a Cooper scramble to the 23. From there, the senior quarterback hit 210‑pound tailback Grant Crosthwaite with a swing pass on the right sideline and he did the rest, breaking two tackles and sprinting 77 yards to paydirt.

Tom Pucke’s conversion kick made it 24‑14 at 8:30 of the fourth.

“They had the long end of the field,” Rose observed. “They throw it to their back and we have him pinned on the sideline. But our DB doesn’t follow through with the tackle and knock him out of bounds. He bumps him. You can’t do stuff like that against a team like Moeller. It will get you beat every time.”

Moeller got the ball back with 5:32 to play after a Massillon punt rolled dead at the 3. But Cooper hit Brad Murphy for 57‑yards on the second play of the series then found Clark for 13 more on the next snap to move the hall to the Tiger 27-yard line. Six plays later, Crosthwaite found a gaping hole over right guard and scored from three yards out to make it a 24‑21 game at the 3:21 mark.

Then came the back breaker as Pucke executed the onside kick to perfection with the Crusaders recovering the ball at the Massillon 30. Four running plays later, Chris Wietmarschen went in from the 5 and the Tigers were history.

“Our kids were spent on defense,” Rose said. “We don’t have a lot of depth and we were rushing Cooper and chasing him around all night.

“We left our defense on the field the fourth quarter.”

Klonne tipped his hat to the Massillon defense afterward.

“We could not run the ball at all against Massillon,” he said. “Their front is physical and fast. They play some great defense.

“Our guys are cardiac arrest every week. But somehow they find a way to win.”

MOELLER 28
MASSILLON 24
Mo Ma
First downs rushing 9 9
First downs passing 9 6
First downs by penalty 0 1
TOTAL first downs 18 16
Net yards rushing 141 193
Net yards passing 291 150
TOTAL yards 432 343
Passes attempted 17 24
Passes completed 12 8
Passes intercepted 0 0
Punts 4 5
Punting average 39.8 36.6
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 3/1
Penalties 2 11
Yards penalized 22 73

MOELLER 0 7 0 21 28
MASSILLON 0 6 15 3 24

SCORING

Mo ‑ Clark 21 pass from Cooper (Pucke kick)
Ma ‑ Morgan 3 run (Kick failed)
Ma ‑ Morgan 80 run (Danzy run)
Ma ‑ Clifford 28 pass from Danzy (Hose kick)
Ma ‑ Hose 36 field goal
Mo ‑ Crosthwaite 77 Pass from Cooper (Pucke kick)
Mo ‑ Crosthwaite 2 run (Pucke kick)
Mo ‑ Wietmarschen 4 run (Pucke kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:
Hodgson 16‑121,
Morgan 6‑118,
Danzy 6‑4.
Moeller rushing:
Crosthwaite 15‑71,
Cooper 22‑78,
Wietmarschen 6‑20.

Massillon passing:
Danzy 8‑24‑150 1TD
Moeller passing:
Cooper 12‑17‑291 2 TDs.

Massillon receiving:
Clifford 3‑55,
Hodgson 2-49,
James 2‑36,
Venables 1‑10.
Moeller receiving:
Murphy 4‑119,
Crosthwaite 3‑93,
Clark 3‑38,
Brandt 1‑29,
Ryan 1‑

Moeller storms back
to beat Massillon 28-24

Crusaders score
three touchdowns
in final 8:30

By CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor

Moeller scored three touchdowns in the final 8:30 to come from behind and score a 28‑24 victory over Massillon Saturday night at Nippert Stadium.

Moeller’s winning touchdown was set up by an onside kick with 3:29 left in the game that the Crusaders’ Matt Edwards recovered at the Massillon 30. Five rushing plays later, Chris Wietmarschen scored on a five‑yard run to give Moeller its first lead since halftime.

Massillon had one final chance beginning at its own 34 with 1:23 left in the game. The Tigers faced a fourth‑and‑15 at their own 29, but a sack by Moeller’s Joe Schulte ended the threat.

Moeller had cut the lead to 24‑20 when Grant Crosthwaite scored on a 77‑yard pass reception with 8:30 to play, then followed with a two‑yard run with 3:29 left.

A crowd announced at 5,074 watched as two of the state’s greatest traditions met in game filled with playoff implications. Moeller (7‑1) came into the game ranked No. 3 in Ohio Division 1, while Massillon (6‑2) was ranked No. 16.

After Moeller held a 7‑6 halftime lead, Massillon stunned Moeller on the opening play of the second half. Tailback Christian Morgan, who had been held to 13 yards on seven carries in the first half, took a pitch left, cut back into the middle and went 80 yards for a go‑ahead score. Quarterback Tip Danzy’s two‑point run put Massillon ahead 14‑7.

Massillon put Moeller in a two‑touchdown hole late in the third quarter after a long Moeller drive resulted in a missed field goal. Starting at its own 20, Massillon took 11 plays to move downfield.

The touchdown came on fourth-and‑14 from the Moeller 29. A Moeller blitzer came through clean on Danzy, but just before he made the hit, Danzy launched a high‑arcing pass towards the corner of the end zone. Massillon’s fastest player, wideout Tyrie Clifford, ran under the ball and made the catch, putting Massillon ahead, 21‑7.

After Moeller turned the ball over on downs in its own half of the field early in the fourth quarter, Massillon added to its lead, moving to a 24‑7 edge on Josh Hose’s 36‑yard field goal.

Moeller finally got back on the scoreboard when quarterback Ryan Cooper found Crosthwaite on a dump pass on the sideline and Crosthwaite danced around a pair of defenders, then went 77 yards for a TD. That cut the Massillon lead to 24‑14 with 8:30 to play.

Both teams turned to the air to find offense – and points – in the first half.

Moeller struck first at the 9:46 mark of the second quarter, when Cooper hit receiver Casey Clark on a short curl‑in pattern and Clark weaved through traffic into the end zone for a 21‑yard TD that put Moeller up 7‑0.

Moeller had only eight yards offense prior to the drive. The drive’s key play was Moeller’s first completed pass of the night, a 48‑yarder from Cooper to Brad Murphy to the Massillon 33‑yard line.

Massillon 0 6 15 3 24
Moeller 7 0 0 21 21

Moe ‑ Clark 21 pass from Cooper (Pucke kick)
Mas ‑ Morgan 3 run (Kick wide)
Mas ‑ Morgan 80 run (Danzy run)
Mas ‑ Clifford 29 pass from Danzy (Hose kick)
Mas ‑ Hose 36 FG
Moe ‑ Crosthwaite 17 pass from Cooper (Pucke kick)
Moe ‑ Crosthwaite 77 run (Pucke kick)
Moe ‑ Wietmarschen 5 run (Pucke kick)

Records Mas 6-2, Moe 7-1

Jared Stefanko

1997: Massillon 41, Canton Central Catholic 6

October 11, 1997September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers unveil aerial attack

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers accomplished three things with Saturday’s 41‑6 dismantling of the Central Catholic Crusaders in front 11,350 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

First, they improved to 6‑1 on the season, leaving the door open for their fourth post‑season playoff berth in the last five campaigns.

Second, Massillon won its 700th game in the storied history of America’s most famous high school football program.

Third, by flashing an effective passing game to go along with their already established running attack, the Tigers gave Cincinnati Moeller something else to think about as they prepare for a showdown of Ohio gridiron giants this coming Satuday at Nippert Stadium in the Queen City.

Massillon generated 365 yards of total offense against Central Catholic, 130 of that through the air. Starting quarterback Tip Danzy completed 10 of 17 aerials for 120 yards and a touchdown as the Tigers had their first proficient passing game of the 1997 campaign. Another TD pass was dropped in the end zone.

“They threw it better than we’ve seen them throw it all year,” said Crusaders head coach Lowell Klinefelter.

Danzy deferred the praise for his big night to his receivers and the Massillon coaching staff.

“Coach told us we were going to throw the ball,” Danzy said afterward. “They called the pass plays, I did my best to go Out and execute them and the receivers did a good job of catching the ball tonight.”

“We threw ball better tonight,” understated Tigers coach Jack Rose. “We’re trying to loosen up the defense. We wanted to throw a couple deep balls on them early. We wanted to hit them and more important to get them back off the line of scrimmage.”

Rose indicated a couple of the pass plays were ad libbed.

“We threw to a couple guys because they were uncovered,” he revealed. “We tell the quarterback anytime he sees guys uncovered to get the ball out to them and let them do what they can.”

Of course, the Massillon running attack was not ignored. The Tigers put up 235 net yards rushing, led by Christian Morgan’s 141 yards in 17 carries.

The senior tailback, who has rushed for 781 yards this season, set the tone for the game with a 66‑yard touchdown run off an option pitch around left end on the hosts’ first play from scrimmage. Josh Hose’s conversion kick made it 7‑0 at the 10:43 mark of the first period.

“That play kind of took the wind out of our sails early,” Klinefelter said.

Actually, Central regrouped pretty well from the Tigers early strike, marching from its 34 to the Massillon 6 on 10 plays. But Josh Kreider killed the drive and dashed the Crusaders hopes for an upset with an interception in the end zone at 6:25 of the first quarter.

Massillon got another big play early in the second quarter, this time from its special teams when Jamie Allman blocked a Central Catholic punt and recovered the ball at the Crusaders’ 25 yard line.

Mike James made a leaping catch of a Danzy pop pass over the middle for a first down at the Central 14. But the drive stalled and Hose ‑ after two consecutive false start flags ‑ boomed a 37‑yard field goal to make it a 10‑0 game at 8:01 of the second quarter.

Central couldn’t get anything going on its next possession and punted the ball away, the Tigers taking over at midfield. On the fifth snap of the drive, Danzy kept the football on the option around the right side and found a seam in the Crusaders defense. He finally stopped running when he hit pay dirt 28‑yards later. Hose was true with the PAT and Massillon led 17‑0 with 4:22 to go in the half.

“I prefer to run the ball and the cutback is my favorite move,” Danzy said. “There was nobody back there but the safety so I took the opportunity to get into the end zone.”

“Tip’s getting better,” Rose said. “And our offensive line is maturing and that’s giving him sonic opportunities to make some plays.”

Massillon polished up the passing game on its next possession, which began near midfield. On a fourth-and six, Danzy rolled right and hit Clint Dean along the right sideline for 12 yards and a first down. On the next play, Danzy bootlegged left and hooked up with tight end Seth Venables for 13 more yards to the Central 18.

The senior signal caller completed his next two throws, but penalties set up a first and goal from the Central 21. Danzy again ran the bootleg, this time to the right, and found Dave Hodgson at the 4. The senior fullback did the rest, running over a Central defender at the 1 for the touchdown. Hose’s kick made it 24‑0 Massillon with 1:20 to play in the first half.

Central Catholic came right back, just as Walsh Jesuit did the previous week, scoring a touchdown through the air in the waning seconds of the half. Mike Bajornas, who displayed a deft touch most of the evening when he had time to throw, found Jerrit Marsh at the goal line. Marsh came down with the ball amidst three Tiger defenders for the score and it was 24‑6 at the break.

Danzy scored again on a three‑yard run that capped an 8‑play, 62‑yard drive on Massillon’s first possession of the second half, effectively putting the game away at 31‑6 midway through the third quarter.

Hose’s 27‑yard field goal at 5:02 of the third and Ron Lynn’s 16‑yard interception return for a TD with just over three minutes to play closed the scoring.

Rose was encouraged by the Tigers lack of turnovers (one interception, no lost fumbles), but was not pleased with his charges’ nine penalties for 80 yards. Two Massillon TD’s were negated by penalty flags.

“We have to play error free to beat Moeller,” Rose said. “We can’t have penalties like we did tonight. We’re taking care of the ball better now. We’re starting to demonstrate we can hold on to it. What worries me is the penalties are hurting us on big plays. This offense has big play potential but we can’t miss big plays due to penalties. It flattens us out.”

Jared Stefanko

Category: <span>History</span>