History Archives - Page 48 of 142

1996: Massillon 21, Naperville Central, IL 13

October 12, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers gird for Mighty Mo with win

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Seven weeks into the 1996 high school football season it has become apparent the team that has the best chance of ruining the Massillon Tigers dream for an undefeated season is the Massillon Tigers.

On Saturday evening, the Tigers put together a first half of football that included a lost fumble, an intercepted pass, a blocked punt and three penalties for 27 yards. The beneficiary of Massillon’s unintended generosity were the Redhawks of Naperville Central, who held a 13‑0 advantage at the intermission.

Massillon woke up in the second half. The defense limited Naperville to a total of 13 plays in the Redhawks’ first four possessions. The offense marched 49 yards for one touchdown and converted two turnovers into scores as the Tigers preserved their undefeated record with a 21‑13 victory in front of 11,852 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Jack Rose did not sound like a man who was going to let his charges savor the win very long. After the game he reminded them Cincinnati Moeller invades this coming Saturday.

“We start getting ready (Sunday),” Rose said. “Enjoy this tonight because (Moeller week) starts (Sunday).”

Then Rose nodded toward senior co‑captain Eric Lightfoot, who returned to the lineup Saturday after being unable to play safety for the last three weeks because of a pulled hamstring.

“Good to have you back (No.) 7,” Rose said.

Indeed it was.

Lightfoot, who would save the game in the final minute with an interception in the end zone, ignited the crowd and got the Tigers’ juices flowing in the third period with a 59‑yard punt that pinned Naperville back on its own 14. A three‑and‑out series ensued and the Tigers ‑still trailing 13‑0 ‑ took over at midfield with 6:09 remaining in the third period.

Quarterback Ben Hymes hit fullback Nate Hodgson for 17 yards on first down. Two snaps later, Jared Stefanko went straight ahead for seven yards and a first down at the 22. Christian Morgan ‑ limited to 37 yards in 12 first half carries ‑ was bottled up on three straight runs to set up fourth and three. Bu t Hymes kept the ball on the option around left end and dove forward for the first down.

The option worked so well that Hymes ran it again two plays later, this time pitching the ball to Stefanko around right end for an eight‑yard touchdown. Josh Hose tacked on the extra point and it was a 13‑7 game with 2:17 left in the third.

On its ensuing possession, Naperville moved from its 16 to the Massillon 41 where it had first down just seconds into the fourth quarter. But running back D.J. Johnson coughed the ball up on a draw play and Tigers linebacker Chris Childs recovered at the Massillon 46.

Rose went right back to Morgan and the lanky junior ran it on five straight plays, chewing up 25 yards to the Naperville 29. Massillon jumped into its power‑I and played option football once again. Eight plays later, Hymes snuck over left guard and into the end zone from less than a yard out. Hose’s PAT made it 14‑13 Massillon with 4:47 to play.

“We felt we needed to run right at them to negate their speed,” Rose said. “They were just coming off our blocks so well and running down the line to the football.

“We ran the belly series then pulled the ball out and ran the option. Running it out of the power‑I is a better play for us.

“But we were taken aback by, their quickness on defense. And they are a lot bigger than what they had in the program. I think they deflate their weights. They were every bit as quick as Lima Senior on defense and they took better pursuit angles.”

The Tigers got an enormous break as they looked to build on their one‑point lead. Matt Stanley’s kickoff was fumbled at the Naperville 20 and Michael Jabbar recovered for Massillon.

Rose went to some fresh legs by inserting Elijah Blake at tailback and the senior picked up 15 yards on two quick carries. Stefanko then got the call and moved the ball to the 1. Two plays later, Morgan found a seam over right guard for the touchdown. Hose split the uprights to make it 21‑13 with 2:29 remaining.

But Naperville wasn’t ready to roll over, not after busing 11 hours just to get to Massillon. The Redhawks moved from their 30 to the Massillon 26 as quarterback Christian Person hit on four of five aerials.

” However, on second‑and‑six with :32 to play, Person looked over the middle into the end zone and let fly. Lightfoot saw the play develop, leaped, tipped the football with his right hand and came down with the interception in the end zone for a touchback.

“I was dropping back into coverage, saw a receiver coming over and I thought Person was going to throw it to him,” Lightfoot said. “He threw it kind of high and I just wanted to try to knock it down. When I tipped it, it went up into the air and then it just fell into my hands when I fell down.

“The receivers were all behind me, so I was just trying to tip the ball back toward the quarterback.”

With the win, Massillon is 7‑0. Moeller, which crushed Cincinnati St. Xavier on Friday, is 6‑1. 1 It was hard getting ready for Naperville for the kids because they know what everyone in town is talking about,” Rose noted. “They’re talking about the Moeller game. We had to overcome that. Now comes Moeller and the kids know what that means.”

Rose also noted his team’s routine was thrown off by the Saturday date with Naperville. He did not cite that as a contributing factor to a lethargic first half that produced just 56 total yards.

“We just weren’t playing hard and executing,” Rose said. “On film, Naperville didn’t look as fast as it played on this turf. They also had a nice defensive’ scheme set up. They did something different on defense on every first down.”

Although Morgan was held to 83 yards rushing ‑ his first sub 100 yard game this season ‑ Rose thought his tailback ran better in the second half.

“Christian ran harder the second half,” Rose said. “He missed about three cuts the first half or we’d have had some big plays. He just wasn’t real sharp and we weren’t getting a push at the line.”

MASSILLON 21
NAPERVILLE 13
M N
First downs rushing 9 3
First downs passing 1 5
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 11 8
Net yards rushing 143 90
Net yards passing 33 102
Total yards gained 176 192
Passes attempted 12 16
Passes completed 4 8
Passes int. 1 2
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average 48.8 52.0
Kickoff return yards 84 66
Punts 6 3
Punting average 32.5 30.3
Punt return yards 1 3
Fumbles 2 2
Fumbles lost 1 2
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 27 10
Number of plays 63 46
Time of possession 28:13 19:47
Attendance 11,852

NAPERVILLE 3 10 0 0 13
MASSILLON 0 0 7 14 21

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
NAP ‑ Nolda 25 FG

Second Quarter
NAP ‑ Nolda 32 FG
NAP ‑ Johnson 27 run

Third Quarter
Mass ‑ Stefanko 1 run (Hose kick)

Fourth Quarter
Mass ‑ Hymes 1 run (Hose kick);
Mass ‑ Morgan 1 run (Hose kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Morgan 26‑83, 1 TD;
Stefanko 6‑28;
Blake 2‑15;
Childs 3‑10;
Hodgson 2‑4;
Hymes 12‑3, 2 TDs.
Naperville
Johnson 20‑68. 1 TD,
Chirumbolo 6‑21;
Pearson 1‑1.

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 4‑12‑33‑1.
Naperville
Pearson 8‑16‑102‑2.

Receiving:
Massillon
Hodgson 2‑21,
William 1‑6,
Baer 1‑6.

Naperville
Grotbeck 3‑28,
Lintner 1‑31,
Maloney 1‑30,
Nolda 1‑7,
Chirumbolo 1‑4,
Johnson 1‑2.

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 34, Walsh Jesuit 10

October 4, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers put it together vs. Walsh

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor,

All week long, Jack Rose said it was time for the Massillon Tigers to put it all together; that they needed solid performances in all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams to beat Walsh Jesuit.

Rose got exactly that from Ohio’s No. 1 ranked Division I team as the Tigers laid a 34‑10 shiner on the Warriors, in front of 12,811 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday.

The Massillon offense racked up 340 total yards, including 309 on the ground and a 6.4 yards per rush average.

The Massillon defense blanked Walsh in the second half, coming up with three interceptions and surrendering less than 60 yards to the Warriors after the band show.

The Massillon special teams produced a blocked punt that was turned into a Tigers’ touchdown and served as the final nail in the visitors’ coffin.

At the end, Walsh Jesuit head coach Gerry Rardin was impressed.

“I’ll tell you what,” Rardin exclaimed, “they are a great football team. They are extremely physical, they’re big, and they have great skill players.”

Once again, Christian Morgan was too much to handle. Massillon’s junior tailback rushed 23 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

“Morgan’s a great back and he has a powerful, quick line up in front of him, too,” Rardin said.

Rose agreed.

“Christian’s a big‑timer,” Rose said. “He can play. He’s a very good back.”

Morgan was hardly a one man show on offense. Once again, fullback Jared Stefanko kept the defense from keying on his backfield mate, gaining 55 yards on just four carries. Elijah Blake came off the bench to rush for 59 yards on just three totes.

Throughout the week, Rose was confident the Tigers would prevail, despite the fact they struggled the week before at Austintown Fitch and were going against the No. 7 ranked team in Division III.

“I thought our offensive line could move them off the ball,” he explained. “I felt very confident we could do that.”

Walsh drew first blood, marching from its 20 to the Tigers 13, before the defense stiffened. The Warriors broke on top 3‑0 when Jeff Endress hit a 30‑yard field goal with 8:18 left in the opening period.

Massillon came right back, as Morgan broke off a 44‑yard run on the Tigers first play from scrimmage. Stefanko gained nine more on the second play and Massillon was in business at the Walsh 22. Three snaps later,, Morgan found a hole between right guard and tackle for a two yard touchdown. Josh Hose hit the PAT and Massillon led 7‑3 with just over two minutes to play in the first.

The Tigers turned the ball over on a fumble deep in Massillon territory on their second possession. Walsh struck quickly as quarterback Chris Denholm hit Brian Willmott on a sideline pattern at the Massillon 1. Jon Subity powered in from there and the extra point made it Walsh 10, Massillon 7 with just 17 seconds elapsed in the second period.

Massillon appeared ready to strike back, driving from its 33 to the Walsh 6 on seven plays, highlighted by Stefanko’s 34-yard bolt over right guard and tackle. But the Warriors’ defense stiffened and a 23‑yard field goal attempt hit the right upright and bounced back.

The game turned on the Warriors’ next possession. They moved the ball from their 20 to the Massillon 40, but the Tiger defense forced a punt. Walsh’s Tom Lopienski, trying to angle for the right sideline, shanked the ball badly. It sliced out of bounds at the Tiger 38, a punt of just two yards.

Ben Hymes zeroed in on Devin Williams for 15 yards on first down to cross mid field. Three plays later, Walsh was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct to move it to the Warriors’ 21. Morgan did the rest, finding a huge cavity over right guard, breaking to the sideline and sprinting into the end zone for the touchdown with only 1:08 left in the half. Hose’s kick made it 14‑10 and Walsh never recovered.

“Those two events really swung the momentum and you don’t want that to happen against a team as good as Massillon,” Rardin said.

Following the second half kickoff, Massillon marched 59 yards in nine plays to build on the momentum swing it achieved just before halftime. Morgan carried on seven of those plays, including the final four. He scored on a two‑yard plunge off right guard with 9:07 left in the third. Hose converted to make it a 21‑10 game.

It appeared Walsh was going to retaliate. The Warriors, moved from their 21 to the 39 on four plays. But on second and five from that mark, Denholm tried to pass the ball over the middle. Tigers’ safety Josh Kreider stepped in for the interception at the 41.

The Tigers offense struggled on their next two possessions, both of which ended with punts. Walsh Jesuit did not fare any better, Punting away the ball once. The second time the Warriors weren’t as fortunate. On fourth‑and‑21 from their own six, Lopienski’s punt was blocked by Tigers linebacker Josh Hill. Dusty Limbach corralled the bouncing ball in the end zone for six points. Hose’s PAT made it 27‑10 with less than 10 minutes to play.

Massillon closed the scoring on its next Possession. Blake bolted 50 yards up the middle, finally being dragged down at the one‑yard line. The speedy senior tailback found paydirt on the next play. Hose tacked on the conversion kick at 6:49 of the fourth quarter.

Kreider credited the defensive line with his two picks.

“The defensive line just had a tenacious pass rush tonight and the DBs were on their receivers like flies on you‑know‑what,” Kreider said. “We just wanted to find a way to get the offense back on the field.

“We knew Walsh was going to come to play and to challenge us. So we came out to play as well as we could. Even though we’ve been having a few injuries in the defensive backfield, we are pulling together each week and doing the best we can until we get everybody back.”

Hill, who followed a two‑sack game against Austintown Fitch, with a sack and that blocked punt, says the Tigers are sending a message.

MASSILLON 34
WALSH 10
M W
First downs rushing 13 5
First downs passing 2 5
First downs penalty 4 1
Total first downs 19 11
Net yards rushing 309 102
Net yards passing 31 95
Total yards gained 340 197
Passes attempted 8 20
Passes completed 3 7
Passes int. 0 3
Times kicked off 6 3
Kickoff average 47.2 38.3
Kickoff return yards 36 105
Punts 2 5
Punting average 38.0 20.8
Punt return yards 12 6
Fumbles 2 0
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 4 9
Yards penalized 36 82
Number of plays 57 55
Time of possession 24:10 23:50
Attendance 12,816

WALSH 3 7 0 0 10
MASSILLON 7 7 7 13 34

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
WAL ‑ Endress 30 FG
MASS ‑ Morgan 2 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
WAL ‑ Subity 1 run (Endress kick)
MASS ‑ Morgan 21 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
MASS ‑ Morgan 2 run (Hose kick)

Fourth Quarter
MASS ‑ Limbach fell on blocked punt in end zone (kick fail)
MASS ‑ Blake 1 run (Hose kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Morgan 23‑142.3 TDs;
Blake 3‑59;
Stefanko, 4‑55;
Hodgson 5‑19;
Bradley 6‑13;
Danzy 3‑10;
Hymes 3‑17;
Autrey 1‑4.
Walsh
Lopienski 17‑100;
Subity 8‑16, 1 TD

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 3‑8‑31
Walsh
Denholm 7‑20‑95‑3.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 2‑31,
Morgan 1‑0.
Walsh
Willmott 4‑60, Powers 2‑27,
Subity 1‑8.

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 10, Austintown Fitch 9

September 27, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers survive the trip to Fitch

By MARK LAUTZENHEISER
Independent Correspondent

So, what about that Austintown Fitch jinx?

It figured when the Massillon Tigers defeated the Falcons 10-7 in 1994 at Falcon Stadium, the mystique was washed away.

However, as quickly as they broke the four‑game losing streak on Fitch’s home field, the Tigers nearly allowed the Falcons to rekindled the jinx. Friday night in sloppy Falcon Stadium, No. 1 ranked Massillon dodged a bullet, edging Fitch 10‑9.

The Tigers won their fifth straight game while the Falcons fell to 2‑3.

As in 1994, this game came down to one big Massillon offensive play and the legs of both teams’ kickers.

Two years ago, then Massillon quarterback Willie Spencer Jr. ran 88 yards for the Tigers’ lone touchdown. Nick Pribich hit a lengthy field goal that provided the margin of victory.

In this year’s renewal of the series that began in 1985, it was tailback Christian Morgan who came up with the big play. Kicker Josh Hose added the big kick.

With Fitch holding a 7‑3 lead and its defense denying the Tigers entry into the end zone, Morgan took a deep handoff from quarterback Ben Hymes and broke off right tackle, racing untouched 74 yards for a touchdown.

Morgan’s touchdown came at the 2:18 mark of the third quarter. Hose added what proved to be the game‑deciding extra point.

“It was our zone run to the split‑side,” said Massillon head coach Jack Rose. “He had come close to popping a couple in the first half. He had a hard time in the first half keeping his footing. He was getting frustrated.

“We found out our tailbacks are not mudders.”

Morgan finished with 136 yards on 23 carries.

The Tigers had a three‑point lead, but they were far from victory. They lost their second fumble on their next possession, giving Fitch one last chance from its own 46‑yard line and 6:04 left in the fourth quarter.

“Both turnovers were critical,” Rose said. “You lose a fumble and you lose field position.”

Fitch, which had taken the lead on a 5‑yard run by O’Dommi Wellington at the 6:47 mark of third quarter, promptly drove deep into Tiger territory.

A personal foul call against Massillon aided the drive. The ball was moved to the Tiger 18yard line.

Three plays later, the Falcons were eight yards away from taking their second lead of the game.

On first‑and‑goal, Massillon senior Bud Kraft snuffed out an option play and stuffed Fitch quarterback Russ Houser for a 2-yard loss. Massillon defensive back Dustin Limbach then broke up a pass on second down. Kraft did likewise on third down.

“The defensive line was really charged up and we had great leaders out there,” said Kraft. “We were worried, but we hung tough.”

Fitch opted to try and tie the game. Placekicker Chris Calcagni, who was being touted as a Division I prospect, tried a 26-yard field goal. He sent the ball wide right by a matter of inches, his third miss of the game.

“We were so sure we’d get the three I was willing to go into overtime, especially with our kicker,” said Fitch head coach Jack Kenney. “Chris was 100 percent on field goals and extra points coming into the game. I feel bad for him.”

Calcagni also missed a potential tying field goal in the 1994 Massillon game.

The final points of the game came on an intentional safety by Massillon. Punter Eric Lightfoot ran out of the end zone with 13 seconds left to play.

“We just get drilled by the No. 6 team (Lakewood St. Edward) and then comes the No. 1 team (Massillon),” said Kenney. “Our kids came off the field upset because they know we maybe should have beaten the No. 1 team.

“Massillon has all the ingredients (to be worthy of its No. 1 ranking). They have great coaches, big, fast players and the Massillon program in itself is outstanding.”

In an uneventful first half, the Massillon defense bent but did not break while the offense sputtered. Massillon’s four possessions wound up with three punts and a lost fumble.

Finally, the Tigers got untracked on their last possession of the first half. Hymes ignited an 11‑play, 69‑yard drive.

The senior quarterback kept the drive alive with two third down completions to split end Devin Williams. The second completion covered 11 yards and moved the ball to the Fitch 36.

On the ensuing play, Hymes hit senior Brian Baer deep over the middle for 27 yards, moving the ball to the Fitch 9‑yard line.

The drive stalled, but Hose salvaged it with a 23‑yard field goal with only 15 seconds remaining until intermission.

That drive accounted for all but 52 of Massillon’s first half yards.

Fitch moved the football inside the Massillon 35 on its first two series. The first drive ended when the Falcons turned the ball over on downs. The first of the three missed field goals ended the second march.

“It’s nice to be 5‑0, but with Walsh (Jesuit) next week, we don’t get a break,” said Kraft.

MASSILLON 10
FITCH 9
M F
First downs rushing 7 8
First downs passing 3 2
First downs penalty 1 1
Total first downs 11 11
Net yards rushing 177 118
Net yards passing 58 33
Total yards gained 235 151
Passes attempted 11 11
Passes completed 5 4
Passes int. 0 1
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average 46.0 60.0
Kickoff return yards 0 61
Punts 5 5
Punting average 29.8 37.2
Punt return yards 24 10
Fumbles 4 2
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 5 2
Yards penalized 39 10
Number of plays 54 60
Time of possession 22:17 25:43

MASSILLON 0 3 7 0 10
FITCH 0 0 7 2 9

SCORING SUMMARY

Second Quarter
M ‑ Hose 23 field goal

Third Quarter
F ‑ Wellington 4 run (Calcagni kick)
M ‑ Morgan 74 run (Hose kick)

Fourth Quarter
F ‑ Safety: Massillon punter downed in end zone

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Morgan 23‑136, 1 TD;
Stefanko 6-4;
Hymes 10‑9.
Fitch
Hunter 12-42;
Wellington 11‑33 1 TD

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 5‑11 ‑58, 0 TD, 0 ints.
Fitch
Houser 4‑10‑33 0 TD. 0 ints.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 2‑24;
Baer 1‑28.
Fitch
London 2‑20.

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 42, Mansfield Senior 28

September 20, 1996September 24, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers win in spite of themselves

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

There is something about Massillon that seems to bring the best out of the Mansfield Tygers.

From Jack Rose’s perspective, it might seem there is something about Mansfield that brings the worst out of his Tigers.

Either way, it makes for competitive football and that’s just what 11,934 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium got for their money as the No. 1 ranked Tigers fought back from a 14‑7 deficit with 28 unanswered points to secure a 42‑28 decision, Friday night.

The win served as revenge for Mansfield’s 21‑20 upset of the then‑undefeated Tigers one year ago at Arlin Field in Mansfield. That loss helped keep Massillon from a third straight playoff berth.

Massillon opened Friday’s rematch as if it was going to run away and hide from Mansfield. The Tigers marched 71 yards on seven plays after the opening kickoff for a 7‑0 lead.

But Mansfield answered back with an eight‑play, 66‑yard scoring drive and followed that with a 50‑yard scoring strike and suddenly Massillon’s No. 6 national ranking looked a bit overstated.

Then the littlest Tiger took over. Devin Williams, a 5‑foot‑5, 130‑pound senior, took the ensuing kickoff the length of the field for a 90‑yard touchdown return that tied the game and sparked Massillon’s four touchdown rally.

Williams took the ball at the 10 and moved upfield toward the right sideline. At the 25, he broke a tackle and cut back left, leaving the Tygers grasping for air. Williams turned on the jets at the 50 and pulled away from his pursuers for the score.

”I just tried to go out there and change the tempo of the game because we looked a little flat,” Williams said. “I have to give credit to Elijah Blake. He gave me the final block to get me into the end zone. The whole team blocked well.”

Williams electrifying run back shot a spark into the Tiger defense. Mansfield had third-and‑one on its ensuing possession at its 42 yard line, when Milo McGuire, Jared Stefanko and Josh Hill nailed Tygers tailback Kenny Rife for a one‑yard loss that forced a punt.

Again Williams did his thing, fielding the punt on the Massillon 26 and juking one would‑be tackler to his knees. The diminutive one cut left across the grain and raced to the Mansfield 21 before running out of gas.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Christian Morgan found a gaping hole off right tackle and sprinted untouched into the end zone to give the lead to Massillon for good. Josh Hose drilled the extra point and it was Tigers 21, Mansfield 14 just six seconds into the second quarter.

“I have asthma and I ran out of gas on the punt return,” Williams said. ”Mansfield thought they could hang in the game with us. They tried but they couldn’t.”

Tygers coach Stan Jefferson cited three plays that cost his team victory and two of those were provided by Williams.

“The kick‑off return, the punt return and we’re going to score when we threw a screen pass that was intercepted (by Bud Kraft),” Jefferson recalled. ”Take 21 points off the scoreboard and its a different story.

“Don’t take anything away from Massillon. The Tigers are a very, very good football team. We played a very, very good football team and I told Coach Rose congratulations on the state rankings, but I look back and I see those three plays.”

For Rose’s part, he thought his charges were not up to the lofty standards they set for themselves in Weeks One, Two and Three.

“That was probably our worst game of the year, Rose said. “We were flat. I was disappointed.

“We had two starters (Eric Lightfoot and Dusty Limbach) out of the secondary. It was pretty glaring that we miss them. We didn’t play well. Our offense was sporadic. It was not very good.”

Morgan had another big night for Massillon, rushing 24 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He covered the final 24 yards on three totes on MassilIon’s opening drive, bursting into the end zone from the five at 10:00 of the first quarter. Hose hit the PAT to make it 7-0.

Mansfield responded with Leonard Alexander’s 20-yard burst off right guard on a fourth‑and‑one play. Nick Shasky hit the extra point and it was a 7‑7 contest at 6:12 of the first.

Consecutive illegal procedure calls against the Tigers doomed their second drive of the night, setting up a 50‑yard TD pass that began with a short slant from Jeff Soliday to Craig Montgomery. When two Tiger defenders crashed into each other, Montgomery was gone and it was 14‑7 with 2:01 left in the first.

Then Williams took over to turn things around.

Kraft, subbing for Lightfoot, recovered a Mansfield fumble after the Tigers took a 21‑14 lead. But Massillon gave it right back, fumbling the ball to the Tygers at the visitors’ 12-yard line.

The Tigers offense continued to stumble until Milo McGuire’s interception of a Soliday screen pass at the Mansfield 35. Morgan then ran the ball on four straight plays to move it to the 5. From there, Ben Hymes followed his offensive line on a quarterback sneak and found the end zone to make it a 28‑14 count with less than a minute left in the first half.

Mansfield took the second half kickoff and drove it to the Massillon 7. Oil second and goal, Soliday rolled left and threw to Alexander, who tipped the ball in the air. Again Kraft was at the right place at the right time and secured the interception to quell the drive.

“It was the pressure from the defensive line oil both plays that caused those turnovers,” Kraft said. “I wouldn’t have got the fumble if one of the linemen didn’t strip it.

After Kraft’s pick, the Tigers got out of trouble when Hymes hit Brian Baer for 21 yards on a third‑and‑nine play from the Massillon 21. Three plays later, from the Mansfield 47, Stefanko took a handoff and burst through a gaping hole up the middle. The junior fullback shook off a clean hit at the 25 and dashed into the end zone at the 5:50 mark of the third period. Hose converted the PAT and the Tigers seemed to have things in hand at 35‑14.

Mansfield countered with a 15‑play, 65‑yard scoring drive, culminated by Soliday’s touchdown run on an option keeper from five yards out. The kick made it 35‑21 Massillon at the 11:25 mark of the fourth.

MASSILLON 42
MANSFIELD 28
Mass Mans
First downs rushing 15 11
First downs passing 5 9
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 21 20
Net yards rushing 306 201
Net yards passing 77 200
Total yards gained 383 401
Passes attempted 12 20
Passes completed 6 11
Passes int. 0 2
Times kicked off 7 5
Kickoff average 44.3 46.4
Kickoff return yards 139 89
Punts 1 3
Punting average 30.0 32.3
Punt return yards 59 0
Fumbles 1 2
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 6 2
Yards penalized 34 11
Number of plays 56 62
Time of possession 21:50 26:10
Attendance 11,934

MANSFIELD 14 0 0 14 28
MASSILLON 14 14 7 7 42

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
MASS ‑ Morgan 5 run (Hose kick)
MANS – Alexander 20 run (Shasky kick)
MANS – Montgomery 51 pass from Jeff Soliday (Shasky kick)

Second Quarter
MASS ‑ Williams 90 kickoff return (Hose kick)
MASS ‑ Hymes 5 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
MASS ‑ Stefanko 47 run (Hose kick)

Fourth Quarter
MANS – Jeff Soliday 2 run (Shasky kick)
MASS – Blake 24 run (Hose kick)
MANS ‑ Montgomery 20 pass from Jeff Soliday (Shasky kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Morgan 24‑142, 2 TDs;
Stefanko 3‑68, 1 TD;
Childs 8‑44;
Blake 4‑27, 1 TD;
Hymes 4‑25, 1 TD.
Mansfield
Rife 17‑119;
Soliday 11‑43, 1 TD;
Alexander 12‑39, 1 TD;
Amadio ‑ 2‑0.

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 6‑12‑77.
Mansfield
Jeff Soliday 11‑20‑200‑2, 2 TDs.

Receiving:
Massillon
Baer 2‑27;
Morgan 2‑13;
Martin 1‑21;
Stefanko 1‑16.
Mansfield
Montgomery 4‑127, 2 TDs;
Jake Soliday 3‑26;
Luttrell 2‑20;
Cutliff 1‑15;
Alexander 1‑12.

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 36, Akron Garfield 6

September 13, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Garfield can’t stop Tiger attack

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Let the comparisons begin.

The Massillon Tigers rolled up over 400 yards of total offense in giving the Akron Garfield Rams a 36‑6 whipping in front of 10,223 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium , Friday night.

The victory boosts the Tigers to 3‑0, while Garfield falls to 0‑3.

The Golden Rams opened the season with a 17‑0 shutout defeat at the hands of the McKinley Bulldogs. So it was natural to ask veteran Garfield coach Bill McGee to compare the two storied rivals. But McGee wasn’t about to be drawn into a controversy.

“Massillon has an outstanding club,” McGee said. “They are the best balanced club we’ve seen. They did a good job of executing and they didn’t make any mistakes. This is one of their better balanced teams I’ve seen in all the years we’ve been coming down here.”

Indeed. Massillon racked up 259 net yards rushing and 153 net yards passing. Those are the kinds of statistics that will make offensive coordinators smile and defensive coordinators wince.

But McGee wasn’t about to anoint the Tigers state champions just yet. He believes they still have to answer some questions.

“The weakest part of our team is the offense,” McGee said. “Massillon’s test is going to be when they play a team with a high‑powered offense. They’re not as good on defense as they are on offense. They handled us but we’ve only scored two touchdowns in three games.”

The Tigers did manhandle the Golden Rams offense, limiting the Garfield attack to 128 total yards, nine first downs and an average of less than three yards per rushing play. Massillon ran 70 offensive plays. Garfield snapped the ball 43 times.

“It was just like what it looked like out there,” McGee conceded.

Jack Rose wasn’t about to make any comparisons either and he wanted no part of grading just how good the Tigers are this season.

“I think we’re pretty good,” Rose said. “How good? I don’t know. We are improving every week. That’s always been our goal.

“But, don’t forget that Garfield had two tough games in a row.

But what about the fact the Tigers beat Garfield by 30 points and the Bulldogs margin of victory was 17 points?

“I don’t like to get into a comparison of games,” Rose said. “We wanted to go out and establish ourselves offensively and mix it up. We feel we have a chance to be a pretty good offensive team.”

Pretty good would not seem to cover it. Tigers tailback Christian Morgan recorded his second straight 100 yard rushing game in two starts, gaining 122 yards in 20 carries. He found the end zone no less than four times.

Massillon quarterback Ben Hymes was sharp once again, hitting on 11 of 17 aerials for 137 yards. He had one interception. The senior’s numbers would’ve been even more impressive, except for three intentional incompletions late in the first half when the Tigers were without time outs and needed to stop the clock.

Hymes spread the wealth around, hitting Devin Williams five times for 45 yards, Brian Baer twice for 36 yards, Chris Martin twice for 33 yards and Elijah Blake and Chris Autry once each.

Blake had another superb game in relief of Morgan, carrying the football 11 times for 61 yards and a touchdown run that conjured images of Jimmy Brown.

Early in the fourth quarter Massillon moved the football from its own 15 to the Garfield 10, mostly on Blake’s shoulders. The 5‑10, 170‑pound senior had five carries for 27 yards. On first and 10 from the 10, Blake took a handoff from Hymes, hit the middle of the pile and was pushed back into his own backfield. Refusing to go down, Blake bounced outside, ducked under a couple of tacklers broke a tackle at the 5 and fought his way to paydirt to close the evening’s scoring.

“I don’t know how I did it,” Blake said. “I never ran like that before. I saw all those defenders and they were trash talking, saying I wouldn’t get in. I just had the heart to get in there. I got in there somehow. I don’t know how.”

Neither does Rose.

“We didn’t block anybody on the play,” marveled Rose. “That was simply a great effort on the part of Elijah Blake.”

Massillon opened the scoring by marching 65 yards on eight plays on its initial possession of the evening. Morgan covered the final 15 yards, finding a hole over right guard and running over Garfield tacklers at the 10 and 5 on the way to the end zone at 5:57 of the first quarter.

The Tigers defense forced Garfield into a three‑and‑out series and the offense had superb field position at the visitors’ 41. After a penalty, Morgan tore off a 21‑yard gain to the 25. Two snaps later, Hymes hit Williams on a curl route for a first down at the 12. Morgan scored one play later, following his blockers off right tackle from eight yards out with under 90 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Garfield got its offense untracked in typical Garfield manner. The Rams covered 81 yards in 15 plays, the final on a Phil Mitchell to Erick Hawkins touchdown pass at 5:56 of the second quarter. The drive took 7:15 off the game clock, but did not take the momentum away from Massillon.

Morgan carried the ball on all five plays of the Tigers’ ensuing drive, scoring a touchdown on a run around right end from the 23‑yard line at 3:34 of the second quarter to make it a 20‑6 contest.

MASSILLON 36
GARFIELD 6
M G
First downs rushing 14 6
First downs passing 9 2
First downs penalty 3 1
Total first downs 26 9
Net yards rushing 259 94
Net yards passing 153 34
Total yards gained 412 128
Passes attempted 18 9
Passes completed 12 3
Passes int. 1 1
Times kicked off 7 2
Kickoff average 49.9 28.5
Kickoff return yards 17 90
Punts 0 6
Punting average 0 38.0
Punt return yards 22 0
Fumbles 2 0
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 6 4
Yards penalized 47 55
Number of plays 70 43
Time of possession 25:31 22:29
Attendance 10,223

GARFIELD 0 6 0 0 0
MASSILLON 14 12 3 7 36

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
Mass
Morgan 15 run (Hose kick)
Morgan 8 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
Gar ‑ Hawkins 15 pass from Mitchell (kick failed)
Mass ‑ Morgan 23 run (kick failed)
Mass ‑ Morgan 2 run (pass failed)

Third Quarter
Mass ‑ Stanley 32 FG

Fourth Quarter
Mass ‑ Blake 10 run (Hose kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon ‑ Morgan 20‑122, 4 TDs;
Blake 11 ‑61;
Bradley 5‑32;
Hodgson 7‑21;
Stefanko 4‑14;
Hymes 2‑10;
Childs 1‑4.
Garfield
Knox 13‑37,
Blackwell 9‑28,
McNeil 5‑14,
Guthrie 5‑12.

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 11‑17‑137‑1,
Danzy 1‑1‑16.
Garfield
Mitchell 3‑9‑34‑1, 1 TD.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 5‑45,
Baer 2‑36,
Martin 2‑33,
Dean 1‑16,
Blake 1‑14

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 28, Lima Senior 14

September 6, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Heroes galore as Tigers roar

Lightfoot, Morgan key Massillon to 2‑0 start

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Message delivered.

Massillon served notice to Ohio’s Division I football powers the Tigers are to be dealt with by handing powerful Lima with a convincing 28‑14 setback in monsoon conditions at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday. Only 7,363 witnessed what may well be a springboard victory toward a very special season for the orange‑and‑black

At the same time, Tigers junior Christian Morgan served notice to the Massillon coaching staff that he deserves to be the starting tailback, by rambling 77 yards for a touchdown on the very first play from scrimmage.

The 6‑4, 215‑pound junior who missed the opener with a bruised Achille’s heel, took a handoff from quarterback Ben Hymes and looked for a hole off the left side. Tackle Paul Salvino took his man inside and Morgan bounced to the sideline, where he broke a couple of tackles and was off to the races.

“I was nervous,” Morgan admitted. “I was just looking for someplace to go. Paul (Salvino) told me to go around on his outside hip. So I went around and broke a couple of tackles. Then I slipped but I kept my footing and I thought I was on television or something seeing all of that from space.”

Morgan confirmed he felt some pressure to produce after senior Elijah Blake rushed for over 100 yards last week as his replacement in the opener against Mansfield Madison.

“They were saying they were going to put Elijah in if I didn’t get the job done,” Morgan revealed. “When you know you’re not doing your job and they’re going to pull you any minute, you do what you got to do.”

Jack Rose recalled Morgan running the very same play in the opening scrimmage against Pittsburgh Penn Hills with less dramatic results. “He would’ve done the same thing over there if we’d have blocked it right,” Rose said. “He’s the type of back who’ll make people miss. If you just grab him, he’ll run right through an arm tackle.

“On that play, he’ll take it inside or outside depending on what he sees and how it’s blocked.”

Lima Senior didn’t travel over four hours to Massillon just to roll over after one touchdown. The Spartans came back to knot the score at 7‑7 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

After the ensuing kickoff, Lima quarterback Jimmy Morris ran the option from the Spartans’ 36‑yard line. He scampered around his right end and delivered a late pitch to running back William Bratton near midfield. Bratton, who rushed for over 170 yards last week against Toledo St. Francis, rumbled down the sideline to the Massillon 27.

Three plays later on third-and‑seven, Morris hit Craig George on a down‑and‑out pattern for a first down at the Tiger 15. Bratton, a 205‑pound senior, carried on three of the next four snaps, diving into the end zone from a yard out at the 4:30 mark of the second period. Jim Barker’s kick made it a 7‑7 contest.

Then Massillon displayed some championship mettle. After the ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, the Tigers moved from their 35‑yard line to midfield on a personal foul call against Lima. On second‑and-12, Morgan again found some space around his left side, advancing the ball to the Lima 40.

The drive appeared to be stalled when Hymes delivered a clutch strike to Brian Baer on fourth‑and‑eight to give Massillon a first down at the 15. Morgan and Jared Stefanko carried on consecutive plays to move the ball to the 3. Two snaps later, Morgan waltzed into the end zone. Josh Hose’s PAT made it 14‑7 with less than a minute until intermission.

“That drive showed a lot of heart and the quality of team they are over there, ” said Rush. “Jack has a very good team over there.”

“That was a great drive by our offense,” Rose said. “We had a couple critical plays in there and we were able to convert when we had to.”

Lima appeared to be on its way to tieing the game up a second time at the outset of the second half. The Spartans drove from their 20 to the Massillon 16 on six consecutive running plays. But the Tiger defense rose up and stopped the visitors for one yard total on their next three snaps. Nose guard Rico Person caught Morris behind the line for a yard loss on fourth‑and‑three to stall the march.

Then the Tigers’ special teams came up with a big play after Lima forced Massillon into a three‑and‑out series. Punter Eric Lightfoot boomed the ball 66 yards, over 50 of it in the air, to pin the Spartans back on their own 16.

“I’m not big on big plays turning a game around,” said Rush, “but that punt when we had them backed up was a big play I thought. It gave them a lot of momentum and took it away from us. We had held them and that hurt I think.”

But Lightfoot wasn’t impacting the game. On third‑and‑eight from his 22, Morris dropped back and threw the football over the middle Josh Kreider tipped the ball and Lightfoot intercepted. Some 37 yards later, the senior free safety was carrying the ball into the end zone and Massillon led 21‑7, with under five minutes left in the third period.

“I was just dropping back in coverage,” Lightfoot explained. “I saw the receiver crossing and I came over. Josh tipped it and it came right to me and I went all the way.”

“It’s nice to see us intercept a ball,” chuckled Rose. “Then to get the first pick and run it back (for a touchdown) in a game like this … that’s a huge, huge play.”

Again Lima fought back, driving from its 23 with the ensuing kickoff to the Massillon 5, where the Spartans’ had first-and‑goal. Four plays and three Lima timeouts later, the Tigers took over on downs and the outcome was no longer in doubt, though most of the fourth quarter had yet to be played.

Just to make sure there were no doubters remaining, the hosts marched 78 yards on 10 plays to close out their scoring for the evening. Morgan carried five times for 28 yards on the drive, including the final six over left tackle for a touchdown at the 6:55 mark of the fourth quarter. Blake picked Morgan up when the latter came off the field limping, carrying the ball on four consecutive plays and gaining 23 yards.

“They’re the best team we’ve played so far,” Rush said. “They didn’t make the mistakes. We panicked a few times.

“The Tigers are going to be very good. We scrimmaged Moeller and they’re better than Moeller. There’s no doubt about that. We thought they were going to throw the ball a little more, but they were able to run it pretty effectively on us all night long.” Morgan finished with 156 yards on 22 carries. He amassed 128 of those before the band show.

Statistically, the game was closer than the scoreboard showed. Lima out gained the Tigers 278‑264 and had one turnover to Massillon’s two giveaways. The Spartans dominated time of possession 28:55 to 19:05.

But it was the Tigers ability to make the big plays ‑ Morgan’s long TD run, Lightfoot’s booming punt and subsequent interception return for a touchdown ‑ that spelled the difference.

“I’ve coached a long time and I can’t remember a week of practice that went better than this,” Rose said. “Our sophomores all the way up to our seniors, they were into this week of practice. I knew we were going to have a great game and that’s a great credit.

MASSILLON 28
LIMA SENIOR 14
M L
First downs rushing 10 7
First downs passing 2 6
First downs penalty 2 0
Total first downs 14 13
Net yards rushing 215 207
Net yards passing 49 71
Total yards gained 264 278
Passes attempted 8 11
Passes completed 3 6
Passes int. 0 1
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average 49.2 31.0
Kickoff return yards 0 0
Punts 2 4
Punting average 50.5 37.8
Punt return yards 13 0
Fumbles 4 2
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 1 3
Yards penalized 14 35
Number of plays 48 60
Time of possession 19:05 28.55
Attendance 7,363

LIMA SENIOR 0 7 0 7 14
MASSILLON 7 7 7 7 28

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
MASS ‑ Morgan 77 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
LIMA ‑ Bratton 1 run (Barker kick)
MASS ‑ Morgan 2 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
MASS ‑ Lightfoot 37 pass interception return (Hose kick)

Fourth Quarter
MASS ‑ Morgan 6 run (Hose kick)
LIMA ‑ Bratton 4 run (Barker kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Morgan 22‑156,3TDs;
Stefanko 4‑41;
Blake 4‑29;
Bradley 1‑4.
Lima
Bratton 30‑173, 2 TDs;
Morris 12‑14;
Christoff 2‑12;
Cannon 3‑5.

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 3‑8-49.
Lima
Morris 5-10‑63, 1 int.;
Collins 1‑1‑8.

Receiving:
Massillon
Baer 2‑45;
Williams 1‑4.
Lima
Watkins 2‑33;
Christoff 2‑21;
George 2-17.

Paul Salvino

1996: Massillon 33, Mansfield Madison 6

August 30, 1996September 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers maul Madison in opener

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers marched 68 yards on 10 plays on their first possession of 1996, scoring a touchdown when a Mansfield Madison defender bobbled a sure interception and the ball fell into the hands of Tigers’ wideout Devin Williams.

It was that kind of night for Massillon, which rolled past a veteran Madison squad 33‑6 in front of 12,131 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday.

The Tigers unveiled their new dropback passing attack against a Madison defense that had eight returning starters from an 8‑2 1995 campaign. Massillon quarterback Ben Hymes hit on 11 of 16 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Just as important, the senior was not intercepted all night long and contributed a 30‑yard run to the goal line in his first career start.

But the play that set the tone culminated the initial drive of the season. On second and nine from the Madison 10, Hymes rolled right and threw to Brian Baer in the end zone. Rams safety Kevin Stamper stepped in and appeared to have a drive killing pickoff. However, the ball bounced out of his grasp and into Williams arms for the score.

Josh Hose drilled the conversion kick and Massillon was out 7‑0 at the 7:07 mark of the first quarter.

”We went right into coverage on that play,” pointed out Tigers coach Jack Rose. “Their free safety jumped the play and we didn’t see him. We were fortunate, but Devin Williams has a way of doing things like that, you know. He always finds those tipped balls.”

Hymes made no bones about the fact he was lucky to avoid the interception.

“He was open in the end zone and I threw it a little behind him,” Hymes recalled. “But my guys worked hard and helped me out a little bit.”

Williams admitted he was fortunate to be where the ball bounced.

“I saw it bobbling in his hands,” Williams said. “I was in the right place at the right time and it fell in my hands. Part of that is luck, part of it is instinct and knowing where the ball is going to be at on that play.”

Madison crossed midfield on its initial possession of the evening, but a big hit by Tigers defensive back Henry McElroy on a third down completion stopped the Rams drive.

Madison earned one first down on its next drive but went three and out on the third possession of the evening. At that point the Tigers offense again got untracked. Elijah Blake ground out a first down at the Mansfield 42. Two plays later, with Hymes on the sideline because of an open, scrape, Tip Danzy executed the option keeper around right end. He cut back at the Rams 30 and jitter bugged his way to the 12. A facemask penalty moved the ball to the 8. On second and goal, Hymes found fullback Chris Autrey with a soft toss in the end zone and Massillon led 13‑0 with 3:35 until halftime.

The Tigers defense continued to stifle Madison’s flex bone attack, holding the visitors to three first half first downs and 56 total yards.

“The defense really played well,” Rose said. “We can really snap to the ball this year. We’re a much faster team and that’s going to help us.”

But the Massillon mentor was worried at halftime.

“We’re up 13‑0 at halftime, but we had run 31 plays and only had 13 points to show for it, so I was a little concerned,” Rose said. “I told the offense they weren’t playing a real good tempo. There was no sense of urgency. The defense played with a sense of urgency. But overall, we made plays when we had to.”

If the first touchdown of the night set the tempo, the developments just after the band show sealed the visitors’ fate. On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Madison quarterback Justin Larrick lost the handle on the football and Massillon’s Eric Lightfoot recovered at the Rams 19.

A holding penalty on the Tigers first snap moved the ball back to the 31, but Hymes found daylight around left end on the option keeper, before going down at the one. Raphel Bradley bucked in from there and it was 19‑0 with just 29 seconds elapsed in the second half.

Hymes hit a Tiger in the Massillon end zone on the next possession, but was victimized by a drop or the orange and black would’ve broken the game wide open midway through the third.

Madison finally got its offense untracked late in the third quarter, marching 53 yards in eight plays. Larick hit Stamper on a seven‑yard scoring toss with just :41 remaining in the quarter to make it a 19‑6 game after three.

Massillon did not allow its guests to keep the momentum, however. On third and two from the Tigers 47 on the ensuing possession, Bradley found a gap up the middle, hurdled a Madison defender at the Rams 48 and sprinted untouched the rest of the way into the end zone. Hymes ran in the two‑point conversion and Massillon held a commanding 27‑6 lead with just under 11 minutes to play.

The locals closed the scoring when sophomore defensive tackle Gordon Biggums scooped up a Madison fumble and rumbled 51 yards to the Rams 9. Two plays later, Bradley dove into the end zone from a yard out at the 7:39 mark of the fourth.

Madison coach Dana Woodring was matter of fact about the outcome.

“You have an opportunity to stop them down there deep and give your offense a chance to get going on the first drive of the game and they come away with a touchdown,” he said. “Then we didn’t start the second half off very good.

“The Tigers are a very good football team. We’re not going to take that away from them. They were the better team. They did the things they do well. They ran the off tackle very well. They have quick kids at the receiver spot. We had a lot of trouble manning up with them.”

MASSILLON 39
MADISON 6
MASS MAD
First downs rushing 9 7
First downs passing 5 5
First downs penalty 0 0
Total first downs 14 12
Net yards rushing 176 139
Net yards passing 102 111
Total yards gained 278 250
Passes attempted 16 21
Passes completed 11 11
Passes int. 0 0
Times kicked off 6 2
Kickoff average 53.7 42.5
Kickoff return yards 26 80
Punts 4 6
Punting average 37.8 32.3
Punt return yards 41 0
Fumbles 4 4
Fumbles lost 1 3
Penalties 4 2
Yards penalized 32 14
Number of plays 56 54
Time of possession 26:06 21:54
Attendance 12,131

MADISON 7 6 6 14 33
MASSILLON 0 0 6 0 6

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
MASS ‑ Williams 9 pass from Hymes (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
MASS ‑ Autrey 6 pass from Hymes (kick failed)

Third Quarter
MASS ‑ Bradley 1 run (run failed)
MAD ‑ Stamper 7 pass from Larrick (run failed)

Fourth Quarter
MASS ‑ Blake 52 run (Hymes run)
MASS ‑ Bradley 1 run (kick failed)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Blake 8‑106, 1 TD;
Danzy 2‑27;
Hymes 15‑26;
Bradley 9‑22,2 TDs;
Chapman 3‑6;
Childs 1 ‑1.
Madison
Lantz 13-59;
Deel 6‑25;
Larrick 6‑23;
Kilgore 3‑22.

Passing:
Massillon
Hymes 11‑16‑102, 2 TDs;
Madison
Larrick 11‑21‑111, 1 TD.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 4‑30, 1 TD;
Baer 4‑30;
Martin 2‑46;
Autrey 1‑6, 1 TD.
Madison
Deel 5‑19;
Stamper 2‑13, 1 TD;
Henson 2‑33;
Hunt 1‑26;
Trammell 1-20.

1995: Massillon 21, Canton McKinley 24

November 4, 1995September 22, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers never Gave up

In a season filled with ‘nail-biters, Tiger claws wear thin vs. McKinley

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Once again, the Tigers made Massillon proud.

Trailing the favored McKinley Bulldogs 24‑7, late in the third quarter, Massillon clawed its way back into the ballgame and, was on the verge of pulling the upset.

But the storybook finish never materialized. A Tiger turnover at the Pups five‑yard line with less than a minute to play ensured a 24‑21 McKinley victory this afternoon at Fawcett Stadium.

Tigers head coach Jack Rose struggled to find the right wordsafter the game. However, his pride in the comeback his team staged was evident.

“They’ve done that all year,” Rose said, “I’m very proud of them.”

McKinley coach Thom McDaniels tipped his hat to the Tigers amidst a sea of red-and-black.

Good football teams fight back and that’s a good football team over there,” he said.

“They certainly never quit. It was a great game, I don’t think anyone left here disappointed with the show we gave them, although I’m sure the Massillon people were disappointed with the loss.”

Both teams displayed early jitters. The Tigers were intercepted on their first possession after crossing midfield. The Bulldogs penetrated inside the 30 and promptly fumbled it back.

Ater that turnover, the Tigers went three and out and punted it back to McKinley, which took over at its 28. On first down, Bulldogs tailback Adrian Brown got the‑ball on a toss sweep around left end. He broke one tackle as he turned the corner and another at the Massillon 33, before being pulled down as he hit the goal line for a 72‑yard touchdown.

Ray Currie nailed the extra point and the Pups led 7‑0 at 6:20 of the first quarter.

Brown fumbled on McKinley’s next possession late in the first quarter to set the Tigers up with first and 10 at the Bulldogs’ 20 yard line. Two Lavell Weaver runs and a George Whitfield‑to‑Brett Wiles pass set up first and goal at the nine.

Two plays later, Whitfield hit Randy Weiford at the four. On the next play, Weaver spun into the end zone on fourth‑and‑goal from the one. Josh Hose hit the PAT to tie, it at 7‑7 with 10:47 until halftime.

It wouldn’t stay that way long. McKinley moved from its 16 to the 28 after the ensuing kickoff. On second and nine at that point, Brown again got the ball on the sweep around left end and again dashed 72 yards to paydirt. The senior tailback broke a tackle at the Massillon 35 and cut back to the middle of the field to outrace the defensive pursuit.

Currie’s kick made it 14‑7 with 8:17 until halftime.

“We had it defended,” Rose said of Brown’s two long TDs on his signature play. “We just didn’t tackle. Adrian is a strong runner, a physical player. He has the ability to break tackles. But I didn’t think he’d break two long ones on us like that.”

Massillon marched with the ensuing kickoff from its 20 to the McKinley 41. But a dropped pass and a sack of Whitfield forced the Tigers to punt it away from the 50.

Neither team was able to do much until McKinley took over with 1:33 left in the half I at its
own 14. A Rick Roloff‑to‑Ken Peterson pass play, a roughing the passer penalty, and a Roloff‑to‑Brown aerial moved the ball to the Massillon 30. Roloff went to Brown again three plays later and he caught a pass tipped by Massillon defensive back Eric Lightfoot. Brown rambled to the Tiger 17.

Three plays later, Currie attempted a 33‑yard field goal that was good with six seconds on the clock, to make it 17‑7 at halftime.

“The last drive of the half was a key one for them,” Rose said. .”We had them pinned way back there. They come out of there and take it the length of the field to get a field goal and now it’s 17‑7 at halftime. That hurt.”

McKinley took the second half kickoff and – aided by a fumbled punt – penetrated to the Massillon 31 before missing a long field goal.

The Tigers shot themselves in the foot again, losing a fumble on their first play to give McKinley the ball at the 27. Two snaps later, Brown found a huge seam over right guard and ran through a tackler at the five for his third touchdown of the afternoon. Currie’s kick at the 4:42 mark of the third period made it 24‑7.

Some fans began walking to the exits at that point, but the Tiger were undaunted.

They moved from their 15 to the McKinley 17, where it appeared they were stalled on a fourth and five. But Whitfield found Brett Wiles wide open over the middle and the senior tight end carried it into the end zone to make it 24‑13 with just over a minute left in the third period.
The Tigers forced McKinley to punt, but turned it back over on an interception at the Massillon 37. Once again the defense rose, stopping the Pups on three plays to force a punt that rolled out of bounds at the Tigers’ 17.

On second down, Whitfield connected with Devin Williams to the 32. Two plays later, the senior QB hooked up with Nate Wonsick to the 45. Two completions to Brian Baer moved the football to the McKinley 23.

Whitfield then picked up 11 yards on an option keeper around left end. On the next play, Whitfield rolled right and found Vinny Turner wide open at the seven and Turner trotted into the end zone with 3:28 to play.

Whitfield zeroed in on Weiford on a crossing pattern for the two‑point conversion and suddenly it was a nail‑biter at 24‑21.

The Massillon defense again stuffed McKinley on its next possession and the Bulldogs punted after three snaps. Massillon took over at the Bulldogs 42 and Whitfield’s 22‑yard gain on the bootleg around left end got the ball to the 20 with 1:40 to play.

Two plays later, Whitfield meshed with Williams at the 8, where he was hit hard first from the front by Rashan Hall and then from the rear by Shauntel Lodge, forcing a fumble. Demarlo Rozier recovered for the Bulldogs and the celebration began.

McDaniels asserted the Bulldogs were not in a prevent defense on Massillon’s final two drives.

“No, but we were changing defenses on practically every play,” McDaniels said . “But it wasn’t necessarily a prevent. We were looking for them to throw the ball, but we weren’t in a prevent.

”I was concerned about George Whitfield having a career day and I think he did. He had a great game. I talked with him afterward and he can be proud of the way he played.”

Rose said the game got away from the Tigers in the first half.

“We wound up too much in the first half,” he said. “We had a lot of missed assignments. We didn’t, tackle well and (Brown) broke those two long ones on us. In the second half we played a lot better. We got settled down.

“Vinny went down with an ankle injury early and we kind of got knocked out of whack. We regrouped and made a couple of plays there.”

1995: Massillon 28, Akron St. Vincent St. Mary 21

October 27, 1995September 22, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers preserve playoff hopes

Top St. V ‑St. M. in OT as Bulldogs loom next

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers came out of the locker room for Friday’s game against Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary’s wearing their all orange uniforms in keeping with the Halloween season.

Little did the Tigers know the game would nearly turn into a nightmare before the Fighting Irish finally succumbed 28‑21 in two overtimes in front of 7,930 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The victory boosts the Tigers to 7‑2 on the season and coupled with Glen0ak’s ’28‑0 upset loss to Jackson, boosts Massillon’s chances to reach the playoffs with a victory over Canton McKinley next Saturday at Fawcett Stadium.

The Bulldogs were the last thing on the minds of the Tigers when St. Vincent‑St. Mary took a 21‑14 lead on the first series of overtime. The Irish handed the ball to tailback Andre Knott four consecutive times and the compactly built senior covered the 20 yards to paydirt on second and goal from the S. Scott Brown’s conversion kick put the visitors up by 7.

Massillon looked to be in trouble with fourth‑and‑four from the 14 on its first possession of 0T. But George Whitfield Jr. ran the bootleg keeper and worked his way to the 8 for a first down.

With the Irish defense keying on Tigers tailback Vinny Turner as it had all night long, fullback Lavell Weaver found a gaping hole over left guard on third‑and‑goal from the 3 for the equalizer. Jose Hose’s PAT forced a second overtime.

Massillon got the ball first in the second extra period. Fullback Nate Wonsick found a cavity over right guard and bulled his way to the Irish 5 on first down. Turner went over right guard for the go‑ahead TD on the next snap and Hose made it 28‑21 with the kick.

St. Vincent‑St. Mary got a first down on its possession, but on second down Knott was stripped of the football by Tigers defensive lineman James Smith and Eric Lightfoot fell on the pigskin to preserve Massillon’s dream of a third straight postseason playoff berth.

“We really got some big plays from some people in overtime,” said a visibly relieved Rose. “On that fourth down play when George made the first down, that’s the ballgame right there. Then we hit that good trap play there with Wonsick and he really snapped it up in there.”

While the end result was positive, it was a halting performance for much of the night by the Tigers against a Division III team that came into the contest with an unspectacular 4‑4 slate.

The Irish stuffed Massillon’s rushing game in the first half. In fact, the Tigers did not get a first down on the ground in the first 24 minutes of play.

“They were doing the very same thing that Barberton did against us,” Rose said. “They put eight men in the box and stopped everything inside.

“They didn’t ask us for any game films this week, so I’m sure Barberton gave them their film on us.”

Massillon got the running game untracked somewhat after the band show, but it was the aerial game that helped prevent disaster. Whitfield hit on 9 of 14 passes for 98 yards and one interception. Most of the throws went to the tight end and fullback. Brett Wiles caught four for 31 yards. Wonsick snagged two for 27 yards.

“We tried to get to the perimeter all night,” Rose said. “We threw the ball out there and we ran the stretch play out there.

”Our timing just wasn’t sharp. We didn’t have a real good week of practice because of the illnesses.”

The flu bug sapped, 19 players from practice on Tuesday and was a problem throughout the week.

While Massillon’s running game was being stacked up by the Irish, the green and gold were moving the ball on the ground with some degree of effectiveness. Knott rushed the ball 36 times for 158 yards (4.4 yards per carry)‑ He was complemented by fullback Tony Short (7 carries for 39 yards), quarterback Brian Butash (12 for 32) and tailback Tomny Skipper (6 for 27).

As a team, St. Vincent‑St. Mary’s outrushed Massillon 277‑138.

“Obviously, we didn’t stop their run,” Rose agreed. ”They had a lot of second‑and‑shorts consistently throughout the game. That enabled them to run their whole offense against us.

“When they come to play, they’re good. When they don’t come to play, they’re not very good. They didn’t have a turnover until the end of the game. That’s the thing that amazed me about them because they’ve been turning it over a lot this season.”

Other than Knott’s game ending fumble, St. Vincent‑St. Mary’s did not have a turnover. However, the Fighting Irish failed to negate Massillon’s punt block scheme early in the fourth quarter after a penalty pushed the visitors back to their 7.

Weaver came in from the right side of the Massillon line and got a hand on the kick which was downed at the 11-yard line. On the very first snap after the block, Turner went over left guard and tackle and scored to knot the game at 14‑14 with 10:40 to play in regulation.

“We went after that one and it was a huge turnaround for us,” Rose said. “We really needed that right there. Lavell came up big on that play.”

Massillon opened the scoring by marching 71 yards in 11 plays, keyed by Whitfield’s passing. The senior signal caller hit Wonsick for 24 yards, Devin Williams for 21 yards and Wiles for 10 yards to get the ball to the Irish 3. Three snaps later, Turner scored from a yard out at 4:03 of the first quarter. Hose’s kick made it 7‑0.

After a St. Vincent‑St. Mary’s punt rolled dead at the Massillon 8, the Irish caught a break by recovering a fumble at the 13. Knott scored five plays later and the kick tied it at 7‑7 with 6:56 left in the first half.

The Irish came up with an interception at their 26 to quell Massillon’s first drive of the second half, and marched 74 yards in 12 plays for the go ahead TD. Knott swept untouched around his right end from six yards out and Brown’s kick made it 14‑7 with 4:09 to play in the third.

Weaver’s blocked punt led to the tying score for Massillon, setting up the thrilling overtime finish.

“The thing that bothers me is we weren’t real crisp tonight,” Rose said. ”That’s disappointing.

“Last week we executed a lot better. It’s just a tough week to get a team ready to play. We came through it.”

MASSILLON 28
St. V‑St. M 21
M V
First downs rushing 6 18
First downs passing 6 0
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 13 18
Net yards rushing 138 277
Net yards passing 98 3
Total yards gained 236 280
Passes attempted 14 5
Passes completed 9 1
Passes intercepted 1 0
Times kicked off 3 3
Kickoff average 47.7 47.3
Kickoff return yards 36 23
Punts 4 5
Punting average 32.5 28.6
Punt return yards 0 0
Fumbles 1 3
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 1 3
Yards penalized 5 22
Number of plays 51 71
Time of possession 20:19 27:41
Attendance 7,930

St. V‑St. M 0 7 7 0 7 0 21
MASSILLON 7 0 0 7 7 7 28

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
Mass ‑ Turner 1 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
St. V ‑ Knott 2 run (Brown kick)

Third Quarter
St. V ‑ Knott 6 run (Brown kick)

Fourth Quarter
Mass ‑ Turner 11 run (Hose kick)

First Overtime
St. V ‑ Knott 5 run (Brown kick)
Mass ‑ Weaver 3 run (Hose kick)

Second Overtime
Mass ‑ Turner 5 run (Hose kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Turner 30‑130, 3 TDs;
Wonsick 1‑15;
Weaver 1‑3, 1 TD.
St Vincent‑St. Mary
Knott 36‑158, 3 TDs,
Short 7‑39,
Butash 12‑32,
Skipper 6‑27,
Brewer 3‑20.

Passing:
Massillon
Whittield 9‑14‑98‑1.
St Vincent‑St. Mary
Butash 1‑3‑3.

Receiving:
Massillon
Wiles 4‑31,
Wonsick 2‑27,
Baer 2‑19,
Williams 1‑21.
St. Vincent‑St Mary
Pierce 1‑3.

George Whitfield

1995: Massillon 51, Northpark ON Canada 7

October 21, 1995September 22, 2017
by Eric Smith

North Park goes south’ Tigers 6‑2; Irish up next

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Vinny Turner got his 1,000 yard season.

Eddie Evans and George Whitfield Jr. got to rest their aching ankles.

Ben Hymes got to show the coaching staff there won’t be a dropoff at quarterback if Whitfield should go down with injury.

And the Massillon Tigers kept their playoff hopes alive.

Those are just a few of the positives to come of Massillon’s 51-7 conquest of the feisty but outclassed North Park Trojans, in front of 7,041 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Saturday.

The outcome was never really in doubt after the Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 10 plays to the visitor’s end zone. Turner rushed eight times for 45 on the drive, including the final five over right guard an tackle to paydirt.

Josh Hose’s point after kick made it 7-0 Tigers at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter.

North Park drove from its 29 to the Massillon 41 on its first possession, but was force to punt. Whitfield and Nate Wonsick hooked up for a 28-yard gain on a simple pass in the flats on first down. Then Turner found two gaping holes off the left side of the Tiger line to cover the final 35 yards and record his second touchdown of the evening.

Hose’s placement made it 14-0.

North Park fumbled away the football on the second snap of its next possession and Lavell Weaver fell on it at the Trojans 22. Weaver was rewarded for his hustle when Whitfield handed him the football on first down. He followed the left side of the line into the end zone with :06 to play in the first quarter.

Again Hose’s kick was true and rout was on at 21-0.

North Park went three-and-out and Rose sent in Hymes to play quarterback. On second down, the junior found Dusty Limback on a simple slant pattern near the Trojan’ 35. Limbach on a simple slant pattern near the Trojans’ 35. Limbach caught the pass in stride, found a seam and sprinted into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown.

Before the half ended, Milo McGuire tackled North Park quarterback Jeff Lowe in the end zone for a safety. Ehjah Blake rang up a 13-yard TD run around left end, and Raphel Bradley scored from five yards out on a drive keyed by Hymes 30-yard sprint around right end on the option.

It was 44-0 at the intermission.

”I thought the offense executed really well,” observed Tigers boss Jack Rose. “We didn’t know what to expect from (North Park). Everything they did was contrary to what they had shown before.

“Bell did a real nice job. He, executed the offense well. That was a nice slant pass to Dusty for the touchdown and he got to the perimeter well on the option. That worked because Ben made it look like he was going to dish it off. I thought he showed some pretty good saavy out there.”

That is not to say, however, that there is any doubt as to who the starting quarterback is in Massillon.

“George is still number one,” Ross confirmed. “But I feel better after watching Ben under fire.”

Rose had praise for the work of Paul Snyder, filling in for Evans at center, and for his entire stable of tailbacks, including senior Torrey Smith, who scored after breaking several tackles on a 28 yard run with 4:39 left in the third quarter. Matt Stanley’s PAT was Massillon’s 51st and final point of the evening.

On the ensuing kickoff, North Park’s Mark Wayda, a 5-foot 8-inch, 165 pound junior fielded the ball at his 9-yard line. He found a gap to his left, got to the sideline and went the distance to avert the shutout.

“They were a lot better than the team that came down here two seasons ago,” Rose said, before turning his attention to Friday’s invasion by Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s.

“They are a lot like Garfield. They are very physical up front on both the offensive and defensive lines. They are very strong up front and they may even be a little bigger than we are on the lines. They have a couple of quick backs and you can have a tough time finding them in the midst of those big linemen. Then, all of a sudden they pop out of there.”

St. V-St. M’s featured runner is 1,000 –yard gainer Andre Knott.

Making the Fighting Irish even more formidable is the fact the traditional season ender with McKinley is next week, presenting the temptation of looking ahead.

“We certainly can’t afford to do that.” Rose asserted. “This is a very dangerous team coming in here Friday. We have got to focus on them.”

Rose says Evans should be ready this Friday, as will wide receiver Devin Williams and defensive lineman James Smith. Both starters sat out Saturday’s tilt with the lingering effects of the flu bug.

MASSILLON 51
NORTH PARK 7
M N
First downs rushing 16 7
First downs passing 2 3
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 19 10
Net yards rushing 305 132
Net yards passing 77 58
Total yards gained 382 190
Passes attempted 7 12
Passes completed 3 6
Passes int 0 1
Times kicked off 8 2
Kickoff average 46.6 32.5
Kickoff return yards 10 135
Punts 3 3
Punting average 24.3 30.0
Punt return yards 28 0
Fumbles 0 6
Fumbles lost 0 2
Penalties 2 8
Yards penalized 20 48
Number of plays 42 54
Time of possession 19:52 28:08

NORTH PARK 0 0 7 0 7
MASSILLON 21 23 7 0 51

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
M ‑ Turner 5 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Turner 15 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Weaver 22 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
M ‑ Limbach 46 pass from Hymes (Hose kick)
M ‑ Safety, McGuire tackles QB in end zone
M ‑ Bradley 4 run (Stanley kick)
M ‑ Blake 13 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
M ‑ Smith 29 run (Stanley kick)
N ‑ Wayda 91 kickoff return (Wayda kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Turner 10‑85, 2 TD.
Smith 3-39, 1 TD;
Bradley 2‑47, 1 TD;
Blake 3‑32, 1 TD;
Hymes 1‑30;
Weaver 1‑22, 1 TD;
Morgan 3‑17;
Wonsick 3‑15.
North Park
Wayda 22‑118, 1 TD;
Vermeire 10‑42.

Passing:
Massillon
Whitfield 1‑3‑24, 0 TD 0 ints;
Hymes 2‑3‑53, 1 TD, 0 ints;
Danzy 0‑1.
North Park
Lowe 6‑10‑58. 1 ints;
Petersen 0, 2.

Receiving:
Massillon
Limbach 1‑46, 1 TD;
Wonsick 1‑24.
North Park
Stronks 4‑43;
Wayda 2-15

George Whitfield

Category: <span>History</span>