Category: <span>History</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 38, Bloomington South, IN 0

‘Best 3‑4 team in country ‘ Tigers sack South 38‑0

STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

For the first time in more than a month, the end of a football game didn’t hurt for B.J. Payne.

“We’ve got to be the best 3‑4 team in the county,” Massillon’s punishing defensive tackle said after the Tigers snapped a four game losing streak with a 38‑0 romp over Bloomington (Ind.) South before 9,571 Saturday in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Payne didn’t like the sound of that. After all, this was a 7‑0 team the Tigers had tamed.

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“No,” Payne said, “We’ve got to be the best 3‑4 team in the state.

Payne still didn’t like the ring. Shucks, the Tigers had put up their first shutout of the year against some guys whose chances of winning the Indiana state title are supposed to be better than in 1991, when South made the state semifinals.

“We may be the best 3‑4 team in the country,” Payne said.

He grinned. That sounded right.

It was grins all around for the Tigers, who hadn’t won since Sept. 11, when they outlasted Walsh Jesuit 28‑24 in overtime.

Head coach Jack Rose, who hadn’t wanted it to be that way in his first year on the job, didn’t really sound relieved. He sounded more like a man who knew this sort of business was coming.

“These guys never did stop practicing well,” Rose said of his 3-4 team. “I was saying again all week that we were having a great week of practice. A lot of people thought I was blowing smoke I wasn’t. These guys have never given up on themselves.

It was an early blowout. Massillon led 32‑0 at halftime. The first‑stringers for the most part got in one more series in the second half then took a rest.

How could this be? How could the Tigers wipe out an Indiana team Hoosier State football types were saying was about as strong as the Indianapolis North‑Central squad that beat the tigers 35‑20 one week earlier?

Mo Moriarty, the Bloomington South head coach, suggested a couple of reasons. This time, Moriarty said, it was the Indiana team and not Massillon that had to put up with the long bus trip. The other factor: The Tigers are tough customers.

“This kind of trip is too long for high school kids,” Moriarty said. “We checked into the motel at 11:30 p.m. Friday and we spent all day away from home, touring the Hall of Fame and a lot of other things. By the time the game came around we were very sluggish.

“But give Massillon a lot of credit. I hate it when a coach gives every reason for a loss except the fact the other team is better. Let’s face it. They beat our butts tonight.

“They were very physical, and they hurt us with the blitz.”

Massillon’s defense was out outstanding South never mounted a serious scoring threat. In the first‑half, when it was first unit against first unit, Massillon led 206‑67 in net offensive yardage. Throw in the kickoff and punt returns of Leon Ashcraft, Dan Hackenbracht and Kevin Buckland and you get another 138 first‑half yards.

In the end, Massillon led 307‑134 in net offensive yards and 220‑122 in punt/kick return yards.

Speaking for his position the TNTs (tackles/nose guards) ‑ Payne said the game plan was superb.

“Coach (Gary) Wells had them figured out pretty well,” Payne said. “I don’t think they had a clue what our defense was going to throw at them next.”

The defense wound up throwing the Panthers for 41 yards in losses, resulting in a net rushing total of minus‑2 yards.

Payne seemed to be happiest about the performance of the Tigers’ offense.

“They really made our job easy tonight,” he said “It was a never‑ending story. They just kept scoring and scoring and scoring.”

The Tigers used a mix of superb field position, passing and running to blow it open early.

On three different occasions, the early part of a touchdown drive included an 18‑yard completion from quarterback Mike Danzy to Jerry May.

“One of the things we worked on this week with Mike was looking to pass to the second level,” Rose said. “He had been tending to overlook the second level and throw deep. Tonight, he did a nice job going to the second level.”

Danzy wound up completing 6‑of‑11 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed four times for 37 yards.

Leon Ashcraft got the night off to a flying start when he returned the opening kick 57 yards to the South 32‑yard line.

The first play from scrimmage was one of those 18‑yard completions to May. Dan Seimetz scored from 3 yards out and Jason Brown converted the kick to make it 7‑0 with just 91 seconds gone in the game.

A long punt return by Hackenbracht to the South 22 set up the second Tiger TD.

“They had a weird way of covering punts,” Hackenbracht said. “They stayed back on the line of scrimmage longer than most teams.”

An 11‑yard option run by Danzy set up Andre Stinson’s 2‑yard run for a touchdown. South was penalized on the point‑after try, but the Tigers still elected to try for a kick with the ball 11/2 yards away. The snap went awry and the score stayed at 13‑0 with 3:00 left in the first quarter.

South went three‑and‑out, Hackenbracht returned a punt to near midfield, and the Tigers went to the run. Gains of 7, 9, 9, 4 and 17 yards put the ball on the 13, from where Hackenbracht bounced off a block by Stinson and went around the left side for an easy six. The conversion run failed and it was 19‑0 with 9:13 left in the second quarter.

South’s offense again was stuffed and Buckland returned a punt to the Panther 43. A procedure penalty cost the Tigers 5 yards but Danzy compensated by hitting May for 18 yards on the next play. The rest of the series featured more running. Stinson scored from a yard out, the conversion run attempt failed, and the Tigers led 25‑0 with 3:40 left in the half.

Moriarty gambled late in the half. South punched the ball to near midfield where it was fourth‑and‑one. The Tigers snowed under quarterback Eli Stoddard on a sneak attempt with 1: 55 left in the half.

The Tigers used the field position to drive 46 yards. Danzy scored from 5 yards out, Brown kicked the P.A.T., and it was 32‑0 with 54 seconds left in the half.

South’s last gasp was a 25 yard completion on the first play of the second half. A Vic Murray sack led to another punt, a 50‑yard punt return by Buckland, and a 14‑yard TD pass from Danzy to Eddie Griffith. The kick was wide but the Tigers led 38‑0 with 7:59 left in the third quarter.

After that, Rose substituted freely.

The Tigers will be back at Tiger Stadium Friday to take on Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary.

St. V fell to 3‑4 Saturday with a 17‑0 loss to Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, the state’s sixth ranked team in Division‑III.

MASSILLON 38
SOUTH 0
M S
First downs rushing 15 0
First downs passing 5 6
First downs by penalty 0 1
Totals first downs 20 6
Yards gained rushing 217 39
Yards lost rushing 4 41
Net yards rushing 213 ‑2
Net yards passing 94 136
Total yards gained 307 134
Passes attempted 13 22
Passes completed 7 10
Interceptions 1 0
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average 51.7 49.0
Kickoff return yards 57 122
Punts 2 7
Punting average 33.0 34.9
Punt return yards 163 0
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 4 2
Yards penalized 33 17
Number of plays … 59 45
Time of possession 26:31 21:29
South 1 0 0 0 0
Massillon 13 19 6 0 38

M ‑ Hackenbracht 3 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ Stinson 2 run (kick failed)
M ‑ Hackenbracht 13 run (run failed)
M ‑ Stinson I run (run failed)
M ‑ Danzy 5 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ Griffith 14 pass from Danzy (kick failed)

Dan Hackenbracht
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 20, Indianapolis North Central, IN 35

Tiger fans respond as their team takes the field in Hoosier Dome Saturday

Tigers in need of home cooking after road trip

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

INDIANAPOLIS ‑ It was a lazy Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when many visitors from Massillon plunked down a buck to ride the tour bus around the oval made famous by the Foyts, Unsers and Andrettis.

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“Speed week” moved to the Hoosier Dome, where Indianapolis North‑Central burned to a 35‑20 high school football victory over the Massillon Tigers.

“We’ve played a team that has that kind of speed,” Massillon head coach Jack Rose said. “But they (the Garfield Rams) don’t use it the same way these guys (North‑Central’s Panthers) do.”

“On one of their touchdowns, our cornerback made a good play. He was in good position to tackle their guy for a loss. But the guy used his speed to turn the play into six points.”

North‑Central rode its run‑and‑shoot offense to a 5‑2 record. The Tigers must fight being down‑and‑out in the wake of a fourth straight loss. They will take a 2‑4 record into this Saturday’s home game against another Indiana team, Bloomington South. South, ranked sixth among Indiana’s big schools, improved to 7‑0 with a 47‑0 blowout over Shelbyville this past Friday.

“One concern is how much our guys can absorb,” Rose said. If history repeats itself, there is some of it to consider in terms of the four‑game losing streak. Massillon has had only five such skids in its entire history. Three were in the very early years, 1899, 1917 and 1912. It is the other two that are the most intriguing.

In 1931, a four‑game losing streak and 2‑6‑1 overall record did in fourth‑year head coach Elmer McGrew. McGrew was replaced in 1932 by Paul Brown, whose first team ended the season with a four‑game losing streak.

Naturally, Rose hopes his path in the wake of a four‑game slide more closely follows Brown’s than McGrew’s.

One Tiger player, talking to his mother after the game at the Mariott Hotel, seemed to think the players would be all right. “The coaches took it harder than the players did,” he said.

Many of the players decided to take a deep breath and enjoy the road trip, much as did the 3,000 Massillonians who traveled to Indianapolis for the game. Massillon people swarmed into Union Station, a downtown shopping area. A man twisting balloons into all kinds of shapes was encountered by a Massillon man. “Can you make one in the shape of a Tiger?”

“You mean, like the one (an Obie) on your shirt ?” A crowd gathered. After that, the vendor must have made 400 balloon tigers.

The path of Saturday’s game was the fast lane. The first contest in a double‑header witnessed by more than 11,000 set the tone. Defending Indiana state champ Ben Davis scored in the final three minutes to secure a frenzied 28‑21 win over Cincinnati Elder.

In the nightcap, the Tigers simply could not slow down North‑Central’s balanced attack.

“I knew it was going to be a shootout,” Rose said. It was, and the Tigers weren’t dead until the Panthers, leading by 8 points, drove 80 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown with 2:58 left in the game.

“We saw some things in their style of defense that made us think we could move the ball,” North‑Central coach Al Harants said. “We weren’t sure we’d be able to deal with their offense quite as well as we did.”

The Tigers generated far more offense than they had the previous week in a 14‑0 loss at Austintown‑Fitch. After racking up 184 yards in the first half, though, they were held to 110 yards in the second half ‑ North‑Central poured it on in both halves, gaining 219 yards in the first half and 196 in the second half.

North‑Central junior quarterback John Clippinger, who was a sophomore watching from the sidelines when the Tigers tore up the Panthers 41‑0 at Massillon in 1991, completed 14 of 20 passes for 185 yards. Junior Tony Nefouse, taking advantage of the spread‑out defense created by Clippinger’s apt operation of the run‑and-shoot, rushed 19 times for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns.

If the Tigers are struggling, Clippinger didn’t seem to know it. “They’re an awesome team, along the same lines as Ben Davis,” he said. “They’re much better than the two teams that beat us. When we lost those two games, it was right after we beat Ben Davis. We had big, fat heads, but we got ourselves straightened around.”

Massillon’s crowd set the tone before the kickoff with a rousing chant of “T‑1‑G … E‑R‑S” that resounded around the Teflon‑topped Dome. The team responded by driving 80 yards in nine plays for a touchdown.

Running back Andre Stinson, who finished with a season‑high 110 yards, set up the TD with a 7‑yard run. Stinson wound up going in from the 1, Jason Brown converted the kick, and it was 7‑0 with 8:27 left in the first quarter.

North‑Central answered by driving 88 yards for a score on its first possession. The mostly running, 11‑play march was capped by Clippinger’s one yard plunge and Tommy Keenan’s kick. It was 7‑7 with 4:58 left in the first quarter.

A three‑and‑out Tiger possession was followed by a short punt and a 41-yard North-Central scoring drive. Clippinger hit senior split end Arthur Angotti for 20 yards on first down. The TD came on a 8-yard run by Nefouse. After Keenan’s kick, it was 14-7 with 1:58 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers’ next possession ended quickly with their only punt of the game. Dan Hackenbracht made a daring, running catch on the punt and returned to the North-Central 34. Quarterback Mike Danzy scored on a spectacular 36-yard run, breaking three tackles after dropping back to pass, then outrunning the Panther defense into the left corner of the end zone. Brown’s kick made it 14-14 with 8:24 left in the half.

North-Central regained control with a 13-play, 71-yard drive again capped by a 1-yard drive again capped by a 1-yard Clippinger plunge. Keenan’s kick made it 21-14 with 3:14 left in the half.
The Panthers got the ball back on a punt but quickly lost it when a big hit by William Shahan caused a fumble covered by Tiger junior Josh McElhaney near midfield. A 32-yard field goal attempt by Brown with seconds left in the half was deflected.

North-Central drove to the Tiger 10 at the start of the second half before a big third-down stop by Hackenbracht followed by an incompletin stalled the threat.

The Tigers then drove 90 yards. Thanks largely to a 51-yard strike from Danzy to Alonzo Simpson. Hackenbracht scored from two yards out, but Brown’s kick was blocked and North-Central kept a 21-20 lead with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

The Panthers inflicted the critical blow when they drove 46 yards in 10 plays for a score. Junior Dave Mosley’s one-yard run and Kennan’s kick made it 28‑20 with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

Even at that, the Tigers could tie it with a TD and two‑point conversion. Their best chance came midway through the fourth quarter when Danzy reached the Massillon 40 on a scramble. The would‑be first down was wiped out by a holding penalty. Instead, it became third down at the 10. The Tigers had to punt, setting up the clinching North‑Central touchdown, a 6‑yard run by Nefouse with 2:58 left in the game.

NORTH‑CENTRAL 35
MASSILLON 20
M N
First downs rushing 9 13
First downs passing 2 10
First downs by penalty 0 1
Totals first downs 11 23
Yards gained rushing 228 250
Yards lost rushing 14 20
Net yards rushing 214 230
Net yards passing 80 185
Total yards gained 294 415
Passes attempted 11 20
Passes completed 2 14
Interceptions 1 0
Times kicked off 4 6
Kickoff average 41.8 58.0
Kickoff return yards 36 51
Punts 5 1
Punting average 29.2 23.0
Punt return yards 22 9
Fumbles 0 3
Fumbles lost 0 2
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized 30 31
Number of plays: 48 73
Time of possession 19:33 28:27

Massillon 7 7 6 0 20
North‑Central 14 7 7 7 35

M ‑ Stinson 1 run (Brown kick)
NC ‑ Clippinger 1 run (Keenan kick)
NC ‑ Nefouse 8 run (Keenan kick)
M ‑ Danzy 36 run (Brown kick)
NC ‑ Clippinger 1 run (Keenan kick)
M ‑‑ Hackenbracht 2 run (kick failed)
NC ‑ Mosley 1 run (Keenan kick)
NC ‑ Nefouse 6 run (Keenan kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
(Massillon) Seimetz 4‑25, Stinson 21‑110, Hackenbracht 5‑11, Danzy 6‑68.
(North‑Central) Nefouse 19‑125, Allen 12‑67, Mosley 6‑24, Perkins 3‑13, Clippinger 11 ‑0.

Passing
(Massillon) Danzy 2‑1‑11‑1 80
(North‑Central) Clippinger 14‑20‑0 185.

Receiving
(Massillon) Peters 1‑21, Simpson 1‑59.
(North‑Central) Allen 4‑59, Angotti 6‑81, Mosley 3‑30, McConnell 1‑15.

Dan Hackenbracht
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 0, Austintown Fitch 14

Tigers fall at Fitch

By MIKE KEATING
Independent Sports Writer

AUSTINTOWN ‑ Falcon Stadium is a 10,000‑seat facility. It is also a torture chamber to the Massillon Tigers. The Austintown‑Fitch Falcons, occupant of the structure, added to the agony with a 14‑0 high school football decision over the Tigers Friday.

Fitch scored a touchdown on the last play from scrimmage to win the 1986 game, won on a 40‑yard field goal in 1988, and deviated from its running game to capitalize on two touchdown passes to win in 1990.

There were no last‑second heroics or surprises by Fitch in the most recent meeting, but the Tigers were stuffed by the Steel Valley Conference school’s steel‑like defense and lost before 8,000 fans on a cool, breezy Friday night.

The Tigers fell to 2‑3. The last time they had that mark was 1984, Mike Currence’s final year as head coach.

Massillon has also lost its last three games, the first time that has occurred since 1988, when Lee Owens’ first team dropped decisions to Fitch, Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary and Warren Harding.

The Tigers were shut out for the first time since an 8‑0 loss to Cleveland St. Joseph in the eighth‑game in 1987 on a muddy field in Euclid during John Maronto’s final year as Massillon head coach.

It was a dry field when the Tigers and Fitch played Friday. David Hartman, Fitch head coach and Massillon native, was pleased his team survived a battle of smash mouth football.

“It was a fight,” he said. “They’re much … much better than what we saw on film against Alliance and (Akron) Garfield.”

Jack Rose glanced at the post‑game offensive statistics while seated in the Fitch gym, adjacent to the Tiger lockerroom. The first‑year Massillon head coach was perplexed about his team’s offense. “We cannot score in the red zone,” he said. “We have to get that fixed.”

The Tigers had one scoring drive stopped inside the Fitch 20 and two others inside the Falcon 30. Rose noted the Tigers had problems finishing off scoring drives in both the Garfield and Cincinnati Moeller games.

“We worked a lot in practice on moving the ball inside the 30,” he said. “We’ve tried to get them in a frame of mind they have to execute once they get down there. We’ll just have to keep working.”

Part of Fitch’s defensive game plan was to contain Massillon quarterback Mike Danzy. “We felt he had done so many things against the teams they’ve played,” said Hartman “Our goal was not letting him make any big plays. Their offense is different, but we had to prepare for more things than we did when Lee Owens was coach.”

Fitch took the rollout away from Danzy and that forced him to scramble up the middle, where he was often greeted by a host of players wearing all‑red uniforms. He was either sacked or tackled behind the line of scrimmage five times and finished with minus‑35 yards rushing.

“This was our third, shutout,” said Hartman, “We have a good defensive team.”

Fitch has posted shutouts in three of its last four games, even though linebacker Dan Inglis missed most of the second half after he was ejected early in the third quarter. “The official told me he kicked somebody,” Hartman said.

The Tigers were held to only 83 yards in total offense. “I figured we could get 300 yards in total offense against them,” Rose said. “I thought we could get 150‑160 rushing and 140‑150 passing.” The Tigers unveiled the running game on their first series, but Fitch stopped it without allowing a first down.

Fitch then reciprocated with an 8‑play, 59‑yard drive that was capped by a big play on fourth down. Fullback Shawn Kamrad, 6‑1, 195, made a statement on his first carry when he blasted off left tackle for 12 yards to the Massillon 47.

The Tigers gave ground grudgingly on the next six plays and forced Fitch into a fourth‑and six at the 31.

Quarterback Nick Siciliano rolled left and flipped a pass to Kamrad over the middle. The Fitch fullback caught the ball at the 30, motored upfield, received a punishing block near the 20 and the short pass turned into a 31‑yard touchdown. Joe Ferraro hit the P.A.T. and Fitch led 7‑0 at the 5: 47 mark of the first quarter.

The Tigers responded with their best sustained drive of the game after Dan Hackenbracht returned the kickoff to the 33. Wide receiver Jarmey Elder made a one‑hand grab of a Danzy pass on a slant pattern for eight yards. Dan Seimetz picked up six on a counter‑gap and the ball was at the 47.

An offensive holding call appeared to stop the drive, but Danzy rolled left and hit Jerry May on an out pattern for 18 yards to the Fitch 40. Stinson picked up 12 of Massillon’s next 13 yards on the counter‑gap play and the first quarter ended at the Fitch 27.

On the first play of the second quarter, Stinson blasted off left guard and into the Fitch secondary. He was jarred at the 15, the ball popped loose and Fitch’s Chris Inglis recovered.

Early in the third quarter, Massillon defensive tackle B.J. Payne recovered a fumble at the Fitch 23. Eugene Copeland picked up a yard off right tackle, Stinson was held to another yard on another off‑tackle play and nose tackle Jason Kokoski, 5‑11, 210, diagnosed a screen pass and Copeland was thrown for a four yard loss.

On fourth‑and 14, Danzy rolled right, was blindsided and ‘Chris Inglis picked up the ball at the 30 and was eventually tackled at the Fitch 47.

After the Tigers held, Danzy hit May on a corner route for 34-yards to the Fitch 36. But the Tigers couldn’t net another first down in the drive and Hackenbracht was thrown for a 2‑yard loss on a fourth‑and‑three with 3:28 left in the third quarter.

The Falcons executed their Wing‑T offense to perfection on their next series with Kamrad running the dives and Siciliano running the keeper up the middle or taking the ball outside on the option. The drive consisted of 18 plays, covered 69 yards and was capped by Kamrad’s 1‑yard burst off left tackle. Ferraro’s placement made it 14‑0 with 7:18 to play.

Ferraro, also a defensive back, ended any Massillon comeback hope with an interception at‑the Tiger 45 with less than 6: 00 left to play.

FITCH 14
MASSILLON 0
M F
First downs rushing 2 10
First downs passing 2 2
First downs by penalty 1 0
Totals first downs 5 12
Net yards rushing 24 179
Net yards passing 59 43
Total yards gained 83 222
Passes attempted 12 4
Passes completed 5 2
Passes int. by 0 1
Kickoff average 47.0 50.3
Kickoff return yards 72 21
Punts 4 4
Punting average 29.3 29.0
Punt return yards 10 17
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 2 1
Penalties 1 5
Yards penalized 11 59
Number of plays 37 50
Time of possession 18:58 29:02

Fitch 7 0 0 7‑14
Massillon 0 0 0 O_ 0

F ‑ Kamrad 31 pass from Siciliano (Ferraro kick)
F ‑ Kamrad 1 run (Ferraro kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATICS

Rushing
M – Stinson 13‑41, Seimetz 3-12, Copeland 2‑3, Hackenbracht 2‑3;
F – Kamrad 23‑105, Siciliano 9‑46, Turner 11‑13.

Passing
M – Danzy 5‑12‑1, 59;
F – Siciliano 2‑4-0, 43.

Receiving
M – May 2‑52, Elder 2,11;
F – Kamrad 1‑31, Moore: 1‑12.

Dan Hackenbracht
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 13, Akron Garfield 14

Hard day’s night in Tigertown
Garfield rally provides 14‑13 upset

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It rained Friday, hard enough, maybe, to wash tomorrow into today. For the Massillon Tigers, 14‑13 losers to Akron Garfield, tomorrow got here too soon.

“I told the team before the season, ” Tiger head coach Jack Rose said after his football team fell to 2‑1, “we would face a crisis sometime this season. “Obviously, it got here with this game. It’s tough.”

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“But,” added Rose, “I really feel we’ll bounce back. We’ll have a good week of practice. Our kids will play hard … they’ll play as well as they can against Moeller.”
Cincinnati Moeller, 6‑0 in the all‑time series against the Tigers will pay a visit next Saturday to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, where 9,950 saw last night’s game.

Meanwhile, tomorrow couldn’t have arrived at a better time for Garfield. “We use a lot of two‑way players,” explained Garfield head coach Bill McGee. “We want October to get here. Tonight felt like October.” It felt that way because of the rain, because it was cool. Consequently, some of the energy the two‑platoon Tigers might have sapped from the Rams on a hot day hung around.
It was there after the Tigers broke a 7‑7 halftime tie with a touchdown in the middle of the third quarter.

Garfield marched 59 yards after the ensuing kickoff . Junior running back Frank Idley scored from nine yards out with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Since the Tigers had misfired on the previous extra‑point kick attempt, Garfield’s Mark Glockner was able to give his team a 14‑13 lead by booting it through when it was his turn.

When the Tigers couldn’t keep moving on a fourth-quarter drive that pushed the ball to the Garfield 15‑yard line, the Rams toughened up and rode out the 14‑13 lead until it was the final score.

The rain couldn’t wash away yesterday. Not for Garfield’s senior quarterback, Joe Nemith. Nemith said a recurring thought kept flashing through his mind throughout the game. ”Sixty to 13,” was the thought, he said. “That’s all … 60 to 13.”

That was the score by which the Rams lost to the Tigers in 1991. “Our kids were highly motivated by that 60‑13 theme,” McGee said. “It was real embarrassing for us … not that Massillon ran it up, or anything like that. We just had one of our poorer teams.”

This year’s team is different. It has at least five seniors with a shot at landing a Division I college scholarship. It has sophomores who should keep the 2‑8 nightmare that was the 1991 season from happening again soon .
‘
“I’ve said all along they play harder this year,” Rose said. “They have a lot of talent. They have good speed and good balance.”
McGee, who says the goal of his team (now 2‑1) is to win the 1992 state title, returned the compliment. “I underestimated how physical a team Massillon is,” he said. “That was one of the harder‑hitting games we’ve played in a long time.”
There were a few hard feelings afterward. Most of Garfield’s players punctuated their post‑game celebration by dancing on the Obie the Tiger insignia on the middle of Massillon’s sand‑turf field.

By that time, most of the Tigers were near the locker room. Some of them saw the celebration and went out to meet it. There was some shoving, but the mini‑melee was quickly broken up. McGee didn’t endorse the actions of his team. “Get your fat (butt) back to the locker room,” he told one of his linemen.

But he understood it. “That was all about something that happened before the game,” he said. “Their players all congregated on the tiger. The problem was, they cross the 50‑yard line and pushed some of our players out of the way to do it.”

There were also some hard feelings in the stands. Some directed their anger at Rose, who is in his first year as Tiger head coach. “Go back to Kent State,” a few of them yelled. Rose was an assistant coach at Kent State before becoming the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in 1991.

The loss was tough on Rose. He looked like a man who had been up all night in the postgame locker room. But he is a tough man. He was composed as he assessed the loss.

“The main thing,” he said, “was that we kept shooting ourselves in the foot … penalties … turnovers … mistakes.”

The game was tense throughout. Garfield woke up the crowd right away when sophomore sensation Antoine Winfield returned the opening kickoff from his 8‑yard line to the Tigers’ 5 before Dan Hackenbracht brought him down. A clipping penalty on the return put the ball on Massillon’s 25, but Garfield needed only five plays to run it in. On third down from the 7, Winfield lined up at left halfback in the T‑formation (three back) offense, took an inside handoff, and streaked up the middle for a touchdown. Glockner’s kick made it 7‑0.

The Tigers wound up with only three first‑half possessions, which will happen against a good ball‑control team. They made it to the Garfield 15 on the first and to the Garfield 32 on the second, but didn’t score until the third.

Quarterback Mike Danzy threw a 31‑yard touchdown pass to tight end Todd Peters with 1:32 left in the half. Peters ran an end zone route and Danzy hit him with a well‑thrown bomb that barely eluded the sophomore, Winfield, who was streaking in front of him.

Jason Brown’s kick created a 7‑all halftime score.

Early in the third quarter, Tiger cornerback Scott Brediger recovered a Winfield (yes, the soph plays running back, too) fumble at the Garfield 35.

A holding penalty set up a third‑and‑19, and Danzy tried to hit flanker Alonzo Simpson on a post pattern near the goal line. Again it was the soph, Winfield, arriving on the scene to make the interception; however, Garfield was stuck with the ball on its own 4‑yard line.

Switching to running back, Winfield fumbled on second down and the Tigers’ Joel Smith recovered at the 1. Tiger senior Eugene Copeland scored on the next play, but Brown’s extra point try was wide left, and the Tigers led 13‑7 with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

Garfield drove 59 yards for the decisive points after the ensuing kickoff. A 9‑yard run by Frank Idley and the conversion kick made it 14‑13 with 2:25 left in the third quarter,

Key plays were a pair of 13‑yard completions from Nemith to senior end Eugene Lewis.

“They were bringing a strong safety to the strong side and I was throwing to the short side,” Nemith said. “We were in a spread formation and we’d send the tight end to the flats, up the seam.

Garfield then pulled a stunner by onside kicking, but the Tigers recovered near midfield.

The Tigers spent the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter driving the ball ‑ running it, mostly. A bootleg run of 17 yards gave the Tigers a first down on the 16. But two runs for a total of one yard and a holding penalty stalled the drive, then Danzy was sacked for a 19‑yard loss that was nearly worse than that. Danzy threw while he was going down and the ball was picked off by a Garfield lineman who would’ve had clear sailing to the end zone. The Tiger quarterback, though, was ruled down, as McGee scolded a Ram assistant coach who blew his stack over the ruling.

Garfield then staged a drive reminscent of 1987, the last time the Rams beat the Tigers. They completed a pass to loosen things up and otherwise used Idley and Winfield on runs. They took the ball from their own 17 to the Tiger 16. There was 2:43 left when B.J. Payne stopped Idley at the 16 on fourth down.

Danzy scrambled for a yard, then threw three incomplete passes. On fourth down, Danzy lobbed what seemed destined for a completion to Peters, but there he was again ‑Winfield ‑ flashing in to knock away the pass.

Garfield took over and ran out the clock. The Rams wound up with a 213‑160 advantage in total offensive yards. They got away with gridiron murder, fumbling six times, losing four of the cough‑ups. Idley was the workhorse, rushing 87 yards in 23 carries. Nemith didn’t pass much, but he did it effectively ‑ 5‑for‑6 for 58 yards.

Tiger running back Andre Stinson left the game in the first half with a bruised thigh and was replaced by Hackenbracht. Stinson returned in the second half and wound up with 48 yards in 11 carries. Hackenbracht was the Tigers’ second‑leading rusher with 42 yards in eight carries.

“It was a good game,” con­cluded Garfield’s coach, McGee. “We’re a good team. We win here occasionally.”

The Tigers, meanwhile, are a team facing a crisis: trying to rebound from a tough loss, and having to do it against Cincinna­ti Moeller.

GARFIELD 14
MASSILLON 13
M G
First downs rushing 8 10
First downs passing 2 4
First downs by penalty 1 1
Totals first downs 11 15
Net yards rushing 116 155
Net yards passing 44 58
Total yards gained 160 213
Passes attempted 14 6
Passes completed 3 5
Passes int. by 0 1
Kickoff average 44.0 31.7
Kickoff return yards 39 111
Punts 2 2
Punting average 33.0 40.0
Punt return yards 8 0
Fumbles 2 6
Fumbles lost 1 4
Penalties 5 6
Yards penalized 44 55
Number of plays 47 55
Time of possession 18:27 29:33

Alliance 7 0 7 0 14
Massillon 7 0 6 0 13

G ‑ Winfield 7 run (Glockner kick)
M ‑ Peters 31 pass from Danzy (Brown kick)
M ‑ Copeland 1 run (kick failed)
G ‑ Idley 9 run (Glockner kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
(M) Copeland 4‑12, Stinson 11 48, Danzy 5‑6, Seimetz 3‑7, Hackenbracht 842, Dixon 2‑1.
(G) Idley 23‑87, Campbell 3‑18, Nemith 8‑10, Winfield 15‑40.

PASSING
(M) Danzy 3‑14‑1, 44;
(G) Nemith 5‑6‑0, 58.

RECEIVING
(TD) Copeland 1‑5, Peters 2-39.
(G) Lewis 4‑42, Winfield 1‑16.

Dan Hackenbracht
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 27, Walsh Jesuit 24

Massillon rallies again Tigers seem doomed, then rally for overtime win

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It was over. Walsh Jesuit led 14-0 and had the game in the bag.

Then it was over again. Shut out through three quarters, Massillon caught some magic and led 21-14.

Program Cover

Roll over Beethoven. Walsh drove far and fast to make it 21-all and create overtime. Momentum City. Mo-town. Walsh stormed to the 1 in OT. It was over again.

On the other hand, Socrates (or Yogi Berra maybe), laid down the law long ago: It ain’t over “til it’s over.

A penalty made Walsh settle for a field goal and a 24-21 lead. Then the Tigers got their turn in overtime, and when it was real­ly over, they had won a 27-24 jaw-dropper in front of 11,731 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

In high school overtimes, each team gets a turn to run its offense 20 yards from the goal line. If they’re still tied after each team has taken a turn, they do it again. They could stay all night long taking turns.

However, Mike Danzy and Jerry May turned out the lights on the Warriors. Earlier, they had hooked up on a 59-yard touchdown pass. In overtime, on third-and-five with Walsh up by 3, they hooked up again. Danzy rolled right and threw a strike to May in the right corner of the end zone. All that was left was for May to wind up on the bottom of a flesh pile of celeb­rating teammates.

The Tigers, 2-0, locked them­selves in the locker room, sang the alma mater while standing on benches, and roared through a fire-breathing speech by head coach Jack Rose.

“This game,” Rose told them, “is going to make you guys tough to beat.”

Walsh, 1-1, has been through this before. In a 1989 playoff game, the Warriors led 24-7 in the third quarter before the Tigers staged one of the greatest comebacks in their history for a 42-24 win.

In some ways, last night’s game was more dramatic than the 1989 gut-buster, maybe be­cause the ’89 game wasn’t close at the end … because the ’92 game ended on the last play.

There were a lot of heroes, but then again, just one big Mr. Hero if you take a mouthful from Tiger senior Dan Hackenbracht to heart.

“We were playing OK until the fourth quarter, “Hackenbracht said. “Then everybody started playing for the team. There were no individuals play­ing out there. Just one team. There are no individuals on this ” team. It’s great to be a part of it.

“This game,” Hackenbracht concluded, “really brought us together.” A 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by Hackenbracht that created a 14-all tie with 4: 59 left in the fourth quarter helped the cause.

This from a guy who one week earlier couldn’t hang on to a punt in a 17-8 win over Alliance. And, yes, the bobbles bothered him.

“I couldn’t sleep all week,” Hackenbracht said. “I didn’t even know I’d be returning punts until tonight.”

Rose stuck with him. “He’s got a great ability to make that first tackler miss on a return,” Rose said. “That’s the key to breaking them.”

Hackenbracht was playing safety when he set up a Walsh punt by knifing in to break up a third-down pass over the middle. After the play, Hackenbracht faced the Walsh bench and engaged in some pleasant conversation.

“A few of their guys were saying, “They don’t want none … they ain’t nothin,” Hackenbracht said. “When I lined up to take the punt, I looked over to their bench. I saw three guys. Theycalled my name. I winked at them I just had a feeling.

“Then I just concentrated on looking the ball into my hands. I looked up and all I could see was a huge hole on the right. Then I saw gus throwing blocks. Eric Woods…Josh McElhaney. I don’t know who else.” He sprinted into the right corner of the end zone.

The turning point had come lake in the their quarter. Walsh had a 14-0 lead and was poised to put away the game after a late hit penalty gave the warriors the ball at the Massillon 31.
On first down, Tiger tackle Paul Schroeder intercepted a screen pass in the Walsh backfield and returned it to the Warrior 15, where he was run down by the intended receiver, Walsh tailback Andrae Martin.

“I just had a feeling about that play.” Schroeder said. “The coaches told us that if their line looked like it was letting us through to the quarterback, watchout for the screen. The quarterback (Matt Smith) looked me right in the eyes. All I saw was his eyes. Then he looked away. Then he looked back to my side and threw it.”

The Tigers took over late in the third quarter and wound up scoring with 9:30 left in the fourth … on fourth down from the 5 … on a diving catch card by Alonzo Simprion in the same spot where Hackenbracht scored on the punt return. And May caught the game winner in overtime.

Simpson’s clutch catch, fol­lowed by Jason Brown’s kick, made it 14-7.

Walsh’s best player, 6-5, 245­-pound tight end/linebacker Mike Vrabel, hopped off the field with a badly sprained ank­le on the next series. Then the tailback, Martin, perhaps the second-best player, was carried off. Still, Walsh drove near mid­field before the Tigers made the defensive stop, setting up Hack­enbracht’s punt return.

The breakaway TD ignited the crowd. The defense re­sponded with a quick stop. The Tigers got the ball back at their own 37 on a punt with 3:40 left. Walsh stopped two running plays, setting up a third-and­-six.

Danzy went back to pass and was rushed hard. “I was pretty close to getting sacked,” Danzy said, “but God gave me the ability to use my feet, and I broke contain.”

Meanwhile, May was getting open. “I started out as a decoy,” May said. “I saw Mike was get­ting rushed on my side and watched. I got open and he threw a strike.”

May put a nifty move on cornerback Brian Hopkins at the 35 to break into the clear. He dove into the end zone, did a belly smacker, then, as he put it, “puked.”

The TD play covered 59 yards. Brown’s kick made it 21-­14 with 2:17 left. Massillon athletic official Dave Null went to the locker room to help pre­pare for the victory celebration. He emerged after a few mo­ments saying, “What hap­pened?”

What happened was Smith, a second-year starter at quarter­back, kept his cool, completed some big passes (one a 17-yard completion on fourth-and-10), and drove Walsh 78 yards for a touchdown. Senior Chris McDonald caught a 27-yard touch­down pass with 19 seconds left. Junior Dave Regula converted the high-pressure kick to make it 21-all. Overtime.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to let Walsh’s offense – get the first crack from the 20. Martin, back in the game, stormed for eight yards on each of the next two plays. Then Walsh used two plays to pound the ball to the 1 on third down. A critical illegal procedure call ruined the touchdown opportunity. Jake Reed and Woods made the de­fensive stop on third-and-goal from the six. Then Regula booted a 24-yard field goal to give Walsh a 24-21 lead.

The Tigers then got the ball on the 20. Andre Stinson, who wound up with 88 rushing yards after amassing 85 yards last week, hammered for seven yards to the 12, but then was thrown for a two-yard loss on a run around the left side. That made it third and five – third and the ball game.

The Massillon coaches had noticed Walsh’s defense was paying special attention to the dangerous receiver, Simpson. They sent Simpson out on a curl.

“They were biting pretty hard (on fakes to Simpson),” noted Danzy. “Jerry was to go out and up (to the right corner of the end zone.” “We hadn’t run that play since last year,” May said. “I was playing quarterback then and it was my favorite play.”

The free safety left May and began to run toward Simpson, allowing May to break free. “It was a perfect throw,” said May, who caught the ball on the run, alone, in the end zone.

Walsh had managed to take a 7-0 halftime lead despite the fact the Tigers led 17:17 to 6:43 in time of possession.

The Warriors scored with 8:17 left in the second quarter on a 33-yard pass from Smith to senior wingback Mark Mason. The drive covered seven plays and 65 of Walsh’s 86 first-half yards.

Danzy’s scrambling high­lighted a Tiger drive that seemed destined to tie the game at halftime. It was third-and-­goal from the 1 with 2:15 left when Walsh called a timeout.

Walsh tackle Chris Giordano dumped Danzy for a 5-yard loss, then Brown was wide right on a 28-yard field goal try. The play call, a Danzy run in which he started backward, had many fans scratching their heads.

Rose said Danzy’s elusive­ness and the fact Walsh would be loaded up for an inside run (the Warriors wound up shifting Vrabel so he was nose-to-nose with 305-pound Tiger tackle Brandon Jackson) were behind the play call.

“I’m not going to second guess that one,” he said.

The Tigers got the ball first in the third quarter and drove be­fore a fumble set up Walsh’s second TD. The Warriors needed only five plays to cover 56 yards. The score came on an 18-yard pass from Smith to junior Brock Kreitzburg. Regula’s kick made it 14-0 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers appeared to be in deep trouble.
Of course, it wasn’t over.
By the time it was, Tigertown had gone head over heels for its ’92 team.

MASSILLON 27
WALSH 24
M W
First downs rushing 10 7
First downs passing 5 8
First downs by penalty 1 2
Totals first downs 16 17
Net yards rushing 140 122
Net yards passing 135 181
Total yards gained 275 303
Passes attempted 17 25
Passes completed 8 8
Passes 2 2
Kickoff average 42.0 53.8
Kickoff return yards 80 38
Punts 1 4
Punting average 30.0 36.5
Punt return yards 100 0
Fumbles 2 0
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 5 4
Yards penalized 45 30
Number of plays 63 58
Time of possession 27:41 20:19

Walsh 0 7 7 7 3 17
Massillon 0 0 0 21 6 27

W – Mason 33 pass from Smith (Regula kick)
W – Kreitzburg 18 pass from Smith (Regula kick)
M – Simpson 5 pass from Danzy (Brown kick)
M – Hackenbracht 75 punt return (Brown kick)
M – May 59 pass from Danzy (Brown kick)
W – McDonald 27 pass from Smith (Regula kick)
W – FG Regula 24
M – May 15 pass from Danzy

Individual statistics

Rushing
(M) Stinson 26-88, Danzy 11-41, Copeland 7-11, Seimetz 1 -0.
(W) Martin 14-59, Smith 9-42, Lloyd 9-21.

Passing
(M) Danzy 8-17-2, 135;
(A) Smith 8-25-2,181.

Receiving
(M) Simpson 3-30, May 2-74, Copeland 2-16, Griffith 1-15.
(W) McDonald 2-­62, Mason 2-49, Vrabel 2-38, Kreitzburg 1-18, Lloyd 1-14.

Dan Hackenbracht
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1992: Massillon 17, Alliance 8

Tigers muddle through
It’s rough, but Rose wins No. 1
Danzy‑to‑Simpson connection key in 17‑8 Tiger victory

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Jack Rose’s first Massillon football team staggered through a thorny debut but still managed to plant a 17‑8 loss on the Alliance Aviators Friday.

Program Cover

A crowd of 11,640 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium saw Massillon gain a 316‑208 edge in net offensive yards, a reflection of the relative closeness of the fray.

It was one of those games everyone expected the Tigers to win but was tighter than many expected, leaving the winners shaking their heads and the losers shaking their hoisted helmets.

“We weren’t satisfied with that performance,” Rose said.

He was talking about the reaction of his players, not just the coaches.

I like the fact the players weren’t satisfied,” Rose said. “It’s a young team. They want to improve.”

Alliance’s 243‑pound senior nose guard, Marlon Baker, led the Aviators’ post‑game pep rally.

“We’re gonna go 9 and 1,” Baker shouted as the Aviators gathered in a huddle on the field. “We’re gonna go 9‑1 and get another shot at ’em. We gotta work. Just a little bit more. A little bit more.”

Alliance head coach Phil Dorn, like Rose a first‑year pilot at a new school who has been a head coach elsewhere, was a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan in 1991.

“I’ve seen a lot of football,” Dorn told his team. ”I’ve coached in the Rose Bowl. I’ve coached with a Big Ten champion. Let me tell you. If you play hard like that all year, you’ll win the Federal League championship.”

Alliance spent the night throwing half a scare into the Tigers without ever making things extra spooky.

‘Tiger senior Jason Brown kicked a 20‑yard field goal on the third play of the second quarter to provide a 3‑0 lead.
Shortly after that, Massillon’s Scott Brediger intercepted an upfield bullet pass from Alliance junior quarterback Joe Brady and gave the Tigers possession 28 yards from the Aviator end zone.

Two plays later, Massillon junior quarterback Mike Danzy rolled right and lofted a pass into the end zone to 6‑foot‑2 junior receiver Alonzo Simpson , who is already starting to remind fans of 1989 Tiger senior Rameir Martin.

“The defensive back (senior Tamiko Hatcher) played me tight on the line (on the TD play),” Simpson said. “I got a quick start and got behind him. It was a TD route. I can’t explain it. I don’t think about it. I just run it.”

He was wide open for the catch. Danzy made a perfect throw. Brown kicked the extra point and it was 10‑0 with 7:54 left in the first half.

After that, a Tiger fumble and an Alliance interception set up two field goal attempts by 265‑pound placekicker Timiko Payton. Both had plenty of leg, but tries from 26 and 33 yards sailed wide.

The Tigers led 10‑0 at the half.

“I thought we started the game a little scared,” said Massillon senior running back Andre Stinson, who gained 68 of his 81 rushing yards in the second half. “We were better when we came off the field at the end of the half. I thought we, were OK in the second half.”

Alliance blew its first and best chance in the second half.

A 41‑yard pass from Brady to speedster Tony Townes put[ Alliance inside the 10 early in the third quarter. However, two dropped balls at the goal line preserved the Tigers’ 10‑0 lead. The first drop was an incompletion. The second was a completion to Townes at the 1. Townes seemed right at the goal line when he fumbled. Tiger senior Eric Woods recovered.

“That was a turning point, Dorn said.

Massillon’s offense clicked on the next two series. A 39‑yard run by Stinson was the highlight of a drive that ended on downs at the 10.

On the Tigers’ next possession, a 39‑yard bomb from Danzy to tight end Todd Peters put the ball on the 17. Two plays later, guard Scott Baumgardner threw a key block and running back Dan Hackenbracht did the rest, scooting around the right side for an 11‑yard touchdown run.

Brown’s P.A.T. boot made it 17‑0 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

Hackenbracht was a promising punt returner as a sophomore. He missed most of his junior year due to an injury. He had trouble handling punts last night, and fumbled one at midfield late in the game. Brady completed a bomb to set up a 1‑yard scoring run by junior Shawn Watson with 50 seconds left in the game.

“I wasn’t pleased with our kicking game,” Rose said. “Jason Brown had been punting real well in the preseason but didn’t do as well tonight. He’ll do much better.

“As for ‘Hack,’ maybe his motor was running too hard, this being the opener. He has great ability as a punt returner,”

Danzy, in his first varsity start, completed 6 of 14 passes for 155 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed 10 times for 33 yards.

Dorn, the Alliance coach, said part of his early strategy was to rattle Danzy.

“They played better defense than they had in their scrimmages,” Rose said. “They brought a lot of people. Sometimes they brought up four corner people. Sometimes they brought ’em up the middle.”

Observed Danzy, “I was kinda nervous before the game but I just tried to go with the flow and the nerves went away after awhile. We had some ups and downs, but we had some good moments for a first game.

Massillon’s defense was strong.

Things got off to a good start when Tiger junior tackle B.J. Payne made three tackles for losses in the first six minutes of the game.

At halftime, the Aviators had rushed just 19 yards on six attempts. Brady did manage 63 first‑half passing yards, but on only 5 completions in 14 throws ‑ and there was Brediger’s key interception.

Subtract Alliance’s last second 49‑yard TD drive set up by the Tiger fumble and the Aviators would have finished with just 159 total yards.

“We didn’t get the shutout, but I’m pleased with the defense … we ran to the ball,” Rose said. “You have to remember Hack and Eric Woods are our only two regulars back on the defense from last year. And it’s pretty much the same on offense. We have Brandon Jackson and Mark Miller back on the line but everybody else has a lot less experience,”

Brady wound up completing 9 passes in 23 attempts for 149 yards. Three went to Townes for 83 yards.

Simpson gave the Tigers 80 yards on three catches. A week earlier in a practice game against Lakewood, Simpson got the Tigers going with a long reception. It was the same thing against Alliance, The Tigers had to punt after their first two possessions, but Danzy threw to Simpson for 30 yards on the third possession to set up Brown’s field goal.

Rose’s game plan going in was to pund the ball inside on the run, considering Alliance’s defensive troubles in the preseason. The Tigers had 18 first‑ or second‑down plays in the first half, and 15 of them were runs. Ten of the plays went for two yards or less.

“Give Alliance credit,” Rose said. “They stepped it up.”

The Tigers will play at home again next Friday against Walsh Jesuit.

“That’ll be a good test,” Rose said. “They’ll be a lot more physical on defense than what we saw tonight. But I look for us to improve a lot.”

MASSILLON 17
ALLIANCE 8

M A
First downs rushing 7 4
First downs passing 5 5
First downs by penalty 1 1
Totals first downs 13 10
Not yards rushing 161 59
Net yards passing 155 149
Total yards gained 316 208
Passes attempted 14 23
Passes completed 6 9
Passes int. by 1 1
Kickoff average 53.3 37.0
Kickoff return yards 22 67
Punts 3 7
Punting average . 26.7 41.3
Punt return yards 6 0
Fumbles 4 1
Fumbles lost 2 1
Penalties 3 7
Yards penalized 25 55
Number of plays … 55 57
Time of possession 21:21 26:39

Massillon 0 10 7 0 17
Alliance 0 0 0 8 8

M ‑ FG Brown 20
M ‑ Simpson 27 pass from Danzy (Brown kick)
M ‑ Hackenbracht 11 run (Brown kick)
A ‑ Watson 1 run (Brady run)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

(M) Copeland 9‑36, Stinson 15‑81, Danzy 10‑33, Seimetz 3‑3, Hackenbracht 3‑8.
(A) Smith 13‑16, Adger 3‑9, Watson 9‑34, Black 2‑10.

PASSING

(M) Danzy 6‑14‑1, 155.
(A) Brady 9‑23‑1, 149.

RECEIVING

(M) Simpson 3‑80, Peters 1‑39, May 1‑19, Stinson 1‑17,
(A) Black 4‑47, Smith 1‑13, Watson 1‑8, Townes 3‑81.

Dan Hackenbracht

1991: Massillon 13, Cleveland St. Ignatius 14

Ugh! Big Ig nips Tigers

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

A hungry Massillon defense spent most of Saturday night di­ving shark‑like into the bally­hooed Cleveland St. Ignatius offense.

Ignatius, however, turned the second half into a “touchdown sandwich” ‑ scoring at the start of the third quarter and end of the fourth quarter ‑ to bag a 14‑13 victory in front of 20,150 at the Rubber Bowl in the Division I high school football playoff semifinals.

Jason Woullard, who played a whopper of a game on defense, became a hero on offense with a fourth down, 42‑yard TD pass reception from quarterback Nick Mossides to break a 7‑7 tie with 4:36 left in the game.

Someone asked Massillon head coach Lee Owens if the play was ad libbed.

“We’ve practiced it 100 times,” Owens said. “It was just a play‑action fake and pass.”

The play was unusual, though, because it was Woul­lard’s first varsity reception. It was reminiscent of the recent regular‑season finale against McKinley, when star lineback­er Eric Wright’s first rushing attempt as a varsity player went for a touchdown.

After Woullard’s TD catch, Jason Brown’s extra‑point kick try hit the right crossbar and bounced away. The uprights at the Rubber Bowl, home field for the University of Akron, are the NCAA width, 5 feet. narrower than the high school width. The kick would have made it be­tween the wider uprights.

That kept the score at 13‑7.

The Tigers went for the kill on the subsequent kickoff. Brown was to attempt a pop‑up kickoff designed to travel 25 to 30 yards to an open side of the field.

“It was the same type of kick we used to gain possession right at the end of the first half,” Massillon head coach Lee Owens said.

Even if the Tigers didn’t re­cover, Owens said the maneuv­er seemed safer than allowing the threat of a kickoff return.

“We practice that kind of kick every day,” he said.

Brown, who became Massillon’s all‑time, single‑season point‑after‑touchdown record holder earlier in the game, ap­plied his foot too low on the ball, creating a very short kickoff. Ignatius took over on its own 47­-yard line, then drove 53 yards for a touchdown.

Senior running back Jack Mulloy went in from two yards out to make it 13‑13 with 1:23 left in the game. Fernando Paez boomed the P.A.T. kick into the 18th row of seats at the closed end of the Rubber Bowl. It be­came the game‑winning point.

Paez then kicked off into the end zone for a touchback that forced the Tigers to start from

their own 20. A 14‑yard Mossides‑to‑Geoff Merchant pass on first down offered hope, but the next four plays went no­‑where, returning the ball to Ignatius on downs with 51 seconds left.

Ignatius quarterback Kevin Mayer fell on the ball twice and the game was over.

“I give all the credit to our kids.” said Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle. “They never lost faith in themselves.”

“They were up against a ,real team that had all the motivation in the world ‑ they’d dedicated the season to Paul Brown.”

“I feel the same way about this team I’ve felt all season,” Owens said. “I’m very proud of the way they conducted them­selves all year. This is a special group.”

“It’s just a shame all the work they put in had to end this way. It doesn’t seem fair. But give Ignatius credit. They’re an out­standing team.”

The Tigers led 7‑0 at halftime, thanks to a single play that was the same length as Ignatius’ de­cisive, final TD drive.

On third and seven from the Massillon 47, Tiger senior Marc Stafford beat defensive back Bill Craighead in man to man coverage, then took in a perfect­ly thrown bomb from Mossides and easily ran in for a touch­down. The 53‑yard play ended with just 39 seconds left in the first half. Brown’s kick made it 7‑0.

At halftime, Ignatius had mustered just 61 yards against a Massillon defense that put a hard pass rush on the All‑Ohio candidate, Mayer.

An interception by Dan Hackenbracht snuffed out Ignatius’ first possession. A crunching sack by Woullard and Wayne Gallion stopped the second one.

At the start of the second half, though, Ignatius set up at its own 48 after a squib kick and return. Having sputtered while using formations with four wide receivers, the Wildcats switch­ed to an option attack with just two wideouts.

“That’s just normal for us, to switch around,” Mayer said.

A 21‑yard scramble by Mayer became the key item in a nine ­play, 52‑yard touchdown drive capped by sophomore fullback Eric Haddad’s six‑yard run on second‑and‑goal. The kick by Paez was good and it was 7‑7 with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers then drove 49 yards in seven plays, featuring a 32‑yard run by Travis McGuire, who wound up with 118 rushing yards. On second and six from the 20, Falando Ashcraft plowed for four yards but lost the football. Mike McHale recovered for Ignatius at the 16.

The Massillon defense adjusted to the option attack, forc­ing Ignatius to punt.

Again, the Tigers drove, this time from their own 45 to the Ignatius 23. Again, they lost the ball on second and six. This time, it was Mossides and McGuire unable to make the connection on a handoff. Igna­tius pounced on the loose pigs­kin at the 27.

On third down, Mayer’s deep pass was broken up by Hacken­bracht and Troy Burick, forcing another Ignatius punt. It had been raining for about five mi­nutes when the Tigers took over on their own 40‑yard line. On third and short, Mossides sneaked three yards to the Igna­tius 48. Moments later, it was fourth down on the 42, with less than half the fourth quarter re­maining.

Mossides made a play action fake, set up, and let loose a high­ arcing pass that floated over Ignatius linebacker Regan Fitz­patrick. Woullard caught the ball at the 32‑yard line and out­raced Fitzpatrick into the end zone to give the Tigers their momentary lead.

Ignatius came back with its decisive drive.

Massillon’s defense was out­standing through most of the night.

Take away the two touch­down drives and Ignatius gained just 79 yards on eight other possessions.

“We played good defense all night,” Owens said. “We couldn’t ask the defense to play much harder. The two times they scored, we gave them a short field on the kickoff, and they took advantage of it.”

Massillon wound up with a 293‑182 edge in total offense.

Ignatius, on the other hand, contained the Tigers’ powerful ground game. Massillon finished with 155 rushing yards, ­the second lowest total of the season (lowest was 134 yards against Moeller).

Mayer completed just 10 of 27 passes for 119 yards, with one interception.

“They played some of the best pass defense I’ve seen,” Mayer said. “They mix up their coverages and they come hard on the rush.”

The Ignatius ground game produced 104 forward yards, but when quarterback sacks were factored in, there were 41 yards in losses, giving the Wild­cats a net of 63 yards on the ground.

Junior Dean Lamirand rushed 12 times for 58 yards.

Mayer and Lamirand made the key plays on Ignatius’ game‑winning drive.

Mayer delivered one completion on third‑and‑six that took the ball to the Massillon 42‑yard line with 3:50 left in the game. On fourth‑and‑six, he hit Mulloy along the left sideline for a first down. Mulloy went out of bounds with 1:57 left in the game.

The Tigers were still in de­cent shape, though, until Lamirand took the ball on an op­tion pitch and bolted 22 yards up the middle to the 2. Mulloy scored on the next play.

“When we got to the 2,” said Ignatius’ 315‑pound offensive tackle, Juan Porter. “we pretty much knew there was no way we weren’t going in.”

Owens said this morning that the pain of the loss had not left him, and that he is not sure it “ever will completely.”

“I’m still dying inside,” the coach said. “The state title was right there. To come so close to the final game only to lose it at the end is difficult to take.”

Owens stressed that the final kickoff in the game was not an onside kick attempt.

He said that even though the Tigers had recovered a short kickoff earlier in the game, Ignatius had left an open por­tion of the field around the 25­yard line again, and the kick was designed to go there.

“The reason we didn’t call for a squib kick was that they have been effective at fielding and returning squibs,” Owens said.

Owens said Ignatius started the game in a different run de­fense set than had been antici­pated.

“They committed more peo­ple to the run than anybody we’d played,” he said,

The Tigers adjusted to how the Ignatius ends were blocking the Massillon tackles and the counter play opened up in the second half, Owens said.

Owens said the defensive staff had an excellent game plan.

“Everything Coach (Jack) Rose wanted to do, he was able to do,” Owens said.

Owens said Ignatius final drive was “a matter of only being able to hold down such an outstanding offensive team for so long.

IGNATIUS 14
MASSILLON 13
M I
First downs rushing 9 4
First downs passing 1 8
First downs by penalty 0 1
Totals first downs 14 13
Yards gained rushing 186 104
Yards lost rushing 31 41
Net yards rushing 155 63
Net yards passing 138 119
Total yards gained 293 182
Passes attempted 13 27
Passes completed 7 10
Interceptions 0 1
Times kicked off 3 3
Kickoff average 26.7 53.7
Kickoff return yards 37 24
Punts 4 6
Punting average 41.8 28.3
Punt return yards 8 21
Fumbles 2 0
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 3 1
Yards penalized 25 5
Number of plays 62 57
Time of possession 26:19 21:41
Attendance 20,150

Ignatius 0 0 7 7 14
Massillon 0 7 0 6 13

M ‑ Stafford 53 pass from Mossides (Brown kick)
I ‑ Haddad 6 run (Paez kick)
M ‑ Woullard 42 pass from Mossides (kick failed)
I ‑ Mulloy 2 run (Paez kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing
(Massillon) McGuire 24‑118, Ashcroft 17‑55, Wright 2‑5.
(Ignatius) Sako 1 ‑(minus)2, Lamirand 12‑56, Haddad 4‑14, Mul­loy 2‑3.

Passing
(Massillon) Mossides7‑13‑0 158.
(Ignatius) Mayer 10‑27‑1 119.

Receiving
(Massillon) McGuire3‑19, Stafford 2‑63, Woullard 1‑42, Merchant 1‑14.

It was written in the skies:
Game would be electrifying

Steve Doerschuk
Independent Sports Editor

Sometimes you can see it in there eyes.

Sometimes you can see it in the skies.

Put your mind on rewind and stop the tape at Aug. 17, in Lakewood Ohio.

Play.

The Massillon Tigers, with a tradition older than the crusty, two‑story houses that frame Lakewood High Stadium, are playing a practice game of foot­ball against Cleveland St. Igna­tius, the Goliath come lately of Ohio high school football.

Wind kicks up. Heavens ex­plode. Thunder and lightning break dance in measure so vio­lent that play is stopped.

It is a late‑summer storm of foreshadowing.

The teams would meet again. They would bring the storm to the floor of a stadium dug out of the earth in Akron.

They would play one of the classic games in the history of the high school playoffs.

In the end, the outcome would pierce like lightning through the hearts of the Massillon players, coaches, fans.

Ignatius scores a touchdown and kicks the extra point to give itself a 14‑13 lead with 83 seconds left in the state semifinal conflict.

Joe Studer, a former Massillon player, a Massillon coach, a Massillon man, is bloodied but unbowed.

“We can win it! ” he yells on the sidelines. His eyes flash. He stands tall.

A cold rain is failing. There is no lightning in the sky. There is no miracle play.

The last of the thunder rolls through Massillon’s majority share of the phenomenal crowd, announced at 20,150, which if true would mean there were 15,000 empty seats in the Rubber Bowl ‑ and there surely didn’t seem to be.

The final score is 14‑13, Ignatius.

It had been a night of one team’s thunder against the other team’s lightning.

Massillon scores first on a bomb. Ignatius ties the game on a long drive. Massillon goes ahead with a fourth‑down pass that goes for a touchdown, followed by a narrowly missed extra ­point kick try. Ignatius gets the ball in a do‑or‑die and drives for 7.

If it wasn’t a classic game in terms of execution ‑ fumbles, dropped passes and missed assignments were sprinkled throughout ‑ it was a blockbuster in terms of drama and hard hitting.

“Ten, 20, 30 years from now,” Chuck Kyle, the Ignatius coach, said in his post‑game team speech, “people will talk about this game.”

Kyle underscored his thought by repeating the words.

“They will talk about this game.

For the moment, the talk will come easily in Cleveland. The words will come hard in Massillon.

This was, probably, the most painful among a handful of similar losses absorbed by the Tigers during the Lee Owens era.

There was a 43‑yard field goal by Jeff Wilkens that gave Austintown‑Fitch a victory over the Tigers in 1988. There was a last‑ditch drive capped by a last‑second touchdown pass to Carlos Collins that gave Cincinnati Moeller a win over the Tigers in 1990.

The loss to Ignatius was more painful than even the one to Moeller mainly because the Tigers have never been closer to winning a state championship than they were this year.

Sure, the Tigers made it to the state finals in 1980, but there they met a Moeller team that put away the game early.

They made it to the championship game again in 1982, but another loaded Moeller team won going away, 35‑14.

This time, the Tigers were one key play away from making it to the championship game with a loaded team of their own, against a Centerville team that is a clear underdog against, as it turns out, Ignatius.

Amid the pain, it must be remembered 1991 was the year Massillon, which went to the playoffs just four times in the first 16 years, made a habit of playing in the tournament.

It was the Tigers’ third straight playoff season.

It must also be remembered that they excelled in the 1991 tournament, winning two games by a combined 70‑27, then outgaining by a margin of 293 yards to 182 the team whose program is bucking for its third state title in‑the last four years.

Rewind your mind one more time, to the moments after Saturday night’s final gun.

The defeat stings infinitely more than cold rain on the face as the Massillon players trudge to the locker room.

The team passes through a human tunnel of people dressed in orange.

“We love you,” yells one of them, a man named Phil Glick. “Hold your heads up. We love you.”

Eric Wright

1991: Massillon 42, Toledo St. John 21

Deja vu at the Rubber Bowl: Tiger win recalls ’89 thriller

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It is almost as if the Massillon Tigers bottled the 1989 season, popped the cork, and are watch­ing it spill over the 1991 land­scape.

“It’s scary,” Massillon head coach Lee Owens was saying after Saturday’s 42‑21 playoff victory over Toledo St. John’s, “’how much this season, at times, has reminded me of 1989.”

Coming back from a 21‑7 de­ficit to beat St. John’s was just the latest leg in the Tigers’ trip down Deja Vu Boulevard.

The game was quite similar to the 1989 playoff win over Walsh Jesuit, in which the Ti­gers trailed 24‑7 before rallying for a 42‑24 victory.

Adding to the spookiness is the fact the Walsh Jesuit and Toledo St. John’s high school buildings are exactly the same ‑ built from the same bluep­rint, the same year.

The 1989 Tigers bounced back from a fourth‑week loss to Moel­ler and won four straight games, lost to a strong Catholic ­school team to snap the losing streak, then rode into the play­offs with a win over McKinley.

The 1991 Tigers have followed ­exactly the same course.

So why should they stop now?

Just as the ’89 Tigers adv­anced to the state semifinals against Cleveland St. Ignatius in the Rubber Bowl, so will the 1991 team.

Come to think of it, Owens said, now is the time to put an end to this replay business.

”As many similarities as there have been,” Owens said, “it’s time to write another script.”

The 1989 Tigers lost to Igna­tius by the same 42‑21 score posted against Toledo St. John’s at the Rubber Bowl Saturday night.

“The only way we can approach it,” said Owens, “is to believe we have a much better shot at Ignatius this time around.”

The Tigers can hope the St. John’s game, witnessed by a crowd announced at 10,809, put foreshadowing in place of flashbacks.

The contest ended with back­up fullback Dan Seimetz bashing his way inside the 1-­yard line. The referee’s spot had the ball pushing against the goal stripe as time expired, symbolic of the momentum the Tigers established with ‘a block­buster second half.

St. John’s scored on its first play from scrimmage in the second half on a wide‑open, 46 ­yard pass play from quarter­back Dave Croci to split end Brad Vineyard. A wide‑open, two‑point conversion pass cre­ated a 21‑7 lead for the Titans, sparking memories not of 1989, but of 1990, when the Tigers were dismissed from the playoffs by Sandusky, 27‑7 at the Rubber Bowl.

However, there was still the question of St. John’s being able to contain Massillon’s running game.

Moments before Vineyard’s stunning touchdown, the Tigers had made a statement. Defying all convention, especially since they trailed by a meager 6 points at the time, they “went for it” on fourth‑and‑one from their own 29‑yard-line in the early moments of the third quarter.

“We wound up having to punt on that possession,” Massillon head coach Lee Owens said, “but we easily made the first down on the fourth‑and‑one. It was our way of saying, ‘We’re not having our way now, but we’re the better team.”

Travis McGuire was the man who ran for the first down on the fourth‑and‑one.

Falando Ashcraft would become the man who got the Tigers over the top, providing their first lead of the game with an 80‑yard touchdown run.

But it was McGuire who led the early part of the comeback,

It was McGuire who exploded for gains of 34 and 20 yards to set up a three‑yard smash by Ashcraft with 5:50 left in the third quarter, trimming St. John’s lead to 21‑7.

The Tigers’ next possession started on their own 18, but McGuire spinned and sprinted for 53 yards in two plays to quickly create a scoring threat Ashcraft smashed through the line for 18 to make a first‑and-goal at the 7.

On fourth down from the 2, Eric Wright came in as a blocking back, and McGuire dove over his block for a touchdown. The P.A.T. kick was wide right enabling St. John’s to keep a 21-20 lead with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

A sack by “Rob” defensive end Jason Woullard set up a St. John’s punt, but the Tigers again had poor field position starting at their own 11 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. McGuire got the Tigers out of the hole with a nine yard gain to the 20, which led to a “free play” on which quarterback Nick Mossides tried to hit Marc Stafford deep down the right sideline. The pass sailed out of bounds, setting up a third-and‑one.

The give went to Ashcraft on, trap play.

“That was no surprise,” said Toledo St. John’s head coach Fred Beier. “The fullback trap and the tailback counter trey are their bread and butter.”

Ashcraft confirmed that St John’s read the play well however, he said his team’s offensive line also blocked it well.

“Travis turned the guy he was blocking out, and I went the opposite way,” Ashcraft said.

He broke into the clear, out­running Titan defensive back Jason Dzierwa into the right comer of the end zone for an 80 yard touchdown. The play and McGuire’s two‑point conversion run gave the Tigers a 28‑21 lead with 9:49 left in the game.

“That was the game ­winner,” Owens said. “That’s the one that put us ahead.”

The kayo punch came seconds later, on St. John’s next play from scrimmage. Gadget plays had been kind to the Titans in the first half, including a fake field goal that produced a touch­down.

This time, a gadget play ‑ a double‑pass ‑ became a killer. Croci fired a quick out to Dzier­wa, who in turn fired the ball upfield. By that time, the Tigers had switched from zone to man-­to‑man coverage, and linebacker Brandon Turley easily inter­cepted the ball.

The Tigers took “over on the Titans’ 32 with nine minutes left in the game. A 17‑yard run by Ashcraft helped set up a one-­yard flip into the end zone by McGuire with 6:04 left in the game. Brown’s kick made the score 35‑21.

It was “stick a fork in the Titans” time when cornerback Ron Roberson intercepted a Croci pass moments later. Roberson made a short return to the St. John’s 6.

Ashcraft’s two‑yard run and Brown’s kick made it 42‑21.

Sophomore Mike Danzy, who would have been the starting quarterback had Mossides been unable to play (coming off a concussion suffered in last week’s Akron Ellet game) finished out the game.

Had Seimetz gained another foot on the final play of the game, the Tigers would have scored close to 50 points in a game it had looked like they might well lose.

St, John’s got off to a good start when Vineyard found a seam in the middle of the field and returned the opening kick­off 65 yards to the Tiger 28.

“That threw us off balance a little,” Ashcraft said.

On that possession, Dan Maidlow, who kicked a game ­winning, 40‑yard field goal against Barberton the previous week, lined up for a 42‑yard attempt. The Titans set up for the field goal with three receiv­ers on the right side of the field ‑ the fake was on. Croci, an all‑district quarterback who wound up completing 13 of 20 passes for 212 yards, was the holder on the play. He straight­ened up, rolled right, and easily connected with Dzierwa on a 24­-yard TD pass. Maidlow’s kick made it 7‑0 with just 97 seconds gone in the game.

The Tigers then drove 50 yards to the Titans’ 14, where it was fourth‑and‑five, They, too, went for the fake field goal, but holder Jerry May’s run was stopped, setting up an 86‑yard St. John’s touchdown drive that featured the “trips” (three­ receiver) formation and 52 pas­sing yards by Croci.

“They were giving us some cusion with their defensive backs at that point, and we took advantage of it,” Beier said.

Running back Jon Beier, the coach’s nephew, ran seven yards for a touchdown. Maidlow’s kick was wide right and it was 13‑0. St. John’s, with just over eight minutes gone in the game.

The Tigers’ later adjustment to tight, man‑to‑man coverage and heavy blitzing worked. However, Owens contended there was another factor in the early part of the game.

“St. John’s had probably nev­er played in front of a crowd this big under this kind of pressure against a ‘name’ team like Mas­sillon,” he said. “We’ve seen it many times before. A‑team will come out against us riding a wave of adrenalin and make great play after great play. That’s what seemed to be hap­pening.

“One thing we tell our players is that a team riding that big, early, emotional wave will probably burn itself out. We tell our guys to just keep playing their game.”

The Tigers’ second and third possessions ended in punts; conversely, so did St. John’s third and fourth possessions.

Midway through the second quarter, the Tigers staged a 49­-yard scoring drive. The march started with McGuire fumbling and losing four yards, but he gained 18 yards on a screen pass on the next play. The Tigers ran the next eight plays for 35 yards, the last of them a three-­yard, third‑and‑goal touchdown run over the right side bv McGuire. Brown’s kick made it 13‑7 with 4:37 left in the first half, and that score stood up at intermission.

“We were fired up at half time,” said Tiger offensive, tackle Brandon Jackson.” We knew what we had to do.”

Certainly, the Tigers looked like they knew what they were doing throughout the second half.

MASSILLON 42
ST. JOHN’S 21
M J
First downs rushing 16 4
First downs passing 1 4
First downs by penalty 0 0
Totals first downs 17 12
Yards gained rushing 442 87
Yards lost rushing 4 28
Net yards rushing 438 59
Net yards passing 29 212
Total yards gained 467 271
Passes attempted 10 20
Passes Completed 3 13
Passes Int. by 0 2
Times kicked off 7 4
Kickoff average 43.4 44.5
Kickoff return yards 39 152
Punts 3 5
Punting average 43.3 42.6
Punt return yards 44 16
Fumbles 3 1
Fumbles lost 0 0
Penalties 4 5
Yards penalized 50 62
Number of plays 67 40
Time Of Possession 27:52 20:08
Attendance 10,809

St. John’s 13 0 8 0 21
Massillon 0 7 13 22 42

SJ ‑ Dzierwa 24 pass from Croci (Maidlow kick)
SJ ‑ Beier 7 run (kick failed)
M ‑ McGuire 3 run (Brown kick)
SJ ‑ Vineyard 46 pass from Crocl (Dzierwa pass from Grocl)
M ‑ Ashcraft 2 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ McGuire 2 run (kick failed)
M ‑ Ashcraft 80 run (McGuire run)
M ‑ McGuire 1 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ Ashcraft 2 run (Brown kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

(Massillon) McGuire 29‑229, Ashcraft 18‑16S, May 1‑0, Wright 3‑7, Danzy 2‑24, Seimetz: 2‑6, Copeland 1‑3.
(St. John’s) Clark 7‑35, Croci 8‑20, Beier 3‑13.

Passing

(Massillon) Mossides 3‑10‑0 29.
(St. John’s) Croci 13‑19‑2 212.

Receiving

(Massillon) McGuire 1‑18, Ashcraft 2‑11.
(St. John’s) Dzierwa 6‑64, Maid­l

Eric Wright

1991: Massillon 28, Akron Ellet 6

Tigers oust Orangemen

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Late autumn. Orange‑and-­black vs. Orangemen. Two good running teams. Too cold to pass.

It was a perfect night for some smash‑pumpkin football.

And that is what the Massillon Tigers played Saturday night in carving out a 28‑6 football play­off victory over the Akron Ellet Orangemen in front of 11,000 frozen customers at Fawcett Stadium.

Massillon advanced to the Re­gion 2 (of Division 1) cham­pionship game Saturday night at 7 against Toledo St. John’s at the Akron Rubber Bowl. Ellet finished the year with a 9‑2 record.

The Tigers ripped open a 21‑0 halftime lead and had no trou­ble riding out the victory even though starting quarterback Nick Mossides spent the second half in the locker room after his head bounced off the hard turf after a hit late in the first half.

It was so clear Massillon was the better team that Ellet head coach Joe Yost didn’t bother moping.

“They’re the best we’ve seen, he said. “We didn’t play our best game, but let’s face it. They’re an outstanding team.”

Massillon, 9‑2, was mightier on both lines of scrimmage against an Ellet team billed as a big bunch of bruisers.

“They looked bigger on film than they actually were ” Massillon head coach Lee Owens said. “They did, in fact, have good size. But Walsh Jesuit, Cincinnati Moeller and Akron St. V all had bigger teams.

“They were very aggressive. The only team that’s played more physical than Ellet was probably St. V.”

The Tigers got back their one-­two running punch, with full­back Falando Ashcraft, who sat out most of a 42‑13 win over McKinley with a sprained ank­le, rushing for 102 yards.

‘G.A.’ to apply
at Rubber Bowl
All tickets for Saturday’s 7 p.m. Massillon‑Toledo St. John’s playoff game at the Akron Rubber Bowl will be general admission, Washing­ton High ticket official Josie Rollstin said Sunday.
Tickets, $5 apiece, will go on sale Tuesday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Hours that day will be 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Tiger Sta­dium.
The sale will shift to Washington High School Thursday (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and Friday (7 a.m. to noon).
There will be no special hours for season ticket hol­ders, and no limit on the num­ber of tickets one can buy.

Travis McGuire stayed on fire with a 19‑carry, 198‑yard, two‑touchdown night.

Ellet wound up with a 48‑21 lead in passing yards, but it was the smash‑pumpkin stats that mattered: Massillon led 318‑124 in rushing yards.

McGuire expanded his school‑record, single‑season rushing total to 1,612 yards (8.1 per carry). Ashcraft moved nearer second place on the Mas­sillon career rushing yards list. He has rushed for 1,106 yards this year after totals of 195 as a sophomore and 1,182 as a junior. That adds up to 2,483, just short of Bill Harmon’s second‑place total of 2,505 (1973­-75). Tops on the list is Art Hast­ings (3,090 yards, 1958‑60).
In Saturday’s game, Ashcraft exploded over the right side on a trap play for a 49‑yard touch­down run that gave the Tigers a 21‑0 lead with 7:25 left in the second quarter.

“I wasn’t 100 percent … probably in the late 80s,” Ashcraft said. “I was still a little sore. This was like a little test. I’ll definitely be back close to 100 percent next week.”

The Tigers advanced to the Region 2 championship game against Toledo St. John’s Satur­day night at the Akron Rubber Bowl. St. John’s nipped Barberton 10‑7 in another playoff opener.

Ellet, also 9‑2, gave the Tigers a dose of Jackson deja vu on the first play from scrimmage.

A year ago, Jackson scored early in a playoff game against Massillon at Fawcett on a long run by Jaiye Murdock. On Saturday, Ellet would have scored on a broken play had not one of the Orangemen been caught clipping. Ellet tailback Bobby Clark picked up a bad pitch deep in his own territory, retreated to his own goal line, and wound up running at least 150 yards to the opposite end zone. The clip was nowhere close to the streaking Clark; Yet, it brought the ball all the way back to the Ellet 26‑yard line.

Ellet punted after three plays, then the Tigers tried three passes and had to punt themselves.

Thanks to its defense, Massil­lon had the ball back on a punt in good field position moments la­ter. McGuire traveled 33 yards on a counter play for a touch­down. Jason Brown’s P.A.T. kick made it 7‑0 with 5: 27 left in the first quarter.

Ellet’s next possession ended when a pass from quarterback Ryan George hit an official and ricocheted to Massillon’s Wayne Gallion. Two plays la­ter, McGuire exploded for a 28-­yard touchdown run, but the play was called back by a hold­ing penalty. The possession en­ded with a punt.

Another Ellet possession be­came another three‑and‑out. This time, a 25‑yard punt return by Troy Burick gave the Tigers possession on the Ellet 31‑yard line. By this point, the Tigers were relying almost exclusive­ly on the run. It took eight run­ning plays to create another touchdown ‑ McGuire’s one-­yard run. Brown’s kick made it 14‑0 with 9:16 left in the second quarter.

Ellet again had to punt after three plays. This time the Ti­gers took over on their own 43. Mossides hit McGuire for a seven‑yard gain on first down. On second down, Ashcraft ex­ploded for his 49‑yard touch­down run. Brown’s kick made it 21‑0 with 7:25 left in the half.

“Falando’s touchdown was on a trap away from (the strong side of) our unbalanced line,” Owens said. “It was a great play call.”

Owens said offensive players recommended the play, which was in turn endorsed by offen­sive line coach Joe Studer.

“That touchdown was a key play,” Owens said. “Another big key was our defense stop­ping their scoring threat late in the first half. If they find a way to score, that gives them some­thing to build on in the second half.”

Ellet had driven to the Massil­lon 27 with just over a minute left in the half before a sack by Massillon’s Jason Woullard and Brandon Turley snuffed out the threat.

Sophomore Mike Danzy took over at quarterback for the Ti­gers in the second half.

Neither team mounted a scor­ing threat until early in the fourth quarter, when Danzy en­gineered an all‑running, 59-­yard touchdown drive. Gains of 21 yards by Ashcraft and 25 yards by McGuire set up an eight‑yard touchdown run by Eric Wright.

Brown’s P.A.T. kick gave the Tigers a 28‑0 lead with 8:36 left in the game.

Ellet salvaged some pride with a touchdown with 1:07 left, a two‑yard run by 6‑foot‑4, 215­pound fullback Danny Crook­ston.

The point‑after pass attempt failed, and the final score stood at 28‑6.

“We played hard and with a lot of effort,” Owens said. “We really played well on defense. We played hard on offense, but not as well. Our continuity was not that good.”

“Still, we had some nice ex­plosiveness on offense, at times. Ellet had only given up 48 points all season and we scored 21 in the first half.”

On defense, the Tigers forced Ellet to pass, and the Orange­men were ineffective. George, who likes running the ball out of an option attack, completed only three of 17 passes, with two interceptions. Eric Woods made his third interception in the last two games.

As for the Jackson deja vu factor, it fizzled quickly,

Clark, the tailback whose long touchdown run was called back by the clip, disappeared.

MASSILLON 28
AKRON ELLET 6
M E
First downs rushing 10 8
First downs passing 0 1
First downs by penalty 1 1
Totals first downs 11 10
Yards gained rushing 326 268
Yards lost rushing 8 44
Net yards rushing 318 124
Net yards passing 21 48
Total yards gained 339 172
Passes attempted 12 17
Passes completed 5 3
Passes int. by 0 2
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average 49.2 24.0
Kickoff return yards 12 80
Punts 4 7
Punting average 33.8 36.0
Punt return yards 68 6
Fumbles 2 2
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 9 3
Yards penalized 87 45
Number of plays 49 56
Time of possession 20:17 27:43
Attendance 11,000

Ellet 0 0 0 6 6
Massillon 7 14 0 7 28

Eric Wright
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large)

1991: Massillon 42, Canton McKinley 13

Tigers rip ‘dogs, head for playoffs

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

When the final gun sounded, it seemed as if Steve Studer was shot out of it.

Within seconds of the finish of Saturday’s 42‑13 Massillon vic­tory over McKinley, Studer, the Tigers’ strength coach had sprinted across the field and seized the victory bell that goes to the winner.

He and a pack of cheerleaders wheeled the bell across the Fawcett Stadium grass, to the Massillon side. It took the cheerleaders about 30 seconds to paint the bell orange and black.

“Let’s haul that baby home,” exclaimed Jeff Thornberry, president of the Tiger Sidelin­ers amid general approval of a celebrating Massillon mob.

Thornberry had been in charge of the “Beat McKinley” parade Friday night. He said it drew a record number of en­tries. He heaved a sigh of relief after the parade was over. It had taken a lot of work.

Beating McKinley and mak­ing the state playoffs pumped a big second wind into him.

“I’ll have another parade,” he said.

The Tigers rained down a pa­rade of points on the Bulldogs.

It was the biggest point spread in the classic battle in 31 years, dating to Massillon’s 42‑0 victory in 1960.

Even Paul Brown’s six Mas­sillon teams that beat McKinley never did so by as many as the 29 points that separated the Tigers and Bulldogs Saturday.

Travis McGuire 302 Rushing Yards and 5 TD’s.

Saturday’s game was a page out of the Chuck Mather play­book. Mather, who attended Saturday’s game, was head coach of the Tigers when they beat McKinley 33‑0 in 1950, 40‑0 in 1951, 41‑8 in 1952 and 48‑7 in 1953.

The effort of Massillon’s offensive line and running back Travis McGuire was second to none.

McGuire scored five touch­downs and rushed for a school record 302 yards. Tiger statisti­cian Richie Cunningham turned in the figure at 299 yards at the end of the game, then went home to review the videotape. He found three more yards and adjusted the figure. It is 302 that will go into the official record books, surpassing the previous record of 263 by Homer Floyd in 1954 ‑ against McKinley.

Game Action vs. Canton McKinley

Tiger head coach Lee Owens improved his record against McKinley to 3‑1.

“Not as good as 4‑0,” he said.

But not too shabby, either.

McKinley’s Thom McDaniels now is 5‑5 against Massillon.

Massillon linebacker Eric Wright, in his third

year as a starter, is 2‑0 against McKinley at Fawcett Stadium. After­ward, he demonstrated a quali­ty that has made him a team captain the last two years. He did not pat himself on the back for another smashing game. Asked to identify the turning point of the game, he credited a teammate.

“The two interceptions by that man right there,” he said, pointing to junior defensive

Game Action vs. Canton McKinley

back Eric Woods, back in Mas­sillon, in the Tiger locker room.

Season holders get first shot at tickets
Akron Ellet will be the Massillon Tigers’ opponent in the first round of the Ohio high school football playoffs.

Ellet, 9‑1, will take on Massillon, 8‑2, at 7 p.m. Saturday in Fawcett Stadium, where the Tigers mauled McKinley 42‑13 two days ago.

Game manager Dan Brooks of Canton City Schools said Sunday that the only tickets sold early in the week will be reserved seats.

“Last year, when Massillon played Jackson (in a Division I playoff tilt at Fawcett), we gave both schools 11,000 tickets,” Brooks said. “I can’t imagine that Ellet will need that many.”

All tickets will be $5, Brooks said, adding there will be no discount for students.

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for season ticket holders who display their green card only. Hours will be 7:30 a.m. through 9 p.m.

Woods helped render McKin­ley’s passing game almost harmless.

“We were a little surprised by how little they passed,” he said. “We thought they would pass most of the time.”

Instead, McKinley’s junior quarterback Joe Pukansky completed just six of 13 passes for 40 yards.

“Give credit to our line” for putting some heat on Pukansky, Woods said.

Woods’ first interception stopped McKinley’s first pos­session of the third quarter and led to a Tiger touchdown that broke open a 21‑13 game. Woods made the pickoff after team­mate Jason Woullard tipped a Pukansky pass headed for tight end Paul Popko.

McKinley had looked like a serious threat to the Tigers ear­ly in the game, scoring on its first possession.

“We were too aggressive on their first series,” Woullard said. “We were over‑running the tackles.”

The Bulldogs gained 80 yards on their first possession. They picked up just 87 more yards the rest‑of the game.

“We played our base cover­ages most of the game,” Woul­lard said. “We just played it well.”

Woullard played a full game at “Rob” defensive end after missing most of the previous week’s contest with a bruised shoulder.

“Beating McKinley beats a little pain any time,” he said.

Massillon’s offensive line gave the Bulldogs a beating.

“I think everyone on the line had his best game today,” said Ryan Orr, a card‑carrying member of “The Wrecking Crew,” as the line calls itself. “We stayed low and did a good job executing.”

Orr hopes the Tigers can blow a few more teams out of the water.

“It’s just one game at a time, and everybody pulling together, trying for a four‑game winning streak,” he said.

Four more wins would make the Tigers state champions.

The Tiger Booster Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Washington High gym, and not in the school auditorium where the meetings usually are held.

Studer boys give line
a lift, get kick out of
pounding of McKinley

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Nobody enjoyed Saturday’s 42‑13 Massillon victory over McKinley more than Joe Studer.

“It was as great a win as any I’ve ever been a part of as a coach,” said Studer, who gave up the head coaching job at Triway High after the 1990 season to become offensive line coach of the Massillon Tigers.

Triway was 8‑2 in Studer’s last year there, but trading in status as a successful boss for a job as an assistant made sense to him. He was a senior on the 1974 Massillon team and he bleeds Tiger orange.

Now he knows what it’s like to beat McKinley as a Tiger play­er, and as a Tiger coach. What’s more fun?

“That’s a tough one,” Studer said. “My senior year McKin­ley was 9‑0 and we beat them on a last‑second pass from Greg Wood to Eddie Bell. That was the McKinley team with Jap Je­ter and Jonathon Moore. That’s a good memory.”

Outstanding play by the Mas­sillon offensive line will be a memory that will last for many who saw the 1991 win over McKinley.

“It was a nice game for the line,” Studer allowed. “We came off the ball well and we were able to move their line. My hat is off to the young men.

“Of course, there’s always room for improvement.”

In what areas?

“There was one play for minus yardage against McKinley,” Studer said.

Another good game by the line would come in handy Satur­day when the Tigers face Akron Ellet in the first round of the playoffs Saturday.

Ellet has one of the best de­fensive fronts the Tigers will have seen.

“Their tackles are real big so we have to make sure we play low and come off the ball low and gets under their pads,” Studer said.

How does Ellet’s defensive front wall stack up to the best the Tigers have seen?

“In terms of overall scheme, talent and quickness, Moeller was the best,” Studer said. “For flat‑out physical size, Walsh was No. 1. Of course, Akron St V was real strong, too.”

Studer took a quick look at the Massillon unit that calls itself “The Wrecking Crew.”

Center Scott Chariton (5‑10 215, Sr.) ‑ “His biggest asset is balance. He keeps a low center of gravity.”

Strong guard Ryan Orr (S‑10, 250, Sr.) ‑ “A great down blocker, and very consistent … a lot of hip strength.”

Strong tackles Brandon Jack­son (6‑4, 300, Jr.) and Mark Mil­ler (6‑0, 245, Jr.) ‑ “Both of them have come a long way since having to step in for Chris (Dottavio). It left us with a big hole when Chris got hurt and these guys have done the job.”

Quick guard Matt Williams (6‑1, 215, Sr.) and quick tackle Steve Miller (6‑0, 215, Sr.) ‑”Both have overcome the fact they aren’t the size of someone you’d visualize as an offensive lineman. Both have come a long way. They have quick feet and they’re technicians with good football sense.”

Tight end Greg Paul (6‑3, 215, Sr.) ‑ “When Travis (McGuire) has run the counter Greg has been at the point of attack putting a good block on a guy who’s usually bigger than him.”

Senior Dan Sciury (6‑2, 250, Sr.), an all‑county performer on defense, started on the offen­sive line last year. Sciury still plays some on offense. He was in there against McKinley when the Tigers used an unusual three‑tackle set.

“Dan means so much to our defense that we’ve used him sparingly on offense,” Studer said. “He’s a great student of the game.”

Two other seniors have been part of the line’s success, be­hind the scenes.

“Seth Aegerter has backed up at tight end and he’s on the kick­off return team,” Studer said. “Jason Crites backs up at guard and he’s also on the kickoff re­turn team. Both of them have put in a lot of hard work.”

Studer has received more than a little help from assistant coach Tim Daniels and strength coach Steve Studer.

The Studers, who are brothers, and Daniels all were offensive line starters in col­lege. Steve and Joe hogged the starting center position at Bowling Green for six straight years during the 1970s. Daniels was a big tackle for the Tennes­see Volunteers in the early 1980s.

“The strength program has been real important in what we’ve done on the line,” Joe Studer said. “Steve put these guys through a lot of hard work in the off‑season.”

“The training techniques I used at Triway I got from Steve,” Joe Studer said. “When I came back to Massillon to coach Steve and I were pretty much on the same page right from the start.

“One thing we’ve done this year that has helped has been maintain and even build our strength as this season has progressed. A lot of times, a football player will lose strength during the season.”

Studer said the key to his un­it’s progress this year has been quite simple: hard work.

“The way these guys apply themselves as a group is im­pressive,” he said. “They’ve been so consistent in their effort. They also have a lot of football sense. You don’t have to tell them a lot of things twice.

MASSILLON 42
McKINLEY 13
MA Mc
First downs rushing 22 6
First downs passing 0 2
First downs by penalty 0 0
Total first downs 22 8
Yards gained rushing 408 140
Yards lost rushing 4 13
Net yards rushing 404 127
Net yards passing 3 40
Total yards gained 407 167
Passes attempted 3 13
Passes completed 1 6
Passes int. by 2 0
Times kicked off 7 3
Kickoff average 41.3 48.0
Kickoff return yards 78 132
Punts 1 4
Punting average 32.0 26.0
Punt return yards 16 5
Fumbles 1 1
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 3 5
Yards penalized 11 40
Number of plays 63 43
Time of possession 23:17 24:43

MASSILLON 14 7 14 7 42
McKINLEY 7 6 0 0 13

SCORING SUMMARY
M ‑ Eric Wright 18 run (Jason Brown kick)
Mc ‑ Don Martin 1 run (Jack Vincenzio kick)
M ‑ Travis McGuire 14 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ McGuire 11 run (Brown kick)
Mc ‑ Ron Burr 3 pass from Joe Pukansky (kick failed)
M ‑ McGuire 6 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ McGuire 1 run (Brown kick)
W ‑ McGuire 79 run (Brown kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
(Massillon) McGuire 36‑302, Wright 6‑46, Mike Danzy 5‑18, Dan Seimetz 3‑10, Falando Ashcraft 3‑7, Nick Moasides 1‑6, Eugene Copeland 3‑5, Marc Stafford 1‑3;
(McKinley) Pukansky 6‑45, Martin 7‑35, Che Bryant 6‑27, Bruce Richards 9‑24, Tremaine McElroy 1‑1.

PASSING
(Massillon) Mossides 1‑3‑0, 3;
(McKinley) Pukansky 6‑13‑2, 40.

RECEIVING
(Massillon) Paul 1‑3.
(McKin­ley) Burr 3‑17, Martin 2‑10, Richards 1‑23.

Eric Wright