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1979: Massillon 38, Cleveland Benedictine 6

October 5, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers ‘explode’ for win over Bennies
Late 2nd quarter outburst key to 38‑6 win

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

Auggie Bossu sighed. “That throws the old game plan eight out the window,” ‘he said.

That pretty much summed up the Massillon Tigers’ 38‑6 win over Bossu’s Cleveland Benedictine ball club before 11,039 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night.

The Tigers turned three “second‑quarter turnovers by the Bennies into 13 quick points and took a 23‑0 halftime lead en route to winning the battle of the unbeaten teams in the final meeting between these two teams.

Massillon is now 5‑0 while Benedictine falls to 4‑1.

The Tigers were clinging to a precarious 10‑0 ‘lead with less than two minutes left in the half and the Bennies knocking on the door.

But the Tiger defense as it has done all season forced the Bennies into a pair of turnovers and the Tigers’ offense exploded for two electrifying touchdowns to crush the Bennies hopes.

“That was the most explosive finish to a second quarter’ we’ve ever had,” Tiger coach Mike Currence said afterwards in the winners lockerroom.

“Our defense has been coming up with the turnovers, and our offense is explosive. It was just fantastio the way we scored at the end of the second quarter.”

Currence was talking about an 85‑yard touchdown run by Sam McDew with 1:12 left in the half, and some trick plays that netted the Tigers another TD on two plays even though only nine second were left before the band show.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 62, yards in 12 plays with McDew sweeping left end for six yards and six points. Jeff Fry’s kick gave the Tigers a 7‑0 lead.

The game then turned into a punting duel the rest of the first quarter and halfway through the second, with Tiger booter Mike Hodgson ‑ with a big assist from the Tiger defense ‑ keeping the Bennies in the bole.

The Bennies missed a chance to tie the game when defensive back Reggie Thomas almost picked off a Dave DeLong pass on the far sideline. He had clear sailing to the end zone, but I forgot to take the ball with him. (DeLong was subbing for Bill Scott who left the game with knee problems).

The Tigers punted, and on the Bennies’ second play from their own 25 yard line, Kevin Richardson broke through a hole in the left side of the line and appeared to have daylight in front of him.

However, Massillon’s Dan DiLoreto stuck an arm out in desperation and stripped the ball from Richardson’s arms with Bob Simpson recovering at the Bennie 31 and returning the ball to the 26 yard line.

The Tigers drove to the Benedictine, five yard line where they had a fourth-and‑one situation, but an illegal procedure penalty pushed them back to the 10. Fry was summoned from the bench and made good on a 26‑yard field goal attempt to put Massillon ahead 10‑0.

The Bennies then put together a drive of their own, and thanks to a Massillon offside penalty on fourth‑and‑one at the Tiger 44 and a roughing the passer call against the Tigers on the following play, the Bengals had a first down at the Tiger 25.

Benedictine quarterback Jerry Mismas went for the score on the next play with a long pass to Dale Horton, but DiLoreto tipped the ball in the air and swiped it away at the three yard line and returned it to his own nine.

McDew carried on the next play out to the 15. The Tigers then ran a trap play up the middle and center Andy Weber and guards Larry Massie and Wally Neff opened up a huge hole for him in the Benedictine line. He got a block from Marty Guzzetta and he raced 85 yards for the score, leaving a couple of Bengal defenders hopelessly behind. Only 1:12 remained in the half.

The Tiger fans were going crazy, but the best was yet to come.

The Bennies took the kickoff and started from their own 37. On third‑and‑11 Richardson fumbled the ball and Bryant Lemon recovered at the Bengal 40 yard line.

With just 15 second left on the clock ‑ and the message board atop the scoreboard flashing “BOMBS AWAY” ‑DeLong flipped a lateral pass to Paul Turner on the left sideline and the junior fired a pass to a wide‑open Bill Burkett who was tackled at the three yard line. The first down stopped the clock with one second left and the Tigers called time out.

Eschewing the field goal, De Long this time pitched right to halfback Mike Jones and he lobbed the ball over the shell‑shocked Bengal defense to Guzzetta, who’ was in the clear in the end zone. The kick failed but the Tigers had taken a 23‑0 lead and more or less put the game on ice with: their second‑quarter onslaught.

“We had some tense moments there in the first half because they took away some things we wanted to do ‑ like pass,” Currence said. “Of course, we had some quarterback problems,” he added, referring to the fact Scott reinjured his knee and DeLong was forced to come off the bench and guide the team.

Currence said Scott was OK, but just wasn’t quite ready enough to come back. Scott did complete 2 of 3 passes for 42 yards before leaving the game.

“The thing that impressed me more than anything else,” Currence continued, “was that when we needed somebody off the bench they came in and did the job. DeLong and Mike Jones in particular came in and did good jobs for us.”

In addition to his first‑half touchdown pass, Jones provided the Tigers second‑half spark, running 5 and 10 yards for touchdowns and scoring on a conversion run. He gained 32 yards in five second‑half carries.

McDew had 140 yards in 14 first‑half carries and finished up with 146 yards on 17 carries, the highest individual Tiger rushing total for a ‑ single game this season.

DeLong did a good job running the Tiger offense for the second straight week. While he completed only 1 of 4 passes, the Tigers didn’t make a turnover for the first time this season.

The Tigers only completed 5 of 11 passes for 84 yards with Marty Guzzetta catching four of them for 47 yards and Burkett hauling in one for 37 yards.

“We ran up the middle a lot,” Currence explained, “because that’s what they were giving us.”

The Tiger defense didn’t give the Bennies much at all, allowing them a total of 114 yards (only 56 in the first half) and not surrendering a touchdown until the subs were on the field in the fourth quarter protecting the 38‑0 lead.

“I can’t say enough about our defense ” Currence said. “We kept the pressure on them and kept good field position. Our secondary did a good job of hitting them and they dropped some passes. They didn’t play well offensively ‑ and that’s the name of the game when you play us. You have to control the ball.”

The Tigers intercepted three Benedictine passes and recovered three fumbles all together. DiLoreto, Kevin McClelland and Jack Wilson had interceptions while Lemon recovered two fumbles and Simpson one.

“We just had too many, turnovers,” Bossu agreed. “I don’t know about the score, but it would have been a better ball game if we hadn’t turned the ball over so much.”

Currence agreed that a few breaks either way in the first half could have made it an entirely different ball game.

“You have to give Massillon some credit, too,” Bossu said. “They forced the turnovers.”

Bossu said the game was a. new experience for his players “because I they hadn’t been behind all year.

“I don’t think this game was a true indication of the kind of team we have. Just like the previous games weren’t (four lopsided wins over easy opponents). We had too many turnovers to get a true indication of what kind of team we have.

“Massillon has the same kind of team they’ve had for the 25 years‑ we’ve been coming down here. They’re a good football team. They are quick and their execution is real good.”

Of Benedictine’s decision not to play Massillon in the future, Bossu said: “We made the decision because we felt we needed a change.”

The Bennies ‑ a Class AA team ‑ first played the Tigers in 1954 when Bossu was an assistant coach. He took over the head reins the following year, though the two teams didn’t play each other. They have played every year since, however, and Benedictine and Bossu have earned the respect of Massillon fans in the process.

The final ledger shows a 22‑2‑1 edge for the Tigers, but the Bennies always came down from Cleveland ready to play.

They turned a win over Massillon in 1957 into a state big‑school mythical championship and used a tie‑in 1973 to earn their way into the Class AA state computer playoffs and an eventual state title.

Bossu has been the Benedictine coach for 25 years, and while this was his last game against Massillon, he said he plans to keep right on coaching..

Massillon will travel to the Akron Rubber Bowl next Saturday night for a big game with the Barberton Magics ‑ who beat ‘the Tigers 9‑7 there in the 1977 season‑opener. There will be a pep rally sponsored by the Tiger Booster Club at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at Duncan Plaza.

Benedictine will try to get back on the winning side Friday at wickliffe.

FINAL STATISTICS
MASS OPNT
First downs:
rushing 9 2
passing 3 3
penalty 0 5
total 12 10
Yds gain rush 229 72
Yds lost rush 22 18
Net yds rush 207 54
Net yds pass 84 60
Total yds gain 291 114
Pass attempted 11 20
Pass completed 5 6
Pass int by 3 0
Pass int yds 15 0
Kickoffs 6 2
Kickoff ave 46.5 47.5
Kickoff ret yds 41 89
Punts 6 5
Punt ave 36.3 38.6
Punt ret yds 30 20
Punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 3
Fumbles lost 0 3
Penalties 7 6
Yds penalized 75 29
TDs rushing 4 1
TDs passing 1 0
TDs by int 0 0
Other TDs 0 0
No. of plays 50 51
Time of pass 27:04 20:56
Attendance 11,039

BENEDICTINE 0 0 0 6 6
MASSILLON 7 16 8 7 39

Mass ‑ Sam McDew 6 run (Jeff Fry kick)
Mass ‑ Fry 26 FG
Mass ‑ McDew 85 run (Fry kick)
Mass ‑ Marty Guzzetta 3 pass from Mike Jones (kick fail)
Mass ‑ Jones 5 run (Jones run)
Mass ‑ Jones 10 run (Dave Eberhart kick)
Ben ‑ Kevin Richardson 3 run (pass fail)

1979: Massillon 33, Niles McKinley 0

September 28, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Team effort earns Massillon fourth straight win
Tigers sharp in 33-0 win over Niles

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent S ports Editor

“This was the first time we played this well as a team,” Massillon coach Mike Currence said after the Tigers blanked the Niles Red Dragons 33‑0 Friday night.

“The players are starting to forget themselves as individuals. We’re starting to become a team. ‑ and a great one.”

Niles coach Frank Thomas ‑ one of Currence’s former assistants ‑ offered no argument with that statement.

“They’re a super, super football team,” Thomas said in the, quiet Niles lockerroom. “I knew they were, and I knew they were quick, too. But I didn’t know they were as quick as they are.

The 9,468 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium who endured a misty drizzle throughout the game saw the Tigers’ put on their best performance of the season. The win raises the Tigers’ record to 4‑0, with a 2‑0 mark in the All‑American Conference.

Currence was pleased with the performance of his offense and defense, and cited the work of quarterback Dave DeLong, who started in place of the injured Bill Scott.

“I have to give Dave DeLong a lot of credit tonight,” he said. “He came off the bench and did a good job. Actually, the whole offense did a good job. We have a great group of seniors, and their concentration and execution was the best it’s been.

“We did make a few errors. We got sacked a couple of times and those were errors they weren’t DeLong’s fault. But we came off the field, changed the blocking assignment’s and got it straightened out. In the second half we did anything we wanted to offensively.”

DeLong did a fine job directing the Tigers’ offense. He took them to a score in each quarter ‑ and a 27‑0 lead ‑ before giving way to substitute Dave Eberhart.

He completed 6 of 9 passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. His only target was wide receiver Marty Guzzetta, who hauled in a total of 7 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns on the evening.

Guzzetta’s second TD catch came on a halfback pass from Bill Burkett that covered 34 yards. Burkett also gained 65 yards in 7 carries.

Sam McDew topped all rushers with 79 yards in 11 carries and Bill Beitel added 61 yards in 10 carries to the balanced Tiger running at tack.

Beitel and Burkett each scored a touchdown rushing and Fred Borck capped the scoring by catching a TD pass from Eberhart.

In addition to his passing, DeLong also ran with the ball several times, including a 13‑yard carry on the first play of the game. He gained 22 yards on four carries, but was sacked twice for losses totaling 22 yards.

Thomas noted that the Tigers didn’t pass as much without Scott at quarterback.

“They took advantage of what they had;” he explained. “DeLong is more of a running quarterback, and they came out with the sprint series right off the bat. He runs real well and he threw well, too.”

Thomas also praised the Tiger defense, which recorded its third shutout in four games and didn’t let the Red Dragons get past their own 45-yard line. They allowed Niles only one first down, and that was on a penalty.

“We just couldn’t block them,” he said. “We tried to establish our running game but we couldn’t catch them. Both their lines (offense and defense) manhandled us. They executed well offensively and defensively and their defense totally bottled us up.”

“Our defense was unbelievable the way they held them,” Currence added. “I think we controlled the line of scrimmage. We just out hit them, that was, the key.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits also said the whole defense played well and added that Mike Spicer who filled in for injure safety Jamie Schlegel, did nice job.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched from their own 32 to the Niles 14, but lost the ball on downs when a sweep by McDew on fourth‑and‑two fell a yard short.

Niles was forced to punt, and DeLong took the Tigers on a 52‑yard, four‑play drive that began with a 16‑yard pass to Guzzetta and ended with a 23‑yard scoring strike to Guzzetta. DeLong rolled right and eluded the Red Dragon rush before finding Guzzetta wide open. Jeff Fry booted the point after for a 7‑0 lead with 3:16 left in the first period.

The Tigers took over possession again near the end of the first quarter following another Niles punt.

They drove 55 yards in eight plays with Beitel scoring over left tackle with 9:34 to go in the half. Fry made it 14‑0 with his PAT kick.

The Tigers took over after another Niles punt, and were put into bad field position when the offensive blocking broke down and DeLong was sacked at his own 10 for a 14‑yard loss. A draw play on third down got the ball out to the 13, but it appeared the Red Dragons would get the ball in good field position with over five minutes left in the half.

However, Tiger punter Mike Hodgson boomed a 62‑yard punt ‑ a long, spiraling, line drive that sailed over the heads of the Red Dragon return men and rolled to the Niles 25 yard line. Hodgson also added a 50‑yard punt for a touchback later in the quarter.

Niles took the opening off of the second half but failed to move the ball again ‑ and the Tigers took over at the Red Dragon 45 following a 28‑yard punt.

DeLong went right to the air and lofted a long pass down the right sideline to Guzzetta. The senior receiver leaped into the air and made a great catch with a Niles defender hanging onto him. The play was good for 30 yards and a first down at the Niles 25.

Three plays later Burkett swept right end behind some good blocking and bulled over a Dragon defender at the goal line for a 12‑yard TD run. Fry hit his third straight kick for a 21‑0 lead with 8:45 remaining in the third period.

The Tigers got the ball back after a Niles punt at their own eight yard line and proceeded to cover the 92 yards to paydirt in nine plays.

On fourth‑and‑four from the Niles 34, DeLong pitched the ball to Burkett and he threw to Guzzetta ‑ who was wide open again ‑ for the touchdown. The score came on the first play of the fourth quarter. A run for the extra points failed and Massillon led 27‑0.

The Tigers final tally came with 4:13 to go in he game. Jeff Spicer picked up a Red Dragon fumble at the Niles nine yard line and returned it to the three. One Massillon penalty and three plays later, Eberhart hit Borck with a 5‑yard TD pass. Eberhart’s kick failed when he had to attempt it from the 15 yard line following an illegal procedure penalty on the Tigers.

The Tiger defense held Niles to minus‑four yards in the first half, and a total of eight for the game. The Red Dragons didn’t complete a pass until 2:22 remained in the game, and that was good for only one yard.

The Tigers, meanwhile, rolled up 18 first downs, 226 yards rushing, 149 yards passing (375 total yards) and controlled the ball for 28:19.

Despite being happy with the win and his team’s play, Currence was ready to put the game behind him.

“The real test will come next week because there are some men coming to town,” he said, referring to unbeaten and unscorned upon Cleveland Benedictine. The Bennies are 3‑0 and will play West Tech today in Cleveland.

“We’ll see what we’re made of,” Currence added.

NILES 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 7 7 7 12 33

Mass ‑ Marty Guzzetta 23 pass from Dave DeLong, (Jeff Fry kick).
Mass ‑ Bill Beitel 3 run (Fry, kick).
Mass ‑ Bill Burkett 12 run (Fry kick).
Mass ‑ Guzzetta 34 pass from Burkett (run fail).
Mass ‑ Fred Borck 5 pass from Dave Everhart (kick fail).

FINAL STATISTICS
MASS. OPP.
First downs‑rushing 13 0
First downs‑passing 5 0
First downs‑penalties 0 1
Total first downs 18 1
Yards gained rushing 252 35
Yards lost rushing 26 28
Net Yds. gained rushing 226 7
Total yards gained 375 8
Net yds. gained passing 149 1
Passes attempted 13 9
Passes completed 10 1
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Ydg. on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (ydg.) 49.8 30.0
Kickoff returns (yds.) 2 104
Times punted 3 9
Punt average (yds.) 49.7 34.9
Punt returns (yds.) 19 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 8 2
Yards penalized 80 10
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 3 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 55 29
Total time of possession 28 19 19:41
Attendance 9,468

1979: Massillon 28, Mentor 0

September 21, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Offense has problems in 28‑ 0 victory
Defense, keys Tigers win over, Mentor

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers had just defeated the Mentor Cardinals 28‑0, but Tiger coach Mike Currence was not a happy man.

The Tigers raised their record to 3‑0 before 9,571 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday night, and the Massillon defense held Mentor to a total of only 94 yards ‑ including, 17 in the first half.

“If it wasn’t for our defense we’d have been in a lot of trouble. They just shut us down,” Currence said.

The Tiger defense recovered all four Mentor fumbles and intercepted two passes ‑ one, of which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by safety Jamie Schlegel to give the Tigers a 21‑0 lead early in the third quarter.

“We just looked at their defense and felt we could do so many things if we could just execute,” he explained.

“But the execution, the timing, wasn’t there. If they hadn’t made mistakes offensively, and if they would have had any kind of offense at all, it would have been a one touchdown ball game.

“We weren’t throwing well and catching well,” he continued. “We just weren’t prepared offensively. We had some injuries this week and we weren’t sharp.

“But you’ve got to give Mentor a lot of credit. I think they did a great job defensively against us. We’re usually a second half ball club ‑ we’re two platoon and they had players going both ways and they held us the second half. That’s what was so disappointing,” Currence said.

Another disappointing factor was an injury suffered by Schlegel. The senior safety dislocated his shoulder.

“He’ll be out for quite a while,” Currence said. “It’s a big blow, but we hope we can get him back before the season’s over.” Junior Mike Spicer will replace Schlegel.

The Tiger offense rolled up five first downs in the opening quarter but failed to put any points on the board. Their initial drive penetrated to the Mentor 19, but Steve Trivisonno intercepted a Bill Scott pass to end the threat.

The Tigers drove to the Cardinals 26 and 18 in the first quarter, but lost the ball on downs both times.

They finally drove 74 yards in 10 plays, with Scott hitting Greg Evans on a 39‑yard touchdown pass, with 9:25 to go in the half.

Evans caught the ball at the Mentor 16, broke a tackle and scampered into the end zone. The drive was kept alive when Mike Jones took a pass in the right flat on third‑and‑six from the Cardinal 46, broke a tackle and gained seven yards for the first down.

Mentor took the kickoff and got a first down on a roughing the kicker penalty ‑ the Tigers were penalized a total of nine times for 122 yards ‑ but Jim Ockington fumbled a pitch from quarterback Shawn Palmer on the next play. Tiger tackle Dave Geschwind knocked Ockington away from the, ball and defensive back Dan DiLoreto recovered at the Cardinal 29.

On third‑and‑six at the Mentor 25, Scott hit Evans on a curl pattern for 17 yards and first down at the Mentor eight.

Scott then passed to Marty Guzzetta on the right sideline with the senior wide receiver getting knocked out of bounds at the one yard line. Junior fullback Bob James took it in from there. Jeff Fry’s second straight conversion gave Massillon a 14‑0 lead.

The Tigers drove to the Mentor 26 later in the quarter, but once again lost the ball on downs.

Mentor took the kickoff to open the second half and on second‑and‑eight from the Tiger 23, Palmer’s pass was intercepted by Schlegel at the Cardinal 35. He headed for the left sideline, turned in some fine broken field running and made it into the end zone just 1:14 into the third period. Fry’s boot made it 21‑0.

The Tigers had trouble moving the ball until Ed Newman pounced on a fumble by Mentor’s Tim Garrett at the Cardinal 38 yard line with 4:30 to go in the game. Five plays later, substitute quarterback Dave Eberhart hit Jones with a 24‑yard touchdown pass. Eberhart added the conversion kick himself to round out the scoring.

Mentor coach Tom, Frazier was pleased with his team’s defensive effort, but, like Currence, was not happy with his offense.

“We came out offensively, and it was quite evident again that we couldn’t move the ball on the ground. When they know you’re going to throw the ball and they start blitzing, it’s hard to move it against a good team.”

The Cardinals’ first pass was intercepted by linebacker Kevin McClelland at the line of scrimmage. Palmer threw six straight incompletions before Schlegel intercepted his eighth attempt and turned it into a touchdown. Palmer finished with 2 of 18 for the night, and the Cardinals managed just 2 for 20 overall.

Frazier said his team failed to stop Massillon’s passing attack, and he took part of the blame for that.

“We didn’t have a defensive letdown, we just didn’t react to the ball well and cover their pass patterns. Maybe there was a better way of covering it, and I’ll take the blame for that.

“They used basically the same patterns to the right side and the left side. We tried to make adjustments, but we just didn’t do a good job. But our kids never quit hitting,” he added.

“A lot of positive things can come out of this game if our kids go back to the practice field and keep working. But this wasn’t the turning point for us. Our team needs to experience some success, and the turning point will be the next two weeks. We have to win our next two games (Brush and Maple Heights),” Frazier said.

Overall, the Tigers outgained the Cardinals 256 yards to 94, but led in first downs only 11‑8.

Scott finished the game unofficially with 9 of 19 for 128 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Dave Eberhart was 2 of 3 for 28 yards and one touchdown.

Sam McDew led the Tiger ground game ‑ which netted only 93 total yards – with 42 yards in 9 carries.

Greg Evans topped the Tiger receivers with three catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. Mike Jones had three for 35 yards and one TD, Bill Burkett had two for 19 and Marty Guzzetta had two for 17.

It was the second shutout in three games for the Tiger defense, which has surrendered just six points in the Tigers’ three wins. Mentor now has a 1‑1‑1 record.

The Tigers will entertain Niles McKinley ‑ now tutored by former Tiger assistant coach Frank Thomas ‑ Friday night at 8 p.m. in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

MASSILLON 28
MENTOR 0

FINAL STATISTICS
MASS OPP.
First downs – rushing 5 5
First downs ‑ passing 6 0
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 11 8
Yards gained rushing 107 111
Yards lost rushing 14 41
Net yds. gained rushing 98 70
Net yds. gained passing 163 24
Total yards gained 256 94
Passes attempted 23 20
Passes completed 11 2
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Ydg. on passes intercepted 35 3
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yds.) 44.4 48.0
Kickoff returns (yds.) 24 65
Times punted 4 5
Punt average (yds.) 41.3 35.2
Punt returns (yds.) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 4
Penalties 9 6
Yards penalized 122 58
Touchdowns rushing 1 0
Touchdowns passing 2 0
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 55 59
Total time of possession 24.36 23.34
Attendance 9,521

MENTOR 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 0 14 7 7 28

M ‑ Greg Evans 39 pass from Bill Scott (Jeff Fry kick);
M – Bob James I run (Fry kick);
M ‑ Jamie Schlegel 35 pass interception return (Fry kick);
M ‑Mike Jones 24 pass from Dave Eberhart (Dave Eberhart kick).

1979: Massillon 48, Alliance 6

September 14, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers roll to 48‑6 win after close first half
Scott’s passing keys rout of Aviators

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

It was a close game for 22 minutes.

Then Massillon Tiger Quarterback Bill Scott took matters into his own hands, passing his team to a 14‑6 halftime lead that sparked them to an eventual 48‑6 rout of the Alliance Aviators before 10,534 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night.

The Tigers were leading the Aviators 7‑6 with 2:06 left in the first half when Scott marched his team 60 yards in eight plays ‑ all of them passes ‑ to a touchdown with :31 showing on the clock.

That seemed to take the life out of the undermanned Aviators. The Tigers came out of the lockerroom to score 27 points in the third, quarter and coast to their second straight win.

“We played a good second half, anyhow,” Tiger coach Mike Currence said afterwards. “I think we had a little too much depth for them.”

I think it was obvious that our lack of depth hurt us,” Aviator coach Julius “Juice” Tonges agreed. “We hung in there well in the first half, but it took its toll. The things we did were sound (defensively), we just didn’t have enough man power. We just ran out of gas.”

“If we could make them play 11 guys for 48 minutes, we’d give them a good game,” Tonges added referring to the fact several Aviators played both ways the whole game, while Massillon used the two-platoon system plus fresh substitutes.

But it was that late second‑quarter touchdown drive that Currence called the turning point of the game.

“That late touchdown was crucial for our morale,” he explained. “It makes us feel like we have a ball club that can come through for us. That was great determination by our offense.”

Alliance received the opening kickoff, got one first down, then punted to Massillon. Dan DiLoreto fumbled the punt and the Aviators’ Alan Matthys recovered at the Alliance 43.

After 7:15 of possession, the Aviators tried a 32‑yard field goal attempt by freshman Chris Zurbrugg. It was blocked by nose guard Bob Simpson and the Tigers took over at their 20.

The Tigers then drove 80 yards in 10 plays with Scott hitting Marty Guzzetta with a 24‑yard touchdown pass, the first of three TD tosses by Scott, who finished the game with 14 of 21 passes for 174 yards.

Guzzetta caught the ball at the 15 and threw a nice move on an Aviator defensive back at the 10. Scott completed four of five passes in the drive, which was aided by a late hit penalty against Alliance on a crucial third down play. Scott had completed a nine-yard pass to Bill Burkett, but it was still five yards short of the first down. The penalty gave the Tigers a first and 10 at the Alliance 49 and they scored five plays later.

Fry converted the point after and Massillon led 7‑0.

Alliance’s Tony Grimes recovered a Sam McDew fumble at the Tiger 40 yard line midway through the second period, but the Aviators couldn’t move the ball.

On fourth and three at his own 47, Zurbrugg faked a punt and passed to Andre Jackson for a first down at the Tiger 44.

On the next play, quarterback Clay Brown scrambled to his right and found Jackson wide open for a touchdown with 2:11 showing on the clock. The Aviators muffed a two‑point conversion try, but trailed only 7‑6.

The Tigers took the kickoff and Burkett returned it 27 yards to the 40. That’s when Scott went to work.

He hit Guzzetta ‑ who had 7 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns ‑ for seven and eight yards and a first down.

Greg Evans dropped his next pass, but the Aviators were called for defensive holding and the Tigers had a first down at the Aviator 30 with 1: 08 left.

Two incompletions and a screen pass put the ball back at the 33. On fourth and three with :44 remaining, Scott threw over the middle into a crowd and Guzzetta made a great catch at the 13.

Scott found Burkett open in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown with :31 left. Fry converted for the 14‑6 half time lead.

“You have to give gill (Scott) a lot of credit,” Currence said. “Especially on that second touchdown drive. He hit the secondary receiver well. He knows the offense well and he’s starting to get a little confidence.”

Currence said Scott’s passing in the first half helped open up the Tiger running game in the second half (the Tigers had only eight yards net rushing in the first half but totaled 248 yards in the second half).

“In the first half, they were up tight on us,” Currence explained. “Scott worried them with his passing and they dropped off on us in the second half.”

“I went to the second backfield (in the third quarter) and it was all over. At that point, it was a combination of our depth – those were fresh backs I put in there ‑ Scott’s passing and their players being tired.”

The Tigers took the kickoff opening, the second half and marched 65 yards in 11 plays. Scott completed passes of 17 and 22 yards to Bill Beitel, the last one giving the Tigers a first down at the Aviator 24. Five running plays later, it was third‑and‑six at the nine. Scott drilled one to Guzzetta just inside the goal line in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 8:16 to go in he third quarter. Fry’s kick made it 21‑6.

The Aviators showed definite signs of exhaustion at this point, and the Tigers rammed three quick touchdowns downs their throats: 64 yards in three plays, 33 yards in three plays and 54 yards in two plays.

After an Aviator punt, the Tigers took over on their own 36 with 7:12 left in the third period. Sam McDew swept right end behind some good blocking, broke a couple tackles and ran 48 yards to the Aviator 16.

Mike Jones carried 13 yards to the three, and Bob James took it over for the score on the next play. The kick failed and the Tigers led 27‑0 with 5:52 to go in the third quarter.

The ‘Tigers took over at the Aviator, 33, and on second‑and‑nine Scott pitched the ball to Jones who threw a pass to Guzzetta who made a fine catch in a crowd at the one yard line. He had been wide open, but the wobbly pass was under thrown. Jones then did the honors on the next play, the kick by Dave Eberhart failed, and the Tigers led 33‑0 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Dave DeLong then went in at quarterback for the Tigers as they took over after an Aviator punt at their own 46 just before the end of the third quarter.

DeLong ran 11 yards for a first to the Alliance 43, and Jones electrified the crowd with a twisting, tackle breaking run of 43 yards for a touchdown with :26 on the clock. Burkett ran for the extra points and a 41‑0 Tiger lead.

Massillon failed to move the ball on its next two possessions, and it looked like the fireworks were over when they took over on downs at their own 18 yard line with :19 seconds left in the game.

But Damian McKinney the speedster from the Tiger track team ‑ swept right end, got a couple blocks, and showed the tired Aviator defenders nothing but heel, sole and spikes as he burst 82 yards for a touchdown. Eberhart’s conversion kick capped the scoring at 48‑6.

“It’s been a great rivalry over the years,” Currence said afterwards, referring to the fact this was the last scheduled meeting between the two teams. “And for the first half it was a good ball game.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits singled out nose guard Bob Simpson for his exceptional play. Tiger linebackers Tim Reese and Kevin McClelland also had good games, coming up with a lot of successful blitzes.

“We were blitzing so much because we had to get some pressure on Clay Brown, he’s so quick,” Currence explained.

In addition to some fine statistics for Scott and Guzzetta, McDew had 74 yards in eight carries, Jones had, 48 in five carries and McKinney led all rushers with 98 in three carries.

The Tigers totaled 461 yards, 205 in the air and 256 on the ground, and piled up 23 first downs.

The Tigers are now 2‑0 and will entertain Mentor Friday night at 8 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The Aviators fall to 1‑2 and they will host Cleveland John Adams on Saturday.

The final tally on the Tiger‑ Aviator series now reads 58 wins for Massillon, nine for Alliance and two ties.

ALLIANCE 0 6 0 0 6
MASSILLON 7 7 27 7 48

M – Marty Guzzetta 24 pass from Bill Scott (Jeff Fry kick);
A ‑ Andre Jackson 44 pass for Clay Brown (run fail);
M ‑ Bill Burkett 13 pass from Scott (Fry kick);
M ‑ Guzzetta 9 pass from Scott (Fry kick);
M ‑ Bob James 3 run (kick fail):
M – Mike Jones I run (kick fail)
M ‑ Jones 43 run (Bill Burkett run);
M ‑ Damian McKinney 82 run (Dave Eberhart kick).

Massillon 48
Alliance 6
Mass. OPP
First downs‑rushing. 10 14
First downs – passing 11 6
First downs – penalties 2 0
Total first downs 23 0
Yards gained rushing 284 78
Intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 46.1 48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 51 10?
Times punted 1 ?
Punt average (yards) 31.0 28.
Punt returns (yards) 22 ?
Had punts blocked 0 ?
Fumbles 4 ?
Lost fumbled ball 2 ?
Yards lost rushing 28 41
Net yards gained rushing 256 37
Net yards gained passing 205 178
Total yards gained 461 215
Passes attempted 23 21
Passed completed 15 8
Passed intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on posses
Penalties 4 6
Yards penalized 40 45
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 3 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 58 66
Total time of possession 20:16 27:44
Attendance 10,534

1979: Massillon 21, Massillon Perry 0

September 7, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers capitalize on Panther Miscues
For 21 ‑0 win in season opener

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

“You can’t make five mistakes and play Massillon,” Perry coach Joe Demaree said.

“You don’t have to look for any particular mistakes, we made them all tonight,” Massillon coach Mike Currence said.

The end result, however, was a 21‑0 season‑opening win for Currence and his Tigers Friday night before 16,454 fans in Paul Brown Tiger stadium.

Both the Panthers and Tigers had “opening game jitters,” as Currence called them, with Perry turning the ball over six times and Massillon four times.

The Tigers took two of those turnovers and turned them into touchdowns, helping them record their second straight opening‑game win over the Panthers in as many years.

“We were lucky they made mistakes,” Currence said of the Perry miscues. “We fumbled and we dropped passes. You can’t sustain a drive when you drop passes. How many drives of ours were stopped when the pass was there and we dropped the ball?” Currence asked rhetorically.

“You can’t run my kind of offense and drop passes. We live by the pass, and when we need it on third down, we’ve got to have it. We dropped about six to eight passes that were crucial tonight.”

Outside of that, Currence was pleased with his team’s defensive effort, which forced most of the Perry turnovers.

“I think our defense played exceptionally well tonight, except for the penalties. I wasn’t satisfied with that. We let them sustain drives a couple of times with penalties.”

But Currence was especially displeased with his offense, and he didn’t hide the fact.

“I’m not satisfied with anybody on our offense. Now, I’ve got to give some credit to Perry’s defense. I don’t want to take anything away from those guys, they’ve got a great group of juniors. They’re much better than last year (when Massillon won 27‑6).

“Their offense is better. It may not have looked that way tonight, but they’re very explosive. Our defensive line is just much better than last season. We’re quicker and we get to the ball better. I thought we did a good job of containing (Perry quarterback Dave) Fach,” Currence said.

Demaree was even more upset about his team’s mistakes.

“They’ve got a good ball club,” he said of Massillon. If you fumble once against them you’re going to be in trouble.”

The Panthers fumbled four times and lost all of them and also had two passes intercepted. Massillon fumbled three times, but lost only one, and had three passes intercepted.

“Our defense was on the field the whole night,” Demaree noted. “But our kids stuck in there and hit, they never gave up. Our defense did a good job, but you can’t stay on the field the whole night.

“But you can’t take anything away from Massillon,” he added.

Both teams played well on defense, but the Tigers’ defense gave their offense better field position – something Currence said he hoped it would do ‑ and the Tigers were able to take advantage of it.

The Tigers started the ball rolling ‑ literally ‑ when halfback Bill Burkett fumbled on the third play of the game with Perry’s Don Gregoire recovering.

Perry returned the favor on its first play when Monty Wise fumbled at midfield, with the Tigers’ Dave Geschwind recovering.

The Tigers didn’t muff this opportunity, as they drove 50 yards in six plays with Sam McDew taking it the last three yards for the touchdown with 9:59 left in the first quarter. Jeff Fry booted the extra point for a 7‑0 Tiger lead.

The drive was highlighted by a 36‑yard pass, from quarterback Bill Scott to wide receiver Greg Evans on first down. It gave the Tigers a first down at the Perry 14 yard line.

The two teams exchanged punts, and Perry started a drive at its own 20. They got a first down at the 31, but Greg Grimsley fumbled on the next play and Tiger safety Jamie Schlegel recovered at the Perry 34.

The Tigers drove to the three yard line, and on fourth and one, Demaree sent in big Carl Birone, the Panthers 6‑1, 265‑pound tackle.

The Tigers tried to run over him but he plugged the hole, forcing McDew to go outside where Mike Daniels made a hard hit at the four yard line, stopping the drive.

The Tigers took over at their own 42 following a Perry punt and 10 plays later Bill Beitel ran inside left tackler on a one‑yard touchdown play. Fry converted for a 14‑0 Tiger lead with 7:39 left in the half.

Mistakes highlighted the rest of the second quarter, with Tiger linebacker Kevin McClelland intercepting a Fach pass, Tiger defensive end Tom Mummertz recovering a fumble and Panther defensive back Dan Douglas intercepting a Scott pass.

The Panthers took the second half kickoff and promptly fumbled the ball back to the Tigers on first down, with. Jim Blogna recovering at the Perry 40 yard line.

Scott hit Marty Guzzetta with a 30‑yard pass down the right sideline ‑ with ‑the senior wide receiver making a fine catch.

With a first down at the Perry 10, McDew carried seven yards, Beitel picked up two more and Scott sneaked over from the one with 9:47 remaining in the third period. Fry’s kick was good again and Massillon led 21‑0.

More mistakes followed. Wise intercepted a Scott pass, and following an exchange of punts, the Panthers started a drive at their own 19 yard line.

They kept the ball on the ground, and moved it out to Massillon’s 43 yard line, where the drive stalled. On fourth down, Fach went back to punt, but a high snap from center sailed over his head, and Geschwind tackled him at the Perry 35.

The Tigers gave up the ball on downs, and Perry started another drive at its own 22.

Fach hit Jeff Radsick with a 24‑yard pass, giving the Panthers a first down at their own 46. On second down, Grimsley burst up the middle for 13 yards and another first down.

Perry moved the ball to a first down on the Massillon five when Jim O’Neal swept right end for 10 yards, but they could get no closer to the goal line.

O’Neal was thrown for a two‑yard loss (even though the Tigers only, had 10 players on the field), then Mummertz dropped Fach with an ankle tackle for an eight yard loss back at the 19. On the next play defensive end Mike Hodgson intercepted a Fach pass at the 18 and returned it to the 30.

The Tigers then gave, up the ball when, junior quarterback Dave Eberhart’s pass was intercepted by Dan Lloyd. Perry ran several more plays and the game ended.

“We’ve got good kids, tough kids,” Demaree said of his players. “They’re hurting mentally right now. We’re not satisfied, and no loss can ever help you, but we’ll start working real hard on Monday to prepare for Friday (when the Panthers will take on surprising Marlington, winner of its first two games).

“This is a good ball game,” Demarre said of the Tiger‑Panther series, which will run for at least two more years. “It’s good for the community, and I think we represent the Federal League well.”

One bright spot for the Tiger offense was the running of fullback Sam McDew. He gained 88 yards in 16 carries (5.5 average), but he also fumbled the ball once, though teammate Mark Kircher recovered.

“Sam looked better than in the three scrimmages,” Currence observed. McDew dislocated his thumb during the game, but tiger team doctor A.R. Furnas put it back in place for him on the sidelines.

Quarterback Bill Scott completed 9 of 18 passes for 128 yards and two interceptions. Greg Evans caught two passes for 43 yards, Bill Burkett hauled in three for 20 yards, Bill Beitel had two for 14, Marty Guzzetta had one for 30 and Sam McDew had one for 22 yards.

The Tigers, will open their All‑America Conference schedule next Friday when they entertain Alliance (1‑1). Perry opens its Federal League season when it travels to Marlington.

MASSILLON 21
PERRY 0

Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 10 7
First downs – passing 3 2
First downs – penalties 2 2
Total first downs 15 11
Yards gained rushing 146 135
Yards lost rushing 20 43
Net yards gained rushing 126 92
Net yards gained passing 149 60
Total yards gained 275 152
Passes attempted 25 10
Passes completed 9 3
Passes intercepted by 2 3
Yardage on passes intercepted 12 24
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 43.2
Kickoff returns (yards) 26 64
Times punted 3 4
Punt average (yards) 44.3 34.0
Punt returns (yards) 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 4
Lost fumbled ball 1 4
Penalties 7 3
Yards penalized 75 42
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 65 54
Total time of possession 23.42 24.18
Attendance 16,454

MASSILLON ‑TOP RUSHER
McDew ‑ 88 yards on 16 attempts.

PERRY 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 7 7 7 0 21

M ‑ Sam McDew 3 run (Jeff Fry kick);
M – Bill Beitel 1 run (Fry kick);
M – Bill Scott 1 run (Fry kick).

1978: Massillon 13, Canton McKinley 10

November 12, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Offenbecher does it to Pups again

BY BOB STEWART
Repository Sports Editor

It was a case of deja vu,
as Offenbecher threw for two.
Massillon won again, of course.
The ’10‑run rule’ was not in force!

MASSILLON ‑ The Lord giveth. The Massillon Tigers taketh away!

Massillon High quarterback Brent Offenbecher turned the 83rd high school football classic against McKinley Senior High into an aerial circus in the final six minutes of the game to wipe out a 10‑0 deficit and give the Tigers a 13‑10 victory before 21,592 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Offenbecher, the 6‑foot‑1, 175‑pound senior who last year passed for two TDs and ran for another in the Tigers 21‑0 win in Canton, gave the McKinley followers an unwanted rerun.

Only this year it was in more heartbreaking.

McKinley had nearly blown the Tigers off the field in the first half. But in the end, the Bulldogs just blew the game in the waning minutes.

Not only Offenbecher’s passes helped beat the Bulldogs. It was the McKinley passes which really put the Pups down the tubes, the last two of which were intercepted by the Tigers.

So for one more year, the McKinley fans went home mumbling. Not since 1968 have the Pups won here in the Tigers’ lair, and the Massillon win was its third straight over the Bulldogs and its seventh in the last nine games.

But there was no clock malfunction this year. The timepiece ticked to perfection. The officiating was adequate, and no flag felled the visitors. So for the vanquished, only one villain remained ‑ the coach.

The second‑guessers were out in force for McKinley’s Coach John Brideweser’s decision to throw the ball on first‑and‑15 from the Pups’ own 22 with 5:20 left in the game and the Bulldogs leading 10‑6.

“We had to maintain ball control,” said Brideweser in answer to the inevitable question.
Tigers dump Bulldogs
“We had to get the first down, and, after we drew the motion penalty and had a first‑and‑15, I thought we needed to hit the pass.”

Game photo from Massillon vs. Canton McKinley 1978

McKinley’s Dave Seaman, the junior quarterback who stepped in at mid‑season, saw his aerial tipped by Tiger tackle Harry Foster and grabbed off by junior linebacker Tim Reese in a diving catch just before the ball hit the ground at the McKinley 31.

Offenbecher then threw three straight quick lookin Passes, a 14‑yarder to Curtis Strawder, a 10‑yarder to Martin Guszetta and then the winning TD of 7 yards again to Strawder, the amazing pass‑eating machine who finished a two‑year career with a record 68 catches for 1,072 yards. Saturday he caught eight for 92 and both TDs.

It was not a bad call,” said Massillon coach Mike Currence of Bridey’s first‑down pass.

“They needed the yardage and the first down, and‑they might not have been able to get it running,” he said.

But the Pups took their 10‑point lead mostly by ripping through the Massillon defensive line on the ground.

In the first half McKinley gained 71 yards in 27 rushes, while holding the Tigers to a net yards rushing of “minus‑11.”

But despite the running of the Pups, they had to get a big break to get in the end gone.

Massillon’s leading rusher this season, Jeff Beitel, fumbled on the first play after a Todd Maragas punt, and McKinley’s Tony Floyd covered at the Tiger 16.

Six running plays later Brantley Kelly crashed in from the 2‑yard‑line and John Grimsley kicked the conversion to put the Pups on top 7‑0 with less than four minutes left In the half.

McKinley moved the ball 55 yards in 11 plays to get Grimsley’s 22‑yard field goal with 9:29 left in the game. That drive was keyed by Seaman’s 28‑yard pass to Doyle Lewis.

Lewis, whose catch came on his only offensive play of the game, was made at the seven between two Massillon defenders. He just out‑jumped them. But a motion penalty put the Pups back at the 19, and three runs got but seven yards, and they settled for the three.

Sam Hill’s 35‑yard return of the ensuing kickoff put the ball at the Tigers’ 43, from where Offenbecher directed his team to the end zone in seven plays, hitting Strawder an the 12‑yard TD. It was his fifth completion in that drive.

After Massillon’s go‑ahead TD, Seaman unloaded from his 29 and a broken pass pattern by his receiver allowed Darren Longshore to intercept at the 43 with 3:25 remaining. Longshore fell catching the ball, and then leaped up and ran off the field holding the bail high. The result was a brief bench‑clearing brawl, but the police, sheriff’s deputies and coaches restored order rather quickly, and Massillon resumed running out the clock.

Offenbecher’s final pass of the day, a 14‑yard completion to Strawder, naturally, came on third‑and‑10 with 1:28 left and sent the McKinley fans scurrying to the parking lot.

Offenbecher completed 9 of 9 for 95 yards in the fourth quarter, giving him 17 of 20 for, the day for 177 yards. He finally has completed his career at Massillon, with more than a mile‑and‑a‑half in yards passing, and virtually all the passing records in the Tigers school record book.

Massillon finished with an 9-0-1 overall record and won the All‑American Conference with a 4‑0‑1 mark. McKinley finished 7‑2 overall and 4‑1 in the AAC.

Tiger, Bulldog Lineups
TIGERS
Offense
QUARTERBACK: 14 Brent Offenbecher (Sr., 6‑1. 175);
FULLBACK: 43 Tom Gehring (Sr., 5‑10, 171), 16 Wally Neff (Jr., 5-8, 172), 49 Sam Hill (Jr., 5‑6, 160); HALFBACKS: 45 Jeff Beitel (Sr., 5‑7, 158), 22 Bill Beitel (Jr., 5‑7, 148);
ENDS: 42 Curtis Strawder (Sr., 5‑10, 153), 13 Ron Wright (Sr., 5‑9, 173), 25 Marty Guzzetta (Jr., 5‑9. 160); TACKLES: 67 Doug Wood (Sr., 6‑2, 191); 76 Mark Kircher (Jr., 6‑1, 212);
GUARDS: 69 Jim Horton (Sr., 6‑0, 177), 79 Eric Barnard (Sr., 6‑2, 215), 65 Larry Massie (Jr., 5‑7, 195);
CENTER: 51 Scott Kasunick (Sr., 5‑9, 181).

Defense
ENDS: 81 Bruce Solinger (Sr., 6‑0, 175), 88 Wilson (Sr., 6‑0, 182);
TACKLES: 72 Harry Foster (Sr., 6‑2, 232), 71 Jeff Pedro (Sr., 6‑3, 204);
MIDDLE GUARD: 55 Bob Simpson (Jr., 5‑11, 190);
LINEBACKERS: 28 Dick Cleveland (Sr., 5-11, 188), 38 Kevin Harris (Sr., 5‑10, 182). 59 Tim Reese (Jr.. 5‑9, 163);
MONSTER BACK: 11 Darren Longshore (Sr., 6‑1, 175);
SAFETY: 21 Jamie Schlegel (Jr., 5‑11, 160);
HALFBACKS: 34 Jeff David (Sr., 5‑9, 188), 12 Dan Venables (Sr., 5‑10, 160).
KICKERS: 13 Wright (punts, extra points), 86 Mike Hodgson, 79 Barnard (kickoff).

BULLDOGS
Offense
QUARTERBACK: 12 Dave Seaman (Jr., 165);
FULLBACK: 34 Charles Taylor (Sr., 190), 31 David Faur (So., 167), 30 Michael Lynch (So., 157); HALFBACKS: 42 Doyle Lewis (Sr., 180), 33 Robin Kindell (Jr., 150), 32 Lucius Rowser (Sr., 180), 40 Brantley Kelly (Jr., 160), 11 Todd Maragas (Sr ., 184);
ENDS: 82 ‑Jeff Thompson (Sr., 168), 84 Ron Rankin (Jr., 170);
TACKLES: 73 Steve Stranan (Sr., 215), 50 Brian Blosser (Sr., 205);
GUARDS: 64 Milton Young (Sr., 197), 67 Scott Dean (Sr., 170), 65 Cyle Cole (Sr., 185);
CENTER: 51 Eric Kempthorn (Sr., 180).

Defense
ENDS: 34 Taylor, 86 Bo Zeren (Sr., 180), 80Mitchell Kelly (Jr., 170), 81 Phil Glavasis (Jr., 165); TACKLES: 75 Tony Floyd (Jr., 205), 73 Strahan, 83 Troy Sanders (So., 195), 85 Joe Sanders (Sr., 185); MIDDLE GUARD: 32 Rowser;
LINEBACKERS: 64 Young, 67 Dean, 65 Cole;
MONSTER BACK: 22 Andy Kneffler (Sr., 160);
SAFETY: 42 Lewis;
HALFBACKS: 21 ‑ Mark Green (Sr., 155), 20 Kelly Mullane (Jr., 160), 33 Kindell.

SERIES: 83rd meeting, Massillon holds 45‑32‑5 edge.
LAST MEETING: 1977. Massillon 21, McKinley 0.
POINTS SCORED BY: Massillon 265, McKinley 140.
POINTS SCORED AGAINST: Massillon 29, McKinley 42.

A lesson in perseverance

The Washington High School football team was the toast of the city today for its fourth quarter conquest of arch rival Canton McKinley Saturday afternoon in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Trailing 10‑0 in the fourth period, the Massillon Tiger team lived up to tradition Saturday afternoon by staging a comeback to score 13 points and win the game 13‑10. In so doing it learned one of the great lessons of life – never give up.

Many a football team would have quit after McKinley, leading 7‑0 going into the last period, put three more points on the board – but not the Tigers. That’s when they became aroused and, at the urging of Massillon fans, scored two touchdowns in the final minutes to complete the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1972. A tie with Warren spoiled an otherwise perfect mark.

It was the Tigers’ determination to succeed that saw them through, and we give them great credit for never having given up in their efforts to win the game. In sports they call that “desire,” and the Massillon boys certainly had it Saturday afternoon; otherwise they would have been on the losing end of the score.

Their late rally was typical of fourth period comebacks against McKinley a number of times in past years. Remembrances of these historical games kept most ‑fans in their seats hoping that what appeared to be the impossible would become possible.

In victory we cannot help but feel some compassion for the vanquished. They were a dejected group of McKinley players who came off the field, their hopes crushed after having had victory almost within grasp. They played hard and, even though defeated, can hold their heads high for their efforts.

As a result of the victory the Tigers are champions of the All-American Conference, and we congratulate them and Coach Mike Currence and his assistant coaches for winning the title.

1978: Massillon 27, Canton Timken 0

November 4, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers beat Trojans 27-0
For McKinley game Saturday

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

“The season’s over,” Massillon Tiger head coach Mike Currence said after his team beat Timken 27-0 Saturday afternoon in Fawcett Stadium.

“The new season starts now.”

And it ends Saturday when the Tigers and Canton McKinley’s Senior High Bulldogs square off at 2 p.m. in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in the 83rd renewal of their famous rivalry.

The Tigers tuned up for their “second season” by more or less having their way with a Trojan squad that hit hard the whole game but could muster only 43 yards total offense.

The Tigers, meanwhile, rolled up 336 yards with quarterback Brent Offenbecher throwing for 175 yards on 15 of 23 passes. That put him over the 1,000 yard mark for the second straight season as he has now thrown for 1,146 yards. He has also completed 87 passes (compared to 84 last season) in 162 attempts (146 last year).

The Tigers rolled up a 20-0 halftime lead, but the Trojans refused to give up and limited Massillon to just one more TD the second half.

“We probably should have had one more (touchdown),” Currence said. “We played the first team longer than we wanted.

“But I thought they were a good defensive ball club, they were tough to drive on. The kids knew they were in a game.”

Tiger fans received a couple of good scares when junior middle guard Bob Simpson and defensive halfback Jeff David both went down with injuries.

“Bob is OK and I think Jeff is going to be all right,” Currence said.

The Tiger coach said he was a little disappointed that his team had so much trouble finding the end zone. “We made some mistakes when we got down inside, that’s probably what hurt us a little. But they changed up on us pretty good and kept us off balance a little bit,” he explained.

“They had some real tough kids inside and they weren’t giving us the middle.

The Tigers scored the first time they had the ball when Jeff Beitel capped a 33‑yard six‑play drive with a two- yard run around right end. Ron Wright’s kick made it 7‑0.

That drive was set up by a fine 37‑yard punt return by David.

The Tigers scored again midway through the second quarter when fullback Eric Barnard ‑ who usually plays right guard ‑ bulled over from a yard out. Barnard saw some action at fullback this past week in practice because of injury problems there. Wright converted the kick for a 14-0 lead.

David returned another punt 16 yards ‑ to the Trojan 30 ‑ and Offenbecher connected with Wright three plays later on a nine‑yard scoring pass, Wright had broken open at the goal line and Offenbecher zipped the ball between three defenders. The extra point attempt was botched and Massillon led 20‑0 at the half.

The Tigers didn’t score again until 7:26 remained in the game. Offenbecher climaxed a 78‑yard drive with a 10‑yard keeper around left end. Wright’s kick capped the scoring.

The drive was aided by a couple of outstanding catches by Marty Guzzetta and Curtis Strawder. Guzzetta made a diving catch for a seven‑yard gain on a second and eight play and Strawder made an unbelievable circus catch on a 26-yard gainer. Junior fullback Wally Neff also picked up 24 yards in three carries on the drive.

The Trojans, meanwhile, had trouble even getting first downs, managing just three (one on a penalty).

“We had trouble all year offensively speaking,” Timken coach Charles “Sonny” Spielman said afterwards. “When you can’t move the ball it’s hard on your defense, they have to play all day. And we have a lot of kids who go both ways.”

“I thought it was a real good experience for our kids to play Massillon. We went out there and gave it everything we had,” Spielman noted.

“I’m real proud, our kids didn’t lay down and die,” he said. “We hit them hard and fought them to the end to the best of our ability.”

The Trojans finished their season with a 1‑8‑1 mark while Massillon carries an 8‑0‑1 mark into Saturday’s game against McKinley (7‑1).

Offenbecher’s 15 completions were split up among four receivers with Wright catching five for 45 yards and a TD, Strawder catching four for 65 yards, Guzzetta hauling in four for 41 yards and Bill Beitel notching two receptions for 25 yards.

Tigers wear down the Trojans 27-0
BY BOB STEWART
Repository Sports Editor

The Timken Senior High Trojans were defeated 27‑0 by the Massillon Tigers Saturday afternoon in the final high school football game of the season at Fawcett Stadium.

But the Trojans, who finished their long season with a 1‑8‑1 mark, were not embarrassed by the state’s No. 6 ranked Tigers.

Massillon found the going tough at times against Timken, as the Trojans’ defense played well, but unfortunately the defenders were on the field too long, as the offense kept giving the Tigers the ball in superb field position.

And then there was Massillon’s quarterback, Brent Offenbecher, who passed for one touchdown, ran for a second and completed 15 of 23 passes for 177 yards. Several of the completions came in spite of fine defensive coverage by Timken.

Massillon Coach Mike Currence said he wasn’t sure what to expect going into the game, noting he thought he could substitute more earlier.

“If we would have got that one in the third, then the first team would have come out,” Currence said, referring to an Offenbecher aerial to end Marty Guzzetta in the end zone which was nullified by an offensive interference penalty midway in the third period.

Timken took over on its own 23, and held the ball the rest of the quarter. Massillon’s final TD drive began on its own 22 at the start of the fourth, and Offenbecher took his team the distance in 10 plays, rolling left for the final 11 himself, with 7:26 remaining in the game. Then the subs took over.

“Timken has a fine club and a good defense. I thought we might have been into a 14‑0 game for a while, and it could have been a tougher contest if Timken’s offense could have controlled the ball more,” he said.

“I didn’t think we’d use the starters that long,” he said, “But I think we came out of it OK. Jeff David got an ankle sprain,” he said of the starting defensive back and kick holder. “But I don’t think it’s serious.”

Massillon concludes its season in the 83rd game of the traditional rivalry against McKinley Senior High at Massillon next Saturday at 2 p.m. The Tigers now are 8‑0‑1 and McKinley is 7‑1.

“I was pleased,” said Timken Coach Sonny Spielman. “I was happy to see that our kids didn’t quit. We don’t have enough people. It’s discouraging when the kids have to go both ways and they keep seeing those fresh uniforms coming in at them. But they hung in there, and fought to the end. I was proud of them,” he said.

Massillon scored on its first possession of the game, after a 36‑yard punt return by David (before his ankle injury) gave the Tigers the ball at the Timken 34, from where they scored in six plays, with Jeff Beitel going the final two.

Eric Barnard, the 212‑pound senior guard who transferred from McKinley to Massillon prior to this season, blasted in from a yard out for the second TD, capping a 9 play, 62‑yard march in the second period.

??? then ran for 9 before throwing the TD pass, which was his ninth of the season and 20th in his career.

Offenbecher in nine games this season has completed 87 of 162 with nine interceptions, for 1,146 yards. Last year as a junior he hit 84 of 146 for 1,369 yards and 10 TDs. In his sophomore season he completed one of 11 for 37 yards, and it was a TD. His career total is 172 of 319, for 53.9 percent and 2,562 yards, or nearly a mile and a half.

“We’ve been using Barnard in short yardage situations,” said Currence. “He’s a strong straight‑ahead runner.”

The Tigers’ third TD came 33 seconds before the half, when Offenbecher rifled a bullet between two Timken defenders into the numbers hers of Ron Wright it the end zone.

The 9‑yard TD was set up by an 18‑yard punt return by David, which put the ball at the Timken 30 from where Offenbecher bit Wright for 12 –yards.

Mass. Tkm.
First downs 13 3
First downs‑passing 8 10
First downs‑penalties 0 1
Total first downs 21 4
Yards gained rushing 195 71
Yards lost rushing 34 33
Net yards gained rushing 161 38
Net yards gained passing 175 5
Total yards gained 336 43
Passes attempted 26 10
Passes completed 15 2
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 5 19
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 45.4 53.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 20 72
Times punted 1 8
Punt average (yards) 36.0 35
Punt returns (yards) 113 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 6 7
Yards penalized 40 70
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 72 42
Total time of possession 28:31 19:29

MASSILLON 7 13 0 7 27
TIMKEN 0 0 0 0 0

M ‑ Jeff Beitel 2 run (Ron Wright kick);
M ‑ Eric Barnard 1 run (Wright kick);
M – Wright 9 Pass from Offenbecher (pass fail);
M – Offenbecher 10 run (Wright kick),

1978: Massillon 7, Warren Harding 7

October 27, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger offensive errors Lead to 7-7 tie Against fired up Panthers in Warren

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers were rudely awakened from their dreams of a perfect season when they were tied 7‑7 by a fired up Warren Harding team Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.

“We just took the choke offensively, “Tiger bead coach Mike Currence said dejectedly in the quiet Massillon lockeroom after the game.

We lost our confidence and didn’t execute. We blocked well, but when you get third and six you have to pass,” he added, explaining why the Tigers had to keep throwing the ball even though the passing game wasn’t working.

Brent Offenbecher completed just three of 14 passes for 14 yards (his worst performance as a Tiger) and a halfback pass by Jeff Beitel fell incomplete.

The Tigers only score came in the third quarter when middle guard Bob Simpson picked up a fumble by Panther quarterback David Goldberg and sprinted 32 yards to the end Zone.

The Tigers were hampered by poor field position most of the night, and a ball control offense by Warren that ate up much of the clock.

Still, Currence made no excuses.

“I knew they had the people to control the ball,” he said, referring to 211‑pound fullback Tony Seawood and hard‑running tailback Terrance Peterson. The Panthers gained 224 yards rushing.

“But we had the ball enough to score. The defense gave us good field position when Darren (Longshore) intercepted a pass (at the Harding 45) and returned it to the 29.” That came on the first Warren series following Simpson’s TD run with the fumble.

Four straight incompletions followed, including a first‑down pass that would have been a touchdown had wide receiver Curtis Strawder not slipped on the deceptively wet turf at the goal line in the left side of the end zone. The ball landed right on top of Strawder just after be hit the ground and he made a vain attempt to hang on anyway.

“I know this,” Currence said, “We could execute those plays in practice with our eyes closed. Maybe that’s it, we were too good in practice.”

Currence did praise the job of his defense, which had its back to the wall all night and managed to hold the Panthers off on all but one series.

That came after a bad snap on the Tigers’ first punt attempt. The ball bounced past kicker Ron Wright and was recovered by Ray Thomas at the Massillon 15 yard line.

The defense almost held, but a 17‑yard pass on third and 17 gave Warren the ball at the Tiger five and Peterson went off left tackle two plays later for the score. Dave Preston kicked the point after and Harding held a 7-0 lead until the Tiger defense tied it up on Simpson’s TD run with the fumble and Wright’s extra point conversion kick in the third period.

The Tiger offense was plagued by fumbles and dropped passes all night.

While Currence blamed the fumbles on poor execution, Harding coach Tom Ross said the turnovers by both teams were caused by some “awful good sticking.”

He said that Goldberg’s fumble ‑ which probably cost the Panthers a victory ‑ was caused by a great defensive hit.

The Panthers shut down the Tiger air game and Ross said that was the result of the Panthers working on “a couple of different things on the perimeter against the pass.

“We felt Massillon could hurt us with the run ‑ the counter and the sweep and the pass,” Ross said. He added that this defense allowed the Tigers to gain good yardage up the middle, most of it by fullbacks Wally Neff and Bob James.

He said his team went with its traditional 4‑4 but changed up a lot and threw a 5‑3 at the Tigers.

“That’s what we wanted to play,” Ross said of the 5‑3. “We worked hard on it. It entails more responsibility but the kids picked it up real well.”

The Panthers have not allowed an offense to score a touchdown on their defense for 22 straight quarters.

Currence said the Tigers were not surprised by the 5‑3 (the Panthers had used it before this season), blaming the Tigers’ mistakes on poor execution and not on any of Warren’s defensive formations.

Ross noted the first and third quarters were the key,

“They started going in the third quarter, and they’ve done that historically, but we stopped them,” he noted.

“I feel we came as close as we possibly could to (carrying out) our game plan, which was to control the ball. The fumble (by Goldberg) was the only thing that intercepted it,” he explained. “I was pleased with the way our offensive backs ran the ball.”

Tailback Peterson carried 19 times for 67 yards, fullback Seaweed lugged the ball 13 times for 62 yards and halfback Darren Morgan led all rushers with 75 yards on seven carries. He ran 52 yards (to the Tiger 24) on a second‑quarter play in a drive that ended in a missed 49‑yard field goal attempt by Preston.

Outside of that, there’s not much else to say, But here’s a rundown of the Tigers’ troubles.

First series: a bad snap on a fourth‑down punt attempt gave Harding the ball at the Tiger 15 and led to their only score, the Tigers started from their own 15 on this possession;

‑ Second series Tigers started from their own 10 after a clipping penalty on the kickoff return: sophomore fullback Bob James fumbled the ball at the Panther 33 after picking up 10 yards and what would have been a first down. Tiger defense forced Harding back to midfield;

‑ Third series: Tigers took over at their own 13 after a clipping penalty on a punt return; a 10‑play drive ended at the Panther 40 with a punt (Tigers had reached 35 but lost five yards); Wright’s punt went to the five yard line but Peterson returned it 19 yards to the 24 to get Harding out of a hole;

‑ Fourth series: four plays and a punt (Tigers started from own 20);

‑ Fifth Series: Tigers got the ball at their own 11 following a punt with 55 seconds left before half;

‑Sixth series: Starting from own 27, Offenbecher’s third down pass deflected off Marty Guzzetta’s hands and was intercepted by Mark Ash at the 42 and returned to the 40;

‑ Seventh series: Tigers took over at their own 13 following a punt; eight straight running plays moved the ball to the Panther 33, a pass from Offenbecher to Strawder was complete but out of bounds on a third and six play; on fourth down, Fred Jones intercepted a Offenbecher pass at the 21 and returned it to the 24; Goldberg fumbled on Warren’s ensuing series and Simpson tallied the Tiger’ lone score;

‑ Eighth series: Tigers took over at the Warren 29 following a 16‑yard pass interception return by Longshore; four straight in completions gave Warred the ball back;

‑ Ninth series: 10 straight rushes took the ball from Massillon’s 22 to Warren’s 42; On second and 11, a long pass from Offenbecher to Strawder was intercepted by Tony Battee at the Panther two yard line with 4:09 left in the game; Warren ran out the clock to preserve the tie, but gave the ball back to Massillon (which had no time outs remaining) when they elected to run the ball on fourth down instead of punt; Tigers lined up hurriedly for a 41‑yard yard field goal attempt by Eric Barnard; the kick never got much off the ground (in part because the Tigers didn’t have time to get a kicking block onto the field)

Now the Tigers are 7‑0‑1 and play at Canton Timken Saturday at 2 p.m. Harding is now 5‑2‑1 and hosts Niles Friday night.

Massillon is now 3-0-1 in the All‑American Conference and must beat McKinley (4‑0) to win the loop title. Harding is 2‑1-1 in AAC play.

MASSILLON 7
WARREN HARDING 7

Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 10 12
First downs – passing 1 1
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 12 13
Yard, gained rushing 173 243
Yards lost rushing 13 14
Net yds. gained rushing 160 224
Net yds. gained passing 14 33
Total yards gained 174 257
Passes attempted 15 8
Passes completed 3 3
Passes intercepted by 1 3
Yardage on passes intercepted 14 0
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average (yards) 39.0 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 21 24
Times punted 2 4
Putting average (yards) 30.0 24.5
Punt returns (yards) 12 19
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 2 7
Yards penalized 25 88
Touchdowns rushing 0 1
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 51 59
Total time of possession 19:29 28:31

MASSILLON 0 0 7 0 7
HARDING 7 0 0 0 7

H Terrance Peterson 3 run (Dave Preston Kick)
M – Bob Simpson 32 run with fumble recovery (Ron Wright kick).

1978: Massillon 42, Massillon Jackson 0

October 20, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Passing duo highlights Tigers’ 7th win

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

The red hot passing combination of Brent Offenbecher to Curtis Strawder thawed out the Jackson Polar Bear defense as the Tigers rolled to a 42‑0 victory Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

A crowd a 13,112 saw Offenbecher set a single game passing record for completions as the senior quarterback hit on 15 of 19 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Strawder, the fleet wide receiver with gazelle‑like grace and‑more moves than a belly dancer, hauled in eight passes for 133 yards and one touchdown, He used his speed to turn several short passes into sizable gains.

“Curtis had a great game,” Tiger bead coach Mike Currence said afterward, “just a super game. That’s the best he’s done,”

Currence also praised the work of Offenbecher, citing a 19 yard scoring pass to Marty Guzzetta in the third quarter as an especially alert play.

“He sure read that one nice to Marty. Brent waved him upfield,” Currence explained.

Guzzetta made a great diving catch in the end zone for what turned out to be Offenbecher’s 15th ‑ and record‑setting ‑ completion.

Jackson coach Tom Geschwind, a former Tiger gridder himself, was very disappointed after the loss.

“I thought we played well the first half,” Geschwind said. The Polar Bear trailed only 7-0 after the first quarter before falling behind 21‑0 at the half.

Geschwind explained that his team ran the ball a lot in the first half in an effort to control the ball. He also noted that the defense gave the Tigers the short out patterns in hopes of cutting off the long pass.

“If we didn’t give them that (short outs), we would have given them the deeper patterns. We knew we had to come up fast and tackle them but we didn’t do a very good job.”

The young Polar Bears had juniors at 15 different positions, but Geschwind said he didn’t know if the game would help or hurt the development of his players.

“At this point it is too early to tell. It will take a while to determine,” he said.

Currence said that despite the lopsided score, the Tigers knew they had been in a tough ball game.

They really hit us the first quarter . . . the first half,” he said, “we’re really bruised up. Tom Gehring (fullback) hurt his ankle and we have some other people banged up. We have to get well for next week (Warren Harding) in a hurry.

“They shut off our running game,” he noted. The Tigers totaled 149 yards rushing, “we couldn’t run on them, but they couldn’t contain the pass. They had trouble-covering Strawder.

“Their offense just kept turning the ball over to us and you can’t do that. You can’t control the ball on us. Eventually we’ll try our whole offense and that’s what we did. We went to Strawder and did some other things outside. If they could have controlled the ball the first half it would have been a different game.”

However, Currence preferred to put this win ‑ the Tigers’ seventh straight without a loss ‑ behind him.

“We don’t want to talk about records now, we’ll do that after the season’s over. We’ve got a big week this week, we’ve got to start thinking about Warren.”

Jackson drops to 3-4 on the year, including a 1‑3 record in the rugged Federal League.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 52 yards in six plays with Job Belief breaking a counter play through the middle and making a good cut to the right behind solid blocking for the final 15 yards.

Ron Wright booted the first of five straight conversions and the Tigers led 7‑0 with, 9:10 left in the period.

The rest of the quarter was a defensive struggle as both teams punted back and forth.

Jackson managed a first down ‑ its first of the game on the last play of the first quarter, but Tiger linebacker Dick Cleveland intercepted a Rich Bubenchik pass on the next play and returned it 12 yards to his own 34 yard line.

Twelve plays later Offenbecher hooked up with Strawder on a sensational 20‑yard scoring play. Strawder caught the ball at the Polar Bear seven, broke one tackle and danced around another defender before scampering into the end zone with 6:44 to go in the half. Wright’s kick made it 14‑0. That drive was aided by a series in which the Tigers were mistakenly given five downs.
Air game nets 42-0 win over Jackson
With the ball at the Jackson 34, Offenbecher hit Bill Belief with an eight-yard pass on first down. On second and two, Jeff Beitel gained about a yard and a half.

An official time out was called for a measurement, which showed the Tigers to be short of a first down. However, when the chains were brought back to the sideline, the down marker was not advanced, making it second and one when it should have been third and one.

An incomplete pass and a run for no gain followed. Offenbecher ran a keeper for five yards and a first down on what was actually fifth down instead of fourth and one.

It should be noted, however, that the mistake was made on second down, and play selection by the Tigers was made according to the official down marker and scoreboard (both of which were wrong).

Neither team and few of the fans noticed the error, which was made in the confusion of the first‑down measurement.

Dan Venables gave the Tigers the ball back a couple minutes later when he far intercepted a Jackson pass at the Polar Bear 48 yard line. Bill Beitel capped an eight play drive with a six‑yard scoring run and Wright’s kick made it 21‑0 Tigers with 2:46 left in the half.

The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board again in the third quarter. Following a Polar Bear punt. The Tigers drove from their own 49 to the Jackson 22.

Offenbecher hit Strawder with a quick pass in the left flat and the speedster turned it into a 19‑yard gain. Offenbecher found Wright open on a down and out pattern in the right comer of the end zone for the final three yards and the score. Wright booted the point after for a 28‑0 lead.

Following another Jackson punt, the Tigers drove 55 yards (not counting a 15‑yard clipping penalty) in five plays with Offenbecher capping the drive with his 19‑yard scoring toss to Guzzetta.

That 15th completion broke his old record of 14 set last year in the loss to Warren Harding. The score came with 4:54 left in the third quarter and Currence sent in the subs for the rest of the game.

The final Tiger touchdown came on an eight‑yard halfback pass from Bill Burkett to Dion Johnson with 4:11 to go in the game.

The win was the third straight shutout for the Tigers, and the defense hasn’t allowed a score since Niles McKinley notched a touchdown in the third quarter of Massillon’s 27‑7 win on September 30.

Massillon will travel to Warren Harding for an All-American Conference game next Friday and Jackson will entertain Canton Timken.

M J
First downs – rushing 12 3
First downs – passing 10 2
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 22 5
Yards gained rushing 161 92
Yards lost rushing 12 21
Net yards gained rushing 149 71
Net yards gained passing 265 22
Total yards gained 414 93
Passes attempted 28 21
Passes completed 19 3
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yards on passes intercepted 4 4
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average (yards) 42.3 30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 97
Times punted 2 6
Punt average (yards) 36.0 34.0
Pont returns (yards) 30 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 5 3
Yards penalized 65 33
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 4 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 54 57
Total time of possession 25:51 22:09

JACKSON 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 7 14 14 7 42

M – Jeff Beitel 15 run (Ron Wright Kick);
M ‑ Curtis Strawder 20 pass from Brent Offenbecher (Wright kick);
M – Bill Beitel 6 run (Wright kick);
M ‑ Wright 3 pass from Offenbecher (Wright kick);
M Marty Guzzetta 19 pass Offenbecher (Wright kick);
M Dion Johnson 8 pass from Bill Burkett (Jeff Fry kick).

Final is 42-0
Massillon routs Jackson
MASSILLON ‑ Quarterback Brent Offenbecher’s 15 connections on 19 pass attempts set a Massillon single game completion record Friday night as the undefeated Tigers romped to a 42-0 finish over Jackson High School.

Offenbecher’s air game covered 201 yards included completing three touchdown passes. The old school mark of 14 single game completions set last year was held by Offenbecher.

Six plays going 52‑yards after the opening kick‑off, Jeff Beitel scored the solo first quarter touchdown for the Tigers.

Curtis Strawder, who grabbed a total of eight tosses for 133 yards, entered the end zone with a 20‑yard pass for the second TD.

Dick Cleveland intercepted a pass by Jackson’s Rich Bubenshik at the Massillon 28‑yard line and took it back to the 34 to spark the 12‑play drive ending in Strawder’s score.

Dan Zenables nabbed the second of the two Massillon interceptions at the Jackson 48‑yard line which eight plays later sent Beitel again in to score, this time on a 6‑yard trip.

A 51‑yard drive on seven plays set up Wright’s sixed pointer in the third period.

In the same quarter, 55 yards and five plays of after a punt, Massillon moved in for the record setting pass of 19 yards received by Marty Guzzetta. off the arm of Offenbecher.

Dion Johnson took an eight‑yard halfback throw from Bill Burkett over the goal line with 4:11 left in the game to end the barrage of scoring.

Massillon has won seven, Jackson is 3‑4, 1‑3 in the Federal League.

1978: Massillon 27, Steubenville 0

October 13, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers shut down Big Red ‘slowdown’

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

Jeff Beitel ad Brent Offenbecher accounted for all four Massillon touchdowns as the Tigers overcame a tortoise‑like Steubenville offense and downed the Big Red 27‑0 Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

It was the Tigers’ third straight All‑American Conference win and raised their overall record to 6‑0 while the Big Red fell to 2‑4 (1‑2), Beitel scored touchdowns in the first and third quarters and Offenbecher scored a TD in the second period and passed to Marty Guzzetta for a score in the final quarter.

Beitel gained 102 yards on 14 carries and Offenbecher completed 11 of 15 passes for 114 yards.

“They controlled the ball on us,” Tiger head coach Mike Currence said after the game. The Big Red had the ball for 27:24 while the Tigers had it for 20:36.

“But they were taking so much time on every play that I got nervous. I couldn’t believe what the count was on, he (Big Red quarterback Craig Klein) had a long cadence,” Currence explained.

“I wasn’t pleased with not having the ball, I felt like they were keeping our offense on the sideline and that’s what they wanted to do,” he added.

The Big Red managed six first down in the first half and that allowed them to maintain possessions of 5:10, 4:08 and 6:23 despite penetrating no farther than the 49-yard line.

Meanwhile, the Tigers scored the first time they had the ball and added their second TD just before the half on only their third Possession of the game.

Despite the Big Red’s ability to control the ball, Currence couldn’t fault his defense, which recorded its second straight shutout.

“When the defense had to do it they did it,” he said.

The Tiger defense allowed nine first downs ‑ all rushing ‑ and while they gave a up 133 yards on the ground, they held the Big Red to zero yards passing on four attempts and Darren Longshore intercepted one a those.

Longshore’s interception came on the second play of the fourth quarter. It was also the second play of the Big Red’s shotgun formation which saw Roger Robinson in at quarterback.

Neither team lost a turn a fumble, but the Tigers allowed the Big Red into their territory for only one play, and that was called back by a penalty.

Steubenville coach Jerry Harris was not displeased with his team’s performance.

“It was just a matter of Massillon playing a better game,” he said. “Considering the athletic ability of our kids, I thought we played a good game.

“And Massillon is very impressive. The only way you’re going to beat Massillon is for Offenbecher and his receivers to have a bad night. But it’s not just Offenbecher, he gets good protection from his offensive line.

“And they’re a well coached team. I’ve seen bigger teams this year that won’t do as well as Massillon. I’m impressed,” Harris repeated, “but we’re pleased with or kids.”

“They took some thinks away from us,” Currence elaborated. “They took the throw cut away but they gave us the out. It was just a matter of us taking down the defensive end of executing. He was hoping we wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Unfortunately for the Big Red, the Tigers did manage to execute that play. Offenbecher’s 11 pass completions were also spread around to five receivers. Curtis Strawder caught four passes for 52 yards, Guzzetta caught three for 23, Ron Wright hauled in two for 18, Jeff Beitel caught one for six and his brother Bill had one for 15.
Beitel, Offenbecher key 6th straight win
Steubenville took the opening kickoff, picked up two first downs rushing and punted.

Starting at their own 28 yard line, the Tigers drove 72 yards in seven plays with Jeff Beitel breaking a trap play up the middle for 20 yards and the score. He made a nice cut to the left after breaking through the line and scampered into the end zone untouched. Once there, however, a Big Red player was called for a late hit and the 15‑yard penalty was assessed on the following kickoff, putting the Big Red in the hole.

Ron Wright’s kick had given the Tigers a 7‑0 lead and Mike Hodgson’s kickoff (from Steubenville’s 45) was a knuckleball that was downed by the Big Red at their own eight.

They managed one first down and punted to the Tiger 44.

After a first down, Offenbecher was sacked for an eight‑yard loss. The Tigers then tried a shotgun of their own, with Offenbecher hitting Jeff Beitel with a six-yard pass on third down. It wasn’t enough for the first down, however, and the Tigers punted.

Steubenville drove from its own eight out to the 49, and Tom Gardner’s punt on fourth down squirted off the side of his foot and went out of bounds at the Tiger 42 with only 3:25 left in the half.

Offenbecher hit Wright for 10 yards and a first down, Strawder for eight and Beitel rushed 17 yards for a first down at the Big Red 23.

A pass to Strawder netted 11 yards. Offenbecher kept right for four and Jeff Beitel was stopped for a one‑yard gain.

On third and five at the seven, Offenbecher hit Guzzetta at the one yard line. He sneaked over on the next play for a score with 45 second left in the half. Wright’s kick gave the Tigers a 14‑0 halftime lead.

The Tigers took the kickoff to open the second half and drove to the Steubenville three yard line where they lost the ball on downs.

Following a Steubenville punt, the Tigers drove 56 yards in seven plays with Jeff Beitel sweeping right end for the last seven yards. He dove over Big Red defender Dale Taylor at the goal line and landed in the end zone. Wright’s kick was good and the Tigers led 21‑0 with 1:04 to go in the third period.

Following Longshore’s interception ‑ his fourth of the season ‑ the Tigers took over at the Steubenville 33 and drove to paydirt in eight plays.

Offenbecher hit Guzzetta with a six‑yard pass on a down and out pattern in the right corner of the end zone with 7:41 to go in the game. Guzzetta made nice diving catch of the third down pass. Wright’s kick was blocked and Massillon ended the night with 27 points as Currence went to his bench for the final minutes.

The Tigers totaled 18 first downs, and despite not being able to control the ball they ran 53 plays to 47 for Steubenville.

The Tigers will host Jackson next Friday at 8 P.M. in Tiger Stadium and Steubenville will entertain Columbus Eastmoor.

Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 9
First downs – passing 6 0
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 18 9
Yards gained rushing 179 159
Yards lost rushing 12 26
Net yards gained rushng 167 133
Net yards gained passing 117 0
Total yards gained 284 133
Passes attempted 12 4
Passes completed 12 0
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yards on passes intercepted 0 2
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 40.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 19 53
Times punted 1 5
Punting average (yards) 46.0 24.6
Punt returns (yards) 8 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 3 8
Yards penalized 35 90
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 53 47
Total time of possession 20:36 27:24
Attendance: 10,281

Steubenville 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 7 7 7 6 27

M ‑ Jeff Beitel 20 run (Run Wright kick);
M ‑ Brent Of Offenbecher 1 run (Wright kick);
M ‑ J. Beitel 7 run (Wright kick);
M ‑ Marty Guzzetta 6 pass from Offenbecher (kick blocked).

Category: <span>History</span>