Category: <span>History</span>

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large)

1963: Massillon 24, Canton McKinley 20

Tigers Beat Fired-up Bulldogs 24-20
Point Conversions Represent Bengals’ Margin Of Victory

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The yellow lights on the scoreboard at the south end of Tiger stadium seemed to take an eternity to toll off the last 4:20 of the game. And when they had blinked out 0:00 against the black October night sky, a huge sigh of relief and a mighty cheer came up from Tiger fans.

The Washington high school eleven, playing gritty football, had held on to edge arch-rival Canton McKinley 24-20 in the 67th renewal of the oldest high school grid rivalry in the nation.

Friday night’s game marked the first time any Massillon-McKinley game had been played under the arcs. It was also the first game in the new All-American High School Football league.

The two teams will meet again on the afternoon of Nov. 9 at Fawcett stadium in Canton. And you can be sure they’ll pack the place for that one.

An unofficial 16,252 sat in Friday night.
* * *
THAT THE BULLDOGS gave Massillon all they could handle and then some is for sure. But the Orange and Black also dished out its share of hard-hitting football.

The game seemed to become a personal vendetta between Massillon’s Bill (Rabbit) Blunt,
165-pound senior halfback, and McKinley’s Willie Hall, 225-pound junior fullback, to see which one could inflict the heaviest damage on the opposition.

Blunt scored two touchdowns and two conversions. His use of the limp leg and swivel hip gave him a good change of pace, enabling him to do some outstanding running.

Said his Coach Leo Strang, “He was terrific. His stop and go running was great.”

Said Tony Ware, “Blunt is a great athlete.”

Hall didn’t score any touchdowns but he did pick up a conversion and lots of valuable yardage, including some key first downs as did Massillon’s fullback, junior Jim Lawrence.

Game Photo: Bill Blunt (45)

Ware said of his big back, “He did a tremendous job.”
* * *
STRANG REVEALED, “Hall caught us by surprise. He had never run sweeps before. We adjusted just in time at the end of the game.”

Hall had tremendous interference on those sweeps which made them very effective as he bulled his way through.

Strang said of the game, “It was a good one, like all Massillon-McKinley games should be. Besides Blunt’s and Lawrence’s running I thought Swartz (quarterback Ron) did some good throwing. “We gave them two touchdowns and missed two we should have had. You just can’t give them touchdowns and not expect trouble.”

About the McKinley team he said, “They were sure fired up. They were in the game all the way.”

Ware said, “Massillon is a well-coached team and played good ball. They took advantage of an injury weakness at left side (the speedy Bill Snell was sidelined) and it hurt us.”

Strang reminded that “linebacker Ken Swisher, defensive end and Captain Mike Jones and tackle Tom Miller were either out of action or used sparingly.

Of his own team Ware said, “I couldn’t ask for anymore from the boys. They gave their all. We’ll beat the Tigers in November. We would have beaten them this time if we had scored on that first pass and hadn’t fumbled on the one.”

But the Bulldogs got two tremendous breaks in the second half which they converted into touchdowns, offsetting the bad breaks. Had it not been, therefore, for the tenacious Massillon defense rising up to stop two of McKinley’s conversion attempts, the game might have ended tied 24-24.
* * *
THE FIRST BREAK came right after the second half kickoff. Massillon was forced to punt following its first series. Steve Kanner dropped back to his 45-yard-line. Frank Scassa’s snap was bad, the kick was blocked and 210-pound right tackle Dick Miller picked up the pigskin on the 41 and raced in for the score with 10:04 left.

Hall converted through the center to make the score 16-14.

The next break came midway through the last quarter. Massillon forced McKinley to punt and as the ball rolled to the Massillon 26, it hit safetyman Tom Gatsios and an alert Bulldog recovered.

Three plays later on third and one from the 17 quarterback Arnie Fontes threw to right end Nick Roman down the middle at the goal line to make it 24-20 with 4:27 remaining. Hall missed the conversion.

The Tigers played good control football from there on out to win the game. The last play of the game, however, saw Fontes sweep right end for 21 yards and just miss getting away for a winning tally. McKinley had gotten the ball with only 26 seconds left.
* * *
McKINLEY BECAME the first team to score at Tiger stadium this year and the first to get a touchdown before the Tigers by going 57 yards after taking Massillon’s initial punt. Fontes scored on a keeper from the two-hard line on second down with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

He missed the conversion on the same play.

Hall and halfbacks John McElroy and Bobby Johnson did a lot of running on the drive. Hall had one run of 19 yards around left end from his 43 to the Massillon 38. The missed pass which Ware spoke of came during this series. Fontes misfired to left end Dwayne Lipkins on second down from the Tiger 30.

The early touchdown only served to infuriate the Tigers and after Tom Gatsios had turned in an 18-yard runback of the kickoff to the Massillon 35, Ron Swartz cocked his right arm and hit Blunt down the right side. “The Rabbit” grabbed the pigskin on the McKinley 40 and eluded five would-be tacklers on his romp to pay dirt at 2:39. He got some fine blocking along the way.

Blunt blasted off right tackle for the conversion which put the Tigers ahead 8-6.

Massillon struck again early in the second period. McKinley punted after one series. The kick was grounded on the Bengals’ 39 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
* * *
BLUNT TOOK off over right tackle on the first play of the second quarter behind good blocking. He used that outstanding running ability of his to good advantage again, going all the way to the McKinley three. But the Tigers were guilty of clipping and were set back to the McKinley 35.

The Bengals marched the ball in from there with Lawrence going over the top of a big pile from the one with 6:22 left. Blunt went off right tackle for the two extra points.

McKinley took the kickoff and marched 70 yards only to have Johnson fumble on the one. Blunt made the all-important recovery for Massillon.

McElroy had an 18-yard runback of the kick. Hall had a 36-yard romp on a sweep from the Massillon 46 to the 10.

The Tigers then initiated a drive of their own, going to the Bulldog seven before missing on three straight before missing on three straight passes into the end zone. The margin of difference was inches.
* * *
DURING this 92-yard invasion, Blunt took a pass on the right side and almost went for a touchdown but collided with long side end Will Perry who was trying to block for him. The play covered 25 yards – from the Massillon 13 to the 38.

There was also another fine run by Blunt off left guard – again with good blocking – on the next play. “The Rabbit” moved all the way to the McKinley 11, 51 yards.
Massillon’s other score came at the 5:45 mark of the third quarter. Blunt ran a kickoff back 26 yards to the Bengal 38. Then with Blunt, Swartz – who seldom runs the ball – and Lawrence carrying, the Orange and Black moved the ball to the Bulldog 28 for a first down.

Blunt set sail again on the next play, going to his right, cutting back and racing for touchdown land. Again a combination of good running and fine blocking told the tale. Swartz converted.

Game statistics showed that Massillon got a total of 382 yards net to McKinley’s 217. The Tigers piled up 271 rushing. McKinley 200. The Bengals got 111 passing, the Bulldogs 17.

The fact that McKinley lost only four more yards rushing than did Massillon, 16-12, points up the terrific, almost even battle of the lines.

Massillon’s record now stands at 5-1 with a four-game winning streak riding. The Bulldogs stand at 3-3.

McKINLEY – 20
Ends – N. Roman, Turner, Lipkins and Card.
Tackles – Miller and Shumick.
Guards – Vafides, Barney and Ball.
Center – J. Roman.
Quarterback – Fontes.
Halfbacks – Johnson, McElroy, Carter and Smith.
Fullbacks – W. Hall and Kalogeras.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones and Goodnough.
Tackles – Morgan, Lash, Rarle, Binge, Paul and Passalacqua.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Rivera, Muhlback, Roderick, Swisher and T. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Schenkenberger, and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence.

McKinley 6 0 8 6 20
Massillon 8 8 8 0 24

Touchdowns:
McKinley – Fontes (two-yard run); Miller (41-yard run on blocked kick); N. Roman (17-yard pass from Fontes.
Massillon – Blunt 2 (65-yard pass from Swartz and 26-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
McKinley – Hall (run).
Massillon – Blunt 2 (runs). Swartz (run).

Officials
Referee – Bobby Brown (Parma).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace (Cincinnati).
Field Judge – Joe Romano (Mansfield).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 12 9
First downs, passing 4 1
First downs, penalties 0 1
Total first downs 16 11
Yards gained rushing 263 216
Yards lost rushing 12 16
Net yards gained rushing 271 200
Yards gained passing 111 17
Total yards gained 382 217
Passes attempted 8 3
Passes completed 4 1
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 36.2
Kickoff returns (yards) 62 82
Times punted 1 4
Punt average (yards) 42.0 34.2
Punt returns (yards) 15 0
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 2 1
Yards penalized. 20 15

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1963: Massillon 52, Steubenville 0

Tigers Blast Steubenville 52-0
Bengal Line Rips Big Red To Win First Game In All-American Loop

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They never knew what hit them!

It was as if someone alternated between placing a speeding locomotive and the Rock of Gibraltar on the Harding stadium gridiron in Steubenville Friday night.

The Massillon Tigers, utilizing devastating offensive and defensive football, crushed a game but outclassed and crippled up Steubenville high eleven 52-0 on the Ohio river before a disappointing 6,327 fans. It was the biggest score of the season for the Bengals.

It was the first game for the new All-American High School Football league. The Washington high team has the honor of being the first to lead the circuit with two points. Steubenville got minus-one for the defeat.

The Bengals raised their season’s record to 4-1. Akron Garfield, the only team to beat the Orange and Black, also remains the lone team to score upon the Tigers. Steubenville dropped to a 2-3 mark at the season’s halfway point.

Massillon rolled up 446 total yards to the Big Red’s 58 and 21 first downs to Steubenville’s 11 – one in each half. Massillon rushed for 341 net yards to Steubenville’s 43 and got 105 to the Big Red’s 15 in the air.
* * *
NO ONE BOY can be singled out for his efforts. It was another of those jobs well done by all concerned. It took linemen opening good holes for hard-running backs, hard-charging by the defensive line and linebackers to stop Steubenville’s backs time and again before they could get started, heads up pass coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks and outstanding tackling by all to get the victory.

Several boys contributed to the scoring. Terry Getz, senior halfback, tallied two touchdowns and two conversions. Senior halfbacks Bill (Rabbit) Blunt got two touchdowns and a conversion; sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks scored a touchdown and a conversion. Senior tailback Phil Harris got one six-pointer, so did junior fullback Jim Lawrence.

When the Tigers got the ball, they stuck mostly to the ground, pounding first one side of the Steubenville line and then the other like air hammers taking chucks out of cement. They used up great gobs of time on the clock.

When Steubenville had the ball The Big Red could get only one series at a time except once in the second and once in the third quarter. Try as they might – and they never gave up trying – the Big Red could not move the ball. They kept hitting hard on defense but could not stop the Tiger juggernaut.

“The boys really banged away on defense,” Massillon Coach Leo Strang said, “They did a real good job. I’ll bet Lindsey (Steubenville halfback Herb) never got hit that hard in his life.”
* * *
COACH RAY HOYMAN of Steubenville said sadly, “We just don’t have it this year and won’t have it for a couple of years. We have a good freshman team but have only five sophomores out for football and a junior class very light in numbers.”

He did not mention that he had four front liners on crutches.

There was one part of Hoyman’s strategy which succeeded. He didn’t let the Bengals get any long punt runbacks. The kicks from Bob McCosky either went to the opposite side from the Tigers’ planned return, out of bounds or were grounded.

The Bengals equaled their biggest first half of the season in scoring 32 points. They had tallied an identical amount of points against Cleveland East in the opener.

Three scores came on sustained ground drives. The last was helped out by a long pass.
* * *
THE TIGERS matched 69 yards with the opening kickoff after a 19-yard runback of the kick by senior Grady Eckard. They used up 6:40, 12 plays and got four first downs in the effort.

Halfback Terry Getz capped the drive at the 5:20 mark, going off tackle on fourth down from the eight. He got the extra two points the same way.

The Bengals started on another drive after forcing Steubenville to punt following the kickoff. They used up 5:35 seconds this time, moving into the second quarter in the process. This time the march covered 56 yards, starting at the Orange and Black 44. Four first downs and 14 plays were involved.

Getz went over off right guard on second down from the four at 9:46. He converted the same way.

Then came another Big Red punt and the Tigers went 70 yards, using up 3:36, eight plays and picking up four first downs. A 21-yard pass from Ron Swartz to Blunt took the ball to the Big Red 39. Blunt might have gone all the way but was knocked out of bounds.
* * *
BLUNT LEAPED among three defenders at the three two plays later to snare another Swartz aerial. Lawrence went through the center on second down with 4:16 left. Swartz threw to Blunt on a look-in pass to the left for the extra two points.

The last touchdown in the second quarter came after a 55-yard drive following a punt. This drive took four plays and one first down.
A key play was a second down pass from the Steubenville 48 to the four – a distance of 44 yards. Swartz connected with senior long side end Will Perry.

Blunt went in off tackle on the next play. But Massillon was guilty of illegal use of the hands, setting the ball back to the 20. Swartz then threw to Blunt for the score with 2:10 remaining. Junior fullback Bobby Hewitt swept to the left for the extra two points.
* * *
THE BENGALS allowed the Big Red just one series after the second half kickoff and took over on their own 40 after a punt, setting the stage for another score. After a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, Blunt took off on a pitchout to the right behind some nice blocking and raced 65 yards for his second six-pointer at the 9:49 mark. Getz missed the conversion over right tackle.

Late in the period, Steve Tarle, senior tackle, recovered a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 10 and two plays later senior tailback Phil Harris wedged in from the three with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks converted on a pitchout to the right.

The final Tiger score came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Floyd (Duke) Pierce, senior safetyman, intercepted a pass on his 35 and ran it back to the 50 as the third quarter ended.

Two plays into the last stanza Marks shot through the middle on fourth down from 41 yards away and scored at 10:43. Junior Fullback Edgar Herring missed the conversion on a pitchout to the right.

MASSILLON – 52
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones, Goodnough, Gilmore and Franklin.
Tackles – Tarle, Morgan, Lash, Passalacqua, Binge, Stevens and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Roderick, Muhlback, Rivera, Mathias, Rearick, Martin, T. Whitfield and D. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Rambaud and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Harris, Marks, Stroh, Herring, Gamble and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Hewitt and Thomas.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Cuthbert, Cole and Blanchard.
Tackles – Estes, Sampson and Williams.
Guards – DiLoreti, Ohle, Mahfood and Wrenn.
Centers – Beard and Garofalo.
Quarterbacks – McCosky and Spon.
Halfbacks – Lindsey, Hawkins, Terry and Smith.
Fullbacks – Schaeffer.

Massillon 8 24 14 6 52

Touchdowns:
Getz 2 (eight and four-yard runs); Blunt 2 (20-yard pass from Swartz, 65-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run); Harris (three-yard run) and Marks (41-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Getz 2 (runs); Blunt (pass from Swartz); Hewitt (run); and Marks (run).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bob McPhee (St. Clairsville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 17 2
First downs, passing 4 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 21 2
Yards gained rushing 344 54
Yards lost rushing 3 11
Net yards gained rushing 341 43
Yards gained passing 105 15
Total yards gained 446 58
Passes attempted 12 10
Passes completed 5 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48.3 47
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 121
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 42.5 36.4
Punt returns (yards) 17 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 0
Yards penalized. 20 0

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1963: Massillon 28, Alliance 0

Tigers Gain Prestige By Blasting Alliance
Punt Returns By Bill Blunt Set Up 28-0 Victory For Bengals

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Oh how sweet it is!!!

The Massillon Tigers waited a long time for this one 365 days to be exact. But they got their revenge.

The Washington high school team shut out Alliance 28-0 before the season’s largest crowd at Tiger stadium Friday night. Handing the No. 2-ranked team in the state its first loss in four games before 16,932 fans is sure to give the fifth-ranked Bengals’ stock in the race for the state championship a big boost.

The Bengals (3-1) proved that when the chips are down you don’t bet against them, for there’s nothing as ferocious as an aroused Tiger.

Program Cover

The statistics may not show much difference between the teams. But cold figures can’t measure team spirit and desire. And the Orange and Black put forth a tremendous team effort to put the Tigers ahead in the scoring column where it counts.
* * *
ALLIANCE can have some solace, however, in the fact that it out rushed Massillon 139-121 in net yardage. But the Bengals got 49 yards through the air, completing four of six passes. The Aviators collected only nine yards through the air, connecting only one of five passes.

Coach Leo Strang of Massillon was all smiles as he praised the Tigers’ team effort. He especially patted senior wingback Bill (Rabbit) Blunt and junior lineman Larry Larsuel on their respective backs. “Didn’t Blunt run well,” he said, “and that Larsuel, he played guard, linebacker and middle guard and did a tremendous job at all three spots.

Blunt was the leading ground-gainer for the Tigers, with 38 yards rushing and 124 on two punt runbacks, one for a touchdown and the other almost for a score. “We worked like heck on those kick returns,” Strang said, “and it paid off.”

He commented on his team’s pass coverage, saying that he was very happy with the way his three deep men, Blunt, senior Floyd (Duke) Pierce and either senior Tom Gatsios or senior Grady Eckard, depending upon the rotation, kept the Aviators from uncorking the bomb.
* * *
ALLIANCE coach Mel Knowlton had his comments on his passing game. “We don’t have any real good receivers so we can’t rely on our passing game too much. Leo knew this and defended us accordingly.”

He felt that Massillon had “too much overall speed for his team.” He said, “We had boys in the open several times but just couldn’t spring them loose.”

He was happy with the way a reverse play was working all the time, enabling senior wingback Win Young and senior left halfback John Blaser to eat up a lot of yardage. Senior quarterback Doug Wade handled the ball nicely, faking well to the first man and handing to the second one through to fool the Tigers for quite awhile.

Blaser picked up 89 yards in 10 carries, Young 73 in 21.

Orange And Black Takes Kickoff, Marches To T.D.

Massillon got into the scoring column quickly, taking the opening kickoff and marching 65 yards for the score. The drive used 15 plays. There were four first downs.

Tailback Terry Getz capped the drive with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter, going off tackle from inches away. Wingback Bill Blunt missed the conversion.

The Orange and Black had moved all the way on the ground with the exception of one
left-handed pass from Getz which short side end Pierce couldn’t hold while out in the clear.
* * *
BLUNT CONTRIBUTED two fine runs, one on the reverse. He moved 17 yards from the Alliance 42 to the 25 and 19 yards from the 22 to the nine.

Three plays later Getz had his score. A half-the-distance penalty for offside put the ball with the nose almost touching the goal line on third down after two quarterback sneaks had failed.

Near the end of the period, Alliance halfback John Blaser got hit hard on his 40, fumbled and Gatsios, a Tiger cornerback, hopped on the ball at the 39. Seven plays and two first downs later it was touchdown again for the Tigers.

Lawrence dived off tackle with 35 seconds remaining. Getz threw to Blunt to make it 14-0.

Two big pass plays were the keys in this drive. Swartz tossed to Blunt on a play covering 20 yards from the Alliance 39 to the 19. Swartz connected with Pierce for 11 yards from the 17 to the six four plays later.

Alliance Holds Ball Most Of Second Quarter

Alliance had the ball for almost the entire second quarter except for four plays just after the 7:48 mark. The Tigers had moved from their 35 where an Aviator drive stalled thanks to a fourth down pass being knocked down by linebacker Ken Swisher.

But on fourth down on the Alliance 43, guard Ray Ketler stole the ball from Lawrence and raced back to the Massillon 31. Alliance moved to the six in 10 plays with two first
downs – a distance of 26 yards. There another fourth down pass was incomplete thanks to a good rush by the Tigers.
* * *
KNOWLTON considered this the turning point of the game. He felt that if his charges had been able to score here, they might have been able to come back.

However, Strang felt that the Tigers’ recovery of Alliance’s first period fumble enabling Massillon to get two quick touchdowns in succession fired up his boys for the victory.

The Tigers scored once in the third quarter and almost made pay dirt twice. Alliance took the kickoff which started the period and started a drive from its 29. However, successive offside and holding penalties set the Aviators back to their 40. Wade stepped back to punt.

His boot carried to the Massillon 25. Blunt picked it up and set sail for the south goal line. He cut to the west sideline, picked up his blocking nicely, ran about 20 yards, cut back to the middle and was gone for the score like an orange whirlwind. His interference was terrific, bowling Aviators over like ten pins.

Swartz missed Blunt on a conversion pass. The score was 20-0 with 8:21 remaining.

Kanner Gets Off Long Punt
To The One Foot Line

On the third play after Dave Paul’s left-footed kickoff, Tom Gatsios intercepted a pass on the Alliance 41. The Tigers moved to the 25 but Swartz was thrown for a 12-yard loss to the 37. Kanner made his only punt of the night.

The Alliance secondary let the pigskin roll. Guard Clyde Castile tipped the ball on the one. Blunt fell on it on the one-foot line to put the Aviators in a real hole.

However, they were able to move the ball out to the 17 thanks to the elusive running of Young and Blaser. A five-yard delay penalty put the ball on the 22, setting the stage for Blunt’s second electrifying runback as Wade booted again.

Blunt let the ball roll on his 42, picked it up and ferreting out his blockers again expertly, took off along the west sidelines, getting to the Alliance seven as the quarter ended.

Four plays later Massillon had its final six-pointer with 10:38 left in the game. Getz blasted through the center on fourth and two. Gatsios passed to Pierce for the extra two points.

Young and Blaser took over again after the kickoff and moved the ball from the Alliance 29 to the Massillon 43 before being stopped on downs. They took 4:19 to accomplish this.

There were 6:05 left when the Orange and Black got its hands on the ball again. In nine plays with three first downs, Massillon got to the Alliance five. Twenty and 12-yard passes to Pierce from Swartz and Gatsios and successive runs of eight and 10 yards by Getz helped the march.

But Swartz was thrown for a seven-yard loss to the 12 and the clock ran out on the Bengals who had no timeouts left.

The WHS eleven will take off on its second road trip next week, going south to Steubenville to open play in the new All-American High School football league.

ALLIANCE – 0
Ends – Dawson, Cundiff, Doty, Yukick and Ross.
Tackles – G. Fraraccio, Beal and Shonk.
Guards – M. Fraraccio, Ketler, Cindio and Irwin.
Centers – Fugatt, Allen and Shilling.
Quarterback – Wade.
Halfbacks – Young, Blaser, Connell and Spivey.
Fullbacks – Rasile, Woolpert and Penturf.

MASSILLON – 28
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Goodnough, Jones, McAllister and Gilmore.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Lash, Paul, Morgan, Binge and Passalacqua.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Rivera, Swisher, Mulhbach, Roderick, Paflas, Mathias and T. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Frieg.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 14 0 6 8 28
Alliance 0 0 0 0 0

Touchdowns – Getz (one-foot and two-yard runs); Lawrence (three-yard run); Blunt (75-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Pierce (passes from Getz and Gatsios).

Officials
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Pete Lannigan (Columbus).
Head Linesman – Bill Shaughnessy – (Akron).
Field Judge – Tony Grant (Loudonville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 7 7
First downs, passing 4 1
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 11 8
Yards gained rushing 144 155
Yards lost rushing 23 16
Net yards gained rushing 121 139
Yards gained passing 49 9
Total yards gained 170 148
Passes attempted 6 5
Passes completed 4 1
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 49.0 45.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 20 60
Times punted 1 2
Punt average (yards) 35.0 35.0
Punt returns (yards) 124 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 1 5
Yards penalized. 5 41

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1963: Massillon 38, Mansfield 0

Tigers In Comeback Beat Mansfield 38-0
Bengals Mix Passes Into Power Football To Down Old Rival

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Power football straight up the middle and a bruising defense.

These are the characteristics of present day Massillon Tiger football. And the Bengals parlayed the combination into a 38-0 win over longtime rival Mansfield high school before a small crowd of only 9,116 at Tiger stadium Friday night.

It was a roaring comeback from last week’s defeat by Akron Garfield and gave the Bengals’ morale a big boost for their game with undefeated Alliance here next Friday. As Coach Leo Strang said, “There’s only one game on the schedule I’m worried about now Alliance. I’ll think about the rest of them after next Friday. I hope we are healthy for that one. We couldn’t use Perry (Will) tonight. He has a bruised hip. Lawrence (Jim) is in Kentucky due to a death in the family.”

Program Cover

Perry is the Tigers’ first string short side end. Lawrence is the starting fullback.
* * *
LAWRENCE’S absence gave junior fullback Bobby Hewitt a chance to get back into the starting alignment where he was in the season opener. He took full advantage of the situation with some fine running, including scoring two touchdowns and a conversion.

He combined with senior tailback Terry Getz to do most of the Tigers’ ball-carrying most effectively. Time and again they broke through the Tygers’ defensive line thanks to some good holes opened up by Bengal blockers.

Getz scored only a conversion but was instrumental in all of the TD drives with his running and blocking.

He played his finest game of his career and Strang praised him for it. “He ran and blocked extremely well,” the WHS mentor said, “He was very valuable tonight. So was Hewitt. In fact, it was a fine team effort.”

Senior short side end Floyd (Duke) Pierce scored two touchdowns on passes. Senior quarterback Ron Swartz scored another.

The other conversions were by senior quarterback Tom Gatsios on the keeper and on a flat pass to Bill (Rabbit) Blunt from Swartz.

The Tiger offensive machine rolled up 297 yards to 153 for Mansfield. The rushing statistics were 241 and 70. Mansfield was able to get only 26 yards on the ground in the second half but 53 in the air to beat the Bengals in that department 85-56. Massillon led in first downs 10 to three.

In commenting on his charges’ running game, Strang said, “We worked all week on it and accomplished what we set out to do.”

Mansfield got out of its own territory only four times during the night while Massillon played in enemy land a good part of the time. One of the Tygers’ four advances beyond the 50 was due to a fumble recovery by end Art Gaverick in the second quarter. Mansfield got the ball on the Tigers’ 33-yard line but got only to the 25 thanks to the stout Orange and Black defense.
* * *
MANSFIELD LOST the ball on downs at the Massillon 35 in the third quarter and on the Tigers’ four in the final canto, the last failure being due to an incomplete pass. Mansfield had driven from its 37.

The only other long drive of the Tygers came in the second quarter. Senior cornerback Gardy Eckard intercepted a pass on his 15 to stop that one. Mansfield had started on its 25 and had progressed to the Massillon 40.

Had Mansfield’s passing been a little more on the target – the Tygers completed only five of 14 – Massillon would not have had a shut out. It had lapses several times on pass defense. But Mansfield receivers dropped passes while in the open. The Tigers secondary was playing in close at the time.

Massillon scored five of the nine times it got its hands on the ball. The Tigers wasted little time in getting started, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, two of them by capitalizing on Mansfield fumbles caused by crunching tackles inside Tyger territory.

GAME STATISTICS
Mass East
First downs, rushing 14 4
First downs, passing 4 3
First downs, penalties 2 0
Total first downs 20 7
Yards gained rushing 259 91
Yards lost rushing 18 21
Net yards gained rushing 241 70
Yards gained passing 56 83
Total yards gained 297 153
Passes attempted 9 14
Passes completed 4 5
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (yards) 47.8 37.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 11 92
Times punte 0 1
Punt average (yards) 0 42
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 2 6
Yards penalized. 17 70

Two Early Fumbles Hurt Cause Of Visiting Team
“The first fumble hurt,” said Mansfield Coach Jim Dougherty, “The second killed us. We were beaten by a good hard-hitting, well-coached football team tonight. We missed our first team quarterback Willie Hawthorne, who is in the hospital.” (The senior signal-caller, leading Mansfield ground gainer, has a throat infection.)

PIERCE PICKED up the first Mansfield bobble on the Tygers’ 33. The Bengals took the ball on in staying on the ground. It took them five plays. They got help from a personal fouL penalty which put the ball on Mansfield’s 12.

After Hewitt had run from there to the three, senior quarterback Ron Swartz carried on two straight plays, finally sneaking over from the one with 6:47 remaining in the quarter. Getz ran the conversion.

Mansfield ran one play after the kickoff and then the second fumble occurred. Butch Hose grabbed this one off to give the Tigers possession on the 16. It took Massillon two plays to score this time.

Swartz ran to the 13. Hewitt took off around the left end and went in at 5:26. Getz failed to convert this time.

Late in the period the Orange and Black took over when Mansfield was forced to punt. The Tigers moved from their 38 – a distance of 62 yards – in seven plays with three first downs.

Getz and Hewitt took turns denting the Mansfield line. Hewitt ran the last two plays, from the 15 to the seven and then in, the last one around the left side at 11:13 of the second period. Swartz passed to senior wingback Bill Blunt for the conversion.

The Tigers had another chance, taking over on their 26 after stopping a Mansfield drive. The Tigers drove to the Mansfield 22, making good use of timeouts and running out of bounds to stop the clock. But Dwight McCollum intercepted a pass on his eight and returned to the 38 where the half ended.

Orange Takes Kickoff And Marches To Touchdown
The Orange and Black took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched right down the field. They moved from their 34 to the Mansfield 20 in five plays with four first downs. Hewitt contributed a 23-yard run to help the situation.

On first down from the 20 Swartz hit Pierce for the score with nine minutes remaining in the third canto. Hewitt converted.

Near the end of the quarter Massillon took over on its 35 after a Mansfield fourth down pass failed to pick up enough yardage. It took WHS 10 plays and our first downs to score.

Runs of 14 and nine yards by Getz helped the Bengal cause. So did a 15-yard Mansfield penalty for a personal foul which put the ball on the Tyger 20, first down.

A few seconds later Massillon was set back from the six to the 15 for holding on first down. Then senior quarterback Tom Gatsios hit Pierce for the Tigers’ final tally at 0:06. Gatsuis converted on the keeper.

The Bengals failed to get out of their own territory in the final period.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Gonzales, Prats, Fenderson, Swarn and Gaverick.
Taciles – Williams and C. Coe.
Guards – Cindrich and Jividen.
Centers – Horvath and D. Coe.
Quarterbacks – Dean and Dougherty.
Halfbacks – Hutchins, Schnuerer, McCollom, Sewell, Harris and Marsh.
Fullbacks – R. Parr and Lindsay.

MASSILLON – 38
Ends – Pierce, Jones, McAllister, Goodnough, Hose, Gilmore, D. Alexander and Franklin.
Tackles – Lash, Morgan, Tarle, Miller, Binge, Passalacqua and Paul.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, Swisher, Paflas, Muhlbach, Rivera, Roderick, Rearick, T. Whitfield, D. Whitfield and Manson.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Freig.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Harris, Schenkenberger and Shanor.
Fullbacks – Hewitt and Lemon.

Massillon 14 8 16 0 38

Touchdowns:
Hewitt (13 and 7-yard runs); Swartz (1-yard sneak), Pierce (20-yard pass from Swartz and six-yard pass from Gatsios).

Points after touchdowns:
Hewitt (run), Getz (run), Blunt (pass from Swartz).

Officials
Referee – Jim Langhurst (Willard).
Umpire – A.N. Smith (Elyria).
Head Linesman – Russ Kemper (Cincinnati).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1963: Massillon 6, Akron Garfield 13

Strang Admits He Called ‘Poor’ Contest At Akron
Tigers To Practice On Running Game

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It takes a big man to admit he made a mistake. Washington high Coach Leo Strang can be put into that category today.

After viewing movies Sunday of his charges 13-6 loss to Akron Garfield Saturday night at the Akron Rubber Bowl before 19,598 fans, the skipper said, “There’s no doubt about it, I called a poor game. There were too many wrong calls. We should have run more, that’s for sure.”

He said the Bengals will do a lot of work on their running game this week in preparation for the invasion of the Mansfield Tygers Friday, in an effort to boost their season’s record to 2-1.

Program Cover

Strang listed two other factors as important in the loss. “Our passing was not up to par,” he said. “The timing was off. We missed come completions by inches. Garfield was tremendously high. They pointed more towards the game than we did. We did not underestimate them, however. They were able to put special emphasis on their ‘big game of the year.’ We cannot put special emphasis on every game. They have a good team. It will take a good team to beat them.”

Strang was pleased with his defense. Except for a disastrous fumble and a bad breakdown on one play, the Tigers did a good job in this respect. “I would be tickled to death if our defense played that way all the time,” Strang said. “We did make a few mistakes that have to be corrected, however.”

Garfield Coach Dan (Babe) Flossie had a plan after watching the Tigers in action the preceding week and it paid off. Athletic Director Harry Kidder spoke for Flossie who took off rapidly with his team after the game – the Rams dress at their school rather than at the Rubber Bowl.

“Massillon’s whole offense is their passing,” Kidder said. “We planned to give them their running game and take away their passing threat and we did it.”

The Rams dropped back five and six pass defenders and double and sometimes triple teamed ends Will Perry and Floyd Pierce and wingback Bill Blunt. Blunt, the team’s leading receiver was able to catch only one pass.

“He caught that one,” Kidder said, “because one of our halfbacks thought he was on the other side of the field and didn’t cover properly.”

The Orange and Black completed only seven of 22 passes for 106 yards to add to 65 net rushing for a 171 total. Only 10 of the aerial yards came in the second half and only 15 of the ground total. The Tigers lost 37 yards rushing.

Garfield, on the other hand, lost only 8 and gained 224 total yards, 188 rushing. Only 36 yards came through the air. But the Rams completed two of the three passes they threw, one on a touchdown drive.

Massillon led in first downs 9-7. That was the only other department in which the Tigers bettered the Rams.

All this was a hard pill for the Tigers to swallow. The first loss to an Akron school since South turned the trick 7-6 in 1931 could prove disastrous to Massillon’s hopes for a comeback state championship this season.

The Tigers were the first to get an offensive going early in the second stanza. After a Garfield punt was run back 10 yards by Bill Blunt, the Bengals scored in four plays, picking up a first down in the process.

On third down from the 50-yard line, quarterback Ron Swartz connected with Blunt on a play that covered to the Garfield 23. On the next play Swartz hit Perry for the remainder of the distance with 9:07 remaining in the quarter. Swartz tried another aerial to Perry for the conversion, but it failed.

Floyd Pierce hauled in a Garfield aerial on his 45 after Bender’s 36-yard runback of the kickoff and it looked as if the Orange and Black was ready to roll again. But they lost the ball on downs.

After a Garfield punt, the Tigers got to the Rams 26 on two nice runs of 11 and 18 yards up the center by Jim Lawrence and a reverse by Blunt. There the Rams held.

On the next play Ed Bender broke off tackle and streaked 74 yards for the tying touchdown, with 1:49 remaining completely outdistancing the WHS secondary which was playing in close. All of Steve Kanner’s fine punting – three times behind the 10-yard line – had gone for naught. Bender booted the tie-breaking point.

Blunt made a fine runback of 31 yards on which he was temporarily put out of action by a jarring tackle. Then the Bengals drove to the Garfield nine near the end of the half but were stymied again. The Tigers moved 56 yards from their own 35 in six plays with four first downs.

There was some more fine running by Lawrence4 – one 15-yard distance – and a 28-yard pass from Swartz to Pierce from the Garfield 37 to the nine.

The second half was strictly Garfield’s. Halfbacks Bender, John Butash and fullback Cliff Watson started churning up the Rubber Bowl turf. They continued to drape themselves with glory because of their work in the defensive secondary. The Garfield line completely stymied the Bengals except for one stretch in the last quarter.

So well did Bender, Butash and Watson run the ball that the Rams hung on to it for practically all of the third canto. The Tigers got only two series of plays – six straight downs – at about the midway point.

Near the end of the period Blunt fumbled a punt and guard Bob Sine recovered for Garfield on the Tigers’ 21. By the time the 11:24 mark of the last stanza had arrived, the Rams had put the winning margin on the score board. Butash went over from the one after five plays and two first downs but missed the conversion.

The Orange and Black had its last big drive right after the kickoff. Tom Gatsios came up with a 24-yard runback to put the ball on the Tiger 39.

With Jim Lawrence doing most of the running through the center as the Bengals tried to get their ground game going, Massillon managed to get to the Rams’ 25 after 10 plays and three first downs. But linebacker Marion Della Serra broke through on fourth and three and tossed Lawrence for an eight-yard loss. The Tigers never threatened again.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones, Goodnough and McAllister.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Binge and Morgan.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Paflas, Swisher, Rivera, Paul, Mulhbach and Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Rink Schenkenberger and Shanor.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

GARFIELD – 13
Ends – Young, Wright and Malone.
Tackles – Hamric, Nemith and Apley.
Guards – Cianociola, Puckett, Vance and Sine.
Center – Brockett.
Quarterback – Hannig.
Halfbacks – Bender, Butash, Adam and Della Serra.
Fullback – Watson.

Massillon 0 6 0 0 6
Garfield 0 7 0 6 13

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Perry (23-yard pass from Swartz).
Garfield – Bender (74-yard run); Butash (one-yard run).

Points after touchdowns: Bender (placement).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Head Linesman – John Cseh (Akron).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs, rushing 5 5
First downs, passing 4 2
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 9 7
Yards gained rushing 102 196
Yards lost rushing 37 8
Net yards gained rushing 65 188
Yards gained passing 106 36
Total yards gained 171 224
Passes attempted 22 3
Passes completed 7 2
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average (yards) 51.0 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 79 46
Times punted 5 6
Punt average (yards) 39.6 44.0
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 2 5
Yards penalized. 20 25

Junie Studer – Earl O’Leary – Massillon Statisticians

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1963: Massillon 46, Cleveland East 0

Tigers Mangle Cleveland East 46-0
Balance; Defense Good

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It’s been said many times before. And maybe it’s corny, too. But what a difference a year can make!

Three hundred sixty-five days ago a bunch of somber, long-faced fans filed out of Tiger stadium after an 8-7 loss to Fremont Ross. Friday night, the Massillon fans among the 9,933 assembled at the stadium left with mile-wide grins on their faces and cheers emanating from their lips.

The Washington high eleven, showing a well-balanced attack and a very stingy defense, rolled over Cleveland East 46-0 to get the 1963 season off to a rousing start.

Program Cover

The Orange and Black amassed 432 yards, 232 of them through the air, to 56 for East. The Bengals garnered 12 first downs to the Blue Bombers’ four. The Tigers had 288 yards to East’s 24 and 14 first downs to East’s one at the halftime intermission.
* * *
AND THE outcome could have been even more lopsided, but Coach Leo Strang used everybody on the bench rather than running up the score.

Following the game Coach Flory Mariocourt of East said, “I really appreciate Leo’s using his reserves. It gave us a lot of good experience.

Strang pointed to an old adage in summing up his feelings on the game. The familiar saying goes, “the best defense is a good offense.”

The Tigers scored six of the 12 times they had the ball and used up gobs of time on the clock in doing it. They showed good ball control during the other six chances, too. Not until the last quarter were they forced to punt and only in that period did they fail to score. They did lose the ball once on a fumble and once on an intercepted pass.

When the Orange and Black didn’t have the ball, its’ defense “made the offense look good,” as Strang put it. East failed to get out of its own territory until the third canto and then turned the trick only three times after that.
* * *
THE DEEPEST penetration by the Bombers was to the Tigers 32 late in the fourth stanza. But they lost a fumble at that point and the ball rolled all the way back to the East 45 where Dennis Morgan curled himself around the pigskin.

A contributing factor in the Bengal’s fine defensive effort was the play of ends Butch Hose and Captain Mike Jones and tackles Jim Binge and Steve Tarle. Binge and Tarle effectively jammed up East’s power game; forcing it outside where Hose and Jones took over.

Strang was pleased with both the first and second units work on defense, especially their gang tackling and pass defense. Likewise the skipper was happy that his air game functioned so well that he didn’t have to use too much of his running repertoire.

Quarterbacks Ron Swartz and Tom (Goose) Gatsios threw with pinpoint accuracy, completing 12 of 24 passes. Backs Bob Hewitt, Terry Getz, Jim Lawrence and Paul Shanor formed a well-nigh impregnable pocket for their mates. Offensive linemen appeared to do their jobs well. Receivers ran patterns well and were wide open – sometimes two in an area – on many occasions.

Scoring was divided evenly with three touchdowns coming via the heavens and three on the ground. Wingback Bill (Rabbit) Blunt scored a trio of six-pointers and a conversion. Hewitt picked up two conversions.
* * *
THE FIRST WHS tally came with 3:21seconds left in the initial canto. The Bengals marched 58 yards, after an East punt, in 13 plays with four first downs. Swartz sneaked in from the one on third down. Gatsios added the conversion on the keeper.

John Muhlback fell on Tom Rivera’s onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and the Orange and Black went 49 yards for its second six-pointer. Four plays and two first downs were registered.

Short side end Floyd (Duke) Pierce was instrumental in this drive, combining with Swartz on a 31-yard pass play to help set up the score. Swartz cranked up his right arm again on second down, after being tossed for a 12-yard loss and completed a pass good for 38 yards to Blunt with 1:14 seconds left, Long side end Will Perry got a key block on the 10-yard line to open the gate. Hewitt ran the conversion.

In the second period, Massillon moved 66 yards after a punt, using up four plays and two first downs. Blunt was the touchdown guy again, going 44 yards on a first down reverse with 7:39 left. Gatsios hit the shifty senior for the conversion.

East was forced to punt again after one series. The Bengals took over 58 yards from pay dirt and had their fourth score eight plays and five first downs later.
* * *
BLUNT WAS on the receiving end of a first down 16-yard aerial from Gatsios with 3:06 left. Hewitt scored the extra two points.

Picking up a punt on their 31, the Tigers marched to touchdown land again at the 7:16 mark of the third quarter. Seven plays and four first downs were used up this time. Lawrence bulled over from the one on second down after racing 14 yards on the play before. His conversion run was good.

Grady Eckard pounced on a Bomber fumble on the Clevelanders’ 29 and four plays and two first downs later it was touchdown for the Bengals for the final time. Short side end Bob (BoBo) McAllister caught a Swartz pass on second down from the 15 at 5:21. Lawrence was short through the center for the conversion.

The Tigers threatened once more but the clock ran out with the ball on the East three.

It’s now one down and nine to go on the state title comeback trail for the Tigers. The Massillon eleven will travel to Akron’s Rubber Bowl one week from tonight to face Akron Garfie

A Rousing Start

EAST – 0
Ends – Rountree, Miller, Lett and Mixon.
Tackles – Canady and Banks.
Guards – R. Young, D. Young and Ivory.
Centers – Murzynski and Weaver.
Quarterback – Holliday.
Halfbacks – Paul, Haynes, Hipps and Lindsey.
Fullbacks – Pledger and Hooker.

MASSILLON – 46
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Jones, Hose, McAllister, Goodnough, Franklin, R. Alexander and D. Alexander.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Binge, Passalacqua, Stevens, Morgan and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Whitfield, Manson, Swisher, Paflas, Mathias, Muhlbach, Rrearick, Rivera and Martin.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Freig.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Rink, Pope, Gamble, Marks, Shanor, Williams and Schenkenberger.
Fullbacks – Hewitt, Lawrence and Thomas.

Massillon 16 16 14 0 46

Touchdowns:
Blunt 3 (26-yard pass from Swartz, 44-yard run and 16-yard pass from Gatsios); Swartz (one-yard sneak); Lawrence (one-yard plunge); and McAllister (15-yard pass from Swartz).

Points after touchdowns:
Blunt 2; Hewitt 4, Gatsios 2 and Lawrence 2.

Officials
Referee – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Umpire – Paul Trepinski (Toledo).
Head Linesman – Bill Earenfight (Canton).
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle (Canton).

STATISTICS
Mass. East
First downs, rushing 12 4
First downs, passing 11 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 23 4
Yards gained rushing 217 102
Yards lost rushing 17 48
Net yards gained rushing 200 54
Yards gained passing 232 2
Total yards gained 432 56
Passes attempted 24 7
Passes completed 12 2
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average (yards) 38.5 38.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 22 53
Times punted 1 6
Punt average (yards) 32.0 30.6
Punt returns (yards) 62 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 0 3
Yards penalized. 0 15

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1962: Massillon 35, Canton Lincoln 16

Tigers End Season With Victory 35-16
Blunt Scores 3 Touchdowns, Sets Up 4th;

100th Win For Strang

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

There’s something about a Tiger team that’s grand! Grand! Grand!

And that something is the great fighting spirit of the Bengals! They had their trials and tribulations this year, but they never threw in the towel. They fought down to the wire.

Now that the din of another season has died away, and the fans have settled down to waiting through the long months for next year’s football, they’ll relive Saturday’s traditional Massillon-Canton game for days to come. For the Tigers gave them a finale to remember.
* * *
THE BENGALS made sure they ended on the winning side of the ledger, and they gave Coach Leo Strang his 100th victory of his career. The win was a 35-16 decision over Canton Lincoln’s Lions, substituting for the suspended McKinley Bulldogs.

The Orange and Black finished the season with a 6-5 record and averted the stigma of being the first squad since 1931 to have a losing season. For the Lions, who also gave a good account of themselves, it was a fourth loss. They also have five wins and a tie on their record.

The game brought back memories of 1940 and 1941 to Massillon as the name Blunt shot into prominence again. Then it was halfback Fred (Pokey) Blunt. Saturday it was junior halfback (The Rabbit) Blunt, Pokey’s nephew, who did the dazzling.

He scored three of the five Tiger touchdowns and helped set up a fourth. His 85-yard return of the opening kickoff for a score dealt the Lions a blow from which they never fully recovered.

“That was a real shocker,” Lincoln Coach Lou Venditti said after the game. “It broke our backs.” A jubilant Strang said, “We’d been practicing all week on kickoff returns. We usually only work the last day on that. We were really fired up. That helped us stand up.”
* * *
LEO WENT on to talk about Blunt. “He’s just coming into his own,” the skipper said. “The last four or five games he’s been doing what we expect of a good back offensively and defensively.”

Venditti also had nothing but praise for Blunt.

There was another key player in the game, Ron Davis, competing in his last contest for the Tigers as a linebacker, was a demon on defense, getting in on a lot of tackles. He was sorely missed in the second half when the lineup was broken to see that everybody got a chance to play, including the sophomores who were suited up for the only time this season.

“He’s a real fine linebacker,” Strang said, “We’re going to have a whale of a job replacing him.”

Strang added, “This was one of our better games, especially in the first half when we had our unit intact.” He didn’t like his passing game even though he scored two touchdowns that way and picked up 134 yards while completing four of seven.
* * *
HE GAVE Venditti a real compliment, “He’s a real good coach and has done a whale of a job with his team. They should win the state title on improvement alone.”

Venditti praised the speed of the Tigers. Both coaches felt that was a big difference in the game.

About his own team Venditti said, “I was proud of the way they came back in the second half. I was afraid they’d quit.” The Lions scored one touchdown and held Massillon to one after the Bengals had taken a 28-8 lead before the intermission.

Venditti was happy with the running of fullback George Andreadis, only a junior, and senior tackle, Chris Vagotis’ defensive job. Strang said that Andreadis was a good,
hard-running back.

“We knew we could run off tackle so we did in the second half,” Venditti continued, “I only wish I had more big backs like George (180 pounds). He could not do it all.”
* * *
THE STATISTICS show that Massillon out-rushed Lincoln 216 net yards to 111 and out-passed them 134-97, Lincoln had one TD via the airwaves and completed 12 of 19 passes. Massillon had 13 first downs to Lincoln’s 11. The Bengals had two more rushing than Lincoln.

Lincoln piled up just about all of their various totals in the second half. They got out of their territory only once during the first 12 minutes and didn’t pick up their first down until there were 6:48 left in the second period. They got only three in the first half.

The Tigers scored three times in the first quarter. First came Blunt’s electrifying run. Junior tackle Ken Curry kicked off for Lincoln. Blunt gathered the ball in on the south
15-yard line and set sail for pay dirt. Fourteen seconds later he was in touchdown land, thanks to some fine running and blocking.

Senior Wil Paisley got a bad snap from center and tried to pass to his holder, senior quarterback Mike Koenig, hoping he could run in for the conversion. But the ball never got to Koenig.

After a Lincoln series and a punt, the Bengals got rolling again. They moved from t heir 27 for their second TD, a distance of 73 yards, in 12 plays with three first downs.
* * *
SOPHOMORE FULLBACK Jim Lawrence had a key run of 25 yards around the short side on a pitchout from the Massillon 37 to the Lincoln 38. The touchdown came six plays later from the 25 on second down and six. Koenig hit Blunt over the center at 4:46. He made a tremendous leaping catch to prevent a sure interception.

John Kanney, senior tailback, just returned to duty after five week’s absence due to an injury, scored the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of right end.

The Tigers scored the next time they got their hands on the ball. Lincoln lost it on downs again after the first series following the Bengals’ TD. Blunt ran a punt back 18 yards to give the Tigers the ball on their 38.

This time the scoring drive took five plays with two first downs. Koenig ran the ball four straight times, picking up 18 yards over short side guard on one trip.

The Lions ran one series. Then the Bengals came roaring back from their 24. They took nine plays to do it and got two first downs. A 42-yard pass over the center from Koenig to Blunt on second and 25 on the 49 of Lincoln after an offensive holding penalty, set up the next score.

Koenig just missed hitting Blunt in the right fore corner of the end zone. Blunt dived for the ball but couldn’t hang on. Davis went over on the next play on a pitchout and sweep of right end as the clock ground to a halt. Paisley then kicked his last conversion of his high school year for a 35-8 count.

Massillon had the ball only twice in the last period. Lincoln had it three times, once for two plays at the games end. The Tigers got the ball on the Lincoln 34 after a punt misfired due to a bad snap. But two plays later Vogatis picked up a Massillon fumble on his 26. Lincoln then rolled 82 yards for a score. They got four first downs in the attempts.
* * *
WITH ANDREADIS, Walsh and Sardone taking turns going through the Tigers’ reserve line and Walsh cranking up for key pass plays of 11, eight and nine yards – two to Sardone and one to sophomore Wayne Todd – the Lions rolled to their second and final score in 17 plays. Twice Andreadis got first downs on crucial third down situations and once on last down.

The score came when Walsh hit Todd on a desperation pass from the 13 on fourth-and-11. Todd made a diving catch at 1:08 and just got over. Andreadis went over right tackle for the final two points.
* * *
THE SCORE came on a second-and-13 play from the Tigers’ 46. Koenig hit junior short side end Bob McAllister with a payoff pass down the left side with five seconds remaining in the first period. An attempted pass to junior long side end Mike Jones for the conversion was incomplete.

The Tigers kicked off as the period ended. Lincoln had one series in the second quarter. Massillon then moved from its 47 to Lincoln’s 29 after a 17-yard punt return by Blunt.

The Orange and Black’s attack bogged down. A sure TD pass from Koenig to McAllister misfired. On fourth down Paisley tried a field goal from the 39. It was short and junior safetyman Chuck Lyke ran the ball back from the five to the 26 – a distance of 21
yards – when the Massillon players forgot the ball wasn’t dead and watched Lyke run.

Neither team did anything until senior end Joe Nostram fell on a Massillon fumble on the Orange and Black 23 with 3:45 left in the half. The Lions had their first touchdown in five plays and one first down. Senior quarterback Ray Walsh passed to junior halfback Jim Sardone down the right side – with the play covering from the 23 to the 11 – to set up the score.

Sardone got the score off right tackle from the three on fourth down at 2:07. Walsh passed to Sardone on the right side again for the conversion as Sardone caught the ball in the end zone and then fell back out.
* * *
MASSILLON USED two plays after the kickoff to score again. Curry kicked short to Jones on the Bengals’ 35 to prevent Blunt getting the ball. But on the second play the junior back went over short side guard on the counter trap for a 57-yard score with one minute remaining. Kanney got the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of left side.

The third period was free of scoring until time had run out. Lincoln had chances stopped on the Massillon 28 and 27. Davis broke through for a bone-jarring tackle, knocking the pigskin loose. Senior halfback Ron (Silky) Sullivan picked it up on the 33. However, Andreadis recovered a Massillon fumble on the 32 on the next play.

CANTON LINCOLN – 16
Ends – Coletti, Todd and Van Nostram.
Tackles – Curry and Vagotis.
Guards – Easterman, Mowry, Roard and Selway.
Center – McCauley.
Quarterbacks – Walsh and Sheets.
Halfbacks – Lyke, Sardone, Stefanoich and Hawk.
Fullback – Andreadis.

MASSILLON – 35
Ends – Jones, McAllister, W. Franklin, Hose, R. Alexander, Goodnough, D. Alexander, E. Franklin and Gilmore.
Tackles – Mercer, Profant, Clendening, Miller, Fabianich, Tarle, Lash, Frang, Morgan, Harmon, Bing and Martin.
Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Roderick, Swisher, Rivera, Mathias, Paflas, Whitfield, Larsuel, Randles, Muhlback and Rearick.
Centers – Bradley, Scassa, Bash, Paisley and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Koenig, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Kanney, Blunt, Davis, Getz, Eckard, Rink, Pope, Stroh, Freig, Gamble, Schenkenberger and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Sullivan and Hewitt.

Lincoln 0 8 0 8 16
Massillon 20 8 7 0 35

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Blunt (85-yard return of opening kickoff, 25-yard pass from Koenig, 57-yard run), McAllister (54-yard pass from Koenig) and Davis (seven-yard run).
Lincoln – Sardone (three-yard run) and Todd (13-yard pass
from Walsh).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Kanney 2 (runs), Paisley 1 (kick).
Lincoln – Sardone (pass from Walsh);
Andreadis (run).

Officials:
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Horace Rainsberger (Painesville).
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs – rushing 9 7
First downs – passing 4 4
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 11
Yards gained rushing 220 126
Yards lost rushing 4 15
Net yards gained rushing 216 111
Yards gained passing 134 97
Total yards gained 350 208
Passes attempted 7 19
Passes completed 4 12
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 6 3
Kickoff average (yards) 47.6 29.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 90 120
Times punted 1 5
Punt average (yards) 30.0 34.6
Punt returns (yards) 44 36
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 2
Lost fumbled ball 3 1
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized 30 25

Ben Bradley
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1962: Massillon 19, Akron Garfield 0

Tigers Beat Garfield 19-0 In Heavy Rain
Six Ram Fumbles Help Bengals Square Record For the Season At 5-5-

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Fumbles are rarely things to be happy about. But they certainly brought smiles to the faces of Massillon football fans Friday night.

Their Tigers recovered all six of the Akron Garfield Golden Rams’ miscues at Tiger stadium and went on to a 19-0 victory over The Rubber City eleven before a rain-drenched crowd of 6,600.

The Bengals converted two of the Rams’ miscues into touchdowns, almost got another
six-pointer on a third bobble but fumbled in return, set the stage for one of the miscues which resulted in a touchdown with a fourth recovery and stopped a scoring threat with a fifth pick-up.

Four of the fumbles came in the second half when the Tigers had switched to what Coach Leo Strang called his “mud defense.” It employs a blitzing eight-man line. The Washington high school defenders hit Garfield quarterback Jack Hannig before he could hand off to cause the miscue.

Less the fans think the steady downpour was a key factor in the fumbling, it must be pointed out that the Rams fumbled only twice in the first half before Strang switched defenses.
* * *
BOTH STRANG and Garfield Coach Dan (Babe) Flossie agreed that the fumbles were the difference in the game. They also agreed that the loss of quarterback Tom Valatka, a senior, in the first quarter hampered the Garfield defense.

This was the third quarterback we had hurt this year,” Flossie said, “Hannig was in tonight for the first time since he broke an ankle in the second game.” Flossie paid the Tigers a compliment, “They played their typical hard-hitting game. We’re looking forward to meeting them in the Rubber Bowl next year.” Flossie was also unstinting in his praise of the “usual fine treatment we got from Massillon.”

Strang commented that “Flossie had done his usual fine job of coaching the Rams.” The Tigers’ skipper also pointed out, “Anything can happen on a night like this and almost did in the first half. The weather was a tremendous equalizer.”

He had a compliment for the fans. “These were the true fans who were out there tonight.”

The Bengals tried their old 1958 offense, a pro-type T spread, for the first half, but went back to the regular unbalanced wing-T after the intermission. The spread is geared for passing, and it was too wet to do that effectively, witness the completion of only two of 10 passes for 29 yards. Garfield hit on one of six for 10 yards.
* * *
THERE WAS QUITE a bit of difference in rushing yardage thanks to the Tigers’ blitz. Massillon had 196 net yards, Garfield 63. The Bengals had their troubles running, losing 40 yards while Garfield dropped 24.

All of the scoring was done in the second half, 12 points coming in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Mike Koenig scored two of the three touchdowns, going through the center from one yard out on both. Sophomore fullback Jim Lawrence went through the center from eight yards away.

The first touchdown was set up by two fumbles. On the second play after the second half kickoff, Garfield fumbled with Tiger senior Co-Captain Ben Bradley getting his second recovery of the night on the Rams’ 39. The Orange and Black ran out of gas at the Garfield 20.

Lightning struck on Garfield’s first play after taking over. Junior wingback Bill Blunt fell on the ball for the Tigers at the 17. WHS then got its first score in seven plays.

With Koenig carrying on four of the plays and the Bengals using through-the-middle football, the score came on a third down play with four minutes remaining in the quarter. Davis tried off tackle for the conversion but missed.

Two plays after the kickoff the Tigers were on their way again. Sophomore left end Wes Goodnough leaped on a Garfield fumble on the 26. Lawrence’s score came in four plays. He set up his own TD with a 19-yard run from the 27 to the eight on sweep of left end from a pitchout on third down. He scored on the next play with the same maneuver . There were 37 seconds left when Lawrence hit pay dirt. He tried the same play for the third time on the conversion but missed.
* * *
SENIOR Will Paisley’s next kickoff sailed over the head of Rams’ safetyman to the four. Halfback Jon Butash picked it up, but senior (Silky) Sullivan and sophomore Tom Whitfield brought him to earth in a hurry.

Garfield ran one play and the quarter ended. On the first play of the last canto, sophomore Dennis Morgan recovered a fumble on the five. In three plays the Orange and Black were on the one. But a fumble stopped the threat.

Garfield got nowhere on the next series. Sophomore Henry Malone went back to the one to punt, kicked the ball straight up into the air and it came down on the 23. The Tigers took over, ran one play, got set back for holding and couldn’t get any further than the 34.

The Rams’ got nowhere again on the next series. Malone dropped back to the 24, punted, Blunt grabbed the ball on his 38 and ran it back to his 47. The clock showed 6:33 remaining when the Tigers took over. Their final score came at 1:25.

Strang put junior tailback Tom Pope in for a look see and got quite an eyeful. Pope carried on five of the nine plays in the scoring thrust, picking up valuable yardage.

A 15-yard personal four penalty also helped.

Koenig went over on third-and-one. Paisley kicked the conversion. But a player for each team was thrown out for battling with their forearms, offsetting penalties resulted and Paisley was forced to repeat the kick, making it good again.
* * *
GARFIELD got three plays after the kickoff, and the game was over.

The Golden Rams threatened only twice in the contest, both times in the first half. After Massillon was unable to move the ball following the opening kickoff, Garfield took over on a punt on its 24. After 13 plays of tackle-to-tackle football, which brought four first downs, the Rams appeared to be threatening on the Tigers’ 19, fourth-and-one.

Garfield made its first down only to run afoul of a holding penalty which set the Rams back to the 33, fourth and 15 yards to go. Valatka went back to punt, was rushed hard, got a bad snap, his foot missed the ball on the 44.

This was the play on which Valatak was hurt. He was carried off the field on a stretcher.

The Tigers used nine plays with three first downs to get to Garfield’s 14. Senior tailback Ron Davis carried five times for vital yardage. Lawrence also had a 19-yarder from the Garfield 45 to the 26.

A five-yard offside penalty hindered the drive. And Paisley tried a 32-yard field goal on fourth down, but the attempt was wide to the left.

Garfield got a break on its next punt when a Massillon fumble occurred. The Rams got the ball on the Massillon 45 as Butash recovered. He was hurt on this play and forced to sit out for awhile.
* * *
THREE PLAYS later Blunt intercepted a pass on his five and returned to his 37 only to have a clip called on the runback. The penalty set Massillon back to its 11.

The Orange and Black couldn’t move the ball past the 36. Paisley went back to punt, got a low snap, ran with the ball and was tackled on his 26. But Bradley took care of this threat by recovering a fumble on the seven, four plays later.

Massillon then got its longest drive of the night going, moving 51 yards to the Garfield 37 when time ran out in the first half. The drive took 10 plays. Davis had runs of 14 and 20 yards to help the cause.

The win put the Tigers back on an even keel again for the season. Their record stands at
5-5 with one game left to play with Canton Lincoln next Saturday afternoon at the stadium.

Garfield ended the season with four wins and five losses. It starts playoff action for the Akron city title next week.

AKRON GARFIELD – 0
Ends – Price, Young, Wright and Davis.
Tackles – Apely, Byerly and Kaludy.
Guards – Hollendoner, Sime, Brockett, Reiter and Quackenbush.
Centers – Kura and Hamic.
Backs – Valatka, Hannig, Watson, Carruthers, Bender, Malone,
Cianciola, Adams and Djurcic.

MASSILLON – 19
Ends – McAllister, Jones, Goodnough, Hose and Franklin.
Tackles – Profant, Mercer, Clendening, Miller, Frank, Morgan,
Binge and Harmon.
Guards – Castile, Mathias, Geckler, Swisher, Paflas, McDew,
Rivera, Whitfield and Larsuel.
Centers – Bradley, Scassa and Paisley.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Koenig and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Davis, Blunt, Eckard, Getz and Pope.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Toles and Sullivan.

Massillon 0 0 12 7 19

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Koenig (two, one-yard runs) and Lawrence (eight yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Paisley 1 (kick)

Officials
Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland)
Umpire – Dr. Bob Schotz (Lorain).
Head Linesman – Jim Langhurst (Willard).
Field Judge – Al Franesconi (Akron).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Akron
First downs – rushing 11 4
First downs – passing 1 1
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 13 5
Yards gained rushing 236 86
Yards lost rushing 40 24
Net yards gained rushing 196 62
Yards gained passing 29 10
Total yards gained 225 72
Passes attempted 10 6
Passes completed 2 1
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 50.0 36.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 12 59
Times punted 1 3
Punt average (yards) 35.0 22.6
Punt returns (yards) 11 -7
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 2 6
Lost fumbled ball 1 6
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 25 39

Ben Bradley
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1962: Massillon 14, Cleveland Benedictine 26

Tigers Drop Fifth Game Bennies Score All Points In First Half And Triumph 26-14

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Their season’s record is on the minus side, (4-5), but there’s still a big plus in the column marked effort!

The Massillon Tigers, manhandled and frustrated at almost every turn by a heavier, more experienced Cleveland Benedictine squad, never quit on their fans Friday night although some Tigertowners gave up on their team after three quarters. The majority stayed on to cheer the Tigers to the bitter end. Those who left Tiger stadium early missed seeing the Orange and Black score an electrifying touchdown on the final play of the game.

It didn’t change the outcome – the final score was 26-14 in favor of Benedictine – but, it did show that in spite of all the adversities suffered by the Tigers this year, their spirit hasn’t been dimmed. A year like this would be enough to make a team quit but not the Washington high school eleven.
* * *
IT WAS the combination of two juniors, wingback Bill (The Rabbit) Blunt and quarterback Ron Swartz, which brought the remainder of 8,975 fans to their feet at the finish of the game. With third down and three for Massillon on its 19, Swartz let fly with an aerial bomb down the right side. Blunt grabbed it on the Benedictine 40 and raced the remaining distance for the score, a play covering 81 yards, with the pass traveling 46 yards.

There were two second left on the clock when the play started, but there were a bunch of zeroes showing when Blunt crossed the goal line. Then an interesting chain of events took place.

First, Wil Paisley, senior kicking specialist, missed the kick. Peiole began streaming onto the field, but referee Bud Shopbell indicated Benedictine was offside. A half-the-distance penalty was stepped off against the Bennies. The teams got into position again. But Benedictine contacted before the snap. The distance was halved again.

Then Paisley, with fans swarming over the field from the 50-yard-line south, booted the extra point. And the game was over.

It was Blunt who was also responsible for the Tigers’ other six-pointer. Just before the end of the first quarter he took a punt on his 16, cut to the left sideline and raced all the way for the score, thanks to some good blocking and some good running. Senior end Jim Upthegrove tackled Blunt at the last minute. But the second-year halfback lunged over the line as he fell.

Paisley booted the extra point.
* * *
THERE’S NO DOUBT the Tigers had a frustrating night. In the first half, they gained only 26 net yards rushing to Benedictine’s 82, 12 yards passing to the Bengals’ 140 and two first downs to the Cleveland eleven’s eight. The Orange and Black completed only three of 11 passes to four of five for their guests.

Until late in the second quarter, the Tigers were able to run no more than four plays each time they had the ball. They got no further than their own 34. They completed no passes and had no first downs.

The Tigers couldn’t get around, over or through the Bengals. They couldn’t hold the onrushing Benedictine linemen back. The pass receivers couldn’t get loose thanks to the Bennies’ experienced and fast reacting secondary. This especially hurt since Coach Leo Strang had counted on using the air game a lot.

It was impossible for Massillon to throw many passes because the Tigers couldn’t get far enough from their goal line to do so safely. Only in the last series did they get the chance.

WHS took over on its 40 after what proved to be Benedictine’s last score. Eight passes were thrown in nine plays. Six were incomplete.

The Orange and Blacks’ first first downs came during this drive. One came on a holding penalty with about two minutes left in the half, the other on a pass with 1:46 left.
* * *
THE SERIES came to an end when senior Paul Beskid intercepted a pass on his 20. He also intercepted a pass in the second half as did his junior brother Ed and senior Captain Ray Klaff, all in Benedictine territory.

Two of the four Bengal touchdowns were set up by nifty pass plays, both by senior halfback Sal Collura. On was scored via the aerial route.

Benedictine took over on the Massillon 47 after a punt in the latter half of the first period. Three plays later senior quarterback Jeff Cherba uncorked a 35-yard pass to junior end Jim Yacknow for the first score at 4:15. The touchdown came on a first-and-10 situation.

Chorba tried to hit senior end John Upthegrove for the conversion but missed.

Then came Blunt’s first TD and a short-lived 7-6 lead for Massillon.

Benedictine took over on its 20 following the kickoff. In three plays the Bennies had a first down on the 31. There was no gain on the first play. Then Chorba connected with Collura on the Massillon 45. He raced to the 12 before junior halfback Grady Eckard hauled him down.

Senior fullback Joe Ditchman went off right guard to the two and then went over for the score at 9:35. Chorba misfired on a pass to Klaff for the conversion.

Benedictine kicked off, Massillon ran one series and was forced to kick from its 15. Paisley got a bad pass from center and a blocked punt from Klaff. Ditchman recovered the errant pigskin on the one after the ball had been knocked into the end zone and back out again.

Chorba went over on the first play. Ditchman failed in his attempt to run for two points.
* * *
IN THE LAST half of the second quarter, Benedictine took over after holding Massillon at its 44. Chorba threw to Collura on the first play which took the ball to the six. Two running plays made it third-and-three. Then Ditchman went through the middle at 3:50.

Chorba’s run for the PAT’s was good.

The Tigers held Augie Bossu’s crew scoreless in the second half. They did it through some adjustments at half time. Strang said that the Orange and Black stunted a lot more in the second half, and changed some of its stunts and its pass defense from man-to-man to zone.

After the intermission, Massillon completed three of 10 passes for 130 yards while Benedictine completed none of five. Massillon had 30 yards rushing to 68 for Benedictine. Massillon had five first downs and Benedictine four.

Massillon got as far as the Benedictine 37 the only time the Strangmen got out of their own territory. Benedictine got to the Massillon 26 and 28 before losing out on downs and having Blunt intercept at pass to set the stage for his second TD.

AT THE conclusion of the game, Strang said, “We were just manhandled by one of the top 10 teams in the state. They’re well-drilled and make no mistakes.” He pointed out the low number of first downs for his team in the first half. He also remarked about the passing percentage being 29 per cent while the season’s average is 42.

Bossu said, “We got the jump on them with those long passes and that blocked punt in the first half. You’ve got to give them credit though. They really came fighting back in the second half.” He felt that the lack of passing in the second half kept his ground game from being as effective as in the first 24 minutes.

His team now has an eight-game winning streak, losing only to Toledo Central Catholic early in the season before being jelled. Central is the second-ranked team in the state. The complete record of Benedictine is 8-1. This was the second win over Massillon in eight games for Bossu.

It’s not pleasant to mention but Friday’s loss made this the worst season for the Tigers since 1931 when Elmer McGrew won only two games while losing six and tying two. The record is now four wins and five losses.

Akron Garfield comes in next week for the next-to-the-last game.

BENEDICTINE – 26
Ends – Klaff, Upthegrove and Torda.
Tackles – Porowski, Marcoguiseppe, Yacknow and Martin.
Guards – Swiderski, Hazel, Sladsky and Yunich.
Center – Bilek.
Quarterbacks – Chorba and Fink and P. Beskid.
Halfbacks – Collura, Felice, E. Beskid, Anderson and Zelina.
Fullbacks – Sanders, Ganim and Ditchman.

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – McAllister, Jones, Franklin, Hose and Goodnough.
Tackles – Profant, Mercer, Clendening, Fabianich, Miller and Tarle.
Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Mathias and Rivera.
Centers – Bradley, Paisley and Scassa.
Quarterbacks – Koenig and Swartz.
Halfbacks – Davis, Blunt, Eckard, Getz and Pope.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Toles, Sullivan and Thomas.

Benedictine 6 20 0 0 26
Massillon 7 0 0 7 14

Touchdowns: Massillon – Blunt (84-yard punt return and 81-yard pass from Swartz). Benedictine – Yacknow (35-yard pass from Chorba); Ditchman (two and three-yard runs); Chroba (one-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Paisley 2 (kicks).
Benedictine – Chorba 1 (run).

Officials
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Edmund Corsi (Shaker Heights).
Head Linesman – Karl Chestnutt (Kent).
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).

GAME STATISTICS

Tigers Bennies
First downs – rushing 2 8
First downs – passing 4 3
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 7 12
Yards gained rushing 69 165
Yards lost rushing 13 14
Net yards gained rushing 56 151
Yards gained passing 142 140
Total yards gained 198 291
Passes attempted 21 10
Passes completed 6 4
Passes intercepted by 1 4
Times kicked off 2 5
Kickoff average (yards) 57.5 37.6
Kickoff returns (yards) 43 15
Times punted 4 5
Punt average (yards) 26.7 36
Punt returns (yards) 109 8
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 25 32

Ben Bradley
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo

1962: Massillon 7, Warren Harding 20

Warren Hands Tigers Fourth Defeat 20-7
Bengals’ Wide-Open Game Plans Bog Down In Harding Field Mud

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The weatherman refused to cooperate with the Massillon Tigers Friday night at Warren and took one half of their offense away. With no passing game possible and unable to consistently get through a line which outweighed them about 18 pounds per man, the Washington high school football team dropped a 20-7 decision to the Black Panthers.

“A crowd of 14,500 fans – more than capacity for Harding field – watched as the two teams battled each other in a sea of mud. The game was close for three quarters. But the Panthers scored a clinching touchdown in the final stanza.

The loss dropped the Bengals back to a .500 season with a 4-4 mark. The last time a Massillon team lost four games in one season was in 1947 when the Orange and Black ended with a 6-4 record.

Coach Leo Strang has failed to win at Warren in three tries.

Program Cover

Warren now stands at seven wins and an opening game tie. The Panthers are still very much in the running for the state championship.
* * *
FIVE INCHES of snow were cleared off the field in the morning. A drizzle fell in the afternoon making playing conditions almost impossible.

“It was the worst field I’ve ever seen,” said Strang. “We worked all week on a wide open game and then we get this kind of mess. We gave it a real effort though.”

The skipper thought that Warren had a “good, big, strong team.” Their penetration on defense was good,” he said. “That caused a couple of our fumbles. They hit us as we were handing off.”

Commenting on his defense, Strang said, “Due to their heavier line we had to gamble on defense and got caught zigging when we should have zagged at times. They caught us on a deal to the opposite direction on their second score. We were dealing on almost every play.”

Warren Coach Ben Wilson refused to single out any one person for praise, saying, “We had a real team effort.” He patted Massillon on the back with, “They did a good job. Strang deserves a lot of credit for the coaching he had done on the Tigers. They’ve come a long way.
* * *
MOST OF THE football was played from tackle to tackle with both teams punching out short gainers after short gainers. The footing was too treacherous and the ball too wet for much else. This is what Warren is good at. The playing conditions were made to order for the Panthers.

They ground out 240 net yards rushing to Massillon’s 132 which pretty much tells the story. Both teams lost almost an equal amount of yardage, the Orange and Black 22, Warren 23. Where Warren got the five and six-yard gains, Massillon got only ones and twos. First downs had Warren ahead 9-6. One of Massillon’s came via a penalty.

There was no passing yardage which isn’t out of the ordinary for Warren because the Panther are a strictly power team. But the Tigers have thrown a good deal this year. Warren didn’t try any passes. Massillon threw only three but failed to connect.

The play that was a big turning point for Massillon came in the third period. Junior linebacker Paul Fabianich recovered a Warren fumble on the Panthers’ 27. And the Tigers moved to the seven in eight plays and two first downs with senior quarterback Mike Koenig, senior tailback Ron Davis and sophomore fullback Jim Lawrence taking turns diving straight ahead.

With fourth-and-seven and Warren leading 12-7, Koenig tried to pass. His cold hands and the slippery ball never permitted him to get the pigskin to junior tailback Bill Blunt who made a good try but couldn’t hold on. The Bengals never got within striking distance again.

Had they gotten this score and an extra point or points to go ahead, the outcome might have been different. But it wasn’t to be as the Orange and Black got out of its territory only six of the 12 times it had its hands on the ball. Warren was on the Massillon side of the 50 on eight of 13 chances.

However, five of these occurrences came on four fumbles and a blocked punt. Two of Warren’s scores came after fumble recoveries.
* * *
THE FIRST incident came early in the initial quarter. Koenig attempted a pass from his 49 on second-and-nine. He was hit hard by an onrushing lineman, the ball was jarred from his hand and rolled back to the 38 where senior tackle Carl Cohen fell on it.

It took Warren four plays to score. Senior halfback Reedy Thomas raced around left end to the 18 and a first down. A five-yard motion penalty occurred. Then Thomas skirted the same end on second-and-11 from the 19 with 8:06 remaining in the period. His run for the conversion failed.

Massillon elected to kick from its own 49 on third-and-12. Senior center Denny Yanta broke through and became the first one to block a Wil Paisley punt this year. Warren took over on the 39 but lost the ball on downs.

The Orange and Black got the ball back on its nine after the punt and got its only sustained drive of the night going. The Tigers picked up three first downs and moved to the Warren 46 in eight plays. Davis, Koenig and Lawrence again did a lot of running from tackle to tackle. A 10-yard loss forced a punt from the Tiger 44 on the ninth play.

Blunt ran back the Panthers’ next punt 15 yards to the Warren 35. But disaster struck again a minute later. Yanta recovered a fumble on his 30 on second down.
* * *
WARREN ran three plays, fumbled, and senior halfback Ron Sullivan recovered a fumble on the Panthers’ 41. He kept on running but the defensive team can’t advance a fumble.

The Tigers fumbled on the next play. Senior fullback Darryl Zupancic recovered on the Massillon 41. Warren got nowhere on its next series. Neither did Massillon.

Then the Wilsonmen took over on their 32 following a punt. Senior halfback Wendell Smith streaked off right tackle for a 68-yard score. The score came at 2:56. Junior halfback Charlie Williams failed on the conversion.

The Tigers’ lone score came on its next series. Taking over on its own 44, the Orange and Blafck moved for the tally in four plays and two first downs with 50 seconds remaining in the half. The big play was Davis’ 46-yard run off left guard on the dive from the Warren 49 to the 43. Senior halfback Wendell Smith just made the tackle from behind on the three.

Junior tailback Terry Getz scored from the three off left tackle. Senior Wil Paisley booted the extra point.
* * *
WARREN DROVE from its 13 to the Massillon 21 late in the third canto and early in the fourth in 10 plays with three first downs. Thomas did most of the running on slant plays off the left side of the line.

Smith made one long run on a slant the other way from the Warren 15 to the Massillon 44, a distance of 41 yards. Thomas had a run of 14 yards from the Tigers’ 32 to the 18 on another slant play.

Late in the fourth period senior end Charlie Grounds hopped on a Massillon fumble on the Orange and Black’s eight following a Warren drive from the Tigers’ 33 to the 11 after a bad punt. The fumble came on first down.

Then Zupancic went over three plays later on third-and-inches at 3:34. Quarterback Bill Mink, a senior, added the conversion for the final 20-7 score.

The Bengals now return home for their final three games of the season, starting next Friday with Cleveland Benedictine. Akron Garfield and Canton Lincoln follow in that order.

MASSILLON – 7
Ends – McAllister, Jones and Franklin.
Tackles – Profant, Clendening, Mercer, Tarle, Miller, Fabianich and Morgan.
Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Paflas, Mathias, Roderick, Rivera and Swisher.
Centers – Bradley, Scassa and Paisley.
Quarterbacks – Koenig and Swartz.
Halfbacks – Getz, Blunt, Davis and Eckard.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Toles and Sullivan.

WARREN – 20
Ends – Snyder, Grounds, Keller, Ferrance and Ochtyun.
Tackles – Fender, Cohen and Crites.
Guards – Measures, Windle, Salem and Hood.
Centers – Yanta, Kostraba, Maudy and Crawford.
Quarterbacks – Mink and Stredney.
Halfbacks – Williams, Grishon, Thomas, Shimko, Turner, Owens and Pagano.
Fullbacks – Zupancic and Koscaka.

Massillon 0 7 0 0 7
Warren 6 6 0 8 20

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Getz (three-yard run).
Warren – Thomas (19-yard run); Smith (66-yard run); Zupancic (one-yard run)

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Paisley (kick).
Warren – Mink (run).

Officials
Referee – Fritz Graf (Akron).
Umpire – Clyde Moore (Rittman).
Head Linesman – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 5 9
First downs – passing 0 0
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 6 9
Yards gained rushing 154 263
Yards lost rushing 22 23
Net yards gained rushing 132 240
Yards gained passing 0 0
Total yards gained 132 240
Passes attempted 3 0
Passes completed 0 0
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average (yards) 29.5 34.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 64 37
Times punted 3 3
Punt average (yards) 31.0 35.2
Punt returns (yards) 30 0
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 4 2
Lost fumbled ball 4 2
Penalties 1 1
Yards penalized 5 5

Ben Bradley