History Archives - Page 95 of 142

1951: Massillon 6, Barberton 0

November 9, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Defense Stops Barberton As Tigers Win 6-0
Great Goal Line Stands Thwart Five Magic Bids Inside Five-Yard Line

By LUTHER EMERY

The Washington high school Tigers gave Barberton a lesson in goal line defense Friday evening and only for that reason are they still a leading contender today for the Ohio high school football championship.

Seldom has a team won a ball game that has been whipped so badly in the middle of the field. The Tigers were the victors 6-0, and the touchdown represents their only threat of the evening. On only one other occasion were they ever in Barberton territory, that coming on the first play of the game, when Gene Kapish fumbled the initial kickoff and the Tigers covered on the 33. But the local gridders gave it back to Barberton on a fumble on the very next play and, save for their touchdown drive, were shut up in their own back yard for most of the remainder of the game.

Barberton on the other hand was knocking – knocking – knocking all night at the Tiger goal. Five times the Magics were inside the five-yard line, only to lose the ball. The Tigers stopped them on four occasions, the timekeeper’s first half gun on the fifth. Once they were over the goal, but a five-yard penalty for backfield in motion ruined the bid.
* * *
NEVER HAVE we seen so many scoring thrusts turned back in one game. Two were stopped after the Magics had made first downs on the two-yard line, another was turned back after a first down on the four, and another ended inches short of the goal after a first down on the nine.

The heroic goal line stands of the Tigers were hardly understandable considering the way the same players yielded ground in the middle of the field. Their gallantry was the opposite of the offensive showing of the local team which was beaten at every turn save for the one touchdown effort. The difference was that the Tigers had sufficient punch to push over the score, while Barberton, lacking men fast enough to go to the outside had to rely on inside plays and didn’t have t he power inside the shadow of its goal when it faced an eight-man line with a secondary virtually piled in on top of it.

The Tigers’ winning touchdown drive began with the interception of a Barberton pass by Bob Khoenle in midfield and raced back to the Magics’ 22 before they caught him.

Ace Grooms, who had offense trouble all evening, got two yards at left tackle and Lee Nussbaum rammed the same spot for five. Bob Grier missed a first down by a yard but Nussbaum got it by inches on the 11 when he hit off tackle again.
* * *
IT WAS Bobby Grier’s turn to lug the leather. He was sent through right tackle on two consecutive plays. The first time he hit for two, the second for nine and a touchdown. He went over with room to spare. Grooms’ attempted kick for the extra point was low of the cross bar.

That’s the ball game as far as the scoring goes, but there’s a lot more to the story of how the Tigers eventually beat the Magics at their own specialty – defense.

It was Barberton’s first loss of the season. The Magics had previously beaten eight
teams – none by impressive scores, but the eleven was appraised after the game by its coach. Junie Ferrall, as “the most underrated team in Ohio.”
* * *
KEENLY disappointed over the loss, Ferrall said the Barberton team was one that would not roll up a score on opponents. “The boys would get a couple of touchdowns and be satisfied with the score. They liked to play football so well, they didn’t want anybody taking their places in the lineup, so they just kept the score down themselves, so I wouldn’t substitute,” he said.

Ferrall and his team had their eyes set on winning the game and with it the Ohio high school championship. They came so close several times, but missed out by inches. They had pointed for the contest all season. It was the last game, the big game on their schedule and they wound up their final week of practice by eating and sleeping football together and rehearsing in secrecy.

They had scouted the Tigers thoroughly all season and we learned that they had also been given some tips on how to stop Massillon by another rival.

They succeeded so well that they beat the Tigers in every department of the statistics except points and loss of the ball on fumbles.
* * *
THE MAGICS ran up 15 first downs to the local team’s five, and gained 262 net yards to the Tigers’ 104. They completed 11 of 23 passes to the local team’s one pass in six attempts. But the Tigers scored the six points on the scoreboard despite giving the ball away four times on fumbles while Barberton had two muffs covered by Massillon.

The visitors had Ace Grooms, the local team’s leading ground gainer, stopped most of the evening. None of the other backs had any better success.

Coach Chuck Mather visibly worn and pale after the game paid respects to the goal line stands made by his team, but said he was disappointed with its offensive showing. He had expected it to do better.

So had most fans, who should share the blame for the near tie or loss because of their complacent attitude this fall. The general pep and spirit that has helped build championships in this city has been lacking this season, possibly brought on by the fact that the collapse of Canton McKinley has taken away the climatic touch of a goal to shoot for in the crucial finals of the year.
* * *
COACHES have found it difficult to fire their Tiger team for 48 minutes of solid football and it took goal line stands to bring out the best that was in the boys last night.

The first of these came in the opening quarter after Barberton had covered a Massillon fumble on the Tiger 48. With Ed Zalar and Gene Neely driving hard, the Magics hammered the Tiger line until they smashed to a first down on the 16. Here the Tigers took time out, talked it over then braced, finally taking the leather away from the Magics on the nine.

Early in the second period Barberton got the ball on a punt on the Tiger 47.

Running from single wing, the Magics banged and banged at the Massillon line, not for long gains but for three and four at a time, enough to make three consecutive first downs to take the ball to the 13. Here the Tigers stood firm and gave but one yard on three downs, but on fourth, Tom George flicked a pass to Gene Kapish who was tackled as he caught the ball inches short of a first down on the three and one-half-yard line.

The Tigers fumbled on the first play, however and big Bob Carbaugh covered for Barberton on the two. Time was fleeting. The Magics ran two plays with Zalar carrying the ball both times, gained a total of one-half yard and the gun cracked with third down coming up and the pigskin a yard and half short of the Tiger goal.
* * *
ONCE in the third period Barberton got to Massillon’s 20-yard line but here the Tigers took over and stopped the threat.

The fourth period was a nerve tingler all the way, as Barberton always knocking, found the door shut to the Tiger goal.

The Magics’ first effort in the final period followed the covering of a Tiger fumble on the 50. The Magics unleashed a passing attack that had the locals dizzy and wound up with George throwing 12 yards to Bob Newell for a first down on the nine. Zalar took the ball three straight times and was only a foot short of the goal on his third attempt. Neely was given the leather on fourth down and the Tiger line rose up and smote him down.

The Magics didn’t yield yardage to the Tigers who had to punt out to their 33. George again began throwing. One found the arms of Neely for nine yards. Two more were broken up, and just when it appeared the Tigers had the series stopped, interference was called on a fourth down pass on the two-yard line. Paul Walker, field judge, said a Massillon player had shoved the intended receiver on the back.
* * *
THE HARRIED Tiger team dug in again. Zalar was given the ball. He wound up under a pile without gain. He tried to hammer his way through again but got only a yard. A third straight time Zalar was given the leather. He got half the (REST OF ARTICLE IS MISSING).

TATISTICS
Mass. Barb.
First downs 5 15
Passes attempted 6 23
Passes completed 1 11
Had passes intercepted 0 2
Yards gained passing 9 145
Yards gained rushing 101 130
Total yards gained 110 275
Yards Lost 6 13
Net yards gained 104 262
Times kicked off 2 1
Average kickoffs (yards) 34 49
Yards kickoffs returned by 16 8
Times punted 7 4
Average punt (yards) 39 36
Yards punts returned by 0 47
Times fumbled 4 3
Lost ball on fumble 4 2
Times penalized 2 7
Yards penalized 10 35

1951: Massillon 21, Toledo Waite 0

November 2, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Defeat Toledo Waite 21-0 In Snow
Massillon Gridders On Comeback Trail After Hard Earned Victory

By LUTHER EMERY

Toledo Waite and old man winter couldn’t keep the Washington high school Tigers off the comeback trail Friday evening and the local gridders proved themselves a team deserving the top rating in the Associated Press Ohio scholastic football poll, by smashing the Indians 21-0 before eight thousand shivering fans.

Playing in Toledo’s first snowfall of the season, the Massillon gridders held to a scoreless tie the first period, shoved over a touchdown in each of the last three quarters while continuing to keep Waite at least 22 yards away from pay dirt.

It was the Tigers’ seventh victory of the season, but more than that it was proof the local eleven had the necessary courage and strength to bounce back from defeat and start what we hope will be another victory string.
* * *
IT WAS a hard earned victory. The Waite Indians, keyed up for the game and inspired by their best performance of the season a week ago, presented a defensive problem (or problems) for the Tigers. They met the local team with various types of defenses and their strong and heavy line was difficult for the Tiger forward wall to move, particularly on the slippery field.

Offensively, the Indians were no great problem. They had two good ball carriers in Buddy Peacock and Stan Sterger, but they found it difficult to make any great headway on the revamped Tiger defense. “Keep” plays were the Indians’ best weapon, but all of their passing and ball carrying failed to get them closer to the goal than the 22-yard line, and 15 times ball carriers were thrown for losses totaling 64 yards.

Ace Grooms and Tom Straughn were the Tigers’ leading ground gainers. They also scored all of the points; Straughn getting one TD and Grooms two and three extra points from placement.

Grooms rolled to 116 yards and Straughn for 88 while the other backs picked up 45.
* * *
THE CONTEST was one of the hardest fought of the season from a standpoint of tackling by both teams. Tacklers hit ball carriers in waves and it was surprising there were only a few fumbles considering the hard tackling and slippery condition of the ball on the snow covered field.

Fumbles stopped two Tiger advances as the ball was muffed into the hands of Waite players, while the Indians managed to recover their own bobbles.

The Tigers, on the other hand, intercepted two Waite passes to make up for the muffs.

The passes were intercepted by Bob Khoenle and one was as clever a theft as you will see for a long time, as Bob jumped high to tip the ball with one hand into the other.

The Massillon gridders sought to open up the Toledo defense with forward passes in order to make their running attack more potent. They were successful in the second and third periods, but Waite ganged up on passer Paul Francisco in the fourth and tossed him for repeated losses. The locals were pushed back a total of 56 yards.
* * *
WINNING THE TOSS, the Tigers started off as though they meant business when Grooms returned the kickoff from the goal line to his own 48. They got down to the 27 principally through a 19-yard pass from Paul Francisco to Bill Gable, but there the attack fizzled and Waite took over. Neither team threatened the rest of the period though the Tigers made a good defensive stand toward the close of the quarter after the Indians recovered a Massillon fumble on the latter’s 33. Four downs produced only one yard and the Tigers took over on their 32.

Chuck Vliet has the better of an exchange of punts as he bounced the ball over the Waite safety man’s head to the 12-yard line. Sterger was thrown for a 10-yard loss when he tried to circle his left end and Sam Williams punted out from behind his goal to midfield.

Paul Francisco found Bruce Brenner, in the open and hit him with a perfect pass for a first down on the four yard line. The Indians stopped John Francisco, but Straughn knifed his way through for the score and Grooms kicked the extra point with only three minutes of the half left to play.

Waite made its best bid at the start of the third period when the Indians using a draw, a keep play and a jump pass got down to a first down on the Tiger 31. Four downs netted only nine yards, however, and the Tigers stopped the threat on their 22.
* * *
AN INTERCEPTED pass by Khoenle gained the locals the ball on the Waite 27, but with fourth down and three to go for a first down, Straughn fumbled on an end sweep and Waite covered for a loss of eight yards.

The period was two-thirds over when the Tigers got the ball on a punt on their own 44. Paul Francisco pitched to Bruce Brenner for nine yards. John Francisco barely made a first down on the Waite 46. Grooms ran to a first down on the 27 and went the rest of the distance into the end zone a pitchout. He kicked the extra point and the Tigers led 14-0.

The Tigers went half the distance of the field in the fourth quarter for their third and final touchdown. Straughn ground out 15 and Grooms 12 to put the ball on the 27. Straughn and Grooms gained three yards but Francisco was nailed for a 13-yard loss trying to pass. Lee Nussbaum pulled them out of a hole by driving hard on a statue of liberty for a first down on the 17. Grier and Nussbaum moved the ball forward four yards. Grooms went the last 13 around right end for the touchdown and then kicked the 21st point.

The Tigers almost got another TD in the closing minutes of the game when Francisco tossed a screen pass to Grooms who ran to the 27-yard line before being caught by the Waite safety man.
* * *
SNOW handicapped both teams to a certain degree.

Oddly enough it did not begin snowing in Toledo until late in the afternoon. When the Massillon team arrived early in the afternoon the sun was trying to get through the clouds. Not a drop of rain nor flake of snow had fallen up to that time. But late in the afternoon the snow appeared, fanned by an icy wind and the temperature skidded downward until it hit a low of 16 during the night.

The Tiger defense looked better than it has at any time this season. Several offensive players doubled on defense, with Jack Strobel, right offensive tackle, playing the slot on defense, Brenner holding down an end, Frank Gibson a tackle, Grooms backing up the line and Grier playing safety on the first three downs of a series, and then exchanging with Khoenle.

The victory gave the Tigers a tie for first place with Warren in the Ohio Scholastic conference with three wins and a loss. It was the first conference loss for Waite which had won its two previous games.

The Tigers emerged from the game in good condition and remained in Toledo all night. Today they continued to Columbus where they will witness the Ohio State university-Northwestern game.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Gable, Brenner, Keene, Tasseff, Corbett, Shilling.
TACKLES – Gibson, Strobel, Geiser, Kraus.
GUARDS – Tunning, Grunder, Climo, Snyder, Stewart.
CENTER – Roderick.
QUARTERBACKS – P. Francisco, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Grier, Straughn, J. Francisco, Traylor, Khoenle, Nussbaum.
FULLBACKS – Grooms, Vliet.

WAITE
ENDS – Galuzny, Helmke.
TACKLES – Pocse, Thomas, Williams,
GUARDS – Davis, Cummings.
CENTERS – Weinbrenner.
QUARTERBACK – Giroux.
HALFBACKS – Zunk, Peacock.
FULLBACK – Sterger.

Score by periods:
Massillon 0 7 7 7 21

Touchdowns: Massillon – Straughn; Grooms 2.

Points after touchdown: Massillon – Grooms 3 (placekicks).

Officials
Referee – Tony Pianowski.
Umpire – George Donges.
Head Linesman – Skibble.
Field Judge – Wisecup.

STATISTICS
Mass. Waite
First downs 9 8
Passes attempted 10 8
Passes completed 4 3
Had passes intercepted 0 2
Yards gained passing 98 21
Yards gained rushing 241 165
Total yards gained 339 186
Yards lost 56 64
Net yards gained 283 122
Times kicked off 4 1
Average kickoff (yards) 35 55
Yards kickoffs returned by 43 31
Times punted 6 7
Average punt (yards) 33 36
Yards punts returned by 22 11
Fumbles 3 2
Lost ball on fumbles 1 0
Times penalized 1 3
Yards penalized 5 35

1951: Massillon 13, Warren Harding 19

October 25, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Fighting Warren Team Defeats Tigers 19-13
20-Game Victory Streak Snapped By Panthers In Battle Before 12,000

By LUTHER EMERY

The invincible Washington high school football team is no longer invincible.

The Tigers, winners of 20 consecutive games were defeated 19-13 by a deserving Warren team Friday evening before a crowd of 12,000 fans who packed every inch of Warren stadium.

All good things come to an end and so did the Tigers’ long victory streak which began back in the middle of 1949 when Mansfield upset the local team in Tiger stadium.

There was nothing lucky about the Warren victory. As Coach Chuck Mather said after the game, “We were beaten by a team tonight that plays better ball than we did.”
* * *
THE STATISTICS of the game bear out the statement for Warren gained more first downs, made more yardage on the ground and in the air, out-punted and out-kicked the Tigers.

The Panthers were high for the game. Rattling with an eagerness that sensed victory the longer the game progressed, they played a hard game. They were good enough to convert three breaks that came their way into touchdowns and were strong enough offensively to hold the ball a goodly portion of the game.

When you can’t get the ball, you can’t score touchdowns – and that was the Tigers ‘chief difficulty.

The Warren running attack built around Fullback Dave Rogers, the hardest running leather lugger the Tigers have faced this season rolled up 303 yards on the local team to retain possession of the pigskin for long periods at a time. Considering this fact and that of the Tigers losing the ball four times on fumbles and again on an intercepted pass, you can well understand how the locals had a hard time getting anywhere with the ball. In fact they ran but four-plays from scrimmage the first quarter; lost the ball on a fumble on one and had a pass intercepted on another.
* * *
THE TIGERS found it difficult to cope with the Warren offense, and all types of defenses were used in a vain effort to check the Panthers.
Warren scored first on a forward pass, after the Tigers had given it the ball on a fumble. Then the Panthers intercepted a Massillon pass, and staged a drive that consumed all of seven minutes in going the length of the field for a touchdown.

The Tigers proved themselves a great ball team in the second period when they marched to two touchdowns and tied the score at 13-13.

That took courage and there were signs of Warren fading when the locals ripped to a first down after taking the kickoff at the start of the second half. But the Panthers covered a Massillon fumble, on the second play from scrimmage and shoved over their third touchdown, which proved to be the winning points.

The Tigers made on great effort after that to tie the score and carried the ball to the
four-yard line where with fourth down and a foot to go they tried an end run with Bobby Grier carrying the ball and were shoved out of bounds short of the required yardage. The chances of at least a tie or a possible victory went glimmering on that play.

An analysis of the Warren victory tends to show that the Panthers were better coordinated than the Tigers last night. Just when the locals seemed in the midst of an offensive maneuver they were set back with penalties, principally for offside, largely because of their own eagerness to win. Two clipping penalties and the rare calling of interference on the offensive team on a forward pass also helped to stymie the locals on two marches.
* * *
WARREN had its share of bad breaks too, losing the ball three times on fumbles and dropping a forward pass in the end zone at the end of the first half which would have been another touchdown.

Offensively, the game for the most part resolved itself into a duel between Rogers and Ace Grooms, Tiger back. Rogers had the better of the advantage in total yards, but Grooms’ the higher average per try. Rogers carried 27 times and gained 162 net yards while Grooms carried 18 times and gained 121 net yards.

The Warren ball toter was a hard runner who bulled his way through tacklers and rarely did one Massillon player bring him down. Usually it required two and three.

The Panthers scored quickly. They received the kickoff and got to the Massillon 45, where they lost the ball on downs. Ace Grooms, got a first down on the play but the Tigers were offside and were penalized. On the next play Grier fumbled and John Krafcik covered for Warren on the Tiger 37. Bill Reed and Rogers made it a first down on the 25 and Don Seem threw a touchdown pass to Roger Bryant. Only three minutes of the game had expired. Pesanelli’s foot made the score 7-0.
* * *
THE TIGERS took the kickoff and in two plays were on the Warren 41, but Reed intercepted Grooms’ long pass on the goal line and got back to the 33 before being downed.

The interception set Warren in motion again and Rogers was unstoppable as he tore off yard after yard. Once he ran 22 yards to the Tigers’ 20 but a five-yard penalty nullified the effort. He came right back to rip and plow, however, and soon was again digging his feet into pay dirt. The ball was driven to the seven-yard line where Rogers circled end for the touchdown. The attempt for the extra point was blocked and Warren led 13-0.

The Tigers proved themselves a great team after the following kickoff when they started from their 25 and drove the length of the field. They had to overcome two penalties en route. Once Grooms had a first down on his 35 but a penalty put the locals back on the 23. Grier made up for it by running to his 48. The Tigers moved on to a first down on the Warren 38 but another five-yard penalty sent them back over the middle of the field. Grooms and Grier took the leather to another first down on the Warren 41. From this point Paul Francisco fired a pretty pass to Bruce Brenner who took it over his shoulder while running hard and crossed the Warren goal. Grooms kicked the extra point and the Tigers trailed 13-7.
* * *
WARREN came right back with the kickoff and advanced the ball with Rogers again doing most of the lugging to the Massillon 39. Bob Kraus popped on a fumbled lateral from Seem to Rogers and gained the leather for the Tigers on the 35. Little Johnny Francisco was the hero of this march as he ran 19 yards to the 11, and then scored on a seven-yard run around his left end. Warren blocked Groom’s attempted placekick for the extra point and the score was tied at 13-13.

On one of the rare occasions, the Tigers stopped Warren after the kickoff and forced the Panthers to punt. Bob Khoenle fumbled the ball when he was tackled just as he caught the pigskin and Warren recovered with 45 seconds of the half remaining. Seem hurled a pretty fourth down pass to Rogers who had the ball first on his finger tips then lunged at it again as it rolled off, and barely missed catching the leather in the end zone.

Press box chatter between halves was to the effect that if Massillon could march the kickoff at the start of the third period to a touchdown, it would win the game. Grooms got back with the ball to the 25 where he was tackled viciously. He plunged for seven and Grier had what would have been a first down save for a fumble that Warren covered on the 35. Rogers in two plays was on the Tiger 15. Here a five-yard penalty on Massillon for delay of the game put the ball on the 10-yard line first down and five to go. Rogers went to the three on the first play, and circled left end untouched for the touchdown on the next. The Tigers blocked the kick – and few thought the 19-13 score would stand up the rest of the way.

But it did. The Tigers got the kickoff and John Francisco was downed with it on his 17. Grooms made it 16 yards and a first on the 33, and picked up eight more on another sweep but a 15-yard penalty stopped the threat and the Tigers were forced to punt. Three plays later the Tigers had their big opportunity when they covered Seem’s fumble on the Warren 25. Grooms made six and John Francisco went to the 13. Grooms in three plays gained nine and one-half yards. It was fourth down on the four and Grier was sent around right end. Warren anticipated a right end sweep and got massed for the play driving Bobby out of bounds for a two-yard loss and took over the ball.
* * *
ROGERS carried out of the hole for Warren as play entered the fourth period with the ball on the Massillon 39. The Panthers got down to the 20 where on fourth down Grier knocked down a pass in the end zone intended for Bryant.

The Tigers carried all the way back to the 33, but a 15-yard clipping penalty set them back. Francisco then tried a long pass to Bruce Brenner but the official charged offensive interference claiming the Massillon receiver pushed the Warren defender, and as a result the locals drew another 15 yards, plus loss of the down. A five-yard penalty for delaying the game shoved the Tigers back another five, forcing Vliet by this time to punt.

He got off a good one to the nine-yard line. Warren got up to its own 28 where Seem fumbled and John Traylor covered to give the Tigers their last chance. John Francisco made a yard at left end. A pass into the end zone rolled off Brenner’s finger tips. Grooms was thrown for a loss on a right end sweep and a pass to Brenner on fourth down failed to gain enough yardage.

Warren had the game by this time. Rogers kept the Panthers in possession by ripping through the Tigers at will for first downs on the 38, the 47 and Massillon’s 35 and the game ended with the Panthers holding the pigskin.

While the loss was a disappointment, it did not necessarily knock the Tigers out of the state championship race, but it will scramble the voting, with the scribes the judges and plenty of them now getting in a lick for their favorite team in the Associated Press poll.

Warren has lost two games to Collinwood and Mansfield, and has an easy game with Erie Academy which hasn’t won a game, next week, before taking on Steubenville, one of the state’s best, in two weeks.

The triumph was Warren’s first over Massillon since 1947. The Tigers won the last three years.

The line-up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Keen, Sweasey, Brenner, Gable, Shilling.
TACKLES – Geiser, Chapman, Gibson, Strobel.
GUARDS – Kraus, Sapia, Tunning, Grunder, Snyder.
CENTERS – Stewart, Roderick, Climo, Fabianich.
QUARTERBACKS – Traylor. P. Francisco, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Williams, Khoenle, Grier, J. Francisco, Nussbaum, Johnson.
FULLBACKS – Vliet, Grooms.

WARREN
ENDS – Bryant, Vair, Martin, Buxton.
TACKLES – Nicula, Marco, Louma.
GUARDS – Simone, Krafcik, Brangham, Yenchocik.
CENTERS – Groff, Preston, Principi.
QUARTERBACK – Seem.
HALFBACKS – Reed, Williams, Merolla, Leigh, Gear, Venetta.
FULLBACKS – Rogers, Pesanelli, White.

Score by periods:
Warren 7 6 6 0 19
Massillon 0 13 0 0 13

STATISTICS
Warren Mass.
First downs 17 10
Passes attempted 6 7
Passes completed 3 3
Had Passes intercepted 0 2
Yards gained passing 75 45
Yards gained rushing 303 225
Total yards gained 378 270
Yards lost 10 12
Net yards gained 368 258
Times kicked off 4 3
Average kickoff (yards) 54 37
Yards kickoffs returned 53 73
Times punted 1 2
Average punt (yards) 45 41
Yards punts returned 4 0
Fumbles 5 5
Lost ball on fumbles 3 4
Yards penalized 55 76

1951: Massillon 54, Mansfield 0

October 18, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers In High Gear Defeat Mansfield 54-0
Defense Shares Honors With Offense As Local Team Wins 20th In Row

By LUTHER EMERY

It had to come!

The Washington high school offense which has sputtered frequently this fall, rolled into high gear Friday evening in Tiger stadium before 16,127 fans and crushed the challenge of Mansfield high 54-0.

It was the Tigers’ sixth straight triumph of the season, their 20th victory in a row and their 13th in the 16-game series with Mansfield that began in 1936. Two games in the series ended in tie scores and Mansfield won once.

It was the first time this season that the Tigers revealed their potential strength. They spit the bit from their mouths and unbridled by a flock of substitutions, ran almost as they pleased against the visiting Richland county team.

Their defense was on a par with the offense and maybe more so, for it was the vicious tackling of members of the defensive platoon, that caused Mansfield backs to fumble the ball that set the Tigers off to their first three touchdown marches.

It was a big night for the defensive platoon, which gave a far better performance than at any time this season.

The backs were running too, with Bobby Grier coming into his own for the first time this season and playing the kind of game that had been expected of him. He scored three of the Tigers’ touchdown. Bruce Brenner, who is rapidly developing into one of the best ends turned out at Washington high, snared three touchdown passes, and Ace Grooms scored two on long runs.

Whatever hopes Mansfield had of winning last night’s game were crushed under the drive of the Massillon linemen who limited Mansfield to 56 net yards from scrimmage on the ground and 117 through the air.

The visitors tried to pass their way to victory, but did not have the kind of attack unleashed by Alliance last week and likewise faced a better Massillon defense. Bob Khoenle, back at the halfback, made a couple of interceptions, batted down several others, and the boys on the line continually tormented the Mansfield passer.
* * *
IN SCORING 54 points, the Tigers gained more ground than at anytime this year and their net total was among the highest in years. They gained 165 yards by passing and 405 carrying the ball for a total of 570 yards gained. Deducting 33 yards lost from scrimmage left them with a net of 537 for the evening. And that’s over a quarter of a mile.

With Mansfield’s 5,000 fans providing the first air of rivalry in the stadium this season, a tension gripped the stands the first period and a half of the game. By the time the Tigers had scored their third touchdown, however, it was evident that Mansfield was in for a bad evening and that victory for the visiting team was out of the question. Fans by half-time were asking themselves how big would the score be. The answer was “double,” for the local team scored 27 points in each half.

Mansfield lost the ball four times on fumbles, had two passes intercepted and handed the leather over to the Tigers on a couple of other occasions when it was unable to pick up the necessary yardage on fourth down. You can’t give the ball away that many times without losing the game.

While the Tigers asserted their superiority early in the game they were unable to score until near the end of the first period. The winning touchdown followed an earlier frustration when Mansfield’s defense rose to the occasion to stop a Massillon drive that had reached the 10.
* * *
JOHNNY TRAYLOR covered a Mansfield fumble on his own 47 to touch off the works. In their march goalward the Tigers had to overcome a five-yard penalty for delay of the game. Aided by a fancy jump pass from Paul Francisco to Dave Gable and some good runs by Grooms and Tom Straughn, they got the ball to the three where Grier took it over for the six points.

Before the quarter was over, Grier was on the spot to gather in another fumble on the Mansfield 46. Francisco hurled a 35-yard beauty to Brenner for a first down on the 11 and on the first play of the second period, Grooms went for a touchdown with Frank Gibson throwing the key block.

The third Massillon touchdown came the next time the Tigers got their hands on the ball. It was Traylor who got the pigskin for them by covering a Mansfield fumble on the Tygers’ 41-yard line. That set the stage for Francisco to shoot the works to Brenner and he did it with a 41-yard toss.

Bobby Grier provided the spark for the fourth touchdown and what a pretty run it was down the sidelines as he threw off four tacklers, then came to the fore where Grooms tossed in a bock that set him free for the last few of the 35 yards traveled.

Those who attached the luck of the breaks to the Tigers’ first half touchdowns, had a rude awakening after intermission when the local eleven went to work with a methodical offense that ground up yards and chewed turf until it had gone 80 yards for a touchdown, overcoming a 15-yard penalty for clipping enroute. Tommy Straughn and Greier did most of the ground gaining until the Tigers reached the visitors’ 30. They were then within gunshot of the goal and Francisco fired a bulls-eye to Brenner for the six points.
* * *
THE TIGERS had to score two touchdowns to get one before they could get credit for another six points. It came late in the third period when Khoenle snared a Mansfield pass and went 60 yards for a T.D. that was not allowed because of a quick whistle off his 49. The bugle blew when it appeared that he would be stopped, but he burst right out of the arms of two Mansfield tacklers and continued on his way. On the scoreboard it made no difference except that the six points were credited to Grooms who on the next play galloped 51 yards to score. The third period expired while he was on his way.

The Tigers scored the next time they got the ball and on the first play at that when Francsico rifled the leather to Brenner for 52 yards.

The locals likewise had to score twice to get their last touchdown of the game. Bobby Grier went 62 yards for the first one but a disputed clipping penalty was called which pushed the Tigers back 15 yards. It made no difference as Grooms wheeled end for 54 yards and a first down on the 15. Grier was given the opportunity to take it the rest of the way. He did!

Mansfield never seriously threatened to score. Only a couple of times did the visitors get into Tiger territory and then no nearer than the 35-yard line, until the very end of the game when they got down to the six.
* * *
CHUCK VILET and big Jim Geiser were two of the reasons why Mansfield never got close to the Tiger goal. They were smacking the opposition all night. Bob Kraus likewise got in on some good tackles.

Leading ground gainer was Grooms who carried the ball 13 times and gained a net of 184 yards. Grier gained 85 yards in five trips with the ball and Lee Nussbaum gained a net of 18 in three attempts. Straughn gained a net of 36 in nine carries, a 13-yard loss on a reverse cutting down his average. John Francisco carried nine times and gained 54 yards.

Massillon fans saw the Tigers in a new alignment for the first time last night. Coach Mather experimented with Nussbaum at right halfback. With the latter, Grier and Grooms in the game, he had three 190-pound backs to carry the ball.

The Tigers emerged from the contest in good condition even though the game did get rough in spots.

Joe Sapia was knocked out in the third period but was O.K. at the end of the game. He caught a foot while blocking.

Tonight the sophomores play at Carrollton high school, and the Tiger swing band is going along to help furnish the entertainment.

The line-up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Tasseff, Keen, Gable, Brenner, Sweasey.
TACKLES – Chapman, Geiser, Bigson, Strobel, Rubio.
GUARDS – Kraus, Climo, Snyder, Tunning, Grunder, Moyer, Sapia.
CENTERS – Roderick, Fabian.
QUARTERBACKS – P. Francisco, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Khoenle, Traylor, J. Francisco, Straughn, Nussbaum, Grier, Williams, Milneck.
FULLBACKS – Vilet, Grooms, Stewart.

MANSFIELD
ENDS – Luckle, J. Diemer, Truax, Ackerman, Rimblert, Frye, Yoha.
TACKLES – Gouge, Kleer, R. Diemer, Guy, Steele, Ford.
GUARDS – Wilson, Welker, Esbenshade, Eliot.
CENTERS — Yarger, Armstrong.
QUARTERBACKS – Carbetta, Mathews.
HALFBACKS – Shesky, Auer, Glover, Shaluder, Jones, Huber.
FULLBACKS – Brickley, Zeigler, Kline.

Score by periods
Massillon 7 20 14 13 54

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Grier 3; Grooms 2; Brenner 3.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Grooms 6 (plackekicks).

Officials
Referee – Brubaker.
Umpire – Schill.
Head Linesman – Jenkins.
Field Judge – Lobach.

STATISTICS
Mass. Mansf.
First downs 10 10
Passes attempted 12 25
Passes completed 5 10
Had passes intercepted 0 2
Yards gained passing 165 117
Yards gained rushing 405 79
Total yards gained 570 196
Yards lost 33 23
Net yards gained 537 173
Times punted 2 5
Average punt (yards) 36 35
Yards punts returned by 36 6
Times kicked off 9 1
Average kickoff (yards) 39 40
Yards kickoffs returned by 0 95
Times fumbled 2 7
Lost ball on fumbles 1 4
Times penalized 9 3
Yards penalized 115 35

1951: Massillon 34, Alliance 21

October 12, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Beat Scrappy Alliance Team 34-21
Massillon Gridders Win But Are Given Scare By Fine Passing Aviators

By LUTHER EMERY

Pride cometh before a fall, they say, and it wouldn’t have taken much Friday evening for the Washington high school Tigers to have tumbled from the ranks of the undefeated.

The Massillon gridders teetered and tottered, but they had a little bit more of everything than Alliance, and came out on top 34-21.

It was one of those nights when the impossible could have happened and might easily have occurred when you look back over the game.
* * *

ONE OF THE scrappiest teams we have seen in years, the Alliance players, several of them with injured legs, ran around on the “stumps” to the very gun, scoring the last touchdown of the game and always threatening with a high-powered aerial attack.

The largest crowd of the season, 13,158 fans followed the proceedings with mixed emotions. Many Massillon fans though wanting their Tigers to win, applauded the Aviators’ gallant efforts and even pulled for them on their scoring opportunities. They were pleased with the score because they prefer the tighter type of game. Others criticized the Massillon team for what they considered a shoddy performance.

Coach Chuck Mather was not at all pleased and was in a more serious mood after the game than we have seen him in a couple of years.

“Things didn’t go right defensively,” he said, and most everyone agreed that the Massillon eleven has been watching the scores of opponents too closely and has become too self-satisfied with its own position. Unknowingly so, because the squad has worked hard in practice.
* * *
AS ONE OF the officials said after the game, “You need one like this to awaken you.” If so, it’s time for the awakening, for five games remain to be played and all should be just as tough if not tougher than Alliance.

Statistically, the Tigers were superior in the matter of gaining ground, because most of their touchdowns came on long drives – but their defense didn’t get them the ball enough. Alliance in fact had the pigskin many more plays, which accounts largely for Massillon’s low score and Alliance’s three-touchdown total.

The Tigers in fact only had the ball three times the first quarter. They scored the first time they got it and fumbled it away on second down on each of the other two occasions, allowing the Aviators to monopolize the ball practically the entire first period.

Though the Tigers rolled up 427 net yards to Alliance’s 239, it was one of those games which could easily have resulted in an upset. With Leonard Dawson throwing strikes at his receivers, the Aviators were always dangerous and once in the first and again in the second period lost the ball on downs inside the 10-yard line largely because of being set back by penalties for offside.
* * *
HAD THE Aviators scored on either or both of those occasions we shudder to think what might have happened.

As it was the visitors scrapped until they had little left to fight with and were wore down at the end of the game, with several of their members extending themselves to the limit of their physical endurance.

The defeat did not come at all as a disappointment to Alliance fans. They, in fact, were proud of the performance of their team and were happy to have scored more points against Massillon than any other opponent has scored since Chuck Mather began coaching here in 1948.

As expected the game was a test of ground forces against the air and the Tigers’ running attack proved superior in point making to Alliance’s aerial game.

The visitors’ air raid did not come as a surprise to the Tigers but the latter were never able to assemble a network of defense to stop the assault.
* * *
FOR ONE THING, Dawson has an extremely good arm – and he had all night to throw the ball and Massillon didn’t have big Jim Geiser to rush him. Jim was side-lined with injuries.

Dawson threw every conceivable pass at the Tigers, completing 17 of 30 tosses for 195 yards. Only once did he fail to get the ball away. His best weapons were short pitches between the linebackers and secondary and a screen pass into the flat which worked consistently all night.

Passes paved the way for two of Alliance’s touchdowns, advancing the ball to where Dawson could buck it over from the one yard line. The third Alliance touchdown and the last score of the game, was a 71-yard kickoff return by Homer Young, an end, who first fumbled the ball, then picked it up and broke through the middle of a group of Massillon tacklers to out-distance everyone in the race for the goal line.

Massillon’s best weapon was Henry “Ace” Grooms who started off to have a bad night by fumbling the ball to Alliance the first two times he got his hands on it. He made up for the muffs, however by racing 84 yards for the Tigers’ second touchdown and rolling up 185 yards in 13 carries.
* * *
THE OTHER BACKS did not carry as often. Lee Nussbaum, carried but once and got 18 yards on the play. Bobby Joe Johnson gained 41 yards in three attempts. Bob Grier 28 yards in three, Tom Straughn 26 yards in five, John Francisco 42 yards in four, John Mlincek 21 yards in two, John Traylor three yards in one and Paul Francisco seven yards in three.

Alliance only gained 51 yards and lost seven, carrying the ball. The visitors missed the services of their big tackle, Ferdinand Maccioli, on whom they depend for a lot of blocking and tackling. He didn’t dress for the game because of a broken bone in his right foot.

It was evident on the first play after the opening kickoff that the Tigers were in for an air bombardment. Dawson tossed to Burwell Baddely for a gain of nine yards, but a fumble gave the Tigers the ball on the 28 and John Francisco went the last 24 on a right end sweep for the first score of the game before three minutes of the contest had expired.

Dawson came right back pitching but the Aviators were forced to punt and Kintz booted the ball out on the Tiger 32.
* * *
A 24-YARD PASS to Dave Gable advanced the ball to the Aviator 45 but Grooms fumbled and Alliance recovered on it 48. Dawson’s passes found receivers and he finally hit Kintz for what would have been first down on the two had not Alliance been offside on the play. The penalty helped the Tigers stop the drive on the 11. On the second play Grooms, again fumbled and Alliance covered on the Tiger 13.

The visitors plunged to what would have been a first down on the one yard line but were again offside on the play and again the penalty helped the Tigers stop them on the nine.

Grooms advanced the ball seven yards and then tore loose on an 84-yard dash around his right for the second touchdown of the game. He was supported by fine blocking but made a run of it the last 15 yards.

Neither team threatened the rest of the second period until toward the close of the half Bob Johnson aided by a key block by Jack Strobel got away on a 31-yard run that took the ball deep into Alliance territory. The Aviators tightened their defense, however and held for downs on the seven-yard line.
* * *
ALLIANCE traveled 33 yards to score the first time it got the ball in the second half. The flight started when William Burger intercepted Paul Francisco’s pass on the Tiger 33. Dawon tossed to Gray for seven and Burger and Gray made it first down on the six. Burger lugged the ball up to within a yard and half of the goal and Dawson nudged it over in two attempts.

The Tigers showed their own courage by taking the kickoff on the 21 and marching it right back 79 yards to score. Straughn carried twice and made a first down on his 42 and Bob Grier carried twice and got down to the Alliance 40. A five-yard penalty and a seven-yard run by Bob Johnson put the ball on the 28. Then Grooms took over to lug the ball twice for gains of 21 yards and a first down on the seven. Grier went over for the T.D. and the Tigers led 20-7.

Alliance struck back to complete three passes for 40 yards and gain a first down on the Tiger 15, but here Gray fumbled and the Tigers recovered. The locals fumbled right back, however, and Alliance got the ball on the Tiger 22. Weldon Younkers intercepted Dawson’s pass and got back to his 29 before being downed. Grooms was set loose on another excursion. In two attempts he lugged the leather to the Alliance 42. Straughn got a couple of yards and Grooms moved the ball down to the 20, where John Mlincek broke through the left side of his line to score his first touchdown of the season.
* * *
THE TOUCHDOWN brought the score to 27-7 but in no way discouraged the Alliance players. A 13-yard pass to Young, a 12-yarder to Gray, an eight-yard peg to Kintz and a 10-yard toss to Young gained a first down on the nine. It took three plays to get it over, Dawson pushing the ball across.

The Tigers followed it by scoring another T.D. in a couple of minutes. On the first play after the kickoff, Grooms tossed 37 yards to Brenner for a first on the 25. Nussbaum, carrying for the first time in the game went 18-yards to the seven. John Francisco put the ball on the one and brother Paul nosed it over.

Alliance still was not finished. Though tiring badly, the Aviators had one surprise package left and Young pulled it out as he picked the kickoff off the ground, fumbled the ball, picked it up again and headed for the goal. The fumble seemed just enough to divert the attention of the Massillon tacklers and Young was through them again before they knew what had happened. Bob Khoenle tried to give chase but Young had position and beat him to the goal after a run of 71 yards.

Brenner almost got away on the following kickoff. Gray bumping him out of bounds after he had gotten all the way back to the Alliance 30.

STATISTICS
Mass. Alliance
First downs 12 14
Passes attempted 8 30
Passes completed 2 17
Had passes intercepted 1 3
Yards gained passing 61 195
Yards gained rushing 371 51
Total yards gained 432 246
Yards lost 5 7
Net yards gained 427 239
Times kicked off 6 4
Average kickoff (yards) 37 42
Yards kickoffs returned by 96 118
Times punted 1 1
Average punt (yards) 39 31
Yards punts returned by 0 7
Times fumbled 3 4
Lost ball on fumbles 3 3
Times penalized 4 5
Yards penalized 30 25

1951: Massillon 13, Steubenville 6

September 28, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

TIGERS DEFEAT STEUBENVILLE
13-6 IN LAST 10 SECONDS 88-Yard Drive Produces Winning Touchdown

By LUTHER EMERY

Unless you are breathing in puffs and your heart pounding at the rate of 220 beats a minute, you can’t appreciate this story for you were not one of the 2,000 Massillon fans who saw victory snatched from the embers of a Big Red fire in Steubenville Friday evening that left 10,000 spectators gasping in their seats and wondering if what they had seen had really happened.

The score was 6-6 and 10 seconds, only 10 seconds remained to be played when Referee Titus Lobach raised his hands signaling that Henry “Ace” Grooms, big Tiger fullback, had lunged over the goal line for the winning touchdown of the game. It mattered not that Jim Rubio kicked the extra point to make the final score 13-6, for Steubenville didn’t have a chance to run a play after the following kickoff.

What a game!

It will go down in history as one of the fiercest fought, one of the best “timed” in the history of Tiger football, taking its place with the never-to-be forgotten 7-6 triumph over Cleveland Shaw in the last 27 seconds of play in 1922.

Brother, pass the aspiring – and an orchid for Grooms and a crown for Chuck Mather which could just as easily have been a fool’s cap, had his daring not paid off in the Tigers’ final victory march.

You can write off the rest of the game as a brilliant battle between the defenses of an inspired Steubenville team and a tenacious Tiger eleven.

Both were supposed to be coping with high-geared offenses last night. They were geared to the occasion – they yielded ground stubbornly – Steubenville enough to let Massillon score in the second quarter – Massillon enough to allow Steubenville to tally in the third period.

The teams were headed for an unexpected 6-6 tie when in the middle of the fourth quarter Bill Kerr of Steubenville got off a beautiful punt that put the Tigers in a hole, deep in their own territory and on their own 12-yard line.

The best local fans could hope for at that stage of the game was a couple of first downs that could get the orange and black out into their front yard where a fumble would not be so dangerous or where they could punt back into Stubber territory.

The Tigers had different designs. Aroused, they began a march that went 88 yards for a touchdown. The distance actually traveled was 98 yards because two five-yard penalties had to be overcome in the drive.

Yards came hard, but everyone counted. Eight times Grooms carried the ball in the effort. He was a demon to the Big Red as he gained on every play.

He hit for four yards, Bobby Grier for three and Bobby Joe Johnson for seven to gain a first down on the Massillon 26. A five-yard penalty set the Tigers back to their 21, but they came smashing back with Grier hitting for six, Tom Straughn for seven and Grooms for 16 and a first down on the Big Red 48.

The pounding which the Tigers had been giving the Big Red line all evening finally began to tell. Grooms took the ball two more times, made seven yards, then three for a first down on the 38. Grier smashed through for 15 and another first down on the 23 with two minutes and 59 seconds left to play.

Mather pulled Grooms out of the line-up to give him a few instructions. Straughn made three yards in two attempts and Grooms was sent back into the game. The fans groaned as the referee stepped off a five-yard penalty . . . the Tigers had already consumed their allotted times out.

Instead of it being third down and seven to go, it was now third and 12. But Mather had gambled and won.

Those who would have jumped all over him today, for the substitutions and penalty, were singing his praise, for Grooms carried out instructions and ran hard to his right for 16 yards and a first down on the nine.

It was Grooms again, this time to the left, and he got as far as the three-yard line. He smashed through for another yard, and on third down, ran hard to his right to go down beneath a pile of humanity at the point where goal line meets side line. When the last body was extricated, Ace was found clinging tightly to the ball, half-an-arm length over the goal line.

A look at the clock showed only 10 seconds remaining of the game. Rubio kicked the extra point and the Tigers just had time to kickoff to the Big Red. The game ended before they could put the ball in play again, and the Tigers had their third victory of the season, and their 17th in a row since they were last defeated by Mansfield in the middle of the 1949 season.

Grooms gained 55 yards in the surge to victory.
* * *
UP TO THE TIGERS’ final drive, the game was virtually even, with each team having gained approximately the same number of yards and defense outshining offense on both sides.

Deduct the 98 yards from the 248 made from the scrimmage by the Tigers and the latter would be left with 150, just 16 more than the yardage gained by the Big Red.

While Massillon fans celebrated the victory, keen disappointment filled the Steubenville dressing room, for the touchdown blow snatched fame away from Ray Hoyman, a former Massillon man who has done a great job of coaching in Steubenville in the three seasons he has been there. It’s too bad it had to happen to as fine a fellow. While praise does not produce points, let it be said for Ray, that every Massillon fan expressed admiration for the battle put up by his team, and we heard nothing but compliments for his Big Red from Steubenville fans.
* * *
THE TIGERS were lucky to win, if you call winning with 10 seconds to go – luck. Had not Grooms gone over when he did, the game would probably have ended before the Tigers could have again got off a play from scrimmage – in which case they would have been unlucky. How you look at it is all a matter of 10 seconds.

You can give the defense credit for playing the game last night and if you want to single out a few boys for praise in this department, give Jim Geiser and Chuck Vilet a big pat on the back, and don’t spare the praise for the other members of the defensive platoon, mainly John Tasseff, Weldon Younkers, Joe Sapia, Alex Matie, Dave Gable, Terry Snyder, Bob Khoenle, John Traylor and Willie Longshore. And don’t forget big Frank Gilliam, and Calvin Jones of Steubenville. Both were knocked out in the touchdown drive.

Massillon’s Snyder did double duty, playing left guard on offense, a position new to him and backing up the line on defense. His work was deserving of special praise.

It was evident early in the game that the Tigers were dealing with a team that had the will to be their master. Yards were lost on the first play from scrimmage and the locals were forced to punt. They got a big break after stopping Steubenville when Kerr, back to punt received a poor pass from center lost 19 yards as he ran back to pick up the ball and was dumped on the 11 by Tasseff. The Big Red dug in and stopped the Tigers, taking over on the two.
* * *
A SHORT PUNT that went only to the Big Red 41, started the Tigers on their first successful touchdown march. Grier plunged for five yards and Straughn whirled to a first down on the 27. Grooms made two at right end and Straughn on two plays went to a first down on the 15. Grier made eight yards and Grooms lunged through center for a first down on the four-yard line. It took four plays to get it over, with Grier finally plunging across on the second play of the second period. Rubio’s kick for the extra point went wide of the uprights.

The teams battled through the rest of the quarter with neither threatening to score and Vilet having the edge in the punting duel.

Neither team made any progress the second half until Jim Prayso intercepted Paul Francisco’s pass on the Tiger 35 and was downed in his tracks as he caught the ball.

Halfback Clarence Lawson carried twice and got a first down on the Tiger 24. He was made the work horse of the Big Red as he smashed three more times in a series of four plays for a first down on the Tiger 10.

There Prayso crossed up the Tigers. He darted off tackle, saw the hole blocked and scooted along the side, to circle right end and score for Steubenville.
* * *
WITH THE SCORE tied at 6-6 the try for extra point was an important one. You felt as though you could reach out and strum the tension and make it ping like a violin string, so taut was the crowd as Howard Linn lined up his kick. The ball was wide of the uprights, however, and Massillon fans breathed easier.

There was nothing else to write home about until the fourth quarter got under way and the Tigers staged their victory march.

Only because of this drive, the Tigers were able to show a substantial advantage in the statistics – 10 first downs to five, a net of 227 yards gained to 105 yards for Steubenville.

Neither team had anything to blow about in the way of passing. It was virtually a useless weapon.
* * *
THE TIGERS completed the only one of the night out of five attempts for 27 yards. Steubenville tried six passes and its only catch was the interception of a Massillon aerial.

The Tigers played over three quarters of the game without the services of Glenn Tunning, veteran left guard, who was removed early in the first period with an injured leg – a charley horse.

Grooms likewise did not try to kick the points after touchdown because of a charley horse.

In addition to Grooms ‘ 107 yards, other Massillon backs gained ground as follows: Grier 49 yards in nine carries; Straughn 42 yards in 15 carries; Nussbaum 15 yards in five; Johnson seven in one and Paul Francisco one in one.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Shilling, Brenner, Taseff, Matie.
TACKLES – Gibson, Strobel, Geiser, Younkers, Kraus.
GUARDS – Tunning, Grunder, Snyder, Gable, Moyer, Stewart.
CENTERS – Roderick, Sapia.
QUARTERBACKS – P. Francisco, Longshore, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Grier, Straughn, Johnson, Khoenle, Traylor, J. Francisco, Milncek.
FULLBACKS – Nussbaum, Grooms, Vilet.

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Gilliam, Fields, Pilya, Thomas
TACKLES – Yohn, Linn, R. Conkel
GUARDS – Jones, Kerr, D. Conkel
CENTERS – e. Locust, Amick.
QUARTERBACKS – Medves, Vincent.
HALFBACKS – Prayso, Lawson, Dixon, R. Locust, Stinson.
FULLBACKS – Bunch.

Score by periods:
Massillon 0 6 0 7 13
Steubenville 0 0 6 0 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Grier; Grooms.
Steubenville – Prayso.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Rubio (placekick).

Officials
Referee – Lobach.
Umpire – Boone.
Head Linesman – Jenkins.
Field Judge – Shopbell.

STATISTICS
Mass. Steub.
First downs 10 5
Passes attempted 5 6
Passes completed 1 0
Had passes intercepted 1 0
Yards gained passing 27 0
Yards gained rushing 221 134
Total yards gained 248 134
Yards lost 21 29
Net yards gained 227 105
Times punted 5 8
Average punt (yards) 33 31
Yards punts returned by 49 19
Times kicked off 3 2
Average kickoff 36 46
Yards kickoffs returned by 40 13
Times fumbled 2 3
Lost ball on fumbles 0 0
Times penalized 8 3
Yards penalized 60 25

1951: Massillon 42, Cincinnati Elder 6

September 21, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Defeat Cincinnati Elder 42-6
Long Runs And Sharp Passes Produce 16th Straight Grid Triumph

By LUTHER EMERY

Southern Ohio football was given a jolt before 13,005 fans here Friday evening when the Washington high school Tigers administered a 42-6 licking to Cincinnati Elder, 1950 champion of the Queen City.

You would have thought the blow severe enough to make the visitors holler, but they took the defeat gracefully, expressed their thanks for being able to play here, hoped they could be just as good a host when the Tigers go to Cincinnati next fall and departed with the words that they would be better competition in 1952.

Though they scored the same number of touchdowns a week ago in their opener against Toledo Libbey, the Tigers were a smoother football team last night and might have rolled up a considerably higher score had not Coach Chuck Mather substituted freely. He used 44 players, the equivalent of four teams, in an effort to give many of his younger players the benefit of game experience.
* * *
THREE of the touchdowns produced a bit of the sensational while two long passes helped to electrify the fans.

The cheering all came from the Massillon side of the field, for Elder, like Libbey, did not have a band and no more than a handful of rooters accompany it to Massillon.

It didn’t take the Tigers long to impress Elder with the style of football played in northern OhIo. Only four minutes and 34 seconds of the first period had expired when Ace Grooms raced 13 yards for the first score. An Elder fumble had given the locals the ball deep in Cincinnati territory.

From that point on the Tigers managed to shove over at least one touchdown a period. They got two in the second and fourth; while Elder’s lone score came in the last 32 seconds of play.

The Queen City Panthers had threatened on one other occasion, losing the ball on first down on a fumble in the first period on the Tiger 12-yard line.
* * *
THE VICTORY was the Tigers second of the season and their 16th of a string that started in the middle of the 1949 season.

From the score one would be inclined to believe that Elder had little in an offensive way, but the Panthers managed to roll up 13 first downs to the Tigers’ eight and push the locals back 240 yards from the line of scrimmage. The Massillon team gained 354 from scrimmage.

The Tigers altered their defense from time to time during each series in an attempt to confuse the visiting team, but for the most part tossed the equivalent on an eight-man line against the Panthers. Several times visiting backs broke through the forward wall, but the Tiger halfbacks and safety men are fast, and one of the three always managed to tangle the runner’s legs.
* * *
FANS will chuckle all week over the three long passes caught by the local players last night and the two long jaunts for touchdowns. They were the classics of the game. One of the pegs, a 30-yard throw by Paul Francisco to Bruce Brenner produced the first touchdown. Another 45-yard shot from Grooms to Brenner placed the ball in position for another score, and a 50-yard heave by Grooms to Alex Matie in the final seconds of the game was all for nought as time expired before the ball could be put into play on the 20-yard line.

The two best runs of the night also produced touchdowns. Grooms wheeled 53 yards for one and Bobby Joe Johnson 60 yards for the other. Lee Nussbaum had one called back, a fine jaunt of 20 yards around left end, because one of his teammates clipped on the play. Also bulling his way along for a fine punt return was Willie Longshore.

Grooms was easily the leading scorer. Not only did he lug the leather for two touchdowns, but he also kicked six for six from placement from touchdown.

A week ago the movies showed Grooms looking up as he kicked the ball, and the result was three for six. The error was called to his attention. Last night he kept his head down like a good golfer and it paid off. The first five were dead center, the sixth, low and wobbly, but with enough impetus to clear.

There probably would have been more passing in the second period had not the lights gone out on the west poles. Players had a hard time following the ball until repairs could be made.

As it was the Tigers completed three of seven, which isn’t too good a percentage, but the average in yards gained, 42 per pass, is unusually high.

A fumbled Elder lateral covered by the Tigers on the 17-yard line on the first series of plays of the game, got the locals in position for their first touchdown. They moved to the eight, but a five-yard penalty for being offside set them back to the 13. On the first down Grooms romped for six points.

Another touchdown drive was well under way before the period ended. It started when Bob Khoenle intercepted an Elder pass on the latter’s 30. On the first play of the second period Francisco tossed a beauty to Brenner who went all the way for the six points.

A 32-yard punt return by Longshore set up the second touchdown of the quarter. Tom Straughn, Bob Grier and Lee Nussbaum moved the ball to the one where Straughn knifed through for the six points.

The half ended with the score 21-0.
* * *
THE TIGERS scored but once in the third period, and that came on Grooms’ 53-yard run on the first play that followed the kickoff.

A 45-yard pass, Grooms to Brenner, put the ball on the 10 as the third period closed and enabled Bob Grier to lug it over for the fifth T.D. of the game.

The final Massillon score came on Johnson’s very fine 60-yard run.

The Tigers made a gallant stand in the fourth quarter in an attempt to keep their goal line from being crossed for the first time this season. It took the visitors four downs to get across from the four-yard line and then they barely got the ball into pay dirt.

They tried to kick the extra point but Chug-Chug Stewart, of all persons, broke through and blocked the ball.
16th In A Row
MASSILLON
ENDS – Tasseff, Matie. W. Shilling, Brenner, Corbett, Keen, Tarrant, Allison, Sweasey.
TACKLES – Geiser, Kraus, Gibson, Strobel, Younkers, Takacs. Gumpp, Rubio.
GUARDS – Sapia, Khoenle, Tunning, Grunder, Stewart, Moyer, Crone, Snyder.
CENTERS – Roderick, Gable, Kinnins, Fisher, Fabinich.
QUARTERBACKS – Longshore, P. Francisco, Misere, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Traylor, J. Francisco, Grier, Straughn, R. Johnson, Milncke, Williams.
FULLBACKS – Vilet, Nussbaum, Grooms.

ELDER
ENDS – Bender, James, Kelly, Junker.
TACKLES – Albers, Knowerzer, Burkhart.
GUARDS – Griffin, Durbin.
CENTER – Schiller.
QUARTERBACK – Bockenstette.
HALFBACKS – Caruso, Grainger, James, Sabino.
FULLBACKS – Bachman.

Score by periods:
Massillon 7 14 7 14 42
Elder 0 0 0 6 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Grooms 2; Brenner; Straughn, Grier; Bob Johnson.
Elder – Bockenstette.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Grooms 6 (placement kicks).

Officials
Referee – Dan Tehan (Cincinnati).
Umpire – Dr. Fred Heinold (Cincinnati).
Head Linesman – Jack McPhee (Poland).
Field Judge – Clyde Moore (Wooster).

STATISTICS
Mass. Elder
First downs 8 13
Passes attempted 7 14
Passes completed 3 2
Had passes intercepted 0 2
Yards gained passing 125 75
Yards gained rushing 229 165
Total yards gained 354 240
Yards lost 20 4
Net yards gained 334 236
Times punted 4 4
Average punt (yards) 32 29
Yards punts returned by 32 2
Times kicked off 7 2
Average kickoff 45 18
Yards kickoffs returned by 53 74
Times fumbled 0 3
Lost ball on fumbles 0 2
Times penalized 5 5
Yards penalized 40.5 35

1951: Massillon 39, Toledo Libbey 0

September 14, 1951July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Defeat Libbey 39-0 In Opening Game
Local Gridders Score 20 Points In Fourth Period Passing Attack

By LUTHER EMERY

A fourth period passing attack that produced three touchdowns gave the Washington high Tigers an impressive start in defense of their state football championship Friday evening as they defeated Toledo Libbey high 39-0 before 12,0000 fans in Tiger stadium

Without the fourth quarter spurt the opener would not have been so impressive, but if Libbey is as good as it usually is the 39 points speak well for the Tigers and for future successes this season.

Nobody knows just how strong the Toledo school is this fall, for it was the opening game for the Cowboys, but we believe they will not lose many games, if any more, by 39 points this season.
* * *
LIBBEY tackled well, turned loose a set of fast backs, and was the victim of three fumbles which the Tigers turned into touchdowns.

The latter summary would tend to indicate Libbey a better team than the score indicates, but the visitors had their weakness too – pass defense, and not until the last period of the game – did the Tigers capitalize on it.

The Massillon gridders showed flashes of power. In fact their performance for the most of the night consisted of flashes. Their blocking was often crisp and sharp, but it was inconsistent, and one poor block can offset two or three good ones.

Coach Chuck Mather felt pretty good about everything except the tackling of his team. Many tackles were missed when opposing ball carriers could have been thrown for losses.
* * *
WHILE the Tiger offense did not mow the opposition down consistently, it was better in a yard gaining capacity than most fans realize.

The locals gained 478 yards from scrimmage to Libbey’s 197. The yardage included 226 yards gained by passing.

In fact it was the fourth period aerial bombardment of Libbey that provided most of the offensive fireworks of the game, including the longest touchdown, a 51-yard peg from Ace Grooms to Wesley Shilling, which the latter took on the 10-yard line and raced over for the touchdown.

While Mather had planned to use Grooms on defense, he showed enough last night on offense to convince most fans it will be hard to keep him out of the backfield.
* * *
ANOTHER PASS, even longer than the 51-yard peg, was dropped by Shilling in the end zone for what would have been a Tiger touchdown.

In his desire to give as many boys as possible a chance to play, Mather used 37 members of the squad in the game. Some of the younger players did not get into the tilt, but they will see action today in a pair of games arranged for them. The sophomores will play at Barnesville and the juniors at Newcomerstown.

The game was not without its accidents. Big Jim Geiser lost a front tooth when he was kicked in the mouth in the third quarter. He was shaken up earlier in the contest when he and John Climo bumped heads, putting both temporarily out of action. Climo got back into the contest before the end of the game.

It was one of those rate nights when the Tigers never punted. They either made their yards or lost the ball on downs when fourth down got around. Not once did anyone boot the ball which leaves unanswered the question who will be the kicker when Co-Capt. Chuck Vliet isn’t in the game. He didn’t play last night because of injuries.
* * *
IT ONLY took the Tigers four minutes and five seconds to score their first touchdown. The opportunity came when Libbey fumbled on the second play of the game and John Tasseff promptly flopped on the leather on the 27-yard line.

The going was hard as the Tigers ground out two first downs, but with the ball on the four, Bob Grier banged through for six points. Grooms’ attempted placekick was wide.

Libbey held the ball most of the remaining time in the period as it marched from its own 13 to the Tiger 14 where the locals held for downs and seized the pigskin.

There began a drive that continued into the second period and went 86 yards for a touchdown, the last two being made by hard running Tom Straughn, the right halfback. Grooms kicked this one and the score was 13-0.

It took seconds to get the next one. Libbey fumbled after the kickoff and Alex Matie was Johnny on the spot on the 26-yard line. Two plays gained three yards and Grooms, carrying for the first time went to the 12 for a first down. Grier picked up the rest of the distance. The extra point was lost when Paul Francisco fumbled the pass from center.
* * *
THE SCORE remained 19-0 throughout the third period in which Libbey staged its second threat, marching the ball to the Tiger eight before being thrown back on downs.

The Tigers began throwing passes. Francisco tossed 26 yards to Bruce Brenner for the first touchdown. It followed a pass, Francisco to Shilling good for 58 yards. Them came Grooms’ 51-yard pitch to Shilling.

The final score came as the last seconds of the game were ticked off. Credit John Mlincek with getting the ball to set the Tigers in motion. He covered a Libbey fumble on the 30. Two plays had gained four yards when Francisco pitched to Bob Johnson for 26 yards and a T.D. Grooms’ attempted point was partially blocked and the game expired before the Tigers could kickoff to Libbey.

Next Friday the local team will entertain Cincinnait Elder here.

A Good Start
MASSILLON
ENDS – Matie, Tasseff, Shilling, Brenner, Corbett, Keen, Clime, Sweasey.
TACKLES – Kraus, Geiser, Strobel, Gibson, Younkers, Chapman, Rubio.
GUARDS – Sapla, Snyder, Tunning, Grunder, Moyer.
CENTERS – Fabian, Roderick, Gable.
QUARTERBACKS – Longshore, Francisco, Dommer.
HALFBACKS – Williams, Traylor, Grier, Straughn, R. Johnson, Milncek, Millar, J. Francisco.
FULLBACKS – Nussbau, Grooms, Stewart.

LIBBEY
ENDS – Domhoff, Manzy, Rowe, Bigelow.
TACKLES – Brown, White, Kelley, Heckhart.
GUARDS – McCarty, Kakela, Willey.
CENTERS – Smith, Hill.
QUARTERBACK – Strahm.
HALFBACKS – Craig, Tucholski, Lochett, Haverman, Berning.
FULLBACKS – Russell, Boyd.

Score by periods:
Massillon 6 13 0 20 39

Touchdowns: Grier 2; Straughn; Brenner; Shilling; Johnson.

Points after touchdown: Grooms 3 (placekicks).

Officials
Referee – McPhee.
Umpire – Rupp.
Head Linesman – Grubbs.
Field Judge – Schaffer.

Statistics
Mass. Libbey
First downs 15 10
Passes attempted 18 11
Passes completed 11 3
Had passes intercepted 1 0
Yards gained passing 226 30
Yards gained rushing 252 167
Total yards gained 478 197
Yards lost 21 12
Net yards gained 457 185
Times punted 0 5
Average punt (yards) — 31
Yards punts returned by 46 —
Times kicked off 5 1
Average kickoff 43 12
Yards kickoffs returned by 0 90
Times fumbled 1 6
Lost ball on fumbles 1 3
Times penalized 4 3
Yards penalized 20 15

1950: Massillon 33, Canton McKinley 0

November 18, 1950July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

22,000 See Tigers Smash McKinley Bulldogs 33-0
Massillon Gridders Win Third Consecutive Ohio Football Championship

By LUTHER EMERY

The ambitions of a coach and football team were realized in Tiger stadium Saturday afternoon as 22,000 fans saw the Washington high school Tigers beat down the challenge of Canton McKinley’s Bulldogs by the impressive score of 33-0 to win their third consecutive state championship and their first Ohio conference crown.

Today Coach Chuck Mather was in possession of his first untied and undefeated seasons in his coaching career and the Tigers were able to boast that they had defeated Canton McKinley by more points than any other Massillon team had been able to measure the Bulldogs in the 55 games that have been played between the two teams since they first met in 1894.

Then too, the Tigers can have the additional honor of being the team that caught up with Canton McKinley. The series is all even now, each school having won 25 games, while five resulted in tie scores. There was a bit of personal pride for the 20 senior members of the squad too – they closed their football careers by having played on three state championship teams.

Not many boys in Ohio have been able to make that kind of boast. In fact only in Massillon have boys played on championship teams during their three years in high school. No other school has been able to win three in a row but Washington high since the Associated Press originated its organized football poll. The Tigers won seven in a row from the season of 1935 through 1941.

While the Tigers will not be officially crowned champions until the Associated Press announces the final standings in its poll this week – there’s no doubt as to how it will turn out – and the Tigers should be a unanimous choice for the title. Anyone voting otherwise will be voting sentiment and not sense for the Massillon team has been on top in the pool from the very first week of the football season.

It is the only time in the history of the poll, according to Fritz Howell, the originator, that one team has held the top rung every week of balloting.

In winning the Ohio Scholastic conference crown the Tigers beat all other teams in the conference.
* * *
THE TIGERS were magnificent in victory – the Bulldogs game in defeat.

There was no question as to the local team’s superiority. It is shown not only in the score but throughout the statistics, and while the Tigers could easily have won by several more touchdowns (they lost the ball three times on fumbles inside the 20-yard line) there also were anxious moments, particularly early in the third quarter when McKinley moved the ball deep into Tiger territory, only to lose it on the 22 when Tom Zeller pounced on Sam Parks’ fumble. It was one of two times the red and black were able to penetrate the danger zone.

The other was in the final period when Lou Mariano uncorked the most brilliant run of the game as he traveled some 100 yards in moving forward 41, ran out of steam and out of bounds on the Tigers 29.

Bill Stoner ended that threat on the next play when he made a brilliant interception of George Ramsayer’s pass on the 18. These two maneuvers accounted for 83 yards of Canton’s 165 net yardage.

The Tigers on the other hand rolled up 432 net yards, all but 54 through rushing. The 54 were made by the completion of two of 11 forward passes. McKinley made all but four of its yards by rushing, completing only one of nine passes for four yards. First downs were 14 to 7 in Massillon’s favor.
* * *
THE GAME ran true to form, and Canton’s hopes of overcoming Massillon power with spirit failed. The Bulldogs though still fighting as the game ended, were as badly a beaten team as ever limped off the field in a Massillon-Canton engagement.

With many of them called upon to play defensive and offensive football in contrast to the two-platoon system used by the Tigers, hardly a play was run off the last seven minutes without time being taken out for one or more exhausted McKinley players. Two of them, Ronald Wilds, who played a great game and who was virtually walking on his knees throughout the second half, and Chuck Gelal were taken to Mercy hospital Canton after the game for observation but were found not to be seriously hurt.

It was Wilds who caused the Tigers most of their trouble. They never knew where he would be – over the center or off to the side and as a result were unable to trap him successfully. Because of his wandering tactics he messed up many a Tiger play. After the game Coach Chuck Mather paid him the tribute of being among the best linemen the Tigers have faced all season.
* * *
THE LOCAL gridders escaped without a serious injury – in fact they haven’t had one all season – and it was their gratitude for this, that before they began celebrating the fruits of victory, they locked themselves in their squad room and before Coach Mather or assistants knew what was going on, were on their knees with one of their number, Ray Lane, leading them in a prayer of Thanksgiving. Voluntary, unrehearsed and coming from the heart, it goes down as a red letter page in their championship history.

You can name your own individual starts. We’ll take both platoons as our champions and not single out anyone for special honors. Fred Waikem, Bob Howe, Lane and Ernie Russell made the touchdowns. Waikem two of them, but without the assistance of the big Tiger line, the blocking of their teammates and the ability of the defensive platoon to throw back McKinley’s challenge to gain ground, the glories of victory might not have been attained.

Every player made his contribution to seeing that the Tigers won the title. Tom Zeller flopped on a couple of Canton fumbles at the right time, Stoner and Bob Khoenle pulled down Bulldog passes to regain the ball for the Tigers, Jerry Krisher booted three points from placement after touchdown, Wilfred Brenner caught one pass and Russell another with Fred Close doing the pitching as well as handling the ball like a magician from his
T-quarterback position. Frank Gibson, Glenn Tunning, Jim Reichenbach, Jim Schumacher and Cliff Streeter beat down the McKinley line time and again to open touchdown avenues for the ball carriers, and always there was that fine defensive line of Allen Murray, Jim Geiser, Rudy Grunder, Dick Woolbert, Tom Zeller, and Jack Strobel to smash the charge of the Bulldogs so that the line backers Chuck Vliet, Joe Gleason and Lane could lower the boom with head-on tackles. There are three line backers Coach Mather and Elwood Kammer, his secretary of defense, wouldn’t trade for any other three boys in the state.
* * *
THE BRUNT of the ball carrying was shared by Howe, Russell and Waikem. Big Bob lugged it 21 times for a net of 126 yards, while Russell and Waikem each had it 13 times for net gains of 139 and 100 yards respectively.

Mariano’s long run of 41 yards gave him the edge over parks in the ball carrying department for the Bulldogs. Each carried 17 times, Mariano gaining 83 net yards and Parks 45. Leuby Popoff plunged for 33 in six carries.

Seldom has a Massillon-Canton game been played under a more favorable setting. Sunshine and a temperature that was not too cold made it pleasant for both fans and teams.

Only a strong breeze interfered with the game, passers having difficulty throwing against it and receivers misjudging the carry of the ball as it rode the wind right out of reach of their outstretched arms.
* * *
THE TIGERS had set as their point objective – to beat McKinley by a greater score than any other Massillon team. They succeeded by a point but failed by two points from reaching the greatest point difference of 35, set by the Canton McKinley team of 1942 which shellacked the Tigers 35-0.

The Massillon team the following year, 1943 was undefeated and untied and this season is the first perfect one since that time. The 1945 eleven was undefeated, but was tied five times.

Ever since he began coaching at Brilliant in 1937, Chuck Mather has never had a perfect season. He has been undefeated on several occasions but always there was a tie to spoil the mark of perfection. He wound up with a perfect record at Leetonia one year, but stuck his neck out in a post-season game with Salem which ended in a tie.
* * *
THE TIGERS had hoped to score a touchdown the first time they got the ball against the Bulldogs but failed to do so and had to await a second chance. Then they marched 68 yards for the marker and crossed the Bulldog goal after seven minutes and 36 seconds of the first period had expired.

They score again in the second quarter after Zeller covered a Canton fumble on the Bulldog 39, and wound up the game in grand fashion by pushing over three T.D.’s in the final period on drives of 42 yards, 47 yards and 71 yards.

Seldom have seen a ballgame in which the ball was lost so many times on fumbles. The Tigers fumbled four times and lost the ball on three of them, while Canton lost the ball on all of its five fumbles. In other words one of nine fumbles made by the two teams was recovered and that by Massillon.
* * *
UNFORTUNATELY the game got a bit rough in the last period which resulted in two players being ejected by the officials. Had the officials asserted their authority earlier they might have prevented some of the punches that preceded the expulsion.

The hardest any ball carrier hit a player here this season occurred late in the game when Bob Howe ran over Mariano. The latter gamely picked himself off the ground shaken but uninjured.

The Tigers lost the toss and McKinley elected to receive. The Bulldogs gained nine yards and advanced the ball to the 28 in three attempts from which spot Ramsayer punted to Stoner who caught the ball on the 50 but was dropped in his tracks. Waikem went for two yards and Howe 11 for a first down on the 37. McKinley drew an offside penalty, putting the ball on the 32. Russell added a yard. Two passes went for naught and Howe stumbled and lost a yard.

Canton took over the ball on its 32, Mariano and Parks gained eight yards on three attempts and Stoner returned Ramsayer’s punt two yards to his 32. The Tigers broke Howe loose for a 45-yard run. Out in the clear, he was caught in a diving, desperation tackle by Parks who managed to snag one heel, enough to throw Howe off balance on the 23. Howe went for six more to move the ball to the 17. Close picked up a Tiger fumble, eluded two Bulldog tacklers, then sped around left end for a first down on the seven. Howe put it on the three and Waikem went the last three on a quick opener. Krisher’s attempted kick was wide of the uprights and the Tigers led 6-0.
* * *
NEITHER TEAM was able to gain an appreciable amount of ground in the remainder of the first period and in the first half of the second quarter until Zeller pounced on Parks’ fumble on the Bulldog 39. Howe and Russell gained but three yards in two attempts and the Tigers drew a five-yard penalty after Waikem had gone for what would have been a first down. He struck right back, however and in two plays took the leather to the 27. Close was tossed for a loss of three but Waikem was running hard and picked up 13 for a first down on the 17. He went for another eight to the nine and Howe exploded through his left guard from that point for the touchdown to give the Tigers a 13-0 lead.

The Tigers made two more bids for touchdowns in the same period. After Khoenle had gotten the ball for the Tigers by intercepting a McKinley pass, Waikem missed a first down by inches on the 19 and Canton took over.

The longest pass of the game, a 45-yard peg to Russell produced a first down on the 16 but Waikem fumbled on third down and the Bulldogs covered the ball on their 14 to end the threat.

The Tigers received at the start of the second half and got seven yards over the midfield stripe before stopped by Canton which forced Reichenbach to punt. He got off a good kick but it bounced back 15 yards to the McKinley 34.

The McKinley offense, which gained but one first down the first half, flashed for the first time during the afternoon and the Canton stands had good reason to shout with joy. It was Mariano for 11 yards, Parks for 12, Mariano and Parks for a first down on the Tiger 29. Mariano for four more and then a fumble by Parks that the Tigers covered on their own 22. The fumble was one of many bad breaks received by the Bulldogs throughout the day. It stopped what looked like a sure touchdown drive.
* * *
THE TEAMS took turns punting and fumbling the rest of the period. Zeller covered one Canton fumble on the Bulldog 22, but the Tigers obliged when Howe fumbled on the 13 and Canton covered. On the next to the last play of the quarter Stoner covered Parks’ fumble on the Canton 42. Howe reeled off 13 yards to end the period and set the Tigers in forward motion.

Waikem ran for 12 more and a first on the 17 but the drive petered out when Wilds bounded in to cause Close to fumble a hand off, Gelal covering for McKinley. Stopped with a net gain of three yards on as many plays, Ramsayer punted poorly to the Tiger 29. On the first play Russell went through left tackle for a touchdown and Krisher’s extra point made the score 20-0.

The Tigers fourth touchdown came soon after Mariano’s brilliant 41-yard run to the Massillon 29. Almost every Tiger player got a hand on him it seemed, some of them taking two shots at him as he headed for the west sidelines then reversed his field and shook off tacklers until he went out of bounds.

On the next play Ramsayer fired a long pass that Bill Stoner knocked down with one hand and grabbed with the other on the 18. It was mostly Waikem the rest of the way down the field. He ran 27 yards to his 45, and after Russell had moved it over the midfield stripe, too off on a 47-yard jaunt to the Promised Land.

The final touchdown came after Ramsayer had punted out on the Tiger 29. Close’s pass to Brenner gained nine yards and Waikem ambled for nine more. Howe went for four, Russell eight, and a 15-yard penalty inflicted on Canton for unnecessary roughness put the ball on the 26. Howe cut the distance by 19 yards on a jaunt around right end and lane went the last seven through the left side of the line.

State Champions

MASSILLON
ENDS – Murray, Zeller, W. Brenner, Streeter, B. Brenner.
TACKLES – Geiser, Grunder, Gibson, Schumacher, Strobel, Mitchell.
GUARDS – Gleason, Woolbert, Tunning Reichenbach, J. Howe.
CENTERS – Krisher, Dowd, Martin.
QUARTERBACKS – Stoner, Close, Francisco.
HALFBACKS – Khoenle, Russell, Waikem, Grier, Lane.
FULLBACKS – Vliet, Howe, Stewart.

McKINLEY
ENDS – Killins, Gelal, Zander, Singleterry, Poole.
TACKLES – Dempsey, Ruble, Winderl.
GUARDS – Wilds, Price, Edwards, Shaffer.
CENTER – Dividio.
QUARTERBACKS – Ramsayer, Schrade.
HALFBACKS – Parks, Mariano, Horner, Prophet.
FULLBACKS – Popoff, Cast.

Score by periods:
Massillon 6 7 0 20 33

Statistics
Mass. Canton
First downs 14 7
Passes attempted 11 9
Passes completed 2 1
Had passes intercepted 1 2
Yards gained passing 54 4
Yards gained rushing 414 181
Total yards gained 464 185
Yards lost 32 20
Net yards gained 432 165
Times punted 4 7
Average punt (yards) 22 28
Yards punts returned by 44 8
Times kicked off 6 1
Average kickoff (yards) 44 35
Yards kickoffs returned by 12 66
Times fumbled 4 5
Lost ball on fumbles 3 5
Times penalized 4 3
Yards penalized 40 25

1950: Massillon 35, Barberton 6

November 10, 1950July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Smash Barberton’s State Championship Hopes
Local Team Tightens Hold On Ohio Crown By Trouncing Magics 35-6

By LUTHER EMERY

If a lot of Massillon football fans have heart aliments today, blame it on the Washington high school Tigers who last night spotted Barberton a six-point lead, then rose in all their power to score 35 points the last two periods to whip the Magics 35-6 before a capacity crowd of 22,000 in Tiger stadium.

It was Barberton’s first loss of the season, its last game of the season, and knocked it out of any chance of claiming the Ohio high school football title and left Massillon without a good challenger for the crown.

The Tigers have one game yet to play, that the traditional battle with Canton McKinley next Saturday afternoon, preparations for which already started with a little pre-game rally in the stadium immediately after the Barberton victory.

The throng that turned out to see the state’s two titans battle it out last night was one of the largest ever to attend a game in the Massillon stadium, and was treated to one of the best games ever played here.

For two periods Barberton had a grasp on the state championship as the Magics scored a second period touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Dick Hunter that Bob Harris caught brilliantly in the end zone. It was the fist time the Tigers had trailed this season and when they went to the dressing room at half-time the game was very much in doubt.

They won it there. Coach Chuck Mather and his assistants showed them what was wrong – how they should spread their defense more to combat the Barberton offense and how to take out a tackle who had been playing in the Massillon backfield most of the first half.
* * *
WHEN THEY came out for the second half the only likeness of the two first half teams was their uniforms. Where Barberton Magic had practically matched the Tigers yard for yard the first half, it failed to dismay anyone the last two periods. The locals were complete masters of the situation. Where Barberton had scored six points the first half and rolled up 115 net yards, it was held scoreless the last two periods with the net gain of six yards. The Tigers on the other hand shoved their offense in high gear to score five touchdowns, kick as many points and roll up 168 net yards from scrimmage compared with 115 yards the first half.

The Tigers second half attack came like a bolt out of the blue. Massillon fans were hoping but few expected the avalanche of 35 points to pour over the Barberton goal the last two quarters when the locals were able to score none the first half.

But they struck quickly, pushing over a T.D. the first time they got the ball with only two minutes and nine seconds of the period having expired.

It came when Harris’ punt was blocked by Allen Murray and Cliff Streeter picked up the ball and ran it back to the 15-yard line. It took four plays to get it over, Bob Howe finally lugging it across the last 10 on a lateral sweep around left end. Jerry Krisher kicked the extra point that made the score 7-6 and punt the Tigers in front to stay.
* * *
AS IT TURNED out, that would have been enough, but the point hungry Tigers struck back later on in the third period with a 43-yard march that ended with Freddie Waikem going over on fourth down from the two-yard line.

The fourth quarter had hardly gotten under way until the Tigers struck again, to finish a drive they had started in the third period. It began on the Barberton 42 and ended with Waikem going over from the one-yard line.

With only three minutes and 48 seconds of the game left to play, the locals scored their fourth touchdown. It began with Bruce Brenner covering Hunter’s fumble on the Barberton 42 and ended with Howe smashing over the goal line from three yards out.

Only seconds remained when the final touchdown was scored. A 50-yard punt return by Bill Stoner put the ball on the Barberton 23. Freddie Close’s pass to Wilfred Brenner moved it up to the four-yard line and Howe went over for the six points. The game ended on the next kickoff.
* * *
THAT’S THE WAY the touchdowns were made and while it reads easy in the summary, it was far from that.

The Magics, wired to top pitch, didn’t come to Massillon just for the ride. They were convinced in their own minds they could beat the Tigers and they played superb ball until the power and weight of the local team began taking its toll as the game progressed.

The visitors were literally brilliant at times, particularly Harris who intercepted two passes the first half with almost impossible catches and scored the Magics’ touchdown with a leap high in the air to take the ball away from two Massillon defenders who were in just as good a position to block it.

Both teams got bad breaks, but the devil seemed more unkind to Massillon than Barberton the first half.

The Tigers, for instance were well on their way to tie the score in the second period when Howe lost the ball on a fumble on the five-yard line which probably would have been a first down coming up had he held on to it.

A fumble and two intercepted passes mean throwing away three opportunities to advance the ball.
* * *
THE STREAK of hard luck and the apparent inability of the Tigers to rally their forces had local fans wondering the first half if this was going to be a repetition of the 1949 Mansfield game, which was the last game lost by the Tigers.

Probably every fan in the stands thought Tiger Coach Chuck Mather got up his dander between halves, but he says he didn’t, and took the time to try to correct his team’s mistakes.

“The boys just decided they had to win this one,” he said, “so they did.”

It was evident from the first tackle on the kickoff opening the second half that the Massillon gridders were charged for greater action. They tackled more viciously and Barberton’s attempts to advance the ball gained but three yards on three plays and when they tried to punt out, Massillon linemen broke through to bat down the leather, which made it possible for Streeter to scoop it up and get down to the 15-yard line and pave the way for the locals first T.D.

The locals threw a scare at Barberton several times in the first half but always the Magics managed to wiggle out of it. After experiencing their first bad break when Ernie Russell slipped on the four-yard line with the kickoff, Freddie Waikem on the first play from scrimmage broke through the entire Barberton team, had a lead of six feet but couldn’t hold it and was hauled down from behind on his 47. A five-yard penalty on a pass play that would have netted a first down in Barberton territory ended that particular threat. A punting duel ensured and when Harris intercepted Close’s pass on the Barberton seven he started the Magics on a drive that went 93 yards to score. There was no luck involved – just good, hard running by Charlie Mitchell and Hunter combined with two passes, thrown by Hunter to Harris, one of 17 yards and another of 25 that produced the Barberton touchdown. It was registered on the third play of the second period. Hunter’s attempted kick was wide of the posts.
* * *
THE TIGERS charged back with the ball after the kickoff, Howe getting away for a
39-yard run to the Barberton 25 that was called back when the Tigers were charged with offside.

With the help of a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker, the Tigers got back to a first down on the Barberton 24 but there they faded and the visitors took over the ball.

The Tigers forced Barberton to punt, and the Massillon eleven once again moved the ball well and was apparently headed for a touchdown when Howe’s fumble was recovered by the alert Dick Stefanic on the five-yard line.
* * *
MASSILLON FANS would much rather have received the kickoff at the start of the second half than booted the ball to Barberton, but as it was it turned out better the latter way when Streeter ran Harris’ blocked punt back to the 15-yard line. Four plays netted but five yards, so the ball was pitched out to Howe who ran hard to his left for the touchdown while his teammates did a good job of taking out the Magic secondary.

Howe did most of the lugging on the second touchdown drive after Harris had kicked out on his own 43. On the first play big Bob ran around left end for 19 yards and a first on the Barberton 24. He went for eight more, Waikem for 10 and How for four more. On another pitch-out, Howe got down to the four-yard line where Waikem knifed through tackle for the score.

The Tigers started their third touchdown in the last minute of the third period after Harris had punted out on his 42. Waikem went around right end for 10 before the period ended. He took it two more times for five and 23 yards, dribbling the ball the second time, but recovering. Howe moved it to the one where Waikem went over.

The boys did a lot of hammering to get their fourth touchdown after Bruce Brenner recovered Hunter’s fumble on the 42. Howe got down to the 23 in two tries, Russell hit for eight and Waikem for two and a first down on the 13. Waikem in two tries got a first down on the three where Howe went over.
* * *
BARBERTON got its first, first down of the second half on the next series but the forward motion was throttled and Stoner took Harris’ long punt and raced brilliantly 50 yards up the sideline to a first on the 23. It only took three plays to get it over from there, Close passing to Wilfred Brenner for eight and 11 yards and Howe taking the ball over on a right end sweep.

The Tigers won the game not only on the scoreboard but in the statistical column as well. Only in the art of forward passing were they beaten. They had a hard time passing, and didn’t complete a throw until the last series of the game.

They made 13 first downs to Barberton’s seven and gained 293 net yards from scrimmage to Barberton’s 121.

In one department, punting, the Tigers had a terrific advantage, Jim Reichenbach kicking a charmed ball that bounced right for him for a 43,6 average, while Harris, always, rushed by the Tiger line, had one punt blocked, and kicked another straight up in the air for a 25.8 average.
* * *
EVERYBODY had their favorite players, but offensively from this department we thought the hard running of Bob Howe stood out for the Tigers. He big boy is just beginning to come in to his own as he demonstrated on one occasion when he rammed for five yards with five Barberton players on his back.

Defensively the whole Tiger team played great ball, but the line backing of Joe Gleason and Ray Lane, particularly in stopping Barberton’s end sweeps and reverses, had plenty of sparkle. On one occasion in particular, Lane knocked out three blockers and got a hunk of the ball carrier. That is desire.

Barberton’s Hunter, Harris and Mitchell played well on offense, while Tackle Ed Balash stood up well defensively.

Coach Junie Ferrall of the Magics came over to the Tiger dressing room after the game, congratulated Coach Chuck Mather and was told by the latter, “We had a good bit of weight on you, June.”

“I was afraid we couldn’t stand up the whole game,” the Barberton coach replied, “You have a great team.”

Amen.

Statistics
MASS. BARB.
First downs 13 7
Passes attempted 8 13
Passes completed 2 6
Had passes intercepted 3 0
Yards gained passing 19 52
Yards gained rushing 287 97
Total yards gained 306 149
Yards lost 13 26
Net yards gained 293 121
Times punted 3 10
Average punt (yards) 43 25
Yards punts returned by 71 0
Times kicked off 6 2
Average kickoff (yards) 43 47
Yards kickoffs returned by 3 86
Times fumbled 3 2
Lost ball on fumbles 1 1
Times penalized 6 2
Yards penalized 80 20

Category: <span>History</span>