2024 Booster Club Report – Week 13 – Post-Teays…

2024 Booster Club Report – Week 13 – Post-Teays Valley; Preview of the Big Walnut Game

Massillon (11-2) defeated Teays Valley (8-5), 48-14.  It was historical win No. 959.  This week Massillon travels to Mansfield for a regional championship playoff game against Big Walnut (12-1).

Link to the Teays Valley Game Story

Link to the Teays Valley Game Statistics

Review of the Teays Valley game

Massillon advanced to the Region 7 championship game with a 48-14 victory over Teays Valley.  It was an odd first half of football as the Tigers ran just four plays offensively and scored three touchdowns, while the special teams returned three kicks for additional scores, to take a 42-7 lead into the locker room.  The offensive TDs came on a 7-yard run by Mylen Lenix, a 77-yard pass from quarterback Jalen Slaughter to Braylyn Toles and a 52-yard run by Ja’Meir Gamble.  Tyler Hackenbracht tallied all three special team touchdowns on punt returns of 50 and 81 yards, along with a touchdown return of 100 yards.  Meanwhile, the defense held Teays Valley to a net zero yards rushing and ten yards passing during the half.  The backups played most of the second half with a running clock in effect.  Peytton Mitchell led all Massillon rushers with 12 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown.  Inside linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams led the team on defense with five tackles and a sack.

“It was a big win last week,” said Massillon head coach Nate Moore.  “Every playoff win is a good win.  The Tigers pretty much rolled.  It was a great performance by a lot of guys. ”  Moore also singled out the outstanding play of Tyler Hackenbracht, who returned two punts and a kickoff for touchdowns.  And following his third punt return attempt when he was finally tackled by Teays Valley, he received a standing ovation from the Massillon crowd, along with loud joyous relief evident from the other side of the field.

The guest players were wide receiver Jacques Carter and defensive lineman Michael Wright Jr.  “It was a good game,” said Carter.  “Got the young guys in early.  It was a good team win.”  “It was fun,” added Wright.

Preview of the Big Walnut Game

Big Walnut enters the game with a 12-1 record.  Their season to date:

• Columbus Watterson (13-0): 0-20 L
• Dayton Dunbar (3-7): 56-8 W
• Groveport-Madison (7-5): 24-13 W
• Delaware Hayes (7-4): 41-21 W
• Westerville South (5-6): 31-28 W
• Franklin Heights (3-7): 45-12 W
• Worthington  Kilbourne (5-7): 31-0 W
• Westerville North (6-5): 32-31 O.T. W
• Dublin Scxioto (1-9): 38-10 W
• Columbus Westland (8-3): 34-33 W
• Logan (1-10): 42-0 W
• Massillon Perry (6-6): 35-24 W
• Ashland (12-1): 28-10 W

The Golden Eagles finished the regular season 9-1 and are 3-0 in the playoffs, while averaging 34 points per game and giving up 16.  In contrast, Massillon averages 35 points per game and gives up 12.  Big Walnut is seeded first in Region 7 by Harbin.  In Calpreps.com they are ranked second behind No. 1 Massillon.

Big Walnut participates in the Capital Division of the Ohio Capital Conference, which is located in the Columbus area.  Over the past five years they have compiled an overall record of 45-16, including a 9-4 mark in the Division II state playoffs, an event in which they participated in each of those years.  Their best finish in that span was 12-1, which occurred in 2022.  In that year, they fell in the playoffs to Massillon, 38-0.  The following year they also played the Tigers in the post-season and led 9-0 early.  But the Tigers quickly regrouped and won comfortably, 42-21.

Massillon during the last five years has compiled a record of 60-9, including a 21-3 mark in  the state playoffs.  They also captured the Division II state championship in 2023 with a perfect 16-0 record.  During that 5-year span they won all three games against Lakewood St. Edward, 3-time Division I state champion, and all five games against Canton McKinley.

As a whole, Moore believes that the Big Walnut offense is better than its defense.  The offense uses a pro-style, with a lot of tight end looks, usually with two and often with three in the formation.  To confuse the defense, they will frequently flip tight end/offensive tackle to gain a blocking advantage.  In the passing game, they are not shy about using empty sets.  The offense is a young group, starting four seniors, four juniors and three sophomores.

The best player is sophomore running back Nolan Buirley (6′-1″, 185).  He has good speed and can run with power.  He also has another gear when he’s through the line.  Buirley has the ability to put up a lot of yards in a game.  In empty sets he will line up in the slot.  Watch for tag screens to him in that situation.  The quarterback is sophomore Eli Stumpf (6′-3″, 180).  Moore says he does an nice job.  He throws a good ball and has decent speed when escaping the pocket.  He also has some designed runs.  Stumpf’s primary receiver is junior tight end Owen Pollock (6′-4″, 225), a 3-star recruit with an offer from Miami of Ohio.  The offensive line averages 6′-1″, 253 lbs.

“Big Walnut is a heavy-run team,” said Wright.  “We have to stop the run.  It’s a big game for me.  I need to do my job.”:

The defense aligns in a 3-4 odd front.  At times they will slide a linebacker up to present an even front.  The secondary utilizes cover-3 or cover-4, with zone coverage.  But they will occasionally mix in some man-to-man, with cover-1.  The strength of this unit is the linebacker corps.  Like the offense, this group is also young, starting three seniors, six juniors and a pair of sophomores.

The best player on this side of the ball is junior outside linebacker Clint Stover (6′-2″, 195), a 4-star recruit.  His brother, Cade, played defensive end for Ohio State and was drafted earlier this year by the Houston Texans.  Stover wlll come off the edge and is the primary blitzer.  He is also good in pass coverage.  The defensive line is on the smaller side, averaging 6′-2″, 213 lbs.  However, as a whole, the front seven is an extremely active group.

“We need to attack the corners,” said Carter.  “We can get it done if the quarterback (Slaughter) is on his  game.”

Massillon will be the visiting team.

Notes

Here are some Massillon player statistics over the past six games:

• Running back Ja’Meir Gamble:  80 attempts for 864 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Averaged 144 yards per game at 10.8 yards per carry.
• Quarterback Jalen Slaughter: 61 completions in 93 attempts for 926 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Averaged 154 yards per game and 15.2 yards per completion with a completion percentage of 65.6%.  Way ahead of most high school quarterbacks.
• Wide receiver Braylyn Toles: 26 receptions for 439 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Averaged 16.7 yards per catch.
• Linebacker Mylen Lenix: 28 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles-for-loss.
• Lineman Michael Wright Jr.: 22 tackles, 3 sacks and 7.5 tackles-for-loss.
• Defensive back Tyler Hackenbracht: 41 tackles and three kick returns for touchdown.

Academically, the Tigers produced a fine grade point average of 3.47.

The available cash for post-game player meals has been exhausted.  The Booster Club is look for additional funding.  Please help.

To Tigers!

Massillon Throttles Teays Valley, Advances to Regional Finals

Massillon Throttles Teays Valley, Advances to Regional Finals

Statistics

Coaches will tell you that there are three phases to the game of football: offense, defense and special teams.  They are all equally important.  In fact, the Tigers during each and every practice focus first on special teams.  And how that part of the game impacted the Division II, Region 7, Round 3 game at Zanesville, which Massillon won convincingly over Teays Valley (8-5), 48-14.  For it was special teams that set the tone.

The group of eleven guys in that phase of the game were simply marvelous in returning the ball for three first-half touchdowns.  Among them was Tyler Hackenbracht, who was on the receiving end of all three.  The first two were punt returns, of 50 yards and 81 yards, and the third was a 100-yard kickoff return.  The third score gave the Tigers a 35-7 lead midway through the second quarter and the game was essentially over that point.

The second phenomenon in this game involved the offense.  Normally, a defense is tasked with keeping the opposing offense off the field.  Only in this game, it wasn’t the Teays Valley defense, but the Tiger special teams that relegated the Massillon offense to the bench for nearly the entire first half.  Of course, the offense itself also had something to do with that.  Nevertheless, by halftime the Tigers had run just four plays.  But with those four plays they scored three touchdowns and racked up 144 yards of total offense.  The game eventually ended with the Tigers amassing 232 yards of offense in 23 plays, at 10.1 yards per play.  Just 23 plays?  Unheard of for a winning team.  That, coupled with the special teams TDs, is surely something that the Massillon program has never experienced in their long history.

The third story of the night was the defense.  Once again, they were simply dominating.  Dominating to the tune of holding Teays Valley’s power running game to a mere ten yards in 31 carries, including four quarterback sacks that accounted for 37 lost yards.  The Vikings’ passing game was limited to 104 yards.

Teays Valley received the opening kickoff, quickly lost four yards in three plays and was forced to punt.  That’s when Hackenbracht retrieved the ball off a bounce and immediately headed across the field to the right side.  Once turning the corner, he was escorted by a host of blockers to the end zone.

On Teays Valley’s next possession they were again forced to punt.  This time Hackenbracht caught the ball on the fly and repeated the jaunt of the first score.

The third Viking possession started at their own seven after the kickoff returner initially bobbled the ball.  They did manage to advance to the 20, but the punt snap was bobbled and the Tigers tackled the punter, taking over at the seven.  From there it took just one play for Mylen Lenix to find his way into the end zone.

Finally, after the Vikings’ next punt, they were able to avoid a return, placing the Tigers at their own 20.  Now, the Massillon fans finally had an opportunity to settle back and enjoy a nice, multi-play drive to the end zone.  But it didn’t happen.  Following a 4-yard penalty for a false start, quarterback Jalen Slaughter tossed a short pass to Braylyn Toles to for a 2^nd and 7.  But it was a setup ploy.  On the next play, Toles broke his pattern over the middle on a skinny post and was wide open for the pass, which he snagged around his 40 and raced untouched to the end zone.  That made the score 28-0.

At that point, Teays Valley found some offense, driving 73 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown.  It ended in a 6-yard pass from quarterback Brady Farmer to Luke Burgett, a tight end that had slipped out of a bunch formation.  The drive included 41 yards rushing, 6 yards passing and the remainder in defensive penalties.

But it didn’t take the Tigers long to respond as Hackenbracht secured the subsequent kickoff at the goal line and raced through a gaping hole on the left side of the Viking pursuit, off for his third  touchdown of the night.

After holding Teays Valley again, Hackenbracht had a third chance to return a punt.  But this time he was tackled with little gain.  Only, the fans on both sides of the field were cheering, the Vikings for finally making a stop on Hackenbracht and the Tigers for the appreciation of Hack’s great efforts.

More Massillon points came just one play later when Ja’Meir Gamble, on his sole carry of the night, broke through the line and sped untouched 52 yards to the end zone, making the score 42-7.

The third quarter started with the backups in the game and a running clock in effect.  Only, the Vikings’ Tyler Tietz picked up a loose ball and ran 44 yards to the end zone, ending the running clock.  So, Massillon head coach Nate Moore temporarily reinserted his first team offense.  Finally, the Tiger fans got to experience a nice long drive, this one of 50 yards in 11 plays.  It culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by Peytton Mitchell.  The backups then returned to finish it out.

Peytton Mitchell led all Massillon rushers with 12 carries for 61 yards and a TD.  Gamble’s lone attempt resulted in a 52-yard score.  Slaughter completed 4 of 6 passes for 105 yards and a TD, which Toles took to the house.  Hackenbracht had 226 return yards, which enters the record book as No. 2 for 129 punt return yards in a single game.  He will also finish in the Top 10 for single season yards and tied for first for single season punt return touchdowns, along with Bo Grunder and Austin Brawley.  Inside linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams finally returned from injury and led the team with five tackles and a sack.

For Teays Valley, Peter Graham had 12 carries for 40 yards.  Farmer completed 12 of 19 for 104 yards and TD, going to Burgett.  Chase Cahill was high on the team with five tackles.  The Vikings were 2 of 11 on third down conversions.  They also had a time of possession of 33:32, as compared to the Tigers’ 14:28.   Such was the weirdness of the game.

The Zanesville school officials did a great job hosting the game.

Massillon (11-2) will next face Big Walnut (12-1) in the regional  finals at a site to be determined.

The Tigers enter the field prior to the game.

A final moment by Michael Wright Jr. (45)

Ja’Dyn Williams sacks Brady Farmer.

Tyler Hackenbracht (24) heads to the end zone on the punt return.  Ethan Schwalbaugh (16) gives chase.

Tyler Hackenbracht (24).

Mylen Lenix (5) slipping by the defender prior to the score.  Peytton Mitchell (32); Michael Looney (75); Logan Allman (13); Griffin Gray.

Dayvionne Floyd (68) gets to the quarterback (Brady Farmer).

Ja’Meir Gamble gets a celebratory lift from Nolan Davenport.

Brady Farmer is in all kinds of trouble.  Isaac Maxheimer (87).

Peytton Mitchell with the carry.

No where to go for Luke Burgett.

2nd team action.  Avery Blake (41).

2nd team action.  Kavon Sankey with the sack.

Game over!  Michael Wright Jr. (45), Bishop Cupp (20), Dayvionne Floyd (68).

Eight Tigers Named 2024 All-Stark County

Eight Tigers Named 2024 All-Stark County

WHBC recently announced its All-County team and eight Tigers received honors.  The group was selected by vote of the area coaches.  In addition, Jacques Carter was named by Nate Moore as the coach’s pick Most Valuable Player.  Massillon is currently 10-2 on the season and plays Friday against Teays Valley in Round 3 of the state playoffs.  They are also ranked nationally in the Top 100 by Calpreps.com.

The All-County players, as selected by the area coaches, include Jalen Slaughter, Ja’Meir Gamble, Braylyn Toles, Nolen Davenport, Michael Wright Jr., Vito McConnell, Tyler Hackenbracht and Daylan Pringle.  Davenport and Wright are repeat honorees from last year and Davenport was also named All-County in 2022.  Coach Nate Moore was excited to acknowledge these players at the Booster Club meeting last Monday.  But he also noted that there were other Tiger players that deserved recognition.

• Jalen Slaughter – Senior quarterback (6’-0”, 170). Has completed 164 of 255 passes (64%) for 2,095 yards and 20 touchdowns.  Completed 29 of 44 passes for 402 yards and three TDs against NFL Academy-London, in a game played in Eugene, Oregon.  The yardage ranks No. 2 in the record book, while the number of completions is tied at No. 1 and the number of  attempts ranks No. 5.  Also eclipsed the 200-yard passing mark against Football North and Canal Winchester.  Completed an 81-yard pass for a touchdown against Canal Winchester, which ranks No. 7 in the record book for longest reception.  Slaughter holds offers from Akron and Kent State.
• Ja’Meir Gamble – Senior running back (5’-10”, 190). Has rushed 166 times for 1,400 (8.4 ave.) yards and 19 touchdowns.  His yardage mark currently ranks No. 8 in the record book.  Rushed 15 times for 290 yards against Legacy School of Sport Science, placing third in the record book.  Named 2^nd Team All-District and Honorable Mention All-Ohio in 2023.  Gamble holds offers from Central Michigan and Temple.
• Braylyn Toles – Has caught 49 passes for 590 yards (12.0 ave.) and 6 touchdowns. Caught 9 passes for 114 yards and a TD against NFL Academy-London.  Caught an 81-yard TD pass against Canal Winchester, which ranks No. 7 in the record book for longest reception.  Named 2^nd Team All-Ohio in 2023.
• Nolan Davenport – Senior offensive tackle (6’-6”, 290). Has helped his team rush for 162.3 yards per game (6.2 ave.) and score 31 touchdowns.  Has also helped protect the quarterback in the pocket, yielding an average of just one sack per game.  Named 1^st Team All-District and 2^nd Team All-Ohio in 2023.  Committed to the University of Wisconsin.
• Michael Wright Jr. – Senior defensive lineman (5’-11”, 285). Recorded 37 tackles, 3.0 quarterback sacks for 21 lost yards and 11.0 quarterback sacks for 41 lost yards.  Also forced two fumbles.  Recorded 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss against Canal Winchester.  Has helped his team limit rushing to 87.5 yards per game (3.0 ave.).  Named 1^st Team All-District and 1^st Team All-Ohio in 2023.  Committed to Youngstown State University.
• Vito McConnell – Senior linebacker (6’-3”, 220). Has recorded 49 tackles, including 1.0 quarterback sack for 7 lost yards and 5.0 tackles-for-loss for 22 lost yards.  Also, intercepted a pass and blocked a kick.  Temporarily moved from outside inside linebacker to inside linebacker to fill in for an injured player.  Committed to Miami University (Ohio).
• Tyler Hackenbracht – Senior safety (6’-2”, 210). Led the team with 96 tackles.  Also recorded 3.5 tackles-for-loss for 8 lost yards.  Intercepted one pass.  Named 2^nd Team All-District and Honorable Mention All-Ohio in 2023.  Committed to the University of Toledo.
• Daylan Pringle – Senior Cornerback / safety (6’-0”, 170). Has recorded 29 tackles and one tackle-for-loss.  Leads the team with 3 pass interceptions.  Also has three pass breakups, a recovered fumble and a blocked kick.  Pringle holds a Grand Valley State offer.
• Jacques Carter – Has caught 28 passes for 547 yards (19.5 ave.) and a team high 8 touchdowns. Caught 4 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown against Canisius, NY, and 3 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown against Canal Winchester.  Named 2^nd Team All-District and Honorable Mention All-Ohio in 2023.  Carter holds offers from Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio, Ohio University and Temple.

Massillon Defeats Canal Winchester, Advances to Playoff Round 3

Massillon Defeats Canal Winchester, Advances to Playoff Round 3

Statistics

Sixty-four teams entered the Division II state football tournament and three quarters of them are gone in just over a week.  And the field will be reduced to four in just over another week.  It goes that fast.  In Region 7 four teams of the original sixteen remain, including No. 3 seed Massillon, No. 1 Big Walnut, No. 4 Ashland and No. 7 Teays Valley.  In Round 3 the Tigers will be matched up with Teays Valley, while Big Walnut will entertain unbeaten Ashland, with all remaining games played on neutral fields,

Massillon put up another running clock in their 37-7 victory over Canal Winchester at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, but again it wasn’t a cake walk.  Rather, it was more of a chess match between the two coaches as each tried to figure out the best way to move the ball.  Only, by the time the Indians at least had a clue, the game was pretty much over.

Canal Winchester typically aligns their defense in a 4-4, cover-1.  Massillon attacked initially with a tight formation; i.e., a single wide receiver, a tight end or two and three or four in the backfield.  So, the Indians countered by placing their best defensive back against the lone wide receiver and the remaining ten players in the box, including the safety, who was a mere seven yards off the ball.  Cover zero.  Just like Canton McKinley and Licking Valley before them, they knew that if they didn’t stop run, it would be near impossible to pull off an upset.  The Tigers, like any team against that kind of defense, would struggle to run the ball, and they did indeed struggle.  Also, the passing game to the single wide receiver, given the athleticism of the covering cornerback, turned into a stalemate.  So, Massillon head coach Nate Moore brought in three more wide receivers in order to spread out the defense.  The ploy worked.  Running back Ja’Meir Gamble suddenly became a factor, finding seams along the edges of the line for good gains.  In addition, the passing game got into gear.  Thus, by the end of the first half, the Massillon offense had become a dynamo, scoring 31 points and putting up 360 yards of total offense.

On the other side of the ball, the Tiger defense blitzed the two middle linebackers on nearly every play, causing great pressure on the quarterback, who was not the most adept at escaping the pocket.  So, he ended up being sacked four times and most of the passes were rushed.  In addition, the running game was also affected and it didn’t gain a single yard throughout the first half, with numerous tackles-for-loss, while the passing game netted just 20 yards.  The only bright spot for the Indians was a 91-yard kickoff return that set up their lone score of the game.  Perhaps, given that the middle linebackers were constantly blitzing, they might have used the flair pass to the running back a bit more, something with which they had some success in the second half.

On the negative side, the game was marred by a host of penalties, by both teams.  In the first half alone, Massillon was whistled for ten infractions, including eight for holding (seven accepted), and Canal Winchester was called for eight, with three being pass interference, along with several 5-yarders.  The referees just couldn’t let these guys play.

After an exchange of punts to open the game, Massillon quarterback Jalen Slaughter found Jacques Carter open over the middle for a 72-yard touchdown, speeding away from the pursuing defenders for the majority of the yards.  With Francesco Salvino snapping and Savior Owens holding, Mateo Herrea’s PAT kick was good and the Tigers were up 7-0.

Later in the quarter Massillon engineered a 10-play, 79-yard drive for a second score, this one coming on a 4-yard run by Mylen Lenix.  The Tigers withstood two holding penalties during the drive, including one that wiped out a 14-yard TD run by Gamble.  But they were also the beneficiary of an equal number of penalty yards suffered by the Indians.  The key play was a 26-yard run by Gamble through several would-be tacklers that converted a 1st and 20 at the Massillon 45 into a first down at the Winchester 29.

It was after that when the Indians’ Dennis White returned the kickoff 91 yards to the Massillon 6.  Winchester was stuffed on three running plays up the middle, but they eventually scored from the three to open the second quarter when quarterback Quinton McGhee connected with Caleb Clay in the end zone.

Midway through the period, Slaughter found Braylyn Toles open in the middle of the field on a left-to-right skinny post.  He then turned on the jets, eluded his defender and sped down the right sideline for the score, aided by the two receivers on the right side of the field that each shielded off their defenders to clear the way.  Score, 21-7.

On the second play of the Tigers’ next series, Gamble broke through the right side of the line untouched and outraced the defense to the end zone for a touchdown that covered 57 yards.  Score, 28-7.

That’s when things got interesting.  Winchester’s Kavon Sanke returned the kickoff to his own 37.  A first down was gained at the 47.  Time out Massillon.  Loss of a yard.  Time out Massillon.  Quarterback sack.  Time out Massillon.  A punt to the 15, with 1:57 remaining in the half.  Only Massillon was forced to punt it right back from their own 20 following a holding penalty.  Winchester has the ball at the Massillon 47.  Picks up a first down from a holding penalty on the defensive back.  A 50-yard field goal attempt was missed with 45 seconds left.  Encroachment on Massillon; ball at the 15.  26-yard pass to Ricardo Wells Jr.; ball at the Tiger 49.  Holding penalty.  19-yard pass to Carter; ball at the 40.  Pass interference on the Indians; ball at the 25.  Another pass interference on the Indians; ball at the 12; five seconds left.  Hererra finally ends it with a 29-yard field goal and the Tigers go into the locker room up a comfortable 31-7.

After a fine halftime show by both bands, Massillon scored its final touchdown on a 6-yard play-action pass from Slaughter to Vito McConnell.  The PAT was missed.  The remainder of the game was played under a run-clock, with the Tiger backups on the field.

Gamble finished the game rushing 15 times for 154 yards (10.3 ave.) and a touchdown.  Slaughter completed 10 of 19 for 228 yards (22.8 ave.) and 3 TDs.  Carter, Toles and Wells each caught three passes. McConnell recorded six tackles, Michael Wright Jr. had a pair of sacks and ten different players were involved in tackles-for-loss.

For Winchester, Corey Howard rushed 14 times for 43 yards (3.1 ave.) and Quinton McGhee completed 9 of 26 (35%) for 73 yards and the one score.  Dre Jackson caught four passes.  Ausar Imani led the Indians with seven tackles.

Massillon compiled 413 yards of well-balanced offense, with 185 on the ground and 228 in the air.  Canal Winchester produced 138 yards, with 65 on the ground and 73 in the air.

Next week the Tigers (10-2) will play Teays Valley (8-4), a 10-7 victor over Worthington Kilbourne.  The game will potentially be played at Mansfield’s Arlin Field.

Vito McConnell with the touchdown catch.

Ball on the ground in second team action.  Stephen Reinhart (14); Maxwell Tanner (67); Deangelo Zimmerman (4).

Savior Owens showing the power.

Daylan Pringle on the punt return.

Jalen Slaughter on the move.

Ricardo Wells Jr. has his pass reception broken up.

Ricardo Wells Jr. with the almost catch.

Daylan Pringle with the punt return.  Tyler Hackenbracht (24) with the block on Eric Hardy.

Head Coach Nate Moore signals one point following the touchdown.

Braylan Toles eludes the defender on the way to the end zone.

Jacques Carter (7) gets the TD lift from Marcus Garner (60).  Richard Harris Jr. (23); Jalen Slaughter (2).

Carter Strang Event Scheduled for November 21

Carter Strang Event Scheduled for November 21

This a free event but you must register for tickets.

Massillon Downs Canton McKinley in Defensive Battle

Massillon Downs Canton McKinley in Defensive Battle

Statistics (pending)

No high school football program in American does “Rivalry Game-Day” better than Massillon.  Even most colleges would be envious of the atmosphere on display at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on this sunny Saturday afternoon.  The parking lots were packed with fans eager to support their teams.  The dozens of tailgate parties were in full swing.  The calliope was pounding out Tiger Rag at the stadium entrance.  The stadium speakers were blasting the music.  A near-capacity crowd of over 12,000.  And the fireworks were echoing throughout.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  All to witness a classic showdown between Massillon and Canton McKinley, with the partisan Tiger crowd enjoying a 16-7 victory in this 135^th meeting.

The Bulldogs came into the game as an overwhelming underdog, which was uncharacteristic for this event.  And it would have played out that way had they not made any adjustments to the defense in order to hamper the well-balanced Tiger attack.  So, they elected to load the box to stop the run and take a risk by playing man-to-man against the wide receivers.  At times, even the free safeties crept toward the box to aid in the effort, thereby placing up to nine players in that zone.  The ploy worked, at least against the run.  Massillon never got untracked with their ground game, holding 1,000-yard rusher Ja’Meir Gamble to just 52 yards on 20 carries.  Only, Massillon quarterback Jalen Slaughter was on the mark, completing 13 of 17 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.  He was also named by the Great American Rivalry Series as the Player of the Game.  The defense blitzed early and often, putting great pressure on quarterback Kam Montgomery, who was the catalyst of the Bulldog offense.  And they held the McKinley rushing attack to almost nothing until near the end of the game.

The tone was set on the first series when Montgomery sent a tag screen to Dante McClellan at the 21 yard line.  McClellan was immediately swarmed by a host of Tiger tacklers and stripped of the ball by Lennox Lemon.  Vito McConnell made the recovery and from there it took Massillon just four plays to find the end zone.  Rushes by Gamble and Mylen Lenix advanced the ball to the seven.  Then, Slaughter rolled left and found Braylyn Toles wide open on a crossing route in the back of the end zone for the initial points of the game.  Mateo Herrera’s PAT was good and the Tigers would maintain a lead for the rest of the game.

On the Bulldog’s next possession they were forced to punt after gaining just three yards.  But Michael Wright Jr. leaped high over a blocker to get a hand on the ball, giving the Tigers another chance for a score.  However, following three runs and an incomplete pass, McKinley had dodged the bullet.

But Massillon came right back after another Bulldog 3-and-out and drove 52 yards in eight plays for their second score.  Thirty-eight yards came at the hands of Slaughter who completed a 14-yarder to tight end Deangelo Zimmerman and a 24-yarder to Jacques Carter for the touchdown.  Unfortunately, an unsportsmanship conduct penalty was marched off prior to the PAT and the kick was subsequently missed.  Score: 13-0.

McKinley finally got their offense untracked and advanced to the Massillon 33, but were stalled on downs.  Following a Massillon punt, the Bulldogs were on the move again.  This time they converted when Montgomery, in the face of the blitz, tossed a screen pass to Deejay Britt for a 12-yard score with 2:07 left in the half.

But the Tigers weren’t finished. Starting at their own 15, Slaughter went to work with passing game and completed 5 of 5 for 64 yards, advancing the ball to the McKinley 19.  From there, with just five seconds remaining, Herrera drilled a 36-yard field.  The points were huge as it gave Massillon a two score lead.

In the second half, the Tigers reverted to the game plan used in last year’s 7-2 state championship victory over Akron Hoban.  That is, run the ball to burn up the clock and leave it to the defense to bring it home; i.e., play sound fundamental football against the rush, blitz sparingly and keep the receivers in check.   It worked.  The Bulldogs had the ball only three times in the second half.  The first ended in a punt from the one yard line.  In the second, McKinley ran off 16 plays only to have a 4^th down pass intercepted by Daylan Pringle.  And on the third, they ran out of downs at midfield, even after benefitting from a roughing the kicker penalty early in the drive.  Meanwhile, Massillon had one scoring opportunity following the punt from the one, but missed on a 31-yard field goal attempt.

Massillon finished the game with 227 yards of offense, 69 on the ground and 158 in the air.  Toles caught 7 passes for 88 yards and TD.  Gamble caught 4 passes for 32 yards.  Carter caught 1 pass for 24 yards and a TD.  Tyler Hackenbracht made 13 tackles and 1 forced fumble, and averaged 38.3 yards on three punts, including two perfectly placed out of bounds.  Lenix made 8 tackles, including 4 TFLs and a sack.  Logan Allman had 8 tackles.  Michael Wright Jr. had 6 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and a forced fumble.

McKinley, which played perhaps their best game of the season, was held to 154 total yards, 57 on the ground and 97 in the air (Montgomery completed 10 of 20, after 9 of 11 in the first half).  Antonio Stevens had 7 tackles and 1 TFL.  Dante McClellen had six tackles and 2 TFLs.

Once again there was a multitude of penalties, 12 against Massillon (5 of the personal foul variety) and 12 against McKinley (2 of the personal foul variety, both occurring at the end of the game).

With the victory bell now in possession of Massillon for the ninth consecutive year, it resounded loudly for all of Tiger Nation as the players joyfully towed it across the field.  The Tigers also now lead the overall series 77-53-5.

Next week, the Massillon (8-2) hosts Licking Heights in a Division II, Region 7, first round  game.  McKinley (6-4) hosts Parma Normandy in a Division I, Region 1 game.

Pre-game handshake.  Michael Wright Jr. (45).

Ja’Meir Gamble eludes a potential tackler (Antonio Stevens)

Let’s play football!

Ja’Meir  Gamble is chased down the sidelines.

Jacques Carter with the touchdown catch.  Bryan Ingram (20).

Michael Wright Jr. showing the emotion.

Deejay Britt is brought down by Daylan Prngle.

Massillon head coach Nate Moore having a friendly discussion with long-time referee Tony Montana.

Braylyn Toles taking a break.

No where for the Kam Montgomery to run.  Isaaac Maxheimer (87); Lucas Shertzer (26); Daylan  Pringle (6).

Champions once again.  Eli Moore (18); Michael Wright Jr. (45).

A final celebration!