Booster Club Report – Week 7

“It was a tremendous win by the Tigers.  These guys have no idea what it means to lose to McKinley.”  With those words, Head Coach Nate Moore opened the weekly Booster Club meeting in reference to Massillon’s 35-7 shellacking of Canton McKinley.  The Tigers have won the last five over the Bulldogs and nine of the last ten in what has recently become a one-sided affair.  For the numbers, it was Game No. 131 and the locals command a 20-game lead in the series, at 73-53-5.

In other contests:

• 7th Grade (3-3): Lost to Austintown, 22-6.  The Mentor game scheduled for this week has been canceled.
• 8th Grade (6-0): Defeated Austintown, 36-0.  Plays Mentor on Wednesday at home at 5:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (5-1): Defeated Canton McKinley, 45-0.  Plays Kirtland on Friday away at 6:00 pm.
• JV (4-3): Was idle.  Plays Lakewood St. Edward on Saturday at home at 10:30 am.

The Massillon Booster Club members in attendance were ecstatic about the large margin of victory over McKinley.  But at the same time were puzzled at the apparent lack of consistent effort put forth by the Bulldog players.  Aside from an 87-yard touchdown drive early in the third period and quarterback Elijah Wesley’s 77-yard gallop on the first play of the game, McKinley’s other drives accounted for a net 20 yards and the longest drive was just 35-yards, which came on their last possession.  The Tiger defense completely controlled the line of scrimmage and held the Bulldogs’ vaunted passing game to a mere 16 yards (4 of 9) as Wesley was constantly hounded by rushing defenders.  Was it the lack of pre-game festivities or was it simply that they knew coming into it they were overmatched?  Only the Pups can figure that out.  But most people in Massillon hope they can.  For it takes two great teams to make this rivalry what it has always been.

Meanwhile, the Tiger offensive line put on a virtual clinic, propelling the team to 285 yards rushing and five touchdowns.  With several running backs unable to go on account of injury, Coach Moore inserted little used sophomore Wittrell Hartson, who responded with 188 yards on 22 carries, including a pair of touchdown runs.  Twice he broke long gainers to energize touchdown drives, with sprints through the middle of the line of 37 and 61 yards.  Moore also inserted senior Nick Leibler, who had never run the ball past the freshmen level.  Leibler was masterful, with 11 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown.  Although running back was Nick’s second position during the pre-season, he had not practiced in that area until just this past week.  “Nick came in and answered the bell,” said Moore.

The guest co-captains were senior quarterback Zach Catrone and senior wide receiver/cornerback Andrew Wilson-Lamp.  “We kicked their butts.” beamed Catrone.  “Offensively, the run game was working.  Hartson and the offensive line did a great job.  The whole line beat the snot out of McKinley.”

“As a defense, our job was to shut them down,” said Lamp.  “And I think we did that pretty well.  I’m super proud of our guys and we proved we’re one of the best defenses out there.”  It was Lamp who ran Wesley down inside the ten and shoved him out of bounds on that first play of the game.  “It gave us a shot to get on the field and defend the goal line,” said Moore.  On the subsequent play, the McKinley running back was stripped of the ball by C.J. Harris, who also recovered it.  That spearheaded a 9-play 95-yard touchdown, which gave the Tigers a lead they never relinquished.

“It was a good day to play our best game,” Moore added.  The Tigers won the battle of special teams, as evidenced by each team’s average starting field position: Massillon at their own 37 and McKinley at their own 21.  Most of the credit belongs to punter Magnus Haines, who averaged 42.0 yards per kick on his three attempts and 52.0 yards per kickoff.  He even ran down a punt snap that went over his head and boomed a 36-yarder rugby-style, just avoiding the block.  Alex Bauer connected on all five PAT attempts and continues to extend his career records in that area.  Even Martavien Johnson returned a punt for a touchdown, only to have it be called back due to a holding penalty.

As noted above, the defense was smothering on all but one play.  “We did a great job all game with our alignments against their unbalanced line,” said Moore.  “The whole defensive effort was a highlight reel.”  Several times the Bulldogs tried to block 6′-4″, 235 lb. Caiden Woullard with their 5′-8″, 180 lb. running back.  It was like sending a lightweight against a heavyweight in a boxing prize fight.  Woullard would simply throw the blocker aside and run down the quarterback.  Then there was junior Austin Brawley, who played downhill from his safety position to break up many attempts to run the ball.  He finished with eight solo tackles and one assist.  Isaiah Clark, the other safety, was in on four solo tackles five assists.  But at the end it was a total team effort as many player shared in the action, including Johnson who had two tackles-for-loss.

Moore noted that McKinley’s defense greatly feared Massillon’s tag screens and shaded their outside linebackers in that direction to provide extra support.  All that did was open up the run.  “So we just kept running up the middle,” said the coach.  “And McKinley never adjusted.”  As a result, the Tigers threw the ball just eight times.  But Catrone was right on target to Wilson-Lamp on a 32-yard pass that set up Massillon’s fourth touchdown.

The Tigers will now take a week off after receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs.  On October 16 they will host the winner of this week’s game between Columbus Walnut Ridge and Columbus Independence.

Playoff notes: All tickets will be sold online, with codes provided to parents of players and bandsmen.  Open purchase of any remaining tickets will commence on Friday at noon.  The OHSAA will control all TV / Internet broadcasts through Spectrum.  In the event Spectrum does not cover a particular game, the participating schools will be permitted to provide video coverage.  As of this moment, the stadium attendance limitations imposed by the Ohio Department of Health have not changed (1,500 or 15% of stadium capacity, whichever is lower, plus any variances allotted by the ODH; Massillon’s limit is 1,776).

Go Tigers!

Massillon Seeded Second in Regional Playoff Bracket

In this unusual year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has modified the football playoffs such that all teams choosing to participate automatically qualify.  Individual game pairings are then based on a ranking as voted on by the coaches of each region.  For this year, Massillon is in Division 2, Region 7, along with 24 other teams.

Seeds and pairings have recently been announced by the OHSAA and the Top 4 seeds in order are Perry (5-0), Massillon (4-1), Westerville South (5-0) and Olentangy Lewis Center (4-1).  Massillon received 11 first place votes, Perry 8 and Westerville South 5.  Green received one first place vote, from Perry.  Tiger Coach Nate Moore voted his Top 4 as Perry, Massillon, Westerville South and Dublin Scioto.  Perry Coach Keith Wakefield had it Green, Perry, Wooster and Olentangy.  He voted Massillon 9th.  The coach from Westerville South had it Massillon, Westerville South, Perry and Olentangy.

Due to an odd number of teams in the region, the top seven seeds have byes in the first round and therefore will not play initially when the tournament begins.  In Round 2 the Tigers will host the winner of the match between Columbus Walnut Ridge (1-1) and Columbus Independence (1-1).  Waiting in the wings are Lake or North Canton as a possible Round 3 game and Westerville South or Wooster as a possible Round 4 game.  A Massillon vs. Perry contest would have to wait until Round 5.  For each game through at least the regional semifinals, the higher seeded team will host the event.  Therefore, the Tigers could have three home games for sure and possibly a fourth, depending on who survives up to that point.

Booster Club Report – Week 6

Throughout 125 years of playing football against 202 different opponents, only eight teams hold an edge over Massillon when there is more than a single game in a given series.  Cleveland St. Ignatius is among that group and coming into last week’s game holds the largest margin, winning 12 against a single loss.  Last Friday, the Tigers took a chip out of that mark by defeating the Wildcats 21-14 in a tremendous defensive affair.

In other contests:

• 7th Grade (3-2): Lost to Euclid 38-18.  Plays Austintown Fitch on Tuesday at home at 6:00 pm.
• 8th Grade (5-0): Defeated Akron Jennings, 30-0.  Plays Austintown Fitch on Wednesday away at 6:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (4-1): Defeated Cleveland St. Ignatius, 21-17.  Plays Canton McKinley on Thursday away at 6:00 pm.
• JV (4-3): Lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius, 40-14.  No future games are scheduled at this time.

“It was a big win last week against a great opponent,” said head coach Nate Moore.  “The kids played really, really hard.  That was the deciding factor.  The defense was incredible.  And the offense and special teams played good enough to win.”

The offense managed a pair of Alex Bauer field goals to take an early 6-0 lead, but Ignatius came back later to take a 7-6 lead into the half.  Disaster struck late in the third when the Wildcats returned an intercepted pass 70 yards for a TD to go up 14-6.  But midway through the fourth, the Tigers were finally able to complete a drive when Raekwon Venson scored from the one to cap a 14-play,  73-yard driver.  Trailing now by just two, Moore decided to go for the tie.  It was a spectacular play in which Martavien Johnson took a handoff from Zach Catrone on a jet sweep to the left.  Johnson then pitched it back to Jaydan Ballard who was coming around from his left end position.  That set up a perfectly thrown pass, over the head of the defender, to Catrone, who had vacated the backfield and raced to the right side of the end zone.

One play later, following the kickoff, Ignatius fumbled an apparent backward pass that was recovered by Jaiden Wise at the 15.  On the next play, Venson bulled his way through the line and into the endzone to steal the win.  Venson would finish the game with with 29 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns.  Catrone was just 10 of 23, but most of that was due to a very good Wildcat secondary, which double-covered every pass attempt, except the tag screen.

But it was the defense that carried the day for the most part, limiting its fifth straight opponent to under 100 yards rushing.  For the season the defense is giving up just 45 yards per game on the ground, which is surpassed by only the 1940 and 1943 teams.   And aside from the touchdown drive, the Wildcat’s longest possession was a mere 23 yards.  Isaiah Clark and Caiden Woullard led in tackles with 4.5 tackle points.  Austin Brawley and Wise each had an interception.  And six different players participated in tackles-for-loss.

“Our defensive coaches do a phenomenal job,” beamed Moore.  “We have really talented players.  And we’re really good at safety. We have exactly the kind of pieces we can throw out there.  Some really tough high school players.  There’re not a lot of holes.  We’re good everywhere.  And the kids play hard.”

In the records-watch department, kicker Alex Bauer recently broke the career mark for both PAT kicks attempted and PAT kicks made.  Magnus Haines has broken the career record for total punting yards.  Jayden Ballard needs 146 yards to break the all-time record for career receiving yards.  He also needs 29 receptions to break that career mark.  Caiden Woullard needs seven tackles-for-loss to tie that career record.

The guest players this week were co-captains Terrence Rankl and Andrew Wilson-Lamp.  “We had a good first day of practice,” said Rankl, as he discussed the upcoming game against Canton McKinley.  “Defensively, we just came back from a hard fought win over Ignatius,” added Lamp.  “We’re licking our chops to face McKinley.”

With a victory over St. Ignatius and a loss by Ft. Thomas Highland, KY, Massillon has taken over third place in the national total win column with 903, three short of Louisville Male, KY.  They now set their sights on improving on the 72-53-5 advantage they hold over the Bulldogs.  The Tigers have won eight of the last nine and came away victorious last year at Benson Field, 24-14.  This time around the game comes early, Week 6, on account of the abbreviated schedule associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.  The last time Massillon and McKinley played that early in the season was in 1963, the year following the Bulldogs’ death penalty the previous year on account of illegal recruiting.  Two games were played in 1963, with the Tigers winning both.

McKinley enters the fray with a record of 4-1, including wins over Jackson (30-0), North Canton (40-25), Lake (26-17) and GlenOak (26-0).  Two weeks ago they dropped a contest to Perry (23-35).

Offensively, McKinley uses some spread and some tight end.  The best player is quarterback Elijah Wesley, a 6′-3″ senior and returning starter.  Moore says that Wesley is a very explosive player with really good vision.  He can run and he can pass, especially when throwing the deep ball.  But he’s at his best as a runner.  Also in the backfield is running back Brandon Foster, a 5′-9″, 180 lb. senior.  Not big, but he has good speed and quickness.  Wesley will have three excellent receivers to throw to and this should present a challenge for the Tiger secondary.  All are over six foot and have good speed.  The best in this group is Xavier Black, a 6′-3″ 180 lb. senior.  The offensive line features two key players in left tackle Khalil Walker (6′-5″, 295) and Stefan Monoham (6′-8″, 295).  Both are juniors.

On defense, expect a 4-3 alignment.  The line has been overshadowed by the play of the linebackers and defensive back, but they do have a good player in Q’mar O’Quinn, a 6′-3″, 260 lb. senior.  Moore calls the linebackers really, really good.  All-state type players.  Leading the group is Mani Powell, a 6′-2″, 225 lb. junior, who Moore calls “a tackle machine, very physical.”  In fact, Moore states that he may be the best player on the team.  Both safeties are returning starters and very good at what they do.  The corners are adequate.  Brian Pinkney leads this group.

There has been some talk of McKinley working through some injuries, since several starters sat out of last week’s game against Canton GlenOak.  In fact, Bulldog Coach Marcus Wattley said many are “questionable” for this Saturday’s 2:00 pm game.  Nevertheless, Coach Moore says that this team will prepare for their best players being on the field and he will see who shows up.

Note: WHS-TV will be only live broadcast for this week’s game.  It can be reached via Boxcast, Massillon Cable TV and this website.

Go Tigers!!!

Booster Club Report – Week 5

Massillon ran its record to 3-1 in this shortened season with 28-10 victory over Cleveland Benedictine (2-2).  Next up is a home game against Cleveland St. Ignatius.  “It definitely feels like Week 5,” said the coach.  “Not the second last game.”  In other contests:

• 7th Grade (3-1): Defeated Oakwood, 36-34.  Plays Euclid on Tuesday at home at 5:00 pm.
• 8th Grade (4-0): Defeated Green, 36-13.  Plays Jennings on Wednesday at home at 6:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (3-1): Defeated Cleveland Benedictine, 27-26.  Plays Cleveland St. Ignatius on Thursday at home at 6:00 pm.
• JV (4-2): JV-A defeated defeated Cleveland Benedictine, 28-0.  JV-B defeated Woodridge, 47-17.  Plays Cleveland St. Ignatius on Saturday away at 10:00 am.

“It was a really good win against a really good team,” said Head Coach Nate Moore at the weekly Booster Club meeting when discussing last week’s victory.  “We cleaned up a lot of mistakes.  Really played well.  Overall, we’re really happy with our kids.  They played tough and physical.”

When the coaches of the opposing schools originally discussed playing each other this year Moore requested a 4-game contract.  But Benedictine, aware that this was supposed to be their best team in quite a long time, opted for just this year.  Based on the emotions that prevailed throughout the game and even after, it’s probably better left that way.

Offensively, running back Raekwon Venson had his second 100-yard night of the season, rushing 23 times for 108 yards and scoring three touchdowns.  In a surprise performance, backup Jumacius Portus carried the ball the last six times that night, gaining 45 yards and scoring the final TD.  Fans may see more of him as the season goes on.

Once again, the defense gave a stellar performance, holding the Bennies to a mere 77 rushing yards.  For season the defense has surrendered an average of 35.8 rushing yards per game, which is surpassed historically only by the 1943 team, which gave up 29.  Coach Moore singled out the play of Jaiden Wise, who “had a fantastic game,” recording eight solo tackles and six assists, including four tackles for loss.  “He’s been playing well all year,” said Moore.  Mike Miller (4-4), Isaiah Clark (1-8), Andrew Wilson-Lamp (3-4) and Michael Billman (1-4) also received praise.  Billman, who is just a shade over 200 lbs., is a force on the defensive line.  Moore did not expect much owing to his size, but after the preseason injury to CJ Harris, he got his chance and was a welcome surprise to the coaching staff.  He is extremely quick off the snap and plays havoc in the opponent’s backfield.

The Tigers also kept Benedictine’s vaunted passing game in check, except for the one long touchdown reception.  Martavien Johnson intercepted two, which he returned for 47 yards.  But the big one was by Clark in the third quarter when the Bennies had a 3rd and goal situation with the Tigers leading just 7-3.  The Benedictine quarterback threw a short pass to the slot receiver and Clark immediately read the play and broke on the ball.  Stealing it away, he raced 52 yards down the left sidelines.  Three plays later the score was 14-3.

On special teams, Johnson and Eric Thurman combined for three kickoff returns that netted 84 yards to put the Tigers in good field position.  Their efforts were aided by some good open field blocking and the players were about “a half second away from really popping it,” according to Moore.  Johnson also had two punt returns for 32 yards.  Magnus Haines continues to impress with his punting.  He booted four for an average of 43.2 yards, with a long one of 48.  Alex Bauer was 4 of 4 on PATs, the last of which set a new Massillon career record for successful PAT kicks.

Incidentally, the fumble by Benedictine that Massillon returned for a touchdown only to have called back was indeed a fumble.  During the play, the QB rolled left left but was inadvertently tripped by the tight end, who was going in the opposite direction.  As a result of the contact, the QB lost control of the ball.  It was clearly not a forward pass.

The guest players for this week were Terrence Rankl and Xavier Andrews.  “We are really looking forward to this game (St. Ignatius) and will play our hearts out,” said Andrews.

This Friday Massillon and Cleveland St. Ignatius will renew their rivalry.  The Wildcats are one of the very few teams to hold a win-loss edge over the Tigers and currently lead the series 12 to 1.  They met last in 2009, a game that was won 26-21 by the Wildcats.

St. Ignatius started their season late this year on account of a virus infection in the school.  Thus far, they have defeated Columbus Bishop Sycamore 33-6 and lost to Lakewood St. Edward 17-0.

Offensively, Ignatius lines up in their traditional spread, utilizing three and sometimes four wide receivers.  First year junior quarterback Jaxon French (6′-2, 200) is the key to the attack.  Against Lakewood St. Edward, he threw hitches to the slot receivers, come-backs to the wideouts, some crossing routes and a few passes over the top.  Moore says that he is pretty talented and athletic, although not necessarily a running threat.  But he can scramble.  And he also has good accuracy.  So it will be important for the Tigers to make sure tackles following receptions.  The best linemen is 6′-5″, 260 lb. Gus Salopek.  He is a good, physical player.  Senior running back Mike Simcak is a good “high school” player.  The wide receivers all run good routes.  Moore singled out Alek Laspina and Jack Dunstan as the go-to players.

Defensively, the Wildcats line up in a 3-3 odd-stack with some even fronts.  The front-7  is the strength of the unit.  It is led by 6′-3″, 230 lb. senior defensive end Bennett Adler and 6′-4″, 225 lb. senior linebacker Aidan Hubbard (3rd year as a starter).  Hubbard currently holds an offer from Northwestern.  The safeties alternate between one and two high, while the corners normally play off the receivers.  The entire group plays “smart and disciplined.”

Moore said not to expect any kickoff returns this week.  Ignatius also has the ability to manage a 50-yard+ field goal.

Here’s hoping Massillon can pick up win No. 2 against St. Ignatius.  Go Tigers!

Booster Club Report – Week 3

By defeating Columbus Bishop Sycamore 35-0 last Friday, the Tigers reached a major milestone, posting their 900th victory in a history that dates back to 1891.  The overall record now stands at 900-293-36, a winning percentage of .747.  While maintaining its status as Ohio’s leader in total wins, the Tigers join only four other teams across the country that have reached the mark of 900 victories: Valdosta, GA (933), Louisville Male, KY (906), Fort Thomas Highlands, KY (901), and Mayfield, KY (900).

Scores from other teams:

• 7th Grade(1-1): Defeated Canton, 22-12.  Plays Warren on Wednesday at home at 6:00 pm.
• 8th Grade (2-0): Defeated Boardman, 44-6.  Plays Warren on Wednesday away at 6:00 pm.
• 9th Grade (1-1): Defeated Alliance, 33-22.  Plays Warren on Thursday away at 6:30 pm.
• JV (1-2): “A” Team lost to Avon, 27-20.  “B” Team lost to Painesville Riverside, 36-19.  Plays Warren on Saturday away at 10:00 am.

Smiley’s is feeding the team after this week’s game.

The guest speaker was David Lee Morgan, author of the recently released book, “15 for 15.”  The publication chronicles Massillon’s 2019 season in which they compiled a record of 14-1 and advanced to the Division 2 state title game.  The book also contains many human interest stories.  It’s a great read and highly recommended.

Zach Catrone and Andrew Wilson-Lamp were the co-captains invited to the meeting.  “I think the young guys did very well stepping up after injuries,” said Catrone.  “We’re looking for No. 901 this week.”

“We came out with a chip on our shoulders,” added Lamp, referring to the previous week’s 1-point loss to Lakewood St. Edward.  “We wanted to turn that around.”

“It was a crazy football game,” said head coach Nate Moore.  “Extended injury timeouts.  Eighteen penalties against Bishop Sycamore.  It was really hard to get any flow.”  Moore thought that many of the Sycamore players were larger than the roster indicated.  Of course, at least half of the players were older and had already graduated from high school.  “They were excellent up front,” added Moore.  “Huge, big and strong.  A couple were really good.  The skill guys were better than I thought.  They had a very, very good talent level.”  The coach thought it was a good test for the Tigers and the game went about how he thought.

The defense played “lights-out,” holding the Centurions to negative 26 yards rushing (28 att.) and 72 yards passing (4 of 15).  But the offense struggled at times behind a sophomore quarterback that was making his first start on account of an injury to the original QB1.  The first quarter went quite well with three scoring opportunities in three possessions, producing a touchdown and a field goal.  And the last three possessions of the game were also productive, with two touchdowns and a final drive that closed the contest at the one yard line.  But in between the offense struggled to get much going, particularly on the ground.

“We shut down their run game early,” said Moore.  “So they started throwing the ball and they weren’t good at it.  With the good defensive backs we have, we were able to blitz a little more.  All-in-all, it was a good outing.  It was a good experience for our offensive line.”

This week’s opponent is Warren Harding, which lost its opener to Cleveland Benedictine (2-0), 24-17, and then rebounded last week against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (0-2), winning 27-10.  Warren coaches will tell you that they have been looking forward to this team for a long time and expect a lot out of this large group of returning players.

Offensively, the Raiders operate out of the spread behind a returning starter at quarterback in Elijah Taylor.  “He makes a lot of good throws and throws well on the run.” said Moore, who believes this is the best quarterback they have seen so far.  The primary running back is Elizah Smith, a 6′-2, 205 lb. returning starter from last year.  But his production has been hampered by an offensive line that is not very adept at blocking. However, they do provide decent protection in the pass game.  A pair of wide receivers, Dom Foster and Deavion Burgess, provide good skill level in that area.

On defense, Warren aligns mostly in a 4-4, cover-3.  The best linemen are defensive ends Jabari Felton (6′-1″, 210) and Kincade Tyson (6′-1″, 210).  But both interior linemen and the two inside linebackers (each new at the position) appear struggle with read techniques.  The secondary is a mixture of skilled and not so skilled players.  Coach Moore does not believe they will have the speed to press cover Massillon’s wide receivers.

Go Tigers!

Booster Club Report – Week 2

Massillon opened the season with a 24-23 loss to Lakewood St. Edward, a team that is ranked No. 2 in the Cleveland-Akron area by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, No. 4 in Ohio by calpreps.com and No. 54 in the nation by the same rating service.  In spite of outgaining the Eagles in yards, 396-204, an early-game kickoff return after a Tiger score and a late trick play made the difference.  But it didn’t help that Massillon failed to convert all ten 3rd down conversion attempts.  All-in-all, however, the game had more the flavor of a scrimmage between two of Ohio’s better teams, rather than a mid-season game, with each making many mistakes throughout.  Nevertheless, both will be very formidable in their respective divisions come playoff time.  The Tigers will be back in action next week against the Centurions of Columbus Bishop Sycamore.

In other action last week, the Massillon JV team defeated St. Edward 14-9, the Freshmen lost to Eds 24-16, the 8th Grade defeated Euclid 33-24 and the 7th Grade lost to Medina Buckeye 24-12.  This week’s games include the 7th Grade vs. Canton on Tuesday at 6:00 pm, the 8th Grade vs. Boardman on Wednesday on 6:00 pm, the 9th Grade vs. Alliance on  Thursday at 6:00 pm and the JV vs. Avon on Saturday at 10:30 am.  All four games are at home.

John Georges Restaurant fed the Tigers on game day last week and Menches Bros. will do the honor this week.

The guest players this week were co-captains Terrence Rankl (offensive tackle) and Andrew Wilson-Lamp (wide receiver / cornerback).  Both briefly addressed last week’s game.  “As a whole we lacked discipline,” said Rankl.  “But we’ll get it done.”  “It’s not the outcome we wanted,” added Wilson-Lamp.  “But we’re at practice working.  And we’ll get it done.”

Head Coach Nate Moore didn’t hide his disappointment at the loss.  But he also saw a lot of good things that happened throughout the game.  “We did a lot of things right,” he said.  “The kids played hard.  We’re happy about that.  But we made too many mistakes in the second half.  We will now move forward and be better for it.”

Except for the kickoff return, the special teams played well.  They had a couple of good kickoff run backs and the players did a fine job of sustaining blocks.  Alex Bauer kicked a career long 42-yard field goal and added a couple others in a 3 for 3 effort.

Defensively, the coach saw a lot of good things.  St. Edwards had zero yards passing in the first half and finished with less than 100 yards rushing for the game.  Take away the trick play, and the Eagles gained just 132 total yards.  Moore said the defense did a really nice job fitting the gaps.  Jamacius Portis led the defense with seven solo tackles and one assist. Isaiah Clark had 6 and 3, and Jaiden Wise had 4 and 4.

On offense, the Tigers are working on more middle-range passes.  Moore thought quarterback Zach Catrone did a good job finding the open receivers.  It helped that the receivers showed great speed and were running good routes.  Catrone completed 14 of 29 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jayden Ballard.  Six difference players caught at least two passes.  The coach also teased the audience about finally being able to throw to the tight end, with two passes caught by Caiden Woullard.  Moore said that the St. Ed defensive line did not match up well with Massillon’s front five.  So in the second half they blitzed on nearly every play.  In spite of that, Raekwon Venson still had an overall good opening night, rushing 25 times for 113 yards.

This week’s opponent is Bishop Sycamore, an online charter school from Columbus.  Since they are not a member of the OHSAA they are not as much restricted in age as are the Tigers.  Thus, several players dot the lineup that had already graduated from high school.  And they readily recruit players from both the Columbus area and nationally.  So why play a team like that?  “They were open Week 2 and willing to play us,” said Moore.  “So there we are.  We have to play teams that will play us.”

Very little film on Sycamore was available for scouting purposes, since they did not play last week.  All the coach had to go on was a scrimmage against a not very good Lima Senior team in which there were no numbers on the jerseys.  However, he assessed the Centurion line as big (6′-2″, 274 ave.), but not necessarily that good.  The better players are found at the skill positions.  However, tight tackle Donovan McClendon (6′-5″, 270), a Pickerington Central graduate, did stand out, although more on defense than offense.  Dayvon Lowman, the running back, goes 5′-11″, 215.  He has good size and speed and plays at a physical level.  Wide receiver Jaylin Norwood, a 5′-9″, 260 lb. senior transfer from Cincinnati LaSalle, is deemed a good player.  As is Quincy Talmadge, a 5′-8″, 160 lb. receiver, who transferred in from one of the Westerville schools.  The quarterback is Noah McClendon, a 6′-2″, 210 lb. sophomore.  A transfer from Pickerington Central, he is a pretty good athlete with a good arm.  The Sycamore operate almost entirely out of a spread formation.

The defense aligns in a 4-3 with press corners,  but will run some cover-3.  A few offensive players also line up on  defense.  The best player is inside linebacker Miles Carter (6′-2″, 230), a Reynoldsburg graduate.  He is big and extremely physical.  Moore called him “really good.”  The other middle linebacker is a graduate from Texas.  The best defensive back is corner Xavier Canaday (6′-2″, 175), another high school graduate.

Go Tigers!

Booster Club Report – Week 1

The Tigers will open the season this Friday against Lakewood St. Edward at 7:30 pm.  Unfortunately, only family members of players, band and cheerleaders will be able to attend due to the restrictions applied by the Ohio Department of Health  on account of Covid-19 pandemic.  However, the game will also be aired live on massillonschools.org for the cost of $10.00.

The ticket office announced the disposition of payments by season ticket holders.  There are three options available: (1) receive a refund, (2) receive credit toward the purchase of a 2021 season ticket, or (3) donate the money to the football program.  If no action is taken, the credit option will  automatically be applied.

The Touchdown Club has been postponed until the week of the McKinley game at the earliest.  The Club still plans to award the Hardnose Trophy at the end of the season.

The 7th Grade will play St. Thomas Aquinas at home on Tuesday at 6:00 pm.  The 8th Grade will play Euclid at home on Wednesday at 6:00 pm.  The freshmen will play at home on Thursday at 6:00 pm against Lakewood St. Edward.  The JV will play at St. Eds on Saturday morning at 10:00 am.  Only relatives of the players are permitted to attend these games.

The Booster Club meeting was moved from the high school to the Eagles 190 due to the virus making the school unavailable.  This year’s President Eric Smith chaired the meeting.

The guest players for this week were co-captains Xavier Andrews and Terrence Rankl.  “We’re really looking forward to this Friday night,” said Andrews.  “We had a good first day of practice and we’re ready for the rest of the week,” added Rankl.  “It’s not going to be the same experience (without the large crowd), but we’ll get through.”

The virus has really affected the preparation for the season, especially with the complete loss of team winter workouts.  But the leaders on the team really pushed hard and the players have apparently responded well.  “These guys have been through a lot and they answered the bell every time,” said head coach Nate Moore.  “We looked to our senior players to really lead.  And they did a fantastic job.  We made gains and they were ready to hit the ground running when they came back.”  And in spite of a season shortened to just six games, the coach is happy about playing.

Moore tried to arrange a scrimmage with Wooster last week, but they declined.  Which was interesting, since the Generals previously called Massillon to schedule a 2-game series.  Maybe they just wanted the big gate a game would provide.

Moore then turned his attention to Lake St. Edward.  “We have a really tall task,” he remarked.  “We know very little.  We looked at prior scrimmages and last year’s game films.  If we play well, we’ll have a really good chance.”

Offensively, the Eagles run a very balanced attack, something that is typical of all good programs.  The run game is mostly power, while the passing attack features lots of underneath routes.  “They’re not flashy, but they are good at what they do,” said Moore.  The line averages 6′-2″, 274 lbs.  The best lineman, according to Moore, is Thomas Aden, who plays right tackle at 285 lbs.  The featured running back is Malachi Watkins, a 5′-10″, 185 lb. senior.  Watkins was a backup last year and has good speed and vision.  The wide receivers are all new, but Connor Goodall and Broden Bostwick stood out for Moore.  Goodall is long at 6′-3″.  Junior Christian Ramos mans the quarterback position.  He is 6′-1″ and 190 lbs.  A starter last year on the JV team, Ramos is a good athlete and has a good arm.

Defensively, St. Edward lines up in a 4-3 with four defensive backs.  The best lineman is Treyton Bixby, a 6′-5″, 245 lb. junior.  He is a big kid and will be a challenge.  The linebacking corp is led by C.J. Hankins, a 5′-11″, 220 lb. senior.  Moore says that he is very active and physical, and perhaps the best player on the defense.  The defensive backs are all new, but the two cornerbacks, Jaylen and Joel Castleberry, are very good.  Expect them to line up in press coverage and create a challenge for Massillon’s outside wide receivers.

This will be a very difficult opener against a team that has won four Division 1 state titles over the last ten years.  But don’t count the Tigers out in this one just yet.  They are big on the offensive line (286 lb. average), they have powerful running backs and some of the best wide receivers in the country, to go along with an excellent quarterback.  Defensively, it’s all about speed and they will challenge any team to drive down the field and score.  And the kicking game is second to none.  On top of that, Coach Moore says that they are great kids, they work hard and they are very focused.  “I feel really good about these guys, about this team,” he said.  “They had a really good off-season.  I feel good about the depth chart top to bottom.”

Go Tigers!

Massillon to Open Abbreviated Season with Lakewood St. Edward

With Ohio’s high schools scrambling to fill schedules for a 6-game modified slate, the Tigers and Eagles have agreed to face each other in Game No. 1 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday, August 28.  The two teams will not be unfamiliar with each other since they had originally planned to face off in the final scrimmage prior to the previous 10-game schedule, something they’ve done in each of the last few years.  But in addition to the shortened season, scrimmages have also been canceled, so this game makes sense.

Massillon had originally planned to open with Bishop Gorman from Las Vegas as part of Nike’s high school football classic at Canton’s Benson Field.  But the impact of Covid-19 forced Nike to cancel the 12-team event.

Then just a few weeks ago it was Pickerington North from the Columbus area.  The game was slated for a Sunday afternoon kickoff, while being aired on ESPN2.  But then the Ohio High School Athletic Association opted to shorten the season when the Ohio Department of Health preferred that all fall contact sports be wrapped up prior to Thanksgiving, fearing that the virus would rebound during the winter months.  The OHSAA released a plan that included six regular season games followed by seven weeks of playoffs, with every team eligible to participate.  This was the best chance for schools to play football this fall, while keeping it fair.  And it appears likely that this will happen.

With the 6-game restriction and all current game contracts nullified, most leagues are opting to schedule league games only.  In the case of Pickerington North, they have six teams in their division of the Ohio Capital Conference.  Their league games will occur on Weeks 2 through 6.  However, the league selected Pickerington Central for their opener since it is a rivalry game.  Incidentally, ESPN will be airing the game, presumably because North has Ohio’s Number 1 recruit, Jack Sawyer and ESPN loves to showcase the Division 1 athletes.  But just in the last couple of days, Sawyer elected to forego his high school season, graduate in December and then enrollment at Ohio State with the hope of playing spring football for the Buckeyes in their modified season.

So all of this means that large independent schools like Massillon and St. Edward are left to schedule mostly other independent schools.

The last time the Tigers and Eagles faced each other in a game that counted was the 2005 Division 1 state semifinals, which was played at Akron’s Rubber Bowl.  In that one, Massillon overcame a two touchdown deficit to win the game 21-17 and advance to the state finals against Cincinnati St. Xavier.  The Tigers’ Brian Gamble scored both of the game-winning touchdowns, the first on an 18-yard pass from Bobby Huth and the second on a 5-yard run with 1:56 remaining in the game.  Massillon leads the overall series 3-2.

St. Edward is one of the most successful Ohio teams over the last ten years, having compiled an overall record of 114-20, including a regular season mark of 83-14 and a playoff record of 31-6.  During that time they have lost only twice to a public school in the regular season, both of those setbacks occurring during the last two years and both to Mentor by single digits.  Four times in that period they captured the Division 1 state championship: 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

With the Tigers expected to have one of their better teams, this should be a great matchup.  In addition, with these national powers taking the field, it is undoubtedly the biggest matchup in the state for that week.   It may also influence the coaches who are voting for the playoff seeding since Akron Hoban also plays Eds the following week.

So strap it up.  The 2020 season is about to get underway.

High School Football Teams Scrambling to Remake Fall Schedules

Three weeks before the 2020 season is scheduled to kick off, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has thrown a major wrench into every team’s schedule.  Call it an act of desperation to salvage any kind of a fall season, or consider it a brilliant plan of compromise.  But at the end of the day, it’s the Ohio Department of Health that apparently has the last say if this can actually happen, given their concern that spread of the COVID-19 virus will explode during the winter months coupled with the need to wrap it up earlier than originally scheduled.

In essence, the season has been reduced from ten games to six with every team qualifying for the playoffs.  Coupled with that, the OHSAA has stated that all 2020 game contracts are nullified.  Therefore, teams will need to start over and don’t have a lot of time to get it done.

For the many leagues across the state, the first priority will be playing as many league games as possible in those six weeks.  So that should be an easy task for them.  But for the independents like Massillon, it’s a little more daunting.  Yet, Massillon’s schedule might be easier to create than most independent schools due to the types teams encompassing the original schedule.  Here’s a look at the possibilities:

Canton McKinley – It’s a given that this game will be scheduled for Week 6.

Pickerington North – This game will probably happen due to two factors.  The first is the national exposure both teams will receive, given that it will be broadcast on ESPN2.  The second is that North is a member of a 6-team conference.  So they can play all of their league games in weeks 2 through 6.

Canton GlenOak – The Federal League consists of seven teams, which means that each will play five league games with the need to fill the odd week.  So the Golden Eagles will have a choice to make.  They can stay with the Week 2 game against Massillon or schedule Louisville, which was their Week 8 opponent.  With the Massillon game scheduled for home and Louisville on the road, it should be a simple choice.

Warren Harding and Austintown Fitch – These two teams along with Boardman only play two league games due to being in the highest tier of the All-American Conference.  They will be eager to schedule the Tigers.  So these are both on the table.

Cleveland Benedictine and Cleveland St. Ignatius – The Bennies and Wildcats are independents and in the same boat as Massillon.  Thus, these are potential games.

Barberton and Wooster – Both play in 7-team leagues and will each need to fill an open date, just like the Federal League.  Barberton’s league is expected to expand to eight next year, so they could complete the 2-game contract with the Tigers this year and avoid problems in 2021.  For Wooster, why pass up a home game in a year of reduced revenue?

Bloomington Hills, Michigan – This game was scheduled for Week 7.  It’s doubtful that Michigan will follow the same format as Ohio, so Bloomington will not be in a position to move the date.  However, since all teams will advance to the playoffs, many of the better teams in each region, such as Massillon, will have an initial bye week once it gets underway.  Therefore, this game might still be a go, especially since the Black Hawks confirmed the trip to Tigertown just last week and the OHSAA is permitting a non-tournament Week 7 game.

A sidelight to all of this is that the regular season won’t officially end until November 14.  This means that teams can play additional games after being eliminated from the playoffs, provided they don’t exceed a total of ten for the entire season.  It’s possible, therefore, that leagues could finish their slates during that time.

Now we just need the Governor to give the OK to begin play.