JV Tigers Edge Cleveland St. Ignatius

Behind the strong running of Jean-Luc Beasley and Raekwan Venson along with stout defense and special teams, the JV squad improved its mark to 8-0 with a 7-6 road win over Cleveland St. Ignatius.

The Wildcats moved the ball well in the first half, but the Tiger defense was unrelenting in the red zone and held Iggy to a pair of second quarter field goals.  The first was from 29 yards out and the second from 26.  A third scoring try was thwarted when Jerron Hodges scooped up a loose ball and advanced it 25 yards to midfield.  With time running out in the half, quarterback Zach Catrone connected on a long pass putting the ball in scoring position.  But a Tiger fumble at the goal line with seconds remaining negated the effort.

The second half, however, was all Massillon.  In spite of not scoring an offensive point, the Tigers controlled all the action, with the defense coming up with the big play.  With 9:41 left in the fourth quarter, TJ Williams center-field picked an overthrown Ignatius pass and returned it 25 yards to paydirt, eluding two potential tacklers along the way.  Ethan Fox converted the PAT and the Tigers were up 7-6.  Now all they had to do was continue to play hard.  On their next possession, Massillon advanced deep into Wildcat territory, but stalled out at the ten.  Unfortunately during the drive, a 27-yard TD run was called back on account of holding.

Ignatius finally got their offense semi-untracked late in the fourth, converting their initial and only first down of the half with just 1:01 left on the clock.  But a desperation fourth down long bomb was intercepted at the Massillon five and the Tigers then just ran out the clock.

The Tigers led in first downs, 13-8.

Report by Coach Dave Weber.

A replay of this game is available on the St. Ignatius Wildcats internet site:  https://www.ignatiuswildcats.com/sibn-live#/

Massillon Museum Announces Paul Brown Museum Soft Opening

Content provided by:

Bailey Yoder
Curator of Football Heritage
Massillon Museum

Mark your calendars: A new exhibit is coming! As part of the inaugural exhibitions at the Paul Brown Museum, we have collaborated with Akron photographer Stephen Tomasko to bring his show “Loyal to the Lot” to Massillon. These images, as part of an ongoing project since 2012, are set within the huge Cleveland Municipal Parking Lot and illustrate visual stories of Cleveland Browns fans who gather there. Those who showed up in torrential downpours to cheer on the Cleveland Browns today demonstrate the deep-seeded loyalty of this fan base.

The “soft” opening will coincide with the annual Beat McKinley Parade on October 26th, and will be on view from 4-9 pm that day. Come celebrate the longstanding tradition of football in Massillon and one of the greatest coaches to come out of Ohio, Paul Brown!  And get a first look at the new museum expansion.

With support from Visit Canton
@stephentomasko
@cle_browns #football #fans #loyaltothelot #tailgate #paulbrown

Booster Club Report – Week 8

Scores from last week:

• Varsity defeated East St. Louis, Illinois, 46-40.
• Junior Varsity defeated Lakewood St. Edward, 27-14.
• Freshmen lost to Lakewood St. Edward, 42-16.
• 8th Grade defeated Akron Ellet, 30-26.
• 7th Grade defeated Medina, 45-6 and Western Crusaders, 34-26.

This week’s schedule:

• Wednesday – 8th Grade vs. Western Crusaders at Massillon Middle School, 5:00 pm
• Thursday – 7th Grade vs. Brunswick at Brunswick Field #3, 5:00 pm
• Friday – Varsity vs. Sun Valley, Pennsylvania, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 7:30 pm
• Saturday – Freshmen vs. Cleveland St. Ignatius at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 10:00 am
• Saturday – Junior Varsity vs. Cleveland St. Ignatius at St. Ignatius, 10:00 am

Tre’von Morgan (wide receiver / outside linebacker) and Jamir Thomas (running back/linebacker) were the guest co-captains.

During last Friday’s game aqainst East St. Louis, Jamir Thomas broke the 58-year old record for the most career rushing yards.  The previous mark was 3,090 yards, held by Art Hastings.  During the Booster Club meeting, Jamir presented the football he used to break the record to Bailey Yoder, football curator of the Massillon Museum.  The ball will be on display during the public soft opening of the new Paul Brown Museum, which is scheduled for Friday, October 26, from 4:00 to 9:00 pm.  Thomas already holds the record for the most career carries and is poised to break the record for the most career rushing touchdowns (47), a mark currently held by Bob Glass. He needs just one more TD to tie.

“I’m really proud of this,” said Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore of Thomas’ performance.  “He’s come a long way since his freshman year.  He loves playing football.  I’m really proud of what he’s accomplished.”

Eric Copeland was the guest assistant coach.  Copeland said that the Tigers had difficulty in the first half adjusting to the speed of East St. Louis.  But in the second half, the Flyers were a little slower as their 2-way players began to tire and it presented more of an even matchup.  He also emphasized that the Massillon players believe that they’re a second-half team owing to their superior conditioning.

“They pushed us around,” said Copeland.  “Our kids woke up.  We fixed some mistakes.  We made the plays when we needed to make them.  I’m really proud of these guys.  This is the best group of Tigers I’ve ever been around.”

Head Coach Nate Moore reviewed the game film, but noted that there were few defensive highlights due to the proficiency of the East St. Louis offense.  In spite of manageable third downs, the defense couldn’t get off the field.  But the Tigers made the defensive stops at the end when the game was on the line.  “The crowd at the game was absolutely phenomenal,” he said.  “It was definitely a factor in the game.”

Moore also boasted of his team beating the all-time win leader for the state of Illinois.  That coming on the heels of doing the same feat against the New Jersey opponent, Montclair.

This week’s foe, Sun Valley of Pennsylvania, is not nearly the caliber of East St. Louis, coming in with a 3-4 record and having surrendered 195 points in their last five games.  But they do have some offensive threats.  Two players to keep an eye on are senior running back Julz Kelly (6′-0″, 180 lbs.) and senior quarterback Anthony Ellis (6′-2″, 190 lbs.).  The quarterback rarely runs, but throws fairly well.  Kelly has good speed and appears on film to be the catalyst for the offense.

The offensive line averages 6′-0″, 217 lbs. and the 3-front defensive line averages 5′-11″, 220 lbs., which places the Vanguards at a significant size disadvantage.  Eight players go both ways, three of which are sophomores.

JV Team Grabs a Pair of Wins

The Junior Varsity Squad is now 6-0 following recent victories over Austintown Fitch and Lakewood St. Edward.

A week ago, the Tigers downed Fitch on the road, 39-8, finishing the game with a running clock.  Eric Thurman scored three touchdowns to key the win.  The first two were 25-yard and 30-yard passes from Zach Catrone and the third was a 75-yard punt return.  Xavier McElroy also had a 3-yard TD run.  Daymiere Adams wrapped up the scoring with two touchdown passes from Catrone, the first from 40 yards out and the second from 26 yards out. Ethan Fox kicked three extra points.

Last Saturday, Massillon traveled to state power Lakewood St. Edward and came away a 27-14 victor.  Jean-Luc Beasley opened the scoring with a 10-yard run.  Zach Catrone then connected on two touchdown passes, 50 yards to Eric Thurman and 20 yards to Heath Manson.  Raekwan Venson added a 12-yard run to put the game away.  Venson also ran for a 2-point conversion.  Ethan Fox converted a pair of PATs.

This week the JV Team travels to Cleveland St. Ignatius as they keep their hopes alive for an unbeaten season.

Report from Coach Dave Weber.

Booster Club Report – Week 6

Scores from last week:

• Varsity defeated Austintown Fitch, 42-14.
• Junior Varsity defeated Austintown Fitch, 38-9
• Freshmen lost to Austintown Fitch, 29-13.
• 8th Grade lost to Austintown Middle School, 38-0.
• 7th Grade defeated Orrville, 37-0.

This week’s schedule:

• Wednesday – 7th Grade vs. Medina at Massillon Middle School, 5:00 pm
• Wednesday – 8th Grade vs. Akron Ellet at Ellet High School, 5:00 pm
• Thursday – Freshmen vs. Lakewood St. Edward at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 6:00 pm
• Friday – Varsity vs. East St. Louis, IL, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 7:30 pm
• Saturday – Junior Varsity vs. Lakewood St. Edward at St.  Edward, 10:00 am

Tre’von Morgan (wide receiver / outside linebacker) and Aidan Longwell (quartertback) were the guest co-captains.

“It’s really good to be 6-0,” said Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore, reflecting back on the 42-14 victory over Austintown Fitch..  “Our kids played hard again.  We overcame adversity.”  The Tigers held a slim 21-14 lead entering the fourth quarter, but exploded for 21 unanswered points.  “It was good to pull away in the fourth quarter,” said Moore.  “Our preparation and our strength and conditioning was a big part.”

The guest assistant coach was Dan Studer. “It’s been a real blessing to come back home,” he said.  “It’s where I’m supposed to be.  It’s a dream come true.”  Studer spoke extensively about the weight room and the strength program.  The middle school also has excellent facilities and it’s where the initial techniques are taught.  But the real weight training begins in the freshman year at the high school, where the focus is on football conditioning and other aspects based on the position played. Studer encouraged all Tiger fans to pay a visit to the newly remodeled weight room.

Following films, Coach Moore gave a scouting report on this week’s opponent, East St. Louis from Illinois.  He emphasized that every player was good and the team plays well, noting that this will be Massillon’s biggest test to date.  The Flyers come into Tigertown with a 5-1 record, having lost 52-38 to undefeated King High School from Michigan in the season opener.

Offensively, the Flyers run a “college-like offense” and average 49 points a game.  It’s very basic, but executed extremely well.  Last week, East St. Louis rolled up 762 total yards in a 57-33 victory over previously undefeated Belleville West.  They are very good at the skill positions and have tremendous speed.

The leader of the offense is Quarterback Tyler Macon (6′-0″, 180 lbs.).  Although just a sophomore, he plays above his age and has a very live arm, with over 1,000 yards passing so far this year.  He is also heavily used as a rusher, having gained 635 yards.  Expect his number to be called often.

The primary wide receivers are junior Antonio Johnson (6′-3″, 170 lbs.) and junior Lawaun Powell, Jr. (6′-1″, 175 lbs.).  Johnson is a 4-star recruit with college offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.  Powell is a 3-star recruit and has offers from Kentucky and Virginia Tech.  Not to be overlooked is sophomore Kaentez Lewis (6′-2″, 170 lbs.), who is being recruited by Southern Illinois.

Alternating at the running back position are junior DaMonta Witherspoon (5′-11″, 190 lbs.) and Treven Swingler (6′-1″, 190 lbs.).  Both are very effective.

The offensive line averages 6′-3″, 284 lbs.  Both senior tackles are being recruited: Demond Taylor (6′-3″, 275 lbs.) by Northern Illinois and Darrell Simmons, Jr.(6′-4″, 290 lbs.), a 3-star, by Iowa State.

Defensively, the Flyers start six of their offensive starters.  Moore noted that they are not as effective execution-wise on defensive as they are on offense, having surrendered 24 points a game.  The defensive backs will line up in man-to-man coverage, sometimes with a safety over the top (sometimes with the safety on the back side of the defensive line).  That allows them to commit the remaining defenders to the run, similar to Austintown Fitch.

The best player is senior inside linebacker Cameroon Clay (6′-3″, 200 lbs.), who has been offered by Southern Illinois.  Moore said he is big and very good.  The two heavily recruited wide receivers line up in the secondary.  The defensive line is a 3-front, averaging 6′-2″, 263 lbs.

While the offense is outstanding and the defense is decent, the special teams are very poor, similar to a good Cleveland Glenville team.

“It’s a tremendous challenge for our football team.,” said Moore.  “We’re looking forward to it.”

Booster Club Report – Week 5

Scores from last week:

• Varsity defeated Akron Firestone, 42-0.
• Junior Varsity defeated Akron, 49-0.
• Freshmen defeated Akron Firestone, 41-8.
• 8th Grade lost to Akron Buchtel, 21-14.
• 7th Grade defeated Wooster, 42-0

This week’s schedule:

• Tuesday – 7th Grade vs. Orrville at Massillon Middle School, 6:30 pm
• Wednesday – 8th Grade vs. Austintown at Massillon Middle School, 5:30 pm
• Thursday – Freshmen vs. Austintown at Austintown, 6:00 pm
• Friday – Varsity vs. Austintown Fitch at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 7:30 pm
• Saturday – Junior Varsity vs. Austintown Fitch at Austintown, 11:00 pm

Justin Gaddis (center), Deon Williams (offensive/defensive lineman) and Aidan Longwell (quartertback) were the guest co-captains.  Dave Weber (tight ends/fullbacks) was the guest assistant coach.

Reflecting back on the Tigers’ 42-0 victory last week over Akron Firestone, Head Coach Moore said, “I’m proud of the guys.  We took care of business.  But we will move on quickly.  We have a good opponent coming up this week.  They are always physical.  They always have something different for us.  We had a good practice today.  The kids practiced hard.”

This week’s opponent is Austintown Fitch.  Their scores so far this season:

• Hudson (1-4) W 20-9
• Erie, PA (1-4) W 15-8
• Shaker Heights (4-1) W 16-6
• Warren Harding (3-2) L 14-49
• Youngstown East (3-2) W 13-0

The Falcons will utilize two quarterbacks out of the spread offense: senior Bobby Cavalier (6′-1″, 166) and senior Dom Montalbano (6’0″, 175).  Both will run and pass in the offensive scheme, although one is the better passer while the other is the better runner.  The running back is junior C.J. Woodberry (5’8″, 161), who Moore says is adequate for the position.  But he real threat is the speedy senor receiver/cornerback Ralph Fitzgerald (5’9″, 165), who is fast enough to have outrun the entire Warren Harding secondary.  He is the one person who could break the big play.  Their best lineman is tight end #76 Tom Leskovac (6’3″, 242).  But he is usually covered up by a wide receiver in an unbalanced set and not expected in a pass receiver role.  The line averages 5’11”, 238 lbs.  Three returning starters on offense

Defensively, Fitch may come out in just about anything, so the Tigers will need to adjust on the fly.  The defensive line is very active, with two players at 283 lbs. and 301 lbs.  The other two are smallish.  The linebacking corps is a strength and the secondary has good quickness with solid players at the corners.  Three returning starters on defense.

Four players go both ways.

JV Team Remains Unbeaten

Massillon’s JV Squad ran its record to 4-0 with a 49-0 whitewashing of an overmanned Akron Firestone eleven last Saturday.  Once again, a running clock was utilized throughout the second half, only this one was stopped by the coaches with just under six minutes remaining because, well, what’s the point.  This Saturday the JVs travel to Austintown Fitch for an 11:00 am matchup.

Touchdown scoring:

• Heath Manson 20 yd. pass from Zach Catrone
• Daymiere Adams 20 yd. pass from Catrone
• Xavier McElroy 9 yd. run
• Darien Williams 40 yd. interception return
• Catrone 1 yd. run
• TJ Williams 14 yd. pass from Catrone
• Jarron Hodges fumble recovery

Magnus Haines was 7 of 7 on extra points.  In addition, Daymiere Adams intercepted a pass and Jerron Hodges added a fumble recovery.

Report from Coach Dave Weber

JV Squad Continues to Roll

There can’t be a lot of difference in execution between the varsity and JV teams if both can continue to put up the big numbers they have so far this season.  On Saturday, the JV Tigers defeated Walsh Jesuit 56-0, with a running clock throughout the entire second half.  Now three games into the season, they have outscored their competition 123-13 in posting a 3-0 record.  And it wasn’t against chopped liver either, with games against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Warren Harding and Walsh.

Behind a relentless passing attack, Massillon picked up yardage in huge chunks and scored touchdown after touchdown throughout the onslaught.  The trigger man was sophomore Zach Catrone, who connected on more than half of his passes, with four going for scores.  The ground game was also very effective.

Meanwhile, the defense was simply stifling.  Walsh only threatened to score once when they moved the ball to the Tiger 5 yard line.  But the defense stiffened and stopped the Warriors on four consecutive plays.

Scoring was as follows:

• Eric Thurman – 22 yd. run
• TJ Williams – 40 yd. run
• Xavier McElroy – 3 yd. run
• Raekwan Venson – 5 yd. run
• Jerron Hodges – 65 yd. pass reception
• TJ Williams 40 yd. pass reception
• Darien Williams 45 yd. pass reception
• Daymiere Adams – 10 yd. pass reception

Report from Coach Dave Weber