Massillon Defeats Canal Winchester, Advances to Playoff Round 3
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).
History 
This year’s Hardnose Award winner is Michael Wright Jr., the Tiger defensive nose tackle who led his team to an 11-3 record and a spot in the playoff regional finals.
