The Tigers strutted their stuff Friday night to the tune of a 38-0 blasting of visiting Youngstown South at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Now the Tigers (8-1) find themselves in preparation for arch-rival McKinley, which posted a 13-6 over North Canton.
Against South (5-4), Massillon’s defense was at its best. The famed “Tiger Claw” did its thing, holding the Warriors to a net total of 118 yards.
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In the first half the Tiger defense was simply awesome, yielding just 42 yards. Half of South’s rushing attempts were for zero or minus yardage.
While the defense was busy holding the quick Warrior offense at bay, the Tiger offense was efficient to say the least.
Quarterback Brian Dewitz completed seven of 11 passes, including six of his last eight tries, for 108 yards and three touchdowns.
Running back Craig Johnson, who caught two of those three TD aerials, totaled 82 yards on the ground on 15 attempts. He added 52 yards via the airways, and now has 110 points scored on the season.
After a scoreless first quarter in which South was held to one net yard on six rushes, the Tigers put it all together in the second stanza by scoring all three times they had the ball.
Massillon’s first score came on a 37-yard pass from Dewitz to Johnson . The Tiger signal-caller faced a heavy rush on the screen pass, tossing the ball over the onrushing Warrior defense.
Johnson, who bobbled the ball at first, took the pass into the end zone at the 10:05 mark. The drive found Johnson gain nine yards on the ground, and Dewitz 11.
The Tiger defense then held South to minus 10 yards before forcing a punt.
On the first play from scrimmage the Warriors were called for pass interference, but the Tigers were in turn called for illegal motion. With the ball on South’s 37, Johnson rambled for 13 yards before a Chris Spielman carry went for negative yardage.
South was called offside when Johnson broke off a five-yard gain to give the Tigers a first down at the 17. From there unheralded fullback Tom Gruno went the remainder of the distance for his first TD of the season.
As he did on the first Tiger score, Bronc Pfisterer added the point after and Massillon owned a 14-0 lead at the 5:28 mark.
Again the Tiger defense rose to the occasion in holding South to one yard in three plays. Massillon took over on its 47 following a 34-yard punt.
Johnson broke off a 16-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage before Dewitz hit Reggie Crenshaw for a 21-yard gain to the South 16. Gruno then picked up six before the Tigers were called for illegal motion.
With the ball on the 15, Dewitz found a diving Johnson in the end zone for a TD at the 1:20 mark.
Prior to South’s final drive of the first half, the Warriors had a total of minus eight yards in offense. The visitors then gained 50 yards on the last march to gain some lost confidence.
South’s offense continued to sputter in the second half, though. On its first set of downs Tigers safety Steve Walterhouse intercepted a pass. Massillon, however, was unable to capitalize on the turnover.
Spielman then intercepted another Chris Williams pass, zig and zagging his way 39 yards to the South 9 on its next sequence of plays.
From the 9 Johnson gained six yards before Spielman was hurled for a yard loss. Dewitz, on third-and-goal, then hit a wide-open Spielman on a swing pass.
Three plays and a punt later and the Tigers took over on their own 36.
A Dewitz pass to Gruno covered nine yards after Johnson was held to no gain. Spielman then picked up the first down on a tough one-yard gain.
Johnson picked up two more yards when Spielman displayed his prowess in throwing a football, hitting Paul “Big Play” Briggs for a 47-yarder to the South five. From thee Spielman carried the pigskin to pay dirt with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Massillon’s final score, a 41-yard field goal by school record holder Pfisterer with 2:48 left, was set up by a fumble recovery by Glen Thomas, the 5-foot-6, 155-pound nose guard.
Pfisterer’s kick was his seventh three-pointer of the season and his 12th as a Tiger.
South’s deepest penetration was to the Tiger 35 at the end of the first half. Of their 12 possessions the Warriors only invaded Massillon territory that one time.
Now, bring on McKinley.
MASSILLON………………..38 SOUTH……………………… 0
Statistics M S First downs rushing 8 4 First downs passing 6 2 First downs by penalty 1 0 Totals first downs 15 6 Yards gained rushing 168 110 Yards lost rushing 14 32 Net yards rushing 154 78 Net yards passing 171 40 Total yards gained 325 118 Passes attempted 18 14 Passes completed 9 4 Passes int. by 1 2 Times kicked off 7 1 Kickoff average 53.7 60.0 Kickoff return yards 0 87 Punts 2 7 Punting average 45.0 33.7 Punt return yards 13 16 Fumbles 3 3 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 4 3 Yards penalized 20 24 Touchdowns rushing 2 0 Touchdowns passing 3 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 54 46 Time of possession 25:13 22.47 Attendance 8,518
MASSILLON – Visiting GlenOak won the battle of the statistics, but the Tigers won it where it counts the most – on the scoreboard.
GlenOak, playing perhaps its finest game ever, outplayed Massillon up one side and down the other.
Entering the contest Friday night in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, very few of the 9,587 spectators expected much of a game.
And considering GlenOak owned a so-so 3-4 record as opposed to Massillon’s 6-1, the 17-15 Tiger victory was for all intent a huge moral victory for the Golden Eagles.
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GlenOak controlled the ball for nearly 15 minutes longer than Massillon, gaining 99 more yards on offense and eight more first downs.
For that matter GlenOak had more touchdowns from scrimmage, but a 93-yard kickoff return to open the game by Massillon’s Craig Johnson was the difference.
“It’s nice to win one when you’re not supposed to,” confided Massillon head coach Mike Currence. “You have to give them credit because they played a good football game.”
“This was a good game for us,” Currence continued. “It’ll make us work harder (in practice) this week.”
The game’s outcome went down to the final play, a missed 52-yard field goal by GlenOak’s versatile Fermin Olivera who kept the Tiger defense guessing with his option-orientated offense.
“It was a great football game,” said GlenOak head coach Bob Commings, a one-time Massillon coach from 1969-73. “The thing is that this is one of the finest hours in our institution and we lose it.
“We had a chance to win it two or three times,” Commings said. “We didn’t come here to look good, we came over to win. I still think Massillon is the best team in the state, but we’re the best 3-5 team in the Western Hemisphere.”
Before many of the Homecoming crowd had a chance to settle into their seats, Johnson took the opening kickoff at his own 7. The senior went to the right side of the field, reversed his direction and found himself one-on-one with Olivera.
Johnson put on a couple of his patented moves and then outraced the defender to pay dirt. Just 15 seconds had elapsed off the game clock when Bronc Pfisterer booted home the conversion kick.
After holding GlenOak to 17 yards on its first possession, the Tigers took control of the ball on their own 34. Johnson and Chris Spielman took turns carrying the ball, giving Massillon a first down at the Golden Eagle 43.
After an incomplete pass, quarterback Brian Dewitz found Reggie Crenshaw for a 19-yard gain to the 24. Three plays later and the Tigers found themselves in a fourth-and-14.
Onto the field trotted Pfisterer, who drilled a line drive over the crossbar from 45 yards out to give Massillon a 10-0 lead.
The field goal was the sixth this season for Pfisterer, eclipsing his own single-season record of five he set a year ago. Only two other players have longer field goals than Pfisterer, Tim Manion’s 48-yarder in 1981 and Keith Harmon’s 47-yarder in 1975.
At this juncture many Tiger fans were sensing a repeat showing of last year’s 42-14 Massillon win over the Golden Eagles. Those thoughts were, as it turned out, premature at best.
Both teams were stopped on their next offensive series, a coffin-corner punt by Massillon’s Tom Gruno pinning GlenOak back at its own 8-yard line.
With their backs against the wall the Golden Eagles started moving the Tiger defense around, seemingly at will as Olivera started to do his thing.
Olivera first hit Troy Iero for a 13-yard gain before running for 10 more yards on a keeper. The senior quarterback next found Iero on a 22-yard pickup, the ball tipped twice en route to the wide receiver.
GlenOak running backs Greg Wagner and Jeff Gurley then took turns running the ball, moving the visitors to a first-and-10 at the Tiger 35. An encroachment penalty made it first-and-five.
Wagner then gained four yards when Gurley rambled six yards to a first down at the 19. Olivera called his own number and dashed to pay dirt with 5:03 left in the half.
Olivera then added the extra-point kick to make it a 10-7 game.
Momentum remained with GlenOak as Spielman was stopped cold on a fourth-and-one from the Eagle 47. But Commings’ squad turned the ball right back over when Olivera pitched the ball way over the head of his running back, Spielman recovering the loose ball at the GlenOak 38.
Massillon moved down to the 15, but a 32-yard Pfisterer field goal attempt was wide right.
Two plays later Spielman recovered his second fumble of the night, giving the Tigers excellent field position at the GlenOak 37.
Wasted opportunity this wasn’t as Dewitz went to the air, connecting with Paul Briggs for a 37-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Pfisterer’s kick made it 17-7 with 37 seconds left in the half.
After a fine halftime show by the Tiger Swing Band, the two opponents decided to play giveaway. First GlenOak fumbled after picking up two first downs, then Massillon fumbled four plays later.
GlenOak’s next series ended in a punt, but the Tigers continued their generous ways as Dewitz was intercepted by Wagner, giving the Golden Eagles possession at the Tiger 45.
The Golden Eagles took advantage this time, marching 55 yards in 12 plays despite facing a second-and-22 on one occasion and a fourth-and-five on another.
The TD occurred when Wagner burst up the middle from three yards out with 9:16 left in the final period. Gurley took the same route on his two-point conversion, making it fingernail biting time at 17:15.
Faced with a fourth-and-one from their own 29, Gurley picked up two yards to keep things alive. Olivera was then sacked by Scott Bylene for an eight-yard loss and the Golden Eagles were then hit with a five-yard penalty to make it a second and 23.
Undaunted by the big yardage to make up, Wagner gained seven yards and Olivera hit Iero for 13 more when Wagner pounded two yards on fourth down for a first-and-10 at the 44.
Two Olivera passes went incomplete when he was sacked for a 10-yard loss by a host of Tigers. On fourth down, though, Olivera hit Iero for 31 yards and a first down at the Massillon 35 with eight seconds left.
With no time outs left, Olivera threw the ball out of bounds to set up this last ditch field goal try.
Massillon continued its turnover tactics moments later when Johnson was stripped of the ball after a 22-yard gallop to the GlenOak 27, but the Golden Eagles turned the ball right back over when Olivera was intercepted by Derrick Dave two plays later.
Johnson finished the game with 40 yards rushing for Massillon, upping his season total to 770. In order to hit the 1,000-yard plateau the senior will have to total 230 yards more against Youngstown South and McKinley in the final two weeks.
MASSILLON…………….17 GLENOAK……………….15
STATISTICS M G First downs rushing 6 14 First downs passing 6 6 First downs by penalty 0 0 Total first downs 12 20 Yards gained rushing 104 231 Yards lost rushing 14 35 Net yards rushing 90 196 Net yards passing 135 128 Total yards gained 225 324 Passes attempted 20 16 Passes completed 9 10 Passes int. by 1 1 Yardage on pass int. 0 0 Times kicked off 4 3 Kickoff average 52.8 40.7 Kickoff return yards 124 74 Punts 2 2 Punting average 33.5 35.0 Punt return yards 5 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 4 3 Fumbles lost 2 3 Penalties 2 3 Yards penalized 20 35 Touchdowns rushing 0 2 Touchdowns passing 1 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0 Number of plays 46 67 Time of possession 16:35 31:25 Attendance 9,587
M – Craig Johnson 93 kickoff return (Bronc Pfisterer kick) M – Pfisterer 45 FG G – Fermin Olivera 19 run (Olivera kick) M – Paul Briggs 37 pass from Brian Dewitz (Pfisterer kick) G – Greg Wagner 3 run (Jeff Gurley run)
MASSILLON – “We don’t expect this to be an easy task. It’s another year and they’ll remember last year.”
Mike Currence told the Tiger Touchdown Club Monday that the 1983 Barberton Magics are a lot different than last year’s version which the Tigers beat soundly 43-0.
“This is a very strong Barberton team,” he said. “Our scouts said that this may be the best offensive team that we’ve seen since Garfield. They know how to move the ball and they scored against Moeller a couple of weeks ago.
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“In fact, they had Moeller on the ropes,” Currence continued. “The score was only 14-7 in the fourth quarter and if Barberton hadn’t turned the ball over, it could have stayed that way or gotten even closer.”
Currence said that the staff was dismayed when the Magics dropped their opener to Akron Garfield 48-7.
“We thought Barberton was going to be down this year, but then we found out how good Garfield was.”
It will be a veteran Magic team that the Tigers face in the Rubber Bowl Saturday night. Seven offensive starters return from last season, including quarterback Ken Rector and tailback Greg Butcher. Four starters return on the offensive line including tackle Ken Adams, guard Curt Rafferty, center Dennis Meachan and right end Mike Babbin.
“A season can make a difference with an offensive line,” he said. “You can move the ball better with a seasoned line.”
Defensively, the Magics have four returnees. Adams plays defensive tackle and Mike Keim will alternate with Joel Hurst at defensive end. But the key players are the two linebackers, — junior Bill Livingston and senior Dan Jones.
“They are the biggest linebackers we’ve seen,” said Currence. “They are the strength of the defense.”
Currence added that Adams and Mike Fields (split end-defensive back) are the only two-way players on the team.
“They play two-platoon football so most of their players can rest. They should be rested for us.”
The Tigers will be playing on a new turf at the Rubber Bowl, installed this past spring after constant use beat up the old rug.
Going back to the Gonzaga game, Currence felt that the defense played superbly, but the offense made some mistakes.
“Mistakes hurt us,” he said. “That’s why we didn’t’ score more. They put pressure on us and dared us to throw the ball. Gonzaga wasn’t a bad team. Their defense gave us some problems.
“We made enough mistakes for the rest of year on offense,” he said. “We dropped a lot of passes that were right on the mark and other things. Hopefully, we’ll work those out.”
Tigers hope ‘bowl’ magic is all theirs
By STEVE DUNGJEN Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON – Playing Barberton in recent years has been no bucket of joy for Tiger football teams.
Only one team has beaten a Mike Currence-coached Massillon squad more often than Barberton, and than stalwart opponent—nemesis is none other then Cincinnati Moeller.
Moeller, a perennial state powerhouse, has beaten Currence’s Tigers in all three meetings. Barberton has two wins, like Canton McKinley, over Massillon.
The fact that Barberton went 1-9 a year ago and suffered a humiliating 43-0 setback at the hands of the Tigers, should be treated with disdain.
For one thing the Magics of this year do not resemble last year’s unit in any way. Barberton, which had an idle week, brings a 3-2 record into tonight’s clash at the Rubber Bowl in Akron.
“Barberton has just played some great football up there against us,” noted Currence about the Magics’ ability to beat Massillon in the Rubber Bowl. “They seem to get really excited.”
Although the road game will be the first for Massillon this season after six home frays, Currence doesn’t expect that to be any factor against Barberton.
“We’ve played scrimmages on the road this year,” he said. “Barberton has been a thorn in our side, no doubt about that. Why, it’s not even their home field and they play us tough there.”
Currence recalls the 1981 game when Barberton pulled out a spine-tingling 26-24 win at the Rubber Bowl with anything but fondness.
“We had that game won and a kid runs back a kickoff after we had scored to beat us,” he said. “That Barberton team of 1977 (which won 9-7) was a great football team; they had more Big Ten college-caliber kids than we did.”
For the first time this season, and for the first time in some while against Barberton, the Tigers will be at full strength. All-everything Chris Spielman, though, is still nursing a bruised leg, but is expected to see his usual share of playing time.
“We are going in healthy. This is one game I wanted to go into with a completely healthy roster,” Currence said.
“Our scouts think they (Barberton) have got the best offense we’ve seen, and for our scouts to come back with that type of report is something else.
“Our defense will get a real challenge up there, I can tell you that much,” Currence said.
One thing the Tigers will have to adjust to is the artificial surface inside the Rubber Bowl. Due to the synthetic fiber, Massillon will wear either tennis shoes or turf shoes. The Rubber Bowl has a ‘shoe bank’, but Currence said members of the team have their own gear.
Magics’ enthusiasm keys grid fortune
By STEVE DUNGJEN Independent Sports Editor
BARBERTON – Jack Foltz likened Barberton to the community of Massillon – places where people like their high school football nearly as much as they do weekly pay checks.
“You have to realize that Barberton is very similar to Massillon,” Foltz, in his first year of directing the Magics, said. “The kids are winners, and they want to win. They love to play football.
“If something happens in the community pertaining to football you can bet it’ll get back to me,” Foltz said. “I may be the last to hear about it, but I’ll hear about it.”
Folts, who is a disciplined class instructor, hopes he can take what he preaches in the class room onto the football field Saturday night when his Magics (3-2) meet Massillon (5-1) in the Rubber Bowl.
“Our kids appreciate what we’re (the coaching staff) is trying to do,” Foltz said, noting the Magics have rebounded well from last year’s 1-9 record. “We didn’t get as much leadership last season as we expected. Hopefully, we’re turning things around.”
Both of Barberton’s losses have come at the hands of highly rated teams – Garfield (48-12) and Cincinnati Moeller (28-7).
“Our kids just seem to get up for the big games,” Foltz said. “I’m looking forward to the same type of attitude for this one.”
Foltz said his Magic unit has been diversified on offense, mixing the run with the pass.
“We do try to mix it up,” Foltz noted. “We do have a good dose of passing and we have a good dose of running. We’ll do what we have to.”
Main cog in Barberton’s offensive attack has been quarterback Kenny Rector, who Foltz said is extremely intuitive. Rector, the Magic grid boss pointed out, ranks 15th in his senior class in terms of grades.
Barberton and Massillon have played each other 37 times, with the Magics on the short end of a 29-7-1 record. The first time the two teams met was in 1904 when the Tigers won 15-0.
Last year Barberton suffered a 43-0 setback, but since Mike Currence has directed the Tiger grid fortunes Massillon owns a 4-2 record over the Magics.
Only one team – Moeller – has managed to beat a Currence-led team more times. Both of Massillon’s losses to the Magics have occurred at the Rubber Bowl, by a 9-7 score in 1977 and 26-24 in 1981.
The Magics have beaten Cuyahoga Falls (13-3), Akron East (35-12), and Lancaster (24-13).
Tigers holding statistical edge over opponents
By The Independent Staff
MASSILLON – Heading into Saturday night’s Rubber Bowl game against Barberton, the Tigers hold wide margins of difference in team statistics over their opponents.
Massillon has totaled 95 first downs for an average of nearly 16 per game, while the opposition has just 46 total.
In total yardage the Tigers hold a huge 1,926 to 829 advantage. Rushing wise Massillon has 1,219 yards as opposed to 481, while passing favors the local unit 707 to 348.
The number of plays from scrimmage also favors Massillon 337 to 292. Average gain per down finds the Tigers at 5.7 and their foes at a paltry 2.8.
Individually, Craig Johnson is an offensive leader in three categories. The senior has gained 661 yards rushing on 89 carries for an average 7.4 per tote, while scoring 72 points and returning four kick-offs for 74 yards.
Senior Chris Spielman is the top punt returner with an average of 14.9 with 13 come-backs for 194 yards.
In the receiving department, both Bruce Spicer and Johnson have nine receptions. Spicer’s yardage gained stands at 130.
Quarterback Brian Dewitz is completing 48 percent of his passes, connecting on 24 of 50 tries for 442 yards and four touchdowns.
Punter Tom Gruno is averaging 39.1 yards per boot.
On defense, Robert Neff has two fumble recoveries to lead that category while Steve Walterhouse and Spielman share the top spot in interceptions with three.
Spielman leads the defense in tackles with 41 and assists with 23, but Neff is right behind with respective totals of 38 and 18. Gruno is next at 34 and six.
Johnson’s TD ramble of highlight quality
By STEVE DUNGJEN Independent Sports Editor
AKRON – If Massillon Tiger football had a highlights film at season’s end, Craig Johnson made a strong bid for squatter’s rights to the opening scene.
The 5-foot-10 inch, 185-pound senior displayed more moves than a belly dancer on a 47-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Brian Dewitz.
Johnson’s razzle-dazzle TD scamper came on the first play of the fourth period of Saturday’s 38-7 win over the Barberton Magics at the Rubber Bowl.
“That was the best reversed-field run I’ve seen in a long while,” Tiger head coach Mike Currence said of the spectacular dash. “I had already grabbed someone by the shirt on the sidelines to send him in with our next play.”
“I thought Johnson was going to be tackled,” he added. “I asked Craig if he was down and he said ‘No, coach.’”
The TD pass-run occurred one play after Cornell Jackson picked off the fourth Barberton pass of the game. On the first play following the theft, Dewitz hit Johnson on the right sideline near the Magic bench.
Johnson was hit, grabbed by another would-be tackler and spun around. Massillon’s leading ground gainer took it from there, running parallel to the end zone to the left sidelines and eventually to pay dirt.
“I was wide open, caught the ball and a guy grabbed me by the shirt and spun me around in the right direction,” Johnson said. “I just saw things opening up from thee.”
Johnson, who also gained 69 yards on 12 carries for two touchdowns, is a newcomer to Tiger football. He transferred from Canton Timken, and ran track as a junior.
“It was kinda hard at first,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t open myself up the way I wanted to. I already knew quite a few of the guys on the team from track last season.
Currence said Johnson has had no trouble adapting to his teammates this season, though he said the senior has made great strides in learning the system.
“The thing about Craig is that he gets along well with everybody. He has such a pleasant personality,” Currence said. “Nearly all the kids on the team have been under the system for eight years, and they know it almost was well as the coaches.
“Yeah, it’s been tough on Craig from that standpoint the Tiger grid boss said. “He was going both ways, but we decided to have him concentrate on offense. He’s a great kid.”
His given name is Bob Neff Jr. and his two interceptions and a fumble recovery Friday in Massillon Washington’s 23-0 victory over Gonzaga College Prep of Washington, D.C., in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, represent one of the finest single-game defensive efforts from any player who has ever worn the orange and black.
Neff was the cornerstone of a Massillon defense that allowed Gonzaga just 97 yards total offense (61 passing; 36 rushing), no first downs rushing and only four first downs overall. Gonzaga’s defense wasn’t bad, either – the Eagles held Massillon to 249 yards of offense (135 passing; 114 rushing), nearly half of the 488 yards the Tigers piled up in last week’s 44-0 drubbing of Newark. Massillon is now 5-1; Gonzaga 3-2.
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“Junior dropped another possible interception and would have had a shot at a fourth,” Massillon defensive coordinator and linebacker coach Jim Letcavits pointed out, “but I fired him (on a blitz) and Gonzaga threw right where he would have been.
“Bob played a super game. We worked on him to get back and cover the curl pattern and he did it well.”
Neff, who had “seven or eight tackles” by his own count, called his performance “the thrill of a lifetime.”
“On the fumble I was pursuing to the ball, saw somebody hit it and jumped on it,” the modest senior said. “The first interception the right end came across on a drag (pattern) and I jumped in front of him for the ball. On the second interception, two guys ran patterns up the middle. The ball was thrown short, I dove and got under the ball to catch it.”
It must also be pointed out that Gonzaga was purposely running many of its plays away from All-Ohio linebacker Chris Spielman, but because of Neff the tactic didn’t work.
Neff’s heroics set up the Tigers’ first nine points. Following a scoreless first quarter, Neff’s fumble recovery gave Massillon the ball at the Gonzaga 16. The Tigers “drove” in reverse to the 17 on a wrong-way run and two incomplete passes and Massillon settled for Bronc Pfisterer’s 35-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 10:38 left in the first half.
The first of Neff’s interceptions on Gonzaga’s next possession put the ball on the Eagles’ 46. In eight plays Massillon manufacture a touchdown as tailback Craig Johnson, who wound up with 101 yards in 16 carries, and Chris Spielman carried three times each.
Johnson made it 9-0 with 7:31 left in the half in a unique, 24-yard way: He hit the well-stacked line, spun off several tacklers and was several yards ahead of any pursuers at the Gonzaga six. But he fumbled the ball there, scooped it up at the one and rolled into the end zone before the extra-point kick failed.
Gonzaga had a chance to score a few minutes later as Karl Gannon recovered a Spielman fumble and rumbled to the Massillon 21. But an illegal procedure penalty and three incomplete passes later, kicker Matt O’Connell’s 42-yard field goal came up short and the Tigers took their 9-0 lead into halftime.
After a drumming halftime show featuring the Tiger Swing Band’s percussionists, Gonzaga cough4ed up the ball on the opening kickoff and Massillon traveled 35 yards in six plays with Johnson going the final four yards. Pfisterer’s kick made it 16-0, Tigers.
Neff’s second interception of a Gary McIntosh pass set up a 40-yard Pfisterer field goal attempt which fell short but when the Tigers got the ball back on a Gonzaga punt with 24 seconds left in the third period, they made things happen.
Starting on its own 27, Massillon used a 14-yard run by Johnson and a 4-yard burst by Spielman to set up a 26-yard pass to the Gonzaga 29 by Brian Dewitz down the left sideline to senior Dave Weber.
The Tigers then sent Johnson off tackle for our yards, Johnson around right end for four more and Spielman off tackle for four more yards and a first down at the Gonzaga 17. Having lulled the Gonzaga defense with four-yard gains, Dewitz found Weber again open on the left sideline at about the 8. The receiver, who hadn’t caught a pass prior to Friday’s game, then turned inside and scored. Pfisterer’s kick was the final point with 9:25 left and from there on, the two teams gave their substitutes experience for the most part.
Dewitz, pressured early by the Gonzaga defense and benched late in the first half by the Tiger coaching staff, had a bit of an off night, hitting seven of 20 passes for 105 yards with Weber catching three passes for 55 yards.
Gonzaga starter McIntosh had it even worse. The sophomore was four of 19 for 31 yards with three interceptions, Spielman picking off the third.
“Our young quarterback got a christening tonight,” Gonzaga coach Mark Gowin said. “He’s going to be a great quarterback but he isn’t picking up reads on defense yet. And Massillon’s defensive line played such an outstanding game.
“I was proud of our defensive play. I told them if they play that kind of defense the rest of the year, we will vie for the championship in our area. I feel we played good enough defensively to win the football game, but Massillon is a great, great football team and they were definitely 23 points better overall than us tonight.”
Very little about the game concerned Massillon coach Mike Currence, although he said, “we were upset by people in our offensive backfield.” But he was not overly upset by procedure penalties which, at another time, might tend to stall a drive.
“You get some penalties when you play aggressive football,” Currence noted. “It’s the mental mistakes – like when we go for a long count offensively and we jump offside – that bothers me.”
Massillon tests Barberton, 23-14 winners over Lancaster Friday, at 8 p.m., a week from tnight in the Akron Rubber Bowl. Gonzaga, meanwhile, plays on its Buchanan Field home Saturday against Good Counsel. That’s a 1:30 p.m. start, in case you have a Lear jet and are interested in catching both games.
Good Counsel? Isn’t that the school in Washington, D.C., that derived its name from the Watergate hearings?
STATISTICS M G First downs rushing 8 0 First downs passing 7 4 First downs by penalty 0 0 Total first downs 15 4
Yards gained rushing 145 79 Yards lost rushing 31 43 Net yards rushing 114 36 Net yards passing 135 61 Total yards gained 249 97
Passes attempted 28 21 Passes completed 9 6 Passes int. by 3 1 Yardage on pass int. 20 0
Kickoffs 5 1 Kickoff average 46.8 56.0 Kickoff return yards 1 90 Punts 4 5 Punting average 43.8 39.8
Punt return yards 41 4 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 3 7 Fumbles lost 1 3 Penalties 4 4
M – Bronc Pfisterer 35 field goal M – Craig Johnson 24 run (kick failed) M – Johnson 4 run (Pfisterer kick) M – Dave Weber 17 pass from Brian Dewitz (Pfisterer kick)
MASSILLON – Gonzaga Prep of Washington D.C., has quite a bit to think about on the trip to Tigertown for Friday’s game.
Following Massillon Washington’s 44-0 drubbing of Newark before 8,445 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Gonzaga must concern itself with:
— A Tiger offensive line that has jelled into an awesome high school unit. They go by the names, left to right along the line, of Jason Collins, Don Elvasky, Dave Morelli, Scott Hendershot and Darrell Strickling.
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— A Massillon defensive squad so stingy the second and third stringers have learned lessons well and tightened their teamwork to stop foes who think they might have it easier. Some of their names can be found later in this story. But like the offensive line, the defense is a team concept, not a group of individuals.
— Craig Johnson, Chris Spielman and Brian DeWitz, who, despite rain, sloppy fields and knee braces, perform consistently each time they hit the field.
Johnson scored four touchdowns on runs, in order, of 2, 37, 78 and 13 yards and gained 166 yards in14 carries – and he didn’t really get started until the second quarter and left the game to a deserved standing ovation with 2:28 left in the third quarter.
Spielman scored the Tigers’ first touchdown on a playbook-perfect-plus 21-yard pass in the left flat from DeWitz. Playbook-perfect-plus because Spielman ran his pattern deeper against the coverage, got behind the linebackers to catch the pass and from there, it was clear sailing into the end zone as he bowled over Newark defensive backs as if they weighed 140 and 150 pounds, which a couple of them did.
DeWitz was six of 14 for 134 yards, but should have had glossier statistics. He received excellent front-line support, but could have sued his receivers for non-support. Several passes found receivers’ hands, but were dropped.
But the standouts of the night in which the Tigers earned their fourth victory against one loss were the offensive line which helped the Tigers pile up 488 yards of total offense (284 running and 204 passing) and the defense, which posted the shutout.
“Newark were playing on our big players, Spielman and Johnson, and taking their middle linebacker out of the middle and putting him where they thought we’d run a play, a guessing game,” Tigers’ Coach Mike Currence said.
“The first few times Brian saw this, he didn’t know what he saw. But we thought the misdirection and counter plays would work well and they did and that’s a credit to the offensive line.”
After Spielman scored the initial touchdown, the teams exchanged punts with Massillon getting the better of the deal, pinning Newark in at its own 8-yard-line. A penalty moved the Wildcats back to the four and three Dave Jones rushes later, Newark punted with Spielman fair-catching the ball at the Newark 39.
From there, the Tigers moved backwards on a pair of penalties and a sack until they faced a third-down-and-27 situation at the Newark 44. Several Newark defenders chased the backpedaling Dewitz back into Massillon territory before the senior quarterback lofted the ball over their heads to the waiting Spielman near the left sideline.
Behind a cordon of blockers, Spielman rolled 31 yards to the Newark 13 and four Johnson bursts later, the Tigers led 14-0 as Johnson dove in from two yards out.
Newark then stalled at its own 15 and Kirk Ivan took a fair catch on the ensuing punt at the Newark 49. Then, Johnson went off tackle for two yards; Spielman went off right tackle and cut back for seven yards and then dove off tackle again for three yards. This repetition set up what was one of the prettiest plays of the game.
Dewitz faked a handoff going right and then gave it on the counter to Johnson, who slid off tackle and then headed for the left sideline, dragging tacklers the last five yards into the end zone.
But let Darrell Strickling, spokesman for the offensive line, tell it.
“On the counter play, the defensive tackle on the left side sets up the end and the right tackle comes across and pulls for the running back,” Strickling said.
“A play like that keeps the defense honest. But the offensive line got on our blocks and stuck with them until we got the job done tonight. We’ve been coming up to the stadium on weekends and working, especially on our pass protection. We’re working together.
Newark picked up its initial first down of the first half with 4:50 left on a pass from Trey Balding to Jones swinging out of the backfield. But the Newark drive stalled at the Massillon 25 as Tom Gruno, Tim Sampsel and Spielman simultaneously hit or put pressure on Balding’s fourth-down pass attempt to end the threat.
The teams each had short-lived drives – Massillon’s ending on an interception, Newark’s with a punt. Currence and his coaching staff instructed the Tigers to decline a Newark illegal procedure penalty on the kick and take the ball at their own 22 with 1:02 left rather than make the Wildcats kick again to possibly gain better field position.
“There wasn’t much time left anyway and we needed a big play to get down into better field position,” Currence said in explaining his decision. “Besides, the rain made it difficult to run back any punt. So we ran our first trap play of the game. With the trap play, you have as good a chance of breaking a big play as on any play.”
Behind the skilled work of the offensive line, Johnson shot through the initial mass of bodies and headed to the right sideline free and clear. He then turned on the jets and wrapped up a 78-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers a 27-0 halftime lead and thoroughly demoralizing Newark.
“We could see Newark getting a little tired on us,” Strickling said. “We were playing heads-up ball.”
Johnson still had the fire burning inside him as the teams lined up for the second-half kickoff. He took the return up the middle, then dashed to the left for a 95-yard return into the end zone. But no score. There was the small matter of a penalty flag for a clip which, after the yardage was marked off, put the ball back on the Massillon 44.
No problem; the Tigers went back to the methodical way of moving the ball 56 yards to a touchdown, scoring in five plays with the fifth play Johnson’s final TD on a 13-yard run, breaking past the befuddled Newark defenders on the same counter play he scored upon in the second quarter. Who says lightning doesn’t strike twice?
“Johnson played a great game,” Currence said in the understatement of the 1983 season.
After Bronc Phisterer’s fourth of five successful extra point kicks, the 34-0 lead held up until 7:36 remained in the game when Pfisterer added a 29-yard field goal. Junior Irwin Hastings took a 12-yard pass from junior quarterback Mike Scott before Pfisterer notched the final point with 45 seconds left.
The defense, particularly the front four of John Brown, Gruno, John Franke and Tim Sampsel, was sterling. And when Neward mounted its last attack with less than seven minutes left, the Tiger defensive subs got into the act, too.
Newark moved the ball following Pfisterer’s field goal from its 35 to the Massillon 24 and had a second-and-five at that point. But Balding made an unwise pitch back to tailback Jay Redman and Redman was swarmed under by a gang of Tigers for a five-yard loss back to the 29.
Then Baldking went back to pass and was smacked by Massillon senior Jim Hendricks just as he released the ball, which floated into the arms of Tiger senior defensive back Kevin Shepherd. It was a fine piece of teamwork and fitting that a pair of seniors who see limited playing time were the ones to hook up in stopping Newark.
“The defensive coaches are always after a shutout,” Currence said. “It’s a moral victory for them. Team defense is really what makes a team great. They’re all individuals and they’re concentrating on playing their own position, not thinking about playing another position and that’s the team concept.”
Bill Biggers, coach of the Newark squad which fell to 1-3-1 had another concept of his team. “We were poor,” he said. “Jones runs the ball hard, but our offensive line stunk. Jones is a very good back, but we can’t seem to open anything up for him.
Perhaps Biggers and his staff should ask Currence, offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos and offensive tackle coach Chuck Utterback to conduct a clinic.
Or he could just ask Collins, Elvasky, Morelli, Hendershot, and Strickling – the Tigers who get down and get themselves dirty.
‘Johnson played a great game’
Those were the words used by Massillon coach Mike Currence to describe the game Craig Johnson played in Friday nights’ 44-0 victory over Newark in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Johnson scored touchdowns on runs of 2, 37, 78 and 13 yards and gained 166 yards in 14 carries.
STATISTICS M N First downs rushing 10 2 First downs passing 8 3 First downs by penalty 1 0 Totals first downs 19 5 Yards gained rushing 307 57 Yards lost rushing 23 24 Net yards rushing 284 33 Net yards passing 204 84 Total yards gained 488 117 Passes attempted 21 18 Passes completed 10 8 Passes int. by 2 1 Yardage on pass int. 6 0 Times kicked off 8 1 Kickoff average 46.8 55.0 Kickoff return yards 39 151 Punts 2 8 Punting average 39.0 34.4 Punt return yards 26 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 1 0 Fumbles lost 0 0 Penalties 4 4 Yards penalized 34 39 Touchdowns rushing 4 0 Touchdowns passing 2 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 60 42 Time of possession 26.02 21.58 Attendance 8,445
M – Chris Spielman 21 pass from Brian Dewitz (Bronc Pfisterer kick) M – Craig Johnson 2 run (Pfisterer kick) M—Johnson 37 run (Pfisterer kick) M – Johnson 78 run (kick failed) M – Johnson 13 run (Pfisterer kick) M – Pfisterer 29 field goal M—Irwin Hastings 12 pass from Mike Scott (Pfisterer kick)
Dewitz returns in conquest Ball control key to Tigers’ rout
By NORM WEBER Independent Sportswriter
MASSILLON – When an offense holds the ball for 11:17 of 12 first-quarter minutes its bound to tuck away an early victory.
That’s exactly what the Massillon Tigers did Friday night in their 48-6 shellacking of Akron Central Hower, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The Eagles ran but three offensive plays – two of them giveaways on fumbles – the entire first quarter. By the time Central-Hower’s offense was on the field for as many as two consecutive plays the Tigers had a 20-0 lead.
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In the bruising first quarter, Craig Johnson carried nine times for 83 yards and Chris Spielman nine times for 48 yards.
“We were hot,” said Massillon head coach Mike Currence. “Brian (quarterback Brian Dewitz) carried us back. He really inspired us. Having him back intensified the entire team.”
Dewitz was back at starting quarterback, after a two week layoff with a knee injury. Wearing a knee brace, the senior signal caller engineered three first-quarter touchdown drives with seasoned precision.
Starting at their own 26-yard line after the opening kickoff, the Tigers drove 76 yards in 11 plays, Spielman going around right tackle from one yard out for the score.
On the Eagles’ first play after the ensuing kickoff Tiger senior Robert Neff recovered an Eagle fumble at the visitors’ 38-yard line.
Four plays later Johnson scooted in from 15 yards out on a draw play. Johnson got excellent blocking from the right side of the line, Dave Morelli, Kirk Harper, and Darrell Strickling.
“That was an excellent draw play,” said Central-Hower head coach Bill Skeggs. “We should have stopped it. We knew they were going to do it. Everyone knew they were going to do it. I was disappointed we couldn’t stop it.”
When Central-Hower got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff it was déjà vu. The Eagles fumbled on the first play and Tim Sampsel recovered at the Eagle 27-yard line.
Dewitz proceded by firing a 27-yard scoring strike to split-end Paul Briggs on the first play. Bronc Pfisterer, as he did on the previous score, kicked the extra point giving the Tigers a 20-0 lead.
“Getting all those opportunities that early helped our defense a lot,” said Dewitz. “You can’t turn the ball over two times in the first quarter and expect to win – against anybody. That gave our defense enough rest to play a good ball game.”
The onslaught continued in the second and third quarters. Johnson scored on a five-yard run with 4:57 remaining in the half to give the Tigers a 27-0 halftime lead.
With the first unit still on the field the second half, Dewitz fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Spielman. Three minutes later Johnson ran his third touchdown in from 17 yards out.
“We didn’t leave the first team in to run up the score,” Currence explained. “We haven’t been playing too well in the third quarter all season. We wanted, for the first time, to carry over the good play we had in the first half into the second half.
“We don’t want to make a fuss about it, but we wanted to be sure Brian was back. We wouldn’t have been sure until we’ve seen a good third quarter from our offense. We did that to discipline our offense to play good third-quarter football, he continued.
“You can’t give the opponent a good ball game just because your second team is in there. Brian in there gave us the spirit we needed. Our offense hasn’t played flawless ball like this before.”
Skeggs concurred Currence on that point.
“They needed to get things together,” he said. “I would have done the same thing if my quarterback was out two weeks. I know they didn’t want us to score, but we were able to do that.”
The Eagles got their sole score when Tiger Jeff Smith intercepted a pass, but fumbled it back on the runback, the Eagles taking possession at the hosts’ two-yard line after the double turnover.
Steve Martin scored on a two-yard run with 38 seconds left in the game.
With seven seconds left sophomore Cornell Jackson dashed 60 yards for the final Tiger score of the evening.
Johnson gained 129 of the Tigers’ 304 rushing yards.
MASSILLON………………..48 CENTRAL-HOWER……….. 6
STATISTICS M C First downs rushing 14 4 First downs passing 7 3 First downs by penalty 0 2 Total first downs 21 9 Yards gained rushing 316 91 Yards lost rushing 12 4 Net yards rushing 304 91 Net yards passing 156 67 Total yards gained 460 158 Passes attempted 22 13 Passes completed 12 5 Passes int. by 3 0 Yardage on pass int. 20 0 Times kicked off 8 2 Kickoff average 45.0 36.5 Kickoff return yards 19 100 Punts 2 3 Punting average 24.0 36.7 Punt return yards 22 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 2 2 Fumbles lost 1 2 Penalties 6 8 Yards penalized 86 78 Touchdowns rushing 5 1 Touchdowns passing 2 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 63 43 Time of possession 27.10 20.50 Attendance 8,675
MASSILLON – Everything is restored to normal in Tigertown.
The Tigers bounced back from last week’s upset loss to Akron Garfield by clubbing Warren Harding 24-0 Friday night, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
With the collective running of Chris Spielman and Craig Johnson, and a stingy defense that forced 11 Harding punts and allowed but five Panther first downs, Massillon posted the convincing victory.
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Putting it bluntly, Massillon’s vaunted defense was set on not letting the Panther offense go anywhere. Harding finished the game with 53 total net yards, 35 in the air and 18 on the ground.
“We had to play a good defensive game to win and as it turned out we did,” said Massillon head coach Mike Currence.
“Their defense was very quick and we were not able to sustain any blocking,” said Harding head coach Frank Thomas. “We got some blocking in the early part of the game, but we could not keep it going.”
The Tigers got their first score on their second possession of the game. After a 28-yard Harding punt Massillon took over on the Harding 39-yard line nad marched to thegoal in 10 plays using up 4:42 of the clock.
The Tigers calmly moved inside the Panther 20 on the running of Johnson and Spielman. Once inside the 20, however, the Tigers ran into some problems.
A clipping penalty negated a pass from quarterback Bronc Pfisterer to Bruce Spicer on the four-yard line, sending the ball all the way back to the 29-yard line.
The Tigers got some of it back two plays later, when Tom Gruno was interfered with on the 15-yard line. Spielman took it to the five on two carries and then Johnson took a pitch at the five and angled right on a sweep for the score.
Pfisterer added the conversion and the Tigers led 7-0.
The Johnson—Spielman running show continued after the Panthers punted to the Tigers on their next possession.
The Tigers drove 80 yards on nine plays – all running plays – to mount the 14-0 lead they were to take into the locker room at halftime.
In the ‘all rushing’ drive Johnson carried five times for 28 yards and Spielman three times for 43 yards. On a fourth-and-two from the three-yard line, Spielman took the ball—as well as a wall of tacklers – into the end zone for the score.
After shutting out the Panther offense the first half, the Tiger defense really earned its stars the second half.
Harding did not manage a first down until the fourth quarter and was forced to punt eight times the entire second half. The Panthers did not penetrate midfield the second half.
What permitted the Panthers to get the ball so many times the second half was their defense, which posted shut-outs in their first two games and forced five Tiger turnovers, four in the second half.
“They (Harding) have a good defense and an exceptionally good secondary,” said Currence. “Bronc played a good game at quarterback. He threw a couple interceptions, but they were on tips.”
“Those are the kinds of things that will happen, though. Having thrown those interceptions will teach him to back off a bit. You gain your experience by making mistakes, and Bronc is coming along fine,” he continued.
“Already playing the whole game against Garfield has helped him. We had our quarterback one more week than they had theirs and that proved to be the difference. When we put our backup (Mike Scott) in late in the game we had an illegal procedure on the first play, to give an idea of the adjustment needed for backup quarterback.”
Harding’s No. 1 quarterback, Maurice Reid got injured against Youngstown East last week, missed the Massillon game and is to miss the next four games. Reuben Osbourne, a junior, replaced Reid at quarterback.
“Reuben was playing injured, too,” said Thomas. “He’s been troubled with bad ribs since the first game. There was no miscalculation in timing between Reuben and the rest of the first unit. Their defense was just so darn quick.”
Turning in solo sacks for the Tigers in the second half were nose guard John Franke and defensive end John Brown.
Pfisterer added a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Spielman ran a punt back 53 yards with 30 seconds left in the game to conclude the scoring.
Tiger offense back in high gear
By NORM WEBER Independent Sportswriter
MASSILLON – Take away the five turnovers against Warren Harding, and it appears as if the Tigers have established an offensive game, one that future opponents are sure to fret over.
It was former Ohio State Buckeye coach Woody Hayes who made the words, “three things can happen when you put the ball in the air and two of them aren’t good,” famous.
Although the Tigers scored 24 points on the previously unscored on Warren Harding defense, they could very well have had more points than that.
Three times in Friday’s game the Tigers were driving in Panther territory and had passes intercepted to stop the drives, not to mention one other drive that was stopped at the three because of a fumble.
But it was the running game that overshadowed the turnovers. Tailbacks Chris Spielman and Craig Johnson, along with the help of their blockers, put on one fine show of running.
Spielman carried 13 times for 77 yards and Johnson 20 times for 116 yards.
The Tigers’ second scoring drive showed how potent the Johnson-Spielman combo really is. So potent that they didn’t need a single pass to score in the 80-yard drive which took a tad over four minutes.
Not only did Spielman and Johnson display some nifty running in the drive, but the play selection by the coaching staff was also excellent.
In nine plays, neither Johnson or Spielman carried the ball as much as twice in a row in the diverse attack.
“It was clicking,” said Tiger head coach Mike Currence. “All the plays we called seemed to click. We were trying to go outside whenever it looked as it they were pinching up and going inside whenever we thought they were going to overload on one side.
“It all clicked for us on that drive. But it can go both ways. There were times when they overloaded on one side and we went that way and didn’t get much.”
In the drive Spielman had one run of 25 yards, which should have been only a 10-yard gain, but Spielman carried a tackler or four and maintained his balance to get the extra yardage.
Spielman scored the touchdown on the drive from three yards out. On a fourth-and-two from the three, Spielman went into a wall of tacklers and it appeared as if he didn’t have the first down, but somehow he squirmed out of the stack for the touchdown.
While Spielmans’ forte was brute strength and shear desire, Johnson’s was the deceptive moves and quick stops. On one run in the third quarter, Johnson literally ‘danced’ for a 23-yard gain.
He almost scored in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard run, with blockers in front, behind and next to him. Center Dave Morelli, running behind Johnson, stepped on the back of his shoe top on one of those ‘excuse me’ moves, Johnson tripped down at the 13-yard line
*********** Spielman had the dubious distinction of throwing an interception from the same yard line he had intercepted the ball from.
In the waning seconds of the first half Spielman intercepted a pass at the Harding 41-yard line. Two plays later, with the line of scrimmage the 41-yard line, Spielman threw an interception to Harding on a halfback option pass.
*********** Tiger No. 1 quarterback Brian Dewitz, who has been injured since the first game, will probably see action next week against Akron Central Hower.
“We might have been able to play him against Harding,” said Currence. “But we want to give him as much rest as possible. He will probably play some next week.”
************
Warren Harding coach Frank Thomas was a tad disturbed by Spielman’s 53-yard punt return toward the end of the game, but at the same time was astonished by the execution of the run.
“If they want to get their No. 1 tailback hurt by having him run back punts with seconds left and a 17-point lead that’s their choice,” Thomas said. “But then if you get blocking like he got on that run you don’t need to worry about getting him injured.
************
The Tiger Booster Club experimented with a new idea for Friday’s game.
Referee Gordon Schutt wore a microphone on his belt, so that the fans could get an audio aid to go with the non-verbal signals on penalties.
As it turned out, the ‘mike’ came in handy. The scoreboard clock was not working and Schutt was able to inform the crowd of the official time via the mike.
“I think it’s a good idea. It wasn’t much trouble for me,” said Schutt. “I just made that one mistake when I said the player’s number on a holding call. I wasn’t supposed to do that.
The booster club plans to use the mike for future games.
MASSILLON 24 HARDING 0
STATISTICS M H First downs rushing 10 1 First downs passing 3 2 First downs by penalty 2 2 Totals first downs 15 5 Yards gained rushing 213 61 Yards lost rushing 19 43 Net yards rushing 194 18 Net yards passing 58 35 Total yards gained 252 53 Passes attempted 15 15 Passes completed 5 2 Passes int. by 1 3 Yardage on pass int. 00 00 Times kicked off 5 1 Kickoff average 52.0 42.0 Kickoff return yards 9 70 Punts 4 11 Punting average 42.3 27.5 Punt return yards 59 00 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 5 1 Fumbles lost 2 0 Penalties 6 5 Yards penalized 68 30 Touchdowns rushing 2 0 Touchdowns passing 0 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 53 47 Time of possession 24.04 23.56 Attendance 9,014
No joy in Massillon Tigers upset by Garfield, 14-10
By STEVE DUNGJEN Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON – There was no joy in Massillon Friday night
Visiting Akron Garfield put an early crimp in the Tigers drive toward a state playoff berth with a 14-10 win at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The Rams, a serious contender for their City Series League title, dominated the game in most areas.
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Head coach William McGee’S 2-0 squad outgained the Tigers by a wide 238-151 margin in total offense. More telling, though, was the time of possession, which showed Garfield with more than a nine-minute edge.
Garfield’s defense – well-rested in the second half – proved a stingy lot, holding Massillon’s Mr. Versatility, Chris Spielman, to just 18 yards rushing on eight carries.
The one-two punch of Garfield’s Charles Gladman and Eric Finn accounted for 196 yards rushing offense. Gladman finished with 105 on 24 totes and Finn with 91 on 23.
“I’m still sore,” Gladman said. “I didn’t care if I got 50 yards so long as we won. We can’t be beat now.”
Mistakes proved the culprit for Massillon as an interception by Garfield’s Rickey Morse on the game’s third play led to a one-yard TD plunge by Finn. The PAT was wide right and the Rams led, 6-0.
Massillon (1-1) came storming right back, mounting a seven-play, 64-yard drive that culminated in a 20-yard TD run by Craig Johnson, who finished the game with 78 yards on 13 carries. Bronc Pfisterer added the PAT for a 7-6 lead.
The Tigers averted what appeared to be sure trouble when Spielman intercepted a pass at the Massillon two-yard line in the second period.
Entering half time the Tigers held a slight 7-6 edge, but the Rams took the second half kickoff downfield, scoring when Finn bulled over from the one to cap a 10-play, 63-yard drive. A fake kick for the extra point ended in a two-point play when Morse caught a pass from Mike Beane.
On Garfield’s drive the key play of the game surfaced when Massillon head coach Mike Currence was assessed a penalty for being on the field of play.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” a subdued Currence said. “No one heard a whistle. I went out for an official’s conference and he threw a flag on me.”
“How can I get his attention? Hell, there’s 14,000 people out there and how can I hear him?” Currence said.
The play in question centered around an apparent fumble by Gladman. The “loose ball” was picked up and rambled to pay dirt by a Massillon player.
However, the play was ruled dead by the game’s officials.
Right after Garfield made the score 14-7, the Tigers came roaring right back. Massillon drive down to the 19-yard line, but when faced with a third-and-three play they were called for encroachment, pushing the ball back five yards where Currence’s squad failed to get the first down on a pass play.
The Tigers scored early in the final quarter when Pfisterer drilled home a 21-yard field goal, but Massillon would run off only seven plays in the final eight minutes to 21 for Garfield.
“It’s never easy,” said McGee. “I stand aside, you have to talk to these (the Rams’ offenseive and defensive coordinators) guys.”
“I don’t know what the stats were, but they were lopsided in the number of plays in the second half,” said Ram offensive coordinator Ron Amedeo.
“We just played our basic defense. We didn’t change one bit,” said defensive coordinator Mardeo Rossi. “We felt our speed could match up with theirs.”
The playoff picture may have been clouded somewhat for the Tigers, but Currence isn’t about to throw in the towel.
“We have to lose another one to be out of it,” Currence said. “We just have to get ready for the next game and come back.”
The Tigers will host Warren Harding next Friday night for their next game.
MASSILLON 10 GARFIELD 14
STATISTICS M G First downs rushing 7 10 First downs passing 2 2 First downs by penalty 0 0 Total first downs 9 14 Yards gained rushing 127 207 Yards lost rushing 10 12 Net yards rushing 117 195 Net yards passing 34 43 Total yards gained 151 238 Passes attempted 14 7 Passes completed 6 3 Passes int. by 2 1 Yardage on pass int. 56 0 Times kicked off 3 3 Kickoff average 48.3 43.3 Kickoff return yards 51 57 Punts 3 2 Punting average 36.7 18.5 Punt return yards 7 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 1 0 Penalties 6 3 Yards penalized 49 15 Touchdowns rushing 1 2 Touchdowns passing 0 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 41 63 Time of possession 19.11 28.49 Attendance 14,171
MASSILLON – With three of the Midwest’s top coaches in the stands, Chris Spielman led the Massillon Tigers to a 22-8 win over Perry in the season opener for both squads.
Ohio State’s Early Bruce, Notre Dame’s Gerry Faust and Indiana’s Sam Wyche were in the crowd at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium as Spielman rushed for 78 yards, caught a pass, threw a touchdown pass, intercepted a pass and ran back a punt 68 yards. He also helped the famed “Tiger Claw” defense keep the Panthers bottled up most of the evening
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“Chris Spielman is the best all-around athlete I’ve ever coached,” declared Tiger coach Mike Currence. “That punt return was worth the price of admission.
“In an opening game, you can expect to make the kind of mistakes we did,” Currence continued. “We need some work with our receivers, but we’ll find out what we can do in the next few weeks.”
Tiger fans and coaches got a scare with 10:45 left in the second quarter when quarterback Brian Dewitz went down with a knee injury after being tackled. However, the injury turned out to be a strain and Currence said the coaching staff decided not to take any chances with the senior signal caller and replaced him with Bronc Pfisterer.
“You can’t be pleased when you lose,” said Perry coach Keith Wakefield. “We came here to win, not to keep it close, like some people think. Our kids hung in there but we missed tackles and didn’t block very well.”
“But we’re going to be a good football team.”
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched down to the Perry 29 in seven plays but Pfisterer missed a 47-yard field goal attempt with 8:54 left.
After holding the Panthers on their first possession, the Tigers drove down to the Panther 5, set up a 50-yard pass from Dewitz to split end Paul Briggs. But Spielman fumbled two plays later and Panther linebacker John Hively recovered.
Perry couldn’t get any further than their own 25 and after a punt, the Tigers took over on the Panther 37. On the first play, Craig Johnson swept around left end for the first Tiger TD of the season. Pfisterer booted the extra point.
Perry defensive back Pat McRoberts blunted the next Tiger drive with an interception but the team couldn’t capitalize on their fortune. Spielman ran back Ray Williams’ punt 68 yards down to the Panther 1 but two penalties and an incomplete pass took the Tigers out of a TD.
The Tigers made it 10-0 with 50 seconds left in the second period on a 27-yard field goal by Tim Sampsel which was set up by Spielman’s interception.
On the kickoff, Perry’s John Maciag fumbled and Glen Thomas recovered for Massillon on the Perry 29. Three plays later, Spielman took a pitch from Pfisterer and threw a scoring strike to Bruce Spicer to give the Tigers a 16-0 lead with 22 seconds left.
Spielman scored the Tigers’ final touchdown on a 10-yard run off left tackle, which capped an eight-play, 56-yaard drive. The PAT attempt was blocked.
Perry’s lone score came in the waning minutes of the game when tailback Rod Lemon bulled over from the 1 to avert a shutout. The score came on the fifth play of a 47-yard drive. Quarterback Jamie Howell, who relieved starter Don Decker late in the second quarter, ran around right end for the extra points.
Spielman was the game’s leading rusher with 78 yards on 12 carries. Johnson gained 71 yards on nine carries. Howell scrambled his way for 47 yards in 12 carries while fullback Wally Buzinski tallied 36 yards on 10 rushes.
“Perry is a much improved ball club,” Currence said. “I think everyone knows that. Howell really gave us some trouble.”
Both Massillon and Perry play host to Akron City Series teams next Friday. The Tigers host the Garfield Rams (and Charles Gladman, remember him from last year?) while the Panthers open their home season against the Buchtel Griffins.
Tigers fall in state final 35‑14 Moeller had ‘too many horses’
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
COLUMBUS ‑ The place was the state capital, the date Nov. 27, 1982.
But for the Tiger head coach Mike Currence it might as well have been medieval Mongolia. Why? Because he must have felt like a villager seeing the rising cloud of dust marking the approach of Attila the Hun, with his only viable option left to mutter “there’s too many horses” and go down fighting as best as possible.
Saturday, Attila the Hun was Francisco Hiawatha and the rest of the Moeller Crusaders the Mongol Horde. Moeller captured the Division I state championship with a 35‑14 win, overcoming a fine first‑half effort by the Tigers, giving the Crusaders their sixth state title in the past eight years and 95th win in the last 97 games.
The Tigers’ first loss of the year made them settle for the title of “Ohio Public School Champs.” Sunday’s horrendous weather caused a postponement of the team’s “Recognition Day,” but festivities are reslated for tonight beginning at 7:30 in the school auditorium. The team, band and cheerleaders will all be honored, plus officers for next year will be introduced to the throng.
The weather for Saturday’s game was near perfect. It was a bit chilly but bright sunshine made conditions as conducive as possible for the contest, especially considering the sleet, snow and rain of Friday and Sunday.
Massillon received the opening kickoff, but on the second play from scrimmage, Tim Sampsel absorbed a hit which caused the ball to fly straight up in the air, where Moeller linebacker Shane Bullough pounced on the loose orb at the Tiger 38.
The Tigers sacked Moeller quarterback John Shaffer on the first play, but then D’Juan Francisco and brother Hiawatha took over, grinding out big chunks of yardage, particularly with end sweeps.
The first score came when D’Juan, the sophomore sibling, scored from four yards out with 7:26 remaining in the opening quarter. Rob Heintzman’s soccer‑style conversion kick was good.
The Tigers came right back to fill their thousands of fans with hope. Junior quarterback Brian DeWitz rolled out on a second‑and‑two play and found wide receiver Gary Conley open over the middle. Conley, the senior speedster, caught the ball on the dead run and ran unmolested into the end zone. Bronc Pfisterer added the conversion kick to tie the score with 3:13 left in the period.
It remained tied until the second quarter. Moeller had advanced to its own 42 on a 19‑yard pass from Shaffer to Steve Williford, then went the remaining 58 yards as Hiawatha broke up the middle and used his unbelievable speed to outrun the entire defense into the endzone. The kick was good with 8:19 left in the half.
The next time the Moe‑Men had the ball, they marched 70 yards for a score. The tally came with 4:03 left in the half as Scott Mahan took a 28‑yard pass into the endzone after evading a tackle at the point of the catch. The kick was again good for a 21‑7 lead.
But the Tigers still weren’t deflated. They used most of the remainder of the half, 15 plays to be exact, to march 80 yards for a touchdown.
There were three key plays in the drive. The first was a diving sideline catch by receiver Jim Geiser to give the Tigers’ possession on the Moeller 39 good for 18 yards. it appeared that Geiser had neither foot in bounds for the catch, but the Tigers’ weren’t about to quibble.
But it looked like the break would go for naught when Massillon was faced with a third and 16 with just 45 seconds until intermission. But DeWitz evaded a strong rush and scrambled 20 yards for a first down to the Moeller eight. On the next play, DeWitz led Geiser with a perfect pass to the right corner of the end zone, and Pfisterer’s kick made it 21‑14 at halftime.
Moeller received the second half kick and began another drive, but on a fourth‑and‑one most of the Tiger front line stacked up Hiawatha to give the Tigers the ball back on their own 35.
The Tigers started a drive of their own, but junior defensive back Byron Larkin ended the threat with an interception on the Crusader 30. This time the Crusaders used the running of fullback Dave Springmeier and the passing of Shaffer to move 70 yards for the score. The capper came on a 10‑yard run by Springmerier, followed by the kick. The play took 11 plays and ended with 3:53 left in the quarter.
The ball control antics of the Crusaders wore the Tigers down eventually. Moeller’s final score came in the fourth quarter on an 87‑yard drive in eight plays, including runs of 16 and 27 yards by brother D’Juan. The final 18‑yards came on a pass from Shaffer to Williford, followed by the kick, with 3:23 remaining on the clock, but no hope was left in the hearts of Tiger fans, who started to empty the stands and prepare for the long journey back to Tiger Town and cries of “wait till next year.”
Offensively, the Tigers’ offensive total of 282 yards compared favorably to how they performed against both Sandusky and Berea ‑ when they had the ball to work with a lot more.
But defensive was another story. Moeller racked up 479 yards of offense, including 326 on the ground and 153 more though the air on a nine‑of‑14 performance by Shaffer.
The problem was, the Francisco brothers were all they were cracked up to be, plus the others were better than feared. Hiawatha amassed 151 yards and D’Juan 123 more, while Springmeier was more than effective with 77 yards in 10 bolts. Williford was a killer on pass receiving with five glue‑handed grabs for 57 yards.
After falling behind early, the Tigers went almost exclusively to the pass in hopes of scoring quickly. The Tigers carried only 20 times for 79 yards, led by DeWitz’ 31 yards in eight carries and Chris Spielman’s 28 yards in five attempts. Passing, DeWitz hit on 13 of 31 for 200 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Spielman was one of two in the passing department. Spielman also had five catches for 60 yards, while Conley grabbed four for 78 yards and Geiser three for 47 yards.
First‑year coach Steve Klonne praised his senior dominated team, noting that they deserved “their day in the sun” after losing 13‑0 to McKinley in last year’s title clash while basically a junior‑oriented squad.
As for Currence, he concluded, “We played better than we did in 1980 against them down at Dayton. I just wish we could have won it all, but the great thing about sports is, there’s always next year.” Tiger gridstick MASSILLON 14 MOELLER 35 M 0 First downs rushing 3 14 First downs passing 8 7 First downs by penalty 1 0 Totals first down 12 21 Yards gained rushing 91 362 Yards lost rushing 12 36 Net yards rushing 79 326 Net yards passing 203 153 Total yards gained 282 479 Passes attempted 33 14 Passes completed 14 9 Passes int. by 0 2 Yardage on pass int. 0 0 Times kicked off 3 6 Kickoff average 41.0 51.3 Kickoff return yards 91 10 Punts 4 3 Punting average 36.0 44.7 Punt return yards -3 20 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 5 1 Fumbles lost 1 0 Penalties 6 7 Yards penalized 30 75 Touchdowns rushing 0 3 Touchdowns passing 2 2 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 54 64 Time of possession 20:34 27:26 Attendance 42,000 (est)
MOELLER 7 14 7 7 35 MASSILLON 7 7 0 0 14
Moe ‑ D. Francisco 3 run (Heintzman kick) Mas ‑ Conley 58 pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Moe ‑ H. Francisco 58 run (Heintzman kick) Moe ‑ Mahan 29 pass from Shaffer (Heintzman kick) Mas ‑ Geiser 8 pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Moe ‑ Springmeier 11 run (Heintzman kick) Moe ‑ Williford 18 pass from Shaffer (Heintzman kick)
Title hopes die hard in Columbus Tigers, fans gave it their all By DENNY HIGHBEN Independent Staff Writer COLUMBUS ‑ There’s a savage splendor about the Ohio State Stadium, which boldly thrusts its massive ramparts into the heavens.
On the floor of this storied arena, American gladiators have battled with all their strength and wit for the rush of glory that comes with conquest; and for that screaming, cheering worship from the spectators.
Every schoolboy in Buckeyeland who puts on the pads dreams of playing in that landmark along the Olentangy. The best, on rare occasions, get their chance.
That’s how it was Saturday, with some 42,000 spectators there. But they were more than just spectators. They were part of the battle, so intimately attached to the struggle that they were one with the young warriors below.
The Tigers of Massillon and the Crusaders of Cincinnati Moeller were locked in battle, and the energy created in the stands was so powerful it had a life of its own. It swept down from the maelstrom of its birth to join the struggle, growing as it rolled down through row after row, wave after wave of explosive emotion.
The emotion which erupted Saturday had been building for a long time, especially for the Massillon faithful. Many things contributed: years of watching the state championship elude the Tigers, usually to turn up in Cincinnati; two previous losses to Moeller; and the final insult of watching Massillon’s arch‑rival, McKinley, knocking off Moeller first and for the state crown to boot.
When the Tigers drilled Berea in the semifinals, the fuse was lit. And the site change to Ohio Stadium seemed to add even more fuel to the Tiger’ fans’ fire.
One man, at least, didn’t like the change. We would fill Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati he said. But as big as OSU stadium is, even 30,000 fans would be “lost” in the bowels of that concrete‑and steel canyon.
But 42,000 showed up and they were far from lost. The crowd was something to behold. The size, the colors, the noise, the energy … To step back and take a hefty drink of the surroundings made you tremble with excitement.
The OSU officials were shaken, too. obviously, such a following for a high school game was not considered. Only the main gate was open for admission of those with tickets and for ticket sales. When it was undeniable that one gate couldn’t handle the crowd, others were opened.
Still, however, some fans didn’t get inside until the first period of battle was well under way. And it wasn’t because the fans were late. Not for this game. Oh no! Not for this game.
In the first half, the hopes of the Massillon fans blossomed and withered time and again. From a seven‑yard gain by the Tigers on the first play to a fumble recovered by Moeller on the second play, ecstasy and misery traded shots within the hearts of the legions from Tigertown. Moeller turned that fumble recovery into a score, but the Tigers came back and tied it with a lightning bolt strike when Brian DeWitz passed the Gary Conley.
Boom‑Boom. Two touchdowns behind, time running out in the half and 80 yards away. But they did it, pushed the ball down the length of the field for another score. The reaction of the fans was awesome. They knew the Tigers had the stuff to win.
“Hey, Moeller’s tough, but we’re still in the game. We can do it!” one man said to no one and everyone within hearing distance at halftime. His sentiments belonged to the thousands in black and orange.
Perhaps the most powerful outburst of emotion ‑ even bigger than Moeller’s final victory cheer, came early in the third quarter. The mighty Crusaders were stopped on a fourth‑and‑one Hiawatha Francisco, that cross between a tank and a gazelle, was stopped cold.
But, victory was not to belong to Massillon on this day. It turned very cold towards the end; bitterly cold, it seemed. And the temperatures made the burden of losing harder to bear; Moeller dominated the second half. There was still hope until late in the fourth quarter, until Moeller built a three touchdown lead. The outcome could not be denied after that touchdown, and the Massillon loyalists had to endure.
The disappointment was uncontrollable for many, fans and players alike. For they all had given it everything they had.
It was a day for heroes, and though Moeller left no doubt who the champion was on Saturday, every Massillon fan knew this small town had just as many heroes on the field as Mighty Mo.
And as the final minutes ticked away, many a perplexed Tiger fan had to resist the urge to sneak up behind a Moeller player and lift up his jersey. What was really under those blue‑and‑gold shirts: muscle and bone or armor plate and high‑impact plastic?
As one dismayed Tiger fan put it, “They ain’t human.”
History 
