Tigers breeze past Mansfield 37‑14 Preliminaries’ over as Massillon coasts 37‑14
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ “Everything up to this point has just been a preliminary drill for next week,” said Massillon head coach Mike Currence. “Next week’s Massillon McKinley game is … well, it’s the season.”
Not only the season, but the final roadblock to a perfect 10‑0 regular slate and a sure trip to the post‑season playoffs.
Friday night’s game against Mansfield Senior at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium indeed amounted to a drill, and for the invading Mansfield Senior Tygers, a drilling.
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The final 37‑14 score was hardly indicative of the one‑sided nature of the contest. As the visiting scribe from Mansfield pointed out, the Tygers may have had a 6‑2 record, but their victims had amassed only 10 wins among them going into Friday night.
It was obvious within seconds that this wasn’t going to be a repeat of 1949, when Mansfield, coached by 1945 wartime Tiger coach Augie Morningstar, defeated mighty Massillon 16‑12. (Making Morningstar the only former Tiger coach to ever defeat his old team.)
Massillon recovered an opening on‑side kick attempt on its own 30 after it squibbed through the first two lines of the Massillon specialty unit.
On the first play, Chris Spielman broke off a 15‑yard run through the right side of the Mansfield fine. On the second play, Jim Bushe went through the left side and raced 55 yards for a touchdown, with 11:18 still showing on the clock. Bronc Pfisterer who enjoyed a big night of his own ‑ added the extra point and, the rout was on.
Mansfield promptly used the famous “Cha‑Cha Offense” ‑ one, two, three, kick ‑ and this time the Tigers used the airwaves to score, moving 67 yards in five plays.
Quarterback Brian DeWitz started the drive with passes of 25 and 12 yards to fullback Tom Gruno. On the following play, Gary Conley turned the defensive back around in the end zone but couldn’t contain the ball. But after a short running play, DeWitz tossed a short pass over the middle to Bushe, who glided through the defense for a 25‑yard score. After the kick, Massillon led 14‑0 with 7:37 remaining in the quarter.
After forcing another Mansfield punt, the Tigers tried to be charitable as Spielman failed to see a teammates’ fair catch signal and fumbled the kick away. But Mansfield tried to pass on first down, only to have it picked off by Tommy Manion and returned to the Massillon 35.
The Tigers scored in four plays this time. A 24‑yard pass from DeWitz to Conley set up the ball at the six, with Spielman breaking through the line for the score on the next play. Pfisterer’s kick again split the uprights, and Massillon led 21‑0 in the first quarter.
It stayed that way until early in the second quarter ‑ a point of time which also marked the first trickle of a never‑ending flow of Tiger reserves for the remainder of the game.
Senior Jeff Boerner set up the next Tiger tally with a 30 yard run on the first play of the second quarter, and finished the drive with an eight‑yard burst up the middle with 9:50 left in the half.
The Tigers’ next possession saw Brad Offenbecher at the controls. Massillon started on its own 25‑yardline and marched all the way to Mansfield’s two before settling on a 20‑yard Pfisterer field goal, making the score 31‑0.
Pfisterer’s kick set a Tiger record for field goals in a season, four. The previous mark was three held by five former Tigers, including Tim Manion last year.
The half ended with a Spielman interception which he almost returned for a touchdown.
At halftime, the Tigers held a 341‑54 advantage in total yards, including 102 yards in the air, all in the first quarter and the reserves had already played half a period! Tygers learn ‘y’ Tigers 9‑0 Mansfield was able to rack up some yardage in the second half as the Tiger youngsters gained valuable experience for the future. The visitors scored on their first possession of the quarter as a 43‑yard run by Pete Webb set up a 10‑yard scoring run by Bobby Taylor, with quarterback Craig Leedham’s kick good.
But the Tigers came right back again with Pfisterer, a junior, at the controls, and he provided one of the night’s most spectacular moments.
After a flurry of penalty flags, the Tigers found themselves in a third‑and‑30 situation on the Mansfield 36. Hopeless? Not for Massillon!
Pfisterer hit Boerner with a screen pass, and the fleet running back raced through the defense for the final Tiger touchdown with 10:38 left in the game.
It was a big night for Boerner, who led Tiger rushers with 97 yards in 10 carries, plus made the big touchdown catch.
“That was the most playing time I’ve gotten yet,” he said afterwards. “The running play that I had success running was the counter‑6 and counter‑7 play; it seemed to work every time. It all boiled down to our line just blowing out their line.” (But give Boerner an inch of daylight, and he has the raw speed to cover quite a distance quickly, which he proved more than once Friday.)
In the end, Massillon outgained Mansfield 477‑221 in total yardage. Boerner’s rushing totals were tops, but Bushe and Spielman both helped their averages, as Bushe ran three times for 68 yards and Spielman toted the leather four times for 46 yards. Junior Mark Smith added 65 yards in seven carries. Vernon Hairston led Mansfield with 64 yards in 16 carries.
DeWitz was five‑of‑seven passing for 102 yards, giving him 68 completions on the ‘Year, just one short of fifth place on the all‑time Tiger single‑season completion list behind Chris’ older brother, Rick Spielman. The receiving was spread out as Tom Grotto caught two passes for 44 yards, and seven other receivers caught one each.
“Mansfield’s not quite as tough as some of our other foes, but they put up a good fight,” said a generous Currence afterwards.
“Massillon’s just a first class outfit, what can you say?” said second‑year Mansfield coach Harold Dean. “They’re just a good, good team. About the best you can say for us is that we didn’t quit the second half; we kept plugging away.”
Needless to say, next Saturday’s contest will have a bit more intensity than Friday’s “controlled scrimmage”.
MASSILLON 37 MANSFIELD 14 M 0 First downs rushing 13 9 First downs passing 7 2 First downs by penalty 0 1 Totals first downs 20 12 Yards gained rushing 314 204 Yards lost rushing 10 13 Net yards rushing 304 191 Net yard. Passing 173 30 Total yards gained 477 221 Passes attempted 13 11 Passes completed 8 4 Passes int. by 2 0 Yardage on pass int. 49 0 Time. kicked if 7 3 Kickoff average 49.4 33.7 Kickoff return yards 25 137 Punts 1 6 Punting average 30.0 27.3 Pont return yard 28 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumble 3 4 Fumbles lost 1 0 Penalties 6 3 Yards penalized 80 15 Touchdowns rushing 3 1 Touchdowns passing 2 1 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 52 45 Time of possession 23:32 24:28 Attendance 8,454
Massillon 21 10 0 6 37 Mansfield 0 0 7 7 14
M ‑ Bushe 55‑yard on (Pfisterer kick) M ‑ Bushe 25‑yard pass from DeWitz (Fosterer kick) M ‑ Spielman 6‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick) M ‑ Boerner 8‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick) M ‑ Pfisterer 20‑yard field goal Mn ‑ Taylor 10‑yard run (Leedom kick) M ‑ Boerner 35‑yard pass from Pfisterer (kick failed) Me ‑ Webb 25‑yard pass from Leedom (Leedom kick)
Tigers near‑perfect in routing Eagles ‘Flawless’ team effort, adds” to ‘Nick’s Night’ as Tigers roll 42‑14
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ Halftime activities had ended, and Massillon Tiger offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos was returning to his familiar perch in the upper loge of the pressbox.
A ladder separates the two decks; and for Vrotsos, each week’s climb is a happy reminder of the ladder of success he has climbed in Massillon in his unparalleled 25 years as a Tiger assistant.
Friday night was a bit different.
“This is my night, fellas, my night!” beamed a jubilant Vrotsos to his admirers in the pressbox. And indeed it was.
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Not only had Vrotsos been presented with a surprise 25‑year plaque from the Tiger Booster Club in pre‑game ceremonies, (along with the original picture which appeared on Friday’s Tiger program), but his offensive charges had built an overwhelming 21‑0 lead at halftime in the “Computer Bowl” contest against GlenOak.
When it was all over, the first‑ever meeting between the two schools ended in a one‑sided 42‑14 Tiger win, assuring the Tigers of moving ahead of at least GlenOak when next week’s regional rankings are released.
“We were practically flawless tonight!” beamed Vrotsos after the game.
True, and from their first play from scrimmage, no less!
GlenOak received the opening kickoff, moving the ball two yards, on the ground in three plays, typical of the night’s efforts against the Tiger starters. A punt gave the Tigers possession on their own 36.
Tiger quarterback Brian DeWitz took center Rick Hamit’s snap, faked a handoff, rolled out left and unleashed a long pass to Gary Conley, who caught the ball on the run and ran the final 30 yards untouched. Bronc Pfisterer, becoming ‘Mr. Automatic’ on extra points, kicked his first of seven conversions and the Tigers led 7‑0 with 9:31 left in the opening period.
“I was surprised the coach (Mike Currence) went for the long one on the first play,” said DeWitz, fast moving up the ranks of all‑time Massillon throwing leaders. “But as soon as I threw it, I knew it was in there.”
“Loved it … loved it,” cooed the cool Conley afterwards. “The defensive back took the initial run fake and I just snuck around behind him, Brian fired a beauty and the result was a quick six.”
“That was Nick’s call to go right at them,” said Currence in praise of Vrotsos.
Vrotsos admitted that ‘unofficial’ coach Sonny Spielman, now the assistant principal at Longfellow Junior High, planted the idea in his head, adding, “It was a good call, that play’s been open for us most of the year.
GlenOak never recovered from the opening shockwave. On their next possession it was three downs and punt, then the Tigers came right back with a time‑consuming, 12‑play touchdown drive.
The drive was consummated entirely on the ground except for a screen pass to junior Chris Spielman on the second play good for 16 yards. Constant success was found on the “student body” right and left plays ‑ end sweeps.
“They jammed up everybody in the middle, practically giving us the outside,” said Vrotsos. ” And we’ll take what they give us.”
Spielman took final honors with a two yard sweep. The Tigers led 14-0 with 1:05 remaining in the initial quarter.
Massillon scored once in the second quarter ‑ another time‑consuming, 88‑yard drive. Spielman capped it with a seven yard sweep with 58 seconds remaining in the half for a 21‑0 lead. Tigers show their best At halftime, despite an almost even time of possession. Massillon led in total yardage 248‑26! GlenOak managed only one first down, midway through the second period.
By the third quarter, the Golden Eagles were “Bushed.” Massillon took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in six plays ‑ the first two plays runs of 29 and 17 yards by senior Jim Bushe, who capped the drive with a one‑yard scoot with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
Bushe was the Tigers’ leading rusher on the night, toting the leather 13 times for 142 yards.
“Give the line credit,” said Bushe. “I swear our guards are almost as quick as me, and they were just burying the Eagles tonight.”
A few more Eagle feathers were ruffled when pass coverage broke down with 29 seconds left in the quarter. A wide‑open Jim Geiser hauled down another DeWitz bomb for a 66‑yard score.
Down 35‑0, the Golden Eagles finally started moving the hall in the final period against the Tiger backups. Following a play in which GlenOak running back Greg Wagner suffered an ankle injury, quarterback Monty Crowl hit senior receiver Rob Wright with a 52‑yard touchdown toss. Wright was a bright spot for GlenOak, adding two interceptions for a fine night’s work.
Crowl, a speedy senior southpaw noted primarily as a fine runner and ballhandler, had his throwing arm kept under wraps in the first half, but found good success in the late going.
On the Eagles next possession, he completed four passes, including a nine‑yard scoring toss to senior Jimmie Burks, as GlenOak went 66 yard in eight plays for a late tally. Crowl ended the game nine‑of‑17 for 158 yards passing.
But the Tiger reserves had a bit of firepower left in them, too. Following an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, senior quarterback Brad Offenbecher led the Tigers 53 yards, hitting junior Richard Crenshaw with a 16‑yard scoring pass with 29 seconds left for the final 42‑14 margin.
Offenbecher played his best hall of the year in the game. On the scoring drive, the brother of Ohio State’s Brent Offenbecher connected on two‑of‑four passes and scrambled nine yards on another play.
The surprisingly‑easy win gave the Tigers an unblemished 8‑0 mark on the year going into next week’s game with Mansfield ‑ a game sandwiched between the GlenOak and McKinley epics where the players must work extra hard to avoid a letdown.
For GlenOak, the loss snapped a six game winning streak, the first since an opening night 14‑0 loss at the hands of McKinley.
It also spoiled the homecoming of former Tiger coach Bob Cummings, who had hoped for a better effort but admitted, “Massillon took dead aim on us and beat us to a pulp.”
Currence felt compassion for his illustrious predecessor, but summed up the situation pragmatically:
“Better him than me.”
Massillon mauls GlenOak 42‑ 14 By STEVE DOERSCHUK Assistant Sports Editor MASSILLON ‑ The year was 1980. It was a snowy, cold November Sunday in Cincinnati. It was the day Massillon’s Tigers played Moeller High for the Ohio High School Division I football championship.
The day came to mind Friday night after the Tigers shot down ClenOak’s Golden Eagles 42‑14 before, 16,490 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Moeller was awesome in ’80, but Massillon was a good team, and folks were eager to see if the Tigers could make a game of it.
They didn’t.
Friday, GlenOak wore the shoes that had been on Massillon’s feet in 1980. The Golden Eagles were the good team challenging the powerhouse.
This one wasn’t a game, either.
The Tigers started with a bang, scoring on a 65‑yard Brian DeWitz‑to‑Gary Conley pass on their first play from scrimmage, and poured it on until the first team sat down with a 35‑0 lead on the board after three quarters.
Massillon improved to 8‑0, halting a six‑game GlenOak winning streak and leaving the Eagles with a 6‑2 record.
“Ain’t no stoppin’ us now,” said Conley, a speedy senior split end. “We’ll take ’em one at a time until we get to the 13th game.”
No. 13, if it comes to that, would be for the state title ‑ perhaps against Moeller.
“We’re state bound … if we can keep our heads on straight,” said running back Jim Bushe, who used blockbuster blocking by the offensive line and his own speed and shiftiness to amass 142 yards in only 13 rushes.
Bushe says he wants to play football in the Big Ten Conference some day. Heck, he could have played in the Big Ten Friday.
Massillon dominated almost every phase of the game, but the running attack was the real crusher.
Bushe saw to it that it was over early, gaining huge chunks of yardage on runs to the outside.
The Tigers had the ball four times in the first half and scored three touchdowns. An interception by Rob Wright, one of GlenOak’s few bright spots, snuffed out the other drive.
Senior guard Charles Calhoun explained why the Tigers ran wild on the outside.
“We outweighed their defensive line by about 30 pounds a man,” said Calhoun, a 240‑pound senior. “They were submarining us, dying in the hole to try to stuff the middle. So we just went to the outside. Then they stopped submarining us, and we hit them with some counter plays that worked pretty well.”
The Tigers led 478 yards to 241 yards in total offense, but even that whopping margin was deceiving. Through three quarters, the Tigers led 390‑73 in total offense.
After that, Massillon brought in its second string, against which the Eagles scored both of their touchdowns.
Massillon coach Mike Currence said the Tigers had been worried.
“Maybe we were so fired up because we scared,” he said. “On film, GlenOak’s offense executed almost everything perfectly.”
But the Tigers did what no other team has done ‑ shut down GlenOak’s running game.
“People were saying GlenOak has the best offensive line in Stark County,” Massillon defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits said. “Our people shut them down. It was the best tackling we’ve had.”
The last thing GlenOak wanted to happen was one of the first things that happened ‑ the big play, early.
GlenOak took the opening kickoff, ran three plays, then punted to the Massillon 35.
Nick Vrotsos, Massillon’s offensive coordinator, sent in “14 waggle.” It had almost brought a touchdown on Massillon’s first play of the season, against another Federal League team, Perry.
“It calls for me to take my man deep over the middle,” Conley said. “It looked like the defensive back started to go for the run fake. I got open, and Brian threw me a perfect pass.”
Conley caught the ball on the GlenOak 25 and outraced GlenOak’s Fermin Olivera to the end zone at 9:31 of the opening quarter.
Three GlenOak plays and a punt later, the Tigers launched a 12‑play, 63‑yard touchdown drive. Bushe and halfback Chris Spielman did most of the damage on the ground, with Spielman going the final two yards at 1:05 of the first period.
GlenOak had a chance to get back in the game when Wright’s interception gave the Eagles the ball on their own 49 early in the second quarter. The Eagles drove to the Massillon 39, getting their only first down of the first half, before having to punt.
Then Massillon put the game away with a 78‑yard touchdown drive that again featured Bushe and Spielman. Spielman dove into the end zone on a seven‑yard run 58 seconds before the band show.
The rout was on when the Tigers took the second‑half kickoff and drove 70 yards for a score, with Bushe rushing for all but three of them and scoring on a one‑yard blast.
Later in the third quarter, DeWitz and split end Jim Geiser hooked up on a 66‑yard touchdown pass.
DeWitz completed five of eight passes for 168 yards. His touchdown pass to Geiser flushed him over 1,000 yards for the season. He now has completed 63 of 107 tosses for 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns. Massillon romps 42‑14 The Eagles made it 35-7 on a 59‑yard scoring pass from quarterback Monte Crowl to split end Wright at 8:14 of the fourth quarter. Crowl later found Jimmie Burks on a nine yard scoring pass.
The Tigers led 22‑9 in first downs and 268‑91 in rushing yards. Star tailback Greg Wagner of GlenOak was held to 21 yards in nine carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter. The extent of the injury was unknown.
Next Friday, Massillon hosts Mansfield Senior and GlenOak hosts Louisville.
GlenOak 0 0 0 14 14 Massillon 14 7 14 7 42
Mass ‑ Conley 65 Pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Mass – Spielman 2 run (Pfisterer kick) Mass – Spielman 7 run (Pfisterer kick) Mass – Bushe 1 run (Pfisterer kick) Mass – Geiser 66 pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Glen – Wright 59 pass from Crowl (Olivera kick) Glen – Burks 9 pass from Crowl (Olivera kick) Mass – Crenshaw 16 pass from Offenbecher (Pfisterer kick) Att – 16,490
MASSILLON ‑ Let’s get the vital statistics out of the way, because The Play is going to take some explaining.
Washington High’s Tigers handed Sharon, Pa. its first high school football defeat of 1982 Friday, 28‑7, before 9,847 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers outgained Sharon 371‑137 in total yards and ran their record to 7‑0 in a tuneup for next Friday’s showdown against GlenOak (6‑1).
There. Now, The Play.
Second quarter, Sharon’s ball on its own 44, Massillon leading 7‑0.
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Sharon punter Dan Wallace boots a screwball that bounces in front of Massillon return man Chris Spielman.
Spielman positions himself to where he thinks the ball will bounce to him, but it takes a high hop, glances off his right hand, and squibs toward the Tiger goal line.
Sharon’s Robert Dawson tears past Spielman, short hops the ball at the 5, plants his left foot at the 3, his right foot at the 1, and zips into the end zone.
The arms of the back judge shoot skyward. Touchdown!
Spielman dropped to all fours in agony.
But wait. Another official, realizing the punting team can’t advance a fumble by the receiving team, points to the 1, as if to say Sharon should get the hall there.
Then confusion hits. All six officials huddle.
Then, to the astonishment of the Sharon bench, the ball is marched to the 20, where it is Massillon’s ball.
The ruling: the Sharon player did not have control until he was in the end zone. Spielman’s miscue is ruled a muff.
It was a correct call as interpreted by the officials.
But a slow‑motion videotape played in the Massillon coaches’ room afterward clearly showed Dawson had possession before he entered the end zone.
Sharon should have had the ball on the 1, from where it could have scored and tied the game.
It was a bang‑bang play, a tough call for the officals to make.
It was a tough call for Sharon to swallow.
“I had a good grip on the ball at the 3,” Dawson said. “I couldn’t believe what happened after that.”
What turned into a boring second half might have had punch. But Sharon coach Jim Wildman refused to use The Play as an alibi.
“Let’s not make that the major issue,” he said. “They were a better football team. They’re a powerhouse. I hear Mike Currence (Massillon’s coach) has taken some abuse here the last couple of years. Maybe the people here should be thankful for what they have.”
Massillon struck quickly after The Play, driving 80 yards for a touchdown, forcing Sharon to punt, then driving 49 yards for another TD.
The home‑town Tigers (Sharon’s nickname also is Tigers) led 21‑0 at the intermission and never were threatened in the second half.
“We wore them down,” Currence said, “I thought we played pretty well.”
The Tigers are Gerry Cooney with a right hand. They can knock you out with the run. The can turn out your lights with the pass.
At halftime, the Tigers had 105 yards on the ground (58 by Spielman) and 104 in the air (by quarterback Brian DeWitz).
Sharon was beffudled by the rushing of Spielman, and halfback Jim Bushe and fullback Tim Sampsel. It was bewildered by the receiving contingent of Jim Geiser, Gary Conley and John Pierce.
Spielman bulled seven yards up middle the middle for Massillon’s first touchdown, at 1:00 of the first quarter, to cap a 44‑yard drive.
The Tigers tallied again at 6:28 of the second period, with Spielman bulling in from three yards out.
DeWitz hit Geiser with a 10‑yard bullet in the end zone 45 seconds before the band show.
The Tigers scored on a 44‑yard drive midway through the third period, with Sampsel bulldozing two yards for the score.
Sharon, 6‑0, scored a meaningless touchdown with a minute left in the game. Sharon, which revolves around shifty quarterback Teryl Clifford, rushed for 114 yards.
And now, what of GlenOak?
“A computer playoff spot is on the line,” Currence said “It’ll be for all the marbles.”
Sharon 0 0 0 7 7 Massillon 7 14 7 7 28
Mas ‑ Spielman 7 run (Pfisterer kick) Mas ‑ Spielman 3 run (Phisterer kick) Mas ‑ Geiser 10 Pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Mas ‑ Sampsel 2 run (Pfisterer kick) Shar ‑ Sormaz 25 pass from Micchia (Albright kick) A ‑ 9,847
Massillon wears down game but outmanned Sharon gridders 28-7 By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor MASSILLON ‑ According to the oddsmakers, the Massillon Tigers were 22 point favorites over the visitors from Sharon, Pa., Friday night.
Those foolish enough to bet money on football games and wise enough to know that Massillon would coast to victory would have lost their investment, as the locals won by only 21 points, 28‑7, before a Homecoming crowd of 9,847 fans.
But a victory of any sort was welcome news to Massillon equipment manager Rick Smer. Like many souls in the world of athletics, Smer is prone to certain superstitions, and Friday’s game had him leery.
Massillon was wearing its orange jerseys and black pants, a combination that had netted the Tigers a 2‑7 mark over the past six seasons! To make matters worse, not only was Sharon undefeated entering the contest, but the last time the Tigers wore Friday’s combination, the opponent, Parma Padua, wore Sharon’s white and orange‑style attire ‑ and won!
“The coach (Mike Currence) told me not to mention it around the players, but I tell you, it had me worried!,” said Smer.
In the end, Smer’s would have been better off contemplating whether mankind exists within in a universe or a multiverse, or whether or not “Gilligan’s Island” made significant contributions to 20th century culture, but he certainly didn’t have to worry about the Massillon football team.
Sharon coach Jim Wildman pointed to Massillon’s depth and diversity of offense as the keys to the game. Sharon had nine two‑way players in the lineup, and Massillon used this to its advantage, utilizing a constant stream of motion plays and sprintouts on offense, a game plan that kept the Sharon defense on the run all night ‑ until it ran out of gas.
The locals, now 7‑0, had built a 28‑0 lead early in the third quarter when the first unit departed from the game. Sharon scored late in the game against the Tiger reserves on a freak (but spectacular) play where the quarterback escaped a fierce rush to click on a 25‑yard scoring pass.
Massillon ate up 231 yards on the ground to 95 for the opponent from Pennsylvania. Massillon also led in the air 140‑42, for a resounding 371‑137 advantage in total yards.
Whatever chance the invaders had evaporated with a questionable call early in the second period.
Massillon was leading 7‑0 after Chris Spielman had plowed in from seven yards out to cap a 44‑yard drive with a minute remaining in the opening period. The key play was a 19‑yard pass from junior quarterback Brian DeWitz to senior receiver Jim Geiser which set up a first‑and‑goal at the seven. Bronc Pfisterer’s kick made it 7‑0.
Sharon came back with a short drive, but stalled and punted from the Massillon 44. The short boot took a high bounce in front of Spielman, the deep safety on the play, who reached up to grab it only to have it glance off the tip of his right index finger. Tigers topple Tigers to remain unbeaten Sharon’s Robert Dawson seemed to catch the ball on a short hop and carry it into the endzone from the Massillon three. Two of the officials signaled touchdown, then a long conference ensued.
Since you can’t advance a fumble in high school football, it was assumed in the pressbox that Sharon would get possession on the Massillon three, but after the officials discussed the issue, it was finally awarded to the locals on the 20‑yardline!
The official ruling was that the punt resulted in a ‘muff’, different from a fumble in that there was never any possession to begin with. But it was further ruled that the momentum of the punt carried the ball into the endzone ‑ not Dawson’s flying feet and thus the ball was never possessed by Sharon, either, and thus Massillon’s possession following the ‘touchback.’
Slow motion films of the play viewed after the game seemed to clearly indicate that Dawson had the ball tucked away and took two full steps into the endzone, but the judgment call on the part of the officials ruled otherwise.
“I knew we shouldn’t get the touchdown on the play, but I thought it should have been our ball on the three,” said a surprisingly‑calm Wildman afterwards. “If we wanted to have a chance to win, we needed a big break early. That was our opportunity, but we didn’t get it.
“Then again, we didn’t take advantage of our other opportunities ‑ Massillon fumbled five times, and we didn’t recover one of them. You can’t pull off an upset going zero‑for‑five on fumble recoveries.”
After seeing films of the ‘muff’ play, Currence smiled the smile of a man who knows the Lord has blessed him and said, “That was a judgment call and a real close one to have to make. We had the advantage of seeing it three times in slow‑motion here; they (the officials) didn’t.
“Besides, a mistake like that might have given us the impetus to do better,” he added.
Massillon offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos agreed with that.
“Yea, I wish we could have just let them have the ball and score down there, and then gone on and whipped them like we would have anyway. That way we could have avoided all this,” said the veteran coach, who was treated to a verbal lambasting by a Sharon sportswriter at halftime ‑ for politely answering the sportswriter’s question about the tainted play.!
Spielman had the best idea.
“I just should have let the ball go,” he admitted.
At any rate, instead of being three yards away from a possible game‑tying score, Sharon was on defense, and seemingly too dazed to play it. Massillon quickly marched 80 yards in six plays as Spielman scored again, this time from three yards out. Pfisterer’s kick was good. A 25‑yard run by Jim Bushe, with a 15‑yard face mask penalty tacked on, got the Tigers off to a fine start on the drive.
Massillon scored once more before intermission. This time a 49‑yard drive ended with DeWitz hitting Geiser with a 10‑yard bullet and the score.
The locals final touchdown came on the second possession of the second half. A 43‑yard drive following a short drive ended with Tim Sampsel crashing over from the two. Pfisterer kicked his fourth straight extra point, and the reserves took over. (Highlighted by a 39‑yard run by Jeff Boerner and a 31‑yard run Tom Gruno on the final possession of the evening.)
Sharon’s TD came with 2:24 left in the game. Reserve quarterback Joe Micchia scrambled out of a crisis and hit a sophomore with the unlikely name of Neboisa Sormaz with a 25‑yard scoring play. (Another Sharon player was named Chooky LaCamera ‑ a 5‑foot‑4, 104‑pound junior linebacker.)
“Sharon was a good football team,” praised Currence. “They have three or four Division I‑potential athletes, and they were one of the more physical clubs we’ve played recently. In the end, we were just able to wear them down.”
Wildman returned to Pennsylvania with no regrets, either.
“Tonight hopefully will be a steppingstone for our team. We were beaten on the scoreboard, but we weren’t embarrassed.
“In the end, Massillon executed and we didn’t. That was the ballgame. I was just proud to have came here and played; Massillon can certainly play with anybody in Pennsylvania.”
Now, it’s on to next week and the “Computer Bowl,” where Massillon hosts Glenoak and former head coach Bob Commings.
GlenOak, big winners over Canton South Friday, and undefeated since an opening loss to McKinley, is second in the Ohio computer poll for the region, with Massillon third. (Sandusky holds onto the top spot, but probably not for long.)
At any rate , it should be fun.
MASSILLON 28 SHARON 7 M 0 First downs rushing 9 5 First downs passing 9 2 First downs by penalty 1 2 Totals first downs 19 9 Yards gained rushing 245 114 Yards lost rushing 14 19 Net Yards rushing 231 95 Net yards passing 140 42 Total yards gained 371 137 Passes attempted 20 15 Passes completed 11 2 Passes int. by 2 0 Yardage on pass int. 5 0 Times kicked off 6 2 Kickoff average 36.7 42.5 Kickoff return yards 18 57 Punts 4 6 Punting average 38.5 30.3 Punt return yards 12 10 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 5 2 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 6 3 Yards penalized 50 30 Touchdowns rushing 3 0 Touchdowns passing 1 1 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 57 46 Time of possession 26:50 21:10 Attendance 9,847
Sharon 0 0 0 7 7 Massillon 7 14 7 0 28
M ‑ Spielman 7‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick.) M ‑ Spielman 3‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick.) M ‑ Geiser 10‑yard pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick). M ‑ Sampsel 2‑yard run (Pfisterer luck). S ‑ Sormaz 25‑ yard pass from Micchia (Albright kick)
Sharon falls at Massillon disputed call aids Ohioans By LYNN SATERNOW Sports Editor MASSILLON, Ohio ‑ Sharon High football coach Jim Wildman knew his Tigers would need some breaks if they were to have a chance against powerful Massillon Friday night. And Sharon did get an early break.
A broken back.
While Sharon lost 28‑7, it would be unfair to say that one call by a referee can cost a team a ballgame. But that one call certainly went a long way toward determining the outcome.
That call that broke the Tiger’s back came like this:
Sharon was trailing 7‑0 after the first quarter and was forced to punt from midfield. The punt was a low kick that bounced a few times, then hit Massillon’s Chris Spielman. The ball bounced free and into the arms of Sharon’s Robert Dawson who tucked it in at the 4‑yard line and carried it into the endzone. Two referees signaled touchdown and 6 points went up on the scoreboard.
Then the referees huddled. Then they moved the ball to the 20‑yard line and signaled Massillon’s ball negating the touchdown. Then the name Wild‑man fit perfectly for Sharon’s coach.
But despite argument from Wildman, the call stood and Massillon had the ball and Sharon had nothing.
Massillon took advantage of Sharon’s confusion and moved downfield in only a few big plays to score. For all purposes, the game was over.
“Maybe we were still scratching our heads about the call,” Wildman said about the defensive breakdown, But he had plenty to say about the referee’s decision:
“Everybody knew he (Dawson) had the ball going into the endzone. But then they said he didn’t have possession of the ball. Actually it should have been our ball where he picked it up, because you can’t advance a muff (touched kick). It should have been our ball on the 3 or 4‑yard line.
“But they were a better team than us tonight. They’ve got some fine athletes. But I said all week that if we had a chance, we would heed a’ break. That was our break and we needed it.”
Other breaks didn’t go Sharon’s way either.
Sharon started the opening drive of the ballgame at the 23 and moved to a first down at the 40. On a third down play from the 45, quarterback Teryl Austin appeared headed for a first down on a run when the ball flipped out of his hands and into the arms of Massillon lineman Derrick Johnson. Johnson ran the ball to the Sharon 34. But a short time later the defense held after a sack by Tom Crawford and Massillon missed on a 35‑yard field goal attempt.
But after a Sharon punt, Massillon rolled to a score. The home team drove 56 yards in seven plays, with 215‑pound halfback Spielman going the final seven yards to paydirt. Bronc Pfisterer kicked his first of four extra points. Early in, the second period came the controversial call that gave Massillon the ball at its 20. It took only seven plays and a three‑yard Spielman run for Massillon to go up 14-0, with 6:28 remaining in the half.
A third touchdown came with 48 seconds remaining in the period. Massillon quarterback Brian DeWitz moved his Tigers 51 yards in eight plays, including five pass completions. His fifth was a 10‑yarder to Jim Geiser for a touchdown.
In the third period, Massillon scored for a final time with 5:59 remaining on a two‑yard run by Tim Sampsel, ending a 43‑yard drive.
A deep Sharon drive was halted midway through the fourth quarter on an interception at the one‑yard line. But a short time later, with the Sharon substitutes in the game, the local Tigers got on the board.
Scrambling Sharon sophomore quarterback Joe Micchia eluded, several would‑be‑tacklers on a fourth down play and hit fellow sophomore Neboisa Sormaz on a 25‑yard touchdown pass. Mike Albright kicked the point after.
While Wildman was somewhat disappointed that his chances for an unbeaten season went down the drain, he was, grateful for the chance to play at Massillon, one of the hotbeds of football in the United States.
“It was a real honor to play here. I’m not satisfied in the sense that we lost. But I’m proud of our performance and our kids. No one embarrasses us. We moved the ball and the kids didn’t quit. They continued to play with emotion.
“That call hurt us. It turned things a round. But I’m proud that we didn’t get blown out. At halftime we decided that 21 points was enough, and the kids responded.
“It’s a feather in our caps. We went for it. An undefeated season would have been nice. But we set our goal to win the Keystone championship. If we get that goal, and pick up some experience and some other positive things along the way, all the better. Now we’ve got to go back and get ready to reach that goal.”
SIDELINE NOTES ‑ ‑‑ It was agreed by almost everyone (even Massillon scouts) in the press box that Sharon was robbed on the referees call. And after the game, Dawson agreed, “I had the ball on the 3‑yard line’ definitely, I had a good grip on it. They signaled touchdown. I couldn’t believe it when the referees changed the call.” Neither could anyone else…The loss dropped Sharon to 6‑1 on the season, with two league games to go against Reynolds and Grove City … Massillon fumbled four times in the game, but recovered them all … The Shenango Valley had a great representation at the game, filling much of the visitors’ section. The total attendance was more than 10,000…Just to attend a ballgame in Paul Brown Stadium is quite an experience. Everything about the operation is first class and the game has a college atmosphere … Massillon is 7‑0 on the season and ranked second In Ohio behind Cincinnati Moeller.
Score by Qts: 1 2 3 4 Total SHARON 0 0 0 7 7 MASSILLON 7 14 7 0 28
‘Not so sharp’ Tigers grind out 265 yards rushing in 43‑0 rout
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
So how good are the Massillon Tigers?
“We really weren’t very sharp tonight,” said Tiger head coach Mike Currence. “We were sharp last week against Newark, and its hard to be real sharp two weeks in a row.”
“Even the crowd was flat,” chipped in grizzled offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos. “The fans didn’t get aroused until that bad penalty call late in the third quarter, and then they went flat again.”
The final score? The Tigers 43, Barberton 0, the proverbial “sweet revenge” for last years 26‑24 upset at the hands of the Magics.
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The game itself wasn’t very exciting – the Tigers dominated from start to literally the finish. From a reporter’s standpoint, the highlight came afterwards in the Barberton lockerroom, when an ‘upset’ Magic head coach Rudy Sharkey seemed convinced that the Tigers had tried to run up the score. (The Tigers did score on the final play of the game, a seven‑yard sweep by junior Kirk Ivan.)
“No, this loss didn’t hurt,” he fumed. “Some other year, Currence will get his. If the guy needs points that bad, fine. Like I said, another year, and that’s all I have to say.”
But you can’t really blame the guy for being grumpy ‑ he entered this season with a .718 winning percentage in 10 years at the helm of the Magics, and this year’s 1‑5 start is bound to be a blow to even the strongest ego.
But Currence disavowed running up the score. In fact, it was only earlier this week that he told a luncheon audience that he always tried to refrain from doing so; it only hurt the opponent’s confidence for future games, valuable for computer points, plus aroused the victims for the next rematch.
(A final memory of the Barberton lockerroom: Sharkey’s devastated troops gathered around him; the coach bellowing the answers to reporters’ questions. “There’ll be another year, ” Sharkey grits his teeth. “RIGHT, TEAM?” “RIGHT COACH, ” scream the players back.)
“In the first place, the players called that final timeout late in the game, not me. Two, as far as I’m concerned, we tried to run out the clock. We ran the exact same sweep four times in a row, and they didn’t defend against it right once, which isn’t our fault. In fact, I was surprised that they stayed in the exact same defense all night; I don’t think they shut down one of our sweeps the entire game,” Currence said.
There was a final mitigating factor to the late score, incidentally. The player who scored on the jaunt, Ivan, just happened to be celebrating his birthday ‑ and as his teammates knew, what better time to score your first touchdown as a Tiger!
Neither team scored on its first possession. But the Tigers kept Barberton backed up in the shadow of its goal on their second possession, forcing the first of many short punts which kept the Tigers in great field position the entire night.
The Tigers began possession on the Magic 25 and scored in five plays. Bushe, who led Tiger rushers with 97 yards in 13 carries, had gallops of nine and 10 yards en route to the end zone. He then plunged over from the one with 4:40 left in the quarter, followed by a Bronc Pfisterer conversion kick.
Massillon didn’t score again until 3:51 remained in the half. Another short punt after being penned deep gave the Tigers possession on the Barberton 39. The first play from scrimmage saw quarterback Brian DeWitz hit receiver Jim Geiser with a 21‑yard pass to the 18. Four plays later Chris Spielman pounded over from the one, with the kick no good. Tigers see five backs tally The ensuing kick went into the end zone and on the first play from scrimmage, junior Ken Rector’s pass was picked off by Marcell Stephens, giving the Tigers possession at the Magic 41.
This time it took the Tigers six plays to score. Fullback Tim Sampsel did final honors on a one‑yard plunge with 1:02 remaining, following a nine‑yard scramble by DeWitz. Pfisterer’s kick was good for a 20‑0 halftime lead.
The Tigers made it 26‑0 with their second possession after intermission. A 73‑yard drive began when DeWitz underthrew a wide‑open Geiser, who retreated for the ball for a 38‑yard gain, with a late hit moving the ball down to the Magic 20. Six plays later, DeWitz, dropping straight back for one of the few times all evening, found Bushe wide open over the middle for a nine-yard scoring pass. The kick failed, but the Tigers led 26‑0 with 4:57 left in the third period.
Massillon went on to score 17 points in the final period ‑ all following the contest’s most controversial moment.
Typically, Barberton was forced to punt, and the short boot sailed towards the Tigers’ Stephens, who plainly signaled for a fair coach. The Barberton defender ran right through the signal and smashed into Stephens while the ball was still in the air, an obvious infraction. But the official call was a fumble, with Barberton recovering the ball! The home crowd let out a long chorus of boos, followed by Massillon’s defense regaining the ball 22 yards the other direction following a 10‑yard sack on fourth down registered by middle guard John Franke!
The Tigers didn’t score with that possession, but the next time they touched the ball it was at Barberton’s 30, following, you guessed it, another short, wobbly punt out of the end zone!
It took the Tigers three plays to score this time, with fullback Tom Gruno rambling in from ten yards out with 8:33 left in the game, followed by a successful boot.
Barberton tried again, but its next effort resulted in a Bill Davis interception, and the Tigers had the ball on the Magics’ 30. This time the Tigers settled for a 27‑yard field goal off the foot of Pfisterer for a 36‑zip lead with 3:35 left.
But the Tigers weren’t through yet. This time Mike Galant picked off a pass, the Tigers fourth theft of the evening, setting up Ivan’s final score as the Tiger reserves pushed the Magics all over the field.
The key to the game was reflected in the final rushing totals ‑ the Tigers racked up 265 yards on the ground, Barberton a mere 54.
After the game, all the Tiger running backs pointed to the dominance of the Tiger offensive line, consisting of the likes of Ty Beadle, Darrell Strickling, Tim Sweterlistch, Charles Calhoun, Rick Hamit, and others.
“They just kept opening hole after hole,” said Bushe, the Tigers’ game rushing leader. “If anyone should get the credit tonight, it’s those guys.”
Now, it’s on to next week, when the 6‑0 Tigers will take on the invaders from Pennsylvania, a team from Sharon shameless enough to bill themselves as the Tigers!
MASSILLON 49 BARBERTON 3 M 0 First downs rushing 16 3 First downs passing 3 4 First downs by penalty 1 3 Totals first downs 20 10 Yards gained rushing 270 76 Yards lost rushing 5 22 Net yards rushing 265 54 Net yards passing 78 59 Total yards gained 343 113 Passes attempted 10 22 Passes completed 4 9 Passes int. by 4 1 Yardage on pass int. 36 0 Times kicked 7 1 Kickoff average 53.1 34.2 Kickoff return yards 0 74 Punts 2 6 Punting average 35.0 25.0 Punt return yards 3 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 2 1 Fumbles lost 2 0 Penalties 3 4 Yards penalized 45 51 Touchdowns rushing 5 0 Touchdowns passing 1 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 55 51 Time of Possession 23:26 24:34 Attendance 9,096
Tigers roll to fifth win, 49‑7 over Newark ‘Laugher’ belies players concern for Hendershot
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ The most advanced computer in the world would be hard pressed to match the efficiency of the Massillon Tigers Friday night.
The state’s No. 2 ranked Class AAA team ran roughshod over the visiting Newark Wildcats in a 49‑6 ‘laugher,’ but there was little joy in the Tiger lockerroom before the contest.
“We wanted to dedicate this game to Scott Hendershot,” said Tiger junior Chris Spielman afterwards. “This one was for him.”
The Tigers’ 55, a junior backup lineman, was not on the sidelines for Friday’s game. He was home with his family, his stomach in knots, awaiting news on his 7‑year‑old sister, Dawn Marie, last seen leaving school Wednesday afternoon.
“Scott was right where he should have been tonight,” said Massillon head coach Mike Currence. “The team prayed for the little girl’s safe return before and after the game. It was certainly something that was on our minds; we were all ready to play tonight.”
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Newark tried to be fancy from the start, as the opening kick was promptly caught and passed across the field to a player stationed on the sidelines, who promptly fumbled the ball out of bounds, a harbinger of things to come for the Wildcats.
Newark mounted one of its best drives on its opening possession, though, advancing to the Tiger 48 before being forced to punt.
The Tigers began on their own 28, marching the remaining 72 yards in just six plays. Jim Bushe, returning to action after a hip pointer cost him most of two games, announced himself healthy by rambling 16 yards on the first play. Three plays later, fullback Tim Sampsel found a big hole and rambled 29 yards to the Newark eight, his longest gain of the year. A play later, Spielman broke through for a seven‑yard touchdown run, followed by the first of seven straight Bronc Pfisterer conversion kicks.
Seconds later, Spielman stepped in front of a Terry Balding pass, recording his second interception of the year; the third was to follow. Less than three minutes after the first Tiger score, Spielman rambled 12 yards for the second.
Newark again was forced to punt, and after a jitterbug return by Gary Conley, the Tigers marched 66 yards in seven plays. After his punt return, Conley kept the ball rolling by grabbing a 30‑yard pass by junior quarterback Brian DeWitz down to Newark’s 36. Bushe capped the drive with a three‑yard run with 10:38 remaining in the half.
“Our offense was better tonight because Jim was back with his running and blocking,” said Currence. “He looked very strong.”
“My hip didn’t bother me at all,” said the senior speedster afterwards. “I was just too happy to be back on the playing field to worry about pain.”
The Tigers actually had to punt the next time they gained possession, a high, spiraling 41‑yarder by DeWitz, the baby‑faced bomber with the leg of steel. But Newark certainly couldn’t do anything with the ball, except fumble it away on an option play with the Tigers’ Bob Robinson hopping on the loose orb after a 12‑yard loss on the Wildcat eight.
Three plays later, Tiger senior Tom Gruno bulled it over from two yards out. The half ended with the Tigers up 28-0. It was almost 35‑0 ‑ on the Tigers final possession before halftime, Conley found himself unbelievably open behind the Newark secondary but DeWitz’s pass just eluded his fingertips.
Massillon received the second half kick, with Tom Manion almost breaking it for a long‑gainer before being hauled down at the Tiger 34. Three plays later, DeWitz arched a bomb over a leaping defender and into Conley’s hands for a 55‑yard score. Action for Tiger offensive regulars was over for the night. Tigers roar to fifth straight win. The quarter ended with the Tigers leading 35‑0. Spielman’s diving, fingertip interception which stopped a Newark drive at Massillon’s 21 highlighted the remainder of the period. After the theft, the Tigers’ regular defense followed the offense to the sidelines as the Tiger backups saw their most extensive playing time of the year.
Early in the fourth quarter, a 38‑yard run by Tom Gruno ‑ his longest jaunt of the season ‑ put the ball on Newark’s 15. Senior Mark Smith went the final eight yards with 9:57 left in the game.
The Tigers’ seventh TD of the night came after a Mike Gallant interception at the Newark 26 which he returned to the 19. With 7:35 remaining in the game, junior Brian Spicer smashed over the line from four yards out to cap a short, four‑play drive.
Newark finally scored with 4:54 remaining. A 73‑yard drive was finalized by a 14‑yard run by Newark’s Tim Dierks. Finishing what they had begun, the Wildcats’ kick was off the mark.
Newark fell to 2‑3 with the loss. About the only consolation coach Bill Biggers could find is that his team didn’t lose the game in the waning seconds like the previous two weeks.
“That was the worst I’ve ever been beaten in 11 years of head coaching,” said Biggers. “We were embarrassed here tonight, but that’s not to take anything away from the Tigers; they’re a fine, fine team.
“In the end, it wasn’t our mental errors or the crowd that beat us; the Tigers just blew us out plain and simple. They’re the best team I’ve ran across, both offensively and defensively, in a long time.”
Now the 5‑0 Tigers must prepare, for Barberton on Friday night. The Magics haven’t shown much in the way of wizard‑like powers so far this year, but the Tigers can hardly afford to be overconfident after last year’s shocking loss to the tradition‑bound school.
“It’s Up To You in ’82” is the official slogan for this year’s squad, but Spielman always ends his post‑game quotes with a slogan that’s just as good: “Tonight’s over and done. It’s next week’s game that matters now.”
MASSILLON 49 NEWARK 6 M O First downs rushing 12 8 First downs passing 4 3 First downs by penalty 0 2 Totals first downs 16 13 Yards gained rushing 249 73 Yards lost rushing 13 44 Net yards rushing 249 73 Net yards passing 119 73 Total yards gained 368 146 Passes attempted 16 23 Passes completed 8 6 Passes int. by 3 0 Yardage on pass int. 11 0 Times kicked off 8 2 Kickoff average 55.4 30.0 Kickoff return yards 23 85 Punts 3 7 Punting average 45.0 35.6 Punt return yards 38 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 2 2 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 4 0 Yards penalized 40 0 Touchdowns rushing 6 1 Touchdowns passing 1 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 53 58 Time of possession 24:22 23:18 Attendance 9,414
Newark 0 0 0 6 6 Massillon 14 14 7 14 49
M ‑ Spielman 7‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick). M ‑ Spielman 12‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick). M ‑ Bushe 3 yard run, (Pfisterer kick.) M ‑ Gruno 2‑yard ran. (Pfisterer kick,) M – Conley 55 yard pass from DeWitz. (Pfisterer kick.) M ‑ Smith 8‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick.) M ‑ Spicer 4‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick.) N ‑ Dierks 12‑yard run, (kick failed).
Tigers nip Central‑Hower 7‑3 Emotions run high after Tiger defense rises to new heights
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ An emotional win does different things to different people.
Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, the locals remained unbeaten by downing a stubborn Akron Central‑Hower squad 7‑3. A big factor in the contest was senior defensive end Derrick Johnson, who twice broke through the offensive line to record sacks late in the game while the visitors attempted a final surge towards the Tiger goal.
Afterwards, friends surrounded his locker, squeezing the big senior with bearhugs of joy. But Johnson was too emotionally spent to laugh or talk or celebrate. All Johnson could do was sit and cry tears of joy.
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There may not have been a lot of scoring in the contest, but the 8,114 fans who sat through four quarters of a chilly autumn rain didn’t feel cheated, and certainly didn’t exit until the final gun assured Massillon of victory.
The rain certainly had an effect on the game, but it certainly wasn’t the deciding factor.
“Basically, we lost to a very good team tonight,” said Ram coach Tim Flossie, whose squad drops to 1‑2 on the year after going 10‑1 last season. “I thought both teams did an excellent job under the conditions; had the weather been ideal it just would have meant both teams would have been a bit more effective offensively,” insinuating that the Tigers would have won no matter what was failing out of the sky.
“We threw the ball well tonight, but the rain caused us to drop some passes we may have caught,” said Tiger head coach Mike Currence. “Of course, the wet field caused our running backs to lose their footing several times, too.
“But in the end, everyone did their job tonight. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have won.”
It was a battle of the trenches from the beginning. The Tigers took the opening kick but had to punt. The Rams then used up most of the first quarter with a 14‑play drive that went 46 yards before the Tigers stopped Eric Mosley inches short of a first down on the Massillon 34‑yardline on a fourth down option pitchout from the quarterback. Earlier, the Rams had proved their intentions of gaining victory at all cost by going for the first down on a fourth‑and‑one situation on their own 34 and making it.
The Tigers then reciprocated with a drive to the C‑H 33 that ended when Brian DeWitz endzone bomb was intercepted by the Rams Paul Miller. But the Rams’ gave the ball back moments later when the Rams’ wishbone offense stumbled at an inopportune moment ‑ an option pitch was fumbled and recovered by Tiger linebacker Chris Spielman after an eight‑yard loss on the Ram 29.
Massillon capitalized on the break with the only touchdown of the night. The seven-play drive saw Spielman tote the final 14 yards on three consecutive carries, the capper a six‑yard run with 6:04 remaining in the half. Bronc Phsiterer’s kick was good for a 7‑0 lead.
it appeared that the Tigers might score again before the half. A beautiful coffin corner punt by DeWitz bounded out of bounds at C‑H’s 2, where they were stymied and had to punt ‑ a short boot that the Tigers took over on the Ram 26 with about two minutes remaining.
The Tigers soon found just three yards short of paydirt with 51 seconds remaining. But two cracks into the line failed, and on fourth down, an incompletion gave the ball back to C‑H.
Most of the fans were wondering why the Tigers didn’t stop the clock and try the field goal ‑ what they didn’t know is that the Tigers were out of time outs, their final clock‑stopper having been used without official notification to the pressbox or stands. Tigers stay perfect! “I used the last time out to attempt to save time for us,” explained Currence. “I thought for sure that we’d be able to punch it in in one or two cracks, and I was stunned when we didn’t; we had been blowing them out at the line. But one thing they did was move 205‑pound Troy Rackley over from defensive end to tackle when we weren’t expecting it, and he really plugged the hole.”
The Rams actually switched a lot of personnel around for the game, including switching 220‑pound Destin Scott to the middle guard spot, when the Tigers were expecting a 160‑pounder there!
“We had been preparing for this game for two weeks,” admitted Flossie. “The defensive switches worked well for us; I was especially pleased with the play of our interior linebackers.”
The second half was more great defense on both sides. The Rams almost broke the opening kickoff, returning it to the C‑H 42, and proceeded to drive to the Tiger eight, where it was second‑and‑seven.
But Ram quarterback Ray Jackson was hit for a two‑yard loss on the next play, followed by a great defensive play by the Tigers’ Marcell Stephens, the 160‑lb. defensive back, who stopped an endzone pass with a great hit.
“The play was a tight end out cut, and I was back‑peddling on the coverage,” said Stephens. “The footing was terrible and I lost my balance momentarily, but I caught the ball out of the corner of my eye and regained my balance to stick him good just as the ball arrived.”
The Rams then had to settle for a 26‑yard field goal by Kelly Clark with 5:58 left in the third quarter, cutting the Tiger lead to 7‑3. The scoreboard never changed again.
The Rams threatened again when Miller grabbed his second interception and returned it to the Tiger 18.
“The receiver broke the pattern; it was supposed to be a curl and he decided to change it. If the quarterback had been able to read the move it might have gone for a long‑gainer, but it was too late and only the defensive back ended up where the receiver was supposed to be.”
But the defense stiffened, regaining possession on the 18 when a pass was overthrown into the endzone. The Tigers then moved 67 yards themselves before losing the ball on downs at the Ram 18. A key play in the clock‑eating march was a 41‑yard pass play from DeWitz to senior receiver Jim Geiser on a third‑and‑12 situation.
“I told the coach I could beat the guy deep, and he, ‘let’s take the risk, “‘ reported Geiser, the team’s leading receiver on the year.
“That was a great catch,” added Flossie. “Our guy was right there, but it was just a great catch.”
After the Tigers’ drive ended, the Rams had two more chances to score. The first possession ended in a punt after a clipping call and a sack by the Tigers’ Junior Neff forced the boot.
Central‑Hower’s final chance saw Johnson’s fierce rush put the final icing on what was hardly a piece of cake.
Statistically, Massillon outgained C‑H 230‑119, including a 126‑0 advantage in the air. DeWitz completed 9‑of‑19 tosses on the night, with Spielman catching four passes for 26 yards and Geiser three passes for 63 yards. Spielman led the Tiger ground attack with 20 totes for 95 yards.
“Massillon jut didn’t make mistakes, they’re a helluva team,” concluded Flosie, who might have been beaten but left Massillon with the respect of all who watched his team.
MASSILLON 7 CEN‑HOWER 3 M 0 First downs rushing 8 8 First downs passing 5 0 First downs by penalty 0 1 Totals first downs 13 9 Yards gained rushing 131 156 Yards lost rushing 27 37 Net yards rushing 104 119 Net yards passing 126 0 Total yards gained 230 119 Passes attempted 19 4 Passes completed 9 0 Passes int. by 0 2 Yardage on pass int. 0 17 Times kicked off 2 2 Kickoff average 55.0 54.0 Kickoff return yards 22 32 Punts 2 3 Putting average 32.5 26.0 Punt return yards 18 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 1 2 Fumbles lost 0 1 Penalties 3 2 Yards penalized 35 25 Touchdowns rushing 1 0 Touchdowns passing 0 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 57 51 Time of possession 25:14 22:42 Attendance 8,114
Cen‑Hower 0 0 3 0 3 Massillon 0 7 0 0 7
M ‑ Spielman 6‑yard ran. (Phisterer kick) CH ‑ Clark 26‑yard field goal.
WARREN ‑ The door to the Warren Harding coaches’ office had been closed for a long time. Reporters stood outside wondering if they should dare enter.
“I wouldn’t walk in unless it’s very important, ” said a middle‑aged lady wearing a Panther jacket.
Most of the media walked away, cause they knew that Harding head coach Frank Thomas, a former Massillon defensive coordinator, had called Friday’s game “a big one for our team, our season, our program and myself.”
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So, nothing could be important enough to bother Thomas after his team had been humiliated 36‑6 by the Massillon Tigers. The score was misleading; the Tigers led 33‑0 at halftime, and seemingly could have won 100‑0 if they desired; instead, Massillon coach Mike Currence was content to use the second half as a long workout for the reserves.
The Tigers would have registered their first shutout of the year if Harding’s all purpose senior Greg Bumbu hadn’t picked up a meaningless fumble in the fourth quarter and raced 60 yards for the final score of the game.
Needless to say, Currence was impressed by the offensive explosion which set the Panthers into early comatose shock.
“I’ve shed many a tear in this lockerroom; this was certainly a welcome victory.
But did he expect the overwhelming proportions of the landslide?
“You always hope for a game like this, but it was one of those nights when everything clicked, even the halfback option,” he stated. “But I was especially pleased by the way we capitalized on our opportunities. That’s the sign of a champion, and hopefully a sign that we’ve come of age. But as good as we were tonight, we have to start all over again next week against Central Hower.”
The first half was a sight to behold. It was the biggest mismatch since Chuck Wepner stepped into the ring against Mohammed Ali.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards in eight plays. The first two plays saw Tiger tailback Chris Spielman run off gains of 14 and 35 yards, immediately panicking a defense whose previous two game defensive totals had been halved in Massillon’s first two plays from scrimmage!
The drive ended at the 8:32 mark when junior quarterback Brian DeWitz hit senior receiver Jim Geiser with an 8‑yard scoring pass, with Bronc Phisterer’s conversion kick good.
In was three plays and punt for Harding, and the Tigers revved up again. Started successfully on the ground, the Tigers caught the Panthers napping as DeWitz hit receiver Gary Conley with a 44‑yard bomb to the Panther one. Sampsel then smashed over for the score, with the ensuing kick no good.
Harding started to mount a drive when senior co‑captain Greg Bumbu caught a 41‑yard pass from quarterback Tom Butler for good position at the Tiger 37, but then Tyrone Nelson fumbled and the Tigers’ Speilman recovered.
The Tigers had to actually punt the ball once before getting it back and scoring again with 9:20 remaining in the half. With a drive starting on their own 37, it ended shortly later with a 25‑yard pass from DeWitz to Conley. The conversion failed, but the Tigers led 19‑0.
Again the Panthers were stopped without a first down. This time the Tigers marched 40 yards in five plays, with Spielman taking scoring honors with a 17‑yard run. The kick was good and the margin had jumped to 26‑0 with 5:50 remaining in the half.
The snake‑bitten Panthers connected on another bomb to the Tiger 40, but then the quarterback promptly fumbled twice on the same play with the Tigers recovering on the Harding 45.
The Tigers then reached into the magician’s bag of tricks and connected on a halfback option play from Spielman to Geiser which almost hit paydirt. Tiger fullback Tom Gruno shortly thereafter plunged, over, the kick was good and the Tigers led 36‑0. Tigers now 3‑0 and a power Warren promptly fumbled the ensuing kickoff back to the Tigers, but the visitors graciously allowed the clock to expire without further bombardment.
The game was over at halftime for all intents and purposes. Second half scoring consisted of a 25‑yard field goal by Pfisterer and Harding’s fumble return off a quarterback sack.
The halftime stats were incredible. At that point, the Tigers led in total yardage 279‑65, despite only holding the ball for two more minutes. In the final totals, the Tigers outgained the Punters 406‑96, gaining 231 yards rushing and 175 through the air. Harding’s success came through the air; the Panthers ‑ were negative‑10 rushing on the night.
Spielman led Tiger rushers with none carries yards, while Jim Bushe carried 11 times for 78 yards. DeWitz wasn’t needed much but he was an effective four‑of-seven for 88 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, the talented junior has yet to have anything but a fine game. Conley led the team in receptions with four four yards; Conley and John Pierce hauled down three passes each.
All in all it was a great night for the Tigers who rose to 3 and did nothing to jeopardize their computer or UPI rankings. Harding fell to 2‑1 with the loss and must attempt to pick up the pieces.
Was there anything at all about the game which wasn’t fine from the Tigers’ standout?
“We, we looked flat in pre‑game drills,” chuckled Currence who hopes he’s on the road to something special here in 1982.
MASSILLON 36 W. HARDING 6 M W First downs rushing 14 1 First downs passing 5 5 First downs by penalty 0 1 Totals first downs 19 7 Yards gained rushing 252 37 Yards lost rushing 21 47 Net yards rushing 231 -10 Net yards passing 175 106 Total yards gained 406 96 Passes attempted 13 16 Passes completed 7 9 Passes int. by 0 0 Yardage on pass int. Times kicked off 7 2 Kickoff average 53.7 29.5 Kickoff return yards 19 109 Punts 3 6 Punting average 34.5 30.6 Punt return yards 16 0 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 2 4 Fumbles lost 1 3 Penalties 5 2 Yards penalized 45 17 Touchdowns rushing 3 0 Touchdowns passing 2 0 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 1 Number of plays 55 42 Time of possession 25:36 22:24
Massillon 13 20 0 3 36 W. Harding 0 0 0 6 6
M ‑ Geiser 6‑yard pass from DeWits. (Phisterer kick.) M ‑ Sampsel 1‑yard run. (Kick failed.) M ‑ Conley 25‑yard pass from DeWits. (Run failed.) M ‑ Spielman 17‑yard run. (Phisterer kick.) M ‑ Gruno 1‑yard run. (Phisterer kick.) M ‑ Phisterer 25‑yard field goal. W ‑ Bumbu 60‑yard ran with a fumble recovery. (Pass failed.)
Brian DeWitz’ arm and Tim Sampsel’s leg offset a near 200‑yard rushing effort by Garfield’s Charles Gladman as Massillon defeated the Rams 17‑10 before 11,497 Friday at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
DeWitz threw a pair of touchdown passes and Sampsel kicked a 45‑yard field goal, 3 yards shy of matching the school record set last year by Tim Manion.
Gladman ran for 192 yards in 28 attempts lot, the Rams, who fell to 1‑1 on the season.
Massillon, ranked ninth in the Beacon Journal’s poll compared to a No. 2 rating for the Rams took its second straight triumph.
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GARFIELD MADE a valiant effort to force a tie by driving from its own 38 to the Tiger 38, but with 2:01 remaining in the game, Gladman was dropped for a 1‑yard loss to the 39 and a fourth‑and‑four pass by Ram quarterback John DiDonato, his only attempt of the contest, was too low for Tony Parker, who could only trap the ball. With the incompletion went the Rams last chance.
Massillon built a 10‑0 halftime lead on the strength of DeWitz’ 7‑yard touchdown pass to Gary Conley in the first quarter and Sampsel’s second quarter field goal, which had more than enough distance and was right on the money.
However, the Rams, whose deepest thrust in the first half was to Massillon’s 20 where they surrendered the ball on a Gladman fumble, stunned the partisan crowd early in the second half by driving 91 yards to score its first touchdown.
The Rams had possession for 7:06 and needed 18 plays to cover the distance.
TIME AND again Massillon was geared to stop the Rams’ ground attack and time and again, the Rams burst through for yardage.
Gladman carried nine times and picked up 57 yards in the drive, but it was fullback Flynn Hamilton who pushed the ball over from the Massillon 1.
There was 2:06 left in the third quartet when Dom Pazara’s kick from placement sailed through the uprights to cut Massillon’s lead to 10‑7.
MASSILLON, however, bounced right back and it was DeWitz who engineered a six‑play drive of 60 yards.
DeWitz, scrambling to avoid a strong Rams’ rush, found Chris Spielman on a 24-yard touchdown pass Bronc Pfisterer made good on his second straight conversion kick as the Tigers padded their lead to 17‑7.
Garfield again mounted one of its patented drives, moving from its own 25 to the Massillon five, but Massillon stiffened and with 6:24 left to play, Garfield coach Bill McGee elected to send in his kicker, Pazara who successfully booted a 22‑yard field goal, trimming the Tigers lead to 17‑10.
Garfield surrendered the ball at that point, hoping to regain possession and it did with 4:55 to go.
The Rams moved from their own 39 to the Massillon 38, but Gladman was dropped for the yard loss and DiDonato’s pass attempt failed.
MASSILLON used up the final 2:01, taking two delay of game penalties, but the Tigers could afford it after Sampsel ran 14 yards to the Garfield 47 on their first play from scrimmage.
DeWitz threw 19 times, completing 10 for 140 yards. He found seams in the Garfield secondary all night.
Sampsel was the Tigers leading rusher with 40 yards in seven carries, but Gladman took game honors by a wide margin.
Tigers glad, man, to get by Garfield By STEVE DOERSCHUK Assistant Sports Editor MASSILLON ‑ Glad, man.
That’s how the Massillon Tigers felt Friday night about getting (a) a 17‑10 high school football victory over gargantuan Akron Garfield and (b) Charles Gladman out of town.
Charles Gladman … you’ll be seeing more of him. The Tigers almost saw too much of him before 11,497 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Gladman rushed for 198 yards in 28 carries. Garfield’s nickname is Golden Rams. Call Gladman The Velvet Battering Ram. He spins. He sprints. He runs over people.
The 195‑pound junior (yes, junior…no misprint) almost ran Garfield’s 10‑0 halftime deficit into a Rams’ lead.
But after Gladman’s galloping led to a 91‑yard touchdown drive that cut Massillon’s edge to 10‑7 late in the third quarter, the Tigers got tough.
Massillon’s Tom Manion returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the 40‑yard line, giving quarterback Brian DeWitz (who beat out Manion for the job) operating room. DeWitz drove the Tigers 60 yards for a score, completing three passes for 56 of those yards, the last of which was a dandy.
Manion was flushed out of the pocket, sprinted to the right sideline and ‑ with a Garfield lineman clutching his jersey ‑ flicked a pass to halfback Chris Spielman, who fell into the end zone at the end of a 22‑yard reception.
The score gave Massillon a 17‑7 lead at 11:17 of the fourth quarter. There were some anxious moments for the Tigers thereafter, but the TD had turned off Garfield’s momentum and was, essentially, the ball game.
Massillon appeared mighty in last week’s 29‑8 blowout of Perry. But Garfield, which held Massillon’s running game to 101 yards and rolled up, 281 rushing yards for itself ‑ made the Tigers look human.
“We’re not a great team right now,” Massillon head coach Mike Currence said. “We don’t have a bunch of superstars. We have a few kids with athletic ability and a lot of kids with a lot of heart. That’s what we won with tonight.”
Fullback Tim Sampsel, who kicked a 45‑yard field goal that pushed Massillon’s first‑half lead to 10‑0, echoed his coach.
“Everybody on this team sticks together,” said Sampsel, whose seven carries for 40 yards led the Tigers. “It’s like a big family.”
Sampsel’s field goal gave the Tigers a big boost. A 45‑yarder is extraordinarily long in the high school ranks. It was the first field goal attempt of his varsity career.
“Pressure? I guess I felt a little bit,” Sampsel said. “But isn’t pressure what the game is all about? I knew I kicked it well. I just closed my eyes and hoped somebody would tell me it was good.”
In terms of the offenses, it was a struggle of Massillon’s balance against the Rams’ rushing.
Garfield called one pass play in the first half ‑ quarterback John DiDonato was sacked.
The only pass the Rams actually got off represented an intense moment.
The situation: Massillon up 17‑10; Garfield’s ball on the Massillon 39; fourth and five; two minutes left in the game.
DiDonato got off a pass that fell short in front of an open receiver who would have had a first down.
Massillon took over. Sampsel bulled for a 14‑yard gain. The Tigers ran out the clock.
Massillon dominated the early phase of the game, scoring the first time it got the ball on a 10‑play, 53‑yard drive capped by an eight‑yard TD strike from DeWitz to split end Gary Conley on third and seven.
Garfield drove 53 yards after the ensuing kickoff, but Gladman fumbled on the 20 at the end of a 20‑yard gain, and Massillon’s Tim Sweterlitsch recovered.
Garfield’s touchdown came on its first possession of the second half. Fullback Flynn Hamilton plunged for a TD from a yard out. The Rams used 15 plays, all runs.
The Tigers used only six plays to score their subsequent touchdown.
But Gladman’s running then set up a 21‑yard Don Pazara field goal with 6:24 to play.
The Tigers punted after failing to make a first down, and Garfield got the ball in its 38 with 5:04 left.
DeWitz completed 10 of 19 passes for 140 yards. Spielman, who rushed for 130 yards against Perry, was held to 27 yards in seven trips. He carried only once in the second half.
“Spielman was very tired,” Garfield coach Bill McGhee said. “Our running attack puts a lot of pressure on linebackers.”
While playing linebacker, Spielman had enough left in the fourth quarter to jar Gladman for the one yard loss that set up the incomplete pass on fourth down.
Geiser caught five passes for 52 yards. Garfield led 17‑16 in first downs, 27:06‑20:54 in time of possession and 267‑217 in total offense.
Sampsel’s field goal was three yards short of the school record, a 48‑yarder by Tim Manion ‑ in Massillon’s win over Garfield last year.
Garfield is projected to be the strongest team in Akron.
“I don’t think they’ll lose again,” Currence said. “It was a big win for us.”
Garfield 0 0 7 3 10 Massillon 7 3 0 7 17
Mas ‑ Conley 8 pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Mas ‑ FD Sampsel 45 Gar ‑ Hamilton 1 run (Pazara kick) Mas ‑ Spielman 23 Pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick) Gar ‑ FG Pazara 22 A – 11,497
Gladman a sad man after Tiger win By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor MASSILLON ‑ What did the Massillon Tigers say when the Akron Garfield Rains got on the bus to leave Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night?
“We’re glad, man,”
In many ways, the Tigers were superb in their 17‑10 victory, which kept them perfect at 2‑0. But due to the efforts of Garfield junior running back Charles Gladman, the Tigers were fortunate to escape with the win.
Gladman ran the ball 28 times for 191 yards. None of the Massillon coaching staff could recall an individual coming close to that figure before against the Tigers. Gladman gained 108 yards against Austintown Fitch in last week’s opener, and last year averaged over eight yards a try in 85 carries, plus returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. The 195‑pounder has 4.6 speed in the 40.
“Well, there’s one thing we don’t have to worry about when we play Garfield next year ‑ we know Gladman can’t possibly get any better,” quipped Tiger coach Mike Currence afterwards, in a jovial mood despite an admitted “ten new gray hairs” acquired in the course of the evening.
For the Tigers, the heroes were many.
For starters, there was fullback Tim Sampsel. The squat senior led Tiger rushers with 41 yards in seven carries, plus kicked a 45‑yard field goal which gave the Tigers a 10‑0 halftime lead. The field goal was the second longest in Tiger history, bettered only by Tim Manion’s 48‑yarder a year ago.
Another key performer was Brian DeWitz. The junior quarterback had his second straight impressive performance, hitting 10 of 19 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, including the gamebreaker to Chris Spielman early in the fourth quarter.
But despite the Rams’ time‑consuming running game, especially in the stomach‑churning second half, Currence was right when he said, “It was our entire defense which won this game for us. No one had held Garfield to under four touchdowns in any scrimmage or game so far, but we did it tonight.”
Undeniably, it was a great game for the 11,497 spectators from start to finish. Garfield had to punt away possession after quarterback John DiDonato was sacked trying to pass on third‑and‑long by the Tigers’ Junior Neff. (DiDonato did not try another pass until a far more crucial moment in the fourth quarter.)
The Tigers took possession on their own 47 after the short punt and struck with the lightning efficiency of an Israeli commando unit.
On a third‑and‑three play, Spielman broke around right end for a 19‑yard gain. A play later, DeWitz hit senior Jim Geiser for a 16‑yard gain to the 11, the first of five catches for the lanky senior. Four plays later, with 4:31 left in the quarter, DeWitz hit flashy senior Gary Conley for a seven yard scoring strike, and Bronc Phisterer’s extra point made it 7‑0.
Garfield countered with a short drive, but was forced to punt again. Starting from the own 17, the Tigers responded with a 16 play march that ended with Sampsel’s field goal with 6:36 remaining in the half.
From this point on, the Rams got their running game in gear and reversed the momentum in their favor. After returning the kickoff to their own 27, the Rams quickly ran down the field, only to lose the ball on the tail end of a 20‑yard run by Gladman, with the fumble recovered by the Tigers’ Tim Sweterlitsch on the Massillon 20.
The Tigers then lost a chance to break the game open late in the half when a sensational 62‑yard sideline run by Jim Bushe was called back by a holding call. Bushe first jitterbugged his way through two waves of defenders, then broke three tackles on his mad dash towards paydirt, only to lose it all on the infraction, with no further scoring in the half.
But for the offense, halftime practically extended into the fourth quarter as the Rams forced Massillon to punt on its first possession of the second half, then proceeded to march 91 yards in 17 plays ‑ all on the ground ‑ in a drive that ate up over seven minutes on the clock. It was a classic drive, a “thing of beauty” as the poets would say, capped by a fourth down, one‑yard plunge by fullback Flynn.
Tiger‑Pup ticket sale set MASSILLON ‑ Tickets for the Massillon Tigers’ Nov. 6 home game against Canton McKinley will go on sale at 8 a.m. Monday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. There will be a limit of two tickets per person. The sale was switched to the stadium to avoid congestion in the hallway at Washington High School.
But the precision‑like drive by the Rams failed to awe the Tiger offense when it finally stepped back out onto the field. Tom Manion returned a short kick back to the Tiger 41, and four plays later DeWitz found Conley for 22 yards to the Garfield 21, with Conley’s fine display of open‑field running accounting for a big chunk of the play which ended the third quarter.
But then Bushe was squelched for a two‑yard loss, and on the next play it looked like DeWitz would lose a lot more than that as Ram rushers surrounded him like a pack of starving wolves that finally picked up the sent of flesh. But somehow DeWtiz eluded the rush and heaved a pass towards Spielman, who caught the ball and flung himself into the endzone for the score with 11:17 remaining in the game. Phisterer’s kick was good for a 17‑7 lead.
“That was a big touchdown for us,” said Currence. “But I almost wish we hadn’t scored so fast; we needed to chop more time off the clock.”
Garfield still wouldn’t admit defeat, immediately beginning another drive with its next possession. A 31‑yard run by Gladman took the ball down to the Tiger 21. Moments later it was first down for the Rams on the Tiger six, but the Tigers held tough on three straight runs and forced a 22‑yard field goal by Don Pazara with 6:24 remaining to cut the gap to 17‑10.
The Tigers needed some ball control desperately at this point, but were forced to punt after three plays. Garfield began possession on its own 37 with a dangerous 5:11 left on the clock.
The Rams moved the ball until they found themselves in a third and three situation at the Massillon 37. At that point, a host of tacklers swarmed over Gladman and forced a two‑yard loss.
“We were in a 6‑2 formation and I was lined up as a defensive end,” explained the Tigers’ Tom Manion. “I took on the lead blocker, and then Spielman, the ‘hit man’ on the play, made the right read and cut down the runner.”
That brought up fourth down. Everyone in the stadium expected the ball to go to Gladman, but instead, the Rams tried their second pass of the night, which bounced incomplete in front of the receiver. The Tigers took over possession and ran out the clock for the victory.
“I was surprised they passed the ball,” admitted Currence. “In fact, I’m glad they passed the ball.”
But Garfield head coach William McGee thought it was the right call.
“If you’re only going to throw one pass, that was the time to do it,” he said. “Massillon certainly couldn’t have been expecting it.” (He was right; it just didn’t work.)
But according to McKee, the big plays were all before, anyway.
“What really went wrong was the third‑down blocking the play before; that’s what hurt us. Plus the turnover at the end of the first half and getting out‑executed in general by the Massillon offense,” McGee added.
But the loss hurt McKee.
“The team and myself both came here expecting to win tonight. Even at halftime, when we were down 10‑0, I thought we’d win, We’re a better team than we showed tonight, and I’m not leaving here very happy.”
But Currence and the Massillon staff were very happy, enjoying the victory for a few precious moments until preparations begin for next Friday’s only road trip, a little jaunt to Warren Harding.
Last year the Tigers were 2‑0 when they hit the road for Cincinnati Moeller, and lost 24‑6. Currence wants to erase the memory of that road trip and replace it with a much more pleasant one.
“The Warren Harding game’s no pushover,” he warned. “We had better be ready.”
Massillon’s 29‑8 win Currence’s 100th Tigers take fifth straight from Perry
By MIKE HUDAK Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ For Massillon head coach Mike Currence, it was career win No. 100 as a head coach. For Perry coach Keith Wakefield, it was loss No. 1 as head coach of the Perry Panthers. For Tiger junior quarterback Brian DeWitz, starting his first varsity game, it was the fourth best overall passing performance in Tiger history. And for fans of the Massillon‑Perry rivalry, it was the same old thing.
For the fifth consecutive time since the neighboring schools began meeting in 1978, the Tigers pulled off a one sided victory, this year by a 29‑8 count. Massillon has now outscored Perry 140 to 27 in the series, and Wakefield, who came to Perry with a career mark of 43‑20‑4, doesn’t like the connotations.
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“It’s plain dumb to play Massillon if we don’t have a program that can allow us to compete on their level,” said the young coach. “Things at Perry must change in that respect, and they will change if I’m going to stay around.”
Wakefield was most displeased by the Tigers’ physical domination of the game.
“We are not a physically strong team; we couldn’t control either line of scrimmage. On defense Massillon sat in a normal defense the whole game, not trying to disguise anything, but we couldn’t block anybody. And on defense, I never saw so many missed tackles. Chris Spielman and Jim Bushe are both great runners, but we helped them be great tonight.
“Right now we are not a very good football team. We are no where near where we need to be. We just don’t have enough fighters yet, but you don’t make fighters overnight. But as for me, I didn’t come here expecting to lose; I expect to win everytime I go out on the field.”
But so do the young and hungry Tigers. Despite the youth and relative inexperience of the team, the team played well on both sides of the scrimmage line. On offense, Massillon’s own penalties proved Perry’s best defense, and on defense, except for one breakdown, the Panthers were unable to mount many serious threats despite a quick sprintout quarterback (junior Jamie Howell) that put added pressure on the Tiger linebackers.
“We played well tonight,” said Currence, “But we still need to get better, and with three tough games in a row against Akron Garfield, Warren Harding and Akron Central‑Hower, it means we have to get better quickly.”
The Tigers biggest bugaboo were penalties. They were hit with eight flags for 80 yards.
“The penalties stopped a couple of our drives,” Currence said. “We knew we could move the ball on Perry because we knew we were physically stronger, but the penalties put us into holes we couldn’t crawl out of at times. But penalties are a part of the game, and hurt you just like any other mistake.”
But most of what the Tigers did just hurt Perry. DeWitz tossed an interception to Perry’s Dave Seifert on the Tigers’ first possession, but after stonewalling Perry twice, the Tigers marched 59 yards in seven plays to hit paydirt for the first time in 1982.
Spielman, the 6‑2, 206‑pound half back‑linebacker, opened the drive with a 15‑yard run. After a sack, DeWitz hit halfback Jim Bushe with a 12‑yard screen pass, and followed with a 12‑yard keeper on third‑and‑short for the first down. Spielman then bulled nine yards to the Perry 19, followed by a scoring jaunt around left end by Bushe, who went into the end zone standing up at the 3:52 mark. The extra point kick failed. Perry followed with a short drive that included the Panthers’ initial first down of the game, but on a third‑and‑four play Spielman stepped in front of a Howell ‑ like DeWitz, starting his first varsity game – pass and returned it 28 yards to the Perry 32.
Nine plays later Spielman flung himself into the end zone for a five‑yard touchdown run with 6:41 remaining in the half, with Bushe’s conversion run attempt stopped just short for a 12‑0 Tiger lead. The key play in the drive was a fourth‑and‑five pass from DeWitz to fullback Tom Groan where the quarterback escaped a heavy rush and spotted the open receiver in a vacant middle zone to keep the drive alive.
Three plays and a punt later, the Tigers got the ball and moved 69 yards in just five plays, including an offensive penalty.
On the first play, DeWitz hit receiver Jim Geiser for a 16‑yard completion. Bushe followed with a fingertip sideline catch and a 21‑yard gain. Next senior Gary Conley grabbed hold of a 24‑yard dart from DeWitz. The icing came when Bushe raced around left end for his second scoring scamper, this one from 13 yards out. Bronc Phisterer kicked the conversion at it was 19‑0 with 4:28 left in the half.
Perry’s moment of glory came with 1:21 remaining until intermission. Howell faded back and found senior receiver Fred Bradford deep over the middle, who scampered the final 35 yards of the 48‑yard scoring play untouched for Perry’s sole tally. Howell then passed to a wide‑open Seifert for the conversion points.
“Our defensive backs just overran the coverage on that one,” said Currence.
The touchdown might have aroused the Panthers for a stalwart second‑half effort, but any intentions they had of coming back oozed out of their hearts when Spielman broke the second half’s opening play from scrimmage 60 yards to the Perry 23, sometimes choosing to juke the would‑be defenders with the slippery moves of a halfback, sometimes running them over like an amok Larry Csonka. Four plays later DeWitz hit senior John Pierce for a nine‑yard scoring strike with 9:30 left in the quarter, with Phisterer’s kick making it 26‑8.
Perry moved the ball 28 yards to the Tiger 30 on its next possession, but lost the ball on downs. The Tigers came back to eat up 16 plays and a lot of the clock, settling for a 25‑yard field goal by Phisterer with three seconds left in the quarter after a DeWitz touchdown pass to Conley had been negated by a penalty.
There was no scoring in the final quarter as the Tiger reserves saw action on both sides of the line. Highlights in the quarter included the Tigers only punt of the night and an interception by Geiser.
The stats were indicative of the final score. The Tigers had 225 yards oil the ground to 120 for Perry, and 220 in the air to 103 for Perm, for a whopping 449‑223 advantage in total yards.
For the Tigers, DeWitz made the Tiger record books in his first try at quarterback by completing 15 of 19 passes for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Bushe had five catches for 77 yards while Geiser had four catches for 50 yards. On the ground, Spielman ran 10 times for 130 yards, Bushe five times for 36 yards and fullback Tim Sampsel five times for 24 yards. For Perry, Howell dominated the offense, completing six of 16 passes and running nine times for 44 yards.
Currence concurred with Wakefield on one point ‑ the panthers will be getting better in the future.
“They’re a young team, and I think you’re going to see rapid improvement out of them. I think the Panthers will be a Federal League contender; we played Hoover in a scrimmage ‑ always a strong Federal squad ‑ and I think the Panthers can hold their own with them and anyone else in the league.”
But the Tigers don’t have a league, unless it’s in a league by themselves, and for them, to quote George Allen, the future is now.
Devin Johnson, a junior defensive back for the Tigers, summed it op best.
When told, “Well, one down and nine to go,” after the game, Johnson shook his head no.
“You’re wrong, it’s one down and 12 to go,” he answered, looking ahead to the computer playoffs, the dream of all men born to be Tigers.
Gridsticks MASSILLON 29 PERRY 8 M P First downs rushing 12 4 First downs passing 7 6 First downs by penalty 0 0 Totals first downs 19 10 Yards gained rushing 246 120 Yards lost rushing 17 0 Net yards rushing 229 120 Net yards passing 220 103 Total yards gained 449 223 Passes attempted 24 18 Passes completed 16 6 Passes int. by 2 1 Yardage on pass int. 59 29 Time. kicked off 6 2 Kickoff average 43.8 54.5 Kickoff return yards 7 52 Punts 1 4 Punting average 40.0 31.0 Punt return yards 17 24 Punts blocked by 0 0 Fumbles 1 0 Fumble lost 0 0 Penalties 8 2 Yards pertained 80 20 Touchdowns rushing 3 0 Touchdowns passing 1 1 Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0 Number of plays 57 50 Time of possession 23.33 24:27 Attendance 14,141
PERRY 0 8 0 0 8 MASSILLON 6 13 10 0 29
M ‑ Bushe 19‑yard run (kick failed). M ‑ Spielman 5‑yard run (run failed). M ‑ Bushe 13‑yard run (Phisterer kick.) P ‑ Bradford 48‑yard pass from Howell (Demaree pass from Howell). M ‑ Pierce 9‑yard pass from DeWitz (Phisterer kick.) M ‑ Plisterer 25‑yard field goal.
Massillon outplays McKinley, but losses 9‑7 Pups’ big plays waste fine Tiger effort
By ROLLIE DREUSSI Independent Sports Editor
The Massillon Tiger lockerroom was ripe with the stunned silence of a team that had just played its heart out, outplayed its opponent and lost.
Amid the hanging heads and wet eyes stood Tiger coach Mike Currence. The hurt he felt in his heart for his team showed on his face. “They’re all different,” he said.
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True to form, Saturday’s 87th Massillon‑McKinley game was different from all the rest. The Bulldogs’ 9‑6 victory before 22,828 fans in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium gave them their first perfect season since 1956 and puts them into the computer playoffs‑for the second year in a row.
Yet, except for one play, it was a game that seemed to belong to the Massillon Tigers.
That one play, however, was a big one. An 81‑yard pass from Bulldog quarterback Rick Worstell to end Nick Faulkner that wiped out a 6‑3 Tiger lead and proved to be the margin of victory.
It was just about the only defensive mistake the Tigers made all day. However, several offensive mistakes left the Bulldogs off the hook.
The Tigers won a decisive victory in the battle of the statistics, but the only stat that really counts is the one in lights on the scoreboard.
Massillon had 14 first downs to five for McKinley, and held the Pups to 55 yards rushing in 31 carries. McKinley gained only six yards rushing the first half, and didn’t get a first down rushing until just before the end of the third period.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1981
The Tigers piled up 265 yards to 163 for McKinley. Take away the one pass play, and the Bulldogs had only 82 yards total offense.
“It’s a tough one to lose, especially when you play as well as we played and control the ball the way we did,” Currence said.
“But we had some turnovers that caused us bad field position. That stopped us from working our whole offense, which stopped us from scoring more.
“I thought we moved the ball real well and I was never worried when our defense was on the field. I thought we would score in the second half,” he added.
But two fumbles and an interception haunted the Tigers in the second half, and the superior McKinley kicking game probably was the overall difference.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1981
Nick Xides had a school record 44‑yard field goal in the first half. The boot was a low line drive that was literally carried just over the crossbar by a strong wind.
However, Massillon’s Tim Manion had the wind at his “back when he got too far under a 30‑yard attempt and it fell short with 4:28 to go in the third quarter.
A short punt by Manion into the wind also helped set up field goal.
While Manion had his problems kicking, he played an outstanding defensive game, moving from linebacker to end and causing the Pup offense trouble all day.
He helped stop McKinley’s only – other serious – scoring threat late in the third quarter when he tipped a pass at the goal line that was intercepted in the end zone by Matt Hickey.
Perhaps the most crucial event of the game came with 1:53 left to play and the Tigers driving for what their fans hoped would be the winning score.
Starting at their own 15 after a clipping penalty on a punt return, the Tigers were grinding it out on the ground.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1981
Greg Grimsley gained four yards, George Roknich bolted for 10 and a first down, then Grimsley carried for 15 and another first down.
Roknich carried for five more, Larry Newman for two and Grimsley was stopped for a two‑yard gain on third-and‑three at the Bulldog 47.
On fourth‑and‑one, Tiger quarterback Rick Spielman lost control of the ball after the snap and McKinley middle guard Stan Jackson fell on it, ending the Tiger threat and insuring his team of a 10‑0 season.
Tiger tans were stunned. Their team had outplayed the Bulldogs all day and they were certain this drive would be the clincher.
It was ironic that Spielman would be victimized by the fumble. He had put the Tigers in the lead with a brilliant 21‑yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1981
Facing a fourth‑and‑15 at the Pup 21, he dropped back to pass. He was almost; sacked in the pocket, but broke free and scrambled to the left. He broke another tackle and cut back across the middle of the field. He slipped through the grasp of another Bulldog tackler at the 15 and scooted around the right side all the way for a score. The Tiger offensive line also did a great job of blocking off the pursuit on the play.
The score, which came at 9:42 of the second quarter, gave the Tigers a 6‑0 lead.
But Xides booted his field goal at 3:45 and a Ross Rankin interception (his first of two for the day) stopped another Tiger drive at the Bulldog 19, and two plays later, Worstell and Faulkner hooked up on their game winning play.
“Faulkner came up with the key play,” Bulldog coach Terry Forbes said afterwards in a joyous McKinley lockerroom. “We went deep a couple of times and that was the only time we connected all day.”
Forbes said the Pups made some minor adjustments at halftime to counteract the Tiger air attack, which had accounted counted for 81 yards in the first half. Massillon didn’t complete a pass in the second half, with Rankin picking off Spielman’s only pass in the third period, and the Tiger senior quarterback going 0‑for‑4 in the final period.
But Currence said the Tigers hadn’t planned to pass much in the second half anyway. He and his coaches felt they could move the ball on the ground against the McKinley defense.
They were doing just that prior to the fumble on their final series.
Spielman ended the day with seven completions in 20 attempts for 81 yards while Worstell had five completions in 14 attempts for 108 yards.
Leading receivers for the Tigers were Roknich with two catches for 38 yards, Robert Oliver with three for 23 yards and Newman with three for 20 yards.
The Tigers totaled 184 yards rushing, with Grimsley gaining 80 yards on 14 carries and Roknich picking up 41 yards on six carries to lead the way.
Forbes had praise for the Tigers’ effort, though he wouldn’t say they were the best team his Bulldogs played all year. “We’ve played some fine football teams and Massillon ranks right up there with the best.”
Except for a few plays on this sunny November Saturday, no comparisons would have been necessary.
Winter arrives early for Tiger grid faithfull By ROLLIE DREUSSI Independent Sports Editor The air was warm and the sun shone brightly as it set on the first day of winter Saturday afternoon in Massillon.
Forget the calendar, winter started with the sounding of the gun which ended the annual season finale between the Massillon Tigers and the McKinley Bulldogs in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium.
You see, the score stood at nine points for the Bulldogs and but six for the Tigers.
So, for the first time since 1975, winter in Massillon has started a month and a half early.
And for the first time in his six seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Mike Currence won’t have the glow of victory over McKinley to warm his football thoughts until spring.
For most of the early afternoon on Saturday it had appeared otherwise. The Tigers, undaunted by the Bulldogs’ 9‑0 record, had come to play.
And play they did. Even McKinley fans agreed afterwards that the Tigers had played the better game.
But luck was on the side of the Bulldogs this day, and they made the big plays the Tigers couldn’t.
Except for an 81‑yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rick Worstell to end Nick Faulkner, in which Tiger defensive backs Grady Robinson and Rodney Hill missed tackles, the Tigers controlled the game. Even despite the pass, the Tigers could have won had they not turned the ball over four times.
Indeed, Currence played down the Bulldogs’ big play.
“Those things happen sometimes,” he said of the Tigers misreading the coverage and then missing the tackle. He said he felt the four turnovers were what hurt the most. That and bad field position. The Tigers were able to roll up a lot of yards, but produce only six points. They needed 10.
The game was hard fought, and the 22,828 fans in the stands received more than their money’s worth. It was anybody’s ball game right to the end, when the Bulldogs’ Stan Jackson recovered a fumble at his own 49 to kill the Tigers’ final threat.
It was sweet revenge for Bulldog fans. The Pups had lost four straight to Mike Currence coached teams until last season, when they won 16‑7. That didn’t last long, however, as the Tigers turned around and upset McKinley 14‑6 the following weekend in a quarter‑final playoff game. The Tigers went on to finish second in the state, the Bulldogs stayed home and prepared for the sudden winter.
There will be no rematch this time. The Bulldogs will play Parma Normandy Saturday night in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium in the playoff quarter‑final match.
After Saturday’s game had ended, McKinley coach Terry Forbes paid a visit to the Tiger lockerroom to congratulate Currence on the fine game his team played.
The coaches exchanged compliments and shook hands.
“Good luck in the playoffs,” Currence said. “Our people will be here next week rooting for you. Beat Moeller.”
And so ended the Tigers’ season. The 7‑3 record marks the first time the Tigers lost more‑than twice under Currence. It also means the Bulldogs, after four straight losses, have won two of the last three from the Tigers.
It was a disappointing season, but for awhile on Saturday afternoon it looked like it was going to have a happy ending.
As it turned out, Tiger fans found themselves muttering those four words they had almost forgotten: wait until next year.
History 
