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Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 6, Upper Arlington 7

Arlington ‘Bears’ Down on Massillon 7-6
Injuries To Bengals Are Too Much Anyone For A Break In Tigers’ Slate?
Schmidt Gains 108 Yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The rigors of a 10-game “Murderers Row” football schedule caught up with Massillon’s Tigers Friday night at Tiger stadium. Those who would seek to criticize Coach Bob Seaman for daring to suggest the Obies should have a “breather” now and then found out what happens when you don’t have one.

Playing without two-thirds of their power blocking because of injuries last week to Reggie Moore, 200-pound fullback, and Tom Houser, 224-pound tight end and sometimes front man in the I, the Bengals were clawless. The absence of 220-pound senior Linebacker Hoyt Skelton didn’t help matters either as Upper Arlington edged the Orange and Black 7-6 before the season’s biggest crowd, 19,017, on Homecoming night.
* * *

Program Cover

IN BEATING Massillon, the Bears ended a 6-game winning streak and extended their skein to 7. Tiger chances for a state title have dimmed but the lights haven’t been turned out yet.

To make the situation even worse, Friday Tom Robinson, 174-pound junior who practiced all week as Houser’s replacement, injured a knee in practice Thursday night. Mike Snyder, 192-pound senior, was switched from strong tackle at the last minute to fill in for Robbie and did the best he could under the circumstances.

Had the Obiemen had a “breather” Friday night instead of a continuation of their killer slate, those on the injury list would have had a week to recuperate.

Co-Captain Trevor Young, near tears after the game said, “We let the fans down.” But the Tigers didn’t let anybody down. They had about as much chance of winning as an
8-cylinder car has of moving with the wires off 5 of its spark plugs.

Except for the beginning of the game when the Bengals moved well outside, they couldn’t get any kind of continuity of attack going. Without Moore, to work inside, junior tailback Jim Smith couldn’t move at all on the outside, averaging his lowest rushing figure of the season, 2.9 yards.
* * *

THE BENGALS got out of their own territory only twice all night – in the first and second quarters. The last half was played mainly in the shadow of the Obies’ goal post, as Massillon got only 2 first downs.

“Did the injuries hurt us?” Seaman asked and then just as quickly answered. “I guess they did! They stopped our offense purely and simply. We missed Houser. When he double teams down, he double teams down!”

“There are not many teams who can lose 3 first stringers, one a 2-wayer (Houser) and have subs fill in and do the job they did tonight. I’m not pleased, of course, but I’m proud of our boys.”

Houser was in for only 4 plays while Moore did some kicking off. Skelton saw very limited action.

In an obvious reference to Arlington’s schedule, Seaman said, “I wish I had to get ready for only one game a year instead of 10. We play too darn many tough ones.”
* * *
WITH JUNIOR fullback Geoff Schmidt, showing the way as he did last year, with 108 net yards in 31 tries, for a 3.5 average, the Bears beat the Tigers at their own game – control football. The Bruins ran 83 plays to the Obies’ 51. Without their power attack, the Orange and Black couldn’t hang on for any length of time.

Marv Moorehead, who has seen his charges win here 2 years in a row, watched the Bears total 144 more yards and 11 more first downs than Massillon.

“Our defense won the game,” Moorehead said. “It was great in the second half. The whole interior was a thing to behold.”

Then Moorehead spat out names like a machine gun, mentioning linebacker and
Co-Captain Carl Compton, tackle Jim Merrell and ends Steve Sikora and Bruce Johnson as his big guns.

Actually, the game boiled down to 2 plays – one to Massillon’s credit in the second stanza and another in Arlington’s plus column in the goodbye canto. The former was Marc Malinowski’s 75-yard interception return for a touchdown helped by Russ Fenton’s key block with 6:41 left. A pass to Smith for the conversion was incomplete.

The latter came on fourth and 7 on the Obiemen’s 29. Senior Co-Captain and halfback Gary Moore scampered 22 yards on a counter play, one of the few calls made by Moorehead all night. An offside penalty put the ball on the one and after Schmidt missed on a dive play, he drilled off tackle for the equalizer at 4:46 with Scott Hustson’s kick the clincher.

It appeared the Bengals were going to be off to the races in the first quarter. Mark McDew, junior halfback, pilfered a pass on Massillon’s 39 as Arlington went on the move after the opening kickoff.

Smith raced 20 yards on an option left on the first play. Two plays later Young charged through the center for 16 yards to the 14.
Young and Smith moved the ball to the 4-yard line but the Tigers were hit with a procedure penalty. Smith and Young again combined to get to the 2 but someone in the line missed a faking maneuver and Young was tossed to the 7 ending the invasion.

The Tigertowners’ only other drive came at the beginning of the second quarter after a punt. They moved 40 yards to the Arlington 44 with McDew running 17, 10 and 8 yards.

However, with fourth down on the Bears’ 43 and the ball short of a first down on what must have been one of the closest measurements in Bengal football history, Smith couldn’t get the necessary yardage with the Obies’ blocking short circuited.

Arlington made repeated drives into Bengal land and almost scored in the third period but ran into a clipping penalty on the Massillon 6. Holder Ted McNulty ran with the ball on a fake field goal attempt on fourth down but was felled 9 yards short of the mark.

The Tigers return to All-American conference warfare next week by ending the home season against Warren Harding.

ARLINGTON – 7
Ends – Ball, McKenzie, Johnson.
Tackles – Carter, Merrell, Harding, Sikora.
Guards – Scovanneri, Loewel, Miely.
Center – Condit.
Quarterbacks – Stanley, McNulty, Reiter.
Halfbacks – Moore, Gilbert, Dicke, Huston, Lloyd.
Fullbacks – Schmidt, Compton, Crim.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Snyder, Richards.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase, McGeorge.
Guards – D. Gipp, Ertle, Whitfield, Doll, Couto.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Young, Shumar, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Autrey, Fenton, Evans, Streeter.
Fullbacks – Moore, Simon, M. Gipp.

Arlington 0 0 0 7 7
Massillon 0 6 0 0 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Malinowski (75-yard interception return).
Arlington – Schmidt (one-yard run).

Extra points: Huston (kick).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 10 48 4.6
Smith 17 49 2.9
McDew 10 45 4.5

Arlington
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Moore 13 81 6.2
Schmidt 31 108 3.5

OFFICIALS
Referee – Howard Wirtz.
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr.
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace.
Field Judge – Nick Ruggiero.
Back Judge – George Ellis.

ATTENDANCE: 19,017

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. U.A.
First downs – rushing 8 14
First downs – passing 0 5
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 8 19
Yards gained rushing 179 240
Yards lost rushing 29 11
Net yards gained rushing 150 229
Net yards gained passing 0 65
Total yards gained 150 294
Passes completed 0-3 11-21
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 75 14
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average (yards) 47.0 56.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 23 21
Times punted 6-33.0 3-40.0
Punt return (yards) 5 5
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 4 6
Yards penalized 16 40
Touchdowns rushing 0 1
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Total number of plays 51 83

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 12, Altoona, PA 7

Seaman Must Continue to Draw Aces

By KEN SHERER

Tiger Coach Bob Seaman pulled an ace out of the deck in Massillon’s 12-7 decision over homestanding Altoona, Pa., Saturday night.

Trailing 7-6 at the end of the first half, the Obies took the second half kickoff and stormed down field for the winning touchdown.
* * *

Program Cover

IT WAS NOT the kind of offense some 4,000 Bengal fans in Mansion Park were used to seeing under the former Sandusky skipper. The line blocked with powerful quickness and the backfield ran with utmost authority.

One big reason in the change was the periodic insertion of tight end Bill Houser into the backfield. He led the interference – mainly through the Tiger’s right side of the line.

Another factor was the blocking of tackle Bill Snowball, who had 6 stitches put into the bridge of his nose early in the first half.

Houser, who scales 215 teamed up with tailback Jim Smith (187) and fullback Reggie Moore (199) to give the Orange and Black a 601-pound backfield.

Seaman will have to keep pulling aces from his deck of plays, or else come up with equal performances from the team for the remaining 4 games.

THE BENGALS will host Upper Arlington – ranked No. 2 this past week by Associated Press – followed by Warren Harding, Steubenville and Canton McKinley. Upper Arlington may come into Tiger stadium as the No. 1 team in Ohio, since Steubenville knocked off previously top-rated McKinley 20-15 Friday night.

The Mountain Lions didn’t score the first 2 times they had the ball. Massillon, also unable to move the pigskin on its first series, took over the ball again midway through the first period.

Quarterback Trevor Young rolled to his right and pitched out to Smith, the ball squirting through his hands with Tim Tyler recovering for Altoona at the Massillon 30-yard line.

On the next play, the sensational Greg Campbell, a 170-pound senior halfback, shot through right guard on a dive play, shook off a Tiger at the 24, and scampered straight into the end zone for a 6-0 lead at 4:20. Doug Dean hiked the margin by one point with his extra point kick.

Halfback Mark McDew put a 20-yard return on the following kickoff to the Massillon 30. The Tigers then drove 70 yards in 13 plays for their first TD of the night.
* * *
MOORE LED the drive with 30 yards in 4 carries, Smith added 10 in 3 tries, McDew 8, Bill Simon 9 and Young 13 yards in 4 carries. Young capped the effort from the 1 on a sneak over left guard. Moore’s run on the point try failed, and Altoona was still in control, 7-6.

Altoona stormed right back and drove 62 yards in 17 plays to the Massillon 3, where they were stopped by a stingy Obie defense. Massillon marched to its own 40-yard line before the halftime gunned sounded.

Altoona had the ball 33 plays to 26 for Massillon in the first half, but the Tigers showed the Pennsylvanians what ball control was in the second half as they had it for 35 plays to a mere 16 for Altoona.

The “Suicide Squad” formed a line down the right sideline on the second half kickoff and that “Magnificent Massillon Madness,” as it was called by an Altoona radio announcer, took over.

McDew scampered 31-yards on the return to the Massillon 42. The Tigers stormed to pay dirt in 12 plays, as Smith carried 7 times for 40 yards. At 6:44 Young rolled to his left, attracted 2 Lion defenders on his fake and pitched out to Moore who went the final 7 yards for the score.
* * *
YOUNG’S RUN on the extra point play failed but the Tigers had the winning 12-7 margin on the scoreboard.

Altoona’s Campbell busted up a near Tiger TD later in the third quarter. At the Altoona 26 on fourth down and 12, Young dropped back and threw to Bert Dampier, who appeared to have Campbell beat. But Campbell dove at the last minute and tipped the ball.

The Tigers drove to the Altoona 13 late in the final frame, but Simon fumbled and Dave Gengo recovered for Altoona. Lion QB Jim Fry fumbled on the next play and Snowball recovered for Massillon. On 4th and 3 yards to go for pay dirt, a Young pass bounced off the pads of Tim Richards to end the Tigers’ final threat.

MASSILLON – 12
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Richards, Robinson, Twiggs.
Tackles – Ricker, Snowball, McGeorge, Laase.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Cardinal, Whitfield, Doll, Russell.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski, Schumar.
Halfbacks – McDew, Smith, Fenton, Autrey.
Fullbacks – R. Moore, Simon.

ALTOONA – 7
Ends – Dean, Esponlaub, Withers, Plummer.
Tackles – Askey, Reid, Kitt, Costlow.
Guards – Turchetta, Luciano.
Centers – Wieble, Strohm.
Quarterback – Fry.
Halfbacks – Delozier, Campbell, Fusco, Duncan, Simmes, Tyler.
Fullback – Rabenatine.

Massillon 0 6 6 0 12
Altoona 7 0 0 0 7

Touchdowns:
Altoona – Greg Campbell (30 yards).
Massillon – Young (one-yard), Moore (7 yards).

Extra points: Altoona – Dean 1 (kick)

INDVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 12 36 3.0
Moore 15 89 5.9
Smith 24 118 4.9
McDew 4 13 3.2
Simon 3 23 7.6

Altoona
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Campbell 14 89 6.3
Rabenstine 13 48 3.6
Delozier 6 26 4.3
Pry 1 -8 -8

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs (rushing) 31 10
First downs (passing) 1 0
First downs (penalties) 1 0
Total first downs 22 11
Yards gained rushing 299 175
Yards lost rushing 20 0
Net yards gained rushing 279 166
Net yards gained passing 14 6
Total yards gained 293 172
Passes attempted 4 8
Passes completed 1 1
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average (yards) 46.7 47.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 51 51
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 36.0 38.0
Punt return (yards) 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 3 1
Yards penalized 15 5
Touchdowns rushing – 1
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 64 49

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 14, Niles McKinley 6

Tigers Gain Revenge, Incentive
Obies Rap Niles 14-6

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

If there ever was an example of good, hard basic football, it was played before 17,287 fans Friday night at Tiger stadium. Massillon and Niles McKinley spent 48 excruciating minutes banging away at each other on the ground with sheer brute force.

By the time the Tigers had won 14-6, the season’s largest crowd walked away with praise for both teams and the feeling that a horde of Draculas had been working on them.

In beating the Red Dragons, the Bengals got over a big hurdle and perhaps gained a big push for the last half of the season, wherein the Tigers will have to go against “5 of the toughest football teams any high school in the country will have to face, including 4 undefeated teams and 3 in the top 10 in the state,” as Coach Bob Seaman put it.
* * *

Program Cover

THE VICTORY gave the Bengals revenge for a 20-12 defeat last year at Niles and a 1-0 record in the tough All-American Football conference. The Orange and Black are tied with Steubenville, also 1-0, for second place one-half game behind Canton McKinley (2-0).

Warren and Niles are both 0-2 with Niles’ overall record 3-2 under rookie Coach Fred Conti.

Massillon, undefeated in 5 games, has now won one more than in all of last season. The game ended a 5-game home stand for the Obiemen who will travel to Altoona, Pa., for a game against the Mountain Lions (4-0) who are idle this week.

Niles beat the Bengals in the statistical department but not on the scoreboard as the Bengals had it in the clutch, calling on that great Tiger tradition as they have so many times in the past.

“We beat a very good football team with a fine backfield tonight,” Seaman said, “we won a helluva lot of games on statistics last year, but not on the scoreboard. This time we won where it counted.”
* * *

CONTI, by no means dejected in defeat, said, “A couple of breaks killed us. I’m real proud of these boys. They’re a young bunch but we fought them down to the wire.”

He added, “We have only one regular returning back. When your team gives a performance like ours did in Tiger stadium, you’ve got to be proud. Massillon has a good team, but we did everything but beat them, gave them everything they wanted.”
The key to the Tigers’ success was a shift in thinking at halftime.

“We ran outside the first half but couldn’t break away,” Seaman explained. “We came back and played football in the second half, running at them. We brought Mark McDew back into the formation.”

Marvelous Mark, junior right half or wingback, ran only once in the first half, picking up 5 yards, but carried 10 times in the second, netting 42 yards and a touchdown, while running to the right where his ability is at its best.
* * *

QUARTERBACK Trevor Young did some good work on the keeper to pick up key yardage. Tailback Jim Smith did his usual bull-like job from the tailback slot with the aid of some good holes.

On the other side, junior fullback Lou Tabor, senior halfback Roger Jones led the way behind some fine blocking.

The Tigers mounted the first offensive, a 26-yard first quarter affair which ended when senior halfback Joe Gayonski intercepted a Young-to-McDew sky shot from the Dragons’ 34 on second down. Gayonski landed in the end zone for a touchback.

Niles got going in the second period, moving 71 yards to the Tigers 7 before fumbling with Russ Fenton, Bengal end, diving on the ball at the 20. Tabor combined 14 and 15-yard runs with 2 personal foul penalties to spearhead the drive.

The Bengals monopolized play for almost the entire first half of the third quarter, taking the kickoff and moving 71 yards with the help of a 23-yard jaunt by Smith, a 10-yard run by McDew and an 8-yarder by Reggie Moore but lost the ball on downs at the Niles 26.
* * *

TWO PLAYS LATER, tackle Tom Houser batted a pass into a fly ball. Moore intercepted and the Obiemen had a first down on the 26. After Young had scampered 13 yards for a first down on the 12, Smith cut back against the grain off left tackle for a touchdown with 5:02 left. Moore dove over right tackle for an 8-0 lead.

Then it was the Dragons’ turn roaring back 74 yards with Jones, Tabor and Gayonski taking turns blasting away at the Tigers’ line. Gayonski’s 21-yard runback started the trouble while Jones added to the Bengals’ misery with a 14-yard run for a first down at the Massillon 40.

Gayonski finished things by catching a 9-yard fourth down pass from quarterback Lou Lukz on the one and falling into the end zone with 9:50 showing on the clock in the fourth quarter. McDew intercepted a pass intended for John Ziegler to thwart the conversion try.

The Obiemen then drove 55 yards in short bursts with McDew and Young toting the pigskin and getting a personal foul penalty thrown in. Smith picked up a key first down on the 25 by vaulting over a steep pile in the middle of the line. McDew ran around end for 18 yards to the one and then off right tackle for the score with 5:17 left.

Young tried to run for 2 more points but failed to skirt the right end.
Houser uncorked a 60-yard punt into the end zone for a touchback with 1:49 seconds left to cap a good night of kicking by himself and Moore but Niles still wasn’t through. With Ziegler switching to quarterback and doing some fancy running in bursts of 11 and
15 yards and Tabor adding 14, the Dragons had second and 13 from the Tigers’ 41.

But Young, inserted at safety, picked off a pass at the Bengals’ 10 and ran back 19 yards as the game was about to end.

NILES – 6
Ends – Ziegler, Joseph, Campbell, Kay, Reigle.
Tackles – Goodhart, Limongi, Klenoviv, Bohach.
Guards – R. Salerno, J. Salerno, Sypert.
Centers – Gaut, Pappada.
Quarterbacks – Lukz, Gales.
Halfbacks – Gayonski, Henry, Lucariello, Jones.
Fullbacks – Tabor, J. Sartiangelo.

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Richards, Robinson, Spencer.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Doll, Whitfield.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Smith, Fenton, McDew, Autrey.
Fullbacks – R. Moore, Simon.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Smith 17 84 5.1
Young 10 45 4.5
McDew 11 42 3.9

Niles
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Tabor 18 67 3.7
Jones 15 69 4.6
Gayonski 8 36 4.5
Ziegler 8 30 3.8

Niles 0 0 0 6 6
Massillon 0 0 8 6 14

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith (12-yard run); McDew (one-yard run).
Niles – Gayonski (10-yard pass-run from Lukz).

Extra points: Massillon – Moore 2 (run).

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Niles
First downs – rushing 11 12
First downs – passing 0 1
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 12 14
Yards gained rushing 197 238
Yards lost rushing 14 26
Net yards gained rushing 183 212
Net yards gained passing -2 21
Total yards gained 181 233
Passes completed 1-3 2-7
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 26 0
Kickoff average (yards) 3-56.0 2-40.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 5 35
Punt average (yards) 4-39.0 4-33.8
Punt return (yards) 20 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties yards 3-27 2-20
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 49 60

OFFICIALS
Referee – George Ellis.
Umpire – Harold Rolph.
Head Linesman – Jack McLain.
Field Judge – Chet Destefano.
Back Judge – Russ Kemper.

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 20, Alliance 14

Obies Deflate Aviators’ Silk 20-14

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Maybe Massillon’s Tigers weren’t as sharp as in the first 3 games and maybe they caused the faithful to overheat on a cold Dad’s night. But a victory over a Mel Knowlton-coached Alliance high team is not to be sloughed off.

The undefeated Washington high eleven got its fourth victory of the season before 11,277 fans at Tiger stadium Friday night via a 20-14 count. The spirited Aviators slipped to 2-2.

TIGER Coach Bob Seaman admitted his team was listless. “We weren’t ready,” said Seaman. “The pep rally at the high school this afternoon was the flattest I’ve ever seen.” But, at the same time he was “pleased with the way his charges came back” after spotting a “real fine” Alliance team to an 8-6 halftime lead.

Debits such as poor tackling, not enough pressure on the quarterback and broken plays went into the Obiemen’s book. But there were also credits such as some good passing, an outstanding inside ground game for good ball control and the keeping of Alliance in poor field position most of the night.

KNOWLTON pegged the field position angle as one of the most important aspects of the game. “If we could have gotten out of the hole, we’d have been in business. We had good position only twice and scored both times. It was our own fault. It’s tough to throw when you’re backed up against your own goal line.”

Seaman agreed, “We punted 5 times and they returned 5 times for about 2 yards each time. That’s decent punt coverage.”

He thought Tom Houser’s punts and Reggie Moore’s kickoffs were exceptionally good and helped put Alliance in the hole.

MOORE switched to tailback Thursday in an effort to spell junior Jim Smith who has an acing left shoulder, combined effectively with Smith off tackle and through the center. Smith netted 70 yards and 2 touchdowns in 18 tries, Moore 63 in 13.

The Orange and Black found another receiver, Houser, the tight end, who “runs well for a 230-pounder,” Seaman said.

He added, “The took away the sweep and left us with the off tackle and passing opportunities.”

SEAMAN explained the broken plays occurred because the Tigers were running a lot of automatics or changes at the line on a noisy night.

Through the years, the Tigers have had a lot of trouble with Knowlton’s off tackle and sweep plays and Friday night was no exception. Lionel Grimes, George Lear and Stan Terrell all did well. Grimes going for 42 yards in 7 tries, Lear, 38 to 8, and Terrell, 40 in 11. Terrell and Lear each scored TDs.

IT WAS A GAME of breaks as the Tigers lost a fumble early in the second quarter on the Alliance 5-yard line, recovered by Grimes. Seaman said had his Bengals gone on in to score, on the 51-yard drive, it might have been all over.

But Obieman Bill Snowball and George Whitfield recovered an Alliance fumble on the Aviator 8 early in the third quarter and scored moments afterward on what Seaman called the turning point.

Smith, bulldozer No. 1, went over on the first play, crashing right tackle with 11:54 left in the third period. Moore, bulldozer No. 2, went the same direction for a 14-8 lead.

NEITHER team got out of its own territory the remainder of the period except when Tiger quarterback Trevor Young got off a 20-yard pass-run combination to Houser good for a first down on the Alliance 42. But there the Bengal attack sputtered.

Early in the last period, Houser’s punt, a combined tackle effort by Co-Captains Young and Ron Ertle and Dave Gipp, plus an offensive interference penalty left Alliance with fourth and 16 on its 9. Marc Malinowski ran back Nick Sucaciu’s punt from the Aviator 42 to the 36. Nine plays later the Tigers had the winning score.

AIDED BY a fourth down pass from Young to a leaping junior split end Bert Dampier, the Obiemen picked up 9 yards and a first down on the 9. Moore ran through the center to the 3 and Smith carried over on the next play at 4:57. Moore missed on the conversion run.

Alliance capped the night’s scoring with 52 seconds left after an 82-yard drive in 9 plays. The big play was a 38-yard pass run combination from quarterback Kurt Utterbeck to halfback George Lear. Larry Shumar, a junior “monster” back for the Tigers, brought Lear down on the Massillon, 44 halting the TD threat for the moment. But the 6-pointer came 6 plays later, aided by a 15-yard holding penalty on the Bengals.

LEAR went off right tackle on first down from the 4 for the tally. A pass to split end Bruce Cartwright failed on the conversion try.

Massillon got on the scoreboard first during the typical Knowlton game which saw him scare the living daylights out of the Bengals.

Junior Mark McDew ran back a punt from the Tigers- 31 to the 36 to ignite a 9-play, 64-yard drive. Moore and Smith took turns running the ball. Young, who completed 4 of 8 passes during the night, hit Houser on a 13-yard, second down pass from the Alliance 37.

THREE PLAYS later Houser pulled in another Young toss on the 25, cut to the left and went the remainder of the distance for the score with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter. McDew failed to reach pay dirt on a conversion.

Alliance took an 8-6 lead into the dressing room at halftime something no other team had done to the Orange and Black this year, when junior halfback Stan Terrell, very elusive all night off tackle, scooted 17 yards through the left side with 44, seconds left. Senior end Jim Terrell caught an Utterbeck pass for the conversion.

ALLIANCE had moved 80 yards in 9 plays following a Tiger punt. Big plays were an
8-yard run by Lear, a 12-yard pass-run play to Jim Terrell, a 10-yarder to Stan Terrell and a 28-yarder to Cartwright.

Had Aviator receivers been able to hold onto passes the rest of the night as they did during this and their other scoring drive, the outcome might have been different.

The Tigers hit their first All-American High School football league opponent here next
Friday night in a tough Niles McKinley team under new Coach Fred Conti. The contest will also end the current 5-game home stand as the Bengals head for Altoona Pa., the following week.
ALLIANCE –14
Ends – Cartwright, Dailey, J. Terrell. B. Young.
Tackles – R. Trieff, Ickes, Brienza, Andreani, Weaver, Weir.
Guards – Thomas, Stanley.
Center- B. Trieff.
Quarterback – Utterbeck.
Halfbacks – Grimes, Lear, S. Terrell, Sucaciu, Williams.
Fullbacks – Banks, Wable, Slifkin.
MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Dampier, Houser, Richards, Twiggs.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase, Snyder.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Whitfield, Russell.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – T. Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Smith, R. Moore, Fenton, McDew, Evans, Autrey.
Fullbacks – Simon, M. Gipp.

Alliance 0 8 0 6 14
Massillon 6 0 8 6 20

Touchdowns: Massillon – Houser (36-yard pass-run from Young);
Smith 2 (8 and 3-yard runs).
Alliance – S. Terrell (17-yard run); Lear (4-yard run).

Extra points: Massillon – Moore 2 (run).
Alliance – J. Terrell 2 (pass from Utterbeck).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 8 7 0.9
Moore 13 63 4.9
Smith 18 70 3.9
McDew 7 26 3.7

Alliance
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Grimes 7 42 6.0
Lear 8 38 4.8
Terrell 11 40 3.7

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 8
First downs – passing 4 5
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 15 14
Yards gained rushing 132 134
Yards lost rushing 11 14
Net yards gained rushing 151 120
Net yards gained passing 76 128
Total yards gained 247 248
Passes completed 4-8 7-17
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 12 0
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.2 30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 27 58
Punt average (yards) 5-33.0 6-31.0
Punt return (yards) 23 2
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Yards penalized 3-35 4-38
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 62 52

OFFICIALS
Referee – John Cseh.
Umpire – Dr. Robert Schotz.
Head Linesman – Pete Lanigan.
Field Judge – Charles Lorenze.

Attendance: 11,277

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 28, Mansfield 0

Tigers Roar Over Mansfield
A Good Team Effort Says Coach Seaman

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Togetherness – a great plus for any football team – paid off for Massillon’s Tigers Friday night before 11,868 at Tiger stadium.

The Bengals roared to their third straight win without a loss in the young gridiron season by a 28-0 count over the Mansfield Tygers off what Washington high Coach Bob Seaman termed a “good team effort.”

Program Cover

In handing the Tygers their second loss in a row after an opening win, the Obiemen settled a score. The Mansfield eleven of Gary Prahst had battled the Seaman pride to a pointless finish last year in Mansfield, stopping a 30-game Tiger win skein.

It was the second straight shutout for a ferocious bunch of felines who were really hitting the opposition again. Only scores against the Orange and Black this year were when the pigskin was intercepted twice on opening night by Akron East.

The defensive secondary – juniors Mark McDew, Marc Malinowski and Bert Dampier – blanketed Mansfield receivers, limiting an air game that had collected 435 yards in the Tygers’ previous 2 outings to just 64 this time out.
* * *

THE FORCE UNIT, spear-headed by senior linebackers Co-Captain Ron Ertle and Hoyt Skelton hitting with power, was tough when it had to be.

The Bengals found that when the bypass route was closed, the direct path through town was effective. Mansfield effectively threw up a roadblock in front of bulldozer No. 1, junior tailback Jim Smith, so bulldozer No. 2, senior fullback Reggie Moore got the call. For 86 yards in 14 tries, a touchdown and a conversion.

Neither lost yardage but Smith was held to his lowest total to date with only 55 on 10 tries as the Tyger defense either prevented Smith from getting around the corner for any distance or forced quarterback Trevor Young to keep the pigskin on the option. Smith bruised his shoulder early in the game but Moore and Young made up the slack.

A by product of the effectiveness of the inside game with its good blocking from tackle to tackle was the faking by Smith, Moore and the Bengals’ other senior fullback Bill Simon to make Young’s play dangerous enough that he was able to score 2 TD’s, a conversion and pass for another 2-pointer even though a broken play was involved.

A pat on the back is also in order for the reserves under the field generalship of Marc Malinowski. They scored the final touchdown,
* * *

IF THERE WAS any disquieting note about the game it was that Mansfield had 67 plays to the Tigers’ 50, meaning that the Obiemen were not able to interrupt the Mansfield play continuity with consistency. However, the Tigers remained tough when their goal line was threatened.

Fullback Dave Phillips, a block-busting senior, was called on several times by Prahst in crucial third and fourth down situations and got the necessary yardage. Phillips, who was reported not ready to play with ankle and shoulder injuries, gained 60 net yards in 16 attempts.

It appeared that Friday’s contest was going to be a repeat of last year’s tilt as the teams battled through the first quarter without denting the others’ goal line. Massillon lost the ball on downs on the Mansfield 14. The Tygers had to punt from Massillon’s 36.

The Tigers’ first score came at 5:05 of the second stanza after a 12-yard punt runback by Russ Fenton, a 15-yard right side off tackle romp by Moore and a 42-yard pass-run combination from Young to junior wingback Mark McDew on the same side.

On third down from the 3, Young faked to Smith through the middle and romped over the right side. Following a delay penalty, Young passed to Moore to the right for 2 more points.
* * *

AFTER THE ensuing kickoff Mansfield got another drive going aided by a 34-yard Dave Hallabrin-to-Duane Hill pass as Hill, a 6-3 senior split end, leaped up between 2 Tiger defenders for a catch. But Massillon end Tim Richards turned a Mansfield pass into a fumble on second and 10 from the 21 and McDew intercepted a pass on the 5, killing the drive 2 plays later.

Most of the second half was played in Mansfield territory as the Tigers recovered 2 fumbles and intercepted a pass. Simon, junior tackle, Ernie McGeorge and Skelton covered one bobble on the Mansfield 34 early in the third quarter. Richards picked up another on the Tyger 26 and Skelton intercepted a pass at the start of the fourth quarter on the Massillon 30, but the Benglas ran into an illegal use of the hands penalty on the Tyger 29.

Young scored on the fifth play after the initial miscue on a broken play, going through the center on first down form the 3 with 6:04 in the third period after an offside penalty. A conversion pass to Moore was low.

Smith had set up the score with a 15-yard right side option, just stepping out on the 19.

The second recovery led to another third period score after 7 plays. McDew took a pitch to the left after Young had faked to Smith again through the center and scored from the 3 on fourth down at 2:32. Young’s counter keeper left made it 22-0.
* * *

THE RESERVES took over after a Mansfield punt late in the goodbye canto and marched 49 yards in 6 plays. The big plays were Malinowski’s 22-yard romp to the Mansfield 17 and 11-yard trek to the 3.

Moore got the TD behind the second line on first down from the 3, going off right tackle at 1:05. Malinowski’s conversion pass to junior wingback John Hodgson was incomplete.

Next week’s foe will be cross-county rival Alliance, as Tiger stadium is invaded for the fourth consecutive week.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Hill, Blakley, Kearney, P. Parr.
Tackles – Zimmerman, Sands, Moga.
Guards – Wilcox, Gorrell, Lowe, Leitenberger.
Centers – Baehrens, Porter, Imhoff.
Quarterbacks – Hallabrin, Wright, Sweat.
Halfbacks – Johnson, Reed, Giorioso.
Fullbacks – Phillips, Sweat.

MASSILLON – 28
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Jackson, Richards, Engleh, Robinson, Spencer.
Tackles – Snowball, McGeorge, Ricker, Laase, Snyder.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Russell, Whitfield.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton, Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Fenton, Hodgson, Staples, Evans.
Fullbacks – Moore, Simon, M. Gipp.

Mansfield 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 0 8 14 6 28

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Young 2 (3-yard runs); McDew (3-yard run); Moore (2-yard run).

Extra points: Moore 2 (pass from Young); Young 2 (run).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Moore 14 88 6.1
Smith 10 55 5.5
McDew 7 31 4.4
Young 9 32 3.6

Mansfield
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Phillips 16 60 3.8
Johnson 11 9 0.8
Hallabrin 12 33 2.8

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Mans.
First downs – rushing 13 10
First downs – passing 1 4
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 15 15
Yards gained rushing 243 171
Yards lost rushing 4 35
Net yards gained rushing 239 136
Net yards gained passing 49 64
Total yards gained 288 200
Passes attempted 4 15
Passes completed 2 4
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 25 0
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 51.2 35.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 29 56
Times punted 2 3
Punt average (yards) 37.0 29.3
Punt return (yards) 10 11
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 4 3
Yards penalized 15 24
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 50 67

OFFICIALS
Referee – Octavio Sirgo.
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr.
Head Linesman – Sam DiBlasi.
Field Judge – Beauford Hatfield.

ATTENDANCE: 11,868

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 24, Cleveland Benedictine 0

Tigers’ Defense Shines In 24-0 Win
Early Game Looked Like A Big Rout Obiemen Score All In 1st Half

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Auggie Bossu’s Cleveland Benedictine football team might be in a rebuilding year, but you’d never know it.

Bob Seaman’s Massillon Tigers thought they had a rout in the making when they scored 2 quick touchdowns in the first quarter Friday night at Tiger stadium. But the Bennies didn’t get the message. They held the Orange and Black scoreless in the last 2 ½ quarters with the Washington high eleven settling for a 24-0 win.
* * *

TO HOLD Benedictine scoreless is an accomplishment in itself, so the Tiger defense must be given plenty of credit. The Bennies were able to put together only one long drive – right after the second half kickoff – but were stopped on the half-yard line.

The Bennies didn’t earn a first down until midway in the second quarter and got only 7 in the game to the Tigers’ 12. The Bennies did get a first down by penalty in the welcome period.

The Obiemen rolled up 217 yards on the ground to 75 for Benedictine. Massillon got 169 of those yards and 11 first downs in the first half.

“Our pursuit was better in the second half and our safety men were closing up,” Bossu said. “We tried to get the boys to meet the blocks better.”

Seaman agreed about the pursuit and also said, “They hurried up in the second half, didn’t stem (move around) before the play. We waited for them and they were gone.”
* * *

THE TIGER skipper also took part of the blame in that he departed from the game plan “just to see if we could do some things. We also used a lot of young kids. That will help us in the long haul.”

The Bennies kept the Tigers pretty well bottled up in poor field condition, getting down fast under junior Bob Bacik’s punts.

Tiger junior halfback Mark McDew ignited scoring drives when he returned 2 kicks, one 24 yards in the first quarter and another 18 in the second.
He made only one long run from scrimmage, resulting in a score, and carried the ball but twice. Seaman put him back out on the wing again instead of with the rest of the backs as in last week’s contest.

“This is what we planned to do,” Seaman said. McDew did 2 of the 3 touchdowns and 2 of the 3 conversions.
* * *

THE TIGERS TOOK the opening kickoff and marched 66 yards for a score in 12 plays with 5 first downs. The Tigers’ twin bulldozers – Jim Smith and Reggie Moore – augured out most of the yardage.

Fourth and 13 on Benedictine’s 24, Quarterback Trevor Young hit McDew in the right side of the end zone. Moore rammed in over the center for 2 more points to make it 8-0 with 5:55 remaining.

Tom Robinson recovered Sadd’s kickoff runback fumble on the Cleveland 34 and the Tigers had touchdown No. 2 in 7 plays with 3 first downs. On second, 7 from the 7, Young hit split end Bert Dampier on the half-yard line. Fullback Bill Simon charged over on the next play at 2:54.

McDew completed things by catching Young’s roll out pass to the right. This gave Massillon 16 points and Benedictine still had not been able to run a play.

Early in the second period after McDew’s second punt runback, the Tigers went 82 yards in 5 plays for their final score. Young faked to Simon going through the middle and then rolled to the right and pitched to McDew who dashed 59 yards down the west sideline for a TD on a third and 4 play at 7:10. Young threw to McDew down the center for the conversion.
* * *

LATER in the period, Benedictine almost scored but sophomore halfback Woody Vogel, subbing for senior Tim Russ, the Bennies top halfback, couldn’t hold to a third and 4 pass from the Cleveland 43.

Ferko intercepted a first down Massillon aerial from the Benedictine 37, intended for McDew, on the 9 as the half ended to save a score.

The second half was mainly a contest in punting with the exception of the one long drive by Benedictine, which has yet to score this season after a 0–0 affair with Lakewood St. Edward.

It was victory No. 2 for the Tigers who haven’t really dug deep into their repertoire yet. Mansfield Tygers come in next Friday.

BENEDICTINE – 0
Ends – Barnes, Balough.
Tackles – Bucci, Jakosh, Czech.
Guards – Champa, M. Smith, Toth, Forro, Marchmon.
Centers – Mauser, B. Smith, Kness.
Quarterbacks – Pillar, Bacik, Petruziello.
Halfbacks – Vogel, Reid, Sadd, Anderson.
Fullbacks – Ferko, Tenaglia.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Richards, Robinson, Spencer.
Tackles – Snowball, McGeorge, Snyder, Ricker, Laase.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Whitfield, Cardinal, M. Russell, Mulnick.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton, Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – J. Smith, McDew, Evans, Fenton, Hodgson, Fichter, Manson.
Fullbacks – R. Moore, Simon, M. Gipp.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Smith 22 99 4.5
McDew 2 58 29
Simon 4 7 1.8
Moore 10 42 4.2
Young 4 7 1.8

Benedictine
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Vogel 11 51 4.6
Ferko 8 27 3.4
Pillar 4 -4 0

Benedictine 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 16 8 0 0 24

Touchdowns:
Massillon – McDew 2 (24-yard pass from Young and 59-yard run);
Simon (one-half yard run).

Extra points:
Massillon – McDew 4 (passes from Young); Moore 2 (run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Howard Wirtz.
Umpire – Robert Ferguson.
Head Linesman – William Makepeace.
Field Judge – Don Welsch.

Attendance: 11,785

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Bene.
First downs – rushing 11 4
First downs – passing 1 2
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 12 7
Yards gained rushing 230 107
Yards lost rushing 13 32
Net yards gained rushing 217 75
Net yards gained passing 36 31
Total yards gained 253 106
Passes attempted 10 10
Passes completed 3 3
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 46.2 50
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 73
Times punted 7 7
Punt average (yards) 39.7 36.9
Punt return (yards) 56 32
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 3 1
Yards penalized 35 3
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 62 53

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 28, Akron East 14

Promising Tigers Win Opener 28-14
Running of McDew, Smith, Defensive Play Are Highlights

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor
The sigh of relief could be heard all across Tigertown.

Washington high grid fans had been apprehensive about their team after last week’s scrimmage showing against Canton Lincoln. But the Tigers proved Friday night before 11,068 fans at Tiger stadium that they have the makings of a fine team.

For all practical purposes they shut out invading Akron East, 3-time Rubber City champion. But a couple of air born pigskins didn’t reach their intended marks and the Obiemen had to settle for a 28-14 count.
* * *

Program Cover

THE GAME was highlighted by some outstanding running on both sides. For the Tigers it was by marvelous Mark McDew, including 2 punt-return touchdowns. The Tigers’ other halfback, Jim Smith – both are juniors – also scored twice.

Senior Dave Richards, a halfback and Harvey drone, a fullback starred for East. Richards tallied 2 TD’s.

Running from a regular position instead of a wing slot for the first time in the power I, “Mac” helped make the Tigers’ running game all the more dangerous.

McDew’s first bit of inspired running came about halfway through the welcome canto. The Tigers had taken the opening kickoff, lost a fumble to East’s Ted Mobley on the Bengal 39 and forced a punt and resulting 11-yard runback by McDew.

Five plays later with second, 11 on the Tigers’ 29, Mark blasted through center for 61 yards and a first down on the Orientals’ 10. An offside penalty made it 2nd, 11 and Smith raced around the left side on the option for the first score at 5:54.
* * *
ANOTHER OFFSIDE penalty forced a second conversion try from the 8 after the first was no good. Senior co-captain and quarterback Trevor Young hit McDew on a diving catch for an 8-0 count.

Senior end Tim Richards halted an East drive at the Tigers’ 31 early in the second period and an exchange of punts found McDew consummating a 62-yard punt return after being trapped and reversing his field, to put the Orange and Black ahead 14-0 at 7:45.
Junior split end Luther Jackson couldn’t hold Young’s conversion pass.

McDew put his winged feet to good use again midway through the third period, after East had had the ball for most of the quarter. McDew got loose on an 80-yard punt return with help from a picture block by senior end Russ Fenton on the East 20. The time was 7:22.

Young tried to hit Jackson on the conversion, missed, but an offside on the Rubber City opponents gave the Tigers another chance and Smith went over right guard for the 2 points.
* * *
MASSILLON’S FINAL score came in the last quarter on a 64-yard, 10-play drive started by a 26-yard punt runback by junior safety Marc Malinowski and cluminated by Young’s 9-yard keeper and Smith’s 3-yard jaunt off left tackle at 11:16.

Smith tried the other side for the conversion but couldn’t reach pay dirt.

Tiger fans perched perilously on the edges of their seats in the third quarter when the Orientals made it a 22-14 game.

The Obiemen had driven deep into East territory when Young tried the sky route with first down on the 18. Senior halfback Dave Richards picked off the aerial and returned 90 yards down the east sideline with Smith failing, on a great try to stop the Oriental speed demon. The time was 6:09.

A pass to senior halfback Eleaser Sanders was incomplete on the conversion try but both sides were offside. Sanders raced around left end for the score.
* * *
A COUPLE of minutes later on the first series after the kickoff, Young attempted to option Smith on third down on a play, which netted the Bengals plenty of yardage and helped Young’s running throughout the night. The flip hit Smith’s helmet and bounced back into Richards’ hands and he was gone with the wind again from 35 yards out at 4:46.

Sophomore Otis Johnson’s conversion boot was blocked but the Tigers were nicked for roughing the holder. Junior halfback Mel Averiett was brought down just short of the zone by Hoyt Skelton and Tom Houser on the second try.

But the defensive gem of the night for the Tigers was yet to come. Midway in the goodbye frame East was driving for another score on a drive which started from the Orientals’ 32 after a Richards’ 27-yard punt return.

With fourth down on the Massillon 2, East’s junior halfback, Melvin Averiett, was tossed to the 9 by Tim Richards.

This was just one facet of some sterling defensive play by the Obiemen, which bottled up the Orientals’ pitch-and-run game pretty well. Senior co-captain and linebacker Ron Ertle did an outstanding job along with Richards and Fenton and utility linebacker Dave Doll.
* * *
THE BLOCKING of strong siders Dave Gipp, Bill Snowball, and Tom Houser and center Blaine Moore helped.

The Bengals didn’t complete a pass, mostly because the pass blocking didn’t hold up.

The 47 yards of passing yardage by East wasn’t bad considering the Bengals used an
all-junior defensive backfield.

With one down and 9 to go on the comeback trail, the Bengals will host Cleveland Benedictine next Friday.

EAST – 14
Ends – Sommerville, Yovanovich, C. Richards, B. Smith.
Tackles – Shealey, Davis, Beaubout.
Guards – Preer, McGhee.
Center – Bennet.
Quarterback – Vaughn.
Halfbacks – D. Richards, Sanders, McMillan, Mobley, W. Smith, Averiett, Johnson.
Fullbacks – Drone, Hill.

MASSILLON – 28
Ends – Jackson, Houser, Dampier, Robinson, Spencer, T. Richards.
Tackles – Snowball, McGeorge, Snyder.
Guards – D. Gipp, Ertle, Whitfield, Doll.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – J. Smith, McDew, Fenton, Hodgson, Evans.
Fullbacks – Simon, R. Moore, M. Gipp.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 8 14 1.75
Moore 5 14 2.80
Simon 1 1 1.00
Smith 14 99 7.68
McDew 11 84 7.55

East
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Richards 10 61 6.1
Sanders 24 81 3.38
Drone 2 4 2

East 0 0 14 0 14
Massillon 8 6 8 6 28

Touchdowns:
Massillon
McDew 2 (61 and 80-yard punt returns);
J. Smith 2 (12 and 3-yard runs).
East
D. Richards 2 (90-yard pass interception return and 35-yard option-pitch interception return).

Extra points:
Massillon
McDew 2 (pass from Young);
Smith 2 (8-yard run).
East
D. Richards 2 (run).

Attendance: 11,066

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack McLain.
Umpire – John Rance.
Head Linesman – Bud Shopbell.
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle.

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. East
First downs – rushing 10 7
First downs – passing 0 1
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 10 9
Yards gained rushing 235 166
Yards lost rushing 17 17
Net yards gained rushing 213 149
Net yards gained passing 0 47
Total yards gained 218 196
Passes attempted 4 10
Passes completed 0 5
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 109
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 50.2 43.6
Kickoff returns (yards) 74 93
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 40.0 39.0
Punt return (yards) 15 5
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 55 12
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 1
Miscellaneous 2 1
Total number of plays 48 56

Ron Ertle
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1966: Massillon 16, Canton McKinley 25

Seaman Says ‘Wait Until Next Year’
McKinley Wins; Bengals Have Losing Mark

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Fans of the old Brooklyn baseball Dodgers had the right idea at a time like this: “Wait until next year.”

Washington high Coach Bob Seaman had his own version: “We’ll be back next year and should have a heck of a team.”

The error-pocked and anguish-filled 1966-football season is history. The final chapter was penned Saturday in a bruising 25-16 Tiger stadium loss to Canton McKinley in the 71st annual inter-city classic.

Program Cover

For the first time since 1931 the Bengals ended below .500 with a 4-5-1 record. There have been only 4 other seasons of 8 or more games since 1894, which have ended below the
Break-even point.

The only consolation for Seaman was that he has a lot of company among first-year coaches who have lost to McKinley. Seven other mentors, including Paul Brown, either lost to or were tied by the Bulldogs in the first or only year those coaches were here.

McKinley ended a 9-year famine in wining and assured itself of a winning season under Ron Chismar with a 6-4 record. The Bulldogs also dropped the defending champion Tigers into a cellar tie in the All-American High School football league at a 1-3 ending.

Niles won the title with a 3-0 record, Steubenville finished 2-1, Warren 2-2.

Massillon’s play, at times Saturday, resembled the zany Dodgers referred to above. Maladies, which have plagued them all-season burst out in full bloom – inability’s to handle kicks and fumbles. Three McKinley touchdowns happened because of miscues on handling kicks. The fourth resulted from an inability to stop a punt return.
* * *

SOME SAY the Pups didn’t deserve the win but they were a good enough team to capitalize on the breaks and reverse the script of the past 2 seasons when the Tigers bounced back to win after half time deficits.
The contest started as if it were to be a high-scoring affair with both teams scoring in the first one minute, 54 seconds of play. McKinley went over on the first play from scrimmage after Bengal sophomore Marc Malinowski attempted unsuccessfully to return George Fronimo’s stocking footed, soccer-style kickoff which rolled pass Malinowski to the 5-yard line. End Henry Lewis recovered a fly ball fumble on the 9.

Quarterback Milford Lucius passed to halfback Leroy Wilder, who was to score twice more, on the 5 with Wilder carrying the rest of the way. Fronimo’s boot made it 7-0 with 11:32 remaining.

Halfback Tommy James got the Obiemen to their 38 with a 29-yard runback of the next kickoff. On second and 4 from the 44, fullback Will Foster cut through the center and back to the right for the Tigertowners’ longest run from scrimmage this season at 11:26. Quarterback Craig Maurer hit James in the right corner of the end zone to make it 8-7 in Massillon’s favor.

Massillon scored again in the first quarter but not before squandering a first and 10 at the Bulldog 18 after a pass interception by Foster with a fumble by James recovered by halfback Ted Bowersox.
* * *

LINEBACKER Hoyt Skelton pilfered again on the Pups’ 40. Four plays later, Maurer took off from 26 yards out on first and 10 and scampered into pay dirt on a counter keeper to the left at 3:55. He hit James with another right corner end zone pass for a 16-7 score that was the Bengal fans’ last cause for joy.

McKinley missed an opportunity after Jim Krenzer’s punt was blocked by one of his own men at the beginning of the second stanza. George Austin recovered on the Massillon 25.

On third down Clayton grabbed a pass on the 25, ran to the 17, was pushed out of bounds and into the east track seats. A 15-yard personal foul infraction was called during the melee and Chismar rushed onto the field to engage in a violent argument with head linesman Joe Romano.

McKinley was set back to the 30. Linebacker Ron Ertle intercepted a pass on the next play to halt the drive.

Massillon was forced to hold on again later in the period when Bulldog linebacker Jerry Hontas recovered Foster’s fumble on the Tigers’ 24.

Fronimo’s bad-snap punt following the first Bulldog series of the second half grazed Tiger junior Trevor Young; subbing for James, who was injured earelier. Pete Coleman’s recovery gave the Bulldogs a life on the Tigers 34.
* * *
EIGHT PLAYS after a 12-yard run by Lucius and an 11-yard scamper by fullback Larry Clayton, who broke tackles numerous times during the afternoon, Wilder scored around the left side on a pitchout at 4:21. Lucius was halted short of conversion territory as the scoreboard showed Massillon with a 16-13 lead.

Massillon got the ball but once in the third quarter going nowhere.

With Fronimo punting on the second play of the final stanza, junior Tiger safetyman Kevin Henderson fumbled on the 5. Coleman recovered again – this time on the half-yard line.
Lucius sneaked through the center at 11:28 for the score. Fronimo tried to run the conversion after a bad snap, fumbled after a tackle. Bowersox recovered and ran over but the ball was ruled dead, giving McKinley a 19-16 lead.

Fronimo kept the Tigers in the hole with long punts in the second half and the Bulldog defense kept the Orange and Black there. On one of these frustrating occasions Krenzer punted to Wilder on the McKinley 42. A touchdown runback along the west-side line resulted at 4:21 with the help of a block by Paul Robinson at the 3.
* * *

FRONIMO MISSED on the PAT. McKinley led 26-15 but the Tigers weren’t dead even though many fans started to exit.

The Bengals got back to the McKinley 4 after the kickoff to 8 and 20-yard passes to sophomore halfback Mark McDew and senior tight end Keith Griffin and 7-yard runs by Foster and Maurer. But the Tigers ran out of downs.

In the last minute of play, Maurer hit McDew for an 8-yarder and interference was called on a 24-yarder. It took several minutes to clear fans off the field in order to run the final play after the penalty, which had occurred as time lapsed. A pass into the end zone was incomplete.

Seaman agreed that the Tigers had been placed behind the 8-ball too many times by errors. “Each week we’ve done something wrong,” he said. “This time the specialty team hurt us.” Then he mused, “McKinley got a negative 3 yards in the last quarter and 3 touchdowns. We evened the battle of statistics.”

Chismar said, ‘It was a real great game. Our linebackers Hontas and John Patterson did as much as anybody to shut off their defense. But it was a team effort.”

The much-hearlded battle of fullbacks was a standoff. Clayton, who left the contest in the final quarter with torn ankle ligaments had 83 yards in 19 tries. Foster had 85 in 14.

McKINLEY – 25
Ends – Snell, H. Lewis, Iams.
Tackles – Austin, Adamski, Rushe.
Guards – Robinson, Sweat, Shimek.
Centers – Dowing, Coleman.
Quarterbacks – Lucius, Bowersox, Hontas.
Halfbacks – Wilder, B. Lewis, LeFlore, Fronimo.
Fullbacks – Clayton, Patterson.

MASSILLON – 16
Ends – Griffin, Moyer, Smith, Sterling, Richards, Liggett, Gallion.
Tackles – Houser, Campbell, Neago, Sherrett, Ricker.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, White, Hauenstein, Beiter, Ertle.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Henderson, Malinowski, Young.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, McDew, Fenton, Hannon, Staples,
McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullbacks – Foster, Moore.

McKinley 7 0 6 12 25
Massillon 16 0 0 0 16

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster (58-yard run); Maurer (27-yard run).
McKinley – Wilder 3 (9-yard pass run from Lucius, 3-yard run, 58-yard punt return);
Lucius (half-yard run).

Extra points:
Massillon – James 4 (passes from Maurer).
McKinley – Fronimo 1 (kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Tony Pianowski.
Umpire – Harold Rolph.
Head Linesman – Joe Romano.
Field Judge – Brenton Kirk.

Attendance: 20,140

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 5 5
First downs – passing 1 0
First downs – penalties 2 1
Total first downs 8 6
Yards gained rushing 168 124
Yards lost rushing 32 22
Net yards gained rushing 136 102
Net yards gained passing 35 19
Total yards gained 171 121
Passes attempted 11 9
Passes completed 4 2
Passes intercepted by 3 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 24 0
Times kicked off 3 5
Kickoff average (yards) 52.3 51.6
Kickoff returns (yards) 94 63
Times punted 6 5
Punt average (yards) 25.3 36.8
Punt return (yards) 0 85
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 8 3
Lost fumbled ball 5 1
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 32 35
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 1
Total number of plays 50 53

Will Foster
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1966: Massillon 12, Steubenville 0

Season’s Largest Crowd Sees Big Red Fall
Seaman Alters Defense To Half Fast Backs

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was one of the greatest defensive efforts in Tiger football history. But few – if any of the 17,404 Tiger stadium onlookers Friday night – largest crowd of the season – were aware of the full story.

The tale of Washington high’s 12-0 victory over the top-rated and undefeated Steubenville Big Red started last Sunday following a movie grading session. Bengal Coach Bob Seaman, aware of the tremendous running game of the Big Red, told his coaches that a change in defenses would be necessary.

Program Cover

Seaman, trying to avert the Tigers’ worst season in 35 years, altered his alignment from an Oklahoma 5-3 “Monster” to an Eagle 5-2-1 “Monster” middle. It gave the Bengals added rushing power and the single “monster” back the chance to jam up the off tackle plays on which Steubenville had been so effective all year.

Tiger team pursuit was terrific, led by tackle Allen Neago and, for a second straight week, by end Russ Fenton. Will Foster and Ron Muhlbach alternated extremely well at the “monster” slot until Muhlbach became exhausted from a week-long bout with the flu.
* * *

SO EFFECTIVE was the Bengals’ defensive play that Steubenville never got out of its own territory – except on a blocked punt recovery in the first quarter and after the Bengals had the contest won and went into a prevent defense during the last minute of play.

Steubenville was held to 11 yards rushing, losing 35; added to a passing total of 28 for 39 yards. The Big Red had only 3 first downs – 2 of them by penalty, the only earned first down coming in the last period.

Meanwhile Steubenville was doing some pretty fine defensive work of its own led by
All-Ohio end Dwight Sims and tackle Jim Corsier. Massillon ended with 165 net yards rushing, 11 passing and 176 total with 9 first downs, but got nowhere except on its scoring drives in the first and last quarter, both times capitalizing on breaks the Tigers manufactured.

Neago recovered a fumble for the Obiemen after a hard tackle on the Steubenville 38 during the latter part of the first quarter. Five plays later Massillon had its first touchdown as “Tailspin Tommy” James went over left tackle on first and 10 from the 13.

His pass catch from quarterback Craig Maurer – the only Tiger completion of the night – plus an 8-yard run took the ball to the 27 for a first down. Two plays later McDew was the second man through right guard for an 8-yard jaunt to set up the score.
* * *

AFTER JAMES’ score with 2 minutes remaining in the initial frame, Maurer failed on a roll out to the right on the conversion try.

Ron Ertle almost blocked a Big Red fourth quarter punt in the end zone after a combination of tough Tiger defense and penalties had put the Steubbers fourth and 44 on their 8. The punt rolled dead on the Steubenville 30.

Ten plays later Massillon had the clincher as Maurer sneaked over the middle on fourth down with the ball inches from pay dirt, the clock showing 52 seconds left in the contest. James dropped Maurer’s attempted conversion pass.

Foster had run the ball 4 times in the drive, picking up 10 yards. James had shot over left tackle for 10 yards for a first down on the 3.

Tiger man-mountain tackle Mike Sherrett recovered a fumble on the Steubenville 24 in the second period but the Bengals couldn’t capitalize. Sims blocked a Jim Krenzer punt in the first quarter with Crozier recovering on the Bengals 27, Sims tried a 46-yard field goal 4 plays later but was off to the left and out of the end zone.
* * *

OUTSIDE of those 2 instances the game was one of 2 teams punting to each other.

“It was the sweetest victory of my coaching career,” Seaman said. “It was one heck of a defensive effort. It was the same kind of game we’ve played all along but we just made too many mistakes before. I said all along this was a good team but Lady Luck hadn’t shown on us. She didn’t really frown on us tonight but she didn’t smile either.”

He added, “Steubenville has a great team and that Palmer (Mike) is as good a back as I’ve seen.”

Bryan mused, “They deserved the win. We were out-coached and out-played. We were not able to handle their new defense, having worked against their other one all week. They hit us well. We never got out of our own territory.”

The power at Tiger stadium was out for one hour before the game when a transformer blew. Start of the contest was delayed for 30 minutes but both coaches felt their opponents did not gain any great advantage by the delay.
* * *

MASSILLON evened its slate at 4-4-1 and kept intact its record of never having lost 5 straight.

By handing Steubenville its first loss in 8 games – all of the Big Red’s other contests being at home – Massillon scrambled the state title ratings. Upper Arlington, a 21-6 victor over the Tigers 2 weeks back, might have the inside track if it can beat Columbus Watterson next week.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Sims, Spahn, Bruzzese.
Tackles – Crosier, Bass.
Guards – Monroe, Hershey, Cocumelli.
Center – Sarap.
Quarterbacks – Vaccaro, Corsi, Burke.
Halfbacks – Palmer, Booth, Osby, Kerr.
Fullbacks – Horston, Titus.

MASSILLON – 12
Ends – Moyer, Snyder, Smith, Sterling, Gallion, Griffin, Liggett.
Tackles – Houser, Campbell, Ricker, Neago.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, Ertle, Beiter, Hauenstein, White, Whitfield.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Young, Henderson, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, McDew, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach, Staples, Hannon.
Fullback – Foster.

Massillon 6 0 0 6 12

Touchdowns:
Massillon – James (13-yard run); Maurer (one-yard run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Howard Wirtz.
Umpire – Russ Kemper.
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace.
Field Judge – Jack McLain.

Attendance: 17,404

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 8 1
First downs – passing 1 0
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 9 23
Yards gained rushing 175 46
Yards lost rushing 10 35
Net yards gained rushing 165 11
Net yards gained passing 11 28
Total yards gained 176 39
Passes attempted 7 8
Passes completed 1 4
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Times kicked off 3 1
Kickoff average (yards) 37.6 60.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 44
Times punted 8 8
Punt average (yards) 24.9 30.0
Punt return (yards) 26 16
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 0 3
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 8 7
Yards penalized 90 47
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 68 45

Will Foster
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1966: Massillon 6, Warren Harding 17

Tigers Out gain Warren But Lose 17-6

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Where, oh where, has that Tiger luck gone? Like the little dog in the song, its whereabouts are a mystery but its absence has been much more costly.

For 2 years under Earle Bruce, the Washington high eleven could do nothing wrong. But with Bob Seaman at the helm, the Bengals haven’t gotten a break all season.

* * *

Program Cover

WITH A LITTLE bit of luck the Obiemen might have had their fourth win Friday night instead of their fourth straight defeat. The score was 17-6 at Mollenkopf field, in Warren before a crowd of 15,000 in a battle between fired-up teams.

Not since 1932 had Massillon lost 4 straight when in Paul Brown’s first year, the Orange and Black fought to a scoreless finish in the fifth game and lost the next 4, including one to Warren. They have never lost 5 straight.

With top-ranked Steubenville (8-0) coming in next week, the Tigers are close to setting another wrong way record. The Bengals (3-1-1) are in danger of having their worst season since 1931 when Elmer McGrew’s crew won 2, lost 6 and tied 2.

Great defensive work won the game for Warren, stopping 2 Tiger drives, picking up 2 costly Bengal fumbles and making 3 timely pass interceptions.

“The irony of it all,” said Warren Coach Bill Shunkwiler, “was that we were so badly injured on defense that we had to use a different type tonight. Maybe Massillon was not used to a 4-5 and maybe I just keyed us up.”

* * *
SEAMAN said, “Our boys did a heck of a good job. I’m proud of them. But we gave the ball to Warren in good field position.” He added, “If McDew’s (Mark) knee hadn’t touched the ground on that punt return, it might have been all over. And Dale Gallion had an unfortunate injury just when the clock was going to run out. Warren had no more time outs and wouldn’t have gotten another play off.”

The Tigers won the battle of statistics but couldn’t light up the scoreboard enough. Warren had had this happen to them several times previously this season.

The Tigers moved 72 yards in 12 plays with Foster and McDew doing the bulk of the carrying but Foster just missed at the 8 on fourth down. He had runs of 12 and 14 yards and McDew of 9 and 10 during the drive.

McDew bobbled the following punt on the Tigers’ 42, picked it up and raced all the way down the eastside line but in picking up the pigskin his knee had touched.

Dennis Wright recovered a Massillon fumble 2 plays later and Warren had a score in 5 more after a 32-yard push. Allen Anderson and Tom Perry took turns in gobbling up real estate at about 3 yards per clip.

Perry went over left tackle from the 10 on their third down with 6:27 left in the second quarter. Tony Capers, who did some fine linebacking, kicked twice, the second time from the 14 after an offside penalty, to give Warren a 7-0 lead.

Capers missed a 44-yard field goal later in the period after Dale Hall had intercepted Will Foster’s pass with the pressure on.

Warren came back after a punt was grounded on the Panthers’ 43 to drive for a score in 4 plays with 4 seconds left. A big play was Allen Anderson’s 40-yard off tackle run to the Massillon 17.

ON FIRST and 6 from the 6, with 7 seconds remaining, Gallion suffered a rib injury making a tackle and the clock had to be stopped. Perry scored again on the next play over right tackle. Capers’ boot made it 14-0.

Russ Fenton recovered an on side kick for Massillon on the Warren 38 during the third period kickoff. In 11 plays the Tigers got their only score of the night. Foster, McDew and “Tailspin Tommy” James took turns running the ball.

Quarterback Craig Maurer got key fourth and one yardage on the 15, via a sweep, to keep the drive going. He scored on a keeper left on third and 4 from the 7 with 7:15 left, injuring himself slightly when he ran into a sideline post. Maurer’s option flip to McDew going right failed to pick up the 2 extra points.

Later in the period, the teams took turns intercepting passes. Foster pilfering for the Tigers and Tony Brady for the Panthers. Foster’s steal started Massillon on a 33-yard, 10-play drive to Warren’s 27 where Maurer was snowed under by Dennis Yendrick; playing with a broken thumb, on fourth and five.

McDew almost got away for a 55-yard TD on the drive. He did most of the running at this juncture although Ron Mulhbach, a defensive “monster” back, did his first ball carrying of his career here as well.

* * *
YENDRICK recovered a Massillon fumble on the Tigers’ 23 midway in the fourth quarter. With fourth and 12 on the 25, Capers booted a 41-yard field goal from a slight left angle to finish the scoring at 5:14.

On the next series, Dale Hall intercepted another Tiger aerial to end it all.

Warren, which got its revenge for a last-second loss here in 1965, now has a 5-3 record with the standings in the All-American High School football league unchanged.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Snyder, Moyer, Liggett, Sterling, Griffin, Gallion, Smith.
Tackles – Houser, Campbell, Neago, Ricker, Sherrett.
Guards – Russell, Porrini, Hauenstein, Beiter, White, Ertle.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Henderson, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, McDew, Fenton, Lawrence,
Hannon, Muhlbach, McFadden.
Fullback – Foster.
Punter – Krenzer.

WARREN – 17
Ends – Brewster, Wright, Tracey, Daily, Speicher, Carroll,
James, Natale.
Tackles – Capers, Yendrick, Kearney, Blank, Peterson,
Henrey, Russell.
Guards – Schumacher, Gray, Herdman, Jenyk, Campbell,
Sierra, Mokodean, Stredney, Parker.
Centes – Toda, Stroup.
Quarterbacks – Robison, Williams, Hall.
Halfbacks – Thomas, Anderson, Perry, Benson, Brady, Elliott,
Turner, Stewart.
Fullbacks – Sericola, Wright.

Massillon 0 0 6 0 6
Warren 0 14 0 3 17

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Maurer (7-yard run).
Warren – Perry 2 (3 and one-yard runs); Capers (41-yard field goal).

Extra points: Warren – Capers 2 (kicks).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Paul Hoskins.
Umpire – Clyde Moore.
Head Linesman – Chuck Lorenze.
Field Judge – Andy Piewacki.

Attendance: 15,000

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 8
First downs – passing 2 0
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 8
Yards gained rushing 197 181
Yards lost rushing 24 23
Net yards gained rushing 173 158
Net yards gained passing 41 6
Total yards gained 214 164
Passes attempted 11 2
Passes completed 3 1
Passes intercepted by 1 3
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 12
Times kicked off 2 4
Kickoff average (yards) 36.0 50.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 34 24
Times punted 1 4
Punt average (yards) 35.0 43.0
Punt return (yards) 8 8
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 1
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 25 15
Touchdowns rushing 1 2
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Field goals 0 1
Total number of plays 60 50

Will Foster