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1966: Massillon 24, Alliance 12

September 30, 1966July 18, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Have Scare But Beat Alliance 24-12
Pass First Test For Title-Comeback

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The most irritating thing to a feline is a thorn in the paw. And for the Massillon Tiger there’s no thorn sharper than a Mel Knowlton-coached Alliance high grid team.

But as their namesake will work incessantly to rid himself of a thorn, so the Massillon Tigers kept at it at rain-soaked Harshorn stadium in Alliance Friday night until they had clawed out a 24-12 victory. The Bengals’ third win in a 4-game slate, marred only by a tie, meant the first step on the road back towards a third straight state title.
* * *

WITH THE MEAT of their schedule coming up in the 6 remaining weeks, the Bengals must not falter now. A loss coupled with the tie would lessen their chances.

Friday’s contest was typical of Knowlton, the former Tiger quarterback. He put the Bengals’ pass defense to a tough test before the 8,000 fans despite the constant rain.

And the Bengal secondary had its troubles against the tricky play-action passes. However, most of the aerials completed were of the short flat variety. None-the-less, they helped Alliance out-gain Massillon 263 yards to 243 and loosened up the Obiemen to help the Aviators’ running game.

However, Massillon had the best of it on the ground 233-79. Co-captains Tommy James, playing both halfback slots, and fullback Will Foster did some great off tackle and trap running with the help of good blocking. The Bengals got only 10 yards in the air to the Aviators’ 184.

The Bengals were helped in their victory by a big break in the fourth quarter. Midway through, punter, Harley Dickinson was roughed on fourth down. That, coupled with another 15-yarder for unsportsmanlike conduct on Knowlton following a hotly debated encroachment penalty on Alliance, gave Massillon first and 10 on the Alliance 30.
* * *

MASSILLON was temporarily set back by a 15-yard illegal use of the hands penalty. Two plays later junior halfback Bill Simon took a pitchout on second and 16, started right, found his way clogged and cut back to the left behind fine blocking and went 35 yards to end the night’s scoring with 2:49 left. A pass to sophomore end Jim Smith on the conversion attempt failed.

“The penalties helped put the icing on the cake,” Tiger Coach Bob Seaman said. “Our kids held-up to a tough challenge well. The roughing penalty hurt us,” Knowlton said. “There was no reason for it. That killed us because they had to punt.”

Alliance opened the scoring at 5:13 of the first quarter. The Tigers had moved from the Aviator 31 to the 24-yard line following a punt snap, but lost the ball on downs.

Five plays later Zupanic faked a handoff and jumped a second and 9 pass from his 35 to end Finis Dailey who scampered 60 yards straight through Massillon’s secondary for the score. Zupanic couldn’t get another jumper off on the conversion try.

Massillon had a drive fizzle at the Alliance 27 after a pass interception by Cliff Banks. Punter Jim Krenzer’s daring 2-yard sneak on fourth down at the Alliance 46 had kept the foray going.
* * *

THE ORANGE and Black got the equalizer with 5:06 left in the first half when Foster went over left guard from the one on third and 5 after an 11-play, 61-yard drive featuring the running of Foster and James. A Craig Maurer to James pitchout failed for the conversion.

The Tigers’ made it 12-6 when safety John McFadden returned the second half kickoff 85 yards up the center and cut it to the left side. James missed the conversion on a pitchout to the left.

A 14-yard runback by Dale Gallion gave Massillon the ball on its 34 after Alliance was stopped on the Massillon 49. The Tigers marched the distance in 8 plays with Foster and James doing most of the advancing. On first down from the 17, Maurer faked inside and handed to James who swept left for the tally at 4:32. Maurer tried to pass to Simon for the conversion with no success.

Alliance used up the remaining time in the third period and a couple of minutes in the fourth getting to the Massillon 3 where the Bengals stiffened and held them. Twice in the series, Zupanic got off fourth down passes on long yardage plays for first downs. One aerial went to halfback Bob Ramsey, the other to end Al Thigpen.

But disaster stuck in the next series. Kenzer had to punt from the end zone with a bad snap. Halfback Ray Muniz fell on the loose ball at the Tigers’ 21.
* * *

FIVE PLAYS later Ramsey went through the middle on second and 7 from the 8 with 6:39 remaining. A pass to end Emerson Young for the conversion backfired.

Then came the last score for the Bengals.

But Alliance wasn’t through. A Tiger fumble on their 40 recovered by junior Tom Ickes gave Alliance the ball on Massillon’s 45. Three plays later the clock ran out.

Knowlton thought his team was getting better each game. Their performance against the Tigers brought Alliance the most yardage gained by the Aviators this season. They had gained only 53 yards in the air previously.

Seaman said there were not drastic changes made at halftime. “We just blocked a little better and ran a little harder in the second half,” he said. “And that run of McFadden’s really kicked us off. He did a real good job. He’s got guts.
* * *

HE CONTINUED “Simon got off a nice run on his touchdown. He cut back beautifully and got by the pursuit.”

Both coaches thought the other had a fine football team.

The Tigers journey to Riverside stadium in Niles next Saturday, where the Red Dragons have been undefeated for 7 years. Massillon puts its 31 game unbeaten streak on the line in an All-American league contest.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Liggett, Smith, Sterling, Kraft, Gallion, Griffin, Moyer, Richards.
Tackles – Houser, Sherrett, Campbell, Snowball, Ricker, Turley.
Guards – Neago, Russell, Porrini, Beiter, Hauenstein, White, Somogy.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Henderson, Young, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Punters – Krenzer, Dickinson.
Fullback – Foster.

ALLIANCE – 12
Ends – Dailey, E. Young, Thigpen.
Tackles – R. Young, Johnson, Harshman, Andreani.
Guards –Gaul, Thomas, McCoy.
Center – Koch.
Quarterbacks – Zupanic, Libis, Utterback.
Halfbacks – Ramsey, Lear, Muniz.
Punter – Sucacui.

Massillon 0 6 12 6 24
Alliance 6 0 0 6 12

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster (one-yard run);
McFadden (85-yard second half kickoff return);
James (17-yard run);
Simon (30-yard run).
Alliance – Dailey (65-yard pass-run play from Zupanic); Ramsey (8-yard run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Octavio Sirgo (Canton).
Umpire – Carl Spennard (Cuyahoga Falls).
Head Linesman – John Cseh (Akron).
Field Judge – Carl Emmerich (Cuyahoga Falls).

Attendance: 8,000
THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 8
First downs – passing 1 5
First downs – penalties 2 0
Total first downs 14 13
Yards gained rushing 233 114
Yards lost rushing 0 35
Net yards gained rushing 233 79
Net yards gained passing 10 184
Total yards gained 343 263
Passes attempted 3 18
Passes completed 1 10
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 54.5 42.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 107 160
Times punted 1 3
Punt average (yards) 12.0 32.3
Punt return (yards) 45 0
Fumbles 2 0
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 5 8
Yards penalized 45 60
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 49 59

History

1966: Massillon 0, Mansfield 0

September 23, 1966July 18, 2017
by Eric Smith

Bengals’ Streak Ended But All Isn’t Lost
Mansfield Plays Familiar Role As Massillon Spoiler

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The Massillon Tiger is a proud creature by tradition. He is not prone to put his tail between his legs and slink away in the face of adversity. Instead, he bares his fangs and fights back all the harder.

The Bengals have come back 3 times before after having win streaks stopped by Mansfield to win state titles. The scoreless contest Friday night before 10,000 at Arlin field in Mansfield need not be the end. It can be the beginning of another string of Orange and Black conquests.
* * *

THE 30-GAME win streak stretching back to 1963 and starting with a 38-0 win over Mansfield is gone. But the unbeaten skein is still there.

Paul Brown’s 1937 Bengals had a 20-game affair ended via 6-6 entanglement with Mansfield but went on to an 8-1-1 season and a state title. Bud Houghton’s 1941 Obiemen had a 38-game string stopped 6-6 by Mansfield but went on to a 9-0-1 season and a state title, winning 13 more games before bowing in the 1962 finale under Elwood Kammer.

Chuck Mather’s 1948 team won a state championship with a 9-1 record and his 1949 squad, after having a 10-game streak stopped 16-12 by Mansfield, went on to a 9-1 season and a state title. His 1951 team and Tom Harp’s 154 units won crowns with 9-1 records. Leo Strang got one with a 10-1 slate in 1960.

For Mansfield, which will start its league season against Fremont next week, its effort Friday could send the Tygers on to a Buckeye conference title.

“This is the greatest team effort I’ve ever seen from any team in the country,” Gary Prahst, Tyger mentor, said. “We’re real happy. We consider it a win. I thought our team was just an average one going into this game. But this will make us. Massillon is a great team!”
* * *

MASSILLON COACH Bob Seaman said, ‘We had enough yardage to win – 50 more than last week – but 20 less points. We did a good job both offensively and defensively. Mansfield played a good game. They shut us off when they had to. Their pursuit killed us.”

Seaman wasn’t one to offer alibis but when a team has only one first string back in top condition, its attack is somewhat blunted. Quarterback Craig Maurer was on the sidelines with an ankle injury. Halfback Greg Evans is scheduled for surgery on a knee injury Monday in Massillon city hospital. Halfback Tommy James played with his hip still sore from an injury.
* * *

MANSFIELD’S tailback and top scorer, “Butch” Jefferson also was out with an ankle sprain.

“With him we could have gotten outside better,” Prahst said.

The Tigers out-gained Mansfield 190-95. Neither team threw much, missing on 3 passes each. Mansfield intercepted 2 Tiger aerials both late in the game.

“We gained 143 yards the first half and seemed to be moving the ball well so I felt we didn’t have to throw,” Seaman explained.

“We had planned on throwing the ball more but our defense held them. (We didn’t want to take any chances throwing the ball),” said Prahst.
* * *

BECAUSE NEITHER team threw often, a lot of time was used up as the Obiemen’s Will Foster and Mansfield’s Floyd Davis and Mike Swarn took turns pounding the tackles and guards for short yardage. There were almost no long punt returns as Massillon’s Jim Krenzer and Mansfield’s Dave Hallabrin took turns putting their opponents in the hole.

The furthest the Orange and Black got into Mansfield territory was the 29 after a 20-yard run by Foster. But time ran out in the first half.

Mansfield got to the Massillon 28 with 25 seconds left in the game. Swarn’s field goal attempt was wide left.

The Tygers had gotten there largely through the efforts of Shawn Madison, defensive halfback. He intercepted a 32-yard pass by Foster to 6-7 tackle Mike Sherrett on a tackle-eligible play and ran back to the Massillon 37.

Tigertown quarterback Kevin Henderson tried a desperation heave to sophomore halfback Mark McDew, taking Evans’ place, on the game’s final play. But halfback Jeff Koroknay intercepted the 28-yarder.
* * *

THE TIGERS had 2 costly 15-yard penalties. Both came in the second quarter. One set the Tigertowners back to their 42 from the Mansfield 43 when it looked like the Bengals were gaining momentum. The other put them on their own 16 with 1:50 left. Both were clipping infractions and came after good runs.

Twice Mansfield fumbles rolled ahead up to 8 yards and were recovered by the Tygers for first downs. Once, however, tackle Tom Houser picked up a bobble on the Massillon 42 to stop a thrust by Mansfield which got out of its own territory only once in the first half and got no further than the Tiger 37 in the second, except on the pass interception.

Massillon got out of its homeland only once in the second half, but 3 of 4 times it had the ball in the first.

Next stop for the Tigers on the road schedule, which has 2 games remaining, is Hartshorn field in Alliance next Friday.

The Bengals’ record is 2-0-1, Mansfield’s is the same.

MASSILLON – 0
Ends – Moyer, Smith, Sterling, Liggett, Gallion.
Tackles – Campbell, Snowball, Houser, Sherrett, Ricker.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, Neago, Hauenstein, Beiter, Ertle.
Centers – Senften, Kraft.
Quarterbacks – Henderson, Young, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, Fenton, McFadden, Evans, Hannon,
Muhlbach, McDew.
Fullbacks – Foster, Moore.
Punter – Krenzer.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Alexander, Fraley, Blakley.
Tackles – Davis, Socea, Adams.
Guards – King, Shulko, Lowe, Gorrell.
Quarterbacks – Hallabrin, Wright.
Halfbacks – Madison, Koroknay, Johnson, Swarn.
Fullback – Davis.

Massillon 0 0 0 0 0
Mansfield 0 0 0 0 0

OFFICIALS
Referee – Stan Orzech (Cleveland),
Umpire – Clyde Newell (Westlake).
Head Linesman – Bill Holzwarth (Louisville).
Field Judge – Andy Moran (Berea).

Attendance – 10,000

STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 10 7
First downs – passing 0 0
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 10 7
Yards gained rushing 200 117
Yards lost rushing 10 22
Net yards gained rushing 190 95
Net yards gained passing 0 0
Total yards gained 190 95
Passes attempted 3 3
Passes completed 0 0
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 18
Times kicked off 1 1
Kickoff average (yards) 32.0 26.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 38
Times punted 0 7
Punt average (yards) 31.2 35.0
Punt return (yards) 0 13
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 3 1
Yards penalized 35 15
Touchdowns rushing 0 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 34 32

History

1966: Massillon 20, Cleveland Benedictine 6

September 16, 1966March 5, 2018
by Eric Smith

Tigers Show Determination In Win

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“We may have found ourselves a football team!”

Who said those words makes no difference. Someone yelled them amidst the happy scene in the Tiger stadium pressbox after Saturday’s game. That anonymous person put his finger right on the reason why Massillon’s 10-6 victory over Cleveland Benedictine could be of great importance before this season is over.
* * *

IT TAKES A LOT of guts to go out and fight to a victory after being behind 6-0 at halftime to a great team like the Bennies who out-gained the Tigers. Some teams would have fallen apart after battling to a scoreless tie until the last second of the first half only to have the opposition cross the goal line.

The Bengals just never gave up, even in the face of such adversity as having 2 first team backs – senior signal-caller, Craig Maurer and junior scatback Greg Evans – out of action.

The Tigers will meet Mansfield Senior Friday. If they use the inspiration gained from the nod over Benedictine the rest of the year, it could be the lever that will push them into a
22nd and third straight state title.

Field position, one of the most important aspects of the game, was never more graphically shown than Saturday night.

The Tigers never got past their 43-yard line in the first half and therefore, were unable to open up their game.

Meanwhile, the Massillon defense stopped the Bennies in Tiger territory each time Benedictine got the ball.
* * *

LINEBACKER Ron Ertle stopped Jim Betts, Bennie quarterback, on the Massillon 10 on one occasion. On another, junior halfback Trevor Young, one of the Tigers’ “bantam rooster” set, hopped on a Betts fumble on the Orange and Black’s 20 to east the pressure.

Other small men like Earl (Stump) Beiter and Doug White had their nights. Kevin Henderson, considerably more diminutive than Maurer, filled in well for the ailing signal-caller.

Benedictine’s score came after a 10-yard punt return by Larry Zelina, recovering from a shoulder injury but still playing a whale of a game. The Bossumen drove from the Tigers’ 41 in 4 plays with 31 seconds remaining in the half.
On the final play, Jim Betts, a sure bet for many post-season honors, hit 6-4 split end Dave Petschauer in the right corner of the end zone. Petschauer, a senior and a basketball player only until this season, leaped up like a cager getting a lead pass for a tip-in and took the ball away from 2 Tiger defenders. A fumble on the ensuing snap halted the conversion try.

The Tigers came out fired up in the second half and took control of the game, holding Benedictine behind its 30 for the entire second half.

Harley Dickinson, still another of the Tigers’ little set – none stand over 5-9 or weight more than 157 – did some terrific punting to go along with senior fullback Will Foster’s booming kickoff’s. The defense kept Benedictine there, led by senior Co-Captains Dave Gallion and Ron Muhlbach.
* * *

OFFENSIVE Co-Captains Foster and senior halfback Tommy James put the oomph in the offense and Foster also played outstandingly on defense.

Foster drilled through the Benedictine line like an auger boring through the side of a mountain. He averaged about 4 yards a try unofficially, with Bennie players hanging all over him.

Foster, almost single-handedly, accounted for 2 Tiger TD’s. Will ran 8 of 10 plays in a TD drive, blasting over left guard from the one on fourth down with 5:09 left in the third period. Henderson faked to Foster and romped around the left end to put Massillon ahead 8-6.

Bill Simon, junior halfback filling in for Evans, helped the drive considerably when he took a handoff on a fake and circled right end for 16 yards to put the ball on the 6 with first down.

John McFadden, a senior safety, grabbed a Zelina punt 4 plays after the Tigers’ score and returned it 12 yards. Following a personal foul step-off to the Bennie’s 37, James hauled a pitchout to the 23, shaking off a couple of tacklers. Two plays later, on second down from the 10, Simon was all alone in the left corner of the end zone but Henderson overshot the mark.
* * *

ON THE FIRST play of the last stanza, it was “TJ for the TD.” Henderson, who did some fine belly faking during the night, pitched to James who scored from the 7 on third down. The clock showed 11:54 left as junior halfback Russ Fenton subbing for James who pulled a muscle running into the fence on the touchdown scamper, was short to the left with a pitchout on the conversion run.

Junior end Keith Griffin and senior halfback Howard (Skeeter) Hannon – still another diminutive Tiger – tackled Bill Rini on the 20 to keep Benedictine behind the 8 ball. On Massillon’s next punt, Dickinson and junior tackle Bill Snowball hit Zelina on the 14 to keep up the pressure.

Massillon got its final TD when Foster intercepted a pass on the Bennies’ 30 with 1:51 remaining and ran back to the 9 before being bumped out of bounds. Beiter had hit Betts with both senior tackle Mike Sherrett and senior end Mike Kraft tipping the pass.

Foster rammed to the 3 and one on successive plays then went off right tackle and in standing up for the final score with 40 seconds remaining. Fenton caught a pass to the right from Henderson but missed getting the conversion by a gnat’s eyelash.

Bossu summed up the Benedictine situation when he said, “We hurt ourselves in coming up with penalties which kept us from getting into field position in the second half. Massillon had a much harder running game in the second half. They’re a typical tough Tiger team.”
* * *

MASSILLON Coach Bob Seaman said, “We just got beat to the punch in the first half. At halftime I told the team I came here to win. We blocked well in the second half. Our tackles hit out better. We had field position in the second half but not in the first.”

When asked why he didn’t pass in the first half, Seaman explained, “I’m not going to put the ball in the air on our side of the 50.”

Seaman thought his defense did “an outstanding job.” He added, “This game helped us mentally.

Massillon has now won 2 straight this year and 30 in a row since 1963. Benedictine is 1-1 on the season and had a 10-game winning streak stopped.

The Tigers will make the first of 3 straight road trips Friday. The Mansfield trek will be followed by jaunts to Alliance and Niles.

BENEDICTINE – 6
Ends – Petschauer, Strazinsky, Smith, Grimm.
Tackles – Bucci, Forro, Roberson, Palsa, Mauser.
Guards – Bossu, Sejnowski, Czech, Mack, Okonek.
Center – Erlenback.
Quarterbacks – Betts, Ferko.
Halfbacks – Rini, Sadd, Russ, Zelina,
Fullbacks – Siracusa.

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Moyer, Smith, Gallion, Liggett, Griffin, Sterling.
Tackles – Houser, Snowball, Campbell, Ricker, Sherrett, Turley.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, Neago, Ertle, Hauenstein, Beiter, White.
Centers – Senften, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Henderson, Young.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, Fenton, Hannon, McFadden.
Fullbacks – Foster, Moore.

Benedictine 0 6 0 0 6
Massillon 0 0 8 12 20

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster 2 (both one-yard runs), James (8-yard run).
Benedictine – Petschauer (15-yard pass from Betts).

Extra Points: Henderson 2 (run)

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 7 5
First downs – passing 0 4
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 8 9
Yards gained rushing 152 103
Yards lost rushing 12 19
Net yards gained rushing 140 84
Net yards gained passing 0 82
Total yards gained 140 166
Passes completed 0-2 8-13
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 18 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 55.5 53.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 14 64
Punt average (yards) 6-33.2 6-37.3
Punt return (yards) 28 29
Fumbles 1 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 3 6
Yards penalized 15 57
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Total number of plays 52 52

OFFICIALS
Referee – Octavio Sirgo (Canton).
Umpire – Bobby Brown (Parma).
Head Linesman – Jerry Katheran (Cleveland).
Field Judge – Sam DiBlasi (Canton).

ATTENDANCE: 14,369

History

1966: Massillon 32 vs. Canton Lincoln 14

September 9, 1966March 5, 2018
by Eric Smith

Tigers Dump Lions 32-14 In Opener

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Charles Dickens would have felt right at home at Tiger stadium Friday night. As he once said, ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

Massillon’s Tigers got off on the right foot in quest of a third straight state championship even if the step was a little shaky. The Bengals stopped Canton Lincoln’s Lions 32-14 before one of the largest opening night crowds ever, 13,431.
* * *

THE BATTLE of the felines was the second game of the first double bill ever presented at the stadium. Marion Catholic and Dover St. Joseph, 1965 state Class A powers, battled in the opener with Marion winning 8-6.

Massillon played turnabout ball, jumping ahead 20-0 at the half, and was outscored 14-12 in the second. Total yardage also went in the opposite direction: from 228-66 in Massillon’s favor before the intermission to 120-92 in Lincoln’s favor afterwards, as did the number of plays, 30-28 to 26-16.

Tiger Coach Bob Seaman making his debut as the Bengals stretched their win streak to 29, thought complacency might have had a great deal to do with the poor second half. “When you put points on the board with 4 seconds to go in the first half, you’re bound to relax a bit in the second.”

Lou Venditti, who might have his finest team in his 6 years at Lincoln, was “proud of the kids coming back after being down 20-0.”

Venditti thought his team was hurt by 2 bad mental errors and a fumble at the wrong time. There was one mental error and 3 bad breaks which hurt the Tigers, to say nothing of numerous penalties.
* * *

MASSILLON SCORED first when junior halfback Greg Evans went off left tackle from
33 yards out on second and 8 with 9:35remaining in the welcome quarter. The drive covered 74 yards in 5 plays after the opening kickoff. It featured 2 first downs and a big run by Evans over right tackle off a pitch, which carried from the Tiger 29 to the Lincoln 35.

Senior Craig Maurer, quarterback, missed on a rollout for the conversion.

The next time Massillon had the ball a 40-yard run by Evans was nullified by a clipping penalty.

Midway in the first quarter, Lincoln threatened following Jim Krenzer’s punt from the end zone after the Obiemen were put into reverse gear by motion and clipping penalties, 2 of 16 on the night for 115 yards.

On the first play following the punt, Lincoln’s senior signal-caller Tom Smith, who was to have a great second half, rolled out, scampered from the Tigers’ 34 to the 21 and fumbled. Gigantic Mike Sherrett, Massillon’s 6-7, 251-pound senior tackle, recovered, or as Venditti said, the game might have been different.

As the second quarter got underway, it appeared the Orange and Black were on the way for a second score. With second and
(line of copy missing)
Massillon 37 to the Lincoln 47 with the next punt and the Washington high eleven was on the way to its second score. Seven plays and 3 first downs later, senior fullback Will Foster went over left tackle from the 7 with 3:41 left. Foster made it 14-0 on the same play.

The Tigers scored again just as time ran out in the first half. Maurer threw the “bomb” to Evans on second and 5 from the 50 with 4 seconds remaining. The little jackrabbit grabbed the pigskin on the 5 and went in on the first of the Lion mental errors. Foster found the center too tough for the conversion.

Lincoln started on its comeback rampage immediately after the second half kickoff. Smith started to run wild on the keeper, spelled at intervals by junior halfback John Franzone and junior fullback Greg Wentz. The drive started on the Lions’ 33, carried for 67 yards and 5 first downs.

Franzone got the score with 7:17 left in the third canto. He shot off left tackle on first and 10 from the Tigers’ 28. Smith hit junior end Bruce Fowler in the left side of the end zone to make it 20-8.

As the quarter was about to come to an end, Krenzer dropped back from the Tigers’ 19 to punt and found his attempted boot blocked, giving Lincoln the ball on the 14. In 6 plays Bengal fans were starting to squirm.
* * *

WITH FOURTH and 2 on the 6, Smith hit senior end Scott Ricketts in the right section of the end zone with 10:03 ;left in the goodbye chapter. Seaman said a linebacker incorrectly heard the coverage call. Junior linebacker Hoyt Skelton, junior tackle Bill Ricker and senior middle Earle (Stump) Beiter brought Smith crashing to the turf short of the conversion.

A wounded Tiger is dangerous and the Obiemen poured on the steam. Evans ran back 33 yards. Tommy (Scooter) James, senior halfback, rode the wave of excellent blocking on power sweeps off the pitch on almost every play in the ensuing 6-play, 4-first down, 57-yard scoring drive.

“Tailspin Tommy” tallied from the 23 on second and 4. He took 2 steps to the right, shot back over left guard and it was “TJ for the TD.” Evans failed to get the conversion on a pitchout.

A once-in-a-lifetime occurrence cropped up next. Foster kicked off out of bounds on the one. His repeat boot after 5-yard penalty sailed into the end zone. A Lion back forgot to recover the ball and sophomore Marc Malinowski, up from Lorin Andrews junior high, pounced on the swinehide for a score.

Maurer missed the conversion on the keeper for the second time during the night.
* * *

BUT LINCOLN wasn’t through driving from the Massillon 43, after a short kickoff by Mike Gipp, to the Tigers’ 5, a distance of 52 yards.

There junior linebacker Ron Ertle brought Smith down on a fake pass and run on fourth and 6 to halt the scoring attempt. Franzone and Wentz were the big boys on the 3-first down drives.

A freak play cropped up along the way. Fowler caught a pass from Smith after it bounced around off several hands including those of at least 3 Tiger defenders. The play carried from the Lincoln 49 to the Massillon 26.

Massillon will play host to Cleveland Benedictine next Saturday.

LINCOLN – 14
Ends – Ricketts, Fowler, Sanderson.
Tackles – Christy, Hastings, Predisik.
Guards – Myers, McVehfl.
Center – Wernecke.
Quarterbacks – Smith, Best.
Halfbacks – Flinn, Franzone, Breslin, McCoul.
Fullbacks – Wentz, Behm.

MASSILLON – 32
Ends – Moyer, Smith, Sterling, Gallion, Griffin, Richards.
Tackles – Houser, Snowball, Ricker, Turley, Sherrett, Martin.
Guards – Hausenstein, Russell, Ertle, Beiter, Porrini, White.
Centers – Senften, Skelton, Kraft.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Young, Henderson, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Evans, Hannon, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullbacks – Foster, Gipp.
Punter – Krenzer.

Lincoln 0 0 8 6 14
Massillon 6 14 0 12 32

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Evans (33-yard run and 35- yard pass from Maurer),
Foster (7-yard run),
James (23-yard run),
Malinowski (recovered kickoff in end zone).
Lincoln – Franzone (28-yard run), Smith (6-yard pass from Ricketts).

Extra points:
Massillon – Foster 2 (run).
Lincoln – Fowler 2 (pass from Smith).

Attendance: 13,431.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack McLain (Columbus).
Umpire – Bill Holzwarth (Louisville).
Head Linesman – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Field Judge – John Dalrymple (Akron).

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 13 6
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 14 11
Yards gained rushing 286 144
Yards lost rushing 1 6
Net yards gained rushing 285 138
Net yards gained passing 35 48
Total yards gained 320 186
Passes attempted 1 12
Passes completed 1 5
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 47.0 41.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 41 58
Times punted 5 4
Punt average (yards) 26.5 37.5
Punt return (yards) 29 2
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 16 3
Yards penalized 115 18
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Number of plays 46 54

History

1965: Massillon 18, Canton McKinley 14

November 13, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger Rally Repels Bulldogs 18-14
Real Champs Fight Back!

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“That’s the mark of a real champion!”

Those words might have been uttered by a Massillon football fan. They might have been pronounced by a Washington high school coach. They might have been written by this reporter.

But they weren’t. That’s why they mean so much more today to one of the most terrific bunch of boys ever to wear the famous orange and black garb of the Tigers.

Following the Bengals’ 18-14 come-from-behind victory over Canton McKinley Saturday at Fawcett stadium in Canton before a standing-room only crowd of 22,326. Jim Smith, coach at Lake high school in Hartville, uttered the words which lead off this story. He paid the supreme compliment to the Obiemen through veteran assistant Carl (Ducky) Schroeder.

* * * * *
THE TIGERS convinced one outsider that they deserve to wear the Ohio high school crown. And maybe they convinced more around the state. Whether they did or not cannot be known until Tuesday when the final wire service polls come out.

But the Brucemen convinced all the Tiger fans watching at Fawcett that they deserved to wear a second straight crown. Any team which can be down 14 points at half time to a fired-up, superbly coached, hard-hitting team like McKinley and come back to win -–for the third time this season—certainly deserves to be called a champion.

The other 2 times the Orange and Black turned the tide was against equally tough Steubenville and Warren teams. This trio of feats will be etched in the memories of the Tiger faithful forever.

The 1965 season truly saw a superb team effort on the part of the players. Each did his part. Each came to the fore time and again during a 10-game slate, which had more pressure-packed moments than an old-time movie serial.

The win Saturday gave Massillon an undefeated season in 10 games, 28 consecutive victories, 9 in a row over McKinley and a third straight title in the All-American high school football league. The Bengals have not lost a league contest since the circuit’s inception in 1963.

For Coach Earle Bruce it was a 43rd straight unbeaten game, counting the August all-star game. He now has a 3-1 record at Fawcett, having split 2 games there with Canton Timken while at Salem.
* * * * *
FOR THE thousands of fans who watched via television Saturday, it must have been like seeing a replay of an old movie on the late-late show for this year’s game came close to being a carbon copy of last year’s. The Tigers beat McKinley 20-14 at Tiger stadium in 1964.

This time, however, the WHS eleven started its comeback earlier, not waiting for the last quarter to roll around. Quarterback Dave Sheegog, playing in his final high school game, got his mates started with a 24-yard run-back of the second half kickoff to his 34-yard line.

The Tigers moved in for a score in 11 plays, finally getting their deadly, ground-gobbling, time-consuming offense into high gear. “Sweet Walter” Lemon, another senior, picked up 16 yards in 5 plays on the drive with Sheegog and junior Tommy James also in on the effort.

The touchdown came after a first down procedure penalty had set Massillon back to the McKinley 39. Sheegog handed to James on the trip up the middle and “the Scooter” was “Gone With the Wind.” He cut back to his left and scurried for payoff territory, arriving with 6:05 left in the third period. A fumble nullified the conversion attempt.

With almost 6 precious minutes chopped off the clock in the scoring soiree, McKinley attempted to get a drive going following the kickoff. But 3 plays later it was “TJ for the TD” again.

Bulldog quarterback Larry Haines attempted a pass with second down on his 33. James intercepted on the 40, went down the left sideline and scored with 5:14 remaining in the period. Another fumble aborted the conversion try.

The Bengals forced a punt on the next series as linebacker Paul Marks threw Haines for a 10-yard loss on third down. Sheegog ran back 31 yards with the boot to the McKinley 24. But a penalty and 2 incomplete passes halted the drive on the 24.

It looked as if McKinley were about to come charging back. Their outstanding fullback Larry Clayton went booming off right tackle for 28 yards to the Massillon 48 with Paige making a desperation tackle to save a score. Four more plays put the pigskin on the 35.

* * * * *
THEN SHEEGOG intercepted another pass on what McKinley Coach Ron Chismar called the key play of the game. Massillon then drove 76 yards in 13 plays for the winning score. Most important about this drive was that it clipped 8 minutes off the clock allowing too little time for McKinley to rebound. This was about the umpteenth time that the Tiger trademark of 1965, possession ball, had paid off. It couldn’t have come at any better time.

Lemon, Sheegog, Foster and James all had a hand in the assualt. Lemon had an 8-yard run, Sheegog a pair of 8’s and Foster an 11.

It was Foster who came up with what Bruce thought was the key play and so did all of the Tiger fans. Massillon had fourth down on the 17. Sheegog was about to be trapped on a pass-run when (name unreadable) out a low clothes line. Foster made a swan dive on the 9 and came up with the ball. Umpire Tony Pianowski immediately signaled a legal catch.

Foster blasted through the middle to the 3 and over, off left tackle, in successive plays with 2 minutes remaining. Sheegog tried to hit Paige for the conversion but Rick couldn’t hold it.

But the heart-throbs weren’t to stop. McKinley, showing the great stuff it is made of, continued to fight, moving the kickoff to the 29 after a 23-yard runback by Mathews to the 25.

With third down on the 27, Haines hit end Ed Hinton on the 39. Then Haines faded to pass, slipped and went down on the 29 with Mike (Big Boy) Sherrett on top of him.

* * * * *

THE NEXT PLAY saw Haines fade again. This time Marks picked off the fourth McKinley pass of the day, more than in any other game for the Tigers. Massillon took over on the Bulldog 46 and ran out the clock.

Unlike in the second half, McKinley was in command in the first period. Hopped up like a horse on loco weed, the Pups rammed away for 2 quick TD’s before the startled Tigers knew what had hit them and it looked as if an upset were in the making.

Half Fred Mathews was the star here. He ran the opening kickoff back 44 yards to the Massillon 48. Although there is no intent to play down a fine performance by Mathews, it has to be stated that a couple of Tiger defenders slipped in the mud just about the time they were going to haul Mathews down.

He picked up 40 more yards on the drive, the payoff coming on a 32-yard pass-run combination with Haines on the propelling end. The down was third and the time remaining 9:40. Greek-born George Fronimo booted the extra point soccer style in stocking feet.

The Tigers got a 20-yard runback to the 30 by Sheegog. But then disaster struck Sheegog, passing into the teeth of a strong wind, saw his aerial hold up short. Mathews hauled down the errant toss on the McKinley 35 after a frantic effort by Paige to bat it away and
hot-footed it to the Massillon 43 for 22 yards on another fabulous return. Eight plays later the Bulldogs had their second score and it looked like curtains for the Bengals.

* * * * *
WITH CLAYTON carrying the ball 5 times and picking up 25 yards, the Bulldogs got their next TD with 4:15 left in the welcome frame as Haines sneaked in from the one. Fronimo again connected on a conversion kick.

Mathews had a key third down pass reception for 6 yards on the Tiger 21. Clayton brought the ball to scoring distances by bursting through the center on successive plays to shake off tacklers and travel from the 21 to the 3.

Sheegog ran back the kickoff to the Massillon 34, a distance of 24 yards. But on the first play, Bill Knucklos recovered a Bengal fumble on the Massillon 37.

The Brucemen then stopped the Bulldogs’ drive on the Massillon 32 and the Pups got into Massillon territory only once the rest of the game.

The remaining seconds of the first period and all of the second were a standoff. McKinley had the ball for only 9 plays in the second canto. Massillon’s deepest penetration was to the 21 just before the half ended.

The Obiemen had 2 drives going, one for 6:30 and the other for 4:15. Junior “monster” back Ron Muhlbach intercepted a pass to start one thrust. The Tigers failed to make it once on a fourth down play and got bogged down by 3 procedure penalties the other time.

Chismar said after the game that he thought Massillon had a “great football team.” He said the difference between the 2 halves of play was Bruce’s throwing ‘junk” at the Bulldogs in the first half and playing his normal game in the second.

* * * * *
BRUCE confirmed Chismar’s statement about using a lot of odds and ends in the first half. He felt that his team did a better job of rushing the passer in the second half, which helped cut down on the effectiveness of the Bulldogs’ passing.

When asked what it was he said at half time to fire up the Tigers, Bruce replied, “Go Get them!” He added, “That old Massillon tradition of coming back is hard to beat.”

Chismar commented on his passing in the second half by saying that broken patterns were involved when James intercepted for a TD and Sheegog pilfered to start the drive for the winning score.

“They wouldn’t have scored if it hadn’t been for that,” Chismar said.

Chismar, a fine sportsman, refused to say that the absence of speedster Darryl Rippey hurt. “Elbert Bradley did a fine job of filling in,” he said. “I cannot take anything away from him.”

Tiger defensive backfield Coach John Behling explained the reason for the Bengals’ trouble in covering passes in the first quarter. “The boys couldn’t hear their cover calls,” he said.

The Lineups. . .

MASSILLON – 19
Ends – Paige, B. Williams, McGuire, Gallion, Griffin.
Tackles – Hartley, Neago, Petroff, Sherrett.
Guards – Rose, Whitified, Kraft, Richards, Zorger.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, Muhlbach, Smith, Healy, McFadden, McLendon.
Fullbacks – Foster, Manson.

McKINLEY – 14
Ends – Ring, Snell, March, Hinton.
Tackles, Scott, Adamski, Rushe.
Guards – Robinson, Hall, Nucklos, Shimek.
Centers – D’Antonio, McEwen.
Quarterback – Haines.
Halfbacks – Mathews, Bradley, Johnson.
Fullbacks – Clayton, Dickerson.

Score by Quarters:
Massillon ………….. 0 0 12 6 – 18
McKinley………….. 14 0 0 0 – 14

Touchdowns:
Massillon – James 2 (39-yard run and 40-yard pass interception return);
Foster (3-yard run).
McKinley – Mathews (23-yard pass-run from Haines);
Haines (one-yard sneak).

Extra points:
McKinley – Fronimo 2 (placekicks).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Head Linesman – Branton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Field Judge – Tom Ascani (Canton).

Attendance: 22,326

Statistics . . .

Statistics
Mass. McKin.
First downs—rushing 10 7
First downs—passing 3 3
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 165 153
Yards lost rushing 2 29
Net yards gained rushing 183 124
Net yards gained passing 43 60
Total yards gained 226 184
Passes attempted 12 11
Passes completed 4 4
Passes intercepted by 4 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 42 27
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 49
Kickoff returns (yards) 65 63
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 40.0 29
Punt returns (yards) 28 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 5 1
Yards penalized 25 15
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 38 31

History

1965: Massillon 18, Eastlake North 0

November 5, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘Beat McKinley Week’ Kicked Off
Eastlake Sunk 18-0 By Bengals; Undefeated Tigers Coast to 9th Win

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“Beat McKinley!”

The squad room in the Washington high dressing quarters at Tiger stadium was lined with signs which welcomed the Tigers in that manner as they came off the gridiron following Friday night’s game. Leaflets floated down from the roof at the end of the game with the same message.

And you know the Bengals were thinking ahead to next Saturday’s game at Canton when they closed their home season with an 18-0 “Dad’s Night” victory over Willoughby Eastlake North. It was expected there would be a letdown.

But even so when you pick up a total of 335 yards and limit the opposition to 133 and register 20 first downs to the foe’s 6, you’ve done a pretty fair night’s work. And when you score 5 touchdowns – even though losing 2 – while holding an opponent scoreless, there can’t be many complaints.

A CROWD of 11,141 watched the Orange and Black roll to its ninth straight victory and its 27th over a 4-season span. The Obiemen’s 22nd consecutive win at home gave the Bengals their third-longest win steak in their history.

For Coach Earle Bruce it was 42 victories without a loss, including the August all-star game. Bruce has been tied 3 times since his string started in 1960 at Sandusky.

The loss for Eastlake was its second in 9 games.

The Tiger victory came as the result of good possession football. The Tigertowners ate up a lot of real estate and a lot of time during the 3 drives in which they scored and the 2 in which they just missed the mark.

It was a game, which saw almost as many different backfields for the Earlemen as the locks on the dressing room lockers have combinations. In fact, Bruce said afterwards, “I was really confused. I was never sure of who was in the backfield and what play to run.”

The cause of the confusion was the absence of “Sweet Walter” Lemon, senior left half, who had a bad ankle. Bruce switched junior right half Tommy James to Lemon’s spot. Junior Will Foster moved from fullback to right half, Senior Tri-Captain Terry Manson was back at fullback after several weeks’ absence due to an injured knee.

Before the game was over, Bruce had used senior Rick Healy, who for the first time Friday didn’t have to punt, at left half – a position at which he started the year, before shifting to split end. He had also used junior John McFadden and sophomore Greg Evans in that spot and sophomore Bill Simon at fullback.

* * * * *
IT WAS EVANS who surprised. Playing his first varsity game, he scored 2 of the Bengals’ touchdowns and picked up quite a few yards, prompting Eastlake Coach Vic McIntire to tab him as “slippery” and Bruce to laud him for a job well done.

Bruce also was happy with Foster’s power running and McIntire said: “He really ran over us.” Foster carried unofficially 22 times for 154 yards which averages out to 7 yards a try. He “missed” 3 touchdowns.

The Obiemen took over after Eastlake’s first punt and scored on a 15-play, 65-yard drive, which almost was short-circuited before it got started but was helped along by a face mask penalty. Foster got 24 yards on the drive but James got the big romp of 23 fourth downs yards to the 2-yard line for a first down.

It took the Bengals the full 4 plays to score with Sheegog faking to Manson and circling left end for the score with 3:16 remaining after the 6-minute, 48-second drive.

Foster failed to run the conversion.

The Tigers held Eastlake at their 47 after some fine running by fullback Al Lunder and halfback Damon Infalvi. Sheegog ran the punt back 25 yards to his 35 but the Earlemen were guilty of clipping.

The WHS eleven then hammered out a 92-yard drive for their second score. A big play was a 44-yard charge up the middle by Foster on which he might have gone all the way but tripped over one of his blockers and fell at the Eastlake 39. He totaled 58 yards on this drive.

End Rick Paige caught a 14-yard pass on the Eastlake 23 to change a fourth down into first. Eight plays later Evans shot off right tackle from the 2 on first down to cross pay dirt with 6:10 remaining in the second stanza. A pass to Paige for the conversion misfired.

The drive took 11 plays and wiped 6 minutes off the clock after starting with 10 second left in the first period.

Infalvi ran the kickoff back 31 yards only to fumble on his 49. James hopped on the ball and the Tigers set sail for the golden shores again. But this push was to be ill-fated.

* * * * *
TWELVE PLAYS and 4:03 later Foster fumbled into the end zone from the one after picking up 20 yards on this drive. Eastlake junior safety Bill Kettunen recovered for a touchback.

Eastlake took over with 1:57 left in the half and drove to the Massillon 23 before being thrown back to the 29 on a broken pass play as time ran out. Two beautiful pass plays highlighted the quest. One was a pass-run combination from Kettunen to junior halfback Bob Terrill that went down the middle for 39 yards to the 50. The second was a 27-yarder to the left from the 50 with the same combination involved.

The Tigers took the second half kickoff and moved 71 yards in 16 plays with 8:22 going by the board and Foster picking up 26 yards. Evans started things off with a 27-yard runback to the Bengal 39.

Evans took a pitchout from Sheegog and rounded the left side on third down from the 6 for the score with 3:23 remaining in the third episode. Another pass to Paige on the conversion was incomplete.

Again Eastlake was forced to punt. Sheegog ran the Rangers’ offering back 28-yards to Eastlake’s 42. In 10 plays, Massillon almost scored again. Foster went over from the one but holding was detected setting the Orange and Black back to the 16 from where their effort was halted. Another 3:57 had ticked off with the game now 2 ½ minutes into the good-bye frame.

Eastlake was forced to punt again shortly thereafter. Massillon came back to the Ranger 39 but Foster fumbled. Terry Collins recovered and the Rangers went on their last safari of the evening on which Lunder got a big 16-yard trap run up the middle for a first down on the Massillon 34.

The Drive got as far as the 24 but was reversed to the 25 by Tiger defenders from where Massillon took over and ran out the clock.

* * * * *
AFTER THE GAME, Bruce felt his team didn’t “look sharp all around.” He admitted that “team morale was low” and didn’t think the blocking was real good. “You don’t get that many boys hurt when you’re hitting.” (The Bengals came out with a lot of bumps and bruises, which don’t appear to be serious.)

Bruce lauded James for “sacrificing for the team” by switching away from his normal right half slot to the left side.

The Tigers’ ringmaster praised Eastlake for being a “well-coached team” and doing a “real good job.” He thought Lunder did some outstanding work from his fullback position.

McIntire was unhappy with the work of the striped shirts, saying he thought they overlooked some of the little things.”

He said he didn’t think Sheegog had hurt the Rangers as much as he had other teams but admitted he “fakes you out of your pants.” McIntire was happy with the performance of Lunder although “I should have run him more but we didn’t have the ball enough.”
STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 18 4
First downs—passing 2 2
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 20 6
Yards gained rushing 306 76
Yards lost rushing 4 19
Net yards gained rushing 302 57
Net yards gained passing 33 76
Total yards gained 335 133
Passes attempted 6 9
Passes completed 2 4
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 43.6 49
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 65
Times punted 0 4
Punt average (yards) 0 36
Punt returns (yards) 24 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 1
Lost fumbled ball 2 1
Penalties 2 2
Yards penalized 25 30
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Total number of plays 71 37

EASTLAKE – 0
Ends – Kirschensteiner, Spots, Collins.
Tackles – Carter, Flavin, Gilmour, Schimmelman.
Guards – Wank, Brendt, Yee.
Center – McGlew.
Quarterbacks – Kettunen, Kuchenbecker.
Halfbacks – Terrill, Beuhner, Haworth, Fawcett, Infalvi, Murton.
Fullback – Lunder.

MASSILLON – 18
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Gallion, Griffin.
Tackles – Hartley, Neago, Sherrett, Petroff, Campbell, Skelton.
Guards – Richards, Rose, Whitifield, Kraft.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – James, Foster, Healy, McLendon, McFedden, Evans, Smith.
Fullbacks – Manson, Reed, Simon.

Score by Quarters:
Massillon…………… 6 6 6 0 –18

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Sheegog (one-yard run); Evans 2 (2 and 6-yard runs).

Attendance: 11,141.

OFFICIALS:
Referee – John Dairymple (Akron).
Umpire – Russ Kemper (Cincinnati).
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace (Cincinnati).
Field Judge – Chuck Lorenze (New Philadelphia).

History

1965: Massillon 16, Warren Harding 12

October 29, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Alert Tigers Turn Back Warren
Fumble Recovery Halts Late Panther Drive; Massillon Wins 16-12

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It was a couple of days early for Halloween but the Massillon faithful must have had the biggest scare Friday night since the “Headline Horseman” spooked Ichabod Crane out of Sleepy Hollow and into limbo.

But just when things looked the gravest, Tiger senior defensive tackle Dick Hartley became the “Wizard of Oz” for the Bengals, breaking the spell of the “Wicked Witch of the East.” Big No. 74 pounced on a Warren fumble, which hopped loose on an attempted second down reverse play on the Massillon 10, and stopped what looked like a winning touchdown drive for a tremendous Warren Harding Black Panther squad.

Hartley’s recovery gave the Washington high eleven a 16-12 victory at Tiger stadium. That play may have won the state championship for the Tigers and lost it for the Panthers as the season’s biggest crowd 19,567, looked on.

* * * * *

WARREN FANS will probably discuss Friday’s game as long and loud as they debated the famous “clock contest” which Massillon won here 20-14 in 1957. Two Warren coaches came charging onto the field after referee Bud Shopbell following his ruling that Massillon recovered the key fumble but there was no doubt or hesitation on Shopbell’s part.

Warren fans might debate their Coach Bill Shunkwiler’s reverse call. But as Massillon mentor Earle Bruce said, “It worked before but I can’t say it was the wrong call…I don’t know his club. I’m glad he ran it, though.”

When asked whether he thought Hartley had recovered the fumble, “Bruce said, “No. 74 was on the ball. That was the only thing I saw all night.”

It was top-ranked Masillon’s eighth straight victory of the season, 26th in a row, 21st straight at home and Bruce’s 41st consecutive win, counting the August high school all-star game. It was the first loss in 8 games for the third-ranked Panthers.

Massillon has now won 30 of 41 games played against Warren. One ended in a tie.

Shunkwiler had no comment afterward but it was certain he was not happy with the officiating.

Bruce, on the other hand, had plenty to say. First he praised his opponent highly. “Warren did a great job. They had some real clutch plays. They have a great passer in Wireman (Vern) and an outstanding receiver in Franklin (Marv). Wireman hurt us on his bootleg passes.”

Then the “Earle of Tigertown” turned to his own team. “We ran well but did nothing else well. Our pass defense was the worst it’s been all season. The play of the secondary was not good. I thought for sure it (the multiple win string) was gone tonight.”

WARREN had the best of it statistic-wise but not on the scoreboard where it counts. The Tigers out-rushed the Panthers 233-176 but Warren out-passed Massillon 144-0, completing 7 of 10 to the Tigers’ none for 2. Total yardage was 320-233 in Warren’s favor. The Panthers had 17 first downs to the Obiemen’s 12 although the Bengals’ first downs by rushing were 10 to Warrens’ 12.

It was a game of breaks for both sides. There were other fumbles besides the key fourth quarter miscue along with intercepted passes and penalties, which played a part in the outcome.

The Tigers have to be given a pat on the back for winning 4 games such as they have been called on to win during the last quartet of weeks. It isn’t often that a team beats three of the first five teams in the state and the best in Pennsylvania, all undefeated, one right after the other. It would be little wonder if the Orange and Black were exhausted physically.

Massillon scored only once in the first half but had several opportunities short-circuited on fumbles and intercepted passes. The first time the Bengals got their hands on the ball they drove from the Warren 46-yard line, following Dave Sheegog’s 14-yard punt runback, to the Panthers’ 38. But junior Frank Thomas recovered a fumble on the Panthers’ 33.

The Bengals forced the Panthers to punt and followed with their first score after fumbling Allen Anderson’s punt. It took the Obiemen only 9 plays to cross into pay dirt.

FULLBACK Will Foster had the big play a 50-yard romp through the center to Warren’s 17. Halfback Cesar Aulizio made a desperation tackle.

Foster then took a pitch to the left and rolled to the 5. Walter Lemon rammed to the one and Foster took the pigskin over after a fake to Lemon with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter. Sheegog tossed to “Sweet Walter” on a corner cut to the left for the conversion.

Following the kickoff, Warren moved to Massillon’s 34 but was forced to punt. Anderson got a bad snap from center, had to run and didn’t make it.

The Tigers went on the prowl again but with first down on Warren’s 30, the picture changed abruptly again as a Sheegog pass was intercepted by Nelveton Butler on the 4.

Bruce said of this pass, “They crashed 2 guys from the outside on us. We probably shouldn’t have thrown that one. Sheegog tried to hit his secondary receiver.”

Warren drove to its own 46-yard line with the help of 9 and 18-yard off-tackle runs by left halfback Jimmy Hill and a 10-yard off tackle slant by right half Anderson.

Then came the Panthers’ first score on a play as weird as some Halloween costumes. Wireman running to his right with his receivers covered, attempted to toss to Franklin. Tiger safety Rick Paige hit Franklin on what was adjusted interference.

The ball deflected off Franklin on the Massillon 45 and into the hands of junior Tom Daily, playing his first game on offense, and Daily raced to the promised land with 5:20 remaining in the second quarter. Wireman failed on a conversion run to the right.

Massillon came back strong again. Sheegog contributed a 31-yard kick runback to his 39. Lemon added a 10-yard end scamper to the Warren 46. Tommy Jones went off tackle for 7 to the 39. Then disaster reared its ugly face again as if there were goblins afoot.

ANOTHER Tiger fumble occurred, this one on the 32. Thomas was there again and Warren was on its way to its second score.

Wireman ran 15 yards around right end. Hill danced off right tackle for 18. Binko careened through the center for 14 yards and a first down on the Massillon 14. Wireman tossed to Daily on the one and scored with 37 seconds left. Binko tried the center for the conversion but failed and the Tiger Towners were behind by the longest margin of the season.

After a 20-yard kick runback by Sheegog, he tried a pass on second down from his 34. The ball was batted into the air. Tony Capers intercepted on the Massillon 39. But before he could try a field goal on the next play, the block ran out.

The drives of both teams had wiped many minutes off the clock in what was developing as a game of who could control the ball the longest

The second half saw Massillon control the ball most of the third quarter and Warren the majority of the fourth.

The Tigers drove to their 43 with the third period kickoff. Rick Healy punted and 3 plays later the Tigers had the ball back when Co-Captain Dave Whitfield recovered a fumble on Warren’s 38.

The Obiemen took 11 plays, survived a motion penalty from the 3 on a score by Foster and got the benefit of a personal foul call from the 7 before finally securing the winning TD with 2:19 remaining. Foster tallied his second 6-pointer of the night, again from the one, but over left tackle this trip. Sheegog went around left end after a fake to Foster to make it 16-12.

Massillon had the ball for 8 minutes of the period then it was Warren’s turn to control the clock, taking 6:55 off the ticker while reeling off 13 plays. After Daily’s 12-yard, kickoff runback, Warren began to mix passing with running. Anderson got 8 yards on one aerial, right end Greg Seagraves 13 yards on another.

A clipping penalty set the Panthers back to the Massillon 40. But Wireman threw to Franklin for a first down on the 11. Then Wireman was thrown for a 10-yard loss by Foster. Two plays later Paige intercepted Wireman’s throw from the 19 on the one and returned to the 13.

A motion penalty forced Healy to punt out. Warren started to move from its 33 with 4:55 remaining. Had the Tigers been able to hold the ball here, the dramatic finish might not have materialized.

Nine plays transpired before Hartley’s fumble recovery. Anderson got most of the yardage on the final drive, both on the ground and in the air. He picked up 21 yards in 3 running plays and 10 on a pass. Seagraves also got 17 yards on pass which gave Warren first down on Massillon’s 13. On the second play of this series, the big fumble occurred.

The Tigers ran out the clock.

WARREN – 12
Ends – Seagraves, M. Franklin, A. Franklin, Ingram, Daily, Metro.
Tackles – Capers, Clark, Yendrick.
Guards – Schumacher, Kermode, Camerino, Toda.
Center – Angelo.
Quarterbacks – Wireman, Thomas.
Halfbacks – Hill, Anderson, Aulizio, Butler, Perry.
Fullback – Binko.

MASSILLON – 16
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Healy, Griffin.
Tackles – Hartley, Neago, Petroff, Campbell, Sherrett.
Guards – Whitfield, Richards, Rose, Kraft, Zorger.
Centers – Marks, Ehmer, F. Williams.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, McFadden, Smith, Muhlbach, McLendon.
Fullbacks – Foster, Reed, Manson.

Score by quarters:
Warren……………… 0 12 0 0 – 12
Massillon…………… 8 0 8 0 – 16

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster 2 (one-yard runs).
Warren – Daily 2 (54-yard, pass-run play and 28-yard pass).

Extra points:
Massillon – Lemon 2 (pass from Sheegog); Sheegog 2 (run).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – Bud Shopball (Canton).
Umpire – Harold Rolph (Ironton).
Head Linesman – Mickey Earenfight (Canton).
Field Judge – Joe Romano (Mansfield).

The Yardstick

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 12 10
First downs—passing 0 6
First downs—penalties 0 2
Total first downs 12 17
Yards gained rushing 237 191
Yards lost rushing 4 15
Net yards gained rushing 233 176
Net yards gained passing 0 144
Total yards gained 233 320
Passes attempted 2 10
Passes completed 0 7
Passes intercepted by 1 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 13 0
Times kicked off 3 3
Kickoff returns (yards) 68 68
Kickoff returns (yards) 68 68
Times punted 2 2
Punt average (yards) 31.5 37
Punt returns (yards) 13 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 4 2
Yards penalized 20 20
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 2
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 47 57

History

1965: Massillon 14, Altoona, PA 0

October 22, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Ready For Panthers; Warren Next As Altoona Falls 14-0

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The “finest hour” is perhaps the best way to describe the Massillon Tigers’ performance at Altoona, Pa., Saturday night. But after the finest hour, off times come a stunning reversal of form.

Coming off a 14-0 win over one of Pennsylvania’s toughest, the Altoona high Mountain Lions, the Washington high eleven must guard against complacency. The Bengals will have another tough nut to crack Friday night when Warren Harding becomes the fourth straight to pit an undefeated record against Massillon this season.

The Obiemen took another big step in pursuit of a second straight state title Saturday night at Mansion Park before an estimated record standing room crowd of 16,000.
The Tigers got their 25th straight victory and gave Coach Earle Bruce his 40th in a row, including this year’s high school all-star game.

The Bengals’ running game operated to perfection. The blocks opened large holes in what must have been the finest up-front exhibition of the season for the Tigertowners. The backs did their best running of the season picking the holes just right. The defense hit about as hard as it ever has, diagnosing Altoona plays perfectly.

To do it, the Tigers had to beat a bigger team and one of the best they’ve played to date. The Lions battled down to the bitter end tenaciously but were thwarted at every turn by a gallant bunch of Ohioans determined to show the world that their brand of football is best.

The Orange and Black held the Altoonans to only 80 net yards rushing while picking up 255 yards themselves. Passing was almost even, 48-40. Total yardage 313 to 120 with first downs 18-7.

* * * * *

ALTOONA got only one threat going. That was at the start of the second period when the Lions took over on their own 24-yard line after a punt and drove to the Bengal 17. But junior “monster back” Dale Gallion picked off a Dick Frasca pass in the end zone after it had been batted into the air and a touchback resulted. Massillon then moved for its first score of the night.

Altoona had seemingly lost the ball on downs at the Massillon 45 – the only time the Lions got out of their territory the whole night – but on the first play of the quarter, Massillon jumped off side with fourth and five, Altoona got a life.

Dick Beard, one of Pennsylvania’s finest halfbacks, took a pitchout from Frasca with third and 13 on the 43, cut right and raced to the 29 for a first down. Seven plays later came Gallion’s interception.
The Bengals went 80 yards to score, after the touchback, in 12 plays, chopping 6:35 off the clock. Key plays were passes from quarterback Dave Sheegog to fullback-halfback, Will Foster, playing on the wing this time, and right end Rick Paige and runs by Sheegog and left half Walt Lemon.

Sheegog ran right end for 10 yards and a first down from the Massillon 24. The aerial to Paige came on third down and carried to the 50. The pass to Foster covered 20 yards to the Altoona 20. Lemon ran straight ahead for 6 yards to the Lions’ 8 on a night when he amassed 132 yards in 22 times. All picked up first downs except Lemon.

Sheegog scored 2 plays after Lemon’s run on a first down play from the 7 on the option left. He tossed to Foster for the conversions with the clock showing 2:10 left in the first half.

After the touchdown, Frasca tried 3 straight passes from the Altoona 36, one to end Kevin Stitt, who was wide open, but that Lion aerial was too long. The third was intercepted by Paige on his 26 and run back to the Altoona 45.

With the help of an 8-yard run by Lemon and a 10-yard pass to Paige, Massillon got as far as the Altoona 30 when the first half ended.

* * * * *
THE TIGERS had 2 promising drives stopped in the first quarter. They got a life on a fourth down, clipping penalty under a punt drive after the opening kickoff and drove to the Altoona 16 but ran afoul of holding and motion penalties.

After regaining the pigskin moments later following a punt, the Tigers got to the 50 but were slapped with a motion call.

In a touchdown drive, a procedure penalty set the Brucemen back 5 yards at one juncture.

Massillon’s other TD came early in the second half. The Tigers forced Altoona to punt after its first series. Paige ran back from the 40 to the Tiger 49, to start the drive.

The Obiemen took 8 plays and 4:45 to go the distance. Lemon got some more important yardage in this drive. “Sweet Walter,” having perhaps the finest night of his career, streaked off tackle for gains of 12, 11 and 14 yards, the last play taking the ball to the one from where Foster bulled over with 5:05 remaining. Sheegog faked to Foster, who had had a key, third down, 9-yard gain in the drive, and went left to make it 14-0.

The Tigers had a motion penalty during the drive, which looked like it was to have dire consequences. But then came Lemon’s run to the one.

Foster line-drived the kickoff into an Altoona player and recovered the rebound on the 50. However, Tony Lepore intercepted a pass on his 20 and returned to the 36.

On the second play from scrimmage, Paul Marks took his turn at intercepting, on the Altoona 40, and zipped down the sideline to the 25. Lemon came up with another sterling off-tackle run, this one for 7 yards. But Tommy James’ fourth down dive was inches short of a first down on the 4.

The fourth quarter saw only several changes of possession by both teams. Altoona came back from its 4 to its 38 after a Massillon drive fizzled, utilizing pass plays of 12 and 19 yards with Beard on the receiving end both times.

Late in the period, Mike Kraft grounded one of Rick Healy’s punts on the Altoona 5, putting the Lions deep in the hole. They got no runbacks at all off Healy’s fine punts, thanks to good coverage by the Tigers.

* * * * *
BRUCE SAID of his team’s play, ‘They put forth a real good team effort! They were up for this one and had to be because Altoona had a great team, a club with a lot of talent.”

He went on, “We were about as well prepared for this game as any all season. The coaching staff really did a job.”

As to Lemon’s performance, Bruce exclaimed, ‘He played a great game!”

Bruce said that the quick pitch hurt early but then his team adjusted. Before the acclimation, Beard reeled off gains of 29 and 14 yards.

A dejected Altoona coach Earl Strohm said, “We just didn’t have it tonight. They were better than we were. We got one touchdown behind and when you do that on a muddy field, you’re in trouble. If the field hadn’t been wet, it might have been a high-scoring game all the way.”

Strohm thought things also might have been different had Frasca connected with Stitt at the end of the first half, because the Lions undoubtedly would have been back in the contest.

He praised the 2-way performance of halfback and linebacker Beard. “He’s a real good kid,” Strohm said.

Massillon came up with one injury. Sheegog sustained a bloody nose.

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Gallion, Healy.
Tackles – Hartley, Neago, Sherrett, Petroff, Campbell.
Guards – Whitfield, Rose, Richards, Kraft, Zorger.
Centers – Marks, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Foster, Lemon, James, Muhlbach, McFadden, McLendon.
Fullback – Manson.

ALTOONA – 0
Ends – Stitt, McGrath, Steinbugle.
Tackles – Traficante, Showalter, Ebersole.
Gaurds – Jeffco, Nedimyer, B. Geis.
Center – Thompson.
Quarterback – Frasca.
Halfbacks – Beard, Neaffer, Lepore, Speacht.
Fullbacks – Launchi, Madden.

Massillon 0 7 7 0 – 14

Touchdowns: Sheegog (7-yard run); Foster (one-yard run).

Extra points: Foster 1 (2-yard pass from Sheegog);
Sheegog 1 (2-yard run).

Attendance: 16,000.

OFFICIALS:
Referee – Lee Moyer.
Umpire – John Solic.
Head Linesman – Tony Senapole.
Field Judge – William Goodfellow.

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 14 4
First downs—passing 3 2
First downs—penalties 1 1
Total first downs 18 7
Yards gained rushing 269 93
Yards lost rushing 14 13
Net yards gained rushing 255 80
Net yards gained passing 48 40
Total yards gained 313 120
Passes attempted 7 15
Passes completed 3 4
Passes intercepted by 3 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 45 11
Times kicked off 3 1
Kickoff average (yards) 37.6 31.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 30
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 34.3 40.6
Punt returns (yards) 14 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 5 1
Yards penalized 35 15
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 61 45

History

1965: Massillon 20, Steubenville 14

October 15, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tenacious Tigers Trip Stubborn Steubenville

Last Period Drive Puts First Blemish On Foes

Bengals Lauded For Bouncing Back;
Crowd Sets Record For River City

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“Blood, sweat, toil and tears.”

The Massillon Tigers added their own ingredient to Winston Churchill’s World War II victory formula to come up with mighty big victory of their own Friday night. That old “Tiger Desire” was there again as the Bengals repulsed a strong bid of Steubenville to knock them from atop the list of state football powers.

The Obiemen fought back from a 3-quarter deficit to hand the previously unbeaten and fourth-ranked Big Red a 20-14 setback before a record crowd of 9,489 at Harding field in the river city. The crowd figure topped the 9,325 which witnessed a game between Steubenville and Canton McKinley on Nov. 7, 1936.

* * * * *
The Orange and Black victory could prove to be their most important of the season. It might be just the incentive the Tigers need to spur them on to their 21st state championship.

* * * * *
IT WAS THE 24TH straight win for Massillon and the 39th in a row for Coach Earle Bruce including the high school all-star game this year.

The game featured a battle of defenses with Massillon getting only 2 long drives going and Steubenville one, all 3 resulting in touchdowns. Between those times Steubenville got out of its own territory on an intercepted pass. Massillon moved out only once and that for just a few yards. Both of the other times came in the second half.

The Bengals held the vaunted Steubenville running game to just 70 net yards and its passing to 33 for a total of 103. The Big Red was not in a position to throw more than 2 passes. Washington high eleven meanwhile, got 153 yards on the ground and 70 in the air for 209.

Massillon had an 8-5 first down lead after the first half and got 5 more in the second half to Steubenville’s one for a 13-6 margin. The Tigers lost 13 yards rushing in the first half while throwing the Big Red for only 3 but lost only one yard after the intermission while tossing the stubborn. Steubenville aggregation for 28 for a total of 14 yards lost for Massillon and 31 for Steubenville.

It was also a game of breaks again for the Tigers who have had a habit of cashing in on such happenings this year. The biggest came in the third period after Steubenville safety Bob Moore had run back an intercepted pass 15 yards to Massillon’s 38-yard line.

Shortly thereafter with fourth down and 4 on the 32, Steubenville was penalized 5 yards for more illegal motion on successive plays nullifying first downs in each case. Offsetting fouls – procedure on Steubenville and offside on Massillon – on the third play kept the ball where it was.

Halfback Mike Palmer tried to run the ball but gained only 2 yards. Massillon took over on its 37 and marched for the winning score.

Later Steubenville Coach Abe Bryan said, “The penalties hurt us,” but also added, “I made a bad mistake there by not punting. But I did not want them to have the ball and I thought I could surprise them.”

Bruce also admitted, “The penalties hurt them.”

* * * * *
AFTER TAKING over with 2:36 left in the third period, the WHS eleven drove almost all the 63 yards for its last score on the ground. The Bengals had the ball for 17 plays and 9 ½ minutes, a smart maneuver because it kept the ball away from Steubenville long enough that the Big Red had very litte time left in the game to work with.

The winning touchdown drive saw “Sweet Walter” Lemon, Dave Sheegog, Will Foster and Tommy James all taking turns running the ball. Sheegog and Lemon each got first downs on crucial third down plays. Foster picked one by inches on the Steubenville 41 after a fourth-and-one situation.

Another crucial fourth down situation popped up on the 10 with 3 yards to go. Sheegog hit halfback Tommy James to the right outside on the 5.

Two plays later Foster rammed in from the 2 with 4:58 remaining in the game. Sheegog hit split end Rick Paige in the right section of the end zone for the conversion.

Steubenville had 2 more tries but was bottled up in its own territory by a supreme defensive effort by the Tigers. A fumble on a punt at the Tiger 36 almost gave Steubenville another life but Paige saved his own bobble.

During this crucial time on defense, the Bengals may have found themselves another good middle guard. Senior Wally Smith, known as “The Catfish” to his teammates, did a job reminiscent of Tommy Whitfield’s last year.

The Tigers broke into the scoring column first, taking the opening kickoff into touchdown territory. James ran back 16 yards to his 36. Four plays later Sheegog hit Paige on first down from the 48 for 27 yards to the Steubenville 25. Paige slipped on the damp turf or might have gone the distance.

Three plays later on another first down, this one from the 15, Sheegog found Paige on the 5 with “Ramblin Rick” going on in for the score with 8:01 seconds left. Linebacker Dwight Sims broke through to spill Foster on the conversion run.

Sims then ran the kickoff back 91 yards down the sideline to his left with 7:48 left. He got a key block from brother Bob. Fullback Bob Smith tried the center for the conversion but missed.

The Tigers had another drive aborted at the Steubenville 39 in the first quarter as Sheegog and Paige just missed connections on a TD pass.

In the second period, tackle Mike Sherrett and Foster, from his linebacker spot, broke though to spill Palmer after a bad fourth down punt snap. It was first and 10 for the Tigers on the Big Red 29.

* * * * *
IN 9 PLAYS the Bengals had their second score. This drive took about 5 minutes, another time the WHS eleven stole precious time from the Stubbers. James picked up a crucial first down on the 17 after fourth on the 22.

On the ensuing third down, Lemon hauled in a Sheegog aerial on the 10 and scampered to the 4. Then carried to the one. An offside penalty put the pigskin on the half-yard line. James went off left guard with 3:55 remaining. Sheegog tried to lateral to James on the conversion attempt to no avail.

Steubenville then played “Beat the Clock” after Bob Booth had runback the kick off 33 yards to his 38. The Big Red started its drive with 3:42 left. Booth swept left end 4 straight times and Palmer right end once.

Quarterback Bob Endres connected with Palmer on the Massillon 20 after third and 4 on the Tiger 46. Palmer ran to the 12 and out of bounds to halt the clock.

On fourth down from the 3, Endres swept right end for the equalizer. He passed to Sesto in the left side of the end zone for the conversion and Massillon was behind for the first time this season.

After the game, Bruce paid tribute to Steubenville by saying, “We played a good football team tonight. I’m glad we’ll get an extra day’s rest before Altoona (next Saturday). We’ve got to hit harder.”

If there was doubt in the fans’ minds about whether their Tigers would come back to win, Bruce had none. “Certainly, I thought we would come back,” he snapped. “These are the Tigers.”

Bryan patted Massillon on the back. “Coach Bruce and his staff have done a real job and have a fine team,” he said.

Bryan didn’t think his team’s spirit would be hurt any by their costly loss. “They have a lot of scrap and have had the whole year,” he said. “The breaks went against them but we’ve had some the other way, too, so I guess they balance out.”

Massillon 20-14

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Gallion, Healy.
Tackles – Hartlye, Petroff, Neago, Sherrett, Campbell.
Guards – Whitfield, Rose, Richards.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle, McLendon, Smith.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullback – Foster.

STEUBENVILLE – 14
Ends – Sesto, R. Sims, D. Sims, Spahn.
Tackles – Bass, Jones.
Guards – Hershey, Checca.
Centes – Sarap, Bates.
Quarterbacks – Endres, Moore.
Halfbacks – Kerr, Both, Palmer.
Fullback – Smith.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 6 6 0 8 – 20
Steubenville 6 8 0 0 – 14

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Paige (11-yard pass from Sheegog); James (one-half yard run);
Foster (2-yard run).
Steubenville – D. Sims (91-yard kickoff return); Palmer (3-yard run).

Extra points:
Massillon – Paige 2 (pass from Sheegog).
Steubenville – Sesto 2 (pass from Endres).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – Ted Humphries (Youngstown).
Umpire – Mike Rodak (Weirton, W. Va.).
Head Linesman – Clyde Moore (Rittman).
Field Judge – LaVerne Haidet (Alliance).

Attendance – 9,489 (new Harding field record)

Statistics. . .
Game Statistics
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 8 5
First downs—passing 5 1
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 6
Yards gained rushing 153 101
Yards lost rushing 14 31
Net yards gained rushing 139 70
Net yards gained passing 70 33
Total yards gained 209 103
Passes attempted 10 2
Passes completed 5 1
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 15
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 48.5 42.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 47 146
Times punted 4 4
Punt average (yards) 31.0 33.5
Punt returns (yards) 7 3
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 2 4
Yards penalized 20 15
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 1
Total number of plays 60 46

History

1965: Massillon 22, Niles McKinley 8

October 8, 1965July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Turn Back Niles Threat 22-8
All Points Scored In 2nd Quarter

First Place Berth Enhanced

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“Satisfied – real satisfied.”

So goes the old cheer and so go the thoughts of Massillon football fans today. They’re satisfied that their Tigers showed Niles McKinley high which of the 2 teams plays the tougher football in the state with a convincing 22-8 victory Friday night at Tiger stadium.

After their second victory in as many years over the Red Dragons following a 29-year lapse in play between the 2 schools, the Washington high team hopes that Niles fans are also satisfied – satisfied that their challenge hurled at the Tigertowners has been answered.

* * * * *
THE BIGGEST CROWD of the season – 16, 533 – saw Massillon score 3 times in the second quarter on the legs of senior quarterback Dave Sheegog and then hold the Red Dragons at bay with a tremendous defensive performance. And when you hold a powerful team like Niles, undefeated in 4 games, to one touchdown, you’re doing something!

Twice in the third quarter the Orange and Black had promising drives stopped by penalties. Sheegog lost his footing in the first quarter on fourth down, bringing a third drive to a screeching halt. A fumble stopped a fourth down try in the second period.

Credit must be given to the Niles team which didn’t give up at halftime and fought back to hold Massillon scoreless after the intermission. Meanwhile Red Dragon senior quarterback Ray Muche made it a unanimous night for signal-callers in the scoring department with a last period touchdown on one of Niles’ only 2 real drives of the night.

Massillon’s fifth straight victory of the season, 23rd straight since 1963 and 23rd straight at home since 1962 put the Tigers into a tie for first place with Warren in the All-American High School football league. Niles and Canton McKinley are tied for second in the 4-team circuit.

But lest his charges become too complacent after getting their boss his 38th straight victory including this year’s all-star tilt, Tiger Coach Earle Bruce cautioned, “Now we must prepare for a fine Steubenville team.” The skipper was well aware that the trip to Big Red country next week could see a long ride back if the Orangemen aren’t careful.

“Niles really fought back,” Bruce continued. “I’m proud of the Tigers’ efforts against them. This was the fist time we were up all season.”

Bruce went on to pat senior halfback Walt Lemon on the back for his fine running which picked up long yardage several times right when it was needed. He thought junior Will Foster, playing fullback in place of the injured Terry Manson after only 3 days practice, showed well, especially in faking into the line. Bruce was happy with junior defensive tackle Mike Sherrett’s play and thought Sheegog played well again. But Bruce also emphasized that this was another fine “team effort.”

The only thing that discouraged Bruce was that “we’ve dropped too many passes.”

* * * * *
A DISCONSOLATE Bob Shaw said, “I’m proud of the way our boys came back in the second half after being down 22-0 and completely dominated play. We had 5 or 6 juniors in there all the time and they were tremendous under pressure. But we made too many mistakes. Massillon has a fine team which made its own breaks and didn’t give us room to operate in the first half.”

After forcing Niles to punt following the Dragons’ reception of the opening kickoff, the Tigers moved from their 40-yard line to the Niles 9, a distance of 51 yards, using up 12 plays, all on the ground, and 7 minutes on the clock. Sheegog went off the left side on fourth down but slipped on the wet turf and failed to get the necessary yardage by only inches.

The Bengals got the ball again on the following punt with 36 seconds left in the period. Sheegog hit Lemon down the middle with a 13-yard pass to the Niles 33 for a first down. Foster picked up 21 more off guard to the 13 for another first down to end the quarter.

Tommy James took the ball to the 11 to open the second stanza. Sheegog then cut off left tackle and out to the left side for the score with 11:20 remaining. Lemon ran the conversion on a fake to Foster and pitchout to the right.

Minutes later Sherrett hopped on a fumble at the Niles 21. After a loss to the 24, Paige picked a Sheegog aerial out of 3 Dragon defenders’ hands at the 7 for a first down. Foster ran to the 4. Sheegog faked to Foster and went around right end with 8:35 remaining. Foster converted on a pitchout to the left.

Shortly thereafter Paul Marks pounced on a Niles fumble on the Dragon 47. Lemon ran 20 yards but Jim Kines came up with a Massillon bobble on the 23.

After an exchange of punts, the Bengals took possession on their 37. Lemon was off again, this time through the center, and almost broke away but tripped at the Niles 44 after a fine 19-yard run. Sheegog ran 20 yards to the 20, going around right end and back into the middle.

A face mask penalty gave Massillon the ball on the 10, third down. Lemon shot to the 2 and Sheegog went through the middle into pay dirt. Foster didn’t quite make the end zone on a pitch to the right on the conversion run.

When the first half ended, Massillon had rolled 218 net yards to Niles’ 46 and 13 first downs to the Dragons’ 1. Niles got out of its own territory only once, with the help of a penalty.

* * * * *
FINAL FIGURES showed Massillon with 298 yards to Niles 149 and 15 first downs to the Dragons’ 7. Niles out-gained the Obiemen in the second half but not by much, 103-80 yards.

The Tigers received to start the second half and on the third play Lemon rocketed off right tackle, got away from a would-be tackler at the Niles 45 and raced to the 16. But 2 delay penalties and an incomplete pass stopped the drive after a first down on the 5.

After a punt, the Tigertowners moved from the Niles 45 to the 30 but a motion penalty on a fourth down play on which Tommy James made the first down, kayoed the drive.

Niles took over on Massillon’s 39 and used up the next 7 minutes and 16 plays to get its lone score. Muche and junior fullback Gary Bletsch did most of the carrying. Bletsch went over on fourth down from the 2 with 7:32 remaining in the last quarter. Muche went through the center on a broken play for the conversion.

The Orange and Black stopped on its next series and when a fourth down delay penalty had Rick Healy kicking from around his 15, Bruce “thought this might be disastrous.” But Healy kicked well to the Niles 39.

Muche ran back to Massillon’s 39 for 22 yards. The Dragons drove to the Massillon 3 with a key play being a 15-yard pass from the 22 to the 7 and a first down via end Larry Cella from Muche.

Muche tried to go around the right end on fourth down but junior monster Ron Muhlbach and senior end Bill Williams hauled him down for no gain.

Bruce commented, “That was a marvelous goal line stand!”

Healy was forced to boot from the end zone on the next series and got the ball to the Massillon 49. The clock ran out 3 incompleted passes later.

NILES – 8
Ends – Kay, Ryan, Cella.
Tackles – Zobitz, Lukz, Samu, Rossi.
Guards – Fuda, Law, Pirigyl.
Center – Johnson.
Quarterbacks – Muche, Kines.
Halfbacks – Owen, Dunningan, Henry, Button, Mawby, Simeone, Gresley.
Fullbacks – Brutz, Bletach, Hilty.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Williams, Gallion, Griffin.
Tackles – Hartley, Campbell, Neago, Sherrett.
Guards – Whitfield, Richards, Rose, Kraft.
Centers – Marks, Williams.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, McFadden, Muhlbach, Healy, Smith.
Fullback – Foster.

Score by quarters:
Niles…………….. 0 0 0 8 – 8
Massillon……….. 0 22 0 0 – 22

Touchdowns: Massillon – Sheegog 3 (11, 4 and 1-yard runs).
Niles – Muche (2 yard run).

Extra points: Massillon – Lemon 2, Foster 2.
Niles – Muche 2.

Statistics
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 12 5
First downs—passing 2 2
First downs—penalties 1 0
Total first downs 15 7
Yards gained rushing 281 115
Yards lost rushing 16 15
Net yards gained rushing 265 100
Net yards gained passing 33 49
Total yards gained 298 149
Passes attempted 9 13
Passes completed 3 5
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 4 2
Kickoff average (yards) 54.5 31.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 9 60
Times punted 3 6
Punt average (yards) 34.0 30
Punt returns (yards) 22 40
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 4
Lost fumbled ball 1 3
Penalties 5 1
Yards penalized 35 8
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Total number of plays 60 55

OFFICIALS
Referee – Howard Wirtz (Cincinnati).
Umpire – Harold Rolph (Ironton).
Head Linesman – George Ellis (Akron).
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle (Canton).

Attendance – 16,533.

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