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Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 26, Alliance 8

Massillon Rolls Over Alliance 26-8

Tiger Ground Game Pulverizes Aviators

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The Massillon Tiger ground game geared into high Friday night to crush the Alliance Aviators 26-8 before an estimated 12,000 fans at Hartshorn field in Alliance. It was the worst beating the Tigers have given Alliance on its home field since 1950 when Massillon won 29-7.

With halfbacks Bob Hewitt and Ed Herring darting and fullback Jim Lawrence battering through the Alliance line, the Tigers rolled up 271 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Mel Knowlton’s game but outmuscled squad.

However, it was the Massillon air arm, which goes into action about as often as the Slobovian air force in an Al Capp comic strip, that came up with the key play of the game.

Trailing 8-6 in the second quarter with a 4th and 12 on the Alliance 17, quarterback Steve Kanner flipped a 14-yard pass to end Rick Paige. The lanky Paige gathered the ball in on the three and skip-stepped into the end zone for the score that put the Tigers ahead to stay. Jim Lawrence plowed over for the extra points making the score 14-8.

Massillon Coach Earle Bruce thought the pass, the first the Tigers tried last night, was the key play of the game. Knowlton, when asked if he felt the same, said, “It didn’t help things.”

THE MASSILLON defense, kept loose while looking for Alliance passes and sweeps, wasn’t as sharp as in previous games. But it did provide the Tigers with their first scoring opportunity early in the first quarter.

Alliance took the kick off to its own 38. Two tries at the Massillon line yielded no gain and with 3rd and 8 Bruce Robb, the dandy Alliance quarterback found his favorite target, end Jeff Zumbar, with a pass about the 30. However, linebacker and co-captain John Muhlbach took the ball from Zumbar’s hands and returned it to the Tiger 37.

Bob Hewitt, playing his best game to date, picked up 21 yards on a burst through the middle to the Alliance 16. Herring picked up 2 and Hewitt again scrambled through the Alliance line for 9 yards. He picked up another yard before Lawrence gunned over for the score from the 4. The Tigers had 6 points on the scoreboard 3:36 into the game. A run by Hewitt failed to net the extra points.

Alliance moved from its own 44 to the Massillon 35 with the aid of a 17-yard pass from Robb to zumbar before the drive ran out of downs. A 15-yard personal foul penalty and a 5-yard offside penalty stalled a Massillon drive and forced the Tigers to punt for the first and only time.

Alliance took the ball on its own 32 and started an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive
high-lighted by 30-yard pass from Robb to end Dave Wolpert and 28-yard run by Robb who took off when he couldn’t find an open receiver, getting to the Tiger 25. Halfback Gary Rasile picked up 13 to the 14-yard line and the Aviators wound up on the 13 at the quarter.

TWO PLAYS later Alliance was at the Tiger 2 from where Carl Dunn swept his left end for the touchdown tying the score. The Aviators went ahead on a pass from Robb to end Tom Offenbecher that went through the outstretched hands of Tiger safetyman Nick Pribich.

The Tiger ground game came into play as Massillon crunched out 43 yards to 9, with Hewitt getting 19 yards, Herring 22 and Lawrence 12. With 3 and 3 on the Alliance 9, Massillon was penalized 15-yards for holding, moving the ball to the 21 from the spot of the foul at the 6. Herring picked up 4, which left 4th and 17 and brought up the key Kanner to Paige touchdown pass and the lead again.

The Tigers took the second half kickoff and went 66-yards in 12 plays with Ed Herring’s 35-yard run to Alliance 19 high lighting the march. Paul Shanor, Hewitt and Lawrence moved the ball to the 7, Herring picked up 23 yards in 2 carries to the 3 from where Hewitt scooted over for the touchdown with 5:28 remaining.

Alliance moved from its own 28 to the 45 with the aid of a 22-yard pass from Robb to Dunn before being forced to punt. Robb punted to Dave Sheegog on the 15 and the junior quarterback returned it to the 27 from where the Tigers went 73 yards in 11 plays.
Back-to-back runs of 16 and 20 yards by Lawrence and Herring, respectively, put the ball on the 14 at the quarter. Four runs put the ball on the 1, but Massillon was penalized to the 6 for being offside. Herring moved the ball to the 2 from where Hewitt scored through the middle for the final tally of the game.

Alliance came back with 5 first downs in 6 plays to move from its own 19 to the Massillon 12, but the Tiger defense took over, held two line smashes to no gain, gave up 6 to the 6 and then smeared Robb for a 9-yard loss on the 15.

The Tigers moved to the 32 where a Sheegog pass was intercepted. With 59 seconds left, Alliance tried to pass, but it was incomplete. Robb ran the ball to the 35, going out of bounds to stop the clock. Robb tried to run out of bounds again and did but was hit. This was a costly attempt for Alliance. Robb was hurt on the play and may be lost to the Aviators for a good while because of a damaged knee.

With 17 seconds left, the Aviators never got off another play. The Aviators may also lose first- string guard Mike Cindia with knee trouble. He was hit on a vicious block by Dave Whitfield on a kickoff play. Both boys were to be x-rayed today. Also out indefinitely with cracked ribs is end Jeff Zumbar.

Mel knowlton credited his team with fighting all the way. “We just weren’t big enough. Massillon’s going to be tough for anyone to beat,” said the veteran Alliance coach. “They’re very strong physically. They hit quick and are experienced.”
COACH EARLE BRUCE was pleased with the Tiger backfield. “They must have wanted to be back of the week,” he said, referring to last week’s game against Mansfield when no back was selected for the weekly honors because of 5 fumbles. Informed the Tigers hadn’t fumbled at all against the Aviators, Bruce grinned a happy “Wonderful.”

And that sums up the victory.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Franklin, Garcia, Paige, Goodnough, Williams, Gilmore, Hoffman.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge.
Guards – T. Whitfield, Larsuel, D. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlbach, Biddle, Rambaud.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Hewitt, Herring, Lawrence, Manson, Pribich,
Shanor, Schaar, Conti, Lemon, Marks.

ALLIANCE – 8
Ends – Zumbar, Wolpert, Offenbecher, Lloyd, Ross, Jenkins.
Tackles – Beall, Admonious, Hahlen.
Guards – Candusso, Lyons, Irwin, Cindia, Ramsayer.
Centers – Allen, Garns.
Backs – Robb, Rasile, Cundiff, Dunn, Codrea, Haskins, Bossert,
Penturf, Ross, Wright, Wood, Lear.

MASSILLON………… 6 8 6 6 – 26
ALLIANCE ………….. 0 8 0 0 – 8

Scoring – Massillon: Touchdowns – Lawrence (run, 4 yards);
Paige (pass from Kanner, 17 yards);
Hewitt 2 (runs, 3 and 2 yards).
Extra Points – Lawrence 2 (run).

Alliance – Touchdowns – Dunn (run, 2 yards).
Extra Points – Offenbecher 2 (pass from Robb).

Officials:
Nick Fracella (Akron), referee.
C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls), umpire.
Tony Grant (Loudonville), field judge.
John Holzbach (Youngstown), head linesman.

Statistics
M A
First downs—rushing 15 6
First downs—passing 2 8
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 12
Yards gained rushing 272 129
Yards lost rushing 1 23
Net yards gained rushing 271 106
Net yards gained passing 52 116
Total yards gained 323 222
Passes attempted 5 12
Passes completed 2 6
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 43.6 38.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 24 85
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 36 31
Punt returns (yards) 14 4
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 4 1
Yards penalized 40 5
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 57 44

John Mulbach
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 26, Mansfield 0

Tiger Defense Sparkles In 3rd Victory 26-0

Line Holds Mansfield Offense To 46 Yards

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

A sparkling defense that held the Mansfield Tygers to a total of 46 yards while its offense sputtered along gave the Massillon Tigers a 26-0 victory before 9,500 fans at Mansfield’s Arlin field Friday night.

The Tigers’ third straight victory belonged mainly to the defensive line which bottled the Mansfield running attack, holding it to a minus 5 yards rushing and gave quarterback Kerry Dean little time to find and hit his receivers. The Mansfield quarterback threw 8 passes and completed only 3.

Massillon coach Earle Bruce could find little fault with his offensive line, which opened up large and frequent holes in the bigger Mansfield defensive line only to have the backs fail to hit the hole. The Tiger backfield also had problems hanging onto the ball, fumbling 5 times. On 4 of those occasions the Tigers lost the ball and had a drive stopped.

However, the backs did something right as the score indicates. Mostly they ground out yardage behind a line that fired out into a bigger opponent. The Tiger line earned the praise of Mansfield Coach Jim Dougherty who liked its blocking and speed.

************

THE TIGERS didn’t score until the second quarter after the first period saw them lose the ball on a fumble at the Mansfield one-yard line after Tiger tackle Jim Binge recovered a Mansfield fumble on the Tyger 8. With the ball on the 1, Mansfield picked up 2 yards into the line. On second down Dave Hutchins, who punted 6 times for a 34-yard average,
quick-kicked to Massillon’s 47 from the 3. Five plays later the Tigers gave up the ball on downs.

With a first and 10 on his own 31, Hutchins fumbled with guard Tom Whitfield recovering on the Mansfield 32. In 2 plays Massillon moved to the 20 as the quarter ended. On the first play of the second quarter, the Tigers fumbled and Mansfield recovered on its own 20.

With first and 5, after a Massillon offside, the Tygers were offside on the following play, the ball going to the 20. Following a 3-yard gain the Tygers decided to quick-kick on second down. Hutchins booted the ball but it struck his center who had backed up, the ball going 16 yards. Dougherty called this the turning point in the game.

With Edgar Herring, Jim Lawrence and Bob Hewitt taking short hunks of yardage the Tigers moved into the 2 in 7 plays from where Hewitt went over right guard for the score with 7:09 remaining. The extra point try failed as quarterback Steve Kanner was downed after a mix-up in the Massillon backfield.

Hutchins made a 46-yard kickoff return to the 50 and Mansfield moved to the Massillon 25 with the aide of a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty. With fourth and 11 on the Tiger 25, Mansfield tried to pass but Dean was thrown for an 11-yard loss.

HERRING MADE a first down in 2 carries and with first and 10 picked up 20 yards on a double reverse to the 29. Here the Tigers got a break when Mansfield was called for piling on after Herring had gone out of bounds. The 15-yard penalty moved the ball to the 14. Three plays took it into the 4, from where with 4th and goal, junior quarterback Dave Sheegog sprinted around his right end for the touchdown making the score 12-0. The extra point try by Herring failed. The score came with 1:46 left in the half.

In the third quarter Massillon got to Mansfield 28 but fumbled away its first drive. The next time the Tigers got the ball the Tigers got to the Mansfield 18 on a 23-yard pass from Kanner to Herring but were called for clipping and lost the ball on a fumble on the next play.

The third time Massillon got the ball in the third quarter it started an 11-play, 56-yard drive that went into the fourth quarter for a score. Junior fullback Terry Manson had the longest run of the drive, an 11-yard gain. The score came on a 4-yard run by fullback Jim Lawrence for his first touchdown of the night. Manson scored the Tiger’s only extra points on a burst into the line.

The Tigers forced Mansfield to kick from its own 40. Hutchins lofted a 34-yard kick to Sheegog who with some tricky running returned to the Mansfield 29 for a 45-yard punt return. The last man between him and the goal tripped the shifty Sheegog.

On the first play from the 29, Kanner fired a strike to end Rick Paige in the end zone, but Paige in full stride, couldn’t hang onto the ball. He kept on going until he fell over a fence enclosing the end zone. Luckily, he wasn’t injured. Lawrence and Herring then drove the ball into the 3 from where Lawrence went inside his left end for the score. Paul Marks tried to kick the extra point, but the ball was partially blocked and didn’t have the distance.

MASSILLON safety man John Frieg intercepted a Mansfield pass on the Tyger 44 to give the Tigers another opportunity to score, but after picking up a first down, the threat ended with Hutchins intercepting a Massillon pass in the end zone on a 4th and 7 situation.

“The punt return was our best offensive weapon,” Bruce said half dejectedly after the game. And it was, with Sheegog getting off returns of 30 and 45 yards. “The defense played a great game,” the Tiger boss said singling out end Ed Franklin, for handling the Mansfield dealing defense, and brothers Tom and Dave Whitfield, Tom for his rushing the passer and Dave for his play, especially blocking on punt returns.

Mansfield coach Dougherty called the Tigers a “great team” because the “line fired out; they block well and have good speed.”

“That Muhlback is a heck of a ball player,” said Dougherty, shaking his head admiringly. “We played pretty good defense, but we couldn’t get our offense to move.”
Massillon had the edge statistically, getting 17 first downs to Mansfield’s 3 and gaining 276 yards to the Tygers’ 46.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Garcia, Franklin, Williams, Paige, Goodnough, D. Whitfield.
Tackles – Binge, Morgan, Hartley, Croop.
Guards – Larsuel, D. Whitfield, Richards.
Centers – Muhlback, Rambaud, Biddle.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Manson, Lawrence,
Hewitt, Herring, Conti, Shanor, Marks, James.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Gonzales, Westerfield, Swarn.
Tackles – Williams, Stehle, Bautz, Harpster.
Guards – Palm, Jameison, Dworski.
Centers – Horvath, Coe.
Backs – Dean , Schnuerer, Earick, Parr, Hutchins, King.

Massillon………….. 0 12 0 14 – 26
Mansfield …………. 0 0 0 0 – 0

Touchdowns – Hewitt (2 yard run); Sheegog (2 yard run);
Lawrence 2 (runs of 4 and 3 yards).

Extra points – Manson 2 (runs).

Officials
Jim Langhurst (Williard) referee.
Dom Ruggerio (Gibsonburg) umpire.
John Mickley (Mt. Vernon) head linesman.
Bill Holsworth (Louisville) field judge.

Statistics
Mass. Mans.
First downs—rushing 15 0
First downs—passing 2 2
First downs—penalties 0 1
Total first downs 17 3
Yards gained rushing 261 36
Yards lost rushing 8 41
Net yards gained rushing 253 -5
Net yards gained passing 23 51
Total yards gained 276 46
Passes attempted 6 8
Passes completed 2 3
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 50.2 46.9
Kickoff returns (yards) 33 126
Times punted 1 6
Punt average (yards) 40 34
Punt returns (yards) 102 6
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 5 3
Lost fumbled ball 4 2
Penalties 5 4
Yards penalized 45 30
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 67 37

John Mulbach
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 14, Niles McKinley 8

Winning Tigers Replace Niles On ‘Cloud 9’

Record 28,169 Watch 48-Game Streak End

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

Cloud 9, the nimbus heaven reserved for great moments, lost its most recent occupant today as the Massillon Tigers began preparing for Friday’s game against the Mansfield Tygers at Mansfield.

The Tigers reached the heights Saturday night in defeating Niles McKinley 14-8 at the Akron Rubber bowl. Massillon came from behind to dump last years state champions and snap a Red Dragon 48-game undefeated streak started in 1959.

The crowd, a record 28,169 attendance for a high school game, sat throughout a tense and bruising battle and watched as Niles threatened to tie and possibly go ahead with 2:21 remaining. But the Tigers held, and again lived up to a rich and proud tradition of being the best in Ohio schoolboy football.

“I’ve seen it so many times before,” said a visiting newspaperman, well-acquainted with the Tigers. “Your boys come up to the BIG game with poise and confidence, no matter how much of an underdog they happen to be.”

And the 1964 Tigers had plenty of both as they halted the Niles streak that threatened to beak the 52-game undefeated streak compiled by Massillon in the late 30’s and early 40’s.

************

Program Cover

BOTH TEAMS had the ball twice in the first quarter with the Tigers losing it the first time on a fumble at the Niles 28. Niles was unable to move the ball past its 38 and punted to the Massillon 33. The Tigers, who wound up with a minus 2 yards in the first quarter, booted out to the 32 after failing to make a first down.

Niles took possession of the ball and started a 15-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that extended into the second quarter. With Mel Dixon and Cee Ellison, the 215-pound, honorable-mention All-Ohioan fullback carrying and quarterback George Infante connecting with passes of 16 and 11 yards to Dixon and McQueen, respectively, Niles moved to the Massillon 6 at the end of the first quarter.

Ellison cracked the Tiger line for 3 yards and tried a second time for no gain. Dixon then took the ball to a foot from the goal line. With fourth and inches to go Ellison went over his left guard to score for Niles with the clock showing 10:12 in the second quarter. Ellison ran the 2 points on a pitchout around his right end, shaking off a neck tackle, to make the score 8-0 in Niles’ favor.

Massillon took the kickoff on its 15 and Dave Sheegog, junior, quarterback, ran it back to the 38. Ed Herring advanced it 3 yards to the 41, Jim Lawrence, who rejoined the team last week, moved the ball another 3 to the 44. Halfback Bob Hewitt picked up another 3 but the Tigers were forced to punt. While the series of plays did not gain much yardage it was important in one phase. The Tiger backfield found its timing, something it lacked in its first game against Cleveland East. Kanner punted to the 30 to end the drive.

Niles picked up a first down in 3 plays and then got 2 more on the ground before Infante had 2 incomplete passes with safety-man John Frieg breaking up the second. Infante, punted to the Massillon 28 from where Sheegog ran it back to the 39, and the Tigers were on their way.

************

KANNER THREW a quick 13-yard pass to end Rick Paige for a first down on the Niles 48. Herring slashed into the Niles line for 7 yards to the 41and Hewitt picked up 3 more to the 38 for the first down.

On the next play, Lawrence started wide around his left end, evaded 2 Niles tacklers at the line of scrimmage and set sail down the sidelines for a 38-yard touchdown run. The last Niles defender was cleared out of the way at the 2 by a jolting block thrown by 160-pound guard Tom Whitfield. Hewitt picked up the 2 extra points over his right side to tie the score at 8-all with 2:52 remaining.

Massillon’s Dave Paul booted to the 12 and Niles brought the ball out to the 25. The Dragons picked up a yard as the Massillon defense held on. With second and 9, Ellison started around the Tiger left end. Wes Goodnough grabbed onto the big fullback’s elbows and as more Tigers hit him Ellison fumbled and the ball bounced loose on the 27 where linebacker John Muhlback and safety John Frieg recovered.

A quick pass to Paige from Kanner for 5 yards. Lawrence hit into the line for a first down on the 16. Kanner then found Paige all alone in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. A run for the extra points by Herring was short and the Tigers were ahead 14-8 with 59 seconds in the half.

The third quarter found both teams shoving each other between the 30-yard lines. Massillon fans had a few anxious moments when the Tigers went for a 4th and 1 situation on their own 47 and failed to make the yard. Niles tried 3 straight passes and all were incomplete. A short kick gave Niles the ball on their own 44 after the Tigers failed to move. Halfback Phil Ziegler picked down with an 8-yard pickup. Ellison got 8 and Dixon 4 more for another first down on the Massillon 33.

************

THE TIGERS DEFENSE stiffened as 2 tries at the Massillon line yielded 5 yards. On a 3rd and 5 situation Niles tried a pass that was incomplete. Niles relied on Ellison with 4th and 5 but he was able to get only a yard against the Tiger defense.

With Sheegog replacing Kanner at quarterback after the senior signal caller suffered leg cramps, the Tigers held the ball (unreadable) plays and picked up 3 first downs in moving to the (unreadable). With 4th and 7, Sheegog was thrown for a 6-yard loss, giving the Dragons the ball on their own 33 with 4:26 remaining.

In 3 plays Niles had a first down on their 47. A 6-yard run by Zielger moved the ball to the 46. Two incomplete passes made it 4th and four. Infante found Mel Dixon all alone up the middle for a 22-yard gain, the Tiger secondary bringing the speedy back down on the 24 with 2:21 remaining.

Ellison picked up a yard and Dixon gained 7 to the 16. Dixon picked up a first down to the 13. Niles tried the pass up the middle and almost made it but the ball was a little too high for the receiver.

With second and 10, Infante went back to pass but found tackle Jim Binge looming in front of him and tried to run to the left where Larry Larsuel knifed through and dropped him for a 5-yard loss to the 18, with 1:28 left in the game. Niles tried 2 more passes, both of which were incomplete and Massillon took over on its own 17 and ran out the clock for its second win of the season.

************

THE MASSILLON dressing room was a scene of bedlam when Tiger fans and well-wishers were admitted after the game. Coach Earle Bruce, whose first Massillon team hurdled the defending state champs in the second game of the season, said he felt “like somebody gave me a million dollars.” Bruce termed Lawrence’s touchdown run the key play of the game and said the Tigers stopped the powerful Niles running attack by hitting hard.

In the Niles dressing room, Coach Glenn Stennett, who took over when Tony Mason left for the University of Michigan, was downcast as were his boys. Stennett said, “Massillon played a great game. We have no excuses. Our kids played a good game, but not good enough. My congratulations to Massillon.”

While the Massillon victory was really a team effort, there were several standout performances as the game films showed. Co-captain John Muhlback earned the player-of-the-week award by getting his man 72 per cent of the time. On defense Muhlback made 13 individual tackles and had 5 assists.

Lineman honors went to guard Larry Larsuel who got his man 65 per cent of the time and who on defense freed Muhlback by handling the Niles tackles. Backfield honors went to Bob Hewitt for his blocking and running.

The movies also showed guard Tom Whitfield as one of the out-standing 2-way players. Dave Whitfield came in for a share of the honors on defense as did Jim Binge. Terry Manson and Ed Herring also did well on blocking assignments and Herring kept up the fine running he displayed in the East game. Offensive tackles Dennis Rambaud and Dennis Morgan also were praised.

BRUCE ALSO credited Sheegog and Gene Biddle for the job they did in replacing injured regulars. Sheegog played quarterback after Kanner went out with leg cramps and Biddle took over at linebacker when Paul Marks also left with leg cramps.

Special credit went to the sophomore team which last week ran the Niles offensive and defensive patterns in scrimmage.

Saturday’s game was the fifth meeting between the schools. Massillon has won all 5, scoring 160 points to Niles 14.

STATISTICS
Mass. Niles
First downs—rushing 6 8
First downs—passing 3 3
First downs—penalties 0 1
Total first downs 9 12
Yards gained rushing 150 132
Yards lost rushing 20 15
Total number of plays 45 61
Net yards gained rushing 130 117
Net yards gained passing 48 67
Total yards gained 178 184
Passes attempted 5 19
Passes completed 4 5
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average (yards) 46 46
Kickoff returns (yards) 36 36
Times punted 4 4
Punt average (yards) 30.3 32
Punt returns (yards) 31 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 1 2
Yards penalized 15 10
Touchdowns rushing 1 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – Garcia, Franklin, Gilmore, Paige, Goodnough, Williams, McGuire.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Paul.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitfield, D. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlback, Rambaud, Biddle.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Manson, Marks, Schenkenberger,
Herring, Lawrence, Conti.

NILES – 8
End – Miller, Gibson, Fasanelli, Cella, Courtney, Petrella.
Tackles – Corrado, Sprague, Berenics, Ferro.
Guards – Krok, Lukz, Morrison.
Center – Watterson.
Backs – Infante, Dixon, McQueen, Zielger, Rowbotham, Butto,
Murray, Croft, Biviano, Ellison, Brutz.

Massillon………….0 14 0 0 – 14
Niles……………….0 8 0 0 – 0

Scoring:
Niles – Ellison (run, 6 inches).
Massillon – Lawrence (38-yard run), Paige (16-yard pass from Kanner)

Points after touchdown:
Niles – Ellison 2, run.
Massillon – Hewitt 2, run.

Officials
John Agnone (Youngstown) referee.
Joe Romano (Mansfield) umpire.
Jim Langhurst (Williard) field judge.
John Holzback (Youngstown) head linesman.
Bill Shaughnessy (Akron) back judge.

John Mulbach
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 16, Cleveland East 0

East’s Errors Help Tigers Win Opener 16-0

Manson Scores 2 TDs On 4th Quarter Plunges

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

Lady Luck smiled on Massillon Friday night after 3 quarters of frustration and fumbles to give the Tigers a 16-0 victory over a good Cleveland East football team in the opener of the 1964 season.

The highly favored Tigers had more than they bargained for as the invading Bombers held them scoreless until late in the fourth quarter when the Tigers moved 80 yards, with the help of two 15-yard penalties, to the East 5-yard line only to lose the ball on downs.

East took over on its 5, and with second and 8, halfback Tim Lee fumbled on a mix-up in the backfield. Defensive end Wes Goodnough recovered for the Tigers on the 7-yard line with 4:39 left in the game.

Program Cover

Fullback Terry Manson, 5’9”, 188-pound junior, took it in to the 2 on the first try. Two smashes into the line didn’t get the ball over. It seemed like the Tigers would be foiled again. With fourth and 2, Manson plowed over for the score, the clock showing 2:18 left. Quarterback Steve Kanner added the extra points on a keeper.

Dave Paul kicked to the East 15 where halfback Bob Haynes brought it out to the 29. On first down East quarterback Ray Holliday fired a pass that linebacker Paul Marks intercepted at the 41 and ran back to the 1 with the aid of a key block by guard Tom Whitfield.

MANSON THEN went over from the one for the Tigers’ second touchdown with the clock showing 1:39 left in the game. Kanner again took the extra points over.

Coach Earle Bruce, making his debut as the Tiger coach after taking over from Leo Strang, whistled a sigh of relief when approached by newsmen in the Tiger dressing room after the game. Although glad that his team had won, Bruce was disappointed in its showing.

“We made too many mistakes—on our offensive assignments—and our blocking was terrible. Of course, we didn’t have the ball too often,” Bruce said before looking at the statistics sheet which showed the Tigers ran 47 plays to East’s 49.

“Then we threw one too many passes,” Bruce said referring to the first quarter when the Tigers moved the ball to the East 21. Quarterback Steve Kanner was smothered by the East line when he attempted to pass fumbling the ball and East recovering. The only other pass the Tigers tried came in the second quarter and it was incomplete.

“I can’t make any comment on our offense until I see the movies. I can’t see how we made so many mistakes,” Bruce said.
* * *
ONE BRIGHT SPOT on offense was the running of Edgar Herring, 5’5”, 148-pound senior halfback who gained 120 yards in 16 carries, including a 42-yarder from the Massillon 26 to the East 32 in the first quarter. It was the longest run of the night.

While unhappy with the offense, Bruce was fairly pleased with the defense, which allowed East only 109 yards. “Anytime you hold a team to 109 yards without scoring, you’re not doing too badly,” he said.

“We have a lot of polishing to do so we can make that trip up to the Rubber Bowl,” the coach added. The Tigers meet Niles McKinley next Saturday night in Akron in a game that has already sold almost 20,000 tickets.

Bruce praised East, saying, ‘They looked good. They really hit out on our linebackers. They didn’t make any mistakes. Joe Pledger, (the 6-foot, 195-pound East fullback) is a good boy.” Pledger picked up 92 of East’s 109 yards in 20 carries.

For 24-year old Bob Madison who was making his head-coaching debut at his high school alma mater, the game was an auspicious start. Madison sounded like an old veteran mentor when asked to comment on the game. “What can you say about losing?” he asked. However, it was obvious he was pleased with his team’s showing. “We came close, closer than any other East team.”

THIS WAS THE third meeting of the 2 schools and the Blue bombers have yet to score against Massillon. The Tigers have racked up 120 points against East.

“They (Massillon) have to go a long way offensively,” Madison said. “Of course they were looking ahead, to a certain extent,” the Colgate University graduate said. “We didn’t plan anything special except the fullback over guard with wedge blocking, hoping we could get them early. Otherwise it was straight stuff.

Actually, we’ve only had 3 days to prepare for Massillon. We couldn’t get into the building on Labor Day to get ready. As for Pledger, he’s quite a boy. There’s nothing in northeastern Ohio, at least, that will come close to Joe,” Madison said proudly of his fullback.

The Tigers penetrated to the East 21 in the first quarter and to the 38 in the second, losing the ball both times on fumbles. The scoring was all packed into the last 5 minutes of the game.

Cleveland East – 0

Ends – Matthews, Mixon, Exodus Lett, Taylor, Capers.
Tackles – Johnson, D. Young, Finley. Fitzgerald.
Guards – Murzynski, Badgett, R. Young, Ballentine, Ivory.
Center – Weaver.
Backs – Holliday, Lee, Ellis, George, Pledger, Simmons, Haynes, Lindsey.

Massillon – 16

Ends – Goodnough, B. Williams, Gillmore, Franklin, Garcia.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Hartley, Stevens, Paul, Croop.
Guards – Larsuel, D. Whitfield, T. Whitfield.
Center – Muhlback.
Backs – Schenkenberger, Marks, Shanor, Herring, Manson, Kanner, Frieg, Pribich, Sheegog.

Massillon 0 0 0 16 – 16
Cleveland East 0 0 0 0 – 0

Scoring – Massillon – Touchdowns – Manson 2 (runs of 2 and 1 yard).

Points after touchdown – 2 (runs)

Officials – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon); referee – Bill Makepeace (Cincinnati);
headlinesman – A.N. Smith (Elyria; headlinesman – Bob Strimer (Delaware) field judge.

Statistics
Cleve.
Mass. East
First downs—rushing 11 9
First downs—passing 0 0
First downs—penalties 2 0
Total first downs 13 9
Yards gained rushing 223 151
Yards lost rushing 21 41
Total plays 47 49
Net yards rushing 192 109
Passes attempted 2 7
Passes completed 0 2
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 40 0
Times kicked off 3 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48 45
Kickoff returns (yards) 19 62
Times punted 2 4
Punt average (yards) 38 31
Punt returns (yards) 0 8
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 1
Lost fumbled ball 3 1
Penalties 4 5
Yards penalized 27 53
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0

John Mulbach
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1963: Massillon 22, Canton McKinley 6

City Still Raving About Tigers Today
A Sparkling Defense Stops McKinley 22-6

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

In a song of a few years back the whole town was talking about the Jones boys.

But today Massillon is still raving about something even better – its terrific Tigers and their scintillating defense. The Bengal fans are also waxing enthusiastic about a master piece of strategy by their Coach Leo Strang and questioning with unbelief the words of McKinley Coach Tony Ware following Saturday’s game at Fawcett stadium.

Put all these factors together and you have the story of Massillon’s convincing 22-6 conquest of the Bulldogs before an overflow crowd of 21,965. The victory will probably open the door of the throne room for the Tigers, giving them their 20th state championship.

Program Cover

The Bengals gave every last bit of effort to show their fans, the people of Canton and the state of Ohio that their first victory over McKinley 24-20 at Tiger stadium last month was no fluke.
* * *
THE TIGER defense stunting and blitzing held McKinley to 26 net yards on the ground and 35 in the air for a total of 61 and tossed the Bulldogs for two safeties in the second half. Time and again Bengal defenders stopped McKinley ball-carriers before they got started and intercepted three passes, one for a touchdown. The vaunted Willie Hall was held to 47 yards, breaking loose only twice.

That’s why Massillon fans today still found it hard to understand how McKinley Coach Tony Ware could say that their Tigers “didn’t bother us defensively. Our offensive mistakes beat us.” He added, “We played our worst game of the season.”

But Strang knew what beat McKinley. In the jubilant dressing room after the game he said, “Did we defense them or did we defense them?” He added, “Oh that was sweet! I never wanted anything more in my life. We had some bad breaks in there, too.”

Massillon did well offensively, too, picking up 202 yards on the ground and 44 via the aerial route for a total of 246.

The cunning piece of strategy by Strang was putting seniors Terry Getz and Bill Blunt back into the spots at which they had started the season. Knowing that Ware would set his defense for Blunt’s running from the tailback slot, Strang inserted “The Rabbit” as wingback and the curly-haired Getz at tailback, thus effectively foiling Ware’s efforts.
* * *
WITH BLUNT decoying defenders, Getz the more powerful of the two, ended his high school career in tremendous fashion behind some outstanding line blocking. Terry ran hard and picked his holes well to tally two touchdowns and collect 107 yards.

His unselfish comment was, “Give the credit to the line. They blocked beautifully.”

The Tigers wasted little time cranking into high gear offensively. After forcing McKinley to punt, minutes after the opening kickoff, the WHS eleven took over on its 22-yard line. Quarterback Ron Swartz broke through the middle on a play which netted 29 yards to McKinley’s 49 even though Swartz stumbled, fumbled the ball and Tom Roderick eventually recovered it during the action.

Lawrence ran a play. Then Getz carried three straight times for a total of 36 yards, putting the ball on the eight. Swartz fumbled on the four on the next play. McKinley’s Fred Mathews recovered.

Nobody got anywhere for the remainder of the first period.
* * *
McKINLEY GOT its only threat going as the result of an intercepted pass by Pete Kalogeras on the Massillon 49. He ran back to the 34. But the Bulldogs got no further than the 20. Henry Vafides tried a field goal but sent the ball way off to the right.

The Tigers had two bad breaks during their next time with the ball. A delay penalty set them back from third and six on their 49 to third and 11. On the next play, Will Perry bobbled a pass while in the clear for a score.

As the second quarter was nearing its close, the Tigers got their first score. Perry, playing his only game at defensive tackle, charged in and hit quarterback Arnie Fontes as he was about to pass. The pass went weakly off to the side.

Cornerback Grady Eckard tipped the pass into the air on the 30. With amazing reaction he reached back, grabbed the ball and raced in for the score. There were two minutes, 30 seconds left.
* * *
SWARTZ TRIED right end on a keeper for the conversion but fumbled and was hit short of the goal line.

With a little more than a minute remaining in the quarter, Floyd Pierce intercepted a pass on his 30 and ran back to the 43. The Tigers then moved 55 yards to the two-yard line thanks to a roughing the passer penalty and a fine catch of a 19-yard pass from Swartz by Blunt.

With 10 seconds left, Blunt raced off right tackle from the two on third down. Massillon fans thought he was in the end zone but the officials didn’t and the half ended.

The Orange and Black got to the McKinley 34 after taking the second half kickoff but Steve Kanner was forced to punt. The ball rolled towards the end zone and Frank Scassa downed it on the one to set up the Tigers’ first safety.
Fontes faded from the five to pass on third down and was lassoed in the end zone by Eckard with six minutes, 11 seconds left in the third canto. The score was 8-0.
* * *
THE BENGALS used 4y minutes on their next scoring drive, moving from the McKinley 33 after a 22-yard runback of the kickoff following the safety. Getz, Lawrence and Swartz took turns running the ball on eight plays with three first downs.

Getz ran the last two plays off right tackle, picking up nine yards on fourth down, then going in from the three with 1y minutes showing on the clock. Swartz missed the conversion run off tackle.

Seconds into the fourth quarter linebacker John Muhlbach intercepted a McKinley aerial on the Bulldogs’ 35 and ran the ball to the 15. But a clipping penalty nullified the runback and three plays later Lawrence fumbled on the 21 with Mathews again Johnny on the spot for the recovery for the Pups.

McKinley got two series and Kalogeras went back to punt on fourth down from the 39. A tremendous charge by the Tigers caused a fumble. Kalogeras tried to punt the ball while it was rolling loose, but ended up with a penalty for illegally kicking a free ball. Massillon was awarded the ball at the spot of the infraction and was off for its final six-pointer.

Eight plays, three first downs and six minutes, 47 seconds later Getz went off right tackle again on second down from the two after running six of the plays on the drive. With one minute, 43 seconds showing on the clock, Bobby Hewitt missed running the conversion.
* * *
TOM RIVERA got to kickoff from the Bulldog’s 45-yard line, thanks to a piling penalty between the extra point try and the kickoff. His boot went into the end zone for a touchback.

On the next play Bobby Johnson tried a “Statue of Liberty” play from the 20, was forced to retreat all the way to the goal line and was thrown into the end zone by Mike Jones. This was probably one of the few 20 yard safeties on record. Massillon led 22-0 with one minute, 32 seconds left in the game.

Hoping to score another touchdown, Blunt passing in a game for the first time, suffered an interception by Martin Smith on the McKinley 20 after the kickoff. He ran back to the Massillon 19.

Three plays later on first down from the nine, Fontes passed to End Dwayne Lipkins for McKinley’s only score with 15 seconds left. Fontes misfired on an attempted conversion pass.

Massillon had one more chance following the kickoff. Swartz just missed hitting Blunt deep in McKinley territory for a score.

The Tigers ended the season with a 9-1 record. McKinley finished 6-4. Massillon has now won 36 games in the series, McKinley 27. Five have ended in ties.

This was the second straight time that Massillon had beaten McKinley twice in one year.

The year 1909 was the only other time this happened.

One group of men who are usually overlooked and seldom praised for their efforts we would like to give a pat on the back for a job well done Saturday. These are the traffic officers who kept the cars on the move before and after the game.

We recall missing the kickoff at Fawcett two years ago because of a traffic jam, though we thought we had given ourselves more than sufficient time to get to the game. We left
one-half hour later this year and drove right into the stadium without any delay. Maybe there were tie-ups in some places but we didn’t encounter any.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones and Goodnough.
Tackles – Miller, Tarle, Morgan, Lash and Binge.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, Rivera, Roderick, Swisher, Muhlback and T. Whitfield.
Center – Scassa.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Getz, Blunt, Rink, Schenkenberger, Eckard and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

McKINLEY – 6
Ends – Lipkins, Roman , Card and Jones.
Tackles – Miller and Shumick.
Guards – Turner, Barney, Hall and Vafides.
Center – Roman.
Quarterback – Fontes.
Halfbacks – Johnson, McElroy, A. and M. Smith, Carter and Mathews.
Fullbacks – Hall and Kalogeras.

Massillon 0 6 8 8 22
McKinley 0 0 0 6 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Getz (three and two-yard runs); Eckard (30-yard pass interceptions).
McKinley – Lipkins (nine-yard pass from Fontes).

Safeties:
Massillon – (Fontes tackled by Eckard and Johnson tackled by Jones).

Officials
Referee – Brenton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Umpire – Harold Rolph (Ironton).
Head Linesman – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 10 3
First downs, passing 3 3
First downs, penalties 1 2
Total first downs 14 8
Yards gained rushing 211 79
Yards lost rushing 9 53
Net yards gained rushing 202 26
Yards gained passing 44 35
Total yards gained 246 61
Passes attempted 14 12
Passes completed 5 6
Passes intercepted by 3 2
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 40.5 37.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 43 19
Times punted 2 3
Punt average (yards) 41.0 36.3
Punt returns (yards) 8 8
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 3
Lost fumbled ball 2 0
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized. 20 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 22, Cleveland Benedictine 0

Tiger Passes Beat Benedictine 22-0
Bengals Take To Air When Bennie Hold Them On The Ground

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

There are three basic methods by which a football team can move the pigskin and ultimately score. You either go over, around or through an opponent.

The first and last methods were very much in evidence at Tiger stadium Friday night. The Massillon Tigers chose the air route. The Cleveland Benedictine Bengals decided on the
pile-driving variation.

The result was another one of those intense gridiron battles that have become commonplace for the Washington high eleven during the latter half of this season.

Program Cover

The Tigers shut out Benedictine 22-0 to ring down the curtain on an undefeated home season; stretch their winning streak to seven and make their 1963 record 8-1 thus far. The victory also gave the Orange and Black revenge for a 27-14 loss to Benedictine here last year and completed their slate of vengeance.

The stage is now set for what should be a terrific battle in the annual season-ender with Canton McKinley at Fawcett stadium in Canton one week from today.
* * *
THE TIGERS, held to a mere 100 net yards on the ground – one of their lowest totals of the season – struck through the air for two of their touchdowns and two conversions. They completed eight of 14 passes for 205 yards and a total of 305.

Benedictine out rushed Massillon. The Bennies got 156 net yards on the ground and completed five of 13 passes for 48 yards and a 204 total.

First downs were in WHS’ favor 13-11. However, Benedictine got nine rushing to the Tigers’ five. Massillon got seven passing to the Bengals’ two and added one via the penalty route.

Benedictine used a good blitz and fine line pursuit to stall the Tigers’ ground attack. For the second straight week Bill Blunt was denied a touchdown because of a penalty. He also lost the ball to Benedictine twice by fumbles.

But as his coach, Leo Strang said, “Everybody’s entitled to a bad night.”

Meanwhile Benedictine used a quartet of backs, seniors Bob Zelina and John Sanders and juniors Greg Betts and Greg Marn to pound relentlessly at the Orange and Black line, especially the left side, using up the clock in the process.
* * *
WHILE the Massillon defense could not keep Benedictine bottled up in its own territory, the Tigers stopped five forays into their territory when the going got the roughest.

To hand a powerful team like Benedictine its first shutout of the season is quite a feat.

The Bennies are 5-2-1 overall and hadn’t been shut out since St. Ignatius turned the trick 6-0 in the Cleveland title game last November.

Program Cover

There was no scoring until the second quarter was about over. With less than a minute left, the Tigers uncorked for the “long bomb” on first down from their 23-yard line after a Benedictine punt.

Quarterback Ron Swartz faked a handoff to fullback Jim Lawrence who in turn faked beautifully into the line. Swartz then let fly with all his might behind beautiful protection.

Long side end Will Perry, running with everything he had, out-distanced the Bennies’ secondary, grabbed the ball over his shoulder on the Benedictine 40 and raced the rest of the way. The score came with 37 seconds left.

Blunt added the conversion off the right side.
* * *
BENEDICTINE had had the ball for most of the first half. They didn’t do anything on their first series of the night. However, on Massillon’s first play, Swartz’s handoff never got to Lawrence, while Sanders, who recovered two Tiger fumbles during the night, hopped on the ball at the Tigers’ 44.

The clock showed 10 minutes, three seconds left in the first quarter. Four minutes, 33 seconds and 11 plays later the WHS eleven finally got the pigskin back after end Butch Hose and cornerback Tom Gatsios had thrown Sanders for a 10-yard loss to the Tigers’ 39.

One play earlier Zelina had scored up the middle from the 17. But the Bennies were in motion and lost the TD.

After a futile series, safety Floyd Pierce intercepted a Frank Fink pass on the Massillon five and ran it back to the Massillon 29. With one minute, 50 seconds remaining in the initial stanza, the Tigers displayed some ball control of their own.

They held on until the 7:03 mark of the second period, an interval of eight minutes, 53 seconds. They ran 11 plays during that time, including Blunt’s only long romp of the night, around right end from the Massillon 47 to the Benedictine 19, a distance of 34 yards.

The Orange and Black ultimately scored on second down from the one but was in motion. Massillon then lost the ball on downs on the five.
* * *
BENEDICTINE ate up another 3y minutes with seven plays, turned the ball over to Massillon and the Tigers promptly fumbled it right back two plays later as Blunt lost control of the pigskin. Ed Mazel came up with the errant ball on his 37 but the Bennies could do nothing with the opportunity.

Then came Massillon’s first touchdown after which Benedictine managed to get the ball to the Massillon 38 as the half ended.

The Orange and Black took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched for a score in seven plays, using up five minutes, 16 seconds. Passes to Pierce and Perry, with some runs by Blunt thrown in, accounted for the drive.

Perry capped the drive by catching a 21-yard pass on third down in the center again. This time Blunt did the faking to catch the Bennies off guard. Swartz passed to Perry in the center for the third time for the conversion.

After the kickoff Benedictine reeled off eight plays on a 34-yard drive from the Bengals’ 34 to the Massillon 33 following a 19-yard runback by Sanders. The clock ticked off 3‚ minutes this time.
* * *
IN THE FOURTH quarter the Tigers stopped Bennie drives which took the Clevelanders to the Massillon 46 and 23. The latter march started on the Massillon 44 after Blunt had fumbled and Sanders had recovered again.

This time Benedictine took to the air with a little more than five minutes left, hoping to avert a shutout.

Penalties played an important part in the remainder of the game. After the second Benedictine offensive had failed, Massillon picked up a 15-yard face mask walk-off and a pass interference call on another ‘long bomb” to Perry down the middle, putting the ball on the Bennies’ 14.

After an incomplete pass to Pierce, Blunt raced around the left side on the “Statue of Liberty” for a score. But the Tigers were called for clipping.

Fink intercepted a Massillon pass on the 10 on the next play. He was grabbed by the face mask when tackled and the 15-yarder put the ball on the 28.

A pass was incomplete on first down. Then Pierce intercepted his second aerial of the
night – this one on the Benedictine 40 – and raced to the 20.
* * *
SWARTZ missed hitting Perry. On second down he found Pierce in the end zone but Duke couldn’t hold on as he was interfered with. The Tigers got the ball on the one, first down.

Terry Getz bowled over with 32 seconds remaining. Getz’ pass to Pierce for the conversion was incomplete.

Sanders ran the kickoff back 23 yards to his 47. Benedictine got to the Massillon 20 as time ran out.

After the game Strang said, “Benedictine proved again that it is a rough, hard-nosed team. Its backs are the hardest running we’ve seen all year. I never thought we would hold them scoreless. They really put on the heat with those blitzes. We had hoped to hurt their halfbacks with drop-back passes but never had time to throw them. All of our passes came off play action.”

Benedictine’s Augie Bossu said, “We stopped Blunt but not the passes. Perry’s first half touchdown shook us up a little, because we had played a good half until then. We didn’t let down, however, and played a good second half.”

When asked why he had held his leading scorer, Marn, out until the third quarter, Bossu said, “He had an injury and I didn’t think he was ready. But he seems to have recovered nicely.”

BENEDICTINE – 0
Ends – Yacknow, Herzog and Braschwitz.
Tackles – Koprowski, Pozar and Petrus.
Guards – Goilesz, Mazel and Triplett.
Center – Torda.
Quarterbacks – Fink and Palagyi.
Halfbacks – Betts, Marn, Sanders, Wolski, Dienes and Novak.
Fullback – Zelina.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Perry, Pierce, Hose, Jones, McAllister and Goodnough.
Tackles – Miller, Tarle, Binge, Morgan and Lash.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, T. Whitfield, Muhlback, Swisher, Roderick and Rivera.
Center – Scassa.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Frieg.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Getz, Rink Schenkenberger and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence.

Massillon 0 8 8 6 22

Touchdowns:
Perry 2 (77-yard and 21-yard passes from Swartz) and Getz (one-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Blunt 2 (run); Perry 2 (pass from Swartz).

Officials
Referee – Bobby Brown (Parma).
Umpire – Brenton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Head Linesman – Andy Chiebeck – (Louisville).
Field Judge – Hal Lebovitz (Cleveland).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs, rushing 5 9
First downs, passing 7 2
First downs, penalties 1 0
Total first downs 13 11
Yards gained rushing 128 181
Yards lost rushing 28 25
Net yards gained rushing 100 156
Yards gained passing 205 48
Total yards gained 305 204
Passes attempted 14 13
Passes completed 6 5
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 43.0 30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 9 72
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 24.0 37.1
Punt returns (yards) 53 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 0
Lost fumbled ball 3 0
Penalties 2 5
Yards penalized. 20 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 22, Warren Harding 8

Tigers Beat Stubborn Warren 22-8
Visiting Panthers Put Up Great Fight Before 13, 861 Crowd

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

When two members of the jungle feline family want the same thing badly enough, they become highly aroused and engage in a ferocious battle. And that’s what happened at Tiger stadium Friday on homecoming night.

The Massillon Tigers and Warren Harding Black Panthers both wanted a victory in the worst way. So they bared claws and fangs and staged a good old-fashioned donnybrook with the Washington high eleven coming out on top 22-8 before 13,861 fans.

The series between Massillon and Warren since Coach Leo Strang took over the Tigers’ reins in 1958 is now even at 3-3. Both teams have won only at home.

The Orange and Black got its sixth victory in a row and seventh in eight games. Warren stands 4-3.

Program Cover

This was also Massillon’s second straight in the new All-American High School Football league. This was Warren’s first circuit outing.
* * *
TWO THINGS prevented the Tigers from getting a higher score. They had three scoring drives go awry because of a combination of red flags and their own mistakes. The WHS team was unable to get the ball often enough because of Warren’s tough possession game.

The Bengals did move the ball well when they had it.

Strang put it this way, “The kind of team like Warren is rough on you. They three-four and five-yard you to death. And they took so long between plays. Penalties and mistakes stopped us on three good scoring chances. They played a good game and hit us on a mediocre one.”

The guy who did most of the killing was a 5-7, 178-pound senior fullback Sam Pagano. Unofficially he gained 68 yards in 23 attempts – almost three yards per try. He also got Warren’s only touchdown.

Massillon’s senior tailback Bill Blunt carried nine times for 41 yards or about five yards per trip. He scored one conversion. His yardage was all up the center. He came close to going all the way several times. As Strang said, “Warren’s defense was stacked to prevent Blunt running the ends.” The Panthers played wide repeatedly.
* * *
BEN WILSON, head man at Warren, said, “We played our best game tonight. The boys gave it a good fight. I’m proud of them. Massillon has a fine team. Its speed and reaction was too much for us.”

When asked if he planned to play possession ball to keep the score down, Wilson’s answer was a definite, yes. He added, “We had to. We have power this year and lack experience.”

The statistics indicate the closeness of the game. Massillon had 15 first downs, Warren
13 – the difference being two by penalties for the Bengals. Massillon had 149 net yards rushing, Warren 92. The Panthers completed seven of 16 passes for 135 yards, the Tigers eight for 13 for 121 yards. Total yardage for the Orange and Black was 270, for Warren 227. The Trumbull county team lost 16 yards rushing to WHS’ nine.

The Tigers’ initial score came when Blunt ran back a first quarter punt 10 yards to the Warren 47. Six plays and two first downs later fullback Bob Hewitt raced over through the short side of center from the 18-yard line with 1:41 remaining. Blunt converted over right tackle after running four of the plays in the drive.
* * *
A PASS from quarterback Ron Swartz to wingback Grady Eckard, from the 26 to the
16-yard line for a first down set up the touchdown.

Warren got the ensuing kickoff with 1:31 seconds left in the period and held onto it until its score with 5:09 remaining in the second quarter, a span of six minutes and 40 seconds. Chuck Williams ran the ball from the 13 to the 31, a distance of 18 yards and from there it was practically all Pagano, hitting the middle.

The drive took 17 plays with four first downs. Pagano carried on 10 of the plays and went over through the center from the three on fourth down. A face guard penalty had given the Panthers the ball on the three two plays earlier. Chuck Williams converted over right tackle.

The Tigers’ tie-breaking score was started by Bobby Hewitt’s 17-yard runback of Warren’s purposely short kickoff to keep the ball out of Blunt’s hands. Hewitt returned from the Massillon 40 to the Warren 43.

Then with the junior fullback carrying on four of the next five plays, Massillon had manufactured a second down on the 19. Swartz hit long side end Will Perry over the middle on the next play for the second score at 2:18. Hewitt ran the conversion through the middle to put the Tigers back in a lead which they never relinquished.
* * *
THE FINAL score came after a Warren punt in the third canto. The Tigers drove 52 yards in nine plays with two first downs.

Eckard made a sensational diving catch of a third down, eight-yard pass by Swartz in the right corner of the south end zone at 4:02 for the touchdown. He just managed to grab the pigskin inbounds at the last minute. Blunt missed the conversion on a run.

A motion penalty had set the Tigers back to the eight on the play before. Another motion penalty killed a 78-yard drive, highlighted by Frank Scassa’s recovery of a punt fumble on the 34, in the last period. Quarterback Tom Gatsios ran from the Warren 18 to the two on a fine rollout. But the Tigers got set back to the 23 and couldn’t make a first down.

A pass interception by halfback Charles Rounds knocked off a 52-yard Massillon drive at the 10 in the third stanza. A fumble on the 15 kayoed still another invasion in the first period – this one of 51 yards. End Chuck Miller recovered the ball for Warren on this one.

The only period in which Massillon failed to score was the fourth. Warren had the ball for five minutes and 20 seconds, moving from its 17 to the Massillon 17, a distance of 66 yards. The drive started at 7:20 and ended at 1:52.

The Tigers came close to scoring when a 41-yard pass was just out of the hands of short side end Bob McAllister in the closing minutes. A motion penalty on this play was refused by Warren.

WARREN – 8
Ends – Johnson and Miller.
Tackles – Florea, Fender and Hlaudy.
Guards – Johnson, Tabacca and hood.
Center – Shively.
Quarterbacks – Stredney and Brewster.
Halfbacks – Williams, Grisham, Owends and Rounds.
Fullbacks – Pagano and Howard.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones, McAllister and Goodnough.
Tackles – Lash, Miller, Tarle, Binge and Morgan.
Centers – Scassa and Muhlback.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Getz and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Getz, Schenkenberger and Rink.
Fullbacks – Hewitt and Lawrence.

Warren 0 8 0 0 8
Massillon 8 8 6 0 22

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Hewitt (17-yard run); Perry (19-yard pass from Swartz); Eckard (eight-yard pass from Swartz).

Warren – Pagano (three-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Blunt 2 (run); Hewitt 2 (run).
Warren – Williams 2 (run).

Officials
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Edmund Corsi (Cleveland Heights).
Head Linesman – Pete Lanigan (Columbus).
Field Judge – Steve Bernardic (Cleveland).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 6 6
First downs, passing 7 7
First downs, penalties 2 0
Total first downs 15 13
Yards gained rushing 158 108
Yards lost rushing 9 16
Net yards gained rushing 149 92
Yards gained passing 121 135
Total yards gained 270 227
Passes attempted 13 16
Passes completed 8 7
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 4 2
Kickoff average (yards) 47.0 34.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 39 19
Times punted 1 4
Punt average (yards) 31.0 39.7
Punt returns (yards) 34 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 4
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 3 5
Yards penalized. 13 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 74, Struthers 0

Tigers Have 74-0 Romp With Struthers
Bengals’ 36 Points In Second Period Is New Massillon Record

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It was like the braves of Sitting Bull massacring General Custer’s troops all over again.

There were more scored Friday night than geese in the flocks which fly south at this time of year. Everybody got into the act of crossing the goal line at Tiger stadium. Twelve players touched pay dirt, scoring 74 points while a tough Tiger defense held Struthers high scoreless.

Everything the Bengals did was right. Blocking and tackling were crisp. Passing was right on the button to receivers who were at the right spot at the right time. Ball-carriers ran roughshod over the opposition.
* * *
SO TOUGH was the Massillon defense that Struthers failed to get a first down until the third quarter and only five in the game. The Wildcats didn’t’ g et out of their own territory until the third quarter and only twice during the game.

The second time was with 4:10 left in the game and the third and fourth Tiger teams
in – Coach Leo Strang had started clearing the bench in the second quarter. With only a few seconds left, Struthers fumbled on the Massillon six-yard line. Sophomore halfback Ron Lawn grabbed the ball on the 16 and got back to the six where junior John Frieg tackled him as time ran out to preserve the shutout.

The Orange and Black juggernaut rolled up a total of 428 yards to Struthers’ 138. Massillon completed 11 of 19 passes for 286 yards, three touchdowns and three conversions. Net ground yardage was 194 with only five lost. Struthers completed only five of 19 aerials for 92 yards with 46 net on the ground and 40 lost.

Following the game reporters scurried to record books. They found that this was the most points rolled up by the Tigers since their 90-0 domination of Barberton in 1959. The 12 players who scored set a record. Thirty-six points tallied in the second period topped a previous mark.

Coach Bob Comings of Struthers said that Friday’s defeat was the worst ever pinned on the Wildcats. He also said, “I am happy about one thing. My boys didn’t give up.”
* * *
STRANG ECHOED those sentiments, “Struthers certainly didn’t give up,” he said. “They kept running and hitting hard the whole game.”

About his own team the skipper said, ‘These boys deserve a big hand. Everybody I watched played hard all the time. I certainly got an insight into what the younger boys can do. They did a good job.”

The Tigers scored only once in the first quarter, missing two chances. But after that it was as if a giant tidal wave rolled over the stadium, sweeping away everything in its path.

The Bengals’ scoring machine struck early. On first down in the Tigers’ second series, quarterback Ron Swartz faded back from the Struthers’ 40, spied wingback Grady Eckard, who started his first game offensively, hit him on the 30 and Grady took over from there, going all the way down the right side with the aid of a good block by end Floyd Pierce. There was 8:14 left in the first quarter.

Halfback Bill Blunt sped off right tackle to make it 8-0.
* * *
ON THE FIRST play of the game, Swartz hit Pierce, who was way out in the open but he couldn’t hold on. Ron also just missed connections with end Will Perry, who would have had clear sailing for a TD, later in the quarter.

Blunt contributed first quarter punt runbacks of 22 and 27 yards to put the ball in or close to Struthers territory.

Linebacker John Muhlback recovered a Wildcat fumble on the Struthers’ 34 just before the end of the first quarter to set up the second Bengal score. Blunt went off right tackle with 9:07 left in the second quarter to cap an eight-play drive. Terry Getz left-handed a pass to Pierce for two more points.

Swartz picked on Pierce on first down for the next score on a pass from the Tigers’ 21. He hit Duke on the 45 and the slender senior was off for touchdown land, the play covering 79 yards at 7:49. Blunt converted for a 24-0 count.

Passing was responsible for the fourth Bengal tally. After a 30-yard pass to Eckard, Bob McAllister was Swartz’s target this time on first down form the Struthers’ 35. McAllister grabbed the pigskin on the 15 and went on in at 3:38 with a good block from Pierce again. Swartz ran the keeper to the right for two more points.
* * *
THEN CAME two blocked punts. Eckard sent the first one awry on a kick from a play which started on the 28. End Wes Goodnough fell on the ball at the seven.

On the next play quarterback Tom Gatsios swept right end. The clock showed 1:11 as Gatsios passed to McAllister but the senior end couldn’t quite get the conversion.

Linebacker Ken Swisher rushed through to block a punt on the ‘Cats’ next series. Sophomore linebacker Paul Marks scooped up the errant pigskin on the 25 and waltzed into the end zone with 25 seconds showing on the clock. Junior Quarterback Steve Kanner tried to run to the right for the conversion but couldn’t make it. The halftime score read 44-0, the biggest this year.

Eckard, playing his best game of the season, gathered in the opening kickoff of the second half at his 22 and raced 88 yards for a score with only six seconds gone in the third stanza. Good blocking sprung him loose. Gatsios missed connections on a pass to junior wingback Don Schenkenberger on the attempted conversion.

Blunt started a 39-yard march for another score with a 26-yard punt runback. Wingback Tim Rink caught a 31-yard pass from Gatsios to set up the score. Fullback Jim Lawrence tallied on the next play but a holding penalty was called on the Tigers.
* * *
TWO PLAYS later on third down Schenkenberger scored on a reverse from the eight. Gatsios connected with McAllister to run the scoreboard to 58-0.

Howard Gamble, a junior defensive halfback, recovered a Struthers fumble on the Massillon 35 on the ‘Cats’ first push into Massillon territory. Fourteen plays and 65 yards later the rockets sounded again at 0:19.
* * *
TAILBACK TOM POPE did the honors this time on first down from the five. Marks went off left guard for two more points.

Junior end Ken Gilmore put the frosting on the cake with 10:19 left in the final canto. Kanner passed to Rink for 26 yards and a first down on the Struthers’ 28. Then came the aerial to Gilmore in the end zone. Junior end Ed Franklin made the scoreboard lights flash twice more on another Kanner pass.

The Tigers looked like they were on the way to another score when safety Jeff Miller intercepted a pass on the Struthers’ 24 and got back to the Massillon 49. The WHS eleven did not have the ball again.

Massillon has now won six of seven games this year and has a five-game winning streak going. Warren comes in next week for an All-American High School Football league game on home-coming night. Struthers’ record is 4-2-1.

STRUTHERS – 0
Ends – Gura, C. Lewis and Kurz.
Tackles – Millich and Wells.
Guards – Cammack, Avolio and E. Lewis.
Centers – Nackino, McCann and Sandine.
Quarterbacks – Hudoba and Lookabaugh.
Halfbacks – J. and R. Lawn, Miller, Kubof, Majecko and Wildes.
Fullbacks – Belichick and Gentile.

MASSILLON – 74
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Jones, Hose, McAllister, Gilmore, Paige, R. and D. Alexander, Franklin and Goodnough.
Tackles – Lash, Miller, binge, Paul, Passalacqua, Morgan and Stevens.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Swisher, Roderick, Mathias, Rivera, Rearick, T. and D. Whitfield, Manson and Martin.
Centers – Muhlback, Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner, Frieg and Sheegog.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Pope, Getz, Marks, Herring, Stroh, Rink, Gamble, Harris and Williams.
Fullbacks – Hewitt, Lawrence, Thomas and Lemon.

Massillon 8 36 22 8 74

Touchdowns – Eckard 2 (40yard pass from Swartz and 88-yard kickoff run back); Blunt (one-yard run); Pierce (79-yard pass from Swartz); McAllister (35-yard pass from Swartz); Gatsios (seven-yard run); Marks (25-yard run with blocked punt); Schenkenberger (eight-yard run); Pope (five-yard run); Gilmore (28-yard pass from Kanner).

Points after touchdowns:
Blunt 4 (runs); Pierce 2 (pass from Getz); Swartz 2 (run); McAllister 2 (pass from Gatsios); Marks 2 (run); Franklin 2 (pass from Kanner).

Officials
Referee – Howard Wirtz (Cincinnati).
Umpire – Bob Harman – (Upper Sandusky)
Head Linesman – George Donges (Ashland).
Field Judge – Clarence Rich (Canton).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 9 2
First downs, passing 9 3
First downs, penalties 1 0
Total first downs 19 5
Yards gained rushing 199 86
Yards lost rushing 5 40
Net yards gained rushing 194 46
Yards gained passing 286 92
Total yards gained 480 138
Passes attempted 19 19
Passes completed 11 5
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 11 1
Kickoff average (yards) 42.8 48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 88 159
Times punted 1 9
Punt average (yards) 24.0 32.1
Punt returns (yards) 105 0
Had punts blocked 0 2
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 4 2
Yards penalized. 40 10

Bill Blunt
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1963: Massillon 24, Canton McKinley 20

Tigers Beat Fired-up Bulldogs 24-20
Point Conversions Represent Bengals’ Margin Of Victory

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The yellow lights on the scoreboard at the south end of Tiger stadium seemed to take an eternity to toll off the last 4:20 of the game. And when they had blinked out 0:00 against the black October night sky, a huge sigh of relief and a mighty cheer came up from Tiger fans.

The Washington high school eleven, playing gritty football, had held on to edge arch-rival Canton McKinley 24-20 in the 67th renewal of the oldest high school grid rivalry in the nation.

Friday night’s game marked the first time any Massillon-McKinley game had been played under the arcs. It was also the first game in the new All-American High School Football league.

The two teams will meet again on the afternoon of Nov. 9 at Fawcett stadium in Canton. And you can be sure they’ll pack the place for that one.

An unofficial 16,252 sat in Friday night.
* * *
THAT THE BULLDOGS gave Massillon all they could handle and then some is for sure. But the Orange and Black also dished out its share of hard-hitting football.

The game seemed to become a personal vendetta between Massillon’s Bill (Rabbit) Blunt,
165-pound senior halfback, and McKinley’s Willie Hall, 225-pound junior fullback, to see which one could inflict the heaviest damage on the opposition.

Blunt scored two touchdowns and two conversions. His use of the limp leg and swivel hip gave him a good change of pace, enabling him to do some outstanding running.

Said his Coach Leo Strang, “He was terrific. His stop and go running was great.”

Said Tony Ware, “Blunt is a great athlete.”

Hall didn’t score any touchdowns but he did pick up a conversion and lots of valuable yardage, including some key first downs as did Massillon’s fullback, junior Jim Lawrence.

Game Photo: Bill Blunt (45)

Ware said of his big back, “He did a tremendous job.”
* * *
STRANG REVEALED, “Hall caught us by surprise. He had never run sweeps before. We adjusted just in time at the end of the game.”

Hall had tremendous interference on those sweeps which made them very effective as he bulled his way through.

Strang said of the game, “It was a good one, like all Massillon-McKinley games should be. Besides Blunt’s and Lawrence’s running I thought Swartz (quarterback Ron) did some good throwing. “We gave them two touchdowns and missed two we should have had. You just can’t give them touchdowns and not expect trouble.”

About the McKinley team he said, “They were sure fired up. They were in the game all the way.”

Ware said, “Massillon is a well-coached team and played good ball. They took advantage of an injury weakness at left side (the speedy Bill Snell was sidelined) and it hurt us.”

Strang reminded that “linebacker Ken Swisher, defensive end and Captain Mike Jones and tackle Tom Miller were either out of action or used sparingly.

Of his own team Ware said, “I couldn’t ask for anymore from the boys. They gave their all. We’ll beat the Tigers in November. We would have beaten them this time if we had scored on that first pass and hadn’t fumbled on the one.”

But the Bulldogs got two tremendous breaks in the second half which they converted into touchdowns, offsetting the bad breaks. Had it not been, therefore, for the tenacious Massillon defense rising up to stop two of McKinley’s conversion attempts, the game might have ended tied 24-24.
* * *
THE FIRST BREAK came right after the second half kickoff. Massillon was forced to punt following its first series. Steve Kanner dropped back to his 45-yard-line. Frank Scassa’s snap was bad, the kick was blocked and 210-pound right tackle Dick Miller picked up the pigskin on the 41 and raced in for the score with 10:04 left.

Hall converted through the center to make the score 16-14.

The next break came midway through the last quarter. Massillon forced McKinley to punt and as the ball rolled to the Massillon 26, it hit safetyman Tom Gatsios and an alert Bulldog recovered.

Three plays later on third and one from the 17 quarterback Arnie Fontes threw to right end Nick Roman down the middle at the goal line to make it 24-20 with 4:27 remaining. Hall missed the conversion.

The Tigers played good control football from there on out to win the game. The last play of the game, however, saw Fontes sweep right end for 21 yards and just miss getting away for a winning tally. McKinley had gotten the ball with only 26 seconds left.
* * *
McKINLEY BECAME the first team to score at Tiger stadium this year and the first to get a touchdown before the Tigers by going 57 yards after taking Massillon’s initial punt. Fontes scored on a keeper from the two-hard line on second down with 3:03 remaining in the first quarter.

He missed the conversion on the same play.

Hall and halfbacks John McElroy and Bobby Johnson did a lot of running on the drive. Hall had one run of 19 yards around left end from his 43 to the Massillon 38. The missed pass which Ware spoke of came during this series. Fontes misfired to left end Dwayne Lipkins on second down from the Tiger 30.

The early touchdown only served to infuriate the Tigers and after Tom Gatsios had turned in an 18-yard runback of the kickoff to the Massillon 35, Ron Swartz cocked his right arm and hit Blunt down the right side. “The Rabbit” grabbed the pigskin on the McKinley 40 and eluded five would-be tacklers on his romp to pay dirt at 2:39. He got some fine blocking along the way.

Blunt blasted off right tackle for the conversion which put the Tigers ahead 8-6.

Massillon struck again early in the second period. McKinley punted after one series. The kick was grounded on the Bengals’ 39 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
* * *
BLUNT TOOK off over right tackle on the first play of the second quarter behind good blocking. He used that outstanding running ability of his to good advantage again, going all the way to the McKinley three. But the Tigers were guilty of clipping and were set back to the McKinley 35.

The Bengals marched the ball in from there with Lawrence going over the top of a big pile from the one with 6:22 left. Blunt went off right tackle for the two extra points.

McKinley took the kickoff and marched 70 yards only to have Johnson fumble on the one. Blunt made the all-important recovery for Massillon.

McElroy had an 18-yard runback of the kick. Hall had a 36-yard romp on a sweep from the Massillon 46 to the 10.

The Tigers then initiated a drive of their own, going to the Bulldog seven before missing on three straight before missing on three straight passes into the end zone. The margin of difference was inches.
* * *
DURING this 92-yard invasion, Blunt took a pass on the right side and almost went for a touchdown but collided with long side end Will Perry who was trying to block for him. The play covered 25 yards – from the Massillon 13 to the 38.

There was also another fine run by Blunt off left guard – again with good blocking – on the next play. “The Rabbit” moved all the way to the McKinley 11, 51 yards.
Massillon’s other score came at the 5:45 mark of the third quarter. Blunt ran a kickoff back 26 yards to the Bengal 38. Then with Blunt, Swartz – who seldom runs the ball – and Lawrence carrying, the Orange and Black moved the ball to the Bulldog 28 for a first down.

Blunt set sail again on the next play, going to his right, cutting back and racing for touchdown land. Again a combination of good running and fine blocking told the tale. Swartz converted.

Game statistics showed that Massillon got a total of 382 yards net to McKinley’s 217. The Tigers piled up 271 rushing. McKinley 200. The Bengals got 111 passing, the Bulldogs 17.

The fact that McKinley lost only four more yards rushing than did Massillon, 16-12, points up the terrific, almost even battle of the lines.

Massillon’s record now stands at 5-1 with a four-game winning streak riding. The Bulldogs stand at 3-3.

McKINLEY – 20
Ends – N. Roman, Turner, Lipkins and Card.
Tackles – Miller and Shumick.
Guards – Vafides, Barney and Ball.
Center – J. Roman.
Quarterback – Fontes.
Halfbacks – Johnson, McElroy, Carter and Smith.
Fullbacks – W. Hall and Kalogeras.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones and Goodnough.
Tackles – Morgan, Lash, Rarle, Binge, Paul and Passalacqua.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Rivera, Muhlback, Roderick, Swisher and T. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Schenkenberger, and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence.

McKinley 6 0 8 6 20
Massillon 8 8 8 0 24

Touchdowns:
McKinley – Fontes (two-yard run); Miller (41-yard run on blocked kick); N. Roman (17-yard pass from Fontes.
Massillon – Blunt 2 (65-yard pass from Swartz and 26-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
McKinley – Hall (run).
Massillon – Blunt 2 (runs). Swartz (run).

Officials
Referee – Bobby Brown (Parma).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace (Cincinnati).
Field Judge – Joe Romano (Mansfield).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 12 9
First downs, passing 4 1
First downs, penalties 0 1
Total first downs 16 11
Yards gained rushing 263 216
Yards lost rushing 12 16
Net yards gained rushing 271 200
Yards gained passing 111 17
Total yards gained 382 217
Passes attempted 8 3
Passes completed 4 1
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 36.2
Kickoff returns (yards) 62 82
Times punted 1 4
Punt average (yards) 42.0 34.2
Punt returns (yards) 15 0
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 2 1
Yards penalized. 20 15

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 52, Steubenville 0

Tigers Blast Steubenville 52-0
Bengal Line Rips Big Red To Win First Game In All-American Loop

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They never knew what hit them!

It was as if someone alternated between placing a speeding locomotive and the Rock of Gibraltar on the Harding stadium gridiron in Steubenville Friday night.

The Massillon Tigers, utilizing devastating offensive and defensive football, crushed a game but outclassed and crippled up Steubenville high eleven 52-0 on the Ohio river before a disappointing 6,327 fans. It was the biggest score of the season for the Bengals.

It was the first game for the new All-American High School Football league. The Washington high team has the honor of being the first to lead the circuit with two points. Steubenville got minus-one for the defeat.

The Bengals raised their season’s record to 4-1. Akron Garfield, the only team to beat the Orange and Black, also remains the lone team to score upon the Tigers. Steubenville dropped to a 2-3 mark at the season’s halfway point.

Massillon rolled up 446 total yards to the Big Red’s 58 and 21 first downs to Steubenville’s 11 – one in each half. Massillon rushed for 341 net yards to Steubenville’s 43 and got 105 to the Big Red’s 15 in the air.
* * *
NO ONE BOY can be singled out for his efforts. It was another of those jobs well done by all concerned. It took linemen opening good holes for hard-running backs, hard-charging by the defensive line and linebackers to stop Steubenville’s backs time and again before they could get started, heads up pass coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks and outstanding tackling by all to get the victory.

Several boys contributed to the scoring. Terry Getz, senior halfback, tallied two touchdowns and two conversions. Senior halfbacks Bill (Rabbit) Blunt got two touchdowns and a conversion; sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks scored a touchdown and a conversion. Senior tailback Phil Harris got one six-pointer, so did junior fullback Jim Lawrence.

When the Tigers got the ball, they stuck mostly to the ground, pounding first one side of the Steubenville line and then the other like air hammers taking chucks out of cement. They used up great gobs of time on the clock.

When Steubenville had the ball The Big Red could get only one series at a time except once in the second and once in the third quarter. Try as they might – and they never gave up trying – the Big Red could not move the ball. They kept hitting hard on defense but could not stop the Tiger juggernaut.

“The boys really banged away on defense,” Massillon Coach Leo Strang said, “They did a real good job. I’ll bet Lindsey (Steubenville halfback Herb) never got hit that hard in his life.”
* * *
COACH RAY HOYMAN of Steubenville said sadly, “We just don’t have it this year and won’t have it for a couple of years. We have a good freshman team but have only five sophomores out for football and a junior class very light in numbers.”

He did not mention that he had four front liners on crutches.

There was one part of Hoyman’s strategy which succeeded. He didn’t let the Bengals get any long punt runbacks. The kicks from Bob McCosky either went to the opposite side from the Tigers’ planned return, out of bounds or were grounded.

The Bengals equaled their biggest first half of the season in scoring 32 points. They had tallied an identical amount of points against Cleveland East in the opener.

Three scores came on sustained ground drives. The last was helped out by a long pass.
* * *
THE TIGERS matched 69 yards with the opening kickoff after a 19-yard runback of the kick by senior Grady Eckard. They used up 6:40, 12 plays and got four first downs in the effort.

Halfback Terry Getz capped the drive at the 5:20 mark, going off tackle on fourth down from the eight. He got the extra two points the same way.

The Bengals started on another drive after forcing Steubenville to punt following the kickoff. They used up 5:35 seconds this time, moving into the second quarter in the process. This time the march covered 56 yards, starting at the Orange and Black 44. Four first downs and 14 plays were involved.

Getz went over off right guard on second down from the four at 9:46. He converted the same way.

Then came another Big Red punt and the Tigers went 70 yards, using up 3:36, eight plays and picking up four first downs. A 21-yard pass from Ron Swartz to Blunt took the ball to the Big Red 39. Blunt might have gone all the way but was knocked out of bounds.
* * *
BLUNT LEAPED among three defenders at the three two plays later to snare another Swartz aerial. Lawrence went through the center on second down with 4:16 left. Swartz threw to Blunt on a look-in pass to the left for the extra two points.

The last touchdown in the second quarter came after a 55-yard drive following a punt. This drive took four plays and one first down.
A key play was a second down pass from the Steubenville 48 to the four – a distance of 44 yards. Swartz connected with senior long side end Will Perry.

Blunt went in off tackle on the next play. But Massillon was guilty of illegal use of the hands, setting the ball back to the 20. Swartz then threw to Blunt for the score with 2:10 remaining. Junior fullback Bobby Hewitt swept to the left for the extra two points.
* * *
THE BENGALS allowed the Big Red just one series after the second half kickoff and took over on their own 40 after a punt, setting the stage for another score. After a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, Blunt took off on a pitchout to the right behind some nice blocking and raced 65 yards for his second six-pointer at the 9:49 mark. Getz missed the conversion over right tackle.

Late in the period, Steve Tarle, senior tackle, recovered a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 10 and two plays later senior tailback Phil Harris wedged in from the three with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks converted on a pitchout to the right.

The final Tiger score came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Floyd (Duke) Pierce, senior safetyman, intercepted a pass on his 35 and ran it back to the 50 as the third quarter ended.

Two plays into the last stanza Marks shot through the middle on fourth down from 41 yards away and scored at 10:43. Junior Fullback Edgar Herring missed the conversion on a pitchout to the right.

MASSILLON – 52
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones, Goodnough, Gilmore and Franklin.
Tackles – Tarle, Morgan, Lash, Passalacqua, Binge, Stevens and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Roderick, Muhlback, Rivera, Mathias, Rearick, Martin, T. Whitfield and D. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Rambaud and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Harris, Marks, Stroh, Herring, Gamble and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Hewitt and Thomas.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Cuthbert, Cole and Blanchard.
Tackles – Estes, Sampson and Williams.
Guards – DiLoreti, Ohle, Mahfood and Wrenn.
Centers – Beard and Garofalo.
Quarterbacks – McCosky and Spon.
Halfbacks – Lindsey, Hawkins, Terry and Smith.
Fullbacks – Schaeffer.

Massillon 8 24 14 6 52

Touchdowns:
Getz 2 (eight and four-yard runs); Blunt 2 (20-yard pass from Swartz, 65-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run); Harris (three-yard run) and Marks (41-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Getz 2 (runs); Blunt (pass from Swartz); Hewitt (run); and Marks (run).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bob McPhee (St. Clairsville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 17 2
First downs, passing 4 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 21 2
Yards gained rushing 344 54
Yards lost rushing 3 11
Net yards gained rushing 341 43
Yards gained passing 105 15
Total yards gained 446 58
Passes attempted 12 10
Passes completed 5 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48.3 47
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 121
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 42.5 36.4
Punt returns (yards) 17 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 0
Yards penalized. 20 0

Bill Blunt