TIGERS CRUSH STUBBORN ALLIANCE GRIDDERS 47-0 HILLIS HUME UNABLE TO CROSS GOAL LINE State’s Leading Scorer, Always A Threat, Proves Better Punter Than Runner As Season’s Largest Crowd Looks On
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers defied the air raid of the Alliance Aviators Friday evening and turned back the bombers 47-0 before the largest crowd that has ever attended a football game in Massillon exclusive of Massillon-Canton McKinley games.
Between 16,000 and 17,000 fans overflowed Tiger Stadium to form a background for a setting of color that has gained the Massillon gridders a wide reputation in the state. Aviators Weaken Last Period For three periods the two undefeated elevens were locked in terrific combat, but Alliance gradually weakened in the fourth quarter and the tiring Aviators could not gear themselves to the phenomenal speed of “Pokey” Blunt, Tiger substitute halfback and the hard running of George Slusser.
By sheer strength and force the Tigers managed to shove over a touchdown in each of the first two periods to lead 13-0 at the half and they got a cheap third one in the opening minutes of the third quarter when they recovered an Alliance fumble on the six-yard line.
But even in the face of 20 points the Aviators lost none of their grit and refused to be scared by the four-time Ohio champions. They yielded ground stubbornly as they fought back yard by yard, until finally the local eleven managed to crash through for a touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Aviators Finally Crash Those were the points that finally broke down Alliance. Gains came easier thereafter and the Tigers crossed the goal line three more times on long runs by Slusser and Blunt.
Never did Alliance get near the Tiger goal. Twice in the second period the Aviators carried the ball by the midfield stripe, but never got closer than the 40-yard line. Only once in the last half did they get into Massillon territory and that came on a fancy return of a kickoff by Hillis Hume, star back of the Aviators, who tucked the ball under his arm and raced 33 yards before being downed on the Tiger 49-yard line. He picked up a yard from scrimmage, but on the second play, Horace Gillom regained the ball for the Tigers when he intercepted Hume’s pass and ran the ball back into Alliance territory.
Hume was a constant threat. There was no letting down one minute in vigilance or the Alliance star would have gotten away. The state’s leading scorer, he made two good runs from scrimmage, one for 17 yards and one for 14, but his best effort was the brilliant return of Getz’s kickoff early in the fourth quarter. He nearly got away, but was bottled up on the sidelines just as he crossed the midfield stripe.
The Tigers had every respect for Hume. On only two occasions did he get the kickoff. All other times, Getz carried out his instructions and kicked the ball out of bounds as far back as possible. Coach Paul Brown didn’t want any part of Hume in an open field such as a kickoff provides. The Alliance ace was accorded little support on his ball carrying efforts from scrimmage, so hard did the Massillon tacklers charge in.
He carried the ball 15 times, gained 45 yards and was thrown for a total of six yards in losses.
But while Hume did not sparkle in running last night, he attracted attention in another way with his accurate punting. The statistics show Gillom averaged more yards on his kicks, but Hume’s ability to place the ball out of bounds in the vicinity of the five-yard line contributed a major portion to the Alliance defense.
The punting throughout the night was the best that has been seen here in years. Each team kicked five times; Gillom averaging 43.4 yards and Hume 38.4 yards from the line of scrimmage. Gillom Kicks A Beauty Gillom got off a dazzling punt from the goal line in the second period; Hume taking the ball on his own 33. While the ball actually traveled 67 yards, punts are computed from the line of scrimmage and as a result the boot can only be listed in the statistics at 56 yards.
The Tiger eleven, playing without the services of two regulars, Capt. Earl Martin and Fullback Bill Zimmerman, displayed all of their vaunted power in routing the Aviators. They mouse trapped the tackles for their first touchdown, completed two out of four passes for 48 yards and gained 414 additional yards by rushing. Of the 414 yards, 189 were made as the Aviators weakened in the fourth quarter. First downs were 14 to five in Massillon’s favor.
The Tigers followed the usual procedure of trying to crush their opponents’ morale by scoring the first time they got the ball. They succeeded but it took 12 plays to march the ball 63 yards. Two mouse traps were set to catch the touchdown and both worked. Ray Getz whirling around right end for 12 yards on the first and Gillom following around left end for the last 17 and a touchdown.
The Tigers began another drive late in the opening period from their own six-yard line that went far into the second period before the Alliance goal was finally reached. Alliance actually had stopped the drive back on the Massillon 35-yard line, but a 15-yard penalty for roughing Gillom when he punted, moved the ball up to midfield and enabled the locals to continue their attack. The teams battled over every yard of ground the remaining 50 yards. Red James finally going over from the two-yard line. Getz kicked goal.
Alliance struck back after the second touchdown with its first threat of the game as Hume got away for one run of 17 yards to carry the ball into Tiger territory. The Tiger linemen entrenched themselves on the 42-yard line, however, and forced Hume to punt. He placed a beauty out of bounds on the five-yard line.
The Tigers threatened again in the closing minutes of the half when Slusser pegged a pass to Getz from the Alliance 32. Getz got down to the five-yard line before he was tackled. A five-yard penalty moved the ball back 10 yards from the goal and an attempt to set a mouse trap lost 15 more when the ball was fumbled. Break Sets up Touchdown Alliance had just succeeded in stopping a Tiger drive and had forced Gillom to punt out of bounds on the 12-yard line, when a break in the game put the ball in position for the Tigers third touchdown in the third period. An Alliance fumble was covered by Massillon on the six-yard line and on the first play Clendening went through his right tackle for the touchdown without a hand being laid on him. Getz kicked the point.
The fourth touchdown drive began late in the third period when Slusser intercepted Hume’s pass on the 30-yard stripe and stepped off four yards before being tackled. Nine plays were run off before Roscoe Clendening finally plunged over from the two-yard line. Getz’s placement kick increased the score to 27-0, the touchdown coming early in the fourth quarter.
Hume got away to a 33-yard run on the following kickoff and the Aviators worked the ball into Tiger territory only to lose it when Gillom intercepted Hume’s pass and ran back to the Alliance 34. Slusser, cut hard through tackle and ran around Hume in a 34-yard touchdown dash.
The Aviators came back with another drive that barely got over the 50-yard line before it was finally smothered and Hume was forced to punt out on the Massillon 17.
Clendening in two attempts smashed to a first down on his 29 and that set the stage for Pokey Blunt. He ripped off 48 yards for a first down on the Alliance 23 and after Clendening was thrown for a two-yard loss. Blunt ran another 25 yards for a touchdown around left end. Again Getz kicked goal.
The Tigers kicked off to Alliance and on the first series, Bob Foster pulled down one of Hume’s passes and ran back five yards to the Alliance 39-yard line. Slusser moved the pigskin to the 32 and Blunt was again paged to take the ball around left end on a deep reverse for the remaining 32 yards. Getz kicked another point, his fifth in seven attempts, to end the scoring at 47 points. Last Period Scoring Saves Wagers The Tigers’ 27-point barrage in the last quarter saved the day for quite a few sportsmen who gave away 30 points in wagers. They were plenty nervous the first three periods of the game.
The victory was the Tigers’ seventh straight over Alliance. Not since 1932 have the Aviators succeeded in taking the measure of the local eleven – but Alliance is building this year and there may come a day.
The victory was Massillon’s 18th straight and the defeat was the first of the season for Alliance.
As expected the Aviators tried to confuse their Tiger opponents defensively. They frequently hopped a seventh man into their six-man line and at times presented a 6-2-3 defense for pass protection.
What hopes Alliance had of bombing the Tigers with touchdowns were blasted by a good pass defense that five times turned Alliance aerial attempts into boomerangs. These pass interceptions helped stop Alliance drives. The hard charge of the Massillon line rushed Hume and he had little time to pick out his receivers. 18 For Tigers Massillon Pos. Alliance Getz LE Welbush Pedrotty LT Chernikovic Russell LG Iannotti Appleby C Dawson Henderson RG Stoica Swezey RT Comsa Gillom RE Stanfield Foster QB Hume Slusser LH Rogel James RH McGregor Clendening FB Zupanic
TIGERS UNLEASH POWER AS THEY CRUSH ERIE EAST 66-0 MASSILLON LINEMEN OUTCHARGE WARRIORS
Tiger Forward Wall Tears Visiting Pennsylvanians Into Shreds As Backs Get Away To Long Touchdown Runs; 2,000 See Game
By LUTHER EMERY
Erie East’s battle scarred Warriors of the gridiron, left for home today with deep respect for Washington high school football and mindful of the 66-0 defeat, the largest score by which an Erie East team has been defeated since 1920, the first year football was played at the school. East dropped a 68-0 decision that year and it has stood as the height of humiliation since.
And it still stands. The Tigers might have broken it had they wanted to last night, but Coach Paul Brown preferred using his second and third teams. Tigers Too Fast for Erie The route came as a complete surprise for the heavier Warriors were expected to make a fight of it. But that probably tells the story. The Warriors were too heavy for their own good. They were out maneuvered by the faster and more agile Tigers, whose lightning like thrusts split the visitors’ ranks wide open and picked touchdowns out of the sky for cheap points.
Though Erie showed more offense than Warren, last week’s opponent, it lacked the hard fighting defense the Tigers faced a week ago and appeared slow afoot.
The Warriors showed a couple of good halfbacks in Clark Tyzinski and Bill Crotty, but just as at Warren, the Erie line was so badly out charged, the backs had a difficult time advancing.
The Tiger linemen hit and hit hard and the blockers scalped Warrior tacklers at every turn. Erie came to Massillon with what was considered a good opportunity for winning the northwestern Pennsylvania championship, but it returned home, feeling the sting of football as played by the Ohio champions. Never Quit Trying One thing in favor of the Warriors, they never quit trying. They were still pegging away for a touchdown when the final gun sounded and had just succeeded in turning back a threatening advance of the Tiger third team which had it succeeded would have set a new scoring record for Erie East opponents. That’s where the Warriors managed to save themselves. Scribes cannot refer to them as the team that took the worst beating in Erie history.
The Warriors likewise took their defeat gracefully and in a sportsmanlike manner. Too frequently teams resort to unfair tactics when they find themselves taking a terrific beating on the gridiron. Not the Warriors. They played the game cleanly and squarely.
In fact the teams finished on such friendly terms and Erie was so impressed with the Massillon football spectacle, that talk was already started last night of getting Massillon to Erie for a game next year, band and all.
The Warriors appeared nervous as they took the field, but they shouldn’t have been for they have played before crowds larger than the 12,000 that saw last night’s game.
Probably it was because their coach had them on the field 45 minutes before the game, or maybe it was a certain fear for the Tigers that gave the Warriors a bad case of butter fingers from the start of the game. They couldn’t catch a kickoff or pick a rolling ball off the ground.
Be what it was, fear or nerves, the Tigers gave reason for both when they pile drove through the visitors line for their first touchdown from kickoff, smashed through for another in the same period and bagged five more in the second. The varsity was removed from the game with several minutes of the second period remaining to be played and three more touchdowns were shoved across the goal line in the third and fourth quarters by the second and third stringers.
While the varsity started the visitors and took much of the starch out of them with their sudden and vicious attack, it remained for three second string backfield men to score seven of the 10 touchdowns.
Roscoe Clendening got one on a dazzling run; Pokey Blunt scored two, George Fabian three and Fred Moody one. Used Versatile Attack They used a versatile attack that made it difficult for fans in the stands to follow the ball. The Warrior were victims of the same deception and once they found trace of the leather, the ball carrier was on his way with little chance to catch him.
Seldom do you see a game with as many long, sensational runs as that of last night. As it turned out, it’s too bad all were made by the one side. A couple of Erie touchdowns would have made the second half more interesting.
But the Warriors never threatened dangerously. Only twice did they work the ball into Massillon territory and on both occasions the attacks were repelled before they could reach the 40-yard line.
Even so, Erie made more yards than Warren which last week finished with a net gain of five. The Warriors gained 136 last night which with 41 in losses deducted, left them with a net gain of 95 yards or 90 more than Warren.
What the Warriors lacked principally was drive. The Tiger linemen moved them to any designated spot. Capt. Vic Klein, was troublesome at times, but one of the most sensational plays of the evening, a short pass from Slusser to Ray Getz, went straight through Vic’s tackle for a gain of 61 yards and a touchdown.
The long runs for touchdowns, cut down the Tigers’ chances for first downs. They made a dozen to Erie’s five. Slusser Scores Touchdown They put three of their first downs together to score their first touchdown after the opening kickoff. Starting on the Tiger 42, Slusser and Clendening marched the leather to the one-yard line where Slusser took it over for the touchdown. Getz’s attempted kick for the extra point was blocked, but Slusser scooped the ball up and tried to fight his way over. He was thrown hard on the one-yard line and did not succeed.
After an exchange of punts, Red James took an Erie punt from his 40 to his 49-yard line. Slusser tossed a pass to James for another 16-yard gain and a first down on the 35. Clendening then went through his right tackle as though fired from a cannon and ran 35 yards for a touchdown. This time Getz’s kick for the extra point was low.
That was all for he first quarter which ended 12-0 but it looked as though everyone on the team would reach the Promised Land in the second period so fast did the Warriors yield ground.
On the second play of the period, Slusser whipped a 20-yard pass to Getz, who ran another 20 for a touchdown. Again his kick was blocked and the score remained 18-0.
But it didn’t stand at 18-0 very long, for Pokey Blunt was sent into the game and that meant more hard times for the Warriors. Standing on his own 39-yard line, Slusser tossed a short over hand pass, about the length of a shovel, to Getz as the latter came tearing through his right tackle. Getz never stopped until he crossed the Erie goal, a run of 61 yards.
Horace Gillom reoved Getz’s last obstacle from his path with a pretty block on the 20-yard line. This time Getz kicked a bullseye to hoist the count to 25-0.
Within a minute they score another. The kickoff struck an Erie player and Gillom and Slusser recovered on the Erie 45. Slusser picked up three yards and then turned Blunt loose for a 42-yard dash around left end and a touchdown. He also carried the extra point across to boost the score to 32-0.
Erie struck back after the kickoff to march the ball from their 20 to the Tiger 43, a 22-yard pass from Tysinski to Maxumerzyk, being the chief ground gainer of the series. It was a gallant effort. Tyzinski punted out on the Tiger 30 and on the very next play Fabian shook himself loose and ran 70 yards for a touchdown, the longest of the evening. Getz’s kick for the extra point, struck an Erie player and bounced over the crossbar. Those points boosted the Tiger score to 39-0. Fabian Intercepts Pass The Tigers kicked off to the Warriors and on the second play Tyzinski tried to dump a pass over the line. Fabian was there, however, pulled the ball out of the air and galloped 34 yards for the touchdown. Pizzino carried the 46th point across.
That was all the scoring for the first half. The second team had more difficulty scoring touchdowns than the varsity.
They took the second half kickoff on their 33-yard line and marched to the eight-yard line where Moody carried it over the goal on an end around play. Pizzino carried the extra point over.
On the following kickoff, Erie again advanced the ball into Tiger territory, reaching the 44-yard line on this attempt, only to have Bill Croop of the Tigers, recover a fumble. On an end around play, Kester took the ball to the 26-yard line and Blunt made the rest of the distance on the next jaunt. Offside penalties gave the Tigers three cracks at the extra point. Fabian was over once but it was not allowed and the last bid, an end around play by Kester failed leaving the score 59-0.
A 15-yard penalty forced the locals to punt the next time they got the ball and the fourth quarter was half over before they could score again. This time Fabian got away for a 48-yard touchdown run and he passed to Kester for the extra point. The third team played t he last five minutes. Power To Spare Massillon Pos. Erie East Getz LE Forgash Pedrotty LT Klein Russell LG Hart Martin C C. Thomas Henderson RG Ebisch Swezey RT Swanson Gillom RE Flanagan Foster QB Skovron Slusser LH Lundstrom James RH Tyzinski Clendening FB Lininger
TIGERS CRUSH WARREN 33-0 BEFORE CAPACITY CROWD SUPERIOR CONDITION OF LOCAL ELEVEN WINS
Presidents Unable To Withstand Battering Of Great Massillon Line and Hard Hitting Backs; Bands Stage Spectacle
By LUTHER EMERY
The Warren Presidents are no longer candidates for the state high school championship. Their ambitions were smothered under a deluge of five touchdowns Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers pounced into Harding high stadium to extend their victory streak to 16 games and strengthen their position in 1939 Ohio football circles.
The score was 33-0, but the score does not tell the kind of game it was, a rough and tumble affair that had the overflow crowd of 9,000 fans, the largest that has ever attended a football game in Warren, seething with excitement for the first three periods of the game. Touchdowns Hard to Get Though the Tiger was superior throughout, touchdowns were hard to get and it was slam-bang for two and one-half periods before the Warren Presidents finally wilted under the terrific hammering and did not choose to run any longer.
The Tigers, who had scored one touchdown in the second period to lead 6-0 at the half, piled two more on top of them in the last five minutes of the third period and made a complete run-a-way in the fourth as the local eleven’s superior condition had the Warren players dragging.
The charge of the line was terrific. Even though outweighed, the Tiger forwards moved the Warren linemen backward and opened huge holes for the backs to romp through.
And defensively – well, it can be best summed up by saying the Presidents might just as well have thrown their forces against the Maginot line as to have tried to pierce the Tiger forward wall last night, their net gain was five yards. Games are won and lost on the line, so they say and Messrs. Ray Getz, Gil Pedrotty, Jim Russell, Earl Martin, Gene Henderson, John Swezey and Horace Gillom, gave a remarkable exhibition. Most fans watch the ball carrier, but the ball carriers, can’t move without a charging line and good blocking in front of them.
Ex-Local Coach Praises Tigers
Sidney Jones, former Washington high school football and basketball coach and now probate judge of Trumbull County, of which Warren is the county seat, was among the 9,000 spectators who saw the Tigers run rampant over the Warren Harding Presidents last night.
And Judge Jones really was impressed.
“Massillon had the greatest high school football team I have ever seen,” said the judge, following the game.
“We all thought we had a great team in Warren. We do but that Massillon team really has what it takes.”
Judge Jones coached at the local school back in 1912 and 1913 when scholastic football was far from being the sport it is today.
Vicious Blocking The Tigers had both last night. The blocking was vicious, Warren newspaper reporters commented on it after the first couple of plays and the ball carriers plunged and sidestepped with more than ordinary ability.
Heading the scoring was George Slusser and Red James, each with two touchdowns. Fred Blunt also reached the Promised Land in the short time he played.
It was long runs by Slusser, one for 71 yards and James, one for 32 yards, with surprise sneaks by Bob Foster and some hard plunges by Roscoe Clendening that finished the fireworks for Massillon fans. Prettiest of all, was a brilliant 75-yard return of a punt by Red James that was not allowed because Referee Russell Rupp called unnecessary roughness on Capt. Martin.
There was more drama in the game than most of the fans could appreciate. Only the players knew what was going on. They knew the importance of the game and its bearing on the state championship and they knew that each team had been pointed to the limit to win.
The Presidents went into the melee keyed to the limit and made a hard fight of it for two and one-half periods, only to wilt before superior conditioning. Save for an injured ankle suffered in the second period by Bill Zimmerman, the best ground gainer in the early minutes of the game, the local squad emerged unscathed and raced to the bench when removed for substitutes in the third and fourth quarters.
On the other hand, the Warren gridders, beaten and bruised, limped to the sidelines, disappointed, but not disgraced for fans knew they were beaten by a superior team. Tigers Superior Every Way Yes, the Tigers had all the better of it in virtually every department of the game, 15 first downs, to Warren’s two. They completed three of seven passes for 29 yards and intercepted one of Warren’s five attempts.
They gained 409 yards by rushing to Warren’s 27 and they finished with a net offensive gain, passing and ball carrying of 418 yards to Warren’s five yards.
They stopped Mackey Johnson, ace ball carrier of the Presidents and Tom Decavitch, a quick cutting runner, in their tracks. Give Horace Gillom a lot of credit for keeping Mackey behind the line of scrimmage. When all figures are added up, Mackey lost three more yards than he gained. He carried the ball six times, gained six yards and lost nine.
The Tigers in one department, forward passing, failed to function as they have in previous games. Warren met them with a 6-2-2-1 defense. The Presidents line up with a five-man line, but hopped a sixth into the expected point of combat. The Presidents covered Tiger pass receivers closely and only short tosses into the flats worked.
Not only did the Tigers out-man the Presidents, but they also out-smarted them. They gambled and won. Take the closing minutes of the first half as an example. It was fourth down with 18 yards to go and the ball on the Warren 44-yard line. Gillom dropped back to punt, but around came James to take the ball off his back stretched hand and race to a first down on the Warren 21-yard line. The gun stopped the Tigers’ on the five-yard line in this touchdown bid or they might have had a more comfortable lead at the end of the first half. First March Fails The Tigers made a touchdown bid after the opening kickoff. They lugged the ball from the 20-yard line to the Warren 18, Zimmerman missing a first down by inches. Warren came back to gain 12 yards in two attempts and one of its two first downs of the game. It got the other on a penalty.
After an exchange of punts, Slusser recovered a Warren fumble in midfield and there, in the closing minute of the first period, began the first successful touchdown march. After James had lost a yard at end, Slusser picked up seven yards and Zimmerman plunged for a first down on the Warren 40. Slusser and Zimmerman in three attempts carried to a first down on the Warren 28. There little Red James set up the touchdown, racing around left end on a double reverse to the six-yard line. Zimmerman put the ball on the one yard line but Warren was offside and penalized five yards which took the ball to the same spot. Slusser hit his right tackle for the touchdown and Getz kicked the extra point. Two plays after the following kickoff, Zimmerman was injured and removed from the lineup for the rest of the game. He was replaced by Clendening who did a great job of filling his shoes. An exchange of punts and Warren worked its best offensive maneuver of the game, an intended lateral pass, but the ball traveled forward instead of laterally and the play was not allowed. It would have gained 18 yards.
Taking the ball on their own 39-yard line, the Tigers launched another drive with Clendening plunging for 14 yards and James getting away for some fancy stepping off the fake kick formation, but with first down coming up and the ball on the five-yard line, the gun cracked, ending the half.
The third period was full of thrills. The Tigers were stopped in midfield after taking the kickoff and were forced to punt back to the Presidents. Warren opened up with laterals and passes but went backward. Decavitch hoisted a beautiful punt that James picked up near his goal and raced back through nearly the entire Warren team before being downed on the 24-yard line. It wasn’t allowed because of a roughing penalty and Warren got the ball on first down on its 47-yard line.
Gillom did his best to make up for it on the next play, however, when he leaped high in the air to intercept Decavitch’s pass on his own 40 and carry the ball back to the 44-yard line.
There another successful touchdown drive was launched. Foster fooled his opponents as he sneaked through guard and cut around the secondary for a 36-yard gain to the 20-yard line. Slusser on the next play smashed through to the 11 and James completely crossed up his opponents as he slipped around his left end for the 11 yards and touchdown. Getz’s attempted placekick for the extra point was wide of the posts and the score was 13-0. That touchdown signaled the breaking point of the Warren morale and when after an exchange of punts, James romped 32 yards for his second touchdown of the game, the rout was begun. Getz kicked the point this time and the quarter closed after the following kickoff. Warren Crumbles Warren had little left the last period. It couldn’t gain ground and its defense crumbled before the Tiger charge. Failing to move the ball more than eight yards after the kickoff, the Presidents punted to the Massillon 24. Clendening moved the ball to the Massillon 29 and there Slusser on a cutback play ran 71 yards for a touchdown. Getz kicked the 27th point of the game.
Pokey Blunt was sent in and more trouble loomed for the Presidents. Getting the ball on a punt, the Tigers moved it up to the 15-yard line and there Blunt slipped around his left end and fought his way over the goal. Getz’a attempts kicked for the extra point was blocked and it was the signal for a complete new Massillon team to take the field. There was no further scoring, neither team as much as threatening.
Warren tried to work a fake kick in the remaining minutes but Price, the ball carrier, was tossed for an 11-yard loss.
The game was staged in a riot of color with the field completely surrounded with spectators. The Warren band with 32 majorettes and the Tiger band with eight majorettes, participated in a flag raising ceremony before the game. They were back again between halves, each with a fine show. The Tiger band gave a complete new performance that featured an Apache dance by Obie the Tiger and the “Alma Mater Massillon” ran across the field with spectators joining in the singing.
The Warren band formed a flag, with the 32 drum majorettes as the staff and while in this formation played “God Bless America.” A couple of the Warren majorettes gave a tap dance during another number on a platform beneath which was placed the microphone of the public address system.
Members of the bands renewed acquaintances prior to the game when entertained at dinner in Warren. Massillon musicians were loud in their praise of the hospitality they enjoyed in Warren.
The crowd was the largest that has ever attended a football game there. More than 9,000 were present, according to estimates. When no more could be accommodated the ticket booths and gates were locked. More than 2,000 Massillon fans were included in the group. Two thousand tickets were sold here and many more who were unable to buy tickets, went to Warren early and sat in the general admission section. Warren kept its promise and held the Massillon section for Massillon patrons. Massillon fans who rode the special train and there were 538 of them, found seats awaiting them when they reached Warren. They arrived in plenty of time for the game and praised the train as the finest ever provided for a football game.
Though the sky was overcast with clouds, not enough rain fell to dampen the sheepheads of the drums.
And that was a surprise to Massillon fans, particularly those who rode the special train. The train was in a downpour all the way from Barberton to Newton Falls, but by the time Warren was reached, the rain had stopped and the threatening skies only dumped a few buckets full during the last minute of the first half.
The game was originally scheduled for 8 p.m. was moved back to 8:15 by Warren officials.
You probably saw Coach Paul Brown and Coach Pierre Hill of Warren arguing between halves of the game. Brown insisted on using the brown ball, while Hill wanted to use the white ball the last half. Brown objected because Warren was wearing white jerseys.
Mackey Johnson, the Warren backfield ace wore a leather guard on his face. He had three teeth knocked loose two weeks ago.
A Real Victory Massillon Pos. Warren Getz LE Crognale Pedrotty LT Hoffman Russell LG Mrus Martin C Canzeonetta Henderson RG Deutsch Swezey RT Dixon Gillom RE Holmes Foster QB Henry Slusser LH Decavitch James RH M. Johnson Zimmerman FB Layton
TIGERS BEGIN PREPARATION FOR WARREN PRESIDENTS BETTER THAN MANSFIELD
Massillon Team’s Lightning Thrusts Demoralized Mansfield Gridders In First Period Last Saturday And 73-0 Route Followed
By LUTHER EMERY
Having stripped the Mansfield Tyger of its stripes to the score of 73-0 here Saturday afternoon, the Washington high Tigers today turned their attention toward preparations for meeting a more formidable foe at Warren Friday evening.
The Presidents have won two games, defeating Cleveland Rhodes 7-0 in a mediocre performance in their season’s opener and smashing Erie Academy 19-0 last week with a surprising display of power. Both Teams Scouted Pierre Hill of Warren is priming for the Tigers just as Coach Paul Brown is pointing his team for the Presidents. Both coaches looked each other over last week and will busy themselves the next three days setting up a defense that each hopes will stop the other.
Warren will definitely outweigh the Tigers. The Presidents will put practically a veteran team on the field, built from a large squad that included 36 members of the 1938 club, among them Mackey Johnson, ace ball carrier, who you saw sprint for several long runs here last year.
Warren will be by far the toughest of the teams the Tigers have met to date. There’s no mystery connected with them as with Mansfield. In the latter instance, the mystery now seems to be, how did Mansfield Tygers ever beat Akron West 26-0.
Mansfield for two plays Saturday showed a promising charge that held the Tigers to two yards and for a moment caused one to believe that the Tygers might be as strong defensively as their no first down performance against Akron West had indicated. But when George Slusser slid off his left guard on a spin for what nearly amounted to a first down on the third play of the game, the Tyger defense was questioned and by the middle of the first period it was very evident that the Mansfield gridders lacked the power of stopping the Massillon football machine. Tigers Work Together The local Tigers played as a machine, doing everything well. They scored four touchdowns the first quarter and two more the second to command a 41-0 lead at the half. The first team didn’t play a second of the second half. The second team played on and one-half periods and the third stringers finished up the game, rushing five more touchdowns over the Mansfield goal Four other touchdowns were not counted when the ball was called back because of penalties and two additional ones were not allowed because the runner stepped out of bounds.
It was the Massillon Tigers third victory in the four-yard series with the Mansfield Tyger and by far the most convincing. In fact a Mansfield scribes scratched their heads in the press box here trying to recall when a Tyger team had taken as terrific a beating. Massillon fans at the same time debated whether this year’s team was as great or greater than the undefeated elevens of 1935-36 and ’38. Mansfield scribes said, “yes” without a moment’s hesitation and wondered what the score would have been had Paul Brown permitted his team to play the entire game.
From a spectator’s standpoint it was too one-sided to be interesting and yet no one could do anything about it. Coach Brown substituted his second and third teams trying to hold down the score and Coach Paul Snyder restocked his lineup in an effort to bolster it, but the rout continued and definitely so as the second and third teams produced their star performances. Blunt Pleases Fans “Pokey” Blunt caught the fans’ eyes with his fleet dashes, the best of which was a 51-yard touchdown sprint. Roscoe Clendening too got away for a long touchdown dash only to lose the points when the ball was called back and a penalty inflicted on the Tigers. Then there was Junior White, another ball carrier, and Bill Wallace, George Fabian and Larry Cardinal, hard hitting linemen.
As for the Tiger first team, it played as a unit. With Eli Broglio doing a capable job of filling the shoes of Jim Russell, left guard, who was ill, the veterans mouse trapped the Mansfield tackles, gained almost at will and played the entire first half without punting. In fact only once did the Tigers punt and that was a honey of a boot by George Kester, 57 yards from the line of scrimmage. All told, the Tigers made 17 first downs to Mansfield’s 5 and gained 522 yards from scrimmage, 165 with the forward pass. Deducting seven yards lost from scrimmage the Tigers finished the game with a net gain of 515 yards.
Mansfield had little in an offensive way. It threatened but once that in the early minutes of the second half when a series of passes and laterals advanced the ball through Massillon’s second team to the 20-yard line. Here the locals braced and Jim Moody intercepted Jim Le Munyon’s pass and dashed back to the Tyger 40-yard line before being downed. The Tygers had a weak running attack. Completely out charged by the Massillon linemen, they only gained 49 yards rushing and lost 23 leaving them the net gain of 26 yards for their whole afternoon’s effort. Sixty-two additional yards were gained through the completion of four passes.
Gene Henderson, was a bull on defense Saturday and time and again dumped Mansfield plays directed his way.
The Massillon linemen so badly out charged the Tyger forwards that the latter’s backs couldn’t get started. On the offense they opened big gaps in the Mansfield wall and the ball carrier followed a wave of interference through the opening. The blocking was vicious, with Bob Foster and Bill Zimmerman in particular leading the way in spilling opposing tacklers. Scoring Distributed Scoring was well distributed among the Tiger players. George Slusser, whose accurate arm accounted for most of the Tiger passes, made two touchdowns, one on a 25-yard run, Ray Getz scored two, one on a 33-yard pass and the other on a 12-yard dash around end in which two of the Mansfield secondary blocked each other out of the play.
Zimmerman crashed through for two on plunges and Clendening, George Fabian, Blunt, Dick Adams and White crossed the Mansfield goal once. Incidentally, Fabian showed great improvement Saturday over his play of a week ago.
Unleashing a lightning thrust that tends to demoralize the opponent, the Tigers took the kickoff and did not surrender the ball until they crossed the Mansfield goal. The drive started from their own 38-yard line. It took four downs to gain a first down, but from there on they came easy. A 26-yard pass from Slusser to Gillom put the ball on the 15-yard line. Slusser, Zimmerman and Slusser in that order, took the leather to the one-yard line where Slusser carried it over and Getz placekicked the extra point.
Mansfield couldn’t gain ground on the following kickoff so Howard Hershey punted out on the Massillon 47. Slusser put the ball on the mid-stripe and Getz on an end around play raced 19 yards. Gillom went six yard on an end around and Slusser ran the remaining 25 for the second touchdown. Again Getz kicked goal.
Zimmerman set the Tigers up for their third touchdown when he pulled down Le Munyon’s pass on the Mansfield 36. Slusser immediately fired a long one that Horace Gillom took and ran to the eight-yard line. Red James knocked himself out on the play as he threw a block into the Mansfield tackler. Zimmerman plunged the ball over the goal and Getz kicked his third straight point.
In the waning minutes of the period, Le Munyon tried to run from a fake punt formation on fourth down, but failed to gain and the Tigers took the ball on the Mansfield 33.
On the first play, Slusser shot the ball to Getz for a touchdown. Getz’s attempted kick for the extra point was blocked and the quarter ended with the score 27-0.
A poor punt that went out of bounds on the Mansfield 30-yard line set up another touchdown early in the second period. James whirled around left end to the 12-yard line and Getz circled right end for the touchdown. Zimmerman plunged the extra point across to bring the score to 34-0. Gillom Loses Six Points A 36-yard pass to Gillom produced another touchdown that was not allowed when the Tigers were penalized for holding. They eventually lost the ball on downs, but got it back on their own 43 through a punt. Zimmerman and Slusser alternated carrying the ball to the seven-yard line where Zimmerman took it over. Getz kicked goal and the half ended with the score 41-0.
Mansfield opened the third period with a burst of offense that carried the ball from its 35 to the Tiger 20-yard line. An intercepted pass ended the razzle dazzle threat, however when Jim Moody got his hands on the ball.
Mansfield recovered a Tiger fumble but was forced to punt, Blunt hauling the leather back to his 47-yard line after a 20-yard dash. Fabian found a big opening in the middle of the Mansfield wall and got to the one-yard line before being downed. He went over for a touchdown on the next play but both sides were offside and the ball was called back. Clendening was then given the oval and he crashed through for the points. An attempted pass for the extra point failed and the score stood at 47-0.
An exchange of punts ended with Blunt taking the ball to the Mansfield 32. It was hard going from there on in, but with Fabian bearing the brunt of the burden, the drive ended with him going over from the one-yard line. Kester tried to knife through for the extra point but failed.
Mansfield fumbled the following kickoff and Bill Wallace promptly planted himself on the ball on his own 49-yard line. Blunt, coming around end as though fired out of a cannon, raced 51 yards for the touchdown and Clendening plunged the extra point across.
A Mansfield punt gave the Tigers the ball on their own 44. After Clendening had gained three yards, Blunt whirled around end for a touchdown dash but the ball was called back to the 27-yard line where he had slipped out of bounds. Pizzino on the next play went for a touchdown but this time the Tigers were offside and were penalized five yards. Still not to be denied the points, Pizzino and Dick Adams advanced the ball to the five-yard line where Adams went over and Pizzino plunged for the extra point, to hoist the score to 67-0.
Losing the ball on downs after the kickoff on the Mansfield 46-yard line the Mansfield Tygers again were put on the defensive. Joe De Mando was blocked while attempting to snare a pass and interference was called giving the Tigers a first down on the Mansfield 22-yard line. There Junior White got up steam and crossed the Tyger goal for the last touchdown of the game. Pizzino hit a stone wall in attempting to buck the extra point across.
Don Armour intercepted a Mansfield pass to again set the Tigers in motion, but the gun ended their drive. No Congestion Saturday The improved handling of parking facilities and seating of spectators was as gratifying as the victory. There was little or no congestion in the drives leading to the stadium or in parking lots and ushers, more familiar with the seating arrangement, made fewer mistakes and showed spectators to their seats quickly. A reporter, intentionally trying to “crash” the gate to test the ticket takers and ushers, found himself turned back at every entrance. You must have a ticket to get into Massillon field and this is done as a protection to reserved seat holders.
A portion of the scoreboard failed in the early minutes of the game and timing had to be done on the field.
The visiting band and drum corps members formed an airplane in their drill, a low roll of the drums, indicating the roar of the motor. The Tiger band showed off a snappy drill, with the Beer Barrel Polka still the favorite of the crowd.
The Tiger band is swinging it again.
Points to Spare Massillon Pos. Mansfield Getz LE Miller Pedrotty LT M. Horvath Broglio LG Weaver Martin C White Henderson RG Henke Swezey RT Goettl Gillom RE Beer Foster QB Smith Slusser LH Hershey James RH Logan Zimmerman FB D. Templeton
Game Statistics Massillon Mansfield First downs 17 5 Passes attempted 12 22 Passes completed 6 4 Passes incompleted 6 14 Passes intercepted 0 4 Yards gained passing 165 62 Yards gained rushing 357 49 Total yards gained 522 111 Yards lost rushing 7 23 Net yards gained 515 88 Times penalized 7 3 Yards penalized 55 20 Fumbles 2 4 Lost ball on fumbles 1 1
Booster Club Meets Tonight
The Tiger Booster club will meet tonight at 7:30 in the school auditorium. Arrangements for chartering a special train to Warren will be discussed. The train is scheduled to leave Massillon at 5:30 p.m. arriving in Warren one-half hour before the game. Fans who intend to ride the train should purchase their tickets early. The Booster club needs 300 fares to guarantee the train.
TIGERS SHOW POWER TO CRUSH CATHEDRAL LATIN LIONS 40-13 OVERFLOW CROWD SEES NEW STADIUM OPENED WITH COLORFUL SHOW
Massillon Team Demonstrates Power From Start; Forward Pass Again Important Weapon; Lions Display Fight and Play Fine Second Half Game
By LUTHER EMERY
With an overflow crowd of 15,000 spectators looking on, the Washington high school Tigers erased the dedication jinx Friday evening and opened their fine new football plant with a 40-13 triumph over a plucky Cathedral Latin high school team of Cleveland.
No longer is the Lion the king of bests – not as far as Massillon fans are concerned. The Tiger that has held the state championship four consecutive years still rules the jungle. Footballs Instead of Grenades The Latin Lion could not withstand the lightning thrusts and aerial bombardment of the Massillon Bengal.
Those words sound like the descriptive phrases from that which is taking places overseas, but when the Latin band played “God Bless America”, the crowd must have breathed a prayer that free America may continue to place footballs instead of hand grenades in the hands of her youth.
Previous to last night the Latin Lions had won 17 straight games and had only been defeated once in their last 28 starts. With only one regular of last year’s team in the lineup, the Lions had little hope of taming the Tiger but had a hope of taming the Tiger, but had a fond desire of keeping the score as low as possible.
Panicky at the start as a result of a late arrival which necessitated hurried dressing, the Clevelanders settled down after a poor first half and battled the Tigers on virtually even terms the last two periods, a part of which was played by an entire Massillon second team.
Though beaten, the Lions were not exactly disappointed and were far from dissatisfied. “We wouldn’t be ashamed to lose 100- 0 to a team like that,” one of the high officials of the school exclaimed, as he praised the treatment accorded the Latin players, band and students.
Massillon had the same good feeling. Coach Paul Brown only played his first team about two and one-half periods in an effort to avoid exhaustion in the extreme heat and at the same time give the yearlings a chance to gain practical experience.
The Tigers found in Latin a good competitor, a sporting team, with an excellent band and a lot of good fans. Tigers Click From Start It was evident from the opening kickoff that the lions were in for a bad evening, however.
That the Brown machine was all advance reports said of it was very evident as the Tigers in six plays scampered over the goal, using a fake kick formation from which Red James ran 39 yards to score the touchdown.
Before the end of the period, James was over again, this time on a 31-yard dash. The ball was chased over the goal two more times in the second period, Slusser carrying once from the one-yard line after a march from the Latin 32 and Gillom taking a 26-yard pass from Slusser as he loped along to step off the remaining 20 yards to the goal. Ray Getz kicked two of the points from placement and the half closed with the Tigers leading 26-0.
It took eight plays to get the ball over the goal after the kickoff opening the second half, a march of 56 yards ending in Zimmerman scoring from the four-yard line.
That appeared to awaking the Lion and it charged back with a rush that carried 60 yards and ended with Eddie Prokop, the only veteran remaining from last year, diving over the line of scrimmage for the last yard. He also kicked goal.
Both teams scored in the fourth quarter, Slusser going over from the 10-yard line in the third play of the period and Prokop circling his right end in the closing minutes of the game to score from the one-yard line.
In brief, that’s how the touchdowns were made. They came easy for the Tigers the first half but were harder to get the longer the game progressed.
The Lions lined up with a defensive six-man line or a 6-1-2-2 defense. The backer, however, nearly always hopped into the line with the idea of jamming things up and changing the Tigers’ blocking assignments at the last moment.
As long as the first team was on the field, the line for the most part could handle the last minute poundage, but the subs found the situation confusing and were able to make little headway. Tigers Blocking Good The Tiger offense, though ragged at intervals, was smooth as a whole, especially for an opening game. The blocking for the most part was good and fans saw Bob Foster, more than once lay as pretty a block as you would want to see on the Latin foes. On one occasion he nearly bowled a Latin player into the stands. The line charged hard and big Jim Russell and Horace Gillom playing outstanding roles.
The forward pass was again a potent weapon of the Tiger offense. Statistics tend to show a lack of efficiency with its use, but most of the incompleted passes were charged to the second team.
Three of the first five passes tossed by the varsity gained 93 yards and produced one of its touchdowns.
Collectively the Tigers completed only five of 18 passes for a total gain of 112 yards. One was intercepted.
Passes also played an important part in Latin’s last half attack, the visitors putting the ball on the one-yard line with passes in both of their touchdown attempts. The first was a 12-yard toss that Red James tipped into the arms of Hank Zolnoski, Latin end. The second, a sneak pass, that caused a lot of money to change hands between point betters, was thrown by Jack Sague to Prokop for a 24-yard gain.
The Lions attempted 15 passes and completed seven for a gain of 101 yards. One was intercepted.
The Tigers had the edge in all statistics. They made 12 first downs to Latin’s eight and the ball carriers made a net gain of 310 yards to the Lion backfield’s 45 yards.
The visitors twice, lost the ball on fumbles, while the Tigers clung to it in good shape. Fine Punting The punting of both teams was excellent. Horace Gillom averaged 48 yards while Paul Vitonis of the Lions struck a 39-yard average.
On the other hand neither team appeared able to kickoff. Prokop got a good one his first attempt and Ray Getz had two good kicks out of six efforts.
Prokop was easily the outstanding member of the Latin team. Somewhat heavier than listed in the program, he carried himself well, did most of the passing, the kicking off and gained most of the yardage.
Prokop was supported in the backfield by Sague, but neither ball carrier was accorded the blocking given the Massillon backs. On the line, Zolnoski and Bernard Meter stood out for the Lions.
There were thrills for both sides to cheer, Massillon fans particularly liked James’ long run from the fake kick formation and Gillom’s leaping catch of Slusser’s very accurate pass for the fourth Tiger touchdown. The visitors got their big thrill from the sneak pass in which Prokop laid along the sideline while his team took its time in the huddle before running off the play. Massillon fans on the east side of the field made such a rumpus trying to call the attention of the Tiger secondary to Prokop that fans on the west side got up to see whether the Galento-Nova fight had been transplanted in Massillon. Sague tossed a well aimed pass to Eddie and he almost got over for a touchdown. He made it with ease on the next play, following Head Linesman Eddie Howells who looked as though he was running interference.
Massillon spectators also got a kick out of Jitterbug Blunt’s fancy stepping when he took Chase’s punt in the second period and sidestepped his way for a 25-yard run. He’s only a sophomore.
Three of the Tigers’ six touchdowns came on long gains. The others were harder to get. Offside Proves A Blessing The Tigers launched their first drive on the opening kickoff. They marched the ball down to the Latin 39 where the Lions appeared to stop them. On fourth down, Gillom placed a beautiful punt out of bounds on the five-yard line but both sides were offside and the fans moaned the loss of such a good kick. It was fourth down and Gillom again dropped back to kick. Slusser saw his opportunity and seized it. Instead of punting the ball, Gillom faked the kick and James took the ball out of his hands on a variation of the old Michigan Statue of Liberty and ran 39 yards around right end for the touchdown.
An exchange of punts following the kickoff gave James an opportunity to return the Latin boot 22 yards to the Lion 43-yard line. He reeled off 11 more on a dash around left end and after Slusser had gained a yard, the little red head shot through his left tackle for 31 yards and the second touchdown.
The Lions tried a pass after the following kickoff, but Gillom, covering the center zone, dropped back to spear the ball and carry it past midfield before being tackled. Here the first period ended. On the first play of the second quarter, Slusser fired a 33-yard pass to Gillom for a first down on the 12-yard stripe. Slusser and Zimmerman carried the ball to the one-yard line, Slusser lugging it over.
Ten new faces entered the game for Latin. On the first play after the following kickoff, Russell pounced on a Latin fumble on the 46-yard line. Before the Lions could recover, Slusser had hurled a 26-yard pass to Gillom who caught the ball on his own 20 and raced over the goal.
A new team went into the game for Massillon and played the rest of the period. In the closing minutes of the period Prokop tossed a 15-yard pass to Zolnoski for Latin’s first first down of the game. Zimmerman In Action The Tiger veterans took the field for the third period and launched a drive from their 44-yard line with Bill Zimmerman as the spearhead. It was Zimmerman nine, Slusser 17, Zimmerman one and Slusser two. A pass Slusser to Zimmerman gained six more and Zimmerman again carried the leather to a first down on the nine-yard line. In two plays he was over.
That sparked the Lion to breathing fire and it came back to score a touchdown, not through the second team, but through the varsity eleven. It started from the Latin 40 with Sague getting three yards and Prokop picking up 14 in two attempts. Prokop hurled a pass to Zolnoski for a first down on the 30 and Sague, running well behind his interference, carried the ball in two attempts to a first down on the Tiger 16. Prokop was chased back for an eight-yard loss and Slusser knocked down an attempted pass to Zolnoski but Prokop kept pecking away at his target and shot an 11-yarder to Zolnoski that put the ball on the 13-yard line with fourth down coming up. Again Prokop passed the ball. Red James had Zolnoski covered, but tipped the ball into the latter’s arms and he fell on the one-yard line. Prokop dove over the line for the touchdown.
The Tigers took the kickoff on their 42 and drove straight down the field for another touchdown. Zimmerman and James gained five yards and Slusser ripped off 35 for a first down on the Latin 18. Zimmerman took the ball to the nine-yard line and Slusser in two attempts went across.
It looked as though the score would stand at 40-7, but in the closing minutes the visitors launched another aerial bombardment against the Massillon second team which started from the Latin 46-yard line. Prokop passed 14 yards to Egert for a first down on the Tiger 40 and a 16-yard toss to Chase gained another first down on the Massillon 24. Sague grounded a pass, but fired the next one on the sideline sleeper play to Prokop who got down to the one-yard line before being tackled. Prokop ran wide around his right end to score the last yard and the final points of the game.
The game was practically free from injuries despite the intense heat. Time was called out for injury to one Massillon and one Latin player, but neither was seriously hurt.
As one veteran Cleveland sports writer pointed out, it is the first time “I ever covered a football game in my shirt sleeves.”
A Good Start Massillon Pos. Latin Getz LE Zolnoski Pedrotty LT Shisila Russell LG Hersch Martin C Fresco Henderson RG Meter Swezey RT Fouferousse Gillom RE Pitts Foster QB Vitonis Slusser LH Prokop James RH Sague Zimmerman FB Chase
Score by periods: Massillon 13 13 7 7 40 Latin 0 0 7 6 13
Substitutions: Massillon – St. Johns; Jansen, rh; White; Fabian; Kingham; Hill; De Hoff; Rogich, Blunt; Pizzino; De Mando; Appleby; Armour; Kester; Moody; Cardinal; Broglio; Wallace; Croop; Clendening. Latin – Bindokas; Dillon; Egert; Gyevet; R. Hackman; Kinkopf; Lange; Mahon; Mason; Ostendorf; Paltani; Phillips; Winterich.
Touchdowns: Massillon – James 2; Slusser 2; Gillom; Zimmerman. Latin – Prokop 2.
Points after touchdowns: Massillon – Getz 4 (placekicks). Latin – Prokop (placekick).
Referee – Gross. Umpire – Graf. Head Linesman – Howells.
Game Statistics Mass. Latin First downs 12 6 Yards gained rushing 320 68 Yards lost rushing 10 23 Net gain rushing 310 45 Yards gained passing 112 101 Total yards gained 422 146 Passes attempted 18 15 Passes completed 5 7 Passes intercepted 1 1 Times penalized 5 3 Yards lost in penalties 45 15 Lost ball on fumble 0 2 Number of punts 2 6 Average punts (yards) 48 39 Number of kickoffs 6 4 Average kickoffs (yards) 34 26
TIGERS BEAT BULLDOGS 12-0 TO WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWD OF 18,000 GETS THRILL AT MASSILLON DEFENSE ON GOAL LINE
Bulldogs Turned Back Three Times In Bid For Touchdowns; Snyder And Zimmerman Score For Massillon; Band Sparkles In Snappy Drill
By LUTHER EMERY
The Ohio scholastic football championship stays in Massillon for a fourth straight year and any of the 18,000 or more fans who saw the Massillon high Tigers put another twist in the tail of the Canton Bulldog Saturday will tell you here is where it belongs.
Two powerful offensive marches in the second period moved forward over the Canton goal to give the Massillon gridders a 12-point lead and they protected it with three gallant goal line stands in the second half that could never be surpassed for sheer courage and grit.
Four In a Row Over Canton The 12-0 triumph was the 10th of the season for the Tigers, their fourth in a row over Canton McKinley, their 13th straight triumph and their 47th in their last 50 games. They were last beaten by Canton in the finale of the 1934 season and after undefeated years in 1935 and 1936, finally dropped a game to New Castle and were tied by Mansfield in 1937.
This fine record and the music and pageantry of Saturday’s classic is another reason why Massillon is recognized as the capital of Ohio scholastic football, even though the state has several other undefeated high school teams.
There was no doubt as to the Tigers’ superiority Saturday. They had three opportunities to score, all in the first half, made good on two and lost on the other on two unfortunate breaks. Canton had three opportunities to score, all in the second half, but failed each time, because it could not penetrate a Tiger line that summoned super-human courage when forced back to its goal. Praise the Line Every credit is due the backfield but give extra praise to the linemen, who too often are forgotten when the praises of victory are sung.
The Massillon trenchmen badly out charged the Bulldog forward wall the first half. They stopped Canton’s famed Marion Motley, something no other team has done this year and they refused to back up any further when thrice the Bulldogs advanced the ball to within the eight-yard line.
Those three courageous goal line stands were the climax of the ball game. Massillon fans didn’t think they could do it and Canton fans couldn’t understand it, but the greatly outweighed Tiger linemen had 12 precious hard earned points to preserve and they smote down everything that came their way.
The Bulldogs did not have Motley to hurl into the Tiger forward wall on any of their touchdown bids. He was a party to the first march that began in midfield, but Lynn Houston tackled him so viciously on the 10-yard line that Motley left the ball game, never to come back again. Tip Lockard, who learned his first football at Longfellow junior high before moving to Canton, carried the ball to the three-yard line in two plays, but on fourth down Marantides tried to flip a pass over the center to Nick Roman and found Freddie Toles was where Nick should have been and Canton’s first touchdown effort ended with Massillon getting the ball on the 20-yard line.
The Bulldogs, who produced all the offense of the second half, charged back twice more in the fourth quarter. A pesky shovel pass, Marantides to Athie Garrison that sent the latter through the weak side, bothered the Tigers throughout the second half and was good for 23 yards and a first down on the Massillon eight-yard line.
Hope rose in the breasts of Canton fans and Massillon hearts beat heavy as the Tigers moved into an eight-man line to stop the threat.
Marantides tried to skirt his right end but wound up five yards behind where he had started. The Bulldogs tried to cross the Tigers with another shovel pass, but this time Garrison was flopped without gain. Toles Bats Pass Down Marantides faded back and fired a long pass to the southeast corner of the field. Tony Fehn was out there trying to get it and got behind Toles, the defending halfback, but Freddie leaped at the right time and tipped the ball just enough to knock it out of Tony’s reach. It would have been a touchdown had he caught it. A Massillon fan was so elated at Toles’ deflecting the ball that he reached out over the guard rail, grabbed Toles and patted him on the back, until Freddie finally broke away and got into position for the fourth down.
Marantides tried the only thing he could, another pass, this one intended for Nick Roman, his lanky end, but the ball was batted down and the Tigers took it on their 14-yard line, six yards back from where Canton started.
The Bulldogs still weren’t through. Whatever kind of a “pep-hyp” Coach Johnny Reed shot into his boys between halves, was lasting and the closing minutes of the fourth quarter again found them knocking at the Massillon goal.
Two well executed passes, a 21-yard circus catch by Roman followed by a 33-yard toss to Fehn, gave the Bulldogs a first down on the Tiger five-yard line.
Here the Massillon forward wall gave its greatest demonstration of courage. Lockard smashed through center for three yards and put the ball on the two-yard line. He hit the same spot again, but little Bud Lucius, who covered himself with glory, submarined under the pack, grabbed all the legs he could get hold of and was found hanging on to one of Lockard’s when the pileup was finally untangled. Tip only advanced the ball a yard on the play but was within a yard of the goal with two downs still to make it in.
Again Lockard was given the ball. This time he tried to dive over the line, but Sophomore Gene Henderson rose up to meet his flying body and smite him down for a loss of one-half yard.
Still another down remained and the ball was only a yard and a half away. This time the Bulldogs sought to work a cutback with Garrison carrying the ball. The Tigers were not to be fooled, however and Athie was thrown for a one-half yard loss and the Tigers took possession of the pigskin. Horace Gillom punted out to the 20-yard line and when Marantides tried to pass on third down, Capt. Red Snyder hauled in the leather behind the goal for a touchback.
That is why Canton failed to make good on its opportunities. Tigers Have Extra Punch Where Canton dominated the offense the second half, but lacked the punch to cross the goal, the Tigers summoned the same extra courage and strength that enabled them to shove over two touchdowns the first half to collar and stop the Bulldogs in the last two periods.
It took only a few minutes after the kickoff for the Tigers to show they really meant business. Stopped after receiving the kick for a net gain of eight yards on three downs, Gillom lofted a beautiful high punt that Motley took on his 20-yard line. When Bud Lucius met him as soon as he caught the ball and single-handed flopped him for no return, it was evident that Motley was in for a bad afternoon. The Dogs couldn’t gain and punted back to Capt. Snyder, who returned 17 yards to the Canton 47. Slusser and Getz were tossed backward five yards in two plays and the Bulldog fans were jubilant.
Into his bag of tricks reached Capt. Snyder for what is known as a delayed deep weak side reverse. The ball sent to Slusser and he swept wide to his right. As he cut in toward the line of scrimmage, however, Slusser slipped the ball backward to Getz who swept hard toward the left. Getz just got up momentum when he bumped into Referee Dave Reese. The collision spun him around but he kept on going. Tony Fehn took after him but was leveled to the ground by Jim Russell. Motley tried to reach him, but found Toles in the way and when Nick Roman tried to down him, he was met by Earl Martin.
Getz was finally bumped out of bounds on the 18-yard line after a run of 34 yards. He probably would have reached the goal line had he not bumped into the referee. It was an error for which Referee Reese apologized not only once but many times after the game. But why blame him when 11 members of the Canton team and most of the crowd of 18,000 didn’t know where the ball was?
Slusser smashed for eight yards and Getz on a cut back, the same play that fooled Canton a year ago, ran to the four-yard line where he fumbled when tackled and of all players, Bill Lee, a former member of the Massillon squad recovered for Canton.
That ended the Tigers’ first threat and after an exchange of punts they came hammering back again. Snyder brought a punt back to the Massillon 44 from which point the march started. Getz, Slusser and Snyder in turn carried the ball to a first down on the Canton 45.
Getz lost a yard on a mouse trap, but on the next play caught the first pass thrown by Slusser for a gain of 17 yards and a first down on the Canton 27.
To the disappointment of those folks at the north end of the field, the quarter ended here. It took four hard smashes at the Bulldog line to get another first down on the Canton 14. Snyder had made it on his fourth try, but Canton was offside and a five-yard penalty advanced it a couple of yards nearer the goal than it otherwise would have been.
Slusser in two plays made nine yards and Zimmerman sneaked through for another yard and a first down on the Canton line. Snyder Goes Over Here the Bulldogs dug their cleats into the goal line and the Tigers summoned the extra courage and punch the Canton gridders could not collect in their second half efforts. It was Red Snyder three times in a row. He gained two yards and the first time, another yard the second and with the ball a yard short of a touchdown dug his head into the tummy of Emil Kamp, while his line moved forward to send him sprawling over the goal. A terrific roar went up from the Massillon stands. The Tigers were ahead 6-0.
They had the Bulldogs fooled completely on the try for point, but Slusser was off balance and couldn’t reach Snyder’s pass into the end zone. Nobody was near him.
Getz kicked off to Motley who got back to his 27-yard line where Toles met him solidly. Getz tossed Jackson for a nine-yard loss and after Motley had gained but two yards at right end, Getz broke through again to toss Roman for a 10-yard loss after he had taken a lateral from Motley.
Roman tried to cross the Tigers up and run the ball form punt formation with fourth down coming up and some 27 yards to go. He got back 23 yards but was dumped on the 31-yard line where the Tigers took over the pigskin. In four plays they failed to make a first down by a yard and Canton got it on the 22.
On the very first play, Motley was hit so hard that he fumbled and Toles was Johnny on the spot and covered the leather on the Canton 27.
Slusser shot his second pass of the day and Horace Gillom made a sensational catch between two Canton secondary for a first down on the 15-yard line.
It was slam-bang from there on. It was Snyder for four yards. Getz for three, Getz for two and Snyder for a first down on the four-yard line.
Getz tried a left end sweep but was downed without gain. Then came Bill Zimmerman’s big moment. The blocking halfback who seldom carried the ball, but sacrifices stardom and showmanship to help his fellow backs gain ground and the limelight took the ball on a sneak play and went through left guard with such momentum that he hurtled over the goal line with a yard or more to spare. It was his first touchdown and what a spot for it. When Getz tried to kick the extra point, the Bulldog line broke through to block the kick and the score remained 12-0.
In fact that’s where it stood the rest of the half and the game.
Garrison brought the kickoff after the second touchdown back to the 42-yard line and Tip Lockard broke through on a fake kick to carry the ball to a first down on the Tiger 46. It was the Bulldogs’ first, first down of the game and the first time they had penetrated into Massillon territory. The half ended three plays later with Canton in possession of the ball on Massillon’s 42-yard line.
The play was so one-sided the first half that few expected the Bulldogs to comeback with the offensive rush they showed the last two periods. Massillon Protects Lead Their ability to penetrate into Massillon territory immediately after the third period kickoff, kept Massillon in dangerous territory and when the Tigers did have the ball they were afraid to play anything but straight football. Canton knew that and moved its secondary close to the line of scrimmage. In possession of a 12-point lead, the Massillon eleven would not take any chances with forward passes and with the Bulldog secondary massed near the line of scrimmage, the ball carriers were unable to gain ground. Coach Brown had warned his team not to get reckless with passes unless it gathered a three-touchdown lead.
Well, the Tigers never got that far ahead so they played it safe the second half and preserved their 12-point lead. Furthermore, their passer, George Slusser was forced out of the game in the third period when he was bumped in the head while tackling Motley head on. Zimmerman, Slusser and Toles were binged in a row by Motley, but only Slusser was injured seriously enough to force his removal from the game. He didn’t know what it was all about even after the final whistle. He’s all right today, however and he will be back again next year.
When Motley, in the second half began trying to butt the boys out of the ball game with his head, it spelled trouble for him.
He only got rid of Slusser, but binged Toles and Zimmerman badly. He barreled into Gillom too along the east side line and the Tiger end whispered into his ear that it had better be the last time.
But before Gillom could get revenge, Lynn Houston met Motley squarely on the 10-yard line. It was a terrific low tackle that the Bulldog ace never got over. He limped off the field and was lost to Canton for its three pointless drives.
The Bulldogs’ second half rush enabled them to tie the Tigers in the matter of first downs. Each team made nine.
The Massillon eleven out gained the Bulldogs rushing but Canton gained the most yards passing and totaled more yards from scrimmage than the local team, 174 to 146.
Gillom gave a beautiful exhibition of punting. Only a misplaced coffin corner kick that was only good for two yards, kept his average below that of Nick Roman. Gillom’s punts, however, were lofty and gave the ends plenty of time to get down under them. As a result only 13 yards were made by Canton in returning punts.
The Tigers received a 15-yard penalty once when Lucius dropped Marantides after the latter had signaled for a fair catch. Bud didn’t see the Canton safety man put up his hand as a signal. A Clean Game All in all, it was one of the hardest fought yet cleanest Canton-Massillon games ever played. The lines fairly rattled when they crashed together and yet not a penalty was called for unnecessary roughness, holding, clipping or roughing the kicker. The Tigers were penalized three times, for a total of 25 yards and Canton twice for 10 yards.
It would have been interesting to have seen how well the Massillon passing attack would have worked had the Tigers cut loose as they have in many other games this season. They only attempted two from scrimmage and completed both for a gain of 30 yards. A third one on a try for extra point was grounded.
Canton tried 18 passes of all varieties and completed nine for a gain of 106 yards. Many of these yards were picked up on a shovel pass from Marantides to Garrison or McFarland. The Tigers had set up a defense for just such a pass, but the Bulldogs didn’t run it at the same spot as in past games and shot it inside of Martin. The one time Garrison ran to the usual spot and that was near the goal line, Martin smeared the play for no gain.
Trying to pick an individual star is hardly justifiable to the other 10 boys on the team. Every fan had his favorite. The spectacular work of Lucius, 142-pounder and the smallest man on either team, had many tongues a wagging. Time and again he smashed through to drop Motley and other ball carriers for no gain and losses and frequently he was the first player down under punts.
But don’t overlook the other linemen, Bill Croop, for instance. He went into the game at Henderson’s tackle to give more weight to the Tiger line. He not only had the weight, but he played a brilliant game. Nothing came through his side and he helped in the softening up process. Henderson Stops Lockard Henderson was sent in for the last two goal line stands, however and the way he rose up to smite Lockard down in Canton’s last great effort must have caused some proud father to swell his chest and say, “that’s my boy.”
The Tiger line was like a stone wall. Jim Russell, Lynn Houston and Earl Martin smashed and tore with all they had in them. On defense Ray Getz played a great game and his ball carrying was of the best. He and Gillom caught the only two passes thrown by Slusser. Gillom and Toles were in the thick of the backing up and saw to it that no one got loose. Toles was hurt when Fehn got around him to snare a pass from Marantides for Canton’s third touchdown bid, but he was on the job two other times and intercepted one pass and knocked down another that had points written all over them for Canton.
Not a poor pass did Martin make all day and the performance of Slusser and Zimmerman inspires high hopes for next season, for both will be back.
As for Rocky Red Snyder, it was his last game and that’s one thing for which every Massillon fan is sorry and every Canton fan glad. It was the third straight year that Capt. Snyder had played every minute of the Canton game and the Tigers won all three years. He gained more ground than any other player, 62 yards, was never thrown for a loss and made most of them the hard driving way.
Only three substitutes were used by Coach Brown. George Fabian replaced Slusser in the third quarter and though he didn’t do much offensively played a good defensive game and intercepted a Canton pass near the goal line just as the game ended.
Henderson replaced Croop at the start of the fourth period and Bill McMichael, who had not played a minute since laid low by a charley horse at Alliance, Oct. 14, was put in with two minutes of the game to play.
How well the Tigers stopped Motley, the statistics show. He gained 35 yards and lost seven for the net total of 28. Lockard was the Bulldogs’ best ball carrier. He gained 33 and lost one for a total of 32. Getz with a gain of 41 yards was second only to Capt. Snyder.
It was the last high school game not only for Snyder but for Toles, Lucius, McMichael and Houston. The other boys including the substitutes will be back again next year. Band Gets Big Hand There was color and humor to the game.
That Massillon band was given almost as big an ovation as the touchdowns. Canton fans were liberal in their applause of the Tiger musicians. They folded into a block like the bellows of an accordion and came out of it into an McK. They did the “Bugle Call Rag,” the “Lambeth Walk,” “Flat Foot Floogie,” and the “Parade of the Wooden Soldier,” to special dance steps that brought loud applause.
Assisting them in their performance was Pep Paulson as Obie the Tiger, who donned skirt and hat for the Flat Foot number. The band’s performance was concluded with the singing of “Alma Mater Massillon” by the fans and with their team 12 points ahead, they really made themselves heard.
The Canton band gave a military drill, forming McK, a ring, a large M and spelling Tiger. The bands were liberal with their music throughout the game.
Both schools presented acrobatic cheerleaders. The Massillon youngsters had more opportunities to cheer and do their flip-flops as a result of their team’s two touchdowns.
B.F. Fairless, president of the United States Steel Corp., was among those who sat on the Massillon bench. He made it his business to shake hands with Coach Brown after every goal line stand.
Nearly 10,000 words on the game were sent out form the press box over four telegraph wires. Station WHBC with Vic Decker at the microphone, also gave a play-by-play description to an unseen audience which undoubtedly numbered many times the thousands who actually witnessed the game.
The Tiger Booster club served the newspaper guests hot chocolate and sandwiches between halves. “That’s more than you get at most college games,” one Cleveland scribe announced.
A telegraph operator, who incidentally was from Canton, got so excited on one of the goal line stands that he spilled his hot chocolate over his instrument, shorted it, and had to send out a call for another. Crowd Exceeds 18,000 Schools officials estimate the crowd was between 18,000 and 19,000. More inches per person were allowed spectators this year than two years ago, which accounts for the crowd not being as large as some of former years. However, if you include those standing on the hills and the usher force, the crowd probably reached 19,000.
As it was the field was dry, thanks to the thoughtfulness of those who had it covered early last week with a tarpaulin. The last strip was removed an hour before the game and nature cooperated by not drenching it with any more rain.
As a whole, the crowd was orderly and well handled – congratulations to Earl Ackley and Russell Zepp, to whom the Massillon-Canton game is one big headache. It is their job to look after the many little details and see that everything moves along without a hitch. It did and they can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Massillon victory will be celebrated by the Tiger Booster club tonight. Coach Paul Brown will be present and will tell of preparations his team made for the game. Brown did not attend last week’s booster meeting since it is not customary for him to do so the week before the Canton game.
The booster will also discuss plans for their annual banquet, Dec. 12 at the Swiss club. Lou Little, Columbia university coach, will be the principal speaker. Dramatic Finish Massillon Pos. Canton Toles LE Fehn Lucius LT Kamp Russell LG Rotz Martin C Lee Houston RG Prusser Croop RT Mack Gillom RE Roman Slusser QB McFarland Getz LH Goodman Zimmerman RH Motley Snyder FB Lockard
Score by periods: Massillon 0 12 0 0 12
Substitutions: Canton – Ondo for Mack; Savage for McFarland; Jackson for Goodman; Mack for Ondo; Marantides for Jackson; Garrison for Fehn; Zugrave for lee; Fehn for Garrison; Garrison for Motley; Lee for Zugrave, Savage for Garrison; Zugrave for Lee. Massillon – Fabian for Slusser; Henderson for Croop; McMichael for Henderson.
Touchdowns: Massillon – Snyder; Zimmerman.
Officials: Referee – Reese (Denison). Umpire – Jenkins (Akron). Head Linesman – Graf (Ohio State). Field Judge – Lobach (F. & M.)
Statistics Mass. Canton First downs 9 9 Yards gained rushing 137 98 Yards lost rushing 21 32 Net yards gained 116 68 Passes attempted 2 18 Passes completed 2 9 Passes intercepted 0 3 Yards gained passing 30 106 Total yards gained 146 174 Punts 6 4 Average punts yards 31 44 Punts returned yards 51 13 Kickoffs 3 1 Yards returned kickoff 23 50 Times penalized 3 2 Yards penalized 25 10 Fumbles 3 4 Lost ball on fumble 1 1
INDIVIDUAL BALL CARRYING Massillon PLAYER GAINED LOST TOTAL Snyder 62 0 62 Getz 41 0 41 Slusser 24 6 18 Zimmerman 10 0 10 Toles 0 10 -10 Fabian 0 0 – 5 Totals 137 16 116
Canton Motley 35 7 28 Lockard 33 1 32 Roman 20 8 12 Marantides 8 7 1 Goodman 2 0 2 Jackson 0 9 9 Totals 98 32 68
Tigers Showed Real Courage Tough Break For Official Little Bud Lucius Real Hero
By FRED J. BECKER Independent Sport Editor
And what did you think of Saturday’s football game?
So do we.
And how about those three goal line stands in the third and fourth quarters.
Pretty nifty, eh ! Quite an exhibition of red-blooded courage, or something, if you ask us! Great opportunity there for some one with a pen that drips high sounding adjectives to write a thrilling story about how those Tiger kids, with their backs to the wall, three times repulsed a big, touchdown hungry foe. And how they repulsed them! What did you say Canton? * * * * One guy we really felt sorry for during that ball game was Dr. David Reese, Dayton dentist and former Massillon man who ranks as one of Ohio’s best football and basketball officials. It was unfortunate that he had to be in the way when Ray Getz, fleet-footed halfback, took the leather early in the first quarter and set sail for Canton’s goal. It looked like the perfect touchdown play and probably would have proved so had not that unfortunate collision between Reese and Getz occurred back of the line just as the Tiger flash took the ball on as brilliant a reverse play as we have ever seen.
Dr. Reese probably didn’t know that play was coming any more than Canton and one can’t blame him too much for being right in the middle of it. Look what it did to those 11 Canton boys. It certainly pulled them right away from the spot where Getz was going to run and had he not been slowed up momentarily by that collision Getz probably would have romped unmolested across the Canton goal. Bumping into the referee threw Getz off stride just long enough to permit Canton’s secondary to get its bearings and scamper back across the field to knock him out of bounds on the Canton 18-yard line. * * * * Despite that unfortunate occurrence we still believe Dr. Reese is the best qualified official available in Ohio to officiate at such an important contest as a Massillon-Canton battle. He knows the game from A to Z. He is absolutely impartial and he never lets the game get away from him. And don’t forget that officiating in such a contest as Saturday’s is a responsibility If you don’t believe it try it sometime. Dr. Reese has been referee in the last four Massillon-Canton shindigs and Massillon has won them all. The work of all the officials was first class and the game, as hard fought as it was, was remarkably free of dirty work. * * * * Dr. Reese said after the game that in all years he has been officiating he only has been bumped by players on three occasions. Two of them occurred here Saturday. The first was the collision with Getz, the other came a few minutes later when Fred Toles, on a wide sweep around end, smacked into the official. In case you don’t know it, Dr. Reese is a former Massillon high football and basketball star and while attending Denison University was one of the state’s outstanding football centers and basketball forwards. * * * * Better blocking, charging and tackling probably have never been put on display by any Tiger team than those Washington high lads showed Saturday. When they blocked out a Canton foe he stayed blocked out. Teeth shattering blocks is about as good a description for them as any. The tackling also was hard at all times and that orange and black line out charged the Canton forward wall so fast, especially during the first two quarters, that those in the stands thought the Bulldogs were spiked to the ground. * * * * And now a few words about the gentleman who has made all those Massillon victories over Canton possible. We mean Coach Paul Brown. We know we are covering a lot of ground and we may have to eat our words but somebody will have to do a lot of convincing to make us retract the statement that the Washington high school football mentor is the most successful coach, in either high school or college, in the state of Ohio. Any man who can turn out football teams such as the one which mopped up on the Bulldogs Saturday knows football from every angle and knows how to impart it to his athletes. We were for “Brownie” long before he was named coach at the local school and we’ve been for him ever since. He’s only a kid himself but he knows how to teach football – the kind of football that wins games. How long we’ll keep him here is a question. The Booster club might organize a vigilance committee to shoo away any strangers coming to town making inquiries about the Tiger mentor. * * * * But Brown is not alone in deserving credit for Massillon’s splendid scholastic football record over the last four or five years. Paul has instituted the system that produces the athletes you see romp over Canton McKinley each fall but he has been aided by some very capable assistants. Take those three gentlemen who spend their week days helping Brown coach the Tigers and then never see the team play a game until the final of the season, because they are out on the road scouting future opponents. We mean C.C. Widdoes, Hugh McGranahan and Fred Heisler. They not only do a lot of mighty fine coaching but they also know their business when it comes to scouting a future opponent. * * * * And then don’t forget the boys who are handling football in the junior highs. That’s where the Tiger stars of today were given their initial training and that’s where the future Tiger stars will come from. The junior high coaches are Elwood Kammer and James Hollinger at Lorin Adnrews, Bud Houghton and Roy Woods at Longfellow and Mel Knowlton and Francis Baxter at Edmund Jones. They are teaching their boys the football system Brown uses at the senior high school and it’s no wonder the boys know what it is all about when they get down to Washington high. * * * * Oh yes, we almost forgot – or did we – about that Tiger band. Did they march and play Saturday? What do you think? They’re the nuts and no fooling.
With Paul Brown turning out football teams and George Red Bird turning out bands what more could you want? * * * * And who would you nominate as the outstanding hero of Saturday’s game?
Well our vote goes to Bud Lucius, as game a little fighter as one would want to see. Weighing only 142 pounds, soaking wet, this little Tiger lineman was in the thick of every play. He was a decided pain in the neck to Mr. Marion Motley, Canton’s ace backfielder, all during the time Motley was in the game and when the big Negro limped off the field in the third quarter he probably was thinking anything but kind thoughts of Lucius and Lynn Houston. It was Houston who nailed him out in the open just when Motley thought he was going somewhere – said somewhere being in the general direction of Massillon’s goal line. And did you notice that in about 75 per cent of the pileups the last guy to be dug out from the entwined arms and legs was little Bud. No wonder those Tigers couldn’t be beat – not with a kid with that kind of fight in him in the line up. * * * * Those Massillon goal line stands were really beauties. Canton, after looking woefully weak in the first half, came out with a real display of fight and this combined with its great advantage in weight slowly but surely took its toll on the lighter Massillon team but the Tigers never quit fighting. They might have been pushed around a bit in midfield and they might have been mystified for a time by Canton’s shovel passes, the Bulldogs’ best play, but when it came right down to the point where the Tigers had to dig in and show their stuff to escape being scored upon they had what it takes and plenty of it. In fact they had so much that on the last stand inside the five yard line one almost gained the impression that Canton realized it couldn’t get the ball over that final white line and was ready to run up the white flag of surrender.
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP AT STAKE IN TIGER-BULLDOG GAME MASSILLON SPOTTY IN BEATING CHANEY 26-13
Tigers Play Listless Ball, But Score Touchdowns When They Need Them; Team Will Practice Behind Closed Gates Tonight
By LUTHER EMERY
The Washington high Tigers and the Canton McKinley Bulldogs having kept their slates clean last week by winning from Youngstown Chaney 26-13 and Mansfield 32-0 respectively, will battle for the state championship Saturday afternoon on Massillon field.
The two elevens have mopped up on many of the best teams in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York and with Massillon in the role of defending champion and Canton, the challenger, one of the finest football games in many years is in the making. Large Crowd Expected The largest crowd of the season will jam every inch of space in Massillon field to see the two elevens’ battle. Most of the tickets are held by fans of the two cities, though hundreds of people from other cities, as far away as Honolulu will be in the stands.
The splendid undefeated and untied records of the competitors and the championship recognition that will be given the winner would draw a crowd from two to three times that which will witness the game, if seating space were only available. No attempt has been made to sell tickets to any other but Massillon and Canton fans and there even will be insufficient room for as many of them as would like to attend.
Most of the reserved seats have been sold, but a few seats were still available today. Likewise, 5,000 general admission seats will be available Saturday. The general admission price will be 50 cents to adults and 25 cents to students.
The nearer the game approaches the more it appears a tossup. There was a time a few weeks ago when fans were picking Massillon by 18 points, but in the last three weeks, Canton has played three teams defeated by Massillon and a comparison of the scores offers little choice. The Tigers beat Alliance 19-6, Canton beat Alliance 33-26. Massillon beat Steubenville 31-0. Massillon beat Mansfield 33-7. Canton beat Mansfield 32-0. Massillon beat Canton Lehman 52-0. Canton beat Canton Lehman 48-6. Massillon Has Won Nine Games The Tigers have played nine games, the Bulldogs eight.
In addition to the four victories already mentioned the Tigers have defeated McKeesport, Pa., 19-7; Warren 21-0; Sharon, Pa., 37-20; New Castle, Pa., 52-7; and Youngstown Chaney, 26-13. The Bulldogs defeated Akron South, 32-0; Erie Academy, 7-6; Huntington, W.Va., 19-6 and Elmira, N.Y., 52-6 in addition to Lehman, Alliance, Steubenville and Mansfield.
In their nine games the Tigers scored 290 points to their opponents 60, an average of 32.1 points to the opponents’ 6.66 points per game. The Bulldogs scored 255 points to the opponents’ 50, an average of 31.87 points to the opponents’ 6.25.
Of the two teams, the Tigers had the harder game Saturday. Chaney, recognized as a good team, met a Martinless Massillon at a time when the entire eleven was low.
The visitors, playing inspired ball, gave local fans their biggest thrill of the season when trailing 14-0 going into the fourth quarter they scored two touchdowns, one on a completed pass and another on an intercepted pass to pull up to within a point of the orange and black.
But the Tigers came to life after the second Chaney touchdown to play their best ball of the afternoon and score twice in the last seven minutes to win 26-13.
The Chaney team was one of the best to show here this season. Score comparisons showed it to be such in advance for it had beaten Farrell, Pa., a team that trimmed Warren and the Tigers were glad for a three-touchdown victory over Warren.
The Tigers were far superior from a statistical standpoint for they made 18 first downs to Chaney’s seven and gained a total of 393 yards to Chaney’s 97. Chaney Stubborn However, the Youngstown boys offered stubborn resistance when fighting with their backs to the wall and penalties and fumbles halted Massillon drives.
Inability to complete passes slowed the Massillon offense. Chaney was responsible for that too. With a big advantage in weight, the visitors safely used a 5-3-2-1 defense that furnished good protection to the secondary. It left openings for Massillon ball carriers, but virtually stopped the Tiger passing attack. Only two of 11 passes were completed for gains of 27 yards. Here Chaney had the edge in statistics. It completed seven of 17, including laterals for a total of 94 yards.
Capt. Red Snyder and Ray Getz were the chief Tiger ground gainers. Snyder picked up 174 yards and Getz the net total of 156. Frendenrich, Sinkwich and Chockey were the shining lights of the Chaney offense.
Chaney started with a rush and with Frendenrich getting away for a run of 41 yards before being hauled down by Capt. Snyder, advanced the ball from the kickoff to the 26-yard line. Here interference was called on a Chaney pass receiver and the visitors were given the ball on the Tiger 10-yard line. Three downs only gained a yard and Sinkwich missed an attempted field goal.
Getting the ball on their own 20, the Tigers marched 80 yards for a touchdown with Snyder going over. Getz kicked the extra point.
Two 15-yard penalties, one for clipping and another for holding stopped two more Tiger touchdown drives in the first period. In the second quarter the Tigers marched the ball to the Chaney 25 where three incomplete passes in a row gave the visitors the ball again.
The Tigers did not score until midway in the third period, when they began a drive from their own 41 where they got the ball on a punt. The locals’ only two passes of the game, both caught by Getz, helped advance the ball to the three-yard line where Snyder took it over and Getz kicked goal. Chaney Scores Twice The period was drawing to a close when Wellington covered Getz’s fumble on the Massillon 45. Sinkwich in two plays went to the 30 and Chockey executed a perfect lateral to him for another first down on the eight-yard line. Two plays failed to gain a yard but on fourth down, Chockey flipped a pass over the line to Soltas who took it back of the goal for a touchdown. Sinkwich missed his try for point. ******** Boosters Meet
The Tiger Booster club will meet this evening at 8:15 in the high school auditorium. The Canton game will be the big subject of conversation. ******** The Tigers received and charged back to the 50, but when Slusser tried a long pass to Toles, Sinkwich left his feet to snare the ball, head down the west sideline then reverse his field to run 70 yards for Chaney’s second touchdown. He kicked the extra point and the score was 14-13.
Here the Tiger team took account of itself and used the kickoff as a starting point for a 66-yard drive that ended with Snyder smashing over from the one-yard line on the 10th play. Getz missed the try for point and the score was 20-13.
Chaney trying desperately to upset the dope in the closing minutes began flinging passes. Snyder intercepted one to end what had the appearance of a threat on the 36-yard line and Gillom pulled down another on the Chaney 34 and ran back to the 14 before the visitors finally downed him. In two plays Snyder went to the one-yard line where Getz took it over for the final points of the game.
Unimpressive as the Tigers were Saturday, it was not an alarming condition considering that they virtually overlooked Chaney last week while pointing for the Canton Bulldogs.
It is dangerous enough to take a second rate ball team in the stride and Chaney was a far better eleven than that. Furthermore you need only think back to other years and you will recall that Massillon teams the past three seasons have looked ragged the week before the Canton game.
Spotty as their performance was Saturday, it is worthy of note, that 10 plays after Chaney had pulled up to within a point of them, the Tigers were over the goal for another touchdown.
Gordon Appleby and Jim Mauger did a good job at center but the ball carriers do not have the same confidence in either boy that they retain in Earl Martin who has been snapping the leather back to them for two years.
Martin is a key man on offense and the center of the line on defense and every attempt will be made to have his injured shoulder repaired by Saturday afternoon. However, coaches said it was extremely doubtful if he would be able to face the Bulldogs. May Make Center Of Kingham Brown this week will attempt to turn Dick Kingham into a center to give “boom” to that portion of the line. Kingham, a sophomore, has been the third string blocking halfback.
The Tigers emerged from the Chaney game with the usual number of bumps and bruises, none of which appeared serious. Practice this week will be secret. The field will be policed and not a spectator will be permitted on it.
McKinley had little difficulty subduing Mansfield. The Bulldogs scored one touchdown in the first quarter, two in the second and two in the third and made 19 first downs to Mansfield’s nine. The Bulldog subs played all of the fourth period and several minutes of the third. The Bulldogs uncovered a new backfield speedster in Bill Goodman, a sophomore. He started his first game Saturday. Motley and Roman each made two touchdowns and Goodman got the fifth.
The Tiger and McKinley bands will put on a first class show between halves here Saturday. The Massillon band was at its best during intermission of the Chaney game featuring “The Bugle Call Rag” and a dance step. It was a special arrangement prepared by Director George Bird and received a great ovation.
The singing showed improvement. Though the crowd was by far the smallest of the season the vocal music was the best.
Among the spectators was H.R. Townsend, of Columbus, commissioner of the Ohio high school athletics. Townsend expressed surprise at the size of the Massillon team. He expected to find a string of box cars on the line instead of a team averaging 162 pounds.
A representative of the Erie Times watched the game from the press box. He was particularly impressed with the band and would like to bring the Massillon show to Erie. Good Enough Massillon Pos. Chaney Toles LE Soltas Lucius LT Dasen Russell LG Jakupsic Appleby C Wellington Houston RG Rominger Henderson RT Williams Gillom RE Machingo Slusser QB Chockey Getz LH Sinkwich Zimmerman RH Frandenrich Snyder FB Gaglione
CROWD OF 13,000 SEES TIGERS BEAT LEHMAN 52-0 SECOND TEAM PLAYS OVER HALF OF GAME
Long Pass And Interception Crack Stubborn Lehman Resistance In Second Period; Band Sparkles In Flat Foot Floogie
By LUTHER EMERY
Those Gold Dust twins, Fred Toles and Horace Gillom and an up and coming substitute, George Fabian, by name, pulled downs heaps of glory here Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers stretched their season’s record to eight straight victories and advanced a step in the Stark county series at the expense of Canton Lehman 52-0.
A crowd of between 13,000 and 14,000 spectators, as large as any this season, was treated to another of those football shows that have made this season’s attendance a record in the history of Washington high athletics. Already 87,000 people have seen the Tigers play and two games that will draw at least 25,000 more, remain to be played. Fabian Leading Ground Gainer Give every member of the team credit and place the Massillon and Lehman bands high in your praise, but don’t overlook the performance of Toles, Gillom and Fabian.
It was the Gold Dust twins, first Toles, and then Gillom that made a stubborn Lehman team crack early in the second period and it was Fabian in the role of substitute who scored more yards than any other person on the field as well as the honor of making the longest run of the evening.
And while handing out the glory, don’t forget the weatherman, who held off a rain storm for two hours. And keep your fingers crossed, for that is what the Tigers want Nov. 19 when they meet their second Canton foe and arch rival, McKinley high.
McKinley beat Lehman, 48-6 and there you have a comparison.
The Tigers chalked up their 52-0 triumph last night with the first team on the bench for two and one-half periods. The victory was more than anyone had expected in view of Lehman’s achievement last week in trimming the previously unbeaten Columbus North, the potential central Ohio champions. Tigers Improving The varsity, from all indications is just beginning to come into its own. Its performances of the last three weeks have heaped surprise on surprise until one wonders just how strong the eleven really is.
It didn’t look a whole lot better than Lehman the first quarter, but Lehman weakened after Toles speared Fuller’s pass to end its only scoring threat and it lost its spirit completely when Gillom six plays later went high into the air to pull down George Slusser’s pass from his own 41-yard line and race 25 yards to a touchdown.
Those two plays cracked Lehman wide open and before the period could end the Tigers had dug their cleats behind the Lehman goal three more times.
“My team appeared to lose all of the fight after that touchdown pass,” said James Robinson, Lehman coach, after the game. “I think I have a better ball club than the score indicates. In fact I know I have.”
Then turning to Coach Paul Brown, Robinson added, “I want to thank you for playing your substitutes, but honestly I wish you would have let your first team continue in the game.”
Brown replied, “Your players are young and –“. But Robinson broke in with, “I know, but if a team can run up 100 points, it has a right to do so. That is my honest opinion.”
Lehman used an unorthodox defense that confused the Tigers in the early stages of the game. The Bears lined up with a five-man line, but hopped one and sometimes two players in as the ball was passed to confuse the Massillon linemen on their blocking assignments.
“It was the only thing I could do,” Robinson said after the game. “I was afraid of that flat pass and I tried to come up with the wings as long as possible.”
Brown was well pleased with the performance of his eleven and most of all he was gratified that none of the first stringers suffered any injuries. To chance injury as little as possible and to give the subs an opportunity to play was the principal reason why he only used his regulars one and one-half periods. A second team carried on for two quarters and the third stringers finished the last half of the fourth period. The second stringers scored one half of the points, the score being 26-0 when they took over the evening’s work. Tiger Line Shines Again For the third straight week, the Tiger line played a whale of a game. It held the Polar Bears to two first downs while clearing the way for 16 for Massillon. It yielded but 66 yards from scrimmage and threw back players for 16 yards in losses. It charged forward to make it possible for Massillon backs to gain the net total of 365 yards from scrimmage and it helped the blockers in protecting Slusser so thoroughly that he had loads of time to pick out his receivers and hurl his passes down the field.
From tackle to tackle, there wasn’t an outstanding performer on varsity or yannigan teams. To name one you must name them all and that is done in the lineup. Every boy made his contribution to the victory which places Massillon on a level with Canton McKinley in the county series. Each team has won two games.
The Tigers resorted to little passing last night. They didn’t need to. In fact, the second stringers didn’t throw one the last two and one-half periods and Slusser tossed but four. Two of these were completed, both to Gillom. The first was good for a gain of 59 yards and a touchdown and the second also to Gillom for 11 yards and a first down on the 12-yard line.
A high wind made punters look good when kicking with their backs to it and just the opposite when kicking against it.
In punting Lehman held its only advantage in the statistics. Wallick averaged 36 yards on his punts while Gillom and Kaspar Lechleiter averaged only 23 yards. However, with one exception all of the Tiger punts were against the wind. The exception was a boot that rode the crest of a wave, 65 yards from scrimmage. Add 10 more yards for the distance Lechleiter stood behind the line of scrimmage and you find the flight of the ball was 75 yards.
Shriver also got off one of the same kind early in the game.
With Lehman tackling fiercely, there was no indication the first quarter of the game would develop into the walk-a-way it did. In fact the Polar Bears came fighting back after the first Tiger touchdown to wage a successful punting duel in the wind. A well placed boot went outside on the Massillon five-yard line and when Gillom tried to kick back, the wind caught the ball and blew it back to the 17-yard line. Lehmans’ Big Moment It was Lehman’s big moment and when two plays only gained two yards Fuller tried a southpaw pass to Shriver, Fred Toles was on the job and hauled in the ball on the eight-yard line to end the threat. In five plays, Getz and Snyder carried the ball to a first down on their 41. There Slusser took the oval, dropped back and pegged it toward the speeding Gillom, who raced in between two Polar Bear players, timed a perfect leap, snatched it away from them and scampered 25 yards for a touchdown. Lehman seemed to realize it was useless after that, for touchdowns came cheaply the rest of the game and even a string of substitutes failed to stem the scoring.
Hooray For Subs Massillon Pos. Lehman Toles LE Uebing Lucius LT Hale Russell LG Bauer Martin C Banks Houston RG Steineck Henderson RT Wallick Gillom RE Oyler Slusser QB Fuller Getz LH Hankes Zimmerman RH Shriver Snyder FB Clark
TIGERS SMOTHER NEW CASTLE 52-7 BEFORE CROWD OF 12,000 HARD CHARGING LINE RIPS RED HURRICANE Massillon Eleven Gives Peak Performance Of Season In Winning Seventh Game On Schedule; Band Scores Again In Flashy Exhibition
By LUTHER EMERY
A pack of Tigers, thirsting for revenge and fighting to obtain an objective for their coach, swept out of Ohio and into Pennsylvania Friday evening to take the wind out of New Castle’s Red Hurricane 52-7.
While 12,000 fans, the largest football crowd in New Castle history, looked on, the Massillon eleven gave the greatest exhibition of football its supporters have seen since the great 1936 team whipped Canton McKinley here 21-0. Score Eight Touchdowns With George Slusser’s strong right arm firing deadly accuracy and the backs, even to the substitutes, pile driving behind a sturdy line, the Tigers scored twice in every period, rolled up 21 first downs and gained the net total of 372 yards by rushing and 155 by passing.
If the Red Hurricane had any wind, it did all itS blowing before the game. The sturdy Massillon line, giving its best performance of the season, threw back the New Castle ball carriers for a net loss of 25 yards from scrimmage. Their two first downs were made on forward passes which made it possible for them to finish with a total gain of 14 yards from scrimmage.
The Hurricane struck once, in the third period when with a Massillon second team in the game, Rip Roberts took a Massillon kickoff and in a beautiful sideline dash, raced 85 yards for a touchdown.
That run and a 31-yard pass that took the ball to the Massillon 44-yard line, represented the only two times the Red Hurricane was able to penetrate into Massillon territory. New Castle Gallant In Defeat Badly beaten as their team was, New Castle fans were gallant in defeat and Massillon citizenry should remember New Castle sportsmanship when some day victory will go to the opponents.
The crowd was orderly, it gave the Tiger band a great ovation and spectators lined the streets after the game to applaud, not “boo” Massillon cars as they passed by.
It was back in 1936 after the Tigers waded out of the mud and rain at New Castle with a 13-0 triumph, that Coach Paul Brown was quoted in New Castle, as saying, “If it hadn’t rained tonight we would have beat them 45 or 50 to nothing.”
The statement irked Brown. He denied ever making it and wasn’t exactly pleased with the way New Castle teased him with it in pre-Massillon game ballyhoo last year and this.
So Brown determined long ago, he was going to turn the statement into a boomerang and go out and get those 50 points.
He announced his team was primed to shoot the works and it did. It shelled New Castle with passes, it launched one offensive after another and the few times the Hurricane succeeded in blowing it back, the orange and black countered with another scoring drive.
“The fellow who misquoted me can be blamed for those 50 points,” Brown said in the dressing room after the game. Uses Every Member of Squad His team to a man helped him accomplish the objective and the score mounted one touchdown after another, even with a second and third team in the game. Every boy who wore a sweater saw service and when the Tiger coach glanced around at the sidelines in the closing minutes of play, we wondered if he had designs on sending in the cheerleaders.
In front of the brilliant performance of the Massillon ball carriers was a Tiger line that for the second straight week earned the title of seven blocks of granite. The forward wall, composed of Fred Toles, Bud Lucius, Jim Russell, Earl Martin, Lynn Houston, Red Henderson and Horace Gillom played brilliant ball.
Their vicious charge opened huge holes in the New Castle line and frequently enabled the ball carrier to sprint through without a hand being laid on him.
On defense they were superb. New Castle’s attempts to carry the ball from scrimmage resulted in a net loss of 25 yards. The backs gained 15, but they were thrown for 40 yards in losses. Martin On The Go Leading this display of defense was Earl Martin, the elongated Tiger center who is developing into one of the best snapper-backers the school has ever had.
Martin was in the thick of the fight and on several occasions penetrated into the Hurricane backfield to smear the ball carrier for losses.
Offensively, there was little to choose from in the statistics. In fact to find the ground gainer with the best average you must leaf into the page of substitutes and stop at the name of Roscoe Clendening. He only carried the ball twice, in sneak plays through guard, but he went 30 yards on one and 13 for a touchdown on another, to average 21.5 yards per try.
Red Snyder in 14 attempts gained the net total of 122 yards. George Slusser in 16 attempts gained 92 yards. Ray Getz in seven attempts made 32 yards. George Fabian in nine runs went 48 yards and little John Pizzino in three attempts went 41 yards.
The Tigers completed nine of 16 passes for 155 yards and had one intercepted. New Castle completed two of 12 passes for 39 yards and had four intercepted. Theoretically the policy of fighting fire with fire is sound, but it failed for the Hurricane as far as forward passing was concerned last night. Getz Shines As Receiver Contrary to the usual procedure, it wasn’t Toles or Gillom who did the catching last night. It was Ray Getz in straight shots down the alley. The Hurricane left Toles get by to snag the first touchdown pass, but kept him and Gillom covered the rest of the evening.
The Tigers, however, are blessed with the best lot of receivers they have ever had and Getz was the boy who hauled in the leather last night.
He made several sensational catches, one of which was the finest play seen in many a game that was not allowed because of an offside penalty. It is worth describing.
The Tigers had the ball on their own 40 and Horace Gillom was called back into punt formation. Standing on his own 28, he caught the ball, faded back to the 20 and then fired a long, bullet pass that Getz snared on the New Castle 25 yard line and raced across the goal. Getz ran hard between two New Castle players to make the catch and was away with the ball before they knew what had happened. The Head Linesman, however, ruled a Massillon player offside, did not allow the touchdown and penalized the Tigers five yards. The pass is not recorded in the statistics of the game.
The statistics likewise do not describe the quality of punting Gillom put on last night. He booted the ball skillfully with one exception, that a sideline kick that only traveled five yards from scrimmage and cut down his average. Three of his punts were good for over 40 yards from scrimmage, which means that with Gillom standing 15 yards behind the line, the ball actually traveled over 55 yards.
Rocky Red Snyder had his customary luck of winning the toss and elected to receive. For the first minute it appeared the Red Hurricane would play inspired ball as it held the Tigers on the Massillon 45 and forced them to punt. It is the customary thing for the orange and black to drive for a touchdown from the kickoff and New Castle scribes made note of the fact that the Hurricane had stopped Massillon. Tigers Get First Touchdown The resistance was only temporary however, for the Tigers forced the Hurricane to kick back, the ball rolling dead on the Massillon 31. It took just three plays to get a touchdown.
After Snyder had picked up a yard, Slusser ran hard through right tackle, reversed his field and was hauled down from behind the New Castle 28-yard line.
He caught the Hurricane asleep on the next play as he faded back and shot the ball to Toles who took it on the one-yard line to out distance the New Castle secondary and cross the goal.
A 50-yard drive produced another touchdown the same period. An exchange of punts and the Tigers secured the ball in midfield.
Getz ripped through for 16 yards and Snyder battered his way for 15 more. Fred Toles went to the nine-yard line on a mouse trap and Getz circled the other side to pick up the remaining yards and a touchdown. He was hit just as he reached the goal line but had the drive to carry over the stripe. Intercepted Pass Starts It Again Early in the second period Slusser intercepted Laruo’s pass on the Hurricane 45 and dashed back to the 17 before being brought down. Two plays only gained three yards but on third down Snyder found a big hole at right tackle, cut through it and smartly sidestepped the Hurricane for the third touchdown.
A 43-yard drive produced the fourth touchdown in the closing minutes of the second quarter. Snyder dashed to the 18-yard line. A line play and a pass resulted in the loss of five yards, so Slusser took the ball and gained five. On fourth down he fired it to Getz who made a leaping catch and fell as he caught the ball on the five-yard line. Slusser walked through standing up for the touchdown. Getz who had missed the three previous attempted placekicks for the extra point booted the ball between the uprights this time to raise the score to 25-0 at the half.
The Tigers came out with a rush to open the third period and marched back with a 70-yard drive for a touchdown. Two passes, one for 20 yards and another for 18, took the ball to the 17-yard line. Slusser and Snyder carried it the rest of the way with the red head going over for the touchdown. Again Getz’s toe produced the extra point and the score was 32-0.
A Statue of Liberty play was smeared for a 14-yard loss and enabled the Hurricane to hold the Tigers next time they procured the ball.
They scored again in the third quarter, however, after getting the ball on the Hurricane 46. A 14-yard loss when Slusser muffed the ball from center, set the locals back to their own 40 where Gillom executed his long pass to Getz that was not allowed. A five-yard penalty set the ball back to the 35. Snyder Scores Another On a fake kick, Snyder ran 27 yards to the New Castle 38 and Slusser on fourth down rammed through to a first and 10 on the Hurricane 34. He ran 14 yards behind good interference to the 20-yard line on the next play and got the ball in position for Snyder to cover the remaining distance on a fine bit of broken field running. Getz kicked his third straight point to hoist the total to 39-0 and Brown sent in a flock of substitutes.
Gillom booted the kickoff to Roberts, who caught the ball on his 15-yard line, bobbled it momentarily and then headed straight up the east sideline. He outraced the Tigers though Gillom nearly caught him on the five-yard line but was taken out with a questionable block. It was a run of 85 yards and brought joy to the New Castle stands.
Lauro kicked the extra point and the score was 39-7.
Clendening took over the spotlight for Massillon after the following kickoff and with a 30-yard run, in which New Castle players bounced off him like rubber balls, carried the ball to the Hurricane 30. Fabian moved the leather to the 13 in two plays and Clendening sneaked through for 13 yards and the touchdown. Fabian tried to buck the extra point but was stopped and the score stood at 45-7.
A complete second and third team finished the game for the Tigers. With Fabian doing most of the ball carrying, the Tigers marched 60 yards to the one-yard line, Fabian going over for the touchdown. Pizzino bagged the extra point, the last of the game.
Bill McMichael was the only member of the Tiger team who did not compete. He put on his uniform but was kept on the sidelines throughout the game, lest he aggravate a charley horse that has bothered him for several weeks.
New Castle likewise had its casualties, Joe Gender, regular halfback, did not play nor did Castrucci, a quarterback.
The Tiger team had dinner in New Castle after the game, then continued on to Pittsburgh to spend the night in the Fort Pitt hotel. Today the players will attend the Pitt-Fordham game and return home tonight. Massillon Well Represented Massillon was well represented. Several thousand local grid fans drove to New Castle or rode the special train which pulled out of this city at 5:15 and which arrived in time for the kickoff.
There was a rush for seats, however and many a Massillon patron did not get the seat his ticket called for.
The Massillon special train delegation followed the Tiger band to the stadium and the band, putting all the routine it has used this season together, gave a fine performance during intermission.
The finest tribute that has yet been paid to the Tiger musical organization took place at the close of the game. At the moment the contest ended the Tiger band marched up the field. Instead of spectators rushing for theexits, they stood up. The show between halves had pleased them so they wanted to see more and as one New Castle sports writer said in the press box, “your band is just as outstanding as your football team.”
The band held the audience for five minutes after the game and few Massillon or New Castle fans left the field during the demonstration. Singing Not So Good Massillon spectators will need a lot of brushing up on the “Alma Mater”, if they are going to make themselves heard. Only occasionally was the singing audible.
Prior to going to New Castle, the band was the guest of the athletic association at a dinner at the Green Tree.
New Castle had a fancy band, too, a particularly good playing band and marched through several letter formations.
Tom Henrich, of the New York Yankees, has decided never to sit in the press box again. Especially if paged. He was so besieged by youngsters wanting his autograph that he had little time to watch the last three quarters of the game. But Tom accommodated and there were a lot of happy faces among the boys.
Restaurants and eating places in New Castle and all along the way enjoyed the patronage of Massillon fans. The Leslie hotel, where the Tiger team made its headquarters during the several hours in the city, was crowded with diners but had made elaborate preparations to serve everybody.
The treatment accorded the Massillon team and fans was complimentary to the Pennsylvania city. Massillon fans spoke well of it and hope that the friendly relations continue. They Got The 50 Massillon Pos. New Castle Toles LE Motsko Lucius LT Kuinis Russell LG Castrucci Martin C Adamo Houston RG Rucker Henderson RT Roussos Gillom RE Toscano Slusser QB Davies Getz LH Roberts Zimmerman RH Sowinski Snyder FB Lauro
Score by periods: Massillon 12 13 14 13 52 New Castle 0 0 7 0 7
TIGERS TURN BACK BIG RED 31-0 BEFORE 14,000 GRID FANS MASSILLON LINEMEN GALLANT IN VICTORY
Largest Crowd Of Season Treated To Great Gridiron Show With Steubenville And Washington High Bands Strutting Color
By LUTHER EMERY
The Big Red wave of Steubenville, washed up from the Ohio river Friday evening and splashed harmlessly against a granite Massillon wall that would not allow as much as a touchdown to trickle through.
When the Red Tide receded after 48 minutes of hammering, the Massillon record built on three state championships, was strengthened with the sixth straight victory of the season, a 31-0 triumph. Record Crowd Gets Real Treat An immense crowd which school officials estimated at between 13,000 and 14,000 fans, saw the Tigers produce an open exhibition of sensational football as they throttled all offensive efforts of the Big Red and tore it apart for six touchdowns.
They saw a dazzling performance by two high school bands, who will take their hats off to no other musical organizations in the state and they witnessed a gridiron festival, the like of which has made this 1938 season the biggest and best in the history of Washington high school.
From the moment the Tiger band took the field before the game until it again swept triumphantly down the gridiron after the final whistle, the evening was filled with activity and between half entertainment such as caused one ticket purchaser to request “two reserved seats for the floor show please.” No Blocking For Stubs As expected the Big Red brought to Massillon a hard tackling team, but one that failed to put into use the important fundamental of hard blocking. Without blocking the Stub’s offense was stagnant and they only gained the sum total of four first downs and a net of 49 yards.
The superiority of the Tigers was shown not only in the score but in the statistics as well. They were credited with 17 first downs and a net total of 361 yards, 146 of which were made on the completion of nine forward passes.
Seven blocks of granite you could have called the Massillon line last night as it withstood the wash of the Red Wave.
Seven blocks of granite they were and the line can be given a whale of a lot of credit for the victory. Standing out defensively were Lynn Houston, Horace Gillom, Jim Russell and little Bud Lucius. Lucius played a great game and time and again his 142 pounds circled the giant 260-pound George Straka, Stub tackle before the latter could get in motion.
From Lucius to Bill Croop, who swept through in the late stages of the game to drop a Big Red runner for a 15-yard loss, the Tiger wall stood out last night. There is reason to rejoice over it, for all season the principal weakness of the Massillon team has been its defense. Coach Paul Brown set out to strengthen this department last night and how well he succeeded the statistics show. Henderson Plugs Gap Red Henderson, plugged the gap left vacant by the injured McMichael in worthy fashion, McMichael sitting on the bench throughout the game, felt good that he would have a worthy successor when he graduates next June. Earl Martin never made a bad pass from center and so jammed things up in the middle of the line that the Big Red could never find anything but a pileup when they struck that spot.
But out of the joy and glory that goes with victory, there comes gloom that may and again may not be forgotten in a few days.
Getz who has improved with every ball game and who came out of last night’s contest as the leading scorer with 13 points, sustained an injury to his right leg that caused coaches some concern. It may be another charley horse and a charley horse goes particularly bad with a ball carrier. Then too, Fred Toles, who was a big part of the Tiger defense, suffered a shoulder injury which may handicap his defensive play for a couple of weeks. Freddie was taken out of the game. He may not have been seriously hurt, but football injuries frequently do not show up until the next day.
The most serious casualty of all was a dislocated shoulder suffered by Ernest Carducci, 140-pound Steubenville end. The injury will put him out of service for several weeks.
Few there were who thought the game would approach the one-sided proportions it did.
There were those who picked the Tigers winners by two and three touchdowns but the fellow who said 32-0 in a certain cigar store before the game was called plumb crazy. He only missed it by a point. Score In Every Period The Tigers took the kickoff and as Massillon teams have been accustomed to doing, did not give up the ball until they crossed the Big Red goal. They scored a second touchdown in the second period, another in the third and two in the fourth.
The Big Red failed to threaten. In fact it never got the ball inside the Massillon 41-yard line. But in defeat the Stubs had their stars. One was Eddie Mike, a substitute back who had been kept on the bench all season. Eddie tackled and ran better than any other Stubber and threw the only two Big Red passes that were completed.
Cartledge apparently came out with the intention of playing a defensive game, punting on third down, hoping to hold the Tigers and capitalize on breaks. His strategy did not work. There were no breaks save for penalties that halted two Tiger touchdown marches and the Big Red could not hold. The Tigers picked out the Stubs 260-pound co-captain. George Straka as one of the weak spots in the Big Red line and time and again his belly was dented with Rocky Red Snyder’s head.
Cartledge substituted frequently in an attempt to halt the touchdown parade and even called upon those players he had benched last week because of their failure to give a satisfactory performance. It was Massillon’s night, however, and there was nothing Steubenville could do about it.
It was evident from the opening kickoff that the Massillon eleven was determined to even the series with the Big Red at two games each, by avenging the 68-0 licking the 1931 Tiger team took at Steubenville.
Winning the toss, the local team elected to receive at the north goal and a touchdown march began when Snyder took Hank Zawack’s kickoff on the 15-yard line and ran back to his 32 where Rogers and Wallace downed him. Tigers Score Early Getz ripped for two, Snyder made two more and with third down coming up and six to go, Getz raced around his left end for 15 yards and a first down on the Stub’s 49-yard line. Slusser put his trusty right arm into play. He whipped the ball to Zimmerman who gathered it in on the 40-yard line and ran beautifully along the sideline to a first down on the Stub’s eight-yard line. Bob Mike threw Getz for a four-yard loss on the next play and Toles was stopped for no gain on an end around play. The Stubs were offside on the play, however and a five-yard penalty moved the ball up to the seven-yard line and Snyder took it over in two hard cracks at the line. Getz kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Tigers worked the ball into Big Red territory again in the closing minutes of the quarter, but the Stubs’ held for downs on the 35 when Gillom tried to run from punt formation.
Lucius’ recovery of Golembeski’s fumble when he was tackled as he attempted to pass, gave the Tigers the ball on their own 43 and set the stage for the second touchdown. Snyder and Getz took turns at ramming the ball through the Stub’s forward wall for two first downs as they reached the 10-yard line. Slusser moved it up to the five, but when Getz was thrown for a five-yard loss, the Big Red became the victim of a penalty for offside that put the ball on Steubenville’s one-yard line. Getz went over for the touchdown but missed the kick for the extra point.
The Tigers struck again in the closing minutes of the second period and carried the ball to the two-yard line where a five-yard penalty for too many times out ended their threat.
They had no intention of taking time out at the spot and no one knew exactly how it happened. Slusster thought Snyder had called time out and shouted to Red, asking if he had. The referee heard it, thought Massillon was taking time out and a five-yard penalty was the result. It would have been a costly mix-up in a close game. Statue Of Liberty Scores Michigan’s old Statue of Liberty produced the third touchdown early in the second half. All evening the Big Red ends had been rushing Slusser and the Massillon quarterback was patiently awaiting the opportunity to cross them up. He had put the ball on the 20-yard line with a twisting 24-yard dash through tackle and he was rushed hard as he passed to Roscoe Clendening in the flat for a two-yard gain.
That was enough. Out came the Statue of Liberty and as Slusser faded back for what appeared to be another pass, Getz took the ball off his outstretched arm and sped around the left side of the Big Red flank. The Big Red ends had rushed as usual and Getz was by them running hard, 18 yards for a touchdown. His kick for the extra point went to the right of the uprights.
The same play worked again in the fourth quarter with Getz running to a first down on the six-yard line. A 15-yard penalty, for failing to hesitate on the shift, throttled the touchdown attempt and it was not until the middle of the last quarter that the Tigers could again score.
The drive began when Snyder was tackled on the Stubs’ 35 just as he caught Stauffer’s punt. A 15-yard penalty for clipping put the ball back on the 50. A 15-yard pass to Getz and a 28-yard toss to Gillom took the ball to the one-yard line where Slusser went through a big hole at right tackle, standing up.
The sixth and last touchdown came cheap. Trying desperately to score, Charley Albritten threw a short pass from behind his own goal line which Foster, substitute Massillon end, gathered in on the 10-yard line and raced over the payoff stripe. An attempt to plunge the extra point failed. The game ended on the following kickoff.
As the crowd streamed out of the stands, the Tiger band marched triumphantly down the field in recognition of its team’s victory. That band is helping to pack them in. The investment the athletic board risked in buying new uniforms and instruments has come back many fold. Present New Routine A new routine, in which the young musicians were on the move every minute during their share of the intermission period, kept the fans away from the refreshment stand. A series of quick maneuvers spelled the words “Big Red” and ended with a capital S in front of the Steubenville stands. Back to the Massillon side of the field the band came to form an M while the alma mater was being played. “Obie” the Tiger was introduced from the goal posts. He scampered over the field to pick up Miss Margaret Busse, acrobatic cheerleader, who did 11 back flips to the roll of the band’s drums.
Steubenville’s state champion band, marching in militaristic step, likewise maneuvered brilliantly, writing Stub on the field and forming a Tiger head in front of the Massillon stands. The Big Red band is an excellent playing band and finished second in a national contest last year.
The crowd was the largest that has witnessed a football game here with the exception of the 1934 and 1936 Massillon-Canton games. Additions the past two days have increased the seating capacity of the field from 14,000 to 15,000 and most of the seats were filled. School officials estimated the crowd at between 13,000 and 14,000.
The game was relayed by two telegraph sets and a P.A. telephone system to Steubenville where three different football parties were held. Several thousand attended one of the parties held in the open air.
Six In A Row Massillon Pos. Steubenville Toles LE Balkun Lucius LT Mike Russell LG Dunkle Martin C Wallace Houston RG Rogers Henderson RT Straka Gillom RE Williams Slusser QB Gaich Getz LH Golombeski Zimmerman RH Stauffer Snyder FB Zawacki
History 
