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Massillon Will Remain in the Columbus Region for the…

The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has released its preliminary regional post-season playoff assignments for the 2021 season.  Massillon will remain in Region 7, which is the region associated primarily with teams from the Columbus area.  Also, all teams across the state will stay in their respective divisions as assigned in 2020, which for Massillon is Division 2.  In 2022 the divisions will be reassessed.

Last season the Tigers captured their 14th regional crown, then defeated Cincinnati LaSalle in the state semifinals, while losing the Akron Hoban in the finals.  It was Massillon’s third consecutive trip the Division 2 state finals and 6th state finals historically.

There are 25 teams in Region 7, with 16 qualifying for post-season play.  The teams include the following:

From the Massillon area:

  • Massillon Washington
  • Massillon Perry
  • North Canton Hoover
  • Uniontown Lake
  • Green

From the Columbus area:

  • Westerville South
  • Worthington Kilbourne
  • Olentangy
  • Olentangy Berlin
  • Dublin Scioto
  • Big Walnut
  • Mount Vernon
  • Canal Winchester
  • Watkins Memorial
  • Columbus St. Charles
  • Columbus Independence
  • Columbus Mifflin
  • Columbus Northland
  • Columbus Walnut Ridge
  • Columbus Whetstone
  • Columbus Whitehall – Yearling

From other areas:

  • Wooster
  • Licking Heights
  • Marion Harding
  • Logan

Region 5 includes Akron Hoban, Cleveland Benedictine, Hudson, Mayfield, Austintown Fitch, Walsh Jesuit and Warren Harding.  Region 6 includes Avon, Avon Lake, Barberton, Wadsworth, Toledo Central Catholic, Toledo St. Francis and Toledo St. John’s.  Region 8 includes Cincinnati LaSalle, Cincinnati Winton Woods and Kings.

Massillon will once again feature a very competitive schedule, opening on Friday August 20 at home against Pickerington Central, the 2019 Division 1 state champs and 2020 Division 1 state finalist.  Other major opponents include 2018 Division 1 state champion Lakewood St. Edward, Austintown Fitch, Canisius from New York and Canton McKinley.

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Linemen Have Their Way in Pittsburgh

It may still be several weeks until the official start of the practice for the 2021 football season, but the Massillon Tigers are not taking the summer off.  They are working hard in the weight room and improving their speed with a regimented training program.  Last Sunday (June 28) they had a chance to showcase their talent at the U. Pittsburgh Camp by participating in the 7-on-7 tournament for skill players and going head-to-head with other high schools in the Big Man contest.

“Big” is an understatement for these future offensive and defensive linemen, as the photo below can attest to.  And they literally walked away with first place, earning a sledge hammer with “Pitt” written on the head.  After showing their wares in the weight lifting and tractor tire events, Massillon won the final activity of the day by graciously dragging their opponent over the line in a tug of war that lasted all of five seconds.

Incidentally, Massillon had previously taken first at the camp in 2018 and second in 2019.  The camp was not held in 2020.

Although the skill players didn’t win their event, they did well enough in early competition to be recognized as the top seed going into the tournament portion.

Playing host was 2020 Tiger Terrence Rankl, who is a freshmen for the Panthers.

Front Row (L-R): Toddrick Lee, Te’Jamere Nash and Reece Turpin.  Standing (L-R): Donte Holloway, Michael Mercurio, Jaiden Woods, Marcus Moore, Coach J.P. Simon, Terrence Rankl, Dom Salvino and Landon Peteros.

History

Tiger Football Players Don’t Just Play Football

Last week it was the track team that drew the area’s attention by placing 3rd in the state meet in the 4 x 200 meter relay.  This week the focus is on Zach Catrone, Massillon’s 2020 quarterback, who was recently named Northeast Ohio Division 1 1st Team All-District for baseball.  The pitcher/infielder helped lead the Tigers to a 21-5 record and a spot in the district championship game against Mayfield.  Teammate Jaylen Leedy was also honored, as a 2nd Teamer.

As good as the Tigers were this year, Zach was the one batter capable of causing major headaches for opposing pitchers.  He hit hard according to Coach Spike Ridgley and his statistics reflected that, with a .412 batting average and 35 RBIs in just 101 plate appearances.  He also recorded five doubles and struck out just 14 times.  Ridgley said that his strike out stat is one of the major reasons he was named to the All-District team.

On the mound, he became the No. 1 pitcher and was called upon to face several of Massillon’s best foes.  He finished with a 6-3 record, but his ERA was outstanding at 2.01.  Zach also struck out 65 batters during his 47-2/3 innings of work.

As a quarterback last year in football, Catrone helped lead Massillon to a 10-2 record and a runner-up finish in the Division 2 state championship game.  For the season he passed for 1,574 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Next year he plans to play football for Marietta.

Rager Els placed at the state wrestling meet in the 285 pound weight class and finished the year with an outstanding 32-5 record.  At state, he lost in the first round, picked up a win in the first consolation round and then was eliminated in the second consolation.

In football, Rager was part of a dominant offensive line, but was felled in by injury in the first game against Lakewood St. Edward and missed the remainder of the season.  Fortunately, he recovered in time to wrestle.  Next year he will compete with Cleveland State.

Good luck to both of these outstanding Tigers.

 

 

News

Tiger Relay Team Places 3rd at State Meet

The Massillon 4 x 200 meter relay team didn’t disappoint at the state level, placing 3rd in Division 1 in the final 8-team group and setting a new Massillon High School record in the process.  It was a blistering pace throughout the race and the Tigers had the lead with but a 100 yards left.  But they were overtaken in the final few yards by the 1st and 2nd place teams.  They ended up finishing a mere half second from first.

In the Friday preliminaries, Massillon turned in the second fastest time with a mark of 1:27:65, which they bettered in the Saturday finals by more than a second.  Incidentally, the state record for this event is 1:24:42, set by Pickerington Central last year.

Here are the final results:

  • 1st – Pickerington North – 1:25.96
  • 2nd – Gahanna Lincoln – 1:26:38
  • 3rd – Massillon – 1:26:43
  • 4th – Canal Winchester – 1:27:03
  • 5th – Granville – 1:27:63
  • 6th – Centerville – 1:28:63
  • 7th – Thomas Worthington – 1:29:23
  • 8th – Solon – 1:29:24

Freddie Lenix competed in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, but didn’t qualify for the finals in either event.  His time in the 100 was a very respectable 10.93 seconds (the leader posted 10.46).  Just a sophomore, his day will come.

But hard work certainly paid off for these fine athletes.  All underclassmen, the team includes freshman Ta’Shaun Smith, sophomores Ardell Banks and Lenix, and junior Austin Brawley.  We’ll see all of you on the football field come August.

News

Four Tiger Speedsters Advance to State Track Meet

Massillon will participate in three events at next week’s state track meet following continued success at the Austintown Regionals.  The events include the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash and 4 x 200 meter relay.  The 4 x 100 meter relay was disqualified in the finals due to a lane violation, in spite of turning in the field’s fastest time during the preliminaries.

  • 100 meter dash – Freddie Lenix placed first with a time of 11.22 seconds, edging out runners from Stow and Boardman.  During the preliminaries he posted a time of 10.98.
  • 200 meter dash – Lenix took third in the event with a time of 22.76.  The winning time was 22.62.  He also took third in the prelims.
  • 4 x 200 meter relay – Massillon took first with a time of 1:30.05.  The next two spots were captured by Nordonia and Stow.  The Tiger runners included freshman Ta’Shaun Smith, sophomores Ardell Banks and Lenix, and junior Austin Brawley.
  • 4 x 100 meter relay –  Massillon had the fastest time in the preliminaries, 42.89, a quarter of a second ahead of second place University School.

Overall, Massillon placed 7th as a team among a field of 44 schools that recorded points.

The state meet will be held on June 4-5 at Hilliard Darby High School.  In addition to the four players mentioned above, Angelo Salvino and Javontez Bradford will be available as alternates.

History

Tiger Footballers Are Excelling in Track & Field

High school football coaches will tell you that, unlike at the collegiate level, they prefer speed to size because speed “kills” at that level.  For the Massillon Tigers, speed is one asset they’ve had in abundance over the past few years and is one of the major reasons why they have achieved so much success in the playoffs at the state level.  But it also demonstrates the untiring work these young athletes have put in to excel in life.

The past year’s team is no exception and their talents were amply demonstrated at the recent District track meet, as they came away with four first places in the sprint events.

  • 100 meter dash – Sophomore Freddie Lenix clocked in at 11.01 seconds to place first, following by junior Austin Brawley, who placed third.
  • 200 meter dash – Again it was Lenix in first with a time of 21.94 seconds.  Freshman Ta’Shaun Smith came in third.
  • 4 x 100 meter relay – Placed first with a time of 42.83 seconds.  Runners included Lenix, Brawley, sophomore Ardell Banks and junior Javontez Bradford.
  • 4 x 200 meter relay – Placed first with a time of 1:28.51.  Runners included Lenix, Brawley, Banks and Smith.

All will advance to the Austintown regional meet.  Overall, Massillon placed 7th in the meet standings.  Interestingly, all of the Massillon winners are underclassmen and will return next year.

The 8th grade group, on the heels of an outstanding 8-0 football season, recently captured the junior high state track title.  The final rankings were as follows: (1) Massillon – 27 pts; (2 tie) Bellbrook, Pickerington Ridgeview and Ironton – 20 pts; (5) Canal Winchester – 18; (6) Pickerington Lakeview – 17 pts.  Here are the results:

  • 100 meter dash – JaMeir Gamble placed second with a time of 11.55.  The winner had 11.49.
  • 200 meter dash – Mylen Lenix took fourth with a time of 23.75.  The winner clocked 23.57.
  • 4 x 100 meter relay – Massillon took second with a time of 45.37.  Runners included Braylyn Toles, Lenix, Gamble and Jalen Slaughter.  Pickerington Lakeview won with a time of 45.12.
  • 4 x 200 meter relay – Massillon took ninth with a time of 1:38.64.  Runners included Slaughter, Tyler Hackenbracht, Lenix and Gamble.  The winner had 1:36.13.
  • Shot put – Michael Wright placed third with a toss of 47 feet, 10 inches (about two feet short of his season best).  Andrew Brumfield placed 23rd.  The winner posted a toss of 48 feet, 5.5 inches.

Junior High State Champs: Front row (L-R) Braylyn Toles and Jalen Slaughter; second row (L-R) Coach Greg Corsale, Coach Becca Moore, Mylan Lenix, Tyler Hackenbracht, Jameir Gamble and Coach Bridget Parkins.  Not pictured: Andrew Brumfield and Mike Wright.  (Photo by Massillon City Schools)

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In Case You Were Wondering

Football playoffs in Ohio began in 1972 and since then have undergone numerous changes, the latest being the addition this year of eight more teams per region.   In the first eight years of the playoffs only the regional computer poll champions qualified, so each of the three divisions proceeded immediately into the state semifinals.  Now, in Divisions 2 through 7, up to 60% of all participants will advance, while in Division 1 it is nearly every team on account of fewer teams in the regions.  In addition, the top eight teams in each region will play Round 1 games at home, as well the higher seeded winners in Round 2.

Below is the evolution of the playoffs:

  • 1972 – 1979: 3 divisions; 1 team per region; 12 qualifiers
    Massillon: 6 years; 1 appearance; 1 regional title
  • 1980 – 1984: 5 divisions; 2 teams per region; 40 qualifiers
    Massillon: 7 years; 3 appearances; 3 regional titles; 2 state finals appearances
  • 1985 – 1993: 5 divisions; 4 teams per region; 80 qualifiers
    Massillon: 9 years; 4 appearances; 2 regional titles
  • 1994 – 1998: 6 divisions; 4 teams per region; 96 qualifiers
    Massillon: 5 years; 2 appearances
  • 1999 – 2012: 6 divisions; 8 teams per region; 192 qualifiers
    Massillon: 14 years; 10 appearances; 4 regional titles; 1 state finals appearance
  • 2013 – 2019: 7 divisions, 8 teams per region; 224 qualifiers
    Massillon: 7 years; 6 appearances; 3 regional titles; 2 state finals appearances
  • 2010 (Covid-19 alteration): 7 divisions, all team qualify
    Massillon: 1 year, 1 appearance, 1 regional title, 1 state finals appearance

In total, Massillon has qualified 27 times throughout the 49 years of playoffs.  But the question surely on the minds of many Tiger fans is: How many times would Massillon have qualified if the current 16-team format had been in existence from the start?

The answer is 47, based on the makeups of the regions at the times.  Only in 1974 and 2004 would the Tigers fail to qualify.

The 1974 team had a record of 6-4 and finished in 22nd place.  However, one must consider that there were only three divisions at that time and there were 54 teams in the region, unlike today where there are just half that many teams.  So Massillon would likely have qualified with a 7-division format.  But the Tigers did defeat No. 1 Canton McKinley in the regular season finale that year, 20-15.

The 2004 team finished 4-6, having overscheduled with the likes of Cleveland Benedictine, Cleveland St. Ignatius and Lakewood St.  Edward.  They finished in 17th place in the Division 1 region, one place shy of qualifying.  There were six divisions in 2004.  But seven teams ahead of them were moved to Division 2 when the seventh division was added later.  So, most likely they would have qualified in that year also.

So, considering that there are currently seven divisions in the playoffs, it appears that Massillon would have qualified in each of the 49 years of playoffs, had there also been seven divisions from the start.

In terms of home games, the Tigers would have hosted the Round 1 game 76% of the time and potentially hosted a Round 2 game 51% of the time.  In Division 2, it was 7 home games out of 8 in Round 1 and five potential Round 2 home games.

Some of the more interesting Round 1 opponents include:

  • 1978 – at Louisville.  Massillon finished 9-0-1 that year and failed to make the playoffs due to most of the regular season opponents having substandard years.  The Leopards were 9-1 with wins over Jackson, GlenOak, North Canton and Perry.
  • 1986 – at Jackson.  Massillon was 7-3 , coming off a 23-6 loss to McKinley.  The Polar Bears finished 8-2, with no big wins but losses to Wooster and North Canton.
  • 1987 – at Lancaster.  Massillon at 6-4 vs. the Gales at 7-3.
  • 1990 – home to Perry.  Massillon was 7-3 and Perry was 6-4, including a 23-7 loss to Steubenville.
  • 1994 – home to Perry again.  This time the Tigers were 9-1, while the Panthers were 7-3.  The common opponent was Alliance, with Massillon winning 20-0 and Perry winning 9-7.
  • 1998 – at Canton McKinley.  With the Tigers finishing 4-6, they grabbed the No. 16 spot, but had to face the Bulldogs in back-to-back games.  McKinley eventually won the playoff state championship.
  • 2010 – home to Perrysburg.  Massillon would have had an earlier look at Perrysburg prior to that fateful 2014 game.
  • 2011 – at Canton McKinley.  The Tigers were 7-3 and the Bulldogs were 8-2.  In the previous week, McKinley scored on the last play of the game to win 23-20.

I hope this gives you your trivia fill for the day.

Go  Tigers!

News

OHSAA Doubles the Number of Playoff Qualifiers

What was once 12 quickly became 16 when the Ohio High School Athletic Association recently announced an expansion of the high school football playoffs.  From 1999 through 2019, eight teams in each region qualified for the playoffs.  Then it became 12.  Now it is 16.

The OHSAA initially rolled out a scenario for the 2021 season whereby 12 teams would qualify, with the top four receiving byes in the first round.  But there were also rumors at the time that it could move to 16 within the next few years.  It turns out that the OHSAA, which was starved of funds last year during the pandemic, must have seen an opportunity to recoup some of those lost funds and elected to go all the way this year.

In the past, each school was allotted a percentage of the proceeds from ticket sales.  But last year the OHSAA controlled all of the sales through an Internet portal and retained all the funds.  The same sales method will probably be in place again this year.

“Last fall we received overwhelmingly positive feedback when we allowed every team to enter the football playoffs due to the shortened season because of COVID-19,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “We know there are some who want to keep the football postseason to a smaller number of schools, but the postseason tournament gives such a positive experience for our student-athletes, the schools and their communities that we felt strongly about giving that opportunity to more schools to make the playoffs. And football remains the OHSAA sport in which not every team automatically qualifies for the postseason.” – OHSAA website

According to the new format, in the first round the No. 1 seed will play the No. 16 seed, the No. 2 seed will play the No. 15 seed, etc., with the higher seeds hosting the games.  The higher seeds of those winners will then host the second round games.  Starting in the third round, all games will be played at neutral sites.  The playoffs will begin on October 9 and finish on Sunday, December 5, encompassing six weeks of additional play.

For Division 1 schools, which have 18 teams in each region, only two teams per region will fail to qualify.  So from that standpoint, it serves well to be a Division 1 school.  Had the new format been in place following the 2019 season, the eight non-qualifiers from Division 1 would have been Newark (1-9), Canton GlenOak  (1-9), Beavercreek (2-8), Toledo Bowsher (3-7), Columbus Mifflin (1-9), Sylvania Southview (1-9), Cincinnati Moeller (2-8) and Cincinnati Oak Hills (0-10).

The remaining divisions have approximately 25 teams in each region, which means that around 60% of those will qualify, still a sizeable percentage.  For Division 2, 14 of the 17 teams that finished 5-5 would have qualified.  Also, the worst record of the qualifiers would have been 3-7, which includes Boardman with wins over Poland Seminary (8-2), Garfield Heights (6-4) and Youngstown Ursuline (2-8), and Lima Senior with wins over Lima Central Catholic (9-1), Piqua (5-5) and Fremont Ross (1-9).

Massillon has been a high placer in recent years and as a result, if trends continue, those first round games may be extremely one-sided affairs.  If the situation would have been in place during the past five years, the opponents would have been:

  • 2016 – Columbus Walnut Ridge (6-4)
  • 2017 – Columbus Franklin Heights (5-5)
  • 2018 – Licking Heights (6-4)
  • 2019 – Akron Ellet (5-5)
  • 2020 – Licking Heights (2-3)

Not exactly a stellar group.  But at least gives the Tigers an opportunity to regroup following the emotional game with Canton McKinley.

but another advantage of the new format, at least for independent schools like Massillon and some of the parochial schools, is that highly competitive schedules will probably not hurt their chances to qualify for the playoffs.  So look for more of the St. Ignatius’s and St. Ed’s on the Tigers’ slate in the future.  It beats playing Akron Firestone.

With 16 teams now qualifying and the first two game potentially at home, the ultimate goal of this new format then is to finish in the region’s Top 4.  That would provide the best opportunity to play those first two games in the friendly confines of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.