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Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 48, Monroeville Gateway (PA) 12

Turnovers turn into touchdowns as Massillon rolls Gateway
Chris Easterling
Oct 11, 2019 11:30 PM

MASSILLON It’s all about the opportunities provided for a football team. More importantly, it’s all about taking advantage those opportunities when they’re presented.

That’s what Massillon did when it faced Gateway (Pa.) on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers turned a blocked punt and three first-half Gator turnovers into 17 points, helping to kick-start them to a 48-12 victory.

“It’s taking advantage of mistakes,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose 7-0 team heads to Barberton next Friday. “That’s really what turnovers are. We came up with a couple and were able to capitalize on them.”

Massillon would end the game with 21 points off four Gateway turnovers in improving to 7-0 on the season. The Tigers recovered two fumbles, while T.J. Williams and Luke Murphy came up with interceptions.

Those turnovers turned into touchdowns turned what was expected to be a tight battle into Massillon’s sixth running-clock game in seven wins. The Tigers had won its first six games each by at least 21 points, while the Gators had outscored their opponents 213-7 over their five-game win streak since their loss to Penn-Trafford on Aug. 30.

Penn-Trafford’s only loss was Massillon’s Week 4 conquest, which is also its closest game of the season at 42-21.

“Going into practice this week, we practiced like any other week,” said Tiger senior linebacker Ben Krichbaum, who had a fumble recovery along with four solo and five assisted tackles. “We don’t really look at the offers guys have. We don’t really care about that type of stuff. We just go into each practice going hard and we carry that out to the game.”

After trading punts to open the game, the Tigers would start to see their chances appear. For Massillon, that first opportunity came on Gateway’s second possession, as it blocked the punt at the Gator 25.

The Tigers would turn their fourth blocked punt in the last three games into their first field goal of the season. Alex Bauer would connect from 25 yards out for a 3-0 Massillon lead with 5:01 left in the first quarter.

Bauer would add a 31-yard field goal to make it 20-0 Massillon with 2:19 remaining in the first half.

Massillon would open up a 17-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to two fumble recoveries on botched Gateway handoffs. The first, recovered at the Gator 35, ended with Terrance Keyes Jr.’s 10-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second quarter.

Keyes would finish with 142 yards on 24 carries. His third touchdown run, a 1-yarder, made it 41-6 with 5:25 remaining.

The second opportunity came up as Gateway was itself trying to capitalize on a Massillon fumble. On a first-and-goal play from the Tiger 2, Krichbaum fell on another missed handoff at the Massillon 4.

Two plays later, the Tigers turned that turnover into an historic touchdown. Aidan Longwell hit a wide-open Jayden Ballard down the right sideline, and Ballard raced for a 95-yard score with 6:16 remaining in the half.

The hookup was the longest pass play in Massillon history. The previous mark was a pair of 89-yard plays, by Jason Stafford (Lee Hurst) against Austintown Fitch in 1988 and Austin Jasinski (from Seth Blankenship) against Dublin Scioto in 2016.

“It was good protection,” Moore said. “A great throw. Aidan trusted it and Jayden did a good job of tracking the ball and made a good catch for us.”

Ballard finished with 145 receiving yards on five catches. Longwell would finish 10-of-21 with 223 yards and two touchdowns, as he added a 59-yard scoring strike to Andrew Wilson-Lamp to make it 34-6 Tigers in the fourth quarter.

The Wilson-Lamp touchdown catch was the third Massillon touchdown off of a Gator turnover. That was after Murphy’s interception.

Gateway would get on the board on the final play of the first half, cutting the deficit to 20-6. Derrick Davis went up and over the pile for a 1-yard scoring run, but the point-after kick was missed.

Davis added a 98-yard touchdown run with four minutes left to make it 41-12 Massillon. That run accounted for 85 percent of the highly-touted junior’s 115 rushing yards on the night.

“We bottled him up pretty good,” Moore said of his defense, which allowed Gateway 288 total yards on 67 plays. “A good job by our guys.”

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

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Massillon-McKinley Food Drive Contest Underway

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich at pribich@att.net or Mary Lou Wilton at marylouanddon24@gmailcom. Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.  Help us beat McKinley for the second year in a row.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo News

Booster Club Report – Week 6

After a blowout win over Austintown Fitch, it’s time to get back to business with a good Monroeville Gateway, Pennsylvania, team coming to town.

Scores from last week:

  • The varsity defeated Austintown Fitch 55-7 (All-time win No. 891)
  • The JV game vs. Fitch was canceled
  • The Freshmen lost to Fitch 44-42
  • The 8th Grade tied Fitch 14-14
  • The 7th Grade defeated Fitch 8-6

The Booster Club is sponsoring one or two buses to the October 18 Barberton game for the cost of $25.00, not including the game ticket.  A sub sandwich and drink will be provided.  The buses will depart from the old K-Mart parking lot at 4:30 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Supply.

Massillon is once again participating in the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive in competition with Canton.  Canned food is accepted and every dollar donated is equated to seven pounds of food.  Donations can be brought to the Monday Booster Club meeting or the Tuesday Touchdown Club.  Or you can contact Nick Pribich or Mary Lou Wilton.  Last year the Tiger Nation bested the Bulldogs in this great event for the first time.

Funds raised by the Gateway parents for a bus to travel to this week’s game ran short, so some of the Tiger Moms raised $500 to help out.  It was enough and the parents will be in Tigertown on Friday.

The guest players this week were senior quarterback Aidan Longwell and senior center Cole Jones.  In addressing the upcoming game with Gateway, Longwell said, “We’re preparing for everything.  They’re a really good team.  We have a good game plan.”  “Practices are tough this week, but are going pretty well,” added Jones.  “Their defensive line is not huge, but quick.  It will be challenging.”

Head Coach Nate Moore started his presentation by showing films from last week’s victory over Fitch.  “Our offensive line really had a dominating performance,” he said.  “Great blocking.  Keyes also had a really good game.”  He also commented on the experience of Longwell at quarterback using as an example Massillon’s first play of the game.  Expecting a single safety over the top, the play called a deep throw to the end zone to one of two receivers left uncovered by the safety.  However, Fitch aligned with two safeties instead, which meant that both deep receivers would be covered.  So Aidan immediately altered the scheme by focusing on Jayden Ballard, who was running a crossing route short of the safeties.  Longwell hit Ballard in stride with a bullet pass and Jayden then took it to the house, giving the Tigers a quick 7-0 lead.  Experience counts.

Traditionally very tough at home, Fitch had great trouble matching up with Massillon offensive line and complementary skill players.  The net result was a 48-7 Tiger halftime lead with six touchdowns scored in six possessions.  With the Falcons aligning their defense to stop the pass, it was a night for the run.  Following that first passing touchdown, the Tigers went almost exclusively to the ground for the rest of the night.  With the offensive line completely dismantling Fitch’s front seven, running back Terrence Keyes had his biggest game as a Tiger, gaining 185 yards in 16 carries (11.6 yards per attempt) and scoring four touchdowns.  And there were no turnovers, for the second consecutive game.

A seventh touchdown came via special teams when Austin Brawley blocked a punt and Isaiah Clark scooped up the ball at the three yard line and carried it into the end zone for the score.  In fact, it was the second blocked punt on the night for this group.  The special teams had a great night, keeping the Falcons pinned deep in their own territory the entire game with exceptional kicking and kick coverage .

Defensively, Massillon was focused on stopping the running of Fitch’s alternating quarterbacks, who combined had put up some big numbers this year.  But the Tigers were able to keep the pair in check the entire night, limiting them to just 60 yards in 18 carries.  Stat-wise, the Falcons gained just 123 yards in 43 carries (2.9 yard per attempt).

Additional notes:

  • Massillon has scored a touchdown in each of its last 18 first-half possessions.
  • For  the season, the Tigers are averaging 39.3 points per game in first-half action (50.2 per full game).
  • Massillon has surrendered just seven second-half points.
  • The Tigers have scored 25 touchdowns out of 26 attempts in the red zone.
  • The offense has an efficiency rating (first down, touchdown, field goal) of 92%, higher than any Tiger team during the era of the spread offense
  • Defensively, the Tigers are limiting the opponent to just 2.6 yards per carry, the best of any Tiger team during the era of the spread offense.
  • Massillon owns a 17-game regular season winning streak.

Gateway enters this week’s game with a 6-1 record, the lone loss having come in Game 2 against previous Massillon opponent Penn-Trafford, 28-7.  Tied 7-7 at the half, the Gators surrendered the ball six times in the second half to spell doom.  Since that game, Gateway has outscored its opponents 213-7.  “This is a very, very good football team,” said Moore.  “The best comparison is East St. Louis (Massillon opponent last year), but necessarily not at all positions.”  For instance, while the Gators do possess some exceptional athletes, the offensive line is average and this may be a big mismatch against the Tiger front 7.  The defensive line is also on the smaller side.

But the story for Gateway is really about those East St. Louis-type athletes.

  • Derrick Davis – 6′-1″, 190 lb. junior running back / safety.  He has rushed 60 times for 835 yards (13.9 yards per attempt) and 15 touchdowns.  He has also caught eight passes for 241 yards (30.1 yards per catch) and scored two TDs.  A Rivals 4-Star recruit, he currently holds dozens of Power-5 offers, including Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama.
  • Tui Faumunia-Brown – 6’3, 210 lb. senior tight end / fullback / linebacker.  He is a Rivals 2-Star recruit that holds several offers from Mid-American Conference schools.
  • Jacques Taylor – 6′-1″, 240 lb. junior offensive lineman / defensive end.  While he is considered their best offensive lineman, he is a big-time player on defense.  He is very active and makes a lot of plays, according to Moore.
  • Shane Thrift – 6′-170 lb. junior cornerback / backup wide receiver.  A Rivals 2-Star recruit, he has been offered by several 1-AA schools.

Senior quarterback Bryson Venanzio (5′-10:, 180) has completed 105 of 165 passes (64%) for 1,563 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions.  Moore says that he is really effective and very accurate, although not blessed with speed.  He distributes the ball well and will utilize some run option and some run / pass option out of the spread offense.  Look for a lot of 4-receiver sets.  The wide receivers are all good and are all 6′-1″ and around 180 lbs.  And they all run well after the catch.  The offensive line averages 6′-1″, 241 lbs.

Defensively, the Gators utilize a 3-4 alignment, similar to Penn-Trafford.  Both corners are pretty good and of course there is Davis at safety.  The defensive line averages 6′-0″, 230 lbs. and Massillon should have an advantage there.

Go Tigers!

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 55, Austintown Fitch 7

Keyes keys yet another Massillon runaway at Fitch

Oct 04, 2019 9:34 PM

AUSTINTOWN Attention has been paid through most of the first half of the season to the way Massillon’s offense can throw the football. A record-setting receiving performance on the opening night and a quarterback rewriting career marks virtually every time out can bring such notoriety.

On Friday night against Austintown Fitch, the Tigers showed they aren’t too bad running the football, either. Especially when Terrance Keyes gets his hands on the football.

With Keyes running wild through the first half, Massillon ran roughshod over the Falcons in a 55-7 victory at Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium to improve to 6-0 on the season.

“We’ve got a great passing game,” Keyes said. “We just have weapons all over. I just feel like (quarterback) Aidan (Longwell), with him having all the success he’s having in the passing game, I feel like it opens it up a lot for me. The running game, it’s just there. I was rolling today.”

Keyes carried the ball 16 times in the first half for 185 yards, scoring four touchdowns. That included a stretch of 14 plays where the 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior carried it 12 times, the 12th of those a 15-yard run in which he leaped over a Fitch defender at the Falcon 4 on his way to his third score of the night.

Keyes’ fourth touchdown run of the night, a 5-yarder with 2:01 remaining in the first half, gave Massillon a 48-7 lead. It marked the third time the Tigers have hit the 40-point mark in the first half, and the fifth time they played with a running clock in the second half.

“They were staying two high (with the safeties),” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team finished with 264 rushing yards and 423 total yards on the night. “They were giving us great run looks. Our offensive line played really, really well.”

Massillon, which ascended to No. 1 in the Division II state poll this week, will return home next Friday to meet Pennsylvania visitor Gateway. The Gators went into this week’s game against Franklin Regional (Pa.) with its only loss having come in their second game of the season against Penn-Trafford, the team the Tigers beat in Week 4.

Massillon’s starters will go into the Gateway game having spent another second half on the sidelines as its backups played from the start of the third quarter. Of course, it was the starters’ performance which gave them the opportunity to get some more rest.

“I was real pleased with the effort,” Moore said.

It wasn’t just the running game which did it for the Tigers, either. They made plays in seemingly all three phases.

Caiden Woullard’s punt block started Massillon’s first possession at the Fitch 42. The very next play, Aidan Longwell hit Jayden Ballard for a touchdown to make it 7-0 with 9:10 remaining in the first quarter.

Longwell, who was 5-of-7 for 99 yards in the game, also connected on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Wilson-Lamp to make it 34-7 Tiger with 6:52 left in the second quarter. The senior now has 6,155 yards and 68 passing touchdowns in his career, extending both marks.

That was one of two blocked punts the Tigers came up with in the first half. Austin Brawley blocked one which Isaiah Clark picked up inside the Fitch 5 and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown to make it 41-7 with 4:45 remaining in the half.

Fitch’s lone score, a 2-yard Devin Sherwood run to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter, was was partially set up by one of the few first-half miscues by Massillon. The Tigers were called for a personal foul after making a tackle out of bounds after a third-down stop around the Massillon 40 to keep the drive alive.

The Falcons would finish with 167 yards of offense. Of those yards, 123 came on the ground.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo News

Booster Club Report – Week 5

The meeting was a bit shorter this week owing to minimal discussion of last week’s 56-0 blowout of Akron Firestone, which was incidentally Massillon’s 890th all-time victory.  “That was fun, but it’s over,”: said Tiger head coach Nate Moore.

Scores from last week:

  • The varsity defeated Firestone 56-0 to run their record to 5-0.
  • The JV game with Firestone was canceled.
  • The freshmen defeated the combined Firestone freshmen and sophomores 32-0.  Their record is now 3-2.
  • The 8th Grade defeated Barberton 27-13.  They are now 3-1.
  • The 7th Grade defeated Barberton 48-6 to remain unbeaten at 5-0.

Around fifty seats are available on the buses to Austintown Fitch for the cost of $25.00.  The bus will arrive at the K-Mart parking lot at 4:00 pm and depart around 4:30 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Supply.

The guest players this week were senior linebacker Ben Krichbaum and senior linebacker / running back Preston Hodges.  In the last three games Krichbaum has recorded six solo tackles and eight assists.  Hodges leads the team in tackle points with nine solo tackles and 20 assists.  He also has three tackles for loss and three pass interceptions.  Against Firestone Hodges blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown and intercepted a pass that led to another score.  Both players briefly addressed this week’s opponent, Austintown Fitch.  “It’s going to be a big challenge this Friday,” said Krichbaum.  “They have a good front seven.”:

Fitch will host Massillon on Friday in a 7:00 pm start and enters the fray with a 3-2 record, with an average game score of 22-23.  Both teams have played Canton GlenOak and Warren Harding, with the Tigers defeating each handily and the Falcons suffering a setback against Warren.  Their scores are as follows:

  • Erie, PA (3-3): W 48-26
  • Youngstown Ursuline (0-5): W 27-7
  • Canton GlenOak (1-4): W 49-27
  • Warren Harding (4-1): L 7-10
  • Cleveland Benedictine (5-0): L 27-47

The Fitch offense revolves around a pair of alternating quarterbacks in junior Nate Leskovac (6′-0″, 187) and sophomore Devin Sherwood (5′-10″, 174), both of whom are adept at running the football.  This year they have favored the run 70% of the time, often utilizing the QB option.  The passing has been handled almost exclusively by Sherwood, who throws mostly off a sprint rather from the pocket.  Running back senior CJ Woodberry (5’9″, 168) is a returning starter and is very capable.  A couple of their wide receiver may be missing this week, but sophomore Tyler Evans (5’9″, 188) is good one to watch.  He is a talented “kid” according to Moore.  All of their skill players have good speed.  The offensive line averages 6′-0, 256 lbs. and returns two starters from last year, including senior Kyle Moore (6′-5″, 285) and senior Payton Short (5′-8″, 288).  They play well and finish blocks.

Defensively, Fitch operates out of a 3-3 odd stack with a cover-3 in the secondary.  Expect lots of blitzing, more than from any previous opponent to date.  The best player is senior defensive end Christian Armstrong, a 2-year returning starter.  In fact, all three linemen return from last year, including senior Joe Perez (5′-10″, 218), who Moore calls a “pretty good player.”  Leskovac, also one of the quarterbacks, is their best linebacker and is very active at the position.  The secondary rotates a lot of players, but the group is led by Evans, who doubles as a wide receiver.

The special teams should be exciting to watch with multiple schemes used for both kickoffs and punts.  Regardless of the given situation, the Tigers will need to guard against on-side kicks, pooch kicks and short sideline kicks.  Don’t expect any deep ones.  And a fake punt is always in play.

“We’re thoroughly looking forward to this,” said Moore.

Halfway through the regular season, Massillon is averaging a whopping 49 points per game and giving up just 11.  They are also averaging 399 yards per game, 170 on the ground and 220 through the air vs. 189 total yards by the opponent.  The leading ball carrier is Terrence Keyes, who has toted the ball 65 times for 397 yards and six touchdowns with a 6.1 per carry average.  Quarterback Aidan Longwell has completed 56 of 71 passes (79%) for 955 yards and 12 scores.  Against Penn-Trafford Longwell set a new record for career passing touchdowns and against Firestone he set a new mark for career passing yards.  Most of the passes this year have gone to Jayden Ballard (22-422, 8 TDs) and Andrew Wilson-Lamp (19-378, 3 TDs).  Ballard is also the leading scorer with 60 points.  The Tigers have only punted four times this year vs. 26 times for the opponents.  On defense, the top three tacklers are Preston Hodges, Luke Murphy and Caiden Woullard.  Alex Bauer has converted 34 of 35 extra point tries.  The Tigers have not attempted a field goal this year owing to a 95% (20 of 21) success rate in the red zone.

See you in Austintown.  Go Tigers!

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 56, Akron Firestone 0

Longwell sets Massillon’s passing mark in rout of Firestone
Chris Easterling
Sep 27, 2019 11:15 PM

MASSILLON With one flick of his left wrist, Aidan Longwell removed any doubt that existed in Massillon’s game Friday night against winless Firestone.

On the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage, Longwell dropped back and hit Jayden Ballard for a 40-yard touchdown pass. That pass, just 1:59 into the game, gave the Massillon senior quarterback the school’s all-time record for passing yards.

“It’s special,” Longwell said after passing Kyle Kempt as the Tigers’ career passing leader in the 56-0 victory over the Falcons. “I can’t put it into words. Just everything that’s happened at Massillon, all the history behind this program, it’s special to be a part of that.”

Longwell came into the game needing just 31 yards to pass the 6,034 career yards Kempt had compiled from 2010-12. He needed just one throw to pass that mark, the second career record he set in as many weeks after breaking the passing touchdowns mark in Week 4.

That one record-setting throw would be half of Longwell’s output on the night, as he only threw the ball twice – completing both – for 53 yards. His career total now stands at 6,056 yards with still plenty of football to be potentially be played.

“I think it takes a little pressure off,” Longwell said. “Not really for me, I wasn’t really thinking about that stuff. Everybody talking about it, it can be over now.”

There wasn’t much football for Longwell, or any of Massillon’s first-unit players, to play on Friday night against a completely over-matched Firestone team. The Tigers ran just five plays and had the football for just 52 seconds in the first quarter, yet still took a 35-0 lead in that time.

Of Massillon’s five first-quarter plays, three went for touchdowns. Beyond the Longwell-to-Ballard scoring strike, Terrence Keyes and Zion Phifer would each run for scores.

The Tiger special teams would get into the act to help with that lead. Preston Hodges would block and punt and recover it in the end zone for a touchdown to make it 14-0.

Hodges also had an interception to set up the Tigers’ third touchdown, a 10-yard run by Keyes. It’s the team-high third pick for the senior outside linebacker.

“We want to come out and get better every week,” said Hodges, who was part of a defensive performance which limited Firestone to 45 net yards and three first downs on 28 plays. “We just come out and do our jobs. We play the way we were taught.”

Ballard would add a 87-yard punt return for a touchdown as well to make it 28-0 Tigers. It’s the second time this season Ballard returned a kick or punt for a score, having brought back a kickoff for a touchdown against St. Vincent-St. Mary.

The final two quarters were shortened to just eight minutes after the Tigers took a 49-0 halftime lead. The teams played the final three quarters under a running clock, with the coaches agreeing to start it a quarter earlier than it is required to be implemented.

“They did a good job” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team will take a 5-0 record and a 16-game regular-season win streak into next Friday’s road game at Austintown Fitch. “They came out and took care of business. They played well, executed.”

Phifer and Raekwon Venson added first-half rushing touchdowns for Massillon, which had 158 of its 293 total yards in the first half. Tanner Pierce threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Daymiere Adams in the third quarter.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

Booster Club Report – Week 4

A good crowd turned out for the Booster Club meeting during which Head Coach Nate Moore reviewed last week’s victory over Penn-Trafford and previewed this week’s game against Akron Firestone.

Scores from last week:

  • The Varsity defeated Penn-Trafford, 42-21
  • The Junior Varsity lost to Lakewood St. Edward, 37-34, following a see-saw finish
  • The Freshmen lost to Lakewood St. Edward, 28-0
  • The 8th Grade lost to Medina Highland, 36-28
  • The 7th Grade defeated Medina Highland, 22-14

This week’s freshmen game against Akron Firestone has been moved from Thursday to Saturday at 2:30 pm.  The JV game has been canceled.

There will be a fan bus to Austintown Fitch next week for the cost of $25.00.  The bus will depart from the K-Mart parking lot at 4:30 pm.

Last Sunday, NBC aired a short clip during the third quarter of the Cleveland-Los Angeles football game, highlighting the Massillon Tigers and John McVay, the grandfather of Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams.  You can view the video here.

Guest players for the meeting were quarterback Aidan Longwell and linebacker Ben Krichbaum.  Against Penn-Trafford, Longwell had a stellar night, completing 14 of 15 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns.  His career TD mark of 65, eclipsed the record of 63 set by Justin Zwick in 2001.  Aidan was also named Fox 8 Player of the Week.  Krichbaum led the Tigers in tackles last week with four solos and five assists.  “He is the heart and soul of our defense,” remarked Moore.

Addressing the win, Krichbaum said that “it was nice to see a good disciplined team last week.  It will make us better.”  “It proved we can do it,” added Longwell, when asked about playing four quarters of football with the varsity on the field, something that was not needed in the first three blowout wins.

Penn-Trafford is classified as AAAAA in Pennsylvania, equivalent to Division 2 in Ohio.  Currently they are ranked first in Western PA and second in the entire state.  Future Tiger opponent Gateway is fourth.

“They were very aggressive,” Coach Moore said about Penn-Trafford.  “These guys were pulling out all the stops.  There was some hitting going on.  Their quarterback was a heck of a player.  Tough.  Fought through tackles and moved well after contact.”

Moore singled out the play of defensive linemen Ethan Toban and Manny McElroy, who “did such a nice job.”  In fact, the entire front seven received praised after holding the Warriors to just 110 yards rushing on 31 carries.

Penn-Trafford wasn’t shy about giving the Tigers multiple looks, hoping to take advantage of misalignments.  “Some of the formations put a lot of stress on you,” said Moore.  But Massillon did a good job of handling the pressure for the most of the night.

On offense, the Tigers displayed good balance, rushing for 171 and passing for 225.  The 35 points scored in the second quarter was the most put up in any frame since last year’s Sun Valley game.  Leading the ground attack was Terrence Keyes, who toted the ball 31 times for 150 yards and a touchdown.  Jayden Ballard and Andrew Wilson-Lamp combined for 10 pass receptions for 178 yards and three touchdowns.  And Zion Phifer contributed in many ways via rushing, receiving and blocking.

Akron Firestone enters the contest this week with a 0-4 record, having lost to Green, Copley, Cortland Lakeview and Akron Buchtel by a combined score of 25-165.  It’s no secret that the Falcons are struggling big time this year and in fact may be the worst Firestone team to ever visit Massillon.  However, expect Moore’s charges to focus on Massillon only as they aim to get better in anticipation of some very good competition down the road.

Moore said that their quarterback is very young and small, with not much of a throwing arm.  They do, however, have a couple good receivers and the running back has some talent.  The offensive line is large, but is not well skilled in fundamental football.  Same goes for the defensive, except at linebacker.  The defense aligns exclusively in a 4-2.  It will most likely be a pretty tough day for the Falcons and the Tiger backups should see plenty of action.

Go Tigers!

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Tigers Gain National Exposure

During the third quarter of the Cleveland-Los Angeles football game, NBC aired a short clip highlighting the Massillon Tigers and John McVay, the grandfather of Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams.  You can view the video here.