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2025 Booster Club Report – Week 2 – Post-Cleveland…

“We had a good practice today,” Moore added.  “It was a great start to this week.  The kids got after after it.  We are looking forward to Week 2 (against GlenOak).”

The guest players were Ja’Dyn William, Richard Harris and Dayvionne Floyd.

• Williams – The team started out little slow, reflecting back on a substandard practice the previous Monday.  He said that Monday practices seem to impact the level of play in the games.  This week the practice was very good.
• Harris – We are now playing with a chip on our shoulders.
• Floyd – Today this team showed that they can play.

GlenOak Scouting Report

Aside from Canton McKinley, GlenOak is the only Federal League team willing to play Massillon.  The Tigers own a 16-4 historical record against the Golden Eagles in a series that began in 1982.  Massillon won that first encounter 42-14 under head coach Mike Currence.  GlenOak turned the tables in 1986 with a 9-7 win with former Massillon Coach Bob Commings at the helm.  Following a long pause, the series resumed in 2010 and the two teams have been facing each other ever since, except for the 2020 Covid year.  The first six games were split between the two teams, but the Tigers have taken the next eight.  Moore’s record against the Eagles stands at 8-1, with the lone loss occurring in his first year.

GlenOak  is coached by Scott Garcia, who is entering his 17th year as head coach of the Golden Eagles.  His record there is 91-84.  Last season the Eagles played primarily an underclass team and finished with a 1-9 record.  This year Garcia hopes to turn the corner with a squad composed of 28 lettermen and 17 returning starters, 10 on offense and 9 on  defense.  He also plans to incorporate a no-huddle offense using the spread formation to increase the pace of the game.  But in spite of all that, GlenOak is still picked by several publications to finished in the bottom of the Federal League.

GlenOak features senior running back Javi’ion McClendon (6′-1″, 200), who last year rushed for 586 yards and four touchdowns.  He also returned two kickoffs for scores.  On defense they return senior Matt Rekstis (5′-11″, 205).  Last season he recorded 73 tackles and is considered the leader on the field.

According to Moore the offense utilizes 11-personnel (one running back and a tight end), with some 3-tight end sets and some normal spread.  Their No. 1 play is the counter, within which they run RPO.  They will also some Wildcat.  He cites McClendon as being their player, who has good size and speed.  None of the remaining players jump off the page.

On defense, look for an odd front, 3-4 alignment, with occasional even front.  The linebacker corps is the most experienced group.  The best player on defense is senior linebacker Dom Wagner (5′-9″, 205).  He also likes senior defensive lineman Donel Hampton (5′-11″, 280), who comes off the bench.

Overall, they do not possess great size and speed and this may be a detriment on Friday.

Game Preview: Massillon vs. Cleveland Glenville

Game Preview: Massillon vs. Cleveland Glenville

Once again Massillon will open the season with a quality opponent.  Head Coach Nate Moore believes that in doing so the Tigers accomplish two goals: (1) energize the team during the preseason, and (2) expose any weaknesses, so they can get those corrected earlier rather than later.  In past seasons the Tigers have faced such teams Mentor, Akron St. Vincent, Lakewood St. Edward, Pickerington Central, Cincinnati Moeller and Valdosta, Georgia.  This time it is Cleveland Glenville, in the first of a 2-game series, both at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.  The e match came about after Moore called Glenville head coach Tedd Ginn and Ginn said “yes.”

Ginn is beginning his 27^th year with the Tarblooders.  He also runs a charter school called the Ginn Academy, which enrolls students from all over the Cleveland area, mostly from the inner-city.  And he does a fine job of molding these students into fine young men.  Since the Academy does not offer sports, the players opt to participate in those activities at neighboring Cleveland Glenville High School.  In fact, most of the Glenville football players attend school at the Academy.

Owing to a wealth of talent, Ginn’s achieved immediate success when the arrangement began in 1998.  The Glenville enrollment was initially quite large at that time and thus the Tarblooders competed in Division I.  There they remained until 2013 when the enrollment began to drop and were reassigned to Division II.  In 2017 they moved to Division III and dropped again in 2021 to Division IV.  It should be noted that the players from the Academy are not counted in the OHSAA’s competitive advantage calculation.  The division is based totally on the enrollment of Glenville itself.

Over the past 26 years Ginn has produced an overall record of 266 wins and 61 losses.  Forced to compete in Cleveland’s Senate Athletic League, their record over that time against league competition is 196 wins and zero losses.  Outside of the league they attempt to schedule some of the best teams in the state, where the record is more balanced, at 70-61.  The following is the win-loss data for each of the divisions:

• Ginn spent fifteen years in Division I, recording a 35-29 record against non-league foes. But most of those foes are a “who’s who” of Ohio high school football, including such teams as Mentor (4-9 record), Lakewood St. Edward (1-8) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (2-5).  Surprisingly, six games were played against Olentangy Liberty (3-3).  Glenville’s best year occurred in 2009 when, with future Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones, they defeated St. Ignatius 30-13 in the regionals and Massillon 31-17 in the state semifinals, before losing to Hilliard Davidson 16-15 in the finals.
• Four years were spent in Division II, with a non-league record 10-11.  In 2013 they advanced to the state finals, before losing 41-23 to Loveland the following week.
• While in Division III the program slipped a bit, as shown by a 1-10 record in non-league games.
• Having now spent four years in Division IV, they boast of a 24-11 record against non-league foes, with two losses to Akron Hoban.  However, most of the wins have come against severely substandard DIV playoff opponents.  Nevertheless, two state titles were claimed, including in 2022 with a 26-6 victory over Wyoming and in 2023 with a 38-3 win over Kettering Alter.

Last season Glenville played a lot of freshmen and sophomores and hopes to reap the benefits of that this year, especially since they have a varsity roster of 91 players, along with several outstanding athletes from the senior class, including the following:

• Arvel Nelson – Senior quarterback (6’-3”, 170).
• Cincere Johnson – Senior running back/linebacker (6’-2”, 225) – 4-star recruit; Ohio State commit; 2024 Division IV 1^st Team All-Ohio; 2024 Division IV Defensive Player of the Year; last season had 205 tackles, 41 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 quarterback sacks.
• J. Newell Jr. – Senior running back/defensive back (5’-10”, 186); 3-star recruit; Buffalo commit; 2024 Division IV 3^rd Team All-Ohio; 1,136 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns.
• Romell Phillips – Senior running back/linebacker (5’-9”, 163); 750 yards rushing.
• Pauly Sadler – Senior wide receiver/defensive back (5’-11”, 180).
• Aaron Scales – Senior wide receiver/defensive back (5’-9”, 170); 2024 Division IV 2^nd Team All-Ohio.
• Marquis Whipple – Senior offensive lineman (6’-3”, 305); 3-star recruit; holds several mid-major offers; 2024 Division IV 1^st Team All-Ohio.
• Jamir Perez – Senior offensive lineman/defensive lineman (6’-4”, 321); 3-star recruit; Ohio State commit.

Moore calls Glenville a “great Week 1 opponent; a great team with both speed and size.”

The Tarblooder offense operates mostly out of a 21-personnel formation; i.e., two running backs and a tight end.  The game plan, then, is to run the ball using a zone blocking scheme, behind a massive line (6’-2”, 308 lbs. ave.) that includes Ohio State recruits Whipple and Perez.  But they will take occasional shots down to the field with the long ball.  Nelson, the quarterback, does a good job in the run game.  As does several running backs.  The best back according to Moore is Newell, but he will play more defense than offense.  So, look for Phillips to carry the load.  The receiving corps is good and includes Joseph Saffold, a transfer from Lakewood St. Edward.  In last year’s victory over St. Eds they ran a lot of plays to the left side of the line, with the quarterback serving as the ball carrier and Whipple and Perez plowing the road ahead.

The defense uses almost exclusively an odd-stack, 3-3 alignment.  The defensive line has good size (6’-2”, 265 lbs. ave.) and plays very aggressively, which can be risky at times.    Perez is aligned in the middle.  The linebackers are all good-sized players.  They are led by Johnson, who plays on the edge of the group.   So far in scrimmages, the linebackers haven’t shown a lot of blitzes.  The 5-man secondary aligns in a cover-1 with the other four players matched up man-to-man on the receivers.  The best players in this group are Newell and Scales.

Go Tigers!

Scrimmage Report – Massillon vs. Cincinnati Moeller

Scrimmage Report – Massillon vs. Cincinnati Moeller

Two of the better teams in Ohio hooked up at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on this hot Thursday summer day in a final scrimmage before the regular season gets underway next week.  Massillon is always in the mix of the Division II state title chase, whereas Cincinnati Moeller has been tabbed this year as the team to take the crown in Division I.  As expected, it was a physical encounter on a field that was loaded with outstanding athletes on both sides of the ball.  The first units faced each other in game-like conditions for one half of football plus a  second-half possession, with the Tigers coming out on top, 21-14.

Moeller is currently rated 71^st in the country by hsratings.com (formerly calpreps.com) and is led by all-everything quarterback Matt Ponatoski, who is ranked No. 18 in America.  In their first two possessions the Crusaders certainly resembled the team that they are expected to become, while taking an early 14-0 lead on drives of 65 and 74 yards.  Ponatoski was hot in the two possessions, completing 5 of 6 passes for 96 yards, including a 12-yard scoring toss.  And the running game was on track as well, covering 48 yards in just eight plays.

But after that the Tigers themselves started looking like the team they will eventually become.  First, the defense began to find itself, after spending those first two series searching for the right defensive linemen.  Eventually, they settled on a group of players that included, at least for this scrimmage, Logan Allman, who began play at middle linebacker.  Massillon then held Moeller in their subsequent four possessions to just 8 carries for 22 yards on the ground.

Meanwhile, the offense, which struggled to move the ball in its first two possessions, righted the ship behind quarterback Mandwel Patterson.  If Ponatoski was hot, then Mandwel Patterson was even hotter.  He ended up completing 9 of 13 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, while showing tremendous athleticism when the need arose to escape the pocket and throw on the run.

After Moeller took the 14-0 lead, Massillon drove 65 yards in four plays, with the big one a 69-yard pass to Gio Jackson.  Jackson was well covered, but Patterson delivered the ball right into his outstretched hands.  Jackson secured the ball around the 30 and was just a step better than the defender from there to the end zone.

Following an exchange of punts and a stop of the Crusaders at the 20, the Tigers were on the march again.  This time it took nine plays to cover 80 yards, with Savior Owens powering up the middle of line to score from the four.  During the drive Patterson completed a 34-yard pass to Jackson, with the remaining plays of the short run/pass variety.  The score was now tied at 14 apiece, with the half coming to an end two minutes later.

Massillon opened the second half needing just two plays to score.  After Owens picked up six yards, he next burst through the right side of the line and used his speed to outrace the Moeller secondary and finish a 59-yard scoring run.

Moeller did come right back by moving the ball to the Tiger four.  However, a crucial sack, the sixth of the afternoon, forced them into a field goal attempt, with the kick being missed wide right.   So, the final score for the first units was 21-14 in favor of Massillon.

The Tigers continue to show great potential in the run game, particularly in this one by Savior Owens, with the line starters appearing to be settled as well.  The passing game also showed its wares behind Patterson, along with a host of athletic receivers.  The defense struggled early, particularly against perimeter runs, but improved when the personnel issues were sorted out.  But there were some coverage issues in the secondary that will need to be worked on.  Nevertheless, it was a good outing against what will be a great team down the road.

Final statistics for the first units:

• Massillon vs. Moeller
• First downs: 10-9
• Rushing attempts: 16-20
• Rushing yards: 91-70
• Yards per carry: 5.7-3.5
• Pass completions: 9-8
• Pass attempts: 13-14
• Pass yards: 174-155
• yards per catch: 19.3-19.4
• Total plays: 29-34
• Total yards: 265-225
• Yards per play: 9.1-6.6
• Penalties: 6-2
• Penalty yards: 45-10
• Punts: 2-2
• Sacks by: 6-2

Following the first unit play the backups finished the remainder of the four quarter event.  Each team scored one touchdown.  For Massillon, quarterback Rasmus Haines hit Joe Pierce in double coverage on a long catch-and-run touchdown pass as time expired.

Tigers will open the 2025 season with a home match with Cleveland Glenville.  The Crusaders will host Cincinnati Princeton.

Photos by Rob Engelhardt

Scrimmage Preview: Massillon vs. Cincinnati Moeller

Scrimmage Preview: Massillon vs. Cincinnati Moeller

Massillon will entertain Cincinnati Moeller this Thursday at 2:00 pm for the second of two scrimmages as they continue preparation for the 2025 football season. The Crusaders come in fresh off a Division I state finals appearance in last year’s playoffs, in which they lost to Olentangy Liberty, 28-14.

Moeller, under Head Coach Gerry Faust, burst onto the Ohio high school football scene in 1975 with a 14-12 victory over Lakewood St. Edward in the state finals and enjoyed great success for several years thereafter (Eds at the time was led by Mike Currence, who incidentally left the following year for Massillon). The Crusaders went on to capture the state title six more times through 1985, up to when Cleveland St. Ignatius took over the limelight. However, Moeller did win two more titles since then, in 2012 and 2013.

But two years later the program slipped drastically, recording just one winning record in a span of six years, with a win-loss mark of just 22-36. Fortunately, they found two coaches that could right the ship in Mark Elder (2020-22) and Bert Bathiany, the current coach. Under this pair Moeller has resurged and won four consecutive regional championships through last season. Locally, Bathiany started his tenure there with a 49-31 road victory over Massillon.

The Crusaders are led by all-everything quarterback Matt Ponatoski. Last season he led his team to a 14-2 record, while losing in the state finals to Liberty. In that game he completed 16 of 30 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 34 yards. But for the season, he completed 281 of 405 passes (69%) for 4,217 yards (15.0 yds. ave.) and 57 touchdowns. He also rushed for another nine TDs. Following the season he was named both Ohio’s Division I Player of Year and Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year.

He was also a standout shortstop in baseball, batting .462, while helping his team to a 25-4 record and a spot in the regional finals. Ponatoski was named 1st Team All-Ohio and once again honored by Gatorade as the POY.

Coming into his senior year, the 6’-2”, 190 lb. Ponatoski is rated as the No. 18 quarterback in America (also the No. 16 shortstop in America). He also committed to Kentucky over Oregon, Alabama, Arkansas and Cincinnati to further his career, with opportunities to participate in both football and baseball. Of course, Moeller this year is the pre-season pick to win the Division I state title.

Also for the Crusaders, keep an eye on the following players, all of whom were named 1st Team All Greater Catholic League (GCL) last season:

• Senior running back Tyler Josleyn (5’-9”, 185)
• Senior tight end Cooper McCutchan (6’-4”, 230), a North Carolina recruit
• Senior linebacker Conner Cuozzo (6’-1”, 220)
• Senior defensive lineman Christian Harris (6’-1”, 270)
• Senior defensive back Ricky Thomas (6’-1”, 185)

Coach Bethiany was named GCL Coach of the Year.

Massillon and Moeller have met each other in scrimmage action the past two years in very competitive matches, with both played in Cincinnati. In 2023 the Tigers, during their championship run, came out on top 21-7. And last year they bested the Crusaders in a close one, 10-7. This should be another interesting matchup and maybe a pretty good show as well.

Scrimmage Report: Massillon vs. Avon

Scrimmage Report: Massillon vs. Avon

Scrimmage No. 1 is in the books.  Over the past several years Massillon and Avon have met in the first scrimmage to gauge the progress of the teams following just a few days of contact practice.  While the Eagles have the distinction of being the defending Division II champions, with the Tigers having captured the crown the previous year, both are shells of themselves at this point.  But it certainly won’t stay that way as each is expected to challenge for the state title this year.

Throughout the contest the two teams had success with what they do best.  For Massillon this year it is the ground game, behind two stellar running backs in junior returnee Savior Owens and senior newcomer Anthony McMullen Jr.  Owens runs like his older brother Da’One and McMullen appears to emulate the skills of Dorian Pringle, both of whom were major contributors on the 2023 championship team.

The passing game, however, is a far cry at this point from what will be needed against formidable opponents, while Coach Nate Moore searches for his starting quarterback from the group of senior Eli Moore, junior Mandwel Patterson and sophomore Rasmus Haines.  But it wasn’t necessarily a good venue for the competition in that Avon blitzed on nearly every play, while the Tigers never game plan for a scrimmage.  With the blitz the QBs just didn’t have a lot of time to set up and throw.  On a positive note, each QB showed that they can run effectively with the ball.

But all of that should be tempered with the facts that Massillon didn’t run any RPOs, didn’t throw any deep balls, ran a basic defense and substituted liberally.  It was more about finding the right player fits and evaluating the individual play execution than finding the right score.

Meanwhile, Avon, of course, throws the ball.  And they do it fairly well.  In fact, it’s the bread and butter of their offense.  But the orange and black held their own for the most part.

The first session of the scrimmage involved 10-play series, with no extra plays inside the red zone.  In essence, run ten plays and then get off the field.  Each team had two tries.

Avon went first and advanced the ball from their own 35 to the Massillon 20, aided by at least thirty yards in penalties.  It appeared that the Tigers were just a bit overanxious to get to it early on;. it was much better as the event went on.  From there the Eagles converted 37-yard field goal.

The Massillon offense then took its turn, with Patterson at quarterback, but gained just three yards and punted.  On the start-over they advanced to the Avon 47 before running out of plays.  Quarterbacking was shared by Haines and Moore.

Avon scored on their second try on a 22-yard run, only it was against the Tiger backups.  With a few plays remaining, they moved to the Massillon 33 and missed on a 50-yard field goal attempt.

Patterson started at QB on the second series and was replaced by Haines midway through the drive.  The run game really kicked into gear in this one, displaying good speed and physicality.  With a pass or two sprinkled in, the Tigers moved the ball from their own 35 to the Avon 20, before Haines rifled a pass to Deontay Malone at the seven.  Malone snagged the ball and then scored after first eluding a potential tackler with a nifty fake.

In the second session, each team started at the opponent’s 25 and had just five plays to see what they could do.  Two series apiece.

Avon in series one scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass to a well-covered receiver, who simply made a great catch.  With a play remaining, a 15-yard pass was intercepted by a diving Braylon Gamble.

Massillon in series one, with Patterson at QB, went immediately to the air.  Only, the pass was just over the hands Gio Jackson, who had beaten his cover guy and was sprinting across the middle of the end zone.  Subsequently, a 22-yard field goal attempt was wide.

Avon scored in series two on a 3-yard run against several Massillon defensive backups.  With a play remaining, they missed on a 42-yard field goal attempt.

Moore was in at quarterback for series two.  He did complete a 25-yard touchdown pass while sprinting to the sideline, but the referee blew the whistle to stop the play while the ball was in the air, since he judged that the QB had timed out.  And, although the Tigers then moved the ball inside the ten, a 15-yard penalty took away the favorable field position.  At the end, a 32-yard field goal was missed.

The best takeaway from the scrimmage was the speed and power of the Tiger run game.  But as far as a starting quarterback goes, we will need to wait for the coach to make the call.  None really stood out on this day.  Defensively, the talent is certainly there.  And don’t expect the Tigers to use a “basic defense” once the regular season begins.  Special teams will need some work.  Short snaps were inconsistent, which affected the kickers greatly.  Punt snaps were a bit slow.  And punts were variable.  Kickoffs were OK.

The JV teams ran three 10-play series each, but neither scored, although they each moved the ball fairly well at times.

Massillon will take the field next against Cincinnati Moeller in a home scrimmage scheduled for next Thursday at 2:00 pm.

Antonio James Inducted into Massillon Tiger Football Hall of…

Antonio James Inducted into Massillon Tiger Football Hall of Fame

Antonio James, from the Class of 2006, played on the defensive line for three years under Head Coaches Rick Shepas and Tom Stacy.  As a team captain during his senior year the team finished with a record of 13-2, with James recording 43.5 tackle points, 11 tackles-for-loss, 6.5 quarterback sacks, 5 pass breakups and forced 3 fumbles, all good enough to be named 1^st Team All-Ohio.  In the playoffs the Tigers defeated Canton McKinley in the regional finals and Lakewood St. Edward in the state semifinals, only to lose to Cincinnati St. Xavier in the finals the following week.

Following Massillon James played four years at the University of Illinois, seeing action in 46 games as a defensive lineman, where he posted 20 solos, 20 assists, 40 total tackles and 2.5 sacks.  Then it was off to the coaching ranks, with the following stops:

• Urbana High School (2011-13): defensive line and outside linebackers
• University of Michigan, graduate assistant (2014-16): defensive line
• Morgan State (2018-21): defensive coordinator and co-special teams coordinator
• Southern Illinois (2022): defensive line coach, 2022
• Southern Illinois (2023-24): assistant head coach and defensive coordinator
• University of Illinois (current): assistant defensive line coach

In 2017 James was named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Under 30 Coaches’ Leadership Institute.

Congratulations to Antonio James.