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Booster Club Report – Week 12

Massillon advanced to the Playoff Regional Finals for the third consecutive year with a resounding 35-7 victory over Massillon Perry.  All of the points were scored in the first half and the coaches seemed intent on just getting it over with the remainder of the way.  It was win No. 897 in the undefeated Tigers’ long history of football.  Next up is 2-time defending Division 2 State Champion Akron Hoban, a 42-21 winner over the Tigers last year in the State Finals.  With the playoff regions realigned this year, Massillon has been moved into Hoban’s region.  Thus the earlier than hoped for rematch.

The Booster Club is sponsoring a bus to the Hoban game, which will leave at 4:30 pm from the K-Mart parking lot.  The cost is $20.00.  No food or beverage will be provided.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Furniture.

The guest players at the Booster Club meeting spoke briefly about their preparation for Akron Hoban.  “We have a great game plan going into this week,” said quarterback Aidan Longwell.  “We’re going to take what they give us.”  “We’re putting last year behind us,” added offensive lineman Cole Jones.  “We’re just focusing on the game this year.”  Both of these fine players were recently named 1st Team on the All-Northeast Inland District Team and WHBC All-County.  In addition, Longwell was honored as the Northeast Inland District Offensive Player of the Year.

Regarding the win over Perry, Head Coach Nate Moore really liked the play of the defense in holding the Panthers to just 208 rushing yards and 261 yards overall.  This coming against a team that has been averaging 368 rushing yards and 411 total yards per game.  “Our defense had just an outstanding game,” he said.  “They played really well.”  In fact, neither of Perry’s two featured running backs eclipsed the 100-yard mark and it was the Panther’s lowest rushing total of the year.  Moore once again singled out the play of defensive lineman Manny McElroy (2nd Team All-Northeast Inland District) and added linebacker Noah Richards to the list of players receiving accolades.  “Richards had his best game of the year,” he said.  Luke Murphy (Kent State commit) was a force from his safety position, leading the group with nine solo tackles and eight assists, as he was instrumental in managing Perry’s jet sweeps.

The offense also had a stellar night, scoring a touchdown on each of its first five possessions, all coming in the first half.  With Perry intent on stopping the run, the Tigers went to the air early and often.  In that first half, quarterback Aidan Longwell (Kent State baseball commit) completed 14 of 15 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns, three going to Andrew Wilson-Lamp and the other two targeting Jayden Ballard (Ohio State commit).  For the night, Longwell threw for 337 yards.  Ballard had ten catches and Lamp had eight.

Akron Hoban enters this week’s game with a record of 11-1, following last Friday’s 21-17 comeback win over previously undefeated Mayfield, a team that defeated Massillon Jackson 26-10 early in the season.  Their schedule is as follows.

Akron Hoban’s schedule:

• Harrisburg, PA (D1) (7-3) D1: 42-12
• Yng. Cardinal Mooney (D4) (4-6): 49-0
• Clev. St. Ignatius (D1) (5-5): 41-42 L
• West Toronto Prep, ON (D3) (0-9): 49-13
• Akron St. Vincent (D3) (8-3): 30-0
• Clev. Benedictine (D2) (10-2): 42-10
• Mentor Lake Catholic (D4) (4-6): 49-6
• Parma Padua (D2) (5-5): 44-6
• Walsh Jesuit (D2) (1-9): 42-21
• Clev. Cathedral Latin (D3) (3-7): 38-13
• Alliance (D2) (7-4): 69-6 (P.O.)
• Mayfield (D2) (11-1): 21-17 (P.O.)

“This is the best team we have seen all year,” remarked Moore.  “But they’ve suffered some injuries over the course of the season.”  All along, the key for the Knights has been Deamonte Trayanum, who the coach calls the best player in the State of Ohio.  The senior running back / defensive back goes 6′-0″, 230 lbs. and has been offered by Arizona State.  “He’s really, really good,” he said.  “As good as anybody you will ever see.  But he’s dealing with an injury.”  That injury may severely limit his time on the field and, according to Hoban’s coach, may not fully heal until winter.  If Trayanum can’t go, he will be replaced by 6’0″, 200 lb. junior Victor Dawson (2nd Team All-Northeast Inland District).  Moore says Dawson is a very good player with very good speed.

Definitely out of this week’s game is tight end Caiden Clark, who caught a 28-yard touchdown pass against Massillon last year.  Clark, a former Tiger and brother of Danny Clark, suffered a season-ending injury in the middle of the year.  This will be a big miss for the Knights since Clark is considered one of their best blockers on the offensive line.  However, Moore says that line is still “very good.”  The right tackle is Walter Ganous, a 6′-3″, 340 lb. senior with an offer from the University of Akron.  He is the only returning starter on the line.  The left tackle is a transfer from Wooster.  Senior Jacob Burns goes 6′-2″, 295.  The other three linemen consists of two sophomore guards (both returning from injuries) and a junior at center.  Overall, the line averages 6′-2″, 290 lbs., about the size of Massillon’s line.  They are very physical and will present some challenges.

Ernest Witcher, who lines up at either fullback or tight end is a 6′-4″, 255 lb. senior.  “He’s a pretty good player,” said Moore.  “Well above average.”  Canton GlenOak transfer Brayden Fox, a 6′-3″, 205 lb. junior, leads the receiving corp. and is the favored target for quarterback Shane Hamm (1st Team All-Northeast Inland District).  A 5′-11″ 190 lb. junior, Hamm returns at starter, where last year against Massillon he completed 4 of 9 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.  He also ran 9 times for 67 yards and two TDs.  Without Trayanum, Moore considers Hamm the best player on the field for Hoban.  Per Moore, he is a really good player with good touch on the deep ball.  And also runs pretty well.  A very confident kid.

Hoban, with a run-first mentality, will utilize a lot of different formations and will often pull the center to lead the blocking.

Defensively, the front-7 overshadows the defensive backfield and has exceptional talent at linebacker.  The defensive line is very good and is led by tackle Darryl Peterson, a 6′-3″ 235 lb. junior, who has an offer from Wisconsin.  The even-front line averages 6′-0″, 229 lbs.  But the key to stopping the run rests with two returning starters at linebacker in Devin Hightower and Damon Ollison.  Hightower, a senior, is 6′-2, 225 lbs. and has an offer from Michigan State.  Ollison, a junior, is 6′-0″, 215 lbs. and has an offer from Michigan.  Moore calls it “the best linebacker corp. in the state.”

The defensive backfield will be hurt tremendously with the loss of Trayanum and may be an area the Tigers can exploit.

The defense normally aligns in a base formation and will use an occasional blitz.

Moore believes Massillon will have a distinct advantage in special teams.  Although Hoban’s coverages are good, the specialists are a bit lacking, especially since the starting kicker appears to be injured.

Hoban will start five seniors, four juniors and two sophomores on offense and four seniors, six juniors and a freshman on defense.  They return four starters from last year on offense and six on defense.

Go Tigers.

Quarterback Aidan Longwell Chooses Baseball for the Next Level

In spite of having offers to play football for nine different Division 1 colleges, in the end it was baseball that ultimately won out.  Thus Massillon’s star quarterback Aidan Longwell made November 12 a memorable day for himself and his family as he announced his decision at a WHS press conference that he would be attending Kent State University next year to play baseball.  As quoted in the Independent, “This is always where I’ve had my heart set,” said Longwell.  “I’ve enjoyed playing baseball. I’ve loved it my whole life. I love football, too, but I just see my future better in baseball.”

Aidan will enter his fourth season next spring as a starter for the Tiger baseball team, where he plays pitcher and outfield.  He was injured in the final tournament game of his sophomore year when reaching for first base on a head-first slide and that curtailed much of his junior year.  But he is now fully healed and will be ready to go for his final season.

Most Massillon fans know Longwell from his exploits on the football field, where the 3-year starting quarterback has led the Tigers to 35-6 record, including a Division II regional championship in 2017 and a D2 State Finals appearance the following year.  He is also 3-0 as a starter against Canton McKinley.  This year Massillon is 11-0 and hopes to return to the state finals to take care of unfinished business.

From an initial appearance in a varsity game as a freshman until now, Aidan has completed 440 of 710 passes (61%) for 6,952 yards and 75 touchdowns.  All except total attempts are all-time Massillon records.  He also owns the record jointly with wide receiver Jayden Ballard for the longest touchdown pass of 95 yards, which occurred during a 49-7 victory over Monroeville Gateway, Pennsylvania.  In addition, he holds single game marks against Youngstown Ursuline for both yards per attempt (19.1) and pass efficiency (322).

In that Ursuline game while just a sophomore, Longwell completed 11 of 17 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns.  He also threw for four touchdowns each against Austintown Fitch and Wadsworth in 2018 and this year against Penn-Trafford, Pennsylvania.  In a 44-14 victory over Akron St. Vincent in the season opener, Aidan connected on 20 of 23 passes for 322 yards.

Congratulations to Aidan Longwell on his verbal commitment to Kent State.

Previously this year, two other Tiger players also made verbal commitments, to play football.  Jayden Ballard will attend Ohio State University and Luke Murphy selected Kent State University.  Ballard is Massillon’s leading receiver this year with 50 catches for 903 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Murphy is the leading tackler with 26 solos and 32 assists.  He also has a pair of pass interceptions.

All three athletes were named this week to the WHBC All-County Football Team.

Booster Club Report – Week 11

Round 1 of the playoffs goes to the Tigers as they posted a convincing 55-0 victory over Warren Harding.  It’s the second time this year that Massillon defeated the Raiders, the first during the regular season, 49-7.  The Tigers are now 11-0 for the second consecutive year and have won 896 games all-time.  Next up is Massillon Perry.

The Booster Club is sponsoring a bus to the Perry game, which will leave at 4:30 pm from the K-Mart parking lot.  The cost is $20.00.  No food or beverage will be provided.  Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Furniture.

Senior Linebacker Ben Krichbaum was the guest player.  “Defensively, we have a big challenge ahead of us,” said Krichbaum in addressing the Perry game.  “We had a good practice today and we’ll be ready.”

Head Coach Nate Moore was very pleased with the outcome last Friday and had special praise for defensive lineman Manny McElroy.  “We played pretty well defensively,” he said.  “Our guys played really well up front.  Manny is a force on the inside.  He doesn’t show up stat-wise, but he really makes our defense go.  He is a really good player.  He’s so big and powerful.  Incredibly strong.”

Massillon pretty much had its way in this one, with the game going to a running clock for most of the second half.  Terrance Keyes once again came up big, rushing 12 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns.  Defensively, the Tigers held Warren to just three total rushing yards off of 35 carries.  Overall, the Raiders totaled just 104 yards of offense and never penetrated the Massillon 35 yardline.

This week’s game will mark the 18th meeting of Massillon and Perry, with the locals leading the series with 15 wins against two losses.  One of the losses came in the playoffs in 1999, while the Tigers own two playoff wins against the Panthers, in 2002 and 2006.  The last time the two teams met was in the 2015 season opener, with the Tigers prevailing 41-37. Perry would go on to lose that year to Cincinnati LaSalle in the Division II State Finals.  “It worked out like we wanted,” said Moore, referring to the match with Perry.

Offensively, Perry utilizes almost exclusively a variation of the Wing-T, but with two wingbacks and one split end.  The jet sweep sets up the plays.  Look for lots of fullback dives and buck sweeps.  The primary running backs are Joshua Lemon, a 5′-10″, 180 lb. junior, and Dion Cundiff, a 6′-1″, 240 lb. senior.  Lemon has rushed 141 times for 1,350 yards (9.6 yds/att.) and Cundiff has rushed 194 times for 1,457 yards (7.5 yds/att.).  The pair take advantage of an offensive line that has three good sized players in Vinny Sciury, a 6′-4″, 290 lb. senior tackle, Max Millin, a 5′-11″, 275 lb. senior guard, and Adam Luster, a 6′-0″, 260 lb. senior tackle.

The quarterback is 5′-9″, 165 lb. Hayden Vinas, a junior.  He engineers the offense well and even runs some.  However, there is very little passing involved.  In fact, Perry this year has thrown just 42 times in eleven games and completed just under half of them.  Sometimes passes are thrown from play-action and other times the QB is in the shotgun.  The most passes they threw in any one game was nine against Jackson in a losing effort.  In that one they only completed three.

Defensively, expect to see the Panthers in an even front, with Sciury and Millon also playing on the defensive line.  Throughout the year they have gone with four linebackers and a cover-3, but this may not work well against the Tigers explosive passing game.  So they might switch to three linebackers with cover-4 to stop the deep pass like most teams the Tigers have faced this year.  Or they may to stay traditional and try to stop the run, something they’ve had good success with against average opponents.  They will bring some pressure on third down, but they’re not considered a big pressure team.

Coach Moore thought Massillon would have an edge on special teams, in spite of them having a good punter.

Go Tigers.

Tiger Players Dominate WHBC All-County Team

When a team completes the regular season undefeated and is considered an odds-on favorite to compete for the Division II State Title for the second straight year, it’s no wonder that eleven players are recognized by the head coaches of Stark County for outstanding performance.  This year’s honorees include six offensive players (quarterback Aidan Longwell, offensive lineman Cole Jones, wide receivers Jayden Ballard and Andrew-Lamp and running backs Terrance Keyes and Zion Phifer), four defensive players (lineman Manny McElroy, linebacker Preston Hodges and safeties Luke Murphy and Robbie Page) and one special teams player (kicker Alex Bauer).

Aidan Longwell – Quarterback.  Longwell, a repeat county all-star, is a 3-year starter that has set  Tiger all-time career records for yards passing, pass completions and touchdowns.  He also connected with Jayden Ballard for the longest ever touchdown pass, good for 95 yards.  To date this year, he has completed 113 of 171 passes for 1,851 yards and 21 touchdowns, with just 5 interceptions.  Aidan will attend Kent State University next year on a baseball scholarship.

Cole Jones – Offensive Lineman.  Jones, a 6′-3″, 305 lb. senior center, anchors a tremendous offensive line that has been instrumental in opening holes for the running backs and protecting the quarterback.  Through eleven games, the Tigers are averaging of 46 points and 395 yards per game, with just four quarterback sacks.  Expect Cole to play at the next level.

Jayden Ballard – Wide Receiver.  Ballard, a repeat county all-star, has 50 catches for 903 yards and 15 touchdowns.  The speedy junior caught a season-high nine passes against Canton McKinley and his high yardage game was 145 vs. Gateway, PA.  Jayden has verbally committed to play for Ohio State.

Andrew Wilson-Lamp – Wide Receiver.  Lamp has 38 catches for 674 yards and six touchdowns.  The junior receiver burst onto the scene in the opening game against Akron St. Vincent when he caught 11 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown.  The effort set a new Tiger single-game record for receiving yards.  Andrew has received offers to play at the next level from several Power-5 schools.

Terrance Keyes – Running Back.  The senior Keyes has become an explosive force this year in the Tiger backfield and is a major reason why the offense has racked up over 200 yards rushing per game.  To-date Terrance has rushed 194 times for 1,465 yards (7.6 yds./att.) and 23 touchdowns.  Six times he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark.

Manny McElroy – Defensive Lineman.  McElroy, a 5′-11″, 330 lb. senior, plays like a bull in a China shop, reeking havoc against opposing offenses.  Often double-teamed on account of his tremendous size and strength, Manny is skilled at bursting through the blocks to completely clog up the middle of the line.  He is part of a stout front-7 that has held opponents to just 2.5 yards per carry, the best mark since the spread offense came into vogue in the late 1990s.

Preston Hodges – Outside Linebacker.  Hodges, a senior, has a duel role in defending both the run and the pass and has done a stellar job throughout the season.  Currently, he has 23 solo tackles and 38 assists and is ranked 2nd on the team in tackle points.  Preston has also intercepted a team-high four passes and returned one for a touchdown.

Luke Murphy – Safety.  Murphy is the leading tackler on the team with 29 solo tackles and 33 assists, to go along with a pass interception and a blocked punt.  He has been instrumental in bottling up opposing running backs on sweep attempts.  Murphy will attend Kent Sate University next year on a football scholarship.

Robbie Page – Safety.  Page is also among the leaders defensively with 22 solo tackles and 9 assists to go along with two interceptions.  Woe is the receiver that catches the ball in his zone, because a big hit is on the way.

Alex Bauer – Kicker.  Bauer, a junior, had a another great season as the Tiger kicker.  This year he converted 60 of 62 extra point\ triess and 4 of 6 field goal attempts.  Alex is on pace to set many season and career Tiger kicking records by the time he graduates.

Zion Phifer – Most Valuable Player.  Phifer, who filled in admirably last year when running back Jamir Thomas missed the final game and a half, has committed himself to doing anything the coach wanted to help his team to victory.  Whether it be at running back, fullback or linebacker, Zion has given it his all.  This year he has rushed 55 times for 254 yards and scored eight touchdowns.  He also caught five passes for 84 yards.

Congratulations to all these fine Tiger players.

Booster Club Report – Week 10

Massillon extended its regular season winning streak to 21 with a 24-14 victory over previously once-beaten Canton McKinley.  The current streak now ranks 4th all-time, tied with a mark fashioned by Paul Brown in 1935-37.  After Brown’s streak was broken by New Castle, PA, in a 7-0 loss, Brown in combination with successor Bud Houghton went on to win the next 38 games, which stands as the current record.

The win in Massillon-McKinley Game No. 130, which was also all-time Tiger win No. 895, pushed the series to 72 wins, 53 losses and 5 ties, in favor of the Tigers.  Massillon has now won four straight games and 8 of the last 9.  The Tigers also fashioned back-to-back undefeated seasons for the first time since 1965, under legendary coach Earl Bruce.

Massillon, in competition with the City of Canton, won the Stark County Hunger Task Force Food Drive for the second year in a row.  Massillon collected 49,267 pounds of food to Canton’s 36,563.  Thanks to everyone who contributed.

The entire varsity football team was on hand to greet the Booster Club members upon arrival at the weekly meeting.  Following a post-practice pizza party, the players continued celebrating the achievement of a 3.37 first quarter grade point average, this time with the Booster Club.  “We have a damn good football team,” beamed Head Coach Nate Moore.  “And we’re proud of that.  But we also have great student athletes.”

Moore then turned his attention to the victory over McKinley.  “I’m proud of our kids,” he said.  “It was a hard fought win.  I thought our defense played really well.  They were a really good football team.  They were big.  We had great pursuit all day.”

Several big efforts keyed the win, including:

• The Tigers had a balanced offensive attack, with 192 yards rushing and 206 yards passing.
• Running backs Terrance Keyes and Zion Phifer combined for 187 rushing yards.
• On a 3rd quarter play, Center Cole Jones completely destroyed the Bulldog nose tackle, springing Keyes through the middle of the line for a 63-yard score.
• Quarterback Aidan Longwell completed 17 of 26 passes and hit two touchdowns, including a game-breaking 79-yarder to Jayden Ballard at the end.
• Massillon never punted.
• Kicker Alex Bauer battled a swirling wind and booted a 35-yard field goal, which was instrumental in putting Massillon in position to win at the end.
• Kicker Magnus Haines placed three of five kickoffs in the end zone.  The other two McKinley drives following kickoffs started inside the 20.
• McKinley’s average starting field position on all possessions was the 22 yard line.
• The Tigers gave up just three long plays all day against an offense that was averaging nearly nine yard a play during the season.
• McKinley converted just 3 of 11 3rd down attempts, whereas the Tigers converted 6 of 11.
• The Bulldogs’ quarterback, a dangerous runner with a 9+ yards per carry average was held to just 20 yards on 11 carries.
• Caiden Woullard and Robbie Page each recorded seven tackle points.  Woullard also had three tackles for loss and a quarterback sack.
• Andrew Wilson-Lamp broke up a late-game, 4th down pass in the end zone to keep McKinley from regaining the lead.

Regarding that Lamp pass breakup, McKinley faced a 4th and 4 at the Massillon 17 yard line.  They lined up with a tight end on the right and a pair of receivers on the left and upon the snap all three headed for the end zone.  Although the wide receiver was covered up by Lamp, the slot receiver was open due to the Tiger safety stumbling and the tight end was uncovered on the right.  From the sidelines it looked extremely dire, according to Moore.  For if the pass was caught the Tigers would need to score with little time remaining in order to pull out the victory.  The Bulldog quarterback locked onto the open slot receiver and it looked like a sure touchdown.  But Lamp reacted immediately, leaving his man and racing to the ball, tipping it away from the receiver just at it reached his hands, thereby saving the day.  It was surely the play of the game.  “It has to be one of the most legendary plays in the series,” said Moore afterwards.

Prior to the long TD pass to Ballard at the end, Moore called time out to discuss the play with his coaches.  “There were not a lot of good options,” he stated, feeling that the odds were against picking up a first down.  “Why not take a shot,” he decided, prodded by quarterback coach Jarrett Troxler.  “It’s a really good call based on personnel matchups.  It wasn’t an oddball call.”  And Longwell put it right on the money.  With a half step on the defender, Ballard finger-caught the ball, avoided a stumble and ran the final 30 yards untouched for a touchdown, to the delight of over 6,000 Tiger fans.

This Friday marks the beginning of the 5-week state playoffs.  In a first-round matchup, Region 5, No. 1 seed Massillon will host No. 8 seed Warren Harding in a 7:00 pm start.  The Warriors lost to the Tigers in Week 3 of the regular season 49-7 and hope to turn it around in this second meeting.  In that first encounter, the Tigers overcame a sluggish start to open a 28-7 halftime lead and were comfortably ahead 42-7 at the end of three.  Massillon rolled up 420 yards of offense to Harding’s 164 by game’s end.  The Tigers led in first downs 19-7.  Terrance Keyes rushed for 98 yards and scored once, while Aidan Longwell hit 15 of 20 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.  Warren’s only bright spot was 13 of 28 passing for 94 yards, including a 35-pass TD pass in the first quarter to lead 7-0.

“No one player stands out,” said Moore.  “But they have good players.”  Their base defense is 3-3, with some even.  But they struggle against good teams in this area.  As a result, Warren’s coach has shifted some players around since that earlier game.  The strong-side linebacker has been moved to nose tackle, replaced by the middle linebacker, who was replaced by a defensive lineman.  They are good on special teams, with a fine punter and kicker.  But watch for some crazy stuff on kickoffs.

Warren has a 7-3 record with losses to Canton McKinley (32-27), Massillon (49-7) and Akron St. Vincent (42-37).  They have yet to beat a team with a winning record, but came out on top against 5-5 Austintown Fitch (10-7).

Go Tigers.