History Challenging Openers Nothing New for Nate Moore’s Tigers
Throughout many previous decades, as far back as perhaps Paul Brown, Massillon coaches have traditionally scheduled soft-to-moderate opening game opponents in order to give each squad the best chance of starting the season on a winning note. But that appears not to be the case for current head coach Nate Moore. He prefers, instead, the challenge brought on by facing a top-level foe. And in each of his first five openers while at Massillon he has had fans on the edges of their seats hoping that the Tigers would come out victorious, knowing that the opponent was daunting.
This year is no exception. On August 29, barring modifications to the season on account of the virus, Massillon will open up at Canton’s Tom Benson Stadium as part of a 6-game Nike classic against Bishop Gorman, a national power from Las Vegas, Nevada. This should be a good matchup, but expect Massillon to be ready for the task ahead. Coach Moore, having gained much insight over the past five years in approaching difficult openers, should know how to prepare for this one.
Moore has compiled a 50-15 overall record during his 5-year tenure at Massillon (28-2 over the last two seasons), including an 11-4 playoff mark in four appearances. Currently, the Tigers have a 21-game regular season winning streak and have in each of the past two years advanced all the way to the Division 2 state finals game, although losing to Akron Hoban in 2018 and Cincinnati LaSalle in 2019. In both of those years, Massillon was nationally ranked in the Top 50. The Tigers are also ranked 5th in the nation with 899 historical victories, dating back to 1891.
When Mike Currence became the head coach in 1976, he inherited an opening game against Middletown, a team from southwest Ohio that was a state power at the time. Regrettably, he was In the midst of replacing the previous Wing-T offense with a run-and-shoot offense, a scheme that was very alien to previous Massillon players. It proved to be a difficult progression and Currence’s team failed to score in a one-touchdown loss to the Middles. Although they held Middletown to just 121 yards of offense, they gained just a mere 74 themselves. The following year, with the run-and-shoot firmly entrenched, it was off to the Akron Rubber Bowl to face Barberton. The Tigers had high hopes that year, especially after rolling over a formidable Warren Western Reserve team in a game-condition scrimmage the previous week. But in front of nearly 16,000 fans, Barberton’s running back Larry Ricks (Michigan) had other ideas and he led his team to a 9-7 upset victory. It should be noted that in both of those years, when only one team qualified in each region, Massillon failed to make the playoffs, in spite of each team finishing 8-2. To make it even more bitter, the Tigers finished that second season with a 21-0 victory over playoff state-finalist Canton McKinley.
So for the next 37 years coaches scaled it back and, for the most part, steered clear of top-level competition for Game 1. Thirteen times Massillon faced a team from the Akron City Series. Eight times they played Massillon Perry, including six in a row from 1978 to 1983. They also had games against Alliance, Dover and Westerville South. As a result, it wasn’t surprising that the Tigers compiled a record of 34-3 in those openers. Two of the losses were to Buchtel and a third was to Clovis West, California (a rare tough opener).
But it’s obvious that Nate Moore has another mindset. With eight teams per region making the playoffs these days, the odds are much better if the opening game is not won. And although Nate enjoys the challenge, it’s also a good opportunity for his team’s weaknesses to be exposed before they get too far into the season. Plus, the incentive to gear the pre-season around a challenging opponent, the experience of playing in big game early and an opportunity to play four quarters of football with the first unit on the field can all pay dividends down the road. In 2015, in his very first game as a Massillon coach, the opener was Perry, a team stocked with two great running backs in Keishaun Sims and Tevian Cleveland. The Tigers started out strong and then, after falling behind, scored late in the game to secure a 41-37 victory, in spite of Sims and Cleveland combining for 435 yards of offense and four touchdowns. Perry went on to finish with a record of 12-3, losing to Cincinnati LaSalle in the Division 2 State Finals.
The next year it was Division 1 power Mentor, which sported a record of 56-11 over the previous five years (10-4 in the Division 1 playoffs). Massillon opened with them in 2016 and 2017, but dropped both by one-sided scores. However, it did show the program just how far it needed to go if the Tigers hoped to return to past glory.
For the past two years, Moore started off with Akron St. Vincent, a recurring opponent Massillon had faced during each of the previous six years. But those six had not gone well, with the Tigers winning just two. During that span, the Irish compiled a record of 67-16, including a 19-4 playoff mark and a pair of Division 3 state titles. They also had a great running back returning in Terrance Keyes, who rushed 198 yards against the Tigers in 2016. But the experience gained against Mentor finally had paid off and the Tigers walked away in the first one with a 35-7 victory, holding Keyes to just ten yards in eleven carries. Later that year they defeated nationally-ranked East St. Louis in an offensive shootout. The next year’s result was no different and with Massillon prevailed 44-14. That season-opening experience was parlayed into a 17-14 playoff victory over 2018 Division 2 state champion Akron Hoban. To top it off, Massillon has won the last four meetings against arch-rival Canton McKinley.
Now it’s Bishop Gorman, which promises to be yet another challenging opener. Over the past 13 years Gorman has built an impressive resume: 175-15 overall record (122-13 in the regular season, 53-2 in the state playoffs); 10 state championships; 3 national championships (2014-2016); 8 times in the National Top 50. Last year, the Gaels were 11-2, losing in the 3rd round of the Nevada state playoffs, in a rare year that they did not make the state finals. They were also ranked No. 78 nationally.
Gorman will be a formidable foe for Nate Moore’s Tigers in this year’s lid-lifter. But that’s nothing new for the highly successful coach, who obviouisly relishes the challenge.
Prior to the playoffs, it was important for the large top schools to play very competitive schedules in order to receive the support of the various sportswriters who voted for the state champion. Therefore, it was difficult at that time for those schools to produce long winning streaks. They also didn’t have the benefit of additional playoff games to add wins in a particularly good year. Massillon’s longest streak throughout its 120 plus years of history is 38 games, which was fashioned from 1937 to 1941. During that span the Tigers captured the state championship each year and also added a pair of national championships. In the 7th game of the 1937 season, Paul Brown’s Tigers were defeated by New Castle, Pennsylvania 7-0. It was their only loss that year. The following week they defeated Youngstown Chaney 28-6 and they didn’t stumble again until Game 5 of the 1941 season when, under coach Bud Houghton, the Tigers were tied by Mansfield 6-6. During the streak, the average game score was an impressive 39-3.
That brings us to the current streak of 21, which also matches Paul Brown’s second longest. Coach Nate Moore has been at the helm throughout, finishing 7-3 in 2017 and 10-0 in both 2018 and 2019, not counting his 8-2 playoff mark during those two years. The average score of the games throughout the streak was 45-18. It began following a 13-10 loss in Game 9 to Division 3 state semifinalist Akron St. Vincent. The first win was over Canton McKinley (8-3) 16-15. In 2018 Massillon went 10-0 and defeated Warren Harding (8-3) 51-21, Austintown Fitch (8-3) 42-14, East St. Louis, Illinois (9-3) 46-40 and Canton McKinley (9-3) 24-17. Then last year they again finished 10-0, downing Akron St. Vincent (8-3) 44-14, Harrison City Penn-Trafford, PA (11-2) 42-21, Monroeville Gateway, PA (12-3) 48-12 and Canton McKinley (9-3) 24-14. The Tigers have a chance to improve their ranking this year and, if they are fortunate enough to run the table, they will move into second place.
That ‘something’ caught big and Sparma went on to become a 3-sport athlete at Massillon, lettering multiple times in football, basketball and baseball.
Joe Sparma crosses the plate after hitting his only home run at Ohio State, in 1962 as a sophomore
Joe Sparma is in Row 4, 4th from the left
Joe Sparma with wife Connie
Horace “Big Horse” Gillom was born in Roanoke, Alabama, on March 3, 1921, but grew up in Massillon along with his two brothers, Jake and Odell, who also played for the Tigers. His football career began in junior high where he played end and punter at Longfellow under Coach Bud Houghton. Houghton immediately noticed Gillom’s proficiency at punting the football. However, although he demonstrated tremendous distance and hang time for a young player, he needed more steps than normal to get his punts off. So he simply moved Horace back an additional three yards and that gave him the room he needed.
For his career, he is ranked as the 2nd best punter in NFL history with a 43.8 average. His punts had very little chance of return on account of his tremendous distance and hang time. In fact, he punted over 400 times before one was returned for a touchdown. “Gillom had such a powerful leg and kicked the ball so far; before that punters used to line up 10, 12 yards behind the center,” running back Sherman Howard later said. “He started the 15-yard drop. And with Horace, he would kick it so high that by the time guys got down, the ball was coming down, so most guys had to fair catch.” Lebovitz, Hal (May 28, 1978). “What does the ledger show?”. Cleveland Plain Dealer. p. 2
No. 45 was called “The Man with the Flying White Shoes,” by sportswriter Chuck Hess. “We had a neighborhood with a bunch of kids who wanted to play for the Tigers,” said Hannon. “And everybody who wanted to play for the Tigers ended up playing for the Tigers. Before the games on Friday night we would always play in somebody’s yard. I was always Bill Blunt because he was my idol. He was number 45. After that Tommy James was 45. After that it was Larry Harper. And after that it was me.” – from Scott Shook’s “A Century of Heroes.”
In 1977, although he always wanted to play for the Browns, Hannon was drafted in the 3rd round (No. 83 overall) by the Minnesota Vikings. There he played safety for eight years, as a starter in all but one, and of course wore No. 45. During that span he participated in 117 games and started 103, recording 13 fumble recoveries and 15 pass interceptions, which he returned for 202 yards. One pick went for 41 yards and a score in a 34-14 victory over Chicago. His team made the playoffs in 1977, 78, 80 and 82.
Massillon senior Anthony Pedro has selected Wittenberg University to continue his education and play the sport he loves. Wittenberg participates in football at the NCAA Division 3 level and is a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The Tigers currently have the most wins of any team in Division 3, with an overall record of 727-353-22. Last year they compiled a mark of 7-3 and finished in a tie for first place in the NCAC. They are coached by Joe Fincham, who has been there for 24 years.
Robbie Page was a starting safety on Massillon’s 14-1, state runner-up team in 2019. He was fourth on the team with 58.5 tackle points (49 solos and 19 assists). He also intercepted three passes, broke up eight passes and recovered a fumble. An All-County selection, Page will be remembered as a player who challenged any opposing receiver to catch a pass over the middle.
But there is one record that always bothered me: Chuck Vliet’s 42 tackles in the 1950 game against Warren Harding. How could this be? Is that even possible? The No. 2 player on the list, Cooper Ivan, has just 14 tackle points. Fortunately, the aging Chuck is still with us to tell the story. And it’s a good one. I had a chance recently to sit down with Chuck and talk about that record, but first a little background.
