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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!

Obie Logo (Large) News

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.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 42, Penn-Trafford, PA 21

Record-setting night by Aidan Longwell helps Massillon top Penn-Trafford
Chris Easterling
Sep 20, 2019 11:00 PM

MASSILLON There was only record Aidan Longwell cared about as he walked off the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium turf on Friday night. That would be Massillon’s 4-0 record.

The Tigers, though, earned that record in part because of Longwell’s ability to set a new school career passing touchdown mark in their 42-21 victory over previously-undefeated Pennsylvania visitor Penn-Trafford.

“I think a lot of people are trying to pressure us into things this year,” the Massillon senior quarterback said. “We’re overcoming it. We’re just taking it one game at a time and we’re doing a great job of it right now.”

Longwell threw four touchdown passes in the victory, giving him 65 for his career. He broke the old mark of 63 set by Justin Zwick in 2000-01.

His record-tying 63rd career scoring pass, a 54-yard strike to Andrew Wilson-Lamp, gave Massillon a 28-14 lead with 4:10 remaining in the first half. His record-setting strike, an 8-yarder to Jayden Ballard in the front left corner of the end zone as time expired in the half, gave the Tigers a 35-21 halftime lead.

For the game, Longwell was 14-of-15 for 225 yards. He goes into next Friday’s home game against Firestone needing just 31 yards to break Kyle Kempt’s career passing record of 6,034 yards set from 2010-12.

“It’s special, especially at Massillon,” Longwell said of the record. “The quarterbacks and great players who have played here. I just have to give a great shout-out to my offensive line, present and past, and my receivers. Everybody’s kind of balled for me as part of this.”

Penn-Trafford was impressive in turning the game’s first drive into a methodical 17-play, 82-yard scoring drive that took the initial 9:38 off the clock. The Warriors converted all five third downs on the possession, including a 6-yard run by quarterback Gabe Dunlap to give them a 7-0 lead.

Dunlap would prove to be a handful all evening, gaining 90 of the Warriors’ 110 rushing yards, while throwing for 257 yards and two scores. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for another.

“He’s a field general,” said Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane, whose team falls to 4-1. “He’s an underrated football player. He continually makes plays for us in the passing game, and more importantly, in the run game sometimes. There’s a lot of times where it’s tough to get him down on the sack with one guy, and he kind of showed that tonight.”

The Warriors’ opening possession would be, by far, the longest scoring drive by either team over the duration of the first half. That is, until Massillon put together its half-ending 13-play, 74-yard drive to go up 35-21 at the break.

In between, the Tigers’ other four scoring drives went for a combined 15 plays. Penn-Trafford, meanwhile, scored its other two first-half scores on a combined seven plays.

In the second half, the only scoring drive was Massillon’s 13-play, 49-yard fourth-quarter march which ended with Longwell hitting Anthony Pedro on a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Massillon, which went scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season, would score the game-tying touchdown on the first play off the second quarter on Zion Phifer’s 3-yard run. Then, one play after stopping the Warriors on a fourth-down play, Longwell and Ballard hooked up for a 30-yard touchdown pass to go in front 14-7 with 9:54 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers would lead 21-7 on Terrence Keyes’ 8-yard touchdown run with 7:32 remaining in the half. They would also open up 14-point first-half leads on Longwell’s record-tying and record-setting scoring passes at 28-14 and 35-21.

Penn-Trafford used a pair of big pass plays to stay within reach. A 64-yard catch-and-run by Ethan Carr on a fourth-down pass from Dunlap cut it to 21-14, while Mason Frye’s 77-yard catch set up Dunlap’s 3-yard run to make it 28-21 Tiger lead with 3:55 remaining in the half.

The Warriors, who had 253 yards at halftime, had just 114 yards in the final two quarters.

“We really did a good job, in a lot of ways, in the first half,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said of his defense. “We just had to make the plays that are there.”

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo News

Booster Club Report – Week 3

It was great weekend for the Tigers and another clean sweep over their opponents.  Here are the scores from those games:

  • The Varsity defeated Warren Harding on the road, 49-7
  • The Junior Varsity defeated Warren Harding at home, 27-20
  • The Freshmen team defeated Warren, 24-0
  • The 8th Grade game was halted three minutes in on account of weather, with the Tigers up 8-0
  • The 7th Grade defeated Warren Middle School, 27-6

Head Coach Nate Moore’s assessment of last week’s performance was that the Tigers played “really well” in all phases of the game.  The defense surrendered just one TD, that following a turnover, and the offense, once it got past an early funk on its first two possessions, scored seven touchdowns in the next nine, with a running clock in effect for most of the second half.

Defensively, Massillon held the Warren rushing attack in check for nearly the entire night.  After using a spread offense throughout the first half and finding minimal success, the Raiders switched to a power-I, but did not fare any better.  Moore said that the Tigers have really good interior defensive linemen, something that was missing during the last few years, singling out the play of Manny McElroy and CJ Harris.

Linebacker play was also very good, especially on the edge by Caiden Woullard, who led the group with six tackles and one assist, including three tackles for a loss.  Then there was the big interception return by Preston Hodges.  Robbie Paige also played very well at safety, and has been improving his performance in leaps and bounds.  He makes great breaks on the ball, according to the coach.

Through three games, the defense has allowed just 3.5 yards per play (2.5 on the ground) as compared to last year’s numbers of 4.7 and 3.9 (I know, it’s early).  But the more that things stay the same within the program, the better it gets.

On offensive, Moore liked the play of Rager Els and Cole Jones.  However, as a group, the line struggled at times with pass protection due to Warren’s quickness.  Nevertheless, they surrendered just one quarterback sack, that being Massillon’s first of the year.  But it was in the run game that they really excelled and seemed to get better as the game wore on.  For the night, that phase netted 174 yards at 6.7 yards a clip.  It was a virtual clinic on how to execute inside zone blocking, with really good double teams according to the coach.  That’s the reason they were able to free Hodges and Terrence Keyes for big runs in the second half.

One scheme that really worked well was the run/pass option.  On one particular play, the line blocked like it was a run, sucking in the free safety, while Aidan Longwell (15 of 25 for 200 yards and two TDs) fired the ball to a crossing Jaden Ballard for a wide-open touchdown.  Ballard led the Tigers with seven catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

This week’s opponent is Penn-Trafford from Harrison City, Pennsylvania.  The game was scheduled after a team in their league opted out this year, creating an open date.  Later this season, Gateway from Monroeville, PA, also from the same league, will face the Tigers.

Last year the Warriors finished with a record of 9-3 and come into this one on the heels of a 4-0 record, having outscored the opposition by an average of 35-8.  Moore compared them to a good Avon team with skill players.

Senior Quarterback Gabe Dunlap (6’-1”, 170 lbs.) engineers a wide-open attack that features athletes both at running back and wide receiver. At times, Dunlap will also run the ball off designed plays and has racked up 397 yards and six touchdowns.  In the passing game, he has completed 53 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns.  His favorite target is junior Ethan Carr (6’-3”, 165 lbs.), who has caught nine passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns.

The running attack has been split between two outstanding players, Caleb Lisbon and Sam Fanelli.  But it appears that both may miss this one due to injury.  However, Moore has good respect for the backup, junior Brad Ford (5’-11” 175 lbs.).

The offensive line is good, according to the coach, and returns all five starters from last year.  They average 6’-1”, 262 lbs. from tackle-to-tackle.  Moore says that they are pretty physical and really good at outside zone blocking.

Defensively, Penn-Trafford utilizes a 3-4 alignment.  The strength of this unit is the line, especially at nose tackle in senior Josh Cheplick (6’-1”, 275 lbs.), who he compared to the Tigers’ Manny McElroy.  The secondary is the next best group.

Last week’s injury to Massillon center Dylan Garretson will result in a reshuffling of the offensive line.  Manny McElroy will return to his traditional defensive position.  Cole Jones will move to center and Terrence Rankl will take over his tackle position.  The line now averages 6’-2”, 286 lbs., and is one of the largest lines Massillon has had in recent history.

Quarterback Aidan Longwell is closing in on a couple of career records.  He needs 256 yards to tie the mark of 6,034, set by Kyle Kempt in 2012.  And he needs two touchdown passes to tie the mark of 63, set by Justin Zwick in 2001.  But I’m sure Aidan is just focused on just getting a win this Friday.  The records will come on their own.

News

Brawley Spectacular in 27-20 JV Win Against Warren Harding

The following story was written by David Lee Morgan, Jr. WHS English/Journalism Teacher and Varsity/JV Running Backs Coach  

MASSILLON: There is a reason sophomore Austin Brawley has moved up the Massillon depth chart and is now a backup on the varsity roster.  The kid can flat-out play.

Brawley put on a show Saturday morning (Sept. 14) against Warren Harding at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in a 27-20 junior varsity win.  Brawley caught six passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns.  He added another touchdown (57 yards) that was called back because of a penalty.

“Austin is one of the hardest workers and most coachable kids I have ever coached,” said veteran Massillon wide receiver coach Cale Miller.  “He works hard in the weight room and in the classroom.  He is a major asset to our program.”

Brawley (5-foot-8, 135 pounds) scored on a 70-yard reception on the first play of the game.  He also scored on passes of 68 yards and on a 59-yard TD, in which he had to tip the ball to himself and juggle it several times between two defenders before racing in to the endzone.

Sophomore quarterback Tanner Pierce was 6-of-13 for 271 yards, three TDs and an interception.  Sophomore running back Camden Beasley rushed for a 5-yard touchdown.

Defensively, the Tigers (3-0) gave up two touchdowns on long runs, but made stops in the closing minutes.

Junior linebacker Andrew Edwards (six tackles), junior defensive back Ezra Strickland (four tackles) and Shane Rue and Niles Cleveland (three tackles) led the unit, which forced six turnovers.