Jamir Thomas, Massillon’s ironman running back, was named 2017 Division II 1st Team All-Ohio by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association. He was the lone Tiger to be represented in this group. The 6′-1″, 212 lb. junior finished the year with 1,506 yards on 349 attempts. Thomas also tallied 21 touchdowns in helping his team win the regional championship. Last year Jamir was named Special Team All-Ohio linebacker.
Other players of note making the list are as follows:
Ashland quarterback Keagan Armitage – 1st Team
Bedford running back Kenny Wilkins – 1st Team
Cincinnati Winton Woods linebacker Chris Oats – Defensive Player of the Year
Cincinnati Winton Woods quarterback Kenny Mayberry – 2nd Team
New Albany defensive lineman Will King – 2nd Team
Ashland offensive lineman John Valentine – 3rd Team
The Touchdown Club annually presents the Bob Commings Hardnose Award to a deserving Massillon Tiger football player, emulating one that plays hard, hits hard and well represents his team. Bob Commings was a very successful coach for the Tigers from 1969 to 1973, compiling a record of 43-6-2, including Massillon’s last state championship (1970). HIs 1972 team qualified for Ohio’s first ever state playoff game. Commings departed following the 1973 season to become head coach of the University of Iowa and later coached at GlenOak High School, for which their field was later named.
Jamir Thomas Accepts the 2017 Hardnose Award
The selection of the deserving player is based on a weekly accumulation of votes cast by the members of the Touchdown Club at their Tuesday meetings. This year’s award winner is Jamir Thomas. Just a junior, he joins a stellar list of past recipients, including John Mulbach (Ohio State), David Whitfield (Ohio State), Charles Danzy (NFL coach), Chris Spielman (Ohio State), Shawn Crable (Michigan) and Brian Gamble (Illinois/Ashland)
Thomas was slated to play this season on defense almost exclusively at linebacker. But due to an early unforeseen depletion of running backs, he was thrust into the primary offensive position. According to Massillon Head Coach Nate Moore, Jamir readily accepted the change and was prepared to do anything he could to help the Tigers be successful. His performance was more than was expected, eventually being named First-Team All-District at the position, and helped his team capture the regional title in the playoffs.
Thomas finished the year with 1,506 yards, 3rd among all Massillon players. The yards came on 349 carries, blowing away the previous mark of 253. He also scored 21 touchdowns, which ranks 5th. The 42 carries against Canton McKinley in a 16-15 victory ranks 2nd and the 37 carries against Ashland ranks 5th. The five TDs against Canisius, NY, set a new single-game record and the four touchdowns against Ashland and three against Austintown Fitch are both in the Top 10 of the category. But Jamir also played some defense, recording 22 solo tackles and 10 assists in a part-time effort.
Winton Woods roars from behind to end Massillon’s run
Chris Easterling – The Independent
COLUMBUS Massillon couldn’t have asked for a better way to start its Division II state semifinal Friday night. The Tigers, though, would love to forget the way it ended.
Despite a three-touchdown lead in the second quarter, Massillon couldn’t keep explosive Cincinnati Winton Woods from coming alive. The Warriors did just that, racing past the Tigers 56-21 to end Massillon’s playoff run at Columbus St. Francis DeSales’ Alumni Stadium.
“They played well,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “We had some mistakes in there. We just couldn’t get it back on track.”
Game action vs. Winton Woods 2017
The win sends Winton Woods, now 13-1, into next Thursday night’s Division II state championship game in Canton against Hoban, which is looking for its third consecutive state title, but first in Division II. Massillon, meanwhile, ends its season at 10-4 after its first state-semifinal appearance since 2009.
Winton Woods scored 56 points in a row, turning a 21-0 Massillon lead with 8:36 into a 56-21 advantage with 58 seconds remaining. The Warriors scored on six of their final seven possessions, not including a punt return for a score and an interception return for a touchdown.
“That’s just who we are,” Winton Woods coach Andre Parker said. “A lot of times, we take things the hard way. We made it hard. We gave them a couple of plays early, and they made some plays early and they jumped out to a 21-0 lead. There was no panic on our sidelines. We’ve been here before.”
Three plays into the game, Massillon was sitting exactly where it would hope it would be sitting. The Tigers were in possession of a 7-0 lead.
The game started with Anthony Ballard intercepting Winton Woods on the first play from scrimmage. After an incomplete pass on Massillon’s first play, Aidan Longwell hit Austin Kutscher on a slip screen to the left.
From there, Kutscher did the rest, racing 67 yards for a Tiger touchdown 28 seconds into the game.
Winton Woods appeared poised to answer with a score of their own. However, the Warriors fumbled the ball at the Tiger 1 and Massillon recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
After Massillon’s third possession ended with a pair of penalties and a punt which rolled dead at the Tiger 26. The Massillon defense, though, bowed up and limited Winton Woods to just three net yards and forced it to try a 40-yard field goal.
The field-goal try never got past the line of scrimmage, getting blocked. While the Warriors just stood around look, Ballard wisely picked up the football and ran untouched into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown.
Klay Moll’s second point-after kick of the night made it 14-0 Massillon with 2:11 remaining in the first quarter.
That score would grow to 21-0 in favor of the Tigers with 8:36 remaining in the half. Massillon broke into the bag of tricks to do so, as Tyee Broyles took the pitch, then flipped it back to receiver Jayden Ballard coming back toward the right.
Ballard then threw the ball to a wide-open Kutscher for a 50-yard touchdown.
“We had some things that we liked,” Moore said. “We made some good calls at some good times. We got on the board and got some stops.”
Winton Woods, though, would come alive to end the half. The Warriors answered on their next drive, as Navar Gannaway pulled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Mayberry – a ball which just slipped past a Tiger defender – to pull wiuthin 21-7 with 4:47 remaining in the half.
It was 21-14 just over two minutes later. This time, it was a 42-yard punt return by Cornell Beachem for a Warrior score with 2:32 left in the half after the Tigers went three-and-out.
Massillon had a chance to add to its margin before the half, but a fourth-and-10 pass from the Winton Woods 29 was just out of the reach of a Tiger receiver in the end zone.
Winton Woods would tie the game on its first possession of the third quarter. After a Tiger three-and-out and a big punt return by Beachem – with 15 more yards tacked on for a horse-collar tackle – the Warriors started at Massillon 22.
Two plays later, Miyan Williams was running it in from five yards out for the touchdown. Yeri Velasquez’s PAT kick tied the game at 21-21 with 9:50 left in the third.
Chris Oats intercepted a deflected pass on Massillon’s next possession and returned it 52 yards for the touchdown. Velasquez’s PAT kick made it 28-21 Warriors with 7:26 left in the third.
A blocked quick-kick try by Massillon put Winton Woods at the Tiger 23. Next play, Beachem raced the necessary yardage for a 35-21 Warrior lead with two minutes left in the third.
Williams and Gannaway would work together to make it 42-21 Warriors. Williams ran for the first 20 yards on a running play, then lateralled it to Gannaway at the Tiger 3. Gannaway would run it in from there for the touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Mayberry’s 8-yard run with 8:02 remaining made it 49-21 Winton Woods. Anthony Clark’s 4-yard run with 58 seconds left closed out the scoring.
Each week during the football season the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the recent games or Massillon football in general.
Defending the Wing-T offense can be puzzling to some. Many teams will lay back and let the play develop in front of them and then react and make the tackle. Our Tigers chose to be more aggressive in their approach.
The key to defending the Wing-T is to follow the guards. They will take you to the ball carrier. Two Wing-T staple plays are the buck sweep and the trap. New Albany ran both these plays very well throughout the season. Our Tiger coaches elected to follow the pulling guard by having our d-line angle in the direction of the pulling guard. Our Tigers executed the defense very well. Defenders have to be disciplined and trust their keys. The Tiger D did that very well. They held the New Albany to just 101 yards rushing on 29 attempts and the Eagles recorded just 7 first downs. Great job Tiger coaches and great execution by our Tigers.
This week’s challenge is to repeat the execution. Cincinnati Winton Woods presents a unique challenge in that they run two different offensive schemes. They run the spread and they run the flex-bone that Georgia Tech and the military academies run. In both schemes they try to attack the perimeter of the defense. Our Tigers will need to read keys and execute the defense like they did last week. Get out Friday and support our Tigers like only the Tiger Nation can. Go Tigers! Beat Winton Woods! — GV
It goes without saying that at this stage of the playoffs every team is good. That includes both Massillon and Cincinnati Winton Woods. The Tigers will bring a power running attack with a proficient passing game to go along with a defense has been very stingy in the last few weeks. All of this makes for a tough team to beat. The Warriors, on the other hand, come at you with speed. Think of a Bedford offense with a Canton McKinley defense and that pretty much sums it up for the Warriors. They also will be a tough team to beat.
Winton Woods enters the game with a 12-1 record. The lone loss was in overtime, 35-34, to Cincinnati Elder. Being an independent team, the Warriors are forced to load up the schedule with the likes of Cincinnati LaSalle, Cincinnati Moeller, Columbus DeSales, Bishop Chartard, IN, and of course Cincinnati Elder. So they have several signature wins, including a second victory over LaSalle. Nine of their regular season games were against either Division 1 or Division 2 teams, including six private schools. Four opponents qualified for the playoffs. They average 34 points a game and give up 13.
Massillon quarterbacks coach Jarrett Troxler said that Winton Woods is very aggressive and athletic and the Tigers will have their hands full. But the coaches feel good about the matchup and believe that they have a great game plan to win it.
Offensively, the Warriors utilize two different sets: the traditional spread and the “flex-bone.” The latter is run by Navy and features three different running backs, one behind the quarterback and one at each wing, utilizing misdirection and triple-option. Quarterback Kenny Mayberry (6′-2″, 190 lb.) is a 3-year starter and runs the offense well. He throws a nice short pass and has a big arm to get it down the field to their speedy receivers, particularly Raequan Prince (5′-9″, 190 lbs.), who could be headed to D1. Occasionally, Mayberry will run the ball off the read-option. He’s not the swiftest player, but nevertheless he is very adequate. Top running back Miyan Williams (5′-8″, 193 lbs.) is just a sophomore, but plays like a senior. Coach Nate Moore considers Williams to be their best player. However, he was injured last week and his status is unknown. Both wingbacks are good. The offensive line is big, averaging 5′-10″, 255 lbs. Their best players on the line are the center and the two guards.
Defensively, Winton Woods looks a lot like Massillon on the interior, with a 3-man odd front. Also like the Tigers, they will occasionally switch to an even front. The secondary is where they differ. Whereas Massillon plays a matchup zone, the Warriors prefer to go straight man-to-man. Zone just doesn’t seem to work for them. Therefore, look for all of the secondary players to line up in the faces of the receivers, with a single safety over the center. The defensive line has good size, averaging 6′-1″, 246 lbs. The linebackers also have good size, the best being Chris Oats (6′-2″, 230 lbs.), who holds many D1 offers. Watch for the delay blitz on passing downs when aligned in an odd front. — DE
The Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club held its latest General meeting in the WHS media center on Monday 11/20/17 at 7:00pm. Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed everyone and stated he is enjoying the ride. He then introduced Bill Brown who made the following announcement:
There are three busses going to this week’s game in Columbus vs. Winton Woods. The busses will leave the Towne Plaza Shopping Center at 4:00 pm. Cost is $25 per ticket, subs and water will be provided; tickets are on sale at Keller’s Office Furniture (see Matt Keller).
President Berecek then introduced Tiger Head Coach Nate Moore who brought Quarterbacks Coach Jarrett Troxler to the meeting. They showed film from the New Albany game and answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore then introduced two football players: Junior S/WR #19 Dean Clark and Junior DB/WR #8 Tyree Broyles who addressed the club on the New Albany game and the upcoming tournament game vs. Winton Woods. They also answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore and Coach Troxler then reviewed Winton Woods game film and discussed their potential lineup. They also answered questions from the audience.
30 West to 71 South (for 62 miles). Take Exit 115 for Cooke Rd. Turn left onto East Cooke Rd. Use the right lane to turn left toward East Cooke Rd. Turn right onto East Cooke Rd. Turn left onto Karl Rd.
Defensive dominance set tone for Tigers’ regional title
Chris Easterling – The Independent
MANSFIELD Massillon put together another four-quarter defensive performance. Because of that fact, the Tigers find themselves as one of the final four teams remaining in the Division II state football playoffs.
From start to finish, Massillon controled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and its defense never allowed New Albany to get its wing-T offense going in as it rolled to a 24-6 win in Friday night’s Division II Region 7 championship game at Mansfield’s Arlin Field.
Game action vs. New Albany 2017
“Our defense played lights out,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after the Tigers won their first regional title since 2009. “We gave up a touchdown on a blocked punt, but our defense pitched a shutout tonight against a really good offense. Flipping from a five-wide (offense) a week ago to a wing-T this week, I’m just really proud of those guys.”
New Albany’s offense, which was predicated on running the football, never really got up and running against Massillon, which will face Cincinnati Winton Woods in next Friday’s state semifinal at Columbus St. Francis DeSales High School. The Warriors rallied to beat three-time reigning Division II state champion Cincinnati La Salle 16-14 on a last-second field goal in another regional final Friday.
To get to that game, though, Moore’s team kept the Eagles grounded. New Albany was limited to just 145 total yards, including just 101 rushing yards on 37 attempts.
New Albany’s only points came on a 16-yard blocked-punt return by Jack Scharfe with 9:29 remaining. By that point, however, Massillon had run up a 24-6 lead.
Game action vs. New Albany 2017 (8)
“You just have to tip your hat,” New Albany coach Pat Samanrich said. “Tonight, Massillon was just a better team and, you know what, I hope they go win the whole thing for Region 7. I was very impressed with their defensive scheme. It was just guys running down-hill playing together.”
Massillon, meanwhile, was running down-hill all night on offense. That is, when the Tigers weren’t throwing it down-field as well.
The tone was set from the very start of the game, as Massillon pounded out a 14-play, 72-yard drive to take a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard Klay Moll field goal. While the Tigers ran on 10 of the 14 plays on the drive, they moved to the Eagle 7 thanks to a 41-yard pass from Aidan Longwell to Jayden Ballard.
Longwell finished 20-of-30 for 258 yards passing for Massillon, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to Austin Kutscher with 1:20 left in the third quarter for a 24-0 Tiger lead.
Game action vs. New Albany 2017
The Tigers, meanwhile, ran the ball 49 times for 231 yards on the night. Jamir Thomas rushed for 130 yards on 33 carries, including a 2-yard scoring run for a 10-0 lead 1:33 into the second quarter.
“We were really balanced,” Moore said. “We hurt ourselves with the penalties tonight. I’m disappointed with that. But you have to play through that and keep swinging.”
Those Tiger penalties, 12 for 120 yards, were what prevented the game from really turning into an even-bigger rout. Massillon had a touchdown run called back for an illegal shift on its first drive, then had a a litany of flags on one fourth-quarter possession which left it looking at a first-and-41 situation from its own 40.
Those flags, as well as a missed field goal on the Tigers’ third possession of the game, were really the only blemishes on the night. Massillon only punted once, although it was blocked and returned for the lone Eagle touchdown.
2017 Region 7 Championship Trophy
Even those, however, couldn’t keep Massillon from its date with a football game on Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in eight years. That, Moore believes, is a credit to the players.
“They just play hard,” Moore said. “That’s the biggest key. When you get to this level of high-school football, that’s what you notice. The teams that get here aren’t necessarily the most talented; they’re the most disciplined and they just play hard.”
A little-known program record continues with Massillon’s win over Ashland last Friday. The record is for consecutive games in which the Tigers have scored points, a streak that began in 2007 and currently stands at 119. The previous mark of 106 games was set between 1998 and 2007. Combined, the Tigers have now scored points in 225 of their last 226 games. The lone shutout came at the hands of Cleveland St. Ignatius in 2007 by the score of 27-0.
Click here for a complete list of winning streaks, offensive scoring streaks and defensive shutout streaks.
Each week during the football season the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the recent games or Massillon football in general.
There are eight teams left fighting for the Division II state championship. When you get to this point there is one common thread that stands out and that is defense.
When you look at the regional semi-final results the theme of defense becomes quite clear. One might argue that yielding 20 and 21 points is not great defense, but in today’s era of spread offenses that will win you a lot of games. The results were Cincinnati Winton Woods 52 Cincinnati Anderson 21 and Olmstead Falls 21 Wadsworth 20.
The results from the other Division II games were as follows.
The theme of defense rings very true and it continues as we go forward. We will need a stellar defensive effort again this week. With New Albany’s offense we will need to stop their run game. If we can do that we stand a very good chance of moving on. Go Tigers! — GV
Last week Massillon defeated Ashland in a hard fought game, 28-7. It was the first Round 2 Playoff victory for the Tigers in five years. “The guys played hard,” said head coach Nate Moore. “The defense played really well against a high-powered offense.” They created turnovers (stripping the ball twice) and forced many incomplete passes. Receivers coach Caleb Miller said the players really like coming to practice now, unlike earlier in the season, owing to the youth of the team. He believes in practicing well to play well, something they did prior to the Ashland game. Miller emphasized that the players have been doing that now for the last several weeks. “The kids have taken a leadership role and really gotten after it,” he said.
The Round 3 opponent is New Albany, winner over a pair of inner-city Columbus teams in Whitehall-Yearling (42-35) and Walnut Ridge (30-6). The Eagles finished the regular season with a 6-4 record, losing a pair of games to two superior Ohio Capital Conference opponents and LIcking Heights (35-30). Their signature win came in Week 1 against Reynoldsburg (7-3) by the score of 15-13. They average 24 points a game and give up 25.
Offensively, New Albany runs the Wing-T. It’s different from Perry’s scheme in that they put two running backs in the backfield and split one of the wings wide. But some of the plays are similar. Look for outside sweeps, inside traps and quarterback keepers around end. Moore said that the junior quarterback is a good athlete and throws a good ball, although they prefer to run 80% of the time. The junior running backs are smallish at 5′-8″ each, but they possess very good speed. Defensively, the Eagles utilize a 3-3 with cover-4. Occasionally, they will switch to a 4-man front. The linebackers are good and there are several athletes in the secondary. The offensive line has a 255 lb. center, but the rest of the line averages 215 lbs. Defensively, they average 238 lbs. They have two full-time 2-way players. They also start eight juniors on the defensive side of the ball. Moore stated that they are well-coached and play very disciplined ball. At this stage everyone is good and the Tigers will need to be at the top of their game to win this one.
The OHSAA announced this week that the winner of the Massillon-New Albany game will face the winner of the Cincinnati LaSalle-Cincinnati Winton Woods game next week, presumably in Columbus. — DE
The Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club held its latest General meeting in the WHS media center on Monday 11/13/17 at 7:00pm. Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed everyone and asked for a moment of silence for the recent death of a marching band grandfather at last week’s game and today’s deaths at Affinity Hospital.
There is one bus going to this week’s game in Mansfield vs. New Albany. The bus leaves the Towne Plaza Shopping Center at 4:30 pm. Cost is $25 per ticket, subs and water will be provided; tickets are on sale at Keller’s Office Furniture (see Matt Keller).
Be sure to check out the Tiger flags displayed at local businesses during our playoff run. Thank them for their support if you stop in.
President Berecek then introduced Tiger Head Coach Nate Moore who brought Receivers Coach Cale Miller to the meeting. They showed film from the Ashland game and answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore then introduced two football players: Junior game Captains LB #18 Kameron Simpson Junior DB/WR #8 Tyree Broyles who addressed the club on the Ashland game and the upcoming tournament game vs. New Albany. They also answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore and Coach Miller then reviewed New Albany game film and discussed their potential lineup. They also answered questions from the audience.
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