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Booster Club Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 4
Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary
The fourth General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Monday 9/18/2017. Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance. Steve made the following announcements:
Scores from the week: 8th grade won vs. Akron East 14-8, 9th grade won vs. Ursuline 34-8 and the JV lost at Tri-Valley 40-26.
Next Friday is an away game at Austintown Fitch. The booster club is selling bus tickets for $25 each at Keller’s Office Furniture store. This price includes a sandwich and a drink but no game ticket.
The annual Beat McKinley parade is scheduled for Friday 10/2717.
The Beat McKinley Booster Club meeting is scheduled for Monday 10/23/17 at 7:00 pm in the WHS Auditorium
We are honoring Walt Bronczek for 40 years as the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium announcer at the Akron Firestone game on 10/13/17.
Coach Moore then spoke about practice going well today and how he was happy with the victory vs. Ursuline even though many things still need to be worked on.
Coach Moore brought Coach Spencer Leno – Inside Linebackers Coach to the meeting. Coach Leno is a former Tiger player and this is his first year on the staff. He explained his coaching background and reviewed the Ursuline game from a defensive standpoint. He also addressed the upcoming game vs. Bedford and aanswered questions from the group.
Coach Moore brought two senior football players to the meeting. Game Captains Senior DB Dyson Berry and Senior LB Logan Anania addressed the club on the Youngstown Ursuline game and the upcoming game vs. Bedford. They also answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore and Coach Leno commented on film clips from the Ursuline game and then they reviewed Bedford game film and discussed their potential lineup and players. They both answered questions from the audience. Coach Moore gave an injury report.
The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Monday September 25, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Media Center of WHS. Memberships will be available at the door.
History 2017: Massillon 42, Youngstown Ursuline 13
Tigers air it out for third consecutive win
Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 15, 2017 10:32 PM
MASSILLON – Massillon had won behind a punishing running game over a modest two-game winning streak. To make it a three-game win streak, the Tigers decided to show they could throw the ball as well.
Sophomore quarterback Aidan Longwell looked anything but like a sophomore has he lit up the Ursuline defense to the tune of 324 yards and five touchdowns as Massillon rolled to a 42-13 win Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
“Aidan had a great game,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after his team improved to 3-1. “You have to give credit to Ursuline; they did a great job up front. Their defense gave us tough sledding running the football, which is what we had been good at. We needed to go to the air, and Aidan threw great balls and made great decisions; our receivers caught the ball well. That was really the difference for us.”
If there was a black cloud to come over the night, it came late in the third quarter when Longwell was hurt on a second-down play. Longwell, who was 11-of-17 passing for the game, was walking without an apparent limp during the postgame handshake line, but Moore wouldn’t state for certain the true extent without speaking to the trainer.
The tone of the night was set early by the Tiger quarterback, who was making just his fourth career start. After sandwiching two incompletions around a 10-yard completition to start, he would complete nine of his next 13 passes – four of which went for touchdowns – for 283 yards to help Massillon open up a 28-7 halftime lead.
Longwell was 10-of-16 for 293 yards with the four scores in the first half alone. To put that in perspective, in the Week 3 win at Warren Harding, he was 8-of-11 for 120 yards and two touchdowns for the whole game.
By the end of the first quarter against Ursuline, Longwell had completed 7-of-11 passes for 156 yards and two scores, both to Austin Kutscher. Kutscher had a 39-yard scoring catch on a second-and-25 play to give Massillon a 7-0 lead on its opening drive, then caught a 34-yarder from Longwell on third-and-8 on the second possession for a 14-0 lead.
“He throws a wonderful ball,” Ursuline coach Larry Kempe said of Longwell. “He throws a good ball. He’s smart enough to get rid of the ball very quick. I think he’s going to be a real, real nice player.”
Longwell and Kutscher would hook up against on Massillon’s first play after stopping Ursuline on downs at the Tiger 31. The 69-yard strike marked the seventh time this season the two had connected for scores, this time giving the Tigers a 21-7 lead just under three minutes into the second quarter.
Kutscher finished with 198 receiving yards on seven catches. He added a 31-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter which made it 35-7.
“He’s a great player,” Moore said of Kutscher. “He’s one of our captains tonight. Nobody works harder than Austin. He’s very skilled, very savvy as a receiver.”
Aydrik Ford became the first Massillon player to catch a touchdown pass other than Kutscher when he brought in a 47-yard pass from Longwell on third-and-9. The play made it 28-7 with 3:01 left in the half.
All of the passing proved to be somewhat necessary, as Ursuline was doing its part to not allow Massillon to go to its bread-and-butter, the power running game. Jamir Thomas’ 10-yard run on the fourth play of the Tigers’ second second-quarter possession alone proved to more than double the team’s first-half rushing totals.
Massillon went into halftime with just 19 net rushing yards on 13 attempts, a number only slightly skewed by a pair of kneel-downs to end the half. The Tigers would finish with 117 rushing yards, 71 by Zion Phifer who scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to make it 42-13.
“On film, we saw what they were trying to do with the running game,” Kempe said. “We had three different plans of attack that worked very well for us. Truth be told, for the first time in four weeks, played with great passion.”
Ursuline, meanwhile, was moving the ball consistently on the ground. The Irish, though, struggled to finish off drives.
The first-half drives for Ursuline all reached at least the Tiger 37. However, only the Irish’s second possession reached the end zone, on Joe Floyd’s 7-yard run to pull them within 14-7 with 2:55 left in the first quarter.
Ursuline punted from the Tigers 40 and 39, while being stopped on downs at the Massillon 29 and 16 in the first half. The Irish also had second-half drives reach the Tiger 1 and 34 without scoring.
The Irish, who had 215 rushing yards in the first half, finished with 269 on the ground. They would add a 4-yard touchdown run by Floyd to make it 35-13 with 7:10 remaining.
Floyd rushed for 132 yards on 35 carries for Ursuline. Quarterback Jared Fabry added 113 yards on 17 attempts.
GAME STATS
Editorial The Website Corner – Week 3
Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.
There were a number of things one could point to in describing the Tiger’s efforts that resulted in a victory over Warren Friday. The defense contained a pretty good Warren running game, our passing game was very efficient, but our ground game was the clincher. Those two fourth quarter drives are examples of how to play with a lead. They ate up the clock and kept the Warren offense off the field. The first drive was huge as it ended with a Klay Moll 21-yard field goal that gave the Tigers a two score lead. The second ate up the clock and ended with Aiden Longwell taking a knee to end the game. That is how to finish. A like effort will be needed this Friday against Youngtown Ursuline. We will need a good defense against the run, timely passing and of course a physical run game. — GV
Three weeks into the season, just three unbeaten teams remain in Division II, Region 7: Columbus Mifflin, Boardman and Columbus Walnut Ridge. Massillon continues to position itself for a qualifying position with a big win over Warren Harding, which should provide plenty of second-level points down the road. Hoover, which lost to Akron East last week 27-20, remains a mystery team. But it should sort itself out on Friday when the Vikings travel to GlenOak. Licking Heights edged New Albany 35-30, but both teams should finish in the Top 8. The crystal ball says that the final eight teams in Region 7 should come from this group: Columbus Walnut Ridge, Massillon, Columbus Mifflin, Licking Heights, Canal Winchester, New Albany, Boardman, Dublin Scioto and Columbus West. Time will tell for North Canton, Lake, Ashland, Westerville South and Worthington Kilbourne. — DE
Youngstown Ursuline comes to Massillon sporting a 1-2 record. The lone win was over hapless Youngstown East 40-19, while losses were to Cleveland Benedictine 39-29 and Akron Hoban 49-0. The offense revolves around the quarterback, who returns from last year. Coach Nate Moore says that he throws and runs equally well. The running backs have good size, but not the speed of Warren’s. The receiver corps is all new. The offense uses a similar scheme to Massillon, except that the running backs are aligned closer to the QB. A weaker area would be the defense, which returns just three starters, one on the line, one at linebacker (although he was a defensive end last year) and one in the secondary. The two corners are both sophomores and just 5’9″ tall. The Irish operate out of a 4-3 alignment. Six players go both ways. — DE
In the Warren game you may have noticed the Warren quarterback threw a backward pass to the receiver while they were behind the line of scrimmage. If the pass is completed the statistician makes the judgment, if the pass is forward or backward. If the pass was backward the play is recorded as a rushing play. If incomplete the action of the game officials determines if the pass is a forward pass or a lateral. In the Warren game the play was recorded as a rushing play. There were a couple of other stats that are interesting from the Warren game. Massillon made 4 of 8 third down conversions and Warren made 2 or 8. On fourth downs, Warren only made 1 or 3 forth down conversions. Massillon was winning at half time but the time of possession was in Warren’s favor 8 minutes to Massillon’s 4 minutes. That was turned around by Massillon in the second half, Massillon controlled for 16:32 minutes and Warren for 7:28 minutes. Warren only having 8 plays from scrimmage in the 4 quarter. — JB
News Mel Knowlton is the Latest Inductee to the WHS…
At halftime of Friday night’s game, former Massillon player and assistant coach Mel Knowlton will be inducted into the Washington High School “Wall of Champions” for his skill on the gridiron and his contribution to the sport of football.
Mel grew up on Massillon’s west side and attended Lorin Andrews Junior High School, where he excelled in both football and basketball. His athletic prowess continued at Washington High. He was All-Ohio in basketball during the 1932 – 1933 season and was Paul Brown’s first quarterback in 1932. He went on to play at Miami of Ohio where he was a three year letterman in both football and basketball.
Mel’s coaching career began at Edmund A. Jones Junior High, where he was head football and basketball coach from 1937 to 1940. In 1941 he accepted the head coaching job for the Steubenville Big Red.
World War II interrupted his coaching career, with Mel serving from 1942 to 1946 as an Air Navigation Instructor. Upon discharge he resumed coaching, this time at Alliance High School, and remained head coach there until 1969, finishing with a career record at Alliance of 150–86–6. His Alliance teams had 7 top ten finishes in the AP Ohio High School Poll. But the 1958 team could be considered his best, tying Massillon 8-8 and winning the Associated Press State Championship. Mel was also named the AP Ohio Coach of the Year.
Mel also received numerous other awards. In 1972 he was inducted into the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. In 1993 he was inducted into the famed Miami of Ohio “Cradle of Coaches” Hall of Fame. And in 2007 he was inducted into the Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame. Now in 2017 he is being inducted into the Massillon Washington High School “Wall of Champions.”
Booster Club Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 3
Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary
The third General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Monday 9/11/2017. Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance. Steve made the following announcements:
There was a moment of silence in recognition of those lost during 9-11.
Scores from the week: 8th grade won vs. Warren 34-28, 9th grade won vs. Warren 28-14 and the JV lost vs. Warren 20-7.
On-line ordering is being added to the website. Ben Liebermann is working with our Treasurer (Vince Pedro) on this project.
Coach Nate Moore brought Coach Rob Oviatt, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, to the meeting. Coach Oviatt has been a college Strength coach for 30 years and talked about coming to Massillon and specifics about conditioning. He answered questions from the group.
Coach Moore also brought two senior football players to the meeting. Game Captains Senior WR Austin Kutscher and Senior DB Dyson Berry addressed the club on the Warren Harding game and the upcoming game vs. Ursuline. They also answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore commented on the Warren game and the upcoming Youngstown Ursuline game. He showed film clips from the Warren game and commented on the action. Then he reviewed the Ursuline game by showing game film from their games and reviewing their potential lineup and players. He also answered questions from the audience.
The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Monday September 18, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Media Center of WHS. Memberships will be available at the door.
History 2017: Massillon 31, Warren Harding 21
Massillon runs past Warren Harding for second win
Chris Easterling – The Independent
Sep 08, 2017 10:11 PM
WARREN Massillon and Warren Harding have engaged in more than their share of shootouts over the last two or three seasons. While the faces may have changed, that trend didn’t change on Friday night as they renewed acquaintances at Mollenkopf Stadium.
There were no Austin Jasinskis or Lynn Bowdens on the field. However, players such as Jamir Thomas and Kayron Adams were, both of whom had a hand in what ultimately became a 31-21 Massillon win on “Throwback Night” in Warren.
“First off, (Warren’s) a good football team with some good running backs,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team is 2-1 heading into Week 4’s home game with Ursuline. “We had a hard time tackling those guys, plain and simple. You just swing harder. You just swing hard and keep playing hard.”
The biggest hammer the Tigers were able to swing was Thomas, who rushed for 148 yards and a score – which gave Massillon a 14-7 first-quarter lead – on 27 carries. He helped Massillon rush for 209 yards on 45 carries as a team, with Zion Phifer adding 61 yards on 14 carries.
Those rushing numbers helped the Tigers offset a Warren offense which gained 276 yards of its own on the ground in the game.
Of those, 202 yards and all three touchdowns came from Kayron Adams. However, 66 yards came on the Raiders’ lone second-half score, a third-quarter touchdown that cut it to 28-21 with 3:50 remaining in the quarter.
“We were vastly improved from Week 1,” said Warren coach Steve Arnold, whose team – which was paying tribute to the old Warren G. Harding Panther teams – falls to 0-2. “We threw the ball better. We’re going to be able to run the ball all year; I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.”
For Massillon, it was a case of never having to play from behind. That meant from the opening seconds of the game.
Anthony Ballard drew up the perfect start to the game for Massillon. Ballard took the opening kickoff at his own 16, found a crease in the blocking and raced virtually untouched to the end zone for a touchdown just 12 seconds into the game.
“We wanted to kick the ball down the numbers and we kicked the ball down the middle,” Arnold said. “That’s not what we practiced all week. So, consequently, you kick it down the middle on a shift, we have an overload on one side.”
Almost like a starter’s gun at a track meet, Ballard’s kickoff signaled the start of an early shootout between the two long-time rivals. Four consecutive combined possessions between the teams would result in four combined touchdowns, the last of which was a 15-yard pass from Aidan Longwell to Austin Kutscher with 7:46 remaining in the first half to give Massillon a 21-14 lead.
The two would also hook up for a 37-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter which made it 28-14 Tigers. Longwell finished 8-of-11 for 120 yards, while Kutscher had four catches for 82 yards.
Adams had both first-half touchdowns for Warren: a 7-yard run to tie it at 7-7 and a 15-yard run to even things up at 14-14. The last came with 8:52 remaining in the half.
Adams added a 66-yard touchdown run one play after the second Longwell-to-Kutscher touchdown pass, cutting the Massillon lead to 28-21. Warren would get inside the Tiger 20 only once more after that, while Massillon would tack on a 21-yard Klay Moll field goal with 6:03 remaining.
Massillon had a hand in both Raider first-half scoring drives thanks to what has been an early-season issue: penalties. The Tigers had back-to-back flags on the first – a late hit and a pass interference – to move the ball from their own 33 to the 9.
The second drive was aided by a iffy pass-interference call in the end zone on a 50-50 ball on fourth-and-12 from the Massillon 30. The next play, Adams scored his second touchdown of the night.
The Tigers were flagged eight times for 83 yards in the game. That includes six flags for 69 yards in the first half.
“We have to get back to the drawing board and watch the film and get things corrected,” said Moore, whose team has been flagged 39 times in three games. “It’s a continuous process of getting better every week. That’s just part of it.”
One other early-season trend helped Massillon come up with the game’s first defensive stop. Dyson Berry intercepted a pass in the end zone on third-and-31 for Warren with 3:28 remaining in the half. It was the third pick in as many games for Berry.
GAME STATS
Editorial The Website Corner – Week 2
Each week, the staff of massillontigers.com will provide input of their choice related to the current season or Massillon football in general.
Great week for the Tigers! I am really enjoying watching this young team develop. Names that you may not have expected to hear all season are being large contributors early in the 2017 season. Dyson Berry and Zion Phifer both come to mind immediately on defense and offense respectively. Defensively the Tigers did a great job of forcing Rhoads to get the ball out of his hands and limit his running ability. The Tigers went the entire 1st half without a penalty, but emotions got the best of them in the second half. We have to eliminate the drive extending penalties going forward. This game was a great building block for what is expected to be a tough road game next week vs. Warren. — ES
One additional note, this is the second week in a row where we have seen the impact of the NFHS new rule on defenseless players. Last week it was a crack back block and this week it was in the 4th qtr. on a Glenoak player falling to the ground on an incomplete pass and subsequently getting cracked by Dean Clark. The stands were up in arms about this play and getting on the refs, but as we know, this is the way the NFHS and OHSAA are trending and that has to be communicated to everybody from fan to team. — ES
A lot of kudos to go around after our Tigers out hit Glenoak 24-10. The Tiger defense limited Glenoak to just 43 yards rushing which forced the Golden Eagles to rely on their passing game. A like effort will be needed this week at Mollenkopf Stadium against Warren. The Raiders passed for just 30 yards in their opening game loss to Canton McKinley. Warren was open in week two and undoubtedly worked on their passing game, but expect them to rely on their strength which is running the football. Our Tigers will need another physical effort against the Raiders. So, get out to Mollenkopf Friday and help our Tigers attain their second victory of the season. — GV
Friday will mark the 17th meeting between Massillon and Warren Harding in the current series, which started in 1989 and stands at eight wins and eight losses for each team. The Tigers’ record at Mollencopf Stadium during that time is 2-5, with the last win coming in 2013 by the score of 35-14. Massillon’s wins there have been by an average of 21 points, whereas the losses have been by an average of 7 points. This year Warren appears to be favoring the ground attack, as they possess two pretty good running backs who operate behind a big offensive line. However, in the passing department, they are still searching for an identify, alternating two quarterbacks and occasionally running the Wildcat. Against Canton McKinley, the Raiders aligned their defense in a 4-3 with a cover-4 secondary. Although the skill level here is decent, the defense has many new players from last year. But they do return a pair of good ones in safety Jalen Hooks (6′-1″, 190 lb. Sr.) and defensive tackle Kaprice Sledge (5’11”, 325 lb. Jr.). Hooks has received several D1 offers. Warren has only played one game so far and has had two weeks to prepare for the Massillon invasion. So Coach Moore doesn’t know what Warren will bring. But he also said an early season bye does not necessarily provide an advantage. He emphasized that you need to play games in order to improve.– DE
After two weeks of competition only 5 of the 27 teams in Division 2, Region 7 are still unbeaten, attesting to the weakness of the region. Those five are Columbus Northland, Columbus Walnut Ridge, North Canton, Boardman and Columbus Briggs. The big surprise was Westerville South, a 50-14 victor over Dublin Scioto in Week 1. Last Friday South lost to a resurging Gahanna Lincoln team, 34-0. Other highlights included Lake losing to Dover, Ashland losing to Clyde, and Wooster and Dublin Scioto both starting out 0-2. I know it’s early, but the current teams to keep an eye on are Massillon, North Canton, Boardman, New Albany and LIcking Heights. Others in the hunt include Ashland, Lake, Worthington Kilbourne and Westerville South. Once again, there may be several teams qualifying with just six wins. And there may just be two Columbus City teams qualifying. Games of interest this week include Massillon (1-1) vs. Warren Harding (1-1), Boardman (2-0) vs. Jackson (2-0), New Albany (1-1) vs. Licking Heights (1-1), Westerville South (1-1) vs. Hilliard Darby (1-1), and Lake (1-1) vs. Copley (1-1). More as the season goes along. – DE
I have been asked why there are “Team” statistics in the game stats. There are several reasons for this. The most common is when a quarterback “takes a knee” after the snap from center. The loss that results is recorded as a “Team” rush and and the lost yards are charged to “Team”. Another reason you will see “Team” yardage is on a wild pass from center where there is a loss of yards. However, If after a wild pass from center the ball is picked up and a yardage gain is the result, the play is recorded as the if the wild pass from center did not occur. On an unblocked punt the entry is similar. If in the opinion of the scorer an improperly centered ball prevents the punter from carrying out his assignment the resulting loss is recorded as a “Team” loss. If the punter is able to recover the ball and punt, but the ball goes for a loss or out of bounds the punt is recorded as a “Team” punt. If the center snap is proper and it the judgment of the scorer the punter miss handles the ball the result of the rush or pass or kick is charged to the punter. — JB
Booster Club Booster Club Meeting Report – Week 2
Report by Rick Dalsky, Booster Club Secretary
The second General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club was held in the Media Center of WHS on Tuesday 9/5/2017. Booster Club President Steve Berecek welcomed all in attendance. Steve made the following announcements:
There was a moment of silence on the passing of long-time booster Karen Rogers.
Scores from the week: 8th grade lost to Glenoak 20-10, 9th grade won against Glenoak 28-13 and the JV won against Glenoak 40-6.
Schedule this week: Freshman at home on Thursday 9/7/17 at 6:00 pm vs. Warren Harding.
Booster Club bus to Warren leaves the Town Plaza shopping center at 4:30 pm this Friday (9/8/17). Tickets cost $25; include a snack but not a game ticket. Tickets are on sale at Keller’s Office Equipment store.
Remember to bring the booster coupons from the newspapers to future meetings.
Booster Club meetings will be on Monday nights the rest of the football season.
Remember to bring canned goods to future meetings to help us win the “Beat McKinley” food drive.
Coach Moore brought two senior football players to the meeting. Senior WR Austin Kutscher and Senior OL Jared Foss addressed the club on the Glenoak game and the upcoming Warren Harding game. They also answered questions from the audience.
Coach Moore commented on the GlenOak game and the upcoming Warren Harding game. He showed film clips from the GlenOak game and commented on the action. Then he reviewed the Warren Harding game by showing game film from their first game and reviewing their potential lineup and players. He also answered questions from the audience.
The next General Meeting of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club is scheduled for Monday September 11, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Media Center of WHS. Memberships will be available at the door.
Booster Club Booster Club Bus to Warren
The Booster Club will be offering bus transportation to the game at Warren this Friday, September 8. The bus tickets are $25 and do not include a game ticket. A sub sandwich and a bottle of water will be provided. The bus will leave Towne Plaza at 4:30 PM, not 11:00 as advertised in the Independent. Tickets can be purchased at Keller’s Office Furniture or contact Bill Brown at (330) 704-2548 for further information. Buses will also be provided for the Austintown Fitch game on September 29.