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Massillon Struggles in Final Scrimmage

A nice crowd turned out at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on Friday night to watch Massillon and Lakewood St. Edward square off in a final pre-season scrimmage.  Unfortunately, the Eagles had the better of it, winning 31-0 in one half of football.

St. Eds showed why they won Division 1 state titles in 2014 and 2015, while losing in overtime in a regional finals game last year.  They have great size and speed, plus a wealth of experience.  And their intensity level is beyond what Massillon saw in its first two scrimmages against Avon and Berea MIdpark.  The youthful Tigers just didn’t match up well in this one.

The Eagles scored three touchdowns and a field goal in their first four possessions to open up a 24-0 advantage as the second quarter got underway. For the night, they rolled up 343 yards of offense, scoring on runs of 23, 25, 25 and 2 yards and kicking a 25-yard field goal.  Defensively, they held Massillon to just 44 yards and three first downs.  In fact, the Tigers never crossed midfield, except when Jamir Thomas intercepted a pass and returned it to the Eagle 31.  Only they turned the ball over on downs four plays later.

On the bright side, the coaching staff has plenty of game film to use in pointing out areas that must be improved upon prior to the season opener against Mentor.

In earlier action, both the JV and the Freshmen teams scrimmaged.  The format was four 10-play series each, starting at the opponent’s 40 yardline.  The JV team lost to St. Eds four touchdowns to two.  The Freshmen team defeated St. Eds six touchdowns to three.

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Tigers Prepare to Face Challenging Schedule

This Friday evening, the Tigers will conclude their preseason when they take on perennial state power Lakewood St. Edward.  It will be a difficult task to be sure. But they hope to parlay that experience into a victory over another power in Mentor, which invades Paul Brown Tiger Stadium the following Friday.  For without a league title in which to contend, it’s all about making the state playoffs, which must come before any talk about post-season success.

The magic number is “7.”  That’s the number of wins a typical Massillon team would need to qualify for the playoffs.  But there’s more to it than just winning games. The win total must also include a significant number of teams that are also winners in order to accumulate sufficient computer points.

The playoffs have been around since 1972.  Here’s a look back at the win totals of past Tiger teams regarding the number of teams that would have finished in the top eight of the region, taking into account that the present setup was not in place until 1999.

  • 10 wins: 5 of 5 qualified for the playoffs
  • 9 wins: 7 of 8
  • 8 wins: 12 of 12
  • 7 wins: 8 of 10
  • 6 wins: 3 of 7
  • 5 wins: 0 of 1
  • 4 wins: 0 of 4

So with at least seven wins, the Tigers qualified for the playoffs 91% of the time.  Even with six wins there was a fighting chance.  Of course, seven wins isn’t a guarantee, since a weak schedule can work against you, as it did in both 1978 (9-0-1) and 2011 (7-3).  But an overly strong schedule can also work against.  In some years, the schedule was just too difficult to overcome as the following discussion will point out.

We’ll start by rating the strength-of-schedule for each year using the following point system:

  • Rating 0 – The team is flat out not very good at football; ex. Toledo Bowsher
  • Rating 1 – Public or smaller parochial school that did not win at least seven games and did not qualify for the playoffs
  • Rating 2 – Public or smaller parochial school that did win at least seven games or qualified for the playoffs
  • Rating 3 – Large parochial school

The overall strength-of-schedule is then determined by summing all of the ratings for the ten-game regular season.  For example, in 2015 the strength-of-schedule was 18, given that 9 teams made the playoffs (rating = 2) and one team was rated zero.

In case you were wondering, here is Massillon’s winning percentage against each of these groups since 1972:

  • Rating 0: 32-0-0 (100%)
  • Rating 1: 215-15-1 (93%)
  • Rating 2: 84-80-3 (51%)
  • Rating 3: 2-18-0 (10%)

If you pull out the Massillon teams that won at least seven games, here are the percentages:

  • Rating 0: 21-0-0 (100%
  • Rating 1: 178-8-1 (95%)
  • Rating 2: 69-40-2 (63%)
  • Rating 3: 2-9-0 (18%)

Therefore, it could be concluded that the difference between the Massillon teams that qualified for the playoffs and those that didn’t was better performance against the Rated 2 opponents.  The qualifiers won 63% of these games, whereas the non-qualifiers won just 27%.  Pretty obvious, of course.  But strength-of-schedule still factors in when you consider both number of better opponents on the schedule and Massillon’s traditional winning percentage against those teams.  The list below shows the number of teams that qualified for the playoffs for each total strength-of-schedule rating:

  • Strength-of-schedule 11 to 12: 7 of 10 qualified for the playoffs
  • Strength-of-schedule 13 to 14: 21 of 22
  • Strength-of-schedule 15: 4 of 9
  • Strength-of-schedule 16 to 18: 2 of 7

The data shows that the optimum strength-of-schedule rating is 13 to 14.  But it also shows the problems of both weak and overly strong schedules.  With a weak schedule, the computer points are lacking in spite of having a lot of wins.  Conversely, with a strong schedule, the wins are sometimes lacking, resulting in insufficient computer points.

Historically, since the introduction of the playoffs, Massillon’s strength-of-schedule has trended upward from 13.5 to the current 14.5, right around the optimum.  Last year’s rating was 14.  For the previous year, Coach Nate Moore’s first, it was 18.

Keep in mind that for the majority of public school programs across the state, these statistics do not hold up.  When these teams are good, they’re good.  And when they’re bad, they’re bad.  Strength-of-schedule doesn’t seem to matter much.  That’s because their programs are not as solid and predictable as Massillon’s.  The Tigers tend to put out a good product every year, so it’s the strength-of-schedule that can have a larger influence on the outcome.

That brings us to this year.  How strong is the schedule and is it conducive based on the statistics for the Tigers to make the playoffs?-  Let’s start by looking at each opponent.

  • Mentor – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Returns a 3-year starter at quarterback for a team that emphasizes the pass.  Rating = 2.
  • Canton GlenOak – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.
  • Warren Harding – Would have qualified for the D2 playoffs in 5 of the last 10 years. Rating = 1.5.
  • Youngstown Ursuline – Struggled last year. Expected to struggle again.  Rating = 1.
  • Bedford – Now a D2 team, would have qualified for the D2 playoffs in 3 of the last 4 years. Returns a good nucleus of skilled athletes.  Rating = 2.
  • Austintown Fitch – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 5 of the last 6 years. Rating = 1.5.
  • Canisius, NY – Large parochial school from New York. Parochial state champs last year.  Rating = 3.
  • Akron Firestone – Finished 4-6 in 2016. Expected to be better this year.  Rating = 1.
  • Akron St. Vincent – Qualified for the playoffs in 9 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.
  • Canton McKinley – Qualified for the D1 playoffs in 8 of the last 10 years. Rating = 2.

Based on the above, the strength-of-schedule for the 2017 season is predicted to be 18.  This would make it the most difficult schedule the Tigers have faced since the introduction of the playoffs, matching that of the 1989 and 2014 seasons.  Seven or eight of the opponents would be expected to qualify for the playoffs and that includes Canisius.  But it is not an impossible task as demonstrated by second-year coach Lee Owens, who also faced a strength-of-schedule rating of 18.  He fashioned his 1989 team into an 8-2 record and advanced to the D1 regional finals before losing to eventual state champ Cleveland St. Ignatius. And Coach Moore’s first team was one play away from qualifying.

Based on both the strength-of-schedule and the expectations of the other teams in the region, with this schedule six wins might just be enough to be playing in Week 11.  But let’s not settle for that.  Let’s just win them all!

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Massillon, Midpark Wage Spirited Scrimmage

The intensity was high for Saturday’s scrimmage No. 2 at Massillon’s Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.  Massillon was coming off of what Coach Nate Moore described as a disappointing performance against Avon last Tuesday and looked to ramp up both the execution and the effort.  Meanwhile, Berea Midpark was trying to erase the memory last year’s complete domination by the Tigers in a similar venue.

The much-improved Titans were led by strong-armed quarterback Trevor Bycznski, a 6’-5”, 225 lb. junior.  Massillon, meanwhile, countered with a bevy of skilled athletes.  While the scrimmage started off fairly even, in the end it was clear that the Tigers had shown the improvement they were looking for enroute to another dominating performance versus the Titans.

Tre’von Morgan with the TD Reception.
Preston Hodges pushes toward the endzone. Marcellous Blake looks for a block.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 1 of the scrimmage called for each team to run two 10-play series, starting at their own 40 yardline.  Massillon tallied three times and Midpark twice.

Midpark: TD on a 3-yard run.  TD on a 45-yard pass.  The second score was a sideline throw to the wide receiver, who slipped a potential tackle by the cornerback and raced 40 yards to the end zone.  The Tigers’ Preston Hodges recorded an interception

Massillon: TD on a 25-yard run by Tyree Broyles.  TD on a 60-yard bomb from Anthony Pedro to Dean Clark.  TD on a 50-yard bomb from Pedro to Tre-von Morgan.

Part 2 of the scrimmage called for each team to run a series of plays starting at the opponents 20 yardline.  Massillon tallied four times and Midpark twice.

Midpark: TD on a 20-yard pass.  TD on a 10-yard pass.  Kameron Simpson recorded an interception.

Massillon: TD on a 20-yard pass from Aidan Longwell to Aydrik Ford.  TD on a 5-yard pass from Longwell to Hunter Anthony.  TD on a 1-yard run by Marcellous Blake.  TD on a 10-yard pass from Pedro to Morgan.

The JV team then got into the action, with Robbie Page intercepting a pass.  Jayden Ballard scored from 60 yards out and again from 40 yards out on passes from Jacob Catrone.

Part 3 of the scrimmage was one half of game condition football.  At this point the Tigers appeared to kick it up a notch and were clearly the better team, scoring four times in their first five possessions.  Midpark never threatened.

Midpark had the ball first, starting on its own 20 yardline.  On the first play from scrimmage Cameron Simpson stepped in front of the intended Titan receiver and intercepted a Bycznski pass at the 26.  From there, it took just one play for Jamir Thomas to take a handoff from Longwell and race to the end zone.  Clay Moll’s kick was good and the Tigers were out to a quick 7-0 lead.

The other three scores came on long drives.  Moll connected on a 28-yard field goal, Dean Clark caught a 16-yard pass from Longwell, aided by a terrific block from Morgan, and Thomas ran 53 yards, making the final score 24-0.

Observations:

  • Play was much improved from the Avon scrimmage, particularly when the teams went to game condition football.
  • This is not a “one-man” team. Several players are capable of making the big play.
  • Lots of athleticism and depth at the skill positions. Decent size, but not so much depth along the lines.
  • Overall team speed is much improved from last year.
  • All three quarterbacks (Longwell, Pedro and Catrone) executed the offense well and were fairly accurate on their throws. All showed the potential to go deep.
  • Three good running backs (Thomas, Louis Partridge and Blake) providing both power and speed where called for.
  • Open field tackling needs a bit of work.
  • Still need to improve the pass rush, but this may be due to using a base 3-4 alignment.
  • The kicking game is in good hands with Moll converting all of his PATs plus the field goal try.  His kickoffs were high and deep, with one reaching the end zone on the fly.

The final scrimmage is against Lakewood St. Edward, scheduled for 7:00 pm on Friday, August 18.

Dyson Berry with the pass breakup.
Aidan Longwell throws under pressure.
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First Scrimmage is In the Books

The Tigers opened their 3-game scrimmage schedule with a trip to perennial Division 2 power Avon.  Typical of a first scrimmage, it was an opportunity for the coaches to evaluate individual players as they search for the eventual starting eleven.  A final score is certainly not an indicator of a team’s potential, but the degree of effort certainly carries some weight.  That is what the coaches were looking for and on this night it wasn’t lacking for either team.

Anthony Ballard (21) looks for running room in the bubble screen. Blocking are Deon Williams (50) and Alec Soto (70).
Jamir Thomas avoids a tackler and scores for the Tigers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scrimmage opened with Massillon’s first team offense running ten plays followed by Massillon’s second team offense running ten plays.  Each possession started at the Tiger 30 yardline. Then it was Avon’s turn.  The series was then repeated once more.

The Tiger first unit advanced to the Avon 32 on its first possession, but failed to pick up a first down on the second possession.  The second unit moved to the Avon 15 on its second possession, but ran out of plays.

Avon’s first possession was stopped at the ten on an interception by Dean Clark.  The second possession stalled at the Massillon 45.  Avon’s second team was stopped at the Massillon 20 on its first possession.

The next phase of the scrimmage involved running a series of plays starting at the opponent’s 25, similar to an overtime or red zone scenario.  Massillon’s first team scored when Jamir Thomas ran in from the 15.  The second team scored twice, on a 3-yard run by Louis Partridge and an Anthony Pedro to Jaden Ballard pass covering 25 yards.

Avon’s first unit scored on a 5-yard run and the second unit scored on a 23-yard pass/run and a 13-yard run.

Between possessions, each team had an opportunity to practice field goals.  Massillon’s Clay Moll was perfect from 20, 32 and 37 yards, and two of four from 42 yards out.

Observations

  • Offensively, Massillon mixed the run and pass equally. Aiden Longwell started at quarterback and, when given the time to throw, was accurate on most of his passes.  In the running department, Jamir Thomas showed the power he exhibited last year, with surprising speed in the open field.  Louis Partridge appears quicker and shiftier than last year and also ran with some physicality.
  • Avon’s defense utilized a 3-4 blitz package, which caused a lot of problems for the Tiger offensive line. And since the quarterback was called down when pressured or when exiting the pocket, many plays were just never completed.  However, Longwell showed the ability to tuck the ball and run when needed.
  • Defensively, Massillon was aligned in a base 3-4 defense with cover 2 and only blitzed on occasion. With Avon opting to throw the ball 90% of the time, it did find success through the air given the minimal pass rush, albeit all of the completions were of the short variety.  But the scheme did set up their few runs nicely.
  • Both offenses appeared ahead of the defenses in this early going, except for Massillon’s inability to handle the blitz. This was probably due to neither team scouting and game-planning the other.  But then again, neither could finish off a drive.
  • There will be a bit of a learning curve for these young Tigers as they become accustomed to both a new offense and a new defense. But they appear to be talent-rich, very quick and better open-field tacklers than last year.
Dean Clark (10) plants the Avon tailback.  Also shown are Preston Hodges (31) and Kameron Simpson (18).
Louis Partridge fends off an Avon tackler

 

 

Massillon Tigers Letter Logo Booster Club

FUNDRAISER: Sideliners Steak Dinner and Reverse Raffle

 

WHEN: August 17th, 2017
WHERE: Eagles 190 – www.eagles190.com
TIME: 6:00 P.M.

HOW MUCH?: $250/ticket – includes steak dinner and entry to raffle.

HOW DO I GET TICKETS?: contact Mark Fair (markfair@hotmail.com) or Anthony Repp (repp.anthony@gmail.com) – Also available at Keller’s Office Furniture – 47 Lincoln Way W.

The Sideliners will be hosting their annual fundraiser. This reverse raffle fundraiser is used to offset the costs of feeding our Massillon Tigers each week prior to the weekly game. Included with your ticket will be a steak dinner and the main event is a reverse raffle with $13,000 in payouts. The ticket price is $250.

Read below about the Sideliners program

http://massillontigers.com/booster-club/sideliners/

Important Sideliner dates:
August 19th 1:00 p.m. – Team picnic at Stadium Park. Meet your player. Bring chairs and a covered dish.
August 23rd time T.B.D. – Rally downtown.
August 24th 6:00 p.m. – 1st team dinner at Knights of Columbus.

If you are interested in becoming a sideliner, please contact Mark Fair (markfair@hotmail.com) or Anthony Repp (repp.anthony@gmail.com).

Thanks, Mark Fair & Anthony Repp (co-chairmen of Sideliners)

 

Booster Club

TRADITION: Miniature Footballs to Newborns

If you mention to stranger that you are from Massillon, they often connect our town to football. The second question you receive is: “Isn’t that the place where they present a miniature football to newborns?”

The practice of presenting miniature footballs to baby boys started in 1958 at what was then Massillon Hospital. There is however a short cut from the film “Touchdown Town” that was released in 1953. It shows a newborn arriving home with his parents. Mom is proudly carrying the young Tiger and dad is following with a full sized football that was presented to the family by the Football Booster Club.

In recent years this practice has taken a different path. In a cost cutting move the Affinity Medical Center in Massillon was forced to close the local OB-GYN unit and local births now take place in other hospitals out of town. Because the hospital staff doesn’t have the Massillon loyalty the presentation has become somewhat hit and miss.

If you are a Tiger fan and have a newborn in your family and you did not receive a miniature football, the Booster Club would be glad to make sure your newborn gets an official Tiger Football.

Your newborn can receive a football from the Booster Club by contacting this year’s President, Ben Lieberman, at 330-564-6265.  Or you can email him at  benxrow2002@yahoo.com. He will see that you get a football from the Booster Club.

Proud of our Traditions! Go Tigers!

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2017 Touchdown Club Information

Touchdown Club

The first Touchdown Club meeting will be held on Tuesday August 22nd, 2017 at the Eagles F.O.E. 190 in downtown Massillon. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and the meeting will take place at 12:00 p.m.

Membership dues are $25.00 for the season and meals are $8.00 per week with exception to McKinley week which is $12.00.

Please contact Matt Keller for more information or an application letter.

Go Tigers!

Matt Keller

330-327-6290

History

The Buddy LaRosa Football Classic

It began as a modest 30 x 30 square foot neighborhood eatery and grew in size to over 50 locations throughout the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas.  Today, LaRosa’s Restaurants employ some 2,000 full and part-time workers and are one of the most popular venues in the Queen City.  As a way of giving back to the community that supported him so well, Buddy LaRosa staged one of the finest high school football invitationals that Ohio has ever seen.

The event was held in Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium on September 1, 1990, and billed as “Cincinnati versus the USA.”  In fact, the list of opponents for the classic was a literal “who’s-who” of prep school football, matched in the following five games (1989 records shown):

GAME 1: Brentwood Academy, TN (11-2), currently ranked No. 1 in the nation vs. Cincinnati LaSalle (7-3)

GAME 2: Berwick, PA (14-1) vs. Fairfield (5-5)

GAME 3: Massillon (10-3) vs. Covington Catholic, KY (11-2)

GAME 4: Mount Carmel, Chicago, IL (13-1), the 1989 Illinois state champion, vs. Cincinnati Moeller (11-3), Ohio’s 1989 state runner-up

GAME 5: Booker T. Washington, Tulsa, OK (13-2) vs. Cincinnati Elder (10-1)

In the opening game LaSalle upset Brentwood Academy 10-0 and then Fairfield beat Berwick 20-6, giving Cincinnati a 2-0 edge in the series.  Now it was time for the orange and black to take the field.

Covington returned an experienced team under 15th year head coach Lyn Ray.  In fact, the Colonels were 38-4 over the past three years, including a pair of state titles.  Massillon was coached by Lee Owens, who was in his third year as headman of the Tigers.  Considered as one of the top powers in Ohio each year, Massillon was coming off an impressive 51-0 opening week victory over Stow, which finished the 1990 season with an 8-2 record.

Covington struck first, one minute into the game, by intercepting a pass and returning it 35 yards for touchdown.  On their second attempt, the Tigers stalled at their own 25 and were faced with a punt situation.  Only it was a fake.  Up man Troy Burick took a direct snap and tossed a flair pass to Travis McGuire, who had adjusted his position to the outside.  McGuire gathered the ball and raced 20 yards for a first down.  From there, the Tigers drove to the end zone, with James McCullough scoring from the three.  The PAT failed, but the gap was closed to 7-6.

In the second quarter Massillon began to take control, with touchdowns by Quarterback Barry Shertzer and McGuire, putting the Tigers up a halftime, 18-7.

Covington scored in the 3rd to close the deficit to four points, but the Tigers exploded for 21 points late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.  First Shertzer went over from the 15 following a recovered fumble.  Then Falando Ashcraft tallied from 35 yards out.  Finally, Scott Karenbauer returned a punt 77 yards for a TD to ice the game.  Ryan John converted all three PATs.  All of this occurred in less than two minutes of play.

The Tigers ended up completely dominating the Colonels in the stats department, leading in total yards, 369-111.  On top of that, Ashcraft had a career day, rushing 28 times for 190 yards and was named the game’s MVP.  It made for a great ride home from Cincinnati.

In the late games, Mount Carmel bested Moeller 20-7, and Booker T. Washington turned back Elder 21-9, giving USA the edge, 3-2.

Covington Catholic finished 9-1 that year, winning a District championship, while Massillon ended up 8-3, losing to Sandusky in the playoff regional finals.  But this victory and rest of the season would set the stage for a greater 1991 season to follow.