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1990: Massillon 70, Nordonia 0

September 26, 1990August 23, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers crown Knights, 70-0

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Remember how you felt the last time you were in the middle of the big hill on your favorite roller coaster?

That sort of giddy release flushed the faces of most Massillon Tiger fans Friday night after a 70‑0 atomic drop on Nordonia at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Following gut‑twisters that became losses to Cincinnati Moeller and Austintown‑Fitch playoff hungry Tigertown did not need a simple victory over a clear underdog Nordonia.

Tigertown needed ‑ and got ‑ a knockout punch. A crowd of 9,872 saw Massillon improve to 4‑2 and Nordonia fall to 3‑3.

The Tigers put a Falando Ashcraft ‑ ‘flyin’, Travis McGuire‑’high‑fivin’, Gary Young‑’skyin’ 70‑0 whoppin’ on the Knights. That trio accounted for 252 of the Tigers 423 rushing yards.

Other 70-0 games

Friday’s 70-0 rout of Nordonia was the fifth such victory in Massillon history. The other 70-0 games:

Year, foe Tiger coach
1922, New Philadelphia Paul Brown
1935, Akron East Paul Brown
1936, Portsmouth Paul Brown
1959, Mansfield Leo Strang

The five biggest Tiger routes:

Year, foe Score
1922, Akron North 94-0
1959, Barberton 90-0
1918, Orrville 82-0
1923, Salem 82-0
1924, Alliance 77-0

Ashcraft, who scored three touchdowns, said the Tigers are back.

“We wanted to blow them out early and give the guys on the second team a chance to play,” he said after rushing 74 yards in 12 carries.

If was 35-0 at halftime. The first unit played one series in the third-quarter. The second and third units came on (strong, in fact), the way the Tiger bench players did in a famous 90-0 win over Barberton in 1959.

This was the fifth time in Massillon history the Tigers have won by a 70-0 final. Massillon teams have won 11 shutouts by scores greater than 70-0, including a record 94-0 win over Akron North in 1922.

“Right now,” Ashcraft added, we’ve forgotten about the first half of the season, Right now, we’re concentrating on winning the rest of our games, one week at a time.”

Ashcraft wasn’t the only Tiger who thought Friday’s outcome was good tonic for the Tigers.
“I was not worried about us at all,: said Young, the little speed merchant who looked like Barry Sanders on breakaway touchdown runs of 50 and 38 yards. “Both of the losses were in our hands. We were close to being undefeated.

“Right now,” added Young, known for his headlong dives on special teams, “this brings us back together… where we need to be…a team.:

“The main thing,” added Dan Scinry, a junior who has looked strong on the offensive line, “was getting our pride back. We had a tough week of practice. In fact, we had a new drill called The Pride Drill. It helped a lot.:

Head coach, Lee Owens cited the underrated factor of getting playing time for everyone on the team.
“We played everyone and any number of guys did a good job,” he said. “We talked all week about starting over again. Tonight was he first leg of a five‑game home stand. There are some tough games coming up. But it was a great way to start.”

Junior Troy Burick got the start at quarterback, with senior Barry Shertzer wearing a sport hat and a Massillon American Legion baseball jacket on the sidelines after suffering a concussion last week.

Burick let it all hang out early, throwing an incomplete bomb to Marc Stafford on the first play of the game. The Tigers didn’t score on that series, but the second time they had the ball Burick, whose forte is running, found a grand canyon around the right side on a bootleg run and raced 38 yards to the 17.

On the next play McGuire showed some cuts and jukes that could soon get him a job at an Arthur‑Murray studio near you. It went for a touchdown.

The Tigers had only two other possessions the rest of the way on which they did not score.

Nick Mossides and Seth Aegerter joined Burick as Tiger quarterbacks who directed touchdown drives.

“I thought all of our quarterbacks looked good,” Owens said.

It is believed Shertzer will reclaim the starting job when he returns to full health. He will not be allowed to take part in contact drills until the middle of next week at the earliest; hence his status is uncertain for next Saturday’s game against Indianapolis North Central.

“We’ll have to see how things go in practice. Owens said.

By, the late stages of the second quarter, it was apparent the Tigers had far too many horses for the Knights.

A scout from Indianapolis captured the mood when the Tigers gained possession on the 13-yard line after a ball was snapped over the Nordonia punter’s head.

“Two plays or three?” the scout said to his partner.

Surprise! It took the Tigers four plays to score (James McCullough bulled in from the two with seven seconds left in the half)

Ryan John, who has quietly become a reliable point after kicker, converted the boot to create the 35-0 halftime score.

Some of the Nordonia players were bothered that the Tigers added another 35 in the second half.

Nordonia head coach Jim Fox held no grudges whatsoever.

“I told Lee, ‘I didn’t think you ran up the score’ He put in his second and third units and you can’t tell them to lay down,” said Fox. “I’m embarrassed we did so poor more than anything else.

“I knew it would be a real physical mismatch. Stow was picked to win our conference, Nobody picked us for a high finish. We have a competitive, scrappy bunch of guys. But when I saw that Massillon beat Stow 51-0, I knew we might be in some trouble.”

The Tigers led only 7‑0 after one quarter but scored on the first play of the second period, Stafford, who could become a more prominent figure in the passing game the rest of the way, got wide open in the left flat, took a short pass from Burick at the 12, and juked the rest of the way on a 19-yard scoring play.

A Ron Humphrey fumble recovery at the six set up the third touchdown, a six yard run by Ashcraft with 9:39 left in the half.

The Tigers then drove 61 yards after a punt. Ashcraft scoring from two yards away.

Nordonia crossed midfield for the only time on the opening possession of the second half before stalling at the 23. The first‑team offense drove 77 yards. Ashcraft running four yards for a TD with 4:40 left in the third quarter. John kick made it 42-0.

McCullough, the Tigers’ big backup fullback, muscled his way 25 yards for a touchdown with 10:57 left in the game. John’s kick made it 49‑0.

The Tigers quickly got the ball back on a fumble, and the 5‑foot‑8 Young quickly found daylight and put some distance on the pack on a 50-yard TD burst with 9:32 left.

Jason Brown’s P.A.T. kick made it 56 zip.

Nordonia punted after three plays and Young scored on a carbon copy of his previous touchdown play, this time traveling 38 yards. Gary Miller, who gave up placekicking to focus on being this year’s starting center, booted one for old time’s sake and it was 63-0 with 6:10 left.

The final touchdown was set up by Aegerter’s 52-yard bootleg run to the two. Ron Roberson scored on the next play with 2:49 left. Miller’s kick enabled the Tigers to hit the 70 mark for the first time since 1959, when Mansfield Senior was handed a 70-0 shiner.

MASSILLON 70
NORDONIA 0
M N
First downs rushing 16 4
First downs passing 4 3
First downs by penalty 1 0
Total first downs 21 7
Yards gained rushing 422 129
Yards lost rushing 11 36
Net yards rushing 412 93
Net yards passing 64 33
Total Yards gained 476 126
Passes attempted 12 13
Passes completed 5 3
Passes Int. by 2 1
Yardage on pass int. 10 2
Kickoff average 42.9 45.0
Kickoff return yards 19 74
Punts 2 7
Punting average 46.0 29.7
Punt return yards 54 4
Fumbles 3 3
Fumbles lost 1 2
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 25 29
Number of plays 55 57
Time of possession 18:02 29:58

Nordonia 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 7 26 7 28 70

M ‑ McGuire 17 run (John kick)
M ‑ Stafford 19 pass from Burick (John kick)
M ‑ Ashcraft 6 run (John kick)
M – Ashcraft 2 run (John kick)
M – Ashcraft 4 run (John kick)
M – McCullough 25 run (John kick)
M – Young 50 run (Brown kick)
M ‑ Young 38 run (Miller kick)
M – Roberson 2 run (Miller kick)

History

1990: Massillon 7, Austintown Fitch 14

September 21, 1990August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Another loss in Austintown

Tigers’ Twilight zone
rears its ugly head, 14-7

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

AUSTINTOWN ‑ The Massillon Tigers have found their Bermuda Triangle. They have located their Twilight Zone. They have landed on their Field of Dreams (nightmares are dreams, too, aren’t they?). For the Tigers, its name is Fitch Stadium. They lost there 14‑7 Friday night to drop to 3‑2 in the 1990 high school football season.

The Fitch Falcons, 5‑0 this year, improved to 3‑0 against Massillon at that dastardly place. In 1986 the Tigers lost at Fitch on the last play from scrimmage. In 1988 they lost on a game‑ending field goal.

Last night they lost with a quarterback who played much of the fourth quarter with a concussion not discovered until after the game, played in a murky rain.

Counting the games in Massillon, the Tigers are 2‑4 in the all‑time series against Fitch.

‘We could make so many excuses if we wanted to. But maybe that’s not what we need to be doing right now’
Lee Owens

Fitch’s head coach throughout has been David Hartman.

In 1965 Hartman earned a diploma from Washington High. Maybe they should take it back. On the other hand, it’s nothing personal. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Hartman said amid Fitch’s post‑game celebration.

What Fitch does best is block out of the wing‑T formation on offense. Hartman ought to get an honorary masters degree in misdirection.

“We have guys going this way, that way and every which way,” Hartman said. “Massillon has a lot of quick kids who really swarm to the football. If you run the same guy on the same play all of the time, they’ll kill, you. With a.11.9ur misdirection, they had a difficult time ganging up on us.”

Tiger head coach Lee Owens knows better than anyone two straight losses is the wrong direction.

“We were flat, there were some big penalties, the field was wet we could make so many excuses i
we wanted to. But maybe that’s not what we need to be doing right now,” Owens said. “There was a
point in the game when they were outplaying us. We started playing harder, but we couldn’t get over the
hump.

“There’s no reason for what happened tonight. I really felt coming in we were definitely the better team. Fitch played a good ball game. We didn’t.”

Fitch’s misdirection started clicking at the end of the first half when the Falcons drove 57 yards for a touchdown. With 1:22 left in the half, 6‑4 tight end Dave Fitz‑Patrick caught an eight‑yard touchdown pass from 5‑9 quarterback Frank Senediak on third‑and‑eight.

“We thought their cornerback would be playing up and he was,” Fitz‑Patrick said. “That enabled me to get pretty open.”

Senediak, a carbon copy of Fitch’s bootlegging wizard who was the 1988 quarterback, Derrick Fletcher, passed just enough to keep the Tigers off balance, completing six of seven for 68 yards.

Senediak also ran 16 times for 64 yards. His ball handling was the key on Fitch’s opening possession of the third quarter, which ended when he hit another wide‑open receiver, running back Chris Davis, on an 18‑yard touchdown pass.

Gary Pritchard, who gave up soccer to be a placekicker, boomed the P.A.T. and it was 14‑0 with 7:54 left in the third quarter.

Facing a must‑score possession, the Tigers did just that, driving 65 yards off the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. It wasn’t easy. Following two bootleg runs by quarterback Barry Shertzer that went for losses, it was fourth‑and‑16 from the 29.

Tight end Chris Roth lined up on the right side, beat the coverage on a post pattern, and hauled in a nicely thrown bomb from Shertzer for the touchdown. Ryan John’s P.A.T. kick sneaked over the crossbar and it was 14‑7 with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

It was unclear when Shertzer suffered the concussion, but it may have been on a hit during one of those bootleg runs.

Shertzer, who completed a key third‑and‑11 pass of 37 yards to split end Steve Brown, was woozy after the contest. At 1:15 a.m., he was in the emergency room at Massillon Community Hospital. It was believed he would stay overnight as a precaution.

Shertzer had thrown only one interception in four games but was picked off twice Friday. The Tigers also fumbled the ball twice.

“Their offense did a nice job, but as far as their defense I thought it was mostly a matter of us stopping ourselves,” Owens said.

The Massillon (defense took control in the fourth quarter. With just under seven minutes to go, the Tigers had caught on to Fitch’s misdirection and stuffed the falcons deep in their own territory. On a third down carry that went nowhere, Fitch senior running back Jim Toto made the mistake of yelling an expletive at Tiger cornerback Chad Buckland.

Fitch was penalized half the distance to the goal and had to punt from its own 14.

A 43‑yard punt still left Massillon in excellent field position, but Fitch had the ball back on a fumble on the next play.

The Tiger defense made another big stand, but a punt evaded return man Troy Burick, who pounced on the pigskin at the 7.

On the next play, Falando Ashcraft charged over the left side and nearly broke away for a touchdown. He was stopped after a 21yard gain. Two plays later, Ashcraft bounced outside and gained 32 yards to the Fitch 42. The Tigers were in business.

Ashcraft ran two yards on a critical fourth‑and‑one moments later, but on first down, a Shertzer pass seemed to slip out of his hand and went directly into the arms of Toto.

“It was an automatic,” Owens said. “Fitch didn’t have our receiver covered and Barry called the audible.”

But Fitch called the shots after that, and ran out the clock.

Nobody seemed to give Fitch much of a chance before the game, a fact not lost on the Falcons.

“Even the local paper, The Vindicator, said we didn’t have a chance,” said Senediak. “It got us fired up when we read we weren’t supposed to have much talent or much size. We didn’t think we were going to win. We knew we were going to win.”

Fitz‑Patrick, the tight end who caught the early touchdown pass, painted the Falcons as a confident bunch.
“We think we can win the state championship,” he said.

Owens had said before the game this year’s Fitch team is capable of beating any state power on a given night, but may have difficulty doing it consistently.

Hartman concedes the Falcons still have some proving to do. “That remains to be seen,” he said, when asked if his team is capable of beating Ursuline, Mooney and Boardman, three powerhouses left on the schedule.

The Tigers’ next three games are against Nordonia, Indianapolis North Central and Youngstown East, all at home.

‘To tell you the truth, I didn’t say much to our players after the game,” Owens said. “It’s clear what we have to do … work our tails off and rebuild after these setbacks.”

FITCH 14
MASSILLON 7
M F
First downs rushing 3 11
First downs passing 6 3
First downs by penalty 1 0
Totals first downs 10 14
Yards gained rushing 119 177
Yards lost rushing 25 14
Net yards rushing 94 163
Net yards passing 155 68
Total yards gained 249 231
Passes attempted 25 7
Passes completed 10 6
Passes int. by 2 0
Yardage on pass int 0 20
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average 38.0 44.7
Kickoff return yards 32 34
Punts 3 4
Punting average 42.7 38.5
Punt return yards 14 27
Fumbles 3 2
Fumbles lost 2 1
Penalties 4 6
Yards penalized 35 46
Number of plays 50 55
Time of possession 18:11 29:49
Attendance 11,500

Individual statistics

Rushing
(M) Ashcraft 12‑89.
(F) Senediak 16‑70, Javit 12‑38, Davis 10‑39.

Passing
(M) Shertzer 10‑25‑2,155 yards.
(F) Senediak 6‑7‑0, 68 yards.

Massillon 0 0 7 0 7
Fitch 0 7 7 0 14

F – Fitz-Patrick 8 Pass from Senediak (Pritchard kick)
F ‑ Davis 13 pass from Senediak (Pritchard kick)
M ‑ Roth 29 pass from Shertzer (John kick)

History

1990: Massillon 23, Cincinnati Moeller 24

September 15, 1990August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Owens. Forget and move on
Moeller wins on pass with seconds left

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

The Browns were on live Sunday but the Massillon Tigers watched reruns.

The game they watched was better than the Browns vs. the Jets, too.

It was, of course, the game film of the previous night’s 24‑23 loss to Cincinnati Moeller before 16,764 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. You could give it the title: “The Ecstasy and the Agony.”

But head coach Lee Owens preferred another: “History.”

“We’ve officially closed the book on Cincinnati Moeller,” Owens said at 3:45 p.m., just after the team film viewing ended.

“It was a great game to coach in. It was one big chess match … there were literally adjustments made by both sides on every play.

“It was also an extremely difficult game to lose. But it’s over. It’s time to prepare for another tough challenge.”

The Tigers, whose 3‑1 record is the same as Moeller’s, will play Friday at Austintown‑Fitch. Fitch is off to a 4‑0 start, including a dominating performance against a Mentor team that thought this might be a playoff year. The Falcons have won their only two games against the Tigers in Austintown.

In fact, the most recent loss at Fitch was quite like Saturday’s setback to Moeller.

At Fitch in 1988, Jeff Wilkens kicked a 43‑yard field goal on the last play of the game to reverse a Tiger lead.

At Tiger Stadium Saturday, with the Tigers leading 23‑17 in the closing seconds, Carlos Collins streaked open over the middle and caught a perfectly thrown 39‑yard touchdown pass from Moeller quarterback Neil Dougherty.

The play ended with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 23‑all. Senior Terry Knecht, who has the same thunder in his right leg as Wilkens, easily boomed the extra point through the uprights.

It was a crushing moment for Tigertown.

Prior to Moeller’s final possession, which began with 2:55 left in the game and 67 yards away from the Massillon goal line, the Tigers had clearly played well enough to end their 10‑year jinx during which the Cincinnati powerhouse had won the only four games ever played between the teams.

Prior to the final possession, the Tigers led 234‑198 in total offense…and looked good doing it.

Dougherty, however, led Moeller downfield and came up with a couple big plays. He converted twice on crucial fourth downs, including a fourth‑and‑10 one play before Collins’ dramatic catch.

Yet, wrenching as it was, one of the elements that makes Massillon Tigertown was exposed even as Collins danced back to the sidelines.

Spontaneous applause broke out among the Tiger fans.

“I thought the boys played a good game,” explained one woman who was applauding.

No question about that. This was by far the best of the Massillon‑Moeller games. It also was the first one in which the Tigers had the lead.

The Tigers took the lead by ramming the ball 69 yards on the first possession of the second half. They got the second‑half kickoff following a little bit of macho ‑ they had deferred after winning the opening coin toss, choosing to kick off to Moeller.

Knecht’s 33‑yard field goal on’ Moeller’s first possession of the second half made it 21‑17. The Tigers took a 23‑17 lead on the fourth play of the fourth quarter when Knecht, serving as Moeller’s punter, couldn’t reach a high snap that squirmed out of the end zone for a safety.

The Tigers couldn’t capitalize on good field position off the ensuing ‘fee kick, nor on similarly good field position after a Moeller punt.

Scott Karrenbauer’s fair catch of that punt gave Massillon possession on its own 29 with 6:46 left. Two players who had their finest games advanced the ball downfield. Tight end Chris Roth caught a Barry Shertzer pass for 14 yards. Later, running back Travis McGuire twisted and churned for a 17‑yard gain for a first down on the Moeller 32.

On fourth‑and‑one from the 23, as the clock wound near 3:00, the Tigers decided to go for a first down.

“I thought they’d try to kick a field goal there,” Moeller coach Steve Klonne said. “If they’d have made a field goal, we’d have been dead.”

Owens said a field goal was not a realistic option, the coaches having determined from practice kicks that their range is 30 to 35 yards. The field goal would have been around 40 yards.

Instead, the give went to Falando Ashcraft, who had a touch of daylight inside but seemed to spot a bigger opening to the outside. He bounced outside but was stopped by Moeller’s best defensive player, linebacker Jason Knecht.

Moeller proceeded to move the ball despite sacks by Massillon linemen Mark Murphy and Jermaine Hinton. Dougherty came up with the big completions when his team needed them the most. None was bigger than the fourth‑and‑10 pass to senior Jon Hess to the Massillon 39.

The play was somewhat controversial. Replays suggested Hess may have caught the sideline pass on a short hop. The spot of the ball seemed generous. Klonne seemed in agony on the sideline, apparently fearing it was over.

But when the measurement was made, Massillon coach Jim Letcavits observed with quiet resolve on the sideline, “They got it by half the ball.”

Collins then scored on the next play, The big one had slipped away, leaving the Tigers hoping for better things in the next big one, this week.

MOELLER 24
MASSILLON 23
MA MO
First downs rushing 9 4
First downs passing 4 8
First downs Penalty 0 0
Total first down 13 12
Net yards rushing 156 151
Net yards passing 92 160
Total net yards 234 265
Passes attempted 15 23
Passes completed 9 12
Passes intercepted 0 1
Fumbles/lost 2‑1 1‑1
Punts 4 5
Punting average 42.0 38.0
Penalties 0 5
Yards penalized 0 40

Moeller 7 7 3 7 24
Massillon 7 7 7 2 23

MOE – Langenkamp 11 pass from Dougherty (Knecht kick)
MAS ‑ Ashcraft 1 run (John kick)
MOE ‑ Collins 4 run (Kncecht kick)
MAS ‑ McGuire 9 run (John kick)
MAS ‑ Ashcraft 1 run (John kick)
MOE ‑ FG Knecht 34
MAS ‑ Safety, Punt snapped out of end zone
MOE – Collins 39 pass from Dougherty (Knecht kick)

Moeller rallies
to stun Massillon

By MARK CRAIG
Repository sports writer

MASSILLON ‑ It was a simple play, but not an easy one to execute unless you have an athlete with composure, good hands and 4.4 speed.

Unfortunately for an estimated crowd of just over 18,000 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, the Cincinnati Moeller High School football team has just that type of athlete, senior running back Carlos Collins.

Collins, who last year stabbed the hearts of Massillon Washington football fans with 322 yards rushing in a 41‑7 rout of the Tigers, did it again Saturday night. His 39‑yard TD reception with 14 seconds left in the game lifted Moeller (3‑1) to a 24‑23 victory over the Tigers.

Lined up as the inside receiver in the trips formation on fourthand‑10, Collins blew past the outside linebacker, streaked by the free safety and snared a perfectly thrown pass by quarterback Neil Dougherty. Terry Knecht’s PAT gave Moeller the one‑point win and raised the Crusaders’ lifetime record against the Tigers to 6‑0.

“The play is nothing fancy,” said Moeller head coach Steve Klonne. “Carlos just streaks ‑zoom! Right down the field. We knew there was nobody on the field who could stay with Carlos.

Not many high school kids can.”

Massillon defensive coordinator Greg Gillum said he knew the game‑winning formation was trouble, even though the Crusaders had lined up in it earlier and not thrown to Collins.

“They’ve hit that play for big yardage in all the games they’ve played,” Gillum said. “We knew they’d be looking for Carlos. We had a guy play about five yards off to try and give them the underneath stuff, but Carlos just blew by everyone.”

Collins, who finished with a game‑high 131 yards rushing on 23 carries, knew he was going to score as soon as he lined up.

“After about six steps, I saw the whole thing develop,” said the 6foot‑1, 187‑pound Collins. “This was a thing of beauty, much more exciting than last year.”

The game also was a thing of beauty for the Tigers ‑ until the final drive, that is. But on that drive, which started at the Moeller 22 with 2:39 left to play, Moeller converted a third‑and‑ 10 situation at the Moeller 37, a fourth‑and‑seven at the Moeller 40 and the final fourth‑and‑10 situation that crushed the Massillon faithful.

Massillon’s offense gave the Tigers a 21‑14 lead by taking the second‑half kickoff and going 69 yards on 14 plays. Junior Falando Ashcraft finished the drive 5:54 after it began by driving into the end zone from a yard out. Ryan John added the PAT.

Massillon’s defense then held Moeller to a 34‑yard field goal by Knecht at the 1:51 mark of the third.

Massillon punter Chris Roth had a big hand in the next score for Massillon ‑ a safety with 9:52 left in the game that gave Massillon a 23‑17 lead.

Roth boomed a 56‑yarder that backed the Crusaders up on their own 8. Four plays later, a high snap went through punter Knecht’s hands and out of the end zone.

What would have been Massillon’s game‑winning drive was stopped on fourth‑and‑1 at the Crusader 22. With 3:13 to go in the game and after Massillon had driven 49 yards in eight plays, Ashcraft plowed into the line, but was stopped for no gain.

Moeller out gained the Tigers in total yards, 265‑234. Moeller had one turnover, while Massillon had none.

Ashcraft led Massillon in rushing with 48 yards on 20 carries. He scored two TDs, the first coming on a 1‑yard run that tied the score at 7‑7 in the first quarter.

Massillon running back Travis McGuire, who had some big gains off the draw play, set up Ashcraft’s second TD with a 23‑yard burst to the 1. He also scored on a 9‑yard draw up the middle to knot the score at two TDs apiece with 1:17 left in the first half.

Moeller 7 7 3 7 24
Massillon 7 7 7 2 23

MO ‑ Lagenkamp 8 pass from Dougherty (Knecht kick)
MA ‑ Ashcraft 1 run (John kick)
MO – Collins 4 run (Knecht kick)
MA ‑ McGuire 9 run (John kick)
MA ‑ Ashcraft 1 run (John kick)
MO ‑ FG Knecht 34
MA ‑ Safety. Punt snap out of end zone
MO ‑ Collins 39 pass from Dougherty (Knecht kick)

History

1990: Massillon 20, Akron Garfield 14

September 7, 1990August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers get win, Rams get respect
Moeller next for 3‑0 Massillon

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Forget the “looking ahead to Moeller factor.

Instead, give Akron Garfield an Aretha Franklin salute:

“R‑E‑S‑P‑E‑C‑T.”

That’s what the Rams deserve for giving the Massillon Tigers a night on the edge before 11,370 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium,

While it is true the Massillon Tigers were not at their best in a 20‑14 victory over Garfield, a couple other things also are true.

One, in the words of old warhorse Nick Vrotsos as he kicked around the game with other Massillon coaches, “The name of the game is to win.”

Two, Garfield is a very good team; so good, in fact, that head coach Lee Owens made sense when he said, “I’d be surprised‑if- they lost another game.”

Two observers in entirely different parts of the Massillon locker room made exactly the same point. They were Gary Vogt, last year’s Booster Club president, and Tom Stacy, the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.

“Garfield has got to be the best 0‑2 team in the state,” they both said.

Hard to argue. The Rams have outgained both McKinley (218‑184) and Massillon (293236) in their defeats.

Bill McGee, the classy Garfield head coach, did not seem to take the loss hard.

“This was definitely a much better effort than our game against McKinley,” he said.

I’m proud of ’em. I think we’re on our way. ”

The Tigers, 3‑0, wore down their first two opponents, Stow and Covington Catholic, in winning by a combined 90‑14 margin. Both of those opponents used many two‑way players. So did Garfield, but the Rams hardly faded in the fourth quarter.

In fact, Garfield drove 81 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it 20‑14 and had the ball at midfield with three minutes left before an interception by Dan Hackenbracht on a flea‑flicker pass snuffed out the big scare.

McGee said one of the most important things his staff did all week was to plan substitutions so two‑way starters could stay fresh.

“I think Massillon’s greatest strengths are diversification and the two‑platoon system,” McGee said. “We knew we’d be facing fresh players every time the ball changed hands.”

Two weeks ago Owens was saying the Tigers were at an exceptional level considering the earliness of the season. No more.

“We’ve practiced poorly the last two weeks and it’s started to catch up to us,” he said after improving his personal record against Garfield to 2‑0. “My biggest concern is that we have not improved. I’m just glad Moeller is the next team we play. That will force the entire team to come up a notch. I expect to have a great week of practice.”

Ah, yes, Moeller. The Fighting Crusaders, 4‑0 in the abbreviated all‑time series with the Tigers, will be in Massillon next Saturday.

“In my heart I believe we are a better team than they are,” said Owens, speaking of Moeller. “I hope we can convince the players of that.”

One player who does not need to be convinced is defensive tackle Ron Humphrey.

Tigers needed some big plays to beat Garfield and Humphrey provided a couple of them. One was an eight‑yard sack of Garfield’s junior quarterback, Barry Christ, late in the first half that preserved a 13‑8 lead at the intermission.

” I don’t think we were looking ahead, ” said Humphrey, a 6‑foot‑2, 235‑pound senior. “We were coming off the road trip to Cincinnati and we were a little tired. We weren’t focused. I think we will be next week.

“Garfield was also a lot stronger than the other teams we’ve played. A lot smarter, too. They used their running backs to help block our front four and it was effective. The other teams hadn’t done that.”

Tony DeLappi, a senior lineman on the other side of the ball, agreed Garfield was the best of the Tigers’ three opponents so far. He also agreed the Tigers weren’t at their best.

“We didn’t play to our full potential,” the 5‑11, 230‑pound offensive tackle said. “We’re capable of playing better. Next week, I think everybody will see us play to our potential.”

DeLappi was on the field during the most important series of the game when the Tigers scored after the second‑half kickoff to take a two‑touchdown lead.

Massillon also scored on its first possession of the first quarter after a sack by Tiger defensive end Jermaine Hinton snuffed out Garfield’s opening series. On fourth down from the 13‑yard line, Tiger quarterback Barry Shertzer had good enough protection to scan both sides of the field, then loft a pass over 6‑3 cornerback Corvin Harrison to 6‑5 split end Steve Brown at the back of the end zone on the right side. Ryan John’s kick made it 7‑0 with 5: 50 left in the first quarter.

Garfield then started on its own 25 after sophomore Jason Brown’s kickoff. Two plays later, on third-and‑two, 6‑foot, 185‑pound senior halfback Troy Robinson broke two tackles on the right side and exploded 67 yards for a touchdown. It was a play Garfield has been using for many years. The powerful, speedy Robinson followed 220 pound fullback Sean James’ block on an off‑tackle play. Foes know it’s corning, but Garfield’s execution can still kill you.

Garfield took an 8‑7 lead on a bit of luck. The P.A.T. snap was botched. Sophomore quarterback Joe Nemith, the place‑kick holder, tracked down the loose ball and found John Wright wide open for a two‑point conversion pass.

Massillon showed its respect for Garfield on the next series. On fourth‑and‑one from their own 43, the Tigers punted. Under Owens, they usually use a fake or a regular play under similar circumstances.

Senior Chris Roth, who had his best night as a Tiger punter, buried Garfield at the 16. Garfield plowed to midfield when, on a carry by Robinson, Scott Karrenbauer stripped the ball and Chad Buckland recovered for the Tigers.

Shertzer went to Brown again seven plays later, lofting a 21‑yard scoring strike over 5‑10 defender Reggie Hitchcock. Brown’s second TD was part of a big night that included eight catches for 82 yards.

The Tigers had trouble after the touchdown, calling two timeouts to sort out some confusion before a two‑point conversion pass attempt failed when Roth dove to catch a tipped ball but landed just out of bounds.

That made it 13‑8 at the half.

Garfield had bottled up the Tigers’ running game in the first half. Junior Falando Ashcraft, who rushed for 190 yards against Covington Catholic, was held to 12 yards the first half. He doubled that number immediately with a 24yard blast on his first carry of the second half.

A twisting 11‑yard run by Travis McGuire on second‑and‑nine was another key as the Tigers marched 76 yards in 11 plays. Ashcraft dove in from the one and John added the P.A.T. kick to make it 20‑8 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

Garfield stopped itself on its next possession, as Hitchcock, one of the two‑way starters, simply lost the handle on a handoff. Hackenbracht, continuing to show a big‑play knack (two interceptions last week), recovered the fumble.

It was three plays and punt for the Tigers, though. Another good Roth punt pinned Garfield at the 19. It took the Rams three plays to dig out and turn the game back into a thriller. The play was a 47‑yard pass to Corvin Harrison, who was covered well but forcefully snatched Christ’s deep pass.

On fourth‑and‑seven from the 13 Christ hit Hitchcock for 10 yards. Morris Cosey, best known as a 250pound defensive tackle, got the ball from the fullback position on the next play and barged Fridge‑like into the end zone, off tackle, standing up.

The Rams tried a fake kick on the P‑A‑T, but it was short‑circuited when sophomore Eric Woods tackled Nemith before Nemith could get off a pass. It was 20‑14 with 9:38 left.

The Tigers, then the Rams, then the Tigers again went one‑two-three‑punt on the game’s next three series.

The Rams got the ball on their 30‑yard line with 3:41 left.

“They’d run the ball effectively but they were running out of time,” Owens said. “They couldn’t just try to drive the ball down the field.”

On second‑and‑seven from the Tiger 47, as the clock wound past two minutes, Robinson took a handoff, then pitched the ball to Christ. The quarterback heaved a bomb toward Harrison, but Hackenbracht was in perfect position and made an over-the‑shoulder interception on the 8.

Ashcraft mustered a 13‑yard run on first down, a key play in that the Tigers were then able to run out the clock.

MASSILLON 20
GARFIELD 14
M G
First downs rushing 8 7
First downs Passing 5 3
First downs Penalty 1 0
Total first down 14 10
Net yards rushing 149 229
Net yards passing 99 81
Total net yards 236 293
Passes attempted 18 8
Passes completed 9 4
Passes intercepted 0 2
Fumbles/lost 2‑1 6‑2
Punts 5 3
Punting average 40.6 42.3
Penalties 1 4
Yards Penalized 5 28
Time of poss 21:28 38:32

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
(Mas) McGuire 9‑43, Ashcraft 17‑68, Shertzer 6‑18, McCullough 1‑8.
(Gar) Robinson 17‑124, Hitchcock 6‑45, James 7‑40, Cosey 4‑13.

PASSING
(Mas) Shertzer 9‑18‑0,99 yards.
(Gar) Christ 4‑8‑2, 81 yards.

Receiving
(Mas) Brown 8‑82, Stafford 1‑7, McGuire 1‑10.
(Gar) Hitchcock 1‑11, Harrison 2‑60, Robinson 1‑10.

Massillon 7 6 7 0 20
Garfield 8 0 0 6 14

M ‑ Brown 13 pass from Shertzer (John kick)
G ‑ Robinson 67 run (Wright pass from Nemith)
M ‑ Brown 2l Pass from Shertzer (pass failed)
M ‑ Ashcraft 1 run (John kick)
G ‑ Cosey 3 run (run failed)

History

1990: Massillon 39, Covington Catholic, KY 14

September 1, 1990August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers beat ‘best team in Kentucky’

Tigers play like kings of the Jungle

Fourth ‑ down savvy, fourth‑quarter scoring flurry give Tigers 39‑14 win

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

CINCINNATI ‑ On the First of September, in the second week of the high school football season, during the third game of the Buddy LaRosa Classic, the Massillon Tigers became kings of the fourth down.

It helped that they were kings of the fourth quarter, ripping off 21 mind‑boggling points, whipping their thousands of highway followers into a frenzy, and scoring a 39‑14 victory over the Covington Catholic Colonels.

But had they not first become kings of the fourth down, who knows?

Maybe they would not have been kings of The Jungle, the name Bengals fans give Riverfront Stadium.

A scant 63 seconds into the game, the team from the Kentucky town across the Ohio River, just over yonder paddleboat, had struck like an unexpected plunge into icy water. Covington Catholic linebacker Nate Roedig swooped into the path of a Barry Shertzer pass and returned his interception 35 yards for a touchdown.

Not only did the Colonels lead 7‑0. They stopped the Tigers on three plays to set up a fourth‑and‑11 on the Massillon 25‑yard line.

What the Tigers did next defied all the laws laid down by men named Knute and Woody and, for that matter, Paul Brown, who was Massillon head coach Lee Owens’ personal host the night before during an NFL exhibition game.

You might have seen a thousand games and never witnessed a fake punt in that precarious situation. But that is what the Tigers did.

Scott Karrenbauer’s snap went not to punter Chris Roth, but to one of the ”up men,” a “blocker” named Troy Burick, who happens to be a quarterback. One of the “punt coverage” men happened to be Travis McGuire, a running back with exceptional receiving skills. McGuire faded off the line to a wide-one spot. Burick flicked him the ball. McGuire raced 20 yards for a first down.

“Punt,” Owens pointed out, “is a four‑letter word. It’s like surrendering.”

From there the Tigers maneuvered for a touchdown in 11 plays (on Falando Ashcraft’s six‑yard run on fourth down). James McCullough went in from the 3, the point after kick failed, and it was 7‑6.

On Massillon’s next possession, Ashcraft rushed five yards on fourth‑and‑one from the Colonel 42, Shertzer gained three yards on fourth‑and‑one from the 30, and Ashcraft made four yards on fourth‑and‑one from the 8. Shertzer scored from three yards out, a conversion pass failed, and it was 12‑7 with 6:36 left in the first half.

On their next possession, set up by a Dan Hackenbracht interception, the Tigers again turned a fourth‑arid‑one into a first down. But this time the drive ended with a punt.

Hackenbracht came right back, intercepting another pass from sophomore quarterback Adam McCormack and returning it 40 yards to the 8 with 1:09 left in the half.

McGuire, one of the aforementioned masters of deception, caught a conventional pass from Shertzer on an eight‑yard scoring play that gave the Tigers an 18‑7 halftime lead.

Covington Catholic cut the gap to 18‑14 midway through the third quarter, and it stayed that way until late in the fourth period before the Tigers exploded.

First Eric Wright recovered a fumble to set up a 15‑yard bootleg run for a touchdown by Shertzer with 3:27 left in the game.

Then Wayne Gallion recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Ashcraft roared 35 yards for a touchdown on the next play.

Then Covington Catholic went nowhere in three plays, and Scott Karrenbauer weaved through tacklers before breaking into the clear on a 77‑yard punt return for a touchdown.

Ryan John converted all three P.A.T. kicks. The Tigers had scored 21 points in a span of 104 seconds.

Massillon’s share of the crowd spent the final three minutes of the game on its feet, rocking the stadium with noise.

”We don’t like to be in close games … we don’t like anyone to be close to us,” said Ashcraft, who was named game MVP in a media vote after rushing 28 times for 190 yards. “We started executing the way we should have been doing all along.

“This is great … this is better than the McKinley game.”

Ashcraft was clearly enjoying himself as he celebrated with teammates on the field long after the game. Before the Tigers gave way to Cincinnati Moeller and Mount Carmel (Ill.), combatants in the fourth of Saturday’s five Classic games, they united in front of their fans and basked in a long, loud ovation.

The Tigers out gained the Colonels 369‑111 in net offensive yards en route to a 2‑0 record.

“To tell you the truth,” Owens said, “I was not real concerned even when they made the game 1814 (on a 42‑yard TD pass from McCormack to Nate Cogswell). Their receiver was hit by two of our defenders and he basically just bounced into the clear. That was pretty much all the offense they got the entire day.”

Owens wasn’t wrong. Not counting the 42‑vard pass, the Colonels gained an average of 2.03 yards in their other 34 offensive plays.

“It was another great game by the defense,” Owens said.

The Tiger offense had planned to pick apart Covington Catholic with a passing game but Shertzer was not sharp, completing seven of 23 throws for 67 yards, with one touchdown.

“Barry was not his normal self,” Owens said. “Part of that is inexperience. Part was the tough man-to‑man coverage they used. One thing about Barry … he never gets down on himself.”

The offensive line got down to business and blocked large running gaps for Ashcratt and McGuire ‑ 12 carries, 52 yards).

“We used about all we had on defense as well as offense,” said Covington Catholic head coach Lynn Wess, who has had his team in the Kentucky Class 3‑A state championship game the last three years. “We had quite a few problems with their delay draw. They block it very well.”

David Wilson, the Colonels’ star senior running back, said the Tigers were a little bigger and a little faster. “They play good football.”

History

1990: Massillon 51, Stow 0

August 24, 1990August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

No go for Stow; Tigers 51-0

Coach sees Massillon as probable playoff team

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It’s not time to get carried away with the Massillon Tigers, even if they did knock the stuffing out of Stow 51‑0 in a high school football season opener Friday night.

It is most certainly time, however, to be impressed with their potential.

“I’m looking forward to seeing them in the state playoffs,” said Gary Mattes, the head coach who led Stow to five Metro Conference championships in the 1980s. “They should make it.

“It was just our misfortune to have to play them tonight. I’m sorry we didn’t give the people of Massillon a better show.”

Actually, coach, the good citizens liked the show just the way it was. They were delighted that:

* The revamped 5‑4 “Bengal defense” stopped Stow for no gain or a loss on 17 of 26 first‑half plays.

* Massillon rolled up a 473‑124 advantage in net offensive yards.

* A passing game stocked with a new quarterback, new receivers and mostly new blockers amassed 213 yards.

* The running game produced 102 yards in seven carries from Travis McGuire and 93 yards in 13 rushes from Falando Ashcraft.

* A team that looked good in scrimmages against Cleveland St. Ignatius, Lima and Central Catholic looked even better in the first game that counted.

Some pigskin philosophers believe a coaching staff needs two years to streamline its system. Third‑year Tiger head coach Lee Owens just might be ready to unleash a juggernaut capable of, say, beating Cincinnati Moeller and winning a state title.

“If we play like real Tigers,” said Ashcraft, “we can make the playoffs and go all the way to the title.”

Make no mistake. Owens believes a state title is possible this year.

“This was a great way to start the season. It was a great way to start the decade,” he said.

Owens said he has never had a team come close to scoring 51 points in a season opener; yet, he thought “the story of the night” was the defense’s shutout.

“We were truly dominant on defense,” he said. “Looking back, we could really start to see the defense coming together in our scrimmage at Lima.

“Tonight, we shut out a team that has a very good offense. They moved the ball all over the place in their scrimmage against Buchtel. But we stopped them by being very aggressive and very quick. We were also much more physical than they were.”

Senior tackle Mark Murphy set the tone for the night when, on the game’s first play from scrimmage, he nailed star running back Kalonji Werts for a two‑yard loss. On the next play, he plowed into Werts and caused a three‑yard loss.

“They gave me the inside splits,” said Murphy, a 6‑foot, 228‑pound senior. “I used my speed to get through.”

Stow naturally adjusted to Murphy, reducing the gaps and blocking at his knees, but that only created openings for his teammates.

“The whole defensive front played an excellent game,” said senior defensive back Chad Buckland. “We played well together. I knew we could play like that.”

Murphy said the defense “didn’t play to its full potential.” He wants to see even more intensity next Saturday when the Tigers take on Covington Catholic in Cincinnati at the Buddy LaRosa Classic.

His teammate Mike Martin, a senior defensive end, thinks the intensity will be there.

“The defense played great … and it will the rest of the season, too,” predicted Martin. “We came out pumped and we beat them physically and mentally.”

The beating manifested itself in injuries.

Werts, a speedy senior regarded as Stow’s best player, didn’t see action after the first quarter after suffering a deep thigh bruise.

Stow quarterback Jeff Behrman missed the second half with broken ribs.

Running back Charles Harris was knocked out with a strained knee.

They were “key injuries,” Mattes said, though not pretending the Bulldogs would have made it a dogfight had they played.

“They gave us a lot of problems,” the Stow coach said. “Their execution was excellent. And whoever calls their plays did an excellent job. We couldn’t draw a bead on any one person. And they have an excellent quarterback.”

Barry Shertzer got his first start as the Tigers’ varsity QB. In three quarters, he completed 13 of 26 passes for 175 yards with a mixture of short, medium and long‑range throws.

Flanker Ken Weber, playing despite a dislocated toe, caught three passes. So did split end Steve Brown and tight end Chris Roth.

But the receiver who had the biggest day was Marc Stafford, both of whose catches went for touchdowns.

The Tigers scored the first two times they had the ball, first on an 11‑yard run by Ashcraft, then on an eight‑yard Shertzer‑to‑Stafford pass.

“We did exactly what Coach Owens wanted, and that was to hit them with points early,” said senior captain Brent Bach, an offensive tackle. “We did exactly what we wanted to do.”

The play that turned the game from a rout into a wipeout was a well‑thrown bomb that Stafford caught on the run and carried into the end zone. The play went 48 yards and gave the Tigers a 33‑0 lead late in the third quarter.

Assessing the offense, Owens said, “We really looked smooth on our first two drives. We were running plays just the way you draw them up on the board.

“After that, we seemed to lose our intensity for a while. But were able to regroup.” Owens said “the only negative” of the evening was points after touchdown. The Tigers were unsuccessful on conversion tries following five of the eight touchdowns.

“We need to make those automatic,” he said. “But it’s hard to talk about any negatives after everybody played so well and there were so many positives.”

MASSILLON 51
STOW 0
M S
First downs rushing 16 3
First downs Passing 7 1
First downs Penalty 3 1
Total first down 26 5
Net Yards rushing 260 72
Net yards Passing 213 52
Total net yards 473 124
Passes attempted 28 13
Passes completed 14 2
Passes intercepted 0 1
Fumbles/lost 2‑2 6‑4
Punts 3 8
Punting average 47.3 28.6
Penalties 7 8
Yards penalized 70 62

Stow 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 14 6 19 12 51

M ‑ Ashcraft 11 run (Miller kick)
M‑ Stafford 8 pass from Shertzer (Miller kick)
M ‑ McGuire 23 run (kick failed)
M ‑ Ashcraft 6 run (pass failed)
M ‑ Stafford 48 pass from Shertzer (Miller kick)
M ‑ Roberson 1 run (run failed)
M ‑ Turley 7 return with fumble recovery (kick failed)
M ‑ Slicker 1 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
(Massillon) McGuire 7‑102, Ashcraft 13‑93, McCullough 2‑16, Burick 2‑25 Roberson 2‑3, Slicker 3‑10, Young 3‑23.
(Stow) Foster 12‑51, Werts 4‑3 Harris 3‑2 Behrman 4-minus 9 Bleving 3-9, Feldman 3‑3, Galaska 3‑14.

PASSING
(Massillon) Shertzer 13‑26‑0 175 yards, 2 TDs,
Mossides 1‑1‑0 32 yards,
Burick 0-1-0.
(Stow) Behrman 2‑10‑0 52 yards; Feldman 0-3-1.

RECEIVING
(Massillon) McGuire 2‑36,
Brown 3‑17,
Roth 3‑32,
Ford 2‑56,
Weber 3‑34,
Hawkins 1‑32.
(Stow) Gabele 1‑42,
Foster 1‑10.

Here is a summary of the Tigers’ scoring drives:

FIRST HALF
First quarter

8:22‑Falando Ashcraft 11 run over right side. Gary Miller kick. Drive: 45 yards, 5 plays. Keys: 11‑yard Barry Shertzer‑to‑Travis McGuire completion on third‑and‑10; 17‑yard Ashcraft run.

5:14‑Marc Stafford 8 pass from Shertzer. Miller kick. Drive: 56 yards, 8 plays. Keys: Ashcraft 17 run; offsides penalty on Stow on fourth‑and-two; 11‑yard Shertzer‑to‑Chris Roth pass one play before TD strike.

Second quarter

4:01‑McGuire 23 run. Kick failed. Drive: 73 yards, 7 plays. Key: 18‑yard Shertzer‑to‑McGuire pass one play after 12‑yard loss on sack.

Massillon hammers Stow 51-0

By BOB STEWART
Repository sports editor

MASSILLON ‑ With all the subtlety of a sledge, the Massillon Tigers opened their new season by hammering the visiting Stow Bulldogs 51‑0 before 11,020 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night.

In a game neither coach thought would happen. Massillon’s players belted the bejabbers out of the visitors, rolling to a pair of quick TDs in the first period, and blowing open the game with a three-TD barrage in the second half that took only 2:13 of clock time. Two of the TDs came within 58 seconds of each other.

The Tigers’ defense, led by hit‑happy Mark Murphy, playing like his Green Bay Packers’ namesake, smacked back the Bulldogs’ first two offensive threats with some body banging that left Stow with minus yards and minus some semblance of sensibilities.

“Well, it certainly was a lot better than that Repository game,” quipped Massillon Coach Lee Owens, who “came a cropper” as the West Coach in The Repository’s inaugural Stark County All‑Star game in June at Canton’s Fawcett Stadium.

“We didn’t expect this,” said Owens after his Tigers amassed 473 yards to Stow’s 124. “The fans now want to know if we are this good, or if Stow was just not very good.

“We thought Stow was very good, but our kids really were fired up. They wanted to get out there and hit people, and they did,” said Owens, the 34‑year‑old mentor beginning his third season here. The win gives him a 17‑6 record in Tigertown.

He noted his team was not trying to score a lot of points, but that the depth of the Tigers this season may be exceptional.

“I was really proud of our second unit,” said Owens. “They played very well, and all our subs seemed to rise to the occasion.‑ I guess they were trying to tell us they should all be No. 1,” he said.

Stow coach Gary Mattes said the Tigers ferocious hitting was the major factor. “Our kids have been hit before, but not constantly like that. We lost a couple good backs, including our quarterback, early, and that didn’t help,” he said.

But he was quick to note be wasn’t making any excuses, and praised the Tigers, noting he was “looking forward to watching them play in the state playoffs. They certainly should be there.

“They have an excellent team, and their offensive execution was just so precise we couldn’t handle it,” he said.

Mattes said his team has to regroup, now. “We still think we have a pretty good football team. We just have to come back and be able to show it,” he said.

Junior running back Falando Ashcraft and junior receiver Marc Stafford each scored two
touchdowns, Stafford’s coming on passes from senior quarterback Barry Shertzer, an 8‑yarder and a 48‑yarder.

Ashcraft, who opened the night’s splurge of six‑pointers with an 11‑yard dash, also got the third quarter blitz begun with a 6‑yard run. He finished with 93 yards on 13 rushes, but wasn’t even the top dog.

Travis McGuire, a junior running back who wears No. 1 and makes sure the fans know he thinks he is No. 1 by holding his index Finger aloft even before he gets to the end zone, scored on a 23‑yard scamper which was but one of his seven carries from scrimmage that totaled 107 yards.

The Tigers also got 1‑yard touchdown rushes by subs Ron Roberson and Scott Slicker.

The Tigers dominated every statistic: First downs 26‑5; rushing yards 260‑72; passing yards 213‑52.

Stow 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 14 6 19 12 51

M – Ashcraft 11 run (Miller kick)
M ‑ Stafford 8 pass from Shertzer (Miller kick)
M ‑ McGuire 23 run (kick failed)
M ‑ Ashcraft 6 run (pass failed)
M ‑ Stafford 48 pass from Shertzer (Miller kick)
M ‑ Robertson 1 run (run failed)
M ‑ Turley 7 fumble return (kick failed)
M ‑ Slicker 1 run (kick failed)
A – 11,020.

History

1989: Massillon 21, Cleveland St. Ignatius 42

November 19, 1989August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

No state title, but what a season!

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Disappointed?
Yes.
Depressed?
No.

“The season has been great,” Massillon co-captain Joe Pierce said a few minutes before midnight Saturday. “It’s been wonderful.”

Pierce was back in the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium locker room after his team had fallen 42‑21 to Cleveland St. Ignatius in the Division I state semifinals before a crowd of 18,206 in the Akron Rubber Bowl.

Every locker was plastered with a copy of the USA Today clipping that hyped Ignatius as the No. 1 high school football team in the land.

“If we had to lose,” Pierce said, “it might as well have been to the No. 1 team in the country.

“We hated to lose. But things just didn’t go our way.”

Robert Erickson, the Tigers’ team doctor had the same idea as Pierce as he watched the end of the game from the sidelines about 90 minutes earlier.

“They had a lot of fun this season,” Erickson said as Ryan Sparkman fought valiantly for an extra three yards, lunging backward with tacklers draped on him, as Ignatius led 42‑15.

“They accomplished a lot. They played hard. Heck, a lot of people said they’d never get past McKinley.”

Saturday’s game was played in bitter cold. The defeat kept the Tigers from reaching their goal of a first state playoff title to go along with 22 Ohio poll championships.

The mood around midnight in Tiger Stadium, however, seemed more warm than bitter.

Players talked quietly. Head coach Lee Owens seemed to take the loss hardest. He seemed lost in thought when a passerby gently clutched his arm.

Owens looked up and managed a smile.

Senior Lou LoCoco stopped to shake the coach’s hand just before leaving the locker room for the last time.

“I enjoyed it,” LoCoco said. “You meant a lot to me.”

When hindsight replaces the abruptness of Saturday’s defeat, it probably will become clearer that the 1989 season meant a lot to Tigertown.

It will be recalled that the learn made the playoffs for the first time since 1982 … that McKinley was defeated soundly … that a 42‑24 victory over Walsh Jesuit grew out of a 24‑6 halftime deficit and was one of the great comebacks in Tiger history.

It will be remembered that only two teams in Massillon history, the 1961 squad that went 11‑0 and the 1982 edition that went 12‑1, won more games than the 1989 crew that finished with a 10‑3 mark.

It will be noted the ’89 team’s two playoff wins were as many as were attained by the 1980 and ’82 teams that made it to the state finals, when only two victories were needed to do so.

It will be said that two of the teams to defeat the ’89 Tigers ‑ Moeller and Ignatius – met for the Division I state championship, and that the other, Cleveland St. Joseph, was a Division II state finalist.

Meanwhile, in the Ignatius camp, there was quiet celebration. The Wildcat starters showered in the Rubber Bowl visitors’ locker room, where there is barely room for a basketball team. The extras jammed an adjoining hallway.

Senior quarterback Joe Pickens is Ignatius’ best known star, but for whatever reason he undressed with the extras.

This kid stands 6 feet 4, weighs 210 pounds, and is going places. He says he has narrowed his college preferences to Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan State, Stanford, West Virginia, Alabama and Boston College.

On his way to the big time, the Tigers gave him a night to remember.

It’s different playing Massillon.” he said. “They have a different kind of crowd … they have a lot of fans. But we looked at it this way: We weren’t playing the Massillon town. We were playing the Massillon team.

“We had a good night. But Massillon is definitely a good team. They have a lot of quickness.”

Another Ignatius player headed for the bright lights, albeit two years from now since be is a junior, is 6‑foot‑5, 255‑pound tackle Trent Zenkewicz.

Zenkewicz said nobody was looking at Saturday’s affair as just another game.

“When we scrimmaged them in the pre‑season, they came out like it was a championship game,” Zenkewicz said.

“We’d won the state championship last year and I guess that fired them up. There was some taunting. It was an unusual scrimmage. We wanted revenge.”

Ignatius jumped to a 13‑0 lead in Saturday’s clash, held on for a 13‑7 halftime edge, their blew it open in the third quarter. Zenkewicz had his revenge.

Owens found it hard to swallow.

“I feel bad,” he said, “as though there’s something more I could have done.”

Some day the loss will melt into the big picture. The coach should feel better when he steps back and takes a look at that.

Title dream ends
Tigers can’t make comeback last after nearly taking halftime lead vs. Ignatius

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

AKRON ‑ Team Comeback struck again, but this time the rally came too fast and didn’t last.

The Massillon Tigers punched their way out of a 13‑0 corner Saturday to nearly take a halftime lead on Cleveland St. Ignatius. They got lost in a black hole of a third quarter on whose other side was a 42‑21 defeat in the Division I state football playoff semifinals.

Ignatius, which had never faced Massillon, stretched its winning streak to 28 and headed for a Sunday state championship showdown against Cincinnati Moeller.

The Tigers left the 1980s with a 10‑3 season record and an 81‑27‑1 mark for the decade.

Massillon had a controlling share of Saturday’s crowd ‑ 18,206 in the ice‑cold Rubber Bowl, where snow was caked on the sidelines after a pregame scrape job.

“We’re in it!” a Tiger fan making a coffee run yelled after his team ralled from a 13‑0 deficit to trail 13‑7 at halftime.

And why wouldn’t he think so?

Team Comeback had rebounded from a loss to Moeller with a convincing win over Austintown‑Fitch. It rallied from a stunning loss to Cleveland St. Joseph to dominate McKinley. It came back from the dead of a 24‑6 halftime deficit against Walsh Jesuit to win a playoff opener 42‑24.

As far as the fans were concerned, it was play‑it‑again‑Sam time.

Ryan Sparkman’s one‑yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in the half set up a 13‑7 game. Moments later Tiger end Jeff Perry creamed Ignatius quarterback Joe Pickens and Massillon tackle Scott Sirgo pounced on the resulting fumble near midfield.

Ignatius end Matt Cooney, pesky as a gnat all night, had a bear hug on quarterback Lee Hurst’s legs on fourth and five, but Hurst amazingly flicked a strike to Rameir Martin to keep the drive alive.

When Hurst connected with Martin for 12 yards to the nine with more than 30 seconds left, Team Comeback had its fans humming.

“A great play by their defensive back” is what head coach Lee Owens said kept the Tigers from converting a touchdown pass that could have created a halftime lead.

The Tigers had to hurry their field goal unit in place and the half ended with Gary Miller’s 28‑yard field goal attempt sailing wide right.

“We thought we should have had an extra timeout in there, but they charged us with one we don’t believe we took,” Owens said. “We came out of the huddle on one play and were ready to roll when they charged us with a timeout. They never did explain who asked for the timeout.”

On the opposite sideline, Ignatius head coach Chuck Kyle was smiling.

“They had their chance and they didn’t put it in,” he said.

Owens remembers the second half starting to his liking.

”We kicked the ball exactly where we wanted it,” he said, “Deep in the corner away from No. 48 (Tim Kennedy), who returned one for a touchdown against Euclid last week.”

Nonetheless, deep man Peter Fitzpatrick proceeded to rearrange the game, skirting right around the coverage wall and running 71 yards to the Tiger 24‑yard line.

Five players later, Fitzpatrick followed the block of 6‑foot‑3, 236‑pound tight end John Jaeckin into the end zone on a 10‑yard scoring play. A Pickens‑to‑Jaeckin conversion pass made it 21‑7.

A Tim Ruddy interception and a 48‑yard “junk play” touchdown – Pickens lateraling to split end Pat Friend, and Friend throwing a bomb to a wide‑open Jaeckin made it 28‑7.

A Massillon fumble on its own 24 set up Fitzpatrick’s third touchdown and a 35‑7 Ignatius lead with 11: 12 left in the game.
Still, Team Comeback wouldn’t roll over.

“I had a good feeling after we cut it to 35‑15,” Owens said. “We had more than nine minutes left (after Hurst’s 40‑yard scoring bomb to Doug Harig). And we got the ball right back (on Chad Buckland’s interception).”

Unfortunately, Cooney got in the way on third‑and‑11, intercepting a screen pass and scoring easily on a 21‑yard run to make it 42‑7.

The Tigers drove 93 yards and Sparkman scored his second touchdown with 1:24 left to create the final, score.

The stats were considerably more even than the score.

At halftime, Ignatius led 157‑133 in total offense. The late, long scoring drive gave the Tigers a 354‑272 lead in total offense for the game.

Pickens, a 6‑foot‑4, 210‑pound senior who is expected to make first team All‑Ohio and possibly wrestle this year’s Mr. Football award a way from incumbent Robert Smith of Euclid completed just

*****************************
ST. IGNATIUS 42
MASSILLON 21
*****************************
I M
First downs rushing 9 7
First downs passing 4 12
First downs penalty 0 1
Total first down 13 20
Net yards rushing 149 122
Net yards passing 123 232
Total net yards 272 354
Passes attempted 15 36
Passes completed 5 17
Passes intercepted 1 5
Fumbles/lost 1‑1 1‑1
Punts 4 3
Punting average 28.8 29.7
Penalties 8 3
Yards penalized 83 31
*****************************
St. Ignatius 7 6 15 14 42
Massillon 0 7 0 14 21
*****************************

I ‑ Fitzpatrick 19 run (Hearns kick)
I ‑ Spear 1 run (kick failed)
M ‑ Sparkman 1 run (Miller kick)
I ‑ Pickens 10 run (Pickens pass to Jaeckin)
I ‑ Friend 42 pass to Jaeckin (Hearns kick)
I ‑ Fitzpatrick 2 run (Hearns kick)
M ‑ Hurst 40 pass to Harig (Hurst pass to Carpenter)
I ‑ Cooney 21 Pass interception return (Hearns kick)
M ‑ Sparkman 1 run (pass failed)

*****************************

Individual Statistics

Rushing
(I) Fitzpatrick 21‑102, Pickens 6‑33 Kennedy 6‑18, Spear 2‑3.
(M) Sparkman 18-81, Dixon 9‑28, Hurst 4‑13.

Passing
(I) Pickens 4‑14 1 81, Friend 1‑1‑0 42.
(M) Hurst 17‑35‑4 232, Manion 0‑1‑1 0.

Receiving
(I) Jaeckin 4‑86, Ruddy 1‑37.
(M) Martin 6‑86, Sparkman 4‑28, Harig 3‑82, Manion 2-20, Carpenter 1‑9, Dixon 1‑7.

Kickoff returns
(I) Fitzpatrick 1‑71, Kennedy 1‑28,
(M) Blake 5‑72, Ashcraft 2‑28.

*****************************

four of 14 passes for 81 yards. Hurst, the MVP on the coaches’ all‑county team, completed 17 of 35 passes for 232 yards, but with four interceptions.

“Their quarterback did an outstanding job, considering the pressure we had on him,” said Ignatius’ 6‑foot‑5, 255‑pound junior tackle Trent Zenkewicz.

Fitzpatrick wound up with 102 rushing yards in 21 carries. Sparkman produced 109 yards, 81 on the ground in 18 carries, and 28 more on four receptions.

The Tigers’ Martin and the Wildcats’ Jaeckin each gained 86 yards, Martin on six catches and Jaeckin on four.

Harig caught three passes for 82 yards.

The Tigers tried to compensate for their size disadvantage by mixing up the defense.

“They were bringing people the whole game,” Kyle said. “We stopped their inside blitz then they started coming from the outside.

“They kept shifting their defense back and forth,” said Pickens. “We called a whole lot of audibles.”

Ignatius countered the Tiger blitzes with draw plays that were keys in building the 14‑0 lead.

The Tigers didn’t get untracked on offense until trailing by that margin.

“It took a while to figure out what they were doing,” Owens said. “They had No. 76 (Jenkewicz) going to whatever side Ray (Kovacsiss) was on. They hadn’t done that sort of thing before.”

A 30‑yard pass to Harig loosened up the defense late in the half.

But Ignatius regained control with two touchdowns within the first five minutes of the second half.

Tigers-Wildcats
Here’s a drive‑by‑drive account of the Massillon‑Cleveland St. Ignatius state semifinal football game Saturday night.

FIRST HALF

MASSILLON ‑ Start on own 30 after opening kickoff. Ryan Sparkman runs 19 yards on second down. Three more plays gain two yards. Punt.

IGNATIUS ‑ Start on own 26 after 23‑yard punt. Drive 74 yards in 13 plays capped by Peter Fitzpatrick;s 19‑yard touchdown run. Big plays: 12‑yard draw play to Fitzpatrick on third‑and‑10; 12‑yard scramble by quarterback Joe Pickens on second‑and‑eight Graham Hearns’ kick good at 4:41 of first quarter.
Ignatius 7, Massillon 0

MAS ‑ Start on own 27 after kickoff. Three plays. Punt.
IGN ‑ Start on own 44 after 21‑yard punt. Drive 61 yards in six plays capped by Brian Spear’s 1-yard run on first play of second quarter. Big plays: 37‑yard pass completion on second‑and‑15; 15-yard pass to tight end John Jaeckin on second‑and‑10. Hearns’ kick pressured by Don Blake, no good at 11:58 of second period.
Ignatius 13, Massillon 0

MAS ‑ Start on own 31 after kickoff. Three plays gain no yards. Punt.

IGN ‑ Start on own 29 after 40‑yard punt. Three incompletions. Punt.

MAS ‑ Start on own 42. Four plays, including 10‑yard Lee Hurst‑to‑Desmond Carpenter pass, to the Ignatius 35. Tim Ruddy intercepts deep pass for Wildcats on next play

IGN ‑ Start on own 9. Five play to Tiger 22 capped by Kevin McGuesack sack of Pickens forcing punt.

MAS ‑ Start on Ignatius 47 with 4:40 left in half. Third‑and‑11 throw back pass to Harig covers 30 yards to Ignatius 18. Sparkman caps six play, 47‑yard drive with 1‑yard TD plunge. Gary Miller’s kick good at 2:37 of second quarter.
Ignatius 13, Massillon 7

IGN ‑ Start on own 48 after kickof f and late‑hit penalty. Lose ball on Scott Sirgo fumble recovery with 1:50 left in half.

MAS ‑ Start on Ignatius 45. Sparkman gains 13 yards on Hurst pass on first down. Drive inside 10 before half ends on missed 28‑yard field goal.

Halftime: Ignatius 13, Massillon 7

SECOND HALF

IGN Start on Tiger 24 after Fitzpatrick’s 71‑yard kickoff return. Score in four plays on 10‑yard Pickens run. Pickens passes to Jaeckin for two‑point conversion at 9:10 of third quarter.

Ignatius 21, Massillon 7

MAS ‑ Start on own 29 after kickoff. Lose ball on Ruddy interception on second play.

IGN ‑ Start on own 45. Score on fourth play, 42‑yard pass from split end Pat Friend to Jaeckin. Hearns’ kick good at 7:01 of third quarter.

Ignatius 28, Massillon 7

MAS ‑ Start on own 29 after kickoff. Martin catches 36‑yard pass from Hurst on third‑and‑15. Ruddy intercepts two plays later.

IGN ‑ Start on own 35. Three plays. Punt.

MAS ‑ Start on own 25. Lose ball on fumble on attempted hook‑and‑ladder
ladder play.

IGN ‑ Start on own 24. Score on seventh play, a 2‑yard run by Fitzpatrick. Hearns kick good at 11:12 of fourth quarter.

Ignatius 35, Massillon 7

MAS ‑ Start on own 30 after kickoff. Drive 70 yards in five plays capped by Harig’s 40‑yard TD recep
tion from Hurst. Key play: 11‑yard reception by Troy Manion followed by late hit penalty. Carpenter catches two‑point conversion pass from Hurst at 9:33 of fourth quarter.

Ignatius 35, Massillon 15

IGN ‑ Start on own 49 after onside kick. Lose ball on Chad Buckland interception.

MAS ‑ Start on own 13. On third‑and‑13 Matt Cooney intercepts screen pass and runs 21 yards for touchdown. Hearns Kick good at 6: 15 of fourth quarter.

Ignatius 42, Massillon 15

MAS ‑ Start on own 7 following kickoff. Drive 93 yards in 15 plays, capped by Sparkman’s 1‑yard TD plunge. Two‑point conversion pass broken up in back of end zone at 1:24 of fourth quarter.

Final: Ignatius 42, Massillon 21

History

1989: Massillon 43, Akron Garfield 7

November 12, 1989August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Two down two to go for Tigers

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent ‑ Sports Editor

Did Dame Destiny and the Fickle Finger of Fate conspire to stop Lee Hurst and Craig Turkalj Saturday?

There stood Hurst on one side of a water bucket in the Akron Rubber Bowl. There stood Turkalj on the other side. There ticked the clock 0:08 … 0:07 … 0:06 ‑ on a scoreboard that read Massillon 43, Garfield 7.

“Let’s do it,” the two Tigers yelped at 0:01.

And away they ran with their sloshing cargo. But when they got there, the sideline was bare. Their head coach, Lee Owens, had been absorbed by a sea of celebrants.
.
“Where’d he go?” the quarterback yelled.

“I don’t see him,” the linebacker replied.

They scrapped the mission and joined the fun.

And maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

Maybe the cards have it that (attention Coach Owens ‑ do not read this and spoil your surprise) the grand dousing is to take place in Columbus two games down the playoff highway.

As for Owens, he went that‑a‑way ‑ the way that leads to the Division I state semifinals and from there to the state championship.

It’s two playoff wins down and two wins to go for the rampaging Tigers, who came home Saturday night to another frenzied moonlight celebration downtown.

Massillon will oppose defending state champion Cleveland St. Ignatius at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Akron Rubber Bowl.

It won’t be all fun and games.

“This turf is terrible,” said Tiger guard Jim Goff as he walked off the field following Saturday’s Garfield game. “Our sand turf is so much easier on the body. I’m really sore.”

Many Tiger fans thought their team, first in the Region 3 computer rankings at the end of the regular season, should not have had to play against No. 4 Garfield where the Golden Rams saw action in five regular‑season games this year.

But there is a flip side.

The Tigers now have had a game in which to get the hang of the Rubber Bowl (winning by 35 points against a team whose only other loss this season was by 1 point in overtime).

Ignatius has not played at the Rubber Bowl this year.

Still, expect to hear plenty of talk this week painting Ignatius as the favorite. The Wildcats won it all last year, the talk will go, and they have one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Joe ‑ Ohio State wants him bad – Pickens.

“I hope we do play Ignatius,” Massillon senior Todd Porter said before he knew Ignatius advanced by outlasting Euclid Saturday night. “We beat them in a scrimmage, but people will say it was just a scrimmage. We want to beat them in a game.”

The Tigers’ first opportunity to commence beating on someone other than their own teammates came Aug. 12 in Lakewood, when they beat Ignatius in a practice game.

Three months later, after 12 “count ’em” games, Ignatius owns a 12‑0 record. The Tigers are 10‑2.

In Saturday’s other semifinal battle, Cincinnati Moeller (10‑2) will take on Lima (10‑2) in a 7:30 p.m. clash at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium.

Ask around the Massillon locker room and you’ll find a whole lot of folks who want to face Moeller again ‑ the Tigers lost to the Cincinnati kids 41‑7 Sept. 16.

They may get the chance.

And maybe they’re within striking distance because they had things in the right perspective all along.

This was co‑captain Ryan Sparkman talking shortly after the Tigers beat Ignatius in August:

“It was all right to go up there and practice against the defending state champions, but we still have a long way to go.”

It’s not so long anymore.

Massillon makes Garfield pay dearly for its errors
By Ralph Paulk
Beacon Journal staff writer

The Massillon Tigers stepped boldly into the Garfield Rams’ backyard ‑ the Rubber Bowl ‑ then proceeded to manhandle the Rams.

What was supposed to be a grueling battle of defense quickly developed into a Massillon blowout Saturday night before a crowd of 13,607.

The Tigers, racing off to a 29‑7 halftime advantage, advanced to the state Division I semifinals with a convincing 43‑7 victory.

The Rams got out of the blocks in good shape, scoring on their first possession to take an early 7‑0 lead.

After that the Rams’ faithful sat in stunned silence for 3 1/2 quarters. The Tigers whipped Garfield at every phase of the game.

The Tigers’ defense harassed Rams quarterback Marcus Sims, sacking him five times and intercepting two passes. They also recovered four Garfield fumbles in the second half.

As Massillon continued its onslaught the Rams lost their confidence and poise. They were flagged for three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a rash of other penalties.

Garfield’s coach, Bill McGee, paced up and down the sideline in search of an answer. All McGee and his Rams could find was misery, misery and more misery.

Massillon’s coach, Lee Owens, adjusted his orange cap occasionally and put his hands in his pockets.

What else could he do? His team’s victory already had been put on ice.

“We just got on a roll and were executing very well,” said Owens. “We felt we had to execute well if were going to win.

“This team was playing with extreme confidence. The kids know they can go all the way (state title game).

“I thought we had to get off to a better start than we did last week. We couldn’t wait until the second half.”

Massillon (10‑2), which overcame a 24‑6 deficit to defeat Walsh 42‑24 in the regional semifinal last week, again rolled out of the gate slowly. This time, however, the Tigers started their scoring flurry late in the first quarter.

Massillon halfback Ryan Sparkman ignited an awesome first‑half scoring explosion with a 44‑yard run to the Rams’ 2. Two plays later, Sparkman bounced off left tackle for a 1‑yard touchdown, making it 7‑6.

Gary Miller’s conversion kick was blocked by Thomas Lewis. It was the only thing the Tigers didn’t execute perfectly.

Quarterback Lee Hurst who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, ripped apart the Rams’ secondary like a master surgeon.

“We knew there were some things in there defense that we could exploit,” said Hurst, an All‑NEO Inland Region first‑teamer.

Massillon, which made its last appearance in the state ‑ title game in 1982, took a 14‑7 lead with 8:35 left in the second quarter.

Doug Harig, who caught a 45‑yard pass, capped off a 7‑play, 61‑yard scoring drive by catching a 4‑yard touchdown pass from Hurst.

There was still hope for Garfield. That was until Tigers safety Keith Rabbit intercepted a Sims pass at the Garfield 37.

It took the Tigers six plays to get the hall into the end zone. Hurst bootlegged around left end for an 11‑yard touchdown scamper and tossed a 2‑point conversion pass to Rameir Martin to put Massillon ahead 21‑7 with 5:17 left in the second quarter.

The Rams, marched to the Tigers’ 46. But Kevin McCue intercepted another Sims pass at midfield.

Hurst wasted little time in making the Rams pay for their mistake. On first down. he rifled a 50‑yard touchdown strike to Martin with 2:31 left in the first half.

Martin’s touchdown, Owens said, is what really burst the Rams’ bubble.

“The touchdown to Martin probably sealed the game,” Owens said. “We were doing every thing right, and we knew we were in good shape.”

Hurst, catching Garfield’s defense off‑balance, bootlegged left for a 2‑point conversion to give Massillon its 29-7 lead at the half.

“I thought at the half we would play a strong second half”‘ said McGee, whose team lost to Cincinnati Princeton in the 1983 championship game.

“I think once they scored to begin the third quarter, I realized it wouldn’t be our night. It was frustrating for us because it was always something.

The Rams began the second half by fumbling the ball away to Massillon. Again, Hurst rewarded the Tigers’ defense by directing the offense into the end zone.

Hurst threw a 20‑yard touchdown pass to Harig with 6:42 left in the third quarter, giving Massillon a commanding 36-7 lead.

The Tigers got their final points a 3‑yard touchdown run by Lamonte Dixon ‑ which also was set up by a Garfield fumble.

“This doesn’t happen to its very often.” McGee said, “Massillon was very excited about playing.

“We weren’t overwhelmed physically, but I think emotionally we were never in it. It was hard getting our kids’ confidence back.”

Massillon will play Cleveland St. Ignatius in next weekend’s state semifinals.

Individual Statistics
Rushing
(Mas) Sparkman 10‑70, Ashcraft 10‑34, Dixon 12‑21, Hurst 4‑17, Slicker 2‑5.
(Gar) McGhee 9‑62, Martin 10‑28, Sanky 3‑21, Lewis 1‑9, Sims 7‑(minus 41).

Passing
(Mas) Hurst 10‑14‑0 175, Shertzer 1‑1‑0 10.
(Gar) Sims 4‑16‑2 66, Conley 3‑6‑0 36.

Receiving
(Mas) Martin 4‑77, Harig 3‑68, Manion 2‑21, Carpenter 1‑11, Sparkman 1‑8.
(Gar) Lewis 3‑41, Harrison 2‑42, Martin 1‑14, Keller 1-5.

Kickoff returns
(Mas) Dixon 1-20.
(Gar) Martin 4‑83, Lewis 2‑37, Sankey 1‑19.

Punt returns
(Mas) Blake 1‑17, Manion 1‑0.
(Gar) None.

Massillon 6 23 14 0 43
Garfield 7 0 0 0 7

G – Sims 3 run. Williamson kick
M – Sparkman I run. Kick failed
M ‑ Harig 4 pass from Hurst. Martin Pass from Hurst
M ‑ Hurst 11 run. Miller kick
M ‑ Martin 50 pass from Hurst. Hurst run
M ‑ Harig 20 Pass from Hunt. Miller kick
M ‑ Dixon 3 run. Miller kick

MASSILLON 43
GARFIELD 7

M G
First downs rushing 9 3
First downs Passing 7 5
First downs Penalty 0 4
Total first down 16 12
Net Yards rushing 142 79
Net Yards Passing 185 102
Total net yards 327 181
Passes attempted 15 22
Passes completed 11 7
Passes intercepted 0 2
Fumbles/lost 1‑1 5‑4
Punts 2 3
Punting average 14.5 34.7
Penalties 6 6
Yards penalized 59 47

All‑around dominance
Massillon’s offense, defense click in 43‑7 rout

By MARK CRAIG
Repository sports writer

AKRON ‑ If’ you’re a fan of high‑powered offenses, the Massillon Washington High School football team has the fix you’ve been looking for.

That’s not an earth‑shattering statement. Most people know that.

But what’s becoming more evident each week is the Tigers have plenty to offer you fans of defense ‑ quick, hard‑hitting, in‑your‑face defense.

Massillon had both its units working to near perfection Saturday night against Akron Garfield at the Akron Rubber Bowl.

Of course, the results of the Tiger explosion of power wasn’t pretty for Garfield fans, as their Rams lost this Division 1, Region 3 championship game 43‑7 in front of 13,637 fans.

The win raised Massillon’s record to 10‑2 and placed the Tigers in a state semifinal game next weekend. The site, date and opponent will be determined later today. Garfield, meanwhile, ended its season at 9‑2.

“I get the strong feeling these kids want to go all the way,” said Massillon head coach Lee Owens.

“They’re playing with extreme confidence right now. They’re getting better and better each week, which is what you need to do.”

Massillon’s confidence began to soar last week against Walsh Jesuit when the Tigers scored 36 unanswered points to erase a 24‑6 halftime deficit. Massillon’s confidence never wavered Saturday, not even when Rams’ quarterback Marcus Sims capped a 46‑yard seven‑play drive with a four‑yard TD run to put Garfield ahead by a touchdown with 6:58 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers calmly reeled off 29 points before the half was over. Ryan Sparkman scored on a one-yard run, and quarterback Lee Hurst threw TD passes of four yards to tight end Doug Harig and 50 yards to Rameir Martin, and even ran for an 11‑yard score.

Martin’s TD reception came one play after an interception when Hurst layed a beautifully thrown pass on Martin’s fingertips. Gary Miller added the PAT to make it 29‑7 with 2:31 to go in the half.

“The pass to Martin is probably what sealed it,” Owens said “That play just shows how” balanced our offense is.”

“Before that, we were able to score with our running back, our quarterback and our tight end.” Owens added. “You can’t concentrate on any one weapon when you play us.”

Harig will attest to that. After catching just 13 passes all season, he caught three for 68 yards Saturday, including a 20‑yard TD pass in the third that extended Massillon’s lead to 36‑7 and convinced Garfield head coach Bill McGee that, “This maybe wasn’t going to be our night,”

“We can do anything we want to do,” Harig said “You can’t shut down just one guy and expect to beat us.”

Massillon tacked on another TD when Lamonte Dixon scored from three yards out with 29 seconds left in the third.

The Tiger defense didn’t let up in the second half. It added another four takeaways, giving itself six for the game.

“This is the best we’ve played defensively as a team all year,” said Massillon defensive coordinator Dan Boarman. “You have to say everyone played well. The main thing is we needed to control the line of scrimmage, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Massillon’s defense also threw gasoline on Massillon’s red‑hot offense in the first half. Safety Keith Rabbitt set up Massillon’s third score with an interception at the Garfield 37, and linebacker Kevin McCue set up the fourth score by returning an interception 12 yards to the 50.

Rabbitt also set up the first score of the second half when he recovered a fumble at the Garfield 48. Other players to recover fumbles in the second half were Eric Wright, Chad Tharp and David Whitfield.

Massillon out gained Garfield in total offense, 327 yards to 181. Massillon led in rushing, 142‑79, with Sparkman picking up 70 yards on 10 carries.

Hurst again was efficient at throwing the football. He completed 10‑of‑ 14 passes to five different receivers for 175 yards and no interceptions.

Martin led all receivers with four catches for 77 yards. He also caught a two‑point conversion on pass.

Owens tried to sum up just how bad his team beat Garfield, but somehow he didn’t come as close as a sign that was held Up by one of the younger Massillon fans.

The sign read, “Massillon kicks …” Well, uh, you know the rest.

Akron Garfield 7 0 0 0 7
Massillon 6 23 14 0 43

Garf ‑ Sims 3 run (Williamson kick)
Mass ‑ Sparkman 1 run (kick failed) I ‑
Mass ‑ Harig 5 pass from Hurst (Martin pass from Hurst)
Mass ‑ Hurst 11 run (Miller kick)
Mass ‑ Martin 50 pass from Hurst ( Hurst run)
Mass ‑ Harig 20 pass from Hurst (Miller kick)
Mass ‑ Dixon 3 run (Miller kick)

History

1989: Massillon 42, Walsh Jesuit 24

November 5, 1989August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers on prowl for Garfield
Fire‑and‑brimstone talk spurs team’s comeback

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Walsh Jesuit’s Warriors thought they had pulled the plug on the Massillon Tigers’ 1989 season Saturday night.

They didn’t realize Paul Brown Tiger Stadium runs on reserve power when it has to.

“Somehow, we were going to win this game,” Massillon linebacker Craig Turkalj said on the sidelines during the closing seconds of his team’s improbable 42‑24 Division I playoff victory.

Turkalj glanced to the west grandstand, where Massillon’s share of the crowd of 12,500 was in a frenzied commotion.

“The city,” Turkalj said, “deserves this.”

City boss Frank Cicchinelli was as happy as the next guy who watched the Tigers fall behind 24‑6 at halftime before scoring the game’s next 36 points. The mayor said he pored over historical data supplied by Tiger stats man Rich Cunningham to see if there was ever a Tiger comeback from as many as 18 points down.

“I couldn’t find any,” he said.

Everybody had his own explanation for the rally that propelled the Tigers (9‑2) into a Division I quarter‑final matchup with Akron Garfield (9‑1) at 7 p.m. Saturday which strangely enough will be played on Garfield’s home field the Rubber Bowl (the Tigers qualified for the playoffs by finishing first in Region 3; Garfield nabbed the fourth and final qualifying spot).

Equipment manager Keith Herring listened in on a halftime speech delivered by assistant coach Gary Wells. Wells unloaded his first fire-and‑brimstone job since halftime of a regular‑season game against Indianapolis North Central. In that one, the Tigers trailed 14‑7 at halftime before outscoring the Hoosierland invaders 30‑0 in the second half.

“Basically, Gary told the guys, ‘You’ve got to live with this the rest of your lives. It’s up to you what you want to do with the rest of the game,” Herring said, “I know it got me off my stool.”

Jim Goff, who played guard on an offensive line helping pave the way for an astonishing 304 rushing yards in the second half, said the Tigers made no ‘X and O’ adjustments at halftime.

“It was just a matter of heart,” he said. “We didn’t want it to be our last game. We were scatterbrained the first half. We pulled it together. And the fans … they were great.”

Senior receiver Rameir Martin put the Tigers ahead to stay with a shake‑and‑bake 20‑yard touchdown pass from Lee Hurst that provided a 28‑24 lead with 11:16 left in the game.

Martin caught five passes for 62 yards and passed Marty Guzzetta as the Tigers’ all‑time single season receiving yards leader. Martin now has 718. Guzzetta amassed 706 in 1979.

“Execution was the main word,” he said. “We executed in the second half. We had to get our heads on straight.”

Another key was a career game by senior running back Lamonte Dixon, who rushed 10 times for 182 yards ‑ 18.2 yards per carry, which isn’t bad. Massillon put the game out of reach midway through the fourth quarter after Kevin McCue made a crucial interception at the 11 when Walsh was threatening to reverse a 28‑24 deficit. On the first play after the interception, Dixon was apparently caught for a short gain, but wriggled out of the pack and set sail down the right sideline for an 80‑yard gain to the 9. Hurst scored on a bootleg run on the next play.

“Some guys like it hot,” said Massillon assistant coach Nick Vrotsos. “Lamonte is a cold weather back.”

Offensive coordinator Tom Stacy and head coach Lee Owens both said they were reminded of their trip to the Division II state championship when they worked together at Galion in 1985.

“A big key was the fact we play two‑platoon football and they play a lot of guys both ways,” Stacy said.

“I’ve seen it happen time and again,” added Owens. “Teams get worn down in the playoffs. When you have guys playing both ways, the wear down factor is magnified.”

Walsh quarterback Vic Ferguson was both fresh and sharp in the first half. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He was seven of 16 in the second half for 75 yards.

“We played a little less man to man, but there were no major adjustments,” said defensive coordinator Dan Boatman, whose platoon held Walsh to 105 yards in the second half after the Warriors’ 280 yard first half. “We just played better.”

Head coach Jerry Rardin, who has had Walsh in the playoffs three times in the last five years, thought two turnovers were the keys.

“We would have been in good shape if we hadn’t fumbled on our first drive of the third quarter,” he said.

Top comeback in
Massillon history?

Steve Doerschuk
Independent Sports Editor

This game was special, but then, miracles usually are.

The halftime score Saturday night was Walsh Jesuit 24, Massillon 6.

There were a lot of sad puppies on the Massillon side of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Several fans even headed for the parking lot.

For them, there was forgiveness ‑ they could watch the amazing story about to unfold later on a TV replay.

For those who stayed, there was a treat they will never forget.

First it was 24‑13. Hope.

Then 24‑21. Expectation.

Then 28‑24. Could it be?

Then 35‑24 … then 42‑24. Celebration.

And throw in astonishment and wild exhilaration for good measure.

And maybe one question: Where do we get tickets for the next playoff game?

In the course of football history, there have been greater comebacks. Even recently.

Two Saturdays ago Ohio State trailed Minnesota (whose uniforms look like Walsh Jesuit’s incidentally) 31‑0 before rallying to win.

Somehow, though, this Massillon comeback seemed even more spectacular. Maybe it was because Walsh looked so unbeatable in the first half when its quarterback, Vic Ferguson, was gunning laser beams for 200 yards.

Maybe it was because the Tigers hadn’t done very well all year against Catholic schools, losing twice and hanging on in overtime in another game.

Maybe it was because Tiger fans have had to swallow so much disappointment in recent years, and this just looked like more of the same.

Part of it, of course, was the fact it’s a slam‑bang affair under any circumstances when a team comes from three touchdowns behind to win.

Afterward, the question came tip: Where did this rank among the great Massillon comebacks.

The answer kept popping up the same ‑ No. 1.

Nick Vrotsos has coached in Massillon since 1958.

“I’ve never seen anything any better than this,” he said. “Of all the high school games I’ve ever seen, this is the greatest.”

Jim Letcavits was an All‑Ohio end at Massillon in 1953 who is in his 22nd year as a Tiger coach.

“This has to rank as the No. 1 comeback,” he said before heading off to the 25th year reunion of the Washington High graduating class of 1954.

Curtis Strawder, another assistant coach, caught some key passes from Brent Offenbecher in 1978, when the Tigers came from a 10‑0 deficit to beat McKinley 13‑10.

“That was a good one, but this one was better,” he said.

Gary Wells was a Massillon senior player in 1960. In his 17th year as a Tiger coach, he delivered a fiery speech others said helped fuel the turnaround.

“This is the greatest comeback there has ever been,” he said.

George Whitfield was in junior high when he watched two of the great Massillon comebacks.

“We trailed McKinley 16‑0 in 1964 and 14‑0 in 1965.” said Whitfield, who was a senior player at Massillon in 1968 and now is an assistant coach. “Both of those comebacks were special because both the Tigers and McKinley came into the game with 9‑0 records both years.

“This comeback was much bigger, though, because of how far we were down.”

One of the 1989 players, senior defensive tackle Scott Sirgo, was asked what was more special. Last week’s win over McKinley or Saturday’s comeback against Walsh.

“The McKinley game, definitely,” he said. “That game is more than 100 years old.”

Another teammate felt otherwise.

“The hoopla and hype with the McKinley game is great,” said defensive back Chad Buckland. “But in the game itself McKinley was behind the whole way. This was a greater win because we came from so far behind.”

Nobody in the orange and black camp disagreed on the bottom line.

It had appeared the season was dead, and it was quite a thing to come out alive and kicking in the race for a state championship.

Here is a drive‑by‑drive account of Saturday’s games:
Walsh ‑ Start on own 20 after opening kickoff. Drive 80 yards in 12 plays. Key play: Personal foul against Tigers turns third‑and‑nine into first down at midfield. Vic Ferguson scores from one yard out. Chuck Wanat kick good at 7:02 of first quarter.
Walsh 7, Tigers 0

Tigers ‑ Start on own 11 after kickoff. Drive to 32. Lose ball on Brian Bruggeman Interception.

Walsh ‑ Start on own 49. Drive to Tiger 3‑yard line in nine plays. Key play: 28‑yard Ferguson‑to‑Bruggeman pass on third‑and‑six. Wanat 20‑yard field goal good at 1:35 of first quarter.
Walsh 10, Tigers 0

Tigers ‑ Start on own 29. Three plays and punt.

Walsh ‑ Start on own 35. Three plays and punt. Don Blake returns punt 64 yards but fumbles on 8‑yard line. Walsh recovers and drives 92 yards in 12 plays. Key play: 35‑yard screen pass to Dave Rottinghaus. Ferguson throws 4‑yard TD pass to Tom Puletti. Wanat kick good at 6:34 of second quarter.
Walsh 17, Tigers 0
Tigers ‑ Blake returns kickoff 48 yards to Walsh 37. Hurst passes 14 yards to Lamonte Dixon, 9 yards to Desmond Carpenter. Hurst scores on 2‑yard bootleg run. P.A.T. kick wide at 4:30 of second quarter.
Walsh 17, Tigers 6
Walsh ‑ Start on own 27. Drive 73 yards In nine plays. Bruggeman wrestles for reception at Tiger 15 and turns Ferguson pass Into 49‑yard touchdown play. Wanat kick good at 1:21 of second quarter.
Walsh 24, Tigers 7
Tigers ‑ Start on own 29 after kickoff. Drive to 44 in six plays. Lose ball on interception as half ends.
***
Tigers ‑ Start on own 39 after second‑half kickoff. Lose ball on interception on second play.

Walsh ‑ Start on own 46. Lose ball on Joe Pierce interception on second play.

Tigers ‑ Start on own 29. Gain 35 yards on first‑down carry by Sparkman, followed by runs of 15 by Falando Ashcraft and 11 by Dixon. Dixon scores on 1‑yard run. Gary Miller kick good at 9:18 of third quarter.

History

1989: Massillon 24, Canton McKinley 7

October 28, 1989August 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Massillon shuts down McKinley 24‑7

By MARK CRAIG
Repository sports writer

Most of the pre game know‑it‑alls had Saturday’s 95th McKinley‑Massillon high school football game figured out before the 21,000 fans filed into Fawcett Stadium.

They said McKinley’s ground game was too quick for Massillon’s defense. They also said Massillon’s offense was good, but not good enough to outplay McKinley’s quick defenders.

Boy, were they wrong.

Final score: Massillon 24, McKinley 7.

The victory gives Massillon an 8‑2 record, a 52‑38‑5 advantage in the McKinley‑Massillon series and a berth in the state playoffs for the first time since 1982. Massillon held its top spot in Region 3, while McKinley (7‑3) fell from the fourth and final playoff spot.

The Tigers, by virtue of their top spot in Region 3, most likely will host either Akron Garfield or Walsh Jesuit in Saturday’s opening round of the Division I playoffs. The final computer standings and the opening round pairings will be released by the Ohio High School Athletic Association tonight.

Massillon proved the know‑it‑alls wrong by doing what few thought they could. The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 45 yards rushing and 179 total yards.

The McKinley running game, which has featured 13 backs this season, was field to a 2.3‑yards‑per‑carry average on 20 carries and four first downs. The Bulldogs’ leading ground‑gainer on the season, Darnell Clark, had nine yards on 10 carries.

“This is the best defense we’ve played all season, especially against the run,” said Massillon defensive coordinator Dan Boarman. ‘We didn’t do anything difference as far as design. We just played a lot harder and were able to shut down their running game.”

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Massillon led 14‑0 before McKinley’s offense was brought onto the field.

After kick returner Donnie Blake returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the McKinley 47, the Tigers drove the rest of the way on seven plays and scored on a six‑yard run by Ryan Sparkman. Gary Miller added the first of three extra‑point kicks to give Massillon a 7‑0 lead with 9:39 left in the first quarter.

McKinley’s offense had to stay on the sideline when kick returner Kirk Moore fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Massillon’s David Whitfield recovered at the McKinley 18. The turnover was the first of four for McKinley.

Six plays later, Sparkman followed tackles Torn Menches and Ray Kovacsiss over the right side of the line for a two‑yard TD to put Massillon two TDs ahead with 7:20 left in tire first quarter.

When McKinley finally got the ball, the Bulldogs seemed to abandon the run, calling four straight pass plays and six in their first seven snaps.

“I think our offense took a lot of heat off our defense by scoring those two quick touchdowns,” Boarman said. “I think maybe we changed their game plan somewhat.”

McKinley head coach Thom McDaniels insisted the Bulldogs didn’t stray from their original game plan.

“We planned to come out and throw like we did,” McDaniels said. “(The touchdowns) did not change that. The situation was not out of hand at that point, by any means.”

McKinley climbed back into the game following a 29‑yard punt to the Massillon 49. The Bulldogs, with the help of a pass interference call on third‑and‑10 that put the ball on the Massillon 32, scored with 1:30 left in the quarter.

Three plays after the interference, junior quarterback Ryan Henry (9‑of‑23, 134 yards) fooled the entire Massillon defense into thinking he was going to run after scrambling away from Mike Martin’s rush. Instead, Henry threw a 32‑yard TD pass to Ron Szerokman who was wide open in the end zone.

Massillon, however, put McKinley in a huge hole when quarterback Lee Hurst lofted a perfectly thrown 12‑yard TD pass to senior Rameir Martin with four seconds left in the half. Martin used every inch of his 6‑4 frame as he leaped between two defenders, bobbled the ball and tucked it away before falling just inbounds.

“That probably was the play of the game,” said Massillon head coach Lee Owens. “Rameir is such a talented kid. And Lee is a gutsy kid for tossing the ball in there like he did.”

Hurst became Massillon’s record‑holder in single‑season pass completions and passing yards with a first half that saw him complete 12‑of‑20 passes for 166 yards. With his final statistics reading 12‑of‑ 22 for 166 yards, Hurst finished the regular season with 111 completions in 208 attempts for 1,485 yards and 10 TDs.

Martin caught all nine of his passes in the first half for 110 yards.

With the lead in hand, Massillon turned the ball over to senior running backs Ryan Sparkman and. Lamonte Dixon. The two combined for 117 yards rushing in the second half, and set up a 27‑yard field goal by Miller late in the third quarter.

Sparkman ended with a game high 105 yards on 25 carries.

Overall, Massillon rolled up 335 total yards and 20 first downs. The Tigers’ offense also didn’t turn the ball over.

“It was a case of its playing good defense and errorless football in the first half, and then wearing out McKinley in the second half,” Owens said. “I think it’s safe to say we pretty much controlled the game the entire way.”

Which is something the know‑it‑alls never would have guessed.
*****
Massillon offensive line coach Nick Vrotsos was coaching in his 33rd McKinley‑Massillon game, not his 31st as was reported Thursday.

Overlooked were the 14‑6 victory over McKinley in the 1980 playoffs and the Tigers’ first victory over McKinley in 1963 (the teams played twice that year because McKinley was suspended from play in 1962). Vrotsos is 22‑11 vs. McKinley.

Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7

Mass ‑ Sparkman 6 run (G Miller kick)
Mass ‑ Sparkman 2 run (G. Miller kick)
McK ‑ Szerokman 32 as, iron, Her,, (Woj kick)
Mass ‑ Martin 12 pass from Hurst (G. Miller kick)
Mass ‑ FG G. Miller 27

Att – 21.000

Mass Mck
Furs, downs 20 11
Rushes – yards 50-169 20-45
Passing 166 134
Return Yards 35 0
Comp‑Att‑Int 12-23‑0 9-23‑2
Punts 5‑31 6‑37
Fumbles‑Lost 1‑0 3‑2
Penalties‑Yards 3‑31 3‑22
Time of Possession 30:29 17:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Massilltm: Sparkman 25‑105, Dixon 13‑50, Ashcraft 5‑23 Hurst 7‑(‑9);
McKinley: Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Clark 10‑9, Richards 2‑1.

PASSING
Massillon: Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0-1‑0 0;
McKinley: Henry 9-23-2 134.

RECEIVING
Massillon: Martin 9‑110, Harig 1‑32, Manion 1‑16, Dixon 1-8.
McKinley: Moore 4‑52, Gardner 2‑30, Szerokman 1-32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin 1-5.

‘Dogs down;
Tigers stalk Walsh
Owens: Massillon’s back, you can’t keep us down

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It’s a something old, something new, something borrowed kind of Monday for the Massillon Tigers.

* The old (even ancient) ‑ The Tigers beat up the McKinley Bulldogs 24‑7 Saturday at Fawcett Stadium to take a 52‑38‑5 lead in a series that started six years before the Canton school’s namesake became a U.S. president in 1900.

* The new ‑ Massillon and Walsh Jesuit have never played each other. They will collide at 7 p.m. Saturday in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in a first‑round Division I playoff game.

* The borrowed ‑ Sonny Spielman, whose son Chris was a junior the last time the Tigers made the playoffs, in 1982, declared, “The title will ride on Tiger pride.” Didn’t somebody say that somewhere along the line?

It all adds up to this: Sun’s up in Tigertown after a second straight victory over the Dastardly ‘Dogs.

What’s it all mean?

“The focus,” said 33‑year‑old Massillon head coach Lee Owens, who is 2‑0 against McKinley and 15-5 as the top Tiger, “is Massillon.

“I was proud of our school. I was proud of our city. I was proud of our players. I was proud of our coaches.

“Massillon is back. You can’t keep us down. The first year we were eligible to be back in the playoffs, we made it back.

“We aren’t satisfied with just being back in the playoffs, either. As hard as it is to get emotionally up for another game after beating McKinley, we will find a way to do that. We will find a way to establish the consistency needed to advance in the playoffs.”

Who’s going to argue with the man?

His team founds way to dominate potent Austintown‑Fitch a week after losing 41‑7 to Cincinnati Moeller (which, incidentally, will take on unbeaten Cincinnati Elder in another Saturday playoff battle). It found a way to dominate favored – just ask 90 percent of the out‑of‑town media – McKinley a week after a stunning defeat to Cleveland St. Joseph.

Saturday’s game, played on an August‑meets‑October afternoon with temperatures in the 70s, came at the end of a hair‑raising week.

Lose and the Tigers’ season would end bitterly. Win and they would make the playoffs.

The Tigers struck early and let their thousands of followers let their hair bang down.

Massillon led 14‑0 with less than five minutes gone in the game. They stormed into the fourth quarter on top by the 24‑7 final score.

Midway through the fourth quarter, with half the Massillon crowd chanting “T‑I‑G” and the other half roaring back “E‑R‑S,” red rivers of Bulldog boosters streamed toward the exits.

Massillon got it done with a complete package: offense, defense, special teams and crowd support.

The offense scored on the game’s first series and amassed 335 yards against a ballyhooed defense.

The defense was both lucky (McKinley dropped several passes) and good, making numerous crunching hits and keeping the Bulldogs from getting outside. McKinley finished with just 179 total yards.

The special teams got along kick return from Donnie Blake to start the game and a big fumble recovery by David Whitfield minutes later.

The coaching staff came up with an offensive blocking scheme that took McKinley by surprise.

The crowd was large enough and loud enough to negate McKinley’s home‑field advantage ‑ an estimated 8,000 of the crowd of 20,000 ‑ official figure remained unavailable this morning ‑ rooted for the Tigers.

The offense used an unbalanced line in which the two biggest Tigers, Tom Menches and Ray Kovacsiss, lined up side by side.

”We recognized it as coaches,” said McKinley mentor Thom McDaniels. “But coaches recognizing it and adjusting to it and players doing so can be two different things.

They hadn’t done that in anything we’d seen in scouting them.”

Owens said his staff agreed the unbalanced look would throw McKinley’s angle defense off stride.

“We’ve used it during the season in goal‑line situations, but not all over the field as we did today,” he said.

Added Tiger tackle Tom Menches, “I think we had McKinley fooled.”

Senior running back Ryan Sparkman benefited from the well executed plan. He scored two touchdowns and rushed 25 times for 105 yards.

Quarterback Lee Hurst and split end Rameir Martin also had particularly outstanding games.

Hurst completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards. Martin caught six passes for 110 yards, including a leaping 12-yard touchdown catch with four seconds left in the first half in which he outwrestled three McKinley defenders for position and landed on his back clutching the ball.

The hard‑hitting contest left the physical status of a few Tigers in doubt heading into the Walsh Jesuit game.

Senior lineman Tom Menches suffered a badly sprained left ankle during a third‑quarter drive in which the Tigers scored the only points of the second half on a field goal.

Senior defensive back Eddie Williams suffered a knee injury in the first half. Stacy said the injury probably won’t require immediate surgery but that Williams won’t play Saturday.

Sparkman aggravated a hamstring injury that has cost him playing time this season but he probably will play Saturday, Stacy said.

Defensive lineman Mark McGeorge, bothered by nagging injuries late in the year, had to be helped off the field during the McKinley game. His status is uncertain.

MASSILLON 24
McKINLEY 7

Me Mc
HALFTIME TOTALS
First downs rushing 3 2
First downs passing 7 2
First downs penalty 1 1
Total first down 11 5
Net Yards rushing 39 30
Net Yards Passing 166 52
Total net Yards 205 82
Passes attempted 21 12
Passes completed 12 3
Passes intercepted 0 0
Fumbles/lost 0‑0 1‑1
Punts 3 4
Punting average 30.7 36.3
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 31 22

FINAL TOTALS
First downs rushing 12 4
First downs passing 7 6
First downs penalty 1 1
Total first 20 11
Net Yards rushing 169 45
Net Yards passing 166 134
Total net yards 335 179
Passes attempted 23 23
Passes completed 72 9
Passes intercepted 0 2
Fumbles/lost 1‑0 3‑2
Punts 5 6
Punting average 31.0 36.7
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 31 22

Individual Statistics
Rushing
(Mas) Sparkman 25‑1 5, Dixon 13‑ 50, Ashcraft 5‑23, Hurst 7‑minus 9.
(McK) Clark rMj19, Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Richards 2‑1.

Passing
(Mas) Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0‑1‑0 0. 1.
(McK) Henry 9‑23‑2 134.

Receiving
(Mas) Martin 9‑110, Harig 1.32, Manion 1‑ 6, Dixon 1‑8.
(McK) Moore are 4‑52, Gardner 2‑3 Szerokman 1‑32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin 1‑5.

Kickoff returns ‑ (Mas) Blake 1‑40, Dixon 1‑13.
(McK) ‑ Moore 2‑47, Clark 2‑18.

Punt returns ‑ (Mas) Manion 3‑8, Blake 2‑13.
(McK) ‑ Codispoti 1.0.

Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7

Ma ‑ Sparkman 6 run. Miller kick
Ma ‑ Sparkman 2 run. Miller kick
Mc ‑ Szerokman 32 pass from Henry. Wojcik kick
Ma ‑ Martin 12 pass from Hurst. Miller kick
Ma ‑ Miller 27 field goal.

Here is a drive‑by‑drive account of Saturday’s Massillon-McKinley game, won 24‑7 by the Tigers.
MAS ‑ Donnie Blake returns opening kickoff 37 yards to McKinley 47 Ryan Sparkman scores on 7‑yard run on seventh play, Key play: 16‑yard Lee Hurst to Troy Manion completion to 32 on first down. Gary Miller’s P.A.T. kick good at 9:39 of first quarter.
Tigers 7, McKinley
***
McK ‑ Kirk Moore fumbles during kickoff return. David Whitfield, recovers for Massillon.
MAS ‑ Start on McKinley 18. Score in six plays on 2‑yard run by Sparkman. Key play: 7‑yard Hurst to Rameir Martin pass to 11 on first down. Miller P.A.T. kick good at 7:20 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 0
***
McK ‑ Start on own 20 after touchback. Drive to Tiger 49. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 16. Three plays. Punt.
McK ‑ Start on Tiger 49. Score on third play, a 32‑yard pass from Ryan Henry to Ron Szerokman. Wojcik kick good at 1:38 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 7
***
MAS ‑ Start on own 23 after kickoff. Drive nine plays to 20 Hurst’s 38‑yard field goal attempt wide right at 9:42 of second quarter. Key play: 36‑yard Hurst to Martin sideline pass.
McK ‑ Start on own 20. Four plays to 37. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 11. Six plays to own 48, including 30‑yard sideline pass to Doug Harig. Punt.
Mck ‑Start on own 25 with 3:13 left in first half. Three plays. Punt.,
MAS ‑ Start on own 36 with 2:00 left in half. Drive 64 yards in 10 plays for TD, 12‑yard pass from Hurst to Martin in left corner of end zone. Key plays: 9‑yard run to 45 by Sparkman on first down; 8‑yard reception by Martin followed by late hit penalty to 12. Miller’s P.A.T. kick good at 0:04 of first half.
First half expires on ensuing kickoff return.
Tigers 21, McKinley 7
***
McK ‑ Start on own 6 after bobble of kickoff return. Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on McKinley 40. Six plays to 12. Hurst’s 38‑yard field goal attempt wide right at 6:36 of third quarter.
McK ‑ Start on own 20, Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 47. Seven plays to 8‑yard line. 27‑yard field goal by Miller good at 1:27 of third quarter.
Tigers 24, McKinley 7

McK ‑ Start on own 45 after kickoff return. Seven plays to Tiger 3. Keith Rabbitt rips ball away from Bulldog pass receiver Dorey Irven
MAS ‑ Start on own 3. Seven plays to 43. Punt.
McK‑ Start on own 25 with 5:53 left in game. Drive inside Massillon territory but lose ball on interception by Chad Buckland that virtually ends game.

Rameir Martin

Blog Posts

No state title, but what a season!

Two down two to go for Tigers

Tigers on prowl for Garfield Fire‑and‑brimstone talk spurs team’s comeback

Massillon shuts down McKinley 24‑7

Tigers on prowl for Garfield
Fire‑and‑brimstone talk spurs team’s comeback