Tag: <span>Aidan Longwell</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 55, Canton Glenoak 13

Dominant first half carries Massillon past GlenOak
Chris Easterling
Sep 06, 2019 11:46 PM

MASSILLON Darien Williams took the kickoff and, following his blockers, raced to the left and then down the field to the GlenOak 42.

The only problem, however, was a yellow flag sitting back inside Massillon’s 40. That holding flag negated what would have been a big return, plus extra yards tacked on for a horse-collar tackle.

That would be about the only thing to go wrong for Massillon in the first half of a dominant 55-13 victory over visiting GlenOak on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Once the Tigers were able to snap the ball – following a re-kick and then a GlenOak offsides penalty before the first play – they wasted no time laying waste to any hopes the Golden Eagles had of pulling off an upset. Massillon scored on its first six possessions, along with an interception return for a score by Preston Hodges, to jump out to a 48-0 lead just over 13 minutes into the game.

“We treat this like any other week,” Hodges said. “We come out looking to get as good as we can. We’re just looking to better ourselves as the season goes on.”

That was just the start, however. By the time the teams went to the locker room for halftime, the Tigers had already scored more points than GlenOak had given up in more than two decades, as they held a 55-6 lead.

Then only score of the half for the Golden Eagles came on a 91-yard Leeshawn Johnson kickoff return with 10:37 remaining in the second quarter. That trimmed the Massillon lead to 48-6.

GlenOak would have one other chance in Tiger territory over the first 24 minutes of the game. Jamiel Randle intercepted a Massillon pass on the Tigers’ seventh possession and returned it to the Tiger 13.

Four plays later, however, Massillon would get the ball back by stopping the Golden Eagles at the Tiger 9. Nine plays after that, Massillon would tack on its ninth touchdown of the half when Austin Brawley took a quick pass at the line of scrimmage from backup quarterback Zach Catrone and raced 35 yards for the touchdown with 3:39 remaining in the half.

If the scoreboard didn’t show the dominance of the first half, the statistics did. Massillon held a 401-21 edge in total yards, including 211-10 in rushing yards.

The Tigers also forced three turnovers in the first half. Besides Hodges’ pick-six, Robbie Page set up Massillon’s third touchdown of the night on a diving, juggling interception at the GlenOak 30. There was also a recovery by Isaiah Clark of an uncovered kickoff.

GlenOak did not pick up a first down until the 2:45 mark of the third quarter on a 29-yard run by Johnson to the Tiger 38. By that point, Massillon held an 18-1 edge in that stat.

Johnson would score GlenOak’s other touchdown as well on a 9-yard run with 4:54 remaining.

“We’re real young offensively right now,” said GlenOak coach Beau Balderson, whose team was out-gained 466-115 in total yards, and out-first-downed 21-4. “We’re taking our lumps. We’re going to continue to get better and they’re going to continue to fight and not point fingers at each other. We’re going to build from the positives of tonight and move on.”

All of that was done with the Tiger starters essentially calling it a night after Hodges ripped off a 16-yard scoring run to put Massillon ahead 48-0 with 10:53 remaining in the half. That was on the first play after Clark’s kickoff recovery.

Those starters, however, did the most with the little opportunity. Aidan Longwell was 5-of-6 passing for 155 yards and three touchdowns, completing his final five pass attempts.

Jayden Ballard, meanwhile, turned both of his catches into touchdowns for a total of 109 receiving yards. Andrew Wilson-Lamp added two catches for 38 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown catch.

All of that passing came after Massillon ran the ball on 11 of its first 12 plays, for 117 yards. Terrence Keyes would gain 79 of his 83 rushing yards on seven of those plays, while Zion Phifer added 29 of his 47 yards on four carries.

“We weren’t trying to establish the run,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “We were just calling the plays we thought would be successful. The kids executed.”

Both would score on 2-yard touchdown runs for a 14-0 Massillon lead with 6:25 left in the first quarter.

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 44, Akron St. Vincent St. Mary 14

Record-setting night by Wilson-Lamp keys Massillon win
By Chris Easterling
Independent sports editor
Aug 30, 2019 10:30 PM

MASSILLON It must be something about season openers that brings out the best in Massillon receivers.

Junior Andrew Wilson-Lamp set a single-game school record with 232 receiving yards on 11 catches, helping the Tigers to a season-opening 44-14 win over St. Vincent-St. Mary on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. It breaks the old record of 222 yards, set by Austin Jasinski in the 2016 opener at Mentor.

“I just came out ready to play,” Wilson-Lamp said after his record-setting performance. “I wasn’t expecting to break anything.”

It didn’t take long for Wilson-Lamp to get into the groove, as he hauled in a 51-yard catch on Massillon’s third play to set up its first touchdown, 13-yard Terrence Keyes touchdown with 7:15 remaining in the first quarter. By halftime, he would have six catches for 163 yards and a score, a 45-yard catch to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead.

In between that catch and his record-setting 17-yard catch-and-run late in the third quarter, his final catch of the game, however, Massillon would go from on its way to a rout to a close game back to a rout. The Irish would score two touchdown in the final 56 seconds of the first half to cut it to a 21-14 halftime deficit.

“The first post I caught, I was like, ‘This is going to be a good game,'” Wilson-Lamp said.

The Tigers, though, would come out of the locker room by scoring 16 points in the first 4:45 of the third quarter to open up a 37-14 lead. They would get a opening-drive Preston Hodges touchdown run, as well as a safety on a bad punt snap by St. Vincent-St. Mary.

On the subsequent free kick, Jayden Ballard return it 66 yards for a touchdown with 7:15 remaining in the third. Ballard, who had 63 yards on five catches on the night, added a 33-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth quarter.

“We just coached them up,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said of the halftime talk. “The coaches just got together, made the adjustments we needed to make, tried to take care of it. We just came out and played better.”

Or, essentially, play much like the Tigers did to start the game.

Massillon couldn’t have scripted a better opening 20 minutes. It had the football for four possessions and had found the end zone three times for a 21-0 lead with 4:18 remaining in the half.

Not only that, but the Tigers were doing just about what they wanted on offense, especially in the passing game. Aidan Longwell connected on 12 of his first 13 passes for 215 yards, including the 45-yard touchdown pass to Wilson-Lamp to give Massillon a three-score lead.

Included in Longwell’s start was a run of eight consecutive passes to open the second quarter, all but one of them to either Wilson-Lamp or Jayden Ballard. Longwel was 20-of-23 for 322 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Beyond the passing, Keyes was making the most of his Massillon debut. Playing against the team for which he played his first three seasons, Keyes had a the Tigers’ initial two touchdowns on runs of 13 and one yard.

Keyes would finish with 58 yards on 14 carries.

“I really like how we spread the ball around,” Moore said. “We take pride in getting the ball to all of our athletes.”

St. Vincent-St. Mary, however, would find life in the final 56 seconds of the first half. Enough life to turn what appeared to be heading to a halftime blowout into a one-score game.

The Irish cracked the scoreboard with a 10-yard Luke Lindsay-to-Josh Nickerson touchdown with 56 seconds left in the half to make it 21-7. Then, after Quinn Knox came up with an interception for St. V-St. M at the Irish 49, Lindsay hit Darrian Lewis for a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-14 with 21 seconds left.

“We showed a lot of resiliency,” said Irish coach Bobby Nickol, whose team finished with 179 total yards. “We could have fell behind 28-0 at halftime and hung our heads. We made a few plays there at the end of the half.”

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Letter Logo Booster Club

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Banquet – Award Winners

The following is a list of the awards given out at the 2018 Massillon Tiger Football Banquet.

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Team MVP: Jamir Thomas

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Special Teams Player of the Year: Seth Jefferson

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Tom Harp Coaches Award: Tyree Broyles (Presented by Tom Harp)

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Scout Team Player of the Year (Defense): Corey Campbell

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Scout Team Player of the Year (Offense): Jerron Hodges

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Lifter of the Year: Hunter Wantz

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Offensive Player of the Year: Aidan Longwell

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Defensive Player of the Year: Dean Clark

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Paul David Memorial Academic Award: Cameron Sunkle

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Captains Award: Jamir Thomas, Aidan Longwell, Tre’Von Morgan, Justin Gaddis, Dean Clark, Deon Williams

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Ducky Schroeder Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award: Deon Williams

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Coach Lee Tressel Citizenship Award: Aydan Burgess

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Bob Smith/Bill Snyder Sportsmanship Award: Brock Orr

2018 Massillon Tiger Football Award Winner: Thayer Munford A.C.T. Award: Jamir Thomas

 

Massillon football celebrates special season one more time
Jan 17, 2019 9:51 PM
By Alex Tichenor Independent sports writer

MASSILLON The state championship game is still fresh in the minds of Massillon football players.

And it probably will be for a long time. But not necessarily in a bad way.

“There’s a lot of things I would go back and change, but it’s already happened, so I can’t go back and change it,” senior wide receiver Tre’Von Morgan said. “You have to think about it and cherish all the (good) moments we had in that game. … It was fun. We’re kids. We gotta have fun.”

They remember the comeback. How McKinley’s home, Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, turned into a version of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for a night. How pandemonium ensued when Aydrik Ford took Aidan Longwell’s pass 67 yards to the house to bring the Tigers within six points after trailing by four touchdowns at halftime.

The teenagers sitting in banquet hall of the Massillon Knights of Columbus accomplished something few Massillon teams of recent memory have. Not all end-of-the-season banquets are created equal, but the Tigers certainly had reason to celebrate like no other team in Stark County this season. And they did just that, once more as a team.

Of course, there was much more to reminisce on that the state championship game for the Tigers. Head coach Nate Moore detailed almost every one of Massillon’s 14 wins from the podium as players, coaches, parents and fans polished off their ice cream.

There was the 46-40 win over East St. Louis, the closest anyone came to ruining Massillon’s perfect regular season. And the 101-point game against Sun Valley the very next week, the furthest anyone came to ruining Massillon’s perfect season.

“Apparently there were some people around the country who weren’t happy about that,” Moore said of the 101-6 win. “And when that last touchdown happened, I cringed, but I’m never gonna tell a kid to not play his tail off.”

And of course, the McKinley game. Most players in the room had never lost to McKinley as varsity lettermen. In fact, Jamir Thomas was the only player who lettered on the 2015 team, the last one to lose to the Bulldogs.

As often as the Tigers’ state title game run came up, beating McKinley followed.

“(Beating McKinley) is one of the best feelings you can feel in high school football,” senior linebacker Cameron Sunkle said.

But what set this Massillon team apart from many of the teams of decade’s past was the run to Canton. These Tigers were the fourth team to make it all the way to the state championship game since, joining the 1980,1982 and 2005 Tigers.

It was a run that brought hundreds of Tigers fans out to Lincoln Way whenever they traveled home from playoff games.

“Coming home from a playoff game was pretty much the best feeling you could ever have,” junior running back Zion Phifer said. “It doesn’t get better than Massillon.”

It was a run that spawned unlikely heroes, like Zach Catrone’s three-touchdown performance off the bench when the starting QB Longwell went down, and grew the stars of Division I college recruits like Thomas and Morgan.

And it was a run that ultimately came up short, but still ended in a thrilling main event against Akron Archbishop Hoban, bringing out 16,213 fans to Benson Stadium on a rainy November Thursday night.

Even though Hoban ended the night as the state champion, everybody on the Massillon sideline will remember the explosion when Ford scored to make it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter first.

“It was crazy,” senior linebacker Kyshad Mack said. “I thought we were gonna win it right there. … It’s something I’ll probably never forget in my life.”

And even those most devastated by the loss can take heart in one thing: they left the program in better shape than when they entered it.

“I feel like we laid the groundwork for the younger guys,” senior safety Dean Clark said. “We showed them how to win, how to do things right and how to get to that level. If anything, we laid that down for them. But it still would have been nice to win.”

Reach Alex at 330-775-1129 or alex.tichenor@indeonline.com

On Twitter: @atichenorINDE

History

2018: Massillon 41, Cincinnati Winton Woods 20

Massillon tops Winton Woods, heading to Division II title game

Nov 23, 2018 10:54 PM

GAHANNA Massillon faced an early deficit. It faced a second-half comeback. It faced injury to one of its best players.

Now, the Tigers will face three-time state champion Archbishop Hoban for the Division II state championship.

Massillon earned its first trip to the title game since 2005 thanks to a 41-20 victory over Winton Woods on Friday night at Gahanna’s Wilbur C. Strait Stadium. It is the Tigers’ fourth title-game appearance, and first in Division II.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team scored 26 straight points in the second and third quarters to rally from a 10-0 deficit and improved to 14-0 while setting a school record for wins in a season. “They played a whale of a ballgame against a great football team. I’m really proud of them.

The Tigers will lock horns against the 14-0 Knights on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. To get there though, Massillon had to exert a bit of revenge on a nemesis from its recent past.

A year ago, Winton Woods overcame a 21-0 Tiger lead in the first half scored the final 56 points to win going away. A year later, the Warriors were the ones who were in possession of the early lead, only to see Massillon roar from behind.

“We’ve been waiting for them all season,” said cornerback Max Turner, whose 38-yard interception return for a touchdown with 21 seconds left in the first half capped a 19-0 Tiger second-quarter run. “I’m talking in the weight room, off-season, 15-for-15 was all for Winton Woods. We knew what it is.”

That didn’t mean Massillon wasn’t in for a little bit of early adversity.

Winton Woods led 10-0 after the first quarter thanks to a 36-yard Yeri Velasquez field goal and a 3-yard Miyan Williams rushing touchdown. The Tigers, meanwhile, had just two first downs and 39 total yards of offense in that same time.

“Just keep playing ball,” Moore said of his message to the team. “Just keep playing football. Keep playing football.”

Jamir Thomas would put Massillon on the board with a 15-yard touchdown run two minutes into the second quarter at 10-7. He would added a 1-yard run with 40 seconds left in the half to give the Tigers the lead for good at 13-10.

Thomas, who would leave the game late in the third quarter with an injury, ran for 83 yards on 12 carries.

Massillon would turn momentum totally on its side just 19 seconds later, when Turner’s pick-six provided it a 19-10 halftime lead. That lead would grow to 26-10 less than a minute into the third quarter when Aidan Longwell hit Tre’Von Morgan for a 58-yard touchdown.

Longwell finished 14-of-27 for 210 yards with one touchdown and one interception. That interception, with Massillon leading 26-13 in the third quarter, was the only crack Winton Woods could find to attempt to get back in the game.

After the pick, the Warriors faced a 3rd-and-29 from their own 24. MiChale Wingfield hit Williams on a screen pass for 75 yard to the Massillon 1.

On the next play, Williams scored his second touchdown of the night to pull Winton Woods within 26-20. Williams, who rushed for 2,742 yards over the first 13 games, finished with 82 rushing yards on 20 carries.

“I thought they did a great job,” Massillon defensive coordinator Craig McConnell said of the defense against Williams. “Honestly, our plan was, if we stop 28 (Williams), we win. I wouldn’t use the words that we stopped him, but limited him. He’s going to make his plays. He’s a great football player.”

With the Tigers’ own All-Ohio running back, Thomas, sidelined for the final quarter, the ball went to junior Zion Phifer. Phifer didn’t disappoint.

“I did it for the seniors,” said Phifer, who gained 76 of his 82 yards on 15 fourth-quarter carries. “When Jamir went down, we had no one else to come up but me. So I did it for me team.”

Phifer’s 13-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter gave Massillon a two-score lead again at 34-20 after Longwell hit Dean Clark for a two-point conversion. His 1-yard run with 1:34 remaining in the game gave the Tigers a 41-20 lead.

A 21-point lead which Massillon rode into the Division II state championship game.

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2018: Massillon 41, Wadsworth 19

Kickoff return keys Massillon’s return to the state semifinals
Nov 16, 2018 10:39 PM
Chris Easterling

NORTH CANTON Massillon was looking for something to help it get a little separation.

Almost two full quarters into Friday night’s Division II Region 7 championship game against Wadsworth, the Tigers were locked in a tie game. Every time they would seem to grab a bit of momentum, the Grizzlies had the answer.

That is, until the final three-plus minutes of the first half. That’s when Massillon grabbed the separation it needed to send it to its second consecutive regional championship with 41-19 victory in front of a capacity crowd at North Canton Memorial Stadium.

“I knew it was a big key in the game,” said senior Kyshad Mack, whose 82-yard kickoff return with 3:12 remaining in the first half gave the Tigers the lead for good at 17-10. “I went out and made a play for my brothers.”

Mack’s kickoff return was one of two Tiger touchdowns in the final 3:12 of the half. The other was a 12-yard Aidan Longwell-to-Jamir Thomas’ scoring pass with 17 seconds remaining, giving Massillon a 24-10 halftime lead.

The Grizzlies, who bow out at 12-1, would get no closer than 12 the remainder of the game. The Tigers, meanwhile, would use Mack’s return to key a 31-9 game-ending burst.

“The kickoff return was huge,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team now has the best start in school history at 13-0. “Then, to drive down the field and get a score there to push it to two scores there was big.”

Massillon’s state-semifinal matchup won’t be official until the Ohio High School Athletic Association announces it on Sunday afternoon. However, based upon the results of Friday’s Division II regional finals, it sets up the extreme likelihood of two rematches from a year ago in the final four, with the Tigers facing Winton Woods and three-time state champion Hoban meeting Avon.

Moore, whose team tied the 2005 state runner-up team for most wins in school history, wasn’t prepared to focus too much on the next opponent.

“I have a feeling how it’s going to go,” said Moore, whose team lost to the Warriors in last year’s state semifinals. “I think we’re going to have to wait and see what the OHSAA decides.”

With just under four minutes left in the first half on Friday, Massillon couldn’t afford to look ahead to the state semifinals. At that point in time, it was just trying to shake a very good Wadsworth team.

Massillon took leads of 7-0 and 10-7 in the first half thanks to a 53-yard Longwell-to-Jayden Ballard touchdown pass and a 32-yard Alex Bauer field goal. Wadsworth, though, would get a Trey Shaffer-to-Tyler Montgomery 20-yard pass and a 25-yard Blake Turano field goal to twice square the game.

Wadsworth finished the game with 394 total yards, the second-highest total of the season against Massillon. That included 244 rushing yards, 109 of those by Dom Loparo.

Brock Snowball added 91 yards on the ground for the Grizzlies.

Wadsworth, though, couldn’t get the game tied for a third time. After Mack’s return, the Tigers tried a pooch kick which they recovered, but were called for illegal touching to give Wadsworth the ball at the Massillon 46.

Four plays later, the Grizzlies faced a fourth-and-6 from the Tiger 9 and attempted a field goal. The kick fell short, giving Massillon the football back at its 20.

Ten plays later, the Tigers – who had 403 total yards – had the two-score lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Compounding the issue for Wadsworth was the fact its first second-half possession was stopped on downs at the Massillon 1.

“That was the plan,” Wadsworth coach Justin Todd said of making it a one-score game out of the half. “That’s what we needed to do. We needed to come out in the second half and we had to score. Unfortunately, we didn’t punch it in.”

The Grizzlies would get a safety on the subsequent play after the goal-line stand to pull within 24-12. However, their next drive was snuffed out by a Dean Clark interception at the Massillon 22.

The Tigers would turn their next two possessions into points, essentially removing all doubt. They would get a 33-yard Bauer field goal for a 27-12 lead, followed by a 24-yard Longwell-to-Clark pass for a 34-12 edge.

Longwell, who missed the last three quarters of the regional-semifinal win over Whitehall-Yearling with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, showed no ill effects. The junior was 17-of-25 for a career-high 306 yards with four touchdowns.

“He played pretty well,” Moore said of Longwell. “He made a lot of good decisions out there and threw a lot of good balls. I’m proud of him.

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2018: Massillon 35, Columbus Whitehall-Yearling 17

Massillon overcomes injury, Whitehall-Yearling, to reach regional final
Nov 09, 2018 10:38 PM
Chris Easterling

MANSFIELD If it could go wrong for Massillon, it went wrong on Friday night.

An injury to starting quarterback Aidan Longwell. Multiple turnovers. Flags galore.

Yet, when it was all over, the Tigers’ state-championship dreams remained intact, as they held off Whitehall-Yearling 35-17 in a Division II Region 7 semifinal at Mansfield’s Arlin Field.

“All through the offseason, our coaches preached coming through adversity,” said Massillon senior Dean Clark, who will join his teammates in a regional final against Wadsworth next Friday at a site to be announced this weekend. “We’ve been going through adversity this whole season, the whole year. We were prepared for it.”

The adversity started on the next-to-last play of the first quarter, when Longwell – who had given Massillon a 7-0 lead on its first play, a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Ballard – suffered an injury while attempting to score from the Ram 1. To add a certain insult to the injury, the official ruled an inadvertent whistle on the play, negating what possibly could’ve been a 99-yard fumble return by Whitehall for a score.

Enter sophomore Zach Catrone, who would lead the Tigers through the final three quarter. Catrone finished 16-of-24 for 177 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception.

“(Catrone’s) done a great job all year,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team matched the 1982 team for best start to a season at 12-0. “He led our JV team to an undefeated record. We have a lot confidence with him going in. We’re real proud of his performance.”

That performance included a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Von Morgan right before halftime to give Massillon a 17-9 lead. Catrone also hit Ballard for a 55-yard touchdown with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter to give the Tigers the lead for good at 23-17.

Catrone would hit Morgan for a 9-yard strike with 42 seconds left to provide the final margin. The officials would call the game after that score when Whitehall was flagged for multiple unsportsmanlike penalties on the subsequent point-after try.

The entire Ram bench emptied onto the field after the play. After a lengthy conference, the officials ended the game, which was marred by multiple personal fouls on both sides.

“We came out and played hard,” Moore said. “We certainly weren’t perfect, none of us. Just played hard and got the win.”

Massillon would be flagged 12 times total in the game for 104 penalty yards. Whitehall was hit with seven flags for 63 yards.

It was Tiger turnover, though, which helped open the door for the Rams. Massillon had three giveaways on the night, compared to just one takeaway, a Luke Murphy interception with just over two minutes remaining.

The biggest of those Tiger turnovers came on the second play of the second half. A bad snap was picked up by Whitehall’s Sir-Blake Singleton and returned for a touchdown.

Raymell Byrd’s two-point conversion run would help the Rams, who never led in the game, pull even at 17-17.

That would be the only time Whitehall was able to get the game even after Massillon took the lead on its first play from scrimmage. The Rams would pull within 10-9 on Christian Gordon’s 64-yard catch-and-run off a Byrd pass, but the tying conversion failed due to a bad snap.

Whitehall would finish with 191 yards, 101 of those through the air. Byrd, the Rams’ leading rusher, finished with 52 yards on 11 carries.

Massillon would put the game away by bowing up on defense and running the football in the fourth quarter. The Tigers twice kept Whitehall from scoring over the final 12 minutes despite reaching their side of the 50.

Meanwhile, Massillon would run the ball on 15 of its final 16 plays. That included a 15-yard touchdown run by Jamir Thomas with 5:45 remaining to put the Tigers up 29-17.

“It was huge, huge,” Moore said. “It pushed it to a two-score game. That was huge, especially after the blocked extra point.”

Thomas finished with 136 yards on 16 carries for Massillon.

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2018: Massillon 45, Columbus Walnut Ridge 14

Massillon pulls away in fourth to bury Walnut Ridge
Nov 02, 2018 10:35 PM

MASSILLON Kameron Simpson took the pass out of the air and took off running. By the time the senior linebacker crossed the goal line, he and his Massillon teammates were well on their way to Week 12.

That doesn’t mean Week 11 was as easy as Simpson’s 45-yard, game-sealing interception return for a touchdown on Friday. Yet, because of the Tigers’ ability to dominate the fourth quarter, they were able to pull away for a 45-14 Division II Region 7 quarterfinal win over Columbus Walnut Ridge at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

“They say Week 11 is the toughest bump,” said Simpson, whose pick-6 with 19 seconds left assured Massillon its seventh running-clock finish in 11 games. “So, to go out here and grind it out with my brothers, and for all of us to do our jobs and keep it going, it’s a great feeling. Four more weeks until Week 15. We plan on winning it all.”

The Tigers, who are 11-0 for the first time since 1982, will continue their quest to “win it all” in a regional semifinal contest next week against No. 5-seeded Columbus Whitehall-Yearling at a site to be announced by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Sunday. The Rams, 10-1 on the season, upset No. 4-seeded Dover 38-31 in another opening-round game on Friday.

Massillon, the region’s No. 1 seed, made sure it wasn’t a third top-four seed in the Region 7 to suffer a setback thanks to a 28-0 run over the final 16:24 of the game. That includes a 21-0 fourth-quarter burst which started with an Aidan Longwell 2-yard run on the first play of the quarter, and ended with Simspon’s touchdown return on its next-to-last play.

The Tigers only held a 112-90 edge in fourth-quarter yards, as they finished with 351 total yards to the Scots’ 256. However, Massillon’s 3-0 edge in scores was more than enough.

“We found a way to get the win,” Tigers coach Nate Moore said. “I’m proud of the guys for grinding it out. It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll certainly take it.”

Massillon won on a night where its vaunted running game was held to 134 yards on 34 rushing attempts, the second-fewest yards in a game this season (Louisville, 123 yards). Leading rushing Jamir Thomas was held to just 40 yards on 17 carries, although it was his 1-yard run with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter which started the Tigers’ game-ending run.

Zion Phifer led Massillon, which was held to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, with 85 yards on 13 carries. Phifer gave the Tigers the lead for good at 10-7 on an 8-yard run with 6:03 left in the second quarter.

“You have to give credit to those guys,” Moore said of Walnut Ridge, which led 7-3 early in the second quarter on a blocked punt it recovered in the end zone. “They’re fired up on defense. They were playing really, really hard. They were giving us some shifts and some overloads and what-not.”

Massillon’s passing game came through to pick up the slack for the running game. Longwell completed 21-of-33 passes for 216 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Ballard with 2:47 remaining for a 38-14 lead.

The gaps were filled in by the Tiger defense, which held Walnut Ridge to just 27 rushing yards, which was 194 yards below its season average. The Scots did throw for 229 yards, 56 of those on a Isaiah Murphy-to-Qian Magwood touchdown which pulled them to within 17-14 with 9:04 left in the third.

Massillon, though, countered Walnut Ridge’s one touchdown pass with two interception returns for touchdowns. Kyshad Mack gave the Tigers a 17-7 lead with 5:48 left in the first half on a 36-yard pick-6.

“The defense played well,” Moore said. “We put them in some bad spots. They bowed up and got some stops. I’m really proud of them for that.”

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2018: Massillon 41, Louisville 0

Focused Tigers shut down Leopards to stay undefeated
Oct 19, 2018 11:30 PM
Chris Easterling

LOUISVILLE Louisville made a point to let undefeated Massillon know it was on the field before the ball was even teed up on Friday night. The teams had to be separated after the Leopards ran up to the Tigers while the latter waited to take the field.

Once the ball was kicked off, Massillon made sure Louisville knew it was on the field. The Tigers scored four first-quarter touchdowns, while the defense dominated, to lead them to a 41-0 win over the Leopards in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Louisville Stadium.

“That really surprised me that that even happened before the game,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “We certainly responded well. We got out focus back and played hard.”

The win gives Massillon it’s first 9-0 start since 2005. However, the chance for the first Week 10 showdown between undefeated and untied Massillon and McKinley teams since that season – and sixth time ever – was thwarted when Perry knocked off the Bulldogs.

Still, the Tigers have a chance to post their first undefeated regular season since 1999 with a win over McKinley in next Saturday’s 129th edition of The Game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

“It’s the biggest game in high school football,” Moore said. “It’s an honor to be a part of it.”

Part of a tradition to The Game is the worry both teams have about Week 9. A potential to peak ahead to the rivalry game always seems to exist, regardless of who the opponent they may be facing.

Any doubt that the Tigers would be looking past Friday’s game was erased when the Leopards made their pregame beeline toward Massillon. While the “scuffle” was more bark than bite by either team, it certainly ignited a fire under the Tigers.

Louisville coach John DeMarco declined to comment about the pregame incident, as well as the four first-half personal fouls his team committed. However, he acknowledged what he saw over the four quarters his team played against the Tigers supported everything he saw of them on film during the week.

“They played like I thought they could play,” said DeMarco, whose team was shut out for the first since since Austintown Fitch won 26-0 in Week 3 of the 2016 season. “They’re a very good team, a very complete team. They do a lot of different things well.”

While the offense has been one of the calling cards for Massillon this season, it was the defense which set the tone throughout the game. That started with the Tigers’ first score, a 24-yard interception return for a touchdown by Max Turner with 8:42 remaining in the first quarter.

Turner’s pick – his second in as many weeks which he returned for a score – was one of three for Massillon on the night. That includes back-to-back possessions in the first quarter, as Kyshad Mack picked off the first pass of the Leopards’ subsequent possession at the Louisville 33.

That set up Massillon’s first offensive score of the night, a 1-yard Aidan Longwell touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 5:38 left in the quarter. That was the first of three consecutive touchdown drives for the Tigers, with Longwell hitting Jayden Ballard for a 74-yard scoring strike to make it 21-0 with 1:56 left in the quarter, and Jamir Thomas scoring from a yard out to make it 28-0 one play into the second quarter.

Ballard would catch a 78-yard touchdown pass with 1:51 remaining in the first half to make it 34-0 Tigers. Thomas’ second 1-yard run made it 41-0 with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Thomas rushed for 113 yards on 17 carries. Longwell completed 8-of-11 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and one pick.

It was, however, the Tiger defense which set the tone.

Massillon limited Louisville to just 145 total yards. Leopard quarterback Colton Jones, who had thrown for more than 800 yards in his team’s three-game win streak entering the game, was 17-of-34 passing for 143 yards.

Not only did the Tigers keep the potent Louisville passing game in check, it did so despite having their backs to the goal line on multiple first-half possessions. Massillon had three fourth-down stops in the first half, including back-to-back fourth-and-goals in the second quarter from its own 3.

“We got down there a couple of times and weren’t able to score,” DeMarco said. “That was a little frustrating. They had a lot to do with that.”

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2018: Massillon 42, Austintown Fitch 14

Tigers take Fitch’s best shot, stay undefeated
Sep 28, 2018 10:52 PM

MASSILLON Massillon long ago learned to never take an Austintown Fitch team lightly. That’s especially true when the Tigers are carrying around an undefeated record.

So, as the two long-time combatants met Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon didn’t necessarily expect to see its run of lopsided routs continue. The only thing that mattered was continuing the Tigers season-opening win streak.

The Tigers would end up keeping their winning ways going, but it wouldn’t necessarily be easy. They scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away for a 42-14 win over the Falcons.

“Our kids fought hard,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said after his team improved to 6-0, the school’s best start since 2013. “It was good to see us go the distance in a ballgame and win it in the fourth quarter.”

The Tigers, whose closest game in the fourth quarter previous to Friday was a 37-21 lead over Warren Harding in Week 3, would only lead 21-14 going into the fourth quarter. Massillon would score on three of its final four possessions, while the Falcons went three-and-out on each of their three drives in the fourth.

Massillon held a 151-5 edge in fourth-quarter yardage.

“I just told them I was proud of the way they fought,” said Fitch coach Phil Annarella, whose team is now 4-2. “We played extremely hard; we didn’t play well at times. Sometimes, a 5-(foot-)7 kid can’t cover a 6-5 kid or whatever he is.”

Much of the focus coming in was on Tiger running back Jamir Thomas’ assault on the school’s record books. Thomas came in just 190 yards behind Art Hasting’s career rushing mark, and four rushing touchdowns behind Bob Glass’ record.

For the first half, Thomas couldn’t find the room to run, with just 28 first-half yards on seven carries. That didn’t necessarily hurt Massillon in opening up a 21-7 halftime lead, thanks to big plays in the passing game.

Aidan Longwell threw three first-half touchdown passes, including two to sophomore Jayden Ballard. Tre’Von Morgan added an 18-yard scoring catch which put the Tigers ahead 7-0 on their first possession of the game.

Longwell hit Ballard, then, on a 58-yard touchdown pass on the first play of their second possession to make it 14-0 Massillon. Ballard added a 66-yard touchdown catch to make it 21-7 Tiger in the second quarter.

Longwell finished 13-of-20 for 263 yards and four touchdowns. He and Ballard would hook up for a third score with 11:17 remaining, a 13-yarder to make it 28-14.

The Tiger passing game had its share of issues in the second half, as Fitch was able to mix up its pressures up front. That’s where the Tiger running game, specifically Thomas, came to the rescue.

Thomas would help Massillon open up its first three-score edge of the night when he took off for a 32-yard touchdown run with 8:59 remaining. That put the Tigers in front 35-14.

Thomas finished with 105 yards on 18 carries.

The Tigers once again struggled with ill-timed penalties, with six flags for 56 yards. They also had a second-half interception.

“We had to overcome a fair amount of adversity tonight,” Moore said. “It was good to see our guys respond.”

However, Fitch also has its own hand in making things interesting. That’s especially true when quarterback Dom Montalbano’s second short scoring run, a 1-yarder, pulled the Falcons within 21-14 with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter.

Fitch made its presence known on the very first play from scrimmage, as Roddell Bebbs raced 21 yards into Massillon territory to the Tiger 44. The Falcons would eventually move as far as the 33, only to be turned away on a fourth-and-11 stop by Massillon.

That would be one of three first-half possessions by Fitch to reach Tiger territory. However, only one would actually do scoreboard damage, as Montalbano’s 3-yard touchdown run with 6:56 remaining in the first half pulled the Falcons to within 14-7.

Fitch had 165 total yards at halftime, 58 on a Bobby Cavalier-to-Reuben Talley pass which set up Montalbano’s scoring run. That total was more than the full-game outputs of three of Massillon’s first five opponents.

The Falcons finished with 215 yards.

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2018: Massillon 49, Montclair, NJ 7

Turnovers turn to touchdowns as Tigers torch Montclair

MASSILLON Turnovers are a football team’s worst enemy. They can also be a team’s best friend.

For Massillon, they were a little bit of both as it played host to New Jersey 2017 state champion Montclair on Friday night.

Game Action vs. Montclair

The Tigers found themselves in an early deficit thanks to an interception which was returned for a Mounties’ touchdown. However, they used Montclair fumbles on consecutive kickoffs to turn a tie game into an advantage, kick-starting Massillon to a 49-7 victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

“The special-team units ran fast, hit hard,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore after his team improved to 4-0 with a visit from Firestone coming next week. “The ball popped out and we were able to recover a couple of those. Our offense was able to take advantage of it.”

Those back-to-back Mountie fumbles were two of three first-half turnovers they had. They also muffed a punt – on fourth-and-38, no less – to set up the Tigers’ for one more score before half, giving them a 35-7 advantage at the break.

It would be 42-7 on the first play of the second half after a 65-yard Jamir Thomas run. Thomas finished with 131 yards on 18 carries and the one score, giving him a fourth consecutive 100-plus-yard rushing performance.

“We’ve been giving stuff away,” said Montclair coach John Fiore, whose team fell to 1-2. “Even the 35-0 win (over Nutley, N.J., last week) should’ve been 70-0. We just give it away, give it away, give it away. Three fumbles in a row; missing a first down by an inch.

Massillon would begin emptying the bench after that run, which instituted the running-clock rule or the third consecutive game. It was the second time in that span the Tigers have basically played the entire second half under the rule.

Game Action vs. Montclair

Quarterback Aidan Longwell once again showed he likes Week 4. He threw a career-high five touchdowns – all in the first half – matching the five he threw in Week 4 a year ago against Ursuline.

That was all part of Longwell’s 11-of-20, 216-yard performance. All coming in the first half.

“They were loading the box on us,” Moore said. “Our receiving corps and our quarterback executed what they’re supposed to execute.”

At one point, Longwell threw touchdowns on four consecutive pass attempts. The only issue was that the first of those accounted for Montclair’s only score.

On a first-and-21 play from the Montclair 37, a pass attempt was deflected by a defender and intercepted by Walter King, who brought it back 66 yards for a Mountie touchdown. The 7-0 deficit, with 8:17 remaining in the first quarter, marked he second time in as many games the Tigers trailed early in a game.

That was one of two first-half interceptions by the Tigers. They also had one at the Mounties’ 2.

The deficit, as was the case a week earlier in a win over Warren Harding, didn’t last long. On a third-and-14 play from their own 28, Longwell hit Aydrik Ford on a post pattern for a 72-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 just 1:33 after the Montclair touchdown.

That’s when the Mounties began giving the ball up, and the Tigers were more than happy to turn those into points. The first fumbled kickoff return came at the Montclair 32.

Five plays after that, Longwell hit Tre’Von Morgan on a fade route down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown. Alex Bauer’s point-after kick gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead.

On the next kickoff, Montclair fumbled at its own 20. On the next play, Longwell and Ford hooked up to make it 21-7 Massillon with 3:52 left in the first quarter.

Morgan had three first-half catches for 51 yards, all of which went for touchdowns. Beyond the go-ahead 20-yard scoring catch, he added twoleaping grabs in the end zone in the second quartert to turn a 21-7 lead into a 35-7 cushion.

Not to be outdone was Ford, the Tigers’ statistical leader. He had a seven-catch, 162-yard first half, almost doubling his season output.

While the Tiger offense was putting up points, the defense was doing its part to keep the Mounties’ offense from finding a rhythm. The Mounties were held to just 45 net first-half yards, and only had two first-half first down, one of which came courtesy of a Massillon penalty.

In fact, two of the three Montclair first downs came thanks to Tiger flags. The Mounties finished with just 43 yards on 30 total plays.

The passing game which was a concern to Massillon’s defensive coaches never materialized. Montclair was just 2-of-12 throwing the ball for three yards.

“Listen, you can’t have 40 yards of offense,” Fiore said. “We just imploded.”

GAME STATS

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

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE