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1994: Massillon 20, Alliance 0

October 21, 1994September 21, 2017
by Eric Smith

Aviators Grounded!
Tigers have too much for Alliance

By MARK LAUTZENHEISER
Independent Sports Writer

For 24 minutes, the Alliance Aviators were living up to the nickname “Black Swarm.” But the “Swarm” went south in the second half and Massillon turned a 7‑0 halftime lead into a lackluster 20‑0 win in front of a near capacity crowd at Mount Union Stadium, Friday.

After a sluggish first half, the Tigers got a shot in the arm on the second‑half kickoff. Massillon’s Nick Pribich lofted the kick down the left sidelines. Alliance Louis Banks rushed over, but his momentum carried him out of bounds leaving the ball on the ground at the 22. Massillon’s Matt Helm fell on the loose pigskin and the Tigers were in business.

Three plays later, Leon Ashcraft followed the overpowering blocking of the left side of the line and scooted into the end zone from 10 yards out to give Massillon a 14‑0 lead with 10:57 left in the third. It was academic from there on out.

“We had a lot of mental errors tonight. We just weren’t sharp,” Tiger head coach Jack Rose said. “Last week we played real well, but this week we took a step back. We were playing a team that was 1‑6 and could have been 4‑3. They don’t play like a 1‑7 team.”

Aside from the Alliance miscue on the second half kick, things didn’t come easy for the Tigers.

Out of the gate, Nate Lewis returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the Aviator 46. From there, Ashcraft powered over a couple Aviator tacklers for 14 yards. Quarterback Willie Spencer Jr., followed with a 12 yard gain on the option around left end to give the Tigers a first down at the 20.

But, Massillon pulled out the gun and instead of shooting down the Flyers, shot themselves in the foot. A fumble in the backfield, a sack and a four yard gain on fourth‑and‑20 gave the ball to Alliance at its own 26.

The defensive stand seemed to ignite the Aviators and especially senior fullback George Cameron. The 6‑foot-1, 220-pounder rushed six times for 37 yards in carrying his team to the Tiger 13.

From there, the Tigers’ defense did exactly as its opponents’ had, and stuffed the Aviators. Defensive tackle Donnie Young nailed Cameron for a yard loss on first down and Courtney Herring forced an Alliance back out of bounds three yards behind the line of scrimmage. Following an incomplete pass, Alliance’s Marious Rasinar missed a 33‑yard field goal wide right.

The Tigers, taking over at the 15, started slow. However, on third‑and‑12, Ashcraft skated around right end on a misdirection play for 38 yards to the Alliance 47. After two short gains, Spencer executed a picture‑perfect option play to the left sideline and 46 yards later the Tigers led 7‑0.

Spencer sprinted left, drew the defender, faked the pitch, cut it up and rest was sheer speed to the goal line.

“It was very important to score first,” Rose said. “They were playing with a lot of intensity and we weren’t.

“Willie is so strong. He just shook a tackle … then he’s got the speed. He can be devastating on the perimeter.”

Alliance did make some noise on its final possession of the first half. After moving the ball 48 yards to the Massillon 19, Rasinar saw his 35‑yard field goal try fail. This time he was well short.

In the first half alone, Massillon tallied 118 yards rushing, but 84 of those came on two plays. Alliance ate up 14:19 and managed to out gain their visitors 144‑132 in total yards. Cameron was the main man with 74 yards on 13 carries.

From this point, it was all Massillon. The Aviators’ first turnover led to Ashcraft’s 10 yard score. Following the ensuing kick, the Tiger defense held the Aviators on three plays and forced a punt. The snap sailed over the punter’s head and he was barely able to get the kick away. Massillon took over on the Alliance 43.

Two Aviator penalties ignited this Tiger drive. Massillon was faced with a third‑and‑11 at the 33. Spencer rolled left and threw incomplete, but he was hit out of bounds and Alliance was hit with a 15‑yard penalty.

On a later third down, Ashcraft appeared to be stuffed just inside the 10, but an Alliance defender grabbed Ashcraft’s facemask and the Tigers had a first down at the five.

Spencer took the next snap, faked the off‑tackle play to Ashcraft and beat an Alliance defensive back to the corner of the end zone for the score. The point‑after was no good and the Tigers were in control of their seventh win of the season.

“If you would have told me after the first scrimmage we were going to be 7‑1 at this point. I would have laughed,” Rose said. “This is the most improved football team I have been around. It is the opposite of last year. This team is going in the right direction and is getting better as we go along.”

MASSILLON 20
ALLIANCE 0
M A
First downs rushing 10 12
First downs passing 1 2
First downs penalty 2 1
Total first downs 13 15
Net yards rushing 197 144
Net yards passing 14 42
Total yards gained 211 186
Passes attempted 4 115
Passes completed 2 7
Passes int. 0 2
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average 48.0 51.0
Kickoff return yards 45 63
Punts 3 3
Punting average 25.7 30.0
Punt return yards 4 0
Fumbles 3 3
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties x x
Yards penalized 61 32
Number of plays 44 50
Time of possession 23.22 24.38

ALLIANCE 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 0 7 13 0 20

SCORING SUMMARY

Second quarter
M ‑ Spencer 46 run (Pribich kick)

Third quarter
M ‑ Ashcraft 10 run (Pribich kick)
M ‑ Spencer 5 run (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:
Massillon
Ashcraft 19‑98,
Spencer 7-509,
Lewis 8‑35,
Fraelich 2‑3,
Hiegl 2‑1,
Monler 1‑7,
Turner 1‑3;
Alliance
Cameron 20‑96;
D. Jones 7‑32.

PASSING:
Massillon
Spencer 2‑4‑0 14;
Alliance
Jones 7‑14‑2 42

RECEIVING:
Massillon
Williams 1‑10,
Ashcraft 1‑4;
Alliance
D. Jones, 2‑11,
Banks 1‑7,
R. Jones 1‑6,
Hovanec 1‑5.

Leon Ashcraft

History

1993: Massillon 40, Alliance 6

September 3, 1993September 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers ground Aviators in 2nd half

Ashcraft stars with 3 scores

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Jack Rose had a reminder for his Massillon Tigers prior to their 1993 season opener against the Alliance Aviators.

Rose warned his charges that teams coming to Massillon see the Tigers as THE opponent on their schedule and will play their hearts out.

“But I told our guys if we keep after them, we expect to win,” Rose said. “It may take until the second quarter or the third quarter or the fourth quarter, but we expect to wear them down and win,”

The Aviators proved Rose a profit, fighting to a 6‑6 halftime tie with the Tigers with an inspired first half of football. But Massillon came out of the locker room for the third quarter with a new resolve and roared to a 40‑6 victory that left no doubt among the 10,326 in attendance on a rain‑swept Friday night which team was superior.

“We just had to come out and play hard and that’s what we did in the second half,” said Tigers quarterback Mike Danzy as he enjoyed a congratulatory embrace from his mother. “The offensive line really came off the ball after halftime. The second half is going to be our half all year.”

“We got pumped up at halftime and we took control,” agreed Tigers offensive tackle Trevor Paisley. “We just went to work and we played with a lot more intensity.

”As soon as we started hammering it at them, we could feel them give up.”

There was no surrender in the Aviators in the first 24 minutes of play. The 6‑6 halftime tie was reflective of the game statistics to that point. But Alliance failed to get into the Tiger end zone on its second possession when the Federal League entry had first-and‑10 at the Massillon 15. Quarterback Joe Brady tried to sweep left end and pitched the ball as the Tiger defense converged on him. The problem ‑ for Brady ‑ was the pitch was nowhere near the intended receiver. B.J. Payne pounced on the loose ball for the Tigers and some of the air came out of the Aviators.

“We squandered that scoring opportunity in the first half and you simply can’t get away with that when you play a team like the Massillon Tigers,” explained Alliance coach Ron Kuceyeski.

“Then we just got out muscled in the second half. They just played ‘iso’ football and we couldn’t stop them. But there’s no excuse for the way we played in the second half.”

Rose said Kuceyeski was right on target with his analysis.

“We did use more inside ‘iso’ plays in the second half and then we ran the option off of it,” Rose said.

“But the key to the second half was taking the opening kickoff and scoring and then pinning them deep in their territory and keeping them there. After that, it was a game of field position and we kept it in our favor the rest of the half.”

Actually, the second half, didn’t start all that well for the locals. After Kevin Buckland returned the kickoff to the 33, the Tigers were caught holding on first down to set up a firstand‑22 from their 21.

But senior tailback Ali Dixon got it all back and more on first down, eluding a tackler at the line of scrimmage and squirting 26 yards up the middle to the Aviator 47. Dixon found another hole on the very next play, gaining 14 yards to the 39.

One play later, Danzy broke containment around right end, cut back at the 30 and outran the pursuit for a 39‑yard touchdown run to make it a 12‑6 game with less than three minutes elapsed in the second half. Danzy found a hole over left guard for the two‑point conversion and Massillon was on its way with a 14‑6 lead at the 9:38 mark.

“When Danzy broke free for the first score in the second half, we just didn’t respond,” Kuceyeski said. “We knew we had to stop him to win and we just weren’t able to in that situation.”

The Tigers didn’t let their foe off the hook. Randy Endsley boomed the kickoff to the Aviator 10 and the visitors were only able to return it to the 17. B.J. Payne and Tim Menches sacked Brady on second down and Alliance had to punt two plays later.

Massillon smelled blood and proceeded to put the game away. After a holding penalty set them back to the 39, the Tiger offensive line again began opening huge cavities in the Alliance defense. Leon Ashcraft gained 13 yards on first down. Mike Paul added nine more on two carries. Then Ashcraft found another hole in the middle, left Alliance’s Derrick Jones grasping for air at the 5 and skated into the end zone.

The Tigers failed to convert the point after, but held a comfortable 20‑6 lead with 5:18 to play in the third quarter.

Alliance had better field position following the ensuing kick off, but a fierce pass rush by Joel Smith on third‑and‑seven forced Brady into an incompletion and the Aviators were forced to punt once again.

Massillon moved the ball to the three‑yard line but couldn’t punch it in and lost possession on downs. Again the defense refused to allow the momentum to swing back to the Aviators, forcing the Carnation City crew into another three‑and‑out series of downs.

After an eight‑yard punt return by Buckland, the Tigers had ideal field position at the visitors’ 36. Dixon ripped off 17 yards over left tackle. Then Danzy rolled right and fired a strike to Lonnie Simpson in the right corner of the end zone to put the game out of reach at 33‑6 with 7:46 to play.

“Those three series put us in the driver’s seat,” Rose said. “You could see them get deflated. With that field position, they just couldn’t run their offense.”

The Tigers put the finishing touches on Alliance after the Aviators turned the ball over on downs at their own 12. Two plays later, Ashcraft found a gap and the end zone with 4:40 to play.

Ashcraft opened the scoring by powering over right tackle from five yards out to make it a 6‑0 game at the 5:32 mark of the first period. The run capped a picture perfect nine‑play, 82yard march that consumed 4:12.

Alliance counter punched with a 10‑play, 66‑yard scoring drive, capped by Jason Siegfried’s 1‑yard burst over right guard that made it a 6‑6 contest at :34 of the opening period.

The Aviators moved the ball to the tune of 172 yards of offense in the first half. But when the final whistle was tooted, Alliance had managed but eight net yards in the second half.

MASSILLON 40
ALLIANCE 6
M A
First downs rushing 15 5
First downs passing 6 4
First downs by penalty 2 1
Total first downs 23 10
Net yards rushing 334 72
Net yards passing 103 108
Total yards gained 437 180
Passes attempted 8 15
Passes completed 7 5
Passes intercepted 0 1
Punts 1 6
Punting average 33.0 34.8
Fumbles 1 3
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalties 7 7
Yards penalized 60 46

Massillon 0 6 14 20 40
Alliance 0 6 0 0 6

M ‑ Ashcraft 5 run (Kick failed.)
A ‑ Siegfried 1 run (Kick failed.)
M ‑ Danzy 37 run (Danzy run.)
M ‑ Ashcraft 23 run (Kick failed.)
M ‑ Simpson 19 pass from Danzy (Run failed.)
M ‑ Dixon 11 run (Endsley kick.)
M ‑ Ashcraft 2 run (Endsley kick.)

Individual statistics

RUSHING:
(Massillon)
Dixon 12‑94,
Paul 9-82,
Ashcraft 10‑76,
Danzy 6‑55.
(Alliance)
Cameron 6‑41.

PASSING:
(Massillon)
Danzy 7‑8‑0 103.
(Alliance)
Brady 5‑15‑1 108.

RECEIVING:
(Massillon)
Simpson 5‑86,
Griffith 1‑10,
Paul 1-7.
(Alliance)
Craig 2‑30,
Cameron 2‑11.

History

1992: Massillon 17, Alliance 8

September 4, 1992September 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers muddle through
It’s rough, but Rose wins No. 1
Danzy‑to‑Simpson connection key in 17‑8 Tiger victory

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

Jack Rose’s first Massillon football team staggered through a thorny debut but still managed to plant a 17‑8 loss on the Alliance Aviators Friday.

A crowd of 11,640 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium saw Massillon gain a 316‑208 edge in net offensive yards, a reflection of the relative closeness of the fray.

It was one of those games everyone expected the Tigers to win but was tighter than many expected, leaving the winners shaking their heads and the losers shaking their hoisted helmets.

“We weren’t satisfied with that performance,” Rose said.

He was talking about the reaction of his players, not just the coaches.

I like the fact the players weren’t satisfied,” Rose said. “It’s a young team. They want to improve.”

Alliance’s 243‑pound senior nose guard, Marlon Baker, led the Aviators’ post‑game pep rally.

“We’re gonna go 9 and 1,” Baker shouted as the Aviators gathered in a huddle on the field. “We’re gonna go 9‑1 and get another shot at ’em. We gotta work. Just a little bit more. A little bit more.”

Alliance head coach Phil Dorn, like Rose a first‑year pilot at a new school who has been a head coach elsewhere, was a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan in 1991.

“I’ve seen a lot of football,” Dorn told his team. ”I’ve coached in the Rose Bowl. I’ve coached with a Big Ten champion. Let me tell you. If you play hard like that all year, you’ll win the Federal League championship.”

Alliance spent the night throwing half a scare into the Tigers without ever making things extra spooky.

‘Tiger senior Jason Brown kicked a 20‑yard field goal on the third play of the second quarter to provide a 3‑0 lead.
Shortly after that, Massillon’s Scott Brediger intercepted an upfield bullet pass from Alliance junior quarterback Joe Brady and gave the Tigers possession 28 yards from the Aviator end zone.

Two plays later, Massillon junior quarterback Mike Danzy rolled right and lofted a pass into the end zone to 6‑foot‑2 junior receiver Alonzo Simpson , who is already starting to remind fans of 1989 Tiger senior Rameir Martin.

“The defensive back (senior Tamiko Hatcher) played me tight on the line (on the TD play),” Simpson said. “I got a quick start and got behind him. It was a TD route. I can’t explain it. I don’t think about it. I just run it.”

He was wide open for the catch. Danzy made a perfect throw. Brown kicked the extra point and it was 10‑0 with 7:54 left in the first half.

After that, a Tiger fumble and an Alliance interception set up two field goal attempts by 265‑pound placekicker Timiko Payton. Both had plenty of leg, but tries from 26 and 33 yards sailed wide.

The Tigers led 10‑0 at the half.

“I thought we started the game a little scared,” said Massillon senior running back Andre Stinson, who gained 68 of his 81 rushing yards in the second half. “We were better when we came off the field at the end of the half. I thought we, were OK in the second half.”

Alliance blew its first and best chance in the second half.

A 41‑yard pass from Brady to speedster Tony Townes put[ Alliance inside the 10 early in the third quarter. However, two dropped balls at the goal line preserved the Tigers’ 10‑0 lead. The first drop was an incompletion. The second was a completion to Townes at the 1. Townes seemed right at the goal line when he fumbled. Tiger senior Eric Woods recovered.

“That was a turning point, Dorn said.

Massillon’s offense clicked on the next two series. A 39‑yard run by Stinson was the highlight of a drive that ended on downs at the 10.

On the Tigers’ next possession, a 39‑yard bomb from Danzy to tight end Todd Peters put the ball on the 17. Two plays later, guard Scott Baumgardner threw a key block and running back Dan Hackenbracht did the rest, scooting around the right side for an 11‑yard touchdown run.

Brown’s P.A.T. boot made it 17‑0 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.

Hackenbracht was a promising punt returner as a sophomore. He missed most of his junior year due to an injury. He had trouble handling punts last night, and fumbled one at midfield late in the game. Brady completed a bomb to set up a 1‑yard scoring run by junior Shawn Watson with 50 seconds left in the game.

“I wasn’t pleased with our kicking game,” Rose said. “Jason Brown had been punting real well in the preseason but didn’t do as well tonight. He’ll do much better.

“As for ‘Hack,’ maybe his motor was running too hard, this being the opener. He has great ability as a punt returner,”

Danzy, in his first varsity start, completed 6 of 14 passes for 155 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed 10 times for 33 yards.

Dorn, the Alliance coach, said part of his early strategy was to rattle Danzy.

“They played better defense than they had in their scrimmages,” Rose said. “They brought a lot of people. Sometimes they brought up four corner people. Sometimes they brought ’em up the middle.”

Observed Danzy, “I was kinda nervous before the game but I just tried to go with the flow and the nerves went away after awhile. We had some ups and downs, but we had some good moments for a first game.

Massillon’s defense was strong.

Things got off to a good start when Tiger junior tackle B.J. Payne made three tackles for losses in the first six minutes of the game.

At halftime, the Aviators had rushed just 19 yards on six attempts. Brady did manage 63 first‑half passing yards, but on only 5 completions in 14 throws ‑ and there was Brediger’s key interception.

Subtract Alliance’s last second 49‑yard TD drive set up by the Tiger fumble and the Aviators would have finished with just 159 total yards.

“We didn’t get the shutout, but I’m pleased with the defense … we ran to the ball,” Rose said. “You have to remember Hack and Eric Woods are our only two regulars back on the defense from last year. And it’s pretty much the same on offense. We have Brandon Jackson and Mark Miller back on the line but everybody else has a lot less experience,”

Brady wound up completing 9 passes in 23 attempts for 149 yards. Three went to Townes for 83 yards.

Simpson gave the Tigers 80 yards on three catches. A week earlier in a practice game against Lakewood, Simpson got the Tigers going with a long reception. It was the same thing against Alliance, The Tigers had to punt after their first two possessions, but Danzy threw to Simpson for 30 yards on the third possession to set up Brown’s field goal.

Rose’s game plan going in was to pund the ball inside on the run, considering Alliance’s defensive troubles in the preseason. The Tigers had 18 first‑ or second‑down plays in the first half, and 15 of them were runs. Ten of the plays went for two yards or less.

“Give Alliance credit,” Rose said. “They stepped it up.”

The Tigers will play at home again next Friday against Walsh Jesuit.

“That’ll be a good test,” Rose said. “They’ll be a lot more physical on defense than what we saw tonight. But I look for us to improve a lot.”

MASSILLON 17
ALLIANCE 8

M A
First downs rushing 7 4
First downs passing 5 5
First downs by penalty 1 1
Totals first downs 13 10
Not yards rushing 161 59
Net yards passing 155 149
Total yards gained 316 208
Passes attempted 14 23
Passes completed 6 9
Passes int. by 1 1
Kickoff average 53.3 37.0
Kickoff return yards 22 67
Punts 3 7
Punting average . 26.7 41.3
Punt return yards 6 0
Fumbles 4 1
Fumbles lost 2 1
Penalties 3 7
Yards penalized 25 55
Number of plays … 55 57
Time of possession 21:21 26:39

Massillon 0 10 7 0 17
Alliance 0 0 0 8 8

M ‑ FG Brown 20
M ‑ Simpson 27 pass from Danzy (Brown kick)
M ‑ Hackenbracht 11 run (Brown kick)
A ‑ Watson 1 run (Brady run)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

(M) Copeland 9‑36, Stinson 15‑81, Danzy 10‑33, Seimetz 3‑3, Hackenbracht 3‑8.
(A) Smith 13‑16, Adger 3‑9, Watson 9‑34, Black 2‑10.

PASSING

(M) Danzy 6‑14‑1, 155.
(A) Brady 9‑23‑1, 149.

RECEIVING

(M) Simpson 3‑80, Peters 1‑39, May 1‑19, Stinson 1‑17,
(A) Black 4‑47, Smith 1‑13, Watson 1‑8, Townes 3‑81.

History

1979: Massillon 48, Alliance 6

September 14, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers roll to 48‑6 win after close first half
Scott’s passing keys rout of Aviators

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

It was a close game for 22 minutes.

Then Massillon Tiger Quarterback Bill Scott took matters into his own hands, passing his team to a 14‑6 halftime lead that sparked them to an eventual 48‑6 rout of the Alliance Aviators before 10,534 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night.

The Tigers were leading the Aviators 7‑6 with 2:06 left in the first half when Scott marched his team 60 yards in eight plays ‑ all of them passes ‑ to a touchdown with :31 showing on the clock.

That seemed to take the life out of the undermanned Aviators. The Tigers came out of the lockerroom to score 27 points in the third, quarter and coast to their second straight win.

“We played a good second half, anyhow,” Tiger coach Mike Currence said afterwards. “I think we had a little too much depth for them.”

I think it was obvious that our lack of depth hurt us,” Aviator coach Julius “Juice” Tonges agreed. “We hung in there well in the first half, but it took its toll. The things we did were sound (defensively), we just didn’t have enough man power. We just ran out of gas.”

“If we could make them play 11 guys for 48 minutes, we’d give them a good game,” Tonges added referring to the fact several Aviators played both ways the whole game, while Massillon used the two-platoon system plus fresh substitutes.

But it was that late second‑quarter touchdown drive that Currence called the turning point of the game.

“That late touchdown was crucial for our morale,” he explained. “It makes us feel like we have a ball club that can come through for us. That was great determination by our offense.”

Alliance received the opening kickoff, got one first down, then punted to Massillon. Dan DiLoreto fumbled the punt and the Aviators’ Alan Matthys recovered at the Alliance 43.

After 7:15 of possession, the Aviators tried a 32‑yard field goal attempt by freshman Chris Zurbrugg. It was blocked by nose guard Bob Simpson and the Tigers took over at their 20.

The Tigers then drove 80 yards in 10 plays with Scott hitting Marty Guzzetta with a 24‑yard touchdown pass, the first of three TD tosses by Scott, who finished the game with 14 of 21 passes for 174 yards.

Guzzetta caught the ball at the 15 and threw a nice move on an Aviator defensive back at the 10. Scott completed four of five passes in the drive, which was aided by a late hit penalty against Alliance on a crucial third down play. Scott had completed a nine-yard pass to Bill Burkett, but it was still five yards short of the first down. The penalty gave the Tigers a first and 10 at the Alliance 49 and they scored five plays later.

Fry converted the point after and Massillon led 7‑0.

Alliance’s Tony Grimes recovered a Sam McDew fumble at the Tiger 40 yard line midway through the second period, but the Aviators couldn’t move the ball.

On fourth and three at his own 47, Zurbrugg faked a punt and passed to Andre Jackson for a first down at the Tiger 44.

On the next play, quarterback Clay Brown scrambled to his right and found Jackson wide open for a touchdown with 2:11 showing on the clock. The Aviators muffed a two‑point conversion try, but trailed only 7‑6.

The Tigers took the kickoff and Burkett returned it 27 yards to the 40. That’s when Scott went to work.

He hit Guzzetta ‑ who had 7 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns ‑ for seven and eight yards and a first down.

Greg Evans dropped his next pass, but the Aviators were called for defensive holding and the Tigers had a first down at the Aviator 30 with 1: 08 left.

Two incompletions and a screen pass put the ball back at the 33. On fourth and three with :44 remaining, Scott threw over the middle into a crowd and Guzzetta made a great catch at the 13.

Scott found Burkett open in the right corner of the end zone for the touchdown with :31 left. Fry converted for the 14‑6 half time lead.

“You have to give gill (Scott) a lot of credit,” Currence said. “Especially on that second touchdown drive. He hit the secondary receiver well. He knows the offense well and he’s starting to get a little confidence.”

Currence said Scott’s passing in the first half helped open up the Tiger running game in the second half (the Tigers had only eight yards net rushing in the first half but totaled 248 yards in the second half).

“In the first half, they were up tight on us,” Currence explained. “Scott worried them with his passing and they dropped off on us in the second half.”

“I went to the second backfield (in the third quarter) and it was all over. At that point, it was a combination of our depth – those were fresh backs I put in there ‑ Scott’s passing and their players being tired.”

The Tigers took the kickoff opening, the second half and marched 65 yards in 11 plays. Scott completed passes of 17 and 22 yards to Bill Beitel, the last one giving the Tigers a first down at the Aviator 24. Five running plays later, it was third‑and‑six at the nine. Scott drilled one to Guzzetta just inside the goal line in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 8:16 to go in he third quarter. Fry’s kick made it 21‑6.

The Aviators showed definite signs of exhaustion at this point, and the Tigers rammed three quick touchdowns downs their throats: 64 yards in three plays, 33 yards in three plays and 54 yards in two plays.

After an Aviator punt, the Tigers took over on their own 36 with 7:12 left in the third period. Sam McDew swept right end behind some good blocking, broke a couple tackles and ran 48 yards to the Aviator 16.

Mike Jones carried 13 yards to the three, and Bob James took it over for the score on the next play. The kick failed and the Tigers led 27‑0 with 5:52 to go in the third quarter.

The ‘Tigers took over at the Aviator, 33, and on second‑and‑nine Scott pitched the ball to Jones who threw a pass to Guzzetta who made a fine catch in a crowd at the one yard line. He had been wide open, but the wobbly pass was under thrown. Jones then did the honors on the next play, the kick by Dave Eberhart failed, and the Tigers led 33‑0 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Dave DeLong then went in at quarterback for the Tigers as they took over after an Aviator punt at their own 46 just before the end of the third quarter.

DeLong ran 11 yards for a first to the Alliance 43, and Jones electrified the crowd with a twisting, tackle breaking run of 43 yards for a touchdown with :26 on the clock. Burkett ran for the extra points and a 41‑0 Tiger lead.

Massillon failed to move the ball on its next two possessions, and it looked like the fireworks were over when they took over on downs at their own 18 yard line with :19 seconds left in the game.

But Damian McKinney the speedster from the Tiger track team ‑ swept right end, got a couple blocks, and showed the tired Aviator defenders nothing but heel, sole and spikes as he burst 82 yards for a touchdown. Eberhart’s conversion kick capped the scoring at 48‑6.

“It’s been a great rivalry over the years,” Currence said afterwards, referring to the fact this was the last scheduled meeting between the two teams. “And for the first half it was a good ball game.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits singled out nose guard Bob Simpson for his exceptional play. Tiger linebackers Tim Reese and Kevin McClelland also had good games, coming up with a lot of successful blitzes.

“We were blitzing so much because we had to get some pressure on Clay Brown, he’s so quick,” Currence explained.

In addition to some fine statistics for Scott and Guzzetta, McDew had 74 yards in eight carries, Jones had, 48 in five carries and McKinney led all rushers with 98 in three carries.

The Tigers totaled 461 yards, 205 in the air and 256 on the ground, and piled up 23 first downs.

The Tigers are now 2‑0 and will entertain Mentor Friday night at 8 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The Aviators fall to 1‑2 and they will host Cleveland John Adams on Saturday.

The final tally on the Tiger‑ Aviator series now reads 58 wins for Massillon, nine for Alliance and two ties.

ALLIANCE 0 6 0 0 6
MASSILLON 7 7 27 7 48

M – Marty Guzzetta 24 pass from Bill Scott (Jeff Fry kick);
A ‑ Andre Jackson 44 pass for Clay Brown (run fail);
M ‑ Bill Burkett 13 pass from Scott (Fry kick);
M ‑ Guzzetta 9 pass from Scott (Fry kick);
M ‑ Bob James 3 run (kick fail):
M – Mike Jones I run (kick fail)
M ‑ Jones 43 run (Bill Burkett run);
M ‑ Damian McKinney 82 run (Dave Eberhart kick).

Massillon 48
Alliance 6
Mass. OPP
First downs‑rushing. 10 14
First downs – passing 11 6
First downs – penalties 2 0
Total first downs 23 0
Yards gained rushing 284 78
Intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 46.1 48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 51 10?
Times punted 1 ?
Punt average (yards) 31.0 28.
Punt returns (yards) 22 ?
Had punts blocked 0 ?
Fumbles 4 ?
Lost fumbled ball 2 ?
Yards lost rushing 28 41
Net yards gained rushing 256 37
Net yards gained passing 205 178
Total yards gained 461 215
Passes attempted 23 21
Passed completed 15 8
Passed intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on posses
Penalties 4 6
Yards penalized 40 45
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 3 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 58 66
Total time of possession 20:16 27:44
Attendance 10,534

History

1978: Massillon 37, Alliance 2

September 15, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger defense destroys Aviators 37‑2

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor
The Massillon Tiger defense scored two touchdowns and set up the other three to spark a 37‑2 win over Alliance in an All‑American Conference game at Mount Union Stadium Friday night.

“The defense shines tonight,” head coach Mike Currence said in the Tiger lockerroom after the game.

“My defensive people are real proud,” Currence noted, amid shouts of “defense” from his players. “They came up with the big play.”

Indeed they did, seven times to be exact, including four interceptions and three fumble recoveries.

It was the defense that came to the rescue of a struggling Tiger offense in the first quarter when Kent Wilson scooped up an Aviator fumble at the Alliance six yard line and took it in for the first score of the game.

An interception, a good punt return and a fumble recovery set up the next three Tiger scores as the offense had to go only 29, 32 and 28 yards to find paydirt each time.

The fifth TD was on a 30‑yard interception return by linebacker Tim Reese after a fine one‑handed catch.

The big plays by the a Tiger defense were needed as Alliance’s defense played hard‑nose football, almost shutting down the Tiger air game completely.

“We played give away football.” Aviator head coach Julius “Juice” Tonges said of the game afterwards.

“Our defense didn’t play too bad. We went after them defensively, we were aggressive. But when you give them field position and touchdowns and keep your defense out there all night they get tired,” Tonges added.

“Offense is discipline, and apparently we don’t have enough self discipline,” he said.

Currence had praise for the Aviator defense also, “They did a good job defending us,” he said. “I knew he would, Juice always does.

“We just couldn’t throw. He changed up on us and went with a 50 defense,”

Currence pointed out. “We were expecting a 4‑4.”

The 50 defense enabled the Aviators to get a strong pass rush, which gave Brent Offenbecher little time to throw.

“But they made the big mistakes and gave us a couple of touchdowns. We had to grind it out to score though, because they shut down our offense.”

Currence did admit that his offense, didn’t commit the penalties and mistakes it did in the opener last week against Perry.

Alliance made a mistake on the opening kickoff the Aviator, tried for side kick. The ball ? three yards and the Tigers took over at the Aviators ?.

A drive to the 12 when Offenbecher threw Curtis Strawder in the left corner of the end zone a fourth and three play.

The teams exchanged punts, with Alliance getting the ball on its own 1? line. On first down, Clay Brown fumbled the handoff from quarterback Dhayer and Tiger defensive end Kent Wilson scooted the ball at the six and went in for the first score of the game. Jeff Fry booted the point after and Massillon led 7‑0 with 2:10 to play in the first period.

Following a punt by Alliance, Massillon drove from its own 46 to the Aviator 25 where Jeff Beitel fumbled and Alliance’s Stuart Tolle recovered.

The teams exchanged punts again, with Alliance getting the ball on its own 18. On second and seven, Brown tried a halfback pass which was intercepted by Jamie Schlegel at file Aviator 45 and returned 16 yards to the 29.

The Tigers drove to the Aviator seven yard line, mostly behind the running of fullback Sam Hill (who was subbing for the injured Tom Gehring).

On first down of the seven, Offenbecher’s pass for Strawder was almost intercepted in the end zone. Currence then sent linebacker Dick Cleveland in to play fullback and Jeff Beitel followed his block to the one yard line and then into the end zone on the next play.

Alliance was called off side before the kick attempt, so the Tigers went for two from the one half yard line.

Once again Jeff Beitel followed Cleveland into the end zone behind right guard Eric Barnard and the Tigers led 15‑0 with 1:29 left before the half.

Alliance ran three plays and punted to open the second half and Offenbecher’s pass for Strawder three plays later was intercepted by Ray Phillabaum at the Aviator 13.

The Tiger defense held them at the 12 (thanks in part to an offside penalty against the Aviators and a punt by Tim Graybill was fielded at the 40 by Schlegel’ and returned eight yards to the Alliance 32.

On fourth and four at the 26, Offenbecher went left on a keeper and came up short of the first down, but a defensive holding penalty on Alliance gave the Tigers a first down at the 11.

Jeff Beitel went through the right side of the line, broke three or four tackles and then danced through three Aviator defenders before crossing the goal line standing up.

Alliance was offsides again on the kick attempt, so the Tigers went for two and Jeff Beitel once again shimmied through the Aviator line for the conversion. With 6:02 left in the third quarter, the Tigers led 23‑0.

Following another exchange of punts, the Aviators took over the ball, on their own 30. On first down, Tiger defensive tackle Barry Foster batted down a pass at the line and on second down he put a hard hit on Aviator running back Oliver Scott. Scott coughed up the football and Wilson recovered his second fumble of the game (He also ran this one into the end zone but the play had been blown dead).

Offenbecher finally started to find the range (on short, quick slant‑in patterns that didn’t need much pass protection), hitting Marty Guzzetta for 11 yards and Strawder for six.

On third and goal from the three, Bill Belief took a quick handoff around left tackle for a TD. The play completely faked out the Alliance defense, which was looking for Bill’s brother Jeff to crack the right side again.

Fry booted the point after and Massillon had a 30‑0 lead, With 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Tigers final score came when linebacker Tim Reese made a one‑handed interception of a Jerry Latimore pass and returned it 30 yards for a store. Ron Wright kicked the point after for a 37‑0 margin with 10: 22 remaining.

It was the Tiger defense’s second score of the night. The defense was so effective, live, it didn’t allow the Aviators a first down until 9:41 of the final period. That was on a 42‑yard pass ‑ the Aviators only completion of the night ‑ from Brown to Allan Williamson. The Aviators did manage one more first down on a run by Scott.

Alliance finally got on the board with 4:55 to play when Jeff Russell blocked a Dave Gibbs punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

The Tigers held the Aviators to just 34 yards total offense the first half and 113 for the game. The Tigers totaled just 202 for the game themselves.

Offenbecher was 2 of 9 the first half for 23 yards and finished the game with 4 of 13 for 40 yards. Sam Hill led the Tiger rushing attack with 72 yards in 12 carries Jeff Beitel gained 43 in 12 carries (and scored two TDs and two conversion runs).

Oliver Scott led Alliance with 60 yards in 20 attempts. The Aviators completed just one of 14 pass attempts.

The Tigers will play East Liverpool at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night. Cleveland Glenville, the original opponent, will be unable to play because of the Cleveland teachers’ strike.

The Tigers are now 2‑0 overall and 1‑0 in the All-American Conference, while Alliance drops to 0‑2 (0 1).

GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs rushing 8 1
First downs passing 3 1
First downs penalties 3 0
Total first downs 14 2
Yards gained rushing 179 76
Yards lost rushing 29 5
Net yards gained rushing 150 71
Net yards gained passing 52 42
Total yards gained 202 113
Passes attempted 17 14
Passes completed 5 1
Passes intercepted by 4 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 66 0
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 2.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 72
Times punted 4 5
Punt average (yards) 28.3 36.8
Punt returns (yards) 41 15
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 4 3
Lost fumbled ball 2 3
Penalties 6 10
Yards penalized 50 70
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 61 47
Total time of 27:07 20 53

MASSILLON 7 8 15 7 37
ALLIANCE 0 0 0 2 2

AVIATORS
Offense
QUARTERBACK: 13 Mike Dhayer (Jr‑ 6-2, 184), 10 Clay Brown (J r. 5-9, 145)
HALFBACKS: 30 Oliver Scott (Sr., 5-10. 150), 40 ‑ Glenn Ford ( Sr.. 5-11, 155), 33 Lawrence Parsons (Sr. 6-2, 175);
WINGBACK: 25 Allan Williamson (Sr., 6-2, 170);
ENDS: 89 Scott Bell (Sr., 6-1, 190), 87 Joe Ailes (Sr., 6-0, 175), 80 ‑ Rich Summers (Jr., 6‑4, 188);
TACKLES: 68 Bob Slutz (Sr., 6-0, 240), 56 Craig Hoopes (Sr., 5-11, 218);
GUARDS: 50 Lou Cironi (Sr., 6‑3, 200), 66 William Cade (Sr., 5‑11, 195);
CENTER: 76 Barry Grimes (Jr., 6-0, 217 ).
Defense
ENDS: 83 Bill Collins (Jr., 6-0, 170), 80 Summers;
TACKLES: 79 Stuart Tulle (Jr., 6-3, 200), 68 Slutz;
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS: 50 Cironi, 33 Parsons;
INSIDE LINEBACKERS: 60 Brett Amelung (Sr., 5‑8, 160), 21 Jeff Russell (Jr., 5‑8, 163);
SAFETY: 10 Brown;
HALFBACKS: 30 Scott; 34 Anthony Nelson (Jr., 5‑8, 150), 11Roy Phillabaum (Sr., 5‑9,135).

SERIES: 68th meeting, Massillon holds 56‑9 2 edge.
POINTS SCORED BY: Massillon 27, Alliance 0
POINTS SCORED AGAINST: Massillon 6, Alliance 20
LAST MEETING: 1977, Massillon 44, Alliance 0.

TIGERS
Offense
QUARTERBACK: 14 Brent Offenbecher (Sr., 6‑1, 175);
FULLBACK: 43 Tom Gehring (Sr., 5‑10, 171);
HALFBACKS: 45 Jeff Beitel (Sr., 5‑7. 158), 22 Bill Beitel (Jr., 5‑7, 148);
ENDS: 42 Curtis Strawder (Sr., 5-10, 153), 13 Ron Wright (Sr ., 5-9, 173). 25 Marty Guzzetta (Jr., 5-9, 160);
TACKLES: 67 Doug Wood (Sr., 6‑2, 191), 76 Mark Kircher (Jr., 6‑1, 212);
GUARDS: 69 Jim Horton (Sr., 6‑0 177), 79 Eric Barnard (Sr., 6-2, 215);
CENTER: Scott Kasunick (Sr., 5-9, 181).

Defense
ENDS: 81 Bruce Solinger (Sr., 6‑0, 175), 88 Kent Wilson (Sr., 6-0, 182);
TACKLES: 72 Harry Foster (Sr., 6‑2, 232), 71 Jeff Pedro (Sr., 6‑3. 204);
MIDDLE GUARD: 55 Bob Simpson (Jr., 5-11, 190);
LINEBACKERS: 28 Dick Cleveland (Sr., 5‑11, 188), 38 Kevin Harris (Sr., 5‑10, 182);
MONSTER BACK: 11 Darren Longshore (Sr., 6‑1, 175);
SAFETY: 21 Jamie Schlegel (Jr., 5‑11, 160);
HALFBACKS: 34 Jeff David (Sr., 5‑9, 188), 12 Dan Venables (Sr., 5‑10, 160);
KICKERS: 13 Wright (punts, extra points), 36 Mike Hodgson (Jr., 6‑5. 194) kickoffs.

Tigers to host East Liverpool
The Massillon Tigers will play East Liverpool Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

East Liverpool will replace Cleveland Glenville which will be unable to play because of a teachers’ strike.

The game was agreed to by the Potters at 3 p.m. Friday and a contract was supposed to be signed later that night or today.

The Tigers have played the Liverpool only once, winning 42-0 in 1960.

“I’ve been wanting to play them for a long time,” Tiger head coach Mike Currence said Friday night.

The Potters, who lost to Wintersville last week, were to play at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney tonight.

The game will not count in the computer rankings.

History

1977: Massillon 44, Alliance 0

November 4, 1977August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Fired up Tigers Annihilate Aviators
Ground game clicks in 44-0 win

By ROLAND A. DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor
“When them Tigers get mad they hit people,” head coach Mike Currence said after his Washington High gridders demolished Alliance 44-0 Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers used a bone-crunching ground game and a few timely passes as they rolled up 13 first downs and 244 total yards in the first half, scoring the first four times they had the ball to take a 28-0 lead into the locker-room at halftime.

“THAT WAS the first time we played four quarters of good football all year,” Currence said. “The way we were coming off the ball tonight nobody could have beat us.”

The Tigers’ offensive line opened gaping holes in the Aviator defense, and Alliance coach Julius Tonges said that was his team’s downfall.

“We expected our defense to be better,” Tonges said following the game. “We’re disappointed. We didn’t penetrate the way we had expected.

“Offensively, when we got behind we tried to throw. We threw a couple on the money but we didn’t catch them. The big thing was the defense. We just didn’t have it,” Tonges said.

‘They had to control the ball on us to win,” Currence pointed out, “and our defense kept giving the ball to us.”

ASKED IF the game planned called for more running, Currence said: “We planned on doing everything we could to win. The fact that we were blocking well is why we stayed on the ground. Also, Julius Tonges is a great coach and they took the pass away from us. They were on us like glue.”

When the Tigers did pass, it was reserve quarterback Ron Wright who did most of the throwing. Wright came in when Offenbecher was shaken up late in the second quarter and threw one touchdown pass and set up another TD with a pass.

He finished the night with five out of eight for 78 yards. Offenbecher, the leading passer in the All‑American Conference, finished ‘with two of seven for 31 yards.

“Ron did a super job,” Currence said. “I’ve been telling everybody all year that we have two great quarterbacks.”

Currence said Offenbecher got the wind knocked out of him when he was hit just after he released the ball.

“I JUST didn’t think he was as effective after that,” Currence said.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 77 yards in 12 plays with Richard Cleveland scoring on a seven-yard run with 6:58 left in the first quarter. Cleveland, who gained 39 yards in the drive, ran for the extra points and an 8-0 Tiger lead. Massillon rolled up four first downs in the drive.

Alliance then started a drive that carried into Massillon territory, but on a second and six at the Tiger 33, Tiger defensive tackle Tony Matie nailed Willie McCray in the backfield for a five-yard loss.

Following a 19-yard punt, the Tigers took over at their own 19 and marched 81 yards in nine plays with Greg Carpenter plunging one yard for the score with 11:30 to go in the second quarter.

CARPENTER HAD opened the series with a fine 24-yard run. On third and 12 at the Alliance 34, Wright threw down the middle to Tom Gehring. The pass was deflected by an Aviator defender and Gehring bobbled the ball but hung on for a remarkable catch and a first down at the Alliance one. Carpenter scored on the next play. Mark Westover’s kick was wide and the Tigers led 14-0.

Following another short Alliance punt, the Tigers took the ball at their own 40 and Carpenter scored his second TD of the game seven plays later on a five-yard run with 6:40 left in the half.

Westover hooted the point after and the Tigers led 21-0.

Yet another bad punt by Alliance gave the Tigers the ball at their own 40 and once again they used seven plays to score. On a fourth and three from the Alliance 10, Wright found Mike Grove open in the end zone for a touchdown. Westover made good on the conversion kick and the Tigers led 28-0 with 2:01 to go in me the half.

The Tigers almost scored again before the half when defensive tackle Jerry Shafrath recovered an Alliance fumble at the Aviator nine yard line with just over a minute showing on the clock. A halfback pass by Jeff Beitel on fourth down was batted down at the linem however, and Alliance ran out the clock.

IN THE second half, the Tigers stopped the Aviators cold following the kickoff, and took over at their own 42 yard line following a punt.

Massillon then drove to the Alliance 22 in 11 plays when the drive stalled. Westover came in and kicked a 40 yard field goal that cleared the crossbar with room to spare, giving the Tigers a 31-0 lead with 4:49 left in the third quarter.

Following an Alliance punt, the Tigers drove from their own 32 to paydirt in eight plays with Beitel making a slick run on a right sweep from nine yards out for the score. Westover split the uprights with his conversion kick add the Tigers led 38-0 with :08 left in the third period.

The big play in the drive was a 22-yard pass from Offenbecher to Eric Clendening. Clendening took a quick pass over the middle and made a good run, giving the Tigers a first down at the Alliance 12. Beitel’s score came two plays later.

The Tigers final tally of the night came after Kevin Gowins intercepted a pass at midfield and raced down the right sideline all the way to the Alliance three, carrying several tacklers along the last five or 10 yards.

JOHN WILKERSON scored off left tackle on the next play, despite a penalty against the Aviators, and Massillon led 44-0 with 52 seconds left in the game.

Wright, who had the only Tiger punt of the night, booted the extra point, but a holding penalty forced him to try it over from 35 yards out and the kick was wide.

The Tigers ground game accounted for 272 of 379 yards and 18 of 24 first downs. Cleveland led a balanced attack with 84 yards in 13 carries, while Grove added 77 on 12 carries and Carpenter had 69 on 12 carries.

This win, witnessed by 10,566 faithful, should give the Tigers some momentum for the grand finale next week against Canton McKinley. A win by the Tigers next Saturday will give them a share of the All-American Conference title they won outright last season.

GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs rushing 18 3
First downs passing 6 0
First downs penalties 0 0
Total first downs 24 3
Yards gained rushing 300 73
Yards lost rushing 28 31
Net yards gained rushing 272 42
Net yards gained passing 107 0
Total yards gained 379 42
Passes attempted 15 1
Passes completed 7 0
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 48 7
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average 55.6 45.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 9 67
Times punted 1 7
Punt average (yards) 38.0 28 0
Punt returns (yards) 5 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 1
Yards penalized 20 15
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 72 40
Total time of possession 30:05 17:55

Massillon 8 20 10 6 44
Alliance 0 0 0 0 0

M – Richard Cleveland 7 run (Cleveland run)
M – Greg Carpenter 1 run (kick failed)
M – Carpenter 5 run (Mark Westover kick)
M – Mike Grove 10 pass from Ron Wright (kick Westover)
M – Westover 40 FG
M – Jeff Beitel 9 run (Westover kick)
M John Wilkerson 1 run (kick fail).

Attendance 10,566

BEAT McKINLEY!!!

History

1976: Massillon 14, Alliance 0

November 5, 1976August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers clinch AAC title with 14-0 victory

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“The Jaybird” flew, the “Tiger Claw Defense” growled and Washington High School got its seventh straight victory and clinched the All-American Conference title Friday night at Mt. Union Stadium in Alliance.

But the Tigers 14-0 win was like all the other ones this year for head Coach Mike Currence – as hard to come by as a Republican winner in Massachusetts.

AN ESTIMATED 10,500 fans, largest turnout this year at Alliance, viewed the game.

The Orange and Black broke a scoreless deadlock in the third period via two touchdowns by halfback Jay Harper, running out of the “robust T”, and a pair of conversions by Mike Hardwick.

Harper gained 104 yards in that period on seven carries, losing only four yards. His other attempt was a two-yarder in the first quarter.

The Aviators didn’t help the situation, throwing a very stingy defense at the Tigers. Andre Royster receiver a lower leg injury early in the second quarter. This not only deprived Alliance head Coach Julius Tonges of an excellent linebacker but also of a flanker – a key factor.

Alliance had a 63-46 edge in number of plays run and almost had the ball seven minutes longer than Massillon, but the “Tiger Claw Defense” was equal to the task. The furthest penetration by the Aviators was to the Massillon five-yard line on a 29-yard drive in the first quarter after Don Johnson had recovered Mike Grove’s fumble on the Massillon 34. Alliance lost the ball on downs when a pass was overthrown out of the end zone.

THE AVIATORS penetrated Massillon territory four times in the first half and two times after the intermission. Randy Lash intercepted an Alliance pass on the Massillon 15 in the second period to abort Aviator scoring plans.

The Aviators kept throwing halfback Rich Scott (23 carries, 72 yards, 9 lost) at the Tigers via dive plays. That gets mighty hard to halt. If a team keeps banging away long enough, it’s going to find a hole in the seam.

Massillon got into Alliance territory one time in the first half and three times in the second half.

An illegal receiver downfield cost the Tigers 15 yards from the Alliance 29 in the second period. The Orange and Black moved from the Aviators’ 45 in the goodbye canto, after halting an Alliance drive on fourth down, to the Aviators’ four but time ran out.

Reserve fullback Ken Nagle, filling in for the ailing Jerry Shafrath, in the “robust T”, got off runs of 10 and 21 yards on the drive. But other than on those occasions Massillon got nowhere because defensive ends Steve Clunk and Phil Grove crashed in so well the Aviators shut off the Tigers’ run and shoot offense and forced Currence to make the switch to the “robust T’ in the third quarter.

THE TIGERS had gotten only four first downs – the same as Alliance – 42 yards rushing and nine passing in the first half. The Aviators chalked up 51 rushing and none passing.

Besides Harper, one other Tiger ate up a lot of real estate. Fullback Rich Cleveland carried seven times, picking up 54 yards with no losses.

But it was Harper who did it all defensively. The Tigers got the ball following a third period Alliance punt at the Aviators’ 44. On second down “The Jaybird” took a pitch from quarterback Bret Traylor and raced 30 yards before being knocked out of bounds on the 14.

Grove picked up two yards on third down for a first down and Harper went the remaining four yards over guard with 2:30 left.

Alliance had one series, punted and Harper went off tackle for 61 yards for the second Tiger touchdown with 33 seconds remaining.

HARPER CAUSED some concern at one point when he got leg cramps and had to leave the game.

“We played another great second half,” Currence said. “The defense did it again. The offense made the mistakes again. We have to get ourselves together for that big one against Canton McKinley next week. I’ve waited nine games for that one.”

Currrence was more than impressed with the Alliance defense.

“I didn’t think they would just shove us right back into the end zone,” said Currence. “If the fans weren’t back there, we would have gone through the stands. I went in during a timeout and said, ‘Fellows there’s a fence here. They can’t shove us any further.’”

Currence also took a timeout in the second quarter on fourth down when Mark Westover, who missed practice all week due to flu, was forced to punt from the end zone.

“ALLIANCE HAS blocked four punts for touchdowns this year,” Currence said. “I went in and told them (Massillon), ‘this is the most crucial play of the game. If you don’t get this punt off it could mean the ball game.’”

Tonges explained that Royster, a flanker, was missed offensively and also when adjustments were made to try to stop the Tigers (when Massillon switched offenses in the third quarter). But “Juice” was happy that his defense took away the “bread and butter stuff from a fine team.”

Alliance was forced to go to its passing game when it got behind 14-0 and Tonges agreed that’s not the Aviator’s strong suit.

“I’m not ashamed of our kids, we battled and I think they hit as hard as any football team around,” Tonges said.

Massillon advanced to 7-2 and Alliance dropped to 5-4.

Alliance – 0
Ends – S. Clunk, Grove, Jae, Kemp, Debee, Zelasko, Blair.
Tackles – D. Clunk, Schenk, Johnson, Oesch.
Guards – Baker, Felger, Hamilton, Betz, Evans.
Centers – Mick, Dailey.
Quarterback – Andreani.
Halfbacks – Scott, Love, McCray, Royster, Gailey, Mulholland, Gemberling.
Kicker – Hancock.
Punter – Minger.

Massillon – 14
Ends – Engler, Sweterlitsch, Chovan, Pringle, B. Grizzard, Clendening, Furnas.
Tackles – Toles, Matie, Daniels, Tournay, Dennison, DeOrio, Namanny, Stuck, Kovacsiss.
Guards – Lauber, Hauser, Berquist, Baus, Jones.
Centers – Ramsey, Lutz.
Quarterbacks – Traylor, Offenbecher.
Halfbacks – Harper, Grove, Carpenter, Popovich.
Fullbacks – Cleveland, Nagle.
Middle guard – Dorsey.
Linebackers – Walterhouse, Dottavio, Border.
Defensive halfbacks – Henderson, Jones, A .Grizzard, Lash, M. Longshore, Whitlock, Letcavits, Wilkerson, Gowins.
Kickers – Hardwick, Laase.
Punter – Westover.

GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs rushing 8 4
First downs passing 1 3
First downs penalties 2 1
Total first downs 11 8
Yards gained rushing 247 100
Yards lost rushing 67 11
Net yards gained rushing 180 89
Net yards gained passing 9 50
Total yards gained 189 139
Passes completed 1-8 14-19
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 18 0
Kickoff average (yards) 3-48.7 1-39.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 40
Punt average (yards) 7-28.7 8-23.3
Punt returns (yards) 35 21
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2-1 0
Yards penalized 5-50 7-75
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Total number of plays 46 63
Total time of possession 20:49 27:11

History

1975: Massillon 3, Alliance 6

October 31, 1975August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

State title goes out window for WHS
Alliance makes its season with 6-3 win

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

A state championship went out the window for one team and a season was made for another Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

A state title went out the window because the Tigers made too many mistakes against a team they were supposed to beat handily.

SO SURE were Alliance fans that they were going to lose that the small entourage which they sent to Massillon swelled the crowd to only 8,507, the second smallest turnout at Tiger Stadium this season.

In losing 6-3 to the Aviators and former Tiger Julius Tonges, the Obiemen made a
180-degree turn in their caliber of play. Last week they controlled every phase of the game in beating Warren. On Friday night they controlled nothing. Alliance had the ball for seven minutes more than the Tigers.

The Aviators won their first game ever at Tiger Stadium . Their last win in Tigertown came in 1927 via 13-0 count at Massillon Field.

The Aviators last victory over the Tigers was a 46-0 win in 1962 at Hartshorn Stadium in Alliance.

The Orange and Black led in the overall statistical parade but in the rushing
department – in which they should have greatly overshadowed Alliance – they fell behind 176-186. Quarterback Keith Keller completed five of 12 passes – under great
pressure – adding 49 yards to the ground total for a 225 overall count.

ALLIANCE COMPLETED only one of four passes for nine yards and a 195 total.

The Tigers played a miserable first half, getting only 76 yards overall in 110 for Alliance, with 71 coming on the ground. The Aviators had 101.

Against Alliance’s seven-man front the Tigers had trouble running during the whole game, but the Tigers’ final six passes didn’t come until the last quarter. Interceptions by Gilbert Goodwin at the Alliance 37 and by Russell Goodwin at the Aviator’s three – on the final play of the game – killed both threats.

“We had the ball enough times to win, but we fumbled four times (the Tigers lost two of them) and had two passes intercepted,” Shuff said. “We did not play heads up football. They controlled the line offensively and defensively.

“We weren’t in the right game of mind. Woody Hayes says 90 per cent of football is played from the neck up. We just didn’t learn our lesson well enough earlier.”

(A REFERENCE to a 6-6 tie with Nordonia in the second game of the season – another game which the Tigers were expected to win.)

In the other dressing room Tonges was on cloud nine.

“We told our boys if they got this one, it would make amends for our last five games,” the Alliance first-year mentor said. “From the Ravenna game on we have played nothing but outstanding team. Nobody in Ohio has played a tougher schedule than we did this year. That made us tougher for the big ones. This team gave all it had for 48 minutes. I’m proud of them all.”

Tonges thought Alliance could have beaten Canton McKinley if the Aviators had gotten some breaks in the officiating. He thought the Pilots fumbled the game away at Warren.

“We put a little pressure on Keller,” Tonges said. “We also felt we had to use a seven-man line. We ran the cross buck and a lot of quick dives, mixing it up pretty well.”

TIME AND again Alliance fullback Art Kennedy powered through the center or between the guards and tackles for big gains. But Tiger fullback Bill Harmon was not able to cut loose until the second half.

He gained all the Tiger yardage in the third quarter, ending with the 128 net yards in 22 carries. Kennedy picked up 115 yards in 23 attempts and fullback Richard Scott garnered 49 yards in 16 carries.

The Tigers converted only four of nine third-down attempts to Alliance’s two of 12.

The Tigers scored first on a 54-yard, 10-play drive, culminated by Keith Harmon’s 43-yard field goal with 11:32 left in the second stanza. Tailback Pete Killin’s 22-yard scamper around end with a pitchout set up the tally.

Keith Harmon’s three-pointer was his third of the season, tying Bob Pflug’s effort in 1923.

HE HAD another chance on the final play of the second stanza. He had recovered a bad pitchout from Alliance signal caller Ed Tremoulis on the Aviators’ 49.

Aided by a 15-yard interference penalty, the Orange and Black got to the Alliance 29 in five plays. However, Harmon’s 47-yard boot went to the left.

Alliance’s lone touchdown came after a handoff from Keller to Grizzard went awry and was recovered by Chuck Banks at the Massillon 29. Three plays later Kennedy burst through center from the 16, raced to the two, fumbled the ball into the end zone and Don Johnson hopped on the pigskin for the TD with 5:22 left in the second stanza.

Tiger, Aviator Facts

TIGERS
Offense
Ends – Bill Bammerlin (6-2, 167, Sr.); Mark Matie (6-0, 225, Sr.).
Tackles – Mike Lauber (5-11, 207, Sr.); Sylverster Drobney (6-1, 216, Sr.).
Guards – Todd Schumacher (5-11, 200, Sr.) Carl Christoff (5-8, 172, Sr.).
Center – Dan Nagle (5-11, 232, Sr.).
Quarterback – Todd Keller (6-1, 185, Sr.).
Halfbacks – Tom Grizzard (6-0, 185, Sr.) Keith Harmon (6-2, 195, Sr.).
Fullback – Bill Harmon (6-1, 237, Sr.)
Defense
Ends – K. Harmon; Drobney.
Tackles – Tim Tourney (6-2, 265, Jr.); Matie.
Middle guard – Jess Toles (5-10, 192, Jr.).
Linebackers – Anthony Grizzard /(5-10, 163, Jr.); T. Grizzard).
Secondary – Glenn Arner (6-1, 173, Sr.); Don Stewart (5-11, 151, Sr.);Willey Conley (5-11, 173, Sr.); Harold Dorsey (5-11, 188, Sr.).

ALLIANCE
Offense
Ends – Russell Goodwin (5-8, 150, Sr.). Brad Siefke (6-1, 175, Sr.).
Tackles – Dave Baker (5-9, 170, Sr.); Homer Miller (6-1, 200, Sr.).
Guards – Paul Bowman (5-8, 175, Sr.); Dave Kellerher (5-8, 180, Sr.).
Center – Don Baker (5-8, 170, Sr.).
Quarterback – Ed Tremoulis (5-10, 155, Sr.).
Halfbacks – Art Kennedy (5-8, 170, Sr.); Richard Scott (5-8, 155, Sr.).
Fullback – Gilbert Goodwin (5-7, 155, Sr.).
Defense
Ends – Siefke; Steve Clunk (5-11, 171, Jr.).
Tackles – Larry Schenk (5-7, 165, Jr.); Don Crockett (5-11, 205, Sr.).
Linebackers – Dave Baker; Miller; Charles Handock (5-11, 180, Jr.).
Secondary – G. Goodwin; Phil Grove (5-8, 155, Jr.); Don Johnson (5-7, 150, Jr.); Scott.

Weight Comparisons

Tigers:
offense (line 203, backfield 198, overall 201);
defense (line 204, secondary 172, overall 189).
Alliance:
offense (line 174, backfield 159, overall 169);
defense (line 181, secondary 154, overall 171).

Series – Tigers 54-8-2.

Points scored – Tigers 1,639; Alliance 423.

Points scored this year – Tigers 150; Alliance 48.

Points allowed this year – Tigers 24; Alliance 180.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Chuck Hinkle.
Umpire – Jim Keefer.
Head Linesman – Tom Coleman.
Field Judge – Don Miller.
Back Judge – Steve Nagy.

GRIDSTICK
Mass. All.
First downs-rushing 8 10
First downs-passing 3 0
First downs-penalties 3 1
Total first downs 14 11
Yards gained rushing 193 196
Yards lost rushing 17 10
Net yards gained rushing 176 186
Net yards gained passing 49 9
Total yards gained 225 195
Passes completed 5-12 1-4
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 3
Kickoff average (yards) 2-51.5 2-36.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 17 13
Punt average (yards) 3-36.0 6-34.6
Punt returns (yards) 25 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 2-4 1-3
Yards penalized 3-35 5-45
Touchdowns rushing 0 1
Total number of plays 51 55
Total time of possession 20:42 27:18

History

1974: Massillon 39, Alliance 12

November 1, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Harmon paces Tigers over Alliance
Scores 3 touchdowns picks up 140 yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Chuck Shuff unleashed the behemoth and “Grendal” did his job well Friday night behind some outstanding blocking – especially in the interior line – to lead the Tigers to a 39-12 victory over the Alliance Aviators.

Junior fullback Bill Harmon (6-2, 237) picked up 140 yards in 13 carries for a 10.8 average, scored three touchdowns and also contributed some fine blocking to pace the Orange and Black to their fifth victory in nine outings. Alliance lost its eighth straight contest after losing its opener.

THE GAME was an All-American Conference affair with the Tigers’ record jumping to
2-2 and the Aviators’ state falling to 0-4.

Another pleasing aspect to the game was that Tiger quarterback Greg Wood hit on six of nine pass attempts for three touchdowns, one to tailback Mark Streeter and two to split end Eddie Bell. The Tigers added 102 air yards to go with 349 net rushing yards for a 451 total.

Alliance, out-manned but sticking in there all the way, scored twice via the airwaves – once with the Tigers’ second defensive unit in with 51 seconds left in the game – and added 177 yards overhead (eight for 14) to 143 net on the ground for a 326 total.

The Aviators got their hands on the ball nine more times than the Tigers did. The Orange and Black scored two quick touchdowns after a pass interception and a fumble.

“I thought our blocking was great end to end,” Shuff, the Tigers’ head coach said. “Bill really bulled up in there with his runs and our passing game was the most effective it has been this season.”

HARMON WHO picked up his nickname “Grendal” from his teammates who figure he resembles the monster of the Beowulf epic, commented, “For the first time tonight I saw my blockers in the secondary. I had been running outside a lot before.”

Harmon scored all three of his touchdowns in the first half and picked up 85 of his rushing yards prior to the intermission. He capped an 85-yard first quarter drive, on which he carried five times for 34 yards, with a three-yard blast off guard.

Streeter’s 42-yard option run to the Alliance 19 set up the score and Harmon took three plays to finish the job. Bill threw a big block to get “Streets” around the end, Streeter picked up 82 yards in five carries for a 16.4 average on the night.

Keith Herring recovered a second quarter fumble on the Alliance 32 and took off over guard on the next play for the score.

Chris Rich knocked a ball loose later in the period and Jeff Lab pinned it to the ground on the Alliance nine. Harmon ran the next two plays and bulled over the middle from the three for the score. Tailback Tommy Grizzard ran the conversion over tackle.

HARMON RAN the ball on the Tigers’ first three plays in the second half and Shuff decided “The Big Bear: had had enough. He picked up 23, 27 and five yards and got the Tigers off on a 92-yard TD drive.

Four plays later Wood sprinted right from the 11 and hit Bell who made a nice catch in the corner. Dave Dowd kicked the only other conversion scored and the Tigers’ scoring was finished.

Shuff started putting the reserves in with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

Bell’s other score came in the second quarter after he had intercepted a pass on the Alliance 45. Wood hit Eddie on the 22 on the next play and Bell carried it in.

The Tigers drove 59 yards for a second quarter score after Mark Pifer’s 20-yard runback Grizzard added 14 and 10-yard drives and then Wood, passing from the 11, found Streeter on the three and Mark leaped over a man into the end zone for the score. Mark ran from the swingback slot.

“I THOUGHT our receivers ran good patterns tonight and the protection was good, “Wood said.

The Tigers came close to a score at the beginning of the second quarter, but a fumble and a holding penalty intervened and Tim Gutshall’s 34-yard interception return was wasted.

After the Tigers’ fourth touchdown, Alliance moved the ball 78 yards for a score, following sophomore Dick Scott’s 15-yard punt return. The TD was set up by Scott Distefano’s 33-yard pass to senior end Joe Gaffney and his 21-yard pass to sophomore end Brad Jae.

Distefano went overhead again for the score, from the five, with junior end Brad Seifke making the catch. Streeter hit Distefano, causing his conversion pass attempt to Gaffney to miss its mark.

Gaffney also scored the Aviators’ final TD on 59-yard pass-run to Gaffney who gathered in the ball on the Tigers’ 40 and galloped the rest of the way.

“OUR BOYS” didn’t give up tonight and they haven’t given up all season,” Alliance head coach Don Graham said. “I was proud of the way Tremoulis came in in the second half to run the club after Distefano had suffered a head injury.”

It was later found that Distefano, the AAC’s leading passer, has a slight concussion.
The stage is now set for the big one next Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium when the powerful Canton McKinley Bulldogs come in for the traditional season ender. The Pups knocked off the Tigers in the 1973 finale, keeping them out of the playoffs. The Tigers hope to repay the compliment this year.

MASSILLON – 39
Ends – Lemon, Bell, Gutshall, Bammerlin.
Tackles – Rich, Nagle, Matie, Lauber, Drobney, Rich, Goff, Glick, Rambaud.
Guards – Christoff, Schumacher, Parrish, Lightfoot, Dowd, White, Snell, Wilson.
Centers – Studer, Mitcheal.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Grizzard, Pifer, K. Harmon, Herring, Hughley, Simpson, Dorsey, Stewart, Arner.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Lab, Waldrop, Martin

GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs – rushing 14 7
First downs – passing 4 6
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 19 13
Yards gained rushing 361 166
Yards lost rushing 12 23
Net yds. gained rushing 349 143
Net yds. gained passing 102 177
Total yards gained 451 320
Passes completed 6-9 8-14
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 34 0
Kickoff average (yards) 7-50.4 3-38.7
Kickoff returns (yards) 34 98
Punt average (yards) 4-38.8 3-38.3
Punt returns (yards) 9 40
Lost fumbled ball] 0 2-2
Yards penalized 4-50 1-5
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdown passing 3 2
Total number of plays 46 55
Possession time 20:21 27:39

History

1973: Massillon 54, Alliance 0

November 2, 1973August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Gain Sole AAC lead

By CHUCK HESS JR., Independent Sports Editor

The Tigers didn’t forget about a letdown the last time they played a team with a non-impressive record, took charge form the start and rolled over a hapless Alliance Aviator squad 54-0 on a windy, rainy Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

The score was the largest of the season the 32-0 halftime bulge and 9,905 fans—the season’s smallest crowd—witnessed the Orange and Black move into undisputed possession of first place in the All American Conference and put the Aviators in the cellar all alone.

THE WASHINGTON High squad upped its league record to 4-0 and its overall mark to 8-0-1. Alliance is 0-4 in league play and 2-7 overall.

The Tigers increased their league win streak to 11 and their regular season unbeaten mark to 21 and now must face arch-rival Canton McKinley, which lost 19-7 to homestanding Warren Harding Friday night, next Saturday afternoon in the season finale at Fawcett Stadium in Canton for the right to advance to the Class AAA state playoffs for a second consecutive year.

The Bulldogs’ loss gave the Tigers some vitally needed third-level points in their race to overtake leader Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and runnerup Akron Garfield in computer Region 3.

So devastating was the Tigers’ win that they amassed 475 total yards while holding Alliance to 38, throwing the Aviators for 52 yards in ground losses, allowing a net four yards rushing. The Carnation City team got out of its own territory only twice.

Three of the Tiger touchdowns were of the big-play variety which had hurt Alliance all season. Tailback Charles Danzy took a pitch and went 27 yards around right end off fullback Bill Harmon’s block in the first quarter. He rolled 62 yards around right end in the second quarter and wingback Mark Streeter took a pitch around the right side for 53 yards in the third period.

DANZY TOTALED 127 yards in nine carries, losing none. Quarterback Greg Wood started the scoring off in the first quarter, sneaking two yards through the middle, after he had passed 30 yards to split end Jeff Huffman to set up the tally.

Harmon went one yard through the middle after the Tigers had taken over on a bad punt snap which Keith Herring recovered on the Alliance eight-yard line. Later in the period Wood throwing from the three, hit his favorite target, Huffman again, in the right corner of the end zone, for their seventh TD effort in four games.

Fullback J. J. McGuire bulled his way over from the two in the third period and tailback Ted Dailey raced over right tackle from the five in the last stanza.

Only once did the Tigers start behind their 40-yard line in driving for scores and only twice did they fail to get one.

Punter Todd Keller was used for the first time in the last three games. Wood, wingback Johnny Mayor and McGuire ran conversions. Wood also passed to Huffman for one. Allan Binks kicked a PAT but also missed one, breaking his string of 11 straight.

“I’M VERY pleased that our kids understood what they had to do and did it,” Tiger head coach Bob Commings said. “We’re thrilled that we got a chance to play everybody.”

“There are better things to come,” Graham said. “We got beat by the little mistakes that have plagued us all year.”

1 st downs—rushing

1 st downs—passing

1 st downs—penal

Total 1 st downs

Yds. Gained rush

407

Yds. Lost rushing

Net yds gained rush

399

Net yds. Gained pass.

Tot. yds. Gained

475

Passes completed

5-8

3-11

Passes inter. by

Yd. on passes inter.

Kickoff ave. (yds)

9-42.1

1-50

Kickoff returns (yds)

Punt ave. (yds)

1.33

7-26.7

Punt returns (yds)

Had punts blocked

Fumbles lost

0-1

1-1

Yards penal.

10-90

4-33

Tds rushing

Tds passing

Tot.no.plays.

Elapsed Time

26:32

21:28

Tag: <span>Alliance</span>