Tag: <span>Alliance</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1972: Massillon 34, Alliance 8

Tigers top Alliance to set up ‘big one’

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

If there’s a run on Tigertown doctors’ offices starting today for tranquilizers, it won’t be surprising.

Program Cover

The stage Friday night was set for what was to be the biggest regular season tilt in Washington high football history. With the Tigers running over Alliance 34-8 at Mount Union stadium in Alliance and the Canton McKinley Bulldogs edging the Warren Harding Black Panthers 14-12 at Fawcett stadium in Canton, the traditional season-ender between those two teams at Tiger stadium next Saturday afternoon will open the gate for the winner to the first Class AAA playoff for a state title.
* * *
THE VICTORY will also give the winner the All-American conference championship, with the Tigers and Bulldogs presently having 4-0 records. The former stands 9-0 overall and the latter, 8-1.

The Tigers used a pulverizing ground game with their patented, time-consuming long drives to beat the Aviators who stayed in there gamely and continued Coach Gene Nara’s record of having scored against the team he formerly served as an assistant each year since Nara came to Alliance in 1970. But the Aviators’ youth and inexperience hurt in all respects but their passing game which got them their one tally.

Nara also broke a string of three consecutive Tiger shutouts this season.

Tiger fans got a scare when the AAC’s leading scorer and ground gainer, left half Tom Hannon, suffered a bruise of the right thigh. Hannon was held out of second half play, but trainer Bill Meier said the groovy-hipped senior should be ready for the Bulldogs.

He gained 114 yards in 15 attempts in the first half.

With both Hannon and previously injured right half Terry Edwards sidelined, Coach Bob Commings got some good backup work from senior Columbus Danzy and junior Johnny Mayor at right half and junior Terry Henderson at left half. Junior Charles Danzy filled in again well for injured senior Alex Wood at fullback.
* * *
THE TIGERS, with excellent blocking, put together a combination of power pitch and regular sweeps, off tackleS and inside reverses and spurt up the center which the Aviators just couldn’t handle as the Obiemen got 288 of their net 294 yards rushing. The Obiemen allowed Alliance just 12 plays in the first half, but it was the second half passing attack which caused the Tigers some problems.
Junior quarterback Arnold Watson, whom Nara thinks will be the best in the AAC in 1973, was toughest this season for the defense spearheaded by Charles Danzy to bring down. Time and again he eluded Tiger players’ grasps just when it appeared he was to be thrown for big losses.

He was, thereafter, able to complete nine of 16 passes to add 86 yards and a touchdown to the Aviators’ 39 net rushing yards for a 125 total.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff an d moved 70 yards in 11 plays with Chuck Danzy scoring from about one-yard out over left guard with 8:02 left in the first quarter.

Hannon crashed through right tackle for the conversion.

His 33-yard run off left tackle, setting up a first down on the Alliance 35, was the big play.

Another welcome canto effort was aborted when Alliance linebacker Dave Fraser picked up Chuck Danzy’s fumble at the Aviators’ 31.
* * *
A 59-YARD, 11-play drive following a first quarter punt took the Tigers to pay dirt a second time with quarterback Kevin Westover boot-legging around right end for the final 10 with 9:33 left in the second quarter. A pass failed for the conversion.

The Tigers ground out 70 yards in 15 plays following another second quarter punt. Hannon took a pitch from Westover and went around right end from three yards out with 1:03 left. Westover’s run was short of the conversion.

Chuck Danzy stepped in front of a Watson screen at the Alliance 35 and raced in for the score with 9:18 left in the third quarter. Don Muhlbach’s attempted kick was wide left.

Erlo Lee’s kickoff traveled only 15 yards and Alliance had a touchdown in 11 plays off a 55-yard drive as Watson hit on four passes including a conversion aerial to left end Gene Paina, the AAC’s leading receiver. The touchdown run, with 3:26 left, was by tailback Mark Hewitt through the center from thee yards away.

A 15-yard interference penalty aided the drive.

Aviator end Ford Hoffman picked up Henderson’s fumble on the Massillon 40 three plays after the kickoff, but four plays later Chuck Danzy tossed Watson to the 43 from where the Tigers started a 12-play, 56-yard drive, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty, but the effort ended on the one when Henderson was halted because Tiger blockers failed to pick up a safety blitz.
* * *
THE TIGERS forced a punt, took over on the Aviator 35 and scored their final TD in eight plays. Westover hit split end Greg Sullivan, who later possibly broke a hand, from the seven in the left corner of the end zone with 3:37 left in the game.

Muhlbach ran the conversion on what appeared to be a trick play after a bad snap for the first conversion try – a kick.

Alliance took to the airwaves again after the kickoff with Watson hitting Paina and split ends Lennie Jones and Aaron Bivens, the Tigers adding an interference penalty and the ball ended on the Massillon nine as the game ended.

“We thought we could move the ball on the ground,” Nara said when asked why he hadn’t resorted to passing in the first half, “but we couldn’t.”

The Aviators did move the ball from their 34 to the Massillon 35 in the five plays – only one of which was via the air route – just before the first half ended.

“Getting three TDs in the first half helped,” Tiger Coach Bob Commings said. “I didn’t think we tackled as well as in the past.”

MASSILLON – 34
Ends – Sullivan, Bodiford, D. Edwards, McCauley, Huffman, Bash.
Tackles – Geiser, Green, Csonka, Perry.
Guards – Guiffre, Mayles, Keller, Schumacher, Graber.
Centers – Cocklin, Studer.
Quarterbacks – Westover, Bickford.
Halfbacks – Hannon, Henderson, Columbus Danzy, Mayor.
Fullbacks – Charles Danzy, Alex Wood.
Middle Guards – Balizet, Lee, Greg Wood.
Linebackers – Swann, T. Gutshall, Ahlstrom.
Defensive Halfbacks – Jackson, Dan and Dennis Gutshall, Muhlbach, DiLoreto, Christie.

ALLIANCE – 8
Ends – Paina, Givens, Jones, Harper.
Tackles – Sacco, Ganni, King, Graf, Fisher.
Guards – Fraser, Huff, Royster, Alexander.
Center – Swanson.
Quarterback – Watson.
Halfbacks – Miller, Haidet, Evans, Hamrick, Hewitt, Biery, Martin.
Fullback – Deack.

MASSILLON 8 12 6 8 34
ALLIANCE 0 0 8 0 8

THE GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs, rushing 20 2
First downs, passing 0 7
First downs, penalties 1 2
Total first downs 21 11
Yards gained rushing 303 96
Yards lost rushing 15 57
Net yards gained rushing 288 39
Net yards gained passing 6 86
Total yards gained 294 125
Passes, completed 1-3 9-16
Passes intercepted 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 42 0
Kickoff average (yards) 6-36.5 2-45.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 41 68
Punt average (yds.) 0 4-28.8
Fumbles (lost) 2(2) 0(0)
Yards penalized 5-45 3-32
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Total no. of plays 61 51

Tommy Hannon
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1971: Massillon 36, Alliance 6

Passing aids 36-6 victory 105 second-quarter air yards best season effort

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Quarterback Scotty Dingler rang the bell and his receivers caught fire to make the effort unanimous.

Getting their passing game going after several disappointed attempts this season, was important to the Massillon Tigers for it made rushing a lot easier and could arm their arsenal a lot more effectively for next Saturday’s season finale against arch-rival Canton McKinley.
* * *
WASHINGTON HIGH’S charges downed their second oldest protagonist, the Alliance Aviators, 36-6 before 11,076 in the curtain closer Friday night at Tiger stadium.

Program Cover

The Tigers upped their slate to 7-2 while dropping Alliance to 4-5. The WHSers evened their All-American conference record for four tilts to stay in fourth and saddled the Aviators with their fourth loss against no wins.

Dingler completed five passes in six tries in the second quarter, connecting with wingback Art Thompson for a touchdown, fullback Tom Hannon and split end Mike McGuire for 105 yards – the best effort of the season. The Tiger aerial show didn’t connect on a couple of second half efforts, but its prior-to-the intermission performance must have been enough to give McKinley Coach John Brideweser’s scouts cause for consideration.

Dingler hit McGuire on a 14-yard combination to offset a five-yard delay penalty. Scotty found Thompson for 15 to sidetrack a five-yard procedure call, hit Hannon in the flat and Tom ran 25 yards for a first down at the Alliance 30, but the Tigers ran out of gas at the four, four plays later; after a 14-yarder through the middle by Larry McLenndon.

However, the Orange and Black came back after the next punt and moved 45 yards in two plays to score with four seconds left. Dingler hit the Thompson target both times, one for 24 yards to the Alliance 31 and another into Art’s nifty embrace in the center of the end zone.

Dingler’s kick was off to the right.
* * *
“SCOTTY COULDN’T have laid the ball in there much better,” Coach Bob Commings said. “I’m pleased with the poise with which we threw the ball. The protection was good. I thought the offensive line settled the issue, blocking well, particularly in the first half.”
Former Tiger assistant Gene Nara, now the head man at Alliance, had another version: “We gave Dingler too much time to throw.”

His TD pass may have been the key to the Aviators’ loss.

“If we had been down only 14-6 at the end of the first half, it would have been easier to come back,” Nara said.

Alliance continued to have the passing troubles it has experienced all year, failing to complete 11, with a lot of credit going to the Massillon secondary for alert coverage.
* * *
THE AVIAITORS had their chances in the second half, getting 44 plays to the Tigers’ 19, but couldn’t move the ball past the WHS 21.

“Bob went to a stack defense with a stunt and I think he used a safety blitz one time,” Nara said. “We weren’t picking it up.”

The Tigers were in what Commings calls a goal-line go, putting Hank Nussbaumer, the strong safety, in the go position.

The Orange and Black opened the scoring with a 49-yard run off left tackle by tailback Willie Spencer on the game’s fourth play from first down.

Dingler kicked the conversion with 10:05 on the clock.

Alliance’s score came late in the first quarter after Rick got off only a 15-yard punt and the Aviators drove 42 yards in five plays with a 14-yard pass-run from quarterback Bill Anderson to halfback Joe Tucker setting up a first down on the Massillon 27.
* * *
TWO PLAYS later junior halfback Dan Contrucci charged through the middle from the 25, giving nice second and third efforts. However, with 1:20 showing, Anderson fumbled the pigskin as the Aviators tried for two and was stopped short.

The Tigers marched 80 yards in seven plays after the kickoff with Spencer scoring off right tackle and cutting back on second down from the Alliance 35 with 5:46 left in the second stanza. Dingler’s 16-yard right end keeper and Spencer’s 17-yarder over left guard helped.

Dingler kicked the conversion.

Alliance punted after its first third quarter series and Hannon flashed his groovy hips for 51 yards to put the ball on the Alliance four. Two plays later Dingler smashed through the center from the one on a third down with 9:06 on the lights.

He passed to McLenndon playing fullback in the absence of injured Don Perry, to put two more points on the total.

The final tally came when a fourth-down snap went over Contrucci’s head and twins Dari and Terry Edwards and Todd Cocklin hauled Contrucci down on the Alliance six. McLenndon raced around left end on the ensuing play with 6:08 left in the goodbye frame.
* * *
JUNIOR TAILBACK Jim Jackson slashed off right tackle for the final two points.

The Tigers might have had another TD, but junior wingback Terry Edwards fumbled on the Alliance 23 after brother Dari had recovered an Aviator fumble on the 21. Ron Kuceyeski recovered for the Carnation City team.

ALLIANCE – 6
Ends – Jones, Randy Kuceyeski, Brockett, Danesi, Harper.
Tackles – Ron Kuceyeski, Addams, Kirksey, Grimes.
Guards – Huff, Messenheimer, King, Garnes.
Centers – Miller, Swanson.
Quarterbacks – Anderson, Miller.
Halfbacks – Snodgrass, Contrucci, Hewitt, May, Davis, Tucker.
Fullbacks – J. Hancock, Deack.

MASSILLON – 36
Ends – McGuire, Stephan, Matie, Bodiford, D. Edwards, Gutshall.
Tackles – Heath, Weirich, Peters, C. Perry, Hauschultz, Green, Geiser, T. Peters.
Guards – Christoff, Mayles, Guiffre, Bozzacco, Bash, Balizet, Heck, Graber, Ahlstrom, Danzy.
Centers – Studer, Cocklin, Allman, McCabe, Grizzard.
Quarterbacks – Dingler, Muhlback, Westover.
Halfbacks – Spencer, Thompson, T. Edwards, Nussbaumer, Weise, Jakcson, Wonsick, D. Peters, Groff.
Fullbacks – McLenndon, Hannon, Wood.

ALLIANCE 6 0 0 0 6
MASSILLON 7 13 8 8 36

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Spencer, 49 run (Dingler kick);
A – Contrucci, 25 run (run failed);
M – Spencer, 35 run (Dingler kick);
M – Thompson, 31 pass from Dingler (kick failed);
M – Dingler, 1 run (McLenndon, pass from Dingler);
M – McLenndon, 9 run (Jackson run).

GRID STICK
M A
First downs, rushing 11 4
First downs, passing 4 5
First downs, penalties 1 3
Total first downs 16 12
Yards gained rushing 234 105
Yards lost rushing 5 72
Net yards gained rushing 229 33
Net yards gained passing 105 52
Total yards gained 334 85
Passes completed 5-8 11-24
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 6-44.9 2-45.0
Rest is missing

OFFICIALS
Referee – Ted Humphrey.
Umpire – Ted Deutsch.
Head Linesman – Stan Evans.
Field Judge – Hugh Davis.
Back Judge – Beauford Hatfield.

ATTENDANCE – 11,076.

Steve Studer
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1970: Massillon 36, Alliance 12

Tigers Down tenacious Alliance 36-12

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Massillon’s No. 1 ranked Tigers Friday night won a game where it’s often most important – in the trenches.

Behind superb blocking again by “The Iron Curtain,” Washington high backs ran with authority, picking up 366 net yards on the ground, as the Tigers (3-0) beat Alliance (1-2) 36-12 at muggy Hartshorn stadium in the Carnation City before an estimated 10,000.
* * *
WHILE SENIOR tailback “Mailman Mike” Mauger did the largest share of the work, scoring four touchdowns and picking up 188 net yards in 22 attempts, senior fullback and co-captain Tom Cardinal and juniors Don Perry (fullback) and Larry McLenndon (tailback) also picked up a lot of yardage.

Particularly effective were off tackle plays – both from handoffs and pitchouts.

Program Cover

But while passing out orchids for the Tigers’ effort which put them into a three-way tie for the All-American conference head, it must also be pointed out that those “colossal mistakes, as Coach Bob Commings terms them, cropped up again, costing the Orange and Black two TDs and opening the door for one of Alliance’s six-pointers.

On the other side of the ledger, the Aviators played their usual tenacious game, never giving up, although taking a physical beating from the heavier WHSers. Alliance made Massillon fight for every inch of ground gained.

First year Aviator Coach Gene Nara also got some fine running – from senior fullback Lloyd Gray and 145-pound sophomore tailback Dan Contrucci.
* * *
“IT WAS a hard-hitting game, typical of the All-American conference,” said Nara, former Tiger aide. “I’m not ashamed of them. Other coaches can put their head down. I’m going to bring this team back. I knew what I was getting into when I came here. I knew there wasn’t much back.”

He added, “They wiped us out off tackle on the pitches.”

Commings was pleased with the game, saying, “It was good for us. We matured. Alliance was real spirited. Our kids had to go the route. We pressed ourselves and we learned a valuable lesson. You must also be poised. We weren’t in the first half. We all seemed to be tight, including the coaches. I thought we loosened up in the second half.”

A second period fight robbed both teams of key personal. The Tigers’ Cardinal and Aviator middle guard Jim Hancock were ejected. Fortunately, Perry filled in well at fullback for “The Red Bird” and senior John Nussbaumer, at linebacker.

But Nara had centered a special new defense around Hancock, whom he termed his best and quickest man and had no one else to fill the gap.
* * *
THE TIGERS started out as if to score right after the opening kickoff, but Cliff Jones picked up Mauger’s fumble on the Massillon 46. The Aviators lost the ball on downs on the Massillon forhty-yard line as “The Attack Pack” held. Jones’ field goal attempt was wide right.

Then came an 80-yard, 11-0lay Massillon scoring jaunt, featuring the running of Cardinal and Mauger. A 16-yard screen pass scamper by the former and a 30-yard, pass-run from quarterback Denny Franklin to the latter, with the run 21 yards, were the highlights.

Mauger’s touchdown came off right tackle on first down from the one with the clock malfunctioning. Franklin’s pass to split end Willie Spencer misfired on the conversion try.

Early in the second period, John Sims stole a Gray fumble on the Massillon 30. However, Franklin later fumbled on the Aviator six, recovering the ball, but losing to the 15 and missing the score.

Mauger’s 11-yard punt return started WHS on the way to a five-play, 51-yard TD drive, aided by a 13-yard romp by Franklin and capped by Mauger’s 17-yard, first down run around left end after the tackle hole had closed. Franklin converted on a bootleg run to the right.
* * *
EARLY IN the third quarter, the Tigers scored on a 55-yard, five-play drive, featuring a 14-yard, pass-run from Franklin to wingback Bernard Sullivan, “Sullie” running for four and Mauger’s 49-yarder on a pitch right. Tim Ridgley threw a key block and Mauger carried Jones into the end zone with 8:27 left. Franklin converted on a keeper to the right.

Alliance got into the scoring column when the Tigers failed to contain punter Chuck Larsuel after a bad snap from the Alliance 15. On first down from the 20, Gray got a pitch to the left, cut back to the right and was away for the score. Willie Spencer threw quarterback Randy Hunt on the conversion try.

Late in the quarter, Perry’s 22-yard trek aided a drive, following a punt, which put the ball on the Alliance 10 on first down. Mauger fumbled on the one on the next play, the ball rolled into the end zone and was finally collared by Alliance’s Jim Brocklehurst near the end line.

After a fourth quarter punt, Massillon marched 56 yards in nine plays to pay dirt, aided by a personal foul penalty as the Orangemen had been on their second TD drive Mauger rammed off right tackle on first down from the four with 5:41 left. Franklin hit Spencer in the left end zone corner for the conversion.

Alliance got possession on its 40 when Mauger’s kickoff traveled out of bounds and Contrucci proceeded to reel off two runs of 12 yards each, caught a 14-yard pass from Bill Anderson, subbing for the injured Randy Hunt and then ran over center and back right on second down from the 22 for six points with 4:33 left. A conversion pass fell incomplete.
* * *
THE TIGERS finished the scoring after Ridgley had fallen on an onside kick at his 48. Six plays later, Franklin hit Spencer from 10 yards out off a bootleg with 1:57 remaining.

“Dennis the Menace’s” conversion pass to Co-Captain and tight end Steve Luke was incomplete.

The drive featured McLenndon’s 16-yard scamper, some hard running by Perry and Franklin’s 20-yard forced run.

MASSILLON – 36
Ends – S. Luke, Stephan, McGuire, Spencer.
Tackles – Strobel, Ridgley, Weirich.
Guards – Kulik, Jasinski, Sims, Nussbaumer, Graber, Groff.
Center – Studer, Chovan, Gaddis.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Dingler, Schultz.
Halfbacks – Mauger, Sullivan, McLenndon, Thompson, Wonsick, Weise, B. Luke.
Fullbacks – Cardinal, Perry.

ALLIANCE – 12
Ends – Paina, Danesi, Lightner, Brockett, Cameron.
Tackles – Randy Kuceyeski, Ron Kuceyeski, Addams.
Guards – Andreani, Messenheimer, Lugenbuhl, Penturf.
Centers –Jones, Mergenthaler, Dwyer.
Quarterbacks – Hunt, Anderson, Davis, Haidet.
Halfbacks – Larsuel, Sloane, Snodgrass, Contrucci, Brocklehurst, May, Lloyd.
Fullbacks – Beckwith, LeNave, Hancock.

MASSILLON 6 8 8 14 36
ALLIANCE 0 0 6 6 12

SCORING
M – Mauger, one-yard run (pass failed);
M—Mauger, 17-yard run (Franklin run);
M – Mauger, 49-yard run (Franklin run);
A – Gray, 80-yard run failed);
M – Mauger, four-yard run (Spencer, pass from Franklin);
A – Construcci, 22-yard run (pass failed);
M – Spencer, 10-yard pass from Franklin (pass failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Nick Frascella.
Umpire – John Dalrymple.
Head Linesman – Len Batcha.
Field Judge – Hal Schumacher.

ATTENDANCE – 10,000

Mauger tops AAC,
county in scoring

Massillon Washington high’s Mike Mauger continues to set the pace in Stark county and All-American conference scoring derbies.

He also is the highly-touted AAC’s No. 1 rusher, cleating 505 yards for 12.6 per lug mark.
* * *
MAUGER HOLDS lofty leads in AAC rushing and scoring and has a 21-point margin over Minerva’s Jess Lowry in a bid to unseat Hartville-Lake’s Brian Bowers as Stark county’s premiere score of 1970.

Mauger’s nearest rival in AAC scoring is Artis Zachary of arch foe Canton McKinnley with 30 points. Alliance’s Lloyd Gray is nearest to Mauger in AAC rushing with 279 yards and a 4.7 per try.

Massillon’s game Saturday will send the AAC’s top passer (Tiger Denny Franklin) against the No. 2 passer (Niles’ Alan Ciminero).

Franklin has hit 12 of 29 tries for 289 yards, five TDs; Ciminero shows 13-for-28 and 265 yards. He also has tossed for five six-pointers, but has had three of his aerials picked off, while but two of Franklin’s attempts have been pilfered.

Tiger Bernard Sullivan ranks second in AAC receiving with five grabs for 112 yards and three TDs. Niles’ Jim Stringer is the No. 1 receiver, snaring four of Ciminero’s aerials for 119 yards and three TDs.

Canton South’s Dave Pellegrini is Stark county’s No. 3 scorer after three games with 44 points – four less than Lowry and four more than Bowers.
AAC SCORING
Mike Mauger, Massillon 69; Artis Zachary, Canton McKinley, 30; Alex DiMarziio, Canton McKinley, 28; Jim Stringer, Niles McKinley, 26; Bernard Sullivan, Massillon, 18; Anthony Brown, Warren G. Harding, 14; Dean Young of Steubenville; Dennis Franklin of Massillon; Lloyd Gray of Alliance and Mike Cara of Steubenville, 12 each.
AAC RUSHING
Mauger, 505 yards, 12.6; Gray, 279 yard, 4.7; Arnold Johnson, Steubenville, 232 yards, 5.7; Zachard, 188 yards, 4.6; Brown, 178 yards, 6.3; Stringer, 159 yards, 5.5; Eric Kirksey, Warren G. Harding, 129 yards, 6.1; Cara, 111 yards, 3.9; DiMarzioi, 109.

Steve Luke
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1969: Massillon 6, Alliance 0

Tiger defense withstands squeeze 6-0
Pressure mounts from many offensive mistakes

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

For awhile Friday night, the Massillon Tiger defense was under more pressure than an orange in a juicer, but was equal to the task. Consequently, the Washington high gridders eked out a 6-0 win over a determined Alliance team.

The victory before 13,001 at Tiger stadium gave the Tigers a 4-1 record for the first half of the season, sent the Aviators (2-2-1) down to a second straight defeat, gave them a share of the All-American conference cellar with two defeats and enabled the Tigers to climb to fourth with a 1-1 slate.

The game marked the last time for Mel Knowlton to coach an Aviator team against his alma mater. He’ll retire at the end of the season.

The contest also closed Massillon’s current home stand. The Tigers will play a third consecutive AAC game next week at Steubenville.
* * *
FOR SEVEN minutes – stretching from near the end of the third quarter to deep into the fourth – Alliance had the ball, knocking at the door from within 22 yards of the Tigers’ goal. The Orange and Black also stopped an Aviator last-ditch effort with 47 seconds left, to apply a tranquilizer to the frenzied Tiger faithful.

The WHS defense got into the pressure cooker because of fumbles. Twice Alliance fumbled back, a timely interception helped another time and a great goal line stand the fourth.

“Our defense was magnificent, but our offense was too sloppy,” Tiger Coach Bob Commings said. “If we had held onto the ball, I’m sure we could have moved it. We just don’t seem to put everything together.”

One of the key defenders for the Tigertowners was junior linebacker, Mike Mauger
(6-2, 190). In the fourth quarter, he recovered two Alliance fumbles and picked up a free ball on a backward pass.

One recovery came on the Massillon 10. Mauger literally stole the ball on the Alliance 33, but when his mates fumbled back to the Aviators he stopped their final drive on the Massillon 37 after 6-3, 180-pound senior end Rick Maxheimer had spun Alliance quarterback, Bob Knowlton around, causing his pass to move laterally and hit the ground. Mauger scooped up the ball and ran for 26 yards to the Alliance 37 from where Massillon quarterback, Gary Herring repeatedly fell on the ball to run the clock out.
* * *
THINGS BEGAN to get sticky for the Tiger defense with 58 seconds left in the third quarter when Alliance junior tackle, Gary Andreani recovered a punt fumble on the Tigers’ 10. Junior cornerback, Larry Harper knocked down a Knowlton pass from the two to kill that Alliance threat.

With Maxheimer punting from the goal line after the next series had fizzled, Alliance junior halfback, Chuck Larsuel ran back from the Massillon 30 to the 22. Senior linebacker Pat Midgley and cornerback, Jerry Sheaters ended the second threat by cutting short senior fullback Rick Trieff’s screen pass jaunt two yards from a first down on the 14.

But senior halfback Larry King recovered another Tiger fumble on the Massillon 21 on the next play. However, Mauger’s second recovery shortly afterwards aborted that threat.

By the time the contest had ended, the ball had changed hands more times, due to fumbles, than a dollar bill in a poker game. Massillon lost four of six bobbles, while Alliance saw three of four go out the window.

Massillon’s lone touchdown came after Harper had made a dangerous diving second quarter catch of an Alliance punt on the Tigers’ 39. Departing from their normal explosive offense to a grind-it-out type, the Orange and Black scored in 12 plays with senior tailback Darnell Streeter carrying five times, hard-driving senior fullback Mike Autrey, three, and Harper two.
* * *
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK Denny Franklin skirted right end on a boot pass with 5:08 left in the period. Senior ends George Golden and Ray Biery brought Franklin down short of the pylon on the identical play to the other side on the conversion try.

Massillon had one other threat going in the first quarter, but ran out of gas at the Alliance 29.

Mauger also helped cut short two other Aviator missions. His blitz in the first quarter hurried Knowlton’s throw and Streeter picked off the bomb on the Massillon 24.

In the second quarter, with Alliance on a drive from it 28 after a punt, Mauger put the breaks on Geltz on a screen pass for a four-yard loss on second down from the Massillon 21. Midgley threw Knowlton four more yards back and Trieff couldn’t catch a screen pass on fourth down.

Neither team got out of its own territory thereafter until the Alliance recovery of the late fourth quarter Tiger fumble.
* * *
INJURIES PLAYED a big part in the game, Commings felt Franklin, who got his thoughts jumbled by a hard tackle near the end of the second quarter was still groggy later in the game, causing two fumbles and that a rash of hand injuries to backs caused some more.

The others were probably caused by the Orange and Black having their backs against the wall and being over anxious, according to Commings.

Early in the second quarter Alliance lost both its starting offensive ends – Biery and Golden – hurting the Aviator offense greatly. Golden, who had a hip injury, came back near the end of the third quarter but couldn’t run his cuts. Biery, who was dazed, came back late in the second and again late in the fourth stanza. His absence also required Larsuel to do the punting.

“We were not able to take advantage of our opportunities due in good part to injures,” Coach Mel Knowlton said. “I thought sure, at half-time, that we would win. We should have won if we had had all of our kids.”

ALLIANCE – 0
Ends – Biery, Golden, Codrea.
Tackles – Crockett, Andreani, Beckwith, Rand and Ron Kuceyeski, Jones.
Guards – Gemberling, Dietrich, Brunie, Schafer, Bruderly.
Center – Kirksey
Quarterback – Knowlton.
Halfbacks – Larusel, Geltz, Hunt, King, Sloane.
Fullbacks – Trieff, Wright.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Maxheimer, Robertson, McConnaughead, Reinerts, Byelene, Lewis.
Tackles – Dorman, Benson, Celik, Bingle, Strobel.
Guards – Hout, Midgley, Jasinski, Jellel, Sims, Miller, Ferguson, McLin.
Centers – S. Luke, Ridgley, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Herring.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Harper, Sullivan, Mauger, Lombardi, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Massillon 0 6 0 0 6

SCORING SUMMARY
M – QB Denny Franklin, two-yard run.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Robert Whetstone.
Umpire – Joe Romano.
Head Linesman – John Cseh.
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle.

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. All.
First downs – rushing 10 2
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 1 3
Total first downs 12 8
Yards gained rushing 203 69
Yards lost rushing 54 15
Net yards gained rushing 149 54
Net yards gained passing 29 74
Total yards gained 173 128
Passes attempted 2-8 11-23
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 1 0
Kickoff average (yards) 2-45.5 1-38
Kickoff returns (yards) 16 27
Punt average (yards) 5-32.8 5-36.8
Punt returns (yards) 0 16
Lost fumbled ball 4-6 3-4
Yards penalized 4-53 5-45
Touchdowns rushing 1 0
Total number of plays 65 51

Mike Autry
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1968: Massillon 32, Alliance 6

Tigers’ ability to move ball tops Alliance

Hold Aviators to 5 net yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

You can’t beat good defensive football, but when the other team is matching your effort, you’d better be able to move the ball when you get the chance.

That was the difference Friday night at Hartshorn stadium in Alliance as the Massillon Tigers picked up their third consecutive victory, beating the Aviators 32-6 before an estimated 10,000 fans.

The near-capacity crowd watched the Orange and black capitalize one a couple of breaks and put together two 50-yard drives to score in each quarter except the first and jump into a tie for first place in the All-American conference with Niles McKinley. The Tigers will play at Niles next Saturday. Both are 1-0 in league play.

For Alliance it was an unhappy league debut and its second loss in four outings.
* * *
“SOMEBODY ELSE made the mistakes instead of us for a change,” Massillon Coach Bob Seaman said, adding, “Our defense hit like the devil.”

“I felt our defense played a good game, “Alliance coach Mel Knowlton commented, “but we couldn’t move the ball and errors killed us. You can’t play defense all night and expect to be great.”

“When you’re playing a team whose backs can run like Massillon’s, somebody’s bound to get loose sooner or later.”

Program Cover

The miscue, which damaged Alliance the most, came shortly before the end of the first half with Massillon leading 8-6. Punter Ray Biery had to chase an errant snap from the
28-yard line into the end zone, got back out to the three, but was stopped by end Dave Couto.

Two plays later quarterback Marc Malinowski burst through the center from the two for Massillon’s second touchdown with 26 seconds left. Tailback Jim Smith scored the second of his three conversions for a 16-6 lead. He also accounted for a six-pointer.
* * *
BOTH KNOWLTON and Seaman pointed out that a safety at this point would have been better for the Alliance cause. “That mistake really broke out backs,” Knowlton said.

The Aviators had taken a 6-0 first quarter lead when junior John Fromholtz, punting for the first time this year, saw his effort downed on the Massillon 45. Quarterback Jim Albu found end Rowland Purdy on two of the next three plays for a quick tally for Alliance. The first pass was a 14-yarder, the paydirt toss went for 28 yards with 1:48 left.

Albu chose the aerial route in a try for a conversion, but safety Chuck Stoner intercepted.

The Carnation City eleven failed to get out of its own territory again with the exception of late in the final quarter when an unsportsman like conduct penalty aided them. The Tigers held Alliance to five net yards on the ground and 81 passing for their best defensive effort of the season.

Washington high in turn picked up 142 net on the ground and 37 via the sky. Smith claimed 101 of the ground yardage in 23 tries for a 4.4 average as the Tigers spent a good part of the game in Alliance territory, running 70 plays to Alliance’s 51.
* * *
HE PUT THE TIGERS on the scoreboard with 4:29 left in the second period with a
four-yard off-tackle jaunt and gave them the lead with a conversion run on the same play. He ran all five plays in the TD march after Mark McDew had run a punt back 18 yards to the Aviator 22.

Larry Shumar’s 13-yard punt runback to the Alliance 37 in the third quarter started the Tigers towards the Promised Land once again. Malinowski aided with a 19-yard trip through the center, fumbling on the way, but tight end Tom Engler, who started his first game as a replacement for the injured Tom Robinson, recovered.

Malinowski passed to McDew in the center of the end zone from 14 yards out for the TD as the period ended. Smith smashed over right tackle for the conversion.

Guard Tim Arnott recovered a Pilot fumble on the Alliance 32 just after the start of the fourth stanza. In eight plays the “M & M Special” clicked again as Malinowski deposited the ball in McDew’s arms in the right side of the end zone with 7:36 left. Darnell Streeter scored the conversion.

Seaman explained that the Tigers were able to pass effectively in the second half because the Aviators’ defensive alignment left the passing game open.
* * *
CO-CAPTAIN and linebacker George Whitfield and safety Chuck Stoner both picked off passes in the second half and Dave Hout, a junior middle guard, grabbed a fumble in the second quarter but the steals led to nothing. The interceptions aborted Alliance drives and Whit’s runback almost resulted in a touchdown.

On the first play of the game, Purdy got loose deep in Massillon territory but couldn’t hold Albu’s pass.

“He was as open as you can ever be,” Knowlton moaned, “as open as a corn field. If you can score one like that you can really shake a team.”

MASSILLON – 32
Ends – James, Engler, Cline, Dorman, Conley.
Tackles – McGeorge, Laase, Midgley, Doll, Harris.
Guards – Whitfield, Harig, Hout, Couto, Indorf, Arnott.
Center – Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Malinowski, Herring, Fromholtz.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Shumar, K. Autrey, Hodgson, Stoner,
McLin, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – M. Autrey, Streeter, Johnson.

ALLIANCE
Ends – Beiry, Grimes, Malone, Purdy.
Tackles – Dietrich, Ferguson, Brienza, Bruderly.
Guards – Gemberling, Crockett, Post, Brunie, Horton.
Centers – Trieff, Fulop.
Quarterback – Albu.
Halfbacks – Terrell, Slifkin, Golden, Rogers, King, Young.
Fullbacks – Geltz, Petersberger.

Massillon 0 16 8 8 – 32
Alliance 6 0 0 0 – 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith, (4-yard run); Malinowski, (12-yard run); McDew 2 (8 and 13-yard passes from Malinowski).
Alliance – Purdy (26-yard pass from Albu).

Extra points: Massillon – Smith 2 (runs); Streeter 2 (runs).

THE GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs –rushing 11 1
First downs – passing 3 4
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 13 6
Yards gained rushing 152 20
Yards lost rushing 40 45
Net yards gained rushing 142 3
Net yards gained passing 37 62
Total yards gained 179 84
Passes completed 4-11 6-15
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 52 0
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average (yards) 42.2 45.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 33 29
Punt average (yards) 4-25 4-35
Punt return (yards) 38 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 35 25
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 2 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 70 51

George Whitfield
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 20, Alliance 14

Obies Deflate Aviators’ Silk 20-14

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Maybe Massillon’s Tigers weren’t as sharp as in the first 3 games and maybe they caused the faithful to overheat on a cold Dad’s night. But a victory over a Mel Knowlton-coached Alliance high team is not to be sloughed off.

The undefeated Washington high eleven got its fourth victory of the season before 11,277 fans at Tiger stadium Friday night via a 20-14 count. The spirited Aviators slipped to 2-2.

TIGER Coach Bob Seaman admitted his team was listless. “We weren’t ready,” said Seaman. “The pep rally at the high school this afternoon was the flattest I’ve ever seen.” But, at the same time he was “pleased with the way his charges came back” after spotting a “real fine” Alliance team to an 8-6 halftime lead.

Debits such as poor tackling, not enough pressure on the quarterback and broken plays went into the Obiemen’s book. But there were also credits such as some good passing, an outstanding inside ground game for good ball control and the keeping of Alliance in poor field position most of the night.

KNOWLTON pegged the field position angle as one of the most important aspects of the game. “If we could have gotten out of the hole, we’d have been in business. We had good position only twice and scored both times. It was our own fault. It’s tough to throw when you’re backed up against your own goal line.”

Seaman agreed, “We punted 5 times and they returned 5 times for about 2 yards each time. That’s decent punt coverage.”

He thought Tom Houser’s punts and Reggie Moore’s kickoffs were exceptionally good and helped put Alliance in the hole.

MOORE switched to tailback Thursday in an effort to spell junior Jim Smith who has an acing left shoulder, combined effectively with Smith off tackle and through the center. Smith netted 70 yards and 2 touchdowns in 18 tries, Moore 63 in 13.

The Orange and Black found another receiver, Houser, the tight end, who “runs well for a 230-pounder,” Seaman said.

He added, “The took away the sweep and left us with the off tackle and passing opportunities.”

SEAMAN explained the broken plays occurred because the Tigers were running a lot of automatics or changes at the line on a noisy night.

Through the years, the Tigers have had a lot of trouble with Knowlton’s off tackle and sweep plays and Friday night was no exception. Lionel Grimes, George Lear and Stan Terrell all did well. Grimes going for 42 yards in 7 tries, Lear, 38 to 8, and Terrell, 40 in 11. Terrell and Lear each scored TDs.

IT WAS A GAME of breaks as the Tigers lost a fumble early in the second quarter on the Alliance 5-yard line, recovered by Grimes. Seaman said had his Bengals gone on in to score, on the 51-yard drive, it might have been all over.

But Obieman Bill Snowball and George Whitfield recovered an Alliance fumble on the Aviator 8 early in the third quarter and scored moments afterward on what Seaman called the turning point.

Smith, bulldozer No. 1, went over on the first play, crashing right tackle with 11:54 left in the third period. Moore, bulldozer No. 2, went the same direction for a 14-8 lead.

NEITHER team got out of its own territory the remainder of the period except when Tiger quarterback Trevor Young got off a 20-yard pass-run combination to Houser good for a first down on the Alliance 42. But there the Bengal attack sputtered.

Early in the last period, Houser’s punt, a combined tackle effort by Co-Captains Young and Ron Ertle and Dave Gipp, plus an offensive interference penalty left Alliance with fourth and 16 on its 9. Marc Malinowski ran back Nick Sucaciu’s punt from the Aviator 42 to the 36. Nine plays later the Tigers had the winning score.

AIDED BY a fourth down pass from Young to a leaping junior split end Bert Dampier, the Obiemen picked up 9 yards and a first down on the 9. Moore ran through the center to the 3 and Smith carried over on the next play at 4:57. Moore missed on the conversion run.

Alliance capped the night’s scoring with 52 seconds left after an 82-yard drive in 9 plays. The big play was a 38-yard pass run combination from quarterback Kurt Utterbeck to halfback George Lear. Larry Shumar, a junior “monster” back for the Tigers, brought Lear down on the Massillon, 44 halting the TD threat for the moment. But the 6-pointer came 6 plays later, aided by a 15-yard holding penalty on the Bengals.

LEAR went off right tackle on first down from the 4 for the tally. A pass to split end Bruce Cartwright failed on the conversion try.

Massillon got on the scoreboard first during the typical Knowlton game which saw him scare the living daylights out of the Bengals.

Junior Mark McDew ran back a punt from the Tigers- 31 to the 36 to ignite a 9-play, 64-yard drive. Moore and Smith took turns running the ball. Young, who completed 4 of 8 passes during the night, hit Houser on a 13-yard, second down pass from the Alliance 37.

THREE PLAYS later Houser pulled in another Young toss on the 25, cut to the left and went the remainder of the distance for the score with 3:05 remaining in the first quarter. McDew failed to reach pay dirt on a conversion.

Alliance took an 8-6 lead into the dressing room at halftime something no other team had done to the Orange and Black this year, when junior halfback Stan Terrell, very elusive all night off tackle, scooted 17 yards through the left side with 44, seconds left. Senior end Jim Terrell caught an Utterbeck pass for the conversion.

ALLIANCE had moved 80 yards in 9 plays following a Tiger punt. Big plays were an
8-yard run by Lear, a 12-yard pass-run play to Jim Terrell, a 10-yarder to Stan Terrell and a 28-yarder to Cartwright.

Had Aviator receivers been able to hold onto passes the rest of the night as they did during this and their other scoring drive, the outcome might have been different.

The Tigers hit their first All-American High School football league opponent here next
Friday night in a tough Niles McKinley team under new Coach Fred Conti. The contest will also end the current 5-game home stand as the Bengals head for Altoona Pa., the following week.
ALLIANCE –14
Ends – Cartwright, Dailey, J. Terrell. B. Young.
Tackles – R. Trieff, Ickes, Brienza, Andreani, Weaver, Weir.
Guards – Thomas, Stanley.
Center- B. Trieff.
Quarterback – Utterbeck.
Halfbacks – Grimes, Lear, S. Terrell, Sucaciu, Williams.
Fullbacks – Banks, Wable, Slifkin.
MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Dampier, Houser, Richards, Twiggs.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase, Snyder.
Guards – Ertle, D. Gipp, Whitfield, Russell.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – T. Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Smith, R. Moore, Fenton, McDew, Evans, Autrey.
Fullbacks – Simon, M. Gipp.

Alliance 0 8 0 6 14
Massillon 6 0 8 6 20

Touchdowns: Massillon – Houser (36-yard pass-run from Young);
Smith 2 (8 and 3-yard runs).
Alliance – S. Terrell (17-yard run); Lear (4-yard run).

Extra points: Massillon – Moore 2 (run).
Alliance – J. Terrell 2 (pass from Utterbeck).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 8 7 0.9
Moore 13 63 4.9
Smith 18 70 3.9
McDew 7 26 3.7

Alliance
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Grimes 7 42 6.0
Lear 8 38 4.8
Terrell 11 40 3.7

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 8
First downs – passing 4 5
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 15 14
Yards gained rushing 132 134
Yards lost rushing 11 14
Net yards gained rushing 151 120
Net yards gained passing 76 128
Total yards gained 247 248
Passes completed 4-8 7-17
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 12 0
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.2 30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 27 58
Punt average (yards) 5-33.0 6-31.0
Punt return (yards) 23 2
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Yards penalized 3-35 4-38
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 62 52

OFFICIALS
Referee – John Cseh.
Umpire – Dr. Robert Schotz.
Head Linesman – Pete Lanigan.
Field Judge – Charles Lorenze.

Attendance: 11,277

Ron Ertle
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1966: Massillon 24, Alliance 12

Tigers Have Scare But Beat Alliance 24-12
Pass First Test For Title-Comeback

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The most irritating thing to a feline is a thorn in the paw. And for the Massillon Tiger there’s no thorn sharper than a Mel Knowlton-coached Alliance high grid team.

But as their namesake will work incessantly to rid himself of a thorn, so the Massillon Tigers kept at it at rain-soaked Harshorn stadium in Alliance Friday night until they had clawed out a 24-12 victory. The Bengals’ third win in a 4-game slate, marred only by a tie, meant the first step on the road back towards a third straight state title.
* * *

Program Cover

WITH THE MEAT of their schedule coming up in the 6 remaining weeks, the Bengals must not falter now. A loss coupled with the tie would lessen their chances.

Friday’s contest was typical of Knowlton, the former Tiger quarterback. He put the Bengals’ pass defense to a tough test before the 8,000 fans despite the constant rain.

And the Bengal secondary had its troubles against the tricky play-action passes. However, most of the aerials completed were of the short flat variety. None-the-less, they helped Alliance out-gain Massillon 263 yards to 243 and loosened up the Obiemen to help the Aviators’ running game.

However, Massillon had the best of it on the ground 233-79. Co-captains Tommy James, playing both halfback slots, and fullback Will Foster did some great off tackle and trap running with the help of good blocking. The Bengals got only 10 yards in the air to the Aviators’ 184.

The Bengals were helped in their victory by a big break in the fourth quarter. Midway through, punter, Harley Dickinson was roughed on fourth down. That, coupled with another 15-yarder for unsportsmanlike conduct on Knowlton following a hotly debated encroachment penalty on Alliance, gave Massillon first and 10 on the Alliance 30.
* * *

MASSILLON was temporarily set back by a 15-yard illegal use of the hands penalty. Two plays later junior halfback Bill Simon took a pitchout on second and 16, started right, found his way clogged and cut back to the left behind fine blocking and went 35 yards to end the night’s scoring with 2:49 left. A pass to sophomore end Jim Smith on the conversion attempt failed.

“The penalties helped put the icing on the cake,” Tiger Coach Bob Seaman said. “Our kids held-up to a tough challenge well. The roughing penalty hurt us,” Knowlton said. “There was no reason for it. That killed us because they had to punt.”

Alliance opened the scoring at 5:13 of the first quarter. The Tigers had moved from the Aviator 31 to the 24-yard line following a punt snap, but lost the ball on downs.

Five plays later Zupanic faked a handoff and jumped a second and 9 pass from his 35 to end Finis Dailey who scampered 60 yards straight through Massillon’s secondary for the score. Zupanic couldn’t get another jumper off on the conversion try.

Massillon had a drive fizzle at the Alliance 27 after a pass interception by Cliff Banks. Punter Jim Krenzer’s daring 2-yard sneak on fourth down at the Alliance 46 had kept the foray going.
* * *

THE ORANGE and Black got the equalizer with 5:06 left in the first half when Foster went over left guard from the one on third and 5 after an 11-play, 61-yard drive featuring the running of Foster and James. A Craig Maurer to James pitchout failed for the conversion.

The Tigers’ made it 12-6 when safety John McFadden returned the second half kickoff 85 yards up the center and cut it to the left side. James missed the conversion on a pitchout to the left.

A 14-yard runback by Dale Gallion gave Massillon the ball on its 34 after Alliance was stopped on the Massillon 49. The Tigers marched the distance in 8 plays with Foster and James doing most of the advancing. On first down from the 17, Maurer faked inside and handed to James who swept left for the tally at 4:32. Maurer tried to pass to Simon for the conversion with no success.

Alliance used up the remaining time in the third period and a couple of minutes in the fourth getting to the Massillon 3 where the Bengals stiffened and held them. Twice in the series, Zupanic got off fourth down passes on long yardage plays for first downs. One aerial went to halfback Bob Ramsey, the other to end Al Thigpen.

But disaster stuck in the next series. Kenzer had to punt from the end zone with a bad snap. Halfback Ray Muniz fell on the loose ball at the Tigers’ 21.
* * *

FIVE PLAYS later Ramsey went through the middle on second and 7 from the 8 with 6:39 remaining. A pass to end Emerson Young for the conversion backfired.

Then came the last score for the Bengals.

But Alliance wasn’t through. A Tiger fumble on their 40 recovered by junior Tom Ickes gave Alliance the ball on Massillon’s 45. Three plays later the clock ran out.

Knowlton thought his team was getting better each game. Their performance against the Tigers brought Alliance the most yardage gained by the Aviators this season. They had gained only 53 yards in the air previously.

Seaman said there were not drastic changes made at halftime. “We just blocked a little better and ran a little harder in the second half,” he said. “And that run of McFadden’s really kicked us off. He did a real good job. He’s got guts.
* * *

HE CONTINUED “Simon got off a nice run on his touchdown. He cut back beautifully and got by the pursuit.”

Both coaches thought the other had a fine football team.

The Tigers journey to Riverside stadium in Niles next Saturday, where the Red Dragons have been undefeated for 7 years. Massillon puts its 31 game unbeaten streak on the line in an All-American league contest.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Liggett, Smith, Sterling, Kraft, Gallion, Griffin, Moyer, Richards.
Tackles – Houser, Sherrett, Campbell, Snowball, Ricker, Turley.
Guards – Neago, Russell, Porrini, Beiter, Hauenstein, White, Somogy.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Henderson, Young, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Punters – Krenzer, Dickinson.
Fullback – Foster.

ALLIANCE – 12
Ends – Dailey, E. Young, Thigpen.
Tackles – R. Young, Johnson, Harshman, Andreani.
Guards –Gaul, Thomas, McCoy.
Center – Koch.
Quarterbacks – Zupanic, Libis, Utterback.
Halfbacks – Ramsey, Lear, Muniz.
Punter – Sucacui.

Massillon 0 6 12 6 24
Alliance 6 0 0 6 12

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster (one-yard run);
McFadden (85-yard second half kickoff return);
James (17-yard run);
Simon (30-yard run).
Alliance – Dailey (65-yard pass-run play from Zupanic); Ramsey (8-yard run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Octavio Sirgo (Canton).
Umpire – Carl Spennard (Cuyahoga Falls).
Head Linesman – John Cseh (Akron).
Field Judge – Carl Emmerich (Cuyahoga Falls).

Attendance: 8,000
THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 11 8
First downs – passing 1 5
First downs – penalties 2 0
Total first downs 14 13
Yards gained rushing 233 114
Yards lost rushing 0 35
Net yards gained rushing 233 79
Net yards gained passing 10 184
Total yards gained 343 263
Passes attempted 3 18
Passes completed 1 10
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 54.5 42.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 107 160
Times punted 1 3
Punt average (yards) 12.0 32.3
Punt return (yards) 45 0
Fumbles 2 0
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 5 8
Yards penalized 45 60
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 49 59

Will Foster
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1965: Massillon 22, Alliance 6

Tigers Surprise Selves With 4 Fumbles
Win Over Alliance Comes Hard

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It was a typical Massillon-Alliance game – rough, rugged and marked by that usual Mel Knowlton surprise. The Aviators, once again, were as irritating as that grain of sand which brings on a pearl in an oyster.

Traditionally Alliance gives the Tigers cause for thought. And you can be sure Coach Earle Bruce will have his charges doing just that in the coming week following their 22-6 win before 12,199 fans at Tiger stadium Friday night.

Program Cover

Bruce hit the proverbial nail on the head after the game when he said, “We’ll find out next week if the Tigers are really Tigers. We’re challenged. Niles is coming into our territory.”

He added, thoughtfully, “This team hasn’t been up for a game yet. I’m anxious to see what we can do when we’re up.”

Although the Washington high team had its troubles, the Bengals must be given a pat on the back for holding the Aviators at bay despite 6 bad breaks.

“We had 4 fumbles and 2 pass interceptions,” Bruce said, “but we won the game. I’m pleased with the boys on this count because Alliance played a whale of a game!”

* * * * *

ALLIANCE, known for its end sweeps, made a lot of yardage that way, especially on pitchouts to senior halfback Bruce Walker running behind fine interference. “They’re running away from our monster,” Bruce explained. (The Aviators ran to their weak side with Walker gaining 91 yards.)

“There was one time when they must have swept into the sidelines 13 of 15 times,” Bruce said. “But there was no major breakthrough. They had to work for everything they got. We really hit them hard.”

Bruce was unhappy about his pass rushing. “We didn’t contain their passer well at all,” he explained.

The Aviator passer, junior quarterback Larry Libis, was the 1965 Knowlton surprise. He had played in only one offensive play before Friday night.

“We had to gamble on Libis,” Knowlton said. “He looks like he’s going to be a good one.”

The 6-foot, 155-pounder handled the ball well, should be a good passer with more experience, and scrambled well when rushed. Twice he got away for long gains on broken plays.

Bruce also lauded Libis. “He looks like a real find,” the Earle of Tigertown said.

Knowlton was very happy with his charges. “Our kids battled all the way,” he said. “They played a good game for the first time this year.”

Knowlton thought gang tackling and pursuit on the part of his team was good. “They played well defensively,” he said. “They had to; Massillon has such strong runners and that Sheegog is tough.”

* * * * *

THE GAME turned out to be a ground war with Massillon out-rushing Alliance 221 net yards to 151. Neither team passed much but the Tigers got 2 of their 3 touchdowns via the aerial route and a pass set up another.

Massillon completed 5 of 10 aerial attempts for 90 yards, Alliance 5 of 12 for 44. Total yardage was 311-195. First downs were close, 13-10.

The Tigers got yardage almost everywhere they ran but could use better blocking. The Aviators stuck to the outside after they found the likes of middle guard Fred Williams and linebackers Paul Marks, Will Foster, John Rose and Rick Richards stacking things up.

The Orange and Black was its own worst enemy for the first half, losing all 4 of its fumbles before the intermission, killing promising drives 3 times and a possible scoring setup the fourth. Two of the fumbles gave Alliance the ball, in Massillon territory, one time necessitating a great goal line stand by the defending state champions.

Alliance had almost twice as many plays as Massillon in the first half, 39-22. Total for the game was 64-50 in favor of the Aviators who displayed a fine possession game.

As Bruce remarked, “they sure kept the ball from us and you can’t score without the ball.”

Bill Williams ran the opening kickoff back 16 yards for the Tigers to their 43 as Alliance booted short and low to keep the ball away from Dave Sheegog. Will Foster broke around left end on the first play and raced 47 yards to the Alliance 10.

* * * * *

THE FIRST BENGAL fumble came on the next play. Sophomore Lionel (Doody) Grimes recovered on the 13. But on second down Tiger tackles, Co-Captain Terry Manson and Dick Hartley threw Libis back to the 5.

Alliance Co-Captain Charles Codrea, who had done all the quarterbacking for the first 3 games, punted on fourth down. A fumble resulted on the Alliance 38 where Co-Captain Tim Admonius recovered but the Aviators couldn’t move the pigskin.

The Tigers couldn’t either but on the series following the next punt they were touchdown bound. Sheegog came up with a 15-yard runback to the Bengal 43. “Sweet Walter” Lemon raced off tackle 18 more on the first play to the Alliance 39.

Sheegog hit end Rick Paige with a short pass to the 34. Lemon shot off tackle again for the score with 2:56 left in the first quarter. Sheegog faked to Manson and went left for the conversion.

Shortly after the start of the second quarter the WHS team started out of its own territory after a punt only to fumble on the Alliance 46. Isaac Wright recovered for the Pilots on their 47.

Then Walker started circling the ends on the pitch with key passes of 13 yards to junior Bob Ramsey and 5 yards to Grimes, playing his first game offensively and with an ankle sprained earlier in the week. But with fourth down on the three, Tiger co-captain end Dave Whitfield threw Libis back to the 18.

MASSILLON STARTED another promising drive but fumbled on its 35 with junior Dick McCoy recovering for Alliance on the 39. The Tiger defense stiffened again with time running out in the half and Alliance taking to the air.

The Tigers took over on their 33 with 1:51 remaining. Sheegog completed to Paige for 35 yards to the Alliance 32 with “Ramblin Rick” running 18 of the yards and Libis finally making a shirt-tail tackle to prevent a score for the time being.

Lemon ran to the 30 and then Sheegog let fly to Paige in the end zone on a post pattern with 1:19 left. Sheegog ran the conversion on the same play on which he converted in the first period.

Junior Ron Muhlbach made sure Alliance didn’t get far on the kick runback, ramming Carl Dunn into the grass at the 6 about a minute before the half ended.

Alliance got its only touchdown by driving 54 yards after the second half kickoff. Grimes ran back 18 yards. Then Walker started churning around the ends again and finally scored around the left side from the 2 with 5:30 left. Ramsey tried to go around right end for the conversion but was felled by a pack of Obiemen.

The Aviators got out of their own territory only once after that in the second half. Massillon penetrated Alliance territory 4 times but Gene Jenkins intercepted a pass on his 20 and Libis saved one in the end zone on what looked like a sure TD to scotch Tiger plans. The latter interception came after Manson had recovered a fumble on the 26.

* * * * *

THE FIRST play of the fourth quarter was a punt, which was grounded on the Massillon 39. Sheegog, Lemon, Manson and Foster took turns grinding out yardage on a 61-yard scoring jaunt.

A second down pass to Lemon from Sheegog for 12 yards and a first down on the 11 helped set the stage for the score. Two passes from the 9 were incomplete after a running play. Then Sheegog found Tommy James in the center of the end zone on fourth down even though “Dandy Dave’s” arm was hit. A pitch-play for the conversion failed.

Alliance had one more try after the kickoff but lost the ball on downs on the Massillon 32 with 1:30 left.

The win was the fourth straight this season for Massillon, 22 straight dating back to 1963 and 22 straight at home dating back to 1962. It was the third straight over Alliance.

Bruce’s personal string is at 37 counting the August All-Star game.

ALLIANCE – 6
Ends – Jenkins, Lloyd.
Tackles – Amonius, Wright, Jones, McCoy.
Guards – Artino, Hardy, Woods.
Centers – Popa, Lear.
Quarterbacks – Codrea, Libis.
Halfbacks – Dunn, Ramsey, Baucum, Ross, Grimes.
Fullback – Walker.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Paige, B. Williams, McGuire, Gallion, Griffin.
Tackles – Petroff, Campbell, Hartley, Neago, Sherrett.
Guards – Richards, Whitifield, Ross, Kraft.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Maurer, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Lemon, Foster, James, Smith, McLendon,
McFadden, Healy.
Fullback – Manson.

Score by Quarters:
Alliance………….. 0 0 0 6 – 6
Massillon …………8 8 0 6 – 22

Touchdowns: Massillon – Lemon (34-yard run); Paige (30-yard pass
from Sheegog); James (9-yard pass from Sheegog).
Alliance – Walker (2-yard run).

Extra points: Massillon – Sheegog 4 (runs).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Umpire – Joe Romano (Mansfield).
Head Linesman – John Agnone (Youngstown).
Field Judge – Bob Ferguson (Marion).

Statistics
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 10 8
First downs—passing 3 2
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 231 187
Yards lost rushing 10 36
Net yards gained rushing 221 151
Net yards gained passing 90 44
Total yards gained 311 195
Passes attempted 10 12
Passes completed 5 5
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 20
Times kicked off 4 2
Kickoff average (yards) 48.2 40
Kickoff returns (yards) 49 53
Times punted 1 5
Punt average (yards) 37.0 30.6
Punt returns (yards) 16 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 3
Lost fumbled ball 4 1
Penalties 1 2
Yards penalized 5 30
Touchdowns rushing 1 1
Touchdowns passing 2 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Total number of plays 50 64

Dave Whitfield
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 26, Alliance 8

Massillon Rolls Over Alliance 26-8

Tiger Ground Game Pulverizes Aviators

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The Massillon Tiger ground game geared into high Friday night to crush the Alliance Aviators 26-8 before an estimated 12,000 fans at Hartshorn field in Alliance. It was the worst beating the Tigers have given Alliance on its home field since 1950 when Massillon won 29-7.

With halfbacks Bob Hewitt and Ed Herring darting and fullback Jim Lawrence battering through the Alliance line, the Tigers rolled up 271 yards and three touchdowns on the ground against Mel Knowlton’s game but outmuscled squad.

However, it was the Massillon air arm, which goes into action about as often as the Slobovian air force in an Al Capp comic strip, that came up with the key play of the game.

Trailing 8-6 in the second quarter with a 4th and 12 on the Alliance 17, quarterback Steve Kanner flipped a 14-yard pass to end Rick Paige. The lanky Paige gathered the ball in on the three and skip-stepped into the end zone for the score that put the Tigers ahead to stay. Jim Lawrence plowed over for the extra points making the score 14-8.

Massillon Coach Earle Bruce thought the pass, the first the Tigers tried last night, was the key play of the game. Knowlton, when asked if he felt the same, said, “It didn’t help things.”

THE MASSILLON defense, kept loose while looking for Alliance passes and sweeps, wasn’t as sharp as in previous games. But it did provide the Tigers with their first scoring opportunity early in the first quarter.

Alliance took the kick off to its own 38. Two tries at the Massillon line yielded no gain and with 3rd and 8 Bruce Robb, the dandy Alliance quarterback found his favorite target, end Jeff Zumbar, with a pass about the 30. However, linebacker and co-captain John Muhlbach took the ball from Zumbar’s hands and returned it to the Tiger 37.

Bob Hewitt, playing his best game to date, picked up 21 yards on a burst through the middle to the Alliance 16. Herring picked up 2 and Hewitt again scrambled through the Alliance line for 9 yards. He picked up another yard before Lawrence gunned over for the score from the 4. The Tigers had 6 points on the scoreboard 3:36 into the game. A run by Hewitt failed to net the extra points.

Alliance moved from its own 44 to the Massillon 35 with the aid of a 17-yard pass from Robb to zumbar before the drive ran out of downs. A 15-yard personal foul penalty and a 5-yard offside penalty stalled a Massillon drive and forced the Tigers to punt for the first and only time.

Alliance took the ball on its own 32 and started an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive
high-lighted by 30-yard pass from Robb to end Dave Wolpert and 28-yard run by Robb who took off when he couldn’t find an open receiver, getting to the Tiger 25. Halfback Gary Rasile picked up 13 to the 14-yard line and the Aviators wound up on the 13 at the quarter.

TWO PLAYS later Alliance was at the Tiger 2 from where Carl Dunn swept his left end for the touchdown tying the score. The Aviators went ahead on a pass from Robb to end Tom Offenbecher that went through the outstretched hands of Tiger safetyman Nick Pribich.

The Tiger ground game came into play as Massillon crunched out 43 yards to 9, with Hewitt getting 19 yards, Herring 22 and Lawrence 12. With 3 and 3 on the Alliance 9, Massillon was penalized 15-yards for holding, moving the ball to the 21 from the spot of the foul at the 6. Herring picked up 4, which left 4th and 17 and brought up the key Kanner to Paige touchdown pass and the lead again.

The Tigers took the second half kickoff and went 66-yards in 12 plays with Ed Herring’s 35-yard run to Alliance 19 high lighting the march. Paul Shanor, Hewitt and Lawrence moved the ball to the 7, Herring picked up 23 yards in 2 carries to the 3 from where Hewitt scooted over for the touchdown with 5:28 remaining.

Alliance moved from its own 28 to the 45 with the aid of a 22-yard pass from Robb to Dunn before being forced to punt. Robb punted to Dave Sheegog on the 15 and the junior quarterback returned it to the 27 from where the Tigers went 73 yards in 11 plays.
Back-to-back runs of 16 and 20 yards by Lawrence and Herring, respectively, put the ball on the 14 at the quarter. Four runs put the ball on the 1, but Massillon was penalized to the 6 for being offside. Herring moved the ball to the 2 from where Hewitt scored through the middle for the final tally of the game.

Alliance came back with 5 first downs in 6 plays to move from its own 19 to the Massillon 12, but the Tiger defense took over, held two line smashes to no gain, gave up 6 to the 6 and then smeared Robb for a 9-yard loss on the 15.

The Tigers moved to the 32 where a Sheegog pass was intercepted. With 59 seconds left, Alliance tried to pass, but it was incomplete. Robb ran the ball to the 35, going out of bounds to stop the clock. Robb tried to run out of bounds again and did but was hit. This was a costly attempt for Alliance. Robb was hurt on the play and may be lost to the Aviators for a good while because of a damaged knee.

With 17 seconds left, the Aviators never got off another play. The Aviators may also lose first- string guard Mike Cindia with knee trouble. He was hit on a vicious block by Dave Whitfield on a kickoff play. Both boys were to be x-rayed today. Also out indefinitely with cracked ribs is end Jeff Zumbar.

Mel knowlton credited his team with fighting all the way. “We just weren’t big enough. Massillon’s going to be tough for anyone to beat,” said the veteran Alliance coach. “They’re very strong physically. They hit quick and are experienced.”
COACH EARLE BRUCE was pleased with the Tiger backfield. “They must have wanted to be back of the week,” he said, referring to last week’s game against Mansfield when no back was selected for the weekly honors because of 5 fumbles. Informed the Tigers hadn’t fumbled at all against the Aviators, Bruce grinned a happy “Wonderful.”

And that sums up the victory.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Franklin, Garcia, Paige, Goodnough, Williams, Gilmore, Hoffman.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge.
Guards – T. Whitfield, Larsuel, D. Whitfield.
Centers – Muhlbach, Biddle, Rambaud.
Backs – Kanner, Sheegog, Hewitt, Herring, Lawrence, Manson, Pribich,
Shanor, Schaar, Conti, Lemon, Marks.

ALLIANCE – 8
Ends – Zumbar, Wolpert, Offenbecher, Lloyd, Ross, Jenkins.
Tackles – Beall, Admonious, Hahlen.
Guards – Candusso, Lyons, Irwin, Cindia, Ramsayer.
Centers – Allen, Garns.
Backs – Robb, Rasile, Cundiff, Dunn, Codrea, Haskins, Bossert,
Penturf, Ross, Wright, Wood, Lear.

MASSILLON………… 6 8 6 6 – 26
ALLIANCE ………….. 0 8 0 0 – 8

Scoring – Massillon: Touchdowns – Lawrence (run, 4 yards);
Paige (pass from Kanner, 17 yards);
Hewitt 2 (runs, 3 and 2 yards).
Extra Points – Lawrence 2 (run).

Alliance – Touchdowns – Dunn (run, 2 yards).
Extra Points – Offenbecher 2 (pass from Robb).

Officials:
Nick Fracella (Akron), referee.
C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls), umpire.
Tony Grant (Loudonville), field judge.
John Holzbach (Youngstown), head linesman.

Statistics
M A
First downs—rushing 15 6
First downs—passing 2 8
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 12
Yards gained rushing 272 129
Yards lost rushing 1 23
Net yards gained rushing 271 106
Net yards gained passing 52 116
Total yards gained 323 222
Passes attempted 5 12
Passes completed 2 6
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 43.6 38.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 24 85
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 36 31
Punt returns (yards) 14 4
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 4 1
Yards penalized 40 5
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 57 44

John Mulbach
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 28, Alliance 0

Tigers Gain Prestige By Blasting Alliance
Punt Returns By Bill Blunt Set Up 28-0 Victory For Bengals

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Oh how sweet it is!!!

The Massillon Tigers waited a long time for this one 365 days to be exact. But they got their revenge.

The Washington high school team shut out Alliance 28-0 before the season’s largest crowd at Tiger stadium Friday night. Handing the No. 2-ranked team in the state its first loss in four games before 16,932 fans is sure to give the fifth-ranked Bengals’ stock in the race for the state championship a big boost.

The Bengals (3-1) proved that when the chips are down you don’t bet against them, for there’s nothing as ferocious as an aroused Tiger.

Program Cover

The statistics may not show much difference between the teams. But cold figures can’t measure team spirit and desire. And the Orange and Black put forth a tremendous team effort to put the Tigers ahead in the scoring column where it counts.
* * *
ALLIANCE can have some solace, however, in the fact that it out rushed Massillon 139-121 in net yardage. But the Bengals got 49 yards through the air, completing four of six passes. The Aviators collected only nine yards through the air, connecting only one of five passes.

Coach Leo Strang of Massillon was all smiles as he praised the Tigers’ team effort. He especially patted senior wingback Bill (Rabbit) Blunt and junior lineman Larry Larsuel on their respective backs. “Didn’t Blunt run well,” he said, “and that Larsuel, he played guard, linebacker and middle guard and did a tremendous job at all three spots.

Blunt was the leading ground-gainer for the Tigers, with 38 yards rushing and 124 on two punt runbacks, one for a touchdown and the other almost for a score. “We worked like heck on those kick returns,” Strang said, “and it paid off.”

He commented on his team’s pass coverage, saying that he was very happy with the way his three deep men, Blunt, senior Floyd (Duke) Pierce and either senior Tom Gatsios or senior Grady Eckard, depending upon the rotation, kept the Aviators from uncorking the bomb.
* * *
ALLIANCE coach Mel Knowlton had his comments on his passing game. “We don’t have any real good receivers so we can’t rely on our passing game too much. Leo knew this and defended us accordingly.”

He felt that Massillon had “too much overall speed for his team.” He said, “We had boys in the open several times but just couldn’t spring them loose.”

He was happy with the way a reverse play was working all the time, enabling senior wingback Win Young and senior left halfback John Blaser to eat up a lot of yardage. Senior quarterback Doug Wade handled the ball nicely, faking well to the first man and handing to the second one through to fool the Tigers for quite awhile.

Blaser picked up 89 yards in 10 carries, Young 73 in 21.

Orange And Black Takes Kickoff, Marches To T.D.

Massillon got into the scoring column quickly, taking the opening kickoff and marching 65 yards for the score. The drive used 15 plays. There were four first downs.

Tailback Terry Getz capped the drive with 5:11 remaining in the first quarter, going off tackle from inches away. Wingback Bill Blunt missed the conversion.

The Orange and Black had moved all the way on the ground with the exception of one
left-handed pass from Getz which short side end Pierce couldn’t hold while out in the clear.
* * *
BLUNT CONTRIBUTED two fine runs, one on the reverse. He moved 17 yards from the Alliance 42 to the 25 and 19 yards from the 22 to the nine.

Three plays later Getz had his score. A half-the-distance penalty for offside put the ball with the nose almost touching the goal line on third down after two quarterback sneaks had failed.

Near the end of the period, Alliance halfback John Blaser got hit hard on his 40, fumbled and Gatsios, a Tiger cornerback, hopped on the ball at the 39. Seven plays and two first downs later it was touchdown again for the Tigers.

Lawrence dived off tackle with 35 seconds remaining. Getz threw to Blunt to make it 14-0.

Two big pass plays were the keys in this drive. Swartz tossed to Blunt on a play covering 20 yards from the Alliance 39 to the 19. Swartz connected with Pierce for 11 yards from the 17 to the six four plays later.

Alliance Holds Ball Most Of Second Quarter

Alliance had the ball for almost the entire second quarter except for four plays just after the 7:48 mark. The Tigers had moved from their 35 where an Aviator drive stalled thanks to a fourth down pass being knocked down by linebacker Ken Swisher.

But on fourth down on the Alliance 43, guard Ray Ketler stole the ball from Lawrence and raced back to the Massillon 31. Alliance moved to the six in 10 plays with two first
downs – a distance of 26 yards. There another fourth down pass was incomplete thanks to a good rush by the Tigers.
* * *
KNOWLTON considered this the turning point of the game. He felt that if his charges had been able to score here, they might have been able to come back.

However, Strang felt that the Tigers’ recovery of Alliance’s first period fumble enabling Massillon to get two quick touchdowns in succession fired up his boys for the victory.

The Tigers scored once in the third quarter and almost made pay dirt twice. Alliance took the kickoff which started the period and started a drive from its 29. However, successive offside and holding penalties set the Aviators back to their 40. Wade stepped back to punt.

His boot carried to the Massillon 25. Blunt picked it up and set sail for the south goal line. He cut to the west sideline, picked up his blocking nicely, ran about 20 yards, cut back to the middle and was gone for the score like an orange whirlwind. His interference was terrific, bowling Aviators over like ten pins.

Swartz missed Blunt on a conversion pass. The score was 20-0 with 8:21 remaining.

Kanner Gets Off Long Punt
To The One Foot Line

On the third play after Dave Paul’s left-footed kickoff, Tom Gatsios intercepted a pass on the Alliance 41. The Tigers moved to the 25 but Swartz was thrown for a 12-yard loss to the 37. Kanner made his only punt of the night.

The Alliance secondary let the pigskin roll. Guard Clyde Castile tipped the ball on the one. Blunt fell on it on the one-foot line to put the Aviators in a real hole.

However, they were able to move the ball out to the 17 thanks to the elusive running of Young and Blaser. A five-yard delay penalty put the ball on the 22, setting the stage for Blunt’s second electrifying runback as Wade booted again.

Blunt let the ball roll on his 42, picked it up and ferreting out his blockers again expertly, took off along the west sidelines, getting to the Alliance seven as the quarter ended.

Four plays later Massillon had its final six-pointer with 10:38 left in the game. Getz blasted through the center on fourth and two. Gatsios passed to Pierce for the extra two points.

Young and Blaser took over again after the kickoff and moved the ball from the Alliance 29 to the Massillon 43 before being stopped on downs. They took 4:19 to accomplish this.

There were 6:05 left when the Orange and Black got its hands on the ball again. In nine plays with three first downs, Massillon got to the Alliance five. Twenty and 12-yard passes to Pierce from Swartz and Gatsios and successive runs of eight and 10 yards by Getz helped the march.

But Swartz was thrown for a seven-yard loss to the 12 and the clock ran out on the Bengals who had no timeouts left.

The WHS eleven will take off on its second road trip next week, going south to Steubenville to open play in the new All-American High School football league.

ALLIANCE – 0
Ends – Dawson, Cundiff, Doty, Yukick and Ross.
Tackles – G. Fraraccio, Beal and Shonk.
Guards – M. Fraraccio, Ketler, Cindio and Irwin.
Centers – Fugatt, Allen and Shilling.
Quarterback – Wade.
Halfbacks – Young, Blaser, Connell and Spivey.
Fullbacks – Rasile, Woolpert and Penturf.

MASSILLON – 28
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Goodnough, Jones, McAllister and Gilmore.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Lash, Paul, Morgan, Binge and Passalacqua.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Rivera, Swisher, Mulhbach, Roderick, Paflas, Mathias and T. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Frieg.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 14 0 6 8 28
Alliance 0 0 0 0 0

Touchdowns – Getz (one-foot and two-yard runs); Lawrence (three-yard run); Blunt (75-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Pierce (passes from Getz and Gatsios).

Officials
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Pete Lannigan (Columbus).
Head Linesman – Bill Shaughnessy – (Akron).
Field Judge – Tony Grant (Loudonville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 7 7
First downs, passing 4 1
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 11 8
Yards gained rushing 144 155
Yards lost rushing 23 16
Net yards gained rushing 121 139
Yards gained passing 49 9
Total yards gained 170 148
Passes attempted 6 5
Passes completed 4 1
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average (yards) 49.0 45.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 20 60
Times punted 1 2
Punt average (yards) 35.0 35.0
Punt returns (yards) 124 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 1 5
Yards penalized. 5 41

Bill Blunt