Tag: <span>Arlin Field</span>

History

2005: Massillon 27, Findlay 20

Massillon secures date with rival

By JOE SHAHEEN

As Lanale Robinson led the Tiger Swing Band in the alma mater, Massillon head coach Tom Stacy had his head down. He was deep in thought, no doubt pondering the Tigers upcoming regional championship game on Saturday against unbeaten Canton McKinley.

Clearly Stacy wasn’t happy with what he had just witnessed as the Tigers knocked off a game and feisty Findlay team 27-20 at Arlin Field in Mansfield last Saturday night in front of 12,264 paying customers.

“We have to play much better to even have a chance next week,” Stacy said. “There’s no question about that.

“We came back tonight but we didn’t play very well. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of goofy penalties. We did some stuff tonight that we hadn’t done all year. That was kind of disappointing. But it’s a win. That’s all you can say.”

It was a heart-stopping win, one marred by penalties and mental mistakes uncharacteristic of two teams playing in the 12th week of the season.

Findlay looked to be beaten when it got the ball back on its own 22 with 1:22 to play. But the Trojans pulled the old hook and ladder play out of mothballs and if not for a heroic effort by Brian Gamble to run down Findlay’s Caleb Enright at the 3-yard line, the game would have gone into overtime.

“(Gamble) has made big plays for us all year and that was big,” Stacy said.

Findlay still had time to get it in the end zone. A short completion to Enright in the left flat came up a yard short and with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Trojan quarterback Chris Schneider tried to sneak it in instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock.

The middle of the Tiger defensive line did not yield and Massillon had survived to play another week.

“There’ll be so many ‘what ifs?’, I don’t know if I’ll ever watch this film, I swear,” said Findlay head coach Cliff Hite. “We had them. They had us. We had a shot. That’s all you can ask for.

“We wanted to spike the ball but he didn’t get the right signal. It happens. That’s high school football. When you go no huddle with no time outs, that’s what you’ve got to do.”

It should never have come to that but the Tigers were their own worst enemy all night long. They were penalized 10 times for 97 yards, including no fewer than three \”roughing the kicker\” flags and three other personal fouls.

Massillon also lost three fumbles, one at the Findlay 13-yard line.

“We’re down here with a chance to put it away and we fumble the snap,” Stacy said. “We haven’t fumbled a snap all year and we fumbled two tonight. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

Findlay led 10-7 at halftime, controlling the football for 17 of the first 24 minutes of play.

The Trojans went up 17-7 after a 52-yard punt return by Zack Kraus set up an 8-yard Schneider to Andrew Leddy touchdown pass at 9:38 of the third quarter.

Then Massillon woke up, marching 65 yards in nine plays with Gamble covering the final half yard for the touchdown. Steve Schott tacked on the point after to make it Findlay 17, Massillon 14 at 6:07 of the third quarter.

Tiger junior defensive back Michael Porrini recovered a Findlay fumble on the second play of the Trojans ensuing possession, setting Massillon up at the Findlay 29.

Bobby Huth, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 102 yards on the night, rolled right on first down and connected with Zack Vanryzin at the 8-yard line and the senior wideout did the rest to give the Tigers their first lead of the night at 21-17 with more than five minutes still to play in the third.

Massillon then forced Findlay into a three-and-out series, and the Tigers took over at their own 20 after the Trojan punt.

On first down, Huth took the snap and looked to be optioning right, but instead pitched the ball to Robinson on a reverse. The senior tailback turned the corner and sprinted down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion made it Massillon 27, Findlay 17 at 3:20 of the third.

“I’m upset the way we let the third quarter go,” Hite said. “When we got up 17-7, it was almost like we let up a little bit and Massillon turned it up about 15 notches.”

“We tried to,” Stacy responded. “We needed to. We told the kids at halftime we needed to. It was kind of like we were playing in a fog the first half.”

The lone fourth quarter tally came when Findlay marched from its 10 to the Massillon 7, then settled for Brandon Walker’s 24-yard field goal with just under five minutes to play.

The Tigers tried to run out the clock but the plucky Findlay defense forced a Massillon punt with 1:22 to play.

“We’re 11-1 and we have a chance for a rematch now and we’ll see what happens,” Stacy said. “To play like that and get a win, we were fortunate.

“We got the rematch but we have to do something about it. We have to play better. We have to up our play to have a chance (against McKinley), that’s for sure.”

GAME STATS

Antonio James
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2005: Massillon 55, Mansfield Senior 0

Tigers dominate Mansfield

By GREG KOHNTOPP
Greg.Kohntopp@indeonline.com

The Massillon Tigers didn’t have a letdown a week after defeating Greater Catholic League power Elder. The Tigers rolled up 465 total yards Friday, defeating the Mansfield Tygers 55-0 at Arlin Stadium to improve to 3-0.

Like a week ago, when the Tigers intercepted the Elder quarterback six times, the defense had sticky fingers. The Tigers picked off three passes against the Tygers (1-2), all of which eventually led to touchdowns.

First-year Massillon head coach Tom Stacy said he has never coached a team that intercepted nine passes in a two-game stretch.

“We have a good secondary,” said Stacy. “We’re also going to see some good quarterbacks. Ignatius has a real good quarterback, and I’m sure Mentor’s is going to be a good challenge. But our secondary is solid. We were able to see that in the 7-on-7’s this summer.”

Senior defensive back Neil James started the interception party by picking off a Justin Greene pass at the Tigers’ 24-yard line on the opening possession of the game. The Tigers then marched 76 yards on eight plays, scoring on a six-yard pass from quarterback Bobby Huth to senior receiver Trey Miller on a quick slant. Kicker Steve Schott’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:09 remaining in the opening period.

“There are a couple of guys who are playmakers I look to,” said Huth, who finished 11-for-14 for 140 yards and two touchdowns. “(Brett) Huffman, (Zack) Vanryzin and those guys. You get them the ball, and they can make things happen.”

The Tigers’ Troy Ellis kept the party going by intercepting Greene’s next pass attempt at the Tygers’ 25 yard line. Ellis returned it to the 3-yard line, setting up a Lanale Robinson one-yard touchdown run with 5:54 remaining in the first quarter.

Ellis, however, was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury, but Stacy said he doesn’t believe it is serious. The biggest interception, however, came just before the half.

With the Tigers holding on to a commanding 24-0 lead with less than three minutes to go in the half, senior defensive end Antonio James nailed Greene just as he was about to release the ball. It floated into the arms of Emery Saunders at the Tygers’ 45-yard line, and he returned it for a touchdown to make it 31-0.

The offense, led by Brian Gamble, also hit on all cylinders. Gamble rushed for 109 yards on 11 carries and added three receptions for 60 yards. He also returned a kickoff for 39 yards and scored a 22-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

“The line was great,” said Gamble, who left the game after the first possession of the third quarter. “They were blocking really well, and I did what I could to see the hole and go through the hole. I haven’t really been catching a lot of passes in games, but in practice I have been. Tonight, I had a couple of catches. It felt really good.”

Gamble played a major part in two of the Tigers’ first-half offensive touchdowns. He carried for 51 yards on four carries in the opening drive.

Gamble also set up another Tigers touchdown by hauling in a 28-yard Huth pass at the Tygers’ 9-yard line.

Two plays later, Huth rolled left and found receiver Vanryzin in the corner of the end zone from seven yards out.

Gamble also set up another Huth touchdown as he hauled in a 28-yard pass on the sideline at the Tygers’ 9-yard line. Two plays later, Huth rolled to his left and connected with a wide-open Vanryzin in the corner of the end zone.

The Tigers finished with 261 total yards in the first half.

It didn’t get much better for the Tygers in the second half. On top of Gamble’s 22-yard touchdown run, the Tigers also scored on an 18-yard run by Robinson and a 47-yard run by K.J. Herring.

If there were any doubts about the legitimacy of the Tigers, both Huth and Gamble believe those were answered. Both believe the Tigers are back to the level they are used to playing at.

“The tradition is definitely back,” said Gamble. “It was a good win. It
was good to finish somebody after letting Elder get back in the game.”

“We’re back for sure,” Huth added. “We believe we are a great team. We can go a long way if we stay focused.”

GAME STATS

Antonio James
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2003: Massillon 35, Mansfield Senior 12

Blown away
Tiger storm quicky inundates Mansfield

By WILLIAM R. SANDERSON
William.Sanderson @ IndeOnline.com

All the controversy over the David Phillips recruiting scandal seemed to make very little difference to the Massillon Tigers on Friday night.

Right from the get‑go, Massillon dominated both sides of the ball in an impressive 35‑12 victory at Arlin Field in Mansfield.

Program Cover

Mansfield Senior was minus its starting quarterback Deonte Weatherspoon due to a dislocated thumb suffered against Lexington last week, and the Tyger offense never got on track. After the first, half, Massillon led 23‑0 and Mansfield had only 11 net yards to its credit.

As far as the person at the center of the controversy, Phillips was held to a modest 41 yards on 25 carries.

Massillon coach Rick Shepas didn’t allow the Phillips situation to be a distraction.

“There are no distractions in our locker room from beginning to end with anything surrounding the Phillips situation,” Shepas said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but we’ve moved on.”

Quarterback Steve Hymes echoed his mentor’s sentiments.

“We know Phillips is a good running back,” Hymes said. “That was an issue we had to deal with, but that’s over. It’s ancient history.”

The Tigers took an early lead mainly on the strength of Hymes’ arm.

After turning back Mansfield Senior on the game’s opening possession, Hymes twice found Eric Copeland. The second time was good for 10 yards and a touchdown to make it 6‑0 Tigers at 8:15 of the first quarter.

“I was rolling out,” Hymes recounted. “Eric got open and I threw it in there.

“My receivers did a great job tonight. They did their thing and all I had to do was throw it to them.”

A few minutes later it was Brett Huffman’s turn to be on the receiving end. First came a 24‑yard toss over the middle. On the next play, Huffman twisted around a Tyger defender to haul in a 22-yard throw by Hymes for the touchdown.

Max Shafer’s kick made it 13‑0 Massillon at 6:29 of the first quarter.

“It was a great throw,” Huffman said. “I just did that up‑and‑under move that we practice every day and it fell right in.”

Hymes finished the game with 24 completions on 33 attempts for 316 yards and the two touchdowns.

Anticipating a physical battle with Mansfield Senior, Shepas wanted to get off to a good start with the passing game.

“We just wanted to open the game up,” Shepas said. “Mansfield is physical and we wanted to keep them spread out. We picked our places to close it down as well.”

As if to show it didn’t need to simply pass the ball, Massillon ground out a 16‑play drive that covered 68 yards before Shafer booted a 22‑yard field goal to make it a 16‑0 Tiger lead at 10:11 of the second quarter.

Shepas was particularly pleased with the offensive line.

“Jason Reinmann was out sick,” Shepas said. “He didn’t even come on the trip. I thought our offensive line coaches did a nice job adjusting things. We played a lot of guys up front. David Portello got some playing time. Lashawn Edge started at a tackle. All in all, we’re pretty pleased.”

Matters only got worse for Mansfield. Not only could its offense not sustain a drive against the Massillon defense, but a special teams mistake paved the way for a Tiger touchdown.

Midway through the second quarter, a snap sailed over the head of the Tyger punter. The ball finally rolled dead at the Mansfield one-yard line, where the punter downed it instead of kicking it into his own end zone for a safety.

Instead of two points, the Tigers took another six when Hymes ran it in at 6:57. The Shafer kick made it 23-0 Tigers.

Massillon (4‑1) had a chance to make it more before the half, but fumbled the ball inside the Mansfield 20 with a couple of minutes left in the second quarter. It also narrowly averted a last‑second disaster when Tim Dewald made a touchdown‑saving tackle on Mansfield’s Rashad Jones on an interception return.

The Tigers kept their foot to the accelerator to start the third quarter. After stopping Mansfield Senior’s first drive of the half, the Tigers drove 49 yards for another Shafer field goal. His 37‑yarder made it 26‑0.

The drubbing continued when Tuffy Woods broke in from one yard out for a touchdown that was set up by a 36‑yard throw from Hymes to Wayne Gates. The kick failed and the score was 32‑0 with 4:43 left.

Mansfield Senior (2‑3) finally got on the scoreboard with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Justin Green threw up a long pass that bounced off both his receiver and the Tiger defenders before Josh Harkness was able to gather the ball in for the score. That made it 32‑6 Massillon.

Green, who replaced Weatherspoon, drew praise from his coach despite the loss.

“Not having (Weatherspoon) took away our option attack, but Justin played well,” Mansfield Senior coach LeRoy Smith said. “Justin is a sophomore and it’s tough to throw him in against a team like Massillon. Justin actually throws the deep ball better and we wanted to exploit that.”

Shafer would add another 23‑yard field goal before the final gun that made it 35‑6.

Mansfield would score a touchdown on an 11‑yard run by Phillips with no time remaining for the final score.

With the likes of St. Ignatius, St. Edward, Dayton Chaminade‑Julienne and Warren Harding coming up, it was a big win as far as Huffman was concerned.

“This game was important,” Huffman said. “It’s Week Five so this was the hump game. We wanted to win this to help carry us through the rest of the season. We were pretty focused this game and all week in practice.”

Massillon 35
Mansfield 12

GAME STATS

Massillon 13 10 9 3 35
Mansfield 0 0 6 6 12

SCORING
Mas ‑ Eric Copeland 10 pass from Steve Hymes (kick failed)
Mas ‑ Brett Huffman 21 pass from Hymes (Max Shafer kick)
Mas ‑ Shafer 22 FG
Mas ‑ Hymes 1 run (Shafer kick) Mas ‑ Shafer 37 FG
Mas ‑ Tuffy Woods 1 run (kick failed)
Mans ‑ Josh Harkness 38 pass from Greene (run failed)
Mas ‑ Shafer 23 FG
Mans ‑ David Phillips 11 run

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Massillon rushing: Hymes 7‑45, 1 TD, Lanale Robinson 7‑23
Mansfield rushing: Tony Shaw 8‑52 Phillips 25‑59, 1 TD

Massillon passing: Hymes 24‑33‑316, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Mansfield passing: Greene 2‑10‑77, 1 TD, 1 INT

Massillon receiving: Huffman 7‑121, 1 TD, Copeland 5‑67, 1 TD, Wayne Gates 4‑61
Mansfield receiving: Josh Harkness 2‑77, 1 TD

Brock Hymes

History

2002: Massillon 14, Pickerington 0

ON TO THE FINAL FOUR
Tigers are regional champions

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Rick Shepas saw that look in his players eyes at halftime. Maybe it was the Eye of the Tiger.

Whatever it was, the Massillon Tigers came out and dominated the second half of play to secure a 14‑0 Division I regional championship game victory over the Pickerington Tigers in front of 12,234 fans at Arlin Field in Mansfield, Saturday.

“I saw a difference in our kids in the locker room at halftime,” Shepas said following the post game handshake. “It was a different feeling than we’ve had in the five years that I’ve been here.” That feeling translated into a victory that sends the Tigers to the state semifinals for the second year in a row.

The Massillon defense made it all possible by holding Pickerington without a first down on three third‑quarter drives. It set up the second Tiger touchdown when Shawn Crable forced and Markeys Scott recovered a Pickerington fumble at the 30‑yard line.

“We took ownership of this football game,” Shepas said. Massillon scored the only touchdown it would need on a seven‑play, 80‑yard drive on its second possession of the third quarter.

A pair of sideline passes to James Helscel got them rolling and the march was capped off when Matt Martin hit Devin Jordan on a crossing Pattern that caught the Pickerington defense flowing the opposite direction. Jordan snared the ball at the 25 and scampered the rest of the way to pay dirt. Max Shafer hit the extra point and it was a 7‑0 game at 2:54 of the third quarter.

Following the ensuing kickoff, Scott fell on a Pickerington fumble at the Pickerington 30.

After a holding penalty against the Tigers, Martin found A.J. Collins open for a 15 yard gain to the 21. Ricky Johnson picked up nine yards up the middle and one play later Martin dropped a pass into the waiting arms of Jordan in the right corner of the end zone for the two touchdown cushion.

“A couple of the big plays we ran and moved the ball well on were called by (senior wide receiver) James Helscel,” Shepas said. “He called the scat pass for the touchdown about three plays before. Then he mentioned snag and we hit Devin in the corner on the snag pass.

“Our offense came out and did what it needed to do. I’m glad for these kids. They play hard and they deserved it. We talked about what we needed to do and they challenged themselves.”

Martin completed six consecutive passes during Massillon’s third quarter surge. But he deflected the credit to the coaching staff. “The coaches made some great adjustments,” he said. “They put some new plays in for us and we just executed. The line blocked well. The receivers caught everything. Ricky ran hard and blocked good. “We just came together in the second half.”

Pickerington never did manage a first down in the third quarter and only had six first downs to go with three turnovers in the entire second half.

“We came in at halftime and said we need to get it done for each other and came out in the second half and dominated the football game,” said Massillon co‑captain Keith Wade.

The First had tug‑of‑war a for field position as both defenses flexed their muscles while both offenses tried mostly unsuccessfully ‑ to deal with the slippery field conditions.

Massillon best drive came on its opening possession. Two consecutive Martin to Jordan passes, petted 23 yards and got the Tigers the Pickerington 42 but the drive was doomed when a shotgun snap from center sailed over Martin’s head.

Two huge plays by Shawn Crable on Pickerington’s initial drive accounted for negative 15 yards forcing the purple Tigers to punt.

The balance of the first half went about the same way as each offense managed a big play or two, only to see their possessions snuffed out by penalties, dropped passes and solid defensive play.

Massillon and Pickerington combined for only 129 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, with only 50 of that total on the orange‑and‑black’s ledger.

Massillon could have been in deep trouble, fumbling the ball three times in the first 24 min­utes of play. Fortunately for the locals, they recovered all three bobbles.

One of the Massillon’s wilder miscues came on a muffed punt at its own 20. It appeared Pickerington recovered the ball but a huge pile‑up ensued and when the officials final­ly pulled all the bodies off the heap, it was Massillon with the pigskin.

Late in the first half, Relford returned a Pickerington punt to near midfield. On first down, Martin lofted a pass deep down the left sideline that Stephon Ashcraft caught inside the Pickerington 15. But the play was nullified when a chop block penalty was whis­tled on Massillon.

While that was disappoint­ing to the Massillon sideline, the Tigers would not be de­nied.

“No one wanted to quit here,” said Martin. “We want­ed to go the rest of the way.”

“They’re a good football team,” said Pickerington coach Jack Johnson. “No doubt about it. I wish them all the luck in the world and I hope they go all the way.”

Massillon 14
Pickerington 00
M P
First downs rushing 3 7
First downs passing 10 3
First downs by penalty 0 1
TOTAL first downs 13 11
Net yards rushing 46 116
Net yards passing 172 61
TOTAL yards 218 177
Passes attempted 23 17
Passes completed 12 7
Passes intercepted 2 1
Punts 5 4
Punting average 31.4 33.0
Fumbles/Lost 3/0 2/2
Penalties 6 4
Yards penalized 59 25

Massillon 00 00 14 00 14
Pickerington 00 00 00 00 00

SCORING

M ‑ Jordan 40 pass from Martin (Shafer kick)
M ‑ Jordan 11 pass from Martin (Shafer kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing: R. Johnson 20‑64.
Pickerington rushing: Trapasso17‑68, Ultican 11‑27.

Massillon passing: Martin 12‑23‑112, 2TDs, 2 Ints.
Pickerington passing: Ultican 7‑15‑61, 1 Int. Trapasso 0‑1‑0.

Massillon receiving: Jordan 7‑108 2 TDs, Collins 2‑41, HeIscel 2‑21, R. John­son 1‑2.
Pickerington receiving, J. Jablonka 1‑22. Harrison 2‑14.

Shawn Crable
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1995: Massillon 20, Mansfield Senior 21

This time the mistakes are fatal

Fumbles, penalties key in Tigers’ loss to Mansfield

By TODD PORTER
Assistant Sports Editor

In the first three weeks, the Massillon Tigers won games by keeping their fans on the edge of their seats.

Friday night at Arlin Field, the Mansfield Tygers kicked Massillon off the throne and slapped the Tigers with a shot of Skin Bracer across the cheek.

Mansfield, a team averaging more than 100 yards a game in penalties, Was flagged just three times and didn’t turn the ball over to hand Massillon its first loss of the season, 21‑20, in front of about 9,100 fans.

Program Cover

“If this isn’t a wakeup call,” Massillon head coach Jack Rose said, ”I don’t know what it’s going to take. We told these guys before the game if we play­ed like we have been and let a team like that stay around, they’re going to gain confi­dence.

“For us, we’ve got to lick our wounds and we don’t have much time to do that. From me on down, everybody in this prog­ram is going to be held account­able for this.

“We’re going to find people who want to be in there. We didn’t coach them hard enough and they didn’t play hard enough. But we’ll bounce back.”

The win set off a wild celebra­tion on the grass at Arlin. The last time the Tygers beat Mas­sillon was in 1956, 14‑6. The Mansfield newspaper put the story on its front page.

“This is the biggest win in 40 years around here,” Mansfield fullback‑linebacker Marshall Levins said. “This is my senior year and I’ve played Massillon four times now. A win over them is the ultimate way to go out.

The two teams traded scores in the first half and went into intermission tied at 14.

Even after making its first blunder on a turnover in the third quarter, Massillon had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

With 7:49 left in the game, the Tigers started what would be their final legitimate chance to score. Beginning from the Mas­sillon 40‑yard line, Whitfield and Turner drove the Tigers to the Mansfield 9 with under 5 mi­nutes to play.

On third‑and‑one, Turner powered his way for three yards to set the Tigers up with first‑and-­goal.

On the next play, Whitfield took the snap and fullback Nate Wonsick collided with him. The ball popped loose and Mansfield recovered.

“I don’t think George had a good handle on the ball when he took it out from under center,” said Rose, who added, “I’m real disappointed with our turnov­ers and penalties.

“Heck, Mansfield came into the game averaging 100 yards in penalties and turning the ball over a lot, and we’re the ones who had trouble with that.”

On Massillon’s second play from scrimmage in the second half, the Tigers fumbled the ball and Mansfield’s Lacario Tufts covered the ball at the Massil­lon 42.

However, the Massillon de­fense forced Mansfield to punt after three plays. On the second play of the second drive, Whit­field found Vaughn Mohler ­breaking open at midfield. Whitfield laced the needle and hit Mohler in stride for an 80­ yard touchdown pass.

As Mohler raced into the end zone, he raised his hands in the air. An official threw a ques­tionable flag, and conveniently called Mohler, who did not point at a Mansfield defender, for taunting.

The score counted, but the Ti­gers had to attempt the conver­sion from the 18‑yard line. A pass play failed.

Rose didn’t really want to comment on the play but offered, “That really takes the play out of your hands.”

The score gave Massillon a short‑lived 20‑14 lead.

On the Tygers’ ensuing drive, quarterback Jeff Soliday hit Levins on a screen pass. The 6­foot‑3, 230‑pounder rumbled 50 yards down the left sideline for the TD. Nick Shasky’s kick gave the Tygers a 21‑20 lead.

Then Massillon turned into Mansfield of the first three weeks.

On a third‑and‑two play from the Massillon 23, Whitfield ran around the left side on a keeper. He ran over a Mansfield defender for the first down, but an illegal procedure penalty nulli­fied the play and the Tigers ‑ eventually punted.

Late in the third quarter Mas­sillon shot itself in the foot again.

The drive started at Massil­lon’s 17. The Tigers went to a tight end screen, and Whitfield hit Chris Martin for a 15‑yard gain. Two plays later, Whitfield connected with Devin Williams on a fade route. The ball was placed so only Williams could catch it as Mansfield’s Michael Jackson provided step‑for‑step coverage.

Four plays later, Turner broke loose and got inside the Mansfield 5 yard line. Once again, though, the play was brought back because of an illegal procedure call. Instead of having the ball at the 3, Mas­sillon had it at the 18.

On fourth down, Levins blitzed Whitfield but couldn’t bring him down. Whitfield’s valiant pass, however, fell in­complete in the back of the end zone.

“I’m not upset with the way George played tonight,” said Rose, who noted the senior com­pleted 10 of 18 passes for 204 yards.

Mansfield made it clear from the get-go it was a better than its 1-2 record indicated.

The Tygers took the opening drive 75 yards and scored with 6:31 left in the first quarter when Soliday, hit as he released the ball by Eric Lightfoot, found Levins for an 8‑yard score.

Realizing it was in a game, Massillon took its first posses­sion 61 yards and scored in seven plays. Turner carried the ball on five of those plays and accounted, for 52 yards, includ­ing a 7‑yard touchdown run, which came after he ran over a Mansfield defender at the 1-­yard line.

Massillon ate up 5:02 on its final score of the first half, and again Turner did most of the work. Of the Tigers’ 11 plays, Turner carried eight times ‑ including the final six plays.

Turner, who gained 102 of his 164 yards in the first half, cap­ped the drive when he waltzed into the end zone untouched from 7 yards out. Josh Hose’s point‑after kick tied the game at 14 with 4:55 to play in the first half.

If there’s a bright spot in the dark cloud over the Tigers, it was Whitfield’s effort. Rose wanted a more balanced attack, and Whitfield came through with 204 yards passing.

Massillon outgained Mansfield 368‑249. However, the Ti­gers have given away the ball eight times and taken it away just three times this season.

“We’re going to find out what kind of team we are,” Rose said. “We’ll find out what we’re made of this week.”

MANSFIELD 21
MASSILLON 20
M Man
First downs rushing 8 8
First downs passing 7 4
First downs penalty 0 1
Total first downs 15 13
Net yards rushing 164 152
Net yards passing 204 97
Total yards gained 368 249
Passes attempted 18 14
Passes completed 10 7
Passes int 0 0
Fumbles 3 2
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 5 3
Yards penalized 45 15

MANSFIELD 7 7 7 0 21
MASSILLON 7 7 6 0 20

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Man – Levins 6 pass from Soliday (Shasky kick)
M ‑ Turner 7 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
Man ‑ Soliday 1 run (Shasky kick)
M ‑ Turner 2 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
M ‑ Mohler 80 pass from Whitfield (pass failed)
Man ‑ Levins 49 pass from Soliday (Shasky kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Turner 26‑141 2 TDs
Mansfield
Rife 21‑86

Passing:
Massillon
Whitfield 10‑18‑0, 197, 1 TD.
Mansfield
Soliday 7‑14‑0, 97, 2 TDs.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 3‑51;
Mohler 1-80, 1 TD.
Mansfield
Rife 4‑22


George Whitfield

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1993: Massillon 53, Mansfield Senior 22

Tigers move to 4-0 with lopsided win

By MIKE KEATING
Independent Sports Writer

It had been nearly two years since the Massillon Tigers last won a football game away from Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Last fall, the Tigers lost at Austintown Fitch and at North Central Indianapolis (Ind.).

That is one reason why Jack Rose felt relieved after Massil­lon defeated Mansfield Senior on its home grass 53-22 before 8,000 fans at Arlin Field Friday night.

Program Cover

“I kept bearing it around town how long it had been since we last won a game on the road,” sighed Rose, the second­ year Massillon head coach. “So, yes, winning on the road was a big concern coming into the game.”

The last time the Tigers won a regular season road game was 42‑13 over McKinley in the 1991 finale.

“The coaches told us the dimensions on their (Man­sfield’s) field were the same as ours,” added linebacker Joel Smith. “We just had to go out and play football.”

The fourth quarter has be­longed to Massillon all season. The Tigers had outscored Alliance 20‑0, Grove City and Akron Garfield by a combined 56‑7 in the final period.

It was more of the same against the Tygers. Massillon scored 26 unanswered points in the fourth quarter ‑ 20 within the first 4:30.

Conditioning has been a fac­tor for the Tigers in those final eight minutes.

“We work hard on condition­ing in practice,” said tight end Isaiah Jackson. “That’s to our advantage.”

“We don’t practice long,” added Smith. “But we have very intense practices. It has helped pay off in the games.”

It appeared Mansfield was going to send the game to the wire after its second touchdown in the third quarter, a 66‑yard run by tailback Charles Foun­tain down the left sideline.

That score and subsequent extra point brought the Tygers to within 27‑22 at the 5:32 mark.

“I was nervous then,” admit­ted Smith, a 5‑11, 181‑pound senior. “But our offense just came back and pounded it right at them, like it had the whole game.”

The Tigers had the ball for nine series. The offense scored six touchdowns and had two other drives stopped after reaching the Mansfield nine.

Fullback Mike Paul helped prolong drive after drive with hard running between the tack­les. Paul, a 6‑0, 217‑pound senior, wound up with a game­ high 132 rushing yards in 18 car­ries.

After Fountain excited the home folks with the big play, the Tigers just methodically drove the ball upfield. Nine running plays moved it to the Mansfield 29.

Paul carried the ball five times for 30 yards in that drive.

Then quarterback Mike Danzy rifled a strike to Jackson, a 6-3 226-pound senior, who made a one‑hand grab on the slant play and turned the play into a 21‑yard gain.

“If you ask me,” Rose said, “that was the key point of the game.”

“It was just an instinctive catch,” grinned Jackson.

Three plays later, halfback Ali Dixon bulled into the end zone from two yards out. Danzy optioned right for the two points and the Tigers led 35‑22 with 10:32 to play.

Mansfield had responded af­ter Massillon built leads of 21‑7 and 27‑15, but the Tigers dug in defensively and forced a punt.

It was time for the special teams to deliver, as Kevin Buckland snared the punt at the Massillon 30, broke to the out­side and raced to the Mansfield 40, where it appeared he would be stopped. Buckland kept his legs moving and used every ounce of his 150-pound frame to shake off the would‑be tacklers and race to the end zone that made the score 41‑22.

The back breaker for Man­sfield occurred on its next series, when quarterback Effie James, who fired several pas­ses on the mark only to be bet­rayed by some slippery‑handed receiver, tried a hitch to wideout David Lawrence.

Massillon cornerback Lonnie Simpson, who was playing the receiver, immediately turned when the pass was released, caught it at the Tygers 35, stop­ped on a dime and returned the interception untouched into the end zone. That score with 7:40 remaining made it 47-22 and the Mansfield fans started heading for the exits.

Simpson had given the Tigers their first lead when he got be­hind the Mansfield secondary, hauled in a Danzy pass in full stride and turned it into a 33­-yard touchdown play with 4:20 left in the first quarter.

Fountain scored on a one-­yard plunge at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter and Mansfield had caught the Tigers at 7‑7.

But Danzy and Jackson teamed up to give Massillon the lead for good in the second quarter.

The senior quarterback rol­led left and hit an unguarded Jackson in the back of the end zone for a four‑yard touchdown strike. Randy Endsley kicked the P.A.T. and Massillon led 14-­7 with 11:06 left in the half.

Mansfield never caught the Tigers again, but they provided a scare, until the fourth quarter.

“They were the best team that we played,” said Smith. “They were so fast.”

“They came well‑prepared and were well‑coached for us,” Rose added. “They threw deep early (an incompletion) and stretched us out.

“We didn’t play a real good first half. We had two drives stopped when we got inside the scoring zone. Our goal is to score everytime we get inside the scoring zone.”

The Tigers have not opened with four consecutive wins since 1988, when Lee Owens’ first team accomplished that feat.

The streak was stopped at four by Austintown Fitch ‑ the Tigers’ next opponent.

Fitch will travel to Massillon with a 4‑0 record.

Fitch has played plenty of football inside Paul Brown Ti­ger Stadium within the last year. The Falcons defeated Perry and Pickerington in post­season tournament games be­fore losing to Cleveland St. Ignatius.

MASSILLON 53
MANSFIELD 22
M 0
First downs rushing 20 5
First downs passing 4 1
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 25 6
Net yards rushing 381 170
Net yards passing 94 26
Total yards gained 475 196
Passes attempted 9 9
Passes completed 6 1
Passes int. by 1 0
Times kicked off 9 4
Kickoff average 42.6 49.8
Kickoff return yards 83 174
Punts 1 5
Punting average 33.0 38.2
Punt return yards 74 -3
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 15 25
Number of plays 64 36
Time of possession 30:31 17:29
Attendance 8,000

MANSFIELD 7 0 15 00 22
MASSILLON 7 7 13 26 53
MASS ‑ Simpson 33 pass from Danzy (En­dsley kick)
MANS ‑ Fountain I run (kick good)
MASS ‑ Jackson 4 pass from Danzy (Endsley kick)
MASS ‑ Paul 8 run (Endsley kick)
MANS ‑ Fountain 25 run (Lawrence pass from James)
MASS ‑ Paul 9 run (pass failed)
MANS ‑ Fountin 66 run (kick good)
MASS ‑ Dixon 2 run (Danzy run)
MASS ‑ Suckland 70 punt return (run failed)
MASS ‑ Simpson 34 pass interception (kick failed)
MASS ‑ Ashcraft 13 run (kick failed)

RUSHING
Massillon
Paul 18‑132,
Ashcraft 13‑96,
Dixon 13‑71,
Danzy 8‑39;
Mansfield
Foun­tain 10‑121.

PASSING
Massillon
Danzy 6‑9‑94, 2 TDs;
Mansfield
James 1‑9‑26‑1.

RECEIVING
Massillon
Jackson 3‑36,
Simp­son 1‑33,
Dixon 1‑17,
Merchant 1‑8;
Mansfield
Barber 1‑26.

Mark Fair
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1962: Massillon 42, Mansfield 6

Bengals Roll Over Mansfield 42-6
Orange And Black Look Like Tigers Of Old In First Half

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The Massillon Tigers put a big X in the credit side of their ledger Friday night in Mansfield. The Bengals trounced the Mansfield Tygers 42-6 before a crowd of just less than capacity – 11,500.

It was the second straight win for the Orange and Black. It appears they’re now solidly back on the victory trail. Their record is now 4-3, putting them ahead of the .500 mark for the first time since Cincinnati Taft game four weeks ago.

After the game, cries of, “Beat Warren” could be heard from the Massillon players. The big game comes next week in the Trumbull county city. Warren is undefeated though tied by Mansfield.

For Mansfield it was a sad night. The Tygers dropped their fourth game of the season. They have won one and tied two.

Mansfield Coach Jim Dougherty closeted himself in his office at Arlin field after the game. He was unavailable for comment.

Program Cover

The Bengal boss, Leo Strang, was jubilant. “We’ve got our conscience back now,” he said. “This was a big win.”

“A big question in the minds of the Tiger fans was why Washington high was able to score 34 points in the first half and only eight in the second. The answer is two-fold.”

First, Strang was substituting freely. “Any time you break up your normal lineup you have trouble,” Strang said. “That’s what happened when we had all those injuries earlier in the season.”

Second, Mansfield had the ball the majority of the last 24 minutes. And if you don’t have the ball, you can’t score.

“We looked like the Tigers of old in the first half,” Strang said.

“Strang also gave his scouting and spotting crews a big pat on the back for their jobs. Milan Chovan, Bob Johnson and Larry Lorton scouted the Tygers. Coaches Nick Cosos, Nick Vrotsos and Carl (Ducky) Schroeder were in the booth.

In hanging up their 34 points on the scoreboard in the first half; the Bengals scored every time they got their hands on the ball and were after another tally when the clock ran out. In the process, WHS converted two fumbles into touchdown. The Tigers also turned the trick in the third period.
* * *
THE TIGERS used 41 plays in the first half but got only 24 in the second. A tenacious Mansfield eleven just wouldn’t give up the ball. The Tygers had 34 plays during this time but only 20 before the intermission and failed to get out of their own territory until late in the second quarter.

A big difference in the ball game was Massillon’s passing. Senior quarterback Mike Koenig, back in action after being sidelined for four weeks with an injury, and junior signal-caller Ron Swartz completed eight of 14 passes for 165 yards. Added to 227 net yards on the ground, this gave the Tigers a 392 total.

Mansfield completed only three of 10 aerials for 44 yards. The Tygers had 196 net yards on the ground and a total of 240.

Massillon wasted no time in drawing first blood. The Orange and Black had a touchdown within six plays after getting the opening kickoff. Sophomore Jim Lawrence ran the kickoff back to the Massillon 48. He tripped there or he might have gone all the way.

Koenig went through the middle for 11 yards and a first down on the first play from scrimmage. The Tigers were off and running.

Three plays later junior wingback Bill Blunt went around left end on a reverse from the 37 on fourth-and-six. He ran all the way to the three, didn’t get a block and was tackled.

Getz went off tackle with 8:55 remaining in t he first quarter for the first touchdown. He swept right end for the conversion.
* * *
AFTER ONE Mansfield series, the Tigers took over on their 15 following a punt. They drove 85 yards in 16 plays with five first downs. Three times they held onto the ball on fourth down.

Koenig had an 18-yard romp around right end to start the drive. Lawrence finished it with a wedge from the one at 10:40 of the second canto. He missed on the conversion run.

During the drive Getz had runs of 15 and nine yards to help out. He got a first down with one and brought his mates out of a second-and-13 hole with another.

After forcing Mansfield to punt, the Tigers scored again in four plays. The Orange and Black took over on its 40. A pass interference penalty gave the Bengals a first down on the Mansfield 46. Lawrence4 went through the center for two yards.

Koenig then passed to McAllister for Massillon’s third score, a 44-yarder at 8:16. Koenig tossed to Blunt for the conversion and a 22-0 margin.
* * *
A MANSFIELD FUMBLE on the first play after the kickoff gave the Tigers the ball on the Tygers’ 16. Junior long side end Mike Jones recovered.

Five plays later Koenig sneaked in with six minutes remaining before the half. Koenig was unable to get rid of the ball on a pass try for the conversion.

Mansfield fumbled on the second play following the next kickoff. Senior linebacker Paul Fabianich hopped on this one on the Mansfield 43.

The Tigers tallied on the next play. Swartz now in the game, tossed to Blunt on the five. He made a great overhead catch and went on in at 4:40. Swartz tossed to Lawrence on the conversion try. But the first- year fullback fell down in the flat.

After the ensuing kickoff, Mansfield drove to the Massillon 26. But a fourth-and-two pass was incomplete in the end zone.

The Tigers then went to the air. Swartz passed four times to Blunt and once to Jones to get the Bengals to the Mansfield 19 where the clock ran out. Jones’ lone reception was good for 19 yards. Blunt’s catches were good for 12, 7 and 18 yards. The Bengals got five first downs in succession on this drive.

Mansfield’s third fumble came on a drive after the second half kickoff. Senior Co-Captain Ben Bradley of the Tigers hopped on the errant pigskin at his 32 from his middle guard spot.

The Bengals drove back to the Mansfield 34. Junior safetyman Willie Hawthorne intercepted a Swartz pass intended for junior wingback Graydon Eckard. But Mansfield fumbled two players later. Junior linebacker Tom Roderick made the recovery on the Tygers’ 17.
* * *
TWO PLAYS LATER, Swartz ran the left side option in at 2:25. Blunt made a beautiful catch in the corner of the end zone for the conversion, and Massillon’s scoring was finished for the night.

Mansfield took over on its 30 following the kickoff. Then came the Tygers’ only touchdown of the night. They covered the 70 yards in 10 plays with two first downs.

Senior halfback Frank Petty capped the drive with a six-yard sweep of right end with 9:50 remaining in the game. Senior quarterback Rich Poling had set up the score with a
21-yard rollout play from the 36 to the 15.

Senior halfback George Haag’s pass was incomplete on the conversion try.

Massillon lost the ball after two first downs following the kickoff. But Mansfield fumbled right back to them on the Tygers’ 28. Eckard made the recovery. However, the Orange and Black got no further.

Mansfield regained control and marched to the seven. But Eckard intercepted a pass in the end zone with five seconds remaining. One play later finis had been written to the Tigers’ seventh game.

A Big Victory’

MASSILLON – 42
Ends – Jones, McAllister, Franklin, Goodnough and Hose.
Tackles – Clendening, Morgan, Profant, Mercer, Tarle, Miller, Fabianich and Franks.
Guards – Castile, Geckler, Roderick, Rivers, Swisher and Mathias.
Centers – Bradley, Scassa, Rambaud and Paisley.
Backs – Koenig, Swartz, Lawrence, Eckard, Rink, Blunt, Getz, Toles, Kanner, Sullivan, Thomas, Pope and Davis.

MANSFIELD – 6
Ends – Payton, Prats, Backer and Bell.
Tackles – Armstrong, Russell, C. Coe and Balcolm.
Guards – Bucher, Winbigler, Jividen, Snyder and Potter.
Centers – Cindrich and Prosser.
Backs – Hawthorne, Lindsay, Poling, J. Coe, Dougherty, McDonald, Paar, Haag, Moore, Hutchins and Petty.

Massillon 8 26 8 0 42
Mansfield 0 0 0 6 6

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 14 10
First downs – passing 6 2
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 20 13
Yards gained rushing 242 206
Yards lost rushing 15 15
Net yards gained rushing 227 196
Yards gained passing 165 44
Total yards gained 392 240
Passes attempted 14 10
Passes completed 8 3
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 7 2
Kickoff average (yards) 56.9 36
Kickoff returns (yards) 45 163
Times punted 1 2
Punt average (yards) 43.0 42.0
Punt returns (yards) 8 4
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 5
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 45 10

Ben Bradley