Ben Bradley Was a Giant of a Man On and Off the Field
Research material provided by Mike Riordan.
He seemed larger than life when he trotted onto the field prior to the Ohio High School North-South All-Star Game. He was 6’-2”, 282 lbs., dwarfing future NFL Hall-of-Fame teammate Alan Page. And at the time he was the largest player to ever don a Massillon Tiger Jersey. But he was also a gentle giant, devoting his later years to making Massillon a better place.
Ben Bradley at WHS
“Big Ben” Bradley was born in Anderson, Alabama, to parents Oscar and Blanche, on November 26, 1944. Early in life the family moved to Massillon and as a high schooler Ben took up the sports of football, wrestling and track. He also sang in the choir. But it was football where Ben made his mark. At a time when high school lineman weighed in from 175 to 200 lbs., Ben played his sophomore season at 6’-0, 220 lbs. and grew to 6’-2”, 265 lbs. by the time his senior season rolled around.
Playing under the very successful Coach Leo Strang, his teams finished 10-1 in 1960 (state champs), 11-0 in 1961 (2nd in the state A.P. poll, 1st in the state UPI poll), and 6-5 in 1962. Along the way, he had two opportunities to play in the annual Massillon-McKinley fracas and his team was victorious both times.
Ben’s normal position was center, but he occasionally filled in at offensive tackle when needed. In recognition of his outstanding play, he was named All-Stark County in 1961 and 1962, and 1st Team A.P. All-Ohio in 1962, while being named that year as a Massillon Co-Captain and subsequently its most valuable player. The awards didn’t stop there as they moved to the national scene, where was named 1st Team Pre-Season All-American by “Complete Sports” magazine and 1st Team All-American by “Scholastic Coach” magazine.
High School football success brought Ben to the University of Dayton, where he continued his football career and was named Outstanding Freshman Football Player. He eventually transferred to Northwood Institute College in Michigan to complete his studies. At Northwood, he continued to excel on the gridiron and was named 1st Team NAIA Conference at Offensive Tackle. Ben was eventually drafted in 1967 by both the NFL Kansas City Chiefs and the Montreal Allouettes of the Canadian Football League.
Post-football, Ben spent his entire career with General Motors and retired in 1993 as General Supervisor of Inland GM, Lake St. Louis, Missouri. He remained active in Massillon, but died too young on June 8, 2008 at the age of 63.
In 2008, Bradley was inducted into the Massillon Wall of Champions and 2019 he was inducted into the Tiger Football hall of Fame.
“Big Ben” was a true community role model. In fact, his accomplishments on the football field are rather insignificant when compared to his community involvement. But never one to stay away from football, Ben also took a turn in 2006 as President of the Massillon Tiger Football Booster Club. In addition, he also held these positions, when he wasn’t selling tickets for the freshmen and JV games:
Athletic Advisory Council, President
Second and first vice president of the Massillon Tiger Booster Club (2005, 2006)
Incumbent 2008 President of the Massillon Tiger Touchdown Club
Away from sports, Ben was heavily engaged in community organizations, including:
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Stark County Community Action Agency Committee
Member of the Massillon Parks and Recreation Board
City Planning Commissiondon n
African American Men’s Association
Member of the Mayor’s Drug Task Force
Trustee at Friendship Baptist Church
Board Member of the Lion’s Lincoln Theater (1st African-American)
Board of Directors, Lighthouse Visions, Inc., President 2004 and 2008
Chairman of the Board of the Civil Service Commission, 2008
Esther Bryan, founder of Lighthouse Visions, honored Ben with the creation of the Benjamin T. Bradley scholarship. This is awarded annually to a worthy Massillon-area college student. Also, Ben was so beloved in the community that they named Bradley Place senior apartments after him in 2010.
“Big Ben” certainly accomplished his goal of leaving Massillon a better place than he found it.
Tigers End Season With Victory 35-16 Blunt Scores 3 Touchdowns, Sets Up 4th;
100th Win For Strang
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
There’s something about a Tiger team that’s grand! Grand! Grand!
And that something is the great fighting spirit of the Bengals! They had their trials and tribulations this year, but they never threw in the towel. They fought down to the wire.
Now that the din of another season has died away, and the fans have settled down to waiting through the long months for next year’s football, they’ll relive Saturday’s traditional Massillon-Canton game for days to come. For the Tigers gave them a finale to remember. * * * THE BENGALS made sure they ended on the winning side of the ledger, and they gave Coach Leo Strang his 100th victory of his career. The win was a 35-16 decision over Canton Lincoln’s Lions, substituting for the suspended McKinley Bulldogs.
The Orange and Black finished the season with a 6-5 record and averted the stigma of being the first squad since 1931 to have a losing season. For the Lions, who also gave a good account of themselves, it was a fourth loss. They also have five wins and a tie on their record.
The game brought back memories of 1940 and 1941 to Massillon as the name Blunt shot into prominence again. Then it was halfback Fred (Pokey) Blunt. Saturday it was junior halfback (The Rabbit) Blunt, Pokey’s nephew, who did the dazzling.
He scored three of the five Tiger touchdowns and helped set up a fourth. His 85-yard return of the opening kickoff for a score dealt the Lions a blow from which they never fully recovered.
“That was a real shocker,” Lincoln Coach Lou Venditti said after the game. “It broke our backs.” A jubilant Strang said, “We’d been practicing all week on kickoff returns. We usually only work the last day on that. We were really fired up. That helped us stand up.” * * * LEO WENT on to talk about Blunt. “He’s just coming into his own,” the skipper said. “The last four or five games he’s been doing what we expect of a good back offensively and defensively.”
Venditti also had nothing but praise for Blunt.
There was another key player in the game, Ron Davis, competing in his last contest for the Tigers as a linebacker, was a demon on defense, getting in on a lot of tackles. He was sorely missed in the second half when the lineup was broken to see that everybody got a chance to play, including the sophomores who were suited up for the only time this season.
“He’s a real fine linebacker,” Strang said, “We’re going to have a whale of a job replacing him.”
Strang added, “This was one of our better games, especially in the first half when we had our unit intact.” He didn’t like his passing game even though he scored two touchdowns that way and picked up 134 yards while completing four of seven. * * * HE GAVE Venditti a real compliment, “He’s a real good coach and has done a whale of a job with his team. They should win the state title on improvement alone.”
Venditti praised the speed of the Tigers. Both coaches felt that was a big difference in the game.
About his own team Venditti said, “I was proud of the way they came back in the second half. I was afraid they’d quit.” The Lions scored one touchdown and held Massillon to one after the Bengals had taken a 28-8 lead before the intermission.
Venditti was happy with the running of fullback George Andreadis, only a junior, and senior tackle, Chris Vagotis’ defensive job. Strang said that Andreadis was a good, hard-running back.
“We knew we could run off tackle so we did in the second half,” Venditti continued, “I only wish I had more big backs like George (180 pounds). He could not do it all.” * * * THE STATISTICS show that Massillon out-rushed Lincoln 216 net yards to 111 and out-passed them 134-97, Lincoln had one TD via the airwaves and completed 12 of 19 passes. Massillon had 13 first downs to Lincoln’s 11. The Bengals had two more rushing than Lincoln.
Lincoln piled up just about all of their various totals in the second half. They got out of their territory only once during the first 12 minutes and didn’t pick up their first down until there were 6:48 left in the second period. They got only three in the first half.
The Tigers scored three times in the first quarter. First came Blunt’s electrifying run. Junior tackle Ken Curry kicked off for Lincoln. Blunt gathered the ball in on the south 15-yard line and set sail for pay dirt. Fourteen seconds later he was in touchdown land, thanks to some fine running and blocking.
Senior Wil Paisley got a bad snap from center and tried to pass to his holder, senior quarterback Mike Koenig, hoping he could run in for the conversion. But the ball never got to Koenig.
After a Lincoln series and a punt, the Bengals got rolling again. They moved from t heir 27 for their second TD, a distance of 73 yards, in 12 plays with three first downs. * * * SOPHOMORE FULLBACK Jim Lawrence had a key run of 25 yards around the short side on a pitchout from the Massillon 37 to the Lincoln 38. The touchdown came six plays later from the 25 on second down and six. Koenig hit Blunt over the center at 4:46. He made a tremendous leaping catch to prevent a sure interception.
John Kanney, senior tailback, just returned to duty after five week’s absence due to an injury, scored the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of right end.
The Tigers scored the next time they got their hands on the ball. Lincoln lost it on downs again after the first series following the Bengals’ TD. Blunt ran a punt back 18 yards to give the Tigers the ball on their 38.
This time the scoring drive took five plays with two first downs. Koenig ran the ball four straight times, picking up 18 yards over short side guard on one trip.
The Lions ran one series. Then the Bengals came roaring back from their 24. They took nine plays to do it and got two first downs. A 42-yard pass over the center from Koenig to Blunt on second and 25 on the 49 of Lincoln after an offensive holding penalty, set up the next score.
Koenig just missed hitting Blunt in the right fore corner of the end zone. Blunt dived for the ball but couldn’t hang on. Davis went over on the next play on a pitchout and sweep of right end as the clock ground to a halt. Paisley then kicked his last conversion of his high school year for a 35-8 count.
Massillon had the ball only twice in the last period. Lincoln had it three times, once for two plays at the games end. The Tigers got the ball on the Lincoln 34 after a punt misfired due to a bad snap. But two plays later Vogatis picked up a Massillon fumble on his 26. Lincoln then rolled 82 yards for a score. They got four first downs in the attempts. * * * WITH ANDREADIS, Walsh and Sardone taking turns going through the Tigers’ reserve line and Walsh cranking up for key pass plays of 11, eight and nine yards – two to Sardone and one to sophomore Wayne Todd – the Lions rolled to their second and final score in 17 plays. Twice Andreadis got first downs on crucial third down situations and once on last down.
The score came when Walsh hit Todd on a desperation pass from the 13 on fourth-and-11. Todd made a diving catch at 1:08 and just got over. Andreadis went over right tackle for the final two points. * * * THE SCORE came on a second-and-13 play from the Tigers’ 46. Koenig hit junior short side end Bob McAllister with a payoff pass down the left side with five seconds remaining in the first period. An attempted pass to junior long side end Mike Jones for the conversion was incomplete.
The Tigers kicked off as the period ended. Lincoln had one series in the second quarter. Massillon then moved from its 47 to Lincoln’s 29 after a 17-yard punt return by Blunt.
The Orange and Black’s attack bogged down. A sure TD pass from Koenig to McAllister misfired. On fourth down Paisley tried a field goal from the 39. It was short and junior safetyman Chuck Lyke ran the ball back from the five to the 26 – a distance of 21 yards – when the Massillon players forgot the ball wasn’t dead and watched Lyke run.
Neither team did anything until senior end Joe Nostram fell on a Massillon fumble on the Orange and Black 23 with 3:45 left in the half. The Lions had their first touchdown in five plays and one first down. Senior quarterback Ray Walsh passed to junior halfback Jim Sardone down the right side – with the play covering from the 23 to the 11 – to set up the score.
Sardone got the score off right tackle from the three on fourth down at 2:07. Walsh passed to Sardone on the right side again for the conversion as Sardone caught the ball in the end zone and then fell back out. * * * MASSILLON USED two plays after the kickoff to score again. Curry kicked short to Jones on the Bengals’ 35 to prevent Blunt getting the ball. But on the second play the junior back went over short side guard on the counter trap for a 57-yard score with one minute remaining. Kanney got the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of left side.
The third period was free of scoring until time had run out. Lincoln had chances stopped on the Massillon 28 and 27. Davis broke through for a bone-jarring tackle, knocking the pigskin loose. Senior halfback Ron (Silky) Sullivan picked it up on the 33. However, Andreadis recovered a Massillon fumble on the 32 on the next play.
CANTON LINCOLN – 16 Ends – Coletti, Todd and Van Nostram. Tackles – Curry and Vagotis. Guards – Easterman, Mowry, Roard and Selway. Center – McCauley. Quarterbacks – Walsh and Sheets. Halfbacks – Lyke, Sardone, Stefanoich and Hawk. Fullback – Andreadis.
MASSILLON – 35 Ends – Jones, McAllister, W. Franklin, Hose, R. Alexander, Goodnough, D. Alexander, E. Franklin and Gilmore. Tackles – Mercer, Profant, Clendening, Miller, Fabianich, Tarle, Lash, Frang, Morgan, Harmon, Bing and Martin. Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Roderick, Swisher, Rivera, Mathias, Paflas, Whitfield, Larsuel, Randles, Muhlback and Rearick. Centers – Bradley, Scassa, Bash, Paisley and Rambaud. Quarterbacks – Koenig, Gatsios and Kanner. Halfbacks – Kanney, Blunt, Davis, Getz, Eckard, Rink, Pope, Stroh, Freig, Gamble, Schenkenberger and Williams. Fullbacks – Lawrence, Sullivan and Hewitt.
Lincoln 0 8 0 8 16 Massillon 20 8 7 0 35
Touchdowns: Massillon – Blunt (85-yard return of opening kickoff, 25-yard pass from Koenig, 57-yard run), McAllister (54-yard pass from Koenig) and Davis (seven-yard run). Lincoln – Sardone (three-yard run) and Todd (13-yard pass from Walsh).
Points after touchdown: Massillon – Kanney 2 (runs), Paisley 1 (kick). Lincoln – Sardone (pass from Walsh); Andreadis (run).
Officials: Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton). Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon). Head Linesman – Horace Rainsberger (Painesville). Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Lin. First downs – rushing 9 7 First downs – passing 4 4 First downs – penalties 0 0 Total first downs 13 11 Yards gained rushing 220 126 Yards lost rushing 4 15 Net yards gained rushing 216 111 Yards gained passing 134 97 Total yards gained 350 208 Passes attempted 7 19 Passes completed 4 12 Passes intercepted by 0 0 Times kicked off 6 3 Kickoff average (yards) 47.6 29.0 Kickoff returns (yards) 90 120 Times punted 1 5 Punt average (yards) 30.0 34.6 Punt returns (yards) 44 36 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 3 2 Lost fumbled ball 3 1 Penalties 2 3 Yards penalized 30 25
Tigers Beat Garfield 19-0 In Heavy Rain Six Ram Fumbles Help Bengals Square Record For the Season At 5-5-
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Fumbles are rarely things to be happy about. But they certainly brought smiles to the faces of Massillon football fans Friday night.
Their Tigers recovered all six of the Akron Garfield Golden Rams’ miscues at Tiger stadium and went on to a 19-0 victory over The Rubber City eleven before a rain-drenched crowd of 6,600.
The Bengals converted two of the Rams’ miscues into touchdowns, almost got another six-pointer on a third bobble but fumbled in return, set the stage for one of the miscues which resulted in a touchdown with a fourth recovery and stopped a scoring threat with a fifth pick-up.
Four of the fumbles came in the second half when the Tigers had switched to what Coach Leo Strang called his “mud defense.” It employs a blitzing eight-man line. The Washington high school defenders hit Garfield quarterback Jack Hannig before he could hand off to cause the miscue.
Less the fans think the steady downpour was a key factor in the fumbling, it must be pointed out that the Rams fumbled only twice in the first half before Strang switched defenses. * * * BOTH STRANG and Garfield Coach Dan (Babe) Flossie agreed that the fumbles were the difference in the game. They also agreed that the loss of quarterback Tom Valatka, a senior, in the first quarter hampered the Garfield defense.
This was the third quarterback we had hurt this year,” Flossie said, “Hannig was in tonight for the first time since he broke an ankle in the second game.” Flossie paid the Tigers a compliment, “They played their typical hard-hitting game. We’re looking forward to meeting them in the Rubber Bowl next year.” Flossie was also unstinting in his praise of the “usual fine treatment we got from Massillon.”
Strang commented that “Flossie had done his usual fine job of coaching the Rams.” The Tigers’ skipper also pointed out, “Anything can happen on a night like this and almost did in the first half. The weather was a tremendous equalizer.”
He had a compliment for the fans. “These were the true fans who were out there tonight.”
The Bengals tried their old 1958 offense, a pro-type T spread, for the first half, but went back to the regular unbalanced wing-T after the intermission. The spread is geared for passing, and it was too wet to do that effectively, witness the completion of only two of 10 passes for 29 yards. Garfield hit on one of six for 10 yards. * * * THERE WAS QUITE a bit of difference in rushing yardage thanks to the Tigers’ blitz. Massillon had 196 net yards, Garfield 63. The Bengals had their troubles running, losing 40 yards while Garfield dropped 24.
All of the scoring was done in the second half, 12 points coming in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Mike Koenig scored two of the three touchdowns, going through the center from one yard out on both. Sophomore fullback Jim Lawrence went through the center from eight yards away.
The first touchdown was set up by two fumbles. On the second play after the second half kickoff, Garfield fumbled with Tiger senior Co-Captain Ben Bradley getting his second recovery of the night on the Rams’ 39. The Orange and Black ran out of gas at the Garfield 20.
Lightning struck on Garfield’s first play after taking over. Junior wingback Bill Blunt fell on the ball for the Tigers at the 17. WHS then got its first score in seven plays.
With Koenig carrying on four of the plays and the Bengals using through-the-middle football, the score came on a third down play with four minutes remaining in the quarter. Davis tried off tackle for the conversion but missed.
Two plays after the kickoff the Tigers were on their way again. Sophomore left end Wes Goodnough leaped on a Garfield fumble on the 26. Lawrence’s score came in four plays. He set up his own TD with a 19-yard run from the 27 to the eight on sweep of left end from a pitchout on third down. He scored on the next play with the same maneuver . There were 37 seconds left when Lawrence hit pay dirt. He tried the same play for the third time on the conversion but missed. * * * SENIOR Will Paisley’s next kickoff sailed over the head of Rams’ safetyman to the four. Halfback Jon Butash picked it up, but senior (Silky) Sullivan and sophomore Tom Whitfield brought him to earth in a hurry.
Garfield ran one play and the quarter ended. On the first play of the last canto, sophomore Dennis Morgan recovered a fumble on the five. In three plays the Orange and Black were on the one. But a fumble stopped the threat.
Garfield got nowhere on the next series. Sophomore Henry Malone went back to the one to punt, kicked the ball straight up into the air and it came down on the 23. The Tigers took over, ran one play, got set back for holding and couldn’t get any further than the 34.
The Rams’ got nowhere again on the next series. Malone dropped back to the 24, punted, Blunt grabbed the ball on his 38 and ran it back to his 47. The clock showed 6:33 remaining when the Tigers took over. Their final score came at 1:25.
Strang put junior tailback Tom Pope in for a look see and got quite an eyeful. Pope carried on five of the nine plays in the scoring thrust, picking up valuable yardage.
A 15-yard personal four penalty also helped.
Koenig went over on third-and-one. Paisley kicked the conversion. But a player for each team was thrown out for battling with their forearms, offsetting penalties resulted and Paisley was forced to repeat the kick, making it good again. * * * GARFIELD got three plays after the kickoff, and the game was over.
The Golden Rams threatened only twice in the contest, both times in the first half. After Massillon was unable to move the ball following the opening kickoff, Garfield took over on a punt on its 24. After 13 plays of tackle-to-tackle football, which brought four first downs, the Rams appeared to be threatening on the Tigers’ 19, fourth-and-one.
Garfield made its first down only to run afoul of a holding penalty which set the Rams back to the 33, fourth and 15 yards to go. Valatka went back to punt, was rushed hard, got a bad snap, his foot missed the ball on the 44.
This was the play on which Valatak was hurt. He was carried off the field on a stretcher.
The Tigers used nine plays with three first downs to get to Garfield’s 14. Senior tailback Ron Davis carried five times for vital yardage. Lawrence also had a 19-yarder from the Garfield 45 to the 26.
A five-yard offside penalty hindered the drive. And Paisley tried a 32-yard field goal on fourth down, but the attempt was wide to the left.
Garfield got a break on its next punt when a Massillon fumble occurred. The Rams got the ball on the Massillon 45 as Butash recovered. He was hurt on this play and forced to sit out for awhile. * * * THREE PLAYS later Blunt intercepted a pass on his five and returned to his 37 only to have a clip called on the runback. The penalty set Massillon back to its 11.
The Orange and Black couldn’t move the ball past the 36. Paisley went back to punt, got a low snap, ran with the ball and was tackled on his 26. But Bradley took care of this threat by recovering a fumble on the seven, four plays later.
Massillon then got its longest drive of the night going, moving 51 yards to the Garfield 37 when time ran out in the first half. The drive took 10 plays. Davis had runs of 14 and 20 yards to help the cause.
The win put the Tigers back on an even keel again for the season. Their record stands at 5-5 with one game left to play with Canton Lincoln next Saturday afternoon at the stadium.
Garfield ended the season with four wins and five losses. It starts playoff action for the Akron city title next week.
AKRON GARFIELD – 0 Ends – Price, Young, Wright and Davis. Tackles – Apely, Byerly and Kaludy. Guards – Hollendoner, Sime, Brockett, Reiter and Quackenbush. Centers – Kura and Hamic. Backs – Valatka, Hannig, Watson, Carruthers, Bender, Malone, Cianciola, Adams and Djurcic.
MASSILLON – 19 Ends – McAllister, Jones, Goodnough, Hose and Franklin. Tackles – Profant, Mercer, Clendening, Miller, Frank, Morgan, Binge and Harmon. Guards – Castile, Mathias, Geckler, Swisher, Paflas, McDew, Rivera, Whitfield and Larsuel. Centers – Bradley, Scassa and Paisley. Quarterbacks – Swartz, Koenig and Kanner. Halfbacks – Davis, Blunt, Eckard, Getz and Pope. Fullbacks – Lawrence, Toles and Sullivan.
Massillon 0 0 12 7 19
Touchdowns: Massillon – Koenig (two, one-yard runs) and Lawrence (eight yard run).
Points after touchdown: Massillon – Paisley 1 (kick)
Officials Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland) Umpire – Dr. Bob Schotz (Lorain). Head Linesman – Jim Langhurst (Willard). Field Judge – Al Franesconi (Akron).
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Akron First downs – rushing 11 4 First downs – passing 1 1 First downs – penalties 1 0 Total first downs 13 5 Yards gained rushing 236 86 Yards lost rushing 40 24 Net yards gained rushing 196 62 Yards gained passing 29 10 Total yards gained 225 72 Passes attempted 10 6 Passes completed 2 1 Passes intercepted by 1 0 Times kicked off 4 1 Kickoff average (yards) 50.0 36.0 Kickoff returns (yards) 12 59 Times punted 1 3 Punt average (yards) 35.0 22.6 Punt returns (yards) 11 -7 Had punts blocked 0 1 Fumbles 2 6 Lost fumbled ball 1 6 Penalties 3 4 Yards penalized 25 39
Tigers Drop Fifth Game Bennies Score All Points In First Half And Triumph 26-14
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Their season’s record is on the minus side, (4-5), but there’s still a big plus in the column marked effort!
The Massillon Tigers, manhandled and frustrated at almost every turn by a heavier, more experienced Cleveland Benedictine squad, never quit on their fans Friday night although some Tigertowners gave up on their team after three quarters. The majority stayed on to cheer the Tigers to the bitter end. Those who left Tiger stadium early missed seeing the Orange and Black score an electrifying touchdown on the final play of the game.
It didn’t change the outcome – the final score was 26-14 in favor of Benedictine – but, it did show that in spite of all the adversities suffered by the Tigers this year, their spirit hasn’t been dimmed. A year like this would be enough to make a team quit but not the Washington high school eleven. * * * IT WAS the combination of two juniors, wingback Bill (The Rabbit) Blunt and quarterback Ron Swartz, which brought the remainder of 8,975 fans to their feet at the finish of the game. With third down and three for Massillon on its 19, Swartz let fly with an aerial bomb down the right side. Blunt grabbed it on the Benedictine 40 and raced the remaining distance for the score, a play covering 81 yards, with the pass traveling 46 yards.
There were two second left on the clock when the play started, but there were a bunch of zeroes showing when Blunt crossed the goal line. Then an interesting chain of events took place.
First, Wil Paisley, senior kicking specialist, missed the kick. Peiole began streaming onto the field, but referee Bud Shopbell indicated Benedictine was offside. A half-the-distance penalty was stepped off against the Bennies. The teams got into position again. But Benedictine contacted before the snap. The distance was halved again.
Then Paisley, with fans swarming over the field from the 50-yard-line south, booted the extra point. And the game was over.
It was Blunt who was also responsible for the Tigers’ other six-pointer. Just before the end of the first quarter he took a punt on his 16, cut to the left sideline and raced all the way for the score, thanks to some good blocking and some good running. Senior end Jim Upthegrove tackled Blunt at the last minute. But the second-year halfback lunged over the line as he fell.
Paisley booted the extra point. * * * THERE’S NO DOUBT the Tigers had a frustrating night. In the first half, they gained only 26 net yards rushing to Benedictine’s 82, 12 yards passing to the Bengals’ 140 and two first downs to the Cleveland eleven’s eight. The Orange and Black completed only three of 11 passes to four of five for their guests.
Until late in the second quarter, the Tigers were able to run no more than four plays each time they had the ball. They got no further than their own 34. They completed no passes and had no first downs.
The Tigers couldn’t get around, over or through the Bengals. They couldn’t hold the onrushing Benedictine linemen back. The pass receivers couldn’t get loose thanks to the Bennies’ experienced and fast reacting secondary. This especially hurt since Coach Leo Strang had counted on using the air game a lot.
It was impossible for Massillon to throw many passes because the Tigers couldn’t get far enough from their goal line to do so safely. Only in the last series did they get the chance.
WHS took over on its 40 after what proved to be Benedictine’s last score. Eight passes were thrown in nine plays. Six were incomplete.
The Orange and Blacks’ first first downs came during this drive. One came on a holding penalty with about two minutes left in the half, the other on a pass with 1:46 left. * * * THE SERIES came to an end when senior Paul Beskid intercepted a pass on his 20. He also intercepted a pass in the second half as did his junior brother Ed and senior Captain Ray Klaff, all in Benedictine territory.
Two of the four Bengal touchdowns were set up by nifty pass plays, both by senior halfback Sal Collura. On was scored via the aerial route.
Benedictine took over on the Massillon 47 after a punt in the latter half of the first period. Three plays later senior quarterback Jeff Cherba uncorked a 35-yard pass to junior end Jim Yacknow for the first score at 4:15. The touchdown came on a first-and-10 situation.
Chorba tried to hit senior end John Upthegrove for the conversion but missed.
Then came Blunt’s first TD and a short-lived 7-6 lead for Massillon.
Benedictine took over on its 20 following the kickoff. In three plays the Bennies had a first down on the 31. There was no gain on the first play. Then Chorba connected with Collura on the Massillon 45. He raced to the 12 before junior halfback Grady Eckard hauled him down.
Senior fullback Joe Ditchman went off right guard to the two and then went over for the score at 9:35. Chorba misfired on a pass to Klaff for the conversion.
Benedictine kicked off, Massillon ran one series and was forced to kick from its 15. Paisley got a bad pass from center and a blocked punt from Klaff. Ditchman recovered the errant pigskin on the one after the ball had been knocked into the end zone and back out again.
Chorba went over on the first play. Ditchman failed in his attempt to run for two points. * * * IN THE LAST half of the second quarter, Benedictine took over after holding Massillon at its 44. Chorba threw to Collura on the first play which took the ball to the six. Two running plays made it third-and-three. Then Ditchman went through the middle at 3:50.
Chorba’s run for the PAT’s was good.
The Tigers held Augie Bossu’s crew scoreless in the second half. They did it through some adjustments at half time. Strang said that the Orange and Black stunted a lot more in the second half, and changed some of its stunts and its pass defense from man-to-man to zone.
After the intermission, Massillon completed three of 10 passes for 130 yards while Benedictine completed none of five. Massillon had 30 yards rushing to 68 for Benedictine. Massillon had five first downs and Benedictine four.
Massillon got as far as the Benedictine 37 the only time the Strangmen got out of their own territory. Benedictine got to the Massillon 26 and 28 before losing out on downs and having Blunt intercept at pass to set the stage for his second TD.
AT THE conclusion of the game, Strang said, “We were just manhandled by one of the top 10 teams in the state. They’re well-drilled and make no mistakes.” He pointed out the low number of first downs for his team in the first half. He also remarked about the passing percentage being 29 per cent while the season’s average is 42.
Bossu said, “We got the jump on them with those long passes and that blocked punt in the first half. You’ve got to give them credit though. They really came fighting back in the second half.” He felt that the lack of passing in the second half kept his ground game from being as effective as in the first 24 minutes.
His team now has an eight-game winning streak, losing only to Toledo Central Catholic early in the season before being jelled. Central is the second-ranked team in the state. The complete record of Benedictine is 8-1. This was the second win over Massillon in eight games for Bossu.
It’s not pleasant to mention but Friday’s loss made this the worst season for the Tigers since 1931 when Elmer McGrew won only two games while losing six and tying two. The record is now four wins and five losses.
Akron Garfield comes in next week for the next-to-the-last game.
BENEDICTINE – 26 Ends – Klaff, Upthegrove and Torda. Tackles – Porowski, Marcoguiseppe, Yacknow and Martin. Guards – Swiderski, Hazel, Sladsky and Yunich. Center – Bilek. Quarterbacks – Chorba and Fink and P. Beskid. Halfbacks – Collura, Felice, E. Beskid, Anderson and Zelina. Fullbacks – Sanders, Ganim and Ditchman.
MASSILLON – 14 Ends – McAllister, Jones, Franklin, Hose and Goodnough. Tackles – Profant, Mercer, Clendening, Fabianich, Miller and Tarle. Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Mathias and Rivera. Centers – Bradley, Paisley and Scassa. Quarterbacks – Koenig and Swartz. Halfbacks – Davis, Blunt, Eckard, Getz and Pope. Fullbacks – Lawrence, Toles, Sullivan and Thomas.
Benedictine 6 20 0 0 26 Massillon 7 0 0 7 14
Touchdowns: Massillon – Blunt (84-yard punt return and 81-yard pass from Swartz). Benedictine – Yacknow (35-yard pass from Chorba); Ditchman (two and three-yard runs); Chroba (one-yard run).
Officials Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton). Umpire – Edmund Corsi (Shaker Heights). Head Linesman – Karl Chestnutt (Kent). Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).
GAME STATISTICS
Tigers Bennies First downs – rushing 2 8 First downs – passing 4 3 First downs – penalties 1 1 Total first downs 7 12 Yards gained rushing 69 165 Yards lost rushing 13 14 Net yards gained rushing 56 151 Yards gained passing 142 140 Total yards gained 198 291 Passes attempted 21 10 Passes completed 6 4 Passes intercepted by 1 4 Times kicked off 2 5 Kickoff average (yards) 57.5 37.6 Kickoff returns (yards) 43 15 Times punted 4 5 Punt average (yards) 26.7 36 Punt returns (yards) 109 8 Had punts blocked 1 0 Fumbles 0 0 Lost fumbled ball 0 0 Penalties 3 4 Yards penalized 25 32
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.
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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
Tigers Defeat Akron East 42-16 Outgained By Orientals, Bengals Capitalize on Fumble, Interceptions
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
The Massillon Tigers are one up on Christopher Columbus. He never had the chance to meet any Orientals on his historic voyage 470 years ago. He discovered America on Oct. 12 instead.
However, the Washington high school football team not only met, but conquered a band of Orientals – Akron East high school – Friday night at Tiger stadium. The score was 42-16.
The win enabled the Bengals to even their season’s record at three wins and three losses. East lost its second game in five outings.
Although the statistics were in East’s favor 134 yards to 114 rushing and 120 yards to 114 passing, the alert Tiger defense took the ball away three times on pass-interceptions and once on a fumble, each break proving to be a key one. Two of the interceptions and the fumble recovery set up Massillon touchdowns. The other interception prevented an enemy score. * * * TWO OF MASSILLON’S interceptions came in the second quarter. The first one, by junior left Tackle Tom Miller, was picked by East Coach Dom Patella as the turning point. “We were only one touchdown away then,” said the dejected mentor, “It looked lie we were on our way.”
A jubilant Massillon Coach Leo Strang felt that the pass interceptions and fumble recovery were “key situations and gave us a sorely needed boost.” He added, “The kids have more confidence now. This victory really helped us.”
Strang explained the reason for East’s superiority in the yard department. “They gained most of that yardage in the second half when we had a lot of reserves in. We were trying to keep the key boys out part of the time to rest them and to make sure no one else was injured.” He added, “Some of our reserves who started will be playing reserve ball against Alliance tomorrow, which was a factor also.”
Patella was happy with his charges’ second half play. “That was more typical East football,” he said. “We were scared during the first half.”
Strang commented on the play of sophomore Fullback Jim Lawrence. The skipper felt that Lawrence had his best running night of the season. Strang was also happy with the play of juniors Tom Roderick and Ken Swisher at the line-backing spots, in the first half. The combination was broken up in the second half when Strang started going to his bench. Swisher subbed for injured Ron Davis. Senior Tailback John Kanney looked good again for the second week in a row, scoring three touchdowns, all in the first half. Wingback Bill Blunt caught some very important passes. * * * IRONICALLY though, the Bengals might have had a couple of other scores if pass receivers had been able to hold on to aerials when they were in the open. The Orientals had the same trouble. Massillon completed only six of 15 passes and East five of 19. Jitters played a big part in this department on both sides.
Massillon scored the second time it got its hands on the ball. The Tigers’ safety man, Terry Getz, ran a punt back from his 45-yard line to the East 47. The Orange and Black had a score eight plays and two first downs later.
With Kanny and Lawrence taking turns running through opposite sides of the line the Tigers moved the ball well. Lawrence had a big 18-yard run which set the TD up by putting the ball on the four.
Kanney ultimately went over, inside long side end with 5:14 left in the first period. Swartz didn’t get into the end zone for the conversion, however.
Three plays after the ensuing kickoff East fumbled, and Roderick hopped on the errant pigskin at the Orientals’ 15. Lawrence went off tackle to the nine and then the seven.
Kanney scored again at 2:50. Swartz passed to Blunt for the conversion. * * * EAST CAME RIGHT back to score on a 76-yard drive on its next series. The drive included eight plays and three first downs. Also thrown in were a 41-yard pass play from senior Quarterback Bill Shuman to Junior Fullback Chester Millirons, an 18-yard end run by senior halfback Ralph Sanders and a 12-yard end run by senior Halfback Ted Becton.
Then the Sanders- Millirons duo teamed up for what was to be the first of two eight-point maneuvers. Sanders scored the touchdown around left end at 11:15 of the second stanza. Millirons skirted right end on a pitchout for the conversion.
The Bengals came back with three scores in less than three minutes near the end of the period. Miller came up with his interception on the Akron 42. Then the Orange and Black ground out the yardage with Lawrence and Kanney handling the running.
Nine plays and three first downs after the interception Kanney scored his third six-pointer of the night from six yards out off left guard at 2:30. Blunt tried to skirt left end on a pitchout but missed the conversion.
On the first play following the kickoff, Shuman tried a pass to Saunders. It tipped off his hands and into the arms of Getz. The little junior raced down the east sideline from the 25 to the two.
He was given the honor of scoring the TD, which he did on the first play via the wedge. Swartz passed to Blunt for the PAT’s. * * * WITH TIME running out in the half, East missed on a fourth down pass play with 12 yards to go on its 24. The Tigers capitalized on the opportunity to score in three plays at 0:38. Swartz tossed down the center to Blunt on the 15 and “The Rabbit” scored with the aid of a big block by junior short side End Ron Alexander, who started his first game. Lawrence wedged in the conversion for 36-8 score.
Alexander was hurt on the touchdown play. He received a bruised back and left the field for the night.
The only scoring in the second half came in the third canto. The Orange and Black moved 70 yards after a punt for their final score at 4:36. It took them nine plays and two first downs to tally.
Blunt had a big “Statue of Liberty” play after a holding penalty that put WHS back on its own 37, second and 26. He gained 17 yards to the Akron 46.
Then Swartz handed the ball to Kanney as he went into the line, pulled the pigskin back and let fly to Lawrence who gathered the ball in one the 43 and scampered down the west sideline to score. Paisley’s attempted kick for the conversion was no good.
Immediately thereafter East scored again. Taking the kickoff, the Orientals moved from their 22 for the score in eight plays and four first downs at 0:29. * * * EAST GOT its passing game going as Shuman threw to 6-6 junior End Huston Breedlove for 27 yards and 21 yards. Senior Halfback Earl Jackson ran for 14 yards through the center to help out.
Sanders went around left end from the six for the score. Millirons went off tackle for the conversion.
The Orientals’ last effort came with about 2:50 left in the game. They took over on their 44 after a punt and moved to the Tiger seven in eight plays with three first downs. Again passes to Breedlove, covering 14 and 18 yards, helped get the ball deep into Massillon territory.
With first down on the seven, Shuman threw two passes to Breedlove and one to Becton, with no results. The first one to Breedlove was incomplete in the end zone. The next was incomplete in the flat. The last was intercepted by Roderick in the end zone.
Massillon had one drive going in the last quarter only to run afoul of a penalty and two fumbles, the last of which was recovered by East on the WHS 40.
The Tigers will now play two straight games on the road. Next week they will journey to Mansfield, the following week to Warren, returning home Nov. 2 against Cleveland Benedictine.
MASSILLON – 42 Ends – Jones, R. Alexander, McAllister, Franklin, Hose and Goodnough. Tackles – Clendening, Profant, Mercer, Fabianich, Miller, Frank, Morgan and Tarle. Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Roderick, Swisher, Paflas, Mathias and Rivera. Centers – Bradley, Paisley and Scassa. Backs – Swartz, Kanney, Lawrence, Eckard, Blunt, Getz, Sullivan, Toles, Hewitt, Thomas, Pope and Rink.
East 0 8 8 0 16 Massillon 14 22 8 0 42
Touchdowns: Massillon – Kanney (three, seven and six-yard runs); Getz (one-yard run); Blunt (24-yard pass from Swartz); Lawrence (46-yard pass from Swarts.
East – Sanders (three and six-yard runs).
Conversions: Massillon – Blunt 2 (passes from Swartz) and) Lawrence (run).
East – Millirons 2 (runs).
Officials Referee – Jack McLain (Columbus). Umpire – Tom Bender (Fostoria). Head Linesman – Don Elsass (Columbus) Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville)
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Opp. First downs – rushing 8 8 First downs – passing 6 4 First downs – penalties 0 0 Total first downs 14 12 Yards gained rushing 163 148 Yards lost rushing 34 14 Net yards gained rushing 129 134 Yards gained passing 114 120 Total yards gained 243 254 Passes attempted 15 19 Passes completed 6 5 Passes intercepted by 3 0 Times kicked off 7 3 Kickoff average (yards) 55.7 45.6 Kickoff returns (yards) 44 110 Times punted 3 4 Punt average (yards) 35.3 24.2 Punt returns (yards) 23 4 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 3 2 Lost fumbled ball 1 1 Penalties 3 4 Yards penalized 22 23
Battling Tigers Bow to Big Red 14-8 Bengals Try Hard And Finish Badly Crippled
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
They gave it a whale of a try, but the odds were stacked against them.
They were outmanned and crippled up, but the Massillon Tigers never gave in. They were in the game until the last minute, trying with all of their might to pull it out of the fire. But there’s a limit beyond which flesh and blood cannot endure against superior weight and healthy numbers.
The Steubenville Big Red powered their way to a 14-8 victory over Washington high school before 12,869 fans at Tiger stadium Friday night. They literally wore the Bengals down in the second half.
With All-Ohio, senior Halfback Harry Wilson going off the right side and junior Halfback Ray Terry slanting off the other, the Big Red beat Massillon for the first time since 1931. The score that year was 68-0.
The last time the Bengals lost three games in a season was in 1947. They dropped four games that year. The last time they faltered in three out of their first five games was in 1928.
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“Under the circumstances the boys did the best job they could, especially on defense,” said Coach Leo Strang. Ray Hoyman, boss of Steubenville, said, “This was our toughest game of the year. Massillon had a scrapping bunch of players out there. They gave a 150 per cent effort.” * * * THE BEST INDICATION of the fight and spirit of the Tigers came near the end of the fourth period. The Big Red fumbled with fourth-and-three on the Massillon three-yard line after a drive of 81 yards with three first downs highlighted by Terry’s breakaway run through the center from the Massillon 42 to the eight.
The Tigers took over and started up field in a last-ditch effort to pull the game out. There were 2:46 left on the clock when the drive started.
They drove from their eight to the Big Red’s 34 in 12 plays with four first downs featuring the running of senior Tailback John Kanney and two fine pass plays with junior Quarterback Ron Swartz on the throwing end. Junior long side End Mike Jones caught one aerial for 17 yards. Graydon Eckard, junior wingback, hauled in the other for the last 20 yards to the 34.
In a desperation move Strang called on Fullback Terry Getz. The little junior southpaw took a pitchout from Swartz, streaked to his left and let fly with a pass. But Wilson was “Johnny-on-the-spot,” with an interception which ended the threat and the game.
During this and other series the Tigers failed to connect on key passes that could have opened up the ground game. Strang explained, “We had no versatility in our passing attack. The only boys we could throw to were our wingbacks.” Both regular ends are injured. So is the starting quarterback. Although their replacements gave a good account of themselves, the passing game was hampered. * * * WHILE ON the subject of injuries, it should be noted that the Tigers’ starting backfield is now all on the clinical list. Another quarterback and the short side guard are also sidelined. Senior Tailback Ron Davis has a neck injury. Junior Wingback Bill Blunt has a sprained knee ligament, ditto junior Quarterback Tom Gatsios, who injured himself in pre-game workouts. Co-Captain and senior short side End Jim Ehmer has a dislocated shoulder.
The Orange and Black broke the scoring ice first after a long drive by Steubenville was stopped on a pass interception by Davis. The Big Red had taken the opening kickoff and moved from its 33 to the Massillon 19 in 17 plays with four first downs as Wilson hit one side of the line and Terry the other.
Wilson’s 21-yard scamper around left end from the Massillon 41 to the 20 highlighted the drive. On this drive, as they did all night, the Big Red capitalized on key third down plays. The Tigers did also, and that made it an exciting game.
Davis’ interception came on a fourth-and-19 situation on the 19 to give the Tigers the ball on their 18. The interception came just after a holding penalty had set Steubenville back from the three to the 18.
With Davis and Kanney running the ends, the Orange and Black took eight plays and three first downs to move for the score. Davis had runs of nine, 17 and 21 yards and Kanney a 22-yard romp in the series. * * * SWARTZ WENT over from the one on the wedge with 55 seconds left. Kanney went off tackle for the conversion.
This was the last time Massillon was able to move the ball well around end. Steubenville widened its defense.
The Big Red got their first score as the result of circumstances that will be talked about for a long time. The Tigers had the ball third-and-three on their 24, ran a play and were penalized for a personal foul after the whistle, which meant the down counted. But the players misunderstood, thinking it was third-and-1 instead of fourth down on the 16, ran on the next play and were stopped with Steubenville taking over on the 16.
Three plays later Wilson ran around left end from the 12 to the one on third-and-six. On the next play he went through the center for the score at 8:27.
He was stopped on the conversion. However, Massillon was off-side. The Big Red got another chance, and Terry drove through the middle for the tying points.
Neither team mounted an offensive again until Massillon picked off a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 31 midway in the third quarter. This threat was short-lived. On fourth-and-eight from the 29 minutes later, Swartz got hit hard by an onrushing Big Red lineman as he was passing, and the ball ended up in the arms of Steubenville’s Herb Lindsey on the 25. He returned to the Massillon 36 with a desperation tackle by Swartz saving a TD..
In the 12 plays and two first downs, Steubenville had the ball on the 11, fourth-and-nine. Sophomore safety Jim Lawrence then intercepted a pass on the two and ran it back to the 34.
The Tigers started rolling, getting to the Big Red 45 five plays later thanks to a 15-yard pass to Eckard and a 12-yard run up the middle by Lawrence. Then came a Bengal fumble recovered by Steubenville on the 34.
On the second play of the ensuing series, Terry raced 61 yards through the center for the winning score. Getz made a diving, desperation tackle but just missed. Wilson missed the conversion.
Then came a Massillon series, the Steubenville fumble and the Tigers’ last-ditch effort.
The Orientals from Akron East will move in next Friday to test the battle-scarred Tiger.
STEUBENVILLE – 14 Ends – Bruzda, Owens, Stinson and A. Terry. Tackles – Mazzaferro, Miller and horston. Guards – Ziklo, Bauman and Mayo. Center – Duncan. Backs – Wilson, R. Terry, McCosky, Weinman, Lindsey, Parris and Cusack.
MASSILLON – 8 Ends – Franklin, Jones, Hose and R. Alexander. Tackles – Profant, Clendening, Tarle, Miller, Fabianich, Morgan and Mercer. Guards – McDew, Ehmer, Roderick, Swisher, Castile, Geckler, Rivera and Mathias. Centers – Bradley and Paisley. Backs – Swartz, Davis, Lawrence, Blunt, Kanney, Eckard, Getz, Thomas, Pope, Sullivan and Williams.
Steubenville 0 8 6 0 14 Massillon 8 0 0 0 8
Touchdowns: Massillon – Swartz 1 (one-yard run). Steubenville – Wilson 1 (one-yard run); Terry 1 (61-yard run).
Officials Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland) Umpire – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls). Head Linesman – Harold Rolph (Ironton). Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Opp. First downs – rushing 8 12 First downs – passing 4 0 First downs – penalties 1 0 Total first downs 13 12 Yards gained rushing 190 290 Yards lost rushing 6 7 Net yards gained rushing 184 283 Yards gained passing 62 0 Total yards gained 246 283 Passes attempted 14 5 Passes completed 5 0 Passes intercepted by 2 2 Times kicked off 2 3 Kickoff average (yards) 33.0 43.3 Kickoff returns (yards) 29 10 Times punted 4 2 Punt average (yards) 30.0 46.0 Punt returns (yards) 3 0 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 1 2 Lost fumbled ball 1 1 Penalties 2 4 Yards penalized 20 35
Tigers Crushed 46-0 By Superb Alliance Bengals Suffer Worst Defeat In 31 Years As Aviators Dazzle Fans
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
The stony post-game silence in the Massillon Tigers’ dressing room Friday night was a reminder of the awful nightmare that had occurred on the Hartshorn stadium turf the past 48 minutes before 9,344 dripping fans.
The Washington high school football team had received its worst beating in 31 years. Alliance high school had pounded the Bengals 46-0 on its home field.
Not since Steubenville had shellacked WHS 68-0 in 1931 had the Tigers absorbed a worse beating. Dayton Steele beat the Orange and Black by an identical score in 1921. A 59-0 loss to Barberton in 1912 made Friday’s defeat the third worst in the Bengals history.
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It was Leo Strang’s worst setback in 13 seasons of coaching. * * * NOT SINCE 1932 when one of Paul Brown’s teams, quarterbacked by Alliance Coach Mel Knowlton, was beaten 30-6 by the Aviators and in 1921 when Dave Stewart was shut out 25-0, had Alliance beaten the Tigers so badly. The last whitewash by Alliance was over Chuck Mather 14-0 in 1948. The last defeat by the Aviators was 9-7 in 1954 over Tom Harp, both losses administered by Knowlton.
The Orange and Black’s season record now stands at 2-2. The last time a Massillon team lost two games in a season was when Lee Tressel was coach in 1956. The last shutout was 6-0 by Warren in 1958, Strang’s first year.
The faces of the Bengal coaches and players were grim after Friday’s game, grim with the determination to prove to the fans of Massillon that the Tigers will come back, that the old Tiger spirit is still there.
With the loss went any hope the Bengals’ might have had of going on to win their fourth straight state championship. But the victory could be the incentive to spur Alliance on to its first since 1958. * * * HOW DO YOU explain a night like this? What happened? Both Strang and Knowlton said it was a game when everything went right for Alliance and all wrong for Massillon. As both coaches said, Massillon would start its defense one way, and Alliance would be going the other.
To say that things went wrong for WHS is a gross understatement. There was almost no blocking, no tackling. Pass defenders couldn’t stay with receivers. The latter ailment can be partially blamed on the rainy weather which turned the field into a muddy mess. With the Tigers playing all men close to the line in order to try to stop Alliance sweeps early, Bengal defenders were unable to get their footing well enough to drop back quickly.
On the other hand, the Aviators came through with a terrific line job. Alliance Linemen continually got the jump on the Tigers, both offensively and defensively. As a result Aviator backs found plenty of holes while Tiger runners were hit before they got to the line.
Knowlton got tremendous running from Chet Bryant, Win Young and Larry Grimes. Quarterback Doug Wade did some tremendous passing. Ends Tom Greene, Captain Tom Barany and Henry (Skip) Waters did some fine receiving.
When it was all over, Bryant had scored three touchdowns and a conversion. Grimes’ two touchdowns, Young one, Waters one and a conversion. It was the biggest victory for Knowlton in his 17 seasons at Alliance, he said.
Statistics showed that Alliance had 18 first downs. The Aviators picked up 32 net yards on the ground and 125 in the air, losing only three yards all night. Total yardage was 447.
While he was happy with his whole team’s performance, Knowlton was especially pleased with the performance of Waters, “the best player I’ve ever had,” and Guard Dave Cade, one of “the best blockers and tacklers of the night.” * * * “WE WERE REALLY prepared for this one,” said Knowlton, “as well as we’ve ever been for any game since I’ve been here. This was just the reverse of last year. That one really stuck in my craw.” He added, “I got a real effort from varsity, reserves and coaches.”
When asked if he had been saving Wade for Massillon since the junior signal-caller hadn’t thrown much in Alliance’s previous three games, Knowlton replied an emphatic no. He was happy that Wade had come along well to open up the ground game for his “great one-two attack of Bryant and Grimes.
“Knowlton cautioned the Massillon fans not to get on Strang or the players much. A game like this can happen to the best of them, and Massillon isn’t that bad,” he said.
For Strang’s part, he said, “Mel has done a heck of a job of coaching with his boys. They were the best team in the state out there tonight. We were the worst.”
Both of Massillon’s ends, Will Perry and Bob McAllister, were lost due to injuries in the first quarter. With the Bengals already crippled by other injuries and forced to use a number of younger players it hurt. “The younger players couldn’t adjust to their gaming defense,” Strang said. * * * PERHAPS an omen of things to come was Young almost taking the opening kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown. He slipped on the wet turf at the Alliance 35-yard line and went down, however.
Alliance got nowhere on its first series, the only time it failed to score when given the opportunity all night, except on the final few plays of the game. The Aviators punted to Massillon.
The Orange and Black got its only good drive of the night going. In 10 plays with four first downs, the Tigers had reached the Alliance 30. Then a mix-up in the backfield cause a fumble, Waters recovered, and the Tigers never threatened again.
They had two other brief sorties into Aviator territory. One came late in the second quarter when Massillon got to its opponents’ 46-yard line. The other trip stopped at Alliance 44 in the final canto.
After Waters had recovered the first period fumble, the Aviators drove 74 yards in 14 plays with four first downs for their initial score. The Orange and Black had Alliance stopped on its 37 with a fourth down but jumped offside. The penalty gave the Aviators a first down and continued the drive. * * * GRIMES and Bryant picked up most of the yardage, as they did all night, first hitting one side of the line then the other, and then around end. But it was Young, the junior right halfback, who finally went over around end with 10:10 left in the first quarter. Grimes missed the conversion run.
He had a 20-yard touchdown romp called back during this drive due to an illegal motion penalty.
Alliance forced Massillon to punt again shortly after the second period had begun. Taking over on their 11-yard line the Aviators marched the distance in 10 plays with three first downs.
Grimes went around end at 4:53. He missed the conversion try. Wade passed to Waters for the conversion after a motion penalty had nullified Grimes’ run.
Grimes scored the next TD at 2:01. Massillon gambled on a fourth-and-four situation from its 42 but didn’t make it. Alliance got the ball on the 35. Two plays later Grimes went off guard from the 16 for the tally. * * * THE AVIATORS went 86 yards on their next drive after a Bengal punt in the middle of the third stanza. On the third play after Alliance had taken over, Bryant went off tackle for 75 yards with Waters coming over from the opposite side of the field to lead the blocking. The time was 6:21. Wade’s pass to Bryant for the conversion was incomplete.
Near the end of the period Alliance took over after another Orange and Black punt. The drive was 39 yards in nine plays and one first down. Wade tossed to Waters with the senior end making a tumbling catch near the end line at 11:53 of the last quarter. Young scored the conversion on a pitchout to the right. But Alliance was called for illegal procedure. A pass on the second try was incomplete.
Bryant had an 18-yard score called back during this drive because his mates were offside.
Seconds later Waters intercepted a Bengal pass on the Massillon 40 and raced to the 20. Bryant went off guard at 11:02 for the tally. He missed on the conversion run.
Alliance’s last score was a two-play job after another Massillon punt. On the second play after taking over on the Massillon 47, Grimes cut off tackle and back through the middle for the score at 5:11. The TD run was a 45-yarder. Bryant went off right tackle for the conversion.
Massillon had only eight first downs. The Tigers picked up 98 net yards on the ground, losing 25. They gained 31 yards via the aerial route. The total was 129.
The Tigers return home next week to face the tough Steubenville Big Red, winners of four straight contests.
Hard To Believe
MASSILLON – 0 Ends – McAllister, Perry, Franklin, Jones, Hose and Alexander. Tackles – Clendening, Profant, Miller, Tarle and Fabianich. Guards – Ehmer, McDew, Swisher, Mathias, Geckler, Castile and Morgan. Centers – Bradley, Scassa, Rambaud and Paisley. Backs – Gatsios, Swartz, Rink, Kanney, Davis, Blunt, Eckard, Getz, Thomas and Lawrence.
ALLIANCE – 46 Ends – Bareny, Greene and Waters. Tackles – Woods, Fetters and G. Freraccio. Guards – Cade, Hairston, M. Freraccio and Allen. Centers – Felice, Dicken and Shilling. Backs – Wade, Grimes, Bryant, Young, Holmes and Blaer.
Massillon 0 0 0 0 0 Alliance 6 14 6 20 46
Touchdowns: Alliance – Grimes 3 (5, 16 and 46-yard runs); Bryant 2 (75 and 20-yard runs); Young 1 (10-yard run) and Waters 1 (27-yard pass from Wade).
Conversions: Alliance – Waters 1 (pass from Wade) and Bryant 1 (run).
Officials: Referee – Fritz Graf (Akron). Umpire – John Holzbach (Youngstown). Head Linesman – Bill Holwarth (Louisville). Field Judge – Carl Spessard (Cuyahoga Falls).
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Opp. First downs – rushing 5 12 First downs – passing 2 4 First downs – penalties 1 2 Total first downs 8 18 Yards gained rushing 123 325 Yards lost rushing 25 3 Net yards gained rushing 96 332 Yards gained passing 31 125 Total yards gained 129 447 Passes attempted 12 7 Passes completed 4 4 Passes intercepted by 0 1 Times kicked off 1 8 Kickoff average (yards) 55.0 47.1 Kickoff returns (yards) 105 30 Times punted 4 1 Punt average (yards) 12.6 13 Punt returns (yards) 0 29 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 2 1 Lost fumbled ball 2 0 Penalties 2 8 Yards penalized 20 50
Tigers Defeat Fast Cincinnati Team 43-6 Bengals’ Passes Open Up Queen City Foe For Carriers
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
The Washington high school football team was the majority party at Tiger stadium Friday night. And the Tigers used their superior numbers to legislate decisively against the Senators from Cincinnati’s Robert A. Taft high school.
The Bengals captured their second victory of the season 3-6. They’ve lost one. Taft has a tie and a loss on its record.
Coach Leo Strang had the strength on his bench to win by a landslide in the second half. He was able to pour in the substitutes and wear down the stubborn Senators with a 30-point barrage in the last 24 minutes after a 13-0 margin at the intermission.
“I feel real good,” Strang said after the game. “I was very pleased with our passing game and some of those catches were tremendous.”
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Strang thought that Taft was a plucky team and could go back home with heads high. “Being able to put in a lot of fresh boys in the last half helped to wear them down,” Strang said. “At half time we found some things we could do that helped us in the second half.” * * * THE TIGERS’ skipper was high in his praise of Taft’s speedy right halfback, senior Carl Ward, who made his team’s only touchdown. He felt that Ward was a fine runner with good agility and was a good bet to make an All-Ohio berth.
“Ward is great. There are not many boys any better,” Strang said.
It goes without saying that Will Hundemer, Taft’s coach, was happy with Ward’s performance. He picked up 145 net yards in 17 carries for an average of 8.4 yards per try. Overall the Senators got 163 net yards. He had three kick-off run backs for distances of 14, 35, and 24 yards. Ward also did some fine pass – receiving and punting.
In commenting on his team’s performance, Hundemer said, “I feel we played a fair game. I didn’t expect to get beat as badly as we did. But Massillon has a fine team. They’re great technicians. We made some costly errors in there tonight.”
Hundemer definitely was of the opinion that a Taft fumble on Massillon’s five-yard line early in the second quarter was a key factor in the game. “Things might have been different otherwise,” he said. Ironically Ward made the miscue. * * * THE GAME was one where you had to make the most of each opportunity to handle the ball. The Tigers scored six of nine times, missing twice in the first half and once in the second with Tailback Ron Davis and Fullback Jim Lawrence each scoring twice.
Only one Taft play separated the last two times the Orange and Black got the ball in the first half. The Bengals had two plays with a pass interception on the second, then re-intercepted on the Senators’ first try.
Massillon got its first touchdown on a 52-yard drive following a punt in the first period. Nine plays and three first downs were needed for the tally. Ron Davis, a senior starting his first game on offense for the Bengals, rammed in from the one off tackle at 6:33. Wil Paisley kicked the conversion.
The big play in the drive was a 28-yard pass from Senior Quarterback Mike Koenig to junior short side End Bob McAllister.
After Ward had run Paisley’s kick from the Taft 14 to the 49, the Senators took off on a 46-yard drive which ended abruptly with Ward’s fumble on the five. The Senators utilized 15 plays with four first downs. Ward had a 12-yard pass reception in one key spot. Three times Taft held onto the ball on third-down situations, each with more than six yards to make.
Following Davis’ recovery of the fumble, the Benglas made a long 95-yard trek for their second TD. They used 12 plays, getting four first downs. Davis made a big 57-yard run from his five to the Taft 38 via a sweep off a pitchout. Junior Wingback Grady Eckard, starting his first game offensively, contributed a beautiful 10-yard romp on the counter.
Davis went over from the one off guard at 4:23. Paisley’s kick was off to the left. * * * TAFT HAD ONE more drive before the half ended. This time the Senators moved from their 20, after the Tigers’ second tally, to the Orange and Black 37 only to lose the ball on downs. Ward contributed a fine 21-yard romp off tackle to the cause.
Massillon took six plays to hit pay dirt after the second half kick-off, moving from its 34 in six plays and two first downs. Koenig completed an 18-yard pass play to senior Wingback Bill Blunt off an offense left formation to get the ball to the Taft 47; three plays later Lawrence crashed off guard from the 41 to the 13. Davis went off tackle to the 10. And Koenig went in on the keeper on the next play at 9:51. Koenig threw to Eckard off offense left to make the score 21-0.
Taft drove from its 28 to the Massillon 45, and lost the ball on downs again. Ward caught a pass good for 17 yards and ran 10 yards on a sweep to help the situation. Both runs were on key third-down situations. The Senators got three first downs during their time with the ball.
The Tigers got nowhere on their next series. Neither did Taft.
The Orange and Black manufactured its next score on a drive which started at the end of the third quarter and carried to the 10:17 mark of the last stanza. Seven plays and three first downs went by the board before the TD came. Koenig’s 13-yard run on the option, a 14-yard counter keeper and a 15-yard personal foul penalty helped out.
Lawrence, a sophomore starting his first game offensively, took a pitchout and went in from the seven. Junior signal-caller Ron Swartz threw to Blunt for the conversion. * * * TAFT TOOK three plays after the kickoff to get its only score. Ward ran back the boot from his 10 to his 34. Two plays later, on third-and-11, he skirted end on a counter after finding his tackle hole jammed up and outraced the Tiger defenders 67 yards for the six points at 9:13. Junior Quarterback Ed Lewis failed in an attempt to score two extra points.
The Strangmen were back at it following the kickoff, taking the ball 67 yards in 12 plays and five first downs, two of them on big third-down situations. By this time the reserves were seeing action. The Bengals used a nine-yard pass to junior long side End Will Perry, a nine-yard Statue of Liberty by Blunt and a 12-yard counter by Eckard to good advantage. Another personal foul penalty also helped out.
Lawrence scored on another pitch out 4:34. Junior Quarterback Tom Gatsios let fly to Lawrence for the conversion with Jim making a fine falling catch.
The Bengals got the ball after a punt late in the stanza. Five plays later it was bonanza for the sixth and last time. Blunt ran the punt back from his 45 to the Taft 23.
One of the big plays was a pass from Swartz to sophomore long side End Ken Gilmore, another boy in his first game. The play went from the 23 to the three and Ken made a sensational diving catch.
Swartz tossed to McAllister from the three two plays later at 1:03. Another Swartz-to-McAllister aerial for the conversion misfired.
The Tigers will leave the friendly confines of the stadium for their first road game next week. Site will be Hartshorn stadium in Alliance.
The Right Way
TAFT – 6 Ends – Hardaway and Clark. Tackles – Durham, Smith, Hill and Vann. Guards – Davis, Alford, Broadnax and Mosoe. Centers – Ruff and Pullens. Backs – Lewis, Ward, Willis, Ison, Carter, Copeland, Thomas and Edwards.
MASSILLON – 43 Ends – Perry, McAllister, Franklin and Gilmore. Tackles – Clendening, Profant, Harmon, Fabianich, Miller, Morgan and Tarle. Guards – Ehmer, McDew, Castile, Roderick, Swisher, Paflas, Geckler, Mathias and Rivera. Centers – Bradley and Scassa. Backs – Koenig, Davis, Lawrence, Eckard, Swartz, Gatsios, Blunt, Kanney, Sullivan, Thomas, Pope, Rink, Gamble and Getz.
Taft 0 0 6 0 6 Massillon 7 6 8 22 43
Touchdowns: Massillon – Davis 2 (one-yard runs); Lawrence 2 (seven and three yard runs); Koenig (10-yard run); McAllister (three-yard pass from Swartz). Taft – Ward (67-yard run).
Points after touchdown: Massillon – Paisley 1 (kick); Blunt 2 (pass from Swartz); Eckard 2 (pass from Koenig); Lawrence 2 (pass from Gatsios).
Officials Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton). Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon). Head Linesman – William Makepeace (Cincinnati). Field Judge – Fritz Graf (Akron).
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Opp. First downs – rushing 14 7 First downs – passing 3 4 First downs – penalties 1 0 Total first downs 18 11 Yards gained rushing 277 177 Yards lost rushing 6 14 Net yards gained rushing 271 163 Yards gained passing 85 69 Total yards gained 356 222 Passes attempted 13 15 Passes completed 6 7 Passes intercepted by 1 1 Times kicked off 7 2 Kickoff average (yards) 48.8 36.5 Kickoff returns (yards) 12 132 Times punted 1 4 Punt average (yards) 34.0 31.3 Punt returns (yards) 52 0 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 3 4 Lost fumbled ball 0 1 Penalties 7 5 Yards penalized 12 40
Tigers Roll Over Akron South 52-6 Bengals Play Versatile Football In Chalking Up First Win Of Season
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
They made the disbelievers believe!
Many of the fans who jammed the Tiger Booster club meeting last Monday came to unleash a blast at the Washington high school football team and Coach Leo Strang. This Monday they’ll be there to heap praise on Leo and his Bengals.
For the Tigers put on an awesome display of football Friday night at Tiger stadium. They scored by just about every means possible and displayed fine defensive play, too, while clobbering a hapless Akron South eleven 52-6 before 9,570 fans.
Until the second half when Strang had his second string in, the Cavaliers failed to get out of their own territory, getting no further than the 38-yard line. South was held to 22 yards rushing, 11 passing and one first down via an offside penalty.
Meanwhile in the first half the Orange and Black rolled up 236 yards on the ground, 88 in the air and 10 first downs. They had a 27-0 lead.
When the final report was in, the Tigers had rolled up 513 total yards – 331 on the ground and 182 in the air – and 21 first downs. South’s figures were 144 total yardage – 139 rushing and five passing – and nine first downs. * * * HOWEVER, lest Massillon fans get too carried away with their team’s first victory, it must be said that South was not a good team. There are tougher ones on the list for the next nine games.
As Strang said, “When South gets organized; it will be a good team. I liked the looks of that sophomore halfback Taylor (Sterling).” Taylor gave the Orange and Black reserves fits running kicks back and sweeping the ends in the second half. He had a 22-yard and a 38-yard runback.
Since three of the Tigers’ eight six-pointers were scored via the airwaves and about a third of their yardage picked up that way, Strang was asked if he would continue throwing. “If the defense gives us the opportunity to do so, we will,” he said.
The Tigers scored the first time they got their hands on the ball. Junior Tailback Tom Pope ran the opening kickoff back 17 yards. The Bengals moved from the 27 to score in 10 plays and three first downs. The fast, shifty back, playing his first high school game – the Cavaliers, showed in a preview last week – also draw a lot of praise from his coach, Ted Osborn. “He’s got all the makings of a good one,” Osborn said.
Osborn commented on his team’s showing thusly: “I was pleased with their effort. We were ready for Massillon defensively but couldn’t handle them. We are about a month behind them offensively. We put in half of our offense just this week.”
Strang was happy about the victory in that it did his charges “a lot of good after last week’s loss.” He thought all of his work on blocking this week was time well spent since a lot of big holes were opened in the South line and downfield defenders felled. * * * “I THOUGHT our three quarterbacks did a fine job, especially Ron Swartz,” Strang added. Swartz, a junior, saw more action than either senior Mike Koenig or junior Tom Gatsios. Koenig did not play much of the second half since the second-stringers were in. All three quarterbacks figured in the scoring. Koenig passing for one touchdown, Swartz for two and Gatsios running for another.
In re-capping the scoring, the play chart shows the Tigers scored eight of the 12 times they got their hands on the ball. Junior wingbacks Bill Blunt and Graydon Eckard and Senior Fullback John Kanney each scored twice and sophomore Tailback Jim Lawrence once besides Gatsios’ score.
Key plays in the series were a 26-yard run around right end by Koenig when a pass play misfired and a 21-yard run by Blunt on a counter play off an inside trap. Kanney ultimately slashed off left guard for the score with 7:51 remaining in the initial period. Wil Paisley provided the conversion. * * * AFTER FORCING South to punt, Massillon took over on its 22. On the second play Kanney took off around right end on a sweep and romped 72 yards to pay dirt at 4:03, getting a key block from short side End Bob McAllister, a junior, in the process. Paisley added his conversion.
After another South punt, the Orange and Black had the ball on the Cavalier 46. The Tigers were set back 15 yards for holding, and on a second-and-20 situation from their 44, Koenig connected with Blunt for WHS’ next score. “The Rabbit” got a good block from junior long side End Mike Jones to help him reach touchdown land at 1:06. Paisley made his third PAT.
Shortly after the second quarter had started, Massillon took over on its 44 following a punt. Eight plays and four first downs later the score was 27-0. The big plays in the series were a 12-yard keeper by Swartz and nine yards off tackle by Lawrence as Strang started to clean the bench.
Lawrence made this score, through the center from the three at 8:35. Paisley missed the conversion this time.
The Bengals almost had another score before the half ended. The Orange and Black took over on a punt and carried to the South 17 on the first play as Swartz tossed to Jones for 32 yards. Three plays later from the nine, junior Fullback Terry Getz tried to throw to Jones after a pitch-out, but the pass was just knocked from his hands in the end zone. The Tigers lost the ball on downs. * * * TOUCHDOWN NO. 5 came in the middle of the third stanza. The Tigers got the ball via a touchback when a South punt carried into the end zone from the Bengal 39 on the Cavaliers’ first trip out of their own territory. Four first downs and seven plays later the score came.
The big plays were runs of 16 yards each by Blunt on the counter and Statue of Liberty and Koenig’s 11-yard keeper around right end. Blunt went in on the counter with 5:34 remaining. Koenig’s pass to McAllister for the conversion was incomplete.
Then came the Cavalier’s lone score. Taylor took off on his 38-yard kickoff return. In six plays and two first downs, South moved from its 43 for the score. Taylor’s sweep of right end 27 yards was the key play. Fullback Bob Culver scored from the 13, going off right tackle at 2:17. Taylor tried to sweep again for the two extra points but failed.
The Tigers scored three six-pointers in the last canto, two in the last minute and a half. The Orange and Black started a drive after South’s TD as the third quarter was coming to an end.
Eckard started things off with a 14-yard kick return. This was their hardest drive of the night, taking 13 plays and four first downs. The important play in the series was a 34-yard pass from Swartz to Blunt.
Swartz passed to Eckard to the sixth score with 9:31 remaining on a fourth-and-four situation from the 10. Paisley’s kick was no good.
South got only one drive going in the last period – two lost fumbles stifled others. After the Cavaliers’ lone push from their nine to the Massillon 48, the Tigers took over on their 48. Swartz connected with Eckard again, with Don Alexander, junior long side end providing a nice block, and the Orange and Black had a TD on its first play. The time was 1:26. Paisley booted the conversion.
Alexander’s twin brother Ron got into the act to set up the Tigers’ last score. The junior short side end recovered a South fumble on the Cavaliers’ 17. Gatsios went in on the first play at 0:31, shaking off a couple of would-be tacklers in the attempt. Paisley missed the PAT.
The Right Way
South Ends – Patterson, Griffin, Kyle, Stormer, DeRoss and Liggens. Tackles – Beach, Johnson, Williams and McAdams. Guards – Pearson, Leathers, Harper, Joseph, Hopkins and Williams. Centers – Grey and Shaw. Backs – Marsh, Ellis, Horton, Ford, Kerney, Foster, McCombs, Johnson, Tyson, Taylor and Culver.
Massillon Ends – McAllister, Perry, Franklin, Jones, R. Alexander and D. Alexander. Tackles – Mercer, Clendening, Profant, Fabianich, Lash, Frank, Morgan, Tarle and Miller. Guards – Ehmer, McDew, Castile, Randles, Roderick, Swisher, Paflas, Geckler, Mathias, and Rivera. Centers – Bradley, Scassa and Bash. Backs – Koenig, Kanney, Toles, Blunt, Gatsios, Swartz, Sullivan, Thomas, Pope, Rink, Eckard, Gamble, Davis, Gets, Lawrence and Hill.
South 0 0 6 0 6 Massillon 21 6 6 19 52
Touchdowns: Massillon – Kanney, 2, (3 and 72-yard runs); Blunt 2, (55-yard pass from Koenig, 22-yard run); Eckard, 2 (10 and 52-yard pass from Swartz); Lawrence (3-yard run); Gatsios (17-yard run). Akron South – Culver (13-yard run)
Conversions: Massillon – Paisley 4 (kicks)
Officials Referee – Pete Lanigan (Columbus) Umpire – Andy Moran (Berea) Head Linesman – Chuck Hinkle (Canton) Field Judge – Williams Darenfight (Canton)
GAME STATISTICS Mass. Opp. First downs – rushing 16 8 First downs – passing 5 0 First downs – penalties 0 1 Total first downs 21 9 Yards gained rushing 340 154 Yards lost rushing 9 15 Net yards gained rushing 331 139 Yards gained passing 182 5 Total yards gained 513 144 Passes attempted 13 8 Passes completed 6 1 Passes intercepted by 0 0 Times kicked off 9 2 Kickoff average (yards) 49.8 43.5 Kickoff returns (yards) 30 159 Times punted 1 6 Punt average (yards) 33.0 35.8 Punt returns (yards) 7 6 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 0 6 Lost fumbled ball 0 2 Penalties 3 4 Yards penalized 25 20
History 
Post-football, Ben spent his entire career with General Motors and retired in 1993 as General Supervisor of Inland GM, Lake St. Louis, Missouri. He remained active in Massillon, but died too young on June 8, 2008 at the age of 63.
