Tag: <span>Bill Blunt</span>

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1963: Massillon 22, Canton McKinley 6

City Still Raving About Tigers Today
A Sparkling Defense Stops McKinley 22-6

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

In a song of a few years back the whole town was talking about the Jones boys.

But today Massillon is still raving about something even better – its terrific Tigers and their scintillating defense. The Bengal fans are also waxing enthusiastic about a master piece of strategy by their Coach Leo Strang and questioning with unbelief the words of McKinley Coach Tony Ware following Saturday’s game at Fawcett stadium.

Put all these factors together and you have the story of Massillon’s convincing 22-6 conquest of the Bulldogs before an overflow crowd of 21,965. The victory will probably open the door of the throne room for the Tigers, giving them their 20th state championship.

Program Cover

The Bengals gave every last bit of effort to show their fans, the people of Canton and the state of Ohio that their first victory over McKinley 24-20 at Tiger stadium last month was no fluke.
* * *
THE TIGER defense stunting and blitzing held McKinley to 26 net yards on the ground and 35 in the air for a total of 61 and tossed the Bulldogs for two safeties in the second half. Time and again Bengal defenders stopped McKinley ball-carriers before they got started and intercepted three passes, one for a touchdown. The vaunted Willie Hall was held to 47 yards, breaking loose only twice.

That’s why Massillon fans today still found it hard to understand how McKinley Coach Tony Ware could say that their Tigers “didn’t bother us defensively. Our offensive mistakes beat us.” He added, “We played our worst game of the season.”

But Strang knew what beat McKinley. In the jubilant dressing room after the game he said, “Did we defense them or did we defense them?” He added, “Oh that was sweet! I never wanted anything more in my life. We had some bad breaks in there, too.”

Massillon did well offensively, too, picking up 202 yards on the ground and 44 via the aerial route for a total of 246.

The cunning piece of strategy by Strang was putting seniors Terry Getz and Bill Blunt back into the spots at which they had started the season. Knowing that Ware would set his defense for Blunt’s running from the tailback slot, Strang inserted “The Rabbit” as wingback and the curly-haired Getz at tailback, thus effectively foiling Ware’s efforts.
* * *
WITH BLUNT decoying defenders, Getz the more powerful of the two, ended his high school career in tremendous fashion behind some outstanding line blocking. Terry ran hard and picked his holes well to tally two touchdowns and collect 107 yards.

His unselfish comment was, “Give the credit to the line. They blocked beautifully.”

The Tigers wasted little time cranking into high gear offensively. After forcing McKinley to punt, minutes after the opening kickoff, the WHS eleven took over on its 22-yard line. Quarterback Ron Swartz broke through the middle on a play which netted 29 yards to McKinley’s 49 even though Swartz stumbled, fumbled the ball and Tom Roderick eventually recovered it during the action.

Lawrence ran a play. Then Getz carried three straight times for a total of 36 yards, putting the ball on the eight. Swartz fumbled on the four on the next play. McKinley’s Fred Mathews recovered.

Nobody got anywhere for the remainder of the first period.
* * *
McKINLEY GOT its only threat going as the result of an intercepted pass by Pete Kalogeras on the Massillon 49. He ran back to the 34. But the Bulldogs got no further than the 20. Henry Vafides tried a field goal but sent the ball way off to the right.

The Tigers had two bad breaks during their next time with the ball. A delay penalty set them back from third and six on their 49 to third and 11. On the next play, Will Perry bobbled a pass while in the clear for a score.

As the second quarter was nearing its close, the Tigers got their first score. Perry, playing his only game at defensive tackle, charged in and hit quarterback Arnie Fontes as he was about to pass. The pass went weakly off to the side.

Cornerback Grady Eckard tipped the pass into the air on the 30. With amazing reaction he reached back, grabbed the ball and raced in for the score. There were two minutes, 30 seconds left.
* * *
SWARTZ TRIED right end on a keeper for the conversion but fumbled and was hit short of the goal line.

With a little more than a minute remaining in the quarter, Floyd Pierce intercepted a pass on his 30 and ran back to the 43. The Tigers then moved 55 yards to the two-yard line thanks to a roughing the passer penalty and a fine catch of a 19-yard pass from Swartz by Blunt.

With 10 seconds left, Blunt raced off right tackle from the two on third down. Massillon fans thought he was in the end zone but the officials didn’t and the half ended.

The Orange and Black got to the McKinley 34 after taking the second half kickoff but Steve Kanner was forced to punt. The ball rolled towards the end zone and Frank Scassa downed it on the one to set up the Tigers’ first safety.
Fontes faded from the five to pass on third down and was lassoed in the end zone by Eckard with six minutes, 11 seconds left in the third canto. The score was 8-0.
* * *
THE BENGALS used 4y minutes on their next scoring drive, moving from the McKinley 33 after a 22-yard runback of the kickoff following the safety. Getz, Lawrence and Swartz took turns running the ball on eight plays with three first downs.

Getz ran the last two plays off right tackle, picking up nine yards on fourth down, then going in from the three with 1y minutes showing on the clock. Swartz missed the conversion run off tackle.

Seconds into the fourth quarter linebacker John Muhlbach intercepted a McKinley aerial on the Bulldogs’ 35 and ran the ball to the 15. But a clipping penalty nullified the runback and three plays later Lawrence fumbled on the 21 with Mathews again Johnny on the spot for the recovery for the Pups.

McKinley got two series and Kalogeras went back to punt on fourth down from the 39. A tremendous charge by the Tigers caused a fumble. Kalogeras tried to punt the ball while it was rolling loose, but ended up with a penalty for illegally kicking a free ball. Massillon was awarded the ball at the spot of the infraction and was off for its final six-pointer.

Eight plays, three first downs and six minutes, 47 seconds later Getz went off right tackle again on second down from the two after running six of the plays on the drive. With one minute, 43 seconds showing on the clock, Bobby Hewitt missed running the conversion.
* * *
TOM RIVERA got to kickoff from the Bulldog’s 45-yard line, thanks to a piling penalty between the extra point try and the kickoff. His boot went into the end zone for a touchback.

On the next play Bobby Johnson tried a “Statue of Liberty” play from the 20, was forced to retreat all the way to the goal line and was thrown into the end zone by Mike Jones. This was probably one of the few 20 yard safeties on record. Massillon led 22-0 with one minute, 32 seconds left in the game.

Hoping to score another touchdown, Blunt passing in a game for the first time, suffered an interception by Martin Smith on the McKinley 20 after the kickoff. He ran back to the Massillon 19.

Three plays later on first down from the nine, Fontes passed to End Dwayne Lipkins for McKinley’s only score with 15 seconds left. Fontes misfired on an attempted conversion pass.

Massillon had one more chance following the kickoff. Swartz just missed hitting Blunt deep in McKinley territory for a score.

The Tigers ended the season with a 9-1 record. McKinley finished 6-4. Massillon has now won 36 games in the series, McKinley 27. Five have ended in ties.

This was the second straight time that Massillon had beaten McKinley twice in one year.

The year 1909 was the only other time this happened.

One group of men who are usually overlooked and seldom praised for their efforts we would like to give a pat on the back for a job well done Saturday. These are the traffic officers who kept the cars on the move before and after the game.

We recall missing the kickoff at Fawcett two years ago because of a traffic jam, though we thought we had given ourselves more than sufficient time to get to the game. We left
one-half hour later this year and drove right into the stadium without any delay. Maybe there were tie-ups in some places but we didn’t encounter any.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones and Goodnough.
Tackles – Miller, Tarle, Morgan, Lash and Binge.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, Rivera, Roderick, Swisher, Muhlback and T. Whitfield.
Center – Scassa.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Getz, Blunt, Rink, Schenkenberger, Eckard and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

McKINLEY – 6
Ends – Lipkins, Roman , Card and Jones.
Tackles – Miller and Shumick.
Guards – Turner, Barney, Hall and Vafides.
Center – Roman.
Quarterback – Fontes.
Halfbacks – Johnson, McElroy, A. and M. Smith, Carter and Mathews.
Fullbacks – Hall and Kalogeras.

Massillon 0 6 8 8 22
McKinley 0 0 0 6 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Getz (three and two-yard runs); Eckard (30-yard pass interceptions).
McKinley – Lipkins (nine-yard pass from Fontes).

Safeties:
Massillon – (Fontes tackled by Eckard and Johnson tackled by Jones).

Officials
Referee – Brenton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Umpire – Harold Rolph (Ironton).
Head Linesman – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 10 3
First downs, passing 3 3
First downs, penalties 1 2
Total first downs 14 8
Yards gained rushing 211 79
Yards lost rushing 9 53
Net yards gained rushing 202 26
Yards gained passing 44 35
Total yards gained 246 61
Passes attempted 14 12
Passes completed 5 6
Passes intercepted by 3 2
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 40.5 37.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 43 19
Times punted 2 3
Punt average (yards) 41.0 36.3
Punt returns (yards) 8 8
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 3
Lost fumbled ball 2 0
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized. 20 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 22, Cleveland Benedictine 0

Tiger Passes Beat Benedictine 22-0
Bengals Take To Air When Bennie Hold Them On The Ground

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

There are three basic methods by which a football team can move the pigskin and ultimately score. You either go over, around or through an opponent.

The first and last methods were very much in evidence at Tiger stadium Friday night. The Massillon Tigers chose the air route. The Cleveland Benedictine Bengals decided on the
pile-driving variation.

The result was another one of those intense gridiron battles that have become commonplace for the Washington high eleven during the latter half of this season.

Program Cover

The Tigers shut out Benedictine 22-0 to ring down the curtain on an undefeated home season; stretch their winning streak to seven and make their 1963 record 8-1 thus far. The victory also gave the Orange and Black revenge for a 27-14 loss to Benedictine here last year and completed their slate of vengeance.

The stage is now set for what should be a terrific battle in the annual season-ender with Canton McKinley at Fawcett stadium in Canton one week from today.
* * *
THE TIGERS, held to a mere 100 net yards on the ground – one of their lowest totals of the season – struck through the air for two of their touchdowns and two conversions. They completed eight of 14 passes for 205 yards and a total of 305.

Benedictine out rushed Massillon. The Bennies got 156 net yards on the ground and completed five of 13 passes for 48 yards and a 204 total.

First downs were in WHS’ favor 13-11. However, Benedictine got nine rushing to the Tigers’ five. Massillon got seven passing to the Bengals’ two and added one via the penalty route.

Benedictine used a good blitz and fine line pursuit to stall the Tigers’ ground attack. For the second straight week Bill Blunt was denied a touchdown because of a penalty. He also lost the ball to Benedictine twice by fumbles.

But as his coach, Leo Strang said, “Everybody’s entitled to a bad night.”

Meanwhile Benedictine used a quartet of backs, seniors Bob Zelina and John Sanders and juniors Greg Betts and Greg Marn to pound relentlessly at the Orange and Black line, especially the left side, using up the clock in the process.
* * *
WHILE the Massillon defense could not keep Benedictine bottled up in its own territory, the Tigers stopped five forays into their territory when the going got the roughest.

To hand a powerful team like Benedictine its first shutout of the season is quite a feat.

The Bennies are 5-2-1 overall and hadn’t been shut out since St. Ignatius turned the trick 6-0 in the Cleveland title game last November.

Program Cover

There was no scoring until the second quarter was about over. With less than a minute left, the Tigers uncorked for the “long bomb” on first down from their 23-yard line after a Benedictine punt.

Quarterback Ron Swartz faked a handoff to fullback Jim Lawrence who in turn faked beautifully into the line. Swartz then let fly with all his might behind beautiful protection.

Long side end Will Perry, running with everything he had, out-distanced the Bennies’ secondary, grabbed the ball over his shoulder on the Benedictine 40 and raced the rest of the way. The score came with 37 seconds left.

Blunt added the conversion off the right side.
* * *
BENEDICTINE had had the ball for most of the first half. They didn’t do anything on their first series of the night. However, on Massillon’s first play, Swartz’s handoff never got to Lawrence, while Sanders, who recovered two Tiger fumbles during the night, hopped on the ball at the Tigers’ 44.

The clock showed 10 minutes, three seconds left in the first quarter. Four minutes, 33 seconds and 11 plays later the WHS eleven finally got the pigskin back after end Butch Hose and cornerback Tom Gatsios had thrown Sanders for a 10-yard loss to the Tigers’ 39.

One play earlier Zelina had scored up the middle from the 17. But the Bennies were in motion and lost the TD.

After a futile series, safety Floyd Pierce intercepted a Frank Fink pass on the Massillon five and ran it back to the Massillon 29. With one minute, 50 seconds remaining in the initial stanza, the Tigers displayed some ball control of their own.

They held on until the 7:03 mark of the second period, an interval of eight minutes, 53 seconds. They ran 11 plays during that time, including Blunt’s only long romp of the night, around right end from the Massillon 47 to the Benedictine 19, a distance of 34 yards.

The Orange and Black ultimately scored on second down from the one but was in motion. Massillon then lost the ball on downs on the five.
* * *
BENEDICTINE ate up another 3y minutes with seven plays, turned the ball over to Massillon and the Tigers promptly fumbled it right back two plays later as Blunt lost control of the pigskin. Ed Mazel came up with the errant ball on his 37 but the Bennies could do nothing with the opportunity.

Then came Massillon’s first touchdown after which Benedictine managed to get the ball to the Massillon 38 as the half ended.

The Orange and Black took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched for a score in seven plays, using up five minutes, 16 seconds. Passes to Pierce and Perry, with some runs by Blunt thrown in, accounted for the drive.

Perry capped the drive by catching a 21-yard pass on third down in the center again. This time Blunt did the faking to catch the Bennies off guard. Swartz passed to Perry in the center for the third time for the conversion.

After the kickoff Benedictine reeled off eight plays on a 34-yard drive from the Bengals’ 34 to the Massillon 33 following a 19-yard runback by Sanders. The clock ticked off 3‚ minutes this time.
* * *
IN THE FOURTH quarter the Tigers stopped Bennie drives which took the Clevelanders to the Massillon 46 and 23. The latter march started on the Massillon 44 after Blunt had fumbled and Sanders had recovered again.

This time Benedictine took to the air with a little more than five minutes left, hoping to avert a shutout.

Penalties played an important part in the remainder of the game. After the second Benedictine offensive had failed, Massillon picked up a 15-yard face mask walk-off and a pass interference call on another ‘long bomb” to Perry down the middle, putting the ball on the Bennies’ 14.

After an incomplete pass to Pierce, Blunt raced around the left side on the “Statue of Liberty” for a score. But the Tigers were called for clipping.

Fink intercepted a Massillon pass on the 10 on the next play. He was grabbed by the face mask when tackled and the 15-yarder put the ball on the 28.

A pass was incomplete on first down. Then Pierce intercepted his second aerial of the
night – this one on the Benedictine 40 – and raced to the 20.
* * *
SWARTZ missed hitting Perry. On second down he found Pierce in the end zone but Duke couldn’t hold on as he was interfered with. The Tigers got the ball on the one, first down.

Terry Getz bowled over with 32 seconds remaining. Getz’ pass to Pierce for the conversion was incomplete.

Sanders ran the kickoff back 23 yards to his 47. Benedictine got to the Massillon 20 as time ran out.

After the game Strang said, “Benedictine proved again that it is a rough, hard-nosed team. Its backs are the hardest running we’ve seen all year. I never thought we would hold them scoreless. They really put on the heat with those blitzes. We had hoped to hurt their halfbacks with drop-back passes but never had time to throw them. All of our passes came off play action.”

Benedictine’s Augie Bossu said, “We stopped Blunt but not the passes. Perry’s first half touchdown shook us up a little, because we had played a good half until then. We didn’t let down, however, and played a good second half.”

When asked why he had held his leading scorer, Marn, out until the third quarter, Bossu said, “He had an injury and I didn’t think he was ready. But he seems to have recovered nicely.”

BENEDICTINE – 0
Ends – Yacknow, Herzog and Braschwitz.
Tackles – Koprowski, Pozar and Petrus.
Guards – Goilesz, Mazel and Triplett.
Center – Torda.
Quarterbacks – Fink and Palagyi.
Halfbacks – Betts, Marn, Sanders, Wolski, Dienes and Novak.
Fullback – Zelina.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Perry, Pierce, Hose, Jones, McAllister and Goodnough.
Tackles – Miller, Tarle, Binge, Morgan and Lash.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, T. Whitfield, Muhlback, Swisher, Roderick and Rivera.
Center – Scassa.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Frieg.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Getz, Rink Schenkenberger and Marks.
Fullbacks – Lawrence.

Massillon 0 8 8 6 22

Touchdowns:
Perry 2 (77-yard and 21-yard passes from Swartz) and Getz (one-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Blunt 2 (run); Perry 2 (pass from Swartz).

Officials
Referee – Bobby Brown (Parma).
Umpire – Brenton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Head Linesman – Andy Chiebeck – (Louisville).
Field Judge – Hal Lebovitz (Cleveland).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs, rushing 5 9
First downs, passing 7 2
First downs, penalties 1 0
Total first downs 13 11
Yards gained rushing 128 181
Yards lost rushing 28 25
Net yards gained rushing 100 156
Yards gained passing 205 48
Total yards gained 305 204
Passes attempted 14 13
Passes completed 6 5
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 4 1
Kickoff average (yards) 43.0 30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 9 72
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 24.0 37.1
Punt returns (yards) 53 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 0
Lost fumbled ball 3 0
Penalties 2 5
Yards penalized. 20 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 22, Warren Harding 8

Tigers Beat Stubborn Warren 22-8
Visiting Panthers Put Up Great Fight Before 13, 861 Crowd

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

When two members of the jungle feline family want the same thing badly enough, they become highly aroused and engage in a ferocious battle. And that’s what happened at Tiger stadium Friday on homecoming night.

The Massillon Tigers and Warren Harding Black Panthers both wanted a victory in the worst way. So they bared claws and fangs and staged a good old-fashioned donnybrook with the Washington high eleven coming out on top 22-8 before 13,861 fans.

The series between Massillon and Warren since Coach Leo Strang took over the Tigers’ reins in 1958 is now even at 3-3. Both teams have won only at home.

The Orange and Black got its sixth victory in a row and seventh in eight games. Warren stands 4-3.

Program Cover

This was also Massillon’s second straight in the new All-American High School Football league. This was Warren’s first circuit outing.
* * *
TWO THINGS prevented the Tigers from getting a higher score. They had three scoring drives go awry because of a combination of red flags and their own mistakes. The WHS team was unable to get the ball often enough because of Warren’s tough possession game.

The Bengals did move the ball well when they had it.

Strang put it this way, “The kind of team like Warren is rough on you. They three-four and five-yard you to death. And they took so long between plays. Penalties and mistakes stopped us on three good scoring chances. They played a good game and hit us on a mediocre one.”

The guy who did most of the killing was a 5-7, 178-pound senior fullback Sam Pagano. Unofficially he gained 68 yards in 23 attempts – almost three yards per try. He also got Warren’s only touchdown.

Massillon’s senior tailback Bill Blunt carried nine times for 41 yards or about five yards per trip. He scored one conversion. His yardage was all up the center. He came close to going all the way several times. As Strang said, “Warren’s defense was stacked to prevent Blunt running the ends.” The Panthers played wide repeatedly.
* * *
BEN WILSON, head man at Warren, said, “We played our best game tonight. The boys gave it a good fight. I’m proud of them. Massillon has a fine team. Its speed and reaction was too much for us.”

When asked if he planned to play possession ball to keep the score down, Wilson’s answer was a definite, yes. He added, “We had to. We have power this year and lack experience.”

The statistics indicate the closeness of the game. Massillon had 15 first downs, Warren
13 – the difference being two by penalties for the Bengals. Massillon had 149 net yards rushing, Warren 92. The Panthers completed seven of 16 passes for 135 yards, the Tigers eight for 13 for 121 yards. Total yardage for the Orange and Black was 270, for Warren 227. The Trumbull county team lost 16 yards rushing to WHS’ nine.

The Tigers’ initial score came when Blunt ran back a first quarter punt 10 yards to the Warren 47. Six plays and two first downs later fullback Bob Hewitt raced over through the short side of center from the 18-yard line with 1:41 remaining. Blunt converted over right tackle after running four of the plays in the drive.
* * *
A PASS from quarterback Ron Swartz to wingback Grady Eckard, from the 26 to the
16-yard line for a first down set up the touchdown.

Warren got the ensuing kickoff with 1:31 seconds left in the period and held onto it until its score with 5:09 remaining in the second quarter, a span of six minutes and 40 seconds. Chuck Williams ran the ball from the 13 to the 31, a distance of 18 yards and from there it was practically all Pagano, hitting the middle.

The drive took 17 plays with four first downs. Pagano carried on 10 of the plays and went over through the center from the three on fourth down. A face guard penalty had given the Panthers the ball on the three two plays earlier. Chuck Williams converted over right tackle.

The Tigers’ tie-breaking score was started by Bobby Hewitt’s 17-yard runback of Warren’s purposely short kickoff to keep the ball out of Blunt’s hands. Hewitt returned from the Massillon 40 to the Warren 43.

Then with the junior fullback carrying on four of the next five plays, Massillon had manufactured a second down on the 19. Swartz hit long side end Will Perry over the middle on the next play for the second score at 2:18. Hewitt ran the conversion through the middle to put the Tigers back in a lead which they never relinquished.
* * *
THE FINAL score came after a Warren punt in the third canto. The Tigers drove 52 yards in nine plays with two first downs.

Eckard made a sensational diving catch of a third down, eight-yard pass by Swartz in the right corner of the south end zone at 4:02 for the touchdown. He just managed to grab the pigskin inbounds at the last minute. Blunt missed the conversion on a run.

A motion penalty had set the Tigers back to the eight on the play before. Another motion penalty killed a 78-yard drive, highlighted by Frank Scassa’s recovery of a punt fumble on the 34, in the last period. Quarterback Tom Gatsios ran from the Warren 18 to the two on a fine rollout. But the Tigers got set back to the 23 and couldn’t make a first down.

A pass interception by halfback Charles Rounds knocked off a 52-yard Massillon drive at the 10 in the third stanza. A fumble on the 15 kayoed still another invasion in the first period – this one of 51 yards. End Chuck Miller recovered the ball for Warren on this one.

The only period in which Massillon failed to score was the fourth. Warren had the ball for five minutes and 20 seconds, moving from its 17 to the Massillon 17, a distance of 66 yards. The drive started at 7:20 and ended at 1:52.

The Tigers came close to scoring when a 41-yard pass was just out of the hands of short side end Bob McAllister in the closing minutes. A motion penalty on this play was refused by Warren.

WARREN – 8
Ends – Johnson and Miller.
Tackles – Florea, Fender and Hlaudy.
Guards – Johnson, Tabacca and hood.
Center – Shively.
Quarterbacks – Stredney and Brewster.
Halfbacks – Williams, Grisham, Owends and Rounds.
Fullbacks – Pagano and Howard.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones, McAllister and Goodnough.
Tackles – Lash, Miller, Tarle, Binge and Morgan.
Centers – Scassa and Muhlback.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Getz and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Getz, Schenkenberger and Rink.
Fullbacks – Hewitt and Lawrence.

Warren 0 8 0 0 8
Massillon 8 8 6 0 22

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Hewitt (17-yard run); Perry (19-yard pass from Swartz); Eckard (eight-yard pass from Swartz).

Warren – Pagano (three-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Blunt 2 (run); Hewitt 2 (run).
Warren – Williams 2 (run).

Officials
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Edmund Corsi (Cleveland Heights).
Head Linesman – Pete Lanigan (Columbus).
Field Judge – Steve Bernardic (Cleveland).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 6 6
First downs, passing 7 7
First downs, penalties 2 0
Total first downs 15 13
Yards gained rushing 158 108
Yards lost rushing 9 16
Net yards gained rushing 149 92
Yards gained passing 121 135
Total yards gained 270 227
Passes attempted 13 16
Passes completed 8 7
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 4 2
Kickoff average (yards) 47.0 34.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 39 19
Times punted 1 4
Punt average (yards) 31.0 39.7
Punt returns (yards) 34 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 4
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 3 5
Yards penalized. 13 45

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 74, Struthers 0

Tigers Have 74-0 Romp With Struthers
Bengals’ 36 Points In Second Period Is New Massillon Record

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It was like the braves of Sitting Bull massacring General Custer’s troops all over again.

There were more scored Friday night than geese in the flocks which fly south at this time of year. Everybody got into the act of crossing the goal line at Tiger stadium. Twelve players touched pay dirt, scoring 74 points while a tough Tiger defense held Struthers high scoreless.

Everything the Bengals did was right. Blocking and tackling were crisp. Passing was right on the button to receivers who were at the right spot at the right time. Ball-carriers ran roughshod over the opposition.
* * *
SO TOUGH was the Massillon defense that Struthers failed to get a first down until the third quarter and only five in the game. The Wildcats didn’t’ g et out of their own territory until the third quarter and only twice during the game.

The second time was with 4:10 left in the game and the third and fourth Tiger teams
in – Coach Leo Strang had started clearing the bench in the second quarter. With only a few seconds left, Struthers fumbled on the Massillon six-yard line. Sophomore halfback Ron Lawn grabbed the ball on the 16 and got back to the six where junior John Frieg tackled him as time ran out to preserve the shutout.

The Orange and Black juggernaut rolled up a total of 428 yards to Struthers’ 138. Massillon completed 11 of 19 passes for 286 yards, three touchdowns and three conversions. Net ground yardage was 194 with only five lost. Struthers completed only five of 19 aerials for 92 yards with 46 net on the ground and 40 lost.

Following the game reporters scurried to record books. They found that this was the most points rolled up by the Tigers since their 90-0 domination of Barberton in 1959. The 12 players who scored set a record. Thirty-six points tallied in the second period topped a previous mark.

Coach Bob Comings of Struthers said that Friday’s defeat was the worst ever pinned on the Wildcats. He also said, “I am happy about one thing. My boys didn’t give up.”
* * *
STRANG ECHOED those sentiments, “Struthers certainly didn’t give up,” he said. “They kept running and hitting hard the whole game.”

About his own team the skipper said, ‘These boys deserve a big hand. Everybody I watched played hard all the time. I certainly got an insight into what the younger boys can do. They did a good job.”

The Tigers scored only once in the first quarter, missing two chances. But after that it was as if a giant tidal wave rolled over the stadium, sweeping away everything in its path.

The Bengals’ scoring machine struck early. On first down in the Tigers’ second series, quarterback Ron Swartz faded back from the Struthers’ 40, spied wingback Grady Eckard, who started his first game offensively, hit him on the 30 and Grady took over from there, going all the way down the right side with the aid of a good block by end Floyd Pierce. There was 8:14 left in the first quarter.

Halfback Bill Blunt sped off right tackle to make it 8-0.
* * *
ON THE FIRST play of the game, Swartz hit Pierce, who was way out in the open but he couldn’t hold on. Ron also just missed connections with end Will Perry, who would have had clear sailing for a TD, later in the quarter.

Blunt contributed first quarter punt runbacks of 22 and 27 yards to put the ball in or close to Struthers territory.

Linebacker John Muhlback recovered a Wildcat fumble on the Struthers’ 34 just before the end of the first quarter to set up the second Bengal score. Blunt went off right tackle with 9:07 left in the second quarter to cap an eight-play drive. Terry Getz left-handed a pass to Pierce for two more points.

Swartz picked on Pierce on first down for the next score on a pass from the Tigers’ 21. He hit Duke on the 45 and the slender senior was off for touchdown land, the play covering 79 yards at 7:49. Blunt converted for a 24-0 count.

Passing was responsible for the fourth Bengal tally. After a 30-yard pass to Eckard, Bob McAllister was Swartz’s target this time on first down form the Struthers’ 35. McAllister grabbed the pigskin on the 15 and went on in at 3:38 with a good block from Pierce again. Swartz ran the keeper to the right for two more points.
* * *
THEN CAME two blocked punts. Eckard sent the first one awry on a kick from a play which started on the 28. End Wes Goodnough fell on the ball at the seven.

On the next play quarterback Tom Gatsios swept right end. The clock showed 1:11 as Gatsios passed to McAllister but the senior end couldn’t quite get the conversion.

Linebacker Ken Swisher rushed through to block a punt on the ‘Cats’ next series. Sophomore linebacker Paul Marks scooped up the errant pigskin on the 25 and waltzed into the end zone with 25 seconds showing on the clock. Junior Quarterback Steve Kanner tried to run to the right for the conversion but couldn’t make it. The halftime score read 44-0, the biggest this year.

Eckard, playing his best game of the season, gathered in the opening kickoff of the second half at his 22 and raced 88 yards for a score with only six seconds gone in the third stanza. Good blocking sprung him loose. Gatsios missed connections on a pass to junior wingback Don Schenkenberger on the attempted conversion.

Blunt started a 39-yard march for another score with a 26-yard punt runback. Wingback Tim Rink caught a 31-yard pass from Gatsios to set up the score. Fullback Jim Lawrence tallied on the next play but a holding penalty was called on the Tigers.
* * *
TWO PLAYS later on third down Schenkenberger scored on a reverse from the eight. Gatsios connected with McAllister to run the scoreboard to 58-0.

Howard Gamble, a junior defensive halfback, recovered a Struthers fumble on the Massillon 35 on the ‘Cats’ first push into Massillon territory. Fourteen plays and 65 yards later the rockets sounded again at 0:19.
* * *
TAILBACK TOM POPE did the honors this time on first down from the five. Marks went off left guard for two more points.

Junior end Ken Gilmore put the frosting on the cake with 10:19 left in the final canto. Kanner passed to Rink for 26 yards and a first down on the Struthers’ 28. Then came the aerial to Gilmore in the end zone. Junior end Ed Franklin made the scoreboard lights flash twice more on another Kanner pass.

The Tigers looked like they were on the way to another score when safety Jeff Miller intercepted a pass on the Struthers’ 24 and got back to the Massillon 49. The WHS eleven did not have the ball again.

Massillon has now won six of seven games this year and has a five-game winning streak going. Warren comes in next week for an All-American High School Football league game on home-coming night. Struthers’ record is 4-2-1.

STRUTHERS – 0
Ends – Gura, C. Lewis and Kurz.
Tackles – Millich and Wells.
Guards – Cammack, Avolio and E. Lewis.
Centers – Nackino, McCann and Sandine.
Quarterbacks – Hudoba and Lookabaugh.
Halfbacks – J. and R. Lawn, Miller, Kubof, Majecko and Wildes.
Fullbacks – Belichick and Gentile.

MASSILLON – 74
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Jones, Hose, McAllister, Gilmore, Paige, R. and D. Alexander, Franklin and Goodnough.
Tackles – Lash, Miller, binge, Paul, Passalacqua, Morgan and Stevens.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Swisher, Roderick, Mathias, Rivera, Rearick, T. and D. Whitfield, Manson and Martin.
Centers – Muhlback, Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner, Frieg and Sheegog.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Pope, Getz, Marks, Herring, Stroh, Rink, Gamble, Harris and Williams.
Fullbacks – Hewitt, Lawrence, Thomas and Lemon.

Massillon 8 36 22 8 74

Touchdowns – Eckard 2 (40yard pass from Swartz and 88-yard kickoff run back); Blunt (one-yard run); Pierce (79-yard pass from Swartz); McAllister (35-yard pass from Swartz); Gatsios (seven-yard run); Marks (25-yard run with blocked punt); Schenkenberger (eight-yard run); Pope (five-yard run); Gilmore (28-yard pass from Kanner).

Points after touchdowns:
Blunt 4 (runs); Pierce 2 (pass from Getz); Swartz 2 (run); McAllister 2 (pass from Gatsios); Marks 2 (run); Franklin 2 (pass from Kanner).

Officials
Referee – Howard Wirtz (Cincinnati).
Umpire – Bob Harman – (Upper Sandusky)
Head Linesman – George Donges (Ashland).
Field Judge – Clarence Rich (Canton).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 9 2
First downs, passing 9 3
First downs, penalties 1 0
Total first downs 19 5
Yards gained rushing 199 86
Yards lost rushing 5 40
Net yards gained rushing 194 46
Yards gained passing 286 92
Total yards gained 480 138
Passes attempted 19 19
Passes completed 11 5
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 11 1
Kickoff average (yards) 42.8 48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 88 159
Times punted 1 9
Punt average (yards) 24.0 32.1
Punt returns (yards) 105 0
Had punts blocked 0 2
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 4 2
Yards penalized. 40 10

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 52, Steubenville 0

Tigers Blast Steubenville 52-0
Bengal Line Rips Big Red To Win First Game In All-American Loop

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They never knew what hit them!

It was as if someone alternated between placing a speeding locomotive and the Rock of Gibraltar on the Harding stadium gridiron in Steubenville Friday night.

The Massillon Tigers, utilizing devastating offensive and defensive football, crushed a game but outclassed and crippled up Steubenville high eleven 52-0 on the Ohio river before a disappointing 6,327 fans. It was the biggest score of the season for the Bengals.

It was the first game for the new All-American High School Football league. The Washington high team has the honor of being the first to lead the circuit with two points. Steubenville got minus-one for the defeat.

The Bengals raised their season’s record to 4-1. Akron Garfield, the only team to beat the Orange and Black, also remains the lone team to score upon the Tigers. Steubenville dropped to a 2-3 mark at the season’s halfway point.

Massillon rolled up 446 total yards to the Big Red’s 58 and 21 first downs to Steubenville’s 11 – one in each half. Massillon rushed for 341 net yards to Steubenville’s 43 and got 105 to the Big Red’s 15 in the air.
* * *
NO ONE BOY can be singled out for his efforts. It was another of those jobs well done by all concerned. It took linemen opening good holes for hard-running backs, hard-charging by the defensive line and linebackers to stop Steubenville’s backs time and again before they could get started, heads up pass coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks and outstanding tackling by all to get the victory.

Several boys contributed to the scoring. Terry Getz, senior halfback, tallied two touchdowns and two conversions. Senior halfbacks Bill (Rabbit) Blunt got two touchdowns and a conversion; sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks scored a touchdown and a conversion. Senior tailback Phil Harris got one six-pointer, so did junior fullback Jim Lawrence.

When the Tigers got the ball, they stuck mostly to the ground, pounding first one side of the Steubenville line and then the other like air hammers taking chucks out of cement. They used up great gobs of time on the clock.

When Steubenville had the ball The Big Red could get only one series at a time except once in the second and once in the third quarter. Try as they might – and they never gave up trying – the Big Red could not move the ball. They kept hitting hard on defense but could not stop the Tiger juggernaut.

“The boys really banged away on defense,” Massillon Coach Leo Strang said, “They did a real good job. I’ll bet Lindsey (Steubenville halfback Herb) never got hit that hard in his life.”
* * *
COACH RAY HOYMAN of Steubenville said sadly, “We just don’t have it this year and won’t have it for a couple of years. We have a good freshman team but have only five sophomores out for football and a junior class very light in numbers.”

He did not mention that he had four front liners on crutches.

There was one part of Hoyman’s strategy which succeeded. He didn’t let the Bengals get any long punt runbacks. The kicks from Bob McCosky either went to the opposite side from the Tigers’ planned return, out of bounds or were grounded.

The Bengals equaled their biggest first half of the season in scoring 32 points. They had tallied an identical amount of points against Cleveland East in the opener.

Three scores came on sustained ground drives. The last was helped out by a long pass.
* * *
THE TIGERS matched 69 yards with the opening kickoff after a 19-yard runback of the kick by senior Grady Eckard. They used up 6:40, 12 plays and got four first downs in the effort.

Halfback Terry Getz capped the drive at the 5:20 mark, going off tackle on fourth down from the eight. He got the extra two points the same way.

The Bengals started on another drive after forcing Steubenville to punt following the kickoff. They used up 5:35 seconds this time, moving into the second quarter in the process. This time the march covered 56 yards, starting at the Orange and Black 44. Four first downs and 14 plays were involved.

Getz went over off right guard on second down from the four at 9:46. He converted the same way.

Then came another Big Red punt and the Tigers went 70 yards, using up 3:36, eight plays and picking up four first downs. A 21-yard pass from Ron Swartz to Blunt took the ball to the Big Red 39. Blunt might have gone all the way but was knocked out of bounds.
* * *
BLUNT LEAPED among three defenders at the three two plays later to snare another Swartz aerial. Lawrence went through the center on second down with 4:16 left. Swartz threw to Blunt on a look-in pass to the left for the extra two points.

The last touchdown in the second quarter came after a 55-yard drive following a punt. This drive took four plays and one first down.
A key play was a second down pass from the Steubenville 48 to the four – a distance of 44 yards. Swartz connected with senior long side end Will Perry.

Blunt went in off tackle on the next play. But Massillon was guilty of illegal use of the hands, setting the ball back to the 20. Swartz then threw to Blunt for the score with 2:10 remaining. Junior fullback Bobby Hewitt swept to the left for the extra two points.
* * *
THE BENGALS allowed the Big Red just one series after the second half kickoff and took over on their own 40 after a punt, setting the stage for another score. After a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, Blunt took off on a pitchout to the right behind some nice blocking and raced 65 yards for his second six-pointer at the 9:49 mark. Getz missed the conversion over right tackle.

Late in the period, Steve Tarle, senior tackle, recovered a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 10 and two plays later senior tailback Phil Harris wedged in from the three with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks converted on a pitchout to the right.

The final Tiger score came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Floyd (Duke) Pierce, senior safetyman, intercepted a pass on his 35 and ran it back to the 50 as the third quarter ended.

Two plays into the last stanza Marks shot through the middle on fourth down from 41 yards away and scored at 10:43. Junior Fullback Edgar Herring missed the conversion on a pitchout to the right.

MASSILLON – 52
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones, Goodnough, Gilmore and Franklin.
Tackles – Tarle, Morgan, Lash, Passalacqua, Binge, Stevens and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Roderick, Muhlback, Rivera, Mathias, Rearick, Martin, T. Whitfield and D. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Rambaud and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Harris, Marks, Stroh, Herring, Gamble and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Hewitt and Thomas.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Cuthbert, Cole and Blanchard.
Tackles – Estes, Sampson and Williams.
Guards – DiLoreti, Ohle, Mahfood and Wrenn.
Centers – Beard and Garofalo.
Quarterbacks – McCosky and Spon.
Halfbacks – Lindsey, Hawkins, Terry and Smith.
Fullbacks – Schaeffer.

Massillon 8 24 14 6 52

Touchdowns:
Getz 2 (eight and four-yard runs); Blunt 2 (20-yard pass from Swartz, 65-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run); Harris (three-yard run) and Marks (41-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Getz 2 (runs); Blunt (pass from Swartz); Hewitt (run); and Marks (run).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bob McPhee (St. Clairsville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 17 2
First downs, passing 4 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 21 2
Yards gained rushing 344 54
Yards lost rushing 3 11
Net yards gained rushing 341 43
Yards gained passing 105 15
Total yards gained 446 58
Passes attempted 12 10
Passes completed 5 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48.3 47
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 121
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 42.5 36.4
Punt returns (yards) 17 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 0
Yards penalized. 20 0

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 28, Alliance 0

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

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Oh how sweet it is!!!

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

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

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

Program Cover

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alliance Holds Ball Most Of Second Quarter

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kanner Gets Off Long Punt
To The One Foot Line

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 38, Mansfield 0

Tigers In Comeback Beat Mansfield 38-0
Bengals Mix Passes Into Power Football To Down Old Rival

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Power football straight up the middle and a bruising defense.

These are the characteristics of present day Massillon Tiger football. And the Bengals parlayed the combination into a 38-0 win over longtime rival Mansfield high school before a small crowd of only 9,116 at Tiger stadium Friday night.

It was a roaring comeback from last week’s defeat by Akron Garfield and gave the Bengals’ morale a big boost for their game with undefeated Alliance here next Friday. As Coach Leo Strang said, “There’s only one game on the schedule I’m worried about now Alliance. I’ll think about the rest of them after next Friday. I hope we are healthy for that one. We couldn’t use Perry (Will) tonight. He has a bruised hip. Lawrence (Jim) is in Kentucky due to a death in the family.”

Program Cover

Perry is the Tigers’ first string short side end. Lawrence is the starting fullback.
* * *
LAWRENCE’S absence gave junior fullback Bobby Hewitt a chance to get back into the starting alignment where he was in the season opener. He took full advantage of the situation with some fine running, including scoring two touchdowns and a conversion.

He combined with senior tailback Terry Getz to do most of the Tigers’ ball-carrying most effectively. Time and again they broke through the Tygers’ defensive line thanks to some good holes opened up by Bengal blockers.

Getz scored only a conversion but was instrumental in all of the TD drives with his running and blocking.

He played his finest game of his career and Strang praised him for it. “He ran and blocked extremely well,” the WHS mentor said, “He was very valuable tonight. So was Hewitt. In fact, it was a fine team effort.”

Senior short side end Floyd (Duke) Pierce scored two touchdowns on passes. Senior quarterback Ron Swartz scored another.

The other conversions were by senior quarterback Tom Gatsios on the keeper and on a flat pass to Bill (Rabbit) Blunt from Swartz.

The Tiger offensive machine rolled up 297 yards to 153 for Mansfield. The rushing statistics were 241 and 70. Mansfield was able to get only 26 yards on the ground in the second half but 53 in the air to beat the Bengals in that department 85-56. Massillon led in first downs 10 to three.

In commenting on his charges’ running game, Strang said, “We worked all week on it and accomplished what we set out to do.”

Mansfield got out of its own territory only four times during the night while Massillon played in enemy land a good part of the time. One of the Tygers’ four advances beyond the 50 was due to a fumble recovery by end Art Gaverick in the second quarter. Mansfield got the ball on the Tigers’ 33-yard line but got only to the 25 thanks to the stout Orange and Black defense.
* * *
MANSFIELD LOST the ball on downs at the Massillon 35 in the third quarter and on the Tigers’ four in the final canto, the last failure being due to an incomplete pass. Mansfield had driven from its 37.

The only other long drive of the Tygers came in the second quarter. Senior cornerback Gardy Eckard intercepted a pass on his 15 to stop that one. Mansfield had started on its 25 and had progressed to the Massillon 40.

Had Mansfield’s passing been a little more on the target – the Tygers completed only five of 14 – Massillon would not have had a shut out. It had lapses several times on pass defense. But Mansfield receivers dropped passes while in the open. The Tigers secondary was playing in close at the time.

Massillon scored five of the nine times it got its hands on the ball. The Tigers wasted little time in getting started, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, two of them by capitalizing on Mansfield fumbles caused by crunching tackles inside Tyger territory.

GAME STATISTICS
Mass East
First downs, rushing 14 4
First downs, passing 4 3
First downs, penalties 2 0
Total first downs 20 7
Yards gained rushing 259 91
Yards lost rushing 18 21
Net yards gained rushing 241 70
Yards gained passing 56 83
Total yards gained 297 153
Passes attempted 9 14
Passes completed 4 5
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (yards) 47.8 37.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 11 92
Times punte 0 1
Punt average (yards) 0 42
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 2 6
Yards penalized. 17 70

Two Early Fumbles Hurt Cause Of Visiting Team
“The first fumble hurt,” said Mansfield Coach Jim Dougherty, “The second killed us. We were beaten by a good hard-hitting, well-coached football team tonight. We missed our first team quarterback Willie Hawthorne, who is in the hospital.” (The senior signal-caller, leading Mansfield ground gainer, has a throat infection.)

PIERCE PICKED up the first Mansfield bobble on the Tygers’ 33. The Bengals took the ball on in staying on the ground. It took them five plays. They got help from a personal fouL penalty which put the ball on Mansfield’s 12.

After Hewitt had run from there to the three, senior quarterback Ron Swartz carried on two straight plays, finally sneaking over from the one with 6:47 remaining in the quarter. Getz ran the conversion.

Mansfield ran one play after the kickoff and then the second fumble occurred. Butch Hose grabbed this one off to give the Tigers possession on the 16. It took Massillon two plays to score this time.

Swartz ran to the 13. Hewitt took off around the left end and went in at 5:26. Getz failed to convert this time.

Late in the period the Orange and Black took over when Mansfield was forced to punt. The Tigers moved from their 38 – a distance of 62 yards – in seven plays with three first downs.

Getz and Hewitt took turns denting the Mansfield line. Hewitt ran the last two plays, from the 15 to the seven and then in, the last one around the left side at 11:13 of the second period. Swartz passed to senior wingback Bill Blunt for the conversion.

The Tigers had another chance, taking over on their 26 after stopping a Mansfield drive. The Tigers drove to the Mansfield 22, making good use of timeouts and running out of bounds to stop the clock. But Dwight McCollum intercepted a pass on his eight and returned to the 38 where the half ended.

Orange Takes Kickoff And Marches To Touchdown
The Orange and Black took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched right down the field. They moved from their 34 to the Mansfield 20 in five plays with four first downs. Hewitt contributed a 23-yard run to help the situation.

On first down from the 20 Swartz hit Pierce for the score with nine minutes remaining in the third canto. Hewitt converted.

Near the end of the quarter Massillon took over on its 35 after a Mansfield fourth down pass failed to pick up enough yardage. It took WHS 10 plays and our first downs to score.

Runs of 14 and nine yards by Getz helped the Bengal cause. So did a 15-yard Mansfield penalty for a personal foul which put the ball on the Tyger 20, first down.

A few seconds later Massillon was set back from the six to the 15 for holding on first down. Then senior quarterback Tom Gatsios hit Pierce for the Tigers’ final tally at 0:06. Gatsuis converted on the keeper.

The Bengals failed to get out of their own territory in the final period.

MANSFIELD – 0
Ends – Gonzales, Prats, Fenderson, Swarn and Gaverick.
Taciles – Williams and C. Coe.
Guards – Cindrich and Jividen.
Centers – Horvath and D. Coe.
Quarterbacks – Dean and Dougherty.
Halfbacks – Hutchins, Schnuerer, McCollom, Sewell, Harris and Marsh.
Fullbacks – R. Parr and Lindsay.

MASSILLON – 38
Ends – Pierce, Jones, McAllister, Goodnough, Hose, Gilmore, D. Alexander and Franklin.
Tackles – Lash, Morgan, Tarle, Miller, Binge, Passalacqua and Paul.
Guards – Larsuel, Castile, Swisher, Paflas, Muhlbach, Rivera, Roderick, Rearick, T. Whitfield, D. Whitfield and Manson.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Freig.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Harris, Schenkenberger and Shanor.
Fullbacks – Hewitt and Lemon.

Massillon 14 8 16 0 38

Touchdowns:
Hewitt (13 and 7-yard runs); Swartz (1-yard sneak), Pierce (20-yard pass from Swartz and six-yard pass from Gatsios).

Points after touchdowns:
Hewitt (run), Getz (run), Blunt (pass from Swartz).

Officials
Referee – Jim Langhurst (Willard).
Umpire – A.N. Smith (Elyria).
Head Linesman – Russ Kemper (Cincinnati).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 6, Akron Garfield 13

Strang Admits He Called ‘Poor’ Contest At Akron
Tigers To Practice On Running Game

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It takes a big man to admit he made a mistake. Washington high Coach Leo Strang can be put into that category today.

After viewing movies Sunday of his charges 13-6 loss to Akron Garfield Saturday night at the Akron Rubber Bowl before 19,598 fans, the skipper said, “There’s no doubt about it, I called a poor game. There were too many wrong calls. We should have run more, that’s for sure.”

He said the Bengals will do a lot of work on their running game this week in preparation for the invasion of the Mansfield Tygers Friday, in an effort to boost their season’s record to 2-1.

Program Cover

Strang listed two other factors as important in the loss. “Our passing was not up to par,” he said. “The timing was off. We missed come completions by inches. Garfield was tremendously high. They pointed more towards the game than we did. We did not underestimate them, however. They were able to put special emphasis on their ‘big game of the year.’ We cannot put special emphasis on every game. They have a good team. It will take a good team to beat them.”

Strang was pleased with his defense. Except for a disastrous fumble and a bad breakdown on one play, the Tigers did a good job in this respect. “I would be tickled to death if our defense played that way all the time,” Strang said. “We did make a few mistakes that have to be corrected, however.”

Garfield Coach Dan (Babe) Flossie had a plan after watching the Tigers in action the preceding week and it paid off. Athletic Director Harry Kidder spoke for Flossie who took off rapidly with his team after the game – the Rams dress at their school rather than at the Rubber Bowl.

“Massillon’s whole offense is their passing,” Kidder said. “We planned to give them their running game and take away their passing threat and we did it.”

The Rams dropped back five and six pass defenders and double and sometimes triple teamed ends Will Perry and Floyd Pierce and wingback Bill Blunt. Blunt, the team’s leading receiver was able to catch only one pass.

“He caught that one,” Kidder said, “because one of our halfbacks thought he was on the other side of the field and didn’t cover properly.”

The Orange and Black completed only seven of 22 passes for 106 yards to add to 65 net rushing for a 171 total. Only 10 of the aerial yards came in the second half and only 15 of the ground total. The Tigers lost 37 yards rushing.

Garfield, on the other hand, lost only 8 and gained 224 total yards, 188 rushing. Only 36 yards came through the air. But the Rams completed two of the three passes they threw, one on a touchdown drive.

Massillon led in first downs 9-7. That was the only other department in which the Tigers bettered the Rams.

All this was a hard pill for the Tigers to swallow. The first loss to an Akron school since South turned the trick 7-6 in 1931 could prove disastrous to Massillon’s hopes for a comeback state championship this season.

The Tigers were the first to get an offensive going early in the second stanza. After a Garfield punt was run back 10 yards by Bill Blunt, the Bengals scored in four plays, picking up a first down in the process.

On third down from the 50-yard line, quarterback Ron Swartz connected with Blunt on a play that covered to the Garfield 23. On the next play Swartz hit Perry for the remainder of the distance with 9:07 remaining in the quarter. Swartz tried another aerial to Perry for the conversion, but it failed.

Floyd Pierce hauled in a Garfield aerial on his 45 after Bender’s 36-yard runback of the kickoff and it looked as if the Orange and Black was ready to roll again. But they lost the ball on downs.

After a Garfield punt, the Tigers got to the Rams 26 on two nice runs of 11 and 18 yards up the center by Jim Lawrence and a reverse by Blunt. There the Rams held.

On the next play Ed Bender broke off tackle and streaked 74 yards for the tying touchdown, with 1:49 remaining completely outdistancing the WHS secondary which was playing in close. All of Steve Kanner’s fine punting – three times behind the 10-yard line – had gone for naught. Bender booted the tie-breaking point.

Blunt made a fine runback of 31 yards on which he was temporarily put out of action by a jarring tackle. Then the Bengals drove to the Garfield nine near the end of the half but were stymied again. The Tigers moved 56 yards from their own 35 in six plays with four first downs.

There was some more fine running by Lawrence4 – one 15-yard distance – and a 28-yard pass from Swartz to Pierce from the Garfield 37 to the nine.

The second half was strictly Garfield’s. Halfbacks Bender, John Butash and fullback Cliff Watson started churning up the Rubber Bowl turf. They continued to drape themselves with glory because of their work in the defensive secondary. The Garfield line completely stymied the Bengals except for one stretch in the last quarter.

So well did Bender, Butash and Watson run the ball that the Rams hung on to it for practically all of the third canto. The Tigers got only two series of plays – six straight downs – at about the midway point.

Near the end of the period Blunt fumbled a punt and guard Bob Sine recovered for Garfield on the Tigers’ 21. By the time the 11:24 mark of the last stanza had arrived, the Rams had put the winning margin on the score board. Butash went over from the one after five plays and two first downs but missed the conversion.

The Orange and Black had its last big drive right after the kickoff. Tom Gatsios came up with a 24-yard runback to put the ball on the Tiger 39.

With Jim Lawrence doing most of the running through the center as the Bengals tried to get their ground game going, Massillon managed to get to the Rams’ 25 after 10 plays and three first downs. But linebacker Marion Della Serra broke through on fourth and three and tossed Lawrence for an eight-yard loss. The Tigers never threatened again.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Hose, Jones, Goodnough and McAllister.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Binge and Morgan.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Paflas, Swisher, Rivera, Paul, Mulhbach and Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Rink Schenkenberger and Shanor.
Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.

GARFIELD – 13
Ends – Young, Wright and Malone.
Tackles – Hamric, Nemith and Apley.
Guards – Cianociola, Puckett, Vance and Sine.
Center – Brockett.
Quarterback – Hannig.
Halfbacks – Bender, Butash, Adam and Della Serra.
Fullback – Watson.

Massillon 0 6 0 0 6
Garfield 0 7 0 6 13

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Perry (23-yard pass from Swartz).
Garfield – Bender (74-yard run); Butash (one-yard run).

Points after touchdowns: Bender (placement).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Head Linesman – John Cseh (Akron).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs, rushing 5 5
First downs, passing 4 2
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 9 7
Yards gained rushing 102 196
Yards lost rushing 37 8
Net yards gained rushing 65 188
Yards gained passing 106 36
Total yards gained 171 224
Passes attempted 22 3
Passes completed 7 2
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average (yards) 51.0 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 79 46
Times punted 5 6
Punt average (yards) 39.6 44.0
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 2 5
Yards penalized. 20 25

Junie Studer – Earl O’Leary – Massillon Statisticians

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 46, Cleveland East 0

Tigers Mangle Cleveland East 46-0
Balance; Defense Good

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It’s been said many times before. And maybe it’s corny, too. But what a difference a year can make!

Three hundred sixty-five days ago a bunch of somber, long-faced fans filed out of Tiger stadium after an 8-7 loss to Fremont Ross. Friday night, the Massillon fans among the 9,933 assembled at the stadium left with mile-wide grins on their faces and cheers emanating from their lips.

The Washington high eleven, showing a well-balanced attack and a very stingy defense, rolled over Cleveland East 46-0 to get the 1963 season off to a rousing start.

Program Cover

The Orange and Black amassed 432 yards, 232 of them through the air, to 56 for East. The Bengals garnered 12 first downs to the Blue Bombers’ four. The Tigers had 288 yards to East’s 24 and 14 first downs to East’s one at the halftime intermission.
* * *
AND THE outcome could have been even more lopsided, but Coach Leo Strang used everybody on the bench rather than running up the score.

Following the game Coach Flory Mariocourt of East said, “I really appreciate Leo’s using his reserves. It gave us a lot of good experience.

Strang pointed to an old adage in summing up his feelings on the game. The familiar saying goes, “the best defense is a good offense.”

The Tigers scored six of the 12 times they had the ball and used up gobs of time on the clock in doing it. They showed good ball control during the other six chances, too. Not until the last quarter were they forced to punt and only in that period did they fail to score. They did lose the ball once on a fumble and once on an intercepted pass.

When the Orange and Black didn’t have the ball, its’ defense “made the offense look good,” as Strang put it. East failed to get out of its own territory until the third canto and then turned the trick only three times after that.
* * *
THE DEEPEST penetration by the Bombers was to the Tigers 32 late in the fourth stanza. But they lost a fumble at that point and the ball rolled all the way back to the East 45 where Dennis Morgan curled himself around the pigskin.

A contributing factor in the Bengal’s fine defensive effort was the play of ends Butch Hose and Captain Mike Jones and tackles Jim Binge and Steve Tarle. Binge and Tarle effectively jammed up East’s power game; forcing it outside where Hose and Jones took over.

Strang was pleased with both the first and second units work on defense, especially their gang tackling and pass defense. Likewise the skipper was happy that his air game functioned so well that he didn’t have to use too much of his running repertoire.

Quarterbacks Ron Swartz and Tom (Goose) Gatsios threw with pinpoint accuracy, completing 12 of 24 passes. Backs Bob Hewitt, Terry Getz, Jim Lawrence and Paul Shanor formed a well-nigh impregnable pocket for their mates. Offensive linemen appeared to do their jobs well. Receivers ran patterns well and were wide open – sometimes two in an area – on many occasions.

Scoring was divided evenly with three touchdowns coming via the heavens and three on the ground. Wingback Bill (Rabbit) Blunt scored a trio of six-pointers and a conversion. Hewitt picked up two conversions.
* * *
THE FIRST WHS tally came with 3:21seconds left in the initial canto. The Bengals marched 58 yards, after an East punt, in 13 plays with four first downs. Swartz sneaked in from the one on third down. Gatsios added the conversion on the keeper.

John Muhlback fell on Tom Rivera’s onside kick on the ensuing kickoff and the Orange and Black went 49 yards for its second six-pointer. Four plays and two first downs were registered.

Short side end Floyd (Duke) Pierce was instrumental in this drive, combining with Swartz on a 31-yard pass play to help set up the score. Swartz cranked up his right arm again on second down, after being tossed for a 12-yard loss and completed a pass good for 38 yards to Blunt with 1:14 seconds left, Long side end Will Perry got a key block on the 10-yard line to open the gate. Hewitt ran the conversion.

In the second period, Massillon moved 66 yards after a punt, using up four plays and two first downs. Blunt was the touchdown guy again, going 44 yards on a first down reverse with 7:39 left. Gatsios hit the shifty senior for the conversion.

East was forced to punt again after one series. The Bengals took over 58 yards from pay dirt and had their fourth score eight plays and five first downs later.
* * *
BLUNT WAS on the receiving end of a first down 16-yard aerial from Gatsios with 3:06 left. Hewitt scored the extra two points.

Picking up a punt on their 31, the Tigers marched to touchdown land again at the 7:16 mark of the third quarter. Seven plays and four first downs were used up this time. Lawrence bulled over from the one on second down after racing 14 yards on the play before. His conversion run was good.

Grady Eckard pounced on a Bomber fumble on the Clevelanders’ 29 and four plays and two first downs later it was touchdown for the Bengals for the final time. Short side end Bob (BoBo) McAllister caught a Swartz pass on second down from the 15 at 5:21. Lawrence was short through the center for the conversion.

The Tigers threatened once more but the clock ran out with the ball on the East three.

It’s now one down and nine to go on the state title comeback trail for the Tigers. The Massillon eleven will travel to Akron’s Rubber Bowl one week from tonight to face Akron Garfie

A Rousing Start

EAST – 0
Ends – Rountree, Miller, Lett and Mixon.
Tackles – Canady and Banks.
Guards – R. Young, D. Young and Ivory.
Centers – Murzynski and Weaver.
Quarterback – Holliday.
Halfbacks – Paul, Haynes, Hipps and Lindsey.
Fullbacks – Pledger and Hooker.

MASSILLON – 46
Ends – Pierce, Perry, Jones, Hose, McAllister, Goodnough, Franklin, R. Alexander and D. Alexander.
Tackles – Tarle, Miller, Binge, Passalacqua, Stevens, Morgan and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Whitfield, Manson, Swisher, Paflas, Mathias, Muhlbach, Rrearick, Rivera and Martin.
Centers – Scassa, Frank and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios, Kanner and Freig.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Eckard, Rink, Pope, Gamble, Marks, Shanor, Williams and Schenkenberger.
Fullbacks – Hewitt, Lawrence and Thomas.

Massillon 16 16 14 0 46

Touchdowns:
Blunt 3 (26-yard pass from Swartz, 44-yard run and 16-yard pass from Gatsios); Swartz (one-yard sneak); Lawrence (one-yard plunge); and McAllister (15-yard pass from Swartz).

Points after touchdowns:
Blunt 2; Hewitt 4, Gatsios 2 and Lawrence 2.

Officials
Referee – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Umpire – Paul Trepinski (Toledo).
Head Linesman – Bill Earenfight (Canton).
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle (Canton).

STATISTICS
Mass. East
First downs, rushing 12 4
First downs, passing 11 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 23 4
Yards gained rushing 217 102
Yards lost rushing 17 48
Net yards gained rushing 200 54
Yards gained passing 232 2
Total yards gained 432 56
Passes attempted 24 7
Passes completed 12 2
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Times kicked off 7 1
Kickoff average (yards) 38.5 38.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 22 53
Times punted 1 6
Punt average (yards) 32.0 30.6
Punt returns (yards) 62 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 0 3
Yards penalized. 0 15

Bill Blunt