Tag: <span>Bob Shaw</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1971: Massillon 6, Niles McKinley 7

Tigers lose spirited defensive battle

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Both coaches called it pretty good when looking ahead earlier this week, but Bob Commings must wish he hadn’t been so correct.

He hadn’t predicted his Massillon Tigers would be edged 7-6 by the Niles McKinley Red Dragons before 17,458 – the season’s largest crowd – Friday night at Tiger stadium, but he figured their strategy well.

NILES’ BOB Shaw loves to burn you when you least expect it.

Program Cover

And Shaw must have seen something in his tea leaves for he had said 1971 was his turn. This was his second victory in three seasons over Commings – two here – and his third in four tries against the Orange and Black, the first coming in 1966.

On both occasions he stopped Tiger streaks – 32 games without a loss the first time and 13 this trip. His latest effort put Niles in second place behind Warren Harding in the All-American conference. The Black Panthers are 2-0 in the league and 4-0 overall while the Dragons are 1-0 and 4-0.

Massillon, the 1970 league winner, dropped to 3-1 and an 0-1 AAC record. The loss will also undoubtedly drop the defending Ohio Class AAA champion Tigers out of first place in both wire service polls.

“We never gain when we beat Massillon,” Shaw, the boss of the state’s 11-ranked team, said, “but other teams do.”

Friday’s game was a great tribute to both defenses although Massillon outdistanced Niles 14-7 in first downs and 224-158 in total yards gained, posting most of those figures in the second half. Both lines hit hard and the secondarys covered the passing lanes adequately.

The Tigers completed only one of 11 passes and Niles only two of 13 for six and 19 yards respectively. This is not conducive to adequately complementing your ground game.

“They just played good defense,” Commings said. “They made the good plays – we didn’t.” When you give up only one, TD, you’re not playing bad football. Once we settled down, we played good football. They did what they do well – spring one once in awhile.
* * *
HE ADDED, “Their linebackers and defensive backs coming up were the toughest part of their defense.”

“Both defenses were good,” Shaw agreed. “When you get a 7-6 game, it will always be this way. This was the good football we used to play at Niles. For three years back we hadn’t stopped them. I think we forced them to pass when they couldn’t run. This helped our secondary play good defense. They cut us off with their angle defense. Their backside tackle hurt us.”

This would be Glen Weirich or Steve Studer, depending upon which way the defenders were headed.

Niles quarterback Tom Andres, Jr., burned the Tigers with his ball-handling and speed at times, although linebacker Mike McGuire bombed him several times.

“He’s the fastest man on the team so we wanted him to run the football,” Shaw said. “His good action faking to a back going one way with another coming back, helped. Andres has deceptive speed at 6-3.”

The Dragons got off more long runs, although Tigers Willie Spencer, Larry McLenndon, Don Perry and Art Thompson gave it their best. The Orange and Black offense did it in short chops and forced the Niles’ defense out of its Notre Dame 4-4 and into an Oklahoma 5-4 early in the contest.

After seeing a team score on them for the first time this season, the Tigers took the kickoff and marched 29 yards in 10 plays in the first quarter but were forced to punt from the Niles’ 38.

They moved 68 yards in nine plays in the second stanza to get their touchdown with tailback Spencer starting the drive with a 24-yarder around right end to the Niles 43. He scored for the ninth time in four games – over right tackle on fourth and four form 26 yards away with 4:52 left. A good stiff farm helped.
* * *
QUARTERBACK SCOTT Dingler tried to run the go-ahead conversion, but halfback Pat Burke and ends Mike Weida and Ted Williams hauled him down just short of the mark.

The Tigers had one more good drive – in the fourth quarter. It was a 10-play affair starting after a 30-yard pun t to the Massillon 39. The drive ended on the Niles 25 with four minutes, 10 seconds remaining.

Fullback Don Perry was short of the first down, but the Tigers were called for illegal procedure and offside and the Dragons were detected on a personal foul, nullifying the run and giving Spencer a chance around left end. However, Williams nailed him.

Niles got all of the margin it needed when halfback Bob Sygar intercepted Dingler’s toss on the game’s first play and raced 26 yards to the Tigers’ 29. In six plays, the Dragons had scored as Andres helped with a 13-yard, third-and-eight jaunt for a first down on the 13.

Fullback Tim Monos scored on third-and-four from the seven when Andres threw to the right and Monos grabbed the pigskin on the two. With 8:34 left, Tom Masciangelo kicked the winning point.

Sygar was a thorn in the side for the Tigers. He bolted 71 yards around the left side on a pitchout just after Massillon’s first quarter kickoff and was brought down by halfback Tom Jackson on the nine. Hannon threw fullback Bob Manella to the 20 and McGuire intercepted an Andres’ aerial on the 15 to halt the drive.

Sygar ran 43 yards to the Massillon 25 on the second quarter, but a clipping penalty called this one off. In the same period, he ran a punt back 28 yards to his 48, but another clip interfered.

He ran 68 yards to the Tigers’ 11 in the third canto, but a clip cancelled this scamper too. Sygar also hopped on Hannon’s fumble in the third episode to give the Dragons the ball on the 50.

NILES – 7
Ends – Kaszonyi, Rose, Weida, Harris, Ted Williams, Tom Williams, Allen, Mackey, C. West.
Tackles – Biddlestone, Shehy, Thou, Schweitzer, Tackett, Law.
Guards – Baker, Skocik, Pekarovic, Masciangelo, Peterson.
Center – Wilson.
Quarterbacks – Andres, Joseph.
Halfbacks – Sygar, Miranda, Wolfe, Kuhn, L. West, P. Burke, M. Burke.
Fullbacks – Monos, Manella.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Matie, McGuire, Stephan, D. Edwards.
Tackles – Weirich, Heath, Geiser, Green.
Guards – Christoff, Graber, Mayles, Heck.
Centers – Studer, Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Dingler, Muhlbach.
Halfbacks – Spencer, McLenndon, Thompson, Wonsick, Jackson, Weise, T. Edwards.
Fullbacks – Perry, Hannon.

NILES 7 0 0 0 7
MASSILLON 0 6 0 0 6

SCORING SUMMARY
N – Monos 7 pass from Andres (Masciangelo kick);
M – Spencer 26 run (run failed).

THE GRIDSTICK
M N
First downs, rushing 14 4
First downs, passing 0 2
First downs, penalties 0 1
Total first downs 14 7
Yards gained rushing 226 170
Yards lost rushing 8 31
Net yards gained rushing 218 139
Net yards gained passing 6 19
Total yards gained 224 158
Passes completed 1-11 2-10
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 3 13
Kickoff average (yards) 2-47.0 2-35.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 29 40
Punt average (yds.) 5-33.8 7-27.4
Punt returns (yds.) 0 7
Fumbles (lost) 4(1) 2(0)
Yards penalized 2-20 5-55
Touchdowns rushing 1 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Total number of plays 64 48

OFFICIALS
Referee – Milo Lukity.
Umpire – Jack Werkowitz.
Head Linesman – Frank Wahl.
Field Judge – Del Groezinger.
Back Judge – Ron Giacomo.

ATTENDANCE – 17,458

Steve Studer
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1970: Massillon 22, Niles McKinley 3

‘Tiger Pride’: Oh, how sweet it is!

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

You don’t hear much from senior first-year tackle Manny Turley, but this time he said a mouthful!

“We played the second half on ‘Tiger Pride!’” he said, as he and his fellow gridders boarded buses for the return trip to Massillon Saturday night
* * *
COACH BOB Commings had a different description, “Courageous,” for his charges’ play in their comeback 22-3 All-American conference victory before a near capacity crowd of 14,500 at newly remodeled Niles Riverside stadium.

Program Cover

The Tigers, (4-0) share first place in the AAC with Canton McKinley after handing Niles its first loss in four outings.

Commings added, “We got over a big hurdle! It was a great team effort!”

It all amounts to the same thing. The Tigers appear to be back in business, playing tough in the clutch – a trademark of Washington high teams down through the years, but not consistently there during the last few seasons.

Another echo of the past was the Tigers’ taking advantage of Niles’ second half mistakes to score.

“When you give the ball to a good team, you’ll lose,” Niles Coach Bob Shaw commented.
* * *
THESE ARE the marks of a state champion. These are the things which will put the Orangemen back in the Ohio throne room after a five-yard absence. But the Tigers must continue to play this way for the remaining six games which start Friday when Toledo Whitmer begins a three-game home stand.

The WHSers had some real adversity as All-Ohio hopeful Mike Mauger banged an ankle with about six minutes left in the first period and didn’t return until about the 7:05 mark of the second stanza. Even then the senior tailback’s running was not right and didn’t look good until trainer Mike Internicola removed tape from Mauger’s ankle at halftime and replaced it with elastic bandage. The tape had been putting pressure on Mike’s ankle.

For awhile, Niles had “The Mailman’s” special deliveries pretty well stopped, but when the Tigers resorted to their pitchout game instead of their off tackle maneuvers, in the fourth quarter, things got back to normal. Mauger had a slight limp after the contest.
“Mike came back and played on shear guts,” Commings said. Mauger picked up 138 net yards in 18 carries. However, the AAC’s leading rusher and scorer crossed the goal line only once.

Senior quarterback Dennis Franklin scored two touchdowns and had another called back. Senior wingback Larry Harper, playing in his first contest since fracturing a collarbone a week before the opener, caught a Franklin pass for another.
* * *
FRANKLIN PICKED up valuable yardage on the bootleg play which Commings said “helped bail us out.” His 37 yards in 11 carries, added to Co-Captain and senior fullback Tom Cardinal’s 48 in 14 helped keep the WHS attack going at critical times.

But the Tigers were in trouble in the first half due to a tailback shortage. Fourth-string junior Rick Weise was inserted for Mauger.

The No. 2 man, junior Larry McLenndon, was not in uniform because of disciplinary problem. Junior Hank Nussbaumer, just back after a knee injury suffered the second day of practice, could be used only defensively.

The scope of the Tigers’ second half bounce back can be seen by the fact that they picked up 168 total net yards after the intermission, compared to 80 before and added 13 first downs to three.

Meanwhile, the Massillon “Attack Pack” held the Red Dragons to 23 net yards in the second half compared to 109 during the first 24 minutes. Niles managed only six net rushing yards in the last half, compared to 66 and two first downs to six in the first half.
* * *
“WE JUST made mistakes that will kill you,” Shaw said. “Our offense has been inconsistent all season. We felt Mauger’s off tackle runs were the play we had to take away to have a chance, but he came back and ran well. They hurt us around the ends.”

The Tigers made some mistakes, too, losing three TD opportunities in the first period. Mauger broke off a 45-yard run on pitchout on the third play with safety Jim Stringer’s tackle saving a TD, but a holding penalty and a pass interception by safety John James on succeeding plays stopped the threat.

The Orangemen ran out of downs on Niles’ 16-yrd line just after Mauger was injured.

End Bob Stephan recovered tailback Jim Stringer’s fumble on the Niles 13, but James intercepted another pass on the one after a clipping penalty had nullified Franklin’s bootleg TD. It was James’ fifth steal of the season, Saturday night’s two coming on overthrows.

As the second period was coming to an end, Niles drove 63 yards, had a player line up offside on a second down TD run and guard Jerry Masciangelo kicked a 25-yard field goal, the first ever that anyone can remember in a Dragon game. Four seconds remained.

Fullback Joe Lucariello fumbled the second half kickoff. Pete Jasinski, who played his first game as middle guard well as a sub for McLenndon, recovered for the Tigers on the Dragon 30. Massillon scored in seven plays with Franklin sneaking over from the one on third down with 8:25 left. Mauger blasted off right tackle for two more points.
* * *
A 64-YARD drive after “The Attack Pack” held on the WHS 36 early in the fourth quarter netted the Tigers’ second TD after 11 plays. Mauger carried the mail six times behind sharp blocking by “The Iron Curtain,” as the Orangemen got the benefit of a personal foul call.

Franklin sneaked over from the two on second down with 6:28 remaining. “The Menace” was short on the conversion run.

“The Attack Pack” held again – on the Niles’ 48. Eight plays later, following a 30-yard run by Mauger, Franklin found Harper on the one from the 12 on first down and “The Scooter’s” great second effort brought the pigskin home with 28 seconds remaining. Junior split end Willie Spencer made a great catch in the middle of the end zone light up the final points.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – S. Luke, Spencer, Stephan, Perry.
Tackles – Strobel, Ridgley, Weirich, Heat.
Guards – Kulik, Jasinski, Sims, J. Nussbaumer, Groff.
Center – Studer.
Quarterbacks – Franklin.
Halfbacks – Harper, Mauger, B. Luke, Weise, H. Nussbaumer, Sullivan, Wonsick, Thompson.
Fullbacks – Cardinal, Fletcher.

NILES – 3
Ends – Cranston, Lewis, Williams, Collings, Glowacky.
Tackles – Sipusic, Shehy, DeMast, Boyle.
Guards – DeChristofaro, Mahoney, Cajcco, Masciangelo.
Centers – Schuller, Augusta, Wilson.
Quarterbacks – Ciminero, Andrews.
Halfbacks – Stringer, James, Ciletti, Simeone.
Fullbacks – Mones, Lucariello,

MASSILLON 0 0 8 14 22
NILES 0 3 0 0 3

SCORING
N – Masciangelo (25-yard field goal);
M – Franklin, 1 run (Mauger run);
M – Franklin, 2 run (run failed);
M – Harper, 11-yard pass-run from Franklin (pass Franklin to Spencer).

THE GRIDSTICK
M N
First downs – rushing 14 5
First downs – passing 1 2
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 16 8
Yards gained rushing 253 99
Yards lost rushing 16 27
Net yards gained rushing 237 72
Net yards gained passing 13 60
Total yards gained 240 132
Passes completed 1-7 5-15
Passes intercepted by 0 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 5
Kickoff average (yards) 4-49.3 3-35.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 91
Punt average (yards) 4-38.0 5-38.0
Punt returns (yards) 18 19
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 0-2 2-2
Yards penalized 6-70 5-45
Touchdowns – rushing 2 0
Touchdowns – passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Total number of plays (unreadable)

OFFICIALS
Referee – James Keffer.
Umpire – Bob Bodner.
Linesman – Fred Vicarel.
Field Judge – Larry Glass.

Tigers lose No. 1 ranking
to Bears

By the Associated Press

A familiar name crept back into the first place spot in the Class AAA standings in this week’s Associated Press high school football poll.

The Golden Bears of Upper Arlington, in second position since the first poll of the year, moved ahead of Massillon by ten points – 192-182 – to claim the top spot.

UPPER ARLINGTON 4-0-0 sailed past Portsmouth 27-0 Friday night, while Massillon
4-0-0 topped Niles McKinley 22-3 Saturday.

CLASS AAA
School W. L. T. Pts.
1. Upper Arlington 4 0 0 192
2. Massillon 4 0 0 182
3. Canton McKinley 4 0 0 150
4. Sandusky 4 0 0 134
5. Columbus Eastmoor 4 0 0 95
6. Lancaster 3 0 1 68
7. Niles McKinley 3 1 0 44
8. Akron Garfield 4 0 0 40
9. Cincinnati Moeller 3 1 0 39
10. Cincinnati St. Xavier 3 1 0 37

Other Schools receiving 10 or more votes: Warren Western Reserve; Marion Harding; Delaware Hayes; Findlay; Elyria; Beavercreek; Sidney; Lima Shawnee; Canton Central; Walsh; Cuyahoga Falls; Hamilton Baden’; Cleveland Shaw; Wintersville.

Steve Luke
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1969: Massillon 20, Niles McKinley 33

‘Gales-storm’ sweeps Tigers 33-20

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“. . . My head is bloody but unbowed!”

A line from the poem “Invictus” was scrawled across the blackboard in the Tiger stadium squad room by acting game Co-Captain Dave Hout, a senior guard. Above the short poem were written the words, “Tigers read this”.

The poetry served to set the tone for the job ahead for the Washington high football team. Coach Bob Commings and his staff know the Orange and Black must forget the searing thoughts of their 33-20 loss to Niles McKinley and begin to plan their comeback route.

Program Cover

The first hurdle will be the Alliance Aviators who come in next Friday hurting from a 30-8 loss to Canton McKinley, also an All-American conference game. The Bulldogs (2-0) are in the first place with Niles (1-0) second. Massillon and Alliance have one loss and Warren Harding has two.
* * *
FRIDAY NIGHT’S defeat before 18,486 the season’s largest Tiger stadium turnout, was Massillon’s first in three games and extended Niles’ skein to 4-0.

Coach Bob Shaw holds the only two Red Dragon victories over the Tigers in the 10-game series, stopped a personal 25-game win streak for Commings and got Niles its first win at the stadium. The last Shaw-coached victory scissored a 32-game Tiger victory string.
* * *
MEANWHILE, the Niles “Thunder Defense” as it is called by Shaw’s staff, bottled up the Tigers’ ground game and threw a blanket over Tiger receivers. The Orange and Black never stopped trying to come back – Commings gambling several times at crucial moments – but they couldn’t come back as some unfortunate breaks aided the Niles cause.
* * *
“WHAT IT amounts to,” Commings explained, “is what we’ve been saying for three weeks. We have to get total concentration in games and in practice. We played against some inferior teams and got away with it. Tonight we played against a heckuva team and couldn’t get away with it.

“If tonight proved anything, it proved we didn’t have a bunch of quitters,” Commings commented.
* * *
ONE THING the game did prove was that Niles has a tremendous football team led by two tremendous players in tailback Rick Gales and quarterback Ron Fusco – both All-Ohio caliber. It proved Shaw was right in installing the “I” formation this year to take full advantage of the Fusco-Gales combination.

Gales – “The Big Storm” – was never thrown for a loss as he carried 27 times for 152 yards and a 5.6 average.

The AAC’s top back scored three touchdowns and aided in setting up another.

He explained that everything was predicated to stop Gales, but the slant defense strategy didn’t work.

Shaw said Fusco’s quarterbacking was the key. “He did a great job!”
* * *
HE THOUGHT the turning point was the Dragon’s third touchdown just before the end of the second half.

“We did nothing but straight ahead blocking,” Shaw explained. “Gales has the option to run anywhere he feels he can get through.”

Shaw then surprised reporters with the information that neither Gales nor fullback George Harris had practiced this week – Harris because of an injury sustained Monday and Gales because of one sustained last Saturday.
* * *
NILES TOOK the opening kickoff and marched 67-yards in nine plays after an 18-yard runback by Gales. Fusco’s 26-yard end run off a fake to the Massillon 17 and Gales’ slant off the right side for 10 yards to the three set the ball up for flanker halfback Randy Hardy who scored on a pitch on the following play with 8:47 left in the first quarter. A two-point conversion try failed.

The Tigers came back as junior fullback Tom Cardinal streaked 35 yards to the 50 with the kickoff. Four plays later, with 7:01 remaining, Autrey tied the game on an off-tackle trap on second down from the two. Mauger’s kick was wide.

Quarterback Gary Herring and wingback Larry “The Scooter” Harper had teamed up on a 49-yard pass-run combination with Harper running 42 yards.
* * *
HARPER PUT the Tigers into a temporary 12-6 lead when he returned a punt 94 yards, on some great open field running, with 10:03 left in the second stanza. The conversion pass attempt was incomplete.

The Dragons marched 68 yards in 11 plays for their second TD with Gales carrying eight times. A procedure penalty gave Niles a first down on the one. Gales capitalized on the opportunity, slanting over on the next play with 5:58 left. Harris’ kick made it 13-12.

The Tigers started to drive for pay dirt after Darnell Streeter’s 19-yard kickoff runback clicking on medium-length passes. But Niles’ Mark Conway hauled in one of Gary Herring’s aerials on the Niles 20 and the Dragons moved 78 yards in six plays, four of them passes.
* * *
GALES WENT over on first down from the four on another slant. A conversion pass attempt fell incomplete. The clock read 1:22 in the second quarter.

A fumble on the second half kickoff, picked up by Joe Lucarello on the Massillon 14, set up the next Dragon score.

Three plays later, Fusco faked Harris into the line and skirted an end from the 10 for the score with 10:28 remaining in the third quarter. Hardy scored the conversion on a pitch play.

The Dragons scored for the final time after a fourth quarter, fourth down pass from the Tigers’ 24 had fallen incomplete. Gales scored on a pass from Fusco on third down from the seven with 3:51 showing on the clock. A subsequent pass on the conversion try was short.

The Tigers got their last chance with 57 second remaining. Consecutive double reverses by Harper and Bernard Sullivan for 18 and 29 yards, respectively, and a 19-yard screen pass play, with a 14-yard run by Autrey put the ball on the Niles 16. Quarterback Franklin hit Denny Harper in the corner of the end zone as the game ended.

Another pass to Harper was complete for the conversion, but Massillon was called for illegal procedure. Fans streamed onto the field, making it impossible to replay the try so referee Tony Pianowski declined the penalty and gave the Tigers two points.

THE GRIDSTICK
M N
First downs – rushing 9 20
First downs – passing 6 5
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 15 25
Yards gained rushing 181 281
Yards lost rushing 12 9
Net yards gained rushing 169 272
Net yards gained passing 119 82
Total yards gained 388 354
Passes completed 7–19 6–9
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 3–41.0 6–48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 122 39
Punt average (yards) 2–34.5 5–37.2
Punt returns (yards) 99 0
Lost fumbled balls 1–1 1–2
Yards penalized 3–23 2–10
Touchdowns rushing 1 4
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 53 66

Niles Won When
QB Shook Jitters

NILES – Ron Fusco wasn’t having a very good night. He had missed his first three passes and he was tight. But that’s the way it is when you’re a Niles quarterback playing against Massillon in front of 18,046 pairs of critical eyes.

It was late in the second quarter and the game was 12-12 with Niles camped on its own
23-yard line.

WITH FUSCO off form Niles had stuck almost exclusively to the ground with the elusive Rick Gales doing the bulk of the ball carrying.

Red Dragon’s coach Bob Shaw called time and waved Fusco to him at the sidelines. “Take your time,” Shaw told his passer. “You’re not setting up properly. Don’t hurry your throws. The receivers are open.”

Fusco returned to the huddle, called the play and threw a 12-yard completion. He then proceeded to connect on successive passes of 18, 14 and 19 yards, moving the ball to the Massillon 4 where Gales punched it over for the go-ahead touchdown. George Harris kicked the extra point to give Niles a 19-12 edge which they never relinquished en route to a 33-20 triumph over the Tigers Friday night.

Fusco went on to complete two more aerials, giving him six in a row after those first three failures for a total of 81 yards and one touchdown.

SHAW CALLED that drive, a 77-yarder just before the half, the most important series of the game.

“It gave us the lead and we proved to ourselves we could move the ball. This was a major test for us. We knew that and the kids were a little shaky. But we all grew up a little on that drive,” Shaw related.

While Fusco was worrying Massillon in the air, Gales was giving them fits on the ground. The 5-9, 175-pound, senior halfback tied a school record by scoring four touchdowns on runs of 12, 3, 4 yards and catching a Fusco pass for 7 yards and another tally.

Mike Autry