Tag: <span>Bobby Huth</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2005: Massillon 29, Cleveland St. Ignatius 26

Never-say-die Tigers rally past Iggy

By JOE SHAHEEN
Joe.Shaheen@IndeOnline.com

Four quarters.

Forty-eight minutes of football.

The Massillon Tigers felt as if they didn’t play a full game in their biggest win of the season, a harrowing 35-31 victory over Cincinnati Elder in Week Two. They gave up three fourth-quarter touchdowns in that one to turn a laugher into a nail biter.

The Tigers were determined that wouldn’t be the case on Saturday night at Byers Field in Parma with nemesis St. Ignatius providing the opposition.Trailing 9-0 after one quarter, 19-7 at halftime and 26-14 after three stops, the Tigers mounted a fourth-quarter rally that won’t soon be forgotten in Massillon to bring home a 29-26 win that at once exorcised a host of demons and touched off a celebration usually reserved for the end of a world war.

“We never gave up,” said Tiger coach Tom Stacy. “We established before the game started we were playing four quarters. We weren’t going to do what we did down at Elder when we went up big and they came back in the fourth quarter. It was our time to play four quarters and we did it.”

Massillon made a habit of jumping to big early leads in its first five games this season. On Saturday, it went the other way as St. Ignatius established field position early to set up a three-play 31-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter. The Wildcats then capitalized on a fumbled kickoff to get a safety and a 9-0 edge after one quarter.

But the Tigers were undeterred.

“We got off to a terrible start,” said Stacy. “Give them credit, they did a good job in the kicking game. That really cost us and I really felt if we could get back into it before the end of the first half that we’d have a chance.”

The Tiger comeback officially began with 8:03 showing on the second quarter game clock and the ball at the Massillon 11 following a St. Ignatius punt. Three plays later they were set to punt but an errant snap forced Shawn Weisend to improvise and when he finally stopped running the Tigers had a first down at the 27.

Junior quarterback Bobby Huth then found Zack Vanryzin for 14 yards and a first down, and the Tigers kept working their way downfield. A holding penalty set Massillon back to the St. Ignatius 28 but Huth hit Brian Gamble in stride along the right sideline and the junior running back had no trouble locating the end zone for six. Steve Schott’s point after made it St. Ignatius 9, Massillon 7 with 2:48 until halftime.

But St. Ignatius countered with a three-play 76-yard touchdown sprint that took all of 1:20 and followed with a 50-yard field goal at the break that seemed to swing the momentum away from Massillon.

“Our kids at halftime, they were just ticked off,” Stacy said. “They said ‘We’re going to get back into it.’”

And they did, taking the second half kickoff and moving from the Massillon 22 to the St. Ignatius end zone in 14 plays. A 20-yard Huth to Gamble pass play over the middle helped get the ball rolling on the second snap of the march. Then a bubble screen to Gamble four plays later moved it to the Iggy 42.

From there, Gamble carried the ball three times as did junior fullback Quentin Nicholson, who covered the final yard for the touchdown. Schott’s point after made it 19-14 Ignatius midway through the third period.

St. Ignatius did what all great teams do, returning the favor with a seven-play scoring drive, highlighted by a 61-yard Rudy Kirbus to Nick Secue screen pass. Secue scored from a yard out with 3:54 left in the third and the conversion made it St. Ignatius 26, Massillon 14.

Back came the Tigers, this time with a 90-yard drive. Huth and Vanryzin meshed for a 23-yard gainer along the right sideline on the second play of the march. An unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Wildcats on a third down play gave the Massillon drive new life and a fake punt yielded a 10-yard pass completion to Andrew Dailey for another first down.

Huth threaded the needle to Brett Huffman for 25 yards to the St. Ignatius 2. Two plays later the Massillon offensive line blew the Ignatius front into the end zone and Gamble walked in for the touchdown.

It was St. Ignatius 26, Massillon 21 with most of the fourth quarter still to be played..

St. Ignatius moved from its 20 to its 37 on the ensuing possession but on third-and-four from that point tragedy struck the Wildcats. Kirbus dropped back and hit Parris with a pass, only to see the ball dislodged on a thunderous hit by Gamble that left the Ignatius All-Ohio wideout sprawled prone on the Byers Field playing surface.

Coach Chuck Kyle and a trainer rushed to Parris’ side but he had to be removed from the game via ambulance with an ugly looking lower leg injury.

“We were moving the ball but Robby’s hurt,” Kyle said. “He’s hurt. It’s not good. It’s bad.”

Massillon got the ball back on the punt and moved from its 28 to the St. Ignatius 38 when a fourth-and-one bootleg run resulted in a 4-yard loss, giving the ball back to the Wildcats with just 4:00 to play.

The Tiger defense had no margin for error and it came through, forcing a St. Ignatius punt after just three plays.

“Third-and-three, third-and-four,” Kyle said. “We didn’t convert a couple of those and that hurts. That hurts. You have to make a play at that point. They did. We didn’t.”

Beginning at their own 29, the Tigers got a big play as Gamble broke free for 19 yards on an option pitch around left end. Then senior running back Lanale Robinson picked up 10 more on a counter play to the Iggy 37.

On an incomplete pass, however, Huth was dinged and wobbled off the field with the aid of trainers. That brought in Weisend, who – two snaps later – was faced with a fourth-and-15 situation.

“Shawn Weisend never batted an eye, never batted an eye,” Stacy said. “He looked at me and said ‘Coach, I’m going to get it done,’ and he did.”The unflappable senior hit Vanryzin across the middle on a broken play for a 26-yard gain to the host’s 17-yard line.

“It was a busted play, I had to scramble,” Weisend recalled. “He wasn’t open at first. I was scrambling and I saw him going across the middle and I threw him the best ball I could.”

On second down Weisend threw a quick slant to Vanryzin who didn’t stop churning his legs until the ball was at the 4.

A pass interference call on St. Ignatius set up first and goal from the 2. After a loss of three yards on first down, Weisend took the shotgun snap, sprinted left, saw an opening and dashed for the pylon and the game-winning touchdown with just :10 on the clock.

“Their offense started doing some nice things, counters, hitting those little passes, just to keep us off balance,” Kyle said. “Hey, they’re on a roll. Tom’s doing a great job. They got the momentum going. You’ve got to give them credit.

“They were still running the counter and started finding a seam through there. And then rolling out, they were getting outside the contain. And even on the touchdown, we thought we were in a good call. We were coming from way outside and coming in. I have to see why the guy didn’t pin him in because we were coming from way outside and coming in.”

“What a great high school football game,” Stacy said. “That’s a big win for us.

“We’re a good football team. I think we’ll learn a lot about our team on tape. But we beat a really good football team. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”

Stacy admitted the Tigers got a monkey off their back by finally getting past St. Ignatius for the first time in nine games.

“Our kids believed they could do it,” he said. “If that hadn’t been the case, there was no way they could come back from 11 down at halftime. We couldn’t have done it. But our kids believed all week they could do and you can see the end result.

“The thing that impressed me was how hard both teams played and our resolve. Our resolve to get it done was unbelievable. I haven’t been around that kind of resolve probably since the Galion state championship game in 1985. Our guys wouldn’t back down.”

Massillon limited St. Ignatius to just 83 total yards in the second half to make the comeback possible.

“(Defensive coordinator) Steve Kovacs made some great adjustments at halftime,” Stacy said. “He kept his cool and made some great adjustments and I’ve got to give him a lot of credit.”

Backup QB proves big

By JOE SHAHEEN
Joe.Shaheen@IndeOnline.Com

In the long and storied history of Massillon Tiger football, Shawn Weisend has written his number into a chapter all to himself.

The senior back-up quarterback came off the bench with less than two minutes to play after an injury to starter Bobby Huth and completed the game-winning drive that carried Massillon to an improbable 29-26 victory over St. Ignatius on Saturday at Byers Field in Parma.

The Tiger win snapped an eight-game losing streak to St. Ignatius and lifted a weight off the program’s back that had reached crushing proportions in the last several years.

With tears of elation streaming down his face after scoring the game-winning touchdown, Weisend tried to express his emotions.

“I can’t explain how it feels,” he said amidst a joyous on-field celebration. “They called my number and I did the best I could. They all had faith in me and faith in the offense.

“Before I was in, Bobby was in, there was 7:10 left and I said ‘It’s going to come down to seconds. Let’s take this game home.’ We did it.”

Trailing 26-21 and facing a fourth down-and-15 from near midfield, Weisend received a critical block from tackle Brendon Smith to elude a fierce pass rush and threw a strike to senior wideout Zack Vanryzin for 25 yards – and a first down – to the St. Ignatius 17.

On the next play, Weisend hit Vanryzin on a quick slant at the 10 and Vanryzin scratched and clawed his way to the 4-yard line.

Four plays later, from the St. Ignatius 5, Weisend rolled left, dove into the left corner of the end zone and victory was Massillon’s.

What was going through Weisend’s head minutes earlier when he was summoned into such a huge game with the outcome hanging in the balance?

“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “I was more focused than I ever was in my life. I knew I had to do it and I did it.”

GAME STATS

Antonio James
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2005: Massillon 31, Mentor 10

Tigers still perfect

By JOE SHAHEEN
Joe.Shaheen@IndeOnline.com

Say this for Troy Ellis. The young man has a flair for the dramatic.

Massillon’s senior cornerback came up with an interception in the shadow of the Tiger end zone to quell a Mentor drive midway through the third quarter, just when it looked like the Cardinals were going to make a game of it.

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The Tigers then embarked on a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive that put Mentor away as Massillon stayed undefeated with a 31-10 victory in front of 8,578 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday.

“That’s huge. That’s huge,” Tiger quarterback Bobby Huth said of Ellis’ pick. “We count on our defense. We know they’re going to make a play. Troy is great. What can I say?”

It was Ellis’ seventh interception this season and it came with Massillon leading 17-3 but Mentor clearly owning the second-half momentum. The turnover couldn’t have come at a better time for Tiger head coach Tom Stacy.

“Oh, it was big,” Stacy said. “It was big. Troy Ellis is a heck of a football player.

“I felt like our defense played really well. They had the one drive but they’re going to get that. They scored 35 on St. Ignatius. They’re a good offensive football team.”

Massillon was up 17-0 at halftime but Mentor got on the scoreboard with a field goal that capped a 14-play drive that opened the third quarter.

The Tigers were forced to punt after three snaps on their first second-half possession and Mentor was on the march again, moving from its 40 to the Tiger 9. On second-and-eight, Mentor quarterback Kellen Oleksak threw it to the right flat for Brand James but Ellis came up with the football and returned it 26 yards to break the visitors’ hearts.

“We were in a cover three,” Ellis said. “They were trying the flat all night and I saw it coming out and I was reading it. The ball was just thrown over his head and I just grabbed it.

“We saw it on tape and they were pounding the flats on us all night. We were trying to get to it and I finally got one. We definitely needed (a turnover). I didn’t know it was coming my way but I felt like the defense was going to get one.”

Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno called Ellis’ play the turning point.

“That hurt,” Trivisonno said. “That would have made it 17-10 at that point. That’s the whole ball game. We told them, “Let’s go into the fourth quarter 17-10.” That’s where we needed to be. But they got that turnover.”

After the pick, Massillon embarked on a nine-play, 70 yard drive – keyed by a 42-yard Huth to Zack Vanryzin bomb – to put the game out of reach. The drive bridged the third and fourth quarters and was capped by Brian Gamble’s one-yard burst into the end zone. The touchdown and Steve Schott’s conversion kick gave Massillon a 24-3 lead at 10:27 of the fourth quarter.

Massillon added a score when Huth completed a fade route to Ricardo Wells from 14 yards out to make it 31-3 with just over five minutes to play.

“Offensively we just weren’t in the normal synch,” Stacy said afterward. “I give Mentor credit. They played hard and took away a couple things we like to do and game-planned us pretty well.”

As has been the case in their first four games this season, the Tigers jumped out first with two Huth-to-Vanryzin aerials covering 71 yards. The first came on the opening play from scrimmage as the junior quarterback rolled right and dropped a pass over the shoulder of the Mentor defender and into Vanryzn’s hands for a 39-yard gain to the Mentor 41.

After Gamble picked up eight yards on a run up the middle, Huth dropped back and found Vanryzin open on a post pattern. The 5-8, 170-pound senior hauled it in at the 3 and stepped into the end zone. Steve Schott’s point after was true and Massillon led 7-0 at 10:58 of the first quarter.

“It’s kind of scary when you think about it,” Stacy said. “We talk about that all the time and we were able to do it again and then we stalled a little bit.”

The Massillon defense forced Mentor into four consecutive punts in the first half. The fourth one set up the Tigers’ second score of the night when a shank by the Cardinal punter gave Massillon the ball at midfield.

The drive began innocently enough and looked to be dead after three plays failed to net a first down. But on fourth-and-2 at the Mentor 41, Gamble went over his right tackle and wouldn’t be denied until he’d picked up the first down at the Mentor 37.

Two plays later, Robert Morris rumbled for eight yards to the 23 for another Tiger first down.

“I can’t say enough about how hard our running backs are running for us,” Stacy said. “They’re physical and finishing runs and holding onto the football. That’s really good to see.’

On second-and-eight, Huth faked a handoff, rolled to his right and hit Trey Miller at the 3-yard line. Miller did the rest and Schott’s conversion placement put the Tigers up 14-0 at 3:09 of the second quarter.

Mentor’s fifth punt of the first half gave the Tigers the ball at their own 43 after Troy Ellis’ eight-yard return.

Huth was sacked for an eight yard loss on first down but Gamble erased that with a 38-yard burst around the right end to the Mentor 27.

Two Tiger penalties set them back 10 yards but Huth hooked up with Brett Huffman on a short pass and the senior tight end carried the ball 20 yards to the 17.

Schott closed the first half scoring by drilling a 34-yard field goal with :04 until intermission to put Massillon up 17-0 at the break.

“I think the field goal right at the end of half was really big,” Stacy said. “You could see it lifted our kids back up offensively. It’s a good way to finish the half. It was a real key for us.”

GAME STATS

Antonio James
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2005: Massillon 49, Chardon 7

Tigers blitz Chardon early, roll to fourth straight

By JOE SHAHEEN
Joe.Shaheen@lndeOnline.com

It’s shaping up as a very special season of Mas­sillon football.

The Tigers amassed over 500 yards of total offense and scored a school record 35 first quarter points in dealing the Chardon Hilltoppers a 49‑7 setback in front of 8,495 yards at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday.

For Jim DiPofi, Chardon’s sixth‑year head coach, it was his worst nightmare. Hoping to get into a ball control bat­tle in which his Wing‑T offense could eat up the game clock, DiPofi watched in hor­ror as the Tigers scored on their first five possessions to make it a rout early.

“That,” said DiPofi, “is a great football team. They hit us square on the chin early.

“They have a quarterback who was throwing darts to receivers with great hands. When you start chasing them that opens up a lot of gaps. Then they have that speed that just slices you. It’s like a three‑headed monster.”

Tiger head coach Tom Stacy was aiming to land a knockout punch early and that’s how things transpired.

“We got some big plays,” Stacy said. “In this stadium that’s what you’ve got to do to teams. We’ve got some guys who can make some big plays. We wanted to establish some domination early and we were able to do that.”

Massillon opened the game with a nine‑play, 90‑yard drive that took 4:12 off the clock and was culminated by a 12‑yard Bobby Huth to Brett Huffman touchdown pass.

Huth opened the march with a 26‑yard pass comple­tion to Brian Gamble. Five plays later, Huth rolled to his left and with pressure in his face found Huffman running free over the middle. The senior tight end juggled the ball momentarily, regained control and left the Tigers in the red zone when he finally went down at the Chardon 14.

“We started off throwing the ball a lot more tonight,” Huffman said. “Bobby threw one my way and I went up and got it for him.

“It was great getting into the end zone for the first time this year. I forget what it felt like. It was great. I was happy to get back there.”

Stacy was thrilled at that development also.

“As good as player as Brett is we haven’t used him quite as much as we should,” Stacy said. “It was nice to see him get involved more.”

Chardon went three‑and-­out on its initial possession and the Hilltoppers punt left the Tigers with first down at their own 45.

Huth dropped back and quickly found Gamble open at the Chardon 35. The junior running back cut to his right and was off to the races for a 55‑yard scoring play. Schott’s kick put Massillon up 14‑0 at 5:58 of the opening stanza.

It was another three‑and-­out for Chardon on its second possession and again the Hilltopper punt gave Massil­lon possession at its own 45.

Once again Tiger lightning struck the Chardon defense but this time there was a lit­tle trickery involved. Backup quarterback Shawn Weisend snuck into the game at a wideout position and took a pitch from Huth on what ap­peared to be an end around. But Weisend pulled up and~ threw a strike to Trey Miller at the Chardon 28. Miller was in the clear and easily raced, to the end zone. Schott did the honors again and the Tigers were running away and hid­ing at 21‑0 with 3:56 to play in the first quarter.

“We’ve got to keep people off balance and that play gives people something they have to prepare for in the fu­ture,” Stacy said of Weisend’s strike to Miller. “We talked about that this week as a coaching staff, that we have to do some more of those wrinkles to give people something else to prepare for.”

Chardon only ran two plays on its ensuing possession, fumbling on second down. Tiger cornerback Neil James recovered at the Hilltopper 28.

Lanale Robinson opened the possession for Massillon with a 12‑yard burst up the middle. One play later Robinson took a handoff and again attacked the middle of the Chardon defense. He broke through the line to the 12, bounced to the outside and raced to the corner of the end zone for Massillon’s, fourth touchdown in less than 10 minutes of play. Schott’s point after kick made it 28‑0 at 2:53 of the first.

The Hilltoppers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Mike Porrini recovered for Massillon at the Hilltopper 15.

“You don’t want to give them the ball inside the 15 yard line,” DiPofi said. “They don’t need any help. That’s great football team. You can’t give them the ball inside the 15.”

Massillon fullback Robert Morris gained nine yard around right end on first down, and Robinson traversed the final six yards to the end zone ‑ again around tight end ‑ and Massillon was up 34‑0 on Schott’s conversion boot.

Massillon’s final first half touchdown capped off an eight‑play, 71‑yard drive. Gamble covered the final 3 yards on an innocent looking run off left tackle. He was cornered at the 20‑yard line by a Chardon defender but ran through the tackle and didn’t stop sprinting until he reached pay dirt. Again Schott obliged and the Tigers carried a 42‑0 bulge into the locker room at halftime.

“You have to give credit where it’s due,” DiPofi said. “That’s a great football team. It is very well coached. We played our hearts our but it, wasn’t anywhere near enough. ,
“Tom is doing the right thing with these kids. He has them playing no‑nonsense downhill football. He has them executing.”

Huth’s final statistics were Roethlisberger‑like. He com­pleted 9 of 11 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

“Bobby is playing with a lot of confidence,” Stacy said. “He is making great deci­sions. He made a couple of great plays with his feet tonight to get balls to re­ceivers in tough situations. He continues to improve and impress. With the teams we play in the future, he needs to get better. We all do.”

GAME STATS

Antonio James