Tag: <span>Bud Houghton</span>

History

1947: Massillon 0, Canton McKinley 14

Canton McKinley Too Strong For Tigers, Wins 14-0
Massillon Gridders Go Down Fighting Before Heavier Bulldog Eleven

By LUTHER EMERY

The Washington high Tigers were putting their grid togs in moth balls today after having sustained their fourth defeat of the 1947 campaign in the season’s finale with Canton McKinley Saturday afternoon before an overflow Fawcett stadium crowd of more than 24,000.

Program Cover

The Bulldogs outmanned the Tigers to win 14-0 but the latter went down fighting after a series of disheartening breaks cut short their every offensive effort. It was the 25th triumph for McKinley in 52 games between the schools. Massillon has won 22 and five ended in tie scores.

The Tiger defeat wrote new modern history for a Massillon football team. It was the first time since 193 that a team had lost four games in a season; it was the first time the Bulldogs had ever succeeded in beating the locals in five games played at Fawcett stadium, and it was the first time a Tiger team had failed to score at least one touchdown in 20 games.

Yet the Massillon gridders gave a better account of themselves Saturday afternoon than most Tiger fans had expected. Out weighed both on the line and in the backfield, they forced the Bulldogs to fight for every yard, gave ground stubbornly, and never gave up until the final gun ended hostilities.

McKinley was distinctly the better team and nobody will try to take any glory away from the red and black for the triumph. It only made one more first down than the Tigers, which were nine to eight, but the net yardage was 243 for Canton to 103 for the local team.
* * *
THE BULLDOGS scored twice, the first time in the closing minutes of the first period when John Colceri scampered around right end for the last four yards and the second when Slippery Ray Hamilton eluded a Tiger substitute and raced 15 yards over the locals’ goal in the opening minutes of the fourth period.

The Bulldogs were stymied on three other occasions inside the 20-yard line while the Tigers made but one serious bid, that coming in the second period when Clarence Johnson fumbled and lost the ball on the Canton five-yard line.

The Tigers pinned their offensive hopes on the forward pass, but Coach “Bup” Rearick had anticipated the Massillon bombing attack and had drilled his team all week in aerial defense. As a result McKinley intercepted more passes than the Tigers completed, the interceptions halting the locals’ offense on no fewer than seven occasions.

Even so, the Tigers passing attack was a constant threat, and better thrown passes on two occasions would have scored Massillon touchdowns for the receivers were in the open.

However, McKinley likewise had an opportunity to score two touchdowns via the same route but muffed the opportunities when the receivers dropped the ball.
* * *
IN DEFEAT, the Tigers produced two outstanding players Saturday in Co-Captains Earl Johnson and Morrie Eberhardt. Their performances were an inspiration to fans in the stands, both friend and foe alike. It was Eberhard’s best game of his scholastic career which ended with the expiration of the fourth quarter. It was also the last for Earl Johnson, Ronald Willaims, Paul Olenick, Julius Wittmann, John Badarnza, Gene Schludecker, Bill Edie, and Eddie Farrie. The other 25 members of the squad will be back again next fall.

The Tigers who had predicted their offense on an open brand of football found a slippery field awaiting them when they arrived in Canton despite efforts to protect the gridiron with a tarpaulin. Pools of water flooded portions of the field which for the most part was greasy.

The team emerged from the game without serious injury, Williams getting a cut on the forehead and Ben Roderick a charley horse. The same could not be said for the Bulldogs, whose center, Ed Pucci was the victim of an unfortunate accident in the second quarter which resulted in a fracture of the left leg. He was carried from the field. The accident occurred during a scramble for a Massillon fumble which McKinley covered on its
five-yard line to end Massillon’s only serious scoring threat.

The game as a whole was cleanly played.

Bulldog luck prevailed from the start when the red and black won the toss and elected to receive. Clarence Johnson kicked off and Hamilton returned form his 13 to the 30 where he was tackled by Earl Johnson. When three downs netted only six yards, Hamilton kicked to Dick Jacobs who was tackled without return on his 38.
* * *
TWO INCOMPLETE passes and a three-yard running play forced Jacobs to punt on fourth down to the Canton 15-yard line. The Bulldogs charged back to score their first, first down of the game on a 16-yard run by Hamilton, but the Tigers braced and held on the next series forcing Hamilton to punt. He kicked to the 17-yard line where the ball rolled dead, and Jacobs returned the kick when three plays netted nothing. Hamilton catching the ball on the Tiger 45 and returning to the 35. The Bulldogs launched their first touchdown drive from this point. Eli Popa hit for a yard and Rogers flipped a pass over the center to Nick Stevenson who got to the 17. Hamilton picked up three and Wetzel in two drives reached the six-yard line. Wetzel and Hamilton had only made a yard each when Colceri entered the game as a substitute. On the first play he was tossed a lateral and he went around right end standing up. Hamilton carried over for the extra point and the score was in McKinley’s favor

Jacobs brought the kickoff back to the 32 and made a brilliant catch of Hill’s pass for a first down on the Bulldogs 39-yard line just as the first period ended.

Johnson fired a long pass that had a bit too much arch and was too slow reaching Jacobs who was 10 yards behind any Canton player. The Bulldog secondary, however had time to get to the ball and bat it down just as it was about to nestle into Dick’s hands. On the next play, Popa intercepted Hill’s pass on the 18 and McKinley moved the ball to his 44 where Eberhardt broke through to smear Rogers on a handoff and covered the fumble on the Bulldog 39. Hill tossed to Earl Johnson for a first down on the 10-yard line. A second pass was incomplete. Clarence Johnson bored through to the five-yard line where he fumbled when tackled and Hamilton covered for McKinley. Pucci fractured his left leg on this play. Having gained but six yards in three downs Hamilton kicked to Jacobs who came back to the Canton 42 on a six-yard return. The Tigers were thrown back a yard in three tries and Jacobs kicked out on the Bulldog 25.

The Bulldogs got back to the 45 where Hamilton was forced to punt, the ball going out on the Tiger seven. The Tigers rushed back to their 33, but a pass over the line was intercepted by Nick Stevenson who got back to the 28. The Bulldogs had time left in the half to toss but one pass and it was grounded, so the half ended with Canton leading 7-0.
* * *
THE TIGERS were penalized 15 yards on the second half kickoff to their own seven-yard line. Hill attempting to pass on second down was bottled up and ran with the ball to a first on his 26. Wetzel intercepted Hill’s pass on second down and got back to the Massillon 14, but the Tigers braced and took the ball on the nine where the Bulldogs’ fourth down pass was dropped by Nick O’Brovac for what might have been a touchdown.

Their offense stopped again by McKinley, the Tigers punted to the 33 and the Bulldogs got back to the 21 where the Tigers braced and held again. Here they executed their best play of the game when Hill tossed into the flat to Roderick and the latter pitched a lateral to Brown who raced down the sideline to the Canton 42. The last Bulldog tackler managed to tick Al enough to cause him to lose his balance and fall, otherwise he would have went the route. Clarence Johnson got loose on the next play and ran to the Canton 20 where he was caught from behind, but the threat ended when Stephenson intercepted Hill’s second down pass on the 16. The Tigers only yielded three yards on four downs and Hamilton punted to Brown who fumbled the ball, picked it up, but was thrown without a return, on his 34 as the third quarter ended.

Colceri intercepted Hill’s third down pass and got back to the Tiger 35. The Tigers were penalized five yards for too many times out and Hamilton went for a first down on the 15. On the next play, he circled his left end for a touchdown, and Colceri carried the ball over for the extra point.

On the first play after the kickoff which Johnson brought back to the 33, Hill passed to Earl Johnson who caught the ball along the sideline and nearly broke away before he was tackled from behind. He fumbled going down and McKinley covered on it own 48. A 15-yard clipping penalty set the Bulldogs back, but aided by a 47-yard dash by Hamilton they moved the ball to the Tiger 12 where the locals threw them back and took the ball on the 13.

A 15-yard penalty on McKinley for unnecessary roughness moved the ball forward for the Tigers but Popa took it away from them when he intercepted Hill’s pass on his 45. The Bulldogs got back to the Massillon 36 where Paul Olenick covered Hamilton’s fumble, but the Tigers were thrown backward trying to pass and Canton took over on fourth down on the 18-yard line. Once more the local team rose to the occasion and stopped the red and black on the 12 but the game ended three plays later with the interception of Clarence Johnson’s pass.

The Tigers’ record for the season shows six victories and four defeats. Other losses were administered by Cleveland Latin, Warren, and Barberton.

McKinley wound up the year with nine victories and a one point loss to Canton Lincoln, that beat the Bulldogs out of the state championship claim. As it is Canton Lincoln is Canton city champion, McKinley is Stark county champion and possible runner-up to Barberton for the state title.
Hopes Crushed
MASSILLON POS. McKINLEY
E. Johnson LE O’Brovac
Eberhardt LT Austin
Williams LG John Kostas
Olenick C Pucci
Houston RG Jim Koslaw
Wittmann RT Warren
Roderick RE Stevenson
Hill QB Rogers
Jacobs LH Wetzel
Brown RH Hamilton
C. Johnson FB Popa

Score by periods
McKinley 7 0 0 7 14

Substitutions: Massillon – Takacs, fb; Badarnza, qb; Resh, lh; McVay, c; Morrow, lg; Farris, rg; Studer, le; Schludecker, le.
McKinley – Colceri, lh; Byers, g-c; D. Weber, g; Ghezzi, g; Moreno, fb.

Touchdowns:
McKinley – Colceri; Hamilton.

Points after touchdown:
McKinley – Hamilton; Colceri (carried).

Referee – Lobach
Umpire – Brubaker.
Head Linesman – Jenkins.
Field Judge – Shafer.

Tony Uliveto
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1947: Massillon 20, Alliance 6

Tigers Again Come From Behind To Beat Alliance 20-6
Touchdowns In Last Two Periods Produce Locals’ Fourth Victory

By LUTHER EMERY

The Washington high Tiger football team out fumbled and outscored the Alliance Aviators 20-6 before 15,000 fans in Tiger stadium Friday evening to record their fourth straight triumph of the season.

The fumble count was Massillon 7, Alliance 4, but the Tigers managed to recover three of their bobbles, while the Aviators lost the pigskin on all four occasions.

Program Cover

It was the third week in a row the Tigers had to come from behind to win and they looked like an improved ball team doing it. With Alliance scoring first in the opening period after both teams had fumbled away opportunities, the Tigers struck back to mark touchdowns in each of the last three periods and win the game.

In past weeks they had to dig in during the last half to overtake Canton Lincoln which last night edged Canton McKinley 6-7 and Steubenville which dropped its second game to Campbell Memorial. It takes a scrappy team to come from behind and win and the Tigers have plenty of the old fight in them.

In fact the desire to win seems more than ever the Tigers’ best asset, and it is one that is hard to beat. Discounting their loose ball handling, they also looked like an improved ball club which is another argument in their favor. In fact, they are looking better with each succeeding game, and well they might for Mansfield, Warren, Cleveland Latin and Barberton are coming along in that order, and that’s a tough row of potatoes for anyone to dig.
* * *
THE 20-6 score left the Tigers with a greater margin of superiority than statistics would indicate. First downs were only 15-11 in their favor and they gained but 26 more yards than the visiting team.

Fumbleitis was costly to both elevens, and both teams became afflicted with it immediately after the kickoff. The Tigers grabbed the pigskin, marked up two first downs as they carried the ball into Alliance territory, and then lost it when Clarence Flitcraft pounced on Dick Jacobs’ fumble on the Alliance 41. A few plays later found the Aviators breathing hard on the goal line until Mike Maccioli fumbled as he was going across and Jack Hill pounced on the ball in the end zone to stop the threat – but only momentarily, for on the very next play, Al Brown fumbled and George Balogh covered on the Massillon 26. This time Alliance was not denied.

Mel Knowlton, Alliance coach, evidently had the Tigers well scouted at Steubenville and knew the Massillon team was a sucker for a deep reverse. He sent John Edwards whirling around the left flank in an end around play that planted the ball on the six-yard line and on fourth down Balogh nudged it over for the last year. Al Benton’s attempted placekick was smothered, leaving Alliance in front 6-0.

The Tigers made their first touchdown bid after the kickoff and marched the leather from their 47 to the three-yard line where Clarence Johnson bored his way through on the first play of the second period for a touchdown. Gene Schludecker tried to kick the extra point but it was to the right of the uprights.

The Tigers lost a golden opportunity to score in the second quarter when they carried the ball to within six yards of the goal only to lose it on downs by a foot.
* * *
ALLIANCE had the ball in Tiger territory early in the third period, but lost it on the 25 when Jacobs pounced on Maccioli’s fumble. They got it back near midfield by recovering Clarence Johnson’s fumble, but the Tigers held and got the ball on a punt on their own 34, which touched off a drive that finally produced a touchdown. A 17-yard sprint by Brown helped to put the ball on the 33 where Jack Hill pitched a strike to Ben Roderick who raced to the three-yard line where he was declared down though his momentum had carried him over the goal. Johnson moved it up two yards and Brown circled his left end for the T.D. This time Schludecker kicked the extra point which at the time looked as though it might be a most important point.

In the middle of the fourth period, Brown got away for a 67-yard run that put the ball o n the six-yard line but it was called back and the Tigers were penalized five yards for being in motion.

Alliance eventually forced the locals to make their only punt of the game, but they fumbled trying to pass on fourth down and Joe Jones got the leather on the Aviators’ 36-yard line. The Tigers went backward as Brown was thrown for a nine-yard loss and Johnson for one yard but Jacobs, itched into the flat to Brown who got to the 13 and Badarnza hurled another to Jacobs for a first on the three. Time was ticking away and only 10 seconds remained when Badarnza tossed a quickie over the center of the line and into the waiting arms of Earl Johnson in the end zone for the final touchdown of the game. Schludecker kicked the extra point.

The defeat was Alliance’s second of the season; Barberton having beaten the Aviators by an identical score last week.

The visitors were as dangerous as they were expected to be. Maccioli was a threat every time he carried the ball, but toward the end of the game was slowed down by vicious tackling.
* * *
THE TIGERS, who kept shifting their defense according to the down and the yardage needed for a first down, almost stopped Alliance cold in its pass offense. Only one pass did the visitors complete and it happened to be the first toss of the game, a 12-yarder. Five others were thrown and the passer was smeared several times before he could get rid of the ball.

The locals on the other hand completed five tossed for 77 yards and three different players, Hill, Jacobs and Badarnza were on the hurling end of the completions.

Alliance out-rushed the Tigers 259 yards to 220 yards, but the locals had the edge in the passing yardage and finished with a net total of 283 yards to Alliance’s 257 yards.

How well the offenses of the two teams clicked until they gave the ball away on fumbles, can be seen from the number of punts. There were two, one by Massillon and one by Alliance. The Aviators once again were smothered when they tried to pass on fourth down.

The game was keenly contested and while no player was seriously hurt both coaches had to make substitutions because of injuries. Jacobs was knocked out after recovering a fumble in the third period and was revived on the sidelines. He later re-entered the game. Ronald Williams, had several stitches taken in a cut under his nose when, kicked toward the close of the game.

Victory No. 4

MASSILLON POS. ALLIANCE
Johnson LE Fogoros
Eberhardt LT Flitcraft
Morrow LG Nixon
Olenick C Slabaugh
Farris RG Shafer
Wittmann RT L. Nicholson
Roderick RE Edwards
Badarnza QB Elton
Jacobs LH Maccioli
Brown RH Thorpe
C. Johnson FB Balogh

Score by periods
Alliance 6 0 0 0 6
Massillon 0 6 7 7 20

Substitutions:
Massillon – Houston, rg; Williams, lg; Hill, qb; James, lh; Schludecker, re; Jones, lt.
Alliance – Reese, lg; Addison, c; Shells, hb; Varley, qb; Fudoli, qb; Benton, rg; Davidson, e; Vernon, t.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Brown; C. Johnson; E. Johnson.
Alliance – Balogh.

Points after touchdown: Massillon – Schludecker (placekicks).

Referee – Gross.
Umpire – C.W. Rupp.
Head Linesman – Carl Brubaker.
Field Judge – Clayton Schlemmer.

Statistics
Massillon Alliance
First downs 15 11
Yards gained rushing 220 259
Passes attempted 6 6
Passes completed 5 1
Passes had intercepted 0 0
Yards gained passing 77 12
Total yards gained 297 271
Yards lost 14 14
Total net yardage 283 257
Times kicked 4 2
Average kicks (yards) 49 46
Times punted 1 1
Average punts (yards) 41 16
Average return of kicks 19 21
Average return of punts 0 3
Fumbles 7 4
Fumbles recovered 3 0
Fumbles lost 4 4
Times penalized 5 5
Yards penalized 35 45

Tony Uliveto
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1947: Massillon 13, Steubenville 12

Tigers Great Comeback Whips Steubenville 13-12
Massillon Team Scores Twice In Last Half After Trailing 12-0

By LUTHER EMERY

A fighting Washington high Tiger that wouldn’t be beaten, clawed its way to a 13-12 victory at Steubenville Friday evening to the amazement of an overflow crowd of 10,000 spectators.

Hopelessly outclassed, out-charged, outplayed and out-scored 12-0 the first two periods, the Tiger team made a gallant comeback the second half to score a touchdown the third period and another in the fourth on a sensational 65-yard pass from Clarence Johnson to Ben Roderick.

Victory rode the pigskin on that toss, as the ball nestled into Roderick’s arms on the
15-yard line with nothing but the goal posts ahead of him.

It was Massillon’s third straight victory and crushed Steubenville’s hopes for an undefeated season, the decision hanging on one slim point, a goal from placement after touchdown kicked by Gene Schludecker.

Had you not known the players and their numbers you actually would have thought the game was one of those pre-season exhibition affairs in which a bevy of teams are trotted out to play a quarter or so with each other. Neither team looked the same in the second half as it did the first two periods.

The first half was all Steubenville and the last two periods all Massillon.

After the Big Red had rolled to two touchdowns in the first 14 minutes of play and the local team had shown a preference for running backward instead of forward, Massillon fans eased back in their seats and murmured to themselves “this is the demise of the Tigers.”
* * *
THE SECOND PERIOD was closing rapidly before the Massillonians showed any kind of an offense where they had spent most of their efforts up to that time trying to pass for yardage – all to no avail – they suddenly found that the Big Red was vulnerable to a ground attack; and began to roll. Time beat them to the goal line which was only 12 yards away with first down coming up when the half ended. Though disappointed at not having scored, they went in for the rest period, encouraged with the knowledge that they could push Steubenville around too.

Whatever Coach “Bud” Houghton charged the team with during that brief intermission period we would recommend as a sure cure for rheumatics, for you would never have known it was the same Massillon team that came out for the second half.

The Tiger coach said he spent most of the time between halves going over his defense, making corrections in the secondary which had been fooled repeatedly by Steubenville’s reverses.

The defense stiffened, the offense moved and the Big Red was out of the ball game entirely the last two quarters as the Tiger gridders found themselves and put on the kind of performance which Massillonians have learned to expect through their heritage of football.

They took the kickoff and passed and marched their way to the six-yard line before Steubenville stopped them. They roared right back for a 41-yard march that ended with Al Brown bolting his way through the Steubenville forward wall for the last three yards and the first Tiger score. With Jack Hill holding the ball, Schludecker booted a perfect goal from placement.
* * *
ANOTHER touchdown was needed for victory, and the Tigers went right after it. They were well on their way when Bob Stratton intercepted Hill’s pass on the goal line and scampered back to his 30 before being downed. But the Tigers braced, got the ball on a punt on their own 35 and then it happened. On first down, John Bardarnza tossed a lateral to Clarence Johnson who ran wide to his left, reversed his field and fired the ball straight down the center. Ben Roderick and Earl Johnson had already passed the Steubenville secondary when the ball began to fall. It nestled into the former’s arms on the 15-yard line after a flight of 60 yards and Earl blocked out the only possible Steubenville tackler as Ben romped over the goal with the pigskin. Massillon fans as well as Steubenville fans gasped with amazement at the sudden turn of events for the Big Red supporters after turning back the one touchdown threat had felt a sense of security when their team forced the Tigers into their own territory.

Steubenville was aware that the Tigers had such a play. Their coach Howard Brinker, a former junior high coach here, saw the Massillon team in spring practice and as late as Thursday had warned members of his team to be on the lookout for a long pass anytime Johnson had the ball. The Tigers pulled it at the opportune moment, Coach Houghton sending Bardarnza into the game to call the play and catch the Big Red asleep as they ganged up on the scrimmage line to halt the Massillon running attack.

The touchdown came with six and one-half minutes of the fourth quarter remaining to be played and the Tigers nearly got another after Brown and Jacobs covered a Steubenville fumble on the 33-yard line. They knocked each other out diving for the ball. Jacobs recovered to run the ball back to the three before being forced out of bounds. Steubenville’s recovery of a fumbled lateral to Clarence Johnson ended this threat with three minutes and 10 seconds to go and the game ended with the Big Red trying desperately to pass their way to a touchdown, in possession of the ball on a first down on the Tiger 30-yard line. It was the only time they had the ball in Massillon territory the second half.

In defeating Steubenville the Tigers gained more yards than in the Revere and Canton Lincoln games put together and four-fifths of the gains were rolled up in the second half.

First downs were 13 to 10 in the local team’s favor and they rolled up 326 yards to Steubenville’s 237. Ninety of the 326 were scored on two forward passes, Johnson’s
65-yarder to Roderick and an earlier 25-yarder to brother Earl that figured in the first fruitless touchdown drive.

Steubenville was keyed for the game and there’s no denying the Big Red has a fine team. With the exception of a few plays at the end of the game, the team operated from a single wing offense and gained most of its ground on tricky reverses that caused the Tiger secondary to take after the faker, leaving the ball carrier to run at liberty around the opposite flank.
* * *
SUCH WAS the case when Robinson scored his first touchdown after six minutes and five seconds of the first period had expired. Nary a hand was laid on him as he sped around his own left end to score from 14 yards out. On the previous play Pete Polovina had advanced the ball 48 yards on a reverse around the opposite end.

The Tigers still permitted themselves to be fooled in the second period as the Big Red drove from its own 29-yard line to the two-yard line where Polovina plunged over for his team’s second touchdown. He missed both attempts for the extra point and Steubenville fans groaned for the points were the first he has failed to kick this season.

Up to this time the Tigers’ had a net loss of three yards for their offensive efforts.

They came back with the kickoff, however and marked up three first downs in a march from their 37 to the Steubenville 32 where an intercepted pass ended the threat. Their next effort stopped when Wittmann, an illegal receiver caught a pass from Jacobs, giving Steubenville a first down on Massillon’s 31. The Big Red was penalized 15 for holding and Jones pounced on Robinson’s fumble on the Big Red 47 to set the Tigers in motion again. Jack Hill was tossed for a 14-yard loss trying to pass but Clarence Johnson reeled off 18 yards around right end and Brown raced to the 12-yard line in the last seconds of the half. Coach Houghton sent in a substitute to stop the clock but it was too late. The period was over. Then came the rousing second half, and here are the plays that led to Massillon’s first touchdown.
* * *
GETTING the ball on a fumble on the Big Red 41, Clarence Johnson hit right tackle for six yards and Bardarnza sneaked through to a first down on the 27. Bardarnza tried it again and gained but two yards. Brown shot through tackle to a first down on the 14. Hill made two at right tackle and Johnson hit through left for six more. Bardarnza went through center for a yard and Johnson made it first down on the three-yard line. Brown went over on first down for the score.

Massillon’s defense showed the same reversal of form the second half as did its offense. The Tigers tackled viciously and never permitted their goal line to be threatened.

Whereas the Steubenville line ripped the Massillon forward wall to pieces the first half, the Tiger linemen piled the Big Red up in the second. They stopped Steubenville’s ace runners Robinson and Polovina in most of their second half ball carrying efforts and slowed them down considerably. Both of the Big Red players are good runners and dangerous at all times.

Fumbles hurt Steubenville. It lost the ball four times on loose handling of the pigskin, while the Tigers recovered all but one of their own fumbles.

The Tigers emerged from the game in apparently good condition. Both Jacobs and Brown were removed because of injuries but both reentered the contest before it was over and appeared well enough in the locker room after the game.

The victory stretched Massillon’s record to 10 victories and one tie with Steubenville in games played the last 11 years. The Big Red won the only other two games played between the teams in 1930 and 1931.

A Great Finish

MASSILLON Pos. STEUBENVILLE
Johnson LE Hess
Eberhardt LT Dobbs
Williams LG Ossio
Olenick C De Leonardis
Houston RG Wells
Wittmann RT Morates
Roderick RE Wheeler
Hill QB Lelli
Jacobs LH Polovina
Brown RH Robinson
C. Johnson FB Stratton

Score by quarter:
Massillon 0 0 7 6 13
Steubenville 6 6 0 0 12

Substitutions:
Massillon – Schludecker, c; Morrow, lg; Farris, rg; Jones, rt; Takacs, fb; Edie, rt; Badarnza, fb; Grier, rh, Resh, lh.
Steubenville – Snyder, fb; Tuerentine, le; Fraley, le; Nelson, re.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Brown; Roderick.
Steubenville – Robinson; Polovina.

Point after touchdown:
Massillon – Schludecker (placekick).

Referee – Rupp.
Umpire – Schill.
Head Linesman – Russ.
Field Judge – Gross.
Statistics
Massillon Steubenville
First downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 236 187
Passes attempted 13 5
Passes completed 2 4
Passes had intercepted 2 0
Yards gained passing 90 50
Total yards gained 326 237
Yards lost 30 15
Total net yardage 296 222
Times kicked 3 3
Average kicks (yards) 41 48
Times punted 3 4
Average puts (yards) 23 35
Average return of kicks 19 4
Average return of punts 11 4
Fumbles 3 5
Fumbles (recovered) 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 4
Times penalized 4 3
Yards penalized 30 25

Tony Uliveto
History

1941: Massillon 32, Canton McKinley 0

DEFEAT CANTON BY 32-0 SCORE

Bulldogs Speared With Passes As Tigers Record New Margin of Victory Over Ancient Foe And Boost Record to 43 Games Without Defeat

By Luther Emery

Orchids to Bud Houghton and his Washington high Tigers.

The team that didn’t have a chance at the start of the season is still champion of Ohio, and you can write it in the records—seven consecutive state titles—undefeated in 43 games.

While 25,000 fans blinked with amazement the Tigers blasted their way to the seventh title in Fawcett stadium, Canton, Saturday afternoon, to knock Canton McKinley out of the picture with a 32-0 triumph, the largest margin of points on record for a Massillon team in a game with Canton.

Passes Baffle Bulldogs

Stunned by the suddenness of an unexpected aerial assault, the Bulldogs were never able to recover long enough to organize a protection against the Massillon air forces.

Program Cover

They had concentrated on stopping the Tigers by land and sea as evidenced by their refusal of the tarpaulin, but their gamble that Massillon could not use the air, backfired and the strategy went out with the exhaust.

Tiger coaches had anticipated it. They knew in their own hearts that the Massillon passing attack had not looked good all year, so they set out the past two weeks to improve it, did, and when the bulldogs tossed an eight-man line against them on the first play, and crowded the three-man secondary against it, the Tigers had the necessary weapons to fight with.

Passes Did It

Tail-backs Bob Graber and Dick Adams, just rared back and let fly, and far out in the Bulldog secondary, the receivers bobbed up to haul in the ball with little or no interference.

It was Graber to Fred Blunt for 37 yards and a near touchdown; Graber to Keve Bray for 12; Graber to Blunt for 36 and a touchdown; Adams to Bray for 32; Graber to Joe De Mando for 44; Adams to Bray for 34; Graber to Bray for 49; Adams to Fred Cardinal for 22; and Adams to Tom Jasinski for five.

There you have the list that shows the potency of the Tiger attack, nine completed passes in 17 attempts for one direct touchdown and 271 yards. While passes only accounted directly for one touchdown, they set up all the others and might have produced two more scores, had not the receivers lost their balance after working themselves in the clear in tremendous efforts to catch the ball.

That is one-half of the passing game.

The other half is the defense set-up by Houghton and his staff to stop the Bulldogs in the air. The Massillon coaches, using a 6-3-2 defense instead of their usual seven diamond, guarded the secondary carefully. They were willing to give the Bulldogs from two to three yards on the line as long as they could prevent any long shots. The strategy was successful. Canton hurled 27 passes but only completed 10, and only one of the 10 gained any great distance. Four passes were intercepted. The Bulldogs did gain considerable yardage on the ground, but only once did they get within scoring distance, that effort coming in the last minute when they lost the ball on downs on the nine-yard line.

The Tigers were in the pink. Smartly quarterbacked from the opening minute to the final gun; they surveyed their opponents’ weaknesses, and struck at the opportune moment.

Sweeps Bring Touchdowns

They showed no mercy with a vicious running attack once passes had placed them in a position to score, and in powerful sweeps, Keve Bray, John Hill, Joe De Mando, and Fred Cardinal would lead Graber, Blunt, and Adams to touchdowns. One by one, you could see the Bulldog ends and secondary chopped down as Tiger blockers cleared the way for their ball carrier.

Sweeps were the only weapon the Massillonians had on hand. The Bulldogs had so thoroughly concentrated on the off-tackle and spinner plays, that Capt. Fred Blunt, Chuck Holt, and Bob Graber found it next to impossible to move. Blunt, who has been the big ground gainer all season, was virtually stopped all afternoon, but he did get loose for one of the touchdown sweeps.

The Tigers, in their new defensive setup, prepared especially for this game, found Tom Harris, but Bulldog fullback, the hardest of the Canton ball carriers to bring down. Canton built its whole attack around him. He carried the leather 19 times and tossed most of the 27 passes. A spinner with Dominick carrying the ball was the red and black’s best ground gainer.

The Bulldogs used three different defenses going from an eight to a seven to a six-man line, but the Tigers outguessed them most of the way and tossed passes when the secondary was least protected.

You will be looking for heroes, but you need not hunt. Take all 11 of them into your arms. The linemen from tip to tip played fine football and every member of the backfield put in his contribution.

Bray’s Greatest Game

Don’t overlook Keve Bray; who played his greatest game; and don’t forget little Dave Miller, the 140-pounder who went in when Bob Wallace came out with an injury. The way he submarined when the Canton power drives were turned loose through center was terrific. Only a stout heart could do it. That’s it! That was Houghton’s first comment after being carried to the dressing room by his players. “They were a great bunch of goys. They fought their hearts out this afternoon.”

They did. They carried out the promise made by Capt. Blunt as he dashed out of the pre-game huddle and ran to the Massillon bench while his teammates took their positions on the field. “Don’t worry coach, we’re going to lick them this afternoon. We’ll win this one for you,” he said, and how!

Wow!

How the Massillon passes clicked. Fans who had seen the Tiger aerial game sputter all season couldn’t believe their eyes. All efforts to jam in the Tiger backs and receivers and keep them from getting into the open, failed, and you must give the linemen, Don Fuchs, Vernon Weisgarber, Karl Paulik, and Bob Wallace, plenty of credit for keeping the Canton linemen from sifting through while Graber and Adams picked out their receivers. The latter had plenty of time to throw, something they have lacked all year, and they tossed the ball as though they were shooting a rifle. And the receivers held on to it.

There was no dropping the pigskin. Everything that was close was caught and in most instances the receivers were beyond the secondary when they took the leather.

Because the passes were completed for long gains, the first down total is not commensurate with the 32 points. Each team made 11. Yardage gained tells the story better, 431 to 109.

The Tigers gained 189 yards on the ground and lost 29 for a net total of 160. Leading ground gainer for the Tigers was Dick Adams who gained 113 of the 189 yards himself. He made the longest run of the game, 59 yards and was hauled down from behind. He raced 26 yards for a touchdown on another occasion.

Great Punting Exhibition

And while you are still thinking in terms of heroes, don’t overlook the tremendous punting of Graber, especially the 51-yard boot from his nine-yard line that took the Tigers out of a hole early in the third quarter. Graber actually was behind his goal line when he kicked the ball. It soared 60 yards over the McKinley secondary.

The average of 43 yards per punt would be a compliment to any college kicker.

The Tigers scored in all but the third period. They got their first touchdown in the middle of the opening quarter, as you would expect by now – through passes, two of them in a row, a 12-yarder to Bray and a 36 yard toss to Blunt, who raced across the goal with no one near him. Graber was the thrower.

They scored two touchdowns in the second period. A 44-yard peg from Graber to De Mando took the ball to the Canton 15. Big Joe could have made the rest of the distance had he not lost his balance reaching out to catch the ball. He stumbled along for 10 yards before he finally went down in a heap. But it only took one play to get the remaining 15. Bray, Hill, and Cardinal blasted the right flank of the Bulldogs to pieces as Graber swept his end for the score.

Dick Adams’ 34-yard pass to Bray, set the stage for the third with a first down on the nine-yard line. And again Adams circled the right end for the touchdown while his teammates threw everything but the goal posts at Canton tacklers to clear each and every one out of Dick’s path.

Tigers Score Two More

The fourth touchdown came early in the fourth quarter after Canton had had a bit of an edge in the third period. A 49-yard peg from Graber to Bray produced a first down. The Tigers powered their way the rest of the distance through the most determined resistance put up by the Bulldogs all afternoon. Chuck Holt smashed his way for a first down on the one-yard line, but he couldn’t get it over in three attempts and came up fighting once when everyone piled on. It was left to Capt. Blunt to score and with everyone expecting another smash by Holt, Blunt circled his left end behind the same great blocking that had accompanied Graber and Adams and crossed the Bulldog goal.

The extra point that had previously been missed through two kicks from placements and an attempt to carry the ball, was made good this time by Graber who hammered his way through right guard.

The final Massillon score followed two completed passes, a 22-yarder from Adams to Cardinal, and a five-yard toss to Jasinski that took the ball to the 26-yard line. There Adams struck through a hole at right tackle opened by De Mando, Blunt, and Cardinal and behind fine blocking led by Hill and Holt, stepped 26-yards to the promised land. Holt went over for the 32nd and final point of the game.

The Bulldogs got on the march twice, once at the end of the first half, and once at the end of the game.

In their first half effort they moved the moved the ball from their 35 to the 18 where the gun ended play with fourth down coming up and a foot needed for a first down. Passes gained 19 of the yards.

At the end of the game they marched the kickoff back from their 36 and aided by a 38—yard pass, Tom Harris to Pickard, planted the ball on the 12-yard line for a first down. Four plays only gained three yards from there on, however and the leather was lost on the nine-yard line.

The game was officiated better than any we have seen this season including Big Ten contests. Dr. David Reese and his officials kept the contest moving, called only two penalties both against Massillon for being in motion. Canton took five yards on the one but refused the other penalty and accepted the down.

The game brought to a close the first year of Houghton as coach, and he did what none at the start of the season expected him to do, retain the state title for Massillon a seventh straight year.

Others may claim it. Martins Ferry, Mansfield, Toledo Libbey, but none has beaten the champ and if they analyze the record, they will join in the admission that Massillon is still on top.

Never before has a Massillon team beaten McKinley by as many points as Houghton and his Tigers rolled up on Saturday. Last year’s previous margin of 28 points was topped by four. Canton still has the high score for the series, however, a 43-0 walloping handed the Massillon team in 1907. The Bulldogs likewise have an edge in the series that began way back in 1894, but the Tiger team has whittled it down to a game now. Canton has won 22. Massillon 21 and three have ended in tie scores.

You could go on and on writing about the game, but why use all the metaphors this year. Seven of the 11 starters will be back next season. None was seriously injured.

Still Champions

Massillon McKinley
Bray LE Parks
Paulik LT Parshall
B. Wallace LG Zimmer
Fuchs C Cook
Hill RG Schuster
Weisgarber RT Smith
De Mando RE Pickard
Cardinal QB Williams
Graber LH Dominick
Blunt RH J. Harris
Holt FB T. Harris

Score by periods
Massillon 6 12 0 14 – 32

Substitutions – Massillon: Willmot, rg; Adams, lh;
Miller, lg; Power, qb; Edwards, rt; Dolmos,lt; Stout,c;
Gibson, fb; Jasinski, re; Robinson, le; White, rh;
Armour, le.
McKinley: Haverstock, le; Jordan, rt; Lombardi, lt;
Coulas, rt; Wernet, c; Simms, rh.

Touchdowns – Blunt 2, Graber, Adams 2.

Points after touchdown – Graber, Holt (carried)

Referee – David Reese (Dayton)
Umpire – Earl Gross (New Philadelphia)
Headlineman – A.B. Long (New Philadelphia)
Field Judge – Titus Lobach (Akron)

Boosters Have Open Meeting

Do you want to celebrate Saturday’s 32-0 triumph over Canton McKinley high school?

Then turn out at Washington high school tonight, Booster member or not, and let off steam. The club is holding an open meeting tonight to give every Massillon citizen, men and women, boys and girls, an opportunity to celebrate. The program starts at 7:30 p.m.

MASSILLON’S TIGERS turned Ohio’s most famous high school football rivalry into a shambles Saturday afternoon when they handed Canton McKinley’s Bulldogs a pitiless
32-0 larruping before 20,000 not too astonished customers at Canton’s Fawcett stadium.

The defeat was the seventh straight the Bulldogs have absorbed at the hands of their deadliest rivals. McKinley last whipped the Tigers in 1934 and recently they haven’t even been able to make it close in this traditional battle.

The triumph yesterday merely continued the amazing saga that is Massillon’s. The Tigers now have gone through 43 successive games without tasting defeat, their last setback having come at the hands of New Castle, PA., in 1937.

For William “Bud” Houghton the decisive Massillon triumph meant a great season in his first year as Paul Brown’s successor. The youthful Tiger mentor took a green eleven at the start of the current campaign and wielded it into a machine that won nine of 10 games. Mansfield tied the Tigers, 6-6, although badly outplayed by Massillon.

Yesterdays’ game was decided in the air, for on the ground, the Bulldog line showed up surprisingly strong.

But McKinley had no semblance of defense against the passes of Bob Graber and Dick Adams. The two Massillon passers had all the time they needed to get set and their receivers found no trouble at all in eluding the McKinley secondary defense.

The Tigers pitched 17 passes and completed 10 of them for the amazing total of 266 yards. To appreciate just how helpless the Bulldogs actually were against the Massillon passes, one had to see the game. Mere words won’t describe it.

On the ground, the Tigers had far too much speed for their rivals. The crisp, deadly blocking which has always marked Massillon play was still there, especially on two of the touchdown gallops.

McKinley equaled the Tigers in rolling up first downs, each team making 11, but still the Bulldogs failed to make a serious threat. McKinley outgained the Bengals rushing, 187 yards to 128 and completed eight of 24 passes for 69 yards.

McKinley put itself in a hole right at the start when its two safety-men played far too shallow on a punt by the Tiger’s Bob Graber. The boot went over their heads with the Bulldogs finally winding up on their seven-yard line.

MASSILLON VS. CANTON
Mass. Can.
First downs 11 11
First downs rushing 4 7
First downs passing 7 3
First down penalties 0 1
Net yards rushing 128 187
Yards gained passing 266 69
Total yards gained 394 256
Passes attempted 17 24
Passes completed 10 8
Passes intercepted by 2 3
Number of punts 5 8
Average of punts 43 31
Number of kickoffs 5 3
Fumbles by 2 1
Opponents’ fumbles recovered 1 1
Yards lost by penalties 5 0

 

Pokey Blunt