Tag: <span>Canton Glenoak</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1989: Massillon 16, Canton Glenoak 6

Fired-Up Tiger defense stops GlenOak
16,359 see Massillon win

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

You didn’t read it here, but the Massillon Tigers heard it somewhere that their defense was a chunk of Swiss cheese headin’ for a raging kiln.

They took it personally.

When it got out that somebody was picking us to give up 34 points in our home opener, it fired us up,” said Massillon linebacker Craig Turkalj.

The defense was superb in a 16-6 victory over GlenOak before a Paul Brown Tiger Stadium mob of 16,359, which probably will stand as the best crowd in Ohio this opening weekend of the high school football season.

Program Cover

“We showed the people saying how bad we are that they’re wrong,” said Turkalj, whose team out-gained the Golden Eagles 331-123 in total offensive yards.

“They got one score, but it was a cheapie.”

GlenOak took a 6-0 lead after the Tigers fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, setting up a 15-yard Eagle scoring drive.

The point-after kick failed, allowing the Tigers to take a 7-6 lead with a touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Ryan Sparkman scored from a yard out, following a wall of blockers packed so tight it looked as if they were making sure no one would get left out of a photograph. Tiger fans, remembering last year’s troubles on conversion attempts, cheered loudly when Gary Miller connected to make it 7-6, Massillon, with 6:28 left in the first half.

A bone-jarring tackle by Tiger end Mike Martin created a safety and a 9-6 lead at 8:23 of the fourth quarter.

Tight end Doug Harig out-maneuvered a pack of defenders to catch a 17-yard touchdown pass from Lee Hurst in the corner of the end zone with 1:35 left.

“I made what Coach (Tom) Stacy calls a sight adjustment,” said Harig, who caught a touchdown pass in last year’s season-ending overtime win over McKinley. “Their guy jumped too soon and Lee put the ball in a perfect spot.”

Miller, who has a set of goalposts in his yard at home, connected again to close the scoring.
GlenOak never got in the same zip code as the end zone after its first scoring, taking no drive further than the Massillon 41-yard line.

“We’ll have to see how good Massillon is going to be,” said GlenOak head coach Bob Commings, who was gridmaster at Massillon from 1969-73. “They looked awfully good to me tonight. Their defense played extremely well.”

The physical contest took a toll on the Eagles, who already have lost all-county tailback Kenne Boyd to grades but now face at least three weeks without Boyd’s heir as featured ball carrier, Brian Frenz, who suffered a separated shoulder in the first half.

Frenz rushed eight times for 38 yards before getting hurt.

Todd Dean, GlenOak’s best receiver, kept playing despite being noticeably slowed by a sprained ankle suffered during the game.

Dean’s replacement as the go-to ball carrier, 140-pound sophomore Reggie Brown, got a rude introduction to Division I varsity football. Tiger defenders left no room for Brown to get started in holding him to two yards in 10 carries.

The game was supposed by some to become a shoot-out between teams with talented, experienced offenses. It turned into a defensive struggle.

“I didn’t anticipate that we would have to play such great defense and that our offense would put us in such a hole because of turnovers and poor execution,” said Massillon head coach Lee Owens.

Owens said Tiger fans shouldn’t fret over the offense.

“It will get there,” he said. “I’m sure it will.”

The defense, riddled by All-Ohio Akron Buchtel back Rickey Powers in a scrimmage last Friday, was there when the bell rang against GlenOak.

“We said all week that the films of the Buchtel scrimmage looked better than the live action, and that there weren’t major causes for concern,” Owens said. “I think some people found out tonight that we have one of the quicker defenses around. That’s its strength. Quickness.”

“We weren’t worried about the Buchtel scrimmage,” Turkalj said. “We didn’t show our whole defense against them. Our guys were confident we could do the job. When Coach Commings said GlenOak has one of the area’s best passing offenses, we wanted to show we could stop it.”

Commings has been a “running coach” through most of his GlenOak career but notes he passed 50 percent of the time in the 1960s at Struthers.

On Friday, GlenOak tried 23 passes and 22 runs.

Quarterback John Vesley, a returning starter, completed nine of 22 passes for 82 yards. He also was victimized by two key second-half interceptions by Joe Pierce and Keith Rabbitt at times GlenOak was only a big play away from taking the lead.

Hurst connected on 11 of 18 passes.

MASSILLON…………16
GLENOAK……………. 6

Tiger-Eagle grid lineups
Here are the probable starting lineups for
tonight’s game between the Massillon Tigers
and GlenOak Golden Eagles. Kickoff is at
8 p.m. in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

TIGER OFFENSE
Quarterback – No. 15 Lee Hurt, 6-3, 180, Sr.
A-back – No. 44, Lamonte Dixon, 5-9, 185, Sr.
B-back – No. 34, Ryan Sparkman, 5-8, 175, Sr.
Flanker – No. 8, Troy Manion, 6-0, 180, Sr.
Wide receiver – No. 21, Rameir Martin, 6-4, 170, Sr.
Tight end – No. 83, Doug Harig, 6-2, 195, Sr.;
No. 87, Steve Brown, 6-5, 195, Jr.
Center – No. 57, Nick Hill, 5-10, 165, Sr.
Guards – No. 65, Mike Silverthorn, 6-1, 230, Sr.;
No. 60, Jim Goff, 6-0, 180, Sr.
Tackles – No. 74, Ray Kovacsiss, 6-4, 265, Sr.;
No. 66, Tom Menches, 6-0, 240, Sr.

TIGER DEFENSE
Tackles – No. 80, Chris Roth, 6-6, 225, Jr.;
No. 77, Brent Bach, 6-1, 225, Jr.
Ends – No. 94, Jeff Perry, 6-1, 180, Jr.;
No. 95, Mike Martin, 6-1, 185, Jr.;
Inside linebackers – No. 37, Craig Turkalj 6-2, 206, Sr.;
No, 55, Mark McGeorge, 5-8, 205, Jr.;
So. Eric Wright.
Outside linebacks – No. 9, Joe Pierce, 6-2, 190, Sr.;
No. 22, Kevin McCue, 6-3, 167, Sr.
Backs – No. 20, Keith Rabbit, 6-4, 170, Sr.;
No. 5, Chad Buckland, 6-0, 185, Jr.;
Eddie Williams, Sr.;
No. 23, Don Blake, 6-1, 165, Jr.

GLENOAK OFFENSE
Quarterback – No. 14, John Vesley, 5-7, 155, Jr.
Running backs – No. 40, Brian Frenz, 6-0, 205, Sr.;
No. 44, Mike Williams, 5-11, 217, Sr.
Split ends – No. 11, Mike Herman, 5-11, 165, Sr.;
No. 13, Todd Dean, 5-9, 155, Sr.;
No. 15, John McMullan, 5-10, 173, Sr.
Tight end – No. 17, Cory Jackson, 6-3, 189, Jr.;
No. 48, Glen Hartman, 5-11, 195, Sr.
Center – No. 53, Brian Villono, 5-11, 230, Sr.
Guards – No. 64, Dave Halter, 5-11, 190, Sr.;
No. 67, Jeff Mathot, 6-1, 220, Sr.
Tackles – No. 72, Scott Esporite, 6-3, 235, Sr.;
No. 74, Tom Hawthorne, 6-3, 225, Sr.

GLENOAK DEFENSE
Nose guard – No. 44 Williams.
Tackles – No. 74, Hawthorne; No. 70, Brent
Bruckner, 6-2, 215, Sr.
Ends – No. 8, Ed Kinney, 6-3, 186, Jr.;
No. 64, Halter.
Linebackers – No. 49, Cedric Cimmons, 6-1, 207, Sr.;
No. 42, Darrin Duncan, 6-1, 205, Jr.
Safety – No. 11, Hermann.
Halfbacks – No. 18, David McDowell, 5-11, 150, Jr.;
No. 13, Dean.

STATISTICS
M G
First downs rushing 7 3
First downs passing 9 4
First downs by penalty 3 1
Total first downs 19 8
Yards gained rushing 177 53
Yards lost rushing 31 12
Net yards rushing 146 41
Net yards passing 185 82
Total yards gained 331 123
Passes attempted 19 23
Passes completed 12 9
Passes int. by 2 3
Times kick off 3 2
Kickoff average 48.7 44.0
Kickoff return yards 30 58
Punts 3 4
Punting average 32.7 34.3
Fumbles 3 0
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 4 8
Yards penalized 36 42
Number of plays 64 46
Time of possession 25:03 22:57
Attendance 16.359

Glenoak 6 0 0 0 6
Massillon 0 7 0 9 16

G – Williams 1 run (kick failed)
M – Sparkman 1 run (Miller kick)
M – Safety (Vesley recovers fumble in end zone)
M – Harig 17 pass from Hurst (Miller kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
(M) Dixon 15-60, Sparkman 23-107.
(G) Frenz 8-38, Williams 3-0, Brown 10-2.

Passing
(M) Hurst 11-18-2 177, Wolford 1-1-0 8.
(G) Vesley 9-22-2 82, Kinney 0-1-0 0.

Receiving
(M) Sparkman 1-6, Martin 5-99, Manion 3-26, Harig 3-54.
(G) Dean 1-17, McMullen 3-21, Brown 1-5, Herman 2-18,
Jackson 2-21.

Rameir Martin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1987: Massillon 21, Canton Glenoak 0

Muddy Myricks dusts GlenOak

By CHRIS TOMASSON
Repository sports writer

MASSILLON ‑ When it was over, Jerome Myricks looked like he had just emerged from a World War I trench.

In Massillon’s 21‑0 win over GlenOak (2‑1) Friday night, Myricks, a senior tailback, gained 161 yards on 21 carries, scored two touchdowns, and carted about four pounds of the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium field back to the locker room.

With heavy rains having turned the field into a marsh, many of the GlenOak and Massillon players spent the night slipping and staggering all over. But Myricks had a method to keep himself afloat ‑ although his launderer won’t believe it.

Program Cover

“With the field as bad as it was, I tried to put the weight on the outside of my foot so I’d be able to cut better,” said Myricks, who scored four touchdowns against Altoona, Pa., last week, but called Friday’s performance more satisfying.

“Jerome is such a fluid running back,” said Massillon coach John Marontb. “He’s able to take what he can see. He was patient and showed he has the ability to explode to daylight.”

Myricks’ first touchdown came midway through the first quarter on a 17‑yard run, which capped a 43‑yard drive. That was actually one of Myricks’ few highlights of the first half, as he gained only 37 yards in the first 24 minutes.

Myricks only carried five times in the first half because the Tigers (2‑1) came out trying to throw against a GlenOak defense that did not allow a point in its first two games.

“We thought the way to beat them was to throw,” Maronto said.

Massillon quarterback Erik White completed 4‑of‑7 passes in the first half, but one of the passes was an interception that halted the Tigers’ first drive. And another of his passes was actually not a pass at all. Midway through the second quarter, White tried to hurl the mud‑caked ball, but it squirted out of his hand like a wet fish. Fortunately for Massillon, White pounced on the ball, or else GlenOak would have had first and 10 at the Tigers’ 15,

So much for the passing game. White threw only three more passes in the final 2 1/2 quarters.

One of those passes produced Massillon’s second touchdown, an 8‑yard throw from White to junior tailback Jason Stafford.

The Tigers’ final score came on Myricks’ second touchdown, a 36‑yard scamper with 4:20 remaining. It was a simple off‑tackle play, but Myricks shredded several tacklers at the line of scrimmage and whisked into the end zone.

As far as GlenOak’s offense was concerned, it was nearly non‑existent. The Golden Eagles, who had mustered only 20 points in their first two games, seriously threatened only once.

Early in the second quarter, GlenOak had a first down at Massillon 15. But four plays lost five yards, and the Tigers took over on downs.

“We just couldn’t get our offense going,” said GlenOak coach Bob Commings, who coached Massillon from 1969‑73 and was trying to upset the Tigers for the second straight year. “But, hats off to Massillon, they deserved to win.

The Tigers accumulated 250 yards of total offense (209 on the ground), while holding GlenOak to 107 yards and six first downs.

Massillon gave up 305 yards in an opening‑game 22‑8 loss to Akron Garfield, but has since given up only 225 yards in its last two games.

“That Garfield loss was a fluke thing,” said Massillon linebacker Scott Sampsel.

Maronto is never one to get over‑excited, but he’s starting like what he’s sees in this year’s Massillon team.

“This team has a chance of being something special,” he said. “They’re showing a lot of character, determination and team togetherness.

GlenOak 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon 7 0 7 7 21

M ‑ Myricks 17 run (Hurst kick)
M ‑ Stafford 8 pass from White (Hurst kick)
M ‑ Myricks 36 run (Hurst Kick)

Tiger defense sheds
muddied reputation
Paybacks are sweet in
21 ‑ 0 win over GlenOak

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor
Mud never tasted so good.

”Words can’t explain how we feel,” senior linebacker Scott Sampsel said after peeling a laundryman’s nightmare off his back.

“We worked hard for this,” said another linebacker, David Hackenbracht. ”Now we have our paybacks.”

Sampsel and Hackenbracht had just helped the Massillon Tigers whitewash the GlenOak Golden Eagles 21‑0 in a high school football game seen by 9,354 wet‑look fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The outcome left both teams with 2‑1 records. Morn Nature couldn’t figure out what she wanted. It drizzled at 7:30 p.m., poured at 7:50 p.m., and stopped raining altogether just before the 8:05 kickoff. It might as well have kept raining, since the game became a mud bath anyway.

The Tigers knew what they wanted. The paybacks were for Glen0ak’s 9‑7 victory in 1986. Sampsel’s joy was over a defense that is coming on like a thunderstorm.

Fourteen days earlier, Akron Garfield had run over the Tiger defense for 277 yards in a 22‑0 Ram romp. GlenOak found a few openings in the first half but got stonewalled in the second and wound up with just 107 offensive yards.

The Tigers, meanwhile, let Jerome Myricks follow good blocking and then blow by it. Of the 250 yards the Tiger offense gained, Myricks’ signature was on all but 81. The scintillating senior slashed for 161 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while also catching a pass for eight yards.

Myricks’ running and receiving yards through three games give him 398 of the Tigers’ 819 yards.

Massillon head coach John Maronto was asked to compare the defense that battled GlenOak to the one that faced Garfield.

”There’s no comparison,” he said without hesitation. “The defense has really started to come around. I don’t think the reason goes any farther than having game experience. We had none then. Now we have some.

“You have to remember, we graduated a ton of starters on defense. Now we have guys who are gaining confidence. The confidence allows them to use their talents.”

The game marked Bob Commings’ fourth trip back to Tiger Stadium as GlenOak’s head coach. The former Massillon head coach is now 1‑3 in games against the Tigers

“They deserved to win, that’s obvious. But we came here to put pressure on them and we didn’t put it on the way we wanted to, Commings said. “My hat is off to Massillon.”

GlenOak senior Nick Guerierre, who rebounded from assorted injuries to start at quarterback, said he purposely sat out last week’s game against Worthington to make sure he’d have a crack at the Tigers.

“If I only played in one game all year, I wanted it to be this one,” said Guerriere, whose latest injury is torn back muscles, the previous ones having been a dislocated shoulder, a punctured lung and some battered ribs. “I thought about this game all year.

”We should have won, but we didn’t finish some things we started,” Guerierre said. ”But Massillon is a good team, you’ve got to give them that. We’re not finished, I can tell you that. We’re still aiming for state.”

The Tigers took the lead on a 17‑yard run around the right side by Myricks with 5:37 left in the first quarter. Lee Hurst’s point‑after kick made it 7‑0.

The touchdown actually was set up by a GlenOak interception. On the game’s first offensive series, Tiger quarterback Erik White completed three passes for 40 yards: Sensing openings in the secondary the Tigers went for the big play, a flag pattern they hoped would result in a 26‑yard touchdown. However, cornerback Darrin Carter intercepted White’s pass on the run at the 1 and stepped out of bounds.

GlenOak hammered the ball to the 9 when on third‑and‑two Hackenbracht tracked down Guerierre on a rollout to the right and stopped him for no gain. Guerierre punted and the Tigers set up on the GlenOak 43‑yard line.

On second‑and-10, Myricks exploded up the middle for 10 yards, but the mud‑slicked ball squirted out of his grasp. Rather than hurting the Tigers, the fumble helped, as the Tigers recovered 8 yards downfield for a first down at the 24. Fullback Jason Stafford plowed for 7 yards, then Myricks covered the remaining 17, high‑stepping the last 8 yards into the end zone after breaking into the clear.

GlenOak responded, though, after setting up on its own 25 after the kickoff. Eleven runs by four ball carriers and a subsequent clipping penalty against the Tigers gave GlenOak a first down on the Massillon 15. As the tide was changing, Tiger tackle Bob Dunwiddie was being carried off the field after suffering a sprained ankle on the last play of the first quarter.

It was at that point the Tiger defense arose. Guerierre was dumped for a 4‑yard loss on first down. On second down, Dunwiddie’s replacement, Maurice Clark, teamed with Tracy Liggett to sack Guerierre again. On third‑and‑16, the Eagles tried to trick the Tigers with a reverse, but speedster Troy Mastin was tracked down by the swift Myricks ‑yes, he played offense and defense ‑ on an open‑field tackle. The play lost a yard.

GlenOak went for it on fourth‑and‑17, but fullback Mike Hannen, running hard despite missing last Week’s game with a sprained ankle, was held to an 8‑yard gain.

Three plays and a Massillon punt gave GlenOak the ball back at midfield. Four plays later, it was second‑and‑nine from the Tiger 37 when the Eagles made an apparent pass completion to the 20. However, GlenOak was flagged for an illegal man downfield, and the drive stalled.

With the Tigers leading 7‑0 at halftime, both bands played The Bangles’ hit “Walk Like an Egyptian.”

Taking the second‑half kickoff on the sea of mud the field had become, GlenOak was hoping to run, not walk, back into the game. Guerierre completed passes of 8 and 11 yards, then Hannen ran for 5 and 3 yards to advance the ball to the Massillon 47‑yaid line. On third‑and‑two, Hackenbracht and Clark again collaborated to throw Guerierre for a loss, this time on a keeper, and the Eagles had to punt.

Early in the third quarter, White lost the ball on what can best be described as a “Statue of Liberty” fumble. He had dropped back to pass, and the ball crazily squirted out of his upraised hand before he could bring his arm forward.

“When you have the field conditions we had and the ball is squirting around like that, you don’t pass as much,” Maronto said later.

The Tigers passed just once on a 12‑play, 83‑yard touchdown march that clinched the victory.

After GlenOak’s opening drive in the second half stalled, Guerierre punted to the 17. The Tigers ran on 10 straight plays, with Myricks going 65 yards in eight carries and Stafford picking up 11 in two, to put he ball on the 7.

On third down from the 7, White eluded a heavy rush and flicked a swing pass to Stafford, who lunged and made a fingertip catch before belly‑flopping into the end zone.

Hurst’s kick made it 14‑0 with 2:01 left in the third quarter.

A Hackenbracht sack and a Steve Siegenthaler interception helped keep GlenOak from, doing any more damage.

Meanwhile, Myricks added an insurance touchdown with only 4:20 left in the game when he ran up the middle, broke out of a pack of tacklers at the 29, and sped into the end zone. The play went for 36 yards. Hurst’s kick completed the scoring.

“The thing I regret the most is that we gave up that last touchdown,” said Commings, whose had said before the game, “I just hope we put on a good show, and I sincerely mean that.”

Statistically speaking, Myricks put on a real show. Maronto credited his senior tailback’s talents and some excellent blocking for the 161‑yard rushing day. Particularly effective in the blocking department were tackle John Schilling and tight ends Gerald Pope and Jeff Harig, the coach said.

Stafford is emerging as an effective fullback. He blocked well and gained 44 yards in 11 rushes while catching two passes for 20 yards.

White wound up throwing just nine passes, completing five for 56 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Pope and Wrentie Martin each caught a pass for 14 yards.

Guerierre completed three of six passes for 27 yards, with two interceptions. Hannen rushed 11 times for 52 yards before leaving the game when GlenOak had to go to a passing offense. GlenOak’s second‑leading ball carrier, Craig Humphries, picked up just 20 yards in six carries.

The Tigers’ next game will be in the Akron Rubber Bowl next Saturday against Barberton. GlenOak will play at Louisville next Friday. Barberton tickets were mailed Friday to Tiger season ticket holders who paid postage. Barberton tickets will go on sale Monday at the high school ticket office. Adult reserved seats cost $4. The student presale price is $2. Tickets will be on sale until 1:30 p.m. Friday.

John Miller
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1986: Massillon 7, Canton Glenoak 9

‘Bobby C’ makes history
Tigers nipped 9‑7 by revamped GlenOak gridders

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ Darn it, that “Bobby C” always did know how to win a game in Tiger Stadium.

Darned if he didn’t win another one last night. And darned if he didn’t have old friends wearing orange jackets coming up one by one to slap him on the back. Even though that back is now covered with green. Even though this win nudged the foundation of the grand old ball yard just a bit.

Program Cover

Commings shrugged after his GlenOak team beat the Massillon Tigers 9‑7 behind a long scoring drive and a blocked punt for a safety in the first quarter.

“Just another big win,” he said.

But his wry smile said it was more.

Massillon’s high school football team has been taking on Stark County opponents since 1894, and only two of them ‑ McKinley and Alliance had ever managed to beat the Tigers.

Now there are three. And GlenOak is the first one to come from the Federal League, which has been taking swings at the Tigers since 1978, and hadn’t connected until “Bobby C” showed up on a warm September Friday.

Commings, of course, used to stick around after the games. He amassed a coaching record of 43‑6‑2 with the Tigers from 1969‑73, before going to Iowa for a tough major college run that knocked him back to the high school ranks, with GlenOak.

“It’s a thrill when kids play with great courage in a community I dearly love,” Commings said after handing the Tigers their first loss in four games before a crowd of 12,780.

It was a clean win, nothing tricky ‑ witness GlenOak’s 245‑121 advantage in total yards and 12‑4 edge in first downs.

“All the credit goes to GlenOak and to Bob Commings,” Massillon head coach John Maronto said. “They blitzed us early and took it to us.

“We were ripe … a ripe tomato that became rotten.”

Commings knows about those tomatoes. His team sprouted an overgrown preseason reputation and promptly got blown out of the garden by McKinley and North Canton. But the Eagles made some key changes and planted Akron East 40‑3 last week.

There was a new attitude.

“We were getting all the preseason hype and it went to our heads,” said Mike Patt, probably GlenOak’s best lineman. “We finally realized we had to work for anything we got.”

The Eagles played a Massillon theme song, “Eye of the Tiger,” all week in practice.

“We got down to business,” said fullback‑linebacker John McLendon. “And we kept reminding ourselves the Massillon players are good, but they don’t dress in a phone booth.”

McLendon, whose father dressed in the Tiger locker room when he went to high school, was one of the changes. He moved from wingback, where he wasn’t getting loose on the option, to fullback, where he could use his speed and athletic skill to apply direct delivery. The other change was switching Otis Williams, a bigger man than McLendon at 210 pounds, from fullback to tailback.

The combination got a trial run against Akron East and ran like crazy against the Tigers.

McLendon gained 88 yards in 18 carries and was a nuisance all night on defense. Williams rushed for 92 yards on 18 carries.

Both were slowed as the game wore on. But they were deadly on the pivotal opening series.

GlenOak’s Matt McElroy returned the opening kickoff to the 24. Williams ran for six yards, McLendon cut loose for 13 on a misdirection play, then Williams ran for six. McLendon, a 6‑foot, 180‑pound senior, then got the ball on the next five plays, moving the ball from midfield to the Tiger 23‑yard line. Then Williams ran 15 yards for a first and goal.

But on third‑and‑goal from the 8, Williams was stuffed at the 6 and Commings sent in the field goal unit.

The holder was Rob Rastetter, a linebacker who opened the season as GlenOak’s starting quarterback but was beaten out by Jerry Chaney. Rastetter had to uncoil from his kneel to handle a bad snap and had no time to make the spot for placekicker Scott Glosser. In the face of a heavy rush, he flicked a pass to tight end Mike Mottice, who had broken wide open in the right corner of the end zone.

Glosser’s PAT kick made it 7‑0 with 5:00 left in the opening frame.

The Tigers started from their own 19 after the ensuing kickoff but moved only a yard in three plays. GlenOak played for the punt block and it worked. Three Eagles were breathing in Kenny Hawkins’ face as he tried to boot the ball, and one of them, McLendon, got both mitts squarely on the pigskin. The ball caromed 15 yards all the way out of the end zone for a safety, and GlenOak lead swelled to 9‑0 just 1:57 after its initial score.

It stayed that way until a booming Hawkins punt to the GlenOak 9‑yard line on the second play of the fourth quarter ignited the Tigers’ scoring sequence.

GlenOak’s first play was a botched handoff to McLendon that squirted to the 14. Senior linebacker Bob Foster pounced on the ball and the Tigers took over.

As Massillon’s fans rose in their biggest outburst of the night, the fired‑up Tigers opened holes for fullback Mike Norris, who battered three yards then seven yards to the 4. A penalty took the ball to the 2, from where Norris spun around the right side and dove into the end zone.

Lee Hurst’s extra‑point boot made it 9‑7 with 11:30 left in the game.

The Tigers needed a defensive stand. Instead, GlenOak mounted a ball‑control drive. The Eagles traveled from their own 20 to the Tigers’ 30 where it was fourth‑and‑one.

There was still time for a Tiger rally, with five minutes left, but GlenOak was going for the first down and Massillon needed a big play … and got one. A pitch to McLendon was stuffed by three Tigers a half-foot short of the first down and the Tigers took over.

Massillon came very close to winning the game when, on fourth and three with 2:45 left, quarterback John Miller hit tailback Jerome Myricks with a little swing pass that Myricks turned upfield and almost into the clear. The only thing that kept Myricks out of the end zone was a saving bump by McLendon, who nudged Myricks out of bounds near midfield.

On the next play, Miller was sacked for a six‑yard loss by Patt. That was followed by two more incompletions and a sack on fourth‑and‑long by Scott Garcia. The ball went over to GlenOak with 2:21 left and the Tigers called their last timeout.

The Tigers regained possession with 15 seconds left, on their own 40. The game ended on an interception by McElroy at the 20‑yard line.

“We came back in the second half but we did not make the plays we needed to get a victory,” Maronto said. “GlenOak moved the ball on us right away in the first half, but we expected to have problems with them early.

“Our intensity was all right, we just didn’t make the plays. There are no excuses. We got what we deserved.”

The Tigers failed to get a first down on their only three possessions of the first half, when they ran just nine plays to GlenOak’s 33.

Massillon’s first scoring threat followed the second‑half kickoff. A 38‑yard bomb from Miller to split end Bart Letcavits advanced the ball to the GlenOak 31, but on fourth-and‑nine, the Tigers went for it and came up short when McLendon chased Miller into a scramble resulting in a four‑yard loss.

Norris was the Tigers’ top ball carrier with 11 carries for 36 yards. Myricks, a big‑play threat in recent weeks, carried six times, but his total was minus‑one.

The Tigers had tried a total of 12 passes through three games before Friday, but this time Miller went to the airways 15 times, completing five for 90 yards. All but one of the passes came in the second half.

The Tigers will try to rebound next Friday against Barberton, also 3‑1 following a 14‑10 upset loss to Ravenna last night. A week later, the Tiger…

GLENOAK 9
MASSILLON 71

M G
First downs rushing 1 11
First downs passing 3 1
First downs by penalty 0 0
Totals first downs 4 12
Yards gained rushing 46 228
Yards lost rushing 15 15
Net yards rushing 31 213
Net yards passing 90 32
Total yards gained 121 245
Passes attempted 15 7
Passes completed 5 2
Passes int. by 0 2
Punts 5 3
Punting average 30.2 28.0
Punt return yards 18 0
Punts blocked by 0 1
Fumbles 1 2
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalties 5 6
Yards penalized 35 39
Number of plays 21 41
Time of possession 16:49 31:11
Attendance 12,780

GlenOAK 9 0 0 0 9
MASSILLON 0 0 7 0 7

GLEN ‑ Mottice 5 pass from Rastetter (Glosser kick)
GLEN ‑ Safety, blocked punt bounced out of the end zone
MASS ‑ Norris 2 run (Hurst kick)

Jerrod Vance1986: Massillon 
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1983: Massillon 17, Canton Glenoak 15

TIGERS ESCAPE!

GlenOak rally comes up short

By STEVE DUNGJEN
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON – Visiting GlenOak won the battle of the statistics, but the Tigers won it where it counts the most – on the scoreboard.

GlenOak, playing perhaps its finest game ever, outplayed Massillon up one side and down the other.

Entering the contest Friday night in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, very few of the 9,587 spectators expected much of a game.

And considering GlenOak owned a so-so 3-4 record as opposed to Massillon’s 6-1, the
17-15 Tiger victory was for all intent a huge moral victory for the Golden Eagles.

Program Cover

GlenOak controlled the ball for nearly 15 minutes longer than Massillon, gaining 99 more yards on offense and eight more first downs.

For that matter GlenOak had more touchdowns from scrimmage, but a 93-yard kickoff return to open the game by Massillon’s Craig Johnson was the difference.

“It’s nice to win one when you’re not supposed to,” confided Massillon head coach Mike Currence. “You have to give them credit because they played a good football game.”

“This was a good game for us,” Currence continued. “It’ll make us work harder (in practice) this week.”

The game’s outcome went down to the final play, a missed 52-yard field goal by GlenOak’s versatile Fermin Olivera who kept the Tiger defense guessing with his option-orientated offense.

“It was a great football game,” said GlenOak head coach Bob Commings, a one-time Massillon coach from 1969-73. “The thing is that this is one of the finest hours in our institution and we lose it.

“We had a chance to win it two or three times,” Commings said. “We didn’t come here to look good, we came over to win. I still think Massillon is the best team in the state, but we’re the best 3-5 team in the Western Hemisphere.”

Before many of the Homecoming crowd had a chance to settle into their seats, Johnson took the opening kickoff at his own 7. The senior went to the right side of the field, reversed his direction and found himself one-on-one with Olivera.

Johnson put on a couple of his patented moves and then outraced the defender to pay dirt. Just 15 seconds had elapsed off the game clock when Bronc Pfisterer booted home the conversion kick.

After holding GlenOak to 17 yards on its first possession, the Tigers took control of the ball on their own 34. Johnson and Chris Spielman took turns carrying the ball, giving Massillon a first down at the Golden Eagle 43.

After an incomplete pass, quarterback Brian Dewitz found Reggie Crenshaw for a 19-yard gain to the 24. Three plays later and the Tigers found themselves in a fourth-and-14.

Onto the field trotted Pfisterer, who drilled a line drive over the crossbar from 45 yards out to give Massillon a 10-0 lead.

The field goal was the sixth this season for Pfisterer, eclipsing his own single-season record of five he set a year ago. Only two other players have longer field goals than Pfisterer, Tim Manion’s 48-yarder in 1981 and Keith Harmon’s 47-yarder in 1975.

At this juncture many Tiger fans were sensing a repeat showing of last year’s 42-14 Massillon win over the Golden Eagles. Those thoughts were, as it turned out, premature at best.

Both teams were stopped on their next offensive series, a coffin-corner punt by Massillon’s Tom Gruno pinning GlenOak back at its own 8-yard line.

With their backs against the wall the Golden Eagles started moving the Tiger defense around, seemingly at will as Olivera started to do his thing.

Olivera first hit Troy Iero for a 13-yard gain before running for 10 more yards on a keeper. The senior quarterback next found Iero on a 22-yard pickup, the ball tipped twice en route to the wide receiver.

GlenOak running backs Greg Wagner and Jeff Gurley then took turns running the ball, moving the visitors to a first-and-10 at the Tiger 35. An encroachment penalty made it first-and-five.

Wagner then gained four yards when Gurley rambled six yards to a first down at the 19. Olivera called his own number and dashed to pay dirt with 5:03 left in the half.

Olivera then added the extra-point kick to make it a 10-7 game.

Momentum remained with GlenOak as Spielman was stopped cold on a fourth-and-one from the Eagle 47. But Commings’ squad turned the ball right back over when Olivera pitched the ball way over the head of his running back, Spielman recovering the loose ball at the GlenOak 38.

Massillon moved down to the 15, but a 32-yard Pfisterer field goal attempt was wide right.

Two plays later Spielman recovered his second fumble of the night, giving the Tigers excellent field position at the GlenOak 37.

Wasted opportunity this wasn’t as Dewitz went to the air, connecting with Paul Briggs for a
37-yard touchdown down the right sideline. Pfisterer’s kick made it 17-7 with 37 seconds left in the half.

After a fine halftime show by the Tiger Swing Band, the two opponents decided to play giveaway. First GlenOak fumbled after picking up two first downs, then Massillon fumbled four plays later.

GlenOak’s next series ended in a punt, but the Tigers continued their generous ways as Dewitz was intercepted by Wagner, giving the Golden Eagles possession at the Tiger 45.

The Golden Eagles took advantage this time, marching 55 yards in 12 plays despite facing a second-and-22 on one occasion and a fourth-and-five on another.

The TD occurred when Wagner burst up the middle from three yards out with 9:16 left in the final period. Gurley took the same route on his two-point conversion, making it fingernail biting time at 17:15.

Faced with a fourth-and-one from their own 29, Gurley picked up two yards to keep things alive. Olivera was then sacked by Scott Bylene for an eight-yard loss and the Golden Eagles were then hit with a five-yard penalty to make it a second and 23.

Undaunted by the big yardage to make up, Wagner gained seven yards and Olivera hit Iero for 13 more when Wagner pounded two yards on fourth down for a first-and-10 at the 44.

Two Olivera passes went incomplete when he was sacked for a 10-yard loss by a host of Tigers. On fourth down, though, Olivera hit Iero for 31 yards and a first down at the Massillon 35 with eight seconds left.

With no time outs left, Olivera threw the ball out of bounds to set up this last ditch field goal try.

Massillon continued its turnover tactics moments later when Johnson was stripped of the ball after a 22-yard gallop to the GlenOak 27, but the Golden Eagles turned the ball right back over when Olivera was intercepted by Derrick Dave two plays later.

Johnson finished the game with 40 yards rushing for Massillon, upping his season total to 770. In order to hit the 1,000-yard plateau the senior will have to total 230 yards more against Youngstown South and McKinley in the final two weeks.

MASSILLON…………….17
GLENOAK……………….15

STATISTICS
M G
First downs rushing 6 14
First downs passing 6 6
First downs by penalty 0 0
Total first downs 12 20
Yards gained rushing 104 231
Yards lost rushing 14 35
Net yards rushing 90 196
Net yards passing 135 128
Total yards gained 225 324
Passes attempted 20 16
Passes completed 9 10
Passes int. by 1 1
Yardage on pass int. 0 0
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average 52.8 40.7
Kickoff return yards 124 74
Punts 2 2
Punting average 33.5 35.0
Punt return yards 5 0
Punts blocked by 0 0
Fumbles 4 3
Fumbles lost 2 3
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized 20 35
Touchdowns rushing 0 2
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Number of plays 46 67
Time of possession 16:35 31:25
Attendance 9,587

GLENOAK………………. 0 7 0 8 –15
MASSILLON……………. 10 7 0 0 – 17

M – Craig Johnson 93 kickoff return (Bronc Pfisterer kick)
M – Pfisterer 45 FG
G – Fermin Olivera 19 run (Olivera kick)
M – Paul Briggs 37 pass from Brian Dewitz (Pfisterer kick)
G – Greg Wagner 3 run (Jeff Gurley run)

Chris Spielman
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1982: Massillon 42, Canton Glenoak 14

Tigers near‑perfect in routing Eagles
‘Flawless’ team effort, adds” to ‘Nick’s Night’ as Tigers roll 42‑14

By MIKE HUDAK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ Halftime activities had ended, and Massillon Tiger offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos was returning to his familiar perch in the upper loge of the pressbox.

A ladder separates the two decks; and for Vrotsos, each week’s climb is a happy reminder of the ladder of success he has climbed in Massillon in his unparalleled 25 years as a Tiger assistant.

Friday night was a bit different.

“This is my night, fellas, my night!” beamed a jubilant Vrotsos to his admirers in the pressbox. And indeed it was.

Program Cover

Not only had Vrotsos been presented with a surprise 25‑year plaque from the Tiger Booster Club in pre‑game ceremonies, (along with the original picture which appeared on Friday’s Tiger program), but his offensive charges had built an overwhelming 21‑0 lead at halftime in the “Computer Bowl” contest against GlenOak.

When it was all over, the first‑ever meeting between the two schools ended in a one‑sided 42‑14 Tiger win, assuring the Tigers of moving ahead of at least GlenOak when next week’s regional rankings are released.

“We were practically flawless tonight!” beamed Vrotsos after the game.

True, and from their first play from scrimmage, no less!

GlenOak received the opening kickoff, moving the ball two yards, on the ground in three plays, typical of the night’s efforts against the Tiger starters. A punt gave the Tigers possession on their own 36.

Tiger quarterback Brian DeWitz took center Rick Hamit’s snap, faked a handoff, rolled out left and unleashed a long pass to Gary Conley, who caught the ball on the run and ran the final 30 yards untouched. Bronc Pfisterer, becoming ‘Mr. Automatic’ on extra points, kicked his first of seven conversions and the Tigers led 7‑0 with 9:31 left in the opening period.

“I was surprised the coach (Mike Currence) went for the long one on the first play,” said DeWitz, fast moving up the ranks of all‑time Massillon throwing leaders. “But as soon as I threw it, I knew it was in there.”

“Loved it … loved it,” cooed the cool Conley afterwards. “The defensive back took the initial run fake and I just snuck around behind him, Brian fired a beauty and the result was a quick six.”

“That was Nick’s call to go right at them,” said Currence in praise of Vrotsos.

Vrotsos admitted that ‘unofficial’ coach Sonny Spielman, now the assistant principal at Longfellow Junior High, planted the idea in his head, adding, “It was a good call, that play’s been open for us most of the year.

GlenOak never recovered from the opening shockwave. On their next possession it was three downs and punt, then the Tigers came right back with a time‑consuming, 12‑play touchdown drive.

The drive was consummated entirely on the ground except for a screen pass to junior Chris Spielman on the second play good for 16 yards. Constant success was found on the “student body” right and left plays ‑ end sweeps.

“They jammed up everybody in the middle, practically giving us the outside,” said Vrotsos. ” And we’ll take what they give us.”

Spielman took final honors with a two yard sweep. The Tigers led 14-0 with 1:05 remaining in the initial quarter.

Massillon scored once in the second quarter ‑ another time‑consuming, 88‑yard drive. Spielman capped it with a seven yard sweep with 58 seconds remaining in the half for a 21‑0 lead.
Tigers show their best
At halftime, despite an almost even time of possession. Massillon led in total yardage 248‑26! GlenOak managed only one first down, midway through the second period.

By the third quarter, the Golden Eagles were “Bushed.” Massillon took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in six plays ‑ the first two plays runs of 29 and 17 yards by senior Jim Bushe, who capped the drive with a one‑yard scoot with 8:56 left in the third quarter.

Bushe was the Tigers’ leading rusher on the night, toting the leather 13 times for 142 yards.

“Give the line credit,” said Bushe. “I swear our guards are almost as quick as me, and they were just burying the Eagles tonight.”

A few more Eagle feathers were ruffled when pass coverage broke down with 29 seconds left in the quarter. A wide‑open Jim Geiser hauled down another DeWitz bomb for a 66‑yard score.

Down 35‑0, the Golden Eagles finally started moving the hall in the final period against the Tiger backups. Following a play in which GlenOak running back Greg Wagner suffered an ankle injury, quarterback Monty Crowl hit senior receiver Rob Wright with a 52‑yard touchdown toss. Wright was a bright spot for GlenOak, adding two interceptions for a fine night’s work.

Crowl, a speedy senior southpaw noted primarily as a fine runner and ballhandler, had his throwing arm kept under wraps in the first half, but found good success in the late going.

On the Eagles next possession, he completed four passes, including a nine‑yard scoring toss to senior Jimmie Burks, as GlenOak went 66 yard in eight plays for a late tally. Crowl ended the game nine‑of‑17 for 158 yards passing.

But the Tiger reserves had a bit of firepower left in them, too. Following an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, senior quarterback Brad Offenbecher led the Tigers 53 yards, hitting junior Richard Crenshaw with a 16‑yard scoring pass with 29 seconds left for the final 42‑14 margin.

Offenbecher played his best hall of the year in the game. On the scoring drive, the brother of Ohio State’s Brent Offenbecher connected on two‑of‑four passes and scrambled nine yards on another play.

The surprisingly‑easy win gave the Tigers an unblemished 8‑0 mark on the year going into next week’s game with Mansfield ‑ a game sandwiched between the GlenOak and McKinley epics where the players must work extra hard to avoid a letdown.

For GlenOak, the loss snapped a six game winning streak, the first since an opening night 14‑0 loss at the hands of McKinley.

It also spoiled the homecoming of former Tiger coach Bob Cummings, who had hoped for a better effort but admitted, “Massillon took dead aim on us and beat us to a pulp.”

Currence felt compassion for his illustrious predecessor, but summed up the situation pragmatically:

“Better him than me.”

Massillon mauls GlenOak 42‑ 14
By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Assistant Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ The year was 1980. It was a snowy, cold November Sunday in Cincinnati. It was the day Massillon’s Tigers played Moeller High for the Ohio High School Division I football championship.

The day came to mind Friday night after the Tigers shot down ClenOak’s Golden Eagles 42‑14 before, 16,490 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Moeller was awesome in ’80, but Massillon was a good team, and folks were eager to see if the Tigers could make a game of it.

They didn’t.

Friday, GlenOak wore the shoes that had been on Massillon’s feet in 1980. The Golden Eagles were the good team challenging the powerhouse.

This one wasn’t a game, either.

The Tigers started with a bang, scoring on a 65‑yard Brian DeWitz‑to‑Gary Conley pass on their first play from scrimmage, and poured it on until the first team sat down with a 35‑0 lead on the board after three quarters.

Massillon improved to 8‑0, halting a six‑game GlenOak winning streak and leaving the Eagles with a 6‑2 record.

“Ain’t no stoppin’ us now,” said Conley, a speedy senior split end. “We’ll take ’em one at a time until we get to the 13th game.”

No. 13, if it comes to that, would be for the state title ‑ perhaps against Moeller.

“We’re state bound … if we can keep our heads on straight,” said running back Jim Bushe, who used blockbuster blocking by the offensive line and his own speed and shiftiness to amass 142 yards in only 13 rushes.

Bushe says he wants to play football in the Big Ten Conference some day. Heck, he could have played in the Big Ten Friday.

Massillon dominated almost every phase of the game, but the running attack was the real crusher.

Bushe saw to it that it was over early, gaining huge chunks of yardage on runs to the outside.

The Tigers had the ball four times in the first half and scored three touchdowns. An interception by Rob Wright, one of GlenOak’s few bright spots, snuffed out the other drive.

Senior guard Charles Calhoun explained why the Tigers ran wild on the outside.

“We outweighed their defensive line by about 30 pounds a man,” said Calhoun, a 240‑pound senior. “They were submarining us, dying in the hole to try to stuff the middle. So we just went to the outside. Then they stopped submarining us, and we hit them with some counter plays that worked pretty well.”

The Tigers led 478 yards to 241 yards in total offense, but even that whopping margin was deceiving. Through three quarters, the Tigers led 390‑73 in total offense.

After that, Massillon brought in its second string, against which the Eagles scored both of their touchdowns.

Massillon coach Mike Currence said the Tigers had been worried.

“Maybe we were so fired up because we scared,” he said. “On film, GlenOak’s offense executed almost everything perfectly.”

But the Tigers did what no other team has done ‑ shut down GlenOak’s running game.

“People were saying GlenOak has the best offensive line in Stark County,” Massillon defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits said. “Our people shut them down. It was the best tackling we’ve had.”

The last thing GlenOak wanted to happen was one of the first things that happened ‑ the big play, early.

GlenOak took the opening kickoff, ran three plays, then punted to the Massillon 35.

Nick Vrotsos, Massillon’s offensive coordinator, sent in “14 waggle.” It had almost brought a touchdown on Massillon’s first play of the season, against another Federal League team, Perry.

“It calls for me to take my man deep over the middle,” Conley said. “It looked like the defensive back started to go for the run fake. I got open, and Brian threw me a perfect pass.”

Conley caught the ball on the GlenOak 25 and outraced GlenOak’s Fermin Olivera to the end zone at 9:31 of the opening quarter.

Three GlenOak plays and a punt later, the Tigers launched a 12‑play, 63‑yard touchdown drive. Bushe and halfback Chris Spielman did most of the damage on the ground, with Spielman going the final two yards at 1:05 of the first period.

GlenOak had a chance to get back in the game when Wright’s interception gave the Eagles the ball on their own 49 early in the second quarter. The Eagles drove to the Massillon 39, getting their only first down of the first half, before having to punt.

Then Massillon put the game away with a 78‑yard touchdown drive that again featured Bushe and Spielman. Spielman dove into the end zone on a seven‑yard run 58 seconds before the band show.

The rout was on when the Tigers took the second‑half kickoff and drove 70 yards for a score, with Bushe rushing for all but three of them and scoring on a one‑yard blast.

Later in the third quarter, DeWitz and split end Jim Geiser hooked up on a 66‑yard touchdown pass.

DeWitz completed five of eight passes for 168 yards. His touchdown pass to Geiser flushed him over 1,000 yards for the season. He now has completed 63 of 107 tosses for 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Massillon romps 42‑14
The Eagles made it 35-7 on a 59‑yard scoring pass from quarterback Monte Crowl to split end Wright at 8:14 of the fourth quarter. Crowl later found Jimmie Burks on a nine yard scoring pass.

The Tigers led 22‑9 in first downs and 268‑91 in rushing yards. Star tailback Greg Wagner of GlenOak was held to 21 yards in nine carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter. The extent of the injury was unknown.

Next Friday, Massillon hosts Mansfield Senior and GlenOak hosts Louisville.

GlenOak 0 0 0 14 14
Massillon 14 7 14 7 42

Mass ‑ Conley 65 Pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick)
Mass – Spielman 2 run (Pfisterer kick)
Mass – Spielman 7 run (Pfisterer kick)
Mass – Bushe 1 run (Pfisterer kick)
Mass – Geiser 66 pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick)
Glen – Wright 59 pass from Crowl (Olivera kick)
Glen – Burks 9 pass from Crowl (Olivera kick)
Mass – Crenshaw 16 pass from Offenbecher (Pfisterer kick)
Att – 16,490

Jeff Boerner