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1966: Massillon 32 vs. Canton Lincoln 14

September 9, 1966March 5, 2018
by Eric Smith

Tigers Dump Lions 32-14 In Opener

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Charles Dickens would have felt right at home at Tiger stadium Friday night. As he once said, ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

Massillon’s Tigers got off on the right foot in quest of a third straight state championship even if the step was a little shaky. The Bengals stopped Canton Lincoln’s Lions 32-14 before one of the largest opening night crowds ever, 13,431.
* * *

THE BATTLE of the felines was the second game of the first double bill ever presented at the stadium. Marion Catholic and Dover St. Joseph, 1965 state Class A powers, battled in the opener with Marion winning 8-6.

Massillon played turnabout ball, jumping ahead 20-0 at the half, and was outscored 14-12 in the second. Total yardage also went in the opposite direction: from 228-66 in Massillon’s favor before the intermission to 120-92 in Lincoln’s favor afterwards, as did the number of plays, 30-28 to 26-16.

Tiger Coach Bob Seaman making his debut as the Bengals stretched their win streak to 29, thought complacency might have had a great deal to do with the poor second half. “When you put points on the board with 4 seconds to go in the first half, you’re bound to relax a bit in the second.”

Lou Venditti, who might have his finest team in his 6 years at Lincoln, was “proud of the kids coming back after being down 20-0.”

Venditti thought his team was hurt by 2 bad mental errors and a fumble at the wrong time. There was one mental error and 3 bad breaks which hurt the Tigers, to say nothing of numerous penalties.
* * *

MASSILLON SCORED first when junior halfback Greg Evans went off left tackle from
33 yards out on second and 8 with 9:35remaining in the welcome quarter. The drive covered 74 yards in 5 plays after the opening kickoff. It featured 2 first downs and a big run by Evans over right tackle off a pitch, which carried from the Tiger 29 to the Lincoln 35.

Senior Craig Maurer, quarterback, missed on a rollout for the conversion.

The next time Massillon had the ball a 40-yard run by Evans was nullified by a clipping penalty.

Midway in the first quarter, Lincoln threatened following Jim Krenzer’s punt from the end zone after the Obiemen were put into reverse gear by motion and clipping penalties, 2 of 16 on the night for 115 yards.

On the first play following the punt, Lincoln’s senior signal-caller Tom Smith, who was to have a great second half, rolled out, scampered from the Tigers’ 34 to the 21 and fumbled. Gigantic Mike Sherrett, Massillon’s 6-7, 251-pound senior tackle, recovered, or as Venditti said, the game might have been different.

As the second quarter got underway, it appeared the Orange and Black were on the way for a second score. With second and
(line of copy missing)
Massillon 37 to the Lincoln 47 with the next punt and the Washington high eleven was on the way to its second score. Seven plays and 3 first downs later, senior fullback Will Foster went over left tackle from the 7 with 3:41 left. Foster made it 14-0 on the same play.

The Tigers scored again just as time ran out in the first half. Maurer threw the “bomb” to Evans on second and 5 from the 50 with 4 seconds remaining. The little jackrabbit grabbed the pigskin on the 5 and went in on the first of the Lion mental errors. Foster found the center too tough for the conversion.

Lincoln started on its comeback rampage immediately after the second half kickoff. Smith started to run wild on the keeper, spelled at intervals by junior halfback John Franzone and junior fullback Greg Wentz. The drive started on the Lions’ 33, carried for 67 yards and 5 first downs.

Franzone got the score with 7:17 left in the third canto. He shot off left tackle on first and 10 from the Tigers’ 28. Smith hit junior end Bruce Fowler in the left side of the end zone to make it 20-8.

As the quarter was about to come to an end, Krenzer dropped back from the Tigers’ 19 to punt and found his attempted boot blocked, giving Lincoln the ball on the 14. In 6 plays Bengal fans were starting to squirm.
* * *

WITH FOURTH and 2 on the 6, Smith hit senior end Scott Ricketts in the right section of the end zone with 10:03 ;left in the goodbye chapter. Seaman said a linebacker incorrectly heard the coverage call. Junior linebacker Hoyt Skelton, junior tackle Bill Ricker and senior middle Earle (Stump) Beiter brought Smith crashing to the turf short of the conversion.

A wounded Tiger is dangerous and the Obiemen poured on the steam. Evans ran back 33 yards. Tommy (Scooter) James, senior halfback, rode the wave of excellent blocking on power sweeps off the pitch on almost every play in the ensuing 6-play, 4-first down, 57-yard scoring drive.

“Tailspin Tommy” tallied from the 23 on second and 4. He took 2 steps to the right, shot back over left guard and it was “TJ for the TD.” Evans failed to get the conversion on a pitchout.

A once-in-a-lifetime occurrence cropped up next. Foster kicked off out of bounds on the one. His repeat boot after 5-yard penalty sailed into the end zone. A Lion back forgot to recover the ball and sophomore Marc Malinowski, up from Lorin Andrews junior high, pounced on the swinehide for a score.

Maurer missed the conversion on the keeper for the second time during the night.
* * *

BUT LINCOLN wasn’t through driving from the Massillon 43, after a short kickoff by Mike Gipp, to the Tigers’ 5, a distance of 52 yards.

There junior linebacker Ron Ertle brought Smith down on a fake pass and run on fourth and 6 to halt the scoring attempt. Franzone and Wentz were the big boys on the 3-first down drives.

A freak play cropped up along the way. Fowler caught a pass from Smith after it bounced around off several hands including those of at least 3 Tiger defenders. The play carried from the Lincoln 49 to the Massillon 26.

Massillon will play host to Cleveland Benedictine next Saturday.

LINCOLN – 14
Ends – Ricketts, Fowler, Sanderson.
Tackles – Christy, Hastings, Predisik.
Guards – Myers, McVehfl.
Center – Wernecke.
Quarterbacks – Smith, Best.
Halfbacks – Flinn, Franzone, Breslin, McCoul.
Fullbacks – Wentz, Behm.

MASSILLON – 32
Ends – Moyer, Smith, Sterling, Gallion, Griffin, Richards.
Tackles – Houser, Snowball, Ricker, Turley, Sherrett, Martin.
Guards – Hausenstein, Russell, Ertle, Beiter, Porrini, White.
Centers – Senften, Skelton, Kraft.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Young, Henderson, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Evans, Hannon, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullbacks – Foster, Gipp.
Punter – Krenzer.

Lincoln 0 0 8 6 14
Massillon 6 14 0 12 32

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Evans (33-yard run and 35- yard pass from Maurer),
Foster (7-yard run),
James (23-yard run),
Malinowski (recovered kickoff in end zone).
Lincoln – Franzone (28-yard run), Smith (6-yard pass from Ricketts).

Extra points:
Massillon – Foster 2 (run).
Lincoln – Fowler 2 (pass from Smith).

Attendance: 13,431.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack McLain (Columbus).
Umpire – Bill Holzwarth (Louisville).
Head Linesman – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Field Judge – John Dalrymple (Akron).

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 13 6
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 14 11
Yards gained rushing 286 144
Yards lost rushing 1 6
Net yards gained rushing 285 138
Net yards gained passing 35 48
Total yards gained 320 186
Passes attempted 1 12
Passes completed 1 5
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 47.0 41.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 41 58
Times punted 5 4
Punt average (yards) 26.5 37.5
Punt return (yards) 29 2
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 1 1
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 16 3
Yards penalized 115 18
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Number of plays 46 54

History

1962: Massillon 35, Canton Lincoln 16

November 17, 1962July 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers End Season With Victory 35-16
Blunt Scores 3 Touchdowns, Sets Up 4th;

100th Win For Strang

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

There’s something about a Tiger team that’s grand! Grand! Grand!

And that something is the great fighting spirit of the Bengals! They had their trials and tribulations this year, but they never threw in the towel. They fought down to the wire.

Now that the din of another season has died away, and the fans have settled down to waiting through the long months for next year’s football, they’ll relive Saturday’s traditional Massillon-Canton game for days to come. For the Tigers gave them a finale to remember.
* * *
THE BENGALS made sure they ended on the winning side of the ledger, and they gave Coach Leo Strang his 100th victory of his career. The win was a 35-16 decision over Canton Lincoln’s Lions, substituting for the suspended McKinley Bulldogs.

The Orange and Black finished the season with a 6-5 record and averted the stigma of being the first squad since 1931 to have a losing season. For the Lions, who also gave a good account of themselves, it was a fourth loss. They also have five wins and a tie on their record.

The game brought back memories of 1940 and 1941 to Massillon as the name Blunt shot into prominence again. Then it was halfback Fred (Pokey) Blunt. Saturday it was junior halfback (The Rabbit) Blunt, Pokey’s nephew, who did the dazzling.

He scored three of the five Tiger touchdowns and helped set up a fourth. His 85-yard return of the opening kickoff for a score dealt the Lions a blow from which they never fully recovered.

“That was a real shocker,” Lincoln Coach Lou Venditti said after the game. “It broke our backs.” A jubilant Strang said, “We’d been practicing all week on kickoff returns. We usually only work the last day on that. We were really fired up. That helped us stand up.”
* * *
LEO WENT on to talk about Blunt. “He’s just coming into his own,” the skipper said. “The last four or five games he’s been doing what we expect of a good back offensively and defensively.”

Venditti also had nothing but praise for Blunt.

There was another key player in the game, Ron Davis, competing in his last contest for the Tigers as a linebacker, was a demon on defense, getting in on a lot of tackles. He was sorely missed in the second half when the lineup was broken to see that everybody got a chance to play, including the sophomores who were suited up for the only time this season.

“He’s a real fine linebacker,” Strang said, “We’re going to have a whale of a job replacing him.”

Strang added, “This was one of our better games, especially in the first half when we had our unit intact.” He didn’t like his passing game even though he scored two touchdowns that way and picked up 134 yards while completing four of seven.
* * *
HE GAVE Venditti a real compliment, “He’s a real good coach and has done a whale of a job with his team. They should win the state title on improvement alone.”

Venditti praised the speed of the Tigers. Both coaches felt that was a big difference in the game.

About his own team Venditti said, “I was proud of the way they came back in the second half. I was afraid they’d quit.” The Lions scored one touchdown and held Massillon to one after the Bengals had taken a 28-8 lead before the intermission.

Venditti was happy with the running of fullback George Andreadis, only a junior, and senior tackle, Chris Vagotis’ defensive job. Strang said that Andreadis was a good,
hard-running back.

“We knew we could run off tackle so we did in the second half,” Venditti continued, “I only wish I had more big backs like George (180 pounds). He could not do it all.”
* * *
THE STATISTICS show that Massillon out-rushed Lincoln 216 net yards to 111 and out-passed them 134-97, Lincoln had one TD via the airwaves and completed 12 of 19 passes. Massillon had 13 first downs to Lincoln’s 11. The Bengals had two more rushing than Lincoln.

Lincoln piled up just about all of their various totals in the second half. They got out of their territory only once during the first 12 minutes and didn’t pick up their first down until there were 6:48 left in the second period. They got only three in the first half.

The Tigers scored three times in the first quarter. First came Blunt’s electrifying run. Junior tackle Ken Curry kicked off for Lincoln. Blunt gathered the ball in on the south
15-yard line and set sail for pay dirt. Fourteen seconds later he was in touchdown land, thanks to some fine running and blocking.

Senior Wil Paisley got a bad snap from center and tried to pass to his holder, senior quarterback Mike Koenig, hoping he could run in for the conversion. But the ball never got to Koenig.

After a Lincoln series and a punt, the Bengals got rolling again. They moved from t heir 27 for their second TD, a distance of 73 yards, in 12 plays with three first downs.
* * *
SOPHOMORE FULLBACK Jim Lawrence had a key run of 25 yards around the short side on a pitchout from the Massillon 37 to the Lincoln 38. The touchdown came six plays later from the 25 on second down and six. Koenig hit Blunt over the center at 4:46. He made a tremendous leaping catch to prevent a sure interception.

John Kanney, senior tailback, just returned to duty after five week’s absence due to an injury, scored the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of right end.

The Tigers scored the next time they got their hands on the ball. Lincoln lost it on downs again after the first series following the Bengals’ TD. Blunt ran a punt back 18 yards to give the Tigers the ball on their 38.

This time the scoring drive took five plays with two first downs. Koenig ran the ball four straight times, picking up 18 yards over short side guard on one trip.

The Lions ran one series. Then the Bengals came roaring back from their 24. They took nine plays to do it and got two first downs. A 42-yard pass over the center from Koenig to Blunt on second and 25 on the 49 of Lincoln after an offensive holding penalty, set up the next score.

Koenig just missed hitting Blunt in the right fore corner of the end zone. Blunt dived for the ball but couldn’t hang on. Davis went over on the next play on a pitchout and sweep of right end as the clock ground to a halt. Paisley then kicked his last conversion of his high school year for a 35-8 count.

Massillon had the ball only twice in the last period. Lincoln had it three times, once for two plays at the games end. The Tigers got the ball on the Lincoln 34 after a punt misfired due to a bad snap. But two plays later Vogatis picked up a Massillon fumble on his 26. Lincoln then rolled 82 yards for a score. They got four first downs in the attempts.
* * *
WITH ANDREADIS, Walsh and Sardone taking turns going through the Tigers’ reserve line and Walsh cranking up for key pass plays of 11, eight and nine yards – two to Sardone and one to sophomore Wayne Todd – the Lions rolled to their second and final score in 17 plays. Twice Andreadis got first downs on crucial third down situations and once on last down.

The score came when Walsh hit Todd on a desperation pass from the 13 on fourth-and-11. Todd made a diving catch at 1:08 and just got over. Andreadis went over right tackle for the final two points.
* * *
THE SCORE came on a second-and-13 play from the Tigers’ 46. Koenig hit junior short side end Bob McAllister with a payoff pass down the left side with five seconds remaining in the first period. An attempted pass to junior long side end Mike Jones for the conversion was incomplete.

The Tigers kicked off as the period ended. Lincoln had one series in the second quarter. Massillon then moved from its 47 to Lincoln’s 29 after a 17-yard punt return by Blunt.

The Orange and Black’s attack bogged down. A sure TD pass from Koenig to McAllister misfired. On fourth down Paisley tried a field goal from the 39. It was short and junior safetyman Chuck Lyke ran the ball back from the five to the 26 – a distance of 21
yards – when the Massillon players forgot the ball wasn’t dead and watched Lyke run.

Neither team did anything until senior end Joe Nostram fell on a Massillon fumble on the Orange and Black 23 with 3:45 left in the half. The Lions had their first touchdown in five plays and one first down. Senior quarterback Ray Walsh passed to junior halfback Jim Sardone down the right side – with the play covering from the 23 to the 11 – to set up the score.

Sardone got the score off right tackle from the three on fourth down at 2:07. Walsh passed to Sardone on the right side again for the conversion as Sardone caught the ball in the end zone and then fell back out.
* * *
MASSILLON USED two plays after the kickoff to score again. Curry kicked short to Jones on the Bengals’ 35 to prevent Blunt getting the ball. But on the second play the junior back went over short side guard on the counter trap for a 57-yard score with one minute remaining. Kanney got the conversion on a pitchout and sweep of left side.

The third period was free of scoring until time had run out. Lincoln had chances stopped on the Massillon 28 and 27. Davis broke through for a bone-jarring tackle, knocking the pigskin loose. Senior halfback Ron (Silky) Sullivan picked it up on the 33. However, Andreadis recovered a Massillon fumble on the 32 on the next play.

CANTON LINCOLN – 16
Ends – Coletti, Todd and Van Nostram.
Tackles – Curry and Vagotis.
Guards – Easterman, Mowry, Roard and Selway.
Center – McCauley.
Quarterbacks – Walsh and Sheets.
Halfbacks – Lyke, Sardone, Stefanoich and Hawk.
Fullback – Andreadis.

MASSILLON – 35
Ends – Jones, McAllister, W. Franklin, Hose, R. Alexander, Goodnough, D. Alexander, E. Franklin and Gilmore.
Tackles – Mercer, Profant, Clendening, Miller, Fabianich, Tarle, Lash, Frang, Morgan, Harmon, Bing and Martin.
Guards – Castile, Geckler, McDew, Roderick, Swisher, Rivera, Mathias, Paflas, Whitfield, Larsuel, Randles, Muhlback and Rearick.
Centers – Bradley, Scassa, Bash, Paisley and Rambaud.
Quarterbacks – Koenig, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Kanney, Blunt, Davis, Getz, Eckard, Rink, Pope, Stroh, Freig, Gamble, Schenkenberger and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Sullivan and Hewitt.

Lincoln 0 8 0 8 16
Massillon 20 8 7 0 35

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Blunt (85-yard return of opening kickoff, 25-yard pass from Koenig, 57-yard run), McAllister (54-yard pass from Koenig) and Davis (seven-yard run).
Lincoln – Sardone (three-yard run) and Todd (13-yard pass
from Walsh).

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Kanney 2 (runs), Paisley 1 (kick).
Lincoln – Sardone (pass from Walsh);
Andreadis (run).

Officials:
Referee – Bud Shopbell (Canton).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Horace Rainsberger (Painesville).
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck (Louisville).

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs – rushing 9 7
First downs – passing 4 4
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 11
Yards gained rushing 220 126
Yards lost rushing 4 15
Net yards gained rushing 216 111
Yards gained passing 134 97
Total yards gained 350 208
Passes attempted 7 19
Passes completed 4 12
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 6 3
Kickoff average (yards) 47.6 29.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 90 120
Times punted 1 5
Punt average (yards) 30.0 34.6
Punt returns (yards) 44 36
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 2
Lost fumbled ball 3 1
Penalties 2 3
Yards penalized 30 25

History

1959: Massillon 65, Canton Lincoln 0

September 25, 1959July 9, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Blast Canton Lincoln 65-0
Massillon Bengals Bomb Lions With Six Touchdown Passes

By CHARLIE POWELL

There will be little time to make merry music but Tigertowners will live “high on the hog” as long as they can.

That just about sums up the flippant feelings hereabout with Washington high football faithful, smug as a bug in rug over Friday night’s stream-roller show against Canton Lincoln and already thinking about that big one – the Friday night, October 2 battle with arch-rival Alliance.

The host Tigers, poised and powerful against a vastly out-manned but spunky club, applied the crusher by a 65-0 time – highest Massillon tally since 1954 and Lincoln’s worst licking at the hands of the Tiger in 15 years’ of combat.

Last night’s runaway marked the end of Massillon-Lincoln grid relations, at least for a few years, and it was a rude farewell party the Bengals tossed before 10,808 at Tiger stadium.

They scored two touchdowns in the first period and hit for 32 points in the second frame before taking the pressure off the accelerator.
* * *
THEY PULLED off 31 running plays for 301 yards. These plays were simple power maneuvers up the middle or end sweeps. In one of Massillon’s greatest displays of passing pyrotechnics in years, quarterbacks Joe Sparma and John Larson lofted the pigskin 29 times with eight completions going for a whopping 198 yards. These aerial bombs were of every description as the eligible receivers had the Lions in a tizzy trying to figure out the patterns.

In other words, the Tigers had it nice and easy while giving the Alliance scouts in the stands plenty to think about.

As the orange and black won their 14th decision over the Lions (one game ended in a draw), the defending state champion Aviators also were punching out their second straight triumph of the young season.

Before the game here was all over, fans were talking about next week’s fray. And hastily made signs, including a deluge of red and white ones carrying the message “Alliance, Beat Massillon” made their appearance.

Neither side will overlook any possibility of building up the tension for this big one. You can bet the rival coaches will go over every point of strategy and a packed audience for the big one is almost assured.
* * *
TICKETS have been selling fast and it should be a standing room-only turnout. Alliance this week sold out its original supply of tickets and asked for, and got additional tickets for the track seats.

The Leo Strang coached Tigers apparently were not thinking about anything but the job at hand last night.

They ran up the most points by a local team since the 1954 Bengals clobbered Struthers
68-0 and bettered the 1949 thrashing of Lincoln by five points.

It was the 23rd time (since 1920) that a Massillon team has scored 65 points or more. The biggest Bengal romp came in 1922 when the Tigertowners, coached by Dave Stewart, walked all over Akron North, 94-0.

It was Massillon’s 10th shutout starting with the opening game of 1957 and it was the most points ever allied by one of Strang’s teams.
* * *
FULLBACK Art Hastings 86-yard scamper for the second touchdown of the night and the passing of Sparma put the Tigers well on their way.

Sparma, who did not play as much as second string quarterback Larson, completed five passes, four for touchdown. Larson completed three, a pair of them for six-pointers, and also got off a crowd-pleasing 20-yard touchdown run after being trapped on a pass play in the third quarter.

None of the regular backs ran too often with Finney’s 64 yards in six trips leading the ball carriers. Hastings had 93 yards in three tries, second stringer Nick Daugenti picked up 35 in three tries (once running for 22 yards), Martin Gugov went 38 yards in four trips and a third string halfback, Doug Toles, carted five times for 17 yards.

The crowd saw Wingback Jim Wood hit pay dirt three times. And in doing so, he came up with a performance very few backs will be able to tell their future grandchildren about.

The hustling senior snagged three touchdown passes from the cool-operating Sparma in a space of six and one-half minutes during the second period.

End Bob Barkman caught two touchdown passes and a sub end, Theopolis Bodiford, completed the touchdown parade by going in on a 52-yard pass play with only 13 seconds remaining in the game.
* * *
THE TIGERS dropped four aerials including three “sure touchdown” throws two by Sparma and one by Larson. The former also pegged for two successful conversions.

Lincoln, which gained only 89-yards (74 on five passes) against an improved Tiger defense, saw a third down forward backfire with the game about a minute old. Finney swiped a throw in the flat by Quarterback Phil Billings and the Bengal halfback raced 43 yards down the west sidelines.

He placed the ball at the Lion four and after being held for no gain, Bill hit off right tackle for the first TD at 9:48. Mishandling of a handoff ruined the run on the try for two points.

Lincoln was forced to punt after the ensuing kickoff and Daugenti returned to the 11. After Finney made three, Hastings, in his first ball-toting chore of the night, highballed 86 yards for another touchdown. He veered off the left side, found himself free at the 25 and outran a couple Lincoln players to the end zone. Finney was stopped short on the conversion play.
* * *
NEAR THE END of the stanza defensive Tackle Terry Snyder recovered a fumble at the Massillon 31. A Sparma to Hastings pass gained 12 and Finney, in two tries, made 35 to help put the ball at the Lion 15 on the last play of the period. Then on the first play of the second quarter, Sparma worked himself loose from one would-be tackler, threw to Wood at the goal-line for six and Gugov swept end for two points. But the Tigers were penalized 15 yards for holding. However, Sparma’s pass to Herring in the end zone made it 20 to zero.

At 10:14 Wood put his mitts on another TD throw by Sparma. A bad punt gave the Tigers possession at the Lincoln 36 and on the next play Sparma hurled again with Wood making a sensational diving catch for the host’s fourth touchdown. Toles hit guard for two more points.

Hastings returned a punt 29 yards to the Lincoln 26 a few minutes later and again Sparma put the oval in orbit. It came down in the hands of Wood once again. Jim caught the ball at the 17 and carried two Lincoln players into the end zone with him. Another nice catch by Wood made it 36-0 at 4:37.
* * *
WITH ABOUT a minute left in the half, Gugov returned a punt 15 yards to the Lincoln 30 but the Orangemen were set back 15 yards due to a clip. After a Sparma pass was dropped in the wide-open spaces, Daugenti churned 22 on a sweep before the Sparma-Barkman combination was “dead center” on a 38-yard scoring play. Gugov made two more points on a sweep and Massillon led 44-0 at the half.

The Tigers continued red-hot in the third session. They took the kickoff and marched 63 yards. Finney got off a 22-yarder and Larson passed to Hastings for 13 before Wood raced seven yards for a touchdown, which did not count because of another clipping penalty. However, three plays later Larson from the 20, failed to locate a receiver, shook off one defender and barreled down the right side for six points. A fumble kept Herring from making the try for two more markers.

Linebacker Frank Midure recovered a fumble at the Lincoln 34 a minute or so later and in seven plays the home team had another TD. Wood, Gugov and Toles gained on the ground and from the seven. Larson pitched to Barkman who made a fine over the shoulder catch at the five and went in to make it 56-0. And it was 58-0 as Wood crashed across the final stripe.

Massillon got to the Lion 14 early in the final chapter and a second bid on the quarter just managed to beat the clock.

Guard Lawson White pounced on a fumble at the Lincoln 47 to set the stage. Two aerials went for naught before Larson’s flat pass settled in the arms of Bodiford at the Lincoln 37. It was a simple matter for the junior end to go on to pay dirt. Nobody touched him and after the Tigers were penalized for delaying the game, Jim Hershberger split the uprights for the 65th point.

Lincoln lost John Andreadis, quarterback-end due to an arm injury in the second half and Steve Scott, a sub halfback, had to have a few stitches put in his face and upper lip.

The Tigers, who used several regulars rather sparingly (Tackle Don Appleby who has been limping got in for one play) came out of the game in good shape although another tackle, Virgil Bukuts, couldn’t remember a thing after getting konked on the head in the second half.

Statistics
Mass. Lin.
First downs, rushing 13 3
First downs, passing 7 3
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 20 6
Yards gained rushing 307 70
Yards lost rushing 6 55
Net yards gained rushing 301 15
Yards gained passing 198 74
Total yards gained 499 89
Passes attempted 29 10
Passes completed 8 5
Passes intercepted by 1 2
Times kicked off 10 1
Kickoff average (yards) 41.7 37
Kickoff returns (yards) 47 158
Times punted 1 7
Punt average (yards) 29 18.2
Punt returns (yards) 37 24
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 3 8
Lost fumbled ball 0 3
Penalties 6 1
Yards penalized 60 5

Massillon Jolts Lincoln,
65 to 0
Aerial Attack Nets
Four Touchdowns in 2nd Quarter;
Wood Catches Three

MASSILLON, O. – Massillon’s Tigers and Canton Lincoln closed the book on their long football rivalry here last night – and the Tigers made the last chapter the most disastrous one for Lincoln in the 15-game series.

The talented Tigers tallied touchdowns with monotonous regularity to bury Lincoln, 65-0, for their most lopsided triumph against their Canton opponent.

The victory also preserved Massillon’s clean slate against Lincoln. The Tigers won 14 of the 15 games and the other was a scoreless tie in 1945.

Lincoln couldn’t hold Massillon down this time. The Tigers scored first on Euvll Finney’s
four-yard burst with only two minutes gone.

They scored again moments later when Art Hastings raced 84 yards and then Quarterback Joe Sparma put on a scintillating passing exhibition to put the game completely out of Lincoln’s reach.
Hurls 4 Touchdown Passes In 2nd Quarter
Sparma pitched four touchdown passes in the second quarter. He connected with halfback Jim Wood on tosses of 15, 36 and 26 yards and finished with a 38-yarder to end Bob Barkman.

Second-string quarterback John Larson took over in the last half and accounted for the Tigers’ last three scores. He tallied the first one himself on a 20-yard run. Then he threw 7 yards to Barkman and connected on a 48-yard pass-run play with Theopolis Bodiford to finish the rout.

The last TD came with only 13 seconds left and gave the Tigers their biggest scoring splurge since 1954 when they romped over Struthers, 68-0.

MASSILLON – 65
Ends – Barkman, McKey, Oliver, Zumbrunn, Royer, Bodiford.
Tackles – Bukuts, Haines, Jcypder, Appleby, Paul.
Guards – Houston, Willey, Whitfield, Midure, White, Bednar, Wells, Crenshaw.
Centers – Snodgrass, Demis.
Backs – Sparma, Wood, Finney, Hastings, Larson, Null, Toles, Smith, Hershberger, Kurzen, Herring, Gugov, Daugenti, Dean.

CANTON LINCOLN – 0
Ends – C. Wilson, Pikna, Barr, Sereyches.
Tackles – Garaux, Easkerman, T. Wilson, Leidner.
Guards – Kerr, Thompson, Evans.
Centers – Lewis, Brandstetter.
Backs – Hill, Billings, Sirgo, D. Wilson, Price, Scott, Cronin, Slcakford, Wolkers, Andreadis.

Massillon 12 32 14 7 65

Massillon scoring – Touchdowns: Finney (4, run) Hastings (86, run); Wood (15, 36, 26, passes); Barkman (38, 7, passes); Bodiford 48 (pass); Larson (20, run).

PAT – Herring (pass); Toles (run); Wood (pass) (run); Gugov (run); Hershberger (placement).

History

1958: Massillon 20, Canton Lincoln 0

September 19, 1958July 9, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Grind Out 20-0 Victory Over Lincoln
Bengals Shore Up Defense But Move Slowly On Ground

By CHARLIE POWELL

Absence of a breakaway runner that smacks of a Homer Floyd or an Ivory Benjamin was never more conclusive when Washington high’s Tigers met Canton Lincoln at Tiger stadium Friday night.

Only twice did a ball carrier make over 10 yards on a single effort but grind’em out thrusts, a couple of dandy passes and a defense that made the Lions yell “uncle” were more than enough as the Bengals uncorked a 20-0 triumph before 11,783 fans.

Indeed, Leo Strang’s charges enjoyed a big statistical bulge over the Lions, who have yet to beat a Massillon team in 14 tries. The Tigers controlled the football, running 58 plays to Lincoln’s 36, gained 251 yards to 89 and were stopped without a first down on just one series of plays.

And indeed this Lincoln team, literally playing its heart out, had the Bengals well scouted.
* * *
BUT ON ENDLESS occasions the line blocked, and the leather luggers got through an opening only to wind up with short yardage. The downfield blocking wasn’t the world’s worst, either, however the runners, seemingly were intent on trying to ram the tackler down or were cutting inside when they might have been heading away from the mass of young humanity.

For the second straight week Fullback Dave Dean was the wheel-horse, carting 25 times and gaining 93 yards and hitting in for one touchdown. The veteran Corky Pledgure, still not in the best of shape, had a good night as he ripped off 54 yards in 10 carries and hard-nosed Jim Hershberger ran seven times for 28 yards.

Pledgure winged for 20 yards once, Hershberger got off a 13-yarder and wingback Corny Clark raced for 11 yards once but that was the extend of any long gains.

Coach Strang, visibly upset by the inability of the runners to be loose as a goose in the open field, did not blame all on the boys, however.

“We have to keep remembering that only a few of these boys have had much varsity experience. They are still learning and believe me, they are looking better every week.”

“It takes time and a little patience. We looked a little better tonight. I thought the defense was fine, didn’t you?”

To this, everybody must nod their heads in agreement. The defense was very good.
* * *
THE LINCOLN TEAM, losing its second straight start, made only five first downs and its best gain went for eight yards. The Tigers did a good job containing such dangerous ball toters as swivel-hipped Art DeOrio and hard-running George Saimes.

“We will keep trying to improve the defense, too, but we’ve got to emphasize the running game right now,” Strang said.

Lithe Tom Spencer, who started at tailback; sophomore Art Hastings, who went in at fullback for a few plays in the final period and Clark, who showed nice speed on end sweeps apparently will rate a lot of attention next week.

Clark was helped by “surprise” plays that went to the left side. But the slim senior, who has had most of his duty confined to defense, displayed lots of courage as he barreled across for two extra points after Massillon’s first touchdown.

The first TD, coming with 5:06 remaining in the second quarter, was made by Pledgure. He tallied on a sweep from the one after the Bengals had marched 63 yards in 14 plays.
* * *
A THIRD PERIOD score climaxed a drive of 63 yards in 10 plays and came on the best play of the night. With the ball at the 22, Quarterback Joe Sparma after faking beautifully, whipped a jump pass to big Bob Vogel at the eight. Bob made a nice catch of the hard-thrown ball and there just wasn’t any stopping him.

Following the kickoff, Lincoln failed for a first down at the Tiger 33 and the hosts went all the way, the drive carrying over into the final round. After 14 plays and a total of 66 yards, Dean cracked across from the one.

The first quarter was almost void of consistent gains. On the last play of that session Spencer gained three yards to his own 39 and the second quarter started with the orange and black determined and destined to break the deadlock.

Pledgure and Dean did most of the work and Pledgure circled left end for the score from one yard out. On the conversion attempt, Clark took a pitch-out and sailed around left end, driving in to make it 8-0.
* * *
LINCOLN HAD the ball for only sic plays in the second panel and only nine plays in the third period. Shortly after the second half got under way, Clark returned a punt 20 yards to his own 37 and the Tigers stepped on the gas. Sparma pitched handsomely to Vogel for 14 yards and Clark zipped for 11 on a pitch-out (with Guard Gail Karrenbauer making the key block) to help put the oval at the Lion 22. Then with Bill Zorn flanked right, Sparma hit the glue-fingered Vogel and at 5:42 it was 14-0. Sparma intended to put his foot to the football on the try for the extra points but a bad pass from center nixed the deal.
A 20-yard kickoff return by Dave English helped Lincoln reach Massillon territory but the Lion bid flunked at the Bengal 33. Hershberger and Dean gained 25 yards on the last five plays of the quarter and the Tigers continued to advance the pigskin in the final canto.

It was Dean, Pledgure, Hastings and Sparma stepping to the one before Dean ploughed through the middle for the Tigers’ third and final six-pointer at 5:57. On the conversion attempt, the Lions put on a big rush and spoiled any chance for a placement by Sparma.

The maroon-shirted team made two first downs after the kickoff but was forced to relinquish possession at the orange 33 and two plays with one responsible for eight yards via a Sparma-to-Vogel connection, it was all over – and Alliance next for the Strang gang.

EIGHT TO GO

MASSILLON
Ends – Zorn, Vogel, Oliver, Barkman, Mitchell.
Tackles – Bordner, Donat, Herndon, Haines, Clicker.
Guards – Karrenbauer, Perry, Bednar, J. Kasunick.
Centers – Shilling, Snyder, Cooley.
Quarterbacks – Sparma, Finney, Snivley.
Halfbacks – Wood, Clark, Spencer, Radtke, Herhsberger, Pledgure.
Fullbacks – Dean, McKey, Morrow, Hastings.
CANTON LINCOLN
Ends – Dan English, Okey, Tabellion.
Tackles – Pikna, Caughey.
Guards – Thompson, Paratore, Frazier, Parrish.
Center – Brandstetter.
Quarterbacks – W. Billings, Crewse.
Halfbacks – Dave English, DeOrio, Wilson.
Fullback – Saimes.

Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 0 8 6 6 20
Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Pledgure run-1; Dean run-1; Vogel pass-22.
Extra points – Clark 2, run.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Mack Schaffer.
Umpire – Steve Hering.
Head Linesman – Octavia Sirgo.
Field Judge – Dick Klar.

STATISTICS
M L
First Downs – Rushing 14 5
First Downs – Passing 2 0
First Downs – Penalties 0 0
Total First Downs 16 5
Number of Rushing Plays 58 36
Yards Gained – Running
Plays 228 102
Yards Lost – Running
Plays 21 13
Net Yardage – Running 207 89
Passes Attempted 5 3
Passes Completed 3 0
Passes Had Intercepted 0 0
Yards Returned –
Intercepted Passes 0 0
Yards Gained – Passing 44 0
Net Yardage – Running and
Passing 251 89
Number of Kickoff Returns 1 4
Yardage – Kickoff Returns 26 66
Average Length of Kickoff
Returns 26 16.6
Number of Punt Returns 3 1
Yardage – Punt Returns 33 14
Average Length of Punt
Returns 11 14
Number of Punts 2 4
Average Length of Punts 31 27.7
Number of Fumbles 1 2
Own Fumbles Recovered 1 2
Ball Lost on Fumbles 0 0
Number of Penalties 0 1
Yards lost on Penalties 0 5

History

1957: Massillon 19, Canton Lincoln 0

September 20, 1957July 8, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers’ Long Runs Beat Lincoln 19-0
Bengal Team Shows Improvement As It Chalks Up Win No. 2

By CHARLIE POWELL

Ah, but there was joy in Tigertown.

Reason No. 1 – the good warriors of Washington high turned back the challenge of Canton Lincoln for a prized hard-earned victory. Reason No. 2 – the failure of that “other” team from the burg to the east.

Yep, while Massillon’s explosive ball toters served as a hypo in the 19-0 conquest of the Lions here last night, the mighty McKinley Bulldogs ran into more than they could handle and their 21-game winning streak came to an abrupt end, 31-7, at the hands of a do-nothing-wrong Warren crew.

So there was plenty to laugh and talk about. In fact McKinley’s setback was just as much the center of conversation today as the Tigers’ second win in as many starts and their 12th in a row over a Lincoln team.

The noise from most of the 11,954 fans at the stadium last night was good noise every time Massillon scored or a member of the orange and black turned in a long run. But you should have heard the roar when the house heard the announcement that Warren was paddling the Bulldogs at the half.
* * *
RIGHT HERE and now let’s add a sober note: the Tigers will meet Warren here Oct. 25. Prior to that date they will face stern tests in Alliance, Steubenville, Cleveland Benedictine and Mansfield, in that order.

It will be out of the frying pan into the fire because Alliance comes here next week. Apparently, the Tigers have still a long way to go. Neither the offense or the defense are up to snuff in Coach Lee Tressel’s book. He said as much following last night’s fracas, a hard, cleanly played one on a soggy turf.

But don’t get Tressel wrong. Last night the Tigers played a good ball club. The Lions have plenty of size and speed and it will require them some time, also, to function without some ping in the motor.

If you didn’t before, you will know now that Lincoln was no push-over by looking at the statistics.

The Lions made 11 first downs to Massillon’s 10 and it was close in total net yards gained with the Tigers grinding out 211 to Lincoln’s 186. Lincoln completed three of seven passes for 39 yards while neither of two Tiger aerials clicked.

The offense smoothed out a little bit and Tressel said, “we didn’t make as many mistakes offensively but on defense there were more glaring errors.”

However, he quickly pointed out that Lincoln was a better team than Akron South. The Lions kept shifting their trenchmen and linebackers and 9 and 10-man lines frequently greeted the attackers.
* * *
THE TRESSELMEN sat on their lead after a pair of fancy dashes by Ivory Benjamin and Jim Hershberger’s place kick made it 13-0 at the half. With conditions as they were, they weren’t taking any chances by going to the air lanes.

The defense kept the goal line uncrossed after taking its belt up a notch on three different occasions. Three times the invaders had the Tigers with their backs to the wall with drives reaching the orange 3, 9 and 17-yard lines.

Lincoln controlled the ball most of the first, third and fourth quarters and the entire final period was played in Massillon territory.

But the break-away backs spelled the difference.

With less than two minutes gone in the second panel, Benjamin showed his heels on a
37-yard touchdown scamper. A few minutes later it was his 54-yard punt return that put the locals in business. They didn’t score that time as the bid ended at the Lion 13 but Al Pierce, the scrappy junior end, recovered a fumble and the Tigers had a second touchdown as Benjamin turned the right flank for the final 17 yards.

Sub Halfback Jerry Allen, one of the fastest boys on the squad, came off the bench early in the third period and inserted a 35-yard jaunt that paved the way for a 10-yard TD run by another sub Halfback, Corky Pledgure.

That was it. Massillon stopped a Lincoln bid at the nine just before the end of the period, then spent the rest of the game keeping the Paul Dellebra-coached outfit away from pay dirt.
* * *
ALTHOUGH the Tigers failed to muster more than one sustained drive, the blocking showed improvement over the opening game.

There was quite a few telltale downfield blocks on the long gainers by Gene Stewart, Benjamin, Allen, et al.

Mark Anthony went most of the way at quarterback and there was little difficulty in the timing and ball-handling departments. However, Chuck Beiter’s running was noticeably absent.

The muscular fullback carried only five times for 23 yards as Tressel gave him as much rest as possible. An oxygen mixture alleviated his asthma.

Benjamin, the club’s chief ground gainer, made 92 yards in 14 trips with the mail while Stewart netted 29 in three carries and Allen 36 in three. For Lincoln Saimes carried nine for 42, DeOrio 13 for 34 and Lyke 10 for 39.
* * *
THE CANTONIANS gave a display of their tight T offense after receiving the
game-opening kickoff. From their own 38 they marched all the way to the Tiger two as Vic DeOrio, George Saimes, Dick VanBethuysen, Jerry Pikna, Jerry Lyke and Tom Dinkins hit the inside.

A pass play, VanBenthuysen to end Gary Anderson, was good for 15 yards and all the runs did not gain more than five yards on any one play. Lincoln had four downs to make the last 11 yards but the Bengals repulsed the enemy and with 4:39 remaining in the quarter took over at the two.

Massillon’s blocking was conspicuous by its absence and the first time the Tigers had the pigskin and they were forced to punt. Dinkins punted right back with his boot going into the end zone. And from their own 20, the orangemen started to get serious.

After Beiter made one, Anthony sped for 10 on a keeper around the right side and on the first play of the second frame. Stewart hit off left tackle and picked up 18 yards with Saimes, the last man having a chance to get him, bringing him down on the 49. Anthony kept again, this time for 14 yards to put the ball on the 37 and then came Benjamin’s first touchdown which broke the ice.

Ivory hit over right tackle on a quick opener, went straight ahead for 10 yards, then veered toward the east sidelines. He stepped on the gas and easily outran his pursuers into the end zone. Sophomore Halfback Jim Hershberger came in to boot the extra point and it was 7-0 at 10:34.
* * *
THE VISITORS had to punt after gaining nine and Benjamin had the crowd roaring with his 54-yard return of the kick by Dinkins, Ivory fielded the ball at the 44, faked a reverse to Jim Snively, and with the help of some nifty blocking, sped to the Lion nine.

But four plays later the locals were on the Lincoln 13 as Lyke sifted in to nail Anthony for a six-yard loss and a bad exchange cost the locals a yard to offset three-yarders by Beiter and Benjamin.

After VanBenthuysen gained one, Lyke fumbled on the next play and Pierce’s recovery gave Massillon possession at the Lion 17. Center Dan Swartz recovered a fumble at the line of scrimmage following a mix-up in the backfield and on the next play the scoreboard figures changed to 13-0.

Benjamin skirted right end and went over standing up as Beiter’s block erased the last defender with a possible chance of stopping the shifty halfback. Hershberger’s kick was low and to the left and the score remained 13-0 with 3:35 left in the period.
* * *
LINCOLN RETURNED the kickoff to its 34 and after making one first down, stuck to the ground to run out the clock in the first half.

At the outset of the third quarter the Canton team was unable to check the Tiger attack.

They marched 71 yards after Snively returned the kickoff by Dinkins to the Tiger 29. Beiter, Benjamin and Stewart advanced the oval to the Lion 39 before Allen, on a sweep, came up with one of the better individual efforts of the night.

The junior speedster ran like a fullback, shedding tacklers right and left, after he got past the line of scrimmage.

Three times he appeared to be stopped but he buzzed to the four before being grassed. Following his 35-yard sprint, Anthony was thrown for a six-yard loss on a keeper but from the 10 Pledgure dashed across and once again it was a block by Beiter, which made the score possible. Hershberger’s kick was blocked by Anderson at 5:35 but it made little difference.

There was a lot of action crammed in the remaining time. The Lions received and went on the prowl with Saimes and Lyke hitting off the tackles effectively. From their own 42 the maroons moved to the Tiger nine. With the Bengals getting tougher by the minute, the Lions picked up only three yards after getting a first and 10 at the 12.

The locals had to punt out and Lincoln set up shop again, this time from the Tiger 40, shortly after the fourth stanza got under way. On the first play of the quarter Allen swept right end but was tripped up at the 18 after a nine-yard gain, otherwise he might have been long gone.

This time Lincoln moved to the Bengal 17 before tackle John Donat smacked Dinkins for an 11-yard loss. Consequently, when Lyke hit end Wilbur Billings on a 15-yard pass play the enemy lacked the necessary yardage for a first down.

Five plays later Anthony tried a jump pass. Lyke intercepted at the 24 but then fumbled and Tom Heine, Tiger guard, grabbed the ball out of the air on the nine and made like a fullback to the Tiger 22. A few moments later the Tigers had to punt and four plays later halfback, Cornelius Clark intercepted a pass by Dinkins and returned from the two to the eight. Sub fullback Scott Kanney picked up nine and Benjamin 11 as the tussle came to a close.

Apparently the Tigers came through without any serious injuries. They played without the services of end Bobo Hagan who has a badly sprained ankle.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Pierce, Snavely, Zorn, Mitchell.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, Slicker, Halter, Donat, Karrenbauer.
GUARDS – Heine, Heimann, Cook, Taylor, J. Kasunick.
CENTERS – Swartz, Reese, Williamson.
QUARTERBACKS – Anthony, Getz.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Pledgure, Clark, Allen, Hershberger, Snively.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Kanney, McKey, Dean.

CANTON LINCOLN
ENDS – Billings, Anderson, Dan English, Wetzel
TACKLES – Thewes, Caughey, McCoul, Shyrock, Thompson.
GUARDS – DePasquale, Baird, Paratore.
CENTERS – Knight, Olson.
QUARTERBACKS – Dinkins, Crowse.
HALFBACKS – VanBenthuysen, Saimes, DeOrio, Dave English.
FULLBACKS – Pikna, Wilson.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 13 6 0 19
Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0

Massillon scoring: Touchdowns – Benjamin 3; Pledgure.

Extra Points – Hershberger (placement)

STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs, rushing 10 10
First downs, passing 0 1
First downs, penalties 0 0
First downs, total 10 11
Yards gained, running plays 243 108
Yards lost, running plays 27 18
Net yardage, running plays 211 147
Passes attempted 2 7
Passes completed 0 3
Passes had intercepted 1 1
Yards returned,
intercepted passes 8 0
Yards gained, passing 0 30
Total net yards,
running, passing 211 186
Number of kickoff returns 1 4
Yards, kickoff returns 15 72
Average length of
kickoff returns 15 18.5
Number of punt returns 1 3
Yardage, punt returns 54 15
Average length of
punt returns 54 5.0
Number of punts 3 2
Total yardage on punts 104 44
Average length of punts 34.6 22.0
Number of penalties 4 0
Yards lost on penalties 30 0
Number of fumbles 3 4
Own fumbles recovered 2 2
Ball lost on fumble 1 2

History

1956: Massillon 26, Canton Lincoln 13

September 21, 1956July 8, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Defeat Canton Lincoln 26-13
Lions Give Orange And Black Terrific Game Before Bowing

By CHARLIE POWELL

Over 13,000 fans came to Tiger stadium last night expecting to take in a whale of a football game.

They weren’t let down. Massillon’s Tigers and Canton Lincoln’s Lions saw to that. Nobody, nay nobody, felt the Hammering in his heart east up until the clock showed only a little over two minutes remaining and the Orange and Black out front by 13 solid points, 26-13.

As the rain, which fell intermittently for about 46 minutes, started to pelt down the teams were going through the motions – Massillon awaiting the final second and a celebration marking its second straight victory, the Lions beaten but far from being stung to the quick.
* * *
THE TIGERS topped a big strong and speedy ball club. A club that doesn’t give up ship is always hard to beat and Lincoln was just that.

There were times when it looked like Massillon was about to break the contest wide open. Especially when Mike Hershberger, the foot-loose and fancy free halfback scatted 79 yards on a kickoff return to put the Tigers ahead 20-13 late in the third period. But did Lincoln fold? It did not. In fact the Canton combine came battling back, drummed up two more threatening gestures and was only a fallen foe after its second big gamble of the night failed to pay off.

It was a ball game, which might very well have gone either way. Fumbles and penalties gummed the works for both sides and in the long run the Tigers’ ability to get their
post-haste leather luggers in the open field overcame a Lincoln attack featuring powerized smashes and a surprise pass play.

Down-field blocking certainly was a rose to Massillon but there are still loop holes which must be sewed up pronto. The Tigers have another mean enemy, Alliance, due next Friday night and the belief is that if the Orange and Black takes the Aviators – usually more dangerous on their home field – into camp they may well be on their way to many more happier hours.
* * *
COACH LEE TRESSEL wasn’t beefing about much after the smoke of battle cleared last night. He noted the improvement in the blocking, plugged the running ability of Hershberger, hurrying Ivory Benjamin and fullbacks Chet Brown and Chuck Beiter, and then in the same breath paid tribute to the hard-fighting Lincoln team.

“They surprised us with some of their new offensive plays. Their line was pretty big for our kids to handle. That kid Cosentino (Don) showed more speed than we expected.”

Tressel’s next statement will probably find most Tiger supporters agreeing with him: “I feel we have a good bunch of scrappers. That’s what it takes.”

Massillon HAD to scrap. The Lions, with possibly their best outfit since the 1945 team that held Massillon to a scoreless deadlock, had the most first downs (15 to 12) and the most yardage by passing and running (295 to 217). The breaks were just about even, consequently desire probably made the difference.

Lincoln fumbled six times, Massillon recovering four times while the Lions jumped on all four Tiger bobbles. The penalty marker also was a thorn fly in the ointment for both.
* * *
IN ALL PROBABILITY the most disheartening bits of bad luck for either side was the fumble which snafued a Lion bid after the Tigers wiped out a deficit and took a 7-6 lead in the opening quarter and the penalty which deprived Lincoln of a TD after Hershberger’s run. Lincoln grabbed the bull by the horns and rolled 57 yards before Beiter pounced on Cosentino’s miscue at the three.

Then in the third period it was 13-13 after Hershberger electrified the crowd of 12,375 paid admissions with is 79-yard kickoff return. Clyde Childers kicked off to the invading crew and it was Cosentino’s turn to romp. He did…for 52 yards after fullback John Farrall returned the kick to his own 48. But a holding infraction cost the Lions the score with the penalty being the third one of three similar ones chalked up against the Lincoln array in the same period.

The Tigers had their flabbergasted moments too.

They digested two clipping penalties during the sortie, which led to their second touchdown of the night and in the third chapter a fumble led to Lincoln’s tying touchdown. But the toughest break came when the Tigers had a chance to sew it up earlier. On the third play of the last period Benjamin went lickity-split for 48 yards only to lose the ball when he was downed at the Lion seven.

Three of the four Orange tallies came on get up and go gainers with Hershberger reaching pay dirt after runs of 42 and 79 yards and Benjamin hot-footing it 38 for another. Ivory’s other second TD was made on a 13-yard run. Dave Richardson, the student manager with the blossoming toe, kicked two extra points. In his two other attempts he was hurried, the ball sailed low and right into Lincoln rushers.

The first of the fumbles came on the fourth play of the encounter. Chet Brown fumbled and Lincoln had its first break. From the Tiger 36 it required the Lions six plays to go the rest of the way. Cosentino, Farrall, and Capt. Ronnie Worstell carried to the 11 from where Cosentino hit off tackle for the touchdown and it was still 6-0 after quarterback Chuck Dinkins missed the kick.
* * *
THREE PLAYS after the kickoff Lincoln had possession again. Quarterback Bob Rinehart threw a pass in the right flat but a fine leaping catch by end George Copeland put the Lions on the Massillon 32. However, three plays later Beiter’s catch of a Dinkins pass made the Tigers as active as a mouse in a cheese factory.

Chet Brown got the drive going with an 11-yard sweep from the 22 and he, Benjamin, Beiter and Hershberger advanced the pigskin to the Lion 42. After Brown out-foxed one defender and then bowled over another Massillon was penalized for clipping but Hershberger tallied the tying TD. Finding a hole at left tackle and aided by Benjamin’s block at the 15, Mike dashed 42 yards on a real heady job. Richardson split the uprights and with 1:52 left in the quarter the Tigers were ahead.

Apparently, the score was like a red flag to a bull. The Lions made 13 yards on the last three plays of the period (with a fourth down gamble paying off in a five-yard gainer by Farrall) and at the outset of the second stanza the Cantonians stayed on the ground to move to the three, only to see Cosentino fumble and Beiter recover.

It was the Tigers’ turn to roar. Benjamin swept end and ran 17 before slipping. Two clipping penalties hurt but a roughing call against the Lions and Rinehart’s pretty pass to Hershberger which picked up 12 helped and soon the Bengals were on the Lincoln 38.
* * *
AT THIS POINT Benjamin, with a wave of blockers ahead of him, wriggled around right end, got loose at the 25 and sprinted past the final stripe. End Dick Brenner was shaken up on the play and as Tiger coaches were taking a look at him the teams lined up for Massillon’s extra point try – and the Tigers then were called for delaying the proceedings. Everybody had figured time was out and Coach Tressel had a chat with the ref but the penalty stood. Richardson went back further for the kick and it was low and flew smack into the back of a Lincoln boy. Cosentino returned the kickoff to the 31 and the half was all over.

Following the rest period the fans really got their money’s worth.

After an exchange of fumbles Lincoln got the ball on the Tiger 42. After three plays the Lions were faced with a fourth and four situation at the 35 and here they decided to gamble.

A double-reverse pass came off with Dinkins doing the tossing. End Larry Ellison was all by his lonesome at the 12. He caught the oval and carried to the four. Worstell gained one, then cracked the middle for a touchdown and when Farrall ran across the point-after, matters were all even with 4:10 remaining in the frame.

Copeland kicked off and Hershberger fielded the ball in front of the east stands on the 21. He cut to his left, then went back to the right, got a needed block from Jim Mercer and outran some enemies to the Promised Land. Richardson again converted and it was 20-13 at 4:03.
* * *
COSENTINO got in the act with a 52-yard return but Lincoln was caught holding and Paul Dellerba’s team stayed in hot water after another holding penalty three plays later. The second penalty erased a 22-yard jaunt by the same Cosentino.

With fourth and 20 at the Tiger 44 the Lions gambled again and this time they didn’t hit the jackpot. The reverse pass play was called again on third down but Brenner came through, batting the ball down and on fourth down Dinkins’ shot intended for Ellison was way too short.

On the second play of the final round Hershberger punted to Worstell on the Lion 37 and the Lincoln halfback fumbled. The kid who kicked the ball dived on it at the Lincoln 45 but on Massillon’s first play from scrimmage, the Tigers relinquished possession again. Benjamin inserted a beauty of a run but fumbled when he was tackled and Ellison recovered on the seven.

Four plays later Cosentino made only one when the Lions needed three and it was Massillon’s ball on the Maroon 16. Hershberger got three before Benjamin scored. He cut around the right side and high-tailed it to the end zone as Hershberger and Beiter blocked nicely. At 8:02 Richardson’s kick was low but the Tigers had the clincher.

Lincoln gave it another whirl, moving from its own 42 to the Tiger 29 before the locals again took over on downs. Hershberger’s fumble was recovered by Ellison at the Tiger 19 and the visitors got to the three before time ran out.

MASSILLON – 26
ENDS – Brenner, Elvasky, Childers, Hagan, Geschwind, Wells.
TACKLES – Whitfield, Mercer, Brownlee, Bixler, Halter.
GUARDS – B. Brown, Meldrum, Heine.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACK – Rinehart.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Hershberger, Pledgure, Richardson, Bivings, Washington.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Reese.

LINCOLN – 13
ENDS – Ellison, Wetzel, Copeland, Zettler, Bennett.
TACKLES – Groetz, Thewes, Craddock.
GUARDS – DePasquale, Vogelgesang.
CENTER – Stroia.
QUARTERBACKS – C. Dinkins, T. Dinkins.
HALFBACKS – Cosentino, Worstell, Van Benthuysen, Ferry.
FULLBACK – Farrall.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 7 6 7 6 26
Lincoln 6 0 7 0 13

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Hershberger 2, runs 42, 79; Benjamin 2, runs 38, 13.
Extra points – Richardson, 2 (placements).

Lincoln scoring:
Touchdowns – Cosentino, run 11; Worsetll, run 3.
Extra point – Farrall (run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Mack Schaffer, Ottawa.
Umpire – Leo Less, Youngstown.
Head Linesman – C.W. Rupp, Cuyahoga Falls.
Field Judge – Dick Klar, Dover.

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs rushing 12 12
First downs passing 0 2
First downs by penalties 0 1
Total first downs 12 15
Yards gained rushing 235 246
Yards lost rushing 30 7
Passes attempted 2 6
Passes completed 1 2
Yards gained passing 12 56
Net yards gained 217 295
Times kicked off 5 3
Average kickoff return 41.3 19.2
Yards kickoffs returned by 124 96
Times punted 1 0
Average punt (yards) 25 0
Yards punts returned by 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Total fumbles 4 6
Times lost ball on fumbles 4 4
Penalties 6 4
Yards penalties 65 50

History

1955: Massillon 45, Canton Lincoln 7

September 23, 1955July 8, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Roll Over Canton Lincoln 45-7
Long Touchdown Runs Spark Massillon Drive On Rain-Soaked Field

By LUTHER EMERY

What hopes Canton Lincoln had of ending the Massillon football jinx was buried in the mud of Tiger stadium before 9,171 fans Friday evening as the Washington high Tigers chalked up a 45-7 victory, their second of the season and their 10th in the 11-game series with the Lions who escaped with a scoreless tie in 1945.

Playing in rain from beginning to end, the Tigers proved themselves good mudders as they ran up seven touchdowns, scored three extra points and rolled up the big total of 406 net yards from scrimmage.

Added to the ability to gain ground was good handling of the slippery ball. The first team fumbled but once, losing the ball, and the second team fumbled late in the game, recovering the ball.
* * *
LINCOLN had more trouble with the slippery leather as the ball squirted out of players’ hands seven times, and into Tiger hands on three occasions.

The Massillon gridders showed more speed and more power last night than they did in beating Youngstown North 31-0 in their opening game a week ago.

Yet, despite the lop-sided score, it was quite a ball game the first half with the Tigers trailing for the first time this season when Lincoln caught them flat-footed with a fourth down pass in the second period that went 39 yards for a touchdown.

The Tigers’ who were leading 6-0 at that point, thanks to a nifty 53-yard T.D. run by Johnny James, were looking for Lincoln to punt for it was fourth down and 11 to go and the ball was on the 39. But the Lions did a lot of fancy ball flipping in the backfield with Quarterback Chuck Dinkins finally shooting a long one to End Larry Ellison who was way beyond the unsuspecting Massillon secondary. Halfback Jim Care slipped through for the extra point and pandemonium broke loose in the Canton stands.
* * *
MASSILLON FANS were uneasy too but their fears were short-lived for the T.D. only made the Tigers snarl.

They took the kickoff on their 30 and with Charlie Brown and Don Duke doing the leather lugging, marched the pigskin over the Lincoln goal, Brown getting the honors on an
11-yard counter and Dave Archibald bucking over the extra point that made it 13-7.

And although only two minutes and 15 seconds of the half remained to be played, the Tigers sneaked in another just as the last seconds of the clock were ticked off. Dick Whitfield blocked a Lincoln punt to give the locals the ball on the Lions’ 19. Willie Long moved it up to the 15 and James to the one.

Then as the hands of the clock pointed to 0, Long crossed the goal for the local team’s third T.D. of the game which proved to be a crushing blow to Lincoln. It ended what hopes Coach Paul Dellerba might have had of rallying his squad during intermission. Duke sliced through for the extra point and it was 20-7.

With Fullback Archibald running like a mad man, the Tigers scored four more touchdowns in the second half to put the game in the cooler. Archibald got three of them on runs of 12, 45 and 47 yards, and sub Quarterback Bob Rinehart added the other on a 15-yard jaunt.

His long touchdown runs made Archibald the leading ground gainer of the night, with a net 126 yards on nine carries. Duke gained 105 net yards on nine attempts and Charlie Brown 61 net yards on eight attempts.

James gained 52 net yards but carried only four times.
* * *
THE TIGERS, who got by last week without punting a single time, were forced to kick once last night and Archibald did it on the run as Lincoln tacklers closed in on him. He booted the ball only 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage but that was better than being thrown for a loss or having the kick blocked.

A pre-game argument over the color of the football helped to fire the Tigers.

Lincoln wanted to play with a brown ball, while Harp held out for a striped ball. The rules state that if the coaches cannot agree on the color then a tan ball is used – but the Tigers didn’t have one. So they thought to scrape the stripes off a ball, but not too successfully.

When Lincoln continued to insist on a tan ball, the officials told Harp to get one. “We don’t have one,” the Tiger coach replied.

The officials decided the game could be played with the ball from which the stripes were scraped, then Lincoln informed the officials they had a tan ball.

“All right, we will play with it and we will ram it right down their throats,” Harp told his team.

Maybe the incident stirred up the local players. At least they showed more pep and vigor than they did in the Youngstown game.

And they scored their first touchdown in a minute and 25 seconds.
* * *
LINCOLN kicked off to Massillon which won the toss. It was a short kick to the 42. On the third plays, James on a keep ran 53 yards for the touchdown. He was supported by some pretty blocking as he turned his left end and headed down the sideline. An attempt to kick the extra point failed and the Tigers led 6-0.

The two teams exchanged punts before the end of the period, but Lincoln was on its way to its only touchdown.

Getting the ball on their 20 through a punt, the Lions advanced it back to their 34 as the period ended. Ronald Worstell got a first down in two carries.

Jim Care advanced the leather to the Tiger 40. Three plays gained but a yard and that set the stage for the Lions’ razzle dazzle touchdown pass to Ellison.

Details of the Tigers next two touchdowns that brought the score to 20-7 at the half have already been given.
* * *
THREE FUMBLES in as many minutes with the ball lost each time got both teams off to a poor start in the third period. Lincoln committed the first boner on its 45 and Massillon got the ball. Then the Tigers fumbled on the Lions’ 30 and the latter recovered. But Lincoln didn’t want the ball, for it fumbled the very next play and Jerry Kreiger got it for Massillon again on the 30. Three plays later Archibald was ramming up the middle for 12 and a touchdown that made it 26-7.

Lincoln completed a pass to the Tiger 25, the next time it got the ball, but the receiver fumbled and the locals covered on their own 23. They moved it to the Lions’ 45 where Archibald broke through the middle to score and make it 32-7.

He made it 39-7 with five minutes gone in the fourth quarter on a run of 44 yards that climaxed a 69-yard march.

Coach Harp substituted heavily after that (he used 38 players) and the seconds got a chance to score when they recovered a Lincoln fumble on the Lions’ 21; Rinehart going the last 15.

The Tigers escaped from the game in good shape, and Harp was thankful for that. “Now if Fisher and Kasunick’s ankles just come along, we will be in pretty good shape for next week’s game with Alliance

The Massillon coach felt pretty good about the performance of his team – said he didn’t intend to single out any individuals for praise. “They did a pretty good job as a whole, I thought,” he said.

The line up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Canary, Houston, Geschwind, Anderson, Chengery.
TACKLES – Graber, Maier, Schumacher, Kreiger, Hofacre, Whitfield, Wells, Meldrum, Allen, Mercer.
GUARDS – Roan, Ertle, Tracy, R. Brown, Harrison.
CENTERS – Spicer, Dowd, Gentzler, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – James, Rinehart, Brenner.
HALFBACKS – Duke, Brown, Long, Benjamin, Radtke, Cocklin, Butcher, Washington, Herring.
FULLBACKS – Archibald, Chet Brown.

LINCOLN
ENDS – Ellison, Copeland, Wetzel.
TACKLES – Mulheim, Groetz, Griffin, Craddock, DePasquale.
GUARDS – Ross, Vohelsang, Kelly, Kortis, Ludwig.
CENTERS – Stroia.
QUARTERBACKS – T. Dinkins, Volzer, C. Dinkins.
HALFBACKS – Care, Grinstead, Worstell, Cosentino, Ferry, Richards.
FULLBACK – Farrall.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 6 14 12 13 45
Lincoln 0 7 0 0 7

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Archibald 3, James, Brown, Long, Rinehart.
Lincoln – Ellison.

Points after touchdowns:
Massillon – Duke, Archibald 2 (carried).
Lincoln – Care.

Officials
Referee – Tobin (Akron).
Umpire – Shopbell (Canton).
Head Linesman – Murphy (Cleveland).
Field Judge – Schreiber (Canton).

STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs 18 7
Passes attempted 2 5
Passes completed 1 3
Yards gained passing 27 62
Yards gained rushing 396 129
Total yards gained 423 191
Yards lost 17 23
Net yards gained 406 168
Times punted 1 3
Average punt (yards) 15 24
Yards punts returned by 6 2
Times Kicked off 8 2
Average kick (yards) 36 29
Times fumbled 2 7
Lost ball on fumbles 1 3
Times penalized 4 6
Yards penalized 20 50

History

1954: Massillon 47, Canton Lincoln 0

September 24, 1954July 8, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Beat Lincoln 47-0 for 25th Straight
Floyd Romps To Three Touchdowns; Lions Fail To Reach 50-Yard Line

By LUTHER EMERY

Scoring twice in every period with the exception of the second, the Washington high school Tigers chalked up their 25th victory in a row Friday night when they defeated Canton Lincoln 47-0 before a crowd of 11,347 fans.

Sparked by Homer Floyd, veteran back, who got all three touchdowns, scored in the first half, the local gridders were masters of Lincoln from the start and whipped them just as badly in the statistical column as on the scoreboard.

Though the offense of the varsity seemed to bog down midway in the third period, the Tigers never-the-less finished with a net gain of 357 yards while the Lions wound up with a net of 47. First downs were 16 to 4.

The small amount of yardage gained by the visiting team stands as a testimony to the Tiger defense which had Lincoln bottled up throughout the night. Not once did the Lions get over the midfield stripe and they were forced to punt five times, one of which was blocked. The Tigers didn’t punt the entire game.
* * *
THE MASSILLON offense flashed at times and sputtered on other occasions; the same for the downfield blocking. A lot of crisp blocks helped turn some of the ball carriers loose, but Jerry Yoder made the fifth touchdown by fighting his way alone for 18 yards.

When the first team slowed down Coach Tom Harp tossed in his second team and the eager beavers put over two touchdowns in the fourth period the last one with only three seconds remaining to be played. It was a 31-yard pass by Don Humes that Bob Williams caught in the end zone.

Floyd was the difference between the teams the first half. He went 32 yards the fist time he carried the ball and raced 51 yards for the Tigers’ third score.

Anchored by Dave Muntean, Lincoln put up a stiffer defense than did Struthers last week which was beaten 68-0 by the Tigers. The big Canton end caused the locals a lot of trouble and tossed Rich Crescenze for a 16-yard loss on the Tigers’ initial touchdown drive.

Crescenze crossed him up two plays later, however, when he handed off to Andy Stavroff on a statue that more than overcame the loss and gave the Tigers a first down on the 18. Ronnie Boekel lugged it to the seven and Floyd shot through tackle for the touchdown to end the drive that had its beginning on the Tiger 27. Two-thirds of the period had expired when the Tigers scored.
* * *
JOE HALLOWAY, a ball hawk, covered Dale Grinstead’s fumble on the Lions’ 28 to get the Tigers set for their second touchdown. A six-yard pass, Crescenze to Ken Lorch coupled with three line plays put the ball on the 12, where Floyd took it over with only seven seconds of the period left to play.

The Tigers scored their next TD on three plays after getting the ball on a punt on their own 35. Dick Fromholtz slipped through for three. Crescenze tossed to Lorch for 11 and a first down on the Massillon 49 and Floyd went the remaining 51 yards for the T.D.

That was all the scoring in the first half though a 31-yard pass. Crescenze to Dave Canary put the ball on the seven as intermission arrived.

The Tigers took the kickoff at the start of the third period and scored quickly. Floyd got it in position with a 53-yard run to the Lincoln nine and Dave Archibald took it over from a yard out.

Big Bob Williams started the locals to rolling for their fifth score. Backing up the line, he intercepted a Lincoln pass and took it back 10 yards to the 27. An eight-yard pass, Crescenze to Lorch helped advance the ball to the 18 from which Yoder made his spectacular run for a touchdown. Most of the Lincoln team had a hand on him at one time or another but he was able to shake himself loose and get over the goal line.
* * *
LINCOLN bristled after that and twice stopped the first team once after it had made a first down on the eight, and again after it had a first down on the 13.

So Harp tossed his second team into the game and the boys, eager for action, went right to work. With Don Duke as the spark plug they started from midfield. They ran the ball to a first on the 36, were thrown back temporarily, but a Humes to Williams pass gained 24 yards and coupled with a penalty leveled on Lincoln for roughing it, gained a first down on the one. Duke went over.

The last TD as already mentioned was scored with but three seconds showing on the clock when the play got under way. Time expired as Humes passed 31 yards to Williams in the end zone.

The Tigers emerged from the game in good condition. Ronald Boekel, fullback was injured early in the third period when temporarily knocked out by a blow on the jaw. He could have gone back into the game, but was kept on the sideline by Coach Harp. Fromholtz was removed with a leg cramp.

The Tigers did not pass as much last night as they did in their opening game. Crescenze and Humes only threw 10 times and completed six for 103 yards. One was intercepted. Lincoln tried 13 passes and completed one for seven. Two were intercepted.

The Lions showed little offensively. They only gained a total of 69 yards and were thrown for 22 yards in losses.

Harp used 35 players in t he game, doing most of his substituting the last period.

Monday he will being preparations for next Friday’s invasion of Alliance, one of the toughest teams on the Massillon schedule, which last night beat Youngstown Ursuline 45-0.

The line-up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Canary, Lorch, Williams, Houston, Francisco, Jones, McConnell.
TACKLES – Williams, Hill, Maier, Graber, Kreiger, Schumacher, Blocher, Moore.
GUARDS – Russ Maier, Holloway, Fisher, Tracy, Barrett.
CENTERS – Spicer, Rohrbaugh, Roan, Morrow.
QUARTERBACKS – Crescenze, James, Humes.
HALFBACKS – Floyd, Fromholtz, Stavroff, Yoder, Duke, Stephens.
FULLBACKS – Boekel, Archibald.

LINCOLN
ENDS – Muntean, Lombardi, Gillespie, Ellison, Alvarez, Pelger.
TACKLES – Sedlock, Mulheim, Bowen.
GUARDS – Grainger, Felton, Ross, Schmidt, Vogelsang.
CENTER – Parks.
QUARTERBACKS – Griffen, Dinkens.
HALFBACKS – Zettler, Grinstead, Care.
FULLBACKS – Worstell.

Score by periods:
Massillon 13 7 13 14 47

Touchdowns – Floyd 3; Archibald; Yoder; Duke; Williams.

Points after touchdown – Williams 5 (placekicks).

Officials
Referee – Tobin (Akron).
Umpire – Bloom (Lorain).
Head Linesman – Shopbell (Canton).
Field Judge – Murphy (Cleveland Heights)

STATISTICS
Mass. Lin.
First downs 16 4
Passes attempted 10 13
Passes completed 6 1
Had passes intercepted 1 2
Yards gained passing 103 7
Yards gained rushing 254 62
Total yards gained 357 68
Yards lost 33 22
Net yards gained 324 47
Times punted 0 5
Had punts blocked 0 1
Average punt (yards) — 33
Yards punts returned by 57 —
Times kicked off 7 1
Average kickoff (yards) 42 45
Yards kickoffs returned 17 88
Times Fumbled 3 1
Lost ball on fumbles 0 1
Times penalized 5 3
Yards penalized 35 32

History

1953: Massillon 55, Canton Lincoln 13

September 25, 1953July 8, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers Smash Canton Lincoln 55-13
Massillon Team Comes From Behind After Lions Score First Touchdown

By LUTHER EMERY

An inspired Canton Lincoln football team made a determined first period bid against the Washington high school Tigers before 11,728 fans here Friday evening but succumbed to Massillon’s power and went down to a 55-13 defeat.

The visiting Lions came out strong at the start of the game, grabbed a 6-0 lead with an
86-yard march in 11 plays and momentarily succeeded in stopping the Tigers. But a series of bad breaks were like pouring ice water down their backs and they cooled off as Massillon got the upper hand.

The first period was a dilly, from a standpoint of close scoring, ending with Massillon in front 7-6. Lincoln scored its touchdown the hard way, returning the kickoff 21 yards to the 35 and slam-banging the rest of the way. The Tigers went 57 yards on a minus two for their ball carrying efforts. A 15-yard penalty against Lincoln and interference on an incomplete pass moved the ball from the Massillon 34 to the Lions 13. The interference was called on third down with 12 yards needed for a first down.
* * *
ONCE IN the shadow of the visitors’ goal, the local team struck swiftly, Homer Floyd going over on the first play for the T.D. and Tom Boone kicking the extra point to give the Tigers the lead.

The first was still in Lincoln and after an exchange of punts, the Lions seemed ready to roll again, but with a first down in their grasp, they were penalized 15 yards for illegal use of the hands. They were further cooled off when John Francisco intercepted a forward pass to gain possession of the leather for the Tigers.

After that there was nothing to it.

The Massillon juggernaut began to roll, marched 70 yards to a touchdown in the first minute of the second period, added two more before the end of the half, three more in the third and one in the fourth when the ranks were being filled by the 32 substitutes used by Coach Chuck Mather. Lincoln scored again against these in the last minute of the game.

It was a far better contest than that of a week ago from play on the part of the Tigers and from a standpoint of spectator interest.

There were few times out for injuries or penalties and the officials kept the game moving.

Then too, Lincoln had enough offense to keep the game interesting.
* * *
YOU WOULDN’T believe a team could be beaten as badly as 55-13 and yet show up so well in the statistics. The Lions tallied 20 first downs to Massillon’s 21 and gained 329 yards, sufficient to win most games. The Tigers gained 452 yards and lost 28 for a net of 424. Lincoln finished with a net of 305.

Had it not been for its first period hard luck, Lincoln might have made even more of a fight of it.

However, there should have been no doubt in the mind of any spectator but that the Tigers were by far the stronger team.

They were much smoother than a week ago, though dents were made in their armor at times as the Lincoln backs frequently ripped for yardage and completed 12 of 28 passes.

Coach Mather was in a good mood after the game. “I thought we looked better tonight, didn’t you?” he asked. “We were a lot smoother,” he said, and then hastened off to make a final check of members of the team. He found them in good condition. John Francisco had him worried when he sustained a bruised leg, but it did not appear to bother him to any extent after the game. “I’ll be all right, coach,” said John.
* * *
THE TIGERS were better in several ways – not only smoother in their execution of plays. Tom Boone was kicking off and getting points from placement. He averaged 49 yards on his kickoffs and converted seven of his eight tries for extra point.

Pass receivers were running loose in the Lincoln backfield too, but Rich Crescenze was throwing the ball just a shade too far. Otherwise the Tigers’ percentage of completions would have been higher than four of 14. The 131 yards gained on the four are more impressive.

Long runs and long passes for touchdowns are the reason why the Tigers got so many more points for their first downs than did Lincoln.

The fancy stuff provided additional entertainment for the fans and served notice on future opponents they have to stop half a dozen backs to beat Massillon.

Slickest run of them all produced the orange and black’s third touchdown in the second period. Capt. Fred Schmidt of the visitors got off one of his few good punts that Johnny Francisco took on the 16. Johnny started for the sideline in a wide arc and slipped the ball to Floyd who was coming from the opposite direction. Francisco was on the 10 when he made the handoff and Floyd tore full steam along the east sideline behind fine blocking to race 90 yards and across the north goal with the ball.
* * *
THE FOURTH T.D. came on a pass from Crescenze to Traylor good for 52 yards and almost as many cheers. Another in the third to Boone gained 25 and a touchdown while Francisco went 20 yards and Bill Stone 33 yards for other third period scores. The last one was lugged over by Willie Longshore on an 18-yard jaunt around left end.

The victory was the second of the season for the Tigers and the defeat was the first of the year for Lincoln. Washington high now has 15 triumphs in a row or 35 in its last 36 games. The record will be threatened next Friday night when Lima Central, boasting one of its best teams in years, comes here.

It will be the first engagement between teams of the two schools and interest is so high in Lima that the school is chartering a special train for students and fans and two radio stations are making tape recordings to be played back Saturday to their home-town fans.
* * *
THE TIGERS kicked off to Lincoln to start last night’s ball game and it seemed just what the Lions wanted. They got back to the 35 with the ball and reeled off five first downs as they passed and marched their way to the two. They sent little Vic DeOrio into the slot and he got over for the six points.

Longshore brought Dave Muntean’s kickoff back to the 34. Traylor was thrown for a loss of four but Lincoln was penalized 15 yards. The Lions dropped Francisco for a two-yard loss and Crescenze’s attempted pass was grounded. On third down he fired again and this time interference was called on the incompleted pass and the Tigers were given the ball on the 13. Floyd went over on the first play and Boone’s extra point made it 7-6.

Francisco’s interception of Don Nehlen’s pass on the 42, set the stage for the next score. Francisco and Traylor in five plays took the ball to the six, but it took four more to get it over from that point, Francisco diving across for the score. This was the only extra point attempt missed by Boone.

Next came Floyd’s long punt return after taking a handoff from Francisco.

Two passes produced the fourth Tiger score. Crescenze tossed 20 yards to Jim Letcavits and then the 52-yarder to Traylor.

A poor Lincoln kick that went out of bounds on the Lion’s own 25 paved the way for the fifth score early in the third period. On the first play after the punt, Crescenze threw 25 yards to Boone to score.

A rhubarb that followed the point after touchdown ended with the ejection of Floyd from the game and a 15-yard penalty on the Tigers on the following kickoff.

The officials held Floyd had punched a Canton tackle. Floyd’s version was that the Canton tackle had him pinned on the ground, was roughing it up and wouldn’t get off of him. Floyd said he had to force him off. The violation occurred after the extra point had been made.
* * *
AL SHILLING recovered a Lion fumble in midfield to get the Tigers off to their sixth T.D. Stone in two plays went to the 20 and Francisco the rest of the distance.

Stone scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 33-yard run to cap a 75-yard march in which Traylor and Francisco both got off long runs.

The Tigers’ final points were scored midway in the fourth quarter. Starting from their own 32, Stone hit for four, Francisco for 32. Traylor for 14 and Longshore went the last 18.

Lincoln took the following kickoff on its own 23 and marched 77 yards to score. DeOrio going over for the points.

The line-ups and summaries:
MASSILLON – 55
ENDS – Letcavits, Lentz, Lopez, Barrett, B. Francisco, Canary, Lorch, McConnell.
TACKLES – Schram, Dean, Woolley, Blocher, Hill, Moore, Feather.
GUARDS – Agnes, Eaglowski, K. Fisher, Shilling, Holloway, R. Maier, Gardner, Speck.
CENTERS – T. Fisher, Grant, Rohrbaugh, Spicer.
QUARTERBACKS – Crescenze, Porter.
HALFBACKS – Traylor, J. Francisco, Fromholtz, Duke, Longshore, Yoder, Wallace, Byrd.
FULLBACKS – Floyd, Stone, R. Johnson, Archibald, Boekel.

LINCOLN – 13
ENDS – Langman, Muntean, Hoobler, Harpst. Gillspie.
TACKLES – Sedlock, Capper, Brooks.
GUARDS – Kelly, Felton, Grainger.
CENTERS – Bryant, Parks.
QUARTERBACK – Nehlen.
HALFBACKS – DeOrio, Schmidt, Meiser, Volzer.
FULLBACKS – Ujcich, Zettler.

Score by periods:
MASSILLON 7 20 14 14 55
LINCOLN 6 0 0 7 13

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Floyd 2; Francisco 2; Traylor; Boone; Stone; Longshore.
Lincoln – DeOrio 2.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Boone 7 (placekick).
Lincoln – Schmidt (placekick).

Officials
Referee – Pianowski (Cleveland).
Umpire – Jones (East Cleveland).
Head Linesman – Machock (Elyria).
Field Judge – Ballenger (Kent).

STATISTICS
Mass. Lincoln
First downs 21 20
Passes attempted 14 28
Passes completed 4 12
Had passes intercepted 1 2
Yards gained passing 131 94
Yards gained rushing 321 235
Total yards gained 452 329
Yards lost 28 24
Net yards gained 424 305
Times kicked off 10 2
Average kickoff (yards) 49 44
Yards kickoffs returned by 32 152
Times punted 1 6
Average punt (yards) 30 27
Yards punts returned by 103 6
Tiimes fumbled 0 4
Lost ball on fumble 0 2
Times penalized 3 4
Yards penalized 35 50

History

1950: Massillon 46, Canton Lincoln 0

September 23, 1950July 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

15,000 See Tigers Defeat Canton Lincoln 46-0
Sharp Blocking Paves Way For Local Eleven’s Second Win Of Season

By LUTHER EMERY

The supremacy the Washington high Tigers have held over Canton Lincoln in football was maintained Friday evening in Fawcett stadium as the Massillon Bengals clawed their way to a 46-0 victory before 15,000 fans in what was probably the last game to be played between the two teams.

The Tigers have signed Cincinnati Elder in the Lincoln spot for the next two seasons and the Lions have intimated they are satisfied to drop gridiron relations for the time being after eight years of happy competition. The best the Lions could do in the eight years was hold the Tigers to a scoreless tie in 1945. The Massillon team won all of the other seven games.

The Tigers scored in every period last night to win their second game of the season in defense of the state championship they have held the past two seasons.

Touchdowns came somewhat harder, than they did against Akron Central beaten 49-0 in the opening game a week ago, but nevertheless Coach Chuck Mather found it possible to give 41 players an opportunity to get into the melee and three of the substitutes, Bob Grier, Bob Kkoenle and Chuck Vliet were able to score touchdowns against their Canton opponents.
* * *
THE MASSILLON gridders scored three times in the first quarter, once in each of the second and third periods and twice in the fourth. Lincoln never got near the Tiger goal.

The Cantonians put up a scrap, however as shown by the fact they forced the Tigers to punt four times, and both teams took quite a physical beating.

Players were limping out on nearly every play in the fourth quarter, with Lincoln suffering the most damage although the Tigers had a medical list that caused some worry to Coach Mather.

Bill Stoner, aggravated an old foot injury and Fred Waikem had a shoulder bumped. Big Jim Schumacher saw stars and retired to the bench with a headache from coming in contact with a Lion foot. None of the injuries sustained by either team, however, was considered serious.
* * *
THE TIGER offense was smoother last night than it was against Central and the ball was handled with stickier fingers. Quick opening plays and deep reverses proved to be the locals best weapons although two forward passes and one lateral were good for three touchdowns.

Principal ground gainers in the ball carrying department were Bob Howe, Ernie Russell, Ray Lane, Bob Grier and Lee Nussbaum. Waikem’s shoulder injury put him out of the game early so that he had little opportunity to show the Canton folks how he could run.

The Tiger ball carriers were accorded sharp blocking, lending additional backing to the statement of Coach Mather that this is one of the hittingest teams he has ever had.

The Tiger quarterbacks, Fred Close and Bob Khoenle likewise were given excellent protection on forward pass plays and had all the time in the world to pick out their receivers. They completed five of 16 attempts. The same could not be said however, for the protection accorded Capt. Jim Reichenbach on punting plays. He nearly had the ball blocked a couple of times.
* * *
THERE WERE vicious tackles too, but the one that brought the biggest ovation came at the end of the game when Clarence “Chug-Chug” Stewart tossed Vic Schoeppner, Lion ball carrying ace on the 10-yard line after a kickoff. The tackle may earn “Chug-Chug” a place on the eleven when the Tigers kickoff in the future. Built close to the ground, he can’t hit’em anywhere but low and that’s what it takes to stop a player when he has a chance to get up steam on a kickoff.

The Tigers had all the best of the statistics, making 15 first downs to Lincoln’s three and gaining the net total of 421 yards to Lincoln’s 57.

Despite the one-sided score, the Massillon eleven can still stand considerable brushing up and Coach Mather will proceed along these lines as he prepares for next week’s game here with Cathedral Latin which on a basis of performance thus far could prove to be a surprise package.

Lincoln proved its own worst enemy on many occasions last night when players failed to receive passes or muffed chances to intercept passes which all but knocked some of the players down. The Lions were jittery and in addition to the pass muffs they also gave the Tigers the ball three times on fumbles. With more glue on their fingers they could have made a much better game of it.
* * *
THE GAME was five minutes and five seconds old when the Tigers scored their first touchdown in a drive of 59 yards. With Bob Howe leading the attack the locals got to the Lincoln 42 where Howe tore loose and ran to the three-yard line before slipping out of bounds. Grier was stopped inches short but Close put it over on a quarterback sneak and Krisher kicked the extra point.

An intercepted pass by Russell who got back to the Lincoln 20, set the stage for the second score. Grier hit for six yards and Lane went the remaining 14. Krisher missed the extra point.
A 58-yard march produced the third score with only seconds left in the quarter. A deep reverse with Grier carrying, gained a first down on the 16 from which Close hit Cliff Streeter with a perfect pass for the touchdown.

A 42-yard march late in the second period ended with the only touchdown of that quarter, another pass, Fred Close to Streeter for 25 yards, gaining the six points. Krisher added the seventh from placement and the half closed with the Tigers leading 26-0.
* * *
LINCOLN, which kicked-off at the start of the game also booted the ball at the start of the second half and the Tigers never gave it up until they got over the Lion goal. They started from their own 29, used three first downs getting down to the Lion 21, where Grier circled his right end for the touchdown. Krisher booted the 33rd point of the game.

The Tigers got another drive going in the same period but after marching 50 yards with the ball, forfeited on downs on the Lincoln 10.

The Lions fumbled on the first play of the fourth period and substitutes Tom Straughn and Joe Sapia got on the ball for Massillon, on the Lincoln 26-yard line. Another sophomore, Lee Nussbaum ran the leather to the 10 where Khoenle tossed a lateral to Chuck Vliet for the touchdown. Krisher again kicked the extra point to make the score 40-0.
* * *
DICK WOOLBERT covered a Lincoln fumble on the Lion 44 to start the seventh and final drive. With Nussbaum leading the drive the Tigers moved to the two where Khoenle bucked it over. Krisher missed the kick for the extra point and the score remained 46-0.

The game produced one freak play we have never seen before. After the Tigers’ fourth touchdown, Krisher, in kicking off for Massillon barely touched the ball in that it merely trickled from the tee and hardly moved a yard. A Tiger player immediately pounced on the leather, but having failed to move 10 yards, it was not a free ball and went to the opponents at the point where it was touched and made dead by the Tiger player.

Lincoln was eligible to cover the ball or pick it up and run like any ball kicked off. Had neither team touched the ball, the officials said they would have called for another kickoff. Prior to that Krisher had been getting off some terrific kicks.

The line-ups and summaries:
MASSILLON
ENDS – W. Brenner, Streeter, Tasseff, Zellers, Bob Grier, Woolbert, B. Brenner, Murray, Martin, Corbett.
TACKLES – Gibson, Schumacher, Grunder, Geiser, Younker, Mitchell, Strobel.
GUARDS – Tunning, Reichenbach, Moyer, J. Howe, Sapia, Laps.
CENTERS – Krisher, Dowd, Shilling, Corral.
QUARTERBACKS – Close, Khoenle.
HALFBACKS – Waikem, Lane, Russell, Grier, Stoner, Straughn, Mlincek, Crone, Francisco.
FULLBACKS – Howe, Nussbaum, Stewart, Vliet.

LINCOLN
ENDS – Bush, Jarvis, Lombardi, George, Rich.
TACKLES – Groetz, Bleahu, Taylor.
GUARDS – Vega, Dent, Christian, Wilson.
CENTERS – Chismar, Bush.
QUARTERBACKS – Williamson, Hartzell.
HALFBACKS – Toy, Dogoli, Davis, Mottice, Keck.
FULLBACKS – V. Schoeppner, Crawford.

Score by periods:
Massillon 19 7 7 13 46

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Close; Lane 2; Streeter; Grier; Vliet; Khoenle.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Krisher 4 (placekicks)

Referee – Lindsay.
Umpire – Gross.
Head Linesman – Jenkins.
Field Judge – Russ.

Statistics
Mass. Lincoln
First downs 15 3
Passes attempted 16 13
Passes completed 5 2
Had passes intercepted 0 2
Yardsgained passing 68 9
Yards gained rushing 362 79
Total yards gained 430 88
Yards lost 9 31
Net yards gained 421 57
Times punted 4 5
Average punt (yards) 29.7 29.2
Yards punts returned by 12 18
Times kicked off 7 2
Average kickoff (yards) 41.8 30
Yards kickoffs returned by 10 85
Times fumbled 1 3
Lost ball on fumble 0 3
Times penalized 6 1
Yards penalized 50 5

Tag: <span>Canton Lincoln</span>