Tag: <span>Claude Brown</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2006: Massillon 27, Akron Buchtel 12

Tigers shake off Buchtel

Massillon overcomes four turnovers to end two‑game losing skid

By CHRIS EASTERLING
Chris.Easterling@lndeOnline.com

It was anything but an Instant Classic, but when you’re trying to fight your way into the playoffs, anything will work.

Certainly, the Massillon Tigers aren’t about to give back the 27‑12 victory they secured over the Buchtel Griffins on Friday night in front of 7,728 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

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“I’ll tell you what, when you’re playing our schedule, you’ll take them anyway you can get them,” Tiger coach Tom Stacy said. “I thought our kids really played hard. Obviously, the turnovers kept it from being a lopsided game, and our inability to score in the red zone again. We have to continue to work on that. But I thought our kids played hard.”

The win snaps a two‑game-losing streak for Massillon, which is now 4‑3 heading into next Satur day’s road test at Warren Harding. It is also the Tigers’ first win against an Ohio team this season.

But it didn’t come easy, as Massillon turned the ball over four times ‑ three on fumbles. The Tigers also were just 2‑of‑5 in red‑zone scoring chances.

“It feels good, but we’re looking to next week now,” said Tiger senior Brian Gamble, who rushed for a game high 135 yards while also catching a touchdown pass and intercepting a pass. “It’s over with.”

The first half set the tone for the whole game, as both teams struggled with .turnovers ‑ the Tigers had ,.three while Buchtel turned it over once ‑ and missed chances.

Still, the Tigers were able to muster the biggest offensive play of the half when Bobby Huth hit Giorgio Jackson for 62‑yard touchdown with 3:42 left in the first quarter to put Massillon ahead 10‑6 after Steve Schott’s extra point. Jackson caught the pass at about the Buchtel 40, side‑stepped a defender or two, then outran the rest into the end zone for the score only offensive touchdown of the half.

Jackson had 135 yards on eight catches. Many of those were simple out patterns in which he was able to turn it up field and get yards after the catch.

“I love getting the ball to Giorgio,” said Huth, who threw for a season‑high 261 yards. “I can throw that five‑yard out, and he can turn it up for 20 yards. He’ll break a couple of tackles.”

The only other touchdown before the intermission gave Buchtel a 6‑0 lead just 2:17 into the game. On the first play of the Tigers’ second possession, the ball squirted free and was picked up by the Griffins’ Johnny Adams, who simply outran everybody to the end zone for the score. The extra point was missed, keeping it at 6‑0 Buchtel.

The Tigers would hold onto the football on their next drive, which consumed 4:07 off the clock and moved them from their own 33 to inside the Griffin 1. However, while Massillon was lining up to try to punch it in on fourth down, it was flagged for a false start, moving it back past the Buchtel 5. Schott was called to boot the 23‑yard field goal, which he did to cut it to 6‑3 Buchtel with 5:23 left in the first quarter.

With the Tigers up 10‑6, Massillon’s Mike Sampson would force a Buchtel fumble with less than eight minutes remaining in the half, and his teammate Steve Yoder would fall on it at the Griffin 38. The Tigers would pickup 13 yards on the drive to the Griffin 25, but stalled again. Schott padded the Massillon lead by hitting a 42‑yard field goal for a 13‑6 edge with 6:02 left until the band show.

The Tigers would get two more possessions in the half, both of them reaching Griffin territory. But both would result in turnovers, once on a fumble at the Buchtel 40 and the other an interception at the Griffin 5.

“I think it’s a matter of some of them, we were forcing the play,” Stacy said. “Instead of throwing it away and going to the next down, we’re trying to force the ball in there and trying to make something out of nothing. You can’t do that, especially in the red zone. You can’t take points off the board.”

Buchtel would reach Massillon’s 30 on its next‑to‑last possession of the half ‑ the only time in the first half it ran more than one offensive play in Tiger territory ‑ but turned the ball over on downs.

“I think our defense just played hard,” said Tiger linebacker Cody Colly. “I think that’s what it was. We just knew we had to get the job done because there was a lot on the line. We just played our hearts out and that’s what got it done.”

Things would change on Massillon’s first drive of ‑the second half , which started at the Buchtel 40 following a punt. On the fourth play, Huth hit a wide‑open Gamble down the right sidelines, and Gamble ran into the end zone for the touchdown. Schott’s PAT made it 20‑6 Tigers with 9:29 left in the third quarter.

Gamble would give the Tigers good field possession for their second drive when he came up with an interception at the Griffin 49. Four plays later, Huth hit tight end Josh Cross just inside the front right pylon for a 15‑yard touchdown and 27‑6 Tiger lead after the PAT with 7:28 left in the third.

Adams tacked on an offensive touchdown when he caught a 15‑yard scoring pass from Glen Campbell on a fourth‑and‑5 play. The score cut it to 27‑12 with 2:55 left in the third after the PAT kick failed.

Buchtel would get the ball right back at the Tiger 48 after a fumble following a reception. But the Griffins fumbled it right back five plays later at the Tiger 36, a drive which would end in a missed field goal.

“We fought hard,” said Buchtel coach Claude Brown, whose team falls to 3‑4. “We made a couple of mistakes there. We’ve got to catch the ball, we have to hold our blocks and we have to make plays.”

Massillon 27

Buchtel 12

Buchtel 6 0 6 0 12

Massillon 10 3 14 0 27

SCORING SUMMARY

B ‑ Johnny Adams 28 fumble return (Kick failed)

M ‑ Steve Schott 23 FG

M ‑ Giorgio Jackson 62 pass from Bobby Huth (Schott kick)

M ‑ Schott 42 FG

M ‑ Brian Gamble 30 pass from Huth (Schott kick)

M ‑ Josh Cross 15 pass from Huth (Schott kick)

B ‑ Adams 15 pass from Glen Campbell (Kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing: Gamble 27‑135; Tommy Leonard 5‑31; Andrew Dailey 1‑0.

Buchtel rushing: Kameron Alexander 12‑58; Ernest Pitts 15‑43; Norman Wolfe 1‑10; Adams 2‑6.

Massillon passing: Huth 16‑25‑261 3 TDs, INT.

Buchtel passing: Campbell 6‑21‑46 TD, INT.; Pitts 1‑1‑25.

Massillon receiving: Jackson 8‑135 TD; Cross 2‑43 TD; Gamble 2‑37 TD; Bryan Sheegog 2‑23.

Buchtel receiving: Adams 2‑25; Ronald Peake 2‑12; Pitts 2‑9; Ken Henderson 1‑25.

GAME STATS

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2004: Massillon 20, Akron Buchtel 33

By JOE SHAHEEN
Joe.Shaheen@IndeOnline.com

The Massillon Tigers could only muster a field goal from a couple of early turnovers, then was unable to deal with Akron Buchtel’s athleticism and trailed the Griffins 25-10 at halftime when lightening forced postponement of Friday’s opening game of the 2004 high school football season.The game will be resumed at 10 a.m. today at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Gates will open at 9 a.m.

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The Tigers actually drew first blood, moving 67 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead. The payoff came when senior running back Jermaine Moncrief hit into the middle of the line then bounced outside and swept around his left end for a 13-yard touchdown run. Steve Schott added the point after at 6:41 of the first quarter.Buchtel came back on its ensuing possession and moved 65 yards in just five plays, the final 45 yards on Bryan Williams’ burst over left tackle to the end zone.

Rayshon Dent added the extra point to knot the score at 7-7 at 4:06 of the first quarter.Williams run would have never taken place if not for Buchtel’s fake punt on fourth-and-four that gave the Griffins a first down.Massillon got a huge break when Buchtel failed to execute a punt snap on its next possession and the Tigers recovered at the Griffin 9-yard line.

But two running plays and an incomplete pass forced Massillon to call on Schott who was true with a 28-yard field goal to give the hosts a 10-7 lead at 11:52 of the second quarter.Buchtel received the ensuing kickoff and got superb field position when a Tiger was flagged for grabbing the facemask, giving the Griffins the football at the Massillon 42.On first down, Williams – whom Buchtel coach Claude Brown said would not play on offense due to a shoulder injury – found a gaping hole around the left side of his offensive line and went the distance for a touchdown.

The point after was botched but the Griffins owned a 13-10 lead at 11:34 until halftime.Massillon was forced to punt but Buchtel fumbled on its third play from scrimmage and Tiger linebacker Robert Morris fell on the pigskin at the Griffin 40.Tiger running back Paris McCall picked up nine yards and a first down to move the ball to the 28.Two plays later, on third-and-8, Quentin Paulik hit Zack Vanryzin for what appeared to be a 26-yard touchdown pass. However, the Massillon tally was nullified by an illegal procedure penalty against the Tigers and a subsequent 48-yard field goal attempt was wide left.After the game’s initial lightning delay held the contest up for about 45 minutes, Buchtel came out with a little lightning of its own.

Senior quarterback Dorrell Knight connected with Teon Stallworth on a 62-yard bomb over the outstretched hand of the Tiger safety. The conversion pass failed and Buchtel led 19-10 at 6:36 of the second quarter.It went from bad to worse for Massillon as the Tigers fumbled a handoff on first down on its very next possession. Buchtel’s Kristopher King picked up the loose ball and went 36 yards for a touchdown. Once again the Griffins’ conversion pass fell incomplete but the visitors had built a a 25-10 lead.The Tigers had two more possessions before the game’s second and final lightning delay but could not generate a first down.

GAME STATS

Kurt Jarvis