Tag: <span>Cleveland Benedictine</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1960: Massillon 36, Cleveland Benedictine 6

Tiger Defeat Stubborn Benedictine, 36-6
Massillon Gridders Roll Up 22-0 Advantage In First Half

By JIM QUILTY

Worry sometimes works wonders.

Washington high school football coach Leo Strang was one worried man entering the Cleveland Benedictine clash Friday evening. And apparently it paid dividends as his Tiger gridders responded with a thorough 36-6 triumph over the invaders before 12,486 fans at Tiger stadium.

After observing the scouting reports from the Bennies’ 14-0 preview over Cleveland East, Strang had reason to worry. But it was all in vain as the powerful Tigers, paced by Art Hastings’ three scoring runs, vaulted into a 22-0 half time lead and were never threatened.

“I’m glad that’s over with,” Strang said afterwards.

While Strang ended his worrying in the Tiger dressing room, Benedictine Coach Augie Bossu prepared to start his season over again next week against Mansfield in the solemn Benedictine quarters.

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“That’s the difference between a good team and a great team,” Bossu said when reminded of the several breaks which the Tiger capitalized upon.

They’ll hit you early, then jump on every opportunity which presents itself. They have exceptionally good backs and that makes a great deal of difference.” Bossu added.

Looking ahead Strang sees only Columbus Central. But despite himself he can’t help but grab a quick glance here and there at the powerful Alliance Aviators, apparently the locals’ most serious threat in a bid to repeat as state champions, who provide the opposition
Sept. 30.

“We don’t know exactly what we’re up against next week.” Leo said. “They have some real fast backs but other than that, nothing is too clear.”

* * *
IT TOOK Washington high little more than four minutes to find out what they were up against Friday night, and for the first 24 minutes it was little.

The Tigers controlled the ball completely throughout the first half picking up 196 yards on 34 plays while limiting the Bennies to 31 on 13 carries.
Hastings displayed the form which won him third team All-Ohio honors a year ago, slipped into the west corner of the end zone from inches inside the 10-yard line at the 8:16 mark of the first period for the first touchdown. A first scoring effort by Hastings from five yards out was nullified by an illegal motion penalty the previous play.

Hastings set the scoring run up moments before when he skirted the Tigers’ short side end for 35 yards to Benedictine’s seven.

The PAT attempt failed when Bengal center Tomy Palmieri pulled Hastings down in the Tiger backfield.

* * *
IT TOOK the locals 17 plays and over six minutes to score their second touchdown midway through the second period. John Larson, who failed to complete a pass in the opening game, hit Robert Herring on a cut-in pattern from Benedictine’s 18. Herring scooped the ball in one the 10 and sprinted into the end zone. Joe Heflin went in for the two extra points.

The drive nearly fizzled on the 18 when Palmieri stopped Heflin with a three-yard loss on one play and without a gain on the second. The touchdown came on the first pass of the game on a third and 13 situation.

Larson added the third touchdown personally when he capped a 43-yard march from a year out with a quarterback drive. Ken Dean pranced in for the extra points and a 22-0 lead with little over two minutes remaining in the first half.

A 32-yard flare pass featuring the Larson-Herring combination set up the touchdown.

Larson found Herring open again for a 16-yard gainer seconds before the first half ended.

* * *
LIMITED to a single first down in the first two quarters, the Bennies came to life after the intermission picking up one first down. They moved to the Tigers’ 37 before Joe Miano fumbled and Bob Baker of the Tigers recovered.

Failing to move, the Tigers Jim Alexander punted only to have the ball partially blocked by Dick Kestner. The boot covered 14 yards to the Bennies’ 48.

With elusive Paul Rini and Miano dividing the ground gaining chores, the invaders paraded to Washington high’s 12 before an alert George Demis grabbed Quarterback Dennis Andrews’ fumble.

It took the Tigers just four plays to move the 89 yards with Hastings lugging the ball the final 69 on a skirt around the short side end.

Art shook loose from one defender behind the line, then picked up great blocking from Richard Crenshaw, Ken Ivan and a host of others to go the distance untouched. Ivan cut down the final pursuer.

Larson added the two-point play on a sweep of his long side end for a 30-0 Tiger lead.

* * *
ON THE THIRD play of the final period, the invaders’ Rini scooted through, under and around the Tigers from 24 yards for the lone Benedictine touchdown. A 25-yard aerial from Andrews to Sam Collura set the jaunt up on the previous play.

Not to be outdone, Hastings sprinted for 49 yards and his third six-pointer of the evening after Dave Null returned a short kickoff to the Tigers’ 46 and a five-yard delay of game penalty by Benedictine moved the ball to the visitors’ 49.

Hastings pulled Vince Naso the final four yards into the end zone. The PAT attempt failed as the Tigers took a 36-6 lead with less than two minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter.

Three intercepted passes by Naso, who missed a fourth earlier in the game by inches, curtailed any further Tiger advance. Null, Baker and Alexander were each a victim once.

Baker atoned for his with an interception of his own, his third in two games. Another interception by Joe Snively was ruled out of bounds.

Lineman Lawson White did a yeoman’s job on defense. Rated the most efficient lineman last week, the middle guard twice dropped Benedictine backs for losses early in the first period and was the fifth man in their backfield most of the night.

All 42 of the Tigers who dressed for the game saw at least limited action.

* * *
HASTINGS, who averaged better than 10 yards per carry last year, picked up 177 yards on eight carries last night. Herring added 39 in five, Larson 34 in 10, Dean 32 in 11, Jack Lash 10 in two, Fred Philpott seven in two Null four in two and Heflin seven in five.

The Tigers’ aerial arm picked up 7 yards with four for 11. Three completions were by Larson, the other by Null. Herring was on the receiving end of all four.

Preparations for Columbus Central begin Sunday when the coaching staff goes over scouting reports. Central edged Newark, 8-6 last night for its second win in succession.

The Aviators, 2-0 on the year, walloped Akron Central, 40-6, last night. They play at Cuyahoga Falls next Friday night.

The Columbus game is slated for Tiger stadium while Alliance will meet Washington high at home on Mount Union College field.

Victory No. 2

CLEVELAND BENEDICTINE
ENDS – Farro, Watson, Hummel, Marcoguiseppe.
TACKLES – Phile, Jason, Piazza.
GUARDS – Kestner, Wojas, Zummo.
CENTER – Palmieri.
BACKS – Andrews, Rini, Miano, Schepis, Collura, Naso, Hardon,
Anderson, Borusskowski.

WASHINGTON HIGH
ENDS – Bodiford, Royer, Ivan, Ehmer, Fuchs, Anzalone, Clendenin,
Willey.
TACKLES – White, Crenshaw, Brugh, Spees, Garman, Herndon,
Brennerhan, Herbst.
GUARDS – Radle, Houston, Wells, Migge, Poole, Whitfield.
CENTERS – Demis, Strobel, Bradley, Garland.
BACKS – Larson, Dean, Hastings, Herring, Philpott, D. Smith,
J. Smith, Baker, Null, Alexander, Snively, Schenkenberger,
Kursen, Heflin, Brown, Lash.

Benedictine 0 0 0 6 6
Washington High 6 16 8 6 36

SCORING
Benedictine – Rini (22-yard run).
Washington high – Hastings (9-yard run, 69-yard run, 49-yard run);
Larson (1-yard plunge); Herring (18-yard pass from Larson).

STATISTICS
Massillon Ben.
First downs – rushing 12 7
First downs – passing 4 1
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 16 9
Yards gained rushing 333 185
Yards lost rushing 23 18
Net yards gained rushing 310 167
Net yards gained passing 77 23
Total yards gained 387 190
Passes attempted 11 5
Passes completed 4 1
Passes intercepted by 1 3
Times kicked off 6 2
Kickoff average (yards) 39.0 28.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 50 90
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 14.0 29.0
Punt return (yards) 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 3
Lost fumbled ball 0 3
Penalties 5 1
Yards penalized 55 5

Art Hastings
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1959: Massillon 30, Cleveland Benedictine 6

Long Gainers Push Tigers Past Benedictine

30-6 WIN IS NO. 5

Sparma-Herring Pass, Big Gallops By Wood, Hastings Repel Benies

By CHARLIE POWELL

That Massillon Tiger trademark of yesteryear – the long, explosive type play that can take the starch out of the opposition in a jiffy – again held forth at Tiger stadium Friday night and the orange and black knocked off the invading Cleveland Benedictine forces, 30-6, before 11,920 fans.

The Tigers used three of the long gainers as a spring-board to their fifth consecutive victory of the season and the win over the big, determined but outclassed Benies coupled with Warren Harding’s reversal of form undoubtedly will provide the Leo Strang-coached gang with a tighter grip on their No. 1 state ranking.

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Warren, upset by East Liverpool, 14-13, has been Massillon’s arch rival for the top spot in the Associated Press poll. Now it seems as though Springfield, Lorain or Toledo DeVilbiss will assume the runner-up role.

The Panthers can’t be counted out. The season is far from being over and a Tiger loss will send their hopes for that elusive crown right down the drain.

THE GAME of the year still looms for Friday the night of Oct. 30.

* * *

BEFORE WARREN comes Mansfield (next Friday night at Tiger stadium) and Coach Strang will be happier if the Bengals can present a more consistent attack against the Mansfielders.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Strang said over telling locker room well-wishers about a “frustrating” night.”

“It went about the way I expected …we would have to go from a long way out and that’s what we did.”

“It was as frustrating ball game as we’ve played, mainly because we did not move the ball consistently. Of course, we should give credit where credit is due. They had me worried and we had our hands full trying to block them,” he commented.

He said that several of his players told him that a few of the Benie linemen ‘had to be held” – they couldn’t be moved to either side of the hole.

“We knew Benedictine had a tough team and would come down here all hopped up. They have my respect. And you can ask the boys, they rate on a par with Alliance or Steubenville,” Strang said.

The Benie pilot, a downcast Auggie Bossu, was reluctant to talk but claimed the Tigers are a good ball club – “as good and probably better than your teams of the past few years.”

“Yes, it was a good game…for Massillon. Yes, we played hard…but we didn’t win,” the usually mild-mannered mentor rasped before excusing himself to see about an injured player.

* * *

BOSSU POINTED out that his team’s best runner last night, Joe Miano, previously was a second stringer. And he said that his punter, Bob Jambor, was averaging 42 yards per kick, going into last night’s game.

Against the Tigers, Miano averaged over five yards a carry with his longest jaunt of 30 yards setting up Benedictine’s only touchdown. Stocky Paul Rini showed ability to gallop in the open field at times.

On more than one occasion the ball carrier had found a hole at the line but it was quickly closed by Massillon’s linebackers and deep backs.

The Benies took to the sky 13 times but only four made connections and three were intercepted.

However, the Tigers’ inability to muster a sustained drive and Jambor’s amazing punting (an average of 47.2 yards for five kicks) made it a pretty dull affair except for the long striking plays.

The long gainers were turned in by Art Hastings, on a dash of 62 yards which set up the Tigers’ second touchdown, a 41-yard pass play from Joe Sparma to Bob Herring and a
69-yard sprint by Jim Wood.

These crowd-pleasing antics helped the Orangemen out gain the visitors by 339 yards to 182. Massillon netted 257 yards on the ground to 136 for the Benies.

* * *

NEITHER TEAM’S passing attack was nowhere near sensational but the aerial game was real prominent for the hometown lads.

The talented Sparma was right on the button with his fling to Herring which paved the way for the third TD of the evening and the defensive backs hauled in no less than three Benie forwards.

An interception by Martin Gugov, who incidentally started his second game on offense as Lefthalf Bill Finney was kept out of uniform due to an injury, put the Tigers in position for their first score. Prior to the Sparma-Herring payoff pitch-catch it was Herring who intercepted a pass.

Nick Daugenti, the defensive back and punt return specialist, made the first interception on the third play of the encounter but his effort went for naught as the Tigers were forced to punt. Daugenti, who did not play the second half because of a sprained ankle, caught the ball after it was deflected by Art Hastings.

The first time Daugenti returned a punt he wheeled from the end zone out to the 20 and Massillon was on the move in a hurry. Sparma threw down the middle to Wood who made a diving catch at the Benie 39 but four plays later End Tony Palmieri recovered a fumble by Gugov. However, the latter made amends when he intercepted a toss by Dennis Andrews and from the Benie 24 the orange and black reach pay dirt in four plays.

Gugov picked up six and Hastings four before Gugov added two. Then Hastings slicked off the left side and went in standing up. Gugov bulled across for two more points and the Tigers led 8-0 with 16 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Four plays into the second period Herring returned a Benie punt seven yards to the 25 and Hastings had the Tiger fans emitting superlatives on the very first play from scrimmage. He hit off left tackle, did a tight-rope act down the west sidelines and aided by a beauty of a block by Virg Bukuts, zipped 62 yards to the Clevelanders’ 13. On the next play Gugov barreled through right tackle for six, Wood swept end for the PAT and it was 16-0 at 9:36.

* * *

A MOMENT later the Tigers were penalized for illegal substitution but the ball was placed at the original spot after a hurried discussion by the officials. After the kickoff Massillon defensive subs took the field…all nine of them. The penalty was stepped off, then retracted, because it was not a case of substituting. Everything was “jake” after two more players entered the lineup and the defense forced Benedictine to punt.

The ball changed hands in a hurry. Gugov lateralled as he was tackled and Sparma and Palmieri wrestled for possession. Palmieri had the final say at the Tiger 25. With second and 14, Andrews’ pass was intercepted by Herring at the 15 and he got out to the 37.

Hastings pounded 22 yards in three tries before Massillon scored again.

From the Benie 41, Sparma hit Herring who had slipped behind the secondary at the Benedictine five. The mite halfback snagged the ball, was hit, but fell across the zero stripe. Gugov’s run was short but the Tigers led 22-0 and that’s the way it was at intermission.

Midway in the third round Halfback Tom Kosewic recovered a Tiger fumble at the Massillon 29 but the Tigers held and took over at the 31 as Captain “Sluggo” Bednar batted down a fourth down aerial.

The most peculiar play of the night resulted on the first Tiger try from scrimmage.

Sparma went back to pass, was hit, and the ball floated out to the 35 where big Tony Gibbons, a tackle, cradled it and churned goalward. Gibbons, however, coughed it up as he was tackled and Tiger tackle Don Appleby recovered at the 29.
After Gugov gained two, Wood winged 69 yards to put the Massillonians ahead by 28. The speedy halfback went through the left side, found himself in the clear at the 40 as the Benies looked around for the guy with the ball, and outran Rini to the end zone. Sparma passed to End Bob Zumbrunn in the end zone for two more markers.

Early in the final heat Jim Houston, Tiger guard, recovered a fumble at the Tiger 49 but aftre Wood wheeled 22 yards the attacked bogged down.

Benedictine, playing against a sub-studded lineup, marched 79 yards for its only
six-pointer in a dozen plays.

* * *

ON THE FIRST play Miano scatted 31 yards and three plays before the TD, a pass, Joe Bujak to End Al Grigaliunas, resulted in a 24-yard gain. On third down at the one, the Massillon defense ganged up at the middle but Miano hit off the left side all by his lonesome and it was 30-6 at 1:55 with 1:55 remaining. The same Miano was stopped short on the PAT attempt.

Benedictine had the ball for 54 plays as compared to Massillon’s 42 tries but the long strikes and the Tiger defense (led by Bednar, Hase McKey, Houston, Gary Wells, Frank Midure, Jay Willey and Don Appleby) proved to be more than enough.

Outside of Miano’s 24-yarder in the final quarter, the blue’s biggest rushing gain amounted to only eight yards.

In the third frame the Tigers had the ball for only four running plays but with the help of Wood’s 69-yard effort, netted 82 yards.

Hastings, the workhorse of the attack, twisted and fought his way for 130 yards in 13 carries while Wood made 96 yards in seven trips and Gugov gained 30 in eight tries.

The loss was the second in five starts for the Benies who now trail the Tigers in the series, 4-1.

A Jim-Dandy

MASSILLON
ENDS – McKey, Barkman, Zumbrunn, Bodiford, Oliver, Royer.
TACKLES – Appleby, Bukuts, Wells, Haines, Herbst, Herndon, Paul.
GUARDS – Willey, Bednar, Midure, Houston, Brugh, Anzalone, Crenshaw, White, Whitfield.
CENTERS – Snodgrass, Snyder, Demis.
QUARTERBACKS – Sparma, Larson, Null, Smith.
HALFBACKS – Finney, Wood, Daugenti, Gugov, Herring Kurzen.
FULLBACKS – Hastings, Hershberger, Dean, Toles.

BENEDICTINE
ENDS – Grigaliunas, Forgach, Watson, Torda.
TACKLES – Phile, Jason, gibbons, Zahorsky.
GUARDS – Marcin, Tyrdik, Palmieri, Janiak, Wojas, Labuda.
CENTERS – Siath, Kestner.
QUARTERBACKS – Bujak, Andrews, Kolenich.
HALFBACKS – Rini, Malinak, Farro, Kosewic, Brock, Jambor.
FULLBACKS – Miano, Tollis, Schepis.

Scoring by quarters
Massillon 8 14 8 0 30
Benedictine 0 0 0 6 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Hastings (12, run); Gugov (13, run); Herring (41, pass); Wood (69, run).
Benedictine – Miano (1, run).

Extra points: Massillon – Gugov (run); Wood (run); Zumbrunn (pass).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Andy Moran.
Field Judge – Andy Lindsey.
Head Linesman – Harvey Hodgson.
Umpire – Horace Rainesberger.

Statistics
Mass Bene.
First downs – rushing 9 6
First downs – Passing 2 2
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 11 8
Yards gained rushing 265 145
Yards lost rushing 8 9
Net yards gained rushing 257 136
Yards gained passing 82 46
Total yards gained 339 182
Passes attempted 13 13
Passes completed 3 4
Passes intercepted by 3 1
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 35.8 33.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 43 57
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 29.3 47.2
Punt returns (yards) 68 21
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 4
Lost fumbled ball 3 2
Penalties 0 4
Yards penalized 0 20

Joe Sparma
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1958: Massillon 19, Cleveland Benedictine 0

Tiger Passes Beat Benedictine 19-0
Massillon Gridders Halt State Champions’ 18-Game Victory Streak

By CHARLIE POWELL

The seed that may grow into a healthy return of the days when this man’s town was known far and wide as No. 1 in the football parade last night was planted by the 1958 Massillon Tigers.

They became a real, honest-to-goodness football team as they snapped the 18-game win streak of big, bold Cleveland Benedictine, by a 19-0 count before 13,965 paid admissions.

They outplayed and outfought a determined Benedictine array which relied strictly on power. They out ran them, they out passed them and they out foxed them, parlaying a “multiplied multiple” offense and a rock ribbed defense into the most coveted triumph of the season.

Surely their prestige soared both locally and statewide and any praise that came their way last night or that which will be coming the next couple of days, is entirely justified.
* * *
COACH LEO STRANG of the Tigers and the losing coach, Augie Bossu, were quick to point up the toughness of the orange and black after the game.

“We improved and we beat a real, tough football team. Our blocking on internal plays was a lot better and that made our outside plays and our passing attack go,” said Strang.

“You had too much balance and too much depth for us. You were just too strong,” said Bossu whose attitude was very pleasant because he was beamingly pleased with the way his charges played ball.

Now that the revenge victory has gone into the archives, Strang is trusting that that performance will prove a harbinger of what he and Tiger fans can expect in the future.
* * *
“OUR OFFENSE looked real good. We beat a real tough defensive team and our defense played another good game (it was the third time in four wins that the local lads shout-out the opposition).

“We can improve more. We have a lot of work to do because we’re not out of the woods yet,” he added.

Certainly he was thinking about next week’s game at Mansfield and the following week’s battle at Warren – and the fact that the rest of the schedule has no soft touches.

The Bengals, Massillon variety, knew they had vanquished a very fine opponent. They were a weary bunch at the finish but luckily, there was no cause for deep concern about more injuries. Three heavy duty performers, Ken Bordner, Corky Pledgure and Jerry Allen, plus Co-Captain Al Pierce, (the latter in uniform for the first time this year) did not play at all.

The additional rest apparently will do them good and barring the unforeseen, all should be in tip-top shape for the Mansfield fracas.
* * *
BENEDICTINE, which now has lost three of four starts to the Tigers, may have been looking for Massillon to go with its “smorgasbord” attack but the Benies had a rugged time finding the right remedy.

The orange and black, with the line doing a good job ahead of ball carriers Joe Sparma, Dave Dean, Jim Snively and Art Hastings, moved that big Benie line for a total of 180 yards.

An additional 113 yards came on some pin-point passing by Sparma with a late assist from Bill Finney, who threw for the third touchdown, and some catching, just short of terrific, by Bob Vogel, Bill Zorn and Jerry Mitchell.

Massillon’s defense, braced by Vogel, Zorn, Hase McKey, Gail Karrenbauer and “Sluggo” Bednar, to name a few, gave up only six first downs and a net total of 83 yards.

Benedictine had a tricky quarterback in veteran Larry Hradisky but the blue and white’s twirler had his troubles hitting the target.
* * *
SNIVELY, hitting off tackle and sweeping the flanks, was the Tiger workhorse as he carried 23 times for 104 yards. Dean, bothered at times by an ouchy leg, made 39 yards in 15 trips and Hastings gained 30 in seven tries. Dean scored the second TD of the night from one foot out.

Vogel caught three passes for 59 yards and scored one touchdown. Zorn tallied the third six-pointer on a three-yard pass play and Mitchell had on reception for 14 yards.

Two passes, both caught by Vogel, were responsible as the host team moved out front with 6:54 left in the opening quarter. After an exchange of punts, Massillon had possession on the Benie 45 and on the first play, Sparma threw down the middle to Vogel who snagged the pigskin at the 26 and was felled at the 20. Snively was held at the line but it was 6-0 as Vogel, out in the left flat, took Sparma’s soft, perfect-leading peg over his shoulder at the one and stepped into pay dirt.

On the conversion try, Sparma ran to his right but was stopped short of the final stripe.

It was a cause of “almost, not quite,” for Strang’s gang soon afterward. They got the ball as Mitchell leaped high to intercept a pass at his own 18. At the end of the quarter the Tigers were at the Benie 25 – following a 13-yard effort by Snively and Sparma’s pass to Mitchell who made a circus catch – one-handed as he was heading earthward – at the 25.
* * *
ART HASTINGS entered the lineup at the start of the second panel and in three carries, he placed the ball at the 12. But two running plays netted six and a pass went incomplete as Hradisky broke up a throw intended for Jim Wood in the end zone. On fourth down Sparma uncorked another aerial but it was Hradisky again, breaking up the toss just as it got to Snively, also in the end zone.
* * *
BENEDICTINE did nothing and was forced to kick. Cornelius Clark pranced and danced his way for 37 yards on the return as Zorn threw a nifty block, but Massillon got no farther than the enemy 16.

The score was 6-0 at the half and still the same at the end of a third period which found the orange braking the visitors at every turn.

A 63-yard march got its take-off power near the end of the period. A 14-yard pass, Sparma to Vogel and the running of Dean and Snively featured as the Tigers moved to the 12 as the final session got under way.

In five plays Dean, on a second try from within the one-yard line, rammed across. Bob Oliver tried the end-around but his attempt fell short and it was 12-0 at 10:03.

With the aid of a penalty, the Benies got three first downs in three plays. They got nine in two more rushes but with McKey swarming through, the ball carrier failed to make even a foot on the next two plays.
* * *
THEN MASSILLON had to kick. Benedictine turned the ball over on a fumble after four plays but two plays later the Tigers played “give-away.” Then two plays later Hradisky, back to pass, had the boom lowered on him by Zorn and the Benie quarterback fumbled with Vogel recovering at the Benedictine 44. This led to another Tiger score.

Sparma threw long and about as perfect as you can get, Vogel catching again, to place the ball at the Benie eight. On the next play the visitors were penalized for being off-side. Then, with only 17 seconds remaining, Finney tossed into the end zone, right into the hands of Zorn near the boundary line.

Getting Tougher

MASSILLON
Ends – Vogel, Mitchell, Zorn, Barkman, Oliver.
Tackles – Donat, Slicker, Haines, Appleby, Bukuts, Herndon.
Guards – Perry, Karrenbauer, Bednar, J. Kasunick, Willey.
Centers – Shilling ,Snyder.
Quarterbacks – Sparma, Finney.
Halfbacks – Snivley, Wood, Radtke, Clark, Hershberger.
Fullbacks – Dean, Hastings, Morrow, McKey.

BENEDICTINE
Ends – Marek, Grigalianas, Jaskinski.
Tackles – DeFiore, Gibbons, Zahorski, Krisinski.
Guards – Marcin, Siath, Baumbick, Liederbach.
Centers – Coufalik, Janiak, D. Kestner.
Quarterback – Hradisky.
Halfbacks – Davis, Rini, Haggerty, Jambor, Malinak.
Fullbacks – Schepis, J. Kestner, Catanza.

Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 6 0 0 12 19
Benedictine 0 0 0 0 0

Touchdowns – Vogel (20-pass); Zorn (3-pass); Dean (1-run).
Extra point – Hershberger (placement)

OFFICIALS
Referee – William Holzwarth.
Umpire – Don Belknap.
Head Linesman – Marv English.
Field Judge – Horace Rainsberger.

STATISTICS
M B
First Downs – Rushing 9 6
First Downs – Passing 4 0
First Downs – Penalties 1 1
Total First Downs 14 7
Number of Rushing Plays 62 40
Yards Gained – Running Plays 190 94
Yards Lost – Running Plays 10 19
Net Yardage – Running 180 75
Passes Attempted 12 7
Passes Completed 7 1
Passes Had Intercepted 0 2
Yards Returned –
Intercepted Passes 2 0
Yards Gained –Passing 113 8
Net Yardage – Running
and Passing 293 83
Number of Kickoff Returns 1 4
Yardage – Kickoff Returns 15 57
Average Length of Kickoff
Returns 15 14.2
Number of Punt Returns 3 2
Yardage – Punt Returns 55 12
Average length of Punt
Return 18.3 6
Number of Punts 3 4
Total Yardage on Punts 97 162
Average Length of Punts 32.3 40.5
Number of Penalties 5 5
Yards Lost on Penalties 45 41
Number of Fumbles 3 4
Own Fumbles Recovered 1 1
Ball Lost on Fumbles 2 3

Bob Vogel
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1957: Massillon 7, Cleveland Benedictine 13

Benedictine Overpowers Tigers 13-7

By CHARLIE POWELL

Mix speed and power and you have George Sefcik. For more power there’s Gary Hansley. Add a big, strong line that just wouldn’t quit and have the ingredients of a mighty fine gridiron team, possibly the best in the state of Ohio.

This team, the Benedictine high Bengals of Cleveland, ambushed the football fortress of Massillon before 14,488 fans in chilly Tiger stadium Friday night.

Program Cover

In beating the orange and black 13-7, on the strength of a 45-yard drive to pay dirt in the final period, here is what the giant-sized Benedictine high bunch accomplished.

Their first victory ever over a Massillon team; their fifth straight win of the current season; and at least runner-up ranking in the state poll.

Benedictine just might find itself perched atop the heap at the season’s close. If it doesn’t make the top, rest assured this history-making array will not be far off.

Right now many, many Massillon fans will agree that it is the cream of the crop. It beat a good ball club last night.
* * *
THE WORLD isn’t going to come to an end nor are the Tigers about to give up the game because of the loss which snapped a four-game winning streak. Not yet anyway, the season is not a complete failure. The Tigers have five to go, with Mansfield here next, followed by front running Warren, and they will have a few chances to salvage a great deal of satisfaction from all their efforts.

We are all hoping they will be in better physical shape than they were last night. The flu bug made its presence felt and our heroes had a number of bad “breaks” but certainly nothing is to be taken away from Benedictine.

On paper and on the field the team coached by Augie Bossu was in supreme command. The Tigers lost to a good team and they’re going to hit some more good ones before the finish. They should realize by now that any team on the schedule is capable of yanking the rug from underneath them.

Nobody was more upset over the defeat than Coach Lee Tressel, whose team appeared headed for the state’s showdown scrap against Warren.

Yes, quite a few things caused the Tigers’ downfall but Tressel wasn’t offering any excuses. He called the Clevelanders “big and strong with two fine backs and lots of determination,” and he told them so in their dressing room when he congratulated them immediately after the game.

“They had the desire to go along with all that equipment. We had a tough time trying to move them when we had the ball. They closed the holes fast. When we were on defense we were getting moved around by those big boys and there wasn’t much we could do.

“The tackling wasn’t good but I guess one reason for that was because they were so good,” he said.
* * *
TRESSEL didn’t bring up the physical condition of his charges but the Tigers were definitely sub-par.

Regular defensive end Bill Zorn was sidelined because of an injury suffered two weeks ago…Joe Brownlee, regular defensive tackle and Harold Slabaugh, regular offensive tackle, practiced only once all week because of illness, flu and a bad case of tonsillitis, respectively and yesterday afternoon Clyde Childers, the offensive left end and kicker, was sent home because of illness.

Brownlee and Childers were “in and out” most of the game while Slabaugh, apparently weakened by his illness, went most of the way on offense. To make mattes worse, an injury slowed up hard-nosed Chuck Beiter.

As we pointed out before, the ball took a couple of bad bounces against the Tigers and probably the toughest breaks were the fumble and the clipping penalty that thwarted a bid in the second period. After Benedictine went ahead in the first session the Tigers went on their prowl from their own 29. Beiter, Ivory Benjamin and Gene Stewart hammered at the enemy line to reach the Benedictine 25.
* * *
WITH TIGER rooters begging for a score, it was third down and one at that point. However, the ball was fumbled and when the whistle blew, Quarterback Bob Getz had covered the pigpelt at the 27. Hopes rose as Stewart flipped a running pass to Benjamin who raced 12 yards to the Benedictine 15. It looked like the Tigers were going all the way but a “hankie” was down on the grass and the clipping call ended that. Mark Anthony replaced Getz at quarterback and hit Benjamin with a short pass but Benedictine ganged up on the swivel-hipped star and the play netted only six yards, 14 short of a first down.

Had Benedictine not had runners the likes of Sefcik and Hansley the Clevelanders might have been easy pickin’s for the Massillon team. This pair gave the 1956 Tiger team fits but they were mild compared to the latest ones.

Benedictine gained 262 yards on land and in the air and Sefcik and Hansley accounted for 233 yards.

Sefcik, besides being a fast and shifty runner, is a deadly passer and long-distance punter. He carried the oval 20 times and gained 82 yards, hit on three of four passes for 32 yards, caught one pass himself for 14 yards and averaged 40 yards on three runs. Partner Hansley, a tank-like half-back, toted the mail 22 times and carved out 105 yards. And he caught the three passes thrown by Mr. Sefcik, who was paraded on the shoulders of happy teammates after the game was over.
* * *
THE BIG Benedictine line, which did a great job of containing theTiger attack except for some sensational runs by Benjamin, gave up 187 yards on the ground. Standouts of this line were Tackles Ron Skufca, 235, and Ted Zmarzly, 205 and End Stan Sczurek.

Benjamin almost drove the visitors crazy. In a truly outstanding performance, he ran like a man possessed, blocked well and was all over the field on defense. He personally accounted for all but 26 yards the locals made on the ground.

It was his tremendous 50-yard sprint in the third period that produced the lone Massillon six-pointer. He carried the pigskin 22 times and twisted and fought his way for 161 yards. He also caught a pass good for six yards.

Only other Tiger ground gainer of any degree was Gene Stewart who made 21 yards in seven trips. Because of his injury and the fact that Benedictine was “laying” for him, Beiter did not occupy too many ball carrying roles.

The team from the lakefront gave an early example of its blocking and running abilities.
* * *
THE FIRST time they had possession, the Bengals marched 67 yards to touchdownland. They digested two offside penalties, but got an assist from the identical penalty against the Tigers.

After the opening kickoff the Tigers had to punt from their own 41 and Childers, hurried on the play, booted out of bounds at the Benedictine 33. A penalty was called against the invading team after Sefcik had gained seven and three plays later he was forced to punt from the 47. The punt rolled dead on the four but Benedictine was able to keep the ball because the Tigers were off-side on the play.

Then Benedictine shifted to high gear. Sefcik and Hansley picked up 13 before Sefcik hit Hansley on an option pass for 13 and the blue-shirted boys were on their way.

Massillon stubbornly gave ground and after Benedictine reached the three, Sefcik hit the right side, did a dive and scored with 2:47 remaining in the quarter. His placement on the extra point try was blocked by line-backer Roger Reese but Benedictine led 6-0 as the Tigers were scored on first for the third straight game.
* * *
LOCAL FANS expected their favorites to come right back and they did only to see the penalty take the sting out of the attack.

The kickoff was returned to the Tiger 29 and on the last six plays of the first period the Orangemen advanced to the Benedictine 43. In the last minute of the second frame Benjamin darted around the right side twice for 17 and Stewart gained on to make it third and one at the 25. Then came the fumble, and the clipping penalty which combined to stall the Tiger attack.

Benedictine made only one first down in that second period as Massillon controlled the ball, thanks to the nifty running of Benjamin.

However, the Tigers couldn’t uncover a payoff punch.

Midway in the quarter Benjamin got loose for 25 yards after regaining his balance just past the line of scrimmage. He and Stewart took the oval to the Benedictine 29, and Tiger fans were calling for a tying TD but Benedictine braced and held, throwing Tiger runners for two losses totaling nine yards in the process.

A minute later the Clevelanders had to punt with Sefcik’s kick from the Tiger 39 rolling out of bounds at the 10. From the nine Benjamin again got on his horse, this time whizzing 45 yards before Jim Kubinski, Bengal end, who had a good angle, came in to make the stop at the Benedictine 42. However, Getz was thrown for an 11-yard loss and two more maneuvers designed for long-distance gains failed to change the score before intermission. Getz’s sideline pass to Beiter was good for nine yards and on the last play of the half the visiting team’s line was not caught by surprise and Benjamin, on a draw play, was downed after a yard gain.
* * *
A PUNT that was fumbled and one that was blocked gave Massillon a pair of opportunities in the third period but after the first kick, the Tigers failed to move.

From his own 15 Childers punted (after Sefcik had booted one 51 yards following the kickoff) and two Benedictine players had their hands on the swinehide before Benjamin recovered at the Massillon 40. But four plays later Childers was called on to punt again with Sefcik returning the 38-yard boot 10 yards to his 34. Benedictine made two first downs before a holding penalty stalled the drive and from the Tiger 45, Sefcik went back to punt.

This time middle guard Hase McKey, who apparently played one of his better games, broke through and blocked the kick. Guard Tom Heine recovered at midfield and on the next play Benjamin cut the gap to 7-6.

Given a couple of nice blocks, Ivory got around the right flank and turned on the gas. At the 15 three Benedictine boys had a shot at him but he shot pass one, cut away from the other two and went in for the score at 1:25. Sub Halfback Jim Hershberger came off the bench and calmly split the uprights to deadlock the count.
* * *
BENEDICTINE started from its own 43 after the kickoff and advanced 24 yards on the last three plays of the quarter.

On the first play of the final canto Hansley got off his longest jaunt, 23 yards, to place the ball on the Tiger 10. But the Tresselmen dug in and took over on downs at the four. Childers punted out on fourth down and Benedictine, starting from the Tiger 45, was not to be denied.

Hansley, the big gun once more, checked in a 22-yard foray for one of the three first downs and from the 13, Quarterback Ken Sprafka sneaked from two yards with his team needing at foot for a foot for a first down. Sefcik and Hansley carried to the one from where Sprafka sneaked across. Sefcik’s placement was on target and it was 13-7 with 4:37 remaining.

The Tigers gambled but their final series fizzled out at the 24 and Benedictine moved to the nine before time ran out.

Benedictine, using a nine-man line a good bit of the time limited the Tigers to a single first down during the second half. It came on Benjamin’s touchdown run.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Hagan, Snavely, Mitchell.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, A Slicker, Halter, Donat, Brownlee.
GUARDS – Heine, Heimann, McKey, Bednar, J. Kasunick, Cook.
CENTERS – Williamson, Swartz, Reese.
QUARTERBACKS – Getz, Anthony.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Pledgure, Clark, Allen, Hershberger.
FULLBACK – Beiter.

BENEDICTINE
ENDS – Sczurek, Kubinski, Kozlowski, Marek.
TACKLES – Skufca, Zmarzly, Grucza.
GUARDS – Baumbick, Kucera, See, Liederbach.
CENTERS – Kozlevchar, Coufalik.
QUARTERBACKS – Sprafka, Kradisley, Kubinski.
HALFBACKS – Sefcik, Hansley, Knapik.
FULLBACKS – Davis, Jasinski, Blasé.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 0 7 0 7
Benedictine 6 0 0 7 13

Scoring:
Massillon Touchdown – Benjamin
Massillon Extra point – Hershberger (placement)

Benedictine Touchdowns – Sefcik, Sprafka.
Benedictine Extra point – Sefcik (placement)

STATISTICS
Mass. Ben.
First downs, rushing 6 11
First downs, passing 0 3
First downs, penalties 0 1
First downs, total 6 15
Yards gained, running plays 220 226
Yards lost, running plays 33 6
Net yardage, running plays 187 220
Passes attempted 4 8
Passes completed 2 4
Passes had intercepted 0 0
Yards returned,
intercepted passes 0 0
Yards gained passing 15 52
Total yardage, running,
passing 202 272
Number of kickoff returns 3 2
Yardage, kickoff returns 51 32
Average length of kickoff
returns 17 16
Number of punt returns 1 1
Yardage, punt returns 5 10
Average length of punt
returns 5 10
Number of punts 4 3
Total yardage on punts 130 121
Average length of punts 32 40
Number of penalties 5 4
Yards lost on penalties 35 30
Number of fumbles 1 2
Own fumbles recovered 1 0
Ball lost on fumbles. 0 2

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 27, Cleveland Benedictine 18

Tigers Fight Back For 27-18 Victory
Whitfield Out With Injury As Orange Racks Up Its 5th

By CHARLIE POWELL

It was five down and five to go for the Washington high school gridders after a Friday night donnybrook in which our Tigers proved they have all the ingredients of a true champion.

Rallying behind a determined defense and their quick-hitting offense, featuring speed afoot, nimbleness, headiness and just plain high-octane power, the Orange and Black outlasted a Cleveland Benedictine club which lived up to expectations, and then some, by a 27-18 tune.

Some 13,000 fans, including 12,556 paid, were in Tiger stadium for the big battle and few Tiger followers, if any, held high hope for a fifth straight victory after the first two minutes and 18 seconds of play. It took the Bengals from the lakefront just that little bit of time to wheel out a 12-0 lead.

But this inexperienced Massillon club, outweighed, out-passed and minus tackle and
co-captain Dick Whitfield, was only momentarily stunned by the order of events – an
85-yard kickoff return, an intercepted pass and then a 40-yard aerial for a second touchdown.

Showing their mettle and living up to their reputation as an outfit content to parlay short gainers into gold-dust, Lee Tressel’s hustlers came roaring back. With 4:26 left in the opening chapter they hit pay dirt for the first time and with 4:22 remaining in the second period and they barged ahead.

The first drive involved 11 plays and 68 yards, the second 20 plays, 79 yards, two vital gambles and a 15-yard penalty. So it was Massillon by the margin of Mike Hershberger’s conversion at intermission.
* * *
THE TIGERS received the second half kickoff and went on the prowl again. The drive fizzled out at the enemy 15 but the next thing Benedictine knew was that Fancy-Dan, Ivory Benjamin hit them. His 50-yard TD jaunt on a punt return widened the gap and Massillon pulses returned to normal after a 72-yard march paid off early in the final quarter.

Benedictine battled back for another score but it meant nothing. In fact, it came as Coach Tressel was dotting his lineup with reserves.

When the Tiger celebration in their dressing room died down, Tressel and Co. started thinking about their next foe, the Tygers of Mansfield.

This may sound like a broken record but the Orangemen are facing a fourth straight toughie. If you don’t believe us, ask the local scouts who have put a “tougher than Benedictine” tag on the Tygers.

Before Tressel’s mind turned to next Friday’s road opponent, the Tiger tutor directed a verbal bouquet toward his charges.

“I guess I can’t say much about the first couple of minutes. Everybody knows what happened. But our boys were tremendous after that. It shows you what desire can do,” he said.

The Massillon mentor, whose personal win streak now stands at 39, declared it a team victory – “there were no real standouts” – and said the three boys who fitted into things as replacements for the rugged Whitfield; Bruce Bixler, Al Slicker and John Halter, indicated by their performances that the coaching staff may have little to worry about as long as Whitfield is out.
* * *
WHITFIELD, WITH HIS injured foot encased in a special shoe, was suited up in case of an emergency and Tressel was happy because he didn’t have to call on the spunky senior co-captain.

Dick received the foot injury Wednesday but said nothing about it. He couldn’t walk Thursday morning and X-rays taken yesterday morning showed a chip in the large bone of his right foot.

When Whitfield will be able to return to action is a real question. Tressel is hopeful he’ll be available in a couple of weeks.

The Tigers, with the “5-man” backfield of Bob Rinehart, Benjamin, Hershberger, Chet Brown and “Chuck” Beiter shining all the way, held the upper hand in most phases of the statistical department. They made 17 first downs to Benedictine’s nine and ground out 257 yards rushing to a total of 123 for the Bengals.

The Clevelanders enjoyed an edge in the passing game as Quarterback Paul Hriske, who doubled as a fine defensive performer, lived up to his press notices. The Bengals hit on seven of 13 for 102 yards while the locals connected on two of five for 61 yards. And both of Rinehart’s pitches helped no end – the first completion of 17 yards setting up Massillon’s second touchdown and a strike good for 20 aiding the drive that led to the fourth.

Another bright spot for the Tigers was in the ball-handling department. They fumbled only once, and recovered same. They had one pass intercepted with that interception paving the way for Benedictine’s second quickie.

Benedictine won the toss and elected to receive. The decision was just right for the Bengals as Halfback George Sefcik, sturdy and swift, hauled it back for a touchdown that rocked the locals on their heels. Sefcik eyed an alley up the middle, cut to his right and away from a couple of would-be tacklers and after getting free at the Tiger 22, zipped into the end zone, past the final stripe to wind up an 85-yard return. His placement sailed to the left but the Orangemen were trailing 6-0 with only 11 seconds gone.

Benjamin returned the ensuing kickoff from his 15 to the 24 and after Brown picked up a guard, Dame Fortune turned a cold shoulder on the Tigers. Rinehart’s pass intended for childers at the enemy 40 was the target for Childers, Benjamin and Sefcik. Ivory got a hand on the ball but it came to rest in Sefcik’s and the Bendictine scooter got to the Tiger 43.
* * *
AFTER GARY HANSLEY, right half, made three yards at right tackle, Hrisko and Hansley clicked for a second Bengal TD. Hansley was all by his lonesome at the 25 and when he grabbed the pass at the 25 and raced into the end zone, Massillon was really in trouble.

Sefcik’s placement was again wide. Then the Tigers got plenty mean.

Hershberger returned the kickoff seven yards to the 32 and then teamed with Benjamin, Brown and Beiter for two first downs to the Bengal 41. Brown put the ball in scoring position via a 36-yard blast featuring some sharp blocking and Chester’s fancy footwork. Benjamin made three and Hershberger one before Mike banged the middle to make it a
12-6 ball game. It was still that way after his placement was blocked.

Benedictine had to punt two minutes later and on the last three plays of the quarter the Tigers moved from their own 21 to the 35. Controlling the ball as Rinehart, the two halfbacks and the two fullbacks carried the load, the locals used up 17 plays and over seven minutes for the tying touchdown. Benjamin’s 10-yard sweep and Beiter’s 13-yard buck up the middle helped place the pigskin on the one from where Benjamin tallied at right tackle. This time Hershberger’s kick was good and it was Massillon 13, Benedictine 12.

Twice during this drive the locals gambled, and won. On a fourth and four situation Benjamin got off his 10-yarder and with fourth and one at the four, Hershberger slammed off tackle for three.

Besides all this action, the Tigers were halted momentarily by a 15-yard clipping penalty.

During the remaining time neither team mustered a threat.

The Tigers marched 48 yards after receiving the second half kickoff. Hershberger’s 14-yard scamper was the chief gainer as they moved to the 15 before an offside violation put a crimp in their hopes for a third touchdown.
* * *
HOWEVER, MASSILLON chalked it up just a few seconds later. Benedictine had to punt but actually Benjamin didn’t get the chance to get on the go until Guard Joe Chapon punted three times.

The first time Benedictine was offside and the Tigers elected to have the Bengals punt again and the second time the visitors were offside and Massillon was called for clipping on Hershberger’s return. Finally there was nothing to wipe out the play – for which Tiger fans were happy.

Benjamin fielded Chapon’s boot at midfield, faked a handoff, and shifted into high gear. He was in “daylight” at the Bengal 35 and the rest of the chore was easy for the
swivel-hipped halfback. Hershberger again converted to make it 20-12 at 4:41.

Benedictine got to the Massillon 28 before Benjamin broke up a fourth down pitch by Hrisko and from that point the Tigers moved goal ward again. After Brown made 11 (he would have been long gone had not the last defender tripped him), Hershberger slipped and fell for a one-yard loss but sub halfback Jimmy Bivings sneaked behind the secondary, grabbed Rinehart’s toss and the 20-yard gainer put the oval on the Bengal 18 as the final period got under way.

Beiter gained two, Brown nine, Ivory four and Hershberger lost one before Beiter, moving to left half, cracked tackle for the score from the four. Once again Hershberger booted the point-after.

After Benedictine’s drive was stopped at the Tiger 31 the Orange had to punt and from their own 29 the Clevelanders went all the way as Hansley (once for 21 yards) and Sefcik (once for 16) ran for the needed yardage and Hrisko hit on three straight passes, the last one a 3-yarder to End Tom Pacl for the six-pointer.

Massillon made one first down and then lost 10 on a fumble before the contest came to an end.

The Tigers came out of the clean-played encounter with some bumps and bruises while Benedictine’s chief injury was Center Frank Kozlevchar’s twisted ankle.

The summary:
MASSILLON – 27
ENDS – Brenner, Elavsky, Wells, Childres, Mays, Hagan.
TACKLES – Mercer, Bixler, Halter, A. Slicker, Brownlee, Slabuagh.
GUARDS – B. Brown, Meldrum, Heine, Heimann.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Hershberger, Washington, Bivings, Pledgure, Stewart.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Reese.

BENEDICTINE – 18
ENDS – Pacl, Mayher, Marek.
TACKLES – Skufca, Jakubowski, Zmarsly.
GUARDS – Sczurek, Chapon, Pusateri, Misencik.
CENTERS – Halasz, Kozlevchar, Naymik.
QUARTERBACK – Hrisko.
HALFBACKS – Hansley, Sefcik, Davis.
FULLBACKS – Kuretz, Kucera.

Scoring by quarters:
Benedictine 12 0 0 6 18
Massillon 6 7 7 7 27

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Beiter (4-run); Hershberger (1-run); Benjamin 2 (1-run, 50-yard punt return).
Extra points – Hershberger 3 (placements).

Benedictine scoring:
Touchdowns – Sefcik (85-kickoff return); Hansley (40-pass from Hrisko); Pacl (3-pass from Hrisko).

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs rushing 16 5
First downs passing 1 4
First downs by penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 9
Yards gained rushing 257 123
Yards lost rushing 24 6
Passes attempted 5 13
Passes completed 2 7
Yards gained passing 61 102
Net yards gained 294 219
Times kicked off 5 4
Average kickoff return 8.8 30.6
Yards kickoffs returned by 35 153
Times punted 2 3
Average punts (yards) 33 32
Yards punts returned by 50 -5
Had punts blocked 0 0
Total fumbles 1 1
Times lost ball on fumbles 0 0
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 25 30

Mike Hershberger
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1954: Massillon 34, Cleveland Benedictine 7

Tiger Gridders Beat Benedictine 34-7
Massillon Team Rolls Up 20 Points In First 10 Minutes of Contest

By LUTHER EMERY

You explain it. We can’t figure it out.

For 10 minutes Friday evening the Washington high school football team ran wild through Cleveland Benedictine to score three touchdowns and lead 20-0 going into the second period.

Then Benedictine braced, yielded but two more touchdowns, one in the last 22 seconds of play and scored one itself. The final was 34 to 7.

The score is bigger than many had expected it to be over the previously undefeated Cleveland team, but the point that had fans wondering is what happened to fire up the Bengals in the second half and what cooled the Tigers off.

Program Cover

It was Massillon’s fifth victory in six games and should look good to the pollsters, considering status.
* * *
THERE WERE all kinds of explanations after the game, for the second half lapse. Each of the 10,150 fans probably had an opinion.

Many thought Benedictine was scared at the start of the game.

Certainly the Benglas looked like anything but a football team the first quarter. Their offense was impotent; their defense inadequate and they bobbled the ball, which cost them a lot of breaks.

The Tigers on the other hand ran around at will. They drove from their own 39-yard line for their first touchdown, scoring after an exchange of fumbles on the three with Homer Floyd going across with six minutes and 45 seconds left to play. Two minutes and 22 seconds later Floyd caught a punt and raced 64 yards for another touchdown. In another two minutes Ken Lorch was on top of a Benedictine fumble on the 27 and Ronald Boekel was skirting end on a pitchout for the score.
* * *
BENEDICTINE showed signs of bracing after that point and it took the Tigers most of the second period to score another. They consumed 10 minutes driving from their own 19 to the two-yard line where Boekel bucked it over.

And it was even tougher the second half.

Coach Tom Harp thinks his team relaxed with a 27-point lead and couldn’t get back on its game the last two periods.

At any rate Benedictine played the Tigers on even terms in the scoring columns those two quarters and out-gained the locals in yardage.

“I’ll be anxious to get a look at the movies and see just exactly what did happen,” Harp said in the locker room after the game. “The defense we were playing should have stopped them. If someone wasn’t carrying out his assignment, then we will have to make the necessary corrections.
* * *
BENEDICTINE came out all fired up for the second half and completed a 31-yard pass from Quarterback Mel Smolik to Fullback Chuck Piazza for a third period touchdown while checking all Massillon scoring efforts until the last 22 seconds of the game when Floyd broke away for a 50-yard T.D. run.

Where the Tigers gained 172 yards to Benedictine’s 30 the first half, the latter gained 171 yards to Massillon’s 106 in the second half and 50 of the 106 came on Floyd’s jaunt.

We are inclined to believe there was both opening nervousness on the part of the Tigers after the latter rolled up 20 points so quickly.

Coach Harp experimented with some new formations after gathering the 20 points which also slowed up his offense.

After all, the Benedictine team of the second half was the kind of team we had expected to see at the start. It has been gaining quite a reputation in Cleveland the last few years and had a three-won two-tie record when it came here last night.
* * *
THE LOCALS had the better of the statistics for the total game, making 266 net yards to the Bengals’ 184 and that does not include Floyd’s 64-yard touchdown punt return. The Tigers also registered 14 first downs to the Bengals’ eight.

Had the locals’ passing been better they could have moved easier, too, as the visitors at times threw virtually a nine man line against them. Six of 16 were completed for 86 yards, while Benedictine completed six of 13 for 81 yards.

Floyd stole the show.

The slippery halfback did some fine running. His break away on the 64-yard punt return was a beauty and he was accorded some great assistance by blockers after he raced over the midfield stripe.

His last T.D. was almost as fancy. He struck through tackle then cut sharply to the right to run around his foes while his teammates walled off the sideline.
* * *
THE TIGERS received a lot of hard bumps and bruises in the game, but none appeared seriously hurt with the possible exception of big Bob Williams, who got a hard jolt in the second period. With him unable to placekick, the Tigers ran their last two points after touchdown, Floyd getting both of them.

Recovered fumbles and intercepted passes caused the ball to change hands 11 times. These stopped drives of both teams throughout the game.

The Tigers, in fact, fumbled in their first touchdown drive on the three-yard line and Benedictine recovered. But the Bengals obliged by immediately fumbling and Massillon recovered at almost the same spot where it had previously lost the ball. This time it continued on for the T.D.

The victory was Massillon’s fifth in six games. Next Friday the local team travels to Warren to meet the Panthers, who rolled over Youngstown Chaney last night 48-6.

The line-up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Houston, R. Williams, Canary, Lorch.
TACKLES – B. Williams, Hill, Moore, Graber, Schumacher.
GUARDS – Holloway, R. Maier, Barrett, Tracy.
CENTERS – Rohrbaugh, Morrow, Roan.
QUARTERBACKS – Crescenze, James.
HALFBACKS – Floyd, Yoder, Stavroff, Fomholtz, Brown Stephens.
FULLBACKS – Boekel, Archibald, Cocklin.

BENEDICTINE
ENDS – Lewandowski, Reynolds.
TACKLES – Brown, Filakosky, Tirpak.
GUARDS – Palenchar, Ranallo, Pussteri, Cira, Locker, Coppola, Hidiak, Leopold, Pezak, Canzoni.
CENTERS – Kestner, Rakosky.
QUARTERBACKS – Smolik, Fruscella.
HALFBACKS – Kubinski, Mastandrea, Yarris.
FULLBACKS – Piazza, Paci.

Score by period:
Massillon 20 7 0 7 34
Benedictine 0 0 7 0 7

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Floyd 3; Boekel 2, Benedictine – Piazza.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Williams 2 (placekicks),.Floyd 2 (carried),.Benedictine – Cira (placekick).

Officials
Referee – Shaffer (Ottawa).
Umpire – Lymper (Mansfield).
Head Linesman – Wisecup (Cleveland).
Field Judge – Walker (Columbus).

STATISTICS
Mass. Ben.
First downs 14 8
Passes attempted 16 13
Passes completed 6 6
Had passes intercepted 2 3
Yards gained passing 86 81
Yards gained rushing 192 120
Total yards gained 278 201
Yards lost 12 17
Net yards gained 266 184
Times punted 3 5
Average punt (yards) 23 31
Yards punts returned by 64 15
Times kicked off 6 2
Average kickoff (yards) 42 27
Times fumbled 4 3
Lost ball on fumble 3 3
Times penalized 3 7
Yards penalized 38 55

Homer Floyd