Tag: <span>Dan Atkinson</span>

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1927: Massillon 0, Canton McKinley 13

WASHINGTON HIGH BOWS TO CANTON
Local Gridders Hold Canton Scoreless for Two Periods, Then Weaken to Lose, 13 to 0

Eleven members of Washington high school’s greatly tossed about football team, dug their cleats into the hard wrinkled turn of Lakeside stadium, Canton, Saturday afternoon and showed 7,500 fans how a never die spirit could hold Canton McKinley’s high vaunted grid machine to two touchdowns and a score of 13 to 0.

For 24 minutes those snarling Tigers from Massillon turned back the desperate thrusts of the attacking Bulldog and for 12 minutes they held a decided advantage over their eastern rivals.

But a defensive game is a hard strain on any team and with the opening of the second half, things took a different turn. The orange and black, battered badly in its efforts to stem the Canton attack, failed to come back with its gallant defensive stand and was brushed aside by a powerful red and black offense which swept across the Massillon goal line after five minutes of the third period had expired. In these few minutes of the game, the condition of the two teams was the deciding factor and the McKinley players showed greater endurance than the youthful Tigers.

Two forward passes tossed by Lab, Canton substitute, carried the ball across the muddy part of the gridiron to within striking distance of the Massillon goal and paved the way for a touchdown. Then Canton’s galloping ghost, Sam Hodnick, forgot about his injured nose and began ripping the orange and black line to shreds. He carried the ball to the 12-yard mark for a first down. It appeared as though the youthful Tigers, fighting within the shadow of their own goal posts, would turn back the Canton threat. Three times McKinley backs smashed at the orange and black. Once it held. Then it yielded three yards and then five more. With fourth down coming, the ball on the four-yard line and two yards needed for a first down, Hodnick’s signal was called and the McKinley ace drove this165-pounds through the left side of the line with a force that carried him across the Massillon goal.

It was McKinley’s first touchdown. It took the red and black gridders 29 minutes to do what they should have accomplished in five minutes if comparative scores mean anything. McKinley scored one other touchdown, that coming when only half a minute of the game was left to play and was a direct result of a poor pass from the Massillon center which Leiber recovered on the orange and black’s 13-yard line. Goss and Maurer plunged the pigskin to the youthful Tigers one-yard line for a first down and Maurer went across on the next play. McKinley had one other opportunity to score, the ball being placed in position on the local team’s 37-yard line as a result of a blocked punt recovered by the Canton gridders, but after passes had carried the oval to within 12 yards of the goal, the McKinley quarterback like President Coolidge, did not choose to carry the ball, but elected to pass and the pigskin was grounded behind the orange and black goal line. The way in which Reese Price brought Hodnick to the earth after he had received a pass placing the ball on the 13-yard line, probably had as much to do with stopping the Canton gridders from scoring on that occasion as anything. Hodnick had evaded several tacklers until Price pounced on him, bringing the plunging fullback down with a heavy thud and injuring his nose, which slowed him up considerably for the remainder of the half.

While McKinley scored twice on three of its opportunities, the orange and black failed to even threaten the Canton goal line, The local lads got the ball once on the red and black’s 37-yard line after an exchange of punts, but there the Cantonians braced and forced the youthful Tigers to punt. Play during the greater part of the game was between the 35-yard markers and with the exception when McKinley scored its first touchdown; the ball was seldom advanced into enemy territory except through a poor punt or a break in the game.

The game Saturday was a case of a well oiled, fine functioning football machine pitted against an outfit with an unbeatable, defiant spirit. When the orange and black squad trotted out on the field it could be likened to that famous painting, “The Spirit of
Seventy-Six.” Several of the players had slight limps, others possessed injuries that they vainly tried to cover and only a great determination to hold Canton to a low score and preserve Massillon’s high score record, kept them in the game. One player, Dommer, a tackle, tossed away his crutches in order to play Saturday afternoon; another with a torn ear and a heavy bandage over the side of his face, went in and mixed it roughly with the Canton boys, while still another took a chance of being put on crutches for a week or more by playing his first game in five weeks, all because Massillon’s record on the gridiron had to be preserved and such it was. The McKinley team failed to do the thing that it most desired: to set a new high score for a Massillon-Canton game. When the two elevens met five years ago with Massillon being much the stronger team, the Washington high gridders set a record by beating the red and black 24 to 0 and that record still stands as a result of Canton being unable to score more than 13 points Saturday.

At that, granting that McKinley did play a better brand of football than the orange and black Saturday, its game was in reality only one touchdown better than the youthful Tigers. While the teams shared evenly in the breaks, McKinley’s were far more valuable for they came in Massillon territory, one of which contributed to a touchdown. On the other hand the youthful Tigers benefited very little by the breaks they received, practically all coming in their own territory, 50 yards or more from the Canton goal line.

First downs also show that McKinley failed to outplay the youthful Tigers by more than seven points. The red and black made nine first downs to Massillon’s four, but four of the host team’s downs were made on their first touchdown march while the others were scattered throughout the game. McKinley failed to make the required yardage a single time in the second period, while the orange and black negotiated the distance twice. The youthful Tigers had an edge on the red and black that period, outplaying the McKinley gridders. Two more first downs were rolled up by the Massillon aggregation in the fourth quarter, one as a result of a forward pass in the last few seconds of the game and the other on a 15-yard run by “Whitey” Laughlin on a triple pass.

The local eleven never managed to get a pass away until the final period because of the fast charging McKinley linemen. On several occasions Grant was smothered for a loss by a host of tacklers when he was attempting to find a man uncovered to receive a pass. Thus the youthful Tigers were unable to harness the air for gains until after the game was lost. McKinley completed three passes for a gain of 65 yards, while the local gridders made three passes, gaining 35 yards.

The Massillonians lost many yards on poor passes from center. Buttermore played a whale of a defensive game and was a regular bulwark in the center of the line, but after the first quarter he was badly used up by the McKinley players and was unable to bend over sufficiently to pass the ball accurately to the backfield receivers. He was taken from the game shortly after the start of the second half and soon after McKinley scored a touchdown. Whether McKinley would have scored had not Buttermore been injured and taken from the game will never be known but the fact remains that he made it miserable for Canton line smashes when he was playing.

The bad passes from center caused Foster plenty of trouble in getting away his punts. In spite of the fact that the ball was rolled back to him on the ground four times, he had only one kick blocked. These grounders, however, did cut many yards off his punts, as he had to boot the ball hurriedly when surrounded by Canton players, with the result that Kauffman had the edge in the punting for the day though that edge was very slight. Had Foster received as good passes from center as Kauffman, there is every reason to believe that he would have out punted the Canton player by many yards.

His punting held the Cantonians in check during the first half but in the third quarter his kicks failed to travel as far and McKinley gained ground on nearly every exchange. To the fans it appeared at the end of the first half that 1926 history might be repeated and the game result in another scoreless tie. Up to that time, each team had scored but two first downs and neither was able to get anywhere in advancing the ball. Captain Laughlin and Grant had smashed the McKinley line twice for the required distance, while Hodnick, through a forward pass and off tackle dashes, had made McKinley’s yardage.

However, with the opening of the third period McKinley showing greater recuperating power began to mix passes with its running attack. The touchdown march started when the Canton gridders took a Massillon punt in midfield. Hodnick made two yards at right end and Kauffman’s pass fell into unpopulated territory. Lab then heaved the ball to Hodnick for 12 yards, placing the ball on the 36-yard line. With the orange and black on the run, Lab tossed another pass to Farrell for a gain of 13 yards, placing the ball on the orange and black’s 23-yard line. Then Hodnick, forgetting the bump handed him by Price, began a series of plunges. Two drives at the Massillon line brought him a first down on the 13-yard line. Sam then struck to his right for two more. Brinson attempted to carry the ball but was smothered in his tracks, after a gain of two yards. Lab then found an opening and gained four more. With the ball only four yards from the Massillon goal and two yards needed for a first down, Hodnick smashed through Massillon’s right guard for a touchdown. Kauffman kicked the extra point from placement.

Briggs made a neat return of the kickoff, carrying the ball back 25 yards to the 48-yard line before being downed. That was one of two runs that featured the orange and black’s play during the afternoon. The other was Captain Laughlin’s 15-yard dash on a triple pass. Following the touchdown, the ball see-sawed back and forth, with neither team threatening to score until the last minute of the game. Then with the ball on the Massillon 28-yard line, Evans passed the oval over Laughlin’s head, McKinley recovering on the orange and black’s 13-yard line. On the first play, Maurer slashed through the left side of the Massillon line for six yards. Goss then hit the same spot for six more and a first down within half a yard of the goal. Maurer, carried the ball across. L. Miller’s kick was blocked.

A large number of Massillon fans attended the game, although not as many turned out as in former years. There were probably 2,000 or more fans from this city present, including Mrs. Mary Merrell, Massillon’s 87-yard old football fan. Mrs. Merrell attended the game, unaccompanied, via trolley car. If you don’t think she’s a rabid fan, you should have heard her discussing the game on her way to Canton.

The roughness that was a common factor in Canton-Massillon games 10 years back has disappeared. Instead of the customary sight of flying fists between halves, the bands of the two schools staged a drill on the field in front of their respective student bleachers. Everything was orderly Saturday. The sidelines were well guarded and the crowd was kept back of a strong fence so that it could not surge on to the field as it did two years ago. It was as orderly a Canton-Massillon game as has ever been played and credit should be given to the Canton management for making it so.

The game ends the season for the two elevens. In point of victories it has been one of the most successful for McKinley which dropped but one game, an early season 19 to 0 contest to Steubenville. The season, however has been just as disastrous for the orange and black as it has been good for McKinley. The youthful Tigers have won three games, lost five and tied one. In the last three years that Canton and Massillon have met, the McKinley gridders have won two games while last year’s contest ended in a scoreless tie.
Lineup and summary:
Canton – 13 Pos. Massillon – 0
Farrell LE Fox
Miller LT Dommer
Samuels LG Henderson
Rittersbaugh C Buttermore
Zeren RG Mauger
Esmont RT Price
Barrett RE Straughn
Kauffman QB Grant
Combs LHB Foster
Brinson RHB Briggs
Hodnick FB Laughlin

Score by periods:
Canton 0 0 7 6 13

Substitutions:
Massillon – Evans for Straugh, Shanabrook for Fox, Fox for Shanabrook, Shanabrook for Evans, Evans for Buttermore, Garland for Dommer, Schnierle for Shanabrook.

Canton – Lab for Combs, Jurekovic for Farrell, Farrell for Barrett, Leiber for Zeren, Maurer for Brinson, Goss for Lab, Lab for Kauffman, Beidler for Jurekovic, Fraunfelter for Samuels, Schubach for Esmont, Green for Hodnick, Harbert for Miller, Kelly for Farrell.

Touchdowns – Hodnick, Maurer.

Point after touchdown – Kauffman (placekick).

Officials:
Referee – Shafer (Akron).
Umpire – Morgan (Youngstown).
Head Linesman – Barrett (Sebring).

Earl Straughn
Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1926: Massillon 0, Canton McKinley 0

WASHINGTON HIGH BATTLES CANTON M’KINLEY TO SCORELESS TIE
OLD RIVALS GET EVEN BREAK IN THRILLING DUEL

COMING through with the greatest exhibition of fighting spirit it has shown all season Coach John H. Atkinson’s orange and black eleven of Washington high school last Saturday afternoon held the powerful red and black aggregation of McKinley high, Canton, to a scoreless draw in their annual battle on the snow-covered gridiron at Massillon Field. About 8,000 spectators, the largest crowd to ever witness a scholastic football duel in Massillon, were on hand to see the fall classic and were treated to a spectacular contest in which both teams distinguished themselves by their hard but clean playing.

And once again the old dope bucket was given a wallop in the solar plexus. Entering the fracas as the under dog with Canton McKinley ruling the favorite because of a long string of impressive victories behind it, Coach Atkinson’s boys flung back at their critics the charges that they lacked fighting spirit and uncovering as much grit and courage as any Massillon eleven in the past, came within one yard of scoring a touchdown that would have brought victory over their ancient rival.

Only a desperate fighting Canton eleven, that was battling with all its strength to stave off defeat, kept Massillon from shoving across a touchdown in the third quarter when two blocked Canton punts, the first to be flocked on the east enders this year, gave Massillon the ball deep in Canton’s territory. The last blocked punt gave Massillon the ball on Canton’s four-yard line but four smashes into the line failed to take the oval over, although the orange and black had lugged the ball to Canton’s one-yard line before fourth down.

It was the best chance either team had to score. Canton launched its strongest attack in the first half and in the second quarter twice advancing the ball inside Massillon’s 20-yard line but was never equal to the task of pushing back a determined orange and black eleven that bristled with courage and gameness when its goal line was in danger. Massillon held the upper hand throughout most of the second half, throwing more than one scare into the hearts of Canton rooters.
FEW CHANGES
Nine of the eleven Massillon players who started the game were still in the lineup when the final whistle blew. Massillon made but two substitutions, Dave Smith replacing Mauger in the line in the first quarter and Easterday going in for Spencer in the last few minutes when the big guard was injured after playing a whale of a game throughout. Injuries couldn’t keep the Massillon regulars out of the contest. Several of them were hurt and had to take time out but not a one of them would give up. All of which indicates that the orange and black Saturday had plenty of fighting spirit and physical fitness, the two things which worried local fans considerably before the game.

Canton sent quite a number of players in to the game. At the start of the third quarter Coach Peabody had three fresh halfbacks and two new ends in the lineup, saving his regulars for a late spurt. But the regulars did not get much of a rest. They were rushed into the battle again in a hurry after Massillon had blocked two of Holmes’ punts and was driving through the Canton eleven toward the east enders’ goal line. Only Peabody’s quick action in jerking his replacements kept Massillon from scoring.

Snow fell during most of the game. Both teams were hampered by the wet condition of the field. A slippery ball made it difficult for both teams to do much with the aerial game, although Canton uncovered quite a puzzling forward pass attack that succeeded in registering numerous gains.

So far as ground gaining was concerned Canton held a big edge on the Massillon lads making 11 first downs to one for Massillon but while Canton could gain on passes and end runs in midfield it never was able to do much against the fighting orange and black eleven once it had worked the ball into Massillon territory.

Despite the slippery condition of the ball fumbles were very scarce. Both teams played cleanly throughout and few penalties were inflicted by the officials.
FOX, BENSON, PRICE STAR
Massillon’s line came through in great shape, Saturday, every lad on the forward wall giving a good account of themselves but the heroes of the conflict were Sam Benson, center, and Fox, left tackle. Both played brilliant defensive games and it was their hard charging that enabled them to burst through the Canton line at the start of the third quarter and block two of Holmes’ punts.

Fox, a lad who has played a steady game all Fall, rose to heights of greatness Saturday by his wonderful performance. He was in practically every play, tackled hard and blocked the punt that gave Massillon the ball on Canton’s four-yard line. Benson also distinguished himself by his playing. The Massillon center was pitted against Ballard, captain of the Canton team and one of the best lineman the east end school has ever had but he met more than his match Saturday in Benson and was badly outplayed by the Massillonian. It was Sam who crashed through the Canton line to block a punt in the third quarter, gaining the distinction of being the first player of the year to block a kick on Holmes, the Canton punter.

Assisting Benson and Fox in their star defensive game was Captain Bill Price, the Brewster Welshman. Price’s work in the secondary defense was brilliant throughout. He was all over the field and tackled like a demon. Dave Smith, Ott and Spencer also played good games. Gump and Fulton on the ends had a busy day as Canton depended a great deal on end runs for its gains. They had difficulty stopping the Canton charges in the first half but both played strong games in the last two quarters.

Massillon’s offense, however, was not equal to its defense. This was largely due to the strong defensive games played by Canton. The best offensive game was played by “Whitey” Laughlin who never failed to gain a yard or two on his smashes into the Canton line. Courtney Smith also played well but McConnell and Price had difficulty gaining. Canton knew the ability of both of these lads and watched them closely. McConnell, however, got away for the longest gain of the game at the start of the third quarter when he went through Canton’s left tackle for 28 yards, having cleared the entire visiting eleven except Holmes, the safety man, who brought him down on Canton’s 22-yard line.
McCONNELL OUT PUNTS HOLMES
It was in punting that McConnell did his best work, Saturday. His exhibition of kicking was one of the best of the season and he clearly out-punted Holmes, Canton’s backfield star, gaining considerable yardage for the orange and black by his long and well placed punts.

Canton as usual depended largely upon Holmes for its offensive strength but outside of several brilliant returns of punts the Canton quarterback was held in check. He tossed several neat forward passes but most of the Canton gains were made by Hodnick, Clark and Taubensee on plunges through the line or dashes around the ends.
FIRST QUARTER
Massillon received to open the game and punted on third down. Holmes immediately launched an aerial attack and after his first pass had failed, tossed to Ritterspaugh and Kaufman for gains of seven and 15 yards. Canton then shifted to line plays and end runs and worked the ball to Massillon’s 34-yard line where the orange and black held for downs and took possession of the leather.

Then followed an exchange of punts, before Hodnick went through the line for eight yards before being tackled by McConnell.
SECOND QUARTER
A 25-yard return by Holmes of McConnell’s punt gave Canton the ball on Massillon’s 45-yard line early in the second quarter. After three plays had failed Holmes skirted right end for 11 yards and a first down before being chased out of bounds by Fulton. This put the ball on Massillon’s 32-yard line. Holmes was hurt but continued in the game. Hodnick hit the line for three and Holmes then passed to Hodnick for eight.

This gave Canton a first down with the ball on the 19-yard line. Kaufman was stopped without gain but Taubensee and Hodnick made seven in two plunges. On fourth down Holmes passed to Hodnick but the Canton receiver caught the ball out of bounds and it went to Massillon on its 13-yard line. McConnell punted out of danger but Massillon was penalized 15 yards for holding and the ball was back on Massillon’s 22-yard line.

The orange and black, however was equal to the occasion and held the red and black getting the ball on its 15-yard line. McConnell again punted and Holmes brought the ball back to Massillon’s 35-yard line. Four plunges gave Canton a first down. Only a few seconds of play remained in the second quarter and Kaufman dropped back to the 32-yard line for a field goal but his kick was short.
THIRD QUARTER
Canton received at the start of the third quarter but after Goss had been tossed for a four-yard loss Holmes punted to midfield. Then McConnell ripped through Canton’s left tackle for 28 yards taking the ball to the Canton 22-yard line. Three attempts to gain netted only four yards and McConnell attempted a drop kick from the 30-yard line. The pass was low and his kick was blocked by Ritterspaugh who was downed on his 35-yard line.

Canton failed to gain and Holmes dropped back to punt. But his kick never got across the line of scrimmage. Big Sam Benson breezed through the line and threw himself in front of Holmes, blocking the punt. The ball rolled back toward the Canton goal line and McConnell fell on it on Canton’s 22-yard line. After two attempts at the line had failed McConnell passed to Price for five yards. He then attempted a pass to Smith but the ball was grounded and Canton took it on its 15-yard line.

Holmes dropped back for another punt but this time Fox crashed through and blocked the kick and Gump dropped on the ball on Canton’s four-yard line. Canton’s regulars were coming back into the game as fast as Coach Peabody could send them in.

That blocked kick gave Massillon its best chance to score. McConnell failed to gain at right tackle. Laughlin made two yards at the line.

Smith made yard, taking the ball to the one-yard line but on the next play McConnell failed to get through the line and Canton got the ball on its three-yard line. Holmes then punted from behind his goal line to Smith who was downed on Canton’s 37-yard line.

Holmes then intercepted McConnell’s pass and ran it back to Massillon’s 43-yard line. Holmes passed to Hodnick for 20 yards, putting the ball on Massillon’s 29-yard line but on the next play Hodnick fumbled and Fulton covered on his 23-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER
A 25 yard penalty in Canton territory at the start of the fourth quarter put the ball on Canton’s 11-yard line. After several exchanges of punts Massillon got a break when Holmes punted out of bounds on his 19-yard line. Laughlin and Price made five in two plunges and McConnell dropped back to the 25-yard line for another shot at the Canton goal posts. The pass, however, was low and McConnell ran around Canton’s right end to the 12-yard line before being pushed out of bounds.

On the next play he tried another drop kick from the 22-yard line but the ball went wide and Canton put it in play on its 20-yard line.

Canton then began a determined march up the field and made two first downs before Massillon held and took possession of the oval in midfield as the game ended.
A Good Finish
Massillon – 0 Pos. Canton – 0
Gump LE Ritterspaugh
Fox LT L. Miller
Spencer LG Spence
Benson C Ballard
Mauger RG Carnahan
Ott RT Esmont
Fulton RE Sheets
McConnell QB Holmes
C. Smith LHB Clark
W. Price RHB Hodnick
Laughlin FB Kaufman

Substitutions:
Massillon – D. Smith for Mauger, Easterday for Spencer.

Canton – Taubensee for Clark, Samuels for Spence, D. Miller for Carnahan, Goss for Taubensee, Brinson for Kaufman, Wilgus for Hodnick, Taubensee for Goss, Kaufman for Brinson, Hodnick for Wilgus, Carnahan for D. Miller, Clark for Taubensee, Jurevoki for Ritterspaugh.

Referee – Lambert, O.S.U.
Umpire – Shafer, Akron.
Head Linesman – Barrett, Salem.

Time of quarters – 12 minutes.

Bill Price