Tag: <span>Hartshorn Stadium</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1970: Massillon 36, Alliance 12

Tigers Down tenacious Alliance 36-12

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Massillon’s No. 1 ranked Tigers Friday night won a game where it’s often most important – in the trenches.

Behind superb blocking again by “The Iron Curtain,” Washington high backs ran with authority, picking up 366 net yards on the ground, as the Tigers (3-0) beat Alliance (1-2) 36-12 at muggy Hartshorn stadium in the Carnation City before an estimated 10,000.
* * *
WHILE SENIOR tailback “Mailman Mike” Mauger did the largest share of the work, scoring four touchdowns and picking up 188 net yards in 22 attempts, senior fullback and co-captain Tom Cardinal and juniors Don Perry (fullback) and Larry McLenndon (tailback) also picked up a lot of yardage.

Particularly effective were off tackle plays – both from handoffs and pitchouts.

Program Cover

But while passing out orchids for the Tigers’ effort which put them into a three-way tie for the All-American conference head, it must also be pointed out that those “colossal mistakes, as Coach Bob Commings terms them, cropped up again, costing the Orange and Black two TDs and opening the door for one of Alliance’s six-pointers.

On the other side of the ledger, the Aviators played their usual tenacious game, never giving up, although taking a physical beating from the heavier WHSers. Alliance made Massillon fight for every inch of ground gained.

First year Aviator Coach Gene Nara also got some fine running – from senior fullback Lloyd Gray and 145-pound sophomore tailback Dan Contrucci.
* * *
“IT WAS a hard-hitting game, typical of the All-American conference,” said Nara, former Tiger aide. “I’m not ashamed of them. Other coaches can put their head down. I’m going to bring this team back. I knew what I was getting into when I came here. I knew there wasn’t much back.”

He added, “They wiped us out off tackle on the pitches.”

Commings was pleased with the game, saying, “It was good for us. We matured. Alliance was real spirited. Our kids had to go the route. We pressed ourselves and we learned a valuable lesson. You must also be poised. We weren’t in the first half. We all seemed to be tight, including the coaches. I thought we loosened up in the second half.”

A second period fight robbed both teams of key personal. The Tigers’ Cardinal and Aviator middle guard Jim Hancock were ejected. Fortunately, Perry filled in well at fullback for “The Red Bird” and senior John Nussbaumer, at linebacker.

But Nara had centered a special new defense around Hancock, whom he termed his best and quickest man and had no one else to fill the gap.
* * *
THE TIGERS started out as if to score right after the opening kickoff, but Cliff Jones picked up Mauger’s fumble on the Massillon 46. The Aviators lost the ball on downs on the Massillon forhty-yard line as “The Attack Pack” held. Jones’ field goal attempt was wide right.

Then came an 80-yard, 11-0lay Massillon scoring jaunt, featuring the running of Cardinal and Mauger. A 16-yard screen pass scamper by the former and a 30-yard, pass-run from quarterback Denny Franklin to the latter, with the run 21 yards, were the highlights.

Mauger’s touchdown came off right tackle on first down from the one with the clock malfunctioning. Franklin’s pass to split end Willie Spencer misfired on the conversion try.

Early in the second period, John Sims stole a Gray fumble on the Massillon 30. However, Franklin later fumbled on the Aviator six, recovering the ball, but losing to the 15 and missing the score.

Mauger’s 11-yard punt return started WHS on the way to a five-play, 51-yard TD drive, aided by a 13-yard romp by Franklin and capped by Mauger’s 17-yard, first down run around left end after the tackle hole had closed. Franklin converted on a bootleg run to the right.
* * *
EARLY IN the third quarter, the Tigers scored on a 55-yard, five-play drive, featuring a 14-yard, pass-run from Franklin to wingback Bernard Sullivan, “Sullie” running for four and Mauger’s 49-yarder on a pitch right. Tim Ridgley threw a key block and Mauger carried Jones into the end zone with 8:27 left. Franklin converted on a keeper to the right.

Alliance got into the scoring column when the Tigers failed to contain punter Chuck Larsuel after a bad snap from the Alliance 15. On first down from the 20, Gray got a pitch to the left, cut back to the right and was away for the score. Willie Spencer threw quarterback Randy Hunt on the conversion try.

Late in the quarter, Perry’s 22-yard trek aided a drive, following a punt, which put the ball on the Alliance 10 on first down. Mauger fumbled on the one on the next play, the ball rolled into the end zone and was finally collared by Alliance’s Jim Brocklehurst near the end line.

After a fourth quarter punt, Massillon marched 56 yards in nine plays to pay dirt, aided by a personal foul penalty as the Orangemen had been on their second TD drive Mauger rammed off right tackle on first down from the four with 5:41 left. Franklin hit Spencer in the left end zone corner for the conversion.

Alliance got possession on its 40 when Mauger’s kickoff traveled out of bounds and Contrucci proceeded to reel off two runs of 12 yards each, caught a 14-yard pass from Bill Anderson, subbing for the injured Randy Hunt and then ran over center and back right on second down from the 22 for six points with 4:33 left. A conversion pass fell incomplete.
* * *
THE TIGERS finished the scoring after Ridgley had fallen on an onside kick at his 48. Six plays later, Franklin hit Spencer from 10 yards out off a bootleg with 1:57 remaining.

“Dennis the Menace’s” conversion pass to Co-Captain and tight end Steve Luke was incomplete.

The drive featured McLenndon’s 16-yard scamper, some hard running by Perry and Franklin’s 20-yard forced run.

MASSILLON – 36
Ends – S. Luke, Stephan, McGuire, Spencer.
Tackles – Strobel, Ridgley, Weirich.
Guards – Kulik, Jasinski, Sims, Nussbaumer, Graber, Groff.
Center – Studer, Chovan, Gaddis.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Dingler, Schultz.
Halfbacks – Mauger, Sullivan, McLenndon, Thompson, Wonsick, Weise, B. Luke.
Fullbacks – Cardinal, Perry.

ALLIANCE – 12
Ends – Paina, Danesi, Lightner, Brockett, Cameron.
Tackles – Randy Kuceyeski, Ron Kuceyeski, Addams.
Guards – Andreani, Messenheimer, Lugenbuhl, Penturf.
Centers –Jones, Mergenthaler, Dwyer.
Quarterbacks – Hunt, Anderson, Davis, Haidet.
Halfbacks – Larsuel, Sloane, Snodgrass, Contrucci, Brocklehurst, May, Lloyd.
Fullbacks – Beckwith, LeNave, Hancock.

MASSILLON 6 8 8 14 36
ALLIANCE 0 0 6 6 12

SCORING
M – Mauger, one-yard run (pass failed);
M—Mauger, 17-yard run (Franklin run);
M – Mauger, 49-yard run (Franklin run);
A – Gray, 80-yard run failed);
M – Mauger, four-yard run (Spencer, pass from Franklin);
A – Construcci, 22-yard run (pass failed);
M – Spencer, 10-yard pass from Franklin (pass failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Nick Frascella.
Umpire – John Dalrymple.
Head Linesman – Len Batcha.
Field Judge – Hal Schumacher.

ATTENDANCE – 10,000

Mauger tops AAC,
county in scoring

Massillon Washington high’s Mike Mauger continues to set the pace in Stark county and All-American conference scoring derbies.

He also is the highly-touted AAC’s No. 1 rusher, cleating 505 yards for 12.6 per lug mark.
* * *
MAUGER HOLDS lofty leads in AAC rushing and scoring and has a 21-point margin over Minerva’s Jess Lowry in a bid to unseat Hartville-Lake’s Brian Bowers as Stark county’s premiere score of 1970.

Mauger’s nearest rival in AAC scoring is Artis Zachary of arch foe Canton McKinnley with 30 points. Alliance’s Lloyd Gray is nearest to Mauger in AAC rushing with 279 yards and a 4.7 per try.

Massillon’s game Saturday will send the AAC’s top passer (Tiger Denny Franklin) against the No. 2 passer (Niles’ Alan Ciminero).

Franklin has hit 12 of 29 tries for 289 yards, five TDs; Ciminero shows 13-for-28 and 265 yards. He also has tossed for five six-pointers, but has had three of his aerials picked off, while but two of Franklin’s attempts have been pilfered.

Tiger Bernard Sullivan ranks second in AAC receiving with five grabs for 112 yards and three TDs. Niles’ Jim Stringer is the No. 1 receiver, snaring four of Ciminero’s aerials for 119 yards and three TDs.

Canton South’s Dave Pellegrini is Stark county’s No. 3 scorer after three games with 44 points – four less than Lowry and four more than Bowers.
AAC SCORING
Mike Mauger, Massillon 69; Artis Zachary, Canton McKinley, 30; Alex DiMarziio, Canton McKinley, 28; Jim Stringer, Niles McKinley, 26; Bernard Sullivan, Massillon, 18; Anthony Brown, Warren G. Harding, 14; Dean Young of Steubenville; Dennis Franklin of Massillon; Lloyd Gray of Alliance and Mike Cara of Steubenville, 12 each.
AAC RUSHING
Mauger, 505 yards, 12.6; Gray, 279 yard, 4.7; Arnold Johnson, Steubenville, 232 yards, 5.7; Zachard, 188 yards, 4.6; Brown, 178 yards, 6.3; Stringer, 159 yards, 5.5; Eric Kirksey, Warren G. Harding, 129 yards, 6.1; Cara, 111 yards, 3.9; DiMarzioi, 109.

Steve Luke
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1968: Massillon 32, Alliance 6

Tigers’ ability to move ball tops Alliance

Hold Aviators to 5 net yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

You can’t beat good defensive football, but when the other team is matching your effort, you’d better be able to move the ball when you get the chance.

That was the difference Friday night at Hartshorn stadium in Alliance as the Massillon Tigers picked up their third consecutive victory, beating the Aviators 32-6 before an estimated 10,000 fans.

The near-capacity crowd watched the Orange and black capitalize one a couple of breaks and put together two 50-yard drives to score in each quarter except the first and jump into a tie for first place in the All-American conference with Niles McKinley. The Tigers will play at Niles next Saturday. Both are 1-0 in league play.

For Alliance it was an unhappy league debut and its second loss in four outings.
* * *
“SOMEBODY ELSE made the mistakes instead of us for a change,” Massillon Coach Bob Seaman said, adding, “Our defense hit like the devil.”

“I felt our defense played a good game, “Alliance coach Mel Knowlton commented, “but we couldn’t move the ball and errors killed us. You can’t play defense all night and expect to be great.”

“When you’re playing a team whose backs can run like Massillon’s, somebody’s bound to get loose sooner or later.”

Program Cover

The miscue, which damaged Alliance the most, came shortly before the end of the first half with Massillon leading 8-6. Punter Ray Biery had to chase an errant snap from the
28-yard line into the end zone, got back out to the three, but was stopped by end Dave Couto.

Two plays later quarterback Marc Malinowski burst through the center from the two for Massillon’s second touchdown with 26 seconds left. Tailback Jim Smith scored the second of his three conversions for a 16-6 lead. He also accounted for a six-pointer.
* * *
BOTH KNOWLTON and Seaman pointed out that a safety at this point would have been better for the Alliance cause. “That mistake really broke out backs,” Knowlton said.

The Aviators had taken a 6-0 first quarter lead when junior John Fromholtz, punting for the first time this year, saw his effort downed on the Massillon 45. Quarterback Jim Albu found end Rowland Purdy on two of the next three plays for a quick tally for Alliance. The first pass was a 14-yarder, the paydirt toss went for 28 yards with 1:48 left.

Albu chose the aerial route in a try for a conversion, but safety Chuck Stoner intercepted.

The Carnation City eleven failed to get out of its own territory again with the exception of late in the final quarter when an unsportsman like conduct penalty aided them. The Tigers held Alliance to five net yards on the ground and 81 passing for their best defensive effort of the season.

Washington high in turn picked up 142 net on the ground and 37 via the sky. Smith claimed 101 of the ground yardage in 23 tries for a 4.4 average as the Tigers spent a good part of the game in Alliance territory, running 70 plays to Alliance’s 51.
* * *
HE PUT THE TIGERS on the scoreboard with 4:29 left in the second period with a
four-yard off-tackle jaunt and gave them the lead with a conversion run on the same play. He ran all five plays in the TD march after Mark McDew had run a punt back 18 yards to the Aviator 22.

Larry Shumar’s 13-yard punt runback to the Alliance 37 in the third quarter started the Tigers towards the Promised Land once again. Malinowski aided with a 19-yard trip through the center, fumbling on the way, but tight end Tom Engler, who started his first game as a replacement for the injured Tom Robinson, recovered.

Malinowski passed to McDew in the center of the end zone from 14 yards out for the TD as the period ended. Smith smashed over right tackle for the conversion.

Guard Tim Arnott recovered a Pilot fumble on the Alliance 32 just after the start of the fourth stanza. In eight plays the “M & M Special” clicked again as Malinowski deposited the ball in McDew’s arms in the right side of the end zone with 7:36 left. Darnell Streeter scored the conversion.

Seaman explained that the Tigers were able to pass effectively in the second half because the Aviators’ defensive alignment left the passing game open.
* * *
CO-CAPTAIN and linebacker George Whitfield and safety Chuck Stoner both picked off passes in the second half and Dave Hout, a junior middle guard, grabbed a fumble in the second quarter but the steals led to nothing. The interceptions aborted Alliance drives and Whit’s runback almost resulted in a touchdown.

On the first play of the game, Purdy got loose deep in Massillon territory but couldn’t hold Albu’s pass.

“He was as open as you can ever be,” Knowlton moaned, “as open as a corn field. If you can score one like that you can really shake a team.”

MASSILLON – 32
Ends – James, Engler, Cline, Dorman, Conley.
Tackles – McGeorge, Laase, Midgley, Doll, Harris.
Guards – Whitfield, Harig, Hout, Couto, Indorf, Arnott.
Center – Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Malinowski, Herring, Fromholtz.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Shumar, K. Autrey, Hodgson, Stoner,
McLin, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – M. Autrey, Streeter, Johnson.

ALLIANCE
Ends – Beiry, Grimes, Malone, Purdy.
Tackles – Dietrich, Ferguson, Brienza, Bruderly.
Guards – Gemberling, Crockett, Post, Brunie, Horton.
Centers – Trieff, Fulop.
Quarterback – Albu.
Halfbacks – Terrell, Slifkin, Golden, Rogers, King, Young.
Fullbacks – Geltz, Petersberger.

Massillon 0 16 8 8 – 32
Alliance 6 0 0 0 – 6

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith, (4-yard run); Malinowski, (12-yard run); McDew 2 (8 and 13-yard passes from Malinowski).
Alliance – Purdy (26-yard pass from Albu).

Extra points: Massillon – Smith 2 (runs); Streeter 2 (runs).

THE GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs –rushing 11 1
First downs – passing 3 4
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 13 6
Yards gained rushing 152 20
Yards lost rushing 40 45
Net yards gained rushing 142 3
Net yards gained passing 37 62
Total yards gained 179 84
Passes completed 4-11 6-15
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 52 0
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average (yards) 42.2 45.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 33 29
Punt average (yards) 4-25 4-35
Punt return (yards) 38 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 35 25
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 2 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 70 51

George Whitfield
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1956: Massillon 13, Alliance 0

Tigers Win Thriller From Alliance
Massillon Gridders Triumph 13-0; Erase Old Jinx For Coach

By CHARLIE POWELL

It was another heap big scare, m’am, and Massillon was mighty glad it won.

There was good reason for rejoicing in the Tiger camp; the Tigers could point to their third victory in a row, the Alliance jinx was something of the past and Coach Lee Tressel’s personal winning skein had reached 37 games.

The Aviators, mainly on their longest sustained drive of the night, which came late in the third period and fizzled out on the first play of the final quarter, were like so many previous Alliance combines. They simply gave all they had before bowing 13-0 before 7,819 paid fans at Mt. Union College stadium.

But what they had wasn’t enough, thank goodness.

Program Cover

Massillon parlayed first and fourth period marches into its 28th win in 33 meetings with Alliance clubs. Fancy prancing Ivory Benjamin dashed into pay dirt twice and teamed with hard-nosed Mike Hershberger and the two line-busters, Chet Brown and “Chuck” Beiter, to give the Tigers the advantage when it came to moving that pigskin.

That the ground attack was the big difference was evident in that for the second time this season Massillon enjoyed a statistical edge. Just take a look.

Massillon, 13 first downs to Alliance’s 10, 270 net yards gained to 173. One Tiger aerial connection made 14 yards while the vaunted Aviator air game went ker-plunk.
* * *
ALLIANCE TRIED eight passes and not one settled into the arms of the intended receiver. But four times it was not fault of the passer, sophomore Walt Zingg.

This boy Zingg really threw the oval around but his efforts were in vain.

For instance, in that third quarter march Zingg’s flings could have put the host club back in the old ball game. Twice his receivers raced behind the Tiger secondary and were practically all by their lonesome when the pass arrived. But on both occasions the aerials were dropped.

Then after the drive ended, the Tigers had to punt and early in the spine-tingling final frame the Aviators went to work again. After Mike Hershberger got off one of his fine punts, this one 53 yards to the Aviator 10, the Mel Knowlton-coached crew advanced to their own 43 and once again one of their receivers dashed behind the secondary. Again the ball was right there but again Zingg’s toss was missed.
* * *
THE ORANGEMEN then applied the clincher. A march of 81 yards, featuring Beiter’s
35-yard caper up the middle, was capped when Benjamin whizzed around the right side for the final 13 yards.

The goalposts came down and the thumping in Massillon hearts eased considerably. What happened after that, except for the celebrating, was anti-climatic – even the fact that end Clyde Childers was required to kickoff three times.

Thus the Alliance jinx which made Paul Brown, Chuck Mather and Tom Harp its victims, went down the drain. And responsible was a green gang of fighters who licked a scrappy band of veterans.

Coach Tressel, enjoying one of his happiest hours, wouldn’t try to pick out any standouts.

“We are improving, our tackling was better and our downfield blocking looked good again. However, we have some more tough ones coming up. They are all rough…I mean it…but I believe we can hold our own if we continue to improve,” he said.

Tressel was a little peeved because of a second quarter let down but he explained the boys may have been tiring. However, apparently they got their second breath after stopping Alliance’s one big push of the night and as the last drive that iced the verdict was marked by crisp blocking and some hard running.
* * *
THE TIGER COACH was high on the Alliance team. He singled out halfbacks Timmy Johnson and Gary Wilson, who were particular thorns on inside running plays, and also paid a tribute to Zingg, a passer of “real promise.”

Johnson and Wilson accounted for 167 yards between them but their fast and shifty dashes failed to overshadow those of the four lads who carried the brunt of the Orange attack.

Benjamin zipped 92 yards in 14 carries with his touchdown coming on nifty runs of 25 and 14 yards, Hershberger made 76 in 16 trips, the improving Beiter gained 70 in five carries and Brown toted seven times for 31 yards.

Their runs were made possible by a mobile line that handled its job mighty fine. There were no standouts – everybody played hard and smart.

The game was less than two minutes old when guard Tom Meldrum jumped on a fumble at the enemy 49 – and Massillon was on its way to its first touchdown.

Hershberger and Benjamin gained three and five, respectively, before the former, twisting away from two would-be tacklers on a sweep to the left, picked up 14 yards to the 27. Brown got a yard, Benjamin fought for five and Hershberger fumbled and recovered for a four-yard deficit before Benjamin got on his horse.
* * *
THE WHIRLING dervish who plays left half for the Bengals took the ball on a double reverse – which caught the Aviators with their defenses down – and veered to the right. Blocking was near perfect and Ivory had it comparatively easy the last 15 yards of his
15-yard gallop. He was knocked for a loop but in the end zone and with six and a half minutes remaining in the panel, the Tigers were in front 6-0.

It was still six to zero after Davie Richardson’s placekick hit the crossbar and bounced back.

The rest of the quarter was meaningless other than Johnson’s 18-yard run but the hosts made two more first downs as the second round got under way. However, the Tigers knuckled down and finally end Attlilo Giovanatto had to punt from the Massillon 48.

The Tigers moved to their own 49 before Hershberger got off another terrific punt and another exchange of punts followed. The last time Alliance had possession in the first half Zingg tried three passes. One was almost intercepted by Benjamin, and two others were too far for the intended receiver.

Tressel’s halftime talk must have been a honey.

The Tigers came out loaded for Aviators. Except for a 15-yard foray by Beiter the yards were ripped off in short chunks as the Orangemen took the kickoff and moved from their own 16 to the 39.
* * *
BOB RINEHART the smooth quarterback, then hit on his only completion with Benjamin the catcher. The play was good for 14 and the fourth first down of the march but then the boys ran out of gas. On a delay, Hershberger was nailed for a five-yard loss by linebacker Bob Miller and Beiter was held for no gain before Rinehart took to the airlanes again.

The first went to Benjamin at the 25 but it looked like Ivory tried to run before he made the catch. On fourth down Rinehart twirled into the end zone and the throw was just a shade too far for Dick Brenner to reach.

Alliance was fired-up again. It was Johnson, then Wilson to the Tiger 43 before an end dropped a Zingg aerial in the clear at the 20. The host team went to the ground again and Wilson on two smashes gained 23 to the 20. Alliance stands were roaring but another Zingg pass was dropped and Johnson got only two and Wilson three. Then on fourth down Zingg couldn’t find a receiver in the open and ran to his right. Chet Brown got a firm grip on Zingg’s jersey, wouldn’t let go and Massillon took over at its own 13.

Chet and Ivory picked up a first down but in three more plays the Bengals gained nine and Hershberger punted. This time his kick sailed 53 yards and dead on the 10.

And man, the Aviators had Tiger fans on the edge of their seats once again.

That same pair, Johnson and Wilson, carried the mail to the 32 and after the next two plays made eight, a Zingg pass was dropped for the fourth time.
* * *
THEN EVERYBODY was expecting the Red and Blue to go for the first down. It was fourth and about a yard and a half at the 43 but the Aviators punted.

Giovanatto lofted one 38 yards to the Massillon 19 and the Tresselmen got sharp to apply the clincher.

Chet Brown twice wriggled loose for 12-yard pick-ups as the invaders moved to the Aviator 43 before Beiter came through with his 35-yard jaunt. Beiter cracked the middle and almost went the distance but was brought down from behind at the eight. A Rinehart toss was short but Benjamin skirted right-end, smartly cut away from a couple defenders, and went into the end zone standing up. Richardson’s placement at 1:02 made Massillonians real happy.

Childers had to kickoff three times after the field was cleared of fans who walked off with the goalposts. Massillon was offside on the first; the second went out of bounds. Then kicking from his own 35, the lanky flanker sent one clear down to the Alliance five. Johnson ran it out to the 27 and on the second play from scrimmage guard John Heimann intercepted a Zingg pass and two plays later the final gun sounded.

STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs rushing 12 10
First downs passing 1 0
First downs by penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 278 180
Yards lost rushing 22 7
Passes attempted 6 8
Passes completed 1 0
Passes had intercepted 0 1
Yards gained passing 14 0
Net yards gained 270 173
Times kicked off 3 1
Average kickoff return -5 16
Yards kickoff returned by -5 49
Times punted 4 5
Average punt (yards) 42.5 36
Yards punts returned by 0 9
Had punts blocked 0 0
Total fumbles 2 3
Times lost ball on fumbles 0 2
Penalties 5 2
Yards penalties 35 20

Mike Hershberger