Joe Studer Archives - MassillonTigers.com

Tag: <span>Joe Studer</span>

1974: Massillon 20, Canton McKinley 15

November 9, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

TIGERS STUN BULLDOGS 20-15
Final-Seconds Aerial Blasts Rally by Pups

By BOB STEWART
Repository Sports Editor

MASSILLON – At a few moments past the hour of four o’clock Saturday afternoon, an inflated brown leather ellipsoid floated downward from the sky.

It nestled in the arms of a young man by the name of Edward Bell, an 18-year old who is enrolled at Washington High School here and who just happened to be jogging about in an area of real estate known as Tiger Stadium.

His specific location was a plot known as “The End zone” – an appropriate name, for his simple act of catching the ball “ended” many things.
79th IN CLASSIC SERIES
It was the end of the scoring in this 79th scholastic football classic which has pitted the young warriors of Canton McKinley and Massillon Washington high schools since 1894 (flu scratched a game during World War I), put the 79th episode into the books reading Massillon 20, McKinley 15.

It ended the Canton McKinley undefeated record this season at nine, blasting hopes for the first 10-0 season since 1956.

It ended the McKinley Bulldogs’ dreams of a berth in the Ohio High School Athletic Association championship playoffs. New Philadelphia High will represent Region 3.
COMEBACK FAILS
It ended the dramatic and brilliant McKinley comeback, which saw the Pups’ Roch Hontas kick a 25-yard field goal for a 15-14 lead only 73 seconds before the game clock was due to run out.

It also will mean the end, no doubt, of McKinley’s No. 1 ranking in the wire service polls. The Pups were attempting to win the mythical wire service title for the first time since 1955 and 1956, when they won back-to-back championships with 20 straight wins over two seasons.

Bell was catching the beautiful, crisp, clear, sunny afternoon’s second TD pass thrown by teammate and quarterback Greg Wood, a youngster much maligned but now vindicated.
TIGERS SMELL UPSET
Wood hit halfback Mark Streeter with a 24-yard scoring strike when the game was but nine-and-one-half minutes old, and the Tigertowners smelled an upset.

Massillon’s first score was no fluke, as the Tigers drove the ball 71 yards in 12 plays after stopping McKinley on fourth down and a foot.

The Bulldogs’ Mike Kolbs pounced on a Massillon fumble on the third play of the game, but McKinley couldn’t cash in.

Trailing 7-0 McKinley got on three yards on three plays after the kickoff and Hontas punted to the Tigers’ 36, from where Wood engineered his second scoring drive.
WHIPPING BOY NO MORE
Wood, who was one of the whipping boys for the boo-birds and boosters when Massillon lost three of its first four games this season, again whipped his team down the field and in a dozen plays had used up three minutes, 50 seconds of playing time, covered 63 yards and put another seven points on the board.

Wood himself did the honors, diving the final two yards over the right side.

Hontas got the Pups moving, finally, as he began hitting his aerials.
PUPS SCORE ON PASS
The Pups scored on a 36-yard pass from Hontas to end Ruben Floyd. But when Jonathan Moore, McKinley’s leading rusher and scorer, failed to make the three yards for the
two-point conversion, the Pups were a long eight points behind.

The drive was 77 yards in 13 plays, but was kept alive by a major Massillon mistake, a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a fourth-and-14 Hontas punt at the Bulldogs 19.

Massillon with 237-pound fullback Bill Harmon and slippery scatback Tom Grizzard (both juniors) roaring through massive holes opened by a rejuvenated Tiger offensive forward wall, mounted yet another threat.

The Tigers tidal wave trundled down the turf to the McKinley 28 before ebbing. From there, Dave Dowd, who kicked the two PATs, missed a field goal try from the 35.

But the short chip shot hit like a nine iron on the five yard line and McKinley was 95 yards away from the equalizer and the fourth quarter was two plays old.

Hontas retreated into his own end zone and flipped a screen pass to wingback Bob Armstrong, who got out to the 13, and the McKinley march was on.

Massillon linebacker Dennis Bricker made what looked like a drive-stopping tackle on a screen to Floyd at the Bulldogs own 21, setting up a fourth-and-two situation.
BULLDOGS MARCH 95
But faint heart never won a football game and Moore got eight on a sweep and the march continued for 95 yards in 18 plays, capped by fullback Bob Lombardi’s three-foot blast to pay dirt with 3:37 left in the game.

Hontas’ pass to Lombardi was incomplete and the Tigers still prevailed by a pair, 14-12.

The ensuing on-side kickoff bounced into a mass of Massillon and Canton players and McKinley’s Eric Llewellyn came up with the football and the Pups were born again.

Hontas quickly completed a pair of passes to Tom Grafton and Ray Ellis and Lombardi got nine yards in three tries to set the state for what the Canton backers would love to have settled for.

With Bill Poulos holding, Hontas kicked a 25-yarder right through the middle of the uprights, putting three points on the McKinley side and joy in the hearts of Canton fans.

The clock read 1:13.

Then came the dirge, tolled by the “Bell”.

Wood threw the ball three times and Bell caught all three on down-and-out patterns for 12, 9 and 12-yard gains.

He missed one and then got sacked and the ball was at the McKinley 34 with 13 seconds remaining.

Bell lined up on the right side, blew downfield and started another cut to the outside, but then suddenly flew for the goal.

He was all alone past the goal line when Wood’s toss settled into his arms. The clock showed there were six seconds remaining.

It was Massillon’s 43rd win in the long series against 31 losses. There have been five ties.

It put Warren and McKinley in a tie for the All-American Conference title for the second year in a row. Last year, the two shared it with Massillon also.

The victory gave Massillon a 6-4 season record and today in Tigertown nobody even remembers those four losses that happened such a “long time ago sometime this season.”

Massillon 7 7 0 6 20
McKinley 0 0 6 9 15

SCORING SUMMARY
Mass. – tb Mark Streeter, 24 pass from qb Greg Wood (g Dave Dowd kick).
Mass. – Wood, 2 run (Dowd kick).
Mck. – e Ruben Flloyd 36 pass from qb Roch Hontas (run failed).
Mck. – fb Bob Lombardi, 1 run (pass failed).
Mck. – Hontas, 25 FG.
Mass. – se Eddie Bell, 34 pass from Wood (pass failed).

Tigers Score
On Desperation Pass
Massillon Stuns McKinley

By LARRY BRECKENRIDGE
Beacon Journal Staff Writer

MASSILLON – “If I live to be a 100,” said one veteran sportswriter, “I’ll never see a football game as exciting as that one.”

The gentleman was referring to Saturday’s clash between Massillon and Canton McKinley in which the Tigers scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass with only five seconds remaining to shock the previously undefeated Bulldogs 20-15 before 21,754 at Tiger Stadium.

Massillon ends 6-4 and McKinley 9-1.

The victory was especially disappointing to McKinley because it probably cost the Bulldogs a spot in the Class AAA computer playoffs.

The Bulldogs held a 14-point lead over New Philadelphia in Region 3 of the latest computer poll but the Quakers beat previously undefeated Dover Friday night which should give them enough points to overtake McKinley.

The two players mainly responsible for the Tigers’ victory were quarterback Greg Wood and split end Eddie Bell.

It appeared McKinley had won the game with 1:13 left when the Bulldogs Roch Hontas kicked a 25-yard field goal to put McKinley ahead 15-14.

But following the ensuing kickoff which Massillon returned to its own 35-yard line, Wood and Bell teamed up for three straight pass completions to move the ball to the McKinley 31.

Wood was then dropped for a three-yard loss but on the next play Bell slipped behind the McKinley secondary and Wood lofted a perfect pass which Bell gathered in over his shoulder in the corner of the end zone.

“EDDIE ran a beautiful patter,” Wood said. “I just laid the ball up there. I knew he was going to catch it as soon as I threw it.”

“I heard the McKinley coaches yelling to watch for the deep pass,” Bell explained. “But the McKinley players must not have heard them. That was probably the biggest catch I’ll ever make.”
Late Score Keys Massillon
Massillon coach Chuck Shuff said, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw Bell in the open.” And neither could McKinley’s John Brideweser.

“We were in a prevent defense,” he explained. “And the one thing that is NOT supposed to happen is a deep pass. But those things happen.”

The Tiger defense shut out McKinley’s high scoring offense for the first 24 minutes in limiting the Bulldogs to only four first downs and 84 yards.

Massillon’s ball-control offense, on the other hand, was equally impressive as it scored 14 points in the first half and rolled up 12 first downs and 203 yards.

Massillon, which did not punt once, took a 7-0 lead with 2:35 remaining in the first quarter when Wood hit Mark Streeter with a 24-yard touchdown pass and David Dowd kicked the first of two conversions. The drive covered 71 yards in 12 plays and took almost six minutes.

FOLLOWING a McKinley punt, Massillon drove 67 yards in 11 yards to increase the margin to 14-0 with 9:59 left in the half. Wood got the touchdown on a fourth-and-goal situation from the two.

The Bulldogs pulled to within 14-6 following the second half kickoff by driving 70 yards in 12 plays. The touchdown came on a 36-yard pass from Hontas to Ruben Floyd. The conversion failed when tailback Jonathan Moore was stopped short of the goal.
After stopping a Massillon drive at the Bulldog 13, McKinley fullback Bob Lombardi scored on a one-yard run with 3:53 remaining to cap a 95 yard, 17-play drive. A pass for the conversion failed and Massillon led 14-12.

McKinley followed with an onside kick and the Bulldogs Eric Llewellyn recovered tat the Massillon 46. Eight plays later Hontas kicked the apparent winning field goal.

MASSILLON 7 7 0 6 20
McKINLEY 0 0 6 9 15

MASSILLON – Streeter, 24 pass from Wood (Dowd kick).
MASSILLON – Wood, 2 run (Dowd kick).
McKINLEY – Floyd 36 pass from Hontas (run failed).
McKINLEY – Lombardi, 1 run (pass failed).
McKINLEY – Hontas 25 FG.
MASSILLON – Bell, 34 pass from Wood (pass failed).

Shuff Officially Accepted
in Tigers’ Lair

By MIKE ZEMELKA
Repository Sportswriter

MASSILLON – This proclaimed scholastic football capital of the United States has added another full-blooded Tiger to its lair.

“I’m a Tiger now!” exclaimed a shell-shocked Chuck Shuff when the first-season Massillon Washington coach finally wormed his way into his office – some 30 minutes after his Tigers (6-4), unbelievable 20-15 conquest of arch-rival Canton McKinley (9-1) before a Tiger Stadium throng of 21,754 football fanatics Saturday afternoon.

The storybook finish is unparalleled .

“I JUST COULDN’T believe it when I saw Eddie Bell in the open,” Shuff said of the 34-yard pass the 5-foot-10, 154-pound senior split end caught (in the end zone) from classmate Greg Wood. It came as the Tigers merely were driving for field position to give placekicker Dave Dowd a shot at a field goal attempt.

“I don’t think we could call for another ounce of energy out of any of our boys,” Shuff said of the physically drained coaches and players.

“We stopped their running game as far as the big play and that type of defensive effort took a lot of noise,” he said.

The McKinley loss assured Behling’s 9-0-1 Quakers a berth vs. Upper Arlington in this week-end’s Ohio Class AAA playoff semifinals.

“I thought it was all over,” Behling said of the Hontas field goal, “but that’s the Tiger spirit.”

“Never any worry,” former Massillon and Kent State University coach Leo Strang told Shuff, but it was Strang who appeared worried at half time. He’s the guy who had his fingers crossed as he wandered through the stands to say hello to his Tigertown friends.
– : –
“IT’S THE GREATEST victory I’ve ever been in,” shouted long-time Tiger aide Nick Vrotsos before he and his fellow coaches took what each proclaimed as “the best one (shower) I’ve ever had” when the players escorted their coaches to the drink.

“Hey guys, we don’t have to walk the alleys. We can walk the streets,” Vrotsos shouted to his fellow coaches from the showers.

One-time McKinley standout L.C. Young, the Massillon superintendent of schools, embraced Shuff and said, “Just keep it going.”

“Something good had to happen,” Young said. “We lost the levy (Tuesday) and these boys and coaches just went through hell.”
– : –
AMONG THOSE who probably were in the rocker room were two former Massillon players – Phil Garcia and Nick Pribich – who Friday sent Behling and the Quakers a telegram and assured them: “If you beat Dover (New Philly did, 7-0), we’ll do our part tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon and come Monday you’ll be No. 1.”

AND that’s the main reason Behling left the office he once worked in proud as a peacock – and with the Massillon-Upper Arlington game film in his grasp.

It’s ironic how this series has been a thorn in the side of what is supposed to be the favored team.

However, the intense rivalry is what makes this classic so great. It was only 12 months ago the Bulldogs knocked the Tigers out of a play-off berth.

21,754 Fans Jam
Tigers’ Lair For Thrilling Clash of Old Foes

By FREDERICK J. BALL
Repository Staff Writer

MASSILLON – There are rumors the world does not revolve around the annual McKinley-Massillon football game.

That may be true, but you’ll never convince thousands of rabid fans on both sides of the traditional rivalry.

And they were out in force Saturday – 21,754 strong – at Tiger Stadium to watch the Massillon Tigers smash their way past McKinley’s Bulldogs to rack up a final-seconds
20-15 victory.
Like a Movie Thriller
The final Massillon touchdowns – with six seconds showing on the clock – looked like the plot clincher in an old 1940s college football movie.

In fact, the entire game had a certain “scripted” appearance to it.

Weather was perfect for the big climax to both schools’ schedules, with bright sun and temperatures in the low 60s to warm spectators, but just enough breeze to keep players from becoming uncomfortable.

Near Massillon’s city limits, incoming Canton fans traveling bumper-to-bumper found crepe-paper-covered cars along the roadway, their sides and trunks plastered with giant “Beat McKinley” signs.

Such vehicles were greeted by jeers and groans from west-bound autos displaying a different kind of sign – “Beat Massillon.”

Approaching the stadium the noise was the first thing that hit arrivals.

A calliope, blended with honking horns and clanging cowbells, provided an overlying pattern of high-pitched accents, while shouts, cheers and jabber of the crowd produced a back ground buzz that increased in intensity as people filled the stadium.

There were shouts of players – clear and strong during warm-up exercises but lower and harsher as they began to pound each other during the game. Above all was the blare of the loudspeaker.
Hot Dogs and Pizza
There was plenty to keep the other senses busy, too.

The air was filled with the smell of popcorn, hot dogs and pizza. You could smell the aroma of recently rain-moistened earth, too, and there was just a hint of smoke.

The eyes, too, were attracted to splashes of color that dotted the stands, with oranges and reds of the two schools livened by the bright November sun.

There was food and drink to appease taste buds, as well, and as for touch – well, who says the field is the only place at a football game where there is contact?

Saturday, Massillon and McKinley fans were squeezed into Tiger Stadium like a Size-12 foot in a Size-10 shoe. Activity at the concession booths under the grandstand at halftime was really something else, too.

You’d think someone over 6 foot tall who weighs in at 210 pounds could hold his own against a bunch of 10-year-olds at the hot dog stand, wouldnt you?

Well, forget it. Those kids squirm and push their way to the front of the line like first-string fullbacks running through a second-string defensive line.
Game Takes Over
But once the game got underway, no one paid much attention to anything but what was happening on the gridiron.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, with The Tigers only one touchdown ahead, Paul Akers of 425 15th Street NW, president of the McKinley Alumni Booster Club, still was confident.

With the Bulldogs putting on a defensive stand at their own four-yard line, Akers said, “I know the Pups are going to come through for us.”

“C’mon, Bulldogs! You can hold’em!” he shouted, jumping to his feet. The McKinley defensive unit held. It was fourth down and four yards for a touchdown.
The Dream Dies
“We’re going to show Massillon who’s NO. 1. I tell you, we’re going to come back,” Akers declared.

He jumped up again as play resumed and a Massillon ball carrier rammed his way across the goal line. A shout died on Aker’s lips and he stood with his arms at his side, a dejected expression on his face.

A few yards away, Phyllis Kobie of 2855 Thackeray Drive NW, Massillon, was every bit as excited as Akers was upset.

“I think it’s just fantastic! Massillon’s going to win this game!” she shouted over the blare of the nearby McKinley band.

History

1974: Massillon 39, Alliance 12

November 1, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Harmon paces Tigers over Alliance
Scores 3 touchdowns picks up 140 yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Chuck Shuff unleashed the behemoth and “Grendal” did his job well Friday night behind some outstanding blocking – especially in the interior line – to lead the Tigers to a 39-12 victory over the Alliance Aviators.

Junior fullback Bill Harmon (6-2, 237) picked up 140 yards in 13 carries for a 10.8 average, scored three touchdowns and also contributed some fine blocking to pace the Orange and Black to their fifth victory in nine outings. Alliance lost its eighth straight contest after losing its opener.

THE GAME was an All-American Conference affair with the Tigers’ record jumping to
2-2 and the Aviators’ state falling to 0-4.

Another pleasing aspect to the game was that Tiger quarterback Greg Wood hit on six of nine pass attempts for three touchdowns, one to tailback Mark Streeter and two to split end Eddie Bell. The Tigers added 102 air yards to go with 349 net rushing yards for a 451 total.

Alliance, out-manned but sticking in there all the way, scored twice via the airwaves – once with the Tigers’ second defensive unit in with 51 seconds left in the game – and added 177 yards overhead (eight for 14) to 143 net on the ground for a 326 total.

The Aviators got their hands on the ball nine more times than the Tigers did. The Orange and Black scored two quick touchdowns after a pass interception and a fumble.

“I thought our blocking was great end to end,” Shuff, the Tigers’ head coach said. “Bill really bulled up in there with his runs and our passing game was the most effective it has been this season.”

HARMON WHO picked up his nickname “Grendal” from his teammates who figure he resembles the monster of the Beowulf epic, commented, “For the first time tonight I saw my blockers in the secondary. I had been running outside a lot before.”

Harmon scored all three of his touchdowns in the first half and picked up 85 of his rushing yards prior to the intermission. He capped an 85-yard first quarter drive, on which he carried five times for 34 yards, with a three-yard blast off guard.

Streeter’s 42-yard option run to the Alliance 19 set up the score and Harmon took three plays to finish the job. Bill threw a big block to get “Streets” around the end, Streeter picked up 82 yards in five carries for a 16.4 average on the night.

Keith Herring recovered a second quarter fumble on the Alliance 32 and took off over guard on the next play for the score.

Chris Rich knocked a ball loose later in the period and Jeff Lab pinned it to the ground on the Alliance nine. Harmon ran the next two plays and bulled over the middle from the three for the score. Tailback Tommy Grizzard ran the conversion over tackle.

HARMON RAN the ball on the Tigers’ first three plays in the second half and Shuff decided “The Big Bear: had had enough. He picked up 23, 27 and five yards and got the Tigers off on a 92-yard TD drive.

Four plays later Wood sprinted right from the 11 and hit Bell who made a nice catch in the corner. Dave Dowd kicked the only other conversion scored and the Tigers’ scoring was finished.

Shuff started putting the reserves in with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

Bell’s other score came in the second quarter after he had intercepted a pass on the Alliance 45. Wood hit Eddie on the 22 on the next play and Bell carried it in.

The Tigers drove 59 yards for a second quarter score after Mark Pifer’s 20-yard runback Grizzard added 14 and 10-yard drives and then Wood, passing from the 11, found Streeter on the three and Mark leaped over a man into the end zone for the score. Mark ran from the swingback slot.

“I THOUGHT our receivers ran good patterns tonight and the protection was good, “Wood said.

The Tigers came close to a score at the beginning of the second quarter, but a fumble and a holding penalty intervened and Tim Gutshall’s 34-yard interception return was wasted.

After the Tigers’ fourth touchdown, Alliance moved the ball 78 yards for a score, following sophomore Dick Scott’s 15-yard punt return. The TD was set up by Scott Distefano’s 33-yard pass to senior end Joe Gaffney and his 21-yard pass to sophomore end Brad Jae.

Distefano went overhead again for the score, from the five, with junior end Brad Seifke making the catch. Streeter hit Distefano, causing his conversion pass attempt to Gaffney to miss its mark.

Gaffney also scored the Aviators’ final TD on 59-yard pass-run to Gaffney who gathered in the ball on the Tigers’ 40 and galloped the rest of the way.

“OUR BOYS” didn’t give up tonight and they haven’t given up all season,” Alliance head coach Don Graham said. “I was proud of the way Tremoulis came in in the second half to run the club after Distefano had suffered a head injury.”

It was later found that Distefano, the AAC’s leading passer, has a slight concussion.
The stage is now set for the big one next Saturday afternoon at Tiger Stadium when the powerful Canton McKinley Bulldogs come in for the traditional season ender. The Pups knocked off the Tigers in the 1973 finale, keeping them out of the playoffs. The Tigers hope to repay the compliment this year.

MASSILLON – 39
Ends – Lemon, Bell, Gutshall, Bammerlin.
Tackles – Rich, Nagle, Matie, Lauber, Drobney, Rich, Goff, Glick, Rambaud.
Guards – Christoff, Schumacher, Parrish, Lightfoot, Dowd, White, Snell, Wilson.
Centers – Studer, Mitcheal.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Grizzard, Pifer, K. Harmon, Herring, Hughley, Simpson, Dorsey, Stewart, Arner.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Lab, Waldrop, Martin

GRIDSTICK
M A
First downs – rushing 14 7
First downs – passing 4 6
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 19 13
Yards gained rushing 361 166
Yards lost rushing 12 23
Net yds. gained rushing 349 143
Net yds. gained passing 102 177
Total yards gained 451 320
Passes completed 6-9 8-14
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 34 0
Kickoff average (yards) 7-50.4 3-38.7
Kickoff returns (yards) 34 98
Punt average (yards) 4-38.8 3-38.3
Punt returns (yards) 9 40
Lost fumbled ball] 0 2-2
Yards penalized 4-50 1-5
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdown passing 3 2
Total number of plays 46 55
Possession time 20:21 27:39

History

1974: Massillon 48, Columbus Marion Franklin 0

October 18, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘Night of Long Run’ wins for Tigers

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was “The Night of the Long Run” for the Tigers as they put together four of them for touchdowns of 34 yards or more, combined the effort with some terrific blocking, great defensive work and generally kicked the devil out of hapless Columbus Marion Franklin.

The spell could have been woven for an even greater count than the 48-0 final had Tiger head coach Chuck Shuff elected to keep his first string in beyond the point of 1:22 left in the first half. However, Shuff doesn’t play that way.

“I’M GRATEFUL,” said losing coach Jim Harper of Franklin. “I told you on the telephone Wednesday that your team had too good talent to stay down for long. I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong with our team.”

Massillon’s non-league victory got the Orange and Black above the .500 mark for the first
time this season at 4-3 and was a perfect tune-up for next week’s big clash at Warren Harding. The Tigers’ third straight victory, second consecutive shutout and third whitewash job dropped the Red Devils to 3-4.

Junior tailback Tom Grizzard, subbing for injured senior tailback and co-captain Mark Streeter ran for touchdowns of 43, 34 and five yards. Senior quarterback Greg Wood darted 41 yards, senior tailback Keith Herring dashed 76, junior fullback Bill Harmon blasted for 14 and junior tailback Harold Dorsey dashed for two for another.

Senior Dave Dowd kicked five conversions and junior Enzo Fatigati one.

Two of Grizzard’s touchdowns came on option plays. Grizzard’s other score came on a pitch inside end as did Dorsey’s. Wood did some daring running when trapped to get his TD and pitched to Herring when trapped on an option to give Herring his score. Harmon just plain bulled his way off tackle.

GRIZZARD gained 132 net yards in nine carries for a 14.7 average in the first half, most of that yardage in the first quarter. Harmon now called behemoth in the Beowulf epic, totaled 67 yards in six carries for an 11.2 average, also all in the first half.

The Tigers totaled 321 net yards, including 279 rushing in the first half, converting four of five third-down attempts. The Orange and Black defense held Franklin to 33 yards, including 20 rushing and allowed the Devils to convert none of six third-down attempts, putting the game on ice after the first 24 minutes.

Tiger pursuit and rushing was outstanding and tackling vicious. Sophomore linebacker Anthony Grizzard had a reported 10 tackles.

Cornerback Dorsey recovered a Franklin fumble on the Massillon 42 in the second quarter to stop the Red Devils’ longest first half advance and start a touchdown drive. Safety Eddie Bell picked up a Devil fumble on the Massillon 24 in the third period, one play before Herring took off on his TD drive.

The Tigers’ first-team blocking was stupendous, including key hits by Harmon on Grizzard’s long TD runs, bringing hope that the spirited play will continue against the Region 2 computer leader, Harding, next week.

THE TIGERS kept the Devils in the hole with a 52.3-yard kickoff average by Dowd and Keith Harmon and a 51-yard punting average by Todd Keller.

“It helped out a lot to have those long kicks and long runs,” Shuff said. “The defense was real good. They had hardly any yardage the first half.”

“I hope that was a good tune-up for Harding,” Shuff said. “It’s going to be a real head knocker.”

Shuff pointed to Tom Grizzard’s and Bill Harmon’s running.

“Grizzard ran the off-tackle hole very nicely and broke several tackles,” Shuff said. “The Big Bear” broke one on his TD run, took one guy by Bill’s shirt tail and two hanging onto his back into the end zone. Grizzard was just fantastic.

The skipper pointed out that Wood did some fantastic reverse field running and darting in and out between would-be tacklers on his six-point journey.

“We passed much more tonight because they practically had a nine-man line on us at the beginning of the game,” Shuff said. “The Devils had a linebacker up on the line which forced us to go up inside tackle more. We had more speed that their defense. Eddie Bell took out two people on one of our option plays.

FRANKLIN – 0
Ends – Brown, Scott, Mathis, Flemmings, Washburn.
Tackles – Fitzerald, Crowder, Englemen, Blount, Oats, Simpson.
Guards – Goode, Spears, Jones, Scior, Broadnaz, Lanier.
Center – Smith, Johnson.
Quarterbacks – Chestmut, Hunt.
Halfbacks – Mosely, McBroom, M. Moon, Mourning, Anderson, Carter, Estice, McCoy, Billingslea, R. Moon.
Fullbacks – Bradley, Tiller, Miller, Horn.

MASSILLON – 48
Ends – Lemon, Bell, Coates, Bammerlin, Gutshall.
Tackles – Lauber, Rich, Honaker, M. Matie, Goff, Easter, Greshen, Drobney, Genet, Glick, Rambaud.
Guards – Snell, Dowd, Christoff, Schumacher, Bettilyon, K. Waldrop, Parrish, White, Bricker.
Centers – Studer, Nagle, Mitchael.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller.
Halfbacks – Hughley, Butterfield, Fothergill, Simpson, Dorsey, Stewart, Arner, Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, G. Waldrop, Martin, Rogers, Hoffner, Lab.
Kicker – Fatigati.

Massillon 28 7 6 7 48
C. Marion Franklin 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Harmon, 14 run (Dowd kick);
M – Grizzard, 43 run (Dowd kick);
M – Grizzard, 34 run (Dowd kick);
M – Wood, 41 run (Dowd kick);
M – Grizzard, 5 run (Dowd kick);
M – Herring 76 run (kick failed);
M – Dorsey, 2 run (Fatigati kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Warren Jones.
Umpire – Kermit Blosser.
Head Linesman – Dr. Phil Davidson.
Field Judge – Hugh Davis.
Back Judge – Ron Giacomo.

GRIDSTICK
M F
First downs – rushing 14 2
First downs – passing 3 1
First downs – penalties 2 1
Total first downs 19 4
Yards gained rushing 396 104
Yards lost rushing 6 21
Net yds. gained rushing 390 83
Net yds. gained passing 57 33
Total yards gained 447 116
Passes completed 5-11 3-10
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 6 0
Kickoff average (yards) 8-53.3 1-30.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 29 127
Punt average (yards) 1-51.0 6-35.8
Punt returns (yards) 8 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 1-4 2-2
Yards penalized 6-80 6-70
Touchdowns rushing 7 0
Total number of plays 53 42

History

1974: Massillon 33, Steubenville 8

October 11, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers of old defeat Big Red 33-8
ALL-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Warren Harding, 2-0; Canton McKinley, 1-1;
Niles McKinley, 1-0; Massillon, 1-1;
Alliance, 0-2; Steubenville, 0-2.

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“We wanted it real bad and went out and got it,” senior Tiger Co-Captain Greg Wood said. “Massillon is coming back!”

It was the Tigers of old whom we saw annihilate the Steubenville Big Red 33-8 before 11,275 Tiger stadium fans Friday night. The licking could have been worse had Washington High coach Chuck Shuff not taken his first string out with one minute left in the third quarter.

THE TIGERS put together a tremendous combination of interior blocking and the running of senior tailback and Co-Captain Mark Streeter, junior fullback Bill Harmon and junior tailback Tom Grizzard to get their third victory in six starts. Steubenville dropped to 4-2.

The win gave the Orange and Black a 1-1 All-American Conference record and put them in fourth place. Steubenville, with an 0-2 mark, dropped into the cellar.

Steubenville coach Tom Gardner had been afraid of the Tigers’ outside running. Shuff had not thought the Orange and Black could control the line of scrimmage as they d id against the bigger Steubenville hordes and neither did Gardner.

“I don’t know what to say to our kids,” Gardner said. “Massillon wanted it worse than we did. You doubled us on the wing, ran the sweep inside and outside and we didn’t adjust well.”

The Obiemen scored 27 of their points in the first half. Streeter scored on a pair of four-yard pitch runs inside tackle, picked up 157 yards in 15 carries and sat out the second half. Harmon tallied on a one-yard off tackle blast, a 10-yard run up the middle and picked up 80 net yards in 13 carries.

JUNIOR TAILBACK Tom Grizzard scored on a three-yard pitch around end and picked up 96 yards on six carries.

Senior Dave Dowd kicked one conversion and quarterback Wood passed for the other to senior split end Eddie ‘Tinker” Bell.

“We had the desire all season long, but we didn’t put it together until tonight,” Streeter said. “A six-year-old could have run through the holes we had.”

“We had good practices this week,” Shuff said. “It pays off when you’ve got them going out there and really wanting it. The second efforts tonight were tremendous. I didn’t know that we would be able to control the line of scrimmage as we did. They gave us several defensive adjustments and we picked them up real well.”

Shuff was, of course, happy with the running of Streeter and Harmon and the downfield and crossfield blocking which he said started to come last week.

“TO BEAT a strong team like Steubenville should really give us some momentum,” Shuff said.

“We finally started to execute on the offensive line like the way we’ve been trying to do since the start of the season,” said tackle Coach Chuck Utterback. “The kids wanted it pretty bad.”

“Everybody really wanted the game,” Harmon, who also did some fine blocking, said. “They gave me the holes this week. That’s all I need.”

“Each of us tried to go out and get an extra-effort block,” senior center Dan Nagle said.

“We had a great effort,” senior Co-Captain Tim Gutshall said. “I wish we could have put it together before.”

THE TIGERS dominated the statistics, rolling up 242 net yards to Steubenville’s 53 in the first half and converting four of five third-down situations to Steubenville’s two of six. They picked up 215 net yards to Steubenville’s 136 in the second half, converting one of three third-down situations to the Big Red’s two of six.

Streeter carried six times on the Tigers’ first touchdown drive, an 81-yard, 11-play job in the first quarter. Included was a 28-yard pitch sweep.

The second drive was a 51-yard, five-play affair, following a short first period Steubenville punt after the Big Red had been put into a hole by the first of junior Keith Harmon’s 50.5 average kickoffs.

Streeter raced 32 yards on a pitch inside tackle to the Steubenville 14 to set up the score which came 37 seconds inside the second stanza.

Streeter’s 27-yard option run to the Steubenville 17 and five carries set up the third score which came on a 59-yard, nine-play drive.

GUTSHALL PICKED off a Big Red pass on the Steubenville 37 and the Tigers were off on a four-play 33-yard TD jaunt, punctuated by Keith Harmon’s 11-yard pass catch and 10-yard run through the center.

The final TD came on a 76-yard, three-play drive late in the third quarter. Grizzard took a pitch around and rambled for 62 yards before he was brought down by Senior tackle Steve Trbovich on the Steubenville 10. Harmon blasted through the center on the next play for the score.

Steubenville was led by senior fullback Keith Steward who picked up 55 net yards in 15 carries, but didn’t figure in their only score. Junior quarterback Gary Williams, subbing for senior Andy Bryan who played only part of the time because of a knee injury suffered last week against Toledo Woodward, passed 16 yards to senior split end Dave Brockway. He lateralled to junior tailback Eric Byron on the 25 and Byron scored. Williams hit senior split end Bruce Fraser for the conversion.

Bryans absence also brought into play substitute punter senior Doug Jarvis.

Tigers jar Steubenville

By Hymie Williams
Plain Dealer Bureau

MASSILLON – Reminiscent of Massillon teams of old, the Tigers dismissed their early season problems and routed Steubenville’s Big Red, 33-8, Friday night at Tiger Stadium in an All-American Conference game before 11,275.

The victory hoisted the Tigers’ season mark to 3-3 and it may be now the Tigers are prepared to make a robust finish to the campaign, with yet some of the season’s most important games in the offing.

Steubenville, which hasn’t defeated Massillon since 1962, never had a chance against the Bengals. The Big Red, now 4-2 tallied its lone touchdown late in the final period on a 41-yard pass play.

Massillon 170-pound tailback Mark Streeter came into his own Friday night with a sparkling running display, which must have buoyed Massillon hopes that the rest of the season will be better.

Streeter, who did not play offensively in the second half, played key roles in the first three Massillon touchdowns as the Big Red defenders were futile in their efforts to repel his rushes. Streeter scored twice and had 147 yards.

Fullback Billy Harmon, a brawny 230-pound senior, shared the rushing fireworks with Streeter as he scored three touchdowns.

Massillon drove 84 yards for its first touchdown which came at 3:19 of the opening stanza. Harmon and Streeter collaborated in running blasts, with Streeter gaining the final four for the touchdown.

The Bengals, with their best performance of the season, tallied again in the second period on a 50-yard march. Key play was a 40-yard dash by Streeter, with Streeter finally taking the ball across from the four.
An aerial from quarterback Greg Wood to end Eddie Bell was good for the PAT.

Streeter, who collected 148 yards in the first half with some exciting running, carried five times in the seven plays it required for the next touchdown.

Harmon climaxed the drive with a blast through the middle from the two.

GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 18 5
First downs – passing 2 3
First downs – penalties 1 2
Total first downs 21 10
Yards gained rushing 438 140
Yards lost rushing 12 19
Net yds. gained rushing 426 121
Net yds. gained passing 31 68
Total yards gained 457 189
Passes completed 3-10 3-8
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 13 0
Kickoff average (yards) 6-50.5 5-32.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 21 76
Punt average (yards) 0 5-32.2
Punt returns (yards) 19 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 2-4 1-4
Yards penalized 6-75 5-60
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdown passes 0 1
Total number of plays 61 44
Possession time 24:55 23:05

History

1974: Massillon 24, Cleveland Benedictine 0

October 4, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers outside game beats Bennies
Shaky start but the ending turns out okay

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

The end was okay but the start was a little shaky Friday night at Tiger Stadium as the Tigers took step number one on their way back to respectability.

An uninspired Orange and Black team shut out an unusually poor Cleveland Benedictine team 24-0 before 8,989 fans, the season’s smallest crowd, to raise their record to 2-3 and break a two-game losing steak. Benedictine, defending Blass AA state champion, dropped to 1-4.

THE TIGERS had problems moving the ball in the first half and looked listless, but head coach Chuck Shuff had a few well chosen words for his crew at halftime and they played better football in the third quarter. The reserves were in for most of the fourth stanza.

“We told the fellows they had to go out and play better football,” Shuff said. “We were not up for the game and we played like we practiced. Our workouts were mediocre this week, not spirited. I would hope that we didn’t look at this game as one against a team with a 1-3 record because we were only 1-3.”

The Tigers were too quick around the ends for the Bennies with options and pitch sweeps. With Benedictine playing a 6-1 defense it opened the way for 34 and 32-yard pass catches by senior split end Eddie “Tinker” Bell and a 14-yarder by senior tight end Thee Lemon which set up two of the touchdowns and Lemon’s eight-yard touchdown catch.

“We had good sweeps and options tonight and hit Harmon inside a couple of times in the second half and kept them honest,” Shuff said. “With Benedictine playing six linemen and only one linebacker we wanted to try to get the ball in the air a little more. I thought we hit more than five of 13, but we got our highest yardage of the season.”

One of the things which made the option plays go so well was senior quarterback Greg Wood’s faking at attackers, springing senior tailback Mark Streeter and junior tailback Tom Grizzard effectively.

“OUR DEFENSE came along real well and held them to 118 yards on 46 attempts,” Shuff said. “That’s pretty good.”

Because the Tigers moved the ball so well, they had 18 more plays than the Bennies. That always helps.

Augie Bossu, veteran Benedictine mentor, agreed, “The Tigers were quicker than we were and hurt us around the ends. Harmon kept us honest up the middle. You also hurt us with your passes and were quicker than we were.”

Senior middle guard Gary Waldrop picked off a Benedictine fumble at the Bennies’
29-yard line in the first quarter and four plays later the Tigers had a TD, set up by Streeter’s 15 and 11-yard pitch runs. Junior fullback Bill Harmon bulled over the one but Dave Dowd’s conversion kick was wide.

Near the end of the quarter junior punter Todd Keller’s fumble gave Benedictine the ball on the Massillon 38. Two plays later senior line backer Tim Gutshall pounced on senior fullback John Colagiovanni’s fumble at the 40 and the Tigers were off for what looked like another TD drive.

STREETER GALLOPED 33 yards around end on a pitch to the Benedictine 33, but misplayed a pitchout from the seven on the first play of the second quarter, senior halfback Bruce Kniola recovered for the Bennies.

Bell intercepted a Herb Wilborn aerial on the Tigers’ 29 later in the second quarter to put the Orange and Black on the prowl again. In five plays the Obiemen had their second score as Bell and Lemon handled the aforementioned pass receptions and Wood added a 15-yard end run. Greg tried to hit junior swingback Keith Harmon for the conversion after Lemon’s TD catch but senior halfback Tome St. John knocked the ball down.

Lemon almost got the Tigers a TD on the final play of the first half when he intercepted a pass on the Benedictine 26 and run back to the one.

The Tigers took over on their 17 after a third quarter punt and in 11 plays had their third TD. Bill Harmon’s 17-yard run through the center and Bell’s 32-yard pass reception on the three were keys. Streeter scored three plays later from the nine after an offside penalty had robbed Harmon of a TD. “Streets’” run featured a beautiful second effort to him into the end zone on the pitchout.

St. John knocked down Wood’s pass for Lemon on the conversion try.

THE TIGERS gained possession later in the stanza after a poor punt gave them the ball on their 42. Harmon went off tackle for 18 yards to the 40 and Streeter 20 yards on an option during the seven-play drive. Wood sneaked in from the one for the score but Dowd’s kick attempt was wide.

In the fourth quarter senior linebacker Brandon White hopped on Wilborn’s fumble at the Benedictine 31. Six plays later the Tigers lost the ball on downs at the Benedictine eight.

The Tigers stopped a Benedictine threat at the Orange and Black 42 in the fourth quarter, Shuff put in the reserves with 9:30 left and that was it.

BENEDICTINE – 0
Ends – Washington, Davis.
Tackles – Adnrassy, Conwell, Farris, Stevelak, Glowik.
Guards – Singer, Cooper, Caputo, Berdysz.
Center – Gaines.
Quarterbacks – Wilborn, Kniola, Shults.
Halfbacks – St. John, Deininger, West, McCloy, Charles.
Fullbacks – Colagiovanni, Hill.

MASSILLON – 24
Ends – Bell, Lemon, Bammerlin, Conley, Coates, T. Gutshall.
Tackles – Matie, Lauber, Easter, Genet, Rich, Rambaud.
Guards – Parrish, White, Lightfoot, Bricker, Dowd, Snell, Schumacher, Christoff, K. Waldrop, Brand.
Centers – Nagle, Mitchael.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller.
Halfbacks – Pifer, K. Harmon, Streeter, Grizzard, Ellis, Simpson, Dorsey, Herring, Stewart, Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Lab.

Massillon 6 6 12 0 24
Benedictine 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY
M – B. Harmon, 1 run (kick failed);
M – Lemon, 8 pass from Wood (pass failed);
M – Streeter, 9 run (pass failed);
M – Wood 1 run (kick failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Fred Vicarel.
Umpire – Bill Kulich.
Head Linesman – Jack Werkowitz.
Field Judge – Dick Creed.
Back Judge – Tim Murray.

ATTENDANCE – 8, 989.

GRIDSTICK
M B
First downs – rushing 16 4
First downs – passing 4 1
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 20 6
Yards gained rushing 316 94
Yards lost rushing 53 23
Net yards gained rushing 263 71
Net yards gained passing 106 47
Total yards gained 369 118
Passes completed 5-13 4-14
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 31 0
Kickoff average (yards) 5-41.6 1-43.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 22 42
Punt average (yards) 3-38.3 6-36.8
Punt returns (yards) 35 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 2-6 3-3
Yards penalized 4-40 3-31
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 64 46
Possession Time 24:58 23.02

History

1974: Massillon 16, Niles McKinley 21

September 28, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers need not be ashamed, say Shuff

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Psalm 31 says, “Be strong and take courage.”

Tiger coach Chuck Shuff put it another way, as his charges alighted Saturday night from the busses which returned them from Niles.

“KEEP YOUR heads up,” the Tiger skipper said. ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

The Orange and Black indeed have nothing to be ashamed of. “Tiger Pride” is still there and Shuff has every reason to believe that it will bring the Obiemen back from one of their worst starts ever. Not since 1907 have the Massillon gridders had three losses in their first four games.

The 1974 Tigers’ third defeat came before 13,000 Saturday night at Riverside Stadium in Niles as Steve Ziegler raced 88 yards with the kickoff following the Tigers’ go-ahead touchdown to score the Red Dragons’ winning tally.

Massillon has won only one game. Niles is 4-0.

The game was the All-American Conference opener for both teams and the loss puts the Tigers in the cellar with Alliance and Steubenville.

The Obiemen have lost two of five games played at Riverside and both times a Ziegler was responsible. John scored the winning TD on a pass reception in the waning seconds of 1966. He is no relation to Steve.

SATURDAY’S WINNING tally came with less than 2:50 remaining in the game, according to back judge Dr. Larry Glass of Youngstown. Because the Riverside Stadium clock was inoperable in the second half, Glass kept the time on the field and said his watch showed 2:50 when Keith Harmon booted the ball.

“I had no thought of having Keith squibb kick the ball,” said Shuff. “We would have run a high chance of kicking it out of bounds. That would have given him the ball on the 40.”

“There are times when you wonder what you have to do to win,” Shuff said. “Our kids gave us an all-out gutty performance. When they put two-point conversions in when they had to, they sure deserved more than they got in playing against a fine Niles team.”

Shuff thinks the Tigers will be all right morale-wise.

“These kids are Massillon Tigers,” Shuff said. “It takes an awful lot to take the pride out of a Tiger.”
THE FIRST test will be if the Orange and Black can start to swing the pendulum the other way Friday night when Cleveland Benedictine (1-3) comes to the “House of Champions.”

“Massillon did a great job offensively and defensively and we were lucky to pull it out,” said Niles coach Tony Napolet. “I credit a great runback by Ziegler. I remember seeing a boy on the 20-yard line who I thought was going to put him down, but Steve out ran him and got to the end zone.”

Zielger was spun around on the 40 on his trek downfield.

Shuff wasn’t the only one crediting the Tigers with some real gutty play. Napolet called it “taking a lot of nerve” when the Tigers gambled on a third and five situation on their
68-yard, first quarter touchdowns drive and a fourth and two situation on their 87-yard fourth quarter drive.

The Tigers got a 12-yard runback from junior Jeff Lab following Niles’ kickoff after its second quarter TD and used eight plays to go the distance. Senior Keith Herring, son of the famous Edgar “Echo” Herring, subbing tailback for senior co-captain Mark Streeter who had a pulled groin muscle, skirted end for 15 yards on a pitchout, to get a first down on the Niles 36.

SENIOR SWINGBACK Mark Pifer followed with a counter run for 26 more to the 10 and two plays later junior fullback Bill Harmon powered over off tackle from the five. Senior quarterback Greg Wood slanted off tackle for the conversion.

In the fourth quarter it was fourth and one on the Tigers’ 45 when Wood hit senior split end Eddie “Tinker” Bell with a 10-yarder for a first down on the Niles 45. The Orange and Black then picked up the second of two personal foul penalties for a first down on the 29. After a motion penalty, Streeter picked up 10 to the 24 and Wood cut loose with a corner pass to Bell who stumbled, made the grab and went into pay dirt.

Grizzard made a great second-effort run on a pitchout for the conversion.

Niles scored at the beginning of the second quarter with sophomore tailback Phil Chelsea (89 yards in 25 carries) whom Napolet called the greatest back he’s ever coached, blasting off tackle from the one. The eight-play drive was a 55-yarder which came after a 30-yard interception return by Greg Joseph for a first down on the Niles’ 45.

Denny Severin kicked the conversion.

THE DRAGONS scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter on a 19-play, 80-yard drive following a Tiger punt. Chelsea went through the center from the one on fourth down.

Senior Dirk Abernathy, switched back to quarterback from tailback to make use of his speed, option ability and passing, hit Severin for the conversion. The Tigers later stopped Dirk’s effort to add two points to Ziegler’s game-winning TD, but his passing helped to keep both Niles TD drives going.

Ziegler’s Kickoff Return
Powers Red Dragons
To Win Over Tigers

NILES – Nearly 13,000 spectators watched Steve Ziegler return a kickoff 88 yards with about 3:00 left in the game Saturday night as Niles McKinley defeated Massillon Washington 21-16 in a seesaw All-American Conference scholastic football game.

The loss was Massillon’s third in four games – the worse Tigers’ start since 1907 when that year’s club tied its opening game foe before dropping four successive games. The win upped Niles’ record to 4-0.

Ziegler’s return came in the wake of Massillon’s uphill struggle to take the lead for the second time when swingback Ed Bell took a 24-yard pass from quarterback Greg Wood and tailback Tom Grizzard added the bonus points.

Greg Joseph set up Niles’ first TD when he picked off a Wood pass and the Red Dragons drove 85 yards. Fullback Phil Chelsea went over from the one early in the second quarter to end a drive Niles started in the first period.

Massillon gained an 8-7 halftime edge when fullback Bill Harmon tallied on a five-yard run and Wood kept for the two points.

Niles launched an 80-yard march late in the third canto and went ahead 15-8 as Chelsea again went over from the one and this time Denny Severin took a pass for the extra points. Severin had converted by placement after the Dragons’ first TD.

Niles finished with a 54-45 advantage in total plays, but Massillon showed a 227-193 margin in total offense, with the Tigers’ edge coming via a 192-119 difference in rushing yards.

Massillon completed four of 12 passes for 35 yards and Niles was 7-for-17 for 74 yards.

Massillon was penalized nine times for 114 yards and Niles six for 63 in a game in which the scoreboard clock was out of order in the second half.

NILES McKINLEY 0 7 0 14 21
MASSILLON 0 8 0 8 16

SCORING SUMMARY
N – fb Phil Chelsea 1 run (Denny Severin kick).
M – fb Bill Harmon 5 run (qb Greg Wood run).
N – Chelsea 1 run (Severin pass from qb Dirk Abernathy).
M – sb Ed Bell 24 pass from Wood (fb Tom Grizzard run).
N – Steve Ziegler 88 kickoff return (run failed).

Tiger, Niles lineups
MASSILLON
Ends – Lemon Bell.
Tackles – Lauber, Easter, Greshen, Rich, M. Matie.
Guards – Lightfoot, Bricker, Parrish, Schumacher, Dowd, Rambaud, Christoff, Snell, Brand.
Centers – Nagle, Peters.
Quarterback – Wood.
Halfbacks – Herring, Streeter, Grizzard, Pifer, Dorsey, Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Lab, Waldrop.
Kicker – K. Harmon
Punter – Keller.

NILES
Ends – Severin, Braun, Zielger, Woodford, Gatin, Blair.
Tackles – Hojnik, Miller, Blair.
Guards – Accordino, Klendovic.
Center – Ledenko.
Quarterback – Abernathy.
Halfbacks – Arnold, Chelsea, S. Russo, P. Russo, Salerno.
Fullbacks – Pallante, Tolver, Gillipsie.

Weight comparsions:
Tigers
offense – (line 187; backfield 180; overall 184).
defense (line 191; backfield 156; overall 179).
Nile
offense (line 193, backfield, 167; overall 184).
defense – (line 190; backfield 169; overall 169).

Series:
Massillon 11-3.
Points scored:
Massillon 311; Niles 112.

Weather: 70 percent chance of rain.

ATTENDANCE – 13,000.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Steve Nagy.
Umpire – Brenton Kirk.
Head Linesman – Tom Coleman.
Field Judge – Fred Vicarel.
Back Judge – Dr. Larry Glass.

GAME STATISTICS
M N
First downs – passing 2 5
First downs – penalties 3 1
Total first downs 11 13
Yards gained rushing 205 136
Yards lost rushing 13 17
Net yds. gained rush. 192 119
Net yds. gained pass. 35 74
Total yds. gained 227 193
Passes com. 4-12 7-17
Passes inter. by 1 2
Yd. on passes inter. 18 32
Kickoff ave. (yds.) 3-41.0 4-37.0
Kickoff ret (yds.) 43 126
Punt ave. (yds.) 4-41.3 5-32.0
Punt ret. (yds.) 5 4
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 1-1 0
Yds. penalized 9-114 6-63
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Miscellaneous 0 1
Total no. of plays 45 54

To the Editor of The Evening Independent
It’s amazing how one’s perspective changes when you’re a parent of a Tiger team member. Maybe it’s because you are aware of the hours of blood, sweat and tears that go into football and the respect that the boys have for their coach, Chuck Shuff. Or maybe it’s because you know that this coach is not only a teacher of skill, but a character builder, which is of equal importance in a young man’s life. These boys are giving all the ability and God-given talent they have to offer.

Win or lose – get on their side and off their backs, Tigertown. Your example is so very important to these boys – they deserve your encouragement and support. Please don’t let them down.

Proud Tiger Mom
Massillon, Sept. 30.

To the Editor of The Evening Independent
A week or 10 days before the opening of the local football season, a mother of a Washington High School football player wrote a Letter to the Editor in which she extolled the virtues of the new football coach. She praised the coach’s feeling and consideration for the spirits and well-being of each individual player.

That letter prepared me to accept without shock the results of the 1974 season to date.

Nice guys do not produce championship football at Washington High School.

L.F. Milligan
Massillon, Sept. 29

Hard times for
Tiger footballers

By GEORGE STRODE

COLUMBUS (AP) – Mighty Massillon has fallen on hard times.

The Tigers, 13 times champions of Ohio high school football, are off to their worst start since 1907. They have won but one game in four.

CHUCK SHUFF, the new Massillon coach, had been in rebuilding phases in his first seasons at Oak Harbor and Fremont Ross.

“I came into Massillon anticipating a good start because of its tradition. It’s very disappointing,” said Shuff, a Mount Vernon native and University of Cincinnati graduate.

Shuff blames the slow start on injuries and inexperience.

“We had 15 lettermen, but only four of them were regulars,” he said via telephone.

And two of the regulars, Co-Captains Joe Studer and Tim Gutshall, are out with injuries. Studer, a center-defensive end, has a heart murmur, Gutshall, a two-year linebacker, knee problems.

MASSILLON DROPPED its opener 14-6 to Youngstown Ursuline. Then came a 67-0 rout of Cleveland East, followed by losses to Upper Arlington 31-14 and Niles McKinley 21-16.

With such a start, Tiger faithful have grumbled.

“Sure, there is some unhappiness,” said Massillon Independent sports Editor Chuck Hess, Jr., a team chronicler for 14 years. “But the fans have treated Shuff pretty well.”

Shuff, who doubles as the school’s athletic director, is working on a three-year contract. Therefore, he isn’t reaching for the panic button.

“The coaches have told our seniors we are not giving up on them,” Shuff said. “In a lot of situations like this, coaches will go with younger players. We’re sticking with out seniors.

“I think we have our kids in pretty good mental shape for the rest of the season,” he said.

MASSILLON’S SCHEDULE may be the roughest in the state each season. Remaining in 1974 are games with Cleveland Benedictine, the 1973 state playoff champions; Steubenville, Columbus Marion-Franklin, Warren Harding, Alliance and Canton McKinley.

One thing in Shuff’s favor: He knows adversity in the first season at a school.

His opening 1965 team at Oak Harbor went 5-7. Two years later, it was 8-2.

In his first season at Fremont Ross, Shuff posted a 1-9 mark. The last three teams all compiled 9-1 records before Shuff departed for Massillon, replacing Bob Commings, now at the University of Iowa.

History

1974: Massillon 14, Upper Arlington 31

September 20, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Arlington rolls over Tigers 31-14
Bears too quick and too physical for WHS

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It wasn’t a pretty sight for the Tiger faithful Friday night at Upper Arlington Memorial Stadium. In fact, it was a downright humiliating sight.

The Tigers got pushed around pretty good by a Golden Bear team which head coach Pete Corey said gave its best team effort in many years. When the Bears got through pushing, the Tigers were on the wrong end of a 31-14 score and went down to their second loss in three games while Arlington notched its third straight victory.

NOT SINCE 1910, under Ralph Fugate, when the Tigers lost their second and third games to Cleveland Shaw and Akron Central have the Orange and Black come up with one win and two losses in their first three games – by losing the third game.

Under Elmer McGrew the 1930 Tigers were 1-2 after beating Conneaut in the third
game – the first night game ever played here.

In 1931, after losing to a Jimmy Aiken-coached Toledo Scott team, in the third game, the Orange and Black were 0-1-2.

In 1923 Dave Stewart had an experience familiar to present head Coach Chuck Shuff’s when his team lost at Harrisburg, Pa., Tech 26-0 after having trounced Salem 82-0 in the second game the week before. The Tigers barreled Cleveland East 67-0 last week.

Playing inspired football the Bears rolled up net ground 277 net yards rushing to the Tigers’ 219. However, the overall yardage was only 354-332 in favor of Arlington. The Tigers got 133 yards in passing in the second half to Arlington’s 38 to give the Tigers a
251-206 total yardage figure after the intermission. The Orange and Black had picked up no air yardage in the first half.

FOR THE second time in three games the contest was lost in the trenches. The Arlington offensive and defensive lines out-muscled the Tigers’ line, were quicker than the Orange and Black and out finessed them.

The Bears were successful on eight of 13 third-down conversion attempts. The Tigers capitalized only four of 12.

“I look at those kids on the Massillon team and I can’t believe that we handled them like we did,” Corey said.

“They were quick, they were physical, they were bigger than we were,” Shuff said. “They controlled the line of scrimmage. They put us in the hole from the start. When you have to play catch-up football you have a rough way to go.” The counter play really hurt us. Coach Corey said this was the best he’s ever seen an Upper Arlington team prepared mentally for a game.”

SHUFF CONTINUED, “We can’t panic at this point. We’ve just got to pull together and make the kids realize we have a lot of that season ahead of us.”

The Tigers put forth a tremendous goal line stand in the first quarter and it looked as if this might spur them on, but it wasn’t to be. The stand came after Arlington soccer style kicker Dave Goldthwaite had tried a 26-yard field goal, made it, but the Tigers had roughed Goldthwaite.

The Bears decided to take the penalty and try for the touchdown from the 2y yard line but senior fullback Rod Gregory was stopped.

The Tigers didn’t score until the third quarter when junior tailback Tom Grizzard capped an 80-yard drive after the kickoff with a 15-yard run around end off a pitchout and was literally knocked end over end into the end zone. His conversion run was short.

Senior swingback Mark Pifer scored on a 57-yard pass-run from junior quarterback Todd Keller on the final play of the game. Pifer ran the last 30 yards and senior tailback Keith Herring ran the conversion on a pitch over tackle.

PIFER RAN kicks back 20 and 26-yards. One set up a second quarter drive which ended on fourth down on the Arlington 22. The other started the drive which led to his touchdown. Pifer also was on the receiving end of 18 and 24-yard passes from senior quarterback Greg Wood which helped set up Grizzard’s score.

He was interfered with on a third-down pass on that drive and the Tigers got the ball on the Arlington 19 and scored three plays later.

The Tigers had a pass intended for Pifer, who became the prime receiver because split end Eddie Bell lost a contact lens before the game and couldn’t see well enough to operate efficiently, intercepted by senior halfback Jon Tenuta and he ran it back 32 yards to the Tigers’ 48 as the first half ended.

In the third quarter Grizzard had made a first down on the Tiger 40 as the Orange and Black got rolling after Bill Harmon had recovered a fumble by the Bear’s Bryan Johnson on the Massillon three. However, a holding penalty killed that drive and there were no more.

Wood, trying hard to get the ball to his receivers, went from sprint out to drop back passes in the third quarter, but just wasn’t consistent enough. He did carry the pigskin for nine attempts, netting 71 yards.

ON ONE carry, on some excellent reverse field running, a 29-yard to the Arlington 29, ‘Woody” suffered an ankle cramp and had to leave the game.

Junior halfback Scott Straker scored two TDs for Arlington, one of them on a third quarter five-yard pass from senior quarterback Gary Ginther, the other in the second quarter on a three-yard pitch run around end. Ginther skirted end for five yards in the third quarter.

Junior fullback Ben Tenuta dove over the center of the pack from the one in the fourth quarter.

Goldthwaite kicked four conversions, one of them from 35 yards away due to an illegal participation penalty, and kicked a 24-yard field goal.

Ginther’s 21-yard pass to Tenuta set up the field goal and his 18-yard pass and 25-yarder on a pass-run to end Mark Moorehead set up Ginther’s score.

SENIOR WINGBACK Greg Amicon’s counter runs were devastating. His 45-yard set up Staker’s first TD.

His 17 and 30-yarders took the Bears to the Massillon seven where they lost the ball which Harmon recovered on the three. He also had a 14-yarder which helped start Arlington on its way to if final TD drive.

By the Tigers bench was Obie V’s empty cage, containing the players, coaches’, trainers’, and managers’ Obie buttons on shoe laces. The Upper Arlington administration still would not permit Obie V to be taken into the stadium. So he stayed home.

Before the game the Tigers watched the 1971 Orange Bowl film, featuring Louisiana State University. Head Coach Chuck Shuff hoped that the players, watching several shots of LSU’s live Tiger mascot on the sidelines, would help them remember Obie’s absence. The team normally watches a movie before a game.

CO-CAPTAIN Mark Streeter led the team through the pre-game hoop which said “In Massillon We Love Tigers” and the Arlington team ran through a square which said, “Tigers, beware. This is Bear Country.”

Tiger junior tackle Mark Matie received a cut under one eye that required four stitches to close. Co-Captains Tim Gusthall re-aggravated his knee injury and came home on crutches.

Junior fullback Bill Harmon got banged soundly in the first quarter, but came out of it okay and returned to the game.

Senior halfback Kyle Mercer of Arlington twisted a knee badly in the second quarter.

UPPER ARLINGTON – 31
Ends – Partenchuk, Sorrell, Hyatt, Gray, Wolford, McKee, Moorehead, J. Tenuta, Stentz, Taggart.
Tackles – Stephan, Olson, Sublett.
Guards – Vaughan, Keitz, Boggs, Thompson, Lewis, Mason, Soloman.
Center – Green.
Quarterbacks – Ginther, Knisley.
Halfbacks – Mercer, Staker, McCabe, Hodson, Bowman, Amicon.
Fullbacks – Johnson, Gregory, B. Tenuta, Lestock, Drake.
Kicker – Goldthwaite.

MASSILLON – 14
Ends – Lemon, Coates, Bell.
Tackles – Rich, Matie, Lauber, Rambaud, Eastern, Greshen.
Guards – Bricker, Lightfoot, Dowd, Parrish, White, Christoff, Schumacher, Snell, Brand.
Center – Nagle.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller.
Halfbacks – Pifer, Streeter, Grizzard, K. Harmon, Herring, Dorsey, Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, G. Waldrop, Martin, Hoffner, Lab.

SCORING SUMMARY
A – Dave Goldthwaite, 24 field goal;
A – Scott Staker, 3 run (Goldthwaite kick);
A – Staker 5 pass from Gary Ginther (Goldthwaite kick);
M – Tom Grizzard, 15 run (run failed);
A – Ginther, 5 run (Goldthwaite kick);
A – Ben Tenuta, 1 run (Goldthwaite kick);
M – Mark Pifer, 57 pass-run from Todd Keller (Herring punt).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Paul Askins.
Umpire – Dan Moore.
Head Linesman – Don Miller.
Field Judge – John Pollis.

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. UA
First downs – rush. 10 1
First downs – pass. 4
First downs – penal. 2
Total first downs 16 1
Yds. Gained rush. 222 25
Yds. Lost rush. 3 1
Net yds. gained rush. 219 277
Net yds. gained pass. 133 6
Tot. yds gained 352 354
Passes attempted 16
Passes completed 6
Passes inter. By 0
Yd. on passes inter. 0
Times kicked off 2
Kickoff ave. (yds.) 28
Kickoff returns (yds.) 55
Times punted 3
Punt ave. (yds.) 31
Punt returns (yds.) 0
Had punts blocked 0
Fumbles 2
Lost fumbled ball 1
Penalties 6
Yds. Penalized 45
TDs rushing 1
TD pass 1
TD by inter. 0
Misc. 0
Tot. no. of plays 56
Time of possession 23:36

History

1974: Massillon 67, Cleveland East 0

September 13, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Streeter, Harmon lead Tiger rout
WHS effort best ever over a Cleveland team

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

If you’re the type who likes football with a lot of offense, you got your money’s worth Friday night at Tiger Stadium – if you were among the 9,048 fans who sat in on the worst slaughter ever administered a Cleveland football team by a Tiger team.

The Orange and Black took advantage of an early Cleveland East (0-1) mistake and went on to manhandle the Blue Bombers 67-0. They have yet to score against a Tiger team in four tries.

THE LAST time the Tigers clobbered a Cleveland team so unmercifully was in 1935 when Paul Brown’s charges rolled 66-0 over East Cleveland Shaw on Massillon field. The last time a 67-0 score cropped up was when Sid Jones’ Massillonians turned the trick against Dover in 1913 on North Street Field.

Senior tailback and Co-Captain Mark Streeter and junior fullback Bill Harmon led the onslaught behind some beautiful blocking and senior quarterback Greg Wood’s faking. “Streets” scored four touchdowns and a conversion while carrying the ball 11 times for 110 yards (no losses). “The Big Bear” scored a touchdown while carrying the pigskin 18 times for 153 yards (no losses).

Streeter and Harmon’s efforts helped the Tigers roll up 417 net rushing yards, losing only seven and 27 first downs. East’s run and shoot offense was short circuited by the Obiemen’s defense and got only 51 net yards, losing 25 and our first downs.

The only place where East got the better of it was in the passing department, connecting on 11 of 23 for 69 yards, mostly on running tosses into the flat. The Tigers hit on two of seven tries for a TD and 41 yards.

“Anybody running behind a line which opened up holes like ours – it was just beautiful,” Streeter said. “It was like heaven compared to last week.” (The Tigers lost 14-6 to Youngstown Ursuline in their opener.)

“OUR LINE did a tremendous job for Mark and me tonight,” Harmon said.

Bill had had some trouble with his blocking last week but said it came along better this time. He threw a lulu for Streeter which opened the way for his second TD.

“I made a lot of mistakes last week and worked real hard in practice this week to get my blocking down,” Harmon said. “I feel I did a little bit better.”
East fumbled the opening kickoff, Jim Hoffner recovered on the “Bombers” eight-yard line Streeter scored over right tackle from the four three plays later and ran the conversion.

Thee Lemon intercepted an East pass on his 14 and the Tigers drove 75 yards in nine plays with Streeter going around end from the 18 on the block by Harmon for Streeter’s second TD. Wood ran the conversion.

IN THE second period Streeter put the finish to an 82-yard, seven-play drive with a
nine-yard end run . Wood ran the conversion.

Harmon recovered a fumble on the East 25. Four plays later junior tailback Tom Grizzard went off tackle from the five. Wood’s pass to Eddie Bell missed the conversion.

The Tigers took over on the Bombers’ 15 after a low fourth down snap prevented a punt. Four plays later Harmon bulled in from the two. Dave Dowd booted the conversion.

The Orange and Black took the second half kickoff and rolled 86 yards in 12 plays for a score with Streeter racing over tackle from the 13. Tiger head coach Chuck Shuff called on “The Barrister” for another conversion kick effort and Dowd socked it through for a 42-0 score.

After a punt the Tigers rolled 72 yards in seven plays. Junior fullback Jeff Lab lugged the leather four yards for the six points. Dowd’s kick was off to the right.

KEITH HERRING grabbed off a fourth quarter East pass on his 24 and raced 50 yards to set up the Tigers’ next score. Junior quarterback Todd Keller passed to junior split end Bill Bammerlin for 29 yards on a sprint out pass for the TD on the next play. Bammerlin made a stumbling catch going into the end zone. Dowd’s kick made it 55-0.

Senior line backer Dennis Bricker recovered an East fumble on the Bombers’ 10. Two plays later junior tailback Dennis Simpson went around end from the three for another score. On a fake conversion kick senior holder Mark Pifer tried to pass to Grizzard unsuccessfully.

Keller intercepted an East pass on the Bombers’ 46 and returned 37 yards to East’s nine, but a 15-yard penalty sent the Tigers back to the 33. Six plays later junior fullback Al Martin went off tackle from the one for the final score. Enzo Fatigati’s attempted conversion kick was low.

Another bad snap on fourth down enabled the Tigers to nail the punter on the East 16 with 11 seconds left in the game, but the block ran out mercifully for the Bombers.

“We made a mistake early, they kept piling up on us and Massillon kept hitting us hard,” East head coach Joe Pledger said. “They have a fine team.”

“THE KIDS went out there and went after people,” Shuff said. “When you go out after people, you don’t make mistakes. The defense looked real good. With East’s type of offense you have to make some small adjustments. The kids did a good job of adjusting.”

EAST – 0
Ends – Jones, Fitzgerald, Whatley, Turner, Reeves, Wallace, Franklin.
Tackles – Pickett, Dunham, Jones, Seay, Aldridge, Twiggs, Wade.
Guards – Dunham, J. Jones, Pollard, Ross.
Centers – Foster, Valentine.
Quarterbacks – Kizer, Holman.
Wingbacks – Hector, Yarborough, T. Jones, Daniel, Gue, Hunter.
Fullbacks – Crowell, Rogers, Sutton.

MASSILLON – 67
Ends – Lemon, Gutshall, Bammerlin, Conley, Coates.
Tackles – Matie, Lauber, Rambaud, Easter, Rich, Goff, Greshen, Drobney, Genet, Glick, Wilson, Johnson.
Guards – Lightfoot, Bricker, Parrish, White, Dowd, Christoff, Schumacher, Snell, Bettilyon, Venables, Brand, K. Waldrop, Ramsey.
Centers – Studer, Nagle, Mitchell, Peters.
Quarterbacks – Wood, Keller, Smith, Arner.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Grizzard, Pifer, K. Harmon, Butterfield, Simpson, Dorsey, Shilling, Herring, Stewart, Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, A. Martin, Rogers, Hoffner, Lab, Waldrop.
Kicker – Fatigati.

MASSILLON 16 19 13 19 67
EAST 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY
Massillon
Mark Streeter, 4 run (Streeter run);
Streeter, 18 run (Greg Wood run);
Streeter, 9 run (Wood run);
Tom Grizzard, 5 run (pass failed);
Harmon, 2 run (Dowd kick);
Streeter, 13 run (Dowd kick);
Jeff Lab, 4 run (kick failed);
Bill Bammerilin,29 pass from Todd Keller (Dowd kick);
Dennis Simpson, 3 run (pass failed);
Al Martin, 1 run (kick failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack Werkowitz.
Umpire – Henry Mastrianni.
Head Linesman – Henry Armstead.
Field Judge – Richard Creed.
Back Judge – Ron Giacomo.

GAME STATISTICS
M E
First downs – rushing 23 1
First downs – passing 2 2
First downs – penalties 2 1
Total first downs 27 4
Yds. Gained rushing 424 51
Yds. Lost rushing 7 25
Net yds. Gained rush. 417 26
Net yds. Gained pass. 41 9
Total yds. Gained 458 95
Passes completed 2-7 1-23
Passes inter. By 3 0
Ydge. On passes inter. 62 0
Kickoff ave. (yards) 11-44.5 1-44.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 3 153
Punt average (yards) 0-0 6-20.6
Punt returns (yards) 8 0
Had punts clocked 0 2
Lost fumbled ball 1-6 3-6
Yards penalized 3-35 18-108
TDs rushing 9 0
TDs passing 1 0
Tot. number of plays 62 39
Time of possession 26:15 21:45

History

1974: Massillon 6, Youngstown Ursuline 14

September 6, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘Have to come back next week’ – Shuff

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Anytime you lose it’s tough to take. For Chuck Shuff it was 10 times as agonizing Friday night when he became the third first-year coach in the 80-yard history of Tiger football to lose an opener.

But Shuff may have had a harder task in winning than either John Atkinson or Elmer McGrew for Chuck had to pit his new system against a tough revenge-minded team in Youngstown Ursuline.

THE WORDS came hard as Shuff, slowly and softly following the Tigers’ 14-6 loss to Ursuline before 12,395 fans, recounted his post-game speech to his squad.

“We have to come back next week,” Shuff said. “We can’t drop our heads. We have to have a lot of Tiger pride. We have to put the pieces together. We have to re-evaluate some things.

“We must stick together as a family. One individual does not lose a ball game. The whole family loses the game.”

While the Tigers had the upper-hand in the statistics, that’s no consolation. They came out second best in a real head knocker between linemen, with Ursuline getting revenge for a 6-2 defeat administered here last year.

“When you bring in a new system, things are going to be a little different,” Jim Maughan Ursuline head coach said, remembering the 21-0 defeat administered his team here in 1972. “We felt if we had a shot at them this would be the time. Fortunately things worked out that way. It was a real team effort.

“THEY HAVE a fine team. They came back and had us on the ropes in the third quarter. I was really worried, but Lady Luck happened to be with us tonight.”

The Irish won the game with some outstanding interior line play which opened gaping holes in the Tigers’ defense in the first half for backs Larry Fontanarosa, Eric Darby and Pat Durina. Tackles Fred David and Jim Dunlea, guards Mike Cizmar and Tim Rice and center Dave Porter did the bulk of the work.

The Irish ran from 16 different sets, according to Maughan and threw in some misdirection tactics from the wing-T which could have contributed to the Tigers’ woes.

“In the second half we weren’t doing anything differently defensively,” Shuff said. “We had a little more pursuit. I felt our kids were awfully tight at the beginning of the game and that’s when you make a lot of fundamental mistakes. Our offensive line looked better as we went along. Our defense improved but we couldn’t put it together.”
While Ursuline picked up 100 net yards rushing in the first half, the Irish got only 32 in the second half. The Tigers picked up 119 yards in the first half and 68 in the second half.

The Tigers moved the ball well but killed themselves at key times with fumbles – even the three of five which they didn’t lose.

IN THE first half Ursuline got some tremendous field position form kick and punt runbacks.

They tied the game on an eight play, 59-yard drive started by Durina’s 32-yard runback of the kickoff following the Tigers’ only touchdown.

Quarterback Mike Fagert went through the center from the two with 1:19 left in the first quarter. He tried to pass to end Gary Zamary for the conversion but threw the ball into the south stands.

Ursuline forced the Tigers into a punting situation, with Todd Keller booting from the north end zone in the second quarter. Darby ran the pigskin back 45 yards to the Massillon two and ploughed through the center on the next play for the TD with 1:44 remaining.

He tried to run the conversion, got hit, the ball popped into the air and Dunlea grabbed it in the end zone.

The Irish got deep into Tiger territory only one other time, but were halted on the Tiger six earlier in the second quarter by Tom Grizzard and Bill Harmon.

THE OBIEMEN’S lone score came after a first quarter punt on a seven-play, 70-yard drive highlighted by Harmon’s 42-yard jaunt around end to the Ursuline 24. But the Irish had “the big bear” in their sights the rest of the game.

Two plays later tailback Mark Streeter took a pitch from quarterback Greg Wood and skirted the right side from the sixth with 6:31 remaining. His attempted pitch to Streeter for the conversion hit an Ursuline player.

The Tigers took the second half kickoff and rolled 37 yards in nine plays to the Ursuline 19 for a first down, but junior fullback Jeff Lab lost the ball on a blast through the center and the Irish’s Dunlea recovered. Lab had started the drive by running kickoff back 24 yards to the Tigers’ 46.

In the fourth quarter the Orange and Black rolled from their 20 to their 46 in six plays following a punt, but Wood fumbled the snap and the Irish’s Sam Lamancusa recovered.

Then the Tigers nailed punter Fontanarosa on the Ursuline 28 following his snap fumble. However, a broken play killed their chances.

IF WHS quarterback Greg Wood can get improved protection, he and end Eddie “Tinker” Bell and wingback Mark “Midget” Pifer could become a good passing combination. One Tiger drive broke down in the second stanza when Wood, throwing under duress, couldn’t hit Bell on fourth down from the Ursuline 14.

A 32-yard kickoff runback by Streeter to the Massillon 46, Wood’s 14-yarder to Bell and junior tailback Tom Grizzard’s 21-yard, off-tackle run and a seven-play, 42-yard drive went for naught.

URSULINE – 14
Ends – Zamary, Jernan, Montana.
Tackles – Beshara, Cardon, Alexander, Dunlea, David.
Guards – Cizmar, Julian, Rice, Lamancusa, Cardarelli, Hunsbarger.
Centers – Davanzo, Porter.
Halfbacks – Rebraca, Darby, Durina, Joyce.
Fullbacks – Fontanarosa.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Lemon, Bell, Gutshall.
Tackles – Matie, Mike Lauber, Rich, Nagle.
Guards – Lightfoot, Bricker, Dowd, Christoff, Snell, Venables, Brand, White, Parrish.
Center – Studer.
Quarterback – Wood.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Grizzard, Pifer, K. Harmon, Dorsey, Stewart.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Waldrop, Lab, Hoffner.
Punter – Keller.

Ursuline 6 8 0 0 14
Massillon 6 0 0 0 6

SCORING
M – Mark Streeter 6 run;
U – Mike Fagert 2 run;
U – Eric Drobney 7 run (Jim Dunlea fumble recovery).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Hugh Davis.
Umpire – J. Donald Miller.
Head Linesman – Fred Vicarel.
Field Judge – Ted Humphrey.
Back Judge – Chet DeStafano.

GAME STATISTIS
M U
First downs – rushing 10 8
First downs – passing 3 0
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 14 9
Yds. Gained rushing 202 150
Uds. Lost rushing 39 18
Net yds. Gained rush. 163 132
Net yds. Gained pass. 24 19
Total yds. Gained 187 151
Passes completed 4-11 3-4
Passes inter. By 0 0
Ydge. On passes inter. 0 0
Kickoff ave. (yards) 2-49.0 3.39.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 70 73
Punt ave. (yards) 3.41.3 4-38.8
Punt returns (yards) 19 43
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 2.5 0.1
Yards penalized 4-30 5-25
TDs rushing 1 2
Total number of plays 49 45
Time of Possession 24.00 24.00