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History

1987: Massillon 15, Canton McKinley 18

November 7, 1987August 17, 2017
by Eric Smith

On paper, call it even
Tigers have better offense, Dogs have the ‘D

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

You want to play the Massillon McKinley football game on paper?

Since we have to wait until 2 p.m. Saturday to see it on the field, why not ?

OK, then.

On paper, Massillon has a slight edge on offense. McKinley has a clear edge on defense.

Between the lines, Massillon’s edge on offense might be greater and McKinley’s advantage on defense might be slighter since the Tigers have played a tougher schedule.

Massillon’s offense has amassed 2,570 yards in 418 plays for an average of 6.15 yards a play. McKinley’s offense has netted 2,309 yards in 414 plays for a 5.6 average.

The teams have comparable rushing numbers: Massillon’s 1,630 Yards at 5.7 a carry versus McKinley’s 1,766 at 5.6 a pop.

Massillon has a whopping advantage in the passing game. The Tigers have completed 61 of 127 passes for 940 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions, while the Bulldogs have connected on 38 of 95 for 543 yards, two touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Massillon quarterback Erik White has completed 60 of 122 passes for 883 yards, seven TDs and six interceptions. McKinley quarterback Pat Lyon, who has started all but two games, has completed 26 of 71 for 384 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Six Tiger receivers ‑ Myricks (10 for 228), Wrentie Martin (12 for 223), Mark Kester (11 for 153), Jason Stafford (9 for 127), Craig York (9 for 87) and Gerald Pope (5 for 64) ‑ have caught at least five passes.

Keith Smith (7 for 177) and Mike Hedrick (7 for 96) are the only Bulldogs with more than five receptions.

So that’s the offense.

What about the defense?

McKinley’s has been better.

The Tiger defense has allowed 2,121 yards against its nine opponents. McKinley foes have gained only 1,399 yards.

Massillon’s running defense has surrendered 1,409 yards at 4.3 a carry. McKinley’s rushing defense has yielded 862 yards at under 3.5 a tote.

Opponents have passed for 712 yards against Massillon and 537 yards against McKinley.

Elsewhere on the statistical charts, there are some uncanny similarities between the teams.

Both squads have fumbled 27 times. The Tigers have lost 14 of the bobbles. The Bulldogs have lost 11.

Both teams have intercepted 12 passes. McKinley’s Mark Hedrick has picked off four errant throws. Massillon’s Mark Kester has made three interceptions.

The Tigers’ top ground gainer is Jerome Myricks with 989 yards in 155 carries at 6.4 a carry. The Bulldogs’ top rusher is Jeff Richardson with 145 carries for 970 yards at 6.7 a pop.

Massillon’s No. 2 ground gainer Jason Stafford with 357 yards at 6.6 a carry, has out rushed McKinley’s No. 2 man, Derrick Gordon with 259, yards at 6.8 per attempt.

But Massillon has no one else over 100 yards, while McKinley has DeVon Torrence with 156 yards in 17 carries, Kevin Campbell with 132 yards in 26 carries, and Lamuel Flowers with 116 yards in 28 carries.

Other Massillon rushers have included Shawn Ashcraft (8 for 57), David Ledwell (12 for 56), John Miller (11 for 55) and Vernon Riley (14 for 47).

Myricks leads the Tigers in scoring with 108 points. Richardson is McKinley’s top dog with 68 points. Richardson is behind the pace of his junior season in rushing yards. He needs 200 yards on the nose Saturday to match his 1986 total of 1,170 rushing yards for 10 games.

Those are the numbers. That’s how it looks on paper.

Add it all up and this looks like a dead‑even match up.

Pups edge Tigers
Key play in first half ‘was about an inch short of the goal line…

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It still means everything to the McKinley Bulldogs to play the Massillon Tigers.

There’s some solace in that for the Massillon team that got beat 18‑15 by McKinley Saturday.

It was true that McKinley fans were rubbing it in that their Bulldogs had beaten the Tigers four straight times for the first time since before radio was invented.

It was true that many Massillon fans were wondering when their beloved men of orange will ever defeat the crimson‑clad team from Canton again.

It was also true that the McKinley coach, Thom McDaniels, had cried with his team after what had been a brutal slugfest was over.

You don’t look like McDaniels looked ‑ like a man whose emotions had spent a week in a ringer washer unless the game means everything.

That is what Saturday’s game meant to him. As such, it meant that Massillon still has McKinley’s complete respect, if not its number.

‘We experienced a lot of things this year,” said McDaniels, talking about the tumultuous things that accompany a less‑than‑perfect season in either the Canton or Massillon football communities.

McDaniels has been McKinley’s head coach since 1982, the year after Terry Forbes steered the Bulldogs to the only big‑school state championship a Stark County team has ever won since the advent of the playoff era.

Such was the tumult of 1987 that his status at McKinley for 1988 is clouded.

McDaniels’ team finished ’87 with a 7‑3 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since his ’84 team went 7‑3.

Saturday’s setback gave Massillon a 1987 record of 6‑4, A pattern that has haunted John Maronto in his three years as Massillon’s head coach ‑ playing tough, but failing just short against the elite teams ‑ held true again.

Both Maronto and McDaniels are saying their futures at their respective schools are up in the air.

The Tigers stunned McKinley on the ground. After the Bulldogs stalled in three plays following the opening kickoff, Massillon set up at midfield.
From time to time under Maronto, the Tigers’ first play has been a bomb. McKinley knows that and may have been sucked in when Tiger quarterback Erik White dropped back for an apparent pass. However, the was a sprint draw, with Myricks taking a handoff and going through a gaping hole up the middle.

“We wanted to get Jerome one‑on‑one with a defensive back on that play,” Maronto said. “It was very well blocked by our players.”

Myricks is a hard man to catch in the open field. This time, nobody caught him. He shifted smoothly to the left sideline and out ran McKinley’s defense into the end zone for a 50‑yard touchdown run.

“We ran that play successfully the whole game,” Maronto said. “Most of our blocking schemes were effective, especially behind John Woodlock and John Schilling. There were a lot of exciting plays and Jerome came very close to breaking the long one on several others.”

But while the Tigers were coming close to the big play, McKinley was making it. The Bulldogs used a running attack that netted 283 yards to score the game’s next three touchdowns.

A 93‑yard drive capped by Bulldog quarterback Pat Lyon’s 8‑yard pass to a wide‑open tight end, 6‑1 senior Dan Roshong, cut Massillon’s lead to 7‑6 with 34 seconds left in the first quarter. The extra‑point kick was wide left.

McKinley got great field position on its next possession following a 19‑yard loss on which Tiger fullback Jason Stafford was caught on a reverse. A short punt enabled the Bulldogs to set up on the Tiger 38, and they scored three plays later when tailback Jeff Richardson took a pitch left and motored 24 yards for a touchdown.

McKinley pulled out to an 18‑7 lead by driving 63 yards for a TD on its first possession of the second half. Richardson went over the right side to score from four yards out.

The Tigers turned it into a thriller when White got hot late in the third quarter, launching a mostly passing, 72‑yard drive capped by Myricks’ 6‑yard blast up the middle with 8:36 left in the game.

Since McKinley had failed on all three of its extra point tries, the Tigers had a chance to pull within a field goal of a tie by making a two‑point conversion. Jerome got the job done by running over Schilling and Woodlock on the right side, and it was 18‑15.

The Tigers, however, got the ball only once more, setting up on their own 18 after a punt and moving to the 30 on a diving 12‑yard reception by senior split end Craig York. Bulldog linebacker Scott Herrington sacked White for an 11‑yard loss to set up a punt, and the Bulldogs ran out the clock.

Save for a few inches, perhaps less, the game might have been drastically different.

The Tigers came up just short of the end zone when fullback John Miller, a secret weapon who had played the season primarily at inside linebacker, was stopped on fourth and goal from the 3 with 1:38 left in the first half.

Miller was so close to the goal line that White, the quarterback, signaled a touchdown.

“I was about an inch, maybe two, short of the goal line,” Miller said.

“The films show it couldn’t have been more than a couple inches,” Maronto said. “The play was blocked successfully at the point of attack. (Defensive tackle) Robert Copenny came from nowhere to get just enough of John’s legs to slow him down.”

The drive had begun at the McKinley 31 on the kickoff following McKinley’s go‑ahead touchdown. In fact, is was one of the more dramatic marches of the season.

McKINLEY 18
MASSILLON 15

MAS McK
First downs rushing 7 12
First downs passing 7 5
First downs by penalty 0 1
Totals first downs 14 18
Yards gained rushing 190 306
Yards lost rushing 52 23
Net yards rushing 138 283
Net yards passing 90 67
Total yards gained 228 350
Passes attempted 14 8
Passes completed 9 5
Passes int. by 0 0
Times kicked off 3 4
Kickoff average 49.0 41.8
Kickoff return yards 63 46
Punts 5 3
Punting average 26.4 32.3
Punt return yards 0 13
Fumbles 0 2
Fumbles lost 0 0
Penalties 3 5
Yards penalized 26 25
Number of plays 60 51
Time of possession 22:54 25:06
Attendance 17,500

MASSILLON 7 0 0 8 15
McKINLEY 6 6 6 0 18

Grid war lives up to reputation
Tigers fall short against Bulldogs

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

The good fight has been fought. And now the war between the cities is over.

“I did a lot of thinking about the game today,” Massillon Tiger co-captain John Miller said Sunday night, more than 24 hours after his football team fell 18‑15 to the McKinley Bulldogs. “Now I’ll just try to forget about it. It’s time to move on.”

The Tigers scored on their first play from scrimmage Saturday when Jerome Myricks cut loose for a 50‑yard touchdown run. McKinley, however, used a ground assault that netted 283 yards to score a touchdown in each of the first three periods on their way to the win.

“It’s a very tough loss for our football team and our program,” Tiger head coach John Maronto said. “A lot of energy was expended to come up a couple of inches short. But the thing you have to understand is that our young men gave everything they had … and a little bit more. It was one of the best high school football games I’ve ever been involved in … certainly one of the hardest hitting.”

Maronto, who has been under fire since last year’s 23‑6 loss to McKinley, has a 20‑10 record in his three years at the Massillon helm. He has been haunted by a series of close defeats against powerful teams. The coach’s three‑year contract expires at the end of this school year, and there has been speculation he will not be offered a new pact.

As to his future in Massillon, Maronto said, “That remains to be seen.” He said his thoughts are focused on other areas right now. “I’m more concerned with looking out for the best interests of the graduating seniors,” he said. “I want to make sure everyone has things in the right perspective in terms of next season. I’m most concerned with dealing with the team.

“This is the most successful 6‑4 team you could ever be involved with,” Maronto added. “People have to agree that these players played the toughest Massillon schedule possible ever. They weren’t more than an inch here or an inch there from being 9‑1. I’m pretty proud of the way this team played, the class they showed and the adversity it fought to overcome.”

Miller, a surprise starter at fullback Saturday, and fellow co-captain Erik Moledor wound down Sunday by going to the movie “Hellraiser” at Lincoln Theater.

“It was kind of dumb,” Miller admitted. Saturday’s game had been kind of sensational. But in the Tigers’ eyes, it had a “dumb ending,” what with McKinley on top.

“There was some serious hitting going on,” said Miller, who played inside linebacker in addition to fullback. “I mean serious. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I’m a little sore today, but nothing major.”

The Tigers finished their 1987 grid campaign with a 6‑4 record. It was only the sixth time since Paul Brown left town in 1940 that the team has endured as many as four losses in a season.

It also was the fourth straight setback to McKinley, marking the second longest losing streak in the history of the series, which Massillon still leads 50‑38‑5. The Canton team won the first 11 games in the series, which began in 1894.

“We didn’t have as good a season as we thought we would,” Miller said. “We expected to go pretty far. I’m still glad I played on this team. I liked everybody on the squad. It was a great bunch.”

Moledor, a senior defensive back, was keeping a stiff upper lip Sunday but remained in obvious disappointment.

“I thought we gave it everything we had,” said Moledor. “McKinley was pretty tough. Give ’em credit.”
“We really worked hard together this year. I think that’s the best thing we did … worked hard. Saturday was tough. But I don’t think there are any regrets.”

History

1986: Massillon 6, Canton McKinley 23

November 1, 1986August 17, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers come up ‘half empty’
Massillon rules early but’ Bulldogs shift gears late

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ They could have opened a Burger King in McKinley territory at halftime. The Massillon Tigers were having it their way.

But the second half was one big McDLT ‑McKinley’s defense led to touchdowns.

In the end, the McKinley players were saying, “Hot Dog!” and hoping for extra mustard in the playoffs. The Tigers were left holding an empty bun.

A 6‑0 Tiger lead at halftime dissolved into a 23‑6 McKinley win Saturday before 18,091 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

In the history of the series that started in 1894, there may never have been two halves so distinctly different.

So what happened?

“It wasn’t a matter of making a lot of changes,” McKinley head coach Thom McDaniels said. “Basically, we just played better football.”

Maybe there were a few changes.

“In the first half, they were basically trying to power us out of there,” said Massillon senior Lance Hostetler, who played linebacker for the first time since junior high because Jerrod Vance was out with a knee injury.

“In the second half, they were giving our linebackers fake keys, trying to mess us up.”

Something clicked.

A McKinley offense that was stuffed by the Tigers for zilch in the first half had to be photographed with a zoom lens in the second.

In that first half, the Bulldogs gained 28 yards. On the first offensive series of the second half, McKinley gained 40 yards in its first six plays.

That drive ended when C.J. Harris recovered a fumble for the Tigers. But the mood had changed.

It might have changed back had the Tigers moved after recovering the fumble. Mike Harris rushed for three yards, then Mike Norris bulled ahead for seven. But Jerome Myricks was stopped for losses on consecutive plays, and it was third and 15 from the Massillon 41.

Then came a pivotal play now hidden deep in the game films. Quarterback John Miller dropped back to pass. Under heavy pressure, he dumped a short pass toward the fullback Norris. First glance suggested ‑ and films confirmed ‑ that Norris was knocked away from the ball by an overeager defender who was guilty of pass ‘interference.

The pass fell incomplete (Norris would have had to run a long way for a first down, incidentally). No flag was thrown.

Instead of 15 yards and a Massillon first down on the McKinley 44, the Bulldogs got the ball back on a punt.

“That was a key point in the game,” Massillon head coach John Maronto said.

Nobody will ever know how things would have gone had the interference call been made. What is known is that McKinley played its best football of the season in the time that was left.

Ken Hawkins’ punt sailed to the McKinley 22. Junior tailback Jeff Richardson gained 11 yards on first down. On second down, he took a handoff, made a slight cut to a big hole on the left side of the line, shook loose from a diving Bart Letcavits 10 yards downfield and sprinted away from the pack for a 67‑yard touchdown run.

“We emphasized all week that we needed to stop Richardson from making the big play,” John Maronto said.

Talking about it is one thing. Doing it has been another, and not just for the Tigers. Richardson’s 141 yards in 19 carries Saturday gave him 960 yards on the season.

Richardson, a 5‑10, 183‑pounder, only needs a sliver of daylight. His presence left the Tigers in a jam, since their chemistry was thrown off by late‑season knee injuries to linebacker Jerrod Vance and defensive back Steve Siegenthaler.

Maronto emphatically didn’t want anybody knocking his team’s defensive effort.

“Lance Hostetler stepped in and looked like he’d been playing linebacker all his life,” Maronto said. “And it wasn’t like we were playing chopped liver. We were playing the best team in Ohio.”

Richardson’s long run and Mark Smith’s PAT kick still left the Tigers with just a 7‑6 deficit with 3:04 left in the third quarter.

But moments later, Tiger back Mike Harris ‑ another tough‑luck senior whose season was marred by a knee injury ‑ was stripped of the ball. McKinley’s Dave Kiesling recovered the fumble at the 14. Four plays later, Richardson scored easily from a yard out.

Even at that, the Tigers weren’t in bad shape. Smith missed the PAT kick, and McKinley’s lead was 13‑6 with one quarter and 44 seconds left to play.

But the Tigers needed to get back some of the offensive punch they had shown in pounding out a 134‑28 lead in first‑half yardage.

Smith’s kickoff left the Tigers with good field position at their own 41, but they stalled in three plays and had to punt.

McKinley took over on its own 28 and put the game away with an 11‑play 72‑yard scoring drive. The touchdown came on third and nine from the 12. Smith, the quarterback, rolled right off a good play‑action fake and found tight end Dan Grimsley wide open in the end zone.

Smith’s kick made it 20‑6 with 4:48 left.

Sophomore nose guard Lamuel Flowers set up a 35‑yard field goal by Smith with a subsequent interception.

All the suspense and much of the crowd was gone at that point.

The first half had been so different.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and started at their own 34. On second and seven, junior quarterback John Miller hooked up with senior split end Shannon Dryden on an 11‑yard completion. That seemed to ignite the offense, which then went on to complete an 11‑play, 66‑yard march that wound up on the McKinley 11 when Miller hit the tight end Hawkins on a nine‑yard completion.

That made it fourth and almost three. Maronto elected to send freshman Lee Hurst on for a 28‑yard field goal try. Hurst connected and it was 3‑0 with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

Midway through the drive, Maronto called timeout after Miller scrambled to recover a mishandled snap, then took a blow to the head. Miller was clearly shaken up, and staggered as Maronto yelled to officials that a penalty should have been called.

But Miller kept playing, and moments later threw a pass which Letcavits turned into a 10‑yard reception.

The Massillon crowd got very loud after Norris boomed the ensuing kickoff to the back stripe of the end zone for a touchback. An incomplete pass, a run for no gain by Richardson, a nine‑yard completion and a punt gave Massillon the ball back on its own 32.

The next three series ended in punts, two of which were snapped over the punters’ heads. But both booters recovered and got off kicks that saved disaster for their teams.

McKinley punter Pat Lyons had to chase 10 yards after the ball snapped over his head. But he managed to kick it away to the Massillon 23 midway through the second quarter.

From there, the Tigers drove 77 yards in 10 plays, with Harris setting the tone on a nine‑yard gain. A 17‑yard pass from Miller to Myricks and a 12‑yard run by Miller put the ball on the 17 on first down. But Norris was stopped for no gain, and two passes fell incomplete. The call went again to Hurst. The freshman sent a picturesque boot into a slight breeze that sailed far over the uprights for a 33‑yard field goal.

It gave the Tigers a 6‑0 lead with 2:32 left in the half.

But the second half was another story.

It ended with McKinley’s record at 9‑1, good for first place in Region 2 of Division I. The Tigers came in at 7‑3.

The loss saddened the Tigers. But Hostetler, a three‑year starter and captain, advised his teammates to leave on an upbeat note.

“It’s been a great time for me at Massillon,” he said. “No other team plays under these great conditions. I have the greatest coaches in the world. They really helped prepare me for college. And the greatest teammates in the world.”

MCKINLEY 23
MASSILLON 7

M McK
First downs rushing 6 8
First downs passing 4 3
First downs by penalty 1 0
Totals first downs 11 11
Yards gained rushing 112 205
Yards lost rushing 20 14
Net yards rushing 92 191
Net yards passing 59 57
Total yards gained 151 248
Passes attempted 18 10
Passes completed 8 6
Passes int. by 0 1
Times kicked off 3 5
Kickoff average 56.3 48.4
Kickoff return yards 87 27
Punts 4 4
Punting average 33.0 42.3
Punt return yards 7 0
Punts blocked by 0 0
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 0 3
Yards penalized 0 25
Touchdowns rushing 0 2
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Number of plays 52 46
Time of possession 26:37 21:23
Attendance 18,091

MCKINLEY 0 0 13 10 23
MASSILLON 3 3 0 0 6

MAS ‑ Lee Hurst 28 FG
MAS ‑ Hurst 33 FG
McK ‑ Jeff Richardson 67 run (Mark Smith kick)
McK ‑Richardson 1 run (kick failed)
McK ‑ Dan Grimsley 4 pass from Smith (Smith kick)
McK ‑ Smith 35 FG
*****
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Massillon: Norris, 12‑39; Miller 9‑27; Harris 8‑26; Myriscks, 3‑0.
McKinley: Richardson, 19‑141; Kendall 5‑12; Copenny, 1‑6; Gordon, 2‑ 15; Flowers 2‑15.

PASSING
Massillon: Miller, 8‑17‑0, 59 yards; White, 0‑1‑1.
McKinley: Smith, 6‑10‑0, 57 yards.

RECEIVING
Massillon: Myricks, 2 24; Letcavits, 1‑11; Dryden, 1‑9; Hawkins, 1‑8; Wilson, 3‑7.
McKinley: Richardson, 2‑20; Grimsley, 2‑13; Kendall, 1‑10; Smith, 1‑14.

Rivalry grand,
no matter what the score reads

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ You could have won $20 million in the Lotto and not been able to buy a better autumn afternoon for Saturday’s Massillon‑McKinley football game.

The lovely leaves and the Indian summer breeze would have made Scrooge himself a cheery gent. The housewife sick to death of her old man’s sports would have gazed with childish wonder at the sight of the orange sea of spectators rolling against a red sea of the same.

One‑hundred yards of lime‑striped sod and 200 helmeted teen‑agers were washed with a delightful noise that made it all a merry mix, indeed, when Mark Smith of McKinley kicked off to Jerome Myricks of Massillon at a couple of minutes past 2.

Maybe there have been other opening scenes at other Massillon-McKinley games that were as wonderful. If so, they were merely as perfect.

The ending of the 92nd Massillon‑Canton battle was far from a perfect story for the hamlet of Massillon. The final score was McKinley 23, Tigers 6.

But the moral of the story, though stinging with the hurt of defeat to the arch‑rival, was that Massillon people still so desperately want a great team to cheer for.

They had their moments Saturday.

The Tigers charged out of their corner at the opening bell and won the early rounds in a one‑sided mugging.

In one half, junior quarterback John Miller threw twice as many passes as he had thrown in a typical game the previous nine weeks.

In that same half, the lumberjacks on the Massillon line muscled out places for fullback Mike Norris to punch out the yards.

The Massillon defense, despite missing a linebacker who is a candidate for Stark County player of the year, coldcocked the offense of their backyard rivals.

Freshman kicker Lee Hurst delivered like a grizzled veteran.

As the bands marched, Massillon stats man Tom Persell played a tune on his computer, and what came out was 134 yards for the home team, and just 28 yards ‑ and no first downs ‑ for the Canton club.

But the score was only 6‑0, Massillon, and you didn’t need a computer to know the game would be won in the second half.

McKinley won it in a hurry.

Flash: A 67‑yard sprint over the left side by Bulldog tailback Jeff Richardson.

Flash: A Massillon fumble seconds later, in the badlands, and a 14‑yard McKinley mini‑march for a second touchdown.

The second McKinley score, a one‑yard run by Richardson with 44 seconds left in the third quarter, was followed by Mark Smith’s missed PAT kick.

That kept the score at 13‑6. But the Tigers never threatened again. McKinley scored 10 points in the final five minutes, and Canton had a third straight win over Massillon for the first time since 1934, Paul Brown’s third year as the Tigers’ head coach.

The game, witnessed by 18,091 in the stadium named after Brown, closed McKinley’s deficit in the series to 50‑37‑5.

It also closed the Tigers’ season with a second consecutive 7‑3 record.

McKinley is 9‑1 and headed for a Division I playoff game. The Bulldogs will face 9‑1 Groveport Madison at 8 p.m. Saturday in Fawcett Stadium.

Among the many constants in the Massillon‑McKinley game seems to be the fact a Grimsley is always playing for McKinley. This year’s Grimsley, junior tight end Dan, says beating the Tigers reinforces the Bulldogs’ confidence.

“We went a little bit dead in our only loss (against Youngstown South),” said Grimsley, whose brother John plays for the Houston Oilers. “It was the middle of the season and we’d just won some big games. But we’re back up now. There’s no doubt in my mind we can win it all.”

Thirty‑three seniors on the Massillon team were in a different mood. Their time as Tiger players had run out.

“You can’t say too much,” Norris said as he walked away in street clothes. “We knew we could have beat ’em. We were playing our game for a while. But it got away.”

“There’s not much to say,” echoed senior co‑captain Bart Letcavits, who spent part of the season sick in the hospital but returned for Saturday’s game. “They’ve been a comeback team all year. They outplayed us in the second half. They deserved to win.”

“We played as hard as we could,” said senior co‑captain Lance Hostetler. “Nobody let up. Ever.”

John Maronto, the Tigers’ second‑year head coach, said Hostetler was right about the effort.

“I’m proud of our football team,” Maronto said. “We were almost able to come up with the victory. But it was not to be.”

Thom McDaniels is in his fifth year as the “tough‑act‑to‑follow” successor of Terry Forbes, the head coach of McKinley’s only playoff championship winner, the 1981 team. McDaniels praised his troops for having the guts to win another game with a comeback. The he praised the Tigers.

“They’re as good and as tough and as well coached ‑ and you can put that all in capital letters ‑ as any team we’ve played,” McDaniels said.

And you can put this in bold face:

No matter who wins, this is still America’s grandest high school football game.

Will Maronto come back?

We move now, to Lesson No. 2 in the Professor Commings School of Rumorintology.

Please sit erect in your chairs. Volunteers to dust the erasers will be taken later.

Lesson No. 1, on which the papers are being graded, was presented last week.

We learned then that the volume of a rumor often is not in direct proportion to the truth contained therein.

It was noted that a particular rumor ‑ “Bob Commings has forfeited his claim to the title The Bald Eagle, and resigned as GlenOak High’s football coach” was all over town and half way to Hawaii.

It was further noted that Commings emphatically stated he has not resigned.

Commings, as it happens, is believed to be the father of “rumorintology,” apparently having coined the word last month.

The subject of Lesson No., 2 is another football coach, John Maronto.

The fates of Commings and Maronto are indirectly intertwined, insofar as the former was a head football coach in Massillon, and the latter is.

Today’s theme actually is a question. How many people must wish a rumor to come true before it becomes a fact?

We have no answers. We can only offer present facts.

Fact is, Coach Maronto is not the most popular man in Massillon today.

His team went 7‑3, and we needn’t get into a long discussion of what that means in Tigertown. The team lost to the arch‑rival the other day. You know them. And, his offense was judged too conservative for the tastes of many of the paying customers.

It didn’t help that a loss to Commings’ GlenOak team was among the three losses, either.

People are talking. You know how it is.

They’re talking a lot about THE rumor.

“Did’ja hear? Maronto’s going to Michigan to be with Bo!”

Yes, that’s the big one. It’s all over town, and halfway to Hong Kong.

Refer, now, to lesson No. 1.

The volume of a rumor may not be in direct proportion to any truth therein.

“I’ve just never thought there were any two ways about it,” Maronto said this morning. “We’re already getting ready for next season. We’ll be in the weight room today. We have a team meeting schedule. We’re preparing for next season and beginning to take care of the seniors’ needs.”

Maronto has heard the rumors. He says he shrugs them off.

”I’ve never put any thought processes into rumors,” he said. “My energy is going into preparing for next season.”

Maronto, who has completed two years in the stormy wake of Mike Currence’s ouster, sounds optimistic.

“I really believe we’ll be back,” he said. “I believe we learned some great lessons. The younger players coming in may not be able to exceed the ability of this year’s seniors, but I believe they’ll have smoother roads ahead.

“It’ll be important to make the pieces fit in to form a chemistry. It’ll be real interesting to watch. I know everybody coming in is 100 percent completely aware of what our system is all about, what needs to be done to be a Massillon Tiger. There’ll be a lot of continuity.”

Sounds like John Maronto plans to fulfill the third year of his contract.

If he does, let’s give him some room.

Another buyout is the last thing the town needs now.

If he wants to stay, let him work in peace. Disagree all you want I think the coach needs to loosen up his offense, too.

But be aware he works as hard as anybody in Ohio to make his team win. Be aware he’s good with kids.

If it’s time for him to go after the contract runs out, so be it.
And think about next week’s Lesson No. 3. Beating a rumor turns it ugly.

History

1985: Massillon 6, Canton McKinley 21

November 2, 1985November 10, 2021
by Eric Smith

Defeat can’t hide Tiger pride
Pups end Massillon season

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ They’ve pulled the plug on the football season, and it’s quiet around here all right.

No football playoffs to get crazy about … heck, not even a scrimmage against Akron East.

Maybe the calendar says “Nov. 4,” but its winter, baby.

You can say this, though. As the sports soul of Tigertown sighs and enters hibernation, it can be tucked in with a blanket of pride.

Here’s a nut and bolts way to took at it: the Tigers got a 21‑6 spanking from the playoff‑bound McKinley Bulldogs Saturday before 20,174 fans in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium to close their season with a 7‑3 record under first‑year head coach John Maronto.

Here’s another way: the Bulldogs were heavy favorites but got a pretty good scare.

If you want to get at the soul of this 91st game, which left the Tigers with a 50‑36‑5 lead in the fabled series, climb on down off the scoreboard.

How close was this game?

With 8:39 left, Mike Norris was digging for yardage round the 2‑yard line, needing to get inside the 1 for a first down and into the end zone for a chance for the Tigers to turn a 14‑6 deficit into a 14‑14 tie – Norris was stopped right there at the 2 on fourth down.

How close?

With fire minutes left, the Tiger defense stuffed the Pups, and Massillon got the ball on a punt in A‑1 field position near midfield.

Here was another chance to gun for a touchdown, a two-point conversion, and some dancin’ in the streets.

On the first play after they took over, the Tigers lost the ball on an interception, McKinley got a quick score on a bomb, and that was that.

How close.

Dead even, almost. In the end, McKinley had 211 total yards to 199 for the Tigers.

Of course, “close” only cuts so much ice. Plenty of Tigers shed plenty of tears after the clock froze at 0:00.

McKinley was going to the play offs, against GlenOak Saturday night in Fawcett Stadium as it turns out, with a 9‑1 record.

The Tigers were going home.

After the bus wheeled into Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and the players met for it quiet team meeting, Duane Crenshaw found his locker and removed his pads slowly.

He was sad and proud all at once.

”Everybody said they would blow us out,” said the senior defensive tackle. “They sure didn’t blow us out.”

Crenshaw’s locker was near that of Cornell Jackson. By now Jackson had removed his No. 8 for the last time, having gone out in splendid fashion.

His 83 yards in 18 rushing attempts made him the most visibly consistent offensive player in the game. Late in the contest, he turned the intangible of “determination” into something that could be seen with the naked eye.

On the late drive that set up the Tigers with their fourth and short from the 3, trailing by 8, Jackson got good blocking and shed many tacklers as he plunged ahead for 38 yards in seven memorable carries.

“It dawned on me at about that time that within a number of minutes my high school career would be over,” said Jackson, who was in his third game of a comeback after arthrosopic knee surgery. “I wanted to go out with my best effort. I’m just upset that we fell short.”

Maronto was upset, too. His marathon vigils in the film room, which produced a game plan laced with short passes and helped the Tigers stay in the game, were not enough to overcome a McKinley team seen by many as a solid state championship contender.

Maronto fought to get out the words as he spoke with reporters in the Tiger Stadium locker room after delivering the season‑ending address to his troops.

“It’s hard to feel anything good about losing to McKinley,” said the man who arrived from Detroit De La Salle High in mid‑June. “But maybe I have to look at it more maturely. I can say this. The kids just spilled their guts.”

The game’s first four possessions developed with the Tigers and the Bulldogs imitating each other.

McKinley received the opening kickoff and had to punt after three plays.

Then the Tigers had to punt after three plays.

Then McKinley scored on a long march. Then the Tigers scored on a longer march.

McKinley’s scoring drive began in Massillon territory after Chris Clax returned a punt 15 yards to the 48. Using Brian Chaney‑to‑Jerome Perrin passes and runs by fullback Percy Snow and the tailback Clax, the Bulldogs marched on six plays to the 6, where it was first down.

From there, Snow found a gaping hole on a left‑side trap play and literally trotted into the end zone for a McKinley score with 5:38 left in the first quarter. Mark Smith’s kick made it 7‑0, Bulldogs.

The Tigers started from their 34 after the kickoff. Behind senior Paul Fabianich’s sharpest quarterbacking of the season, the Tigers maneuvered downfield against McKinley’s vaunted angle defense.

Highlights included a 12‑yard pass to Bart Letcavits, a 16‑yard Fabianich scramble (his longest of the season), a 10‑yard strike to Wes Siegenthaler and a 17 yard, third and 10 completion to tight end Derick Newman to the 9.

Had later events favored the Tigers, the completion to Newman would have emerged as one of the most interesting developments in the game.

On the play, Fabianich nimbly darted away from the Bulldog linebacker Perrin. A year ago, Perrin was making tackles in that kind of situation, as his big‑play tackles sparked McKinley to a 17‑6 win and led to a first‑team, All‑Ohio berth for Perrin.

But this time, Fabianich stole the moment and zipped a completion to Newman … who had been a fullback all season.

“We wanted to use Derick as a tight end from the start, but injuries didn’t let us go that way,” Maronto said.

Norris, a junior fullback, plowed six yards up the middle to the 3. On second and goal, Fabianich flicked a quick pass over the right side of the line that barely zipped over the linebacker Snow’s hand and nestled into Newman’s grasp for a touchdown.

Norris changed shoes and lined up for the PAT attempt, but his kick sailed low and wide right, and the score stayed at 7‑6 with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

The game of copycat continued through the rest of the half, which was colored by excellent defense from both sides.

McKinley punted, Massillon punted. Then the Bulldogs punted again, then the Tigers punted again … but this time Ken Hawkins’ boot was partially blocked.

McKinley took over on its 46 with three minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs could get no farther than the Tiger 35, where they ran out of downs when a Chaney pass sailed over Perrin’s head.

The Tigers couldn’t budge, and the half ran out shortly after they punted with McKinley leading 7‑6.

The defenses dominated the third quarter, too, with McKinley shifting its alignment to take away Massillon’s short passing game, and Massillon playing “stuff the run,” as the Bulldogs put Chaney’s arm in seclusion and unsuccessfully tried to operate a power attack.

In their first five possessions of the third period, the teams combined for just five first downs on drives that all ended with punts.

The fifth of the punts sank the Tigers.

The boot, a low-flying 41-yarder off the foot of Hawkins, was taken by Clax at the McKinley 38. Clax started for the middle and found an opening to the outside. He broke to the left sideline and then back toward the middle of the field, outracing two Tigers and arriving in the end one at the end of a 62‑yard jaunt.

Smith’s PAT kick made it 14‑6, McKinley, with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

There was still fight left in the Tigers.

The Tigers took over on the kickoff at their 29 and, with the help of a 15‑yard pass interference penalty, used the running of Jackson and Norris to hammer out a length‑of‑the field drive.

On the eighth play of the march, which now was in the fourth quarter, Jackson exploded through the line on a trap play and exploded for 15 yards, almost breaking away for a touchdown but getting dragged down just outside the 10.

Jackson then went around the left side but slipped and fell at the 8. Norris bulled straight ahead for five yards, but on third and about two from the 3, Jackson tried the right side and was stopped for no gain.

Now it was fourth and two.

Do you go for the field goal and make it 14‑9 with about eight minutes left? Or do you go for the touchdown and two‑point conversion to tie?

“We needed a touchdown,” Maronto said, who mapped out strategy during a timeout called by McKinley.

The Bulldogs might be looking for Jackson to come around one of the ends, as he had on two of the previous three plays, Maronto figured.

The Tigers would try to pop Norris through the line.

“It was an inside belly play,” Maronto said. We felt we had enough force to make that play work. Norris is a strong runner.”

Norris lined up close to Fabianich. Fabianich handed him the ball an instant after the snap and Norris charged into the left side of the line. McKinley nose guard Cary Brown lid directly into Norris’ path and made the hit as other players arrived. Norris went down in a pile at the 2. It was McKinley’s ball.

McKinley’s poor field position loomed as a possible silver lining for the Tigers, but that went away when Snow ran eight yards to the 10 on the next play.

Still, the Tigers were alive and kicking when they forced the Bulldogs to punt from their 22. Massillon took over on its 44 with five minutes left in the game, but Smith’s interception killed a would‑be drive before the orange army in the north stands could get worked up.

Five plays after the interception, Smith struck again, racing behind two Tiger defensive backs and hauling in a perfect strike from Chaney on a 41-yard TD play. Smith’s kick gave the Bulldogs a 21‑6 lead with 2:30 left, and the seats cleared out early.

Fabianich finished with a season high of 21 passing attempts. He completed nine throws for 75 yards, two interceptions and the touchdown, the only aerial TD the Tigers achieved in 1985.

Chaney completed eight of 13 passes for 62 yards.

Snow led McKinley’s rushing attack with 64 yards in 15 carries. Clax, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 1984, was held under 600 yards for 1985 as a result of gaining just 20 yards in nine carries Saturday.

Back to Ringling Bros.
Tiger football season ends for Obie XVI, seniors

MASSILLON Ed Annen looked a bit sad. But then, he was about to lose a friend.

“It’s back to Ringling Brothers for her now,” Annen sighed as he looked at the friend, who lives in a cage and answers to Obie XVI.

With help from some loiterers, Annen wheeled the cage of Obie XVI out of a pickup truck and into her fall home at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The football season was over for another year, and so were Annen’s special duties: caretaker of the live tiger that is part of what makes game days in Massillon different than game days in other towns.

The echo of the final gun was still so fresh that the players were in a team meeting within growling distance of Obie’s cage.

In an unplanned moment, the locker room door cracked open and revealed the meeting scene … a silent room filled with bowed heads.

Forget about Obie. Nobody who wears the orange and black feels much in a circus mood after losing to McKinley, as these Tigers had by a 21‑6 score in Fawcett Stadium on this Saturday.

“I thought we played pretty well against McKinley, but we could have played better … we could have beat ‘em,” said Jerrod Vance, a junior linebacker. “Next year we’re going to have a super team. I’m going to try my best to make sure of that.

The meeting broke up, and folks moved quietly amid the benches,

The seniors said their good byes to the locker room in which legends have been born. The juniors talked about setting things straight next year.

“I thought we played pretty well against McKinley, but we could have played better … we could have beat ‘am,” said Jetted Vance, a junior linebacker. ”Next year we’re going to have a super team. I’m going to try my best to make sure of that.

“I thought we should have done better this year. But we came a long way,”

Another junior linebacker who will go some more of the way with

History

1985: Massillon 14, Akron North 6

August 30, 1985August 15, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers hang tough for 14-6 win
Massillon dominates kicking game to give Maronto first victory

By STEVE DOERSCRUK
Independent Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ Nobody with better than better than 20‑20 vision is ready to call them The Big Orange Machine yet, but hey, the Tigers weren’t bad Friday night.

Not great, no sir. Better than they were in the scrimmages? The difference was as pronounced as that between the Saints and the 49ers.

“The main thing is that it goes in the column on the left,” said John Maronto, the new head coach of the Massillon Tigers, who seemed as happy be could be with his boys’ 14‑6 victory over Akron North before 9,933 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

OK, so it got scary.

It was nervous time when the Vikings, trailing by that 14‑6 score, hooked up on a 15‑yard pass that gave them a first down on the 15-yard that gave them a first down on the 15-yard line with three minutes to go.

And it got hairy when Troy Campbell, the North quarterback, pitched a pass inside the 10 that hit Dan Boyes in the hands, then caromed toward the hands of another North receiver, Dan Boyes.

But the pass pinballed off Boyes’ mitts, too, and Jerrod Vance, a Tiger inside linebacker, picked it out of the air, returned it to the 20, and brought a giant, happy sigh out of the west stands.

It was a win, and it came against a pretty good team in a pretty tough situation, that of a team which was unsure of itself in the scrimmages and was adjusting to a new head coach whose system is all new.

“We weren’t mentally up for the scrimmages,” said Mark Harder, a senior linebacker. “But this week, we had some super practices, and everybody was real psyched for tonight.

“Last night, Coach Maronto told everybody on the team to close their eyes and think about the game. It got us in a good frame of mind.”

One thing that promoted PMA (positive mental attitude) Friday was GFP ‑ that’s good field position.

Akron North outgained the Tigers 192‑191 in total yardage, but the Tigers’ superior field position on their offensive drives made it appear that they dominated the game.

What they really dominated was the kicking game.

Mike Norris’ kickoffs were out of this world … almost out of the end zone. Ken Hawkins, a 6‑foot‑6 junior punter physique made in heaven, punted well.

But the Tigers’ kick coverage teams played … well, they were the difference.

They staged swarming rushes on North punter Jim Bouhner, who also had to deal with a rash of bad snaps from two different centers, both new on the job this year.

Field position and the kicking game figured in both Massillon touchdowns, both in the second quarter.

The touchdown drives started at the 34‑ and the 1‑yard lines.

The 34‑yard drive started after a punt which Wes Siegenthaler returned 33 yards for an apparent touchdown. It was called back because of clipping. The Tigers scored anyway, with junior tailback Michael Harris going in from the 2 at the end of a sever‑play surge.

Norris boomed the ensuing kickoff and the Vikings started from their 20 after a touchback. They stalled and had to punt, and when the snap sailed over Bouhner’s head he ran back, picked it up and tried to kick it, but Hoagy Pfisterer stormed in to block the attempt.

The ball squirted backward. Bouhner stumbled as he arrived at the ball, which squirted inches into the end zone. His body was sprawled at the 1, and he made the mistake of pulling the ball out of the end zone and cradling it in as Pfisterer piled on top of him.

Instead of North taking a safety, the Tigers had the ball at first and goal, a few inches from a score.

Quarterback Paul Fabianich sneaked in on the first play. Norris’ conversion kick, a dandy that sailed over the end zone seats, made it 14‑0 2:08 before halftime.

Then North came up with a drive that kept the game suspenseful until the end.

Lawrence Moore, the major college prospect who is North’s tailback, broke loose on a 51‑yard run. It set up a North touchdown on the last play of the half, a five‑yard pass from Campbell, who was falling out of bounds as he threw, to Moore.

North tried to heighten the stun factor by faking a kick and going for two on the conversion, but a pass to Moore fell incomplete.

The only serious scoring threat of the second half was the one ending with Vance’s interception.

It was a happy ending for Maronto, the 42‑year‑old coach who pulled up stakes after 11 years at De La Salle High School near Detroit.

“I didn’t really feel that different on the sidelines,” Maronto said, “Coaching is coaching, and it always feels great to win.

“This is a great community. The support from everyone, teachers, community members, administration and students, is tremendous.”

Maronto’s evaluation of his team’s first game?

“We started from day one working to refine two things that can win for us, defense and the kicking game,” he said. “I think you saw some of the fruits of that tonight.

“I realize that it would take our offense a lot of time. But it’ll be there.

“Credit our defense, and the coaches … Brandon Oliver, Jim Letcavits, Tyrone Partridge, Butch Hose, Mike James. They had it ready.

“Our defense was physically tough. They just played one heckuva game.”

Moore gave the Tigers the most trouble. The 5-10, 185‑pound senior rushed 18 times for 120 yards, accounting for all but 72 of his team’s yards.

“Lawrence is the best back in the area,” North coach Charley Marquess said. “I don’t think anyone else can compare.”

Harris led the Tiger ground gainers with 67 yards in 13 carries. Fullback Derick Newman was the workhorse, rushing 16 times and gaining 50 yards.

Tiger quarterback Paul Fabianich was broken in slowly in terms of passing. He threw the ball only six times, completing three for 26 yards.

Six passes is believed to be the lowest number in a game for the Tigers in the last 10 years, dating all the way back through Mike Currence’s run‑and‑shoot offense.

Marquess was as impressed with the Tigers as he was with Moore.

“I can’t pick out any weakness that they have,” he said. “They played well. They played enthusiastically.

“We had problems on our snaps, but what are you going to do? Those kids tried. Generally, our kids answered the bell pretty well today, ”

Field Position? The Tigers’ first-half possessions started on their own 28, North’s 12 (ending on down’s at the 2), their own 48 (ending on downs at the 8), North’s 34 and North’s 1.

A win in hand, the Tigers begin preparing for next Friday’s game against Akron Garfield.

“Garfield has beaten us twice in a row,” Maronto said. “We’ll work on changing that.”

Winning start for new coach
at Massillon

By Roland Queen
Beacon Journal staff writer

Massillon’s first‑year coach John Maronto paced the sidelines like a caged tiger Friday night just before the opening kickoff at his new home, Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

He looked nervous about his first day on the job before the 9,933 Tigers fans who showed up for the unveiling of the Maronto Era at tradition‑rich Massillon.

“No, I wasn’t nervous at all,” Maronto said. “I was just anxious to get going so I could find out more about ourselves.”

Maronto found out his team’s defense was good enough to lead the Tigers to a 14‑6 victory over the visiting North Vikings and their exciting tailback, Lawrence Moore.

“From Day One I said that for us to win we needed a good defense and kicking game,” Maronto said. “We realized that tile offense would take a little time to come around. But that’s how you win early in the season.”

The Tigers couldn’t hold Moore completely in check. He led all rashers with 120 yards on 18 carries, including a 51‑yard run in the second quarter that set up North’s only touchdown.

However, Moore got 87 of his yards in the first half. He was contained better by the Tigers in the second half.

“Our defense was just physically tough,” said Maronto. “They played one beck of a football game.”

North also came up with a spirited defensive effort. Three times in the first half the Vikings held Massillon on downs deep in North territory, once at the 3‑yard line.

The first quarter was scoreless. But Massillon finally broke through in the second quarter after a 19‑yard punt by North’s Jerry Dixon, who was victimized four times by high snaps that threw off his timing.

Massillon took the ball on the North 34 and scored in seven plays, the touchdown coming on a 3‑yard run by junior Mike Harris, Mike Norris’ extra point made it 7-0.

Massillon held North on the next series. This time, Dixon set up to punt from his 29. But the snap sailed over his head and before he could recover, he was buried at the 1.

Massillon quarterback Paul Fabianich scored on a sneak and Norris’ kick made it 14‑0 with 2:08 left before halftime.

It again appeared that North would be bottled up in its end, but on third‑and‑4 from the North 24, Moore cut back against the grain and rambled 51 yards to the Massillon 25. From there, it took the Vikings five plays before quarterback Troy Campbell hit Moore in the back of the end zone with a 5‑yard scoring pass on the final play of the half. That turned out to be the final score of the game.

The second half was a defensive struggle, although North, drove to the Massillon 15 late in the fourth period before a pass from Campbell ricocheted off two of his receivers and into the hands of Massillon’s Jerod Vance.

North coach Charlie Marquess said his team had an uphill fight the whole first half because Massillon dominated the field position.

“If you give a team like Massillon enough chances inside your 30, they’re going to score. They definitely capitalized on our mistakes.”

But Marquess managed a smile when Moore’s name was mentioned.

“Lawrence Moore has got to be the best back in the area this year,” Marquess said. “I don’t think anybody can compare to him.”

The final statistics reflected how even the game was ‑ minus a fumble, interception and the bad snaps on punts by North. The Vikings won the yardage 192-191.

AKRON NORTH 6
MASSILLON 14

M N
First downs rushing 9 5
First downs passing 2 2
First downs by penalty 1 2
Total first downs 12 9
Yards gained rushing 174 169
Yards lost rushing 9 18
Net yards rushing 165 151
Net yards passing 26 41
Total yards gained 191 192
Passes attempted 6 9
Passes completed 3 4
Passes int. by 1 1
Times kicked off 3 1
Kickoff average 56.3 52.0
Kickoff return yards 20 29
Punts 2 6
Punting average 39.0 18.7
Punt return yards 25 1
Punts blocked by 2 0
Fumbles 1 2
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalties 4 6
Yards penalized 41 29
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Number of plays 54 42
Time of possession 23:44 24:16
Attendance 9,933

NORTH 0 6 0 0 6
MASSILLON 0 14 0 0 14

M ‑ Michael Harris 2 run (Mike Norris kick)
M Paul Fabianich 1 run (Norris Rick)
N ‑ Lawrence Moore 5 pass from Troy Campbell (pass failed)

Tag: <span>John Maronto</span>

1987: Massillon 15, Canton McKinley 18

1986: Massillon 6, Canton McKinley 23

1985: Massillon 6, Canton McKinley 21

1985: Massillon 14, Akron North 6