Tag: <span>John Snavely</span>

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1919: Massillon 21, Canton McKinley 0

High Gridders Trim Canton, 21-0
SPECTACULAR PLAY GIVES LOCAL TEAM DECISIVE TRIUMPH

Father Massillon knew no sorrow Saturday night.

While bonfires blazed merrily and hundreds of shouting youngsters paraded the streets, that venerable old gentleman, with his face wreathed in smiles paid homage to those stalwart sons of his who during the afternoon, had taken unto themselves large chunks of fame by their stellar performance on the gridiron at League Park, Meyer’s Lake.

The orange and black of Washington high school waved triumphant in the breeze, Saturday night, for Massillon’s crack scholastic combination had dealt its perennial enemy. McKinley high of Canton, a sound lacing, inflicting defeat upon its red and black antagonist by a 21 to 0 count, the battle closing the present campaign for both schools.

Rated as one of the strongest elevens in Buckeye scholastic circles Coach John Snavely’s youthful Tigers showed their quality by unfolding a piercing attack in the last two quarters that netted three touchdowns and three goals and registered the most decisive victory over Canton that a local team has annexed in more than a decade. While several thousand highly strung spectators cheered lustily, the orange and black, in a most precise and deliberate manner, trampled under foot its red and black foe and emerged from the annual conflict with the east enders with a record of only one engagement lost during a string of nine tough battles.

Surely the reason for hilarious conduct Saturday night was sufficient. The decisive mauling, which the local gridders administered to the Cantonians left the east enders without even a whimper, and the orange and black has taken unto itself the undisputed claim of scholastic champions of Stark county, having disposed of Alliance early in the season by a 23 to 0 victory.

When the struggling gladiators left the gridiron at the close of the first half, with the battle still a scoreless draw and the outcome not at all decided, Massillon would not have believed that Coach Snavely’s youngsters would be able to emerge from the duel with a 21 point margin in their favor.

Canton, with its regular lineup in the fray, was putting up a stiff encounter and holding the local eleven on better than even terms. Massillon, on the other hand, with Stuhldreher, its crack halfback, on the sidelines because of an injured arm, was not playing at its customary gait. Its defensive work was not up to par and its offense was ragged, failing to make any great headway against the sturdy defense of the red and black.

The beginning of the second half-looked still more gloomy, for Hess, another stellar light of the orange and black backfield, was unable to re-enter the battle because of a bump on the head, sustained in the second quarter.

But with its determination and fighting spirit strengthened rather than weakened by these reverses which had robbed it of two of its stars, the orange and black settled down to business and before the second quarter had progressed far the local team commenced a march from its four yard line that was not halted by the red and black until Russell Oberlin smashed his way through Canton’s left tackle for Massillon’s first touchdown.

Massillon received to open the third quarter, and after an exchange of punts Oberlin started the march that was to score the first touchdown by smashing through Canton’s right tackle for nine yards. Archbold made it a first down and Greenfelder skirted the red and black’s left end for 38 yards, bringing the ball to Canton’s seven-yard line. He made three more on the next play and then Oberlin plowed through Canton’s left tackle for the first touchdown. Greenfelder kicked goal.

The fourth quarter found Massillon in possession of the ball on its 40-yard line. A pretty 10-yard pass from Greenfelder to Howells and a 20-yard sprint by Howells carried the ball to Canton’s 14-yard line, but the red and black fought stubbornly and held. Greenfelder attempted a place kick from the 16-yard line, which was low. A few minutes later Oberlin intercepted a Canton forward on the 50-yard line. On a cross buck which caught the Canton eleven napping Archbold dashed through Canton’s right tackle, and neatly evading the two tacklers, scampered across the red and black goal line for Massillon’s second touchdown. Greenfelder added a point by kicking goal.

But the youthful Tigers were destined to register another touchdown before the game passed into history. After Canton had lost the ball on downs on its 33-yard line, the orange and black commenced another drive that ended with Oberlin shooting around Canton’s right end for 25-yards and the third touchdown.

Three first downs, the result of some brilliant plunging by Greenfelder, Archbold and Oberlin, and a 15-yard penalty brought the ball to Canton’s 25-yard line, from where Oberlin set his pedal extremities in the direction of the red and black goal posts. Greenfelder made the score 21 by kicking goal.

The showing of the orange and black in the last half was a complete reversal of the form they displayed in the first two quarters. Unable to give proper interference or to successfully combat the efforts of the red and black to gain ground, Coach Snavely’s lads found themselves battling their opponents on their own territory during the first quarter, the quarter ending with Canton in possession of the ball on Massillon’s 16-yard line.

In the second half the battle shifted to Massillon’s side but not enough to give the orange and black any decided advantage. A 35-yard run by Greenfelder, which took the ball to Canton’s 27-yard line, gave Massillon a chance to score, but the red and black fought gamely and Canton came into possession of the pigskin on its 18-yard line. Then, after an exchange of punts, Hess and Archbold negotiated two first downs in as many plays, bringing the ball to Canton’s 11-yard line. Archbold made two on a line plunge and Hess dashed through Canton’s left tackle for eight, only to fumble on his one-yard line, Canton covering the misplay. This gave strength to the Cantonians who stemmed the orange and black tide for the balance of the period, although Greenfelder barely missed a goal from a placement from the 42-yard line. The drive was low and sailed under the cross bar.

The third and fourth quarters found the orange and black machine in perfect working order and the faults that had marred the first half of the battle were entirely missing, as Coach Snavely’s lads battled their way to a 21-point victory.

While all of the local warriors acquitted themselves creditably, the brilliant performance of Russell Oberlin, who until a week ago had been playing a tackle position, was an important factor in Massillon’s triumph. The sturdy gridder proved Massillon’s mainstay on defense by his hard tackling and dogged determination to hurl himself into every play, while on offense his smashing tactics produced two of Massillon’s three touchdowns. Canton found him hard to stop at all times.

Archbold, orange and black captain, Greendelder and Hess also did notable work in the backfield, Archbold’s 50-yard dash for a touchdown being the longest of the game. Greenfelder on several occasions tore through the Canton defense for gains of from 25 to 35 yards. Massillon’s forwards displayed stonewall characteristics, especially in the second half, when their attack tore large gaps in the Canton line.

Renner, Harmony and McCarel were the bit offensive stars for Canton. The two teams were evenly matched in weight. Canton having the advantage if any existed.

Massillon – 21 Pos. Canton – 0
Hermann LE D. Miller
Taylor LT Witter
Clay LG Lautenhiser
Angstadt C Smith
Harrison RG Heltzel
Tilton RT E. Miller
Howells RE Duckworth
Hess QB Renner
Greenfelder LHB Harmony
Oberlin RHB Kreuffine
Archbold FB McCarel

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 0 7 14 21

Subsitutions: Massillon – Adams for Clay, Graber for Tilton,
Hollerback for Hess.
Canton – Jackson for Duckworth, Barthlewmew for McCarel.

Touchdowns – Oberlin 2, Archbold.

Goals after touchdown – Greenfelder 3.

Referee – Blythe, of Mount Union.
Umpire – Snyder of Harvard.
Head linesman – Miller.

Timer – Ligget.
Time of quarters – 12½ m.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1919: Massillon 7, Akron Central 0

AKRON CENTRAL FALLS BEFORE ORANGE and BLACK ATTACK, 7-0

The First foe for the scholastic title has been vanquished.

The orange and black-clad warriors of the Washington high school, Saturday afternoon carried off honor Number 1, when they defeated 7 to 0, in a hard fought contest the strong touted eleven of Central high school of Akron at the Akron high school stadium

Evenly matched in weight, the youthful Tigers immediately brought joy to the several hundred Massillon rooters, when after the first kickoff they began a march for a touchdown. Zimmerman, the stellar halfback of the Rubber City crew booted the ball on the kickoff to Graybill, who was only downed after he had returned the kick 10 yards. Line plunges and end runs carried the ball within Akron’s 20-yard zone where the Washington high gridders lost the ball on downs.

Howells then broke through the Akron line and threw Zimmerman for a 20-yard loss. The Akron halfback punted 30-yards to Greenfelder. Hitting the Akron line with the persistency of a British tank, the varsity crew of the Washington high school carried the ball to Akron’s two-yard line whence Greenfelder scored the only touchdown of the contest. He also kicked goal bringing Massillon’s total of points to 7.

Though the orange and black eleven, under the direction of Coach Snavely annexed the first scholastic victory from Akron central the cost was most costly to Washington high gridders. Emmett Graybill, quarter-back and field general of the varsity sustained a broken left leg within the first six minutes of play, taking him out of the game and the remainder of the season. With Graybill gone the locals will lose one of their most dependable players. Playing his third season on the first team he had learned the fine points of the game and would have been a valuable asset to the eleven this year. Both bones were broken and he was taken to the Peoples hospital in Akron where the fracture was reduced. He was brought to his home in Wooster street Sunday afternoon.

The accident occurred in the first six minutes of play when the orange and black pivot man was carrying the ball around left end. Sloate made a clean tackle on the play but in falling Graybill’s leg snapped.

Hess, whom Coach Snavely moved from end to quarterback ran the team in great style and proceeded to lead the local eleven to the only score of the game, which came two minutes after Graybill was injured.

Greenfelder and Stuhldreher were the bright lights in the orange and black offense. The two orange and black halfbacks consistently gained through the Akron line and around ends. On defense the entire line showed up well and only few gains during the entire 40 minutes of play did the Akronites make by playing the line. The work of Oberlin and Taylor out shone that of the other linemen. The two tackles repeatedly broke through the line and threw the runners for losses while on offense they had big holes for the backfield men.

Beginning the second half the local eleven played mostly a defensive game and more ground was gained by the opponents than by locals. The Akron team opened up in the final half using the forward pass to advantage, successfully carrying out five passes, but failed to carry the pigskin within 25 yards of Massillon’s goal.

Only twice during the entire game was Zimmerman, the flash of the Akron school able to make decided gains, both of these were for about 30 yards around the ends.

Akron Pos. Massillon
Hrasky lt Taylor
K. Miller le Hess
Po each lg Clay
Davis c Angstadt
Schackner rg Harrison
Kinney rt Oberlin
Anderson re Howells
Baysinger q Graybill
Zimmerman lh Greenfelder
Sloate rh Stuhldreher
Spessard f Archbold

Substitutions:
Massillon
Hess for Graybill,
Fasnacht for Hess,
Tilton for Clay,
Graber for Taylor,
Taylor for Garber,
Siffert for Fasnacht,
Limback for Greenfelder,
Jameson for Howells.
Akron
Forco for Davis,
C. Miller for H. Miller,
McKnight for Keach,
Martin for Baysinger,
Carroll for Sloate.

Touchdowns:
Greenfelder.

Goal from Touchdown:
Greenfelder.

Time of periods:
10 minutes.

Referee – Geltz, Mount Union
Umpire – Bechtel
Headlinesman – Daily

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1918: Massillon -, Canton McKinley – (GAME CANCELLED)

McKinley High School on Market Avenue North opens and adopts the mascot name ‘Bulldogs’.

Six McKinley games were canceled due to the flu epidemic including the game against Massillon.

McKinley finished the season at 0-3-0, while Massillon finished 2-2-2 under Coach Snavely.

Story Credit: www.cantonmckinley.com

 

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1917: Massillon 7, Canton Central 6

COACH SNAVELY’S LADS, IN GAME BATTLE, BEST SUPERIOR ENEMY, 7-6

Thirteen fighting orange and black clad gridiron warriors of Massillon high school covered themselves with the large gobs of glory, slush and mud Saturday afternoon on the M. B. A. C. field. These 13 youthful gladiators accomplished a feat which all of Canton and half of Massillon considered impossible. They defeated the crack red and black eleven of Central high, Canton, 7 to 6, in the annual grid tilt between the two old rivals and grabbed off the scholastic championship of Stark county for the second straight time. It was the last game of the season.

Going into the struggle in which Canton high was a decided favorite, because of its top notch playing all season, Coach Snavely’s boys fought with all the fury and vigor of a tiger at bay and their titantic efforts were rewarded with victory. The largest crowd that has witnessed a scholastic battle this season was on hand to see the big struggle although the atmosphere was decidedly chilly for spectators.

It was a break of the game that gave Massillon its chance to win which also was responsible for Canton’s score. But break or no break, it does not detract one whit from the glory that should go to the orange and black for it justly deserves all that it won. It was a tense struggle with Canton having the edge on the offensive play, but while the visiting eleven made eight first downs to six for Coach Snavely’s youthful Tigers, Massillon always tightened and the red and black only penetrated the local eleven’s 20 yard zone once, that was in the second quarter.

Touted as the best scholastic eleven turned out at the Canton institution in many years, the red and black journeyed to Tiger town Saturday confident of winning by at least three touchdowns. Why should it not have confidence? Did it not defeat Alliance 67 to 0 while Massillon only won 27 to 7; didn’t it not hold New Philadelphia scoreless while the Tuscarawas county lads walloped the orange and black 27 to 0, and did it not defeat Rayon of Youngstown 27 to 0 while the best Massillon could do was to win 15 to 0?

It had every reason to be confident of winning and it possessed an admirable backfield in Boldt, Mitchell and Rate, three athletes fleet of foot and powerful line plungers. Besides this it outweighed Massillon several pounds to the man.

But it did not take very long to show that Massillon’s “green” team would give the veteran Canton eleven a hard battle and that there wouldn’t be any victor until the struggle was over. Coach Snavely’s line, composed mostly of men playing their first year of varsity football time after time rolled back the rushes of Canton’s heavier and veteran front line of defense and brought the great Boldt and Rate to earth with very, very few of the big gains they were expected to make in dashing through the orange and black line or sweeping around the ends.

Give the orange and black all the credit in the world for it came up from behind and won a battle very few expected it to win and give to Coach John Snavely a share of this credit for developing a team that will fight to the last ditch no matter what the odds are against it. Sheer pluck and a determination to win at all costs turned the trick.

The first quarter was nearly over when Canton scored. Canton had received to start the battle but Mitchell fumbled on the second play and Converse covered on Canton’s 27. Thomas, aided by gains by Converse and Archbold, ripped up the Canton line for two first downs and placed the ball on Canton’s four yard line when a five yard penalty for being offside shoved the orange and black back to the nine yard line. Massillon was held then and when a forward pass failed on the fourth down, Canton gained the ball on its nine yard line. The red and black immediately punted, the kick getting past Thomas and going to Massillon’s 45 before being recovered by “Swig.” The local eleven was held and Archbold punted, a strong wind carrying the ball to Massillon’s 45-yard line where Mitchell grabbed it and carried it to the 30 yard line before being downed. A Rate-Lautenheiser pass covered half the distance to the goal and three plunges with Rate carrying the ball carried the pigskin to Massillon’s 3 yard line from where Boldt carried it over on a cross buck. On the kick out Canton missed the ball and lost a try for goal.

From then on until early in the third quarter the play was confined mostly to the middle of the gridiron. With the ball on the 30 yard line, Roderick made a bad pass which went over Rate’s head, and the ball bounded toward Canton’s goal line with the orange and black hot in pursuit. Fulton tried to pick up the leather but it slipped out of his fingers and kept bounding on until it bounded over Canton’s goal line and at least five orange and black warriors pounced upon it while Canton made a desperate effort to recover. When the mass of players had been pried apart plucky little Fulton, Massillon star right end was under the heap tightly hugging the leather which meant six points for his team and a possible victory. Thomas kicked goal and Massillon was one point to the good, a lead it kept through the balance of the struggle although Canton tried with all its might to score again.

Near the end of the quarter Massillon brought the ball back to Canton’s 30 yard line but held and on the fourth down Thomas tried a kick from placement from the 39 yard line which struck the cross bar. Another inch higher and Massillon would have had three points more.

In the fourth quarter Canton carried the ball 30 yards to Massillon’s 31 yard line but lost it when Oberlin intercepted a Canton pass on his 35 yard line.

Every one of the orange and black warriors who participated in the struggle deserves oceans of credit but the playing of “Swig” Thomas, Massillon’s youthful halfback, was the bright spot in the orange and black’s attack. Paid especial attention by Canton because of his offensive ability, “Swig” plowed through the red and black line for many big gains and played an important role in the big victory. Archbold also ripped the Canton line to pieces on several occasions.

On defense, Massillon’s playing was par excellence. Outweighed considerably, the line was shoved back on several occasions but rallied gamely and throughout the greater part of the game outplayed its red and black foes. Cheyney, Fulton, Oberlin, Converse and Archbold played prominent roles on the defense.

A REAL VICTORY

Massillon – 7. Pos. Canton – 6.

Wittmann le Guest

Cheyney lt Lautenheiser

Taylor lg Steele

Ertle c Roderick

Harrison rg McCarel

Oberlin rt Cameron

Fulton re Wiseman

Graybill qb Snyder

Thomas lhb Boldt

Converse rhb Mitchell

Archbold fb Rate
Substitutions – Massillon: Edwards for Taylor, Taylor for Edwards, Kemp for Taylor.

Touchdowns – Boldt, Fulton.

Goal from touchdown – Thomas.

Referee – Snyder, of Harvard.
Umpire – Bletzer, of Mount Union.
Headlinesman – Miller of Massillon.

Time of quarters – 12 minutes.

Score by quarters—
Canton 6 0 0 0 6
Massillon 0 0 7 0 7

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1916: Massillon 16, Canton Central 9

M. H. S. Beats Canton, Claims State Scholastic Title

High School Closes Its Season Without Defeat by Trimming Canton, 16 to 9

Fighting an uphill battle from the first quarter, Massillon high’s unbeaten orange and black eleven Saturday afternoon defeated Canton high, its ancient rival, 16 to 9, at League park Canton, in the season’s scholastic grid classic, and closed its 1916 schedule without a defeat, winning 10 straight games, totaling 318 points to 36 for its opponents.

The victory gave the youthful Tigers the Stark county title, but Coach John Snavely immediately after the game claimed state scholastic honors for his gridders, and is now attempting to arrange a post season game with one of the other leading high school aggregations in Ohio.

Saturday’s victory was a successful termination of a very successful season. It stamped the orange and black as one of the greatest scholastic teams in the state, and the local warriors deserve all the praise that can be given them.

They fought a game battle, Saturday. While they did not exhibit the dash and well drilled attack that they did in other struggles, still it was good enough to win. Keyed to the highest pitch and fighting with a stubborn determination to win, they came back with the punch in the second quarter after Canton had scored its lone touchdown in the first 15 minutes of play, and carried off the victory.

Canton never proved dangerous after the first period. The red and black fought with might and main to keep Coach Snavely’s gridders from crossing their goal line, but fight as hard as they would the orange and black would not be denied, and carried the ball from its own 25 yard line across Canton’s goal for its first touchdown.

Red and black rooters were frantic when Canton scored its touchdown. They thought it was going to be a repetition of the 1915 game, when Canton won 7 to 6, but their hopes were soon pulled from the high pinnacle down to the abyss of gloom.

Canton played its best game of the season Saturday. There is no doubt about that. The players watched McLaughlin and Thomas, Massillon’s two stars, very closely, and although neither gained as they did in former battles, there was another man in the backfield who tore Canton’s line to shreds time after time. That was fullback Edwin Stults. Stults played a wonderful game, both on offense and defense, and his punting was excellent. He ripped through the red and black line time after time for substantial gains.

In the first quarter the orange and black was facing a strong wind and was handicapped. The advantage lay with Canton, and near the close of the period, Stults punted to Canton’s 50 yard line. Boldt, who by the way was Canton’s star, received the punt and by some fine dodging and running returned the ball to Massillon’s five yard line, and on the next play carried it over the line on a delayed pass and cross buck. He kicked goal.

Massillon had possession of the ball on its 25 yard line when the second quarter commenced. It was here the Youthful Tigers began their victorious march down the field. Four straight first downs and Thomas went over for the first touchdown. McLaughlin and Stults made a first down, Thomas and McLaughlin made another, Stults ripped through the line for 11 and another first down, and McLaughlin hit off left tackle for 20 yards and Thomas then carried it over from the four yard line. McLaughlin kicked goal.

Canton fought hard to keep Massillon from scoring more points, and a few minutes later Stults punted out of bounds on Canton’s five yard line. The red and black fumbled on the first play and Ertle pounced on the ball for Massillon. Two smashes at the line by McLaughlin and he went over for the second touchdown. He kicked goal. Canton rooters began to realize that their team was in for a beating. Massillon’s two remaining points came just before the quarter ended. Canton was held on its 10 yard line and forced to punt. Boldt missed a bad pass, the ball rolling over the line. He recovered, but was downed before he could reach the line, giving Massillon a safety and two additional points.

Neither team came close to scoring in the last two quarters. Canton scored its safety in the last quarter when a poor pass got away from Stults and the leather bounded over the line. He fell on the ball, but Canton annexed two points through a safety.

During the last five minutes of play, the red and black made a frantic effort to score and tie the count. The east enders tried pass after pass, but only one proved successful, a long heave from Swarts to Wiseman, which was good for a 35-yard gain and brought the ball up to Massillon’s 30 yard line, but Bischoff intercepted the next pass and the danger was over.

Massillon outplayed Canton. It made nine first downs to Canton’s four, but was forced to punt 12 times to Canton’s 11. The orange and black did not complete a single forward pass, in fact, McLaughlin relied mostly on line plays and end runs to make Massillon’s gains. Canton had two successful forwards.

Although without the aid of its captain, Rowland Harrold, who was on the sidelines with a broken collar bone, the orange and black’s playing was decidedly superior to that of Canton. The line played well, Bischoff, Stults and Zepp playing strong defensive games. On offense Massillon excelled, gaining more ground than Canton, which had only one man who did any gaining, left halfback Boldt.

FINISHING RIGHT

Massillon – 16. Pos. Canton – 9.

Ertle le Strang

Chayney lt Volzer

Stoner lg McAnany

Zepp c Walter

Oberlin rg Bow

C. Archbold rt Swartz

Bischoff re Wiseman

McLaughlin qb Schneffer

Thomas lh Boldt

Converse rh Rate

Stults fb Melbourne
Substitutions: Canton – Negley for Strang, Cameron for McAnany, McCarel for Cameron, Phillips for Melbourne. Massillon – H. Archbold for Chayney, Underwood for Stoner, Johnson for C. Archbold, C. Archbold for Johnson, Wittmann for Converse.

Touchdowns – Boldt, Thomas, McLaughlin.
Safeties – Boldt, Stults.
Goals from touchdown – Boldt 1, McLaughlin 2.

Score by periods:
Canton 7 0 0 2 – 9
Massillon 0 16 0 0 – 16

Referee – Snyder, of Harvard.
Umpire – Coombs, of Hiram.

Time of periods – 15, 15, 12 ½, 12 ½.