Tag: <span>Lee Hurst</span>

Massillon vs. McK - Throwback (Large) History

1989: Massillon 24, Canton McKinley 7

Massillon shuts down McKinley 24‑7

By MARK CRAIG
Repository sports writer

Most of the pre game know‑it‑alls had Saturday’s 95th McKinley‑Massillon high school football game figured out before the 21,000 fans filed into Fawcett Stadium.

They said McKinley’s ground game was too quick for Massillon’s defense. They also said Massillon’s offense was good, but not good enough to outplay McKinley’s quick defenders.

Boy, were they wrong.

Final score: Massillon 24, McKinley 7.

Program Cover

The victory gives Massillon an 8‑2 record, a 52‑38‑5 advantage in the McKinley‑Massillon series and a berth in the state playoffs for the first time since 1982. Massillon held its top spot in Region 3, while McKinley (7‑3) fell from the fourth and final playoff spot.

The Tigers, by virtue of their top spot in Region 3, most likely will host either Akron Garfield or Walsh Jesuit in Saturday’s opening round of the Division I playoffs. The final computer standings and the opening round pairings will be released by the Ohio High School Athletic Association tonight.

Massillon proved the know‑it‑alls wrong by doing what few thought they could. The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 45 yards rushing and 179 total yards.

The McKinley running game, which has featured 13 backs this season, was field to a 2.3‑yards‑per‑carry average on 20 carries and four first downs. The Bulldogs’ leading ground‑gainer on the season, Darnell Clark, had nine yards on 10 carries.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1989

“This is the best defense we’ve played all season, especially against the run,” said Massillon defensive coordinator Dan Boarman. ‘We didn’t do anything difference as far as design. We just played a lot harder and were able to shut down their running game.”

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Massillon led 14‑0 before McKinley’s offense was brought onto the field.

After kick returner Donnie Blake returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the McKinley 47, the Tigers drove the rest of the way on seven plays and scored on a six‑yard run by Ryan Sparkman. Gary Miller added the first of three extra‑point kicks to give Massillon a 7‑0 lead with 9:39 left in the first quarter.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1989

McKinley’s offense had to stay on the sideline when kick returner Kirk Moore fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Massillon’s David Whitfield recovered at the McKinley 18. The turnover was the first of four for McKinley.

Six plays later, Sparkman followed tackles Torn Menches and Ray Kovacsiss over the right side of the line for a two‑yard TD to put Massillon two TDs ahead with 7:20 left in tire first quarter.

When McKinley finally got the ball, the Bulldogs seemed to abandon the run, calling four straight pass plays and six in their first seven snaps.

“I think our offense took a lot of heat off our defense by scoring those two quick touchdowns,” Boarman said. “I think maybe we changed their game plan somewhat.”

McKinley head coach Thom McDaniels insisted the Bulldogs didn’t stray from their original game plan.

“We planned to come out and throw like we did,” McDaniels said. “(The touchdowns) did not change that. The situation was not out of hand at that point, by any means.”

McKinley climbed back into the game following a 29‑yard punt to the Massillon 49. The Bulldogs, with the help of a pass interference call on third‑and‑10 that put the ball on the Massillon 32, scored with 1:30 left in the quarter.

Three plays after the interference, junior quarterback Ryan Henry (9‑of‑23, 134 yards) fooled the entire Massillon defense into thinking he was going to run after scrambling away from Mike Martin’s rush. Instead, Henry threw a 32‑yard TD pass to Ron Szerokman who was wide open in the end zone.

Massillon, however, put McKinley in a huge hole when quarterback Lee Hurst lofted a perfectly thrown 12‑yard TD pass to senior Rameir Martin with four seconds left in the half. Martin used every inch of his 6‑4 frame as he leaped between two defenders, bobbled the ball and tucked it away before falling just inbounds.

“That probably was the play of the game,” said Massillon head coach Lee Owens. “Rameir is such a talented kid. And Lee is a gutsy kid for tossing the ball in there like he did.”

Hurst became Massillon’s record‑holder in single‑season pass completions and passing yards with a first half that saw him complete 12‑of‑20 passes for 166 yards. With his final statistics reading 12‑of‑ 22 for 166 yards, Hurst finished the regular season with 111 completions in 208 attempts for 1,485 yards and 10 TDs.

Martin caught all nine of his passes in the first half for 110 yards.

With the lead in hand, Massillon turned the ball over to senior running backs Ryan Sparkman and. Lamonte Dixon. The two combined for 117 yards rushing in the second half, and set up a 27‑yard field goal by Miller late in the third quarter.

Sparkman ended with a game high 105 yards on 25 carries.

Overall, Massillon rolled up 335 total yards and 20 first downs. The Tigers’ offense also didn’t turn the ball over.

“It was a case of its playing good defense and errorless football in the first half, and then wearing out McKinley in the second half,” Owens said. “I think it’s safe to say we pretty much controlled the game the entire way.”

Which is something the know‑it‑alls never would have guessed.
*****
Massillon offensive line coach Nick Vrotsos was coaching in his 33rd McKinley‑Massillon game, not his 31st as was reported Thursday.

Overlooked were the 14‑6 victory over McKinley in the 1980 playoffs and the Tigers’ first victory over McKinley in 1963 (the teams played twice that year because McKinley was suspended from play in 1962). Vrotsos is 22‑11 vs. McKinley.

Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7

Mass ‑ Sparkman 6 run (G Miller kick)
Mass ‑ Sparkman 2 run (G. Miller kick)
McK ‑ Szerokman 32 as, iron, Her,, (Woj kick)
Mass ‑ Martin 12 pass from Hurst (G. Miller kick)
Mass ‑ FG G. Miller 27

Att – 21.000

Mass Mck
Furs, downs 20 11
Rushes – yards 50-169 20-45
Passing 166 134
Return Yards 35 0
Comp‑Att‑Int 12-23‑0 9-23‑2
Punts 5‑31 6‑37
Fumbles‑Lost 1‑0 3‑2
Penalties‑Yards 3‑31 3‑22
Time of Possession 30:29 17:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Massilltm: Sparkman 25‑105, Dixon 13‑50, Ashcraft 5‑23 Hurst 7‑(‑9);
McKinley: Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Clark 10‑9, Richards 2‑1.

PASSING
Massillon: Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0-1‑0 0;
McKinley: Henry 9-23-2 134.

RECEIVING
Massillon: Martin 9‑110, Harig 1‑32, Manion 1‑16, Dixon 1-8.
McKinley: Moore 4‑52, Gardner 2‑30, Szerokman 1-32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin 1-5.

‘Dogs down;
Tigers stalk Walsh
Owens: Massillon’s back, you can’t keep us down

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

It’s a something old, something new, something borrowed kind of Monday for the Massillon Tigers.

* The old (even ancient) ‑ The Tigers beat up the McKinley Bulldogs 24‑7 Saturday at Fawcett Stadium to take a 52‑38‑5 lead in a series that started six years before the Canton school’s namesake became a U.S. president in 1900.

* The new ‑ Massillon and Walsh Jesuit have never played each other. They will collide at 7 p.m. Saturday in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in a first‑round Division I playoff game.

* The borrowed ‑ Sonny Spielman, whose son Chris was a junior the last time the Tigers made the playoffs, in 1982, declared, “The title will ride on Tiger pride.” Didn’t somebody say that somewhere along the line?

It all adds up to this: Sun’s up in Tigertown after a second straight victory over the Dastardly ‘Dogs.

What’s it all mean?

“The focus,” said 33‑year‑old Massillon head coach Lee Owens, who is 2‑0 against McKinley and 15-5 as the top Tiger, “is Massillon.

“I was proud of our school. I was proud of our city. I was proud of our players. I was proud of our coaches.

“Massillon is back. You can’t keep us down. The first year we were eligible to be back in the playoffs, we made it back.

“We aren’t satisfied with just being back in the playoffs, either. As hard as it is to get emotionally up for another game after beating McKinley, we will find a way to do that. We will find a way to establish the consistency needed to advance in the playoffs.”

Who’s going to argue with the man?

His team founds way to dominate potent Austintown‑Fitch a week after losing 41‑7 to Cincinnati Moeller (which, incidentally, will take on unbeaten Cincinnati Elder in another Saturday playoff battle). It found a way to dominate favored – just ask 90 percent of the out‑of‑town media – McKinley a week after a stunning defeat to Cleveland St. Joseph.

Saturday’s game, played on an August‑meets‑October afternoon with temperatures in the 70s, came at the end of a hair‑raising week.

Lose and the Tigers’ season would end bitterly. Win and they would make the playoffs.

The Tigers struck early and let their thousands of followers let their hair bang down.

Massillon led 14‑0 with less than five minutes gone in the game. They stormed into the fourth quarter on top by the 24‑7 final score.

Midway through the fourth quarter, with half the Massillon crowd chanting “T‑I‑G” and the other half roaring back “E‑R‑S,” red rivers of Bulldog boosters streamed toward the exits.

Massillon got it done with a complete package: offense, defense, special teams and crowd support.

The offense scored on the game’s first series and amassed 335 yards against a ballyhooed defense.

The defense was both lucky (McKinley dropped several passes) and good, making numerous crunching hits and keeping the Bulldogs from getting outside. McKinley finished with just 179 total yards.

The special teams got along kick return from Donnie Blake to start the game and a big fumble recovery by David Whitfield minutes later.

The coaching staff came up with an offensive blocking scheme that took McKinley by surprise.

The crowd was large enough and loud enough to negate McKinley’s home‑field advantage ‑ an estimated 8,000 of the crowd of 20,000 ‑ official figure remained unavailable this morning ‑ rooted for the Tigers.

The offense used an unbalanced line in which the two biggest Tigers, Tom Menches and Ray Kovacsiss, lined up side by side.

”We recognized it as coaches,” said McKinley mentor Thom McDaniels. “But coaches recognizing it and adjusting to it and players doing so can be two different things.

They hadn’t done that in anything we’d seen in scouting them.”

Owens said his staff agreed the unbalanced look would throw McKinley’s angle defense off stride.

“We’ve used it during the season in goal‑line situations, but not all over the field as we did today,” he said.

Added Tiger tackle Tom Menches, “I think we had McKinley fooled.”

Senior running back Ryan Sparkman benefited from the well executed plan. He scored two touchdowns and rushed 25 times for 105 yards.

Quarterback Lee Hurst and split end Rameir Martin also had particularly outstanding games.

Hurst completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards. Martin caught six passes for 110 yards, including a leaping 12-yard touchdown catch with four seconds left in the first half in which he outwrestled three McKinley defenders for position and landed on his back clutching the ball.

The hard‑hitting contest left the physical status of a few Tigers in doubt heading into the Walsh Jesuit game.

Senior lineman Tom Menches suffered a badly sprained left ankle during a third‑quarter drive in which the Tigers scored the only points of the second half on a field goal.

Senior defensive back Eddie Williams suffered a knee injury in the first half. Stacy said the injury probably won’t require immediate surgery but that Williams won’t play Saturday.

Sparkman aggravated a hamstring injury that has cost him playing time this season but he probably will play Saturday, Stacy said.

Defensive lineman Mark McGeorge, bothered by nagging injuries late in the year, had to be helped off the field during the McKinley game. His status is uncertain.

MASSILLON 24
McKINLEY 7

Me Mc
HALFTIME TOTALS
First downs rushing 3 2
First downs passing 7 2
First downs penalty 1 1
Total first down 11 5
Net Yards rushing 39 30
Net Yards Passing 166 52
Total net Yards 205 82
Passes attempted 21 12
Passes completed 12 3
Passes intercepted 0 0
Fumbles/lost 0‑0 1‑1
Punts 3 4
Punting average 30.7 36.3
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 31 22

FINAL TOTALS
First downs rushing 12 4
First downs passing 7 6
First downs penalty 1 1
Total first 20 11
Net Yards rushing 169 45
Net Yards passing 166 134
Total net yards 335 179
Passes attempted 23 23
Passes completed 72 9
Passes intercepted 0 2
Fumbles/lost 1‑0 3‑2
Punts 5 6
Punting average 31.0 36.7
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 31 22

Individual Statistics
Rushing
(Mas) Sparkman 25‑1 5, Dixon 13‑ 50, Ashcraft 5‑23, Hurst 7‑minus 9.
(McK) Clark rMj19, Irvin 4‑25, Henry 4‑10, Richards 2‑1.

Passing
(Mas) Hurst 12‑22‑0 166, Manion 0‑1‑0 0. 1.
(McK) Henry 9‑23‑2 134.

Receiving
(Mas) Martin 9‑110, Harig 1.32, Manion 1‑ 6, Dixon 1‑8.
(McK) Moore are 4‑52, Gardner 2‑3 Szerokman 1‑32, Katusin 1‑15, Irvin 1‑5.

Kickoff returns ‑ (Mas) Blake 1‑40, Dixon 1‑13.
(McK) ‑ Moore 2‑47, Clark 2‑18.

Punt returns ‑ (Mas) Manion 3‑8, Blake 2‑13.
(McK) ‑ Codispoti 1.0.

Massillon 14 7 3 0 24
McKinley 7 0 0 0 7

Ma ‑ Sparkman 6 run. Miller kick
Ma ‑ Sparkman 2 run. Miller kick
Mc ‑ Szerokman 32 pass from Henry. Wojcik kick
Ma ‑ Martin 12 pass from Hurst. Miller kick
Ma ‑ Miller 27 field goal.

Here is a drive‑by‑drive account of Saturday’s Massillon-McKinley game, won 24‑7 by the Tigers.
MAS ‑ Donnie Blake returns opening kickoff 37 yards to McKinley 47 Ryan Sparkman scores on 7‑yard run on seventh play, Key play: 16‑yard Lee Hurst to Troy Manion completion to 32 on first down. Gary Miller’s P.A.T. kick good at 9:39 of first quarter.
Tigers 7, McKinley
***
McK ‑ Kirk Moore fumbles during kickoff return. David Whitfield, recovers for Massillon.
MAS ‑ Start on McKinley 18. Score in six plays on 2‑yard run by Sparkman. Key play: 7‑yard Hurst to Rameir Martin pass to 11 on first down. Miller P.A.T. kick good at 7:20 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 0
***
McK ‑ Start on own 20 after touchback. Drive to Tiger 49. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 16. Three plays. Punt.
McK ‑ Start on Tiger 49. Score on third play, a 32‑yard pass from Ryan Henry to Ron Szerokman. Wojcik kick good at 1:38 of first quarter.
Tigers 14, McKinley 7
***
MAS ‑ Start on own 23 after kickoff. Drive nine plays to 20 Hurst’s 38‑yard field goal attempt wide right at 9:42 of second quarter. Key play: 36‑yard Hurst to Martin sideline pass.
McK ‑ Start on own 20. Four plays to 37. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 11. Six plays to own 48, including 30‑yard sideline pass to Doug Harig. Punt.
Mck ‑Start on own 25 with 3:13 left in first half. Three plays. Punt.,
MAS ‑ Start on own 36 with 2:00 left in half. Drive 64 yards in 10 plays for TD, 12‑yard pass from Hurst to Martin in left corner of end zone. Key plays: 9‑yard run to 45 by Sparkman on first down; 8‑yard reception by Martin followed by late hit penalty to 12. Miller’s P.A.T. kick good at 0:04 of first half.
First half expires on ensuing kickoff return.
Tigers 21, McKinley 7
***
McK ‑ Start on own 6 after bobble of kickoff return. Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on McKinley 40. Six plays to 12. Hurst’s 38‑yard field goal attempt wide right at 6:36 of third quarter.
McK ‑ Start on own 20, Three plays. Punt.
MAS ‑ Start on own 47. Seven plays to 8‑yard line. 27‑yard field goal by Miller good at 1:27 of third quarter.
Tigers 24, McKinley 7

McK ‑ Start on own 45 after kickoff return. Seven plays to Tiger 3. Keith Rabbitt rips ball away from Bulldog pass receiver Dorey Irven
MAS ‑ Start on own 3. Seven plays to 43. Punt.
McK‑ Start on own 25 with 5:53 left in game. Drive inside Massillon territory but lose ball on interception by Chad Buckland that virtually ends game.

Rameir Martin

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1988: Massillon 10, Canton McKinley 7

Massillon tops McKinley in OT

By CHRIS TOMASSON
Repository sports writer

MASSILLON ‑ It looked like plain old mud wrestling, but Mas­sillon defensive tackle Bob Dun­widdie said it had a name.

“It’s called our sci‑fi stomp,” he said after the Tigers’ dramatic 10‑7 overtime high school football victory over McKinley Saturday before 17,000 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Program Cover

After McKinley’s Akram Alzught missed a 38‑yard field goal on the last play of the game, Mas­sillon’s players sprinted to the 50­-yard line and began rolling around in the mud. They got up for a little dancing, and then it was back down in the muck for more celebrating.

But even the guy who has to wash the jerseys had to be smiling. The victory snapped a four‑game losing streak for the Tigers against McKinley, and some say it could even make the difference Tuesday when Massillon voters decide whether they want a new high school.

“I won a state championship (at Galion in 1985), but this is bigger, “ said Massillon coach Lee Owens. “This community has been down, and we needed it. This is just an unbelievable win.”

The deciding points came on a 23‑yard field goal by junior Lee Hurst on Massillon’s first series of overtime. It was Hurst’s first field goal of the season.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988

As if the way he won it wasn’t spectacular enough, Hurst almost won the game in more dramatic fashion. With 2:07 left in regula­tion, his 47‑yard field goal attempt was wide right by about two feet.

“That was frustrating because I thought I had it, and it just went, wide,” said Hurst, who pounded the turf in agony after the kick. “But I was able to get it out of mind quickly.

McKinley (6‑4) won the overtime toss, and e!ected to let the Tigers (7‑3) have the first possession. Beginning at the McKinley 20, Massillon got one first down, but the drive stalled at the 7, and Hurst booted the go‑ahead field goal.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988

In the first half, a driving rain and severe winds hampered the kicking game. But, fortunately for Hurst, there was no rain and little wind when the game was on the line.

On the second play of McKinley’s overtime possession, Bulldogs quarterback Ryan Henry threw the ball into the end zone to a wide‑open Alfred Hill, but the ball slipped through Hill’s hands.

“When I saw him wide open, my heart missed one full beat,” Owens said. “When I saw we were still alive, I said to myself, ‘Thank God, we finally got a break this season.”

Two plays later, Alzught squibb­ed his field‑goal attempt to the left, and pandemonium erupted.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988

While it was one of the most dramatic endings in the 94‑year­ old rivalry (Massillon leads the series 51‑38‑5), much of the game matched every cliche uttered by the two coaches all week. It was hard‑hitting and intense. Nobody literally left their heart on the field, but some players came very close.

Both touchdowns were scored in the second quarter. With 7:40 left in the half, McKinley halfback Derrick Gordon, who gained 77 yards on 22 carries, scored on a one‑yard run, and Alzught added the extra point.

With 2:09 left before intermis­sion, Jamie Slutz hit Doug Harig with a seven‑yard TD toss, and Hurst kicked the extra point. Slutz is the Tigers’ backup quarterback, but he was in the game thanks to the latest surprise from Owens.

Game action vs. Canton McKinley 1988

While the chains were being moved for a first down, Owens sneaked Slutz into the game as a running back. Before McKinley had a chance to react, quarterback Hurst had handed the ball off to Slutz, who flipped the ball to a wide‑open Harig.

“Coach put that in a couple of weeks ago, but we didn’t want to use it until then,” Slutz said. “We were saving it for McKinley.”

“I recognized it right away, and I was yelling to the players,” said McKinley coach Thom McDaniels. “But it’s hard when you’re 30 yards away and 17,000 people are screaming.

The story in the second half was defense. When McKinley got down to the Massillon 9 late in the third quarter linebacker David Lewell smashed Lamuel Flowers for a one‑yard loss on fourth‑and‑1.

Led by the running of Jason Staf­ford, who gained 123 yards on 21 carries, Massillon twice advanced inside the McKinley 40‑yard line. But twice McKinley’s defense forced fumbles.

By the fourth quarter, the Tigers’ defense was frustrating McKinley to such a degree that McDaniels felt he needed to take a huge gamble.

With 5:53 left and the Bulldogs facing fourth‑and‑2 at the 50, McKinley tried a fake punt. The ball was snapped to up‑back Darnell Clark, but he was stopped a half‑yard short of the first down.

McDaniels said he thought it was a “win or lose” gamble, but it was neither after Hurst’s 47‑yarder just missed on Massillon’s ensuing possession.

Tiger back: Defense

‘main factor’

Key plays in overtime hidden
factors in victory vs. McKinley

MASSILLON 10
McKINLEY 7
MAS MCK
Total first downs 13 11
Rushing attempts 42 43
Net yards rushing 197 138
Net yards passing 38 119
Total yards gained 235 257
Passes attempted 13 19
Passes completed 4 8
Passes Int. by 0 1
Punts 5 4
Punting average 33.0 32.8
Fumbles 3 2
Fumbles lost 1 2
Penalties 1 3
Yards penalized 10 19
Attendance 17,750

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
(Mas) Stafford 21‑123, Dixon 6­-48, Hurst 10‑9, Dunwiddle 4‑18
(McK) Gordon 22‑77, Flowers 11‑42, Henry 2‑15, White 4‑7.

Passing
(Mas) Hurst 3‑12‑131, Stutz 1‑1‑0 7.
(McK) Henry 8‑19‑0, 119.

Receiving
(Mas) Stafford 2‑24, D. Harig 1‑7, Spencer 1‑7.
(McK) Flowers 3‑27, Hunter 3-52, Hedrick 1-15, White 1-13.

McKINLEY 0 7 0 0 0 7
MASSILLON 0 7 0 0 3 10

McK ‑ Gordon 1 run (Alzught kick)
Mas ‑ D. Harig 7 pass from Slutz (Hurst Kick)
Mas – FG Hurst 23

Key plays in overtime hidden
factors in victory vs. McKinley

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

If they had a draft of Stark Coun­ty’s high school football players Jason Stafford might be the first pick in the whole thing.

Stafford did his usual thing Satur­day, rushing for 123 yards in the Massillon Tigers’ 10‑7 overtime vic­tory over the McKinley Bulldogs.

Yet, Stafford’s view of the glo­rious day was that, if there was a draft of high school players and he was picking, he’d say, “I’ll start with defense … and I’ll take those Massillon guys.”

“The defense played great Stafford said in a mud‑caked locker room after the Tigers sealed a 7‑3 season and froze McKinley’s final ’88 mark at 6‑4.

“The defense,” Stafford said, “was the main factor in the game.”

Sure, it was Lee Hurst’s clutch 23‑yard overtime field goal that put the Tigers ahead 10‑7. And it was a missed 38‑yard field goal by McKin­ley’s Akram Alzught that ended the game.

But it was the defense that kept McKinley from winning the game in regulation.

And it was the defense that made it so Alzught’s final field goal attempt was 38 yards ‑ a mile by high school standards, especially on the muddy field the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium gridiron became as a result of Friday/Saturday cloud­bursts.

“We came together when we had to come together,” said nose guard Steve Harlan, who played despite a torn shoulder. “They broke through a couple of times, but we sucked it up.”

Late in the third quarter, with McKinley driving toward what could have been a killing touch­down, the Bulldogs elected to go for a first down on fourth‑and‑one from the Tiger 10. Bulldog fullback Lamuel Flowers had been playing with fire all day, and the give went to him. Tiger linebacker David Led­well also went to him, smashing Flowers into a standup position, The Tiger line drove him backward and Massillon got the ball on downs.

“They tried to run off tackle and we stuffed it,” said Tiger end Steve Snodgrass, who was in on the play.

Now the game was in overtime. Both teams got a chance to line up at the 20 and try to score.

The Tigers, losing the coin toss and having to go first, rammed in­side the 10 before settling for Hurst’s field goal.

Hurst’s heart leaped when the snap was slightly off line, but Todd Porter managed to make a clean spot.

“I have to do it,” is what Hurst ,said he was thinking. He did, with his first field goal of the season.

Now McKinley had a chance to counter, getting the ball on first down at the 20.

Chad Buckland and Jason Rel­ford slammed tailback Derrick Gordon for a yard loss. Then came the play that made 17,750 hearts jump. McKinley quarterback Ryan Henry rolled right and looked to the end zone. At the last minute he un­leashed a bullet toward tight end Alfred Hill, wide open in the end zone. Hill didn’t get in front of the ball and it zipped by his fingers.

Most fans were locked in on the wide‑open Hill. Many missed the fact Henry was pummeled by Tiger tackle Trace Liggett as he threw. Without Liggett’s rush, Henry would have been able to case the ball to Hill. Instead, he had to fire a rocket shot that was ever so slightly off line. With the ball as slippery as it was, ever so slightly can be ever so much.

The Tigers survived. On the next play, senior defensive back Mike Pritchard made a superb play in knifing in front of Gordon and knocking away what could have been a critical completion at the 7.

Now McKinley had to try a long field goal. The attempt did not come close, being kicked on a low line far short of the uprights. The Massillon part of the crowd ‑ which was the vast majority ‑ erupted while the ball was in the air.

McKinley’s four‑game winning streak against Massillon was over. The Tigers had won.

The game was played on a roller coaster, both in terms of the action and the weather.

Rain that started during the pre­vious night and gained momentum as the game approached left the field soaked. The contest started in a drizzle, but, in the second quarter, that turned to one of the heaviest downpours the series has seen.

First‑year head coach Lee Owens has brought a lot of good things to Tigertown. One, of them nobody knew about was PAM.

Tiger equipment manager Keith Herring said PAM ‑ a slick veget­able spray ‑ was used liberally on the bottoms of the Tigers’ spikes.

“It really helped keep the mud off our shoes,” said running back Lamont Dixon.

The Tigers mounted an outstand­ing ground attack late in the first half and through most of the second half.

The rain subsided by the third quarter and the sun actually broke through the clouds early in the fourth.

It was McKinley breaking through first on the scoreboard. The Bull­dogs won the battle of field position early and, on their third possession, had to drive only 37 yards following a punt for a touchdown.

Henry’s fourth‑and‑three bootleg run worked to perfection and gave McKinley first and goal at the 8. On fourth down at the 1, McKinley cal­led time out, then sent Gordon, who finished with 77 yards in 22 carries, over the left side for a touchdown. Alzught’s kick made it 7‑0 with 7:40 left in the first half.

A deflected pass and interception gave McKinley the ball back mo­ments later, but the Pups lost a promising series when Tiger line­backer Tom Mattox pounced on a Flowers fumble at the Massillon 35. From there, Stafford and junior run­ning back Lamont Dixon followed the Tiger line down the field.

Stafford gained 8 yards and Dixon stormed for 10. An 8‑yard bootleg run by Hurst put the ball on the McKinley 37, then Hurst connected with Stafford on a wide‑open screen pass for 30 yards to the 7.

Owens then sent in one of the sec­ret plays the Tigers were saving for the McKinley game. Jamie Slutz, a senior who has performed well all year in the role of backup quarter­back/trick play artist, sprinted into the game and lined up at “A‑back,” which usually is Dixon’s position.

“We’ve practiced that for three weeks,” Slutz said. “We were sav­ing it for this game.”

McKinley’s defense didn’t have a chance to react to Bulldog coaches screaming from the sidelines. Slutz took a handoff from Hurst, backed up a step, and spotted junior Doug Harig breaking free in the end zone. Slutz gently lofted a perfect pass over the only McKinley defender in the neighborhood and Harig made an over‑the‑shoulder catch. Hurst’s kick made it 7‑7 with 2:07 left in the half.

Momentum had shifted.

“It was a 949 special,” Harig said. “The ball looked like a pea when it was coming to me. But I figured I’d better catch it, or just keeping run­ning to the locker room.”

McKinley controlled much of the first half, but the Tigers dominated the second half after McKinley’s big third‑quarter drive was stopped at the 10.

A 19‑yard scramble by Hurst got Massillon out of the hole, and a 31­-yard sideline scamper by Stafford put the Tigers in scoring position at the McKinley 34. Dixon made a nice run to the 22 but fumbled and the Bulldogs took over.

The Massillon defense forced a three‑and‑out series and the Tigers drove again, this time to the McKin­ley 38 before Hurst and Stafford mis­sed a handoff and the Bulldogs reco­vered at the 41 midway through the fourth quarter.

McKinley gambled on fourth down on its resulting possession, when a run on a faked punt was stop­ped near midfield.

Hurst wound up trying a 47‑yard field goal with 2:07 left.

When it was over, Jeff Harig, Doug’s brother, wore a huge grin that shone through a face hidden by mud.

“They had a lot of people going both ways, and maybe we were a little fresher at the end,” said Jeff, who was on the field as a blocker, as was Doug, in the double tight end set the Tigers used to run the ball into position for Hurst in overtime.

“We won. That’s all that mat­ters.

McKinley streak goes ‘poof’

Tiger tight end Harig says he was helped by
a cream puff

By MIKE KEATING
Independent Correspondent

Doug Harig enjoyed a post‑game hotdog moments after the Massil­lon Tigers devoured some ‘Dogs on the football field Saturday.

The tight end offered some food for thought on the significance of the Tigers’ 10‑7 overtime victory over arch‑rival Canton McKinley.

“We finally got our pride back,” said, Harig. “This win offsets our three losses.”

Sure, the setbacks to Austintown ­Fitch, Akron St. Vincent‑St. Mary and Warren Harding hurt. The last ­second defeats at Fitch and at War­ren were especially heartbreaking. But a fifth consecutive loss to McKinley undoubtedly would have exceeded all those combined.

Backyard bragging rights were at stake Saturday afternoon and there hasn’t been anything for Ti­ger fans to hoot and holler about in this rivalry since the days of Chris Spielman, Brian Dewitz, Tom Gru­no, Craig Johnson and Company.

Lee Owens understood. The first ­year Massillon head coach was ex­tremely emotional after his team’s seventh and unquestionably most important victory of the season.

“This town has been hungry the last four years and this win was for the entire Massillon community,” he said.

No added incentive was needed for Massillon. But Harig said he had a personal one after a surprise package was delivered to his home earlier in the week.

“There was a cream puff in it with a note,” he explained. The note read: Dear Jeff, you’re the only cream puff bigger than this. Feed it to your brother too.

“We didn’t eat it. We don’t know who sent it, but whoever did, thank you. It fired us up.”

Jeff Harig, the senior tight end, was held without a pass reception Saturday. But he concluded the year with 26 catches for 259 yards, and three touchdowns – hardly cream puff kind of numbers.

His younger brother snagged a Jamie Slutz toss as easily as catch­ing a cream puff in the second quar­ter. The seven‑yard touchdown catch whetted the Tigers’ appetite that set up the dramatic win.

Jeff finished his high school career at Massillon on a winning note. Doug, a 6‑1, 173‑pound junior, can’t wait for 1989.

“This win will carry over to next year and we need some momentum because we play Moeller and Mid­dletown early,” he said .

Starting free safety Joe Pierce had a touchdown‑saving tackle in the fourth quarter. The 6‑0, 161­pound junior echoed Harig’s senti­ments.

“This is a big win for the juniors and will make it easier to work har­der (in preparation) for next sea­son,” said Pierce.

Of course, the victory also meant a lot to the seniors. It was their last McKinley game. Defensive tackle Trace Liggett couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“I don’t think I’ll ever play in as big a game, unless it’s the Super Bowl,” said Liggett, who is re­garded as a major college prospect. “It was a great win and a great way to end the season.”

Last May 13, Owens was hired as the new football coach. Liggett attended the press conference where Owens was introduced. He was impressed with the youthful coach then and even more so after playing for him.

“He is an inspiration to us. He is a good teacher and made practice fun. The players wanted to work hard for him,” said Liggett.

“This win is a big springboard to next year,” said Owens. “I feel that we would have had to start all over (with the program) if we had lost.”

As it worked out, cream puffs ‑and victory ‑ never tasted better.

Expectations fulfilled

Hurst’s winning field goal puts
finishing touch on Tigers’ year

By CHRIS TOMASSON
Repository sports writer

MASSILLON ‑ When your quar­terback’s passing percentage is better than your kicker’s extra ­point percentage, it usually means you’ve either got a great quarter­back or a lousy kicker.

That is, except in Massillon. Tigers’ coach Lee Owens says he has a great quarterback and a great kicker.

Lee Hurst handles both jobs for the Tigers. He’s done an excellent job at quarterback all season. As far as his kicking performance is concerned, until Saturday, the less said about it the better.

But in Massillon’s 10‑7 overtime victory over McKinley at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Hurst showed that Owens knows what he’s talking about.

Hurst, who had made only 11‑of-­21 previous extra points and had not made a field goal all season. made his only extra‑point attempt and he kicked a 23‑yard field goal in overtime that gave the Tigers the win.

“I never lost confidence in Lee,” Owens said. “He’s been taking a lot of heat all season, but he did the job.”

Hurst’s most impressive kick was actually one that he missed. With 2:09 left in the game, Massil­lon faced fourth‑and‑13 from the McKinley 30. A field goal from there would have to travel 47 yards, one yard shorter than the Massillon record.

“I asked Lee if he could make a field goal from the distance, and he said, ‘I can make it,” Owens said. “He almost did.”

Hurst’s kick had plenty of distance, but it was wide right by about two feet.

After the game, while being hugged by most of the population of Massillon, Hurst dedicated the vic­tory to the Tigers’ seniors.

“I’m only a junior, so next year will be my year, ” Hurst said. “But this year belongs to our seniors.”

The seniors are the players who have suffered the most at the hands of McKinley. The Bulldogs had defeated the Tigers four straight times, the most con­secutive victories for a McKinley team since the early 1900s.

“This game meant everything to our season,” said senior running back Jason Stafford, who rushed for 123 yards on 21 carries. “I didn’t care if we started out the’ season 0‑9 as long as we beat McKinley.”

“This is just a great feeling,” said senior defensive tackle Trace Liggett, who spearheaded a Mas­sillon defense that held the Bulldogs to 117 yards and no points in the second half and overtime. “I can’t even describe how I feel right now, To beat McKinley is what it’s all about.”

Interestingly, in 1983, the last time Massillon beat McKinley, Tigers’ defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie was pulling for the Bulldogs.

“Sure, I was cheering for McKinley,” Dunwiddie said. “I lived in Canton and attended Souers Junior High through the seventh grade, Then in the eighth grade I moved to Massillon and became Tiger.”

Owens said beating the Bulldogs meant everything to the Tigers’ season.

“If we had lost it would have been just like starting over,” Owens said. “But winning means that we’ve achieved the type of season we wanted. It’s rubber ­stamped the season. And it’s also a building block for next year.”

The Tigers finished the year 7‑3, one game better than last season. Massillon lost its three games by a combined margin of nine points.

T.R. Rivera
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1988: Massillon 22, Warren Harding 25

WHS-Warren rivalry may be over
Coach Owens enraged at referees as Tigers fall 25-22

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Independent Sports Editor

WARREN: Today is Sweetest Day for lovers.

Friday was Bit­terest Day for Tigers.

The Tigers’ high school football series with Warren Harding has lived long and prospered. It may have died Friday night at Mollenk­opf Stadium, when the Black Panth­ers were awarded a controversial touchdown with 30 seconds left that gave them a 25‑22 victory.

If it is dead, the coffin will be draped with a giant yellow flag.

Massillon head coach Lee Owens believed the Tigers were, to put it bluntly, homered.

“It’s not fair to our kids to have happen what happened here tonight,” said Owens, referring to the officiating. “As long as I’m the head coach in Massillon, we’ll nev­er schedule them again.”

Owens was enraged by the volume of penalties against his team ‑ 12 for 149 yards ‑ and the timing.

Two yellow hankies bothered him the most.

One was a 15‑yard personal foul against fullback Jason Stafford, who leaped out of a pile thinking he had scored, but was informed he had been stopped short of the goal line.

Stafford, who had rushed for 120 yards to that point in the fourth quarter, was ejected from the game with the Tigers trailing 19‑14 and facing second and goal from the 16 ‑ after the penalty ‑ with 4:55 left in the game.

After a five‑yard encroachment penalty against Warren, quarter­back Lee Hurst rolled right and threw left to tight end Jeff Harig, who caught the ball in the end zone.

Surprise, no flags. Touchdown.

Defensive tackle Bob Dunwiddie, suddenly a running back in a Tiger surprise called the “Bull Offense,” carried for the two‑point conver­sion and Massillon led 22‑19 with 4:29 left.

Several Clayton Waite comple­tions, a pass interference panelty and a personal foul infraction later, Warren had the ball a few inches short of the goal stripe on fourth down.

Warren head coach Frank Tho­mas, a former Massillon assistant, called for a quarterback sneak dur­ing a timeout. Waite drove over center into a huge Massillon, pile and bedlam ensured while the 6,000 fans waited for the official call. Af­ter a five‑second delay, the re­feree’s hands went up. Touchdown.

Interestingly, Massillon lineman T.R. Rivera had the ball when the touchdown was signaled.
“Half my body was over the goal line,” Waite said. “I’m sure it was a touchdown.
The Massillon camp disagreed.

“I talked to our players and 11 guys told me it wasn’t a touch­down,” Owens said. “Waite hit the pile and was stopped. When he real­ized he was stopped he reached ahead and while he did that the ball came loose. T.R. recovered the fumble.”

The Tigers have not been a heavi­ly penalized team this year. They were averaging 48 penalty yards against them per game heading into Friday.

Did they suddenly turn into a team of Jack Tatums‑gone-berserk? Or was there another explanation? Namely, that Warren’s reputation as a homer palace has been built on actual hose jobs?

Thomas, whose team was penal­ized eight times for 71 yards, re­jected the “homer” theory.

“I have to believe the officials are ‑ there because they like athletes and they like kids,” Thomas said. “Whether you’re talking about Warren, Steubenville or Massillon, I don’t believe high school officials purposely try to take a game away from a team. I feel strongly about that.”

Informed of Thomas’ comment, Owens said, “I disagree.

“I’ve never complained to a newspaper about the officiating,” he said. “But I have to say some­thing tonight. I’ve never seen any­thing like this as long as I’ve been coaching. If beating Massillon is so important that circumstances like this are created, I can’t accept that.

There is no question beating Mas­sillon was important to the Black Panthers.

“I didn’t care if we went 1‑9 this season as long as we beat Massil­lon,” said Waite, a 6‑foot‑3 senior who completed 19 of 36 passes for 195 yards, rushed seven times for 28 yards, and intercepted three pas­ses, two coming one play after clip­ping penalties against Massillon.

“We never beat Massillon, and that goes all the way back through my junior high days. This isn’t just at the top. It’s at the tippy top.”

Gerald Simpson, a 6‑foot‑4 senior who missed most of the season with a broken arm, was a big factor Fri­day, catching seven passes for 92 yards and running 33 yards for a touchdown.

He credited the victory, however, to Waite.

“In my opinion, Clayton is the best quarterback in the country,” Simpson said of Waite, who says he will play college football at Michi­gan or South Carolina.

The victory pushed Harding’s re­cord to 5‑2 and reduced Massillon’s lead in the all‑time series to 44‑17‑3. The Panthers, however, owns a 7‑6­-2 lead in games played at Mollenk­opf since 1960.

Owens, whose team dropped to 4-­3 with its third straight loss, was not sure if there is a contract to play Warren next year in Massillon, but he talked about the possibility of voiding it if there is.

Warren and Massillon first faced each other in 1921.

The first time the Tigers touched the ball Friday, they moved to mid­field but were stalled when Hurst was sacked for a three‑yard loss, followed by a five‑yard encroach­ment penalty and a 15‑yard clipping foul.

Three punts later Massillon had the ball at its own 45 but quickly lost it right there on a fumble. Harding overcame a 10‑yard holding penalty against a Panther linemen that set up a second and 20. Waite scram­bled 16 yards and, on third down, passed for 17 yards to Simpson. Mo­ments later, Simpson made a leap­ing catch in the end zone on a 10­ yard scoring play. The P.A.T. kick gave the Panthers a 7‑0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.

Massillon struck back quickly. Lamont Dixon’s 49‑yard kickoff re­turn put the ball at the Warren 41. Two plays later the Tigers were hit with another clipping penalty but that was negated two plays later still by a personal foul against Harding. On first down from the 17, Hurst took off around left end on a bootleg run and maneuvered his way through traffic for a touch­down as the first quarter expired. The point‑after kick failed and the Harding kept the lead,,7‑6.

Warren took over at its 27 after the kickoff and, on second‑and‑10, moved to the 42 on a pass interfer­ence call. Two Waite completions advanced the ball to the 33, where on third and two Simpson swept right and seemed to be caught in the backfield. He bounced off the pack, however, and sprinted left, break­ing into the clear and scoring. The kick failed, and Warren led 13‑6 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.

Massillon drove 57 yards to the Warren 15 before running out of downs on its next possession but soon got the ball back on an 11‑yard punt that rolled dead on the Hard­ing 31. A 19‑yard sideline pass to Jeff Harig put the ball at the 12, and three runs by Stafford setup fourth-­and‑two at the 4.

That’s when the Tigers sent in their “bull offense,” featuring Dun­widdie (6‑3, 225) and his fellow de­fensive lineman Trace Liggett (6‑3, 268) in the offensive backfield.

Liggett and Dunwiddie had run through the pre‑game hoop together and with more than the usual gusto, so one might have guessed they were up to something.

Their presence made an impact the first time the “bull offense” hit the field, with Liggett throwing a block that helped spring Dunwiddie for a three‑yard touchdown run.
Hurst passed to Stafford for a two‑point conversion and the Tigers led 13‑12 with 1: 39 left in the half.

The Panthers, however, struck quickly and scored an important touchdown with seven seconds left in the half. A 70‑yard drive featured a 22‑yard scramble by Waite, two completions for 25 yards, and a third‑down run of five yards for the touchdown. The conversion run attempt failed and Warren settled for a 19‑14 halftime lead.

The Tigers spent most of the second half in scoring range. Tom Mattox’s interception on the second play of the third quarter gave Massillon possession at the Warren 33, but on second and eight from the 12, another clipping penalty put the Ti­gers in a hole. Waite’s intercepted Hurst on the next play.

Waite put Warren on the move again but Massillon linebacker David Ledwell intercepted him at the Massillon 41.

This time, Warren’s defense stop­ped the Tigers, who ran out of downs at the Panthers 31. Warren eventually punted and Massillon threatened again when Hurst, fool­ing the Panthers on third‑and‑one, found Harig all alone deep. The play might have gone for more than 39 yards but Hurst had to throw with a Harding defender tugging at his leg and Harig had to come back for the ball. Stafford ran five yards to the 20, then an apparent Tiger touchdown run on the next play was called back by still another clipping penalty. Again, Waite intercepted Hurst on the next play, with 10:34 left in the game.

Again, the Tigers forced a punt, getting the ball at midfield. They drove to the 12, where it was fourth and five, and they lined up to go for it. This time, it was Massillon helped by a penalty, as Warren lined up offsides, giving the Tigers a first‑and‑goal at the 7.

The “bull offense” re‑appeared, but this time Dunwiddie lined up at fullback, Liggett was beside him at wingback, and Stafford was the tailback. Stafford followed the big bulls for six yards to the 1, and fol­lowed them again to what he thought was a touchdown, but at that point found out his carry was not ruled a score, and was subse­quently ejected for his reaction.

The ball was marched 15 yards backward, and then five yards ahead when Warren encroached on the next play. Hurst then hit Harig with the go‑ahead TD, and Dunwid­die, again lining up in the “bull,” carried for the two‑point conver­sion.

Massillon led 22‑19 with 4:29 left.

Warren had trouble with the kick­off and set up on its own 7. Waite passed the Panthers to the 20 but faced second and 10. He passed again, long down the right sideline. the ball was nearly intercepted by safety Joe Pierce but pass in­terference was ruled and Warren had another first down. Waite click­ed for big passes of 27 and 17 yards to Keith Jordan, with the latter play having a half‑the‑distance penalty tacked on when Chad Buckland, was ruled for leading a tackle with his helmet ‑ another call that upset Owens greatly.

“That play never gets called … and to call it there,” Owens said.

Eventually, it was fourth and in­ches, and Waite was ruled in for the touchdown.

The Tigers now must try to rally for a battle next Saturday at Cleve­land St. Joseph, which fell to 5‑2 Fri­day by losing to Cleveland St. Igna­tius.

WARREN 25
MASSILLON 22
W M
First downs rushing 7 6
First downs passing 6 11
First downs by penalty 3 3
Totals first downs 16 20
Yards gained rushing 192 136
Yards lost rushing 12 15
Net yards rushing 180 121
Net yards passing 158 195
Total yards gained 338 316
Passes attempted 26 36
Passes completed 13 19
Passes int. by 2 3
Times kicked off 4 5
Kickoff average 47.0 40.4
Kickoff return yards 77 49
Punts 2 5
Punting average 22.0 25.6
Punt return yards -2 0
Fumbles 2 0
Fumbles lost 1 0
Penalties 12 8
Yards penalized 149 71
Number of plays 60 63
Time of possession 21.51 26.09
Attendance 6,000

T.R. Rivera