Football Hall of Fame is the Next Stop for Larry Larsuel
Larry Larsuel could have reminisced about some great Massillon wins that he was involved in during the 1964 season, but unfortunately he’s not around anymore for us to hear it first-hand. There was the 14-8 victory over Niles McKinley in the Rubber Bowl that broke the Red Dragons’ 48-game winning streak and solidified the Tigers as the best team in the state at that time. And there was the 38-14 shellacking of 8-2 Altoona, Pennsylvania. Finally, old timers will never forget the 20-14 come-back win over No. 2 Canton McKinley that punctuated the season and returned the crown to Massillon. But Larsuel was more than just a participant. He was one of the stalwarts on the offensive line that led a devastating ground attack under first-year Massillon and future Ohio State Head Coach Earl Bruce.
Larsuel began his varsity career in 1962 as a 5’-8”, 176 lb. sophomore when Head Coach Leo Strang named him a starter at offensive guard against Akron Garfield. Unlike today, sophomores didn’t dress for varsity games, let alone play. So, he must have made an early impression on the coach of his potential. Turns out, it was his only start that year and the team finished 6-5. But good things were yet to come.
Larsuel hit his growth spurt entering his junior year and became a full time starter at offensive guard, playing at 5’-11”, 197 lbs. The team finished 9-1, losing to 10-0-1 Akron Garfield 13-6, while finishing second in the state to 9-0-1 Niles. Ironically, Garfield was voted sixth. Since Canton McKinley was barred from playing football in 1962 on account of a recruiting violation, the team teams matched up twice in 1963. Massillon won both, by scores of 24-20 and 22-6. Strang then left for the top job at Kent State, opening the door for Bruce.
“Coach Leo Strang of Massillon was all smiles as he praised the Tigers’ team effort (against 8-2 Alliance). He especially patted senior wingback Bill (Rabbit) Blunt and junior lineman Larry Larsuel on their respective backs. “Didn’t Blunt run well,” he said, “and that Larsuel, he played guard, linebacker and middle guard and did a tremendous job at all three spots.” – Massillon Independent
For his outstanding play, Larsuel was named 2nd Team All-Ohio at the guard position and 1st Team All-Stark County by both the coaches and the Massillon Evening Independent.
It was during his senior season that the big games mentioned above were played. With those three wins plus seven more, Massillon finished the season 10-0 for the second straight year and retained the state championship trophy. The 5’-10”, 206 lb. Larsuel was again lauded by the opponents.
“THEY OWNED US down the middle in the second half,” said Altoona Coach Earl Strohm, headman of the Lions, now in his 11th year at the Pennsylvania football power house. The veteran coach was especially impressed with Larsuel, terming the senior all-county and all-state guard “a real good football player.” Based on the game movies, fullback Lawrence was named player of the week for his running and faking. Lineman of the week was guard Tom Whitfield with Larsuel the runner-up. — Massillon Evening Independent.
Larsuel also played a little defense and made a great play against Niles. Per the Massillon Evening Independent, “With second and 10, Infante went back to pass but found tackle Jim Binge looming in front of him and tried to run to the left where Larry Larsuel knifed through and dropped him for a 5-yard loss to the 18, with 1:28 left in the game. Niles tried 2 more passes, both of which were incomplete, and Massillon took over on its own 17 and ran out the clock for its second win of the season. Lineman honors went to guard Larry Larsuel who got his man 65 per cent of the time and who on defense freed Muhlbach by handling the Niles tackles. Backfield honors went to Bob Hewitt for his blocking and running.”
At the end of the season Larsuel was named 1st Team All-Ohio at guard. He also grabbed 1st Team All-Stark County from both the coaches and Massillon Evening Independent. And he received the Massillon Jaycees Sportsmanship Award. The following summer Larsuel participated in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game, lining up at offensive guard.
City Still Raving About Tigers Today A Sparkling Defense Stops McKinley 22-6
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
In a song of a few years back the whole town was talking about the Jones boys.
But today Massillon is still raving about something even better – its terrific Tigers and their scintillating defense. The Bengal fans are also waxing enthusiastic about a master piece of strategy by their Coach Leo Strang and questioning with unbelief the words of McKinley Coach Tony Ware following Saturday’s game at Fawcett stadium.
Put all these factors together and you have the story of Massillon’s convincing 22-6 conquest of the Bulldogs before an overflow crowd of 21,965. The victory will probably open the door of the throne room for the Tigers, giving them their 20th state championship.
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The Bengals gave every last bit of effort to show their fans, the people of Canton and the state of Ohio that their first victory over McKinley 24-20 at Tiger stadium last month was no fluke. * * * THE TIGER defense stunting and blitzing held McKinley to 26 net yards on the ground and 35 in the air for a total of 61 and tossed the Bulldogs for two safeties in the second half. Time and again Bengal defenders stopped McKinley ball-carriers before they got started and intercepted three passes, one for a touchdown. The vaunted Willie Hall was held to 47 yards, breaking loose only twice.
That’s why Massillon fans today still found it hard to understand how McKinley Coach Tony Ware could say that their Tigers “didn’t bother us defensively. Our offensive mistakes beat us.” He added, “We played our worst game of the season.”
But Strang knew what beat McKinley. In the jubilant dressing room after the game he said, “Did we defense them or did we defense them?” He added, “Oh that was sweet! I never wanted anything more in my life. We had some bad breaks in there, too.”
Massillon did well offensively, too, picking up 202 yards on the ground and 44 via the aerial route for a total of 246.
The cunning piece of strategy by Strang was putting seniors Terry Getz and Bill Blunt back into the spots at which they had started the season. Knowing that Ware would set his defense for Blunt’s running from the tailback slot, Strang inserted “The Rabbit” as wingback and the curly-haired Getz at tailback, thus effectively foiling Ware’s efforts. * * * WITH BLUNT decoying defenders, Getz the more powerful of the two, ended his high school career in tremendous fashion behind some outstanding line blocking. Terry ran hard and picked his holes well to tally two touchdowns and collect 107 yards.
His unselfish comment was, “Give the credit to the line. They blocked beautifully.”
The Tigers wasted little time cranking into high gear offensively. After forcing McKinley to punt, minutes after the opening kickoff, the WHS eleven took over on its 22-yard line. Quarterback Ron Swartz broke through the middle on a play which netted 29 yards to McKinley’s 49 even though Swartz stumbled, fumbled the ball and Tom Roderick eventually recovered it during the action.
Lawrence ran a play. Then Getz carried three straight times for a total of 36 yards, putting the ball on the eight. Swartz fumbled on the four on the next play. McKinley’s Fred Mathews recovered.
Nobody got anywhere for the remainder of the first period. * * * McKINLEY GOT its only threat going as the result of an intercepted pass by Pete Kalogeras on the Massillon 49. He ran back to the 34. But the Bulldogs got no further than the 20. Henry Vafides tried a field goal but sent the ball way off to the right.
The Tigers had two bad breaks during their next time with the ball. A delay penalty set them back from third and six on their 49 to third and 11. On the next play, Will Perry bobbled a pass while in the clear for a score.
As the second quarter was nearing its close, the Tigers got their first score. Perry, playing his only game at defensive tackle, charged in and hit quarterback Arnie Fontes as he was about to pass. The pass went weakly off to the side.
Cornerback Grady Eckard tipped the pass into the air on the 30. With amazing reaction he reached back, grabbed the ball and raced in for the score. There were two minutes, 30 seconds left. * * * SWARTZ TRIED right end on a keeper for the conversion but fumbled and was hit short of the goal line.
With a little more than a minute remaining in the quarter, Floyd Pierce intercepted a pass on his 30 and ran back to the 43. The Tigers then moved 55 yards to the two-yard line thanks to a roughing the passer penalty and a fine catch of a 19-yard pass from Swartz by Blunt.
With 10 seconds left, Blunt raced off right tackle from the two on third down. Massillon fans thought he was in the end zone but the officials didn’t and the half ended.
The Orange and Black got to the McKinley 34 after taking the second half kickoff but Steve Kanner was forced to punt. The ball rolled towards the end zone and Frank Scassa downed it on the one to set up the Tigers’ first safety. Fontes faded from the five to pass on third down and was lassoed in the end zone by Eckard with six minutes, 11 seconds left in the third canto. The score was 8-0. * * * THE BENGALS used 4y minutes on their next scoring drive, moving from the McKinley 33 after a 22-yard runback of the kickoff following the safety. Getz, Lawrence and Swartz took turns running the ball on eight plays with three first downs.
Getz ran the last two plays off right tackle, picking up nine yards on fourth down, then going in from the three with 1y minutes showing on the clock. Swartz missed the conversion run off tackle.
Seconds into the fourth quarter linebacker John Muhlbach intercepted a McKinley aerial on the Bulldogs’ 35 and ran the ball to the 15. But a clipping penalty nullified the runback and three plays later Lawrence fumbled on the 21 with Mathews again Johnny on the spot for the recovery for the Pups.
McKinley got two series and Kalogeras went back to punt on fourth down from the 39. A tremendous charge by the Tigers caused a fumble. Kalogeras tried to punt the ball while it was rolling loose, but ended up with a penalty for illegally kicking a free ball. Massillon was awarded the ball at the spot of the infraction and was off for its final six-pointer.
Eight plays, three first downs and six minutes, 47 seconds later Getz went off right tackle again on second down from the two after running six of the plays on the drive. With one minute, 43 seconds showing on the clock, Bobby Hewitt missed running the conversion. * * * TOM RIVERA got to kickoff from the Bulldog’s 45-yard line, thanks to a piling penalty between the extra point try and the kickoff. His boot went into the end zone for a touchback.
On the next play Bobby Johnson tried a “Statue of Liberty” play from the 20, was forced to retreat all the way to the goal line and was thrown into the end zone by Mike Jones. This was probably one of the few 20 yard safeties on record. Massillon led 22-0 with one minute, 32 seconds left in the game.
Hoping to score another touchdown, Blunt passing in a game for the first time, suffered an interception by Martin Smith on the McKinley 20 after the kickoff. He ran back to the Massillon 19.
Three plays later on first down from the nine, Fontes passed to End Dwayne Lipkins for McKinley’s only score with 15 seconds left. Fontes misfired on an attempted conversion pass.
Massillon had one more chance following the kickoff. Swartz just missed hitting Blunt deep in McKinley territory for a score.
The Tigers ended the season with a 9-1 record. McKinley finished 6-4. Massillon has now won 36 games in the series, McKinley 27. Five have ended in ties.
This was the second straight time that Massillon had beaten McKinley twice in one year.
The year 1909 was the only other time this happened.
One group of men who are usually overlooked and seldom praised for their efforts we would like to give a pat on the back for a job well done Saturday. These are the traffic officers who kept the cars on the move before and after the game.
We recall missing the kickoff at Fawcett two years ago because of a traffic jam, though we thought we had given ourselves more than sufficient time to get to the game. We left one-half hour later this year and drove right into the stadium without any delay. Maybe there were tie-ups in some places but we didn’t encounter any.
MASSILLON – 22 Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones and Goodnough. Tackles – Miller, Tarle, Morgan, Lash and Binge. Guards – Larsuel, Castile, Rivera, Roderick, Swisher, Muhlback and T. Whitfield. Center – Scassa. Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner. Halfbacks – Getz, Blunt, Rink, Schenkenberger, Eckard and Marks. Fullbacks – Lawrence and Hewitt.
McKINLEY – 6 Ends – Lipkins, Roman , Card and Jones. Tackles – Miller and Shumick. Guards – Turner, Barney, Hall and Vafides. Center – Roman. Quarterback – Fontes. Halfbacks – Johnson, McElroy, A. and M. Smith, Carter and Mathews. Fullbacks – Hall and Kalogeras.
Massillon 0 6 8 8 22 McKinley 0 0 0 6 6
Touchdowns: Massillon – Getz (three and two-yard runs); Eckard (30-yard pass interceptions). McKinley – Lipkins (nine-yard pass from Fontes).
Safeties: Massillon – (Fontes tackled by Eckard and Johnson tackled by Jones).
Officials Referee – Brenton Kirk (New Philadelphia). Umpire – Harold Rolph (Ironton). Head Linesman – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls). Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)
GAME STATISTICS Massillon Opp. First downs, rushing 10 3 First downs, passing 3 3 First downs, penalties 1 2 Total first downs 14 8 Yards gained rushing 211 79 Yards lost rushing 9 53 Net yards gained rushing 202 26 Yards gained passing 44 35 Total yards gained 246 61 Passes attempted 14 12 Passes completed 5 6 Passes intercepted by 3 2 Times kicked off 4 4 Kickoff average (yards) 40.5 37.5 Kickoff returns (yards) 43 19 Times punted 2 3 Punt average (yards) 41.0 36.3 Punt returns (yards) 8 8 Had punts blocked 0 0 Fumbles 4 3 Lost fumbled ball 2 0 Penalties 2 3 Yards penalized. 20 45
Tigers Beat McKinley Bengal Team First In local History To Win 11 Games In A Season
By LUTHER EMERY
The ballots have been cast and in their number is the 1961 Ohio high school football champion.
Which team will it be?
Massillon’s Washington high school Tigers have the best record in games won and lost – 11 straight this season. No other state power can boast that many, and the Tigers have met and conquered many of Ohio’s strongest teams.
They deserve the title.
Last week they led the Associated Press poll by 29 points, and since last week they have added an 11th triumph to their schedule a 7-6 victory over Canton McKinley Saturday, to become the first team in Massillon history to win 11 games in a season.
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* * * UNFORTUNATE the determining factor of some pollsters appears to be how close Massillon comes to losing a game, rather than by how many points the Tigers have measured some of the state’s powerhouses.
Since Saturday’s game was a close one, this could again be a factor in this week’s final voting in the AP poll which is recognized by the Ohio High School Football Coaches association as the poll to determine the state champion. The results of the poll will be officially announced Tuesday afternoon.
A gallant Canton McKinley team gave the Tigers all they could handle Saturday afternoon before 20,000 fans at Fawcett stadium Canton, and outplayed the Tigers in many departments except points.
Here the Tigers led and 50 years from now the score will still read Massillon 7, McKinley 6.
Both touchdowns were scored in the first half – Massillon going across the first time it got the ball – McKinley scoring early in the second period.
The Bengals won by a toe and a foot so to speak. The toe was that of Wil Paisley, the guy who came out of the halls to boot 16 of 17 extra point attempts from placement, including the point that beat McKinley, and the foot was the measurement of ground the Tigers refused to yield when the Bulldogs had them hanging on the goal line in the fourth quarter.
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* * * THAT GOAL LINE stand brought out the championship caliber of the Massillon team.
McKinley folk had much to be proud of even in defeat.
Their fighting Bulldog eleven, which had been made underdog by as many as 32 points, became aroused and fought the Bengals to a standstill. They had the advantage in total net yards gained from scrimmage and in first downs, and made more serious threats than the Tigers, who actually had but the one scoring opportunity.
The McKinley team by far played its best game of the season. The Bulldogs’ coach Pete Ankney, asked each boy to give a little extra measure Saturday and they all did. And for it Ankney, bitterly disappointed at having an upset victory so near his reach, never-the-less was thankful and praised his boys for it.
“We gave it everything we had,” he said in a little room off a quiet McKinley locker room.
“Our boys for their size did a Herculean job and I thought they deserved to win it. We worked hard for this game. I thought all day we would win. I was real proud of our team right down the line, offensively and defensively. Our assistants and our associates did a good job of scouting Massillon. I knew Massillon had a great team and a great staff. I want to congratulate Strang and his fine team for a great year.”
Jim Alexander (23)
* * * AND STRANG, whose eyes were dripping too – but from tears of joy – said in a happy Massillon dressing room. “It is a tremendous feeling to know your team has set a school record of winning 11 games in a season. That was a great McKinley team we played out there today. Ankney has done a great job of bringing them along this season. Why today they could have beaten most of the teams in Ohio.”
We asked Strang why he didn’t open up more. “We were probably more conservative than we should have been,” he replied.
“But gosh, when you have two passes intercepted and you are leading by a point, you don’t like to take a chance on much ball handling. Remember from the start of the second half when we fumbled the kickoff and were downed on our own five yard line, we never had the ball where we could afford to take chances.”
Strang was particularly proud of the goal line stand of his Tiger team that thwarted McKinley in its bid for a winning fourth quarter touchdown and Ankney was still second-guessing himself hours after the game, if maybe he should have tried a field goal on fourth down instead of trying to ram a foot through the Tiger line for a touchdown.
We asked Pete if he had considered a fourth-down field goal attempt at the time. He said, “I did, and I have a thousand times in the last 20 minutes, but I thought the chances of getting that foot and a touchdown were better than trying for a field goal and three points. If the ball had only been on the five-yard line, there wouldn’t have been any question, we would have tried for a field goal – and maybe we would have won the game.
* * * BUT ANKNEY, we are certain, made the choice that 40 out of 50 high school coaches would have made and tried for the touchdown.
Massillon fans will be talking the rest of the year about that goal line stand.
McKinley, trailing 7-6, had gained possession of the ball on its own 49-yard line when Ken Austin covered Ken Dean’s fumble, which would have given the Tigers a first down. The Bulldogs marched to a first down on the Massillon three and the Tigers dug in.
Mark Hall banged into the line for no gain. Willie Dent dented the center for a yard and a half to put the ball not much more than a foot from the goal line. Came the last big effort for both teams.
The Tigers were dug in with their toes just on the goal line when Williams came crashing forward again. Ken Ivan and Charles Whitfield met him with a thud that could be heard in the stands. Williams’ forward momentum was stopped and he coughed up the ball which was grabbed quickly by Ivan. The Bulldogs had been stopped in their tracks and the Tigers had saved the day. Three plays later they had moved the ball out nine yards for safe punting distance and as the game turned out that was it.
Both teams had difficulty moving and not much to show in the way of offense for an afternoon’s effort.
Ankney threw what amounted to a nine-man line against the Tigers all afternoon but the boys were able to drop back quickly enough to intercept the only two passes thrown by Massillon, thereby frightening the locals into clamming up. The Bulldogs jitterbugged on the defensive line and after the first quarter were fairly successful in jamming up the middle down which the local team ran most of its stuff.
* * * AND THE TIGERS were far from sharp. They gave McKinley the ball twice on fumbles and twice on intercepted passes and they had a couple of other fumbles which though they recovered, retarded their offense.
Looking at the statistics, Canton made 11 first downs to Massillon’s 8 and gained 42 yards passing to none for the Tigers. The Bulldogs gained 135 yards rushing, two more than Massillon, but lost 22 to the Tigers seven giving the locals a net rushing advantage of 126 to Canton’s 113. But in net yards gained rushing and passing, Canton again had the advantage, 155 yards to 126 for the Tigers.
The way the game started it looked as though the Tigers might be complete masters of the day.
They kicked off to McKinley, forced the Bulldogs to punt and poorly at that, to the Canton 47.
Charlie Brown got five yards on two tries and Philpott 11 for a first on the Canton 31. Brown hit tackle for two and Philpott 11 more for a first on the 18. Ken Dean banged through for nine yards on two lugs and Jim Alexander on a sneak put the ball on the Bulldog four. Dean slammed through to the one and Alexander went over. Paisley kicked the extra point and that was Massillon’s scoring for the entire day.
The Bulldogs took the kickoff and began a drive that carried over the centerfield stripe where Charlie Brown made a one-handed pass interception to end the threat. The Tigers came back into Canton territory but a pitchout was fumbled and Hall covered for Canton on the Tiger 49, on the first play of the second period.
AUSTIN made nine yards on a keeper and Jim Patterson fumbled and covered for a first down on the 36. McKinley was penalized back to the 41 for being in motion. Austin and Williams moved it up two yards and Lou Harris fired the ball on third down to Willie Dent for a touchdown. Dent getting behind the Tiger secondary to make the catch.
McKinley elected to run with the ball and try for two points to get the edge on the Tigers. Roy Yancey was thrown before he got to the goal line and the score stood at 7-6.
And that’s were it still stood when t he game was over.
The Tigers never threatened again in the entire game. In face, they only got as close as the 49-yard line once and that was on the last series of plays when the game ended with the Bengals in possession of the ball on the McKinley 28.
Canton was in Massillon territory four times after scoring its touchdown. It had a first on the 23 late in the second period but could not get any closer. It got over the midfield stripe on an intercepted pass early in the third period but lost the ball also on an interception by Floyd Pierce on the Massillon 40.
After being stopped on the one foot line the Bulldogs made one more bid and got down to the 21 before giving up the ball on downs.
The victory was Strang’s 38th against two losses and a tie since coming to Massillon four years ago.
From all appearances the game will be the last between Massillon and Canton until 1963, because of McKinleys suspension in Ohio interscholastic competition for one year for having allegedly used undue influence in getting a family to move from Portsmouth to Canton so that two boys could play football at McKinley high. Members of the McKinley Booster club and an assistant coach were named in the accusations. Canton school officials are considering taking the suspension into court.
The Big One
MASSILLON Ends – Ivan, L. Ehmer, Pierce, Paisley, Garland. Tackles – Spees, Strobel, Mercer, C. Bradley, Clendening. Guards – Radel, Clendenin, Whitfield, Poole. Center – Ben Bradley. Backs – Alexander, Philpott, Schenkenberger, Dean, Brown, Blunt, Davis, Snively, Baker.
McKINLEY Ends – Singleterry, Parks, Barboto. Tackles – Day, Seymour, Peterson, Campbell. Guards – Johnson, Currence, Ghezzi, Turner, Hall. Centers – Wood, Pope. Backs – Harris, Fontes, Dent, Patterson, Yancey, M. Hall, F. Hall, Williams and Auston.
Massillon 7 0 0 0 7 McKinley 0 6 0 0 6
Touchdowns – Alexander (one-yard plunge), Dent (39-yard pass from Harris).
Point after touchdown – Paisley (placekick).
OFFICIALS Referee – Tony Pianowski. Umpire – Jim Lymper. Head Linesman – Jack McLain. Field Judge – Bobbie Brown.
STATISTICS Mass. Can. First downs – rushing 8 9 First downs – passing 0 2 First downs – penalties 0 0 Total first downs 8 11 Yards gained rushing 138 135 Yards lost rushing 7 22 Net yards gained rushing 129 113 Yards gained passing 0 56 Total yards gained 129 169 Passes attempted 2 12 Passes completed 0 3 Passes intercepted by 2 2 Times kicked off 2 2 Kickoff average (yards) 47.7 45 Kickoff returns (yards) 0 30 Times punted 4 1 Punt average (yards) 34.7 28 Punt return (yards) 0 17 Had punts blocked 0 1 Fumbles 4 2 Lost fumbled ball 2 0 Penalties 0 2 Yards penalized 0 10
Tigers Wait For Poll After Crushing Win 65th Game Is History As Locals Maul Pups, 42-0, Before 19,036
By JIM QUILTY
The ‘City of Champions’ has been assured of another championship.
Combining an awesome display of offensive power, a virtually immovable defense and an unquenchable fighting spirit which led them back from the 19-18 loss to Warren to three irreputable victories, the No. 1 ranked Washington high school Tigers ‘trapped’ Canton McKinley into its worst defeat of the 65-game football series, 42-0, before 19,096 impressed fans Saturday afternoon.
It was a sunshine filled football finale for 24 Washington high seniors who were given individual thunderous applause when Coach Leo Strang removed them from the lineup one by one, for the last time in their high school grid careers.
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With the realization an impressive victory was necessary to cement the top ranking they have maintained during the entire 1960 season, the Massillon gridders performed their task with precision workmanship.
* * * STARTING with the first time the Tigers took possession minutes after the start of the game, their unmistakable superiority was grossly evident. In the first six plays it had the ball, Washington high moved 76 yards, Ken Dean rolling the final 32 for the touchdown.
* * * HEROES WERE MANY. But Art Hastings, the sure-fire all-Ohio fullback who scored four times with a scintillating display of broken field running, and Lawson White, who generaled the defensive wall, were exceptionally out-standing.
For Hastings, the afternoon was reminiscent of many evenings throughout the past two years. He concluded his final two years of varsity competition with 220 points, over 2,400 yards rushing and innumerable other marks which may withstand the assaults of future years.
* * * THE TURNING point of the game was when Massillon kicked off.
McKinley’s top scorer Jim Patterson covered Dean’s kickoff on the 12. Three plays, then a five-yard penalty netted the Bulldogs a first down, their only one in the first half.
Marty Gugov (75)
Sirgo punted with Bob Baker fumbling it back to the 18. He then picked it up and returned to his own 24. Quarterback Dave Null picked up 25 yards, Dean seven and Hastings 12 to the Pup 32. Dean then went in behind Center George Demis and short side guard Gary Wells, broke to the west stand sideline and sprinted 32 yards into the north end zone for a 6-0 lead. Ken added the conversion but an illegal motion penalty ruled it out. Null’s pass was then incomplete for a 6-0 lead at the 5:48 mark.
Receiving the kick, McKinley failed to move. Sirgo booted out of bounds on Massillon’s 43.
The Tigers moved to the Canton 38 before a fumble with McKinley’s George Smith recovering. Again the losers failed to move. Sirgo booted again, this time to the Massillon 24.
Martin Gugov, still hobbled by the bad knee, started the TD drive with a 23-yard burst. Dean, Null and Hastings quickly complemented that run by moving to the McKinley 15 early in the second period.
* * * HASTINGS then eluded tacklers three different times while streaking into the end zone for his first of our scores on another trap, this time through Demis and Jay B. Willey, long side guard. Hastings’ PAT attempt failed keeping the lead at 12-0.
With the Cantonians again stalling, Sirgo booted with Baker returning the ball to the 34. A clip on the 43 gave the locals first and 16 on their 28.
In six plays the Tigers had racked up TD No. 3 with Hastings barreling in from 29 yards out. Dean has chipped in 35 yards and Hastings 22 in the drive, which was slowed by a 15-yard holding call against the hosts.
A final first half scoring bid was thwarted by a holding call which set the locals back to the 24 after Null had combined with Hastings, then Charlie Brown, to the Pup nine. Hastings was tossed down on the 31 as the half came to a close. Massillon led, 18-0.
The Tigers met a similar fate at the start of the second half as they moved from their own 32 to the McKinley 18 where a fourth and eight pass from Null went astray.
A defensive holding penalty and a 14-yarder by Roland DiMickele brought the ball to the mid-field stripe, for Canton. Sirgo then had to punt with Baker ripping up the sideline while bringing the ball back to his own 49.
On the next play Hastings went through the same hole Dean used in his first period score for 51 yards and a touchdown. Charlie Brown added the two-point conversion for a 26-0 lead seven minutes into the final half.
* * * DEAN’S next kickoff went to Patterson who fumbled with Dave Smith pouncing upon the ball on the McKinley 33. In three plays, including a 15-yard toss from Null to Larry Ehmer, the Tigers had moved to the enemy five. Hastings then bolted off his inside tackle for the score. Quarterback John Larson added the conversion on a keeper for a 34-0 advantage after three periods.
McKinley took Dean’s next kickoff and moved to the hosts’ 41 before losing the ball on downs.
Hastings picked up 24, nearly breaking away for his fifth tally. But then the Tigers faltered. Deans’ punt on a fourth down situation was blocked with Tom Wucinich recovering on the Tiger 37.
Three plays, including a completed pass, lost nine yards, Sirgo booted and Baker returned it to his 36.
Joe Heflin, playing his final game, streaked for 11 and a first down on the Bengal 47. On the next play, he ripped through the line and out-raced the defending Bulldogs for a 53-yard touchdown. Dave Smith went behind his outside tackle for the final two points of the productive 348 point season.
With Strang letting each of the seniors take his bow, the final drive by Massillon carried to the Pup six. There an incomplete pass gave Canton possession.
They picked up 21 yards in our carries as the season came to an abrupt halt.
* * * THE TREMENDOUS pressure placed on McKinley Quarterback Tom Sirgo by White, Gary Wells, Wally Brugh, Duane Garman, Ken Herndon, Jim Houston and Ken Ivan, permitted the usually sure-fire passer only two completions, both in the flat, for a net gain of no yards. His first one picked up four but the second connection lost them all back.
* * * IT WAS also an extremely pleasing performance for Coach Leo Strang, who with the victory, tied Chuck Mather for the most victories gained by a Washington high team in the first three years as Tiger coach. The win was No. 28 against only two defeats and a tie.
In three years against the Bulldogs and losing McKinley Coach Jim Robinson, the Tigers have turned in three straight victories. The Saturday invaders haven’t scored in their last 10 quarters after the 16-16 first half tie in Strang’s initial year at the helm, 1958.
But after 11 regular season games and two weeks with the victorious North All-Stars beginning in August, Strang was indeed ready to call it a coaching year.
“I’m glad it’s all over,” Leo disclosed with a beaming victory smile outside the Tiger dressing room. “It’s been a long one.”
Not once during the entire afternoon did the Bulldogs, owners of 320 points in 10 previous games, put together what even resembled an offensive threat. Early in the fourth period a 15-yard gain by Matt Brown, a 15-yard holding penalty against the Tigers, and several short gainers moved the Bulldogs to the Massillon 41.
That’s the most the visitors could do.
* * * THE CLIMAXING game of the 1960 season gave the Orange and Black an impressive 10-1 slate marred only by the one-point loss to Warren. The win also kept Strang’s perfect home string in tact. In three years under Strang, the Tigers have yet to bow at Tiger stadium.
With the squad in as close to perfect health during the last three games as anytime during the season, the Tigers chewed up over a mile rushing and passing.
The 1,657 yards came on 517 yards in the Toledo Waite game, 544 against Springfield South and the 596 against ancient rival Canton McKinley.
Houston, Brugh, Wells, Garman, Gugov, Bob Herring, Joe Smith, Null, Larson , Demis, Willey, Richard Crenshaw, Ron Herbst, Virgil Bukuts, Herndon, Pete Anzalone, Don Kurzen, Theopolis Bodiford, Jim Fuchs and Chuck Royer along with Dave Smith, Hastings, White and Heflin closed out their high school football careers.
It was a pleasant finale that the boys won’t soon forget.
Workmanlike Tigers Make It A Perfect Year Massillon Stouties Roast Bulldogs 20-0 In Defensive-Minded Hassle
By CHARLIE POWELL
Workmanlike.
That is as good a word as any to use in describing the superlative piece of machinery which combined to hold the “Indian sign” over the Canton McKinley Bulldogs last Saturday afternoon.
The mighty Massillon Tigers did no extraordinary things, they simply did the ordinary thing extraordinarily well as they put the Bulldogs through the meat-grinder, 20-0 before nearly 19,000 fans at sunny Fawcett stadium.
There were not twisting, 80-yard runs, no fourth-down scoring passes, no whopping, long punt or kickoff return. Just work. Much like other people perform in the mills.
The bountiful Tigers tore off the tackles and up the middle most of the afternoon as they enjoyed an early Thanksgiving Day – stuffing the Bulldogs and roasting’em well.
The Cantonians must have felt like they had eaten a mess of those contaminated cranberries that slipped by the spying crews.
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The grind-em out offense combined with an impregnable defense proved that the Tigers could get the job done one way or the other. All season long, when the occasion demanded, they either banged inside the flanks, threw the long stroke or pulled off some hipper-dipper. Versatility and variance were bywords.
It was this kind of a team which will go down in Washington high gridiron annals as one of the greatest.
The sweet smell of success over 10 weekends brought Tigertown its first unbeaten season since 1953, this was the sixth highest scoring club in all history, the eighth to splurge to over 400 points in a single season. * * * HEADMASTER LEO Strang’s merry-makers averaged six touchdowns a game, held their eminent opponents to just 46 points, only Akron Garfield scored more than one touchdown against them and the Bulldogs became the fifth foe to draw a blank in the scoring column.
Balance, depth and poise of a champion w ere the big reasons why the Tigers came through with Massillon’s 16th unbeaten and 12th perfect record team in history. They worked, worried and whaled into their job with one goal on the horizon – an unsullied record – and they got it – and they earned it.
Teamwork, as always, paid off handsomely. Everybody who had a part in this spectacular season, from Coach Strang and his aide-de-camps on down to the little people behind the scenes, deserve the heartiest compliments.
This team had a whole lot of everything.
It had a world of balance in the leather-lugging department. When tricky Art Hastings wasn’t whirling and weaving, piston legged Bill Finney was flashing downfield. And when speedy Jim Wood wasn’t on the go, that reliable junior, Martin Gugov was like Popeye’s can of spinach or the U.S. cavalry showing up in a western movie…help came when needed.
It had Joe Sparma, the hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye quarterback…he had no peer in the state. A non-worrier and team-steadier, the confident field general threw 15 touchdown passes this season to bring his career total to 32 pay off pitches. * * * GUGOV SCORED 88 points, Hastings chalked up 86 and Finney and Wood each checked in with 64. Hastings carried 116 times for 1,244 yards, an average of 10.7 yards per try. Finney toted 87 times for 608 yards. Wood collared 481 yards in 39 tries and Gugov was called on 50 times and picked up 480 yards.
Yep, this team had everything. It had sharp blocking, especially improved downfield blocking, with Virgil Bukuts, Jim Houston, Wendell Snodgrass, Don Appleby, and Bob Barkman as possibly the standouts. It had smart, teeth-loosing defensive play led by Gugov, Houston, Hase McKey, “Sluggo” Bednar, Frank Midure, Terry Snyder, Gary Wells, Jay B. Willey, Nick Daugenti, and Bob Oliver.
While of offense averaged 8.1 yards per play, the defense allowed the opposition just 2.8 yards per try.
We think you will agree, the Tigers had all the earmarks of a true champion.
They may not be officially crowned the state champ but in this book, and probably yours too, they are the very best in Buckeyeland.
It took some doing to wade through such formidable opposition without a loss. The orange and black knocked down, Alliance, Steubenville and Warren, when they were ranked in the top 10 and two other victims, Cleveland Benedictine and McKinley, were accorded berths in the second ten over the season.
McKinley tried to show Massillon was not unbeatable but the Tigers had too many guns in their arsenal. Thus they keep the Nickel Plate Road victory bell for a third straight year. The series record now reads Massillon 32 wins, 27 losses and five tie scores.
For two years under Strang, the Bengals arte 18-1-1. It was Leo’s second unbeaten team, his 1955 Upper Sandusky array having tifted nine straight scalps. * * * McKINELY HAD scored at least two touchdowns in eight of its nine previous games. (Steubenville triumphed, in the rain and mud, 15-0) but the Bulldog offense was practically nil against the Orangemen.
The host club gained 96 yards but the Tigers, led by Bednar (he waits and pounces like a burglar) and Gugov (he surely can wreck those end runs!), tossed Bulldog runners for losses amounting to 29 yards. For 35 plays the losing side made 67 yards, an average of a mere 1.9 per play.
McKinley never got off a pass. Quarterback Dave Sitzman went back three times but Massillon never gave him a chance to get rid of the ball.
The Bulldogs made only five first downs – three of them in the last quarter.
Meanwhile, the tenacious Tigers reeled off 15 first downs, made 242 yards rushing and Sparma hit on two of seven passes for 21 yards. One pass was caught out of bunds and another hit the intended receiver on the headgear.
Hastings, the driving junior, clicked off 108 yards in 17 carries. Gugov made 68 yards in 14 tries and Finney picked up 53 yards in 15 stabs.
The Tigers reached the promised-land in the second, third and fourth periods, going 75 yards in 15 plays during the second round, 59 yards in 11 plays during the third panel and 21 yards in five plays during the last chapter. The final TD came after that ferocious middle guard McKey, recovered an enemy fumble.
McKinley only once threatened and that was in the second quarter when a Massillon fumble was recovered by Fullback Wrentie Martin at the Bengal 34.
THE FUMBLE occurred on the first play of the second stanza and in the next four plays, the red and black was unable to get a first down.
Halfback Stanley Wilcoxen carried twice for six yards before Sitzman, unable to find the receiver open on a jump pass, ran and was stopped by Houston after a pickup of a yard. With fourth and three at the 27, Wilcoxen rode off the right side on a trap play but found no trap, consequently no hole, and he was grassed a yard shy of the first down.
The Tigers marched 61 yards the first time they got the ball as a 16-yard run by Hastings and a 10-yard smash by Gugov sparkled. But at the 22 they lost the ball on a fumble and they had to wait until the second period before breaking a scoreless deadlock.
After halting the Bulldogs at their own 25, the Orangemen knuckled down, Hastings, Finney, Sparma and Gugov lugging the ball goalward. Hastings inserted a 15-yard run and only a tackle from behind by Bill Babics, a fine end, kept him from going all the way. Finney got off a 10-yarder and would have scored from 14 yards out except that he was tripped up at the last second by End Frank Smith.
From the one Finney scored off right tackle as Wood made the key block. Gugov hit the same spot for the bonus points and at 2:58 in the quarter it was 8-0.
Following the score, McKinley made three yards in three plays and Sitzman was stopped after two on fourth-and-seven. Massillon still had time for a giant-sized try.
With time running out, Wood caught the Sparma pass out of bounds at the Bulldog 22 and on the last play of the half, Martin managed to knock Sparma’s pass away from Oliver.
To start the second half, the Tigers received and they promptly added another six points. This 59-yard foray highlighted a 14-yard Sparma to Wood pass and Hastings’ twisting 10-yard jaunt.
Gugov scored on a beauty from the nine. He took a pitch out to the right, got a nice block from Barkman, leaped over one would-be tackler and kept his footing to step in and hike the count to 14-0 at 6:25. Finney then was stopped a yard away from two more markers.
McKINLEY THEN had to punt and Daugenti, the boy who came here from Cleveland this year, put on a nifty return of 35 yards to the Bulldog 34. Nick fought off three defenders and Willey applied a crunching block but their efforts were wiped out because the Tigers were called for clipping.
However, they advanced 43 yards on the last eight plays of the quarter as Hastings ignited the drive by breezing for 25 yards.
But this bid was thwarted by linebacker Dan Mussulin who picked off a Sparma pass from the 20 (it was intended for sub halfback Bob Herring, but too short) and McKinley remained in contention.
An exchange of punts followed and with 8:40 remaining, the hosts got moving. After two first downs though, Sitzman, swarmed under as he tried to pass, fumbled and the ball was grabbed on the fly by McKey who churned four yards to the McKinley 21.
Finney gained eight, Gugov five in two tries and Finney came back for seven before Hastings wedging through center, made the final yard at 1:50. Gugov was stopped short on the PAT attempt but it didn’t matter, the Tigers were in.
On the ensuing kickoff, Gugov recovered what appeared to be a fumble but the ball was ruled dead. After Jimmy Robinson’s combine made a first down, Massillon cheerleaders hauled out and displayed a big sign, “State Champions!” and two plays later the 64th Tiger-Bulldog game was history.
THE CANTONIANS defensed the Tigers pretty well but it wasn’t enough. The loss gave McKinley a record of six victories against four losses for the season.
Massillon has held the upper hand 10 times in the last 12 years and the Tigers now have shut out their top rival 13 times during the ancient series.
Statistics Mass. McKin. First downs, rushing 14 5 First downs, passing 1 0 First downs, penalties 0 0 Total first downs 15 5 Yards gained rushing 245 96 Yards lost rushing 3 29 Net yards gained rushing 242 67 Yards gained passing 21 0 Total yards gained 268 67 Passes attempted 7 0 Passes completed 2 0 Passes intercepted by 0 1 Times kicked off 4 1 Kickoff average (yards) 41.0 50.0 Kickoff returns (yards) 26 45 Times punted 1 4 Punt average (yards) 37.0 34.5 Punt returns (yards 28 0 Fumbles 3 2 Lost fumbled ball 2 1 Penalties 1 5 Yards penalized 15 25
THE EMERY WHEEL By Lut Emery
Will the Tigers be named state champions in the Associated Press poll this week?
In our mind and in the mind of every Massillonian and for that matter most residents of Stark County, the Tigers are champs regardless of how they are voted in the poll.
Their 10-game sweep concluded Saturday with a 20-0 victory over Canton McKinley should be convincing to a majority of the state’s sports writers and sportscasters, we believe, but there was rigging the past two weeks in several spots, which if carried on again this week would make the Tigers’ hopes for a state title via AP recognition almost futile. * * * THERE HAVE been suggestions that we fight fire with fire, and attempt to enlist our friends to rig the poll in favor of Massillon.
Not desiring to get our hands dirtied in the already muddy water, we will have no part of it.
We have cast our ballot as have most of the state’s sportswriters and radio sportscasters. Naturally, we voted our Tigers first. They are the only ranking team in the state that has won 10 straight this season, and against tougher opposition than the other ranked teams have faced.
After re-examining the scores, we voted undefeated Kettering Fairmount second, which is a change from last week, when we cast our second place ballot for Springfield.
Springfield, which we vote third, and Kettering, played two common foes, Middletown and Dayton Chaminade. Kettering looked the better against Middletown, winning 26-0 while Springfield won 38-26. Springfield made the better showing against Chaminade, winning 60-0 while Kettering won 22-0.
Springfield at no time during the season met a team in the top 10 of the AP ratings, while Kettering knocked Troy out of the top 10 with an 8-0 victory. * * * FRANKLY WE feel the Associated Press poll no longer serves its purpose, as a result of the rigging this year, and should be thrown out as a basis for selecting a state champion until some better plan can be devised.
A few writers and sportscasters have put Fritz Howell, sports editor of the Associated Press and conductor of the poll on the spot. Two weeks ago Howell tossed all ballots into the waste paper basket when 14 writers and radio commentators failed to list Massillon on their 10-team ballot/
Last week Howell resumed the poll. The rigging continued but not on as large a scale. One writer didn’t put the Tigers in the first 10, a number of others including one block of eight placed them eighth or ninth – and most of this conniving came from northwest and northeast Ohio – not from Springfield and not from the cities of Tiger opponents.
The rigging started three weeks ago. The Tigers who had been in front from the start of the season led by 83 points on Oct. 27.
The Tigers knocked off sixth ranked Warren, but their lead in the poll dropped to 36 points. Next they beat Barberton 90-0 and that was the week Howell tossed the poll away.
When the poll was resumed last week, the count showed Springfield had gone around Massillon to lead by 45 points.
Maybe the Tigers- 20-0 victory over McKinley will change the sentiment of those who ganged up on them the past two weeks.
We’ll just have to wait and see. * * * IN THE MEATIME our congratulations go to Coach Leo Strang and his staff for a job well done this fall. They and their fancy Tigers have given Washington high school its first undefeated season since Chuck Mather’s romp in 1953.
Tigers Were Just That In 38-16 Win Massillon Clobbers Bulldogs After Trailing Twice In Opening Period
By CHARLIE POWELL
His trousers soaked and hinging limp, his white shirt dotted with mud, his brow furrowed, Jimmy Robinson fought his way through the snowstorm of back-slapping in the Massillon Tiger dressing room until he found the boy he was looking for – Tiger defensive star Hase McKey.
He grabbed McKey’s hand, sized him up and said, “You played the greatest game I’ve ever seen in high school football. And I mean that.”
It was quite a compliment coming from a man in his 36th year of coaching. Maybe Robinson was right, maybe McKey was the greatest of the galaxy of stars on the turf and for that matter, some of the losing McKinley Bulldogs, were not far behind.
Bob VogelProgram Cover
The names of McKey, Bill Zorn, Bob Vogel, Joe Sparma, “Sluggo” Bednar, Jerry Mitchell and Dave Dean were prominent as the “Comeback Kids” of Tigertown shot down their arch-rivals 38-16, before over 22,000 fans, most of whom took a good drenching from the elements. * * * HOWEVER, FOR fairness sake, it was truly a team effort, including some determined, gritty, old-college-try performances by a bunch of semi-anonymous battlers that upset the equilibrium of the scrappy Bulldogs and left the howling crowd with a hangover of excitement.
Except for one brief sortie in the third quarter, the charged-up invaders met a stonewall when they tried to move the pigskin overland. Two passes were responsible for the jolting McKinley touchdown at 8:18 of the initial quarter and after a pass interception, the Tigers went ahead. On the ensuing kickoff, McKinley’s Gene “Sonny” Mastin, a slight-built boy playing his first year of football, went 89 yards and the Bulldogs again “shook up” the Massillonians.
It takes a real football team to stage a comeback twice within a short space of time. Another team might have folded but not the Tigers. They roared back with gusto.
A 63-yard drive, initiated near the end of the first panel, was climaxed at 10:50 of the second chapter and before halftime, the Bengals legged it 44 yards to go ahead to stay.
The defense, which was a Tiger trademark all season long, brought about still another second period score that drove the nail in the Bulldog coffin. Vogel blocked Dave Sitzman’s punt at the McKinley 15 and two Tigers, linebackers Bednar and Frank Midure, covered the pigskin at the two before Co-Captain Dean plunged across with only five second left in the half.
The third stanza was void of any serious action but a 34-yard drive by the orange and black, culminated midway in the final session, gave Massillon additional spirit of joi de vivre.
When it was all over Coach Leo Strang had been carried off the field on the shoulders of joyous players and he and his assistants took the traditional trip to the showers, the Tigers had checked in their eighth victory against one loss and a tie. * * * IT WAS MASSILLON’S second straight win over the Bulldogs, who finished with a 5-5 mark, and provided the Tigers with a 31-27-5 edge in the colorful series.
Massillon now has been the winner in eight of the last 10 Tiger-Bulldog encounters and its modern era advantage stands at 34 victories, 12 losses and three ties. The difference was the biggest since the Bulldogs were pummeled 48-7 in 1953.
The triumph, coming in the only game the Tigers had to play on a soggy field all season, improved on the Massillon record of either going unbeaten or not having lost more than one decision during any campaign but once since 1947.
Massillon’s prestige in the Ohio scholastic poll may be enhanced. Whether Strang’s gang move up to second or third, of course, is only hypothetical. One thing is virtually certain – another Stark county school, Alliance, will rule the roost.
Strange, whose team jelled offensively after several changes in the personnel were made, had nothing but the kindest words for the players, his assistants and others who played a hand in the successful season. He pointed out that the Tigers had looked better in several other games but quickly added that McKinley was a fighting team “and any time you run up against a ball club like that, you’re in for trouble.”
Nevertheless, the Bengals out did the red and black in the statistical department. First downs were 14-11, rusing yardage 216-135 and passing yardage 107-43. * * * A FEW PENALTIES bogged the Tigers down but strange as it may seem , there was only one fumble, and the Tigers recovered their one bobble. The punters, Sitzman and Sparma, did well and the latter, who finished the year with 33 completions in 74 attempts for 556 yards, passed nine times and hit on six of them for 106 yards and two TDs.
Dean pulled a football “hat trick” with three scores, all on short plunges, and he set up one himself via a sensational 56-yard jaunt in the opening period.
Defensively, the Tigers were mighty tough after McKinley’s power plays called for some early adjustments. The type of Bulldog plays and treacherous footing hampered the defenders who had limited nine previous opponents to an average of 97 yards per game.
However, they maintained their record of having given up only one touchdown all season through the line.
Zorn and Vogel, terrors throughout the game, each blocked a punt and Mitchell and McKey helped take the starch out of the Bulldogs with timely pass interceptions. One of Mitchell’s interceptions was a terrific over-the-shoulder catch.
Outside of the touchdowns, there were “big” plays which played vital roles.
One resulted in the officials getting a “booing serenade” from the McKinley fans who didn’t like a pass interference call at the Bulldog one-yard line early in the second period. With the ball at the McKinley 24, Sparma sent a pass into the right hand corner of the end zone and both the intended receiver, Charley Royer, and the defender went crashing to the ground. Massillon was given possession at the one and on his second thrust, Dean cracked through right guard. Jim Snively’s slice off right tackle made it 16-16 at 10:50. * * * BOTH OF MITCHELL’S interceptions led to Tiger scores and of course the blocked kick set the stage for another.
Let’s get down to brass tacks.
Massillon won the toss of the coin and after receiving, made not a yard before Sparma kicked on third down. Tiger fans got the shocker in short order.
After Chester Warren, their top runner made four yards, the Bulldogs took to the skyways with Sitzman connecting with end Bill Babics, thanks to an assist by Midure who partially deflected the ball, and the ball was planted at the Tiger 25. Two running plays netted nine and Warren got a first down at the 14. Sitzman threw again, this time incomplete, but on the next play he hit Babics for a touchdown that put new life in the team and new hope in the McKinley fans.
Babics made the catch over his shoulder and the other end, Larry Tolson, took a Sitzman pass on an identical snag for two more points.
After the kickoff, the Bengals started from their own 30. Dean in his first carry of the day, hit off right tackle on a ride play, got a good blocking and was off and running. He went 56 yards before Leroy Shipp brought him down from behind at the McKinley 14. However, the Orangemen couldn’t uncover the necessary punch and turned the ball over to the enemy at the nine.
Four plays later Mitchell made a tremendous interception at the Bulldog 30 and raced all the way to the McKinley three. Dean got two at center before he dived off right guard for a touchdown at 3:12. Art Hastings cracked left tackle and it was all tied up.
Not for long, though, as McKey’s kickoff was taken by Mastin at his own 11. The nimble-footed end-halfback, got behind a wall of blockers along the east sidelines, sped past the last potential tackler at the Massillon 40, and was off to the races. After his 89-yard gallop, Sitzman passed to Babics to put McKinley ahead once again. * * * THE TIGERS seemed to let down the second half. There was nothing to “write home about” in the third frame and in the final quarter there were two punts, one by each team, before the home side added another clincher.
Sitzman, kicking from his own 17, had his punt almost blocked and Mitchell returned it 15 yards to the Bulldog 34. Snively and Hastings carried to the 15 and from that point, Sparma twirled to Zorn, again covered at the goal line. But Bill put his “meathooks” around the leather for another TD, and Sparma passed to Hastings for two more markers.
With the help of a Sitzman to Kettlewell pass for 21 yards, McKinley moved to the Tiger 17 before the Bengals forced a turnover. Allen ran for 13, Sparma for seven and passed to Vogel for 11 as the action came to a halt – and the Tiger wafted about on Cloud Nine.
Massillon Scoring: Touchdowns – Dean 3, (runs , 1, 1, 2); Zorn 2, (Passes, 20, 15). Extra Points – Hastings 2 (1 pass, 1 run); Snively (run); Allen (run).
McKinley Scoring: Touchdowns – Babics (pass, 13); Mastin (kickoff return, 89). Extra Points – Toles (pass); Babics (pass).
OFFICIALS Referee – Dan Tehan. Umpire – Mack Schaffer. Head Linesman – F.G. Skibbie. Field Judge – Don Malone.
STATISTICS Mass. McK. First downs, rushing 9 8 First downs, passing 4 2 First downs, penalties 1 0 Total first downs 14 11 Number of rushing plays 56 47 Yards gained, running plays 218 145 Yards lost, running plays 2 10 Net yardage, running 216 135 Passes attempted 11 10 Passes completed 7 3 Passes had intercepted 0 3 Yards returned, Intercepted passes 58 0 Yards gained, passing 107 43 Total yardage, running and passing 323 178 Number of kick-off returns 3 5 Yardage, kickoff returns 57 124 Average length of kickoff Returns 19.0 24.8 Number of punt returns 3 3 Yardage, punt returns 24 7 Average length of punt return 8.0 2.3 Number of punts 4 4 Total yardage on punts 117 122 Average length of punts 29.2 30.5 Number of penalties 5 2 Yards lost on penalties 45 28 Number of fumbles 1 0 Own fumbles recovered 1 0 Ball lost on fumbles 0 0
History 
Larsuel began his varsity career in 1962 as a 5’-8”, 176 lb. sophomore when Head Coach Leo Strang named him a starter at offensive guard against Akron Garfield. Unlike today, sophomores didn’t dress for varsity games, let alone play. So, he must have made an early impression on the coach of his potential. Turns out, it was his only start that year and the team finished 6-5. But good things were yet to come.
“THEY OWNED US down the middle in the second half,” said Altoona Coach Earl Strohm, headman of the Lions, now in his 11th year at the Pennsylvania football power house. The veteran coach was especially impressed with Larsuel, terming the senior all-county and all-state guard “a real good football player.” Based on the game movies, fullback Lawrence was named player of the week for his running and faking. Lineman of the week was guard Tom Whitfield with Larsuel the runner-up. — Massillon Evening Independent.
