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1969: Massillon 7, Canton McKinley 14

November 8, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Pride is still the word in Tigertown

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor.

Pride has been a key word with Bob Commings all season.

Over and over again the Tiger football coach has told his charges that individual pride is what makes a great player. When 11 players have individual pride, a team has pride and becomes great.
* * *
TODAY THE Washington high gridders are a proud team and their pride has swelled into Tigertown pride – a pride that will probably manifest itself in the biggest crowd to ever turn out for the annual football banquet come Nov. 29 at the WHS cafeteria

The Orange and Black lost the season finale 14-7 to arch-rival Canton McKinley in the 74th renewal of the ancient grid classic before 22,200 fans Saturday afternoon at Fawcett stadium in Canton. They also lost the All-American conference title to the Bulldogs, but the Tigers became great in the eyes of their fans.

It took the Bulldogs 47 minutes and 43 seconds to get their win and a 9-1 record while the WHSers ended 7-2-1, but the Pups knew they were in a game. The Tigers hit hard and ran hard the whole afternoon. They played better football and practically stopped the Bulldogs cold.

But for a senior quarterback named Joe Babics, some finesse at key moments, a couple of penalties and a great break made by the Bulldogs, it might have been a different story.

Bulldog fullback Rocco Rich, tailback Rich Brown and wingback Ed Floyd got almost nowhere. Admittedly Brown, who had been injured a couple of weeks ago, was not in the best of condition, operating on a gimpy ankle.

“We won the real warfare,” a tired Tiger game Co-Captain Darnell Streeter said afterwards. He referred to the statistical column where the Orange and Black amassed 15 first downs to McKinley’s 11 and 255 total yards to the Bulldogs’ 172.
* * *
STREETER PICKED up 72 yards in 16 carries and Autrey 74 in 17.

Both of McKinley’s touchdown drives featured outstanding outside running by Babics, dictated by a great inside Tiger defense. Fifteen-yard face mask penalties and an interception by Rich on the second drive also helped.

Outside of the two TD jaunts and a long pass to the Massillon 30 at the end of the first half,

McKinley failed to get out of its own territory.
Rich’s pilfer came after the Tigers had forced a punt and had taken over on their 47 with 2:06 left in the game. Quarterback Gary Herring found wingback Larry Harper down the middle on the McKinley 43, but Harper was hit hard, the ball bounced into the air, Rich grabbed it and got back to the Orange and Black’s 47.

Commings could have settled for a tie but to his credit, he went after a win.

Eight plays later sub quarterback Joe Shimek, off play action and a sprint out, tossed to Floyd who made a diving catch for the winning TD with 17 seconds left. Shimek followed with his second conversion boot.

Babics executed two key runs off fake action to turn the end, one on first down from the Tiger 47 to the 41with the face mask penalty added. Then on fourth and one on the 14 he sprinted to the two.
* * *
BABICS WAS injured when thrown out of bounds. Shimek came in, handed off twice into the line and then threw the winning pass.

“The proudest guy around has got to be Mr. Shimek and I can’t blame him,” Bulldog Coach Ron Chismar said. “He was our No. 2 quarterback all year and he had the guts to come in when we needed him. And that was a beautiful catch by Floyd!”

Chismar acknowledged that the Bulldogs had gotten a big break via Rich’s interception.

“It takes breaks to win,” he said. “We gave a few away and got some.”

Shortly before the fateful drive the Tigers had punted on fourth and four from the Bulldog 43.

“It worked out the way we wanted it to,” Commings said. “We got the ball back with two minutes to go.”
* * *
McKINLEY’S OTHER scoring jaunt came after the Tigers’ only TD and featured eight plays and 75 yards after a 20-yard kickoff runback by Tom Clifford.

Another deceptive 11-yard end run by Babics with a face mask penalty thrown in and a
31-yard pass to Mark Brown, which put the ball on the Tiger 16, were the highlights.

Babics carried on three of the next five plays and when the Orange and Black stacked its linebackers behind its tackles and left a gap in the center, Babics rammed through from the three on third down with 8:09 left in the second stanza. Shimek booted the PAT.

The Tigers’ score came off a 42-yard drive and a 13-yard interception runback by Don Lewis. The Commingmen’s effort featured eight plays, an 11-yard run by Streeter, who carried seven times, and a 19-yard pass from Herring to Harper who made a brilliant catch just inside the boundary line for a first down at the nine. Autrey scored over guard on fourth down from the one with 11:52 left in the second stanza. Mike Mauger kicked the conversion.

The Tigers ran out of downs after a 27-yard drive to the 32 in the first quarter – following a 39-yard jaunt to the 38 in the third quarter and lost the ball again on downs after Doug Miller had intercepted a pass near the sideline on the McKinley 21 in the third canto. The Orange and Black moved the ball only four more yards.

They had the ball for 21 plays compared to McKinley’s 8 in the third quarter and for 68 compared to the Pups’ 47 over-all, giving the home-standers a good dose of their own ball control medicine.

“Massillon did a fantastic job of defensing us,” Chismar stated.

“We did a fantastic job of hitting them,” Commings opined. “They’re a great team. They fooled us a couple of times but we controlled the ball on them. I couldn’t ask for any better effort than our boys gave.

MASSILLON – 7
Ends – Robinson, Lewis, Byelene, McConnaughead, Maxhimer.
Tackles – Benson, Dorman, Bingle, Celik, Reinerts, Ridgley, Strobel.
Guards, Hout, Midgley, McLin.
Centers – S. Luke, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Streeter, Harper, Mauger, Sheaters, Miller, Ammond.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

McKINLEY – 14
Ends – Turner, M. Brown, J. Martin, Clayton, DiMarzio, Birl, Roman.
Tackles – Ford, Obrovac, R. Martin, Gardner.
Guards – Nemeth, Cook, Hayworth.
Centers – Clark, Pimpas.
Quarterbacks – Babics, Shimek, Stranan.
Halfbacks – Walker, Floyd, R. Brown, Clifford.
Fullback – Rich.

Massillon 0 7 0 0 – 7
McKinley 0 7 0 7 – 14

SCORING SUMMARY
M – FB Mike Autrey, one-yard run, TB Mike Mauger PAT (kick)
McK – QB Joe Babics, throw-run, QB Joe Shimek PAT (kick)
Mck – WB Ed Floyd, throw-pass from Shimek, Shimek PAT (kick)

OFFICIALS
Referee – John Cseh.
Umpire – Chuck Lorenz.
Head Linesman – Milo Lukity.
Field Judge – Ruggiero.
Back Judge – Tonn.

THE GRIDSTICK
M McK
First downs – rushing 9 5
First downs – passing 5 4
First downs –penalties 1 2
Total first downs 15 11
Yards gained rushing 159 95
Yards lost rushing 12 10
Net yards gained rushing 147 85
Net yards gained passing 108 87
Total yards gained 255 172
Passes completed 9-23 7-12
Yardage on passes intercepted 2-18 1-10
Kickoff average (yards) 2-51.0 4-48.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 19
Punt average yards 4-33.5 5-38
Punt returns (yards) 5 7
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 1-4 0-2
Yards penalized 6-57 2-10
Touchdowns rushing 1 1
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Total number of plays 68 47

A salute to the Tigers
The scoreboard read Canton McKinley 14, Massillon 7, but the Massillon Washington high school football team stood high in the eyes of Massillon fans.

Entering the Saturday afternoon game played in Canton’s Fawcett stadium an underdog by two touchdowns, the Tigers played admirable football for 48 minutes. They lost the game to Canton but won the admiration of Massillon fans for their spirited play. They won the battle of statistics, first downs, yards gained from passing and rushing, but lost on the scoreboard which showed 17 seconds remaining when Canton scored the winning touchdown.

Seldom has a Massillon team played any better football and still lost the game. We salute Coach Robert Commings, his staff and the Massillon Tigers for a job well done.

We congratulate Canton McKinley. The Bulldogs hung on tenaciously, capitalized on opportunity when victory had all but eluded them and scored their winning points on a truly great catch by halfback Eddie Floyd, thrown by substitute Quarterback Joe Shimek.

The McKinley team, one of the greatest in Bulldog history, should be voted state champion on the basis of its schedule, but will probably finish second to Upper Arlington whose opponents were not of the same caliber as those played by McKinley.

History

1969: Massillon 38, Columbus Marion Franklin 8

October 31, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Orange and Black were behind 8-6 at the half

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

For three-quarters Friday night it appeared the Washington high gridders were bewitched. But in the goodbye canto, the Tigers gave Columbus Marion Franklin the devil and the Tiger stadium Halloween party turned out to be a treat after all.

The Tigers broke loose for 24 points in the final stanza for a 38-8 victory over the Red Devils from the state capital. A Dad’s Night crowd of 8,407, smallest of the season, watched the home finale.

The Orange and Black did just what Coach Bob Commings feared they would do. They looked ahead to next Saturday’s traditional season-ender with Canton McKinley and Franklin played its heart out in trying to capitalize on the WHSers’ dull play but in the end was out manned. The visitors even led 8-6 at the half.
* * *
“WHEN YOU’RE flat and win 38-8 and nobody gets hurt, you’re thankful,” Commings said. “I’m pleased the kids came out and hit somebody in the second half.”

“We couldn’t go with their depth,” Franklin Coach Dick Mileff said. “I was real proud of our boys. Massillon knew they had been in a game. We knew we had to guard against their momentum.”

It was that momentum which ultimately turned the tide for when the Tigers were able to get the Devils’ pitchfork out of their hides in the fourth quarter, there was no stopping the Commingsmen. Good defensive play enabled the Tigers to keep Franklin bottled up in its own territory throughout the final 12 minutes – with one exception – and enabled the Tigers to be constantly in good field position.

The Orange and Black should have had four scores in the final frame, but after a 43-yard pass-run from quarterback Gary Herring to split end Dan Byelene – the pass traveling 36 yards – a broken play on second down from the one and Roy Enyart’s interception in the end zone thwarted the first attempt.

The Tigers forced a punt, which went out of bounds on the Franklin 38. Wingback Larry “Scooter” Harper picked up 15 yards on an inside double reverse. Fullback Mike Autrey went outside on a pitch for 14 more and then scored on first down from the nine on another pitch with 6:47 left.

Tailback Darnell “Bopper” Streeter’s excellent block enabled Autrey to score the conversion on a pitch to the other side.
* * *
FRANKLIN got as far as the Massillon 49 during its next possession but tackle Bill Dorman and end Ed McConnaughead, Mike Mauger, Mauger and McConnaughead thre Devil runners back 26 yards on the next 3 plays and got the help of a procedure penalty. Massillon took over on the Franklin 20. Harper scampered 20 yards on a double reverse and the Tigers had another score with 1:38 left.

Quarterback Denny Franklin’s pass to Mike Autrey scored two more points.

Dorman helped to set up the last touchdown by blocking a punt, middle guard Elijah McLin raced 11 yards with the recovery and on second down from the 20, Franklin hit Harper in the corner after missing him in the middle of the end zone with 20 seconds left.

McLin scored the conversion on a pitch and the ensuing kickoff ran out the clock.

The Tigers had started the scoring in the second period after Streeter intercepted a 20-yard pass on his 10 and returned 47 yards. In eight plays, including a 13-yard pitch run by Streeter with a personal foul penalty thrown in, Massillon was on the scoreboard.

Streeter went between guard and tackle from three yards out with 5:16 left. Herring hit Harper for the conversion but an ineligible player downfield caused a loss of the try down and nullified the two points.
* * *
A TIGER FUMBLE, recovered by Franklin on the Massillon 43 led to the Devils’ only score after a seven-play drive, which included a personal foul penalty, Bill Taylor’s 10-yard run on a 13-yard pass-run from quarterback Lloyd Ball and a 10-yard pass-run to fullback Bill Harris off a sprint.

Ball sneaked over from the one on the next play (first down) with 17 seconds left in the first half. Ball hit Taylor for an 8-6 lead.

Hall slipped on a fourth down run in the third quarter and the Tigers took over on their 19. Ten and 13-yard runs by Harper, an 18-yarder by Autrey and a 26-yarder by Streeter gave added impetus to a seven-play TD drive.

Streeter capped the drive off with 56 seconds left. Herring circled end for the two extra points.

The Tigers muffed two first quarter chances when fourth down passes from Franklin’s 10 and 28 were incompleted.

Until the fourth stanza, the Orange and Black had trouble stopping Franklin’s possession game with Harris picking up key yardage off tackle. He ended with 87 net yards in 25 carries while Streeter had 101 without a loss in 14 and Autrey 62 without a loss in nine.

Franklin had 71 plays to Massillon’s 51, also attesting to its ability to control the ball.

Massillon’s record rose to 7-1-1 as the result of the non-league game. Franklin dropped to 4-4-1.

FRANKLIN – 8
Ends – Mills, Farris, Enyart, Shackleford.
Tackles – Vanover, Davis, Wiggins, Conner, McDowell.
Guards – Charmon, Turner, Hughes.
Center – Harold Fields.
Quarterbacks – Ball, Ryan, Bullock, Ryan.
Halfbacks – Bossey, Johnson, Ross, Mason, Brookins, Taylor.
Fullbacks – Harris, Lattimore.

MASSILLON – 38
Ends – Byelene, McConnaughead, Lewis, Robinson, Maxhimer, Cline.
Tackles – Dorman, Ridgley, Midgley, Strobel, Celik, Reinerts.
Guards – Midgley, Hout, Benson, Ferguson, Jellel, Sims, Pifer, Eckroate.
Centers – S. Luke, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Herring, Fromholtz.
Halfbacks – Mauger, Lombardi, Streeter, Ammond, Harper, W. Luke, Sullivan, Sheaters, Clarey.
Fullbacks – Autrey, McLin, Cardinal.

Franklin 0 8 0 0 – 8
Massillon 0 6 8 24 – 38

SCORING SUMMARY
M – TB Darnell Streeter, two-yard run.
F – QB Lloyd Ball, one-yard run, HB Bill Taylor PAT (pass from Ball).
M – Streeter, four-yard run, Herring PAT (run).
M – FB Mike Autrey, nine-yard run, Autrey PAT (run).
M – WB Larry Harper, 20-yard pass, Autrey PAT (pass from Franklin).
M – Harder, 22-yard pass from Franklin, McLin PAT (run).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Att. Net. Avg.
Streeter 14 101 7.2
Autrey 9 62 6.9

Franklin
Att. Net. Avg.
Harris 25 87 3.5

OFFICIALS
Referee – John Cseh.
Umpire – Henry Mastrianni.
Head Linesman – Robert Donal.
Field Judge – Robert Whetstone.
THE GRIDSTICK
M F
First downs – rushing 16 8
First downs – passing 3 4
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 19 14
Yards gained rushing 247 127
Yards lost rushing 6 38
Net yards gained rushing 241 89
Net yards gained passing 97 64
Total yards gained 338 153
Passes completed 6–16 7–18
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 77 2
Kickoff average (yards) 6–50.4 2–21.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 45
Punt average (yards) 1–26.0 5–33.0
Punt returns (yards) 22 0
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 2 0
Lost fumbled ball 2 0
Yards penalized 7–65 3–28
Touchdowns rushing 4 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 51 71

History

1969: Massillon 33, Warren Harding 14

October 24, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers ‘scoot’ past Panthers 33-14

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

The football was pitched as successfully Friday night at Tiger stadium as a winner’s horseshoe in a championship match.

The scoot play, as Coach Bob Commings calls it, was the key ingredient in the Washington high offensive grid recipe as the Tigers pummeled Warren Harding 33-14 before 10,223.
* * *
IT WAS Massillon’s sixth win against a loss and a tie while Harding slipped to 3-5. The Tigers moved up from fourth to third in the All-American conference standings.

Steubenville took over first place with a 20-14 win over previously undefeated Canton McKinley which dropped to second. The Bulldogs are 3-1 while the Big Red are 2-0-1.

Not only did the power pitch to backs Darnell Streeter, Mike Autrey, and Mike Mauger work well, but the Tigers added some screen passes to Autrey and sideline tosses to wingback Larry Harper for a well-rounded offensive effort.

“All of our backs were really running,” Commings explained. “We blocked a pretty good football game and got a good game out of quarterback Gary Herring again.”

Herring threw the majority of the 10 completions in 15 attempts for the Tigers’ 153 yards passing. Streeter picked up 128 of the Orange and Black’s 275 net rushing yards in 13 carries while the other half of the WHSer’s one-two punch, Autrey, gained 73. Mauger iced the cake with 44.
* * *
HARPER CAUGHT four passes to add 52 yards to his league-leading total.

“One of the biggest things we’ve got going for us right now is that we have a lot of offense,” Coming commented. “They took away our trap so something else worked. Our power pitch is one of our better plays. It worked so we stayed with it.”

The Tigers’ five touchdowns found Mauger and Streeter with two each and Autrey, whose TD jaunts seem to draw more red flags than picnic food does flies – one.

Herring and Autrey combined for a 65-yard screen pass score near the end of the second quarter. But an illegal use of the hands penalty on the 20 nullified Autrey’s great run.

A 15-yard penalty was tacked onto the bench and Commings rushed onto the field as if shot out of a slingshot, but did not incur a third long-distance step-off.
* * *
ANOTHER POTENTIAL touchdown was lost on a fumble.

Streeter got the game off to a breathtaking start when he took a pitch to the left, cut back and raced the tacklers on a 67-yard route to the two on the first play from scrimmage. His run featured a fine escape move on the 20.

Two plays later Mauger slipped between end and tackle for the score with 10:40 left in the initial stanza and Mauger booted the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

The next time the Tigers got possession, an 80-yard, 10-plays drive got them their second counter. Thirteen and 16-yard Herring-to-Harper aerials were key plays.

Autrey blasted through the middle from the 15 on the first down for the score with 3:06 left in the first quarter. A good head-first second effort at the one helped. Herring’s keeper scamper made it 15-0.
* * *
WARREN COUNTERED with a 70-yard, 13-play scoring trek with fullback Marv Simmons and tailback Tyrone Cooks doing most of the carrying on power stuff. Simmons dove over from the one on first down with 9:46 left in the second stanza, but failed on the conversion run.

It was the only long drive of the night for Warren and consumed 5:14.

With three seconds left in the third quarter, Massillon counted again, moving 43 yards in seven plays after a short punt. Streeter charged over from the half-yard line, but Harper couldn’t catch Herring for two more points.

Diminutive cornerback Doug Miller intercepted a pass on the Warren 25, returned eight yards and another Tiger TD was in the making. On fourth down from the 24, Herring rolled left, threw across field to Streeter on the 15 and “The Bopper” made a determined run for pay-off land, leaping over one prostrate Black Panther and racing by a couple of others.

His score came with 10:10 left in the goodbye canto. Autrey’s conversion run on the pitch was short by a gnat’s eyelash.
* * *
THE TIGERS took over on their 17 after a punt and 17 plays and 83 yards later Mauger took a pitch and raced over on third down from the four. His kick was low and the score was 33-6 with 47 seconds left.

He helped his own cause with a 17-yard pitch run while Harper chipped in with a 12-yard double reverse.

Cooks ended the game with as thrilling a run as Streeter had opened the evening. On the first play after the kickoff, quarterback George Jerina faded from the 27, found Cooks on the 44 and he was touchdown bound. Jerina’s pass to halfback Gary Pestrak ended the scoring with 14 seconds left.

THE GRIDSTICK
M W
First downs – rushing 15 7
First downs – passing 9 2
First downs – penalties 1 2
Total first downs 25 11
Yards gained rushing 279 128
Yards lost rushing 4 23
Net yards gained rushing 275 105
Net yards gained passing 153 106
Total yards gained 428 211
Passes completed 10–15 5–11
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 13 0
Kickoff average (yards) 6–47.8 3–39.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 32 102
Times punted 0 4
Punt average (yards) 0 32
Lost fumbled balls 1–2 0–1
Yards penalized 5–45 2–6
Touchdowns rushing 4 1
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Total number of plays 66 50

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Att. Net. Avg.
Streeter 13 128 9.8
Autrey 22 73 3.3
Mauger 8 44 5/5

Warren
Att. Net. Avg.
Simmons 16 63 3.9
Cooks 12 32 2.6

History

1969: Massillon 52, Hamilton Garfield 12

October 17, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger offense improved in 52-12 win
Streeter scores 3 touchdowns Herring throws for three scores

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Bob Commings’ remedial course in blocking began to pay off Friday night as the Washington high offense began to move again.

But while the line fired out much better than in the previous two weeks in a 52-12 win over Hamilton Garfield on homecoming night at Tiger stadium, Commings would like to see more improved technique.

The Tigers’ fifth win in seven games, including a loss and a tie, came before a home-coming crowd of 9,170 smallest of the season. The Griffins fell to 3-4 in the non-league affair.
* * *
BEFORE FRIDAY, Massillon had scored only once in the last eight quarters. This time the Obies counted in each quarter as senior tailback Darnell Streeter crossed into that payoff land paved with streets of goal five times, three times for touchdowns.

Quarterback Gary Herring threw two six-pointers and two two-pointers, one of each to split end Dan Byelene, starting his first game. The senior played two years ago but did not come out in 1968.

The Tigers had some defensive problems with the triple option with which Niles handcuffed them three weeks ago. With Griffin backs running merrily around the ends, Hamilton netted 131 yards rushing to the Tigers’ 100 before the intermission. But Commings placed an end on the pitch in the second half and held the Giffs to 68 yards rushing while Massillon gained 104.

The big difference was in passing as the Orange and Black completed seven of 14 while Hamilton connected on only two of a like number with totals of 206 and 27 respectively.

The Tiger defense picked off four of seven Hamilton fumbles and Griff receivers – perhaps hearing the pitter-pat of Tiger paws behind them – mishandled three potential touchdown passes. One, in the first quarter, would have gone for 61 yards, and might have helped to get Lou Florio’s charges off to a flying start.
* * *
HAMILTON APPEARED to be rolling after the opening kickoff when Tiger Junior line backer Tom (Beanie) Cardinal recovered a fumble at the Griffins’ 48. In seven plays the Obies had their first score.

Streeter carried six times for 41 yards, “The Bopper” going the remaining 20 on second down through the middle with 7:01 left. Herring added two points on a keeper.

End Mike Mauger picked up another fumble after a punt hit a Tiger defender, with Hamilton recovering on the Massillon 38. Mauger added an eight-yard run to the recovery and the WHSers took over on the Hamilton 42.

Herring lofted one to Byelene on the one and fullback Mike Autrey added a conversion run to make it 16-0 with 2:19 left in the welcome stanza. Although this was Autrey’s only score, his continued hard-nosed running, coupled with Streeters, put the spotlight again on one of the best one-two punches around.

With halfback Roy Kidd returning the kickoff 24 yards, the Griffins were off on a 12-play, 67-yard scoring romp aided by a 29-yard option jaunt by halfback Barry Allen and a
20-yard fourth-down, pass-run from quarterback Dan Wells to Allen for a first down on the Massillon 16.
* * *
THREE PLAYS later, Kidd took a six-yard scoring pitch with 10:04 left in the second quarter. Wells missed on the conversion keeper.

Massillon scored in five plays after the touchdown after Mauger got things started with a 30-yard kickoff runback to the Massillon 46. Autrey picked up 31 yards and Streeter romped 19 yards off tackle on a pitch of the score with 7:58 remaining and slashed off tackle for the conversion counters.

Linebacker Pat Midgley, who along with Cardinal, proving a good team for the Orange and Black, picked up a Griffin fumble on their 32, but on the next play halfback Steve Luttrell intercepted a pass on the 11 and added a 37-yard runback. A fumble, not lost this time, aborted the effort.

However, Allen ran the next punt back 31 yards in midfield and Garfield had its last TD in nine plays. A 14-yard third down keeper by Wells aided the cause by providing a first down on the Tiger 11.

Three plays later Kidd again scored on a pitch. Cardinal decked Wells on the conversion pass try and it was 24-12 with 1:41 left.
* * *
STREETER’S KICKOFF runback was for 27 yards to the WHS 39. A 25-yard Herring to Larry Harper pass-run put the ball on the Hamilton 34. Herring and Streeter executed a screen pass touchdown on the next play and Herring hit Streeter again for the conversion with 59 seconds left.

An ineligible-receiver-down-field penalty was called and then rescinded.

Streeter’s 20-yard runback of the second half kickoff ignited a five-lay 65-yard TD effort. Autrey, “old reliable,” gained 21 of the yards. Junior tailback Mike Mauger was given the task of scoring on a 36-yard draw with 9:33 left. Herring hit Byelene for the conversion.

Tackle Bill Dorman recovered a Hamilton fumble on the Tiger 27. Thirteen plays later it was gold carat time again for Massillon. A 41-yard Herring-to-Harper pass-run, which saw Harper execute a beautiful escape at the Tiger 40 and tightrope the sideline to the Giffs’ 38, and a pass interference call helped the drive.

Successive passes to Harper, a junior wingback, on the 13 and into the end zone accounted for the score with 58 seconds left in the third quarter. Herring was rushed but got the later pass away and “The Scooter” leaped into the air at the end line to snare the spheroid. Streeter missed the conversion.
* * *
THE FINAL Tiger tally came with the Cubs playing Harper’s 18-yard punt runback set the stage for a six-play 32-yard drive. Quarterback John Fromholtz found end Mike Cline for a 23-yard pass run to the four.

On the second play fullback Cardinal rammed home between guard and tackle with 1:40 left in the game. Fromholtz got decked in attempting to pass for two more points.

HAMITON – 12
Ends – Bennett, Wells, Fowler, Townsend.
Tackles – Helton, McDaniel, Dennis Briggs, Davis, Brown.
Guards – Sexton, Petrak, Rogers, Barnaky, Alexander, Turner.
Centers – Arndt, Cadle, Lancaster.
Quarterbacks – Wells, Turpin.
Halfbacks – Rod Harbrecht, Jones, Kidd, Don Briggs, C. Jackson, Allen, Luttrell, Floyd.
Fullbacks – G. Jackson, Harrison, Schmitz.

MASSILLON – 52
Ends – McConnaughead, Robinson, Cline, Maxhimer, Byelene, Pribich, Snyder, Lewis.
Tackles – Ridgley, Heck, Bingle, Reinerts, Celik, Strobel, Dorman, R. Luke.
Guards – Miller, Pifer, Jasinski,Kulik, Indorf, Ferguson, Midgley, Hout, Eckroate, McLin, Sims.
Center – S. Luke.
Quarterbacks – Herring, Fromholtz.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Harper, Mauger, Gamble, Sheaters, Brand, B. Luke, Ammond, Pattinson.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Massillon 16 16 14 6 52
Hamilton 0 12 0 0 12

SCORING SUMMARY
M – TB Darnell Streeter, 20-yard run, Herring PAT (run).
M – E Dan Byelene, 42-yard pass-run from QB Gary Herring, Autrey PAT (run).
H – HB Roy Kidd, 11-yard run.
M – Streeter, 19-yard run, Streeter PAT (run).
H – Kidd, six-yard run.
M – Streeter, 32-yard screen pass from Herring, Streeter PAT (run)
M – TB Mike Mauger, 36-yard run, Byelene PAT (pass from Herring).
M – WB Larry Harper, 13-yard pass from Herring.
M – TB Tom Cardinal, three-yard run.

THE GRIDSTICK
M H
First downs – rushing 13 12
First downs – passing 7 1
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 21 13
Yards gained rushing 235 218
Yards lost rushing 31 19
Net yards gained rushing 204 199
Net yards gained passing 206 27
Total yards gained 410 226
Passes completed 7–14 2–14
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 33
Kickoff average (yards) 8–46.5 3–46.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 80 89
Punt average (yards) 3–43.3 4–30.5
Punt returns (yards) 36 32
Lost fumbled ball 1–2 4–2
Yards penalized 2–30 3–25
Touchdowns rushing 4 2
Touchdowns passing 3 0
Total number of plays 52 67

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Att. Net. Avg.
Darnell Streeter 12 82 6.8
Mike Autrey 11 84 7.6

Hamilton
Att. Net. Avg.
Barry Allen 16 67 4.2

OFFICIALS
Referee – Milo Lukity.
Umpire – Jack Werkowitz.
Head Linesman – Howard Eckert.
Field Judge – Hugh Davis.

History

1969: Massillon 0, Steubenville 0

October 10, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

It was an unhappy night for Tigers
Flags fly as offense fails; defense clicks

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

You could have called it “The Battle of the Frustration Bowl” or “The Saga of the Red Flags” but anyway you sliced it, it added up to an unhappy night.

It was all defense before an estimated 13,000 standing room only crowd Friday night at Harding stadium in Steubenville as the Massillon Tigers and Steubenville big Red battled to a scoreless deadlock. The Tigers have scored only six points in the last eight quarters.

On fourth down from the 38, Herring tried to hit Lewis again, this time in the end zone, but halfback Tom Mitchell knocked the ball down.
* * *
DURING THE last minute of the game, a Tiger fumble of a Steubenville punt was recovered on the Massillon 33 by guard Ross Daniels but a five-yard motion penalty was assessed the Big Red by linesman Frank Wahl, forcing a re-punt and Massillon ran out the clock.

Late in the second quarter Steubenville was fourth down three on the Massillon 10. A procedure penalty put the Big Red back to the 15 from where halfback Jim Steiner’s
25-yard field goal try was blocked by Bill Dorman.

There were two other scoring threats, both by Massillon. In the second quarter, Lewis picked up a Steuber fumble on the Massillon 48 at the 5:36 mark. A 24-yard pass-run from Quarterback Denny Franklin to wingback Larry Harper put the ball on the 19, but on fourth down three, end Henry Hill, trouble-some all night, tossed Franklin to the 19.

In the third quarter, Autrey and Franklin combined on a 20-yard pass-run with a 15-yard face-mask penalty thrown in. But on second down from the Steubenville 25, guard Ralph DiBacco and Mitchell pounced on another Tiger bobble.

Getting back to the Tigers’ defense, Sheaters and halfback Scott Pattinson, also a sub, turned in some fine pass coverage work. End Ed McConnaughead had a couple of key tackles.

BUT COACH Bob Commings patted the entire defense on the back.

“I thought the kids were fabulous,” he said. “They deserved to win. They hit like crazy! When you take Streeter (Darnell) out and you still do a good job, you can be sure you’ve done well. We had enough offense to win. We scored one TD. Steubenville played a very spirited game.”

Streeter didn’t play in the second half because his jaw, swollen from oral surgery, began to act up. Franklin, for the second consecutive week, got knocked woozy and left near the end of the game.

“It was a good hitting game, real good effort on our part,” Abe Bryan, Steubenville coach who has never beaten Massillon, explained. “A break either way could have changed the game. Our second quarterback Jeff Spahn hurt us so we went back to our injured one, Gary Repella, in the fourth quarter.”

He added, “With the caliber of the two teams, the number of penalties called was not good. I think we had more penalties tonight than all other games put together this year. But we made mistakes.”

Massillon will now take a one-game rest from AAC warfare to return home next Friday against Hamilton Garfield.

Both teams now have 4-1-1 overall records. Massillon is 1-1-1 in the All-American conference, tied with Niles (1-1) for third, while Steubenville is 1-0-1 and second. Canton McKinley (3-0) leads.

THE TIE was the first in the Massillon-Steubenville series since a 7-7 score in 1945 on the same field. It was the third consecutive season in which a Tiger team has been scoreless in at least one game.

A Steubenville team hadn’t held the Orange and Black scoreless since a 1931 68-0 debacle, also in the River City, but on a different field.

So hard-hitting were both defenses that Massillon netted only two yards rushing and Steubenville 46. But Massillon’s 122 in the air enabled the Orange and Black to end with a scant 10 yard advantage in total yardage 122-110.

The Tigers were held to minus 27 yards on the ground in the first half while the Steubers picked up only 33. Neither offensive line could do much blocking for runners or much protecting of passers.

Two key penalties hurt both teams but the one which nullified a fourth quarter Massillon TD was the bitterest pill to swallow. Cornerback Jerry Sheaters, starting his first game, had just intercepted a Steubenville pass on the Massillon 33 with 2:41 left in the game to prevent what looked like a sure touchdown.

QUARTERBACK GARY Herring, tossed a screen pass to fullback Mike Autrey who made one of the finest runs of the season, featuring a neat cut-back, to get into pay dirt.

However, Washington high was called for illegal procedure. Referee Bill Holzwarth said after the game that field judge Robert Walker had detected a lineman in “No Man’s Land” (between the line and the backfield). Since the Tigers did not have seven men on the line, it cost them dearly.

Later in the same series, Steubenville thought it had recovered a fumble at the Tiger 16 when Autrey dropped a screen toss. However, Holzwarth, who initially signaled a first down for Steubenville, changed his mind after consultation with his crew and ruled an incomplete pass.

At the 4:05 mark, linebacker Mark Benson intercepted a pass and ran it back five yards to the Big Red 30. Tailback Mike Mauger swept to the 20. Split end Don Lewis made a catch just in bounds of the 10 off Herring but the WHSers were assessed 15 yards holding.

MASSILLON – 0
Ends – Maxhimer, Robinson, Lewis, McConnaughead, Byelene.
Tackles – Benson, Celik, Bingle, Ridgley, Strobel.
Guards – Jasinski, Hout, Midgley, Ferguson, Miller, McLin.
Centers – S. Luke, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Herring.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Mauger, Sheaters, Harper, Pattinson, Lombardi.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – DeLenardis, R. Washington, Lesjak, Hicks, Hill, Chorba, Simon.
Tackles – Henry, Stasjulewicz, Stefanidis, Radakovich, W. King.
Guards – DiBacco, Daniels, Beraddelli.
Centers – Barren.
Quarterbacks – Spahn, Repella
Halfbacks – Brown, Mitchell, Livingston, Misselwicz, Steiner.
Fullback – Williams.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Bill Holzwarth.
Umpire – Ken Newlon.
Head linesman – Frank Wahl.
Field Judge – Robert Walker.

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 2 3
First downs – passing 5 3
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 7 6
Yards gained rushing 70 75
Yards lost rushing 68 29
Net yards gained rushing 2 46
Net yards gained passing 120 64
Total yards gained 122 110
Passes completed 9–23 6–6
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Kickoff average (yards) 1–45.0 1–43.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 10 17
Punt average (yards) 8–41.3 8–36.1
Punt returns (yards) 17 6
Lost fumbled ball 2–3 1–2
Yards penalized 7–55 4–30
Total number of plays 58 55

History

1969: Massillon 6, Alliance 0

October 3, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger defense withstands squeeze 6-0
Pressure mounts from many offensive mistakes

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

For awhile Friday night, the Massillon Tiger defense was under more pressure than an orange in a juicer, but was equal to the task. Consequently, the Washington high gridders eked out a 6-0 win over a determined Alliance team.

The victory before 13,001 at Tiger stadium gave the Tigers a 4-1 record for the first half of the season, sent the Aviators (2-2-1) down to a second straight defeat, gave them a share of the All-American conference cellar with two defeats and enabled the Tigers to climb to fourth with a 1-1 slate.

The game marked the last time for Mel Knowlton to coach an Aviator team against his alma mater. He’ll retire at the end of the season.

The contest also closed Massillon’s current home stand. The Tigers will play a third consecutive AAC game next week at Steubenville.
* * *
FOR SEVEN minutes – stretching from near the end of the third quarter to deep into the fourth – Alliance had the ball, knocking at the door from within 22 yards of the Tigers’ goal. The Orange and Black also stopped an Aviator last-ditch effort with 47 seconds left, to apply a tranquilizer to the frenzied Tiger faithful.

The WHS defense got into the pressure cooker because of fumbles. Twice Alliance fumbled back, a timely interception helped another time and a great goal line stand the fourth.

“Our defense was magnificent, but our offense was too sloppy,” Tiger Coach Bob Commings said. “If we had held onto the ball, I’m sure we could have moved it. We just don’t seem to put everything together.”

One of the key defenders for the Tigertowners was junior linebacker, Mike Mauger
(6-2, 190). In the fourth quarter, he recovered two Alliance fumbles and picked up a free ball on a backward pass.

One recovery came on the Massillon 10. Mauger literally stole the ball on the Alliance 33, but when his mates fumbled back to the Aviators he stopped their final drive on the Massillon 37 after 6-3, 180-pound senior end Rick Maxheimer had spun Alliance quarterback, Bob Knowlton around, causing his pass to move laterally and hit the ground. Mauger scooped up the ball and ran for 26 yards to the Alliance 37 from where Massillon quarterback, Gary Herring repeatedly fell on the ball to run the clock out.
* * *
THINGS BEGAN to get sticky for the Tiger defense with 58 seconds left in the third quarter when Alliance junior tackle, Gary Andreani recovered a punt fumble on the Tigers’ 10. Junior cornerback, Larry Harper knocked down a Knowlton pass from the two to kill that Alliance threat.

With Maxheimer punting from the goal line after the next series had fizzled, Alliance junior halfback, Chuck Larsuel ran back from the Massillon 30 to the 22. Senior linebacker Pat Midgley and cornerback, Jerry Sheaters ended the second threat by cutting short senior fullback Rick Trieff’s screen pass jaunt two yards from a first down on the 14.

But senior halfback Larry King recovered another Tiger fumble on the Massillon 21 on the next play. However, Mauger’s second recovery shortly afterwards aborted that threat.

By the time the contest had ended, the ball had changed hands more times, due to fumbles, than a dollar bill in a poker game. Massillon lost four of six bobbles, while Alliance saw three of four go out the window.

Massillon’s lone touchdown came after Harper had made a dangerous diving second quarter catch of an Alliance punt on the Tigers’ 39. Departing from their normal explosive offense to a grind-it-out type, the Orange and Black scored in 12 plays with senior tailback Darnell Streeter carrying five times, hard-driving senior fullback Mike Autrey, three, and Harper two.
* * *
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK Denny Franklin skirted right end on a boot pass with 5:08 left in the period. Senior ends George Golden and Ray Biery brought Franklin down short of the pylon on the identical play to the other side on the conversion try.

Massillon had one other threat going in the first quarter, but ran out of gas at the Alliance 29.

Mauger also helped cut short two other Aviator missions. His blitz in the first quarter hurried Knowlton’s throw and Streeter picked off the bomb on the Massillon 24.

In the second quarter, with Alliance on a drive from it 28 after a punt, Mauger put the breaks on Geltz on a screen pass for a four-yard loss on second down from the Massillon 21. Midgley threw Knowlton four more yards back and Trieff couldn’t catch a screen pass on fourth down.

Neither team got out of its own territory thereafter until the Alliance recovery of the late fourth quarter Tiger fumble.
* * *
INJURIES PLAYED a big part in the game, Commings felt Franklin, who got his thoughts jumbled by a hard tackle near the end of the second quarter was still groggy later in the game, causing two fumbles and that a rash of hand injuries to backs caused some more.

The others were probably caused by the Orange and Black having their backs against the wall and being over anxious, according to Commings.

Early in the second quarter Alliance lost both its starting offensive ends – Biery and Golden – hurting the Aviator offense greatly. Golden, who had a hip injury, came back near the end of the third quarter but couldn’t run his cuts. Biery, who was dazed, came back late in the second and again late in the fourth stanza. His absence also required Larsuel to do the punting.

“We were not able to take advantage of our opportunities due in good part to injures,” Coach Mel Knowlton said. “I thought sure, at half-time, that we would win. We should have won if we had had all of our kids.”

ALLIANCE – 0
Ends – Biery, Golden, Codrea.
Tackles – Crockett, Andreani, Beckwith, Rand and Ron Kuceyeski, Jones.
Guards – Gemberling, Dietrich, Brunie, Schafer, Bruderly.
Center – Kirksey
Quarterback – Knowlton.
Halfbacks – Larusel, Geltz, Hunt, King, Sloane.
Fullbacks – Trieff, Wright.

MASSILLON – 6
Ends – Maxheimer, Robertson, McConnaughead, Reinerts, Byelene, Lewis.
Tackles – Dorman, Benson, Celik, Bingle, Strobel.
Guards – Hout, Midgley, Jasinski, Jellel, Sims, Miller, Ferguson, McLin.
Centers – S. Luke, Ridgley, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Herring.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Harper, Sullivan, Mauger, Lombardi, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Massillon 0 6 0 0 6

SCORING SUMMARY
M – QB Denny Franklin, two-yard run.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Robert Whetstone.
Umpire – Joe Romano.
Head Linesman – John Cseh.
Field Judge – Chuck Hinkle.

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. All.
First downs – rushing 10 2
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 1 3
Total first downs 12 8
Yards gained rushing 203 69
Yards lost rushing 54 15
Net yards gained rushing 149 54
Net yards gained passing 29 74
Total yards gained 173 128
Passes attempted 2-8 11-23
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 1 0
Kickoff average (yards) 2-45.5 1-38
Kickoff returns (yards) 16 27
Punt average (yards) 5-32.8 5-36.8
Punt returns (yards) 0 16
Lost fumbled ball 4-6 3-4
Yards penalized 4-53 5-45
Touchdowns rushing 1 0
Total number of plays 65 51

History

1969: Massillon 20, Niles McKinley 33

September 26, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘Gales-storm’ sweeps Tigers 33-20

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“. . . My head is bloody but unbowed!”

A line from the poem “Invictus” was scrawled across the blackboard in the Tiger stadium squad room by acting game Co-Captain Dave Hout, a senior guard. Above the short poem were written the words, “Tigers read this”.

The poetry served to set the tone for the job ahead for the Washington high football team. Coach Bob Commings and his staff know the Orange and Black must forget the searing thoughts of their 33-20 loss to Niles McKinley and begin to plan their comeback route.

The first hurdle will be the Alliance Aviators who come in next Friday hurting from a 30-8 loss to Canton McKinley, also an All-American conference game. The Bulldogs (2-0) are in the first place with Niles (1-0) second. Massillon and Alliance have one loss and Warren Harding has two.
* * *
FRIDAY NIGHT’S defeat before 18,486 the season’s largest Tiger stadium turnout, was Massillon’s first in three games and extended Niles’ skein to 4-0.

Coach Bob Shaw holds the only two Red Dragon victories over the Tigers in the 10-game series, stopped a personal 25-game win streak for Commings and got Niles its first win at the stadium. The last Shaw-coached victory scissored a 32-game Tiger victory string.
* * *
MEANWHILE, the Niles “Thunder Defense” as it is called by Shaw’s staff, bottled up the Tigers’ ground game and threw a blanket over Tiger receivers. The Orange and Black never stopped trying to come back – Commings gambling several times at crucial moments – but they couldn’t come back as some unfortunate breaks aided the Niles cause.
* * *
“WHAT IT amounts to,” Commings explained, “is what we’ve been saying for three weeks. We have to get total concentration in games and in practice. We played against some inferior teams and got away with it. Tonight we played against a heckuva team and couldn’t get away with it.

“If tonight proved anything, it proved we didn’t have a bunch of quitters,” Commings commented.
* * *
ONE THING the game did prove was that Niles has a tremendous football team led by two tremendous players in tailback Rick Gales and quarterback Ron Fusco – both All-Ohio caliber. It proved Shaw was right in installing the “I” formation this year to take full advantage of the Fusco-Gales combination.

Gales – “The Big Storm” – was never thrown for a loss as he carried 27 times for 152 yards and a 5.6 average.

The AAC’s top back scored three touchdowns and aided in setting up another.

He explained that everything was predicated to stop Gales, but the slant defense strategy didn’t work.

Shaw said Fusco’s quarterbacking was the key. “He did a great job!”
* * *
HE THOUGHT the turning point was the Dragon’s third touchdown just before the end of the second half.

“We did nothing but straight ahead blocking,” Shaw explained. “Gales has the option to run anywhere he feels he can get through.”

Shaw then surprised reporters with the information that neither Gales nor fullback George Harris had practiced this week – Harris because of an injury sustained Monday and Gales because of one sustained last Saturday.
* * *
NILES TOOK the opening kickoff and marched 67-yards in nine plays after an 18-yard runback by Gales. Fusco’s 26-yard end run off a fake to the Massillon 17 and Gales’ slant off the right side for 10 yards to the three set the ball up for flanker halfback Randy Hardy who scored on a pitch on the following play with 8:47 left in the first quarter. A two-point conversion try failed.

The Tigers came back as junior fullback Tom Cardinal streaked 35 yards to the 50 with the kickoff. Four plays later, with 7:01 remaining, Autrey tied the game on an off-tackle trap on second down from the two. Mauger’s kick was wide.

Quarterback Gary Herring and wingback Larry “The Scooter” Harper had teamed up on a 49-yard pass-run combination with Harper running 42 yards.
* * *
HARPER PUT the Tigers into a temporary 12-6 lead when he returned a punt 94 yards, on some great open field running, with 10:03 left in the second stanza. The conversion pass attempt was incomplete.

The Dragons marched 68 yards in 11 plays for their second TD with Gales carrying eight times. A procedure penalty gave Niles a first down on the one. Gales capitalized on the opportunity, slanting over on the next play with 5:58 left. Harris’ kick made it 13-12.

The Tigers started to drive for pay dirt after Darnell Streeter’s 19-yard kickoff runback clicking on medium-length passes. But Niles’ Mark Conway hauled in one of Gary Herring’s aerials on the Niles 20 and the Dragons moved 78 yards in six plays, four of them passes.
* * *
GALES WENT over on first down from the four on another slant. A conversion pass attempt fell incomplete. The clock read 1:22 in the second quarter.

A fumble on the second half kickoff, picked up by Joe Lucarello on the Massillon 14, set up the next Dragon score.

Three plays later, Fusco faked Harris into the line and skirted an end from the 10 for the score with 10:28 remaining in the third quarter. Hardy scored the conversion on a pitch play.

The Dragons scored for the final time after a fourth quarter, fourth down pass from the Tigers’ 24 had fallen incomplete. Gales scored on a pass from Fusco on third down from the seven with 3:51 showing on the clock. A subsequent pass on the conversion try was short.

The Tigers got their last chance with 57 second remaining. Consecutive double reverses by Harper and Bernard Sullivan for 18 and 29 yards, respectively, and a 19-yard screen pass play, with a 14-yard run by Autrey put the ball on the Niles 16. Quarterback Franklin hit Denny Harper in the corner of the end zone as the game ended.

Another pass to Harper was complete for the conversion, but Massillon was called for illegal procedure. Fans streamed onto the field, making it impossible to replay the try so referee Tony Pianowski declined the penalty and gave the Tigers two points.

THE GRIDSTICK
M N
First downs – rushing 9 20
First downs – passing 6 5
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 15 25
Yards gained rushing 181 281
Yards lost rushing 12 9
Net yards gained rushing 169 272
Net yards gained passing 119 82
Total yards gained 388 354
Passes completed 7–19 6–9
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 3–41.0 6–48.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 122 39
Punt average (yards) 2–34.5 5–37.2
Punt returns (yards) 99 0
Lost fumbled balls 1–1 1–2
Yards penalized 3–23 2–10
Touchdowns rushing 1 4
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 53 66

Niles Won When
QB Shook Jitters

NILES – Ron Fusco wasn’t having a very good night. He had missed his first three passes and he was tight. But that’s the way it is when you’re a Niles quarterback playing against Massillon in front of 18,046 pairs of critical eyes.

It was late in the second quarter and the game was 12-12 with Niles camped on its own
23-yard line.

WITH FUSCO off form Niles had stuck almost exclusively to the ground with the elusive Rick Gales doing the bulk of the ball carrying.

Red Dragon’s coach Bob Shaw called time and waved Fusco to him at the sidelines. “Take your time,” Shaw told his passer. “You’re not setting up properly. Don’t hurry your throws. The receivers are open.”

Fusco returned to the huddle, called the play and threw a 12-yard completion. He then proceeded to connect on successive passes of 18, 14 and 19 yards, moving the ball to the Massillon 4 where Gales punched it over for the go-ahead touchdown. George Harris kicked the extra point to give Niles a 19-12 edge which they never relinquished en route to a 33-20 triumph over the Tigers Friday night.

Fusco went on to complete two more aerials, giving him six in a row after those first three failures for a total of 81 yards and one touchdown.

SHAW CALLED that drive, a 77-yarder just before the half, the most important series of the game.

“It gave us the lead and we proved to ourselves we could move the ball. This was a major test for us. We knew that and the kids were a little shaky. But we all grew up a little on that drive,” Shaw related.

While Fusco was worrying Massillon in the air, Gales was giving them fits on the ground. The 5-9, 175-pound, senior halfback tied a school record by scoring four touchdowns on runs of 12, 3, 4 yards and catching a Fusco pass for 7 yards and another tally.

History

1969: Massillon 60, Toledo Whitmer 0

September 19, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

How tough Tigers?
Still unanswered: WHS mauls Whitmer 60-0 before 12,371

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was almost too easy for the Massillon Tigers and that’s not good because Coach Bob Commings still hasn’t gotten a real line on his Washington high team.

A 60-0 laugher over an outclassed Toledo Whitmer aggregation before 12,371 Friday night at Tiger stadium coupled with previous 60-6 and 22-20 victories only compounded Commings’ dilemma. There have been two cases of weak opposition and another of WHS mistakes preventing the skipper from seeing what his charges could do against a good club.

“I really don’t know how good this team is yet,” Commings confided. “Now we must start playing for keeps with Niles coming in next week to start off our league All-American conference campaign.
* * *
DON’T GET the boss wrong. He was plenty happy with his charges.

“We learned something tonight,” he said. “You’ve got to go out and take it to them. Our suicide kickoff squad really played ball and our defense really hit.”

So good was the defense that Whitmer didn’t get out of its back yard until late in the fourth quarter when the subs got in. The Panthers managed only 56 total yards, all on the ground, and failed to complete seven passes.

One of the fellows Commings singled out for his defensive work was end Ed McConnaughead.

“He did a marvelous job,” Commings said.
* * *
THE ORANGE and Black rolled up the exact number of yards on the ground as in the air – 192 – and completed 10 of 16 passes, causing a shell-shocked Norm Decker, Whitmer coach, to remark, “I’d take his third string quarterback!”

It was the most number of passes thrown by the Tigers this season and for good reason.

“We didn’t have the punch we thought we should have down in close,” Commings explained, “so we had to resort to passing. Our problem was we blew some assignments.”

The Tigers scored four times through the air, four on the ground, tallied five conversions via aerials and kicked two. They scored nine of the 11 times they had the ball.

Fullback Mike Autrey tallied three six-pointers, wingback Bernard Sullivan scored two and added a conversion, split end Don “The Hawk” Lewis caught two conversion passes, quarterback Denny Franklin scored a touchdown, threw a TD pass and two conversion aerials.
* * *
QUARTERBACK GARY Herring threw a touchdown and two conversion passes and kicked a conversion, quarterback John Fromholtz threw two TD aerials, one conversion pass and made two timely interceptions and tailback Mike Mauger scored a touchdown and kicked a conversion.

Fumbles aborted Tiger drives the first two times they got the ball when wingback Larry “Skooter” Harper got off a fantastic 44-yard punt runback to the Whitmer 38. Four plays later Autrey went off tackle from the 25 on first down with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

Mauger kicked the conversion.

A 48-yard pass-run play from Franklin to Harper, with Harper racing 37 yards, set up the next score together with an 11-yard Franklin aerial to right end Mike Robinson after Franklin had thrown 20 yards to Lewis for a TD only to have the Tigers in motion.

The drive took nine plays with Lewis eventually getting the score on a six-yard, third down sprint pass from Franklin to the corner with 9:46 left in the second quarter. The same play netted a conversion.

TAILBACK DARNELL, “Bopper” Streeter took off on a 34-yard punt runback to the Whitmer 32. Four plays later Autrey went through the middle from the 10 on the third down with 6:18 left after setting up the score with a 15-yard draw jaunt.

Franklin again found Lewis for the conversion.

After another punt, a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Whitmer and a clipping walk off against the Tigers, Herring found Sullivan with a 40-yarder on the two. After a leaping catch, “Sullie” stumbled into the end zone with 1:05 left. He had missed a TD pass minutes before.

Mauger’s conversion kick hit an upright and bounced back.

Middle guard Elijah McLin picked off a fumble at the Whitmer 32 early in the third quarter. Harper fooled the Panthers with a double reverse for 37 yards to the 14 and Autrey took it from there with an off-tackle jaunt.

HERRING KICKED the conversion.

John Fromholtz, whose No. 13 is proving to be more lucky than the reverse, picked off a pass and added a 20-yard return to the Whitmer 23. Eight plays later on first down from the six, Franklin tried to pass, ran out of a trap and scored.

Herring hit Harper for the conversion on another of those corner capers.

Massillon took over on downs on the Tiger 35 after having relinquished the pigskin the same way minutes before. Five plays and a Franklin-to-Harper 47-yard pass-run later it was touchdown again with 10:35 left in the fourth quarter. Harper caught the pass on the Whitmer 23 and scampered to the 17.

The score was a second down, six-yard pass down the middle to Sullivan who also caught the conversion aerial. Both tosses were from Fromholtz with the score coming with 10:35 left in the game.

Fromholtz picked off another pass and ran it back 23 yards to the Whitmer 34. A 20-yard off-tackle run by junior tailback Mauger and another double reverse – this one by Sullivan for nine yards – helped the Tigers hit pay dirt again.
* * *
MAUGER MADE a diving catch of Herring’s end zone pass with 7:22 left. Fromholtz found tight end Dan Byelene for the conversion.

From then on it was all Toledo with the game ending with Whitmer on Massillon’s 11.

“They were just too quick and too fast for us,” Decker said, “They blew us off the field. They’ve got a real fine team. When we knocked them down, they got up and came back.”

WHITMER – 0
Ends – Rawson, Conrad, Goodrich, Wagner, D. Barber.
Tackles – Chinni, Cherry, Jacquot, Lazette.
Guards – Coates, Pugh, Nowakoski, Howard.
Centers – Sutton, Lotte, Birr.
Quarterback – Curson.
Halfbacks – Oikle, Freels, Dankert, Adler, Berndt, Pointinger, Freels, Fritz, Leist, Good.
Fullbacks – S. Barber, Lantz.

MASSILLON – 60
Ends – Maxhimer, Robinson, Pribich, Snyder, Lewis, Yackee, Byelene.
Tackles – Dorman, Benson, Celik, Bingle, Strobley, Ridgley, Heck, Dodd, Janikis, Lint, B. Nussbaumer, R. Luke.
Guards – Hout, Midgley, McLin, Janikis, Ashcraft, Sims, Jellel, Miller, Kulik, Indorf, Ferguson, Preece, Eckroate, Marsh.
Centers – S. Luke, Brand, Crookston, Chovan.
Quarterbacks – Herring, Franklin, Fromholtz, Pattinson, Immelt.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Harper, Mauger, Lombardi, Sullivan, Ammond, Sheaters, Clary.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Massillon 7 22 15 16 60

SCORING SUMMARY
M – TB Mike Autrey, 24-yard run, Mauger PAT (kick).
M – SE Don Lewis, six-yard pass from QB Denny Franklin, Lewis from Franklin PAT (pass).
M—Autrey, 10-yard run, Lewis from Franklin PAT (pass).
M – WB Bernard Sullivan, 40-yard pass-run from Herring.
M – Autrey, 14-yard run, Herring PAT (kick).
M – Franklin, six-yard run, WB Larry Harper from Herring PAT (pass).
M – Sullivan, six-yard pass from QB John Fromholtz, Sullivan from Herring PAT (pass).
M – TB Mike Mauger five-yard pass from Fromholtz, TE Dan Byelene from Fromholtz PAT (pass).

THE GRIDSTICK
M W
First downs – rushing 11 4
First downs – passing 7 0
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 19 5
Yards gained rushing 206 77
Yards lost rushing 14 21
Net yards gained rushing 192 56
Net yards gained passing 192 0
Total yards gained 384 56
Passes completed 10—16 0–7
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 34 0
Kickoff average (yards) 9–45.0 1–53.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 127
Punt average (yards) 2–45.5 7–33.7
Punt returns (yards) 100 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 1–2 0–0
Yards penalized 10–80 2–20
Touchdowns rushing 4 0
Touchdowns passing 4 0
Total number of plays 57 55

OFFICIALS
Referee – Robert Whetstone.
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr.
Head Linesman – Art Cirelli
Field Judge – Beauford Hatfield

History

1969: Massillon 22, Cleveland Benedictine 20

September 12, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers ‘spotty’ in 22-20 victory
Fumbles big bugaboo in second half action

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was the kind of drama you would expect to be enacted on a Mississippi sternwheeler out of Natchez.

But instead of gambling with a deck of cards, Washington High coach Bob Commings took the long chance with his book of plays Friday night and it paid off twice, preventing Cleveland Benedictine from taking the pot.

Before 13,610, the season’s largest crowd, the Massillon Tigers came from behind with 22 points in the second quarter and then held on through a spotty second half for a 22-20 victory over as tough a band of Cleveland footballers as ever invaded Tiger stadium.
* * *
IT WAS A typical bruising Massillon – Benedictine battle with followers of both teams able to go home with their heads high even though only one could leave the scene victorious. Washington high’s warriors are 2-0, Benedictine 1-1.

Commings, whose personal win streak climbed to 24, late in the second quarter, called for a fourth down, six, screen pass which gave the Tigers the margin of victory. Quarterback Gary Herring faded from the Benedictine 37 and hit fullback Mike Autrey on the 40 with the bespectacled senior going all the way for the first of two touchdowns he scored.

“They hit the screen a couple of times,” Augie Bossu, veteran Benedictine coach said, “and when you have one called back like we did, it’s bound to hurt you. That was a heckuva run with some good blocks.”
* * *
HE WAS referring to halfback and Co-Captain Frank Novaks 94-yard touchdown jaunt on the kickoff following the Tigers’ initial touchdown in the second quarter. A clip nullified the effort with Massillon leading only 8-7.

The Tigers might have blown the game wide open in the third quarter except for a pass interception and losing the ball three times on fumbles. Another fumble at the beginning of the fourth quarter, didn’t help either.

Senior halfback Bob Kacvinsky, a surefire All-Ohioan, scored all three Benedictine touchdowns after an interception and two fumbles. Curiously, Massillon’s scores were also set by miscues – two interceptions and a fumble.
On a third down, nine situation, on the Tigers’ 36 in the fourth quarter, Commings called again for the Herring-to-Autrey screen. This time Autrey carried for a first down to the Bennies’ 45 to enable the Orange and Black to keep control at a time when Benedictine’s chances to get the winning score were waning.

“Both of those passes were big,” Commings remarked.

Kacvinsky intercepted on his 35, in the first quarter, followed with a 21-yard return added 44 more on a pass-run from quarterback Frank Petruziello and finally went over from the half-yard line on fourth down, with 9:05 left in the period.

The next part of the game was all Massillon. Herring intercepted on his five, shortly before the end of the first quarter, returning 28 yards and the Tigers took off on a 12-play,
67-yard march.

Darnell (The Bopper) Streeter scored from the seven with 9:34 left in the second quarter and two juniors got the extra points as quarterback Denny Franklin found Larry (Scooter) Harper.
* * *
AFTER NOVAK’S clip-thwarted TD effort, Streeter intercepted on the Tigers’ 10 and returned 35 yards to the Massillon 45. On third down, 11, from the 41, Harper did sideline twinkle toeing on a double reverse and carried to the Benedictine 16. Autrey blasted to the two and then over with 4:10 left, but missed the conversion.

Rick Maxhimer recovered a fumble on the Bennies’ 41 shortly after the ensuing kickoff and set up Autrey’s second score, which came at 1:19 and was followed by Franklin’s pass to Streeter for the conversion.

Benedictine got going again slightly past the half-way mark of the third quarter when junior tackle Victor Malley hopped on a fumble at the Tigers’ 29. Five plays later on third down from the two, Kacvinsky shot off tackle again.

Petruziello’s attempted conversion pass was knocked down by Ed McConnaughead. The time was 2:33.

John Fromholtz thwarted another Benedictine scoring attempt with an interception on the Tigers’ 10 near the end of the period but the Tigers fumbled right back with Benedictine junior halfback Jim Johnson claiming the pigskin just after the start of the fourth canto. A personal foul during the scramble put the ball on the Orange and Black’s 27.
* * *
KACVINSKY TOOK off to the right, cut back to the left and was gone for six points on the following play with 11:30 left. Co-Captain Wayne Bacik, who had converted after the first TD, repeated.

The Tigers played in Benedictine’s back yard most of the fourth quarter but couldn’t score. Herring completed a long pass to junior wing back Bernard Sullivan at the 12, but the Tigers ran out of gas at the four.

“Those three interceptions hurt us,” Commings said, “and that one at the beginning of the third quarter really killed us. We were going in for a TD that could have broken the game wide open.”

Sophomore halfback Don Vavro intercepted on the Tigers’ 10.

“Benedictine players are great competitors,” Commings said, “but our kids were not out hit. Our defense was superb. They’re young and will make mistakes. We made a crucial one on the last TD when a boy went the wrong way.”

He added, “Any team which makes the mistakes we made and wins, is a heckuva team. We needed a tough game. These kids showed they were Tigers. I’m more confident after this win than following the opening one.”

Bossu said his charges did nothing differently in the second half. “We started to play football, “ he explained.

THE GRIDSTICK
M B
First downs – rushing 10 10
First downs – passing 5 1
First downs – penalties 3 0
Total first downs 18 11
Yards gained rushing 182 147
Yards lost rushing 21 7
Net yards gained rushing 161 140
Net yards gained passing 156 75
Total yards gained 317 215
Passes completed 12—19 2–13
Passes intercepted by 3 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 80 25
Kickoff average (yards) 4—49.2 4—39.7
Kickoff returns (yards) 59 52
Punt average (yards) 2—31.0 4—30.9
Lost fumbled ball 4—4 3—4
Yards penalized 6—80 6—62
Touchdowns rushing 2 3
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 61 56

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Benedictine
Att. Net. Avg.
Kacvinsky 17 98 5.6

MASSILLON
Att. Net. Avg.
Autrey 14 70 5
Streeter 15 50 3.3
BENEDICTINE – 20
Ends – Martanovic, Bacik, James, Evert, Crowley.
Tackles – Switalski, Nunery, Fink, Malley.
Guards – Lorek, Ahrens, Oriti, Stupica.
Center – Bossu.
Quarterback – Petruziello.
Halfbacks – Kacvinsky, Novak, Barile, Vavro, Johnson, Senger.
Fullbacks – Vogel, Fontana.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – M. Robinson, Maxhimer, Dorman, Lewis, McConnaughead.
Tackles – Celik, Bingle, Strobel, Ridgley, Heck.
Guards – Midgley, Hout, Sims, Miller, McLin.
Centers – Eckroate, S. Luke.
Quarterbacks – Herring, Franklin.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Mauger, Fromholtz, Harper, Sullivan, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Benedictine 7 0 6 7 – 20
Massillon 0 22 0 0 – 22

SCORING
B – HB Bob Kacvinsky, half-yard run; E Wayne Bacik PAT (kick);
M – HB Darnell Streeter, seven-yard run, WB Larry Harper, PAT’s (pass from QB Denny Franklin);
M – FB Mike Autrey, two-yard run, conversion run failed.
M – Autrey, 40-yard screen pass – run from QB Gary Herring, Streeter PAT’s (pass from Franklin).
B – Kacvinsky, two-yard run, conversion pass failed.
B – Kacvinsky, 27-yard run, Bacik PAT (kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack McLain.
Umpire – Dan Brown.
Head linesman – Bud Shopbell.
Field judge – Jack Werkowitz.

History

1969: Massillon 60, Dayton Trotwood Madison 6

September 5, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers snarl but Commings cautious

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was like those teasers the movie moguls put together to plug their productions. It made you want to go back next week for more.

But also like the flicks, the next week could prove disappointing.

The Massillon Tigers rolled to a 60-6 victory over Dayton Trotwood Madison Friday night at Tiger Stadium before 11,555 fans in the season opener, but Tiger Coach Bob Commings cautioned, “This wasn’t a good test. We did not expect it to be like this (as easy). We made so many errors. We were not sharp at all and we’ll be playing the best team in Cleveland next week.”

Benedictine high will make its annual trek south next Friday night.

In rolling up their biggest score since Leo Strang beat Commings – then at Struthers – 74–0 here in 1963’s seventh game, the Washington high squad had to overcome 150 yards in penalties, an early score by Trotwood and the loss of four of five fumbles.

But also in winning, the Orange and Black rolled up about as much yardage (474 yards) as they have in quite awhile. They showed more offense than had been seen here in six years. They trapped, they swept, they pitched, they passed.

To the Massillon fans, it was like the good old days.

Commings was able to use every available ballplayer, causing him to comment, “I was happy to get a lot of players in but unhappy that the regulars didn’t get enough work.”

It looked like it was going to be a bad night when early in the first quarter, Trotwood’s Jack Bozarth recovered a Massillon fumble on the 50 and in three plays the Rams had a
6-0 lead thanks to a 42-yard pass play which saw end Randy Truesdale grab a toss from quarterback Dan Adams on the 15 and go in the end zone with 10:02 left.

Jeff Rohrer’s kick was good but Trotwood was in motion and a pass to halfback Erik Jensen was incomplete.

What followed was like a wounded jungle cat turning on his attacker as Darnell (Bopper) Streeter started things off with a 29-yard return of Trotwood’s kickoff to the Rams’ 39.

THE TIGERS were aided by two penalties, one a personal foul after the touchdown which forced Trotwood to kickoff from its 25. Someone yanked Streeter’s face-mask and that gave the Orange and Black a first down on the 23.

Fullback Mike Autrey got off a nice off-tackle run to the four – one of several during the night – and Streeter used the same route for the score at the 8:13 mark. Junior Mike Mauger’s boot made it 7-6.

Near the end of the quarter, junior Larry Harper picked up a nice block by Streeter for a 16-yard punt runback to the Tigers’ 41. Four plays later, early in the second stanza, Autrey charged off tackle through a huge hole from 37 yards out at 11:54.

Streeter followed with two points off tackle.

Kirk Strobel recovered a Trotwood punt runback fumble – one of five the Orange and Black claimed – on the Tiger 46. On second and 20, junior quarterback Denny Franklin tossed a screener to Autrey, who went 33 yards behind tremendous blocking. Streeter took another pass – from senior quarterback Gary Herring – for 20 yards.

Four plays later, Herring hit Harper in the right side of the endzone on a fourth down pass from the 14 to make it 21-6 at 2:55. Mauger missed the kick
* * *
“WE WERE in the game until they completed that one,” Trotwood Coach Paul Dienstberger remarked, “Then we let up. We’re convinced Massillon has a very good team.”

Ed McConnaughead recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 32 and Franklin scored from there on the bootleg at 1:56. Mauger again misfired on the kick.

In the third quarter, Franklin’s pass to tight end Mike Robinson for 10 yards and Herring’s 15-yard run set up another TD as Commings continued to shuttle quarterbacks in and out at more frequent intervals than subway trains pass through Times Square at rush hour.

Herring hit tight end Don Lewis on the 25, “The Hawk” spread his wings and the Tigers had a 39-yard scoring play with 7:23 left. Autrey was short on the conversion.

Autrey recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 27 and after two consecutive motion penalties, Streeter went off tackle from 37 yards out at 5:12. Junior Tom (Beanie) Cardinal missed the two extra points.

Herring returned a pass interception 19 yards to the Trotwood 36. Fromholtz and Mauger of 26 and 14 yards respectively. Mauger took a pitch from the one on the next play and kicked the conversion – after a procedure penalty as the Tigers led 46-6 at the 47-second mark.
* * *
MIDWAY THROUGH the goodbye canto, Mauger raced 30 yards off tackle to Trotwood’s 42. On the next play, Fromholtz spotted junior wingback Bernie Sullivan on the 10 and dropped the ball between several defenders. “Sullie” snatched it away and the Tigers had another score at 7:24. He went off tackle for two more points.

The final score with 16 seconds left after Lewis had recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 18. Five plays later tailback Tim Ammond went over on third down from the three on a pitch. Tailback Jerry Sheaters converted.

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Trot.
First downs – rushing 14 3
First downs – passing 6 2
First downs – penalties 1 5
Total first downs 21 10
Yards gained rushing 326 78
Yards lost rushing 29 4
Net yards gained rushing 309 75
Net yards gained passing 165 73
Total yards gained 474 148
Passes completed 7—12 4–13
Passes intercepted by 3 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 40 0
Times kicked off 10 2
Kickoff average (yards) 37.7 31.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 49 83
Times punted 3 5
Punt average (yards) 30.4 38.5
Punt returns (yards) 46 0
Fumbles lost 4–5 5—7
Penalties 18 5
Yards penalized 150 55
Touchdowns rushing 6 0
Touchdowns passing 3 1
Total number of plays 50 52

TROTWOOD – 6
Ends – Meek, Truesdale, Harrison, Dewey, Windmiller.
Tackles – Isner, Bayes, Kelly, Riegelsperger, Gordon,
M. Gayman, T. Domsitz.
Guards – Belcher, Bell, Garber, Rufener, Phillips, Bozarth.
Centers – Rohrer, Morton.
Quarterbacks – D. Adams.
Halfbacks – Jensen, J. Adams, Amos, Owens, Cyr, Schriml, Boehme.
Fullbacks – Dapore, Brewer, Berry.

MASSILLON – 60
Ends – Maxhimer, M. Robinson, McConnaughead, Reinerts, Snyder, Pribich, Hauschulz, Byelene.
Tackles – Celik, Benson, Strobel, Lint, Janikis, Bingle, Heck, R. Luke.
Guards – Hout, Midgley, Ferguson, Indorf, Kulik, Jaskinski, Pifer, Miller, Sims, Jellel, McLin.
Centers – Crookston, S. Luke, Brand, Ridgley.
Quarterbacks – Herring, Fromholtz, Franklin, Pattinson.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Harper, Lombardi, Ammond, Sullivan, Sheaters, Lewis.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

Trotwood 6 0 0 0 6
Massillon 7 20 19 14 60

SCORING
T – E Randy Truesdale, 42-yard pass-run from QB Dan Adams;
M – TB Darnell Streeter, two-yard run; FB Mike Mauger PAT
(kick);
M – FB Mike Autrey, 27-yard run, Streeter PAT (run);
M – WB Larry Harper, 14-yard pass-run from QB Gary
Herring; QB Denny Franklin, 42-yard run;
M – WB Don Lewis, 29-yard pass from Herring;
M – Streeter, 37-yard run;
M – Mauger, one-yard run, Mauger PAT (kick);
M – WB Bernie Sullivan, 42-yard pass-run from QB John Fromholtz, Sullivan PAT (run);
M – TB Tim Ammond, three-yard run.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Jerry Markbrite.
Umpire – Russ Kemper.
Head linesman – Bud Shopbell.
Field judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr..
Back judge – Sam DiBlasi.

Tag: <span>Mike Autry</span>