Tag: <span>Mike Byelene</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1935: Massillon 53, Niles 6

TIGERS TUNEUP FOR CANTON, BEAT NILES
Mike Byelene Stars as Massillon Team Plays Great Practice Game in Trumbull County; Throws 52-yard Pass for Touchdown

By LUTHER EMERY

And now for Canton! With Niles their ninth victim put out of the way, 53-6, the Washington high Tigers today resumed preparations for their grand finale of the season, the annual duel with their perennial rivals, the Bulldogs of McKinley high.

The Bulldogs took one on the nose Saturday from Oak Park, of Illinois, 7-0 and that will do the Tigers no good. Aiken teams in the past have demonstrated that they can come back, more furious than ever and that is what can be expected next Saturday at Lehman field, Canton.

Tigers Pointing for Canton
For two weeks the Tigers have been preparing for the Canton engagement. They virtually ignored the New Philadelphia and Niles games, but took them on one by one while concentrating their attention on the Bulldogs battle.

Jimmy Aiken, too, has been grooming for Massillon ever since his defeat by Steubenville, we are told. Like Coach Brown with Niles, Aiken tried to sidestep Oak Park, but got caught in the back wash. He could afford to take the chance, however, for a victory over the Tigers, as far as public opinion is concerned would be equal to 10 triumphs over distant Oak Park.

And so, Massillon can expect to find the McKinley Bulldogs at their best Saturday.

But to get back to last week’s 53-6 triumph at Niles. Coach Brown couldn’t have found a better practice game for his squad.

Get Pass Defense Drill
The Tigers were opposed with vicious tackling and most of all, a forward and lateral passing attack that gave the local eleven a lesson in pass defense.

Niles scored but that made little difference for the Tiger goal line had already been crossed, but what was more alarming was the manner in which Niles scored and the many passes they completed against the Massillon eleven.

Canton scouts were in the stands and saw what was going on. In defense of the Tiger first team, however, it must be said that Niles scored and made the majority of their 15 first downs while the second team was on the field.

Those 15 first downs were more than any other team has been able to make against the Tigers this season. Practically all of the first downs were the result of passes. Niles completed 14 of them for a gain of 176 yards.

The Tigers on the other hand did some passing themselves. They scored three touchdowns with passes, one a heave of 52 yards and made one extra point on a pass. All told they made 23 first downs, with the second team playing half the game and two regulars, Howard Dutton and Neri Buggs on the sidelines in street clothes, suffering from colds.

Mike Byelene Shines
It was Mike Byelene’s accurate arm and his slashing thrusts around end and off tackle that led the Tigers to victory, Saturday. He tossed passes for three touchdowns and one extra point and scored three touchdowns himself on runs of 57 yards, 10 yards and 22 yards.

His pass to Morningstar for the sixth touchdown of the game electrified the gallery and sent the crowd home wondering where this little fellow gets all the power in that right arm of his.

The ball was on the Tigers’ 44-yard line. Mike faded way back to his own 34 while Morningstar went down fast. With the wind at his back the Tiger quarter fired the ball. Traveling like a peg from the outfield it held its line and appeared too high for Morningstar to teach but Augie kept going, reached up, snared the ball on his 14-yard line and went on over for a touchdown.

Pass Brings First Score
In fact it was one of Byelene’s fine passes that produced the first touchdown of the game. Massillon received the kickoff, but two five-yard penalties, one for being in motion and another for offside, forced Gillom to punt out on the 15-yard line. When three plays failed to gain but three yards, Yanus returned the punt to the Niles’ 47. On the first play Byelene ran 26 yards to the 21-yard line. Gillom made five but the Tigers were penalized 15 for holding. Byelene didn’t let that stop him. He stepped back and shot a pass which Charley Anderson took on the 10 and ran on for a touchdown. Bob Glass plunged the extra point across.

Niles received and Reese and Zuzolo made a first down on the Tigers 33. There they stopped and Massillon got the ball on a punt on their own 45. Glass rammed for 18 yards. Byelene made four, Gillom two and Glass made it first down on the 27. A pass was no good and the Tigers were penalized five yards for being off side. Jake Gillom got loose for 22 yards and a first down on the 10. Byelene went across and Glass plunged the extra point. The period ended with the score 14-0.

Niles immediately cut loose with a passing attack that began on its 20. Reese tossed to Kaye for 15 yards and to Yanus for a first on the Niles 48. Reese hit center for three and a 13-yard pass to Kaye took the ball in to Tiger territory. Reese got away to the Tiger 21-yard line. Zuzolo made a yard but Voss broke through and dropped Kaye for a loss of five. The threat ended when Ed Herring intercepted a pass and that set the Tigers in motion again.

Massillon was penalized five yards for offside but on the next play Herring got away to his own 43. On the first play Byelene cut inside his left tackle then headed toward the right sideline, reversed his field and ran 57 yards for a touchdown. Herring circled end for the extra point.

Pass To Anderson Nets Touchdown
Niles fumbled the kickoff and a Tiger covered on the 30-yard line. The Tigers were offside on the first play and were penalized five. Byelene lost three yards but Herring made 11 on a fake at center. Snyder picked up two and Byelene passed to Anderson for the touchdown. Another pass to Anderson produced the extra point.

Niles received and a pass, Reese to Yanus put the ball in midfield. Two passes were batted down but on third down, Reese tossed a 10-yard pass to Yanus who shot a lateral to Boag, who ran 40 yards for the Niles touchdown. Reese tried to plunge for the extra point but failed. The half ended with the score 28-6.

Massillon kicked off at the start of the third period and Niles, failing to gain, punted to midfield. Gillom hit right tackle for 17. Byelene made 11 at left end putting the ball on the 22-yard line. Byelene went over for the touchdown. Glass tried to kick the extra point but missed.

Niles struck back with another passing attack that advanced the ball from the Niles 18 to the Massillon 28-yard line. There the Tigers braced and took the ball on downs on their own 32. Gillom made seven yards and Glass two. Byelene made it first down on the 49, but the Tigers were penalized five for offside. Byelene passed to Morningstar for a touchdown. The play was good for a gain of 56 yards. Glass placekicked the extra point. The third period ended with the score 41-6.

Fourth Quarter
Massillon kicked to the 25. On the first play a forward pass Reese to Kaye and an intended lateral to Boag, gained a touchdown for Niles but the ball was called back and the touchdown was not allowed, the officials ruling the lateral traveled forward. It was a tough break for Niles. Niles completed two passes, one for 12 yards and one for six before Snyder intercepted Reese’s pass on the Massillon 37. Herring got away for 26 yards. Byelene and Snyder made it first down on the 15.

Byelene passed to Odell Gillom for what would have been a touchdown only that Gillom was out of bounds when he caught the ball. Byelene carried the ball to the one-yard line and Herring went over. Byelene’s pass for point was smothered.

An intercepted pass by Herring on the Niles 45 put the ball in place for the last touchdown. Snyder made four yards and Byelene passed to Herring for a first down on the 15. Snyder, running hard, went over the goal. Byelene’s pass for the extra point was batted down.

The Tigers threatened once again when Updegraff covered a fumble on the Niles 37. A
29-yard pass to Swoger, sub end, brought a first down on the six-yard line, but Niles covered Carter’s fumble and the game ended without any more scoring.

The Tiger band and several hundred Massillon fans followed the team to Niles. The band gave its usual fine performance between halves.

The concrete stadium in which the game was played was built with PWA funds. It has a seating capacity of 4,000. Less than 2,000 people attended the game. The day was cool and though fans drove through rain to Niles, it did not rain in that city prior to or during the game.

Massillon was penalized 50 yards to five yards for Niles.

Now For Canton
Massillon Pos. Niles
Anderson LE Delvaux
Held LT Scarnerchik
McDew LG Sawyer
Voss C Tortello
Woods RG Schink
Moffett RT Zobitz
Morningstar RE Yanus
Byelene QB Reese
Gillom LH Traxler
Molinski RH Zuzolo
Glass FB Kaye

Score by periods:
Massillon 14 14 13 12 53
Niles 0 6 0 0 6

Substitutions:
Massillon – Snyder, fb; Herring , lh; J. Anderson, lt; Snavely, c; Updegraff, lg; Miller, rg; Graybill, lg; Howard, rg; Lee, c; Swoger, re; O. Gillom, le; Carter, lh.
Niles – Gales, fb; Maddow, g; Mooris, c; Seltz, lt; Law, c; Boag, le.

Touchdown:
Massillon – Anderson 2; Byelene 3; Herring; Morningstar; Snyder.
Niles – Boag.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Glass (3 carried; kicked 1); Herring (carried);. Anderson (pass).

Officials:
Referee – Wagner.
Umpire – Rang.
Head Linesman – Pierrott.

Augie Morningstar
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1934: Massillon 72, Niles 0

PASSES BEAT NILES 72-0 AS TIGERS WIN N.E.O. BIG SIX CHAMPIONSHIP
BYELENE AND DUTTON FLASH AS MASSILLON SCORES THROUGH AIR

By LUTHER EMERY

An aerial attack, as efficient as it was spectacular, carried the Washington high Tigers to their ninth victory of the season Saturday afternoon as they smothered Niles high 72-0 before the smallest crowd of the season. Less than 3,000 fans attended the contest.

The victory brought to Massillon the first Big Six football championship, a loop reorganized last spring from the remnants of the N.E.O. Big Ten. The football trophy will be presented to Massillon at a meeting of the league in Alliance, December 10.

Score Six Times With Passes
Air lanes pointed toward the Massillon goal Saturday as the Tigers tossed six passes for touchdowns and three for points after touchdown. It was a masterful exhibition of aerial rivaling that of the bombardment that took place in the Barberton game.

Howard Dutton and Mike Byelene manned the guns and fired away with success all afternoon. Particularly the sophomore Mike, who played the major portion of the game because of Coach Paul Brown’s desire to give Dutton as much rest as possible.

Byelene threw them far and short and bulleted one into the waiting arms of Jake Gillom who was down on his knees in the end zone with his hands raised toward the heavens when the ball dropped out of the sky and got into his arms.

Passer Given Protection
No team can have a forward passing attack without first having a passer and no passer can throw the ball accurately without having ample time to pick out his man. That’s where the unsung hero comes in and if you were a close observer Saturday you would have noticed that one of the main reasons why the Tiger passing attack clicked was that the passer had plenty of time to throw the ball.

McCants, Jack Lange and the other backs and linemen threw up a wall of protection that gave Dutton and Byelene a chance to pick the receiver. Then they fired. Only one was intercepted and not a one was blocked behind the line of scrimmage.

From the very start when Dutton rocketed the pigskin to Bob Shertzer for 12 yards and a touchdown it was evident that the fans would be treated to plenty of forward passing.

The first three touchdowns came out of the sky with Lohr racing for one and Shertzer for two of them and just when Niles was expecting another cannon ball, big D.C. McCants galloped through his right tackle for 55 yards and another score.

A little bit of straight football gave Krier an opportunity to sweep his left end from the three-yard line and kick a point after touchdown for a new high point record in the N.E.O. league.

Then back to the air the Tigers went and as though trying for a long distance record, Byelene pegged the ball to Shertzer for a net gain of 60 yards and another touchdown.

You might have thought that enough and Coach Brown not caring to roll up a gigantic score on a friendly rival, sent in new replacements, but 125-pound Ed Herring had ambitious ideas, snared a Niles pass set sail for a 45-yard run and looked like a forward pass himself as he flew over would be tacklers and side-stepped others in his touchdown jaunt. Three men were left strewn behind him, but all managed to continue in the game.

A 15-yard loss because of a fumble looked like a certain barrier to another touchdown after the ball had been advanced by a pass to the six-yard line but Byelene faded back and let go again. Up came Lohr in the air to take the ball over the heads of two Niles players and six more points were added to the Tigers’ score.

Score After Fumble
As usual the breaks go against the losing team and Mike Byelene was on the ob to see that they did. He pounced on Kaye’s fumble on the 20-yard line, ripped through for 10 yards and then aimed another pass to Herring who danced around in the end zone as the ball sailed into his arms. Over into the same corner Byelene shot the ball to Bob Shertzer for another point and the Tiger total was swelled to seven.

Then old Jake Gillom seemed to think that he ought not be left out of it and carrying the ball three times in succession, once for a run of 35 yards, he stormed his way across the Niles goal. They it was that Jake got down on his knees and took a pass from Mike for the extra point and the 66th of the afternoon.

Ambitious Jack Herring gathering the ball off the ground and sweeping the ends like a scared rabbit, lugged the ball across for the final score. His final effort was a 30-yard sweep around his right end. He was given fine support as he outran the Niles secondary and carefully picked his way along the east sideline to the north goal. Gillom tried to make the extra point but was smothered in his tacks and the timekeeper fired his gun to keep the score from getting any larger.

Hopelessly outweighed and at times playing a team of midgets, Niles had little to offer offensively except a forward passing attack that faded out when most needed.

The visitors threatened but once and it looked mighty serious for the Tigers that one time in the third quarter when Gales, returning a Massillon kickoff, broke through the entire Tiger team and raced to the Massillon 42-yard line before being downed from behind by Neri Buggs, who wouldn’t give ground for 10 pound shell.

Carry Ball To 20-yard Line
Niles wasn’t through yet, however, for Gales pegged the ball to McCormick for a first down on the Massillon 26-yard line. Two line plays took the ball to the 20-yard line and Coach Hoker, of Niles, hoping to attain the distinction of being first to score on the Tigers, sent in what regulars he had resting on the bench for one last desperate thrust. The regulars tried twice and at the end of the two attempts were shoved back to the 37-yard line where they lost the ball on downs. That ended Niles’ scoring threat but it in no way stopped the fight of the visitors. They were in there tackling and piling on right up to the end; but accomplishing little.

Long passes for touchdowns usually hold down the number of first downs a team makes in a game, but not Saturday. Statistics show the Tigers made their 10 yards on 25 occasions while Niles made four, three of them in the third period.

Massillon gained 189 yards with the forward pass, completing eight of 18. One was intercepted and eight were thrown away. Those were in addition to the three that produced points after touchdown. Niles completed five of 13 passes for 73 yards. Five were grounded and three intercepted.

Massillon lost 45 yards in penalties to Niles’ 50 yards.

In setting a new scoring record in the N.E.O. Big Six, Krier exceeded the former record held by Larry Russell, Alliance ace of two season ago. Krier went into Saturday’s game with 136 points and scored a touchdown and one extra point to increase his total for nine games to 143. Russell made 139 in 10 games.

The 72 points scored against Niles increases the Tigers’ total for the season to 421, an average of 46.77 points a game, which is higher than Canton McKinley’s per game average. Canton has scored 466 points in 10 games an average of 46.6 points per game.

The Washington high band broke loose with new music and a new drill Saturday afternoon. A sidelight of next Saturday’s contest with Canton will be the drilling of the two bands. Canton for years has had the best scholastic band in the county, but the Massillon musicians have been practicing overtime and drilling on Oak Avenue S.E. with the hope of having something to toot their horns about next Saturday.

Lineup and summary:
Massillon Pos. Niles
Shertzer LE Bogg
Wolfe LT Treceini
Molinski LG Sawyer
Morningstar C Chuirazzi
Snavely RG Roberts
Buggs RT Kramer
Lohr RE Lewis
Dutton QB Reese
Krier LH Driscoll
Lange RH Flask
McCants FB Zuzolo

Score by periods:
Massillon 12 13 21 26 – 72

Substitutions:
Massillon – Byelene, qb; McDew, le: Gillon, fb; Herring, lh; Miller, lg; Graybill, c.
Niles – Miller, lg; McCormick, re; Kave, lh; Gales, fb; Traxer, rh; Bender, le.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Shertzer 3; Lohr 2; McCants; Krier, Gillom; Herring 3.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Shertzer 2 (passes); McCants (line plunge); Gillom 2 (line plunge and pass); Krier (placekick).

Referee – Boone.
Umpire – Smith
Head Linesman – Wagner.

BOOSTER CLUB
MEETS TONIGHT

Coming Game Big Pep
Meeting Subject

Canton and Massillon will be raked
over the coals many times tonight
in informal pep conversation as the
Booster club gets together for its
biggest meeting of the year.

Coach Paul Brown will be called
upon to talk, but the Massillon grid
mentor will not disclose his plan of
attack for Saturday nor give an
expression of opinion on the possible
outcome of the big battle for the
State championship.

There will be plenty of opinions
from other sources, however, and the
game will be both won and lost many
times before the evening is over.
While the meeting is primarily for
Boosters, anyone whether a member
or not may attend. The meeting will
be held at 7:30 p.m. in the main
study hall.

Cloyd Snavely