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Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2006: Massillon 68, North Park, ON Canada 6

Tiger skill shines through

Massillon has too much of just about everything for overmatched visitors

By CHRIS EASTERLING

Chris.Easterling@lndeOnline.com

The gifts were exchanged by the two teams prior to the Massillon Tigers’ 2006 opener against North Park Collegiate out of Ontario. Once the game began, the Tigers weren’t nearly as giving, rolling to 68‑6 victory over the Trojans in front of approximately 9,000 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Program Cover

As little as the Tigers gave North Park, many gave even less credit to themselves for the lopsided rout. Massillon senior Brian Gamble shouted to no one in particular, “We got to get better,” as he walked across the field for the postgame handshake.

“It was like a morgue in here at halftime,” said Tiger coach Tom Stacy, whose coaching staff received hockey sticks from the North Park coaches during a pregame ceremony. “I told them after the game that’s good. That means your expectations are high. We have enough veteran guys who know if they’re playing well or not.”

And to think the Tigers led 35‑6 at the intermission.

“The thing is, when you look at the score, how can you complain,” Stacy asked rhetorically. “A young football team, and we knew going in that it was going to take some time to develop. I think this was a good building block for us.”

The Tigers weren’t a finished product entering the game, and head into next Saturday’s home tilt against Washington, D.C., Woodson still searching for some of those answers. Most of the questions remain on defense, which despite scoring twice on interception returns in the first half, gave up its share of yardage as well to a North Park team which suited up only 29 players for its third appearance in Tigertown.

The Trojans accumulated 153 yards in the first half alone, including a 56‑yard run by bowling ball like running back Matt Socholotiuk which set up the Trojans’ first score of the game with less than two minutes left in the first half. Socholotiuk finished with a game‑high 147 yards rushing.

“Our defense, we feel we can do better every game,” said outside linebacker Michael Porrini. “So we feel like we could have done better. We could have wrapped up a little better. It was pretty good overall.”

However, Massillon held North Park to just 64 yards in the second half.

“Are we happy with how we tackled at times? No,” Stacy said. “But it’s a start.”

The Massillon offense, meanwhile, left little question in anyone’s mind that it has a chance to live up to the high hopes expressed by Stacy.

The Tigers scored on seven of their first nine possessions, and the first time they couldn’t change the number in the scoring column was due to a field goal which just slipped wide right from 26‑yards out on their second possession. The other time was the final play of the first half.

By the time the Tigers went to their backups with 5:17 left in the third quarter, it was 49‑6 Massillon. The first‑unit offense racked up 319 yards in just over a half of football, with 194 yards of that coming through the air on Bobby Huth’s arm and another 85 yards rushing on the legs of Gamble.

“I thought it went pretty good,” said Huth, who connected on 12‑of‑18 aerials. “I thought the offensive line played pretty well. I didn’t play the way I should have played. The first play should have been a touchdown, but I underthrew it. I felt like I didn’t throw the ball very well tonight.”

The Tiger offense was explosive, but also methodical. Of the first six scoring drives, none were completed in fewer than six plays, even though they had three drives of 54 yards or less.

“I thought the second half, we had some bigger plays, and that’s what we’re kind of looking for,” Stacy said. “We had some good drives, and we didn’t rip off as many big ones in the first half as we would have liked. But you know what? Give them credit, too. Their kids were playing hard.”

Stacy said before the season he wanted to showcase Gamble and Andrew Dailey, and the Tigers did just that. Gamble put Massillon in the lead for good with 8:15 left in the first quarter when he took a handoff to the right, skirted off tackle and outran the defense to the end zone for a 12yard touchdown.

Dailey, meanwhile, hauled in a pair of touchdown passes as part of a three‑catch, 80‑yard evening. The first was a 20‑yard strike in the end zone with 7:40 left in the second quarter, which gave Massillon a 21‑0 lead.

He then added a 51‑yard catch and run on a post pattern to make it 42‑6 with 9:58 remaining in the third quarter.

K.J. Herring wrapped up the Tigers’ stretch of scoring with a pair of touchdown runs, the last a two‑yarder which gave the Tigers a 56‑6 lead with 2:00 left in the third quarter. Justin Turner and Cody Nickels added fourth-quarter touchdown runs.

“It’s a start,” Stacy said. “I’m never going to complain when you win like that.”

Massillon 68

North Park 6

North Park 0 6 0 0 0

Massillon 14 21 21 12 68

SCORING SUMMARY

M ‑ Gamble 12 run (Schott kick) 8:15,1st

M ‑ Massey 26 int. return (Schott kick) 8:03, 1st

M ‑ Dailey 20 pass from Huth (Schott kick) 7:40, 2nd

M ‑ Leonard 9 pass from Huth (Schott kick) 4:14, 2nd

M ‑ Gamble 36 int. return (Schott kick) 2:22, 2nd

NP ‑ Dandle 9 pass from Maddock (McDonell kick blocked) :15, 2nd

M ‑ Dailey 51 pass from Huth (Schott kick) 9:58, 3rd

M ‑ Herring 10 run (Schott kick) 6:33, 3rd

M ‑ Herring 2 run (Maylor kick) 2:00, 3rd

M ‑Turner 29 run (Nickels kick failed) :41, 4th

M ‑ Nickels 43 run (Nickels kick failed) 1:50, 4th

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing:

Gamble 12‑85, 1 TD, Herring 9‑64, 2 TDs.

North Park rushing:

Socholotiuk ing:

Massillon passing:

Huth 12‑18‑194, TDs, Ryder 3‑6‑27.

North Park passing:

Maddock 7‑15, 1 TD, 2 INTs.

Massillon receiving:

Dailey 3‑80, 2 TDs, Gamble 3‑28, Miller 3‑23.

North Park receiving:

Padmore 4‑32.

GAME STATS

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1995: Massillon 51, Northpark ON Canada 7

North Park goes south’  Tigers 6‑2; Irish up next

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

Vinny Turner got his 1,000 yard season.

Eddie Evans and George Whitfield Jr. got to rest their aching ankles.

Ben Hymes got to show the coaching staff there won’t be a dropoff at quarterback if Whitfield should go down with injury.

And the Massillon Tigers kept their playoff hopes alive.

Program Cover

Those are just a few of the positives to come of Massillon’s 51-7 conquest of the feisty but outclassed North Park Trojans, in front of 7,041 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Saturday.

The outcome was never really in doubt after the Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in 10 plays to the visitor’s end zone. Turner rushed eight times for 45 on the drive, including the final five over right guard an tackle to paydirt.

Josh Hose’s point after kick made it 7-0 Tigers at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter.

North Park drove from its 29 to the Massillon 41 on its first possession, but was force to punt. Whitfield and Nate Wonsick hooked up for a 28-yard gain on a simple pass in the flats on first down. Then Turner found two gaping holes off the left side of the Tiger line to cover the final 35 yards and record his second touchdown of the evening.

Hose’s placement made it 14-0.

North Park fumbled away the football on the second snap of its next possession and Lavell Weaver fell on it at the Trojans 22. Weaver was rewarded for his hustle when Whitfield handed him the football on first down. He followed the left side of the line into the end zone with :06 to play in the first quarter.

Again Hose’s kick was true and rout was on at 21-0.

North Park went three-and-out and Rose sent in Hymes to play quarterback. On second down, the junior found Dusty Limback on a simple slant pattern near the Trojan’ 35. Limbach on a simple slant pattern near the Trojans’ 35. Limbach caught the pass in stride, found a seam and sprinted into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown.

Before the half ended, Milo McGuire tackled North Park quarterback Jeff Lowe in the end zone for a safety. Ehjah Blake rang up a 13-yard TD run around left end, and Raphel Bradley scored from five yards out on a drive keyed by Hymes 30-yard sprint around right end on the option.

It was 44-0 at the intermission.

”I thought the offense ex­ecuted really well,” observed Tigers boss Jack Rose. “We didn’t know what to expect from (North Park). Everything they did was contrary to what they had shown before.

“Bell did a real nice job. He, executed the offense well. That was a nice slant pass to Dusty for the touchdown and he got to the perimeter well on the op­tion. That worked because Ben made it look like he was going to dish it off. I thought he showed some pretty good saavy out there.”

That is not to say, however, that there is any doubt as to who the starting quarterback is in Massillon.

“George is still number one,” Ross confirmed. “But I feel better after watching Ben under fire.”

Rose had praise for the work of Paul Snyder, filling in for Evans at center, and for his entire stable of tailbacks, including senior Torrey Smith, who scored after breaking several tackles on a 28 yard run with 4:39 left in the third quarter. Matt Stanley’s PAT was Massillon’s 51st and final point of the evening.

On the ensuing kickoff, North Park’s Mark Wayda, a 5-foot 8-inch, 165 pound junior fielded the ball at his 9-yard line. He found a gap to his left, got to the sideline and went the distance to avert the shutout.

“They were a lot better than the team that came down here two seasons ago,” Rose said, before turning his attention to Friday’s invasion by Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s.

“They are a lot like Garfield. They are very physical up front on both the offensive and defensive lines. They are very strong up front and they may even be a little bigger than we are on the lines. They have a couple of quick backs and you can have a tough time finding them in the midst of those big linemen. Then, all of a sudden they pop out of there.”

St. V-St. M’s featured runner is 1,000 –yard gainer Andre Knott.

Making the Fighting Irish even more formidable is the fact the traditional season ender with McKinley is next week, presenting the temptation of looking ahead.

“We certainly can’t afford to do that.” Rose asserted. “This is a very dangerous team coming in here Friday. We have got to focus on them.”

Rose says Evans should be ready this Friday, as will wide receiver Devin Williams and defensive lineman James Smith. Both starters sat out Saturday’s tilt with the lingering effects of the flu bug.

MASSILLON 51
NORTH PARK 7
M N
First downs rushing 16 7
First downs passing 2 3
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 19 10
Net yards rushing 305 132
Net yards passing 77 58
Total yards gained 382 190
Passes attempted 7 12
Passes completed 3 6
Passes int 0 1
Times kicked off 8 2
Kickoff average 46.6 32.5
Kickoff return yards 10 135
Punts 3 3
Punting average 24.3 30.0
Punt return yards 28 0
Fumbles 0 6
Fumbles lost 0 2
Penalties 2 8
Yards penalized 20 48
Number of plays 42 54
Time of possession 19:52 28:08

NORTH PARK 0 0 7 0 7
MASSILLON 21 23 7 0 51

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
M ‑ Turner 5 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Turner 15 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Weaver 22 run (Hose kick)

Second Quarter
M ‑ Limbach 46 pass from Hymes (Hose kick)
M ‑ Safety, McGuire tackles QB in end zone
M ‑ Bradley 4 run (Stanley kick)
M ‑ Blake 13 run (Hose kick)

Third Quarter
M ‑ Smith 29 run (Stanley kick)
N ‑ Wayda 91 kickoff return (Wayda kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Turner 10‑85, 2 TD.
Smith 3-39, 1 TD;
Bradley 2‑47, 1 TD;
Blake 3‑32, 1 TD;
Hymes 1‑30;
Weaver 1‑22, 1 TD;
Morgan 3‑17;
Wonsick 3‑15.
North Park
Wayda 22‑118, 1 TD;
Vermeire 10‑42.

Passing:
Massillon
Whitfield 1‑3‑24, 0 TD 0 ints;
Hymes 2‑3‑53, 1 TD, 0 ints;
Danzy 0‑1.
North Park
Lowe 6‑10‑58. 1 ints;
Petersen 0, 2.

Receiving:
Massillon
Limbach 1‑46, 1 TD;
Wonsick 1‑24.
North Park
Stronks 4‑43;
Wayda 2-15


George Whitfield