1947: Massillon 7, Revere, MA 6

Tigers Edge Revere 7-6
Massillon Team Scores Early, Then Sputters Remainder Of Contest

By LUTHER EMERY

The Washington high Tigers opened their 1947 football season in Tiger stadium Friday evening with a 7-6 victory over Revere, Mass., high school and were none too happy about it.

With a crowd of some 13,000 fans looking on, the Tigers struck quickly the first time they came in possession of the ball to score their only touchdown in the first five minutes of play, and watched time snatch away two other opportunities at the end of the half and at the end of the game.

The margin of victory was slim and while the Massillon offense frequently became fouled in the heavier Revere line, the inspired defensive play of the Tiger linemen delighted their supporters.

Save for the Canton McKinley game last fall the 1946 Massillon team never tackled as viciously as the Massillon linemen and secondary did last night.

This defensive play and occasional offensive flashes gives reason to hope that the local team has the possibilities of developing into a better team than it was last night.
* * *
THE PLAYERS and coaches were not at all satisfied with their one point victory. They made both mental and physical errors, which in part may be attributed to the opening night performance and the fact that seven players were starting their first varsity game.

Coach “Bud” Houghton believes that many of the errors can be corrected. “I was disappointed with our offense,” he said after the game. “A couple of the younger players had a tendency to get excited and throw us off in our timing. With this opening game out of our system we hope they will settle down and work smoother in succeeding weeks.”

Revere likewise bothered the locals with its defensive variations which changed depending on the down and the position of the ball on the field.

Fortunately, the Tigers emerged from the game without any serious injuries. Co-Capt. Morrie Eberhardt came out with a limp which was described by the team physician as nothing more than a bruised nerve.
* * *
THE MASSILLON eleven rode to victory on the toe of Gene Schuldecker, substitute end who kicked the point from placement after the Tiger touchdown, to give the local team its one point margin of superiority.
Center Paul Olenick’s break through to smear Frankie McDonald’s attempted placekick after Revere’s one and only touchdown in the second period, prevented the game from ending in a tie, for the ball appeared headed for a dead shot between the uprights, when the husky lineman batted it down.

It was a long night for the Massillon eleven and may develop into a long season, unless Revere is a better football team than its play indicated.

The visitors lived up to the reputation their supporters had built for them in pre-game discussion – that they were tough defensively but did not have too much on the ball on offense, save some fancy formations. Massillon finished with an edge in both departments.

The Tigers made 10 first downs to Revere’s eight, gained 227 yards from scrimmage to Revere’s 190 and tossed Revere players fro 61 yards in losses while being thrown for 23.

The Massillon offense, bucking against a 190-pound line had difficulty moving consistently. Break throughs by ball carriers were stymied on later plays in all but three instances. On one of these the Tigers marched 47 yards to their first touchdown and overcame a 15-yard penalty for clipping on route. Dick Jacobs, sophomore left halfback reeled off most of the yardage including one 18-yard jaunt, and Al Brown went through on a quick opener that split the Revere defense for 24 yards of fancy touchdown stepping. Time beat them to two touchdowns. They permitted the clock to stop them on the goal line in the first half which ended with the ball on the one and one-half yard line with second down coming up. A time out would have provided another play. The end of the game also found them in command of the pigskin in the shadow of the Revere goal posts.
* * *
MOST DISAPPOINTING from a Massillon offensive standpoint was the failure of the Tiger passing attack. Not a one was completed and one was intercepted by Revere Halfback Wolla Lagorio, who for a moment appeared headed for a touchdown. He slipped and fell on the 20-yard line while in the open. However, a penalty would have brought the ball back even though he had maintained his stride and crossed the goal.
* * *
REVERE, on the other hand worried the Tigers with passes and scored its own touchdown in that manner when Capt. Bill Waxman pegged the ball to Halfback McDonald who raced into pay dirt for the visitors’ six points. The second period drive covered 79 yards, most of which were gathered in by McDonald, who twice got away for 21-yard gains.

The Massachusetts boys gained 85 of their 190 yards through the air completing six of 10 attempts. They had one intercepted.

Jacobs did a fine job of punting for the Tigers, but two boots went for naught when teammates covered the ball inside the 10-yard line automatically sending it out to the 20. Had they not touched it the ball would have been put in play where it stopped.

Schludecker’s point from placement revealed the importance of this department of the game. The Tigers have played seven tie ball games in the last two years and save for a bit of last minute practicing under pressure by Schludecker, Thursday, last night’s encounter might have had a similar ending. Gene was given the opportunity of practicing placekicks with an opposing line bearing down upon him. He kept at it until he was able to bang the ball between the posts just as though no one was there. He did the same thing last night and as a result the Tigers are in possession of their first triumph of the season.
* * *
THE VICTORY however does not forecast any easy going this season. It was hard earned and it looks as though they will come that way this season. The blocking left much to be desired and there were many instances where good clean blocks would have freed ball carriers for long gains.

Most of the mistakes may be attributed to the lack of poise of a green team, since they were committed in most instances by boys who had never before started a varsity game. Be that as it may, mistakes of this type may lose games in the future.

As a whole the visitors were well satisfied with the outcome of the contest. Despite some pre-game bragging, they figured down in their hearts they would lose by a more sizable margin and considered themselves fortunate that they were not beaten by more than one touchdown.

Actually Revere made but one touchdown threat, the Tigers holding the team in check behind the 20-yard line.

Revere tossed single wing and spread formations at the local eleven and presented a fancy runner in McDonald who would look good on any man’s team.
Won By A Point
Massillon Pos. Revere
Johnson le Belmonte
Eberhardt lt Hodus
Morrow lg Taylor
Olenick c Nolan
Houston rg Manganiello
Wittmann rt Capidulupo
Schuldecker re Giarusso
Bardarnza qb McCarthy
Jacobs lh McDonald
Brown rh Lagorio
Tackacs fb Waxman

Score by periods
MASSILLON 7 0 0 0 7
REVERE 0 6 0 0 6

Substitutions:
Massillon – Roderick, re; Williams, lg; Jones, lt; Edie, rt; Hill, qb; Resh, lh; C. Johnson, fb.
Revere – Terminiell, rg; Stillman, fb; Ferragamo, le.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Brown.
Revere – McDonald.

Point after touchdown:
Massillon – Schludecker (placekick).

Referee – Jenkins.
Umpire – Gross.
Head Linesman – Boone.
Field Judge – Brown.
Statistics
Massillon Revere
First down 10 8
Passes attempted 3 10
Passes completed 0 6
Passes had intercepted 1 1
Yards gained rushing 227 105
Yards lost rushing 23 61
Net gain rushing 204 44
Yards gained passing 0 85
Total net yardage 204 129
Times kicked 2 2
Average kicks (yards) 34 42
Times punted 3 5
Average punts (yards) 36 26
Average return of kicks 20 8
Average return of punts 10 2
Fumbles 4 1
Fumbles recovered 2 0
Times penalized 5 5
Yards penalized 55 45