Tag: <span>Ron Chismar</span>

History

1969: Massillon 7, Canton McKinley 14

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

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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,

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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.

Mike Autry
History

1968: Massillon 6, Canton McKinley 26

’69 Tigers’ task: bring bell back
Few bright rays in 26-6 defeat

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The locomotive bell rests today at Canton McKinley high school – a symbol of one of the tasks that await the Washington high grid team in 1969.

Not many bright rays come out of a beating like the Massillon Tigers took last Saturday, but the realization that there is always a next year helps somehow to soften the blow.

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Tigers fans know that the Orange and Black – like the fabled Phoenix bird – will rise from the ashes of defeat to begin anew when next September rolls around. The Tigers never stay down long.

There’s only one way to describe their 26-6 defeat before 22,300 at snowy Tiger Stadium. The Orange and Black were out manned – but not out fought.

The Tigers were unable to cope with the hard-firing Bulldog offensive line, the powerful rushes of juniors Rocco Rich and Rich Brown, fullback and halfback respectively. Another junior, wingback Ed Floyd, got timely big yardage on reverses.

The slight-of-hand of senior quarterback Mark Hontas and the pursuit and penetration of McKinley’s defensive line led by Jon Brandyberry, Lonnie Ford and Brown’s brother Mark were also factors.

Adding to their miseries, the Washington high eleven lost the services of senior tailback Jim

George Whitfield (66)

Smith, leading rusher and scorer in the All-American conference (AAC) in the first quarter via an ankle injury. Trainer John Whitmer called it a “freak muscle stretch” of a type he’d never seen before.

“It sure couldn’t help us,” Massillon coach Seaman said. “It had to hurt us.”

The loss of a great back like Smith is bound to hurt a team,” McKinley Coach Ron Chismar, said.

McKINELY HIT Massillon with two quick scores in the first quarter after capitalizing on a couple of breaks. A poor snap and a short punt gave McKinley the ball on the Massillon 46. Floyd and Rich combined 18 and 13-yard runs to set up the Pups’ first score.

Rich drove over right tackle from the one with 7:38 left. Hontas’ conversion-attempt pass to Rich was incomplete.

Another short punt following the kickoff put the ball on the 40. Floyd and Rich again combined their talents for 12 and 28-yard runs to set up the second score.

Rich went over left tackle – this time from the two – at 5:40. Brown ran the conversion through left tackle.

The Orange and Black’s only touchdown drive – a 64-yarder after Mark McDew’s 26-yard runback – saw the Tigers grind out the short yardage after Smith got hurt at the beginning of the drive. A 15-yard personal foul penalty and five-yard off side walk off were important.
* * *
FULLBACK MIKE AUTREY scored around right end from 27 yards out, using the sideline like a tightrope and putting forth great second and third efforts. Malinowski’s attempted conversion pass to McDeew was broken up by Ed McMillan with the clock showing 1:14.

The Tigers never got out of their own territory after that.

1968 Massillon vs. Canton McKinley

Dave Couto and Chuck Stoner stopped a McKinley drive at the Massillon six and Bert Dampier hauled in a Bulldog pass on the Tiger 10 to stop another in the second stanza.

In the third period, Mosie Hunter nabbed a Tiger aerial at the McKinley 44 and added an 11-yard runback to the Massillon 45 to set up another Bulldog pay dirt trip. Aided by a personal foul step off and the running of Hontas, Brown and Rich, the Bulldogs made it
20-6 at 8:16 as Hontas scampered for four off right tackle.

The conversion attempt on a run by Brown off left tackle failed.

Rick Laase kayoed a McKinley drive in the third canto with a fumble recovery at the Massillon 36 shortly before Hunter’s interception.
* * *
MASSILLON stopped a Bulldog march on the Tiger eight in the last period, but the Bulldogs got the ball right back on the Massillon 38 after a punt. A fourth down, 13-yard pass-run combination from Hontas to Floyd and a 19-yard romp around right end by Hontas after a fake set up the final Canton score.

Hontas rammed through the middle from the one with 2:13 left but missed around right end on the conversion attempt.

“Anytime you beat the Tigers, you’ve got to be happy because they have a great team,” Chismar said. “Our kids were great, I’m proud of them.”

He added, “Our backs were not fantastic, just strong. We didn’t run anything we hadn’t used before. Floyd got us yardage when we had to have it.”

Chismar praised Calvin Ellis, Hunter, McMillan and Monroe Jackson who, Chismar said, sacrificed themselves to play in the defensive secondary this year.

HE ALSO GAVE a pat on the back to backup quarterback Nick DeGregorio, first to jump up and congratulate Hontas after the game.

“They were a good team – one of the best I’ve seen since I’ve been here, if not the best,” Seaman said of McKinley. We played the biggest part of the game behind the 50. That was the game. I’d say we let them have the football too darn much. Hontas really hid the ball well.”

It was the second time in three years that Chismar had beaten Seaman – both times at Tiger stadium. McKinley (9-1) finished in a tie with Warren Harding for the All-American conference title, both with 4-1 league marks.

Massillon (7-3, 3-2) finished runnerup, only the second time the Tigers have ended out of the throne room in the loop’s six-year history.

McKinley 14 0 6 6 – 26
Massillon 6 0 0 0 – 6

THE GRIDSTICK
M McK
First downs –rushing 2 17
First downs – passing 2 3
First downs – penalties 3 1
Total first downs 4 21
Yards gained rushing 81 206
Yards lost rushing 30 26
Net yards gained rushing 31 236
Net yards gained passing 29 37
Total yards gained 80 273
Passes completed 3-15 3-6
Passes intercepted by 1 2
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 23
Kickoff average (yards) 3-44.5 3-47.6
Kickoff returns (yards) 96 36
Punt average (yards) 6-27.3 2-36.5
Punt return (yards) 2 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 0-1 1-2
Yards Penalized 4-40 2-20

George Whitfield
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1967: Massillon 20, Canton McKinley 15

One Play Away From Perfect Year

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“Only one play away from an undefeated season.”

As one looks back today on the 10 games which the Washington high grid team played this year and also contemplates the final Associated Press poll due Tuesday, Tiger Coach Bob Seaman’s words sum it up pretty well.
* * *

EVEN WITH the Tigers’ 20-15 victory over Canton McKinley at rain-pelted Fawcett stadium last Saturday afternoon before a full house of 20,500 to write a 9-1 finish to the 1967 season, it’s not likely to be enough to bring the Bengals a state championship.

Undefeated Upper Arlington (10-0) will probably be the King-pin come Tuesday as the result of that fourth and 7 counter play recalled by Seaman after the victory over McKinley. It was that strategy which led to Arlington’s 7-6 win over the Tigers.

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But “Operation Comeback ‘67” can still be rated a success in the minds of the fans of the Orange and Black. For their team has bounced back from a 4-5-1 season to probably second place in the state and the championship of the All-American Football Conference.

The last win came every way but easy. The Tigers shot out to a 12-0 first period lead but barely got out of the game alive against an outstanding Bulldog eleven coached by Ron Chismar. Only a last-minute pass interception by junior Halfback Bert Dampier staved off disaster.

The Pups had the ball on the Massillon 14-yard line, third and 7 after a 51-yard pass-run play from Quarterback Ted Bowersox, who had previously scored twice, to Wingback Gerald Davidson. His 33-yard run after the catch found him going out of bounds on the 17. Bowersox tried to hit Davidson again in the end zone but Dampier came down with the pigskin for a touchback and Massillon ran out the clock.
* * *

IT WAS THE Bengals defense which did the job as the offense never really got going after the first quarter. One drive in the second quarter got as far as the McKinley 35 but Bowersox intercepted a pass on the 30 to stop the threat.

The Tigers had the ball for 6 series in the second half, not counting the final one when they ran the clock out. The WHS eleven got only one first down and that was via a personal foul penalty.

The Bulldogs outstanding job of pursuing led by Middle Guard Gaylord Sweat, effectively throttled the Seaman-men. Seaman said McKinley did a “good job of getting to the ball.” Chismar said his charges did a “great job. It’s a shame they couldn’t have won.”

The Tigers were paced by a superlative defensive secondary, which allowed the Bulldogs to complete only 6 of 24 passes. Dampier, besides his game saving interception, also aborted a McKinley drive with an interception on his 15 in the third period.

Manson was in the game due to a first quarter ankle injury suffered by Co-Captain and Quarterback Trevor Young. Junior Marc Malinowski was forced to vacate his safety spot to do the signal calling and showed promise for next year. However, Young’s absence affected the offensive timing.
* * *

THE BENGALS’ other co-captain, Linebacker Ron Ertle, was all over the field again. Both ends, Tim Richards, and Russ Fenton, did a good job of containing Bowersox.

Linebacker Hoyt Skelton recovered a fumble on the Bulldog 38 in the third quarter. But the Tigers couldn’t move the ball.

Shortly thereafter, Tom Houser downed a Malinowski punt on the 3 to put McKinley into a

1967 Massillon vs. McKinley

deep hole. On the third down in the ensuing series, Bowersox faded to the end zone from the 5, and hit End Jim Iams in the flat. But “Monster” Larry Shumar, weighing only 152 pounds, decked the 175-pound end for a safety, one of several nifty plays by the diminutive junior during the afternoon.

Junior Tailback Jim Smith led the offense by scoring one of the first period touchdowns and collecting 99 net yards in 18 tries for a season’s total of 1,011. Art Hastings’ 1,274 in 1969 marked the last time a Tiger had over 1,000 yards.

Malinowski got the other welcome frame tally.

But the most spectacular score was Mark McDew’s 90-yard runback of the second half kickoff for the Tigers’ third touchdown behind some fine blocking. Only 10 seconds ticked off the clock. Smith missed on the conversion run.
* * *

SMITH’S SCORE came over left guard on first down from the one with 6:05 left in the first quarter. The 75-yard drive took only 5 plays. Smith set up his own score with a
54-yard blast through the center which put the ball on the one. McKinley Co-Captain Ron Martin made the tackle.

Then came the conversion keeper on which Young got hurt.

McKinley fumbled on its 40 while driving after the kickoff McDew recovered and the Orange and Black had its second TD 6 plays later with 2:40 left. Malinowski ran off left tackle on a keeper on third and 4 from the 10 after bobbling the ball and crossed into pay dirt. Twelve and 14-yard runs by Malinowski and Smith had set up the score.

A pass fell incomplete on the conversion try.

1967 Massillon vs. McKinley

Junior Tackle Jon Brandyberry recovered a fumble on the Tiger 44 and 11 plays later the Pups were on the scoreboard with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter. An 8-yard run by Bowersox, a 10-yarder by Martin and 6 and 9-yard passes for Bowersox to Davidson and Iams set up the 6-pointer, the latter coming on fourth down from the 14 and giving the Bulldogs a first down on the Bengal 5.

Bowersox scored through the center on third down from the one and then kicked the conversion. On the Tigers’ first try after the kickoff, Bowersox recorded his interception on the McKinley 30 to stop a drive highlighted by sophomore Darnell Streeter’s 23-yard kick return and Smith’s 18-yard romp off right tackle.

McKinley’s other score came with 4:45 left in the game. The Bulldogs drove 78-yards following a Tiger punt in the dying seconds of the third quarter. The push took 17 plays.
* * *

THE BIG maneuvers were a 21-yard pass-run combination from Bowersox to Davidson’s 4-yarder which netted a first down on the one by a gnat’s eyelash.

Bowersox scored on the next play through the center and passed to Davidson to make it 20-15.

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Dampier, Houser, Richards, Twiggs.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase, Snyder.
Guards – D. Gipp, Ertle, Whitfield, M. Cardinal, Doll, Harig, Russell.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Smith, McDew, Fenton, Staples, Evans, Hodgson, Manson.
Fullbacks – R. Moore, Streeter.

McKINLEY – 15
Ends – Lewis, McDonald, Iams, Dubose, Roman, Gallus, Duckworth.
Tackles – Milan, Mancini, Brandyberry, Hoskins.
Guards – Roose, Sweat, Shimek, Harris, Gibbons.
Centers – Downing, M. Bush.
Quarterback – Bowersox.
Halfbacks – Davidson, LeFlore, Truitt, Rich, Walker, Martin.
Fullbacks – Tibbs, Haines.

Massillon 12 0 8 0 20
McKinley 0 7 0 8 15

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith (one-yard run); Malinowski (10-yard run); McDew (90-yard kickoff return).
McKinley – Bowersox 2 (one-yard runs).

Safety:
Massillon – Shumar (tackled Iams in end zone).

Extra points: McKinley – Bowersox 3 (kick and run).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Smith 18 99 5.5
Young 2 3 1.5
McDew 5 17 3.4
Moore 4 14 3.5
Malinowski 14 25 1.8

McKinley
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Bowersox 14 36 2.6
Martin 9 31 3.4
Tibbs 6 17 2.8

OFFICIALS
Referee – George Ellis.
Umpire – Chuck Lorenz.
Head Linesman – Jack McLain.
Field Judge – Tom Ascani.

Attendance: 20,500

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. McKin.
First downs – rushing 8 8
First downs – passing 0 4
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 9 13
Yards gained rushing 183 140
Yards lost rushing 25 15
Net yards gained rushing 158 125
Net yards gained passing 6 89
Total yards gained 164 214
Passes completed 1-3 6-24
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 13
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 49.8 43.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 139 81
Punt average 7-35.4 6-39.3
Punt return (yards) 6 6
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 5 5
Yards penalized 32 65
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 1 0
Total number of plays 53 72

Ron Ertle
History

1966: Massillon 16, Canton McKinley 25

Seaman Says ‘Wait Until Next Year’
McKinley Wins; Bengals Have Losing Mark

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Fans of the old Brooklyn baseball Dodgers had the right idea at a time like this: “Wait until next year.”

Washington high Coach Bob Seaman had his own version: “We’ll be back next year and should have a heck of a team.”

The error-pocked and anguish-filled 1966-football season is history. The final chapter was penned Saturday in a bruising 25-16 Tiger stadium loss to Canton McKinley in the 71st annual inter-city classic.

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For the first time since 1931 the Bengals ended below .500 with a 4-5-1 record. There have been only 4 other seasons of 8 or more games since 1894, which have ended below the
Break-even point.

The only consolation for Seaman was that he has a lot of company among first-year coaches who have lost to McKinley. Seven other mentors, including Paul Brown, either lost to or were tied by the Bulldogs in the first or only year those coaches were here.

McKinley ended a 9-year famine in wining and assured itself of a winning season under Ron Chismar with a 6-4 record. The Bulldogs also dropped the defending champion Tigers into a cellar tie in the All-American High School football league at a 1-3 ending.

Niles won the title with a 3-0 record, Steubenville finished 2-1, Warren 2-2.

Massillon’s play, at times Saturday, resembled the zany Dodgers referred to above. Maladies, which have plagued them all-season burst out in full bloom – inability’s to handle kicks and fumbles. Three McKinley touchdowns happened because of miscues on handling kicks. The fourth resulted from an inability to stop a punt return.
* * *

SOME SAY the Pups didn’t deserve the win but they were a good enough team to capitalize on the breaks and reverse the script of the past 2 seasons when the Tigers bounced back to win after half time deficits.
The contest started as if it were to be a high-scoring affair with both teams scoring in the first one minute, 54 seconds of play. McKinley went over on the first play from scrimmage after Bengal sophomore Marc Malinowski attempted unsuccessfully to return George Fronimo’s stocking footed, soccer-style kickoff which rolled pass Malinowski to the 5-yard line. End Henry Lewis recovered a fly ball fumble on the 9.

Quarterback Milford Lucius passed to halfback Leroy Wilder, who was to score twice more, on the 5 with Wilder carrying the rest of the way. Fronimo’s boot made it 7-0 with 11:32 remaining.

Halfback Tommy James got the Obiemen to their 38 with a 29-yard runback of the next kickoff. On second and 4 from the 44, fullback Will Foster cut through the center and back to the right for the Tigertowners’ longest run from scrimmage this season at 11:26. Quarterback Craig Maurer hit James in the right corner of the end zone to make it 8-7 in Massillon’s favor.

Massillon scored again in the first quarter but not before squandering a first and 10 at the Bulldog 18 after a pass interception by Foster with a fumble by James recovered by halfback Ted Bowersox.
* * *

LINEBACKER Hoyt Skelton pilfered again on the Pups’ 40. Four plays later, Maurer took off from 26 yards out on first and 10 and scampered into pay dirt on a counter keeper to the left at 3:55. He hit James with another right corner end zone pass for a 16-7 score that was the Bengal fans’ last cause for joy.

McKinley missed an opportunity after Jim Krenzer’s punt was blocked by one of his own men at the beginning of the second stanza. George Austin recovered on the Massillon 25.

On third down Clayton grabbed a pass on the 25, ran to the 17, was pushed out of bounds and into the east track seats. A 15-yard personal foul infraction was called during the melee and Chismar rushed onto the field to engage in a violent argument with head linesman Joe Romano.

McKinley was set back to the 30. Linebacker Ron Ertle intercepted a pass on the next play to halt the drive.

Massillon was forced to hold on again later in the period when Bulldog linebacker Jerry Hontas recovered Foster’s fumble on the Tigers’ 24.

Fronimo’s bad-snap punt following the first Bulldog series of the second half grazed Tiger junior Trevor Young; subbing for James, who was injured earelier. Pete Coleman’s recovery gave the Bulldogs a life on the Tigers 34.
* * *
EIGHT PLAYS after a 12-yard run by Lucius and an 11-yard scamper by fullback Larry Clayton, who broke tackles numerous times during the afternoon, Wilder scored around the left side on a pitchout at 4:21. Lucius was halted short of conversion territory as the scoreboard showed Massillon with a 16-13 lead.

Massillon got the ball but once in the third quarter going nowhere.

With Fronimo punting on the second play of the final stanza, junior Tiger safetyman Kevin Henderson fumbled on the 5. Coleman recovered again – this time on the half-yard line.
Lucius sneaked through the center at 11:28 for the score. Fronimo tried to run the conversion after a bad snap, fumbled after a tackle. Bowersox recovered and ran over but the ball was ruled dead, giving McKinley a 19-16 lead.

Fronimo kept the Tigers in the hole with long punts in the second half and the Bulldog defense kept the Orange and Black there. On one of these frustrating occasions Krenzer punted to Wilder on the McKinley 42. A touchdown runback along the west-side line resulted at 4:21 with the help of a block by Paul Robinson at the 3.
* * *

FRONIMO MISSED on the PAT. McKinley led 26-15 but the Tigers weren’t dead even though many fans started to exit.

The Bengals got back to the McKinley 4 after the kickoff to 8 and 20-yard passes to sophomore halfback Mark McDew and senior tight end Keith Griffin and 7-yard runs by Foster and Maurer. But the Tigers ran out of downs.

In the last minute of play, Maurer hit McDew for an 8-yarder and interference was called on a 24-yarder. It took several minutes to clear fans off the field in order to run the final play after the penalty, which had occurred as time lapsed. A pass into the end zone was incomplete.

Seaman agreed that the Tigers had been placed behind the 8-ball too many times by errors. “Each week we’ve done something wrong,” he said. “This time the specialty team hurt us.” Then he mused, “McKinley got a negative 3 yards in the last quarter and 3 touchdowns. We evened the battle of statistics.”

Chismar said, ‘It was a real great game. Our linebackers Hontas and John Patterson did as much as anybody to shut off their defense. But it was a team effort.”

The much-hearlded battle of fullbacks was a standoff. Clayton, who left the contest in the final quarter with torn ankle ligaments had 83 yards in 19 tries. Foster had 85 in 14.

McKINLEY – 25
Ends – Snell, H. Lewis, Iams.
Tackles – Austin, Adamski, Rushe.
Guards – Robinson, Sweat, Shimek.
Centers – Dowing, Coleman.
Quarterbacks – Lucius, Bowersox, Hontas.
Halfbacks – Wilder, B. Lewis, LeFlore, Fronimo.
Fullbacks – Clayton, Patterson.

MASSILLON – 16
Ends – Griffin, Moyer, Smith, Sterling, Richards, Liggett, Gallion.
Tackles – Houser, Campbell, Neago, Sherrett, Ricker.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, White, Hauenstein, Beiter, Ertle.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Henderson, Malinowski, Young.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, McDew, Fenton, Hannon, Staples,
McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullbacks – Foster, Moore.

McKinley 7 0 6 12 25
Massillon 16 0 0 0 16

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Foster (58-yard run); Maurer (27-yard run).
McKinley – Wilder 3 (9-yard pass run from Lucius, 3-yard run, 58-yard punt return);
Lucius (half-yard run).

Extra points:
Massillon – James 4 (passes from Maurer).
McKinley – Fronimo 1 (kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Tony Pianowski.
Umpire – Harold Rolph.
Head Linesman – Joe Romano.
Field Judge – Brenton Kirk.

Attendance: 20,140

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 5 5
First downs – passing 1 0
First downs – penalties 2 1
Total first downs 8 6
Yards gained rushing 168 124
Yards lost rushing 32 22
Net yards gained rushing 136 102
Net yards gained passing 35 19
Total yards gained 171 121
Passes attempted 11 9
Passes completed 4 2
Passes intercepted by 3 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 24 0
Times kicked off 3 5
Kickoff average (yards) 52.3 51.6
Kickoff returns (yards) 94 63
Times punted 6 5
Punt average (yards) 25.3 36.8
Punt return (yards) 0 85
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 8 3
Lost fumbled ball 5 1
Penalties 3 3
Yards penalized 32 35
Touchdowns rushing 2 2
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 1
Total number of plays 50 53

Will Foster
History

1965: Massillon 18, Canton McKinley 14

Tiger Rally Repels Bulldogs 18-14
Real Champs Fight Back!

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“That’s the mark of a real champion!”

Those words might have been uttered by a Massillon football fan. They might have been pronounced by a Washington high school coach. They might have been written by this reporter.

But they weren’t. That’s why they mean so much more today to one of the most terrific bunch of boys ever to wear the famous orange and black garb of the Tigers.

Following the Bengals’ 18-14 come-from-behind victory over Canton McKinley Saturday at Fawcett stadium in Canton before a standing-room only crowd of 22,326. Jim Smith, coach at Lake high school in Hartville, uttered the words which lead off this story. He paid the supreme compliment to the Obiemen through veteran assistant Carl (Ducky) Schroeder.

Program Cover

* * * * *
THE TIGERS convinced one outsider that they deserve to wear the Ohio high school crown. And maybe they convinced more around the state. Whether they did or not cannot be known until Tuesday when the final wire service polls come out.

But the Brucemen convinced all the Tiger fans watching at Fawcett that they deserved to wear a second straight crown. Any team which can be down 14 points at half time to a fired-up, superbly coached, hard-hitting team like McKinley and come back to win -–for the third time this season—certainly deserves to be called a champion.

The other 2 times the Orange and Black turned the tide was against equally tough Steubenville and Warren teams. This trio of feats will be etched in the memories of the Tiger faithful forever.

The 1965 season truly saw a superb team effort on the part of the players. Each did his part. Each came to the fore time and again during a 10-game slate, which had more pressure-packed moments than an old-time movie serial.

The win Saturday gave Massillon an undefeated season in 10 games, 28 consecutive victories, 9 in a row over McKinley and a third straight title in the All-American high school football league. The Bengals have not lost a league contest since the circuit’s inception in 1963.

For Coach Earle Bruce it was a 43rd straight unbeaten game, counting the August all-star game. He now has a 3-1 record at Fawcett, having split 2 games there with Canton Timken while at Salem.
* * * * *
FOR THE thousands of fans who watched via television Saturday, it must have been like seeing a replay of an old movie on the late-late show for this year’s game came close to being a carbon copy of last year’s. The Tigers beat McKinley 20-14 at Tiger stadium in 1964.

This time, however, the WHS eleven started its comeback earlier, not waiting for the last quarter to roll around. Quarterback Dave Sheegog, playing in his final high school game, got his mates started with a 24-yard run-back of the second half kickoff to his 34-yard line.

The Tigers moved in for a score in 11 plays, finally getting their deadly, ground-gobbling, time-consuming offense into high gear. “Sweet Walter” Lemon, another senior, picked up 16 yards in 5 plays on the drive with Sheegog and junior Tommy James also in on the effort.

The touchdown came after a first down procedure penalty had set Massillon back to the McKinley 39. Sheegog handed to James on the trip up the middle and “the Scooter” was “Gone With the Wind.” He cut back to his left and scurried for payoff territory, arriving with 6:05 left in the third period. A fumble nullified the conversion attempt.

With almost 6 precious minutes chopped off the clock in the scoring soiree, McKinley attempted to get a drive going following the kickoff. But 3 plays later it was “TJ for the TD” again.

Bulldog quarterback Larry Haines attempted a pass with second down on his 33. James intercepted on the 40, went down the left sideline and scored with 5:14 remaining in the period. Another fumble aborted the conversion try.

The Bengals forced a punt on the next series as linebacker Paul Marks threw Haines for a 10-yard loss on third down. Sheegog ran back 31 yards with the boot to the McKinley 24. But a penalty and 2 incomplete passes halted the drive on the 24.

It looked as if McKinley were about to come charging back. Their outstanding fullback Larry Clayton went booming off right tackle for 28 yards to the Massillon 48 with Paige making a desperation tackle to save a score. Four more plays put the pigskin on the 35.

* * * * *
THEN SHEEGOG intercepted another pass on what McKinley Coach Ron Chismar called the key play of the game. Massillon then drove 76 yards in 13 plays for the winning score. Most important about this drive was that it clipped 8 minutes off the clock allowing too little time for McKinley to rebound. This was about the umpteenth time that the Tiger trademark of 1965, possession ball, had paid off. It couldn’t have come at any better time.

Lemon, Sheegog, Foster and James all had a hand in the assualt. Lemon had an 8-yard run, Sheegog a pair of 8’s and Foster an 11.

It was Foster who came up with what Bruce thought was the key play and so did all of the Tiger fans. Massillon had fourth down on the 17. Sheegog was about to be trapped on a pass-run when (name unreadable) out a low clothes line. Foster made a swan dive on the 9 and came up with the ball. Umpire Tony Pianowski immediately signaled a legal catch.

Foster blasted through the middle to the 3 and over, off left tackle, in successive plays with 2 minutes remaining. Sheegog tried to hit Paige for the conversion but Rick couldn’t hold it.

But the heart-throbs weren’t to stop. McKinley, showing the great stuff it is made of, continued to fight, moving the kickoff to the 29 after a 23-yard runback by Mathews to the 25.

With third down on the 27, Haines hit end Ed Hinton on the 39. Then Haines faded to pass, slipped and went down on the 29 with Mike (Big Boy) Sherrett on top of him.

* * * * *

THE NEXT PLAY saw Haines fade again. This time Marks picked off the fourth McKinley pass of the day, more than in any other game for the Tigers. Massillon took over on the Bulldog 46 and ran out the clock.

Unlike in the second half, McKinley was in command in the first period. Hopped up like a horse on loco weed, the Pups rammed away for 2 quick TD’s before the startled Tigers knew what had hit them and it looked as if an upset were in the making.

Half Fred Mathews was the star here. He ran the opening kickoff back 44 yards to the Massillon 48. Although there is no intent to play down a fine performance by Mathews, it has to be stated that a couple of Tiger defenders slipped in the mud just about the time they were going to haul Mathews down.

He picked up 40 more yards on the drive, the payoff coming on a 32-yard pass-run combination with Haines on the propelling end. The down was third and the time remaining 9:40. Greek-born George Fronimo booted the extra point soccer style in stocking feet.

The Tigers got a 20-yard runback to the 30 by Sheegog. But then disaster struck Sheegog, passing into the teeth of a strong wind, saw his aerial hold up short. Mathews hauled down the errant toss on the McKinley 35 after a frantic effort by Paige to bat it away and
hot-footed it to the Massillon 43 for 22 yards on another fabulous return. Eight plays later the Bulldogs had their second score and it looked like curtains for the Bengals.

* * * * *
WITH CLAYTON carrying the ball 5 times and picking up 25 yards, the Bulldogs got their next TD with 4:15 left in the welcome frame as Haines sneaked in from the one. Fronimo again connected on a conversion kick.

Mathews had a key third down pass reception for 6 yards on the Tiger 21. Clayton brought the ball to scoring distances by bursting through the center on successive plays to shake off tacklers and travel from the 21 to the 3.

Sheegog ran back the kickoff to the Massillon 34, a distance of 24 yards. But on the first play, Bill Knucklos recovered a Bengal fumble on the Massillon 37.

The Brucemen then stopped the Bulldogs’ drive on the Massillon 32 and the Pups got into Massillon territory only once the rest of the game.

The remaining seconds of the first period and all of the second were a standoff. McKinley had the ball for only 9 plays in the second canto. Massillon’s deepest penetration was to the 21 just before the half ended.

The Obiemen had 2 drives going, one for 6:30 and the other for 4:15. Junior “monster” back Ron Muhlbach intercepted a pass to start one thrust. The Tigers failed to make it once on a fourth down play and got bogged down by 3 procedure penalties the other time.

Chismar said after the game that he thought Massillon had a “great football team.” He said the difference between the 2 halves of play was Bruce’s throwing ‘junk” at the Bulldogs in the first half and playing his normal game in the second.

* * * * *
BRUCE confirmed Chismar’s statement about using a lot of odds and ends in the first half. He felt that his team did a better job of rushing the passer in the second half, which helped cut down on the effectiveness of the Bulldogs’ passing.

When asked what it was he said at half time to fire up the Tigers, Bruce replied, “Go Get them!” He added, “That old Massillon tradition of coming back is hard to beat.”

Chismar commented on his passing in the second half by saying that broken patterns were involved when James intercepted for a TD and Sheegog pilfered to start the drive for the winning score.

“They wouldn’t have scored if it hadn’t been for that,” Chismar said.

Chismar, a fine sportsman, refused to say that the absence of speedster Darryl Rippey hurt. “Elbert Bradley did a fine job of filling in,” he said. “I cannot take anything away from him.”

Tiger defensive backfield Coach John Behling explained the reason for the Bengals’ trouble in covering passes in the first quarter. “The boys couldn’t hear their cover calls,” he said.

The Lineups. . .

MASSILLON – 19
Ends – Paige, B. Williams, McGuire, Gallion, Griffin.
Tackles – Hartley, Neago, Petroff, Sherrett.
Guards – Rose, Whitified, Kraft, Richards, Zorger.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, Muhlbach, Smith, Healy, McFadden, McLendon.
Fullbacks – Foster, Manson.

McKINLEY – 14
Ends – Ring, Snell, March, Hinton.
Tackles, Scott, Adamski, Rushe.
Guards – Robinson, Hall, Nucklos, Shimek.
Centers – D’Antonio, McEwen.
Quarterback – Haines.
Halfbacks – Mathews, Bradley, Johnson.
Fullbacks – Clayton, Dickerson.

Score by Quarters:
Massillon ………….. 0 0 12 6 – 18
McKinley………….. 14 0 0 0 – 14

Touchdowns:
Massillon – James 2 (39-yard run and 40-yard pass interception return);
Foster (3-yard run).
McKinley – Mathews (23-yard pass-run from Haines);
Haines (one-yard sneak).

Extra points:
McKinley – Fronimo 2 (placekicks).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Head Linesman – Branton Kirk (New Philadelphia).
Field Judge – Tom Ascani (Canton).

Attendance: 22,326

Statistics . . .

Statistics
Mass. McKin.
First downs—rushing 10 7
First downs—passing 3 3
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 165 153
Yards lost rushing 2 29
Net yards gained rushing 183 124
Net yards gained passing 43 60
Total yards gained 226 184
Passes attempted 12 11
Passes completed 4 4
Passes intercepted by 4 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 42 27
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 49
Kickoff returns (yards) 65 63
Times punted 1 1
Punt average (yards) 40.0 29
Punt returns (yards) 28 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 0
Penalties 5 1
Yards penalized 25 15
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Touchdowns by interception 1 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 38 31

 

Dave Whitfield