Tag: <span>Sharon PA</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1982: Massillon 28, Sharon, PA 7

Tigers roll to 7th straight win 28‑7

By STEVE DOERSCHUK
Assistant Sports Editor

MASSILLON ‑ Let’s get the vital statistics out of the way, because The Play is going to take some explaining.

Washington High’s Tigers handed Sharon, Pa. its first high school football defeat of 1982 Friday, 28‑7, before 9,847 in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers outgained Sharon 371‑137 in total yards and ran their record to 7‑0 in a tuneup for next Friday’s showdown against GlenOak (6‑1).

There. Now, The Play.

Second quarter, Sharon’s ball on its own 44, Massillon leading 7‑0.

Program Cover

Sharon punter Dan Wallace boots a screwball that bounces in front of Massillon return man Chris Spielman.

Spielman positions himself to where he thinks the ball will bounce to him, but it takes a high hop, glances off his right hand, and squibs toward the Tiger goal line.

Sharon’s Robert Dawson tears past Spielman, short hops the ball at the 5, plants his left foot at the 3, his right foot at the 1, and zips into the end zone.

The arms of the back judge shoot skyward. Touchdown!

Spielman dropped to all fours in agony.

But wait. Another official, realizing the punting team can’t advance a fumble by the receiving team, points to the 1, as if to say Sharon should get the hall there.

Then confusion hits. All six officials huddle.

Then, to the astonishment of the Sharon bench, the ball is marched to the 20, where it is Massillon’s ball.

The ruling: the Sharon player did not have control until he was in the end zone. Spielman’s miscue is ruled a muff.

It was a correct call as interpreted by the officials.

But a slow‑motion videotape played in the Massillon coaches’ room afterward clearly showed Dawson had possession before he entered the end zone.

Sharon should have had the ball on the 1, from where it could have scored and tied the game.

It was a bang‑bang play, a tough call for the officals to make.

It was a tough call for Sharon to swallow.

“I had a good grip on the ball at the 3,” Dawson said. “I couldn’t believe what happened after that.”

What turned into a boring second half might have had punch. But Sharon coach Jim Wildman refused to use The Play as an alibi.

“Let’s not make that the major issue,” he said. “They were a better football team. They’re a powerhouse. I hear Mike Currence (Massillon’s coach) has taken some abuse here the last couple of years. Maybe the people here should be thankful for what they have.”

Massillon struck quickly after The Play, driving 80 yards for a touchdown, forcing Sharon to punt, then driving 49 yards for another TD.

The home‑town Tigers (Sharon’s nickname also is Tigers) led 21‑0 at the intermission and never were threatened in the second half.

“We wore them down,” Currence said, “I thought we played pretty well.”

The Tigers are Gerry Cooney with a right hand. They can knock you out with the run. The can turn out your lights with the pass.

At halftime, the Tigers had 105 yards on the ground (58 by Spielman) and 104 in the air (by quarterback Brian DeWitz).

Sharon was beffudled by the rushing of Spielman, and halfback Jim Bushe and fullback Tim Sampsel. It was bewildered by the receiving contingent of Jim Geiser, Gary Conley and John Pierce.

Spielman bulled seven yards up middle the middle for Massillon’s first touchdown, at 1:00 of the first quarter, to cap a 44‑yard drive.

The Tigers tallied again at 6:28 of the second period, with Spielman bulling in from three yards out.

DeWitz hit Geiser with a 10‑yard bullet in the end zone 45 seconds before the band show.

The Tigers scored on a 44‑yard drive midway through the third period, with Sampsel bulldozing two yards for the score.

Sharon, 6‑0, scored a meaningless touchdown with a minute left in the game. Sharon, which revolves around shifty quarterback Teryl Clifford, rushed for 114 yards.

And now, what of GlenOak?

“A computer playoff spot is on the line,” Currence said “It’ll be for all the marbles.”

Sharon 0 0 0 7 7
Massillon 7 14 7 7 28

Mas ‑ Spielman 7 run (Pfisterer kick)
Mas ‑ Spielman 3 run (Phisterer kick)
Mas ‑ Geiser 10 Pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick)
Mas ‑ Sampsel 2 run (Pfisterer kick)
Shar ‑ Sormaz 25 pass from Micchia (Albright kick)
A ‑ 9,847

Massillon wears down
game but outmanned
Sharon gridders 28-7
By MIKE HUDAK
Independent Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ According to the oddsmakers, the Massillon Tigers were 22 point favorites over the visitors from Sharon, Pa., Friday night.

Those foolish enough to bet money on football games and wise enough to know that Massillon would coast to victory would have lost their investment, as the locals won by only 21 points, 28‑7, before a Homecoming crowd of 9,847 fans.

But a victory of any sort was welcome news to Massillon equipment manager Rick Smer. Like many souls in the world of athletics, Smer is prone to certain superstitions, and Friday’s game had him leery.

Massillon was wearing its orange jerseys and black pants, a combination that had netted the Tigers a 2‑7 mark over the past six seasons! To make matters worse, not only was Sharon undefeated entering the contest, but the last time the Tigers wore Friday’s combination, the opponent, Parma Padua, wore Sharon’s white and orange‑style attire ‑ and won!

“The coach (Mike Currence) told me not to mention it around the players, but I tell you, it had me worried!,” said Smer.

In the end, Smer’s would have been better off contemplating whether mankind exists within in a universe or a multiverse, or whether or not “Gilligan’s Island” made significant contributions to 20th century culture, but he certainly didn’t have to worry about the Massillon football team.

Sharon coach Jim Wildman pointed to Massillon’s depth and diversity of offense as the keys to the game. Sharon had nine two‑way players in the lineup, and Massillon used this to its advantage, utilizing a constant stream of motion plays and sprintouts on offense, a game plan that kept the Sharon defense on the run all night ‑ until it ran out of gas.

The locals, now 7‑0, had built a 28‑0 lead early in the third quarter when the first unit departed from the game. Sharon scored late in the game against the Tiger reserves on a freak (but spectacular) play where the quarterback escaped a fierce rush to click on a 25‑yard scoring pass.

Massillon ate up 231 yards on the ground to 95 for the opponent from Pennsylvania. Massillon also led in the air 140‑42, for a resounding 371‑137 advantage in total yards.

Whatever chance the invaders had evaporated with a questionable call early in the second period.

Massillon was leading 7‑0 after Chris Spielman had plowed in from seven yards out to cap a 44‑yard drive with a minute remaining in the opening period. The key play was a 19‑yard pass from junior quarterback Brian DeWitz to senior receiver Jim Geiser which set up a first‑and‑goal at the seven. Bronc Pfisterer’s kick made it 7‑0.

Sharon came back with a short drive, but stalled and punted from the Massillon 44. The short boot took a high bounce in front of Spielman, the deep safety on the play, who reached up to grab it only to have it glance off the tip of his right index finger.
Tigers topple Tigers
to remain unbeaten
Sharon’s Robert Dawson seemed to catch the ball on a short hop and carry it into the endzone from the Massillon three. Two of the officials signaled touchdown, then a long conference ensued.

Since you can’t advance a fumble in high school football, it was assumed in the pressbox that Sharon would get possession on the Massillon three, but after the officials discussed the issue, it was finally awarded to the locals on the 20‑yardline!

The official ruling was that the punt resulted in a ‘muff’, different from a fumble in that there was never any possession to begin with. But it was further ruled that the momentum of the punt carried the ball into the endzone ‑ not Dawson’s flying feet and thus the ball was never possessed by Sharon, either, and thus Massillon’s possession following the ‘touchback.’

Slow motion films of the play viewed after the game seemed to clearly indicate that Dawson had the ball tucked away and took two full steps into the endzone, but the judgment call on the part of the officials ruled otherwise.

“I knew we shouldn’t get the touchdown on the play, but I thought it should have been our ball on the three,” said a surprisingly‑calm Wildman afterwards. “If we wanted to have a chance to win, we needed a big break early. That was our opportunity, but we didn’t get it.

“Then again, we didn’t take advantage of our other opportunities ‑ Massillon fumbled five times, and we didn’t recover one of them. You can’t pull off an upset going zero‑for‑five on fumble recoveries.”

After seeing films of the ‘muff’ play, Currence smiled the smile of a man who knows the Lord has blessed him and said, “That was a judgment call and a real close one to have to make. We had the advantage of seeing it three times in slow‑motion here; they (the officials) didn’t.

“Besides, a mistake like that might have given us the impetus to do better,” he added.

Massillon offensive coordinator Nick Vrotsos agreed with that.

“Yea, I wish we could have just let them have the ball and score down there, and then gone on and whipped them like we would have anyway. That way we could have avoided all this,” said the veteran coach, who was treated to a verbal lambasting by a Sharon sportswriter at halftime ‑ for politely answering the sportswriter’s question about the tainted play.!

Spielman had the best idea.

“I just should have let the ball go,” he admitted.

At any rate, instead of being three yards away from a possible game‑tying score, Sharon was on defense, and seemingly too dazed to play it. Massillon quickly marched 80 yards in six plays as Spielman scored again, this time from three yards out. Pfisterer’s kick was good. A 25‑yard run by Jim Bushe, with a 15‑yard face mask penalty tacked on, got the Tigers off to a fine start on the drive.

Massillon scored once more before intermission. This time a 49‑yard drive ended with DeWitz hitting Geiser with a 10‑yard bullet and the score.

The locals final touchdown came on the second possession of the second half. A 43‑yard drive following a short drive ended with Tim Sampsel crashing over from the two. Pfisterer kicked his fourth straight extra point, and the reserves took over. (Highlighted by a 39‑yard run by Jeff Boerner and a 31‑yard run Tom Gruno on the final possession of the evening.)

Sharon’s TD came with 2:24 left in the game. Reserve quarterback Joe Micchia scrambled out of a crisis and hit a sophomore with the unlikely name of Neboisa Sormaz with a 25‑yard scoring play. (Another Sharon player was named Chooky LaCamera ‑ a 5‑foot‑4, 104‑pound junior linebacker.)

“Sharon was a good football team,” praised Currence. “They have three or four Division I‑potential athletes, and they were one of the more physical clubs we’ve played recently. In the end, we were just able to wear them down.”

Wildman returned to Pennsylvania with no regrets, either.

“Tonight hopefully will be a steppingstone for our team. We were beaten on the scoreboard, but we weren’t embarrassed.

“In the end, Massillon executed and we didn’t. That was the ballgame. I was just proud to have came here and played; Massillon can certainly play with anybody in Pennsylvania.”

Now, it’s on to next week and the “Computer Bowl,” where Massillon hosts Glenoak and former head coach Bob Commings.

GlenOak, big winners over Canton South Friday, and undefeated since an opening loss to McKinley, is second in the Ohio computer poll for the region, with Massillon third. (Sandusky holds onto the top spot, but probably not for long.)

At any rate , it should be fun.

MASSILLON 28
SHARON 7
M 0
First downs rushing 9 5
First downs passing 9 2
First downs by penalty 1 2
Totals first downs 19 9
Yards gained rushing 245 114
Yards lost rushing 14 19
Net Yards rushing 231 95
Net yards passing 140 42
Total yards gained 371 137
Passes attempted 20 15
Passes completed 11 2
Passes int. by 2 0
Yardage on pass int. 5 0
Times kicked off 6 2
Kickoff average 36.7 42.5
Kickoff return yards 18 57
Punts 4 6
Punting average 38.5 30.3
Punt return yards 12 10
Punts blocked by 0 0
Fumbles 5 2
Fumbles lost 0 1
Penalties 6 3
Yards penalized 50 30
Touchdowns rushing 3 0
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Number of plays 57 46
Time of possession 26:50 21:10
Attendance 9,847

Sharon 0 0 0 7 7
Massillon 7 14 7 0 28

M ‑ Spielman 7‑yard run. (Pfisterer kick.)
M ‑ Spielman 3‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick.)
M ‑ Geiser 10‑yard pass from DeWitz (Pfisterer kick).
M ‑ Sampsel 2‑yard run (Pfisterer luck).
S ‑ Sormaz 25‑ yard pass from Micchia (Albright kick)

Sharon falls at Massillon
disputed call aids Ohioans
By LYNN SATERNOW
Sports Editor
MASSILLON, Ohio ‑ Sharon High football coach Jim Wildman knew his Tigers would need some breaks if they were to have a chance against powerful Massillon Friday night. And Sharon did get an early break.

A broken back.

While Sharon lost 28‑7, it would be unfair to say that one call by a referee can cost a team a ballgame. But that one call certainly went a long way toward determining the outcome.

That call that broke the Tiger’s back came like this:

Sharon was trailing 7‑0 after the first quarter and was forced to punt from midfield. The punt was a low kick that bounced a few times, then hit Massillon’s Chris Spielman. The ball bounced free and into the arms of Sharon’s Robert Dawson who tucked it in at the 4‑yard line and carried it into the endzone. Two referees signaled touchdown and 6 points went up on the scoreboard.

Then the referees huddled. Then they moved the ball to the 20‑yard line and signaled Massillon’s ball negating the touchdown. Then the name Wild‑man fit perfectly for Sharon’s coach.

But despite argument from Wildman, the call stood and Massillon had the ball and Sharon had nothing.

Massillon took advantage of Sharon’s confusion and moved downfield in only a few big plays to score. For all purposes, the game was over.

“Maybe we were still scratching our heads about the call,” Wildman said about the defensive breakdown, But he had plenty to say about the referee’s decision:

“Everybody knew he (Dawson) had the ball going into the endzone. But then they said he didn’t have possession of the ball. Actually it should have been our ball where he picked it up, because you can’t advance a muff (touched kick). It should have been our ball on the 3 or 4‑yard line.

“But they were a better team than us tonight. They’ve got some fine athletes. But I said all week that if we had a chance, we would heed a’ break. That was our break and we needed it.”

Other breaks didn’t go Sharon’s way either.

Sharon started the opening drive of the ballgame at the 23 and moved to a first down at the 40. On a third down play from the 45, quarterback Teryl Austin appeared headed for a first down on a run when the ball flipped out of his hands and into the arms of Massillon lineman Derrick Johnson. Johnson ran the ball to the Sharon 34. But a short time later the defense held after a sack by Tom Crawford and Massillon missed on a 35‑yard field goal attempt.

But after a Sharon punt, Massillon rolled to a score. The home team drove 56 yards in seven plays, with 215‑pound halfback Spielman going the final seven yards to paydirt. Bronc Pfisterer kicked his first of four extra points.
Early in, the second period came the controversial call that gave Massillon the ball at its 20. It took only seven plays and a three‑yard Spielman run for Massillon to go up 14-0, with 6:28 remaining in the half.

A third touchdown came with 48 seconds remaining in the period. Massillon quarterback Brian DeWitz moved his Tigers 51 yards in eight plays, including five pass completions. His fifth was a 10‑yarder to Jim Geiser for a touchdown.

In the third period, Massillon scored for a final time with 5:59 remaining on a two‑yard run by Tim Sampsel, ending a 43‑yard drive.

A deep Sharon drive was halted midway through the fourth quarter on an interception at the one‑yard line. But a short time later, with the Sharon substitutes in the game, the local Tigers got on the board.

Scrambling Sharon sophomore quarterback Joe Micchia eluded, several would‑be‑tacklers on a fourth down play and hit fellow sophomore Neboisa Sormaz on a 25‑yard touchdown pass. Mike Albright kicked the point after.

While Wildman was somewhat disappointed that his chances for an unbeaten season went down the drain, he was, grateful for the chance to play at Massillon, one of the hotbeds of football in the United States.

“It was a real honor to play here. I’m not satisfied in the sense that we lost. But I’m proud of our performance and our kids. No one embarrasses us. We moved the ball and the kids didn’t quit. They continued to play with emotion.

“That call hurt us. It turned things a round. But I’m proud that we didn’t get blown out. At halftime we decided that 21 points was enough, and the kids responded.

“It’s a feather in our caps. We went for it. An undefeated season would have been nice. But we set our goal to win the Keystone championship. If we get that goal, and pick up some experience and some other positive things along the way, all the better. Now we’ve got to go back and get ready to reach that goal.”

SIDELINE NOTES ‑ ‑‑ It was agreed by almost everyone (even Massillon scouts) in the press box that Sharon was robbed on the referees call. And after the game, Dawson agreed, “I had the ball on the 3‑yard line’ definitely, I had a good grip on it. They signaled touchdown. I couldn’t believe it when the referees changed the call.” Neither could anyone else…The loss dropped Sharon to 6‑1 on the season, with two league games to go against Reynolds and Grove City … Massillon fumbled four times in the game, but recovered them all … The Shenango Valley had a great representation at the game, filling much of the visitors’ section. The total attendance was more than 10,000…Just to attend a ballgame in Paul Brown Stadium is quite an experience. Everything about the operation is first class and the game has a college atmosphere … Massillon is 7‑0 on the season and ranked second In Ohio behind Cincinnati Moeller.

Score by Qts: 1 2 3 4 Total
SHARON 0 0 0 7 7
MASSILLON 7 14 7 0 28

TDs: Spielman (M) 2; Geiser (M), Sampsel (M), Sormaz (S)
PATs: Pfisterer (M), 4; Albright (S), 1

SHARON MASSILLON
9 First downs 18
118 Rushing yards 234
47 Passing yards 139
15‑2‑2 Att‑comp‑int 20‑11‑0
2‑13 Sacks‑yards lost 1‑8
152 Total yards 365
2‑1 Fumbles-lost 4‑0
3‑31 Penalties‑yards 6‑50

Jeff Boerner
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1938: Massillon 37, Sharon, PA 20

TIGER GRIDDERS DEFEAT SHARON 37-20 IN THRILLING GAME MASSILLON’S PASSES BEWILDER OPPONENTS

Aerial Fireworks Save Game For Local Team; There Will Never Be Another Like It, 10,000 Fans Say Today

By LUTHER EMERY

A courageous band of Washington high school Tigers, wrote pigskin history with skill and speed before 10,000 people Friday evening as they raced through the fog at Sharon to a
37-20 victory.

Ox cannot lick Tiger, the old adage goes and history repeated itself last night in one of the finest football games anyone could ever hope to witness.
Best Game in Tiger History
There have been none like it in Washington high school history and you may never see another. There have been sensational finishes such as the 7-6 triumph over Shaw in 1922, but never have four quarters been packed with more offensive football and thrills than the 48 minutes of last night’s game.

The Massillon Tigers won because they had a passing attack, knew how and when to use it and out-smarted their opponents. Using brains and speed to overcome a tremendous advantage in weight, they came back fighting after two bad breaks, to wrest victory out of turmoil that completely exhausted both teams.

So tired were both elevens that they went through their maneuvers in “slow motion” fashion the last few minutes of the game. Roscoe Clendening looked line a 10-second man among the tiring players when he replaced Zimmerman in the fourth quarter. Yet he is one of the slowest of the backfield squad – but a honey in a pinch.

It was an offensive game from the start, beginning like the big game with Canton in 1934, but maintaining the pace throughout the four periods.
Neither Team Would Quit
The elevens tossed touchdowns at each other with reckless abandon. The Tigers picked off two before the teams had hardly got warmed up, only to have Sharon make the most of two breaks and the score at 13-13 in the second quarter.

The blow was enough to crack the heart of any player but the Massillon eleven struck right back in the dying minutes of the first half with two passes, shoved over a third touchdown to flaunt a 19-13 lead at the intermission.

The third period began right where the second left off. Some 2,000 Massillon fans who went by auto and special train to Sharon, were fearful lest their team fade in the third quarter as it had done on three previous occasions this year. But the Tigers quickly relieved their apprehensions and struck back with another scoring march that hoisted the lead to 25-13.

That gallant Sharon team wouldn’t give up, however. Harold Matthews, had not yet done what he wanted to do to close his athletic career in a blaze of glory. Hs turn was coming and he found it in a hole in the right side of the Massillon line though which he raced 54 yards to Sharon’s third and last touchdown of the game. It and the following point after touchdown narrowed the margin to 25-20 and again made Massillon hearts pound, but the Tigers struck right back as only a good ball team can and chalked up two more touchdowns to shove their margin of superiority to 17 points.
Thanks For Passing
Massillon should give thanks for its passing attack. Without it the score might have been different. Anyone who saw the game can tell you. They saw how the smaller Tiger gridders had to virtually block their opponents to the ground to gain yards from scrimmage. They saw Fred Toles snare two consecutive passes, one an almost impossible catch to wipe out the 13-13 tie. They saw Horace Gillom go high in the air to pull down another behind the goal after Sharon had crept dangerously close in the third quarter. They saw Ray Getz haul down another to put the ball in position to score.

Without a passing attack to keep the Sharon secondary from crowding the line of scrimmage, the Tiger ball carriers would have had an even harder time of it. But George Slusser’s accurate right arm kept the Pennsylvanians on the alert and the Tiger backs were able to pick up three and four yards before they could meet up with the play.

“Massillon has a great team,” said David B. Stewart, smiling through disappointment after the game. “Your team can do anything and that’s what licked us. It was an excellent game.”

Paul Brown, who played quarterback for Washington high when Stewart coached here 13 years ago, was pleased with the courageous spirit of the team. “You could see for yourself we were badly outweighed. We had to knock them down to get anywhere. They were two tired teams when that final gun popped. Did you ever see such a game before. I didn’t.”

“Nor I,” piped up Hugh McGranahan, assistant coach, who himself went into action in the third period when a spectator edged in on the Massillon bench and took a swing at Pizzino, a sub-fullback. “P, (P is for Paul), you can send me away scouting after this. I won’t be able to stand another like that.”

And McGranahan expressed the sentiments of practically every Massillon fan there.

Both teams were so “high” that neither would quit under pressure that would make most elevens surrender.

They had seasonal and traditional records to preserve and gave every effort toward that end. Today the Tiger record of having lost but one game in 34 still existed, but Sharon’s string of 15 straight was broken. It was the Pennsylvanian’s first loss in 19 games.
Statistics Favor Tigers
Not only the score but the statistics in general were with Massillon. The forward pass made the difference.

The Tigers rolled up 13 first downs to Sharon’s four and not one did the latter team get in the last half.

The local eleven made 191 yards rushing to Sharon’s 174 and gained 123 yards passing to none for Sharon.

The Pennsylvanians had a slight edge on running back punts and kickoffs and owned a margin in punting. Penalties were the same.

To pick out an outstanding player would do an injustice to other members of the Massillon team. From end to end and throughout the backfield each individual gave everything he had.

The same can be said for Sharon, though the defensive playing of O’Brien and Wolansky and Matthews’ ball carrying ability demanded attention.

Two Tiger players went out with injuries. Jim Russell, who injured an ankle in practice Wednesday evening, was forced out early in the first half and was replaced by Red Henderson, sophomore, playing his second game. Henderson was hurt in the McKeesport game and had not played since. Bill Zimmerman aggravated an ankle injury in the second half but hobbled around on it for 10 minutes before he got another bump that put him out. Clendening took his place.

The game was packed with the unexpected, recovery of fumbles, long runs for touchdowns and sensational passes.
Tigers Score Early
Joe Cvelbar fumbled on the second play of the game and the alert Freddie Toles flopped on the ball on the Sharon 37-yard line. There began your first touchdown drive. Red Snyder ripped through for nine yards at right tackle and Ray Getz cut through left tackle for a first down on the 21-yard line. Snyder and Slusser running hard made it first down on the seven-yard line. Snyder moved the ball three yards nearer the goal, but a stubborn Sharon defense, ganged up on Fred Toles when he tried to circle on an end around play and Wolansky tossed him for an 11-yard loss. On the very next play, Getz swept the left flank and carried to the two-yard line before being downed. With fourth down and two yards needed for a touchdown, Capt. Snyder, head down, smacked the center of the line and went through standing up. Getz kicked the extra point and it was 7-0.

Sharon received and when three downs lacked a yard and a half of a first down, Wolansky punted to Capt. Red Snyder. The red head caught the ball on his own 20-yard line and almost doing a tight wire act as he raced along the line, ran straight up the field 80 yards for a touchdown without a hand being laid on him.

The play came so fast that few saw Snyder’s interference form as a screen between the Sharon players and the Massillon ball carrier. Little blocking was needed for before the Sharon gridders could get to him, Snyder was past them and traveling at top speed in midfield. Massillon fans were hilarious. It was the signal for a rout and would have resulted in just that were it not for the stout hearts of Dave Stewart’s boys. They fought back after Getz missed the extra point from placement, took the kickoff and worked the ball to midfield where Freddie Toles intercepted Cvelbar’s pass to give Massillon the ball.
Sharon Scores After Fumble
Both teams stopped each others’ scoring efforts until early in the second quarter when Wolansky got off a good punt which bounded in front of Capt. Snyder. Red tried to pick it up on the 15-yard line but the ball rolled out of his hands and Cvelbar recovered for Sharon on the Tiger one-yard line. On the first play Wolansky crashed through center for the touchdown and Cvelbar kicked the extra point. It was a tough break for Massillon and Shaorn made the most of it.

Another break went to Sharon after the following kickoff. The Tigers marched the ball to midfield where Slusser was tackled hard while attempting to pass. He fumbled the ball and O’Brien recovered for Sharon on the Massillon 31.

The Tigers apparently stemmed the attack until a five-yard penalty for offside moved the ball up for Sharon to third down on the 26-yard line. Wolansky and Matthews made a first down by inches on the 21.

There Matthews was turned loose and he carried one tackler after another until he was finally downed with six on his back on the 14-yard line. Wolansky, Matthews and Izenas got a first down on the nine-yard line and here Sharon was faced with a problem. The big Pennsylvania backs had to fight for every yard. In three downs they got to the one-yard line. Matthews was given the ball on fourth down. He moved forward, the lines piled high, but the officials found the ball had gone over by a few inches. There was tumult in the Sharon bleachers. The score was tied 13-13. Wolansky tried to sneak the extra point over but was met by a fast charging Massillon line.

Only two minutes of the half remained when Wolansky kicked off to Gillom. He got back 11 yards to his 41 when downed. Slusser dropped back and protected this time by his fellow backs fired a long pass to Freddie Toles. A Sharon player was there to get it but Freddie went over his head to pull down the ball o n the Sharon 30. Back Slusser dropped for another pass. This time Toles cut diagonally across the field, snared the all on the
10-yard line and went over. The touchdown came so quickly that 10,000 spectators watched in silence a moment, then let loose with a terrific blast of groans and cheers.

Getz’s attempt to kick the extra point was wide of the uprights but the Tigers were ahead 19-13 and Sharon could run but one play before expiration of the first half.
Another March Begins
Both teams came out strong the third quarter and neither threatened until mid-way in the third period when Snyder on a 10-yard return of a punt was forced out of bounds on his own 40-yard line. The local eleven didn’t look particularly dangerous then, but quickly launched its longest offensive of the evening.

Stopped on a sweep around right end, Slusser hurled a long pass to Gillom for a first down on the Sharon 43. A pass to Getz was a little too high and Slusser and Getz moved the ball within a foot of a first down. Snyder banged through for extra yards and a first down on the 31.

There the Massillon eleven pulled the old Michigan Statue of Liberty out of the bag. With the ends crashing in to block Slusser who dropped back to pass, Getz circled behind him took the ball off the palm of his hand and pranced to a first-down on the Sharon 20. Slusser hit for seven yards, but after Getz was thrown for no gain, Snyder tore through center and ran to the three-yard line before being downed. On the next play he plunged for the touchdown, Getz’s kick was wide of the post.

That hoisted the Massillon margin to 25-13 and it looked safe enough until Sharon took the kickoff, moved up the field to its 46-yard line where Matthews found a hole in the left side of the Tiger line and ran 54 yards for a touchdown. Cvelbar placekicked the extra point and the score in two minutes had changed to 25-20.

Sharon was too close so Slusser began throwing again after the kickoff. He fired a long one to Getz who caught the ball on the Sharon 30 and ran to the 18-yard line before being tossed out of bounds. Two line plays only gained two yards and Slusser’s pass to Getz on third down dropped into the end zone. With fourth down and eight to go, Slusser dropped back for another pass. He looked toward Toles cutting diagonally across the field, then turned and fired to Gillom who was moving diagonally the other way. It was a wobbly pass but Gillom sprang into the iar at the right time and hauled down the ball behind the goal line while a Sharon player made a frantic effort to block it.

Slusser tried to carry the ball over for the extra point this time but was stopped.
Clendening Starts Drive
Both teams were tiring rapidly as the fourth quarter began to wane. Then Clendening, sent in to replace the injured Zimmerman, took Wolansky’s punt and ran hard down the east side line to the Sharon 22-yard line. He did not know he stepped out of bounds on the 22 and raced on across the goal with tackler after tackler bouncing off him.

Snyder found a hole at right guard and ran to a first down on the two-yard line. Slusser went through the same spot for the sixth and final touchdown. Again the kick for the extra point was wide.

You would have thought that would have finished the Sharon team, but Stewart coached teams are typically courageous elevens and Izenas, sub-fullback, took the kickoff and ran to the Massillon 22-yard line where he was tackled from behind by Getz after being out in the clear. The Pennsylvanians in four downs only advanced the ball three yards and the Tigers took the pigskin and kept it until the game ended, three plays later.

The two elevens dragged themselves off the field and the Massillon gridders were too tired to rejoice over their victory. The 10,000 spectators flooded the gates, piled into their autos and immediately there was a traffic jam.

Massillon fans who drove to the game feared a heavy fog on their way home. It was already descending on the field in the third quarter but apparently centered on the hill top. Little fog was encountered elsewhere until Canton was reached.

It was a fine night for the return trip. A bright moon made driving easy and fans who had expected to grope their way in fog were treated instead to a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis.

The special train which conveyed the band and 200 fans to the game arrived in Sharon ahead of schedule and reached home shortly after 2 a.m.

And did the Massillon band click! Sharon has no small band, it won the state championship last year. Sharon sports writers were unusually enthusiastic over the performance put on by the Massillon musicians. “Why that’s better than you see in most of the big universities,” they said. “Boy how they can swing it.”

The bands appeared simultaneously on the field. The Sharon musicians wearing orange and black cadet uniforms took position on the field and the Massillon band marched through the ranks both playing in unison.

The Massillon spectators took big appetites with them. The “sold out” sign was hung up in many restaurants. Schoolboys were sitting three deep on the stools in one hamburger shop.

Miss Margaret Busse, Massillon’s acrobatic cheerleader, covered up last night. It was a bit too frosty for the tights. The drum major lassies strutted as usual but made good use of blankets when off the field.

Occasionally fists flew in the stands and police found it necessary to escort a fan to the gates now and then, but all in all this crowd was unusually orderly, especially considering how tense the game was and Massillon people returned home praising the sportsmanship of fans and police of the Pennsylvania city.

One In A Million
Massillon Pos. Sharon
Toles LE Wild
Lucius LT Dunn
Russell LG Bruno
Martin C Sasala
Houston RG Lysohir
McMichael RT Kalwarski
Gillom RE Colclaser
Slusser QB Wolansky
Getz LH Marstellar
Zimmerman RH Matthews
Snyder FB Cvelbar

Score by periods:
Massillon 13 6 12 6 37
Sharon 0 13 7 0 20

Substitutes:
Massillon – Henderson, lg; Clendeing, rh.
Sharon – Izenas, fb; Brickley, le; O’Brien, lt.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Snyder 3; Toles; Gillom; Slusser.
Sharon – Matthews 2; Wolansky.

Points after touchdown:
Massillon – Getz (placekick).
Sharon – Cvelbar 2 (placekick).

Referee – Allison (Beaver).
Umpire – Gross (New Philadelphia).
Head Linesman – Landis (Cleveland).

Statistics
Mass. Sharon
First downs 13 4
Passes 8 2
Passes completed 5 0
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Passes incomplete 3 1
Yards gained passing 123 0
Yards gained rushing 191 174
Total yards gained 314 174
Yards lost rushing 11 18
Net yards gained 303 156
Punt, kickoff returns 174 189
Kickoffs 7 4
Average kickoffs 42 37
Punts 4 6
Average punts 28 34
Fumbles 3 2
Lost ball on fumble 2 1
Times penalized 3 3
Yards penalized 25 25

INDIVIDUAL BALL CARRYING
Player Times Yds. Ave.
Carried Gained
Snyder 20 98 4.9
Slusser 9 33 3.6
Getz 13 60 4.6
Toles 1 11 0.0
Wolansky 3 4 1.3
Matthews 14 96 6.8
Marstellar 19 40 2.1
Cvelbar 5 16 3.2
Izena 2 0 0.0

Rocky Snyder
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1934: Massillon 34, Sharon, PA 0

Sharon Out Of Way, Tigers Prepare For Youngstown South Invasion
MASSILLON RENEWS ATHLETIC RIVALRY WITH ANCIENT FOE

By LUTHER EMERY

Badly beaten in body, but strengthened in spirit by their 27-0 defeat of Sharon Saturday afternoon the Washington high Tigers point this week to stem the invasion of Youngstown South Friday evening.

Not since Dave Stewart and his Tigers walked off the field at Youngstown 10 years ago have Massillon and South high met in an athletic engagement. Until this year Massillon refused to schedule its old rival, but now that the bitter rivalry and ill feeling of the episode of 1924 has subsided, the peace pipe has been smoked and Friday evening South high comes for an after dark battle on Massillon field.

South Having Off Season
Memories of the rivalry and bitter feeling that existed between the two schools in 1924 will do more to make the turnstiles click next Friday than will the prospects of seeing a nip and tuck gridiron battle.

Its performance this season indicates that South is below par this fall and not the powerhouse that goose stepped for Dusty Ashbaugh in years gone by.

Never-the-less the Washington high coaching staff is forgetting the past and pointing for this week’s game and this week’s alone, hoping that the customary letdown that invariably hits a team sometime during a season, will not make its ghastly appearance in the shadows Friday evening.

Second only in importance to its battle for the Youngstown city championship is the Massillon game to South high. Tales of 1924 have been handed down by older brothers to the South high gridders who 10 years ago were just beginning to learn what the three R’s were all about.

Say Massillon Should Win
Warren scouts who witnessed the Tigers conquest of Sharon, Saturday, including Coach Pierre Hill and Tommy Thompson, Warren sports writer, were unanimous in the opinion that Massillon, playing the type of ball it did Saturday would crush South with ease. Both have seen Ashbaugh’s team perform several times this season and although they spoke highly of the rhythm of its performance the power isn’t there, they said.

The problem of keeping the Tigers keyed to the pitch that struck the death knell of Sharon, Saturday is one for the Massillon coaching staff to cope with. Any letdown in inspiration might prove disastrous to the crest of popularity the Massillon gridders enjoy.

The Tigers were pointed for Sharon and never did a group of boys want to win a ball game any more. None slept over four hours that night before, but tossed and rolled in restless nervousness, eager to exchange pajamas for grid togs and bed for the green sward of the Massillon field.

They pranced around like colts at the barrier in the dressing room and paced up and down in the hallway as minutes seemed like hours while they waited to trot on the field.

They were keyed up and what followed when they thrust themselves at the visiting Sharon huskies, is now a matter of history, but history that is worth recounting for the sake of remembering the deeds of those who write it for Washington high school Saturday in its first athletic contest with Sharon high school.

Dutton Guides Fine Offense
Dynamic Howard Dutton, generalissimo of the Massillon eleven and the finest little quarterback the school has had in many a year, directed the most versatile and powerful offense that has been Massillon’s since 1922. A single wing, a spread formation, spinners, reverses and passes from both offensive formations, fake punts and power plays, so bewildering the iron men of Sharon, that 14 first downs were rolled up against a defense that here-to-fore had proved impregnable to the running attacks of three other high schools.

While the guiding hand of Dutton directed the Massillon offense to say there was an individual star would be doing an injustice to the other 10 players. They were all in there fighting for each other. Without one, the other 10 would not have commanded the attention it received.

Take the first touchdown for instance. Dutton heaved a 20-yard pass to Lohr who caught the ball shoulder high and raced for six points. Lohr, however, only carried the ball across. Bob Shertzer made a touchdown, or more properly, made it possible when he cut across fast to hurl his body in front of Steve Klaric and cut him down for the rest of the game.

Klaric, Sharon’s triple threat quarterback, who played defensive right halfback, would have tackled Lohr or slowed him down until a teammate could nail him from behind.

The hard legitimate block of Shertzer’s fractured Klaric’s shoulder and took from Sharon the main cog of its offensive setup.

Again it was Shertzer who removed a tackler from Dutton’s path in the fourth period when the Massillon quarterback intercepted a pass from Charles Weiser, Sharon quarterback and galloped 35 yards for a touchdown.

Linemen Deserve Praise
Too frequently the blocker is forgotten in the praise accorded the open field runner and what Shertzer did for Lohr and Dutton was being done in every play on the line of scrimmage where you cannot see it. It is because of these clocks, hidden behind a wall of humanity, that a ball carrier is able to penetrate into the territory of his opponent and it is the lineman who takes the body beating while giving all for his fellow teammate and gets little credit for it.

Such a beating did the Tigers take Saturday. Though victorious 27-0, at half time they were battered more than they had been at the end of any previous game. Hardly a man there is who saw service Saturday but what today is nursing cuts and bruises.

Sharon suffered an even heavier toll of casualties and Coach Stewart and his assistant, Ted Rosenberg, a former Washington high gridder, who learned his football under Dave, lamented the loss of Klaric, a costly blow to a team that will be forced to pit itself against four strong opponents in consecutive weeks. Mike Lyshoir, a hard hitting center, likewise succumbed to the drive of the Tigers as he was crushed beneath the feet of D.C. McCants when the Massillon fullback smashed through the Sharon line in the third period. Knocked senseless by the blow, it took Stewart and the entire Sharon team, subs included, to get Mike off the field to the bench. The same thing has happened to Mike before and affected him in the same way and perhaps that is the reason why Stewart and his squad did not take it too seriously. Mike in the locker room after the game was shouting his glee and patting fellowmen on the back for defeating Massillon. He thought Sharon had won.

Tigers Score On Pass
The Tigers scored their first touchdown in the middle of the first quarter. Getting the ball on their own 23-yard line, where Lohr was dropped after a short return of Klaric’s punt, Dutton reeled off 12 yards for a first down on t he Massillon 34-yard line. McCants waded through this right tackle for six yards and Krier missed a first down by inches. Krier then raced 16 yards for a first down on the Sharon 41-yard line. Having drawn in the visitors’ secondary, Dutton saw his chance to pass, dropped back and heaved a 20-yard peg to Lohr who raced the remaining 21 yards along the sidelines for a touchdown. Shertzer removing the last would be tackler, Klaric, from his path. Krier carried the ball across for the extra point.

In Sharon territory nearly all the time, the Tigers didn’t punch the ball over again until near the end of the second period when they launched an offensive from their own 46-yard line. Again forward passes advanced the ball into position. One to Shertzer gained eight yards. Byelene lost a yard but Dutton pegged another pass to Lohr for a gain of 26 yards that brought a first down on the Sharon 20-yard round. Shertzer made three on the mouse trap and a five-yard penalty on top of Dutton’s dash made it first down on the nine-yard line. Byelene hit right tackle for four yards. Sharon threw up a blockade for McCants as he thundered down Hogan’s alley, but Dutton swept his left end for three yards. Fourth down and two to go and McCants dropped back for more alley slumming, but he bobbled the pass from center and as Sharon tacklers closed in on him suddenly cut to his right and out raced two would be tacklers as he crossed the goal line at the corner of the field. An attempted pass for the extra point failed.

Massillon made a bid for a touchdown in the third quarter as it marched to the four-yard line, where a mix-up lost six yards on the second down and two incomplete passes gave Sharon the ball. Sharon too passed into Massillon territory for the first time during the game and carried the ball to the 25-yard line where the drive stopped with a fourth down pass over the goal.

Lohr’s 25-yard return of Niec’s punt to the Sharon 40-yard line started the Tigers on the way to their third touchdown. Krier made five but Massillon was penalized five on the next play. Dutton passed 22 yards to Krier for a first down on the 22-yard line. A penalty set the Tigers back five yards and a pass failed to gain. A fake punt gained five yards and Dutton crossed up his opponents with a pass over the line of scrimmage to Lohr for 17 yards and a first down on the four-yard line. McCants lugged it over in two attempts and Krier placekicked the extra point.

Dutton scored the local’s last touchdown shortly afterward when he intercepted Wieser’s pass and behind fine blocking raced 35 yards for the touchdown. Krier kicked the extra point.

Sharon passes again penetrated deeply into Massillon territory but failed with a touchdown in sight and the ball on the 15-yard line.

Stewart Compliments Tigers
Before leaving the clubhouse Saturday, Coach Stewart paid tribute to the Tigers as being a fine ball club capable of beating everything in their path up to the Canton game.

The drum and bugle corps of Massillon Post No. 221 acted as Sharon’s representative musical organization. Mayor J. Fred Thomas, of Sharon was the guest of Mayor Williams “Pat” Limbach of this city.

The crowd numbered somewhat in the vicinity of 4,500 fans. Instead of a guarantee, the schools shared receipts on a 50-50 basis.

The game will be discussed tonight at the meeting of the booster club at 7:30 in the high school. Tickets for the Youngstown South – Massillon game will be placed on sale at this meeting

The lineup and summary:
MASSILLON Pos. SHARON
Shertzer LE Nichols
Wolfe LT Popovich
Molinski LG Phillips
Morningstar C Msysohir
Snavely RG Mitch
Buggs RT Bartholomew
Lohr RE Bayer
Dutton QB Klaric
Krier LH Seaman
Lange RH Niec
McCants FB Donato

Score by periods:
Massillon 7 6 0 14 27

Substitutions: Massillon – Byelene, lh; McDew; Price, lt; Gillom, fb. Sharon – Weiser, qb; Lombardo, c; J. Jones, rt; Bowie, lh; Thomas, rh; Ben Jones, le; Keryan, re; Ogg, le.

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Lohr; McCants 2; Dutton.

Point after touchdown:
Massillon – Krier 2 (placekick); Krier 1 (carried).

Referee – Howells (Sebring).
Umpire – Shafer (Akron).
Head Linesman – Boone (Canton)

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