Tag: <span>Stan Jefferson</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1999: Massillon 24, Mansfield Senior 7

Massillon’s defense carries the day

By JOE SHAHEEN­
Independent Sports Editor

Chalk one up for the defense. The Massillon Tigers, saddled with injuries to three starters on offense, turned in a defensive performance worthy of its Black Swarm nickname to hand the Mansfield Tygers a 24‑7 defeat in front of 10,041 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday.

Program Cover

The final score is somewhat deceiving in that the only score Mansfield managed was on a fumble recovery the Tygers returned 43 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

“The defense had an outstanding week of preparation and I really felt they were ready for whatever Mansfield threw at them and they showed that tonight,” said Tigers coach Rick Shepas. “If we hadn’t fumbled the ball on offense, we would have pitched a shutout. We want to make sure the people know that we played that well on defense. It was an offensive turnover that gave them seven.”

In one first‑half Mansfield offensive series, Tigers defensive lineman Mike Mattox made three consecutive tackles for losses to force a punt. It was typical of his play all night long. “They weren’t really pass blocking that great and I was coming in unblocked practically every time,” Mattox explained. “I really wanted to beat these guys bad. We wanted the shutout but the offense let them score seven points.”

“Mike is outstanding at that position,” added Shepas. “He is so quick off the ball and against those big offensive linemen he did the job.” One reason Mattox was so effective was Mansfield was paying a great deal of attention to his running mate, Ellery Moore. Despite that, Moore also was a force on defense with several tackles behind the line of scrimmage against the frustrated Tyger attack.

“We pitched a shutout,” Moore said. “We stepped it up for the offense and was patient with them because they had some adversity. But we’re used to adversity. We’ve been going through it since December. So we’re ready for that.”

And Moore echoed Mattox’s sentiments that last year’s 21‑0 defeat at Mansfield was a motivating factor. “Payback was on our mind from jump street,” Moore exclaimed. “We knew we had to come in and play hard . We knew they were going to play hard. It’s a rivalry now. We’re loving it.”

While Massillon (4‑0) dominated the game statistically ‑ the Tigers owned an advantage in total yards of 357‑134 ‑ things were a little dicey for the locals for much of the second half after Mansfield (2‑2) cut the lead to 10‑7 on the fumble recovery and runback for a touchdown.

The Tigers finally got some breathing room mid‑way through the fourth quarter when quarterback Dave Irwin found junior wide receiver Jesse Robinson running free in the Mansfield secondary.

Irwin was on target with his pass and Robinson pulled away from the defense after gathering it in for a 64‑yard scoring play. Brett Marshall’s point‑after kick was true and the Tigers had the cushion they needed at 17‑7 with 7:28 to go.

An 11‑yard Irwin to Rocky Dorsey scoring pass with 2:08 to play closed the scoring, but the Massillon defense had to rise up once again in the final moments to keep Mansfield out of the end zone. As was true throughout the game, the Black Swarm was equal to the task.

“Massillon’s defense gave us some problems,” admitted Mansfield coach Stanley Jefferson.”They definitely created some problems. It was difficult for us to get our zone schemes going. We couldn’t move the ball in a consistent manner. “They controlled the line of scrimmage in terms of us trying to zone block and that created some problems.”

Mansfield also hurt itself, getting flagged 13 times for 125 yards in penalties, a statistic that bothered Jefferson. “I’m not allowed to speak on it,” he said afterward. “If I speak on it … I, um, I can’t speak on it. It’d be best for me not to say anything about some of those penalties.”

Massillon was flagged 10 times for 74 yards. The game began as it was going to be a long night for the Tigers, who were without starting linebacker and tri‑captain Dan Studer and leading ground gainer Jon Stanke, both of whom were out with injuries.

Things went from bad to worse almost immediately when starting center Seth Stefanko went down with a severe knee injury on just the fifth play of the game. Stefanko’s absence was often magnified because the Tigers utilize the shotgun formation in which the center must snap the ball three to four yards back to the quarterback.

The senior’s absence was felt on Massillon’s second series, which ended when Mansfield recovered a fumbled snap. But the Tigers persevered, thanks to their defense which forced Mansfield into punts on each of its first three possessions.

Massillon’s first scoring drive of the evening began on its 37 yard line but appeared to be over when Mansfield intercepted the ball on third‑and‑seven from the 40. But the Tygers were flagged for roughing the passer and the locals took advantage of the break.

On first down from midfield, Stanke’s replacement senior Dave Bumgarner got the football on a fullback counter and rumbled 39 yards to the 11. Two plays later, Irwin rolled to his left and, with a Mansfield defender in his face, tossed the ball to tight end Jeremiah Drobney at the 5. Drobney carried a Tyger defender into the endzone for the game’s initial touchdown at 8:47 of the second quarter. Brett Marshall’s conversion kick was good and the Tygers led 7‑0.

Mansfield looked as if it was going to retaliate, running the football for two first downs on the first three snaps of the ensuing possession.
But Mattox took over and almost single‑handedly stopped the march. The 6‑1, 213‑pound senior tripped up Mansfield’s Maurice Bradley for a loss of three yards on first down, then recorded back‑to‑back sacks of Tygers QB Kris Kline on second and third downs for a total of 18 negative yards.
Massillon then launched a 12‑play drive from its own 15. It ate up all but 14 seconds of the final five minutes of the first half. Perry James gained 17 yards to move the ball to the 43, then consecutive completions to Drobney and Bumgarner advanced the ball to the 24. Three snaps later, Marshall was perfect on a 37 yard field goal to make it 10‑0 at halftime.

Mansfield failed to penetrate deeper than the Massillon 38 in the first 24 minutes of play. It would be that way all night long.

MASSILLON 24
MANSFIELD 7

Mas Man
First downs rushing 8 4
First downs passing 7 3
First downs by penalty 5 0
TOTAL first downs 20 7
Net yards rushing 134 52
Net yards passing 223 82
TOTAL yards 357 134
Passes attempted 22 12
Passes completed 15 7
Passes intercepted 0 1
Punts 4 8
Punting average 35.8 34.5
Fumbles/Lost 3/2 0/0
Penalties 10 13
Yards penalized 74 125

MASSILLON 00 10 00 14 24
MANSFIELD 00 00 07 00 07

SCORING

Mas ‑ Drobney 8 pass from Irwin (Marshall kick)
Mas ‑ Marshall 37 field goal
Man ‑ Berry 43 fumble recovery return (Wolf kick)
Mas ‑ Robinson 64 pass from Irwin (Marshall kick)
Mas ‑ Dorsey 11 pass from Irwin (Marshall kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Massillon rushing: Scott 9‑56, Bumgarner 6‑51, James 9‑31.
Mansfield rushing: Berry 8‑31, Bradley 5‑20, Dandy 3‑14.

Massillon passing: Irwin15‑22‑223 3 TDs.
Mansfield passing: Taylor 5‑9‑80, Kline 2‑3‑2 1 INT.

Massillon receiving: Bumgarner 5‑39, Drobney 4‑70, Hendricks 2‑4, Dorsey 2‑37, Robinson 1‑64, James 1‑9.
Mansfield receiving: C. Smith 4‑64.


Dan Studer

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1998: Massillon 0, Mansfield Senior 21

Tigers run into a buzzsaw at Mansfield
Massillon never gets offense untracked against the Tygers

By CHRIS BEERS
Independent‑Staff Writer

A quick and athletic Mansfield Senior football team dominated visiting Massillon for four quarters Friday night en route to 21-0 whitewashing of the Tigers.

Some 8,317 fans watched at Mansfield’s Arlin Field as the host Tygers scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters to remain unbeaten after the first four games of the season.

Senior quarterback Jeremy Butts scored on a 2-yard scamper in the first quarter and tossed scoring strikes of 9 yards and 18 yards to senior tight end Jermaine Bradley in both the second and third periods to hand Massillon its second loss in four outings.

“Mansfield did an outstanding job offensively. They mixed up their plays well,” said Massillon coach Rick Shepas after the game. “Their quarterback ran their option well and made good decisions when he had to. Their offense keep us off-balance.

“But once again, we shot ourselves in the foot at the most inopportune times.” Added the Tigers’ first-year coach. “We weren’t effective through the air and Mansfield has a lot of team speed on their defense. But we just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had. We have to create points to get some life on this team.”

The statistics show how dominant Mansfield was in the 45th renewal of the battle of the Tigers. The host ran 75 plays compared to Massillon’s 47, and accumulated 359 total yard to the visitors’ 191.

The closest Massillon got to scoring came late in the first quarter when the Tigers reached the Mansfield 11. But a delay of game penalty and an incomplete pass forced Massillon to attempt a field goal from 32 yards away. Brett Marshall’s kick sailed “wide right, leaving the Tigers empty-handed despite a 10-play drive.

Massillon’s only other legitimate scoring threat came late in the fourth quarter when the Tigers drove from their own 20 to the Mansfield 18. But senior tailback Marc Cleveland was stopped short on a fourth-down run, effectively ending Massillon’s attempt to avert the shutout.

Despite the loss, Cleveland turned in another solid game. The 5-foot-9, 186-pound senior gained 122 yards on 19 carries for a 6.4 average. His longest run was 26 yards.

However, Cleveland’s teammates failed to produce similar numbers. Senior quarterback Tom Fichter completed just 1-of-7 passes for 24 yards before leaving the game with a knee injury near the end of the second quarter.

Fichter’s replacement junior Steve Eyerman, fared a little better, completing 4-of-6 passes, but for only 18 yards. The Tigers also lost two fumbles and were penalized 10 times for a total of 109 yards.

“This was a big win for us,” said Mansfield coach Stanley Jefferson. “In fact, it was just one year ago that we went 2-8 and lost to Massillon 42-0. Not many people realized it at the time, but we started six sophomores and had 10 first-year juniors on last year’s team. That experience is paying off for us now.

“Although we beat them tonight, we respect Massillon and their tradition,” Jefferson added. “I respect very much their rich tradition and their 700 wins. To beat a Massillon team you just don’t fluke one out. Their program is just too good to fluke out a win.

“We had to play a great game to beat them, and our kids rose to the occasion. Our kids have worked exceptionally hard to get where they are at right now.”

Mansfield’s first score came midway through the first quarter. The Tygers drove 52-yards in six plays, capped by a 2-yard scamper around right end by Butts.

Mansfield’s second TD followed a fumbled snap midway through the second quarter. This time, the Tygers drove 40 yards in eight plays. The touchdown came on a 12-yard toss from Butts to Bradley, but only after the Tygers’ QB ducked an on rushing Massillon defender to get rid of the ball.

Mansfield’s final TD came midway through the third period. The Tygers took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards in 13 plays. The touchdown came on another toss from Butts to Bradley. Place kicker Nick Shasky added his third PAT kick to make the score 21-0.

Butts finished with 11 completions in 24 attempts for 155 yards and no interceptions. The Tygers’ leading ball carrier was senior tailback Littleton Lloyd, who gained 162 yards on 25 carries. His longest run was 27 yards.

“I felt we did a good job adjusting at the half. But the kids just didn’t execute well,” said Shepas. “We had a good game plan, but Mansfield has a good solid football team.

“I told the kids that a loss like this is supposed to hurt,” Shepas added. “The only thing that can make the hurt go away is our next game seven days from now.”

Fichter sidelined

By CHRIS EASTERLING
Independent Correspondent

The Massillon Tigers might have lost more than just a football game Friday night against Mansfield Senior at Arlin Field. They also might have lost their starting quarterback for a while.

Senior signal caller Tom Fichter suffered an injury to his right knee in the 21-0 loss to the Tygers when he was sacked by Mansfield linebacker Jeremy Haynes at the Massillon 26-yard line with 2:37 remaining in the first half.

The severity of the injury was not immediately known but Fichter is scheduled to undergo an MRI on the knee this weekend.

Tigers coach Rick Shepas said Fichter’s status for next week’s game at Austintown Fitch is questionable at this moment contingent on the results of the tests on the knee.

Fichter was rolling to his left on a third-and-10 play in order to avoid the oncoming rush when Haynes grabbed him by his jersey and threw him to the turf. Fichter’s cleats caught in the turf as he went down awkwardly, twisting his knee. He was writhing on the ground in obvious pain when the Massillon trainers got to him, but after a short while managed to get up and walk off under his own power.

Junior Steve Eyerman, who had been locked into a heated battle with Fichter for the starting job throughout two-a-days, replaced Fichter for the remainder of the game. He completed four-of-six passes for 18-yards while also being sacked once for a 10-yard loss.

Meanwhile, starting senior defensive tackle Alex Borbely will have to sit out next week’s game against Austintown Fitch due to a state mandated suspension after he was ejected from the Mansfield game with 45 seconds remaining for taunting the referees.

MANSFIELD 21
MASSILLON 0
Man Mas
First downs rushing 13 7
First downs passing 1 2
First downs by penalty 4 0
TOTAL first downs 24 9
Net yards rushing 204 149
Net yards passing 155 42
TOTAL yards 351 191
Passes attempted 24 14
Passes Completed 11 5
Passes intercepted 0 0
Punts 2 3
Punting average 27.5 42.7
Fumbles/Lost 3/1 2/2
Penalties 9 10
Yards penalized 67 109

MANSFIELD 7 7 7 0 21
MASSILLON 0 0 0 0

SCORING
Man Butts 2 run (Shasky kick)
Man Bradley 9 pass from Butts (Shasky kick)
Man Bradley 18 pass from Butts (Shasky kick)


Marc Cleveland

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1994: Massillon 21, Mansfield Senior 13

Tigers have to scrap to top Tygers

A much-improved Mansfield Senior squad pushes Massillon to the brink of defeat

By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor

If Mansfield Senior was to serve as the Massillon Tigers’ whipping boys after last week’s tough loss to Akron Garfield, someone forgot to tell the Ty­gers.

Program Cover

After turning the ball over to their hosts on an interception on the second snap of the ball game ‑ a turnover that led to the Ti­gers first touchdown ‑ Man­sfield turned things around and played an inspired four quar­ters, before falling 21‑13 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Friday.

The contest began as if it would be no contest. Brennan Rohr’s interception near mid­field gave Massillon superb field position before many fans had settled into their seats.

The Tigers moved the ball methodically, with quarter­back Willie Spencer doing most of the damage on keepers around the Mansfield flanks. The senior pitched to fullback Vinny Turner on an option play around left end for a three‑yard touchdown with less than four minutes gone in the game.

Nick Pribich’s kick made it 7‑0 and visions of a rout began to dance in the heads of the Tigers and the hometown partisans.

“We got the turnover, went right down and scored and I think we thought, ‘Here we go. We’re going to rack up another 50 on them,”‘ said Tigers coach Jack Rose. “That’s a maturity thing with this team. They have to understand they’re going to have to fight for everything they get. Hopefully they’ve learned that lesson.”

Certainly Mansfield did its best to get the message across. The Tygers, beginning their ensuing possession at the 20‑yard line, began controlling the line of scrimmage. Junior Michael Jackson and sophomore Kenyonnah Rife took turns run­ning the football and suddenly Mansfield was near midfield.

Then quarterback Deondre Jones hit tight end Clarence Jacocks for 25 yards to the Mas­sillon 28.

Six plays later, Jones kept the ball on a quarterback sneak to culminate the 13‑play drive with a one‑yard touchdown plunge. The conversion kick made it a 7‑7 game at 1:47 of the first quarter.

Neither team could get much going in the first half of the second period. A Massillon punt gave Mansfield possession at the Tyger 41 with 8:00 until the band show. Rife ran the ball on the first three plays, moving it to the Massillon 43.

On second‑and‑five, Jones called the triple option and kept the football around right end. The Tigers had the play smelled out, so Jones changed direction and found no one at home for Massillon on the left side. He ran free to the Tiger 10, where he cut inside a tackler and into the end zone and the visitors led 13‑7 with 6:34 to go in the second.

Massillon gave the ball right back to their guests on a fumble at the Tiger 42. But the home team defense bowed its neck and forced Mansfield to punt af­ter three snaps.

Then the Tigers found their groove, driving from their 18 to the Mansfield end zone in 11 plays. Leon Ashcraft accounted for 31 of those yards on a picture perfect draw play around right end. Spencer hit sophomore wideout Devon Williams for 20 yards along the left sideline for a key first down at the Man­sfield 18.

Spencer capped the drive with a sneak from the 1. Pri­bich’s boot made it 14‑13 Tigers at halftime.

Fumbles and illegal motion penalties plagued Mansfield throughout the second half. But Massillon was unable to take advantage, failing to get a first down until less than two mi­nutes remained in the third period.

Massillon put Mansfield away with a clutch scoring drive that began midway through the fourth quarter at the Tiger 29. On first down, Spencer kept the ball on a boot­leg around left end, picking up 14 yards. It was a sign of things to come.

“We began kicking the out­side linebacker out with the full­back and having the guard pull through so Willie could carry it through there,” Rose said.

Up until that point, Spencer seemed to hesitate on the pass-­run option, giving the Mansfield defense time to react.

“We told him to just run it,” Rose revealed. “We told him to pull it down and go. He really did a nice job reading the blocks and the guards got up in the hole and the fullback did a good job kicking out the end.”

After a pass interference call against Mansfield gave the Ti­gers a first down at the Tyger 40, Spencer took off on the boot­leg run again, picking up 20 yards around left end to the 20.

Ashcraft found a small hole over left guard for six yards and Spencer picked up seven more around right end to the seven yard line.

Three snaps later, Spencer scored his second TD of the night on a quarterback sneak. Pribich’s PAT with 4:11 to play concluded the scoring.

Mansfield made one more run at the Tigers, but Lavell Weav­er jarred the ball loose from Rife at the Massillon 40 and Heath Manson outfought the Tygers for the loose pigskin.

“we had some illegal motion penalties that hurt us,” said Mansfield coach Stan Jeffer­son, “but there were some other things that I felt were out of our control in terms of some things chat were called on us.

“I don’t care what anybody from around here says, we play­ed them tough all the way to the end. If we cover the one fumble, who knows.”

“The key was the drive right before half that put us ahead 14­-13,” observed Rose. “We had chances in the second half. We had one bust in the line of scrimmage that whole third quarter and that screwed our whole … we pretty much had them figured out as far as what we had to do. Then we made the adjustment on the boot run.

“That was a big win for us coming off of last week. The kids really spilled their guts out last week. Now we have to re­group and get ready for Fitch.”

Spencer had by far his biggest night of the season, rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns in 21 carries. He also completed four passes for 36 yards.

Ashcraft was held under 100 yards for the first time in three weeks, but just varely. The senior tailback rushed for 98 yards in 21 carries, including that key 31‑yard scamper on the Tigers go‑ahead touchdown drive.

MASSILLON 21
MANSFIELD 13
M 0
First downs rushing 16 14
First downs passing 1 2
First downs penalty 2 0
Total first downs 19 16
Net yards rushing 263 264
Net yards passing 33 50
Total yards gained 296 304
Passes attempted 11 10
Passes completed 4 3
Passes int. 0 1
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average 42.3 37.3
Kickoff return yards 44 47
Punts 4 4
Punting average 33.8 27.3
Punt return yards 1 7
Fumbles 1 5
Fumbles lost 1 2
Penalties 2 10
Yards penalized 18 60
Number of plays 60 54
Time of possession 23.36 24.24

MASSILLON 7 7 0 7 14­
MANSFIELD 7 6 0 0 13

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
Mass. ‑ Turner 3 run (Pribich kick)
Mans. ‑ Jones 1 run (VanDine kick)

Second Quarter
Mans. ‑ Jones 38 run (kick failed)
Mass. ‑ Spencer 3 run (Pribich kick)

Fourth Quarter
Mass. ‑ Spencer 1 run (Pribich kick)

FINAL STATISTICS

Rushing:
Massillon
Spencer 21‑148, 2 TDs;
Ashcraft 21‑98;
Turner 5‑17, 1 TD;
Fraelich 2-0.
Mansfield
Rife 13‑90;
Jones 13‑77, 2 TDs;
Jackson 13‑57;
Bessick 5‑30.

Passing:
Massillon
Spencer 4‑11‑36.
Man­sfield
Jones 3‑10‑30, 0 To, 1 int.

Receiving:
Massillon
Williams 2‑25;
Griffith 1‑7;
Shanor 1‑1.
Mansfield
Jacocks 1‑25;
Grose 1‑12;
Jackson 1‑13.


Leon Ashcraft

History

1993: Massillon 46, Mansfield Senior 6

Tigers rebound: maul Mansfield

Walsh Jesuit next hurdle

By JOE SHAHEEN’
Independent Sports Editor

Yes, Virginia, those were the same Massillon Tigers thrashing Mansfield 46-6 Saturday in Parma as the squad that fell to Canton McKinley 21-13 seven days ago.

And, while Mansfield isn’t McKinley, neither is the artificial turf of Byers Field comparable to the muck and mire that is the Fawcett Stadium playing surface.

Now Massillon gets a Walsh Jesuit team that is peaking after an impressive 19-0 victory over McKinley. The Tigers and Warriors will do battle at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Akron Rubber Bowl.

One play underscored why the Tigers are among Ohio’s elite high school football teams when the playing surface isn’t a factor in the contest. It came in the second quarter, about 5½ minutes before halftime. Mike Danzy tried to execute the option around the right side of the Tiger offensive line on second-and-32 from the Massillon 27.

Mansfield got excellent penetration and had the play defensed. So Danzy reversed course in the backfield, looking for some daylight around left end. A wall of blockers formed and Danzy found a seam to the 51-yard line as the pursuit closed in on him.

But the Tigers’ 1993 Most Valuable Player wasn’t satisfied. He cut back against the grain at midfield, leaving a host of defenders grasping at air in his wake. Danzy turned on the afterburners and sprinted to the Mansfield 7-yard line before one of the Tygers’ track stars pushed him out of bounds.

It was the type of play that cannot be scripted, but one which Danzy and several of his teammates are capable of making at any time. Such plays are a big reason the Massillon offense is so explosive.

“You just cannot make that run on a muddy, sloppy field,” Jack Rose said of Danzy’s highlight file scamper.

The Massillon offense, paced by a line that gouged huge holes in the Mansfield defense front and the determined running of Leon Ashcraft (80 yards, three touchdowns), functioned like a well-oiled machine.

But it was the defense that limited Mansfield to a paltry 2.7 yards per rush and 144 yards of total offense that made a statement. The Tygers came into the game averaging more than 30 points per start. Yet Massillon shut the speedsters down, permitting just one meaningless score in the fourth quarter after the issue had long since been decided.

“The defense really was swarming to the football,” Rose said. “We looked quick tonight. That’s the way we looked all year. We were on the right surface. It was good to get on a good playing surface.”

There was more to the way the defense performed than just the playing surface. There seemed to be a higher than usual level of intensity.

“We were pretty disappointed with the way things went last week,” said Tiger tackle B.J. Payne, “and I think we turned that disappointment into anger. Mansfield just happened to be the opponent and they had to deal with it.”

Still, Payne loves playing on the fake grass.

“It helps a lot because we are more of a quick team,” he said. “On turf, we don’t have to worry about the mud making us look like we’re on a roller skates.”

Mansfield played the first half as if it was on roller skates, fumbling four time and losing three to the opportunistic Tiger defense. The first turnover came on a bad punt snap on Mansfield’s first possession. Geoff Osborn recovered at the Tyger eight, and after a penalty Ashcraft plowed into the end zone from four yards out on the first snap and Randy Endsley’s PAT made it 7-0 with just over two minutes elapsed in the game.

The Tygers marched from their 17 to Massillon’s 27, but Tim Menches recovered quarterback Effie James’ fumble to set up the Tigers’ best sustained march of the night. The locals drove 79 yards in 14 plays. A 15-yard Danzy to Greg Merchant pass and Mike Paul’s 22-yard burst highlighted the sequence, which was capped by Ashcraft’s 5-yard TD run behind the blocking of Trevor Paisley and Mark Fair on the left side. Endsley’s boot made it 14-0 at the :43 mark of the first period.

Christmas continued to come six weeks early for the Tigers. On Mansfield’s next play from scrimmage, James’ bad pitch was caught in mid-air by Massillon’s Matt Robinson at the Tyger 16. Three plays later, Paul went in untouched – some trick for a fullback in a goal line situation – and Endsley made it 21-0 at 11:18 of the second quarter.

Massillon scored twice more in the half, on a five play, 71-yard drive keyed by Danzy’s spectacular ad lib run, and on a 12-play, 63-yard march that featured Ali Dixon, who caught a 5-yarder for the TD to make it 34-0 at halftime.

The Tigers drove 52 yards with the second-half kickoff, capped by Courtney Herring’s 2-yard touchdown run at 5:08 of the third period.

Herring’s 53-yard burst over left tackle highlighted Massillon’s final scoring drive. The junior tailback scored from the 2 to make it 46-0 after three periods.

Mansfield head coach Stan Jefferson attributed the outcome more to his team’s errors than anything the Tigers did in the playoff opener.

“we did the damage to ourselves,” Jefferson said. “We had the bad snap. Then we fumbled. Then we had another fumble. I mean, that’s 21 points we gave right now. It was nothing Massillon did to us. It was self-inflicted wounds.

“When we came out there and saw (Massillon) today, they didn’t look as big as the first time we saw them. We felt coming in anything could happen.

MASSILLON 46
MANSFIELD 6
M O
First downs rushing 17 5
First downs passing 1 1­
First downs penalty 2 1
Total first downs 20 7­
Net yards rushing 379 131
Net yards passing 25 70­
Total yards gained 395 14
Passes attempted 6 13
Passes completed 3 3
Passes int. by 0 0
Times kicked off 8 2
Kickoff average 39.6 18.5
Kickoff return yards 0 31
Punts 1 3
Punting average 5.0 44.7
Punt return yards 58 0
Fumbles 2 5
Fumbles lost 2 3
Penalties 5 11
Yards penalized 57 71
Number of plays 70 40
Time of possession 30:03 17:57
Attendance 10,312

MANSFIELD 0 0 6 0 6­
MASSILLON 14 20 12 0 46

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter
MASS ‑ Ashcraft 4 run (Endsley kick)
MASS ‑ Ashcraft 5 run (Endslay kick)

Second Quarter
MASS ‑ Paul_2 run.(Endsley kick)
MASS ‑ Ashcraft 2 run (Endsfoy kick)
MASS – Dixon 5 pass from Danzy (kick failed)

Third Quarter
MASS ‑ Herring 1 run (kick failed)
MASS ‑ Herring 2 run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter
MANS ‑ Lawrence 50 pass from Jones(run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
Massillon
Danzy 8‑86;
Ashcraft 16-80, 3 TDs;
Herring 8‑77, 2 TDs;
Dixon 11-44;
Paul 6-38, 1 TD;
Turner 7-21;
Laughlin 4-16;
Fraelich 2-8;
Hiegl 1-3.
Man­sfield
James 6‑50,
Fountain 8‑39,
Barber 5‑6,
Jackson 4‑9.

Mark Fair
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1993: Massillon 53, Mansfield Senior 22

Tigers move to 4-0 with lopsided win

By MIKE KEATING
Independent Sports Writer

It had been nearly two years since the Massillon Tigers last won a football game away from Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Last fall, the Tigers lost at Austintown Fitch and at North Central Indianapolis (Ind.).

That is one reason why Jack Rose felt relieved after Massil­lon defeated Mansfield Senior on its home grass 53-22 before 8,000 fans at Arlin Field Friday night.

Program Cover

“I kept bearing it around town how long it had been since we last won a game on the road,” sighed Rose, the second­ year Massillon head coach. “So, yes, winning on the road was a big concern coming into the game.”

The last time the Tigers won a regular season road game was 42‑13 over McKinley in the 1991 finale.

“The coaches told us the dimensions on their (Man­sfield’s) field were the same as ours,” added linebacker Joel Smith. “We just had to go out and play football.”

The fourth quarter has be­longed to Massillon all season. The Tigers had outscored Alliance 20‑0, Grove City and Akron Garfield by a combined 56‑7 in the final period.

It was more of the same against the Tygers. Massillon scored 26 unanswered points in the fourth quarter ‑ 20 within the first 4:30.

Conditioning has been a fac­tor for the Tigers in those final eight minutes.

“We work hard on condition­ing in practice,” said tight end Isaiah Jackson. “That’s to our advantage.”

“We don’t practice long,” added Smith. “But we have very intense practices. It has helped pay off in the games.”

It appeared Mansfield was going to send the game to the wire after its second touchdown in the third quarter, a 66‑yard run by tailback Charles Foun­tain down the left sideline.

That score and subsequent extra point brought the Tygers to within 27‑22 at the 5:32 mark.

“I was nervous then,” admit­ted Smith, a 5‑11, 181‑pound senior. “But our offense just came back and pounded it right at them, like it had the whole game.”

The Tigers had the ball for nine series. The offense scored six touchdowns and had two other drives stopped after reaching the Mansfield nine.

Fullback Mike Paul helped prolong drive after drive with hard running between the tack­les. Paul, a 6‑0, 217‑pound senior, wound up with a game­ high 132 rushing yards in 18 car­ries.

After Fountain excited the home folks with the big play, the Tigers just methodically drove the ball upfield. Nine running plays moved it to the Mansfield 29.

Paul carried the ball five times for 30 yards in that drive.

Then quarterback Mike Danzy rifled a strike to Jackson, a 6-3 226-pound senior, who made a one‑hand grab on the slant play and turned the play into a 21‑yard gain.

“If you ask me,” Rose said, “that was the key point of the game.”

“It was just an instinctive catch,” grinned Jackson.

Three plays later, halfback Ali Dixon bulled into the end zone from two yards out. Danzy optioned right for the two points and the Tigers led 35‑22 with 10:32 to play.

Mansfield had responded af­ter Massillon built leads of 21‑7 and 27‑15, but the Tigers dug in defensively and forced a punt.

It was time for the special teams to deliver, as Kevin Buckland snared the punt at the Massillon 30, broke to the out­side and raced to the Mansfield 40, where it appeared he would be stopped. Buckland kept his legs moving and used every ounce of his 150-pound frame to shake off the would‑be tacklers and race to the end zone that made the score 41‑22.

The back breaker for Man­sfield occurred on its next series, when quarterback Effie James, who fired several pas­ses on the mark only to be bet­rayed by some slippery‑handed receiver, tried a hitch to wideout David Lawrence.

Massillon cornerback Lonnie Simpson, who was playing the receiver, immediately turned when the pass was released, caught it at the Tygers 35, stop­ped on a dime and returned the interception untouched into the end zone. That score with 7:40 remaining made it 47-22 and the Mansfield fans started heading for the exits.

Simpson had given the Tigers their first lead when he got be­hind the Mansfield secondary, hauled in a Danzy pass in full stride and turned it into a 33­-yard touchdown play with 4:20 left in the first quarter.

Fountain scored on a one-­yard plunge at the 2:21 mark of the first quarter and Mansfield had caught the Tigers at 7‑7.

But Danzy and Jackson teamed up to give Massillon the lead for good in the second quarter.

The senior quarterback rol­led left and hit an unguarded Jackson in the back of the end zone for a four‑yard touchdown strike. Randy Endsley kicked the P.A.T. and Massillon led 14-­7 with 11:06 left in the half.

Mansfield never caught the Tigers again, but they provided a scare, until the fourth quarter.

“They were the best team that we played,” said Smith. “They were so fast.”

“They came well‑prepared and were well‑coached for us,” Rose added. “They threw deep early (an incompletion) and stretched us out.

“We didn’t play a real good first half. We had two drives stopped when we got inside the scoring zone. Our goal is to score everytime we get inside the scoring zone.”

The Tigers have not opened with four consecutive wins since 1988, when Lee Owens’ first team accomplished that feat.

The streak was stopped at four by Austintown Fitch ‑ the Tigers’ next opponent.

Fitch will travel to Massillon with a 4‑0 record.

Fitch has played plenty of football inside Paul Brown Ti­ger Stadium within the last year. The Falcons defeated Perry and Pickerington in post­season tournament games be­fore losing to Cleveland St. Ignatius.

MASSILLON 53
MANSFIELD 22
M 0
First downs rushing 20 5
First downs passing 4 1
First downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 25 6
Net yards rushing 381 170
Net yards passing 94 26
Total yards gained 475 196
Passes attempted 9 9
Passes completed 6 1
Passes int. by 1 0
Times kicked off 9 4
Kickoff average 42.6 49.8
Kickoff return yards 83 174
Punts 1 5
Punting average 33.0 38.2
Punt return yards 74 -3
Fumbles 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 1
Penalties 3 4
Yards penalized 15 25
Number of plays 64 36
Time of possession 30:31 17:29
Attendance 8,000

MANSFIELD 7 0 15 00 22
MASSILLON 7 7 13 26 53
MASS ‑ Simpson 33 pass from Danzy (En­dsley kick)
MANS ‑ Fountain I run (kick good)
MASS ‑ Jackson 4 pass from Danzy (Endsley kick)
MASS ‑ Paul 8 run (Endsley kick)
MANS ‑ Fountain 25 run (Lawrence pass from James)
MASS ‑ Paul 9 run (pass failed)
MANS ‑ Fountin 66 run (kick good)
MASS ‑ Dixon 2 run (Danzy run)
MASS ‑ Suckland 70 punt return (run failed)
MASS ‑ Simpson 34 pass interception (kick failed)
MASS ‑ Ashcraft 13 run (kick failed)

RUSHING
Massillon
Paul 18‑132,
Ashcraft 13‑96,
Dixon 13‑71,
Danzy 8‑39;
Mansfield
Foun­tain 10‑121.

PASSING
Massillon
Danzy 6‑9‑94, 2 TDs;
Mansfield
James 1‑9‑26‑1.

RECEIVING
Massillon
Jackson 3‑36,
Simp­son 1‑33,
Dixon 1‑17,
Merchant 1‑8;
Mansfield
Barber 1‑26.

Mark Fair