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1975: Massillon 37, Steubenville 0

October 10, 1975August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Harmon and company romp 37-0
Tigers make Steubenville see “Red’

By DENNY HIGHBEN
Independent Sports Writer

Bill Harmon and Company, also known around these parts as the Massillon Tigers, crushed the Steubenville Big Red Friday night, 37-0.

Harmon’s effort in Big Red’s Harding Stadium put him over his rushing and scoring totals for the 1974 season, with four games yet to be played this year.

THE POWERFUL, fullback, who runs like something from the Cenoziac, carried the ball 22 times Friday, gaining a whopping 224 yards and scored 20 points. That put this season’s totals at 809 yards and 66 points. In 1974 Bill gained 789 yards and scored 54 points.

“Our team has come of age,” Massillon Coach Chuck Shuff said after the game, referring to the consistent improvement the Tigers have made since a bad start put a couple of dents in Tigertown’s title hopes. “We worked hard in practice all week . . . we haven’t quit working and it’s paying off. The blocking has improved quite a bit,” Shuff added.

The truth of that last statement was evident every time Harmon, Tom Grizzard and the other Massillon backs got their hands on the ball. In earlier games Harmon had to drag a few defenders right from the line of scrimmage for short gains. Friday night the Big Red defense hardly put a pad on Harmon until he got past the line and then it took a lot more to stop him, resulting in his better than 10-yard average per carry.

Steubenville’s head coach, Bill Bohren, had nothing but praise for Massillon after the game. “There wasn’t a phase of the game we could control,” he said and referring to Tiger talent and strength added, “That’s the most material I’ve seen on one football team since I’ve been coaching.”

If Massillon’s that good, I’d hate to see Upper Arlington’s team. It must be awesome,” Bohren said. (Upper Arlington beat the Tigers 8-7 in the third game of the season).

STEUBENVILLE, now 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the All-American Conference, only came close to scoring once in the ball game and that was when Massillon’s defense was loaded with reserves. It was late in the fourth period and Big Red had a first down at Massillon’s four-yard line, but a pitch out from quarterback Gary Williams to running back Billy Ware missed its destination and Junior Mike Ramsey recovered for the Tigers.

Massillon scored with 8:50 left in the first period when Bill Harmon capped a 67-yard nine-play drive with a 15-yard burst through the line for a TD. Keith Harmon added the extra point, making it 7-0.

Keith Harmon’s kickoff was to Big Red’s six, Ware bobbled the catch and was downed at the four-yard line. Steubenville then took most of the remaining time in the first quarter to gain 25 yards before punting.

Massillon got the ball on its own 26 and runs by Harmon, Tom Grizzard and a pass from Todd Keller to Mark Matie got the ball to the Big Red three-yard line in eight plays. Harmon took a pitch out on the next play and swept around the right side of the line for another TD. Bill ran right through the heart of Steubenville’s defense for the conversion and the score was 15-0 with 10:57 left in the second quarter.

Steubenville’s next drive went nine yards and was aided by a five-yard penalty against Massillon for being offside.

After the punt Massillon started another scoring drive, from its 36. Junior tailback Pete Killins got the ball on first down, but failed to gain any yardage and Harmon gained six on the next play. Bill then went through the middle of the line on third-and-four, ran over a couple tacklers and was finally collared on the Steubenville 20.

HARMON RAN the ball one more time, getting the ball to the 14 and Tom Grizzard took over. Grizzard carried the ball three times, to the five, the one and over the goal with 4:55 left in the half. Keith Harmon kicked the extra point and the tally was 22-0.

Steubenville made two first downs on the following series, but the drive came to a crackling halt when Big Red slotback Larry Jones took a pitch from Williams and attempted to run around the left side. Jones was hit with such force by Tom Grizzard, playing linebacker, that the ball flew out of his arms and rolled out of bounds. Jones spent the next few moments on his back until he was able to stand up and walk off the field.

Big Red punted and Killins caught the ball at Massillon’s 27, got behind a wall of blockers and ran to Steubenville’s 15 before being tripped up. Two plays later Killins went over the goal line from five yards out, Keller passed to end Bill Bammerlin for the conversion and Massillon led 30-0.

Derrick Dorsey received the kick off for Steubenville to start the second half and ran from his nine all the way to the Tiger 28. Steubenville lost two yards on the next play and then lost the ball on downs and the Tigers started their final scoring drive from the 30.

Massillon faced a third-and-six on Steubenville’s 44, when Harmon ran over the Big Red defense for 29 yards (and went over the 200-yard mark). A few plays later Harmon scored from the six-yard line and brother Keith kicked Massillon’s final point, making the score 37-0 with 6:12 left in the third quarter.

SHUFF HAD been sending in reserve players since the second quarter and after the last score the reserves did most of the work. Harmon did not see action after the final touchdown.

“I was pleased with the way our reserves moved the ball against Steubenville’s first-string defense,” Shuff said. After the Steubenville fumble Massillon drove to its 37 before punting and Big Red lost its last chance to score when Tiger defensive back Ron Hykes intercepted a Williams pass at the Massillon 22.

Steubenville’s other AAC defeat was a 20-0 loss to Warren Harding, a game in which Big Red lost the ball 12 times on turnovers. When asked to compare Warren and Massillon, Bohren said without hesitation, “Massillon should cram the ball right down Warren’s throat.”

MASSILLON 7 23 7 0 37
STEUBENVILLE 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY
M – B. Harmon, 15 run (K. Harmon kick); M – B. Harmon, 3 run (B. Harmon
Run); M – T. Grizzard, 1 run (K. Harmon kick); M – Killins, 5 run (Bammerlin
Pass from Keller); M – B. Harmon, 6 run (K. Harmon kick).

MASSILLON – 37
Ends – Arner, Conley, Chovan, Butterfield, Eberhardt, Matie, M. Jones, Moon, Bammerlin, Laase.
Tackles – Mark Lauber, Mike Lauber, Genet, Drobney, Toles, Baughman, Dennison, Tourney.
Guards – Brand, Ricker, King, Schumacher, Christoff, Bettilyon, Ramsey, Hauser.
Centers – Mitchel, Nagle, Englehart.
Quarterbacks – Smith, Traylor, Keller, Hykes.
Running backs – Stewart, Warthen, V. Jones, Dave Bylene, Harper, B. Harmon, K. Harmon, T. Grizzard, A. Grizzard, Killins, Haas, Ellis, Rogers, Grove, Dorsey, Szasz.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Linemen – Linn, Mavromatis, Barrett, Fahey, Hardwick, Littlejohn, Solomon, Zatta, Mosley, Denson, Nixon, Boles, Medich, Curt Klein, James, Fleishour, Edwards.
Backs – Williams, Talamine, Hicks, Jones, Dorsey, Byrom, Ware, Ford, Cook, Hedmond, Dameron, Welling, Traylor, Humienny, Cary Klein.

ATTENDANCE – 7,190.

GRIDSTICK
Mass. Steub.
First downs-rushing 16 8
First downs-passing 1 1
First downs-penalties 0 0
Total first downs 17 9
Yards gained rushing 302 166
Yards lost rushing 1 23
Net yards gained rushing 301 143
Net yards gained passing 16 33
Total yards gained 317 176
Passes attempted 4 14
Passes completed 1 3
Passes intercepted by 1 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 6 1
Kickoff average (yards) 50.5 46.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 19 104
Times punted 2 5
Punt average (yards) 33.0 37.2
Punt returns (yards) 63 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 3 8
Yards penalized 25 70
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 46 51
Total time of possession 20:53 27:07

History

1974: Massillon 33, Steubenville 8

October 11, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers of old defeat Big Red 33-8
ALL-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Warren Harding, 2-0; Canton McKinley, 1-1;
Niles McKinley, 1-0; Massillon, 1-1;
Alliance, 0-2; Steubenville, 0-2.

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“We wanted it real bad and went out and got it,” senior Tiger Co-Captain Greg Wood said. “Massillon is coming back!”

It was the Tigers of old whom we saw annihilate the Steubenville Big Red 33-8 before 11,275 Tiger stadium fans Friday night. The licking could have been worse had Washington High coach Chuck Shuff not taken his first string out with one minute left in the third quarter.

THE TIGERS put together a tremendous combination of interior blocking and the running of senior tailback and Co-Captain Mark Streeter, junior fullback Bill Harmon and junior tailback Tom Grizzard to get their third victory in six starts. Steubenville dropped to 4-2.

The win gave the Orange and Black a 1-1 All-American Conference record and put them in fourth place. Steubenville, with an 0-2 mark, dropped into the cellar.

Steubenville coach Tom Gardner had been afraid of the Tigers’ outside running. Shuff had not thought the Orange and Black could control the line of scrimmage as they d id against the bigger Steubenville hordes and neither did Gardner.

“I don’t know what to say to our kids,” Gardner said. “Massillon wanted it worse than we did. You doubled us on the wing, ran the sweep inside and outside and we didn’t adjust well.”

The Obiemen scored 27 of their points in the first half. Streeter scored on a pair of four-yard pitch runs inside tackle, picked up 157 yards in 15 carries and sat out the second half. Harmon tallied on a one-yard off tackle blast, a 10-yard run up the middle and picked up 80 net yards in 13 carries.

JUNIOR TAILBACK Tom Grizzard scored on a three-yard pitch around end and picked up 96 yards on six carries.

Senior Dave Dowd kicked one conversion and quarterback Wood passed for the other to senior split end Eddie ‘Tinker” Bell.

“We had the desire all season long, but we didn’t put it together until tonight,” Streeter said. “A six-year-old could have run through the holes we had.”

“We had good practices this week,” Shuff said. “It pays off when you’ve got them going out there and really wanting it. The second efforts tonight were tremendous. I didn’t know that we would be able to control the line of scrimmage as we did. They gave us several defensive adjustments and we picked them up real well.”

Shuff was, of course, happy with the running of Streeter and Harmon and the downfield and crossfield blocking which he said started to come last week.

“TO BEAT a strong team like Steubenville should really give us some momentum,” Shuff said.

“We finally started to execute on the offensive line like the way we’ve been trying to do since the start of the season,” said tackle Coach Chuck Utterback. “The kids wanted it pretty bad.”

“Everybody really wanted the game,” Harmon, who also did some fine blocking, said. “They gave me the holes this week. That’s all I need.”

“Each of us tried to go out and get an extra-effort block,” senior center Dan Nagle said.

“We had a great effort,” senior Co-Captain Tim Gutshall said. “I wish we could have put it together before.”

THE TIGERS dominated the statistics, rolling up 242 net yards to Steubenville’s 53 in the first half and converting four of five third-down situations to Steubenville’s two of six. They picked up 215 net yards to Steubenville’s 136 in the second half, converting one of three third-down situations to the Big Red’s two of six.

Streeter carried six times on the Tigers’ first touchdown drive, an 81-yard, 11-play job in the first quarter. Included was a 28-yard pitch sweep.

The second drive was a 51-yard, five-play affair, following a short first period Steubenville punt after the Big Red had been put into a hole by the first of junior Keith Harmon’s 50.5 average kickoffs.

Streeter raced 32 yards on a pitch inside tackle to the Steubenville 14 to set up the score which came 37 seconds inside the second stanza.

Streeter’s 27-yard option run to the Steubenville 17 and five carries set up the third score which came on a 59-yard, nine-play drive.

GUTSHALL PICKED off a Big Red pass on the Steubenville 37 and the Tigers were off on a four-play 33-yard TD jaunt, punctuated by Keith Harmon’s 11-yard pass catch and 10-yard run through the center.

The final TD came on a 76-yard, three-play drive late in the third quarter. Grizzard took a pitch around and rambled for 62 yards before he was brought down by Senior tackle Steve Trbovich on the Steubenville 10. Harmon blasted through the center on the next play for the score.

Steubenville was led by senior fullback Keith Steward who picked up 55 net yards in 15 carries, but didn’t figure in their only score. Junior quarterback Gary Williams, subbing for senior Andy Bryan who played only part of the time because of a knee injury suffered last week against Toledo Woodward, passed 16 yards to senior split end Dave Brockway. He lateralled to junior tailback Eric Byron on the 25 and Byron scored. Williams hit senior split end Bruce Fraser for the conversion.

Bryans absence also brought into play substitute punter senior Doug Jarvis.

Tigers jar Steubenville

By Hymie Williams
Plain Dealer Bureau

MASSILLON – Reminiscent of Massillon teams of old, the Tigers dismissed their early season problems and routed Steubenville’s Big Red, 33-8, Friday night at Tiger Stadium in an All-American Conference game before 11,275.

The victory hoisted the Tigers’ season mark to 3-3 and it may be now the Tigers are prepared to make a robust finish to the campaign, with yet some of the season’s most important games in the offing.

Steubenville, which hasn’t defeated Massillon since 1962, never had a chance against the Bengals. The Big Red, now 4-2 tallied its lone touchdown late in the final period on a 41-yard pass play.

Massillon 170-pound tailback Mark Streeter came into his own Friday night with a sparkling running display, which must have buoyed Massillon hopes that the rest of the season will be better.

Streeter, who did not play offensively in the second half, played key roles in the first three Massillon touchdowns as the Big Red defenders were futile in their efforts to repel his rushes. Streeter scored twice and had 147 yards.

Fullback Billy Harmon, a brawny 230-pound senior, shared the rushing fireworks with Streeter as he scored three touchdowns.

Massillon drove 84 yards for its first touchdown which came at 3:19 of the opening stanza. Harmon and Streeter collaborated in running blasts, with Streeter gaining the final four for the touchdown.

The Bengals, with their best performance of the season, tallied again in the second period on a 50-yard march. Key play was a 40-yard dash by Streeter, with Streeter finally taking the ball across from the four.
An aerial from quarterback Greg Wood to end Eddie Bell was good for the PAT.

Streeter, who collected 148 yards in the first half with some exciting running, carried five times in the seven plays it required for the next touchdown.

Harmon climaxed the drive with a blast through the middle from the two.

GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 18 5
First downs – passing 2 3
First downs – penalties 1 2
Total first downs 21 10
Yards gained rushing 438 140
Yards lost rushing 12 19
Net yds. gained rushing 426 121
Net yds. gained passing 31 68
Total yards gained 457 189
Passes completed 3-10 3-8
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 13 0
Kickoff average (yards) 6-50.5 5-32.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 21 76
Punt average (yards) 0 5-32.2
Punt returns (yards) 19 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 2-4 1-4
Yards penalized 6-75 5-60
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdown passes 0 1
Total number of plays 61 44
Possession time 24:55 23:05

History

1973: Massillon 51, Steubenville 0

October 12, 1973August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers get it together for 51-0 win.

By Chuck Hess Jr., Independent Sports Editor

The Tiger faithful must be as happy as near-sighted man who has found his spectacles.

The Orange and Black offense came out of hibernation Friday night, rolled up seven touchdowns, 550 yards, 22 first downs and literally clawed the Steubenville Big Red apart before 7,900 at Harding Stadium in the River City. Final score was 51-0 as the Tigers scored all but two times in which they had the ball.

The All American Conference’s defending champions continued to hold onto first place, along with archrival Canton McKinley and Warren Harding, stretching their regular season unbeaten streak to 16, their loop win skein to nine, their wins over Steubenville to 11 straight, their 1973 record to 5-0-1 and their league record to 2-0. In breaking their previous AAC victory streak of eight, the Tigers also set a league scoring record.

The previous record was 40 points set by Massillon against Steubenville in 1967, and a like total by the Steubers against Warren Harding in 1967. Friday’s score was the fifth highest Tiger point production in the Big Red series which stands 32-3-2 in the Orange and Black’s favor, including 13 shutouts (five straight).

The Big Red, which had won its first three games under rookie coach Tom Gardner, has now lost three in a row and dropped into the AAC cellar with Alliance and Niles, also 0-2.

AAC STANDINGS
Massillon 2-0, Canton McKinley2-0, Warren Harding 2-0, Niles McKinley 0-2, Alliance 0-2, Steubenville 0-2.

Tiger senior split end Jeff Huffman and junior and quarterback Greg Wood, who had previously had trouble making connections, go together for TD pass plays of 5, 40 and 26 yards. Wood ran 73 yards for another TD after being seemingly trapped on a pass play.

Senior wingback Johnny Mayor scored on a nine-yard off-tackle effort, senior tailback Charles Danzy on a 23 yard end run and sophomore quarterback Todd Keller on a half-yard sneak. Pifer had an aerial TD called back by a penalty as did sophomore right end Mark Matie.

SENIOR ALLEN Blinks kicked two conversions, senior Brad Limbach one. Junior wingback Mark Pifer, junior wingback Mark Streeter and senior tailback Terry Henderson ran two-pointers. Keller was corralled by Joe Brancazio when trying for the final points after.

“We’ve been saying for a long time we were going to put it together,” Tiger head coach Bob Commings said. “We had a great game against Niles now I want to see us go the rest of the season this way. Then we’ll know if we’ve got a great football team.”

Commings was extremely happy with the passing game.

“The protection was great,” he said. “We always knew we had the passer and receivers. It was a question of getting good protection and confidence and I think we accomplished that. Steubenville got behind and it was a son of a gun. We hit those bug plays on them. If we had been without out passing game, it would have been a dogfight.

“The passing game and Bill Harmon (fullback) will bring back out tailback game which is still the core of out offense.”

With the passing game going, the Big Red could not play its backers and secondary up tight, allowing the running game to function properly. Receivers ran such good patterns that they were as alone as a man who had done battle with a skunk and lost.

HARMON NETTED 73 yards on the ground in 10 tries and Danzy 55 in 11, losing only two before both left in the third quarter when Commings started to clear the bench.

The defense put in another great night, allowing only 68 yards rushing.

“We got behind and Bob got his offense going,” Gardiner said. “Your backs did a great job, broke tackles and that’s the story of the game. We knew you could throw, but we didn’t cover and you caught us with out pants down.”

M
S
First Downs- rush
16
3
First Downs- pass
6
1
First Downs-penal
0
1
Total first downs
22
5
Yds gained rush
388
96
Yds lost rush
5
28
Net yds gained rush
383
68
Net yds gained pass
167
54
Total yds gained
550
122
Passes com
9-12
6-12
Passes inerc by
2
0
Yd on passes interc
28
0
Kickoff ave (yds)
8-37.0
1-39.0
Kickoff ret (yds)
16
79
Punt ave (yds)
1-40.0
6-32.3
Punt ret (yds)
4
0
Lost fumbled ball
0
0-1
Yds Penalized
13-115
5-43
Touchd rush
4
0
Touchd pass
3
0
Total num of plays

Elapsed Time
61

28:24
44

19:36

MASSILLON—51

Ends — Huffman, T. Gutshall, Bell, Matie, Nestor, Robinson, Venables, DiLoreto.

Tackles — Csonka, Lee, Gresham, George, Nicewander, Rich, Chapman, Goff.

Guards — Graber, Fenton, Schumacher, A. Lemon, Lightfoot, Bricker, Moore.

Centers — Studer, Brand, Nagle.

Quarterbacks — Wood, Keller.

Halfbacks — Streeter, Danzy, Pifer, Dailey, Mayor, T. Lemon, Swann, Pfeiffer, Grizzard, Herring, Henderson.

Fullbacks – Harmon, McGuire, Waldrop, Snell.

Placekickers – Binks, Limbach.

Holder – Bickford.

Punter – Keller

STEUBENVILLE – 0

Ends – Williams, Jones, Price, Mavromatis, Medley, Jarvis.

Tackles – Shell, Quattrone, Brancazio, Cramblett.

Guards – Ossio, Moncilovich, Carney, Rohrey, Snyder.

Center – Sarap.

Quarterbacks – Repella, Bryan.

Halfbacks – Fletcher, Thuchowski, Edgar, Kunkle, Robinson.

Fullbacks – DeFrances, Christian, Runkel.

Placekicker – Medich,

Massillon 7 23 15 6 51

M – Jeff Huffman 5 pass fdrom Greg Wood ( Binks kick); W—Wood 73 run (Mark Streeter run); M – Huffman 40 pass from wood (Mark Pifer run); Mayor 9 run (Binks kick); Huffman 26 pass from Wood (Limbach Kick); Danzy 23 run (Henderson run); Todd Keller one-half, run (run failed0.

Officials: Referee – Charles Hinkle; Umpire – Wilson Murray; Head linesman—John Curenton; Field judge – Bill Paolisso

History

1972: Massillon 12, Steubenville 0

October 13, 1972August 3, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger defense halts Steubenville 12-0

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Call it “Tiger Pride,” “Obie Spirit” or whatever you want to call it, but the season’s largest crowd of 18,848 fans Friday night at Tiger stadium saw in the fourth quarter why the Washington high football team is No.1 in three Class AAA state polls.

At that point hanging up a sixth consecutive victory against no defeats against a Steubenville team also hitherto unbeaten in five games, became incidental to the Tiger faithful. The 12-0 final score meant nothing. It was a goal line stand like hasn’t been seen in a long time here that made the fans of both sides stand up and take notice.
* * *
UNDER COACH Bob Commings the Orange and Black has become noted for its defense and they wanted to make sure that shutout No. 17 was theirs. Center Todd Cocklin, who has been doing a fine job of snapping the ball to Kevin Westover for punts, had one get away from him. It sprouted wings from the Steubenville 40 and ended up on the Massillon 24 with 3:16 left.

Strong safety Don Muhlback and ends Dari Edwards and Brian Bash tossed quarterback Ira Jarvis back to the 32. On the next play he tossed a safety valve aerial to halfback Joe Davis who ran from the 35 to the nine.

Four plays later on fourth down on the one, Davis tried to go through the center but the Tigers rose up like one of those giant waves at Waikiki and completely engulfed the Big Red Senior, halting him on the one-inch line shortly before the game ended.

“That was a great effort – no doubt about it,” said Coach Bob Commings. “The defensive effort the whole game was just fabulous.”

Spearheading the stinginess were Bash and middle guard Tom Balizet in what could be called a “Double-B Blitzkreig.” Those two were as pesky as mosquitoes, but so was the entire defense with crunching tackles and lightning like secondary moves.

The Big Red completed only two of 14 skyway attempts and got only 60 net yards on the ground, losing 44. Tailback Courtney Snyder, second leading All-American conference ground gainer, was held to 32 yards in 11 attempts.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE GOT out of its own territory only once in each half. The other time came in the second quarter after the Tigers had been backed up on their eight on fourth down and Westover, punting from the end zone, reached the Tigers’ 41. Jarvis found Snyder on the 21 on the next play but four plays later free safety Tom Hannon threw Snyder for a fourth down two-yard loss to the 15.

The Steubers threw in some good defense too, holding the Tigers to their lowest total yardage this year – 191 – including 58 lost rushing for a net 139 and covered pass receivers well enough that only three of eight were successful. End Bruce Fletcher was a particularly thorny one as was linebacker Bob Snyder.

Hannon as his usual self. “Tomboy” amassed 138 net yards in 27 carries, making the fifth game in six that he has gone over the century mark, attesting to why he is the AAC’s leading ground gainer.

He scored both of the Tigers’ touchdowns, which came in the first quarter – a period in which the Obiemen have scored only twice before this year – and it appeared the jinx had been broken. But once again that invisible curtain was dropped and the Tigers failed to score that hard-to-find third touchdown for the fifth time.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched 65 yards in seven plays with Hannon providing a 12-yard runback and five other carries including runs of 18, 13, 10 and 15 yards – the last for the score with 9:10 left – on his favorite power pitch scamper around right end. Westover barely missed running the conversion over.

The Tigers moved 55 yards after a punt in 13 plays – with Hannon scoring on fourth down from the three on the right end power pitch with 53 seconds left. Westover tried to hit Terry Edwards for the two extra points but Davis batted the ball away.

A 29-yard pass-run from Westover to Terry Edwards was the drive highlight.

The Orange and Black went on the prowl again after a punt from the Steubenville 44 after a second quarter punt with the help of a 19-yard Westover to Dari Edwards pass-run and a 15-yard run by Hannon after a 32-yard run up the middle by fullback Alex Wood had been nullified by a holding penalty. But two broken plays cropped up at the 19, killing the effort.

The Big Red allowed the Tigers no more than their 25 in the remainder of the second quarter.

The WHSers took over at their 49 following a third quarter punt and face mask penalty and moved to the Steubenville three in 14 plays with Hannon carrying seven times, again making the power pitch count.
* * *
WITH FOURTH and two on the three, the pitch went to Hannon again. This time he tried to hit Terry Edwards in the end zone but found him well covered and was not able to get the ball to him.

“We beat an undefeated team and beat them good,” Commings said, “We said Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, that it was going to be a barn burner and it was.”

A very dejected Abe Bryan, Steubenville head coach, who has failed to beat Massillon in nine tries and who has been shut out by them four consecutive years, handed the Tiger defense its just applause.

“They have an excellent on,” he said. ‘They rose to the occasion. We had no consistency on the big downs. We started behind again as we have in four of our first five games. We were not able to overcome this. We were out hit and out coached. Our kids didn’t quit. They haven’t quit all year.”

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Fletcher, Hill, Mavromatics, Price.
Tackles – Kalifut, B. Jarvis, Strake, Sandonas.
Guards – Dorsey, Fahey, Quattrone.
Centers – Long, Sarap.
Quarterbacks – I. Jarvis, Nicholson.
Halfbacks – C. Snyder, Spencer, Davis, Medley.
Fullbacks – B. Snyder, Alfred.

MASSILLON – 13
Ends – Bash, D. Edwards, McCauley, Sullivan, Bodiford.
Tackles – Geiser, Green, Csonka.
Guards – Mayles, Guiffre, Keller, Graber.
Center – Cocklin.
Quarterback – Westover.
Halfbacks – Hannon, T. Edwards, Dennis Gutshall.
Fullback – A. Wood.
Middle Guards – Balizet, G. Wood.
Linebackers – Charles Danzy, T. Gutshall.
Defensive Backs – Jackson, Swann, Dan Gutshall, Muhlbach, Mayor.

MASSILLON 12 0 0 0 12
STUEBENVILLE 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Hannon, 15 run (run failed);
M – Hannon, 3 run (run failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Milo Lukity.
Umpire – Dr. Henley Freeman.
Head Linesman – Charles Hinkle.
Field Judge – Hugh Davis.
Back Judge – Tim Murray.

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs, rushing 9 5
First downs, passing 2 1
First downs, penalties 1 0
Total first downs 12 6
Yards gained rushing 197 104
Yards lost rushing 58 44
Net yards gained rushing 139 60
Net yards gained passing 52 43
Total yards gained 191 103
Passes completed 3-8 2-14
Kickoff average (yards) 3-40.3 1-47.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 22 28
Punt average (yds.) 3-38.0 6-35.8
Punt returns (yds.) 23 13
Fumbles (lost) 1(0) 0
Yards penalized 2-22 2-30
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Total number of plays 61 52

History

1971: Massillon 26, Steubenville 0

October 15, 1971July 29, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger tailbacks, defense keys to rout

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was a nice try, fellows – sliding the Tiger down a wire just prior to the kickoff, to be cremated by flames from the scoreboard horse’s mouth – but it wasn’t about to turn out that way.

The Orange and Black had a terrific Friday night! In fact you might say it was devastating!
* * *
AN ESTIMATED crowd of 10,000 saw the Tigers boot the “House of Horrors” myth right out of Harding stadium and into the Ohio River which surges by Steubenville.

Of the 26-0 victory over the Big Red, Washington High Assistant Coach Nick Vrotsos said, ‘This was the most gratifying of any here since I joined the staff.” The native of Martins Ferry – just down the stream a bit – has seen seven since he came to Massillon in 1958.

When going over the latest list of Tiger assets, you could mark them off as follows:
Item 1 – Tailbacks Willie Spencer and Larry McLenndon gaining 352 of the Orange and Black’s 378 net rushing yardage. Spencer, the All-American conference’s leading rusher and scorer, gaining 193 yards in 20 carries – including 114 in 10 lugs in the first half – and tallying two touchdowns; McLenndon picking up 159 yards in nine tries and two TDs; both boys doing this while playing a lot of defense along the way.

Item 2 – An offensive line, led by guards Bruce Christoff, Randy Heck, Dan Guiffre and Scott Graber and center Steve Studer, snaring the opposition slicker than a mousetrap pinions an unsuspecting rodent – a tribute to the coaching of Vrotsos.

Item 3 – An all-around defense tighter than the purse strings on Jack Benny’s pocketbook, resulting in the Tigers’ fourth shutout in six tries and only 126 total yards for the Big Red.
* * *
“USING TWO TAILBACKS certainly helped us, our line blocked well, we defensed them real well and I thought quarterbacks Scott Dingler and Kevin Westover looked good,” head Coach Bob Commings said. “We had more depth and that hurt Steubenville.”

By winning the Tigers moved to a 5-1 season record and took over third place in the All-American conference at 1-1. The defending league and Ohio Class AAA state champions should have picked up valuable ground in both the Associated Press poll and the Ohio High School Athletic association’s computer ratings.

While handing out praise for top performances, a great deal should go to 139-ound Steubenville senior quarterback-defensive back Mike Mavromatis. He perhaps more than any other epitomized the courage and guts of a team which took an unmerciful pounding, but time and again came back for more.

“He’s a great kid! A real competitor!” said Commings. Mavromatis was about the hardest guy to bring down the Tigers have run up against this year, but men like end Bob Stephan and linebacker Mike McGuire were equal to the task.

There were no scores in the first quarter even though both teams got close with the Tigers’ effort dying on the Steubenville 18 after Spencer had landed on a first play Big Red fumble on the Steubenville 32. An offside penalty and a fumble on a pitchout set the Tigers back to the 33.

A 25-yard pass-run from Mavromatis to halfback Herm Davis on the ensuing series didn’t help the Big Red as Mavromatis was thrown from the Tigers four to the 19 on fourth down by Spencer who then took off over right tackle for 43 yards to the Steubenville 46 to start an 81-yard, five-play drive. After offside and motion penalties – the last of which nullified his TD – Spencer went over left tackle from the 21 on second and 14 with 8:54 left in the second canto.
* * *
DINGLER’S KICK was wide right.

Davis intercepted a pass on the Steubenville six and Hannon picked off a Big Red aerial on the Massillon 28 to thwart further first-half scoring.

Hannon ran back the second half kickoff 24 yards and McLenndon set sail over right tackle on the next play for 57 yards and a TD with the help of a downfield block by McGuire. The score came with 11:26 left and Spencer followed around with a right end for two more counters.

Willie got the next score with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter, capping a five play, 70-yard drive with a 38-yard jaunt over right tackle, breaking a tackle in the process. A 17-yard, pass-run from Dingler to Thompson down the center after a motion penalty set the stage.

Spencer missed the conversion over left tackle.

The Tigers took over on the Big Red 46 after a short punt. Westover unloaded a 30 yarder to McGuire who jumped up between two men on the 15 along the left side, grabbed the ball and continued to the four. McLenndon traversed right tackle with 4:22 remaining for six points.
* * *
HANNON DIDN’T make the end zone for the conversion but two minutes later hauled in a pass from his 22 to his end zone to kayo Steubenville’s final threat.

Commings had yanked the first team but put them back in again, drawing the ire of Steubenville fans. However, he instructed his team not to call time with the clock running out and the Tigers on the Big Red 10 after McLenndon had raced 64 yards around left end to the Steubenville 17.
With state championships decided on polls, the shutout is a necessity.

“It went pretty much as we expected as far as Massillon’s aggressiveness and power was concerned,” Steubenville Coach Abe Bryan said. “They just handled us out there. We made some mental mistakes, but hit well. We went away from our game plan in the first quarter and really blew it badly. Then we had to play catch-up football. They have a fine team. We are not physical enough and must eliminate mistakes with our size if we are to beat the good teams.”

He concluded, “Spencer played a great game and broke an awful lot of tackles when we had clean sweeps.”

MASSILLON – 25
Ends – Stephan, Matie, McGuire, D. Edwards, Bodiford.
Tackles – Heath, Weirich, T. Peters, Green, Shumar.
Guards – Christoff, Heck, Graber, Guiffre, Mayles, Vogt, Keller, Balizet, Bash.
Centers – Studer, Allman, Cocklin, McCabe.
Quarterbacks – Dingler, Muhlback, Westover.
Halfbacks – W. Spencer, McLenndon, Thompson, T. Edwards, Nussbaumer, Wonsick, Jackson, Weise, Christie.
Fullbacks – Perry, Hannon, Wood.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Gilliam, Hill, Sims, Warren, Jarvis.
Tackles – Kalifut, Bougard, Markakis, Hargrove.
Guards – Holmes, Dorsey, Embry, Fahay.
Centers – Medley, Nixon.
Quarterbacks – Mavromatis.
Halfbacks – H. Davis, Snyder, Alfred, Johnson, R. Snyder.
Fullback – Gray.

STEUBENVILLE 0 0 0 0 0
MASSILLON 0 6 8 12 26

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Spencer, 21 run (run failed);
M – McLenndon, 57 run (run)
M – Sepncer, 38 run (run failed)
M – McLenndon, 4 run (run failed).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Milo Lukity.
Umpire – Dr. Henley Freeman.
Head Linesman – Sam DiBlasi.
Field Judge – Jim Murray.

ATTENDANCE – 10,500

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs, rushing 16 7
First downs, passing 2 1
First downs, penalties 2 1
Total first downs 20 9
Yards gained rushing 408 151
Yards lost rushing 30 54
Net yards gained rushing 378 97
Net yards gained passing 70 29
Total yards gained 448 126
Passes completed 4-7 2-13
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 5-49.0 1-42.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 97
Punt average (yds.) 2-36.5 6-35.3
Punt returns (yds.) 10 4
Fumbles (lost) 3(1) 1(1)
Yards penalized 7-55 3-25
Total number of plays 54 55

History

1970: Massillon 40, Steubenville 0

October 16, 1970July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers’ awesome display routs Big Red

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Two “Big Red Machines” have screeched to halts this week. The Baltimore Orioles took care of one, the Massillon Tigers, the other.

Combining their most awesome offensive display with another devastating effort by the “Attack Pack,” the Washington high gridders pulverized Steubenville 40-0 Friday night at Tiger stadium. The season’s biggest crowd, 13,861, watched the home coming massacre.
* * *
THE TIGERS, No. 1-ranked in Ohio by the Associated Press, stretched their win streak to six and took over first place in the All-American conference by one-half game. Defending champion Canton McKinley (5-0) can throw the race into a tie again with a win tonight at Niles.

Steubenville (3-3) dropped into solo occupancy of the cellar.

The Tigers got over another big hurdle in their effort to regain the Ohio toga, shed after two straight titles, in 1966. But that the Orangemen should run up as many points was surprising.

Even though Steubenville lost the AAC’s second leading passer, Jeff Spahn, with concussion in the second quarter and two-way outstanding end Les Washington via the same type of injury in the fourth, Coach Abe Bryan refused to put the blame there.

“We were outplayed, out hit and out coached,” he said, “Massillon is a fine team,
well-coached in its techniques, has a lot of spirit and a lot of pride.”
* * *
“WE DIDN’T think it would be that bad,” he said. “I knew we were making mistakes, but I didn’t think we were that poor.”

Commings didn’t think it was any easy game for the Tigers.

“Our kids did what they were supposed to – took it to them,” he explained. “They were well prepared for us and defensed us perfectly. However, our kids blocked well. We didn’t expect to score 40 points. It was a pretty complete game (good in all aspects).”

The Tigers got tremendous second-effort running from tailback Mike Mauger and Larry McLenndon, fullback and Co-Captain Tom Cardinal and quarterback Dennis Franklin. Commings was unstinting in his praise of each.

Franklin has his best aerial effort with seven completions in 10 tries for 156 yards, passing for two touchdowns and a conversion. He also scored a conversion.
* * *
MAUGER DELIVERED the mail twice to the Big Red end zone. Both are gaining impetus in their drive for All-Ohio honors.

The “Iron Curtain” provided spacious running room again, firing off the ball with devastating results. A couple of the “Magnificent Seven,” two-way tackles Kirk Strobel and Tim Ridgley, got ratings of “great” from Commings.

Guards Pete Jaskinski and Dave Kulik continued to spearhead the pulling and trap blocking. It appears the entire line is vying for All-Ohio honors.

“The secondary was all over their receivers like glue,” Commings said, “but when you play that good, it’s got to be a team effort.”

The Tigers had 273-20 net yards rushing and 17-0 first downs advantages after the first half. Mauger had gained 102 of his 108 yards and carried the ball 17 of his 19 times. He got a rest most of the second half because he’s been playing on a gimpy ankle since the Niles game and didn’t practice much this week.
* * *
FINAL READINGS showed Massillon ahead 416-75 in net yards gained and 26-5 in first downs. Steubenville got into Tiger territory once – shortly after getting their initial first down with 10:29 left in the third quarter. The “Attack Pack” then stopped the Steubens on the Massillon 47 on fourth down by a gnat’s eyelash.

Larry Harper got the Tigers off and winging with a 24-yard runback of the opening kickoff and just missed a six-pointer on a first play bomb. Seven plays and one face mask call later, Franklin hit tight end and Co-captain Steve Luke on the one with a third down,
36-yarder and Luke carried in, while juggling the ball, with 9:47 left. Split end Willie Spencer couldn’t hold Franklin’s conversion pass.

A Big Red series later, the WHSers took off on a 16-plan trek with Mauger barreling off tackle from the two on second down with 1:05 left. This time Franklin and Spencer found the right combination for two points.

The Tigers put together an eight-play drive after the next Steuben series. But the penetration went only as far as the Steuber 24.

Two plays later, Ridgley jumped off Jeff Spahn’s bobble to give the Massillon’s possession on the River City 37. Mauger carried on five of the next eight plays as the scoreboard lights blinked some more.
* * *
“THE MAILMAN” picked up 16 yards in the last four plays himself, blasting over from the one on third down with 2:49 left in the second canto. Franklin bootlegged the extra two points.

After the next Steuber series, on third down from the Tiger 42, Franklin hit Harper on the 10. “The Scooter” carried the rest of the way to stop the clock at 0:52. McLenndon ran the end for the conversion, but the Orangemen were called for clipping. Franklin tried to find Harper, but “The Meance’s” pass fell incomplete in the end zone.

Harper got off a nifty 52-yard TD jaunt early in the third period only to have a holding penalty kill his effort. Later in the stanza, Bill Luke picked off a fourth-down, punt formation pass from the 50, ran back 20 yards to the Big Red 44 and another TD was in the making.

Eight plays, a 17-yard pass-run from Franklin to Spencer and a piling penalty later, the WHS team had its fifth TD, coming back from an illegal use of the hands penalty en route. Cardinal got his first counter of the season on a trap through the middle on third down from the five with 10:20 remaining in the game. Mauger’s kick went under the crossbar.

Two series after, Art Thompson scampered 25 yards with a punt to start a 36-yard,
eight-play jaunt. McLenndon ended the scoring from nine yards out off tackle with 1:34 left. Tim Willoughby was brought down short of the conversion.

Shortly thereafter, Thompson ran an interception back 27-yards to the Steuber 33, but the Tigers roughed the passer. He ran another back 17 yards to the Massillon 43 to end the game.

STEUBENVILLE –0
Ends – Washington, McCaluslen, Simon, Chorba.
Tackles – Moncilovich, Stasiulewicz, Bougard.
Guards – Hargrove, DiBacco, Bauman, Stefanidis, DeFrancis.
Centers – Cohen, Christian, Hindman.
Quarterbacks – Spahn, Mavromatis.
Halfbacks – Brown, Davis, Young, Johnson, Dryden, King.
Fullbacks – Grey, Cara, Livingston.

MASSILLON – 40
Ends – S. Luke, Spencer, Stephan, McGuire, Clary.
Tackles – Ridgley, Strobel, Janikis.
Guards – Kulik, Jasinski, Sims, Marsh, Groff, J. Nussbaumer.
Centers – Studer, Gaddis.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Dingler.
Halfbacks – Harper, Sullivan, Pattinson, B. Luke, Wonsick, Mauger, H. Nussbaumer, McLenndon, Thompson.
Fullbacks – Cardinal, Perry, Willoughby, Fletcher.

MASSILLON 14 14 0 12 40
STEUBENVILLE 0 0 0 0 0

SCORING
M – S. Luke, 37 pass-run from Franklin (pass failed);
M – Mauger, 2 run (Spencer, pass from Franklin);
M – Mauger 1, run (Franklin run);
M – Harper, 58 pass-run from Franklin (run nullified by penalty, pass failed);
M – Cardinal, 5 run (kick failed); McLenndon, 9 run (run failed).

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 20 3
First downs – passing 5 1
First downs – penalties 1 1
Total first downs 26 5
Yards gained rushing 292 74
Yards lost rushing 32 6
Net yards gained rushing 260 68
Net yards gained passing 156 19
Total yards gained 416 75
Passes completed 7-10 3-11
Yardage on passes intercepted 2-44 0
Kickoff average (yards) 7-46.9 1-48
Kickoff returns (yards) 22 125
Punt average (yards) 0 4-28.7
Lost fumbled ball 1-1 1-3
Yards penalized 5-75 3-35
Touchdowns – rushing 4 0
Touchdowns – passing 2 0
Total number of plays 67 43

OFFICIALS
Referee – Milo Lukity.
Umpire – Dr. Larry Glass.
Head Linesman – Tom Ascani.
Field Judge – Ed Steinkerchner.
Back Judge – Dr. Henley Freeman.

ATTENDANCE – 13,861.

History

1969: Massillon 0, Steubenville 0

October 10, 1969July 27, 2017
by Eric Smith

It was an unhappy night for Tigers
Flags fly as offense fails; defense clicks

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

You could have called it “The Battle of the Frustration Bowl” or “The Saga of the Red Flags” but anyway you sliced it, it added up to an unhappy night.

It was all defense before an estimated 13,000 standing room only crowd Friday night at Harding stadium in Steubenville as the Massillon Tigers and Steubenville big Red battled to a scoreless deadlock. The Tigers have scored only six points in the last eight quarters.

On fourth down from the 38, Herring tried to hit Lewis again, this time in the end zone, but halfback Tom Mitchell knocked the ball down.
* * *
DURING THE last minute of the game, a Tiger fumble of a Steubenville punt was recovered on the Massillon 33 by guard Ross Daniels but a five-yard motion penalty was assessed the Big Red by linesman Frank Wahl, forcing a re-punt and Massillon ran out the clock.

Late in the second quarter Steubenville was fourth down three on the Massillon 10. A procedure penalty put the Big Red back to the 15 from where halfback Jim Steiner’s
25-yard field goal try was blocked by Bill Dorman.

There were two other scoring threats, both by Massillon. In the second quarter, Lewis picked up a Steuber fumble on the Massillon 48 at the 5:36 mark. A 24-yard pass-run from Quarterback Denny Franklin to wingback Larry Harper put the ball on the 19, but on fourth down three, end Henry Hill, trouble-some all night, tossed Franklin to the 19.

In the third quarter, Autrey and Franklin combined on a 20-yard pass-run with a 15-yard face-mask penalty thrown in. But on second down from the Steubenville 25, guard Ralph DiBacco and Mitchell pounced on another Tiger bobble.

Getting back to the Tigers’ defense, Sheaters and halfback Scott Pattinson, also a sub, turned in some fine pass coverage work. End Ed McConnaughead had a couple of key tackles.

BUT COACH Bob Commings patted the entire defense on the back.

“I thought the kids were fabulous,” he said. “They deserved to win. They hit like crazy! When you take Streeter (Darnell) out and you still do a good job, you can be sure you’ve done well. We had enough offense to win. We scored one TD. Steubenville played a very spirited game.”

Streeter didn’t play in the second half because his jaw, swollen from oral surgery, began to act up. Franklin, for the second consecutive week, got knocked woozy and left near the end of the game.

“It was a good hitting game, real good effort on our part,” Abe Bryan, Steubenville coach who has never beaten Massillon, explained. “A break either way could have changed the game. Our second quarterback Jeff Spahn hurt us so we went back to our injured one, Gary Repella, in the fourth quarter.”

He added, “With the caliber of the two teams, the number of penalties called was not good. I think we had more penalties tonight than all other games put together this year. But we made mistakes.”

Massillon will now take a one-game rest from AAC warfare to return home next Friday against Hamilton Garfield.

Both teams now have 4-1-1 overall records. Massillon is 1-1-1 in the All-American conference, tied with Niles (1-1) for third, while Steubenville is 1-0-1 and second. Canton McKinley (3-0) leads.

THE TIE was the first in the Massillon-Steubenville series since a 7-7 score in 1945 on the same field. It was the third consecutive season in which a Tiger team has been scoreless in at least one game.

A Steubenville team hadn’t held the Orange and Black scoreless since a 1931 68-0 debacle, also in the River City, but on a different field.

So hard-hitting were both defenses that Massillon netted only two yards rushing and Steubenville 46. But Massillon’s 122 in the air enabled the Orange and Black to end with a scant 10 yard advantage in total yardage 122-110.

The Tigers were held to minus 27 yards on the ground in the first half while the Steubers picked up only 33. Neither offensive line could do much blocking for runners or much protecting of passers.

Two key penalties hurt both teams but the one which nullified a fourth quarter Massillon TD was the bitterest pill to swallow. Cornerback Jerry Sheaters, starting his first game, had just intercepted a Steubenville pass on the Massillon 33 with 2:41 left in the game to prevent what looked like a sure touchdown.

QUARTERBACK GARY Herring, tossed a screen pass to fullback Mike Autrey who made one of the finest runs of the season, featuring a neat cut-back, to get into pay dirt.

However, Washington high was called for illegal procedure. Referee Bill Holzwarth said after the game that field judge Robert Walker had detected a lineman in “No Man’s Land” (between the line and the backfield). Since the Tigers did not have seven men on the line, it cost them dearly.

Later in the same series, Steubenville thought it had recovered a fumble at the Tiger 16 when Autrey dropped a screen toss. However, Holzwarth, who initially signaled a first down for Steubenville, changed his mind after consultation with his crew and ruled an incomplete pass.

At the 4:05 mark, linebacker Mark Benson intercepted a pass and ran it back five yards to the Big Red 30. Tailback Mike Mauger swept to the 20. Split end Don Lewis made a catch just in bounds of the 10 off Herring but the WHSers were assessed 15 yards holding.

MASSILLON – 0
Ends – Maxhimer, Robinson, Lewis, McConnaughead, Byelene.
Tackles – Benson, Celik, Bingle, Ridgley, Strobel.
Guards – Jasinski, Hout, Midgley, Ferguson, Miller, McLin.
Centers – S. Luke, Brand.
Quarterbacks – Franklin, Herring.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Mauger, Sheaters, Harper, Pattinson, Lombardi.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – DeLenardis, R. Washington, Lesjak, Hicks, Hill, Chorba, Simon.
Tackles – Henry, Stasjulewicz, Stefanidis, Radakovich, W. King.
Guards – DiBacco, Daniels, Beraddelli.
Centers – Barren.
Quarterbacks – Spahn, Repella
Halfbacks – Brown, Mitchell, Livingston, Misselwicz, Steiner.
Fullback – Williams.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Bill Holzwarth.
Umpire – Ken Newlon.
Head linesman – Frank Wahl.
Field Judge – Robert Walker.

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 2 3
First downs – passing 5 3
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 7 6
Yards gained rushing 70 75
Yards lost rushing 68 29
Net yards gained rushing 2 46
Net yards gained passing 120 64
Total yards gained 122 110
Passes completed 9–23 6–6
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Kickoff average (yards) 1–45.0 1–43.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 10 17
Punt average (yards) 8–41.3 8–36.1
Punt returns (yards) 17 6
Lost fumbled ball 2–3 1–2
Yards penalized 7–55 4–30
Total number of plays 58 55

History

1968: Massillon 20, Steubenville 12

October 18, 1968July 19, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers beat Big Red
in 20-12 thriller

Fourth quarter drive turns tide for WHS

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

It was one of those games during which you’d like to jump out of your skin or see the nearest doctor for a tranquilizer.

Using a great fourth quarter drive, the Massillon Tigers came roaring back from a 12-point deadlock to a 20-12 win over long-time rival Steubenville at rain-soaked Tiger stadium Friday night.

The season’s smallest crowd (10,500) was held spellbound until the final tick of the clock wrote a finish to a great effort on the part of two powerful football teams.

The win was the sixth consecutive for the Washington high eleven since an opening game defeat to Mentor and gave the Tigers a 3-0 slate in the All-American conference (AAC), putting them two victories away from third consecutive title and their fifth in the six-year history of the league.
* * *
THE BIG RED’S third loss in seven games left them alone in the AAC cellar with an 0-3 rating since alliance (0-2) played out of the league.

Steubenville’s lefty quarterback Craig Misselwitz found end Bob Washington, all alone in the center of the end zone on a fourth down pass from the five to know the count with 7:10 left in the game.

After Misselwitz missed end Ron Styles on the conversion try, Marc Malinowski ran back the kickoff 22 yards to start a 51-yard pay dirt drive, which chopped six minutes, two seconds off the clock.

Tailback Jim Smith carried on 10 of the 13 plays gaining yardage in excruciatingly short snatches. He fumbled on the two but tight end Tom Robinson recovered on a disputed call.

“There was nobody else around,” Robbie said later. “I saw the ball lying there and grabbed it.”
* * *
ON THE next play Smith scored the last of his three right-side, off-tackle touchdowns from the two. Time remaining was 1:02 as quarterback Marc Malinowski faked to Smith and skirted right end for the 19th and 20th points.

Smith intercepted on the 50 shortly thereafter to end Steubenville’s final effort.

“A combination of things occurred on that last touchdown desire,” Bryan explained. “I think it was the blocking of the fullbacks and wingbacks that was as effective as Smith’s running.”

Seaman remarked, “That’s probably true and the line did not do that bad of a job either. We wanted that touchdown badly and blocked like crazy.”

Smith’s other off –tackle scores were from the one and two in that order. Near the end of the first quarter, Keith Autrey’s disputed fumble, Keith Autrey’s disputed fumble recovery on the Steubenville 45 sent the Tigers to their first score with a non-frequent Malinowski to Smith pass-run combination for 12 yards, helping to set up the tally, which came with 6:48 left in the second canto.

Malinowski’s pass to tight end Mike James was no good.
* * *
EARLIER LONG drives by both teams had fizzled, Chuck Stoner’s fumble recovery on the Massillon 24 halting the Stubbers.

Dave Doll grabbed off a fumble on the Big Red 17 shortly after the second half kickoff. Smith’s second tally came with 9:15 remaining in the period.

McDew missed on a left tackle conversion try.

Gary Rapella snared a Tiger fumble on Massillon’s 33, took advantage of a personal foul penalty and sent fullback Bob Sims in on fourth down from the half-yard line with 3:07 left in the third chapter. Steubenville had had a first down on the two.

“I think we had it stopped,” Seaman said, “but Sims appeared to roll off the pile and into the end zone. They did a good job pounding at us.”
* * *
MISSELWITZ’ PASS to Dennis Madama on the conversion attempt was nixed by Keith Autrey and Bert Dampier.

After one post-kickoff series, Steubenville got its 45-yard final scoring drive underway. A 15-yard Misselwitz to Ray Culbreath pass on the nine helped set up the score.

“I rhought we had Washington covered,” Seaman explained, “but we gave them too long to throw the ball” – a major Tiger fault all season.

The big back battle never materialized as Smith carried 28 times for a net 119 yards to preserve his margin over Sims for first place in the AAC. The Big Red piledriver carried 19 times for 87 yards but Bryan mixed things up between his backs with all of them giving a fine performance.

“I’ll say again,” Seaman reiterated. “It takes a heckuva fine team to turn the momentum of the game as we did.
* * *
HE SAID that Sims was a fine back that Steubenville gave a great effort.

Both coaches said their game plans had been changed due to the rain, with Seaman having decided to run outside and Bryan hoping to rely on a pro-type offense because of Altoona’s success in throwing against Massillon with a wide formation last week. Neither wanted to speculate on what difference the changes made.

Seaman thought an opponent’s line once again beat his to the punch in the first half.

Bryan preferred not to comment on why the Big Red declined a procedure penalty against Massillon on a play which saw the Tigers move to the one and then score their first TD.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen us lose a game before when I was able to tell the kids I was real proud of them,” he said. “They put forth a real great effort.”

STEUBENVILLE – 12
Ends – Washington, Styles, DeLeonardis, Spencer,
Mavromatis, Radakoyich, Wesley.
Tackles – Brown, Muklewitz.
Guards – Patterson, Jakcson, Trimmer, Magyar.
Centers – Barren, Monroe.
Quarterbacks – C. Misselwitz, Repella.
Halfbacks – R. and E. Culbreath, Mitchell, Madama,
K. Smith, Perine.
Fullbacks – Sims, Williams.

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – James, Engler, Robinson, Dampier, Conley, Dorman,
Cline, Jackson.
Tackles – Harris, Laase, McGeorge, Midgley, Doll.
Guards – Couto, Harig, Whitfield, Hout, Indorf, Arnott.
Center – Cocklin.
Quarterbacks – Malinowski, Fromholtz, Lombardi.
Halfbacks – J. Smith, McDew, Shumar, K. Autrey, Stoner,
McLin, Sheaters, Miller, Gamble, Hodgson.
Fullbacks – M. Autrey, Streeter, Johnson.

Steubenville 0 0 6 6 – 12
Massillon 0 6 6 8 – 20

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Smith 3 (one and two, two-yard runs);
Steubenville – Sims (half-yard run); Washington (five-yard pass from Misselwitz).

Extra points: Massillon – Malinowski 2 (run).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Malinowski 7 5 0
M. Autrey 5 34 6.8
J. Smith 28 119 7.3
McDew 10 38 3.8
Streeter 8 49 6.1

Steubenville
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Misselwitz 0 0 0
Sims 19 87 4.6
K. Smith 8 23 2.9
Mitchell 8 25 3.1
Culbreath 8 26 3.3

OFFICIALS
Referee – John Cseh.
Umpire – Harold Rolph.
Head Linesman – Chuck Hinkle.
Field Judge – Beauford Hatfield.

THE GRIDSTICK
M S
First downs – rushing 17 12
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 18 17
Yards gained rushing 258 171
Yards lost rushing 22 11
Net yards gained rushing 236 160
Net yards gained passing 12 38
Total yards gained 248 196
Passes attempted 4-1 14-4
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 4 0
Kickoff average (yards) 4—45.2 3-41.1
Kickoff returns (yards) 26 15
Punt average (yards) 3-43 2-41.5
Punt return (yards) 0 7
Lost fumbled ball 2-4 3-4
Yards penalized 3-33 1-15
Touchdowns rushing 3 1
Total number of plays 65 61

History

1967: Massillon 26, Steubenville 16

November 3, 1967July 19, 2017
by Eric Smith

Bengals Stifle Big Red Title Hopes
Jim ‘Tiger Turbine’ Smith Scores 4 TDs, Gains 184 Yards

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

The Massillon Tiger showed Friday night why he has been king so many times. He put forth the strongest side of his twany, battle worn hide at monsoon like Harding stadium in Steubenville.
* * *

THE WASHINGTON high gridiron aggregation rode into the “Valley of Death,” marches on through it and right out the other side with a hard-fought 26-16 victory over the state’s previously top-ranked and undefeated Big Red, apparently stifling the River City’s title hopes 2 years in a row.

The estimated standing room only crowd of 13,000 got the word that the Tigers believe they still have a right to the Buckeye throne even though showing an 8-1 record. The Stubbers, likewise 8-1, also hung out the message ensigns in a formation which read, “We still deserve second spot.”
* * *

THE BIG HERO had to be junior Tailback Jim Smith. The “Tiger Turbine” was at his best power wise, unstoppable outside, off tackle, up the middle and probably anywhere else Quarterback Trevor Young had directed him to go. He scored all 4 of his team’s touchdowns – may have had a fifth but slipped on the wet turf – and gained 184 yards in 39 carries for a 4.7 average.

Smitty’s effort got him a new team number for number of carries. The late Bob Glass had the previous mark at 31 when Massillon beat Steubenville 13-0 in 1937.
* * *

THE WIN ALSO put the Tigers into first place in the All-American Football conference with a 3-0 mark. The Big Red, the strongest and most versatile team Massillon has played to date, dropped to second at 2-1. They do not play Niles.

Another thing which the contest served to point out is what sound, conservative football will do for you – like hatching valuable time, which the opposition would like to use, off the clock, thereby limiting the foe’s potential scoring opportunities.
* * *

THE GAME also served to show that when the Tigers are at full strength offensively – which they weren’t when Upper Arlington handed them their only defeat – that Bob Seaman’s crew is hard to beat.

Tight End Tom Houser and Fullback Reggie Moore, both seniors and both out with injuries since the Altoona game 3 weeks ago, were back at their bruising best. Houser hacked away at defenders on his end of the line. Moore mangled them out of Smith’s path off tackle and added some timely running. Neither he nor Smith suffered any losses.
* * *
THE BENGAL Landers stepped out to a 14-0 lead at the beginning of the second period but the tough Stubbers were in front 16-14 at halftime. The toast of Tigertown roared in front again to stay with 12 points in the goodbye canto.

Three of the 4 TDs by the Tigers came on long drives, the last after a fumble recovery close in. The Tigers moved 69 yards on 14 plays after the opening kickoff for a tally with 4:38 remaining in the first quarter.
* * *
SMITH SCORED over left tackle on third down from the one-yard line after charging
20 yards around end on third down to the Steubenville 30 minutes earlier to keep the drive going. He might have also scored the conversion on a pitchout but slipped on the muddy turf and fell short of his target.

A 10-play, 51-yard drive after Russ Fenton’s 19-yard runback of the Stubbers’ next punt put Tiger fans into ecstasy again and took the game into the second period. As in the first drive, Smith picked up most of the yardage and tallied on second down from the one-foot line off right tackle with 11:12 left in the half. Young helped with a beautiful 33-yard scamper around end to the 3.

Young’s pass to Ertle made it 14-0.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE took over a Massillon punt on the Tigers’ 49 midway to the second period. Six plays later junior Fullback Bob Sims, a great runner even though hobbled by a leg injury, slipped off right tackle on first down from the 25 and got the Big Red’s first 6 points with the clock showing 6:49 left.

Halfback Keith Burke got a lateral from Quarterback Dave Corsi and hit End Jim Smith for the conversion.

Sims, who picked up 65 yards on 10 carries without a loss during the night, scored the other Big Red TD. After Burke had recovered Young’s fumble on the Massillon 39, the Stubbers got their deadly passing game into high gear and scored after 10 plays.
* * *
CORSI BEGAN hitting flanker Don Osby, connecting for 4, 14 and 16 yards. The crucial sky counter was a 4-yard fourth down pass from the 5 to Burke for a first down on the one. Smith scored over left tackle on the next play 27 seconds left in the half.

Corsi threw Bob Young for the conversion. Young making the catch on the one and going on in to put the Stubbers in the lead.

It began to look like the Big Red’s passing warfare might be too much for the Tigers, but secondarymen Mark McDew, Bert Dampier and Marc Malinowski, all juniors, were equal to the task in the second half.
* * *

ANOTHER JUNIOR, Larry Shumar, starting at “monster” back for the first time as senior Bill Simon was lost to the team for the remainder of the season with fractured neck vertebra put a lot of pressure on to dent the Big Red’s running hopes. Simon’s injury showed up in X-rays taken Friday after he had complained of neck pain all week.

Steubenville failed to get past the Massillon 46 in the second half as the Tigers put on a great defensive show to go with their offensive masterpiece.
* * *

TAKING OVER ON their 21 after a Steubenville punt near the end of the third quarter, the Obies opened up their ground attack still more by utilizing Wingback McDew on short, sliding pass pattern to the right, the first time the locals attempted to pass during the night.

Eleven plays later Smith had his third score with 10:41 left in the last quarter. Big plays were on Young-to-McDew connections on the aforementioned slides – 32 yards to the Big Red 48 and 16 yards to the Stubber 28, both setting up first downs on third down strategy.

Smith scored through the middle on first down from the 3. Burke knocked down a conversion aerial headed for McDew.
* * *

DAMPIER INTERCEPTED a pass intended for Burke on the Steubenville 47 with 3:04 left in the game. Massillon was unable to get the first down, Malinowski’s punt traveled only about 20 yards but Steubenville was offside, giving Malinowski another try.

Burke muffed the catch attempt on his 15, senior Tackle Bill Ricker, replacing the injured Ernie McGeorge, hopped on the ball and the Tigers continued in business. Three plays and 2 penalties later, Smith went off tackle from the 3 for the clincher with 30 seconds remaining in the contest.

Corsi grounded Young’s conversion pass to Ertle.

MASSILLON – 26
Ends – Houser, Dampier, Richards, Ertle, Twiggs.
Tackles – Snowball, Ricker, Laase, M. Snyder.
Guards – Whitfield, D. Gipp, Russell, M. Cardinal, Doll, Couto.
Centers – B. Moore, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – T. Young, Malinowski, Shumar.
Halfbacks – Jim Smith, Fenton, McDew, Fichter, Autrey, Evans.
Fullbacks – R. Moore, M. Gipp. Streeter.

STEUBENVILLE – 16
Ends – Jim Smith, B. Smith, Styles, Monroe.
Tackles – Reid, Mills, Brimmer, Muklewitz, Manfred, Brondo.
Guards – Jackson, Patterson, (unreadable) Haire.
Quarterback – Corsi.
Halfbacks – Osby, B. Young, (unreadable) Burke, Edwards.
Fullbacks – Sims, Culbreath.

Massillon 6 8 0 12 26
Steubenville 0 16 0 0 16

Touchdowns: Massillon – Jim Smith 4 (1, one-half, 3 and
2 yard funs).
Steubenville – Sims 2 (25 and 1-7ard runs).

Extra points:
Massillon – Ertle 2 (pass from T. Young).
Steubenville – Jim Smith 2 (pass-lateral from Corsi to Burke);
B. Young 2 (pass from Corsi).

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Young 17 49 2.9
Smith 39 184 4.7
McDew 4 16 4
Moore 6 23 3.8

Steubenville
Player Att. Net. Ave.
Sims 10 65 6.5

OFFICIALS
Referee – Dr. Phil Davidson.
Umpire – Tom Costello.
Head Linesman – Tom Stratis.
Field Judge – Ed Sutton.

Attendance: 13,000 (estimate)

THE GRIDSTICK
Mass. Steub.
First downs – rushing 16 5
First downs – passing 2 3
Total first downs 18 8
Yards gained rushing 288 86
Yards lost rushing 17 9
Net yards gained rushing 271 77
Net yards gained passing 49 75
Total yards gained 320 152
Passes completed 2-3 7-20
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 43.8 40.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 31 80
Punt return (yards) 5-33.0 6-35.8
Had punts blocked 15 41
Fumbles 2 1
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Yards penalized 6-55 3-20
Touchdowns rushing 4 2
Total number of plays 72 47

History

1966: Massillon 12, Steubenville 0

November 4, 1966July 18, 2017
by Eric Smith

Season’s Largest Crowd Sees Big Red Fall
Seaman Alters Defense To Half Fast Backs

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

It was one of the greatest defensive efforts in Tiger football history. But few – if any of the 17,404 Tiger stadium onlookers Friday night – largest crowd of the season – were aware of the full story.

The tale of Washington high’s 12-0 victory over the top-rated and undefeated Steubenville Big Red started last Sunday following a movie grading session. Bengal Coach Bob Seaman, aware of the tremendous running game of the Big Red, told his coaches that a change in defenses would be necessary.

Seaman, trying to avert the Tigers’ worst season in 35 years, altered his alignment from an Oklahoma 5-3 “Monster” to an Eagle 5-2-1 “Monster” middle. It gave the Bengals added rushing power and the single “monster” back the chance to jam up the off tackle plays on which Steubenville had been so effective all year.

Tiger team pursuit was terrific, led by tackle Allen Neago and, for a second straight week, by end Russ Fenton. Will Foster and Ron Muhlbach alternated extremely well at the “monster” slot until Muhlbach became exhausted from a week-long bout with the flu.
* * *

SO EFFECTIVE was the Bengals’ defensive play that Steubenville never got out of its own territory – except on a blocked punt recovery in the first quarter and after the Bengals had the contest won and went into a prevent defense during the last minute of play.

Steubenville was held to 11 yards rushing, losing 35; added to a passing total of 28 for 39 yards. The Big Red had only 3 first downs – 2 of them by penalty, the only earned first down coming in the last period.

Meanwhile Steubenville was doing some pretty fine defensive work of its own led by
All-Ohio end Dwight Sims and tackle Jim Corsier. Massillon ended with 165 net yards rushing, 11 passing and 176 total with 9 first downs, but got nowhere except on its scoring drives in the first and last quarter, both times capitalizing on breaks the Tigers manufactured.

Neago recovered a fumble for the Obiemen after a hard tackle on the Steubenville 38 during the latter part of the first quarter. Five plays later Massillon had its first touchdown as “Tailspin Tommy” James went over left tackle on first and 10 from the 13.

His pass catch from quarterback Craig Maurer – the only Tiger completion of the night – plus an 8-yard run took the ball to the 27 for a first down. Two plays later McDew was the second man through right guard for an 8-yard jaunt to set up the score.
* * *

AFTER JAMES’ score with 2 minutes remaining in the initial frame, Maurer failed on a roll out to the right on the conversion try.

Ron Ertle almost blocked a Big Red fourth quarter punt in the end zone after a combination of tough Tiger defense and penalties had put the Steubbers fourth and 44 on their 8. The punt rolled dead on the Steubenville 30.

Ten plays later Massillon had the clincher as Maurer sneaked over the middle on fourth down with the ball inches from pay dirt, the clock showing 52 seconds left in the contest. James dropped Maurer’s attempted conversion pass.

Foster had run the ball 4 times in the drive, picking up 10 yards. James had shot over left tackle for 10 yards for a first down on the 3.

Tiger man-mountain tackle Mike Sherrett recovered a fumble on the Steubenville 24 in the second period but the Bengals couldn’t capitalize. Sims blocked a Jim Krenzer punt in the first quarter with Crozier recovering on the Bengals 27, Sims tried a 46-yard field goal 4 plays later but was off to the left and out of the end zone.
* * *

OUTSIDE of those 2 instances the game was one of 2 teams punting to each other.

“It was the sweetest victory of my coaching career,” Seaman said. “It was one heck of a defensive effort. It was the same kind of game we’ve played all along but we just made too many mistakes before. I said all along this was a good team but Lady Luck hadn’t shown on us. She didn’t really frown on us tonight but she didn’t smile either.”

He added, “Steubenville has a great team and that Palmer (Mike) is as good a back as I’ve seen.”

Bryan mused, “They deserved the win. We were out-coached and out-played. We were not able to handle their new defense, having worked against their other one all week. They hit us well. We never got out of our own territory.”

The power at Tiger stadium was out for one hour before the game when a transformer blew. Start of the contest was delayed for 30 minutes but both coaches felt their opponents did not gain any great advantage by the delay.
* * *

MASSILLON evened its slate at 4-4-1 and kept intact its record of never having lost 5 straight.

By handing Steubenville its first loss in 8 games – all of the Big Red’s other contests being at home – Massillon scrambled the state title ratings. Upper Arlington, a 21-6 victor over the Tigers 2 weeks back, might have the inside track if it can beat Columbus Watterson next week.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Sims, Spahn, Bruzzese.
Tackles – Crosier, Bass.
Guards – Monroe, Hershey, Cocumelli.
Center – Sarap.
Quarterbacks – Vaccaro, Corsi, Burke.
Halfbacks – Palmer, Booth, Osby, Kerr.
Fullbacks – Horston, Titus.

MASSILLON – 12
Ends – Moyer, Snyder, Smith, Sterling, Gallion, Griffin, Liggett.
Tackles – Houser, Campbell, Ricker, Neago.
Guards – Porrini, Russell, Ertle, Beiter, Hauenstein, White, Whitfield.
Centers – Senften, Kraft, Skelton.
Quarterbacks – Maurer, Young, Henderson, Malinowski.
Halfbacks – James, Simon, McDew, Fenton, McFadden, Muhlbach, Staples, Hannon.
Fullback – Foster.

Massillon 6 0 0 6 12

Touchdowns:
Massillon – James (13-yard run); Maurer (one-yard run).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Howard Wirtz.
Umpire – Russ Kemper.
Head Linesman – Bill Makepeace.
Field Judge – Jack McLain.

Attendance: 17,404

THE GRIDSTICK
Massillon Opp.
First downs – rushing 8 1
First downs – passing 1 0
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 9 23
Yards gained rushing 175 46
Yards lost rushing 10 35
Net yards gained rushing 165 11
Net yards gained passing 11 28
Total yards gained 176 39
Passes attempted 7 8
Passes completed 1 4
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 15 0
Times kicked off 3 1
Kickoff average (yards) 37.6 60.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 0 44
Times punted 8 8
Punt average (yards) 24.9 30.0
Punt return (yards) 26 16
Had punts blocked 1 0
Fumbles 0 3
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 8 7
Yards penalized 90 47
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 0
Total number of plays 68 45

Tag: <span>Steubenville</span>