1957: Massillon 26, Steubenville 7

Tigers Roll Over Steubenville 26-7
Bengals Come From Behind To Beat Fired Up Foe In Last Half

By CHARLIE POWELL

Fumbles, penalties, an intercepted pass and messed-up assignments on offense kept Massillon in a hole and Tiger fans in a tizzy the first half but the Bengals proceeded to give the Steubenville Big Red a football lesson as they kept their record unstained before some 8,500 fans at Steubenville’s Harding stadium Friday night.

A lesson?

Sure. Once they uncoiled the Tigers were definitely the superior team with a high-geared attack sparkling in a 26-7 romp for victory No. 4.

For the first time this season the Tigers found themselves on the deck but they regained their poise, cut loose an offense that had halfbacks Ivory Benjamin and Gene Stewart driving the Steubers mad and regrouped the defensive troops to slam the door oln the upset-minded Big Red.
* * *
A FUMBLE led to Steubenville’s touchdown which came with five minutes gone in the opening quarter. A 43-yard pass play set up the first Massillon touchdown, which helped bring about a 7-7 deadlock at intermission.

But the second half was all Massillon.

The Tigers reigned supreme, both offensively and defensively. A 27-yard scamper by Benjamin paved the way for the Tigers to break the tie early in the third heat and clinching TDs came in the first and last minutes of the final round.

Steubenville, its coaches and fans, were “up” for this battle you could write a book about.

The Steubers tried, tried hard, and for quite a few minutes the Tigers were sweating it out. But the classy, more experienced backs, the harder hitting blockers and the teeth-jarring tacklers were too much.

When it was all over the Bengals had chalked up 18 first downs to 11, on the ground gained 272 yards to 73 and the over-all picture showed Massillon with 339 yards, the Big Red with 150.
* * *
IN THE OZONE the Steubers made four more yards than they did on the ground as quarterback Jim Roach, a junior star-in-the-making, hit on four of seven aerials. The Tigers, with Bob Getz and Stewart doing the tossing, completed two of five and had two intercepted.

With Co-Captain Chuck Beiter bottled up in the middle, most of the running was put in the hands of Benjamin and Stewart and this duo was a dandy.

Benjamin winged his way to 163 yards in 16 tries while Stewart carted 11 times for 65. Mark Anthony, who shared the signal-calling role with Getz, pitched in with 26 yards in four trips as he added a spark enroute to the third touchdown.
* * *
STEWART checked in two touchdown runs, both on short gainers, Beiter tallied once from a yard out and Benjamin scored on a 29-yard glitter-sprint with only 15 seconds remaining in the contest.

It was a hard-played game and both sides came out with numerous bumps and bruises.

And this story would hardly be classed a complete one if we would overlook some of the decisions made by the men in the striped-shirts.

One of the most controversial ones of the night came after Stewart scored from the seven and Hase McKey kicked the equalizer in the second period. Childers then kicked off with the ball landing around the four and going into the end zone. Halfback Wally Neel of the Big Red picked it up and tried to run but Pete Heimann, Tiger guard, zoomed in and lowered the boom. Was it a safety or a touchback? The officials ruled a touchback because the impetus of the kick not Neel’s actions, carried the ball past the goal line.

Another one that had the fans buzzing happened a few moments later. Steubenville punted from its 34 and Leaman Williamson, rugged defensive end for the Bengals, blocked it with Tackle John Donat recovering at the five. But the Tigers, instead of having the ball, were called for defensive holding and penalized 15 yards with the Steubers getting a first down at the 49.

Tiger Coach Lee Tressel was not all together pleased with the game but commented that “The boys buckled down and played good ball after the first quarter.

“They hit hard, especially in the second half. Steubenville was just as tough as we thought. The next one will be another battle too.”
* * *
THE TIGERS were a confused lot at the outset of the game. Plays went haywire during their first series after receiving the opening kickoff and Steubenville was able to rip off yardage in short chunks very reminiscent of the 1956 Mansfield team. The Steubers got the ball on a fumble on Massillon’s third play and eight plays later and with only five minutes off the clock, the Big Red have seven points.

Stewart, taking off on a sweep, couldn’t find the handle and Rufus Simmons, Red end, came up with the ball on the Tiger 25.

The Tigers gave ground little by little before a 12-yard pass play, Roach to Weinman, helped put the oval on the eight. Al White and Ed Weinman went to the three from which point Halfback Dave Cunningham veered off left tackle and reached the Promised Land after being hit at the one-yard line. Roach sneaked across for the extra point and the local boys experienced something new – they were behind for the first time this season. And also it was the first TD scored through the Massillon line.

On the kickoffs Steubenville was keeping them short and on the ensuing one, Childers grabbed the ball on the 30 and was downed on the 34. A pass failed and Getz, keeping the ball after a mix-up in the backfield, was downed for a loss of a yard. Troubles still bounded the Tresselmen, it seemed, but an unrehearsed lateral play kept the Tigers from bogging down.

On third down Stewart struck off the right side and just as he was grabbed at the 31, he flipped the pigskin to Benjamin and Ivory scooted goal ward. After this 34-yard foray the Tigers appeared to be sailing a little easier but on the very next play Steubenville’s Neel made a terrific interception of Stewart’s pass in the end zone.
* * *
THE PASS was intended for Childers but Neel, leaping high, came down with the ball for a touchback. Starting from their own 20, the hosts had their fans clamoring for another score. White, Neel and Weinman turned the ends and George Hugus and Dave Cunningham hit the middle as the Big Red rolled to the Tiger 39 before the first period came to a close.

They might have gone all the way but with fourth and one at the 35 Neel tried the right side, and Williamson barreled through to toss the runner for a two-yard deficit. However, Steubenville got possession again three plays later as Benjamin muffed a pitch-out and fell down trying to recover. Dave Cunningham pounced on it for Steubenville at the 36 but again the orange nad black got tough.

On third down Corky Pledgure came up to smack Roach down with a 10-yard loss and he punted on the next play, his boot going out of bounds at the Tiger 14.

Thanks to a nicely executed pass play, the Bengals zoomed to their first score in seven plays. After Stewart and Benjamin made a first down at the 26, the former whizzed for 10 yards to the 36. Beiter gained four and Benjamin five as he just missed a first down. On the next play, a 43-yard pass hit the bullseye.
* * *
GETZ did the tossing and Childers the catching with Clyde pulling it in at the 30 and going down to the 12. A delay-of-game penalty against the Big Red moved it to the seven and from that point Stewart found a hole at left tackle and raced across standing up. Joe Sparma came in and they lined up for a placement but Sparma took a direct, but high pass from center and twirled into the end zone where Childers was all-alone on the left side. The tie score at 4:48 was followed by the play that will be talked about for a while.

Childers kicked off and the ball landed near Steubenville’s Neel around the four. He went back into the end zone to retrieve it but just before he got up to the final stripe Heimann brought him crashing to the ground. A touchback was ruled and the Steubers began operating from the 20.
They made three first downs, one on the ground, one on a defensive holding penalty and one on a 24-yard pass. The holding penalty was ruled when the host club stalled at the 34 and Roach punted. The ball didn’t go far, though, as Williamson blocked it and Center Dan Swartz recovered for the Tigers at the Steuber 25. However, the penalty gave the host team the ball on the 49 and on the last play of the half a reverse pass, Roach to Hugus, was good to the 36.
* * *
ON THE SIXTH play after the second half kickoff Williamson recovered a Big Red fumble at the Red 46 and a few minutes later Tiger fans were able to make plenty of noise.

Benjamin, on a sweep, banged for 27 yards to the 19 before Allen made three, Benjamin six, Stewart four (on a third and a foot situation), Benjamin five and then Stewart one for the tie-breaking touchdown. Hase McKey came in to boot the extra point to make it 14-7 about halfway through the quarter.

After the next kickoff Steubenville had to punt and at the end of the period the Bengals were well on their way to pay dirt again.

Benjamin fumbled Roach’s punt at the 30 but returned 16 yards to the 46. Beiter, Benjamin and Stewart got some running help from Anthony and Jerry Allen as the Tigers advanced for a clincher.

Before the end of the period Anthony, on option plays, ran twice for 10 yards and Allen inserted an eight-yard gain. On the first play of the last panel Anthony kept again for six and Benjamin got a yard for first and goal at the one.

Beiter then scored, hitting a maze of youthful gladiators on the right side, and it didn’t matter much when McKey’s placement went to the right.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE was forced to punt after the kickoff but got the pigskin back as Neel intercepted Getz’s pass intended for Ron Williams. Aided by a 31-yard pass play Roach to Weinman, a roughness penalty (piling on) against the Tigers and then an off-side call against the visitors, the Steubers planted the ball on the locals’ 12 before the Bengals stiffened.

Sub Fullback Tom Cunningham was held to a gain of two on a sweep. White dropped a throw from Roach and then Cornelius Clark broke up a peg intended for White in the end zone. On fourth down Toach hit White on a screen pass to the left but the receiver was stopped shy of the first down and with 4:08 remaining the only job the Tigers had was to run out the clock.

But they didn’t fool around.

Stewart swept the left side and was almost away for a real longie but the defenders had the angle and the hard-running righthalf was nailed after a 27-yard gain. Benjamin followed with a 12-yard run and then a 14-yarder. A clipping penalty was digested as Getz tossed to Benjamin for a gain of 24 yards to the 30.

Five plays later it was on the Big Red 29 with only 25 seconds remaining in the game. Benjamin dashed to pay dirt as a double reverse, with Ivory doing some heady running, completely fooled the Steubenville defense. McKey again kicked to the right on the conversion attempt.

After the kickoff, an onside try by Childers who downed the ball short of the necessary 10 yards, Steubenville had time for one more play, Roach went back to pass but a host of Tigers grassed him 15-yards back of the line of scrimmage and as the Red quarterback was hit, the siren signaled the Tigers’ fourth-straight win and Steubenville’s second loss in four starts.

Steubenville, which returned to the Tiger schedule after an absence of two years, has not beaten Massillon since 1931. The series now stands 18-2-1.

The summary:

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Simmons, Milosevich, Sizemore, Hutter.
TACKLES – Anderson, Lewis, Walton, Campbell, Speaker.
GUARDS – Gianamore, Farmer, Pierce, Deiderich.
CENTERS—Barren, Fisher.
QUARTERBACKS – Roach, Crossley.
HALFBACKS – White, D. Cunningham, Weinman, Neel.
FULLBACKS – Hugue, T. Cunningham.

MASSILLON
ENDS – Childers, Williams, Hagan, Snavely, Pierce, Dean.
TACKLES – Slabaugh, A. Slicker, Donat, Halter, Brownlee.
GUARDS – Heine, Heimann, Bednar, McKey, Taylor.
CENTERS – Swartz, Williamson
QUARTERBACKS – Getz, Anthony, Sparma.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Stewart, Allen, Snively, Clark,
Mitchell, Pledgure, Lawson.
FULLBACKS – Beiter, Reese, Kanney.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 0 7 7 12 26
Steubenville 7 0 0 0 7

Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns – Stewart (2), runs-7; Beiter run-1; Benjamin run-29.
Extra points – Childers (pass); McKey (placement).

Steubenville scoring:
Touchdown – D. Cunningham run-3.
Extra point – Roach, run.

STATISTICS
Mass. Steub.
First downs, rushing 16 6
First downs, passing 2 3
First downs, penalties 0 2
First downs, total 18 11
Yards gained, running plays 283 115
Yards lost, running plays 11 42
Net yardage, running plays 272 73
Passes attempted 5 7
Passes completed 2 4
Passes had intercepted 2 0
Yards returned, int. passes 0 -4
Yards gained, passing 67 77
Total net yards 330 150
Number of kickoff returns 2 3
Yards, kickoff returns 4 71
Average length of kickoff returns 2 23.6
Number of punt returns 2 0
Yardage, punt returns 11 0
Average length of punt returns 5.5 32
Number of punts 0 3
Total yardage on punts 0 100
Average length of punts 0 33.3
Number of penalties 6 4
Yards lost on penalties 60 20
Number of fumbles 3 2
Own fumbles recovered 3 1
Ball lost on fumble 2 1