Tag: <span>Steubenville</span>

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1965: Massillon 20, Steubenville 14

Tenacious Tigers Trip Stubborn Steubenville

Last Period Drive Puts First Blemish On Foes

Bengals Lauded For Bouncing Back;
Crowd Sets Record For River City

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

“Blood, sweat, toil and tears.”

The Massillon Tigers added their own ingredient to Winston Churchill’s World War II victory formula to come up with mighty big victory of their own Friday night. That old “Tiger Desire” was there again as the Bengals repulsed a strong bid of Steubenville to knock them from atop the list of state football powers.

The Obiemen fought back from a 3-quarter deficit to hand the previously unbeaten and fourth-ranked Big Red a 20-14 setback before a record crowd of 9,489 at Harding field in the river city. The crowd figure topped the 9,325 which witnessed a game between Steubenville and Canton McKinley on Nov. 7, 1936.

Program Cover

* * * * *
The Orange and Black victory could prove to be their most important of the season. It might be just the incentive the Tigers need to spur them on to their 21st state championship.

* * * * *
IT WAS THE 24TH straight win for Massillon and the 39th in a row for Coach Earle Bruce including the high school all-star game this year.

The game featured a battle of defenses with Massillon getting only 2 long drives going and Steubenville one, all 3 resulting in touchdowns. Between those times Steubenville got out of its own territory on an intercepted pass. Massillon moved out only once and that for just a few yards. Both of the other times came in the second half.

The Bengals held the vaunted Steubenville running game to just 70 net yards and its passing to 33 for a total of 103. The Big Red was not in a position to throw more than 2 passes. Washington high eleven meanwhile, got 153 yards on the ground and 70 in the air for 209.

Massillon had an 8-5 first down lead after the first half and got 5 more in the second half to Steubenville’s one for a 13-6 margin. The Tigers lost 13 yards rushing in the first half while throwing the Big Red for only 3 but lost only one yard after the intermission while tossing the stubborn. Steubenville aggregation for 28 for a total of 14 yards lost for Massillon and 31 for Steubenville.

It was also a game of breaks again for the Tigers who have had a habit of cashing in on such happenings this year. The biggest came in the third period after Steubenville safety Bob Moore had run back an intercepted pass 15 yards to Massillon’s 38-yard line.

Shortly thereafter with fourth down and 4 on the 32, Steubenville was penalized 5 yards for more illegal motion on successive plays nullifying first downs in each case. Offsetting fouls – procedure on Steubenville and offside on Massillon – on the third play kept the ball where it was.

Halfback Mike Palmer tried to run the ball but gained only 2 yards. Massillon took over on its 37 and marched for the winning score.

Later Steubenville Coach Abe Bryan said, “The penalties hurt us,” but also added, “I made a bad mistake there by not punting. But I did not want them to have the ball and I thought I could surprise them.”

Bruce also admitted, “The penalties hurt them.”

* * * * *
AFTER TAKING over with 2:36 left in the third period, the WHS eleven drove almost all the 63 yards for its last score on the ground. The Bengals had the ball for 17 plays and 9 ½ minutes, a smart maneuver because it kept the ball away from Steubenville long enough that the Big Red had very litte time left in the game to work with.

The winning touchdown drive saw “Sweet Walter” Lemon, Dave Sheegog, Will Foster and Tommy James all taking turns running the ball. Sheegog and Lemon each got first downs on crucial third down plays. Foster picked one by inches on the Steubenville 41 after a fourth-and-one situation.

Another crucial fourth down situation popped up on the 10 with 3 yards to go. Sheegog hit halfback Tommy James to the right outside on the 5.

Two plays later Foster rammed in from the 2 with 4:58 remaining in the game. Sheegog hit split end Rick Paige in the right section of the end zone for the conversion.

Steubenville had 2 more tries but was bottled up in its own territory by a supreme defensive effort by the Tigers. A fumble on a punt at the Tiger 36 almost gave Steubenville another life but Paige saved his own bobble.

During this crucial time on defense, the Bengals may have found themselves another good middle guard. Senior Wally Smith, known as “The Catfish” to his teammates, did a job reminiscent of Tommy Whitfield’s last year.

The Tigers broke into the scoring column first, taking the opening kickoff into touchdown territory. James ran back 16 yards to his 36. Four plays later Sheegog hit Paige on first down from the 48 for 27 yards to the Steubenville 25. Paige slipped on the damp turf or might have gone the distance.

Three plays later on another first down, this one from the 15, Sheegog found Paige on the 5 with “Ramblin Rick” going on in for the score with 8:01 seconds left. Linebacker Dwight Sims broke through to spill Foster on the conversion run.

Sims then ran the kickoff back 91 yards down the sideline to his left with 7:48 left. He got a key block from brother Bob. Fullback Bob Smith tried the center for the conversion but missed.

The Tigers had another drive aborted at the Steubenville 39 in the first quarter as Sheegog and Paige just missed connections on a TD pass.

In the second period, tackle Mike Sherrett and Foster, from his linebacker spot, broke though to spill Palmer after a bad fourth down punt snap. It was first and 10 for the Tigers on the Big Red 29.

* * * * *
IN 9 PLAYS the Bengals had their second score. This drive took about 5 minutes, another time the WHS eleven stole precious time from the Stubbers. James picked up a crucial first down on the 17 after fourth on the 22.

On the ensuing third down, Lemon hauled in a Sheegog aerial on the 10 and scampered to the 4. Then carried to the one. An offside penalty put the pigskin on the half-yard line. James went off left guard with 3:55 remaining. Sheegog tried to lateral to James on the conversion attempt to no avail.

Steubenville then played “Beat the Clock” after Bob Booth had runback the kick off 33 yards to his 38. The Big Red started its drive with 3:42 left. Booth swept left end 4 straight times and Palmer right end once.

Quarterback Bob Endres connected with Palmer on the Massillon 20 after third and 4 on the Tiger 46. Palmer ran to the 12 and out of bounds to halt the clock.

On fourth down from the 3, Endres swept right end for the equalizer. He passed to Sesto in the left side of the end zone for the conversion and Massillon was behind for the first time this season.

After the game, Bruce paid tribute to Steubenville by saying, “We played a good football team tonight. I’m glad we’ll get an extra day’s rest before Altoona (next Saturday). We’ve got to hit harder.”

If there was doubt in the fans’ minds about whether their Tigers would come back to win, Bruce had none. “Certainly, I thought we would come back,” he snapped. “These are the Tigers.”

Bryan patted Massillon on the back. “Coach Bruce and his staff have done a real job and have a fine team,” he said.

Bryan didn’t think his team’s spirit would be hurt any by their costly loss. “They have a lot of scrap and have had the whole year,” he said. “The breaks went against them but we’ve had some the other way, too, so I guess they balance out.”

Massillon 20-14

MASSILLON – 20
Ends – Paige, McGuire, Gallion, Healy.
Tackles – Hartlye, Petroff, Neago, Sherrett, Campbell.
Guards – Whitfield, Rose, Richards.
Centers – Marks, F. Williams, Ehmer.
Quarterbacks – Sheegog, Doolittle, McLendon, Smith.
Halfbacks – Lemon, James, McFadden, Muhlbach.
Fullback – Foster.

STEUBENVILLE – 14
Ends – Sesto, R. Sims, D. Sims, Spahn.
Tackles – Bass, Jones.
Guards – Hershey, Checca.
Centes – Sarap, Bates.
Quarterbacks – Endres, Moore.
Halfbacks – Kerr, Both, Palmer.
Fullback – Smith.

Score by quarters:
Massillon 6 6 0 8 – 20
Steubenville 6 8 0 0 – 14

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Paige (11-yard pass from Sheegog); James (one-half yard run);
Foster (2-yard run).
Steubenville – D. Sims (91-yard kickoff return); Palmer (3-yard run).

Extra points:
Massillon – Paige 2 (pass from Sheegog).
Steubenville – Sesto 2 (pass from Endres).

OFFICIALS:
Referee – Ted Humphries (Youngstown).
Umpire – Mike Rodak (Weirton, W. Va.).
Head Linesman – Clyde Moore (Rittman).
Field Judge – LaVerne Haidet (Alliance).

Attendance – 9,489 (new Harding field record)

Statistics. . .
Game Statistics
Mass. Opp.
First downs—rushing 8 5
First downs—passing 5 1
First downs—penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 6
Yards gained rushing 153 101
Yards lost rushing 14 31
Net yards gained rushing 139 70
Net yards gained passing 70 33
Total yards gained 209 103
Passes attempted 10 2
Passes completed 5 1
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 15
Times kicked off 4 3
Kickoff average (yards) 48.5 42.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 47 146
Times punted 4 4
Punt average (yards) 31.0 33.5
Punt returns (yards) 7 3
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 2 4
Yards penalized 20 15
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous 0 1
Total number of plays 60 46

Dave Whitfield
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1964: Massillon 58, Steubenville 0

Tigers Trounce Steubenville Big Red 58-0

55 Players See Action In ‘Dad’s Night’ Game

By STEVE HAPANOWICZ

The Massillon Tigers reached the half-way point of the 1964 football season Friday night by blasting an out-manned Steubenville Big Red team 58-0 before 12,754 fans at Tiger stadium

Program Cover

It was the fifth straight win for the Tigers and the 27th straight for head coach Earle Bruce who carried a 22-game winning streak with him from Sandusky before taking over as head man at Massillon this year.

The victory was a “nice game for Dad’s Night,” as Bruce used 55 players in the rout, which saw the Tigers tie a 58-0 score of 1941. This stands as the highest score Massillon has ever made against the Stubbers in 27 games.

The Tigers didn’t get their first score until there were 2 seconds left in the first quarter. After the opening kickoff Massillon went from its own 35 to the Steubenville 15 where the drive ended on a 4th and 1 situation. Steubenville couldn’t move and punted to the Tiger 42.

Taking the ball with 4:10 left to play the Tigers moved the 57 yards in 9 plays with fullback Jim Lawrence going the four yards for the score with 2 seconds left. The extra point play failed and the Tigers kicked off to the Stubber 38 as the quarter ended.

************

STEUBENVILLE made on yard in 3 carries and went back to punt, but a bad pass from center got away and fullback Dennis Conti recovered for the Tigers on the Stubber 26. Quarterback Steve Kanner wasted little time and hit Ed Franklin all alone at the 5 with a pass. The senior end stepped into the end zone unmolested. Dave Sheegog made the first of 6 extra points around end to put the score at 14-0 with 10:25 left to play. Before the period was ended the Tigers were to score 30 points.

The outgunned Stubbers picked up a first down at their own 24 and were forced to punt 2 plays later from their 29, but Conti blocked a kick on the 23 and recovered. On the first play, halfback Ed Herring, went off his left tackle, broke outside and went the 23 yards for the score. Sheegog picked up the extra points and the Tigers were ahead 22-0.

An interception of a Steubenville pass by cornerman Franklin set up the next Massillon touchdown, the Tigers taking the ball on the visitor’s 45. A 19-yard pass play from Kanner to halfback Bobby Hewitt put the ball on the Stubber 7 and 2 cracks at the line by Paul Shanor and Herring put the ball on the one from where fullback Terry Manson made the first of his 2 touchdowns. The extra points by Jim Lawrence brought the score to 30-0 with 1:15 left to play.

The Tigers booted to the Steubenville 25 where guard Tom Whitfield recovered a Bob Smith fumble. Edgar Herring picked up 12 to 15 from where Kanner hit Ken Gilmore in the end zone with 41 seconds left to make the score 36-0. The extra points were no good.

With the second unit in for the start of the second half, the Tigers went 62-yards in 13 plays, highlighted by 10-yard runs by Sheegog, Shanor and an 11-yarder by Walt Lemon. Shanor went over from the 3 for the 42-0 score and picked up the extra points on nifty fake around end by Sheegog, who pitched out to Shanor going wide to make the score 44-0.

************

STEUBENVILLE moved to the Massillon 37 from its own 24, mainly on a sparkling run by quarterback Bob Endres but couldn’t penetrate any farther.

The Tigers then took the ball and went 63 yards in 10 plays with Lemon ripping off a
42-yard run to the Stubber 16. Two runs and an 8-yard pass from Sheegog to Shanor put the ball on the 4 where Manson got his second touchdown. Sheegog made the extra points on another wide run to make it 52-0.

Shanor recovered a Steubenville fumble on the 38 on the first scrimmage play after the kickoff, to set up the final Tiger tally. Jim Schaar picked up 30 yards, Sheegog 8 and an offside penalty put the ball on the Stubber 10. Sheegog then hit Lemon with a pass, the junior halfback making a lunging catch and being carried into the end zone by his momentum. Place-kicker Bill Pearch tried to boot the extra point, but the kick was blocked.

Neither Steubenville coach Abe Bryan nor Bruce had much to say after the ball game. Bryan commented, “Massillon has a fine club. Solid in every aspect. We were outplayed and out coached.”

Bruce was pleased that his offense was “starting to come around a little bit.” “Now we come into the meat of our schedule when we get it thrown at us,” he said looking head to the second half of the season which calls for successive games with Benedictine, Altoona, Pa., Warren, Eastlake North and Canton McKinley.

The Tigers next two home games, against Benedictine and Altoona will be Saturday night affairs. Both teams play tonight, the Bennies meeting Cleveland East and Altoona traveling to Easton.

STEUBENVILLE –0
Ends – Henry, Hicks, Johnson, Sims, Spahn, Burkey.
Tackles – D. Wilson, Simmons, Jones, Garofalo, Bass.
Guards – Ohle, Mahfood, Anderson , D. Smith, Parris.
Center – Beard.
Quarterbacks – Spon, Endres, Vacarro.
Backs – Cunningham, West, R. Smith, Palmer, Wise, Davis.

MASSILLON – 58
Ends – Goodnough, Crone ,Hoffman, B. Williams, Gilmore, Franklin,
Garcia, McGuire, Pollock, Lash.
Tackles – Morgan, Binge, Stevens, Paul, Ehmer, Petroff, Rhine,
Anderson, Simon, Bednar, Hartley.
Guards – Larsuel, T. Whitfield, Mazon, D. Whitfield, McGeorge,
Richards, Zorger, Rose.
Center – Muhlbach, Hartman, F. Williams, Rambaud, Biddle.
Quarterbacks – Kanner, Sheegog, Pribich, Frieg, Doolittle.
Backs – Herring, Hewitt, Schaar, Manson, Lawrence, Lemon,
Foster, Healy, Shanor, Marks, Schenkenberger, Sainato,
Shammo, Smith, Pearch, Conti.

MASSILLON …………. 6 30 8 14 – 58
STEUBENVILLE …….. 0 0 0 0 – 0

Touchdowns – Lawrence (4-yard run), Manson 2 (runs of 1 and 4 yards),
Shanor (3-yard run), Herring (3-yard run),
Franklin (26-yard pass from Kanner).

STATISTICS
M S
First downs—rushing 17 6
First downs—passing 6 1
First downs—penalties 1 1
Total first downs 24 8
Yards gained rushing 320 121
Yards lost rushing 6 41
Net yards gained rushing 314 80
Net yards gained passing 95 31
Total yards gained 409 111
Passes attempted 15 8
Passes completed 6 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Yardage, passes intercepted 5 0
Times kicked off 9 1
Kickoff average (yards) 49.2 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 25 155
Times punted 0 1
Punt average (yards) 0 29.0
Punt returns (yards) 6 0
Had punts blocked 0 1
Fumbles 2 5
Lost fumbled ball 0 3
Penalties 3 2
Yards penalized 35 15
Touchdowns rushing 5 0
Touchdowns passing 3 0
Total number of plays 68 45

John Mulbach
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1963: Massillon 52, Steubenville 0

Tigers Blast Steubenville 52-0
Bengal Line Rips Big Red To Win First Game In All-American Loop

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They never knew what hit them!

It was as if someone alternated between placing a speeding locomotive and the Rock of Gibraltar on the Harding stadium gridiron in Steubenville Friday night.

The Massillon Tigers, utilizing devastating offensive and defensive football, crushed a game but outclassed and crippled up Steubenville high eleven 52-0 on the Ohio river before a disappointing 6,327 fans. It was the biggest score of the season for the Bengals.

It was the first game for the new All-American High School Football league. The Washington high team has the honor of being the first to lead the circuit with two points. Steubenville got minus-one for the defeat.

The Bengals raised their season’s record to 4-1. Akron Garfield, the only team to beat the Orange and Black, also remains the lone team to score upon the Tigers. Steubenville dropped to a 2-3 mark at the season’s halfway point.

Massillon rolled up 446 total yards to the Big Red’s 58 and 21 first downs to Steubenville’s 11 – one in each half. Massillon rushed for 341 net yards to Steubenville’s 43 and got 105 to the Big Red’s 15 in the air.
* * *
NO ONE BOY can be singled out for his efforts. It was another of those jobs well done by all concerned. It took linemen opening good holes for hard-running backs, hard-charging by the defensive line and linebackers to stop Steubenville’s backs time and again before they could get started, heads up pass coverage by the safeties and cornerbacks and outstanding tackling by all to get the victory.

Several boys contributed to the scoring. Terry Getz, senior halfback, tallied two touchdowns and two conversions. Senior halfbacks Bill (Rabbit) Blunt got two touchdowns and a conversion; sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks scored a touchdown and a conversion. Senior tailback Phil Harris got one six-pointer, so did junior fullback Jim Lawrence.

When the Tigers got the ball, they stuck mostly to the ground, pounding first one side of the Steubenville line and then the other like air hammers taking chucks out of cement. They used up great gobs of time on the clock.

When Steubenville had the ball The Big Red could get only one series at a time except once in the second and once in the third quarter. Try as they might – and they never gave up trying – the Big Red could not move the ball. They kept hitting hard on defense but could not stop the Tiger juggernaut.

“The boys really banged away on defense,” Massillon Coach Leo Strang said, “They did a real good job. I’ll bet Lindsey (Steubenville halfback Herb) never got hit that hard in his life.”
* * *
COACH RAY HOYMAN of Steubenville said sadly, “We just don’t have it this year and won’t have it for a couple of years. We have a good freshman team but have only five sophomores out for football and a junior class very light in numbers.”

He did not mention that he had four front liners on crutches.

There was one part of Hoyman’s strategy which succeeded. He didn’t let the Bengals get any long punt runbacks. The kicks from Bob McCosky either went to the opposite side from the Tigers’ planned return, out of bounds or were grounded.

The Bengals equaled their biggest first half of the season in scoring 32 points. They had tallied an identical amount of points against Cleveland East in the opener.

Three scores came on sustained ground drives. The last was helped out by a long pass.
* * *
THE TIGERS matched 69 yards with the opening kickoff after a 19-yard runback of the kick by senior Grady Eckard. They used up 6:40, 12 plays and got four first downs in the effort.

Halfback Terry Getz capped the drive at the 5:20 mark, going off tackle on fourth down from the eight. He got the extra two points the same way.

The Bengals started on another drive after forcing Steubenville to punt following the kickoff. They used up 5:35 seconds this time, moving into the second quarter in the process. This time the march covered 56 yards, starting at the Orange and Black 44. Four first downs and 14 plays were involved.

Getz went over off right guard on second down from the four at 9:46. He converted the same way.

Then came another Big Red punt and the Tigers went 70 yards, using up 3:36, eight plays and picking up four first downs. A 21-yard pass from Ron Swartz to Blunt took the ball to the Big Red 39. Blunt might have gone all the way but was knocked out of bounds.
* * *
BLUNT LEAPED among three defenders at the three two plays later to snare another Swartz aerial. Lawrence went through the center on second down with 4:16 left. Swartz threw to Blunt on a look-in pass to the left for the extra two points.

The last touchdown in the second quarter came after a 55-yard drive following a punt. This drive took four plays and one first down.
A key play was a second down pass from the Steubenville 48 to the four – a distance of 44 yards. Swartz connected with senior long side end Will Perry.

Blunt went in off tackle on the next play. But Massillon was guilty of illegal use of the hands, setting the ball back to the 20. Swartz then threw to Blunt for the score with 2:10 remaining. Junior fullback Bobby Hewitt swept to the left for the extra two points.
* * *
THE BENGALS allowed the Big Red just one series after the second half kickoff and took over on their own 40 after a punt, setting the stage for another score. After a five-yard penalty for illegal procedure, Blunt took off on a pitchout to the right behind some nice blocking and raced 65 yards for his second six-pointer at the 9:49 mark. Getz missed the conversion over right tackle.

Late in the period, Steve Tarle, senior tackle, recovered a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 10 and two plays later senior tailback Phil Harris wedged in from the three with 2:47 remaining. Sophomore tailback Paul (Butch) Marks converted on a pitchout to the right.

The final Tiger score came at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Floyd (Duke) Pierce, senior safetyman, intercepted a pass on his 35 and ran it back to the 50 as the third quarter ended.

Two plays into the last stanza Marks shot through the middle on fourth down from 41 yards away and scored at 10:43. Junior Fullback Edgar Herring missed the conversion on a pitchout to the right.

MASSILLON – 52
Ends – Perry, Pierce, McAllister, Hose, Jones, Goodnough, Gilmore and Franklin.
Tackles – Tarle, Morgan, Lash, Passalacqua, Binge, Stevens and Paul.
Guards – Castile, Larsuel, Roderick, Muhlback, Rivera, Mathias, Rearick, Martin, T. Whitfield and D. Whitfield.
Centers – Scassa, Rambaud and Frank.
Quarterbacks – Swartz, Gatsios and Kanner.
Halfbacks – Blunt, Getz, Rink, Eckard, Schenkenberger, Harris, Marks, Stroh, Herring, Gamble and Williams.
Fullbacks – Lawrence, Hewitt and Thomas.

STEUBENVILLE – 0
Ends – Cuthbert, Cole and Blanchard.
Tackles – Estes, Sampson and Williams.
Guards – DiLoreti, Ohle, Mahfood and Wrenn.
Centers – Beard and Garofalo.
Quarterbacks – McCosky and Spon.
Halfbacks – Lindsey, Hawkins, Terry and Smith.
Fullbacks – Schaeffer.

Massillon 8 24 14 6 52

Touchdowns:
Getz 2 (eight and four-yard runs); Blunt 2 (20-yard pass from Swartz, 65-yard run); Lawrence (one-yard run); Harris (three-yard run) and Marks (41-yard run).

Points after touchdown:
Getz 2 (runs); Blunt (pass from Swartz); Hewitt (run); and Marks (run).

Officials
Referee – George Ellis (Akron).
Umpire – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon).
Head Linesman – Phil Dienoff (Akron).
Field Judge – Bob McPhee (St. Clairsville).

GAME STATISTICS
Massillon Opp.
First downs, rushing 17 2
First downs, passing 4 0
First downs, penalties 0 0
Total first downs 21 2
Yards gained rushing 344 54
Yards lost rushing 3 11
Net yards gained rushing 341 43
Yards gained passing 105 15
Total yards gained 446 58
Passes attempted 12 10
Passes completed 5 2
Passes intercepted by 2 0
Times kicked off 8 1
Kickoff average (yards) 48.3 47
Kickoff returns (yards) 18 121
Times punted 2 7
Punt average (yards) 42.5 36.4
Punt returns (yards) 17 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 4
Lost fumbled ball 0 1
Penalties 2 0
Yards penalized. 20 0

Bill Blunt
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1962: Massillon 8, Steubenville 14

Battling Tigers Bow to Big Red 14-8
Bengals Try Hard And Finish Badly Crippled

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

They gave it a whale of a try, but the odds were stacked against them.

They were outmanned and crippled up, but the Massillon Tigers never gave in. They were in the game until the last minute, trying with all of their might to pull it out of the fire. But there’s a limit beyond which flesh and blood cannot endure against superior weight and healthy numbers.

The Steubenville Big Red powered their way to a 14-8 victory over Washington high school before 12,869 fans at Tiger stadium Friday night. They literally wore the Bengals down in the second half.

With All-Ohio, senior Halfback Harry Wilson going off the right side and junior Halfback Ray Terry slanting off the other, the Big Red beat Massillon for the first time since 1931. The score that year was 68-0.

The last time the Bengals lost three games in a season was in 1947. They dropped four games that year. The last time they faltered in three out of their first five games was in 1928.

Program Cover

“Under the circumstances the boys did the best job they could, especially on defense,” said Coach Leo Strang. Ray Hoyman, boss of Steubenville, said, “This was our toughest game of the year. Massillon had a scrapping bunch of players out there. They gave a 150 per cent effort.”
* * *
THE BEST INDICATION of the fight and spirit of the Tigers came near the end of the fourth period. The Big Red fumbled with fourth-and-three on the Massillon three-yard line after a drive of 81 yards with three first downs highlighted by Terry’s breakaway run through the center from the Massillon 42 to the eight.

The Tigers took over and started up field in a last-ditch effort to pull the game out. There were 2:46 left on the clock when the drive started.

They drove from their eight to the Big Red’s 34 in 12 plays with four first downs featuring the running of senior Tailback John Kanney and two fine pass plays with junior Quarterback Ron Swartz on the throwing end. Junior long side End Mike Jones caught one aerial for 17 yards. Graydon Eckard, junior wingback, hauled in the other for the last 20 yards to the 34.

In a desperation move Strang called on Fullback Terry Getz. The little junior southpaw took a pitchout from Swartz, streaked to his left and let fly with a pass. But Wilson was “Johnny-on-the-spot,” with an interception which ended the threat and the game.

During this and other series the Tigers failed to connect on key passes that could have opened up the ground game. Strang explained, “We had no versatility in our passing attack. The only boys we could throw to were our wingbacks.” Both regular ends are injured. So is the starting quarterback. Although their replacements gave a good account of themselves, the passing game was hampered.
* * *
WHILE ON the subject of injuries, it should be noted that the Tigers’ starting backfield is now all on the clinical list. Another quarterback and the short side guard are also sidelined. Senior Tailback Ron Davis has a neck injury. Junior Wingback Bill Blunt has a sprained knee ligament, ditto junior Quarterback Tom Gatsios, who injured himself in pre-game workouts. Co-Captain and senior short side End Jim Ehmer has a dislocated shoulder.

The Orange and Black broke the scoring ice first after a long drive by Steubenville was stopped on a pass interception by Davis. The Big Red had taken the opening kickoff and moved from its 33 to the Massillon 19 in 17 plays with four first downs as Wilson hit one side of the line and Terry the other.

Wilson’s 21-yard scamper around left end from the Massillon 41 to the 20 highlighted the drive. On this drive, as they did all night, the Big Red capitalized on key third down plays. The Tigers did also, and that made it an exciting game.

Davis’ interception came on a fourth-and-19 situation on the 19 to give the Tigers the ball on their 18. The interception came just after a holding penalty had set Steubenville back from the three to the 18.

With Davis and Kanney running the ends, the Orange and Black took eight plays and three first downs to move for the score. Davis had runs of nine, 17 and 21 yards and Kanney a 22-yard romp in the series.
* * *
SWARTZ WENT over from the one on the wedge with 55 seconds left. Kanney went off tackle for the conversion.

This was the last time Massillon was able to move the ball well around end. Steubenville widened its defense.

The Big Red got their first score as the result of circumstances that will be talked about for a long time. The Tigers had the ball third-and-three on their 24, ran a play and were penalized for a personal foul after the whistle, which meant the down counted. But the players misunderstood, thinking it was third-and-1 instead of fourth down on the 16, ran on the next play and were stopped with Steubenville taking over on the 16.

Three plays later Wilson ran around left end from the 12 to the one on third-and-six. On the next play he went through the center for the score at 8:27.

He was stopped on the conversion. However, Massillon was off-side. The Big Red got another chance, and Terry drove through the middle for the tying points.

Neither team mounted an offensive again until Massillon picked off a Steubenville fumble on the Big Red 31 midway in the third quarter. This threat was short-lived. On fourth-and-eight from the 29 minutes later, Swartz got hit hard by an onrushing Big Red lineman as he was passing, and the ball ended up in the arms of Steubenville’s Herb Lindsey on the 25. He returned to the Massillon 36 with a desperation tackle by Swartz saving a TD..

In the 12 plays and two first downs, Steubenville had the ball on the 11, fourth-and-nine. Sophomore safety Jim Lawrence then intercepted a pass on the two and ran it back to the 34.

The Tigers started rolling, getting to the Big Red 45 five plays later thanks to a 15-yard pass to Eckard and a 12-yard run up the middle by Lawrence. Then came a Bengal fumble recovered by Steubenville on the 34.

On the second play of the ensuing series, Terry raced 61 yards through the center for the winning score. Getz made a diving, desperation tackle but just missed. Wilson missed the conversion.

Then came a Massillon series, the Steubenville fumble and the Tigers’ last-ditch effort.

The Orientals from Akron East will move in next Friday to test the battle-scarred Tiger.

STEUBENVILLE – 14
Ends – Bruzda, Owens, Stinson and A. Terry.
Tackles – Mazzaferro, Miller and horston.
Guards – Ziklo, Bauman and Mayo.
Center – Duncan.
Backs – Wilson, R. Terry, McCosky, Weinman, Lindsey, Parris and Cusack.

MASSILLON – 8
Ends – Franklin, Jones, Hose and R. Alexander.
Tackles – Profant, Clendening, Tarle, Miller, Fabianich, Morgan and Mercer.
Guards – McDew, Ehmer, Roderick, Swisher, Castile, Geckler, Rivera and Mathias.
Centers – Bradley and Paisley.
Backs – Swartz, Davis, Lawrence, Blunt, Kanney, Eckard, Getz, Thomas, Pope, Sullivan and Williams.

Steubenville 0 8 6 0 14
Massillon 8 0 0 0 8

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Swartz 1 (one-yard run).
Steubenville – Wilson 1 (one-yard run); Terry 1 (61-yard run).

Conversions:
Massillon – Kanney 1 (run)
Steubenville – Terry 1 (run).

Officials
Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland)
Umpire – C.W. Rupp (Cuyahoga Falls).
Head Linesman – Harold Rolph (Ironton).
Field Judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr. (Massillon)

GAME STATISTICS
Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 8 12
First downs – passing 4 0
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 13 12
Yards gained rushing 190 290
Yards lost rushing 6 7
Net yards gained rushing 184 283
Yards gained passing 62 0
Total yards gained 246 283
Passes attempted 14 5
Passes completed 5 0
Passes intercepted by 2 2
Times kicked off 2 3
Kickoff average (yards) 33.0 43.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 29 10
Times punted 4 2
Punt average (yards) 30.0 46.0
Punt returns (yards) 3 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 2
Lost fumbled ball 1 1
Penalties 2 4
Yards penalized 20 35

Ben Bradley
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1961: Massillon 38, Steubenville 14

Steubenville Fifth Victim of Tigers
Bengals Hand Big Red First Loss 38-14

By CHUCK HESS, JR.

Webster’s dictionary defines a pile driver as a machine for driving down piles.

Washington high’s Tigers came up with a new definition Friday night. There could be no more apt description of the Bengals offensive machine.

The Tigers literally drove a here-to-fore undefeated Steubenville Big Red team down to submission, 38-14, before an overflow crowd of some 10,000 fans at Harding stadium in the River City.

For the unbeaten Bengals it was win No. 5 on the road to a third straight Ohio schoolboy championship. It was the first loss in five contests for the Big Red.

After the game an utterly flabbergasted Steubenville coach, Ray Hoyman, said, “You’ve got quite a team there.” He also added, “We’re not thick enough for you,” meaning Hoyman didn’t have the depth to cope with the Tiger juggernaut.

* * *
MASSILLON COACH Leo Strang said, “This was the best game away from home since I’ve been here. Our power offense was also the best this season.”

He mentioned the aerial game. We had tough luck with our passing. Steubenville made some beautiful saves he said. The Big Red intercepted two passes. Four were incomplete.

Although the Bengals played every bit as well as against Alliance last week, Friday marked the first time any team had scored more than one touchdown against Massillon. Two bad breaks late in the game caused that situation.

With the Massillon second liners in and less than two minutes left to play in the game, Halfback Chuck Weiher intercepted one of Bob Baker’s aerials on the Big Red 20-yard line and got back to the 24. With the exception of this and two other times, Massillon scored every time it got its hands on the ball.

Quarterback Bill Hoyman, the coach’s son and Co-captain, picked up seven yards around left end. Then he passed to Co-Captain and End Ken Potts for 17 more and a first down.

On the next play Halfback Ray Terry shot through the middle, cut to the right sideline and was gone 52 yards for the score at 1:43. He fumbled a pitchout on the conversion try to prevent any further damage there.

* * *
MASSILLON RAN seven plays after the kickoff, was penalized on three of them and Jim Alexander dropped back to punt on his own 28. The snap was bad. He fell on it but being fourth down, it became Steubenville’s ball when the Bengals failed to make the necessary yardage.

The Big Red took over on the Massillon nine with 10 seconds remaining. Wilson took a flat pass off a pitch and raced around the right side to the one. Terry carried over through the center on the final play of the game. Wilson took a pitch and passed to Paul Cunningham for the conversion.

Steubenville was in Massillon territory only two other times during the game. Earlier in the last stanza, Harry Wilson, the Big Red’s leading scorer, grabbed Wilbur Paisley’s kickoff after the final Tiger score on the Steubenville 20 and raced down the sideline to the Massillon 23.

Confusion reigned among the Washington high ranks with the reserves in on the kickoff. Paisley almost kicked the ball before Referee Bill Holzwarth sounded his whistle. Then the Tigers didn’t seem to know who was supposed to do what on Wilson’s long run.

* * *
THE BIG RED lost the ball on an incompleted pass on fourth down four plays later on the Massillon 27. On one of those plays Bob Baker knocked down a Hoyman pass in the end zone to prevent a score.

Steubenville didn’t get onto Bengal ground until the third period had seen about 10 minutes of play go by. After the Tigers fourth score, the Big Red took over on its 35 and moved to the Massillon 33 where a pass was incomplete on fourth down, again thanks to an alert Bengal secondary.

Although Massillon didn’t blitz as much Friday as against Alliance, because Steubenville didn’t have the explosive attack of the Aviators, its Oklahoma 5-4 and Eagle six defenses were more than adequate, holding Steubenville to 136 net yards rushing and 53 passing. The Tigers had 361 rushing and 25 passing. Steubenville completed only one of 13 passes, Massillon two of eight.

The Tigers gained a lot of yardage on the trap between the outside tackle and long side end. With Steubenville playing a wide 6-2 most of the night, the Big Red was a sucker for this type of play.

Massillon started off the night as if it owned Steubenville. Although the Tigers failed to score the fist time, they got their hands on the ball, they dominated play for the rest of the night after that.

The Bengals lost the toss again for the fourth time in five tries, but Steubenville elected to defend the East goal. The Big Red kicked to Co-Captain Charlie Brown on the 30. His runback was only three yards.

* * *
WITH BROWN, Fred Philpott and Ken Dean alternating on the running, the Tigers carried to the Steubenville five in 12 plays and four first downs, using short gainers for their yardage. Then with the ball on the five, third and three, the Tigers were caught holding. The ball was moved back to the 18. Two plays later a pass incompletion stopped the drive on the 14.

Bob Baker intercepted a pass on the Steubenville 25 to set up the Tigers’ first score. Alexander threw to Wingback Ron Schenkenberger on the hook pattern for a first down on the 16. Brown gained a yard and Philpott 10 through the middle.

Then Brown went between the center and the long side guard for the score at 2:37. The same play netted two more points on the conversion.

This was to be the first of four two-pointers for the Bengals. They seemed to have found the answer to all of their conversion attempts, which went awry in the previous four games.

The Tigers scored again after getting the ball via a punt mid way in the second frame. They marched from their own 25 to pay dirt in nine plays with three first downs.

* * *
BROWNS 42-YARD run down the center on the first play from scrimmage helped set up the score. Dean took the ball over on the wedge from the one on third down at 6:13. Philpott swept left end for the conversion.

The Bengals had one other chance in the second quarter, but were forced to punt the first of two times during the night when they failed to get beyond their 37.

Receiving again at the start of the second half, Washington high lost no time in scoring. It took the Tigers five plays and two first downs, starting from their own 33.

Brown had an 11-yard romp through from his 48 to the Steubenville 41 on second down in the first series. Two plays later on second and three on the 34 Philpott went through between the outside tackle and long side end for the tall at 9:15.

When Steubenville was penalized to the 1 ½ for delay of game, Dean tried to use his favorite play, the wedge, for the conversion, but missed. It was the only time during the night the Tigers did.

A little later the Bengals forced the Big Red to punt again, taking over on their own 36. Massillon covered 64 yards in eight plays and three first downs for the fourth TD.

* * *
THE BIG RUNS were by Alexander and Brown, both between the tackles. Alexander moved the ball from his 42 to Steubenville’s 33 on second and four, Brown raced from the
22 to the nine.

Brown then cracked over, again between the tackles, at 3:43 on second and four from the four. Philpott’s sweep off a pitch left made it 30-0.

Massillon’s final tally came after a Big Red incomplete pass in the final quarter. The Bengals took over on their own 33 and reeled off 67 yards in eight plays with three first downs.

Philpott’s long run from his 33 to the Steubenville 39 on a second and 10 situation helped set up the last score. Davis finally carried in, between the outside tackle and long side end for the score on third and one from the one at 7:51. Alexander tallied the conversion off the short side.

The long trip to Cincinnati for the Roger Bacon game comes next Friday as the Tigers take step No. 6 in the climb toward the state title.

Chalk Up No. 5

MASSILLON
Ends – Ivan, L. Ehmer, Garland, McDew, Pierce and Dewald.
Tackles – Spees, Strobel, Dekan, Profant, Magliacho, Mercer, C. Bradley and Clendening.
Guards – Clendenin, Migge, Geckler, J. Ehmer, Poole, Whitfield, Mickley, Caldwell, Relford, Radel and Matecheck.
Centers – B. Bradley and Heckathorn.
Backs – Alexander, Schenkenberger, Brown, Philpott, Dean, Baker, Snively, Franklin, Jarvis, Lash, Getz, Williams, Sullivan, Davis and Kanney.

STEUBENVILLE
Ends – Potts, Ray and Herring.
Tackles – S. Schaeffer, Mazzaferre and Peters.
Guards – Newman, Ohle, Lawson and Sheffert.
Centers – Archer and Duncan.
Backs – Hoyman, Weiher, Wilson, Terry, Cunningham and Barnes.

Score by Quarters
Massillon 8 8 14 8 38
Steubenville 0 0 0 14 14

SCORING
Massillon
Touchdowns – Brown 2 (five and four-yard runs); Philpott (34-yard run); Dean (one-yard plunge); Davis (one-yard plunge).
Conversions – Philpott (2) Brown, Alexander.

Steubenville
Touchdowns – Terry (52 and one-yard runs).
Conversions – Cunningham (pass from Wilson).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Bill Holzwarth.
Umpire – Wilson Murray.
Head Linesman – Ted Humphrey.
Field Judge – Andy Chiebeck.

STATISTICS
Massillon Big Red
First downs – rushing 18 3
First downs – passing 2 2
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 20 8
Yards gained rushing 382 130
Yards lost rushing 21 3
Net yards gained rushing 361 136
Yards gained passing 25 53
Total yards gained 386 180
Passes attempted 8 13
Passes completed 2 5
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Times kicked off 5 3
Kickoff average (yards) 45.0 26.3
Kickoff returns (yards) 8 97
Times punted 1 3
Punt average (yards) 27.0 30.6
Punt return (yards) 2 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 1 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 0
Penalties 5 5
Yards penalized 40 75

Charlie Brown
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1960: Massillon 26, Steubenville 6

Tigers Defeat Scrappy Steubenville 26-6
Massillon Gridders Held To One Touchdown In First Half Of Game

By JIM QUILTY

There will be good games and there will be bad ones, Friday night’s 26-6 Washington high school victory over Steubenville is classified in the latter category.

Coach Leo Strang’s Tigers, despite hanging up their fifth win of the season and 18th straight over three years, played “spotty ball.” Yet for a team, which had three or four members of its regular unit missing from most of the week’s practice sessions, the performance was passing.

The letdown following the Alliance game came before 11,148 (paid) fans.

Actually it wasn’t until the final play of the third period, when John Larson connected on an 18-yard scoring toss to Chuck Royer, that the Tiger were lifted from the danger zone.

That touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion by Joe Heflin made it 20-0.

* * *
THE BIG RED, now 1-2-1 in four starts, duplicated the scoring feat with a 70-yard drive after taking the kickoff. Quarterback Bill Hoyman rifled three aerial bulls-eyes during the drive for 35 of the yards and climaxed it with a scoring pass to Len Terry from four yards out.

While the Tigers’ offense lacked its scoring punch the defense again stacked up the Steubenville ground attack when the plot thickened and the Big Red threatened.

After the Tigers’ first big drive of the game had been stopped inches short of the goal, the Big Red rebounded by moving 72 yards to the Tiger 28 before the local defensive giants rose up to cut the drive short.

The Washington high eleven didn’t even manage its first score against Ray Hoyman’s club until 2:39 remained in the first half.

It took Art Hastings recovering from muscle spasms in his right leg to inject a TD shot into the Tigers.

After Bob Baker returned a Hoyman punt to the Bengal 49, Hastings swung around his short side end for 34 yards to the Big Red 17 before being bounced out of bounds by Tom Soboliwski. After three thrusts at the line by Joe Heflin, Charlie Brown and Ken Dean had netted a first down on the seven. Hastings again swept the short side end for the score.

* * *
THE TIGERS wasted little time duplicating the six-point first half when they marched 63 yards for a touchdown after taking the second half kickoff. Dean barreled home from near the eight-yard marker after he and Hastings with a 31-yard sprint, had positioned the score. The 12-0 lead stood as the conversion attempt failed.

The Tigers then put the contest away on the final play of the third period when Larson and Royer covered 18 yards on a scoring pass play. Baker’s punt return from his own 40 to the Big Red’s 38 and the line busting of Martin Gugov and Brown set the touchdown up in four plays.

Joe Heflin added the two-point conversion for a 20-0 margin.

The Big Red then combined its lone six-point drive of the night after Lindsey had returned Dean’s kickoff to the Steubenville 30.

Hoyman connected with Soboliwski on the second play for 18 yards. Several plays later he spotted Ken Potts for six yards. Len Terry then took the aerial play from Hoyman hitting Barnes for 20 yards to the Tiger 18.

Hoyman again took charge with an 11-yarder to Potts to inside the Tiger five. After two running plays gained a single yard, Hoyman and Terry combined for the touchdown. A Hoyman pass on the PAT attempt failed.

Failing to score after Jim Houston grabbed an onside kick on the 50, the Tigers turned the ball over on downs on Steubenville’s 20-yard marker.

* * *
THE BIG RED couldn’t move and a short punt by Hoyman rolled dead on his own 44.

Larson then hit three straight passes, nine yards to Theo Bodiford, 10 to Hastings and the third of 25 yards to Bodiford who juggled the ball around before grabbing it while waltzing into the end zone for the touchdown with only 37 seconds remaining.

Again the conversion attempt failed as the Tigers tucked away their 21st straight win over the Ohio River club.

* * *
A FINAL HEAVE from Hoyman to Paul Cunningham covered 32 yards to Washington high’s 33 as the game ended.

Statistically the Tigers enjoyed nearly a two-and-a-half to one advantage in rushing yardage piling up 239 to 106. Passing the visitors chalked up 91 to Larson’s 76. That cut the total yardage difference of 315 to 197.

The Big Red made a go of it in the first down department with 10 to the Bengals’ 13.

There was only one fumble, that by the Big Red. Charlie Whitfield grabbed it on Steubenville’s 41. The Tigers’ drive which followed bogged down on the invader’s 22.

Foul play didn’t exist, at least noticeably, as only 15 yards in penalties were assessed, 10 against the Bengals, five against the Big Red.

The Big Red Coach Hoyman ranks the Tigers as the best club they’ve met this year with Weirton as a “close second”.

Strang wasn’t in a conversational mood after the contest. But he did pause long enough to size up the Big Red as “an aggressive, hard hitting, hard fighting team, just like all Steubenville teams.”

As for the Tigers, Leo received the type of performance he and the coaching staff had expected following a week of practice attended by only a scattering of regulars.

For the future and the game with Cincinnati Roger Bacon next Friday, Strang won’t know what to expect until this afternoon when he huddles with the staff going over the coaching reports.

Bacon maintained its undefeated mark Friday night mowing down Cincinnati Hughes,
40-0. Past wins have been over Cincinnati Withrow, 55-0, Cincinnati Walnut Hills, 33-0, and Cincinnati Taft, 28-6.

The Bacon eleven ranked 10th in this week’s Associated Press football poll after ranking sixth the previous week.

Chuck McMasters who played all the way for the Big Red at guard and linebacker picked up four tackles and added four assists.

For the Tigers Jim Houston, Charlie Whitfield, Ed Radel, Lawson White, Richard Crenshaw, and George Demis all figured heavily in the defensive tackles.

Victory No. 5

MASSILLON
ENDS – Royer, Ivan, Bodiford, Anzalone.
TACKLES – Spees, Garman, Crenshaw, Herbst, Brugh, Herndon.
GUARDS – Houston, White, Willey, Radel, Whitfield.
CENTERS – Demis, Strobel.
BACKS – Larson, Baker, Null, Heflin, Brown, Hastings, Gugov,
Kurzen, Schenkenberger, Dean, Snively.

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Soboliwski, Potts, Ray, Williams, Johnson.
TACKLES – Mazzaferro, Schaeffer, Pyle.
GUARDS – McBride, Capper, B. Simmons.
CENTER – Hulburt.
BACKS – Hoyman, Lindsey, Terry, Barnes, Booth, Shernit, Stratton

Massillon 0 6 14 6 26
Steubenville 0 0 0 6 6

Massillon scoring – Hastings (7, run); Dean 8, run); Royer (18, pass from Larson);
Bodiford (25, pass from Larson)

Extra point – Heflin (run).

Steubenville – Terry (4, pass from Hoyman).

STATISTICS
Massillon Steu.
First downs – rushing 10 6
First downs – passing 3 4
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained – running plays 256 117
Yards lost – running plays 17 11
Net yardage – running 239 106
Passes attempted 11 12
Passes completed 5 8
Passes had intercepted 0 0
Yard returned –
intercepted passes 0 0
Yards gained passing 76 91
Total yardage
running and passing 315 197
Number of kickoff returns 2 5
Yardage – kickoff returns 9 73
Yardage – punt returns 31 19
Number of punts 2 4
Average length of punts 32.0 33.7
Number of penalties 2 1
Yards lost on penalties 10 5
Number of fumbles 0 1
Own fumbles recovered 0 0
Ball lost on fumbles 0 1

Art Hastings
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1959: Massillon 28, Steubenville 8

Tigers Beat Stubborn Big Red 28-8
Bengals Come From Behind To Win After Terrific First Half

By CHARLIE POWELL

Massillon is still undefeated and when the scholastic polls come out next Tuesday the Tigers more than likely will remain atop the pack.

But for some 24 uncomfortable minutes at Steubenville Friday night the might of the orange and black was very much in doubt.

The host Big Red, with a partisan crowd of 9,000 screaming for a king-sized upset, gave the Bengals one big scare before the Tigers flexed their muscles and carved out a hard-earned 28-8 triumph, their fourth in a row and 20th in the history over the Steubers.

Two sensational runs – the first an electrifying punt return of 55 yards by Nick Daugenti and the second a 67-yard gallop by Art Hastings – kept the Tigers from being on the short end of the count at halftime. Steubenville marched 67 yards in a great display of power in the second period and so at the half it was the Daugenti-Hastings combination with 12 points, the Big Red with 8.

Then in a second half the Bengals, who may have been a little over-confident going into the game, ground it out and actually breezed home.
* * *
IT WAS ALL Massillon during the second half as Leo Strang’s stouties, apparently getting straightened out during the intermission lectures, made hay on a third quarter drive of 35 yards following a timely recovery of a Big Red fumble by Gary Wells and the next time they got possession; went on the prowl for an icing-on-the-cake touchdown, the ultimate tally being rung up in the final period.

While the enemy controlled the pigskin and kept the Tiger followers in a lather for just about the whole first half, things worked just the opposite in the last two rounds.

In the final analysis, the Tigers packed too much savvy, speed and depth for the Big Red.

Massillon ran only 13 plays from scrimmage the first half. Except for the dazzler by Hastings, the Tigers made little headway. Offense wasn’t enough to worry about, the defense was torn to shreds by wedge-like power plays which featured a wave of deadly blockers.

The hosts continually hit off the right side and Massillon was virtually helpless. By halftime, the Redmen had gained 122 yards on running plays.

But the defensive changes that were hastily rendered as the bands strutted their stuff proved to be the difference.

The Big Red was at Massillon’s mercy in the second half. Except for a couple sprints up the middle and a few short passes, the Tigers handled the Steubers with comparative ease.
* * *
THE ORANGEMEN didn’t look like the same team that swept past a defensively stronger Alliance outfit but after the altered defensive alignment the Tigers showed the ability deserving the state’s No. 1 ranked combine.

An elated Coach Strang, “happy to get out of it alive,” stressed that a big factor in the win was that the Tigers did not lose the ball once on a fumble.

“Our breakaway runs (Daugenti’s punt return and Hastings’ TD jaunt) were the only bright spots in the first half. After we went into more basic football at the start of the second half we were able to keep going on short yardage plays. And of course, again our breakaway boys turned in runs to set up the touchdowns.”

Discussing the defensive adjustments, he cited the charging, tackling and pursuit, which provided a grade-A parlay to put the skids to Steubenville’s sweeps.

The tougher Tigers held Steubenville to a net gain of 36 yards via rushing over the last two quarters but Strang had a bushel of praise for the Big Red.

“They were the most aggressive team we’ve met and if they had a speedster with breakaway potential, I think they would be near impossible to stop,” he commented.
* * *
STRANG CLEARED the bench with most of the lads getting a good bit of playing time.

An all-junior defense, with the exception of a senior, Bob “Zeke” Zumbrunn, played a good portion of the last quarter and turned in an outstanding performance.

This crew, which plays defense against the Tiger offense throughout the weekly practice session, has been dubbed “The Tail Twisters.”

With the Tigers throwing their opponents for losses amounting to 51 yards, Steubenville finished with a total of 191 yards gained through the infantry route.

Hal Paul’s team had the edge in first downs (12-9) but the Tigertowners ripped off 227 yards, all but 14 on the ground.

Quarterback Joe Sparma had one of his infrequent “off nights” in the throwing department but the running game was more than enough. As usual his generalship and ball-handling was the work of art. And punting? Friends, he was dynamic. Two of his punts put Steubenville’s back to the wall and he wound up with a scintillating average of 39.2 yards per kick.
* * *
HASTINGS was the workhorse of the attack and of course had plenty of help from Jim Wood, Martin Gugov and Daugenti with Bill Finney inserting several yardage-gulping efforts.

The lone pass connection, which spelled a third TD for the Tigers, was an eye-popper. Sparma’s throw was taken on a nifty over-the-shoulder catch by big Hase McKey, who was one of the real standouts on defense.

Before the battle was even five minutes old, Daugenti had the Tigers stands rocking.

Steubenville’s Wally Neel punted from his own 16 and Daugenti, who plays defense when he’s not on the punt return team, fielded the pigskin at the Massillon 45.

No sooner than he caught the ball he was hit. But the tackler was left in the dust as Nick twisted away, cut for the right sidelines and completed a 55-yard dash behind some beautiful blocking.

Wood was stopped a foot short on his run for the PAT attempt but at 7:39 Massillon was out front.
* * *
THE BIG RED bounced right back and moved from their own 24 to the Tiger 48 before having to punt again. On the last play of the session, Sparma punted.

The riverfront array, barreling off the right side as Neel, Tom Cunningham, Leon Lindsey and Bob Crossley shared the ball toting chores, marched to pay dirt. A 19-yard run by Crossley on fourth down set the stage for Cunningham who tallied from a yard out on a third down situation. When sub quarterback Dohrmann Sinclair bootlegged left and hit in for two more points at 5:15, Massillon was in arrears for the first time this season.

Steubenville’s fans went wild but in short order they sat back stunned no end.

Daugenti pounced on the bounding kickoff at the Tiger 24 and on the very next play, Hastings put the Bengals back in the lead.

Finding a hole off the left side he dodged away from one would be tackler and was free at the Tiger 30. All he had to do was to turn on the speed and outrun the secondary. This he did. And how.

After Art completed the 76-yard scamper, Gugov crashed across for the conversion points but the effort went for naught because Massillon was called for backfield in motion.

On the second try, Sparma passed to Hastings who caught the ball at the four but was stopped at the one.

The Big Red hit on a 26-yard pass play but was forced to punt and another punt by Sparma wound up first half play.
* * *
ON THE FOURTH play of the third period, Crossley fumbled, Wells recovered, and Massillon was on its way for a very important six-pointer.

Hastings and Wood carted to the 15 before Sparma twirled to McKey, who caught the oval at the goal line. Gugov’s run for two more points gave Massillon a 12-point advantage with eight minutes left in the quarter.

A Big Victory
MASSILLON
ENDS – McKey, Barkman, Zumbrunn, Oliver, Royer, Bodiford.
TACKLES – Bukuts, Appleby, Wells, Haines, Herbst, Paul, Herndon.
GUARDS – Houston, Bednar, Midure, Willey, Whitfield, White.
CENTERS – Snyder, Snodgrass, Demis.
QUARTERBACKS – Sparma, Larson.
HALFBACKS – Finney, Wood, Herring, Gugov, Daugenti.
FULLBACKS – Hastings, Hershberger, Dean, Toles.

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Hutter, Crain, Sobolewski, P. Cunningham, W. Johnson.
TACKLES – Sizemore, DeFallo, Delderich, Smith.
GUARDS – McMasters, Staib, Pyle, Kramer.
CENTERS – Switzer, Conrad.
QUARTERBACKS – Crossley, Evans, Sinclair.
HALFBACKS – Neel, Lindsey, B. Johnson, Patterson, Terry.
FULLBACK – R. Cunningham.

Scoring by Quarters
Massillon 6 6 8 8 28
Steubenville 0 8 0 0 0

Touchdowns:
Massillon – Daugenti (55, punt return); Hastings (76, run); McKey (15, pass); Hastings (4, run).
Steubenville – Cunningham (1, run).

Extra points:
Massillon – Gugov (run); Sparma (run).
Steubenville – Sinclair (run).

OFFICIALS
Bob McPhee.
Leo Less.
Ted Humphrey.
Glen Dicken.
Statistics
Mass. Steu.
First downs – rushing 8 9
First downs – Passing 1 2
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 9 12
Yards gained rushing 213 191
Yards lost rushing 0 51
Net yards gained rushing 213 140
Yards gained passing 14 49
Total yards gained 227 189
Passes attempted 10 13
Passes completed 1 5
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Times kicked off 5 2
Kickoff average (yards) 42.2 46.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 28 50
Times punted 5 3
Punt average (yards) 39.2 32.3
Punt returns (yards) 59 27
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 0 2
Lost fumbled ball 0 2
Penalties 5 4
Yards penalized 55 50

Joe Sparma
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1958: Massillon 19, Steubenville 7

Tigers Defeat Steubenville 19-7
Snively Sparks Drive As Bengals Score Twice In Last Seven Minutes

By CHARLIE POWELL

Dr. L. J. Snively, Massillon dentist, was far away from the tools of his profession. He was in the stands rootin’ while his eldest son Jim, down on the gridiron, did the yankin’.

He yanked victory right out of Steubenville’s grasp by virtue of a scintillating 74-yard kickoff return that brought the Tigers out of the hole and paved the way for a thrilling 19-7 triumph over the invading Big Red at Tiger stadium last night.

Around 13,000 fans (12,835 paid) either had a re-birth of spirit or died a thousand deaths as the Steubers, decisively out-played for three quarters, barged back to take a 7-6 lead at 7:18 in the final period.
* * *
THERE WERE all kinds of pyrotechnics in that last cliff-hanging session but the biggest blast of all, the turning point of battle, was the run by young Jim Snively, 146-pound senior who, in starting his first game of the year, celebrated a birthday a few hours prematurely.

Today is his 17th birthday – and Steubenville probably is thinking he was born several years too soon.

After falling behind as Steubenville capitalized on an 89-yard drive, an eight-yard pass for the score and Tom Cunningham’s perfect placement, the Bengals got the lift they needed from the dentist’s son.

The kick by Halfback Wally Neel went down to the Tiger 15 where it was taken by Snively. Within a few seconds the ball was resting down at the Big Red 11. Jim flew up an alley in the middle, sidestepped two would-be tacklers, then shook another with a quick change of direction and was free wheeling after a change of pace at the Steuber 40, another veer left another tackler picking up grass. The time he took in order to steer away from his opponents was enough for a couple of Steubenville players to finally make the tackle after a heart-pounding dash.
* * *
OF COURSE, Snively had to have some help and he got it…with Co-Captain Dave Dean and then the fiery Gail Karrenbauer throwing scythe-like key blocks.

A little over a minute later the same Snively, getting fine blocks by End Bob Vogel and Tackle John Donat, sailed into the end zone from seven yards out and the Tigers were in business.

The Big Red hit for a 14-yard pass play but subsequent aerials failed and with 3:30 remaining, Leo Strang’s comeback kids started driving for some extra room enroute to their third victory.

Sparma, whose running helped keep the Big Red defense honest all night, got all a
28-yarder and Massillon moved 50 yards before Dean, piling through left guard, tallied with only 17 seconds of action remaining.

The clock got into the act here. Before the previous play, in which Snively gained a yard at right tackle, the scoreboard time piece showed 33, seconds left and after the play was completed, it still read “0:33.”

The referee apparently had not given the timer a signal to start the clock and before the touchdown play, the “ref” had him run off a few seconds.
* * *
THE CLOCK did not figure in the outcome, only the final score. If the Tigers hadn’t scored (the TD came on a third down smash), the Steubers would have faced a virtually insurmountable task.

The Tiger task was spearheaded by Snively and Art Hastings, ultra-promising sophomore, who entered the game midway in the first quarter – and proceeded to earn himself a carload of plaudits.

Hastings, working from fullback and left half, carried 22 times and gained 170 yards to more than out-gain the entire visiting team. He did not hit pay dirt but a 55-yard jaunt set up the only touchdown until the final round and he also was very prominent in other drives. He averaged 7.7 yards a trip.

Besides his great kickoff return, Sniverly toted 17 times from scrimmage. He gained 75 yards for an average of 4.4 yards per try.
* * *
THE REST of the orange and black attack was comprised chiefly of more running by Dean and Sparma. Dean averaged 4.1 yards a try with a pickup of 50 in 12 attempts and Sparma, despite a leg injury, which handicapped him in the second half, went 36 yards in four carries.

They had better blocking than at any other time. Defensively the Bengals, their tackling vicious at times, allowed the river front team only 109 yards on the ground – an average of three yards per try.

The Steubers, despite the absence of speedsters Cunningham, whose one effort gave his club the 7-6 lead, and Ed Weinman, hard-hitting fullback, were dangerous from the word go. They gained 66 yards through the air. On the ground Neel, Rufus Simmons and Bob Crossley kept the Tigers worried. But quick reaction and quick thinking by the Bengal defenders prevented the visitors from getting off any long-distance specials.

The longest Big Red gain by rushing totaled 11 yards.

Steubenville’s defense plus a few missed assignments on the part of the orange, kept the score close for three quarters.
* * *
MASSILLON, running 17 plays in the first period and two at the outset of the second frame, had a drive terminated by a pass interception. This march featured short yardage efforts by Dean, Hastings and Snively. On third down at the 12, Sparma threw to Vogel in the end zone and the big end tried his best to break the ice. He dived and got his hands on the ball as he was coming down but just as he hit the grass, the pigskin escaped him. On the fourth down Sparma was rushed and his toss to the right was intercepted by Steuber linebacker Jim Staib at the nine and he ran out to the 15.

Steubenville had to kick from its 37 and the Tigers, starting from their 11, went for the works. At the 31 Hastings hit off left tackle, showed a nice change of pace and broke into the clear at mid-field. He was tackled after a 55-yard run at the enemy 14. Then Snively, with Tiger fans roaring, went wide to the right and darted into the end zone,just managing to stay inbounds before hitting the final stripe. Corky Pledgure, running to his left, tried to make two points. As he was tackled at the seven, he lateralled to Sparma who was stopped short but it was 6-0 at 4:08.

On the first play after the kick-off the alert Vogel pounced on a fumble at the Steubenville 28. Snively rambled for nine and Hastings for 12 before a clipping penalty put the locals back to the 17. Hastings, fighting for every inch, gained 12, but Steubenville took over after holding Snively for two and the same boy without gain.

At halftime the Tigers had clicked off 197 yards with Hastings responsible for 107 and Snively for 68.

In the third stanza another Massillon bid was thwarted. After a Big Red punt, the Strang gang went from their own 25 to the opponent’s 14 before losing the ball on a fumble. This march included a 17-yard gain by Hastings. Twice the Tigers kept moving on a
fourth-and-one situation.

The red-uniformed team, with Neel doing the running and Roach passing to End George Milosevich for 38 yards, finally got up a head of steam.

The drive was climaxed when Crossley, clear at the goal line, took a pass from Roach on an eight-yard scoring play. It came on fourth down at 7:14 and Cunningham came off the bench to make the count 7-6.
* * *
STEUBENVILLE fans were still whopping things up when Snively whizzed back on the kick-off. From the Big Red 11, Hastings made four in two plays before Snively tallied on a pitchout. His run for the extra points was shy but Massillon had regained the lead role and as it turned out, for keeps.

With 3:30 remaining the visitors had to relinquish possession as three passes following a run by Crossley went for naught. Two of them were off the fingertips of the intended receivers.

Sparma, wriggling out of the grasp of two Big Red boys, picked up 28 yards before Snively, Hastings and Dean took the leather to the two. Then Dean scored and it was all over for all rhyme or reason.

STATISTICS
M S
First Downs – Rushing 16 4
First Downs – Passing 0 2
First Downs – Penalties 0 3
Total First Downs 16 9
Number of Rushing Plays 58 42
Yards Gained – Rushing Plays 334 109
Yards Lost – Running Plays 1 13
Net Yardage – Running 333 96
Passes Attempted 3 11
Passes Completed 0 3
Passes Had Intercepted 1 1
Yards Returned –
Intercepted Passes 0 6
Yards Gained – Passing 0 60
Total Net Yardage –
Running and Passing 333 156
Number of Kickoff Returns 2 4
Yardage – Kickoff Returns 74 52
Average Length of Kickoff
Returns 37 13
Number of Punt Returns 3 0
Yardage – Punt Returns 4 0
Average Length of Punt
Return 1.3 0
Number of Punts 1 3
Total Yardage on Punts 41 132
Average length of Punts 41 44
Number of Penalties 5 3
Yards Lost on Penalties 35 25
Number of Fumbles 2 3
Own Fumbles Recovered 1 2
Ball Lost on Fumbles 1 1

Bob Vogel
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

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

Ivory Benjamin
Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

1954: Massillon 28, Steubenville 0

Tiger Gridders Defeat Big Red 28-0
Orange And Black Seal Verdict By Outplaying Foe In Third Period

By LUTHER EMERY

The Washington high Tigers completely outclassed Steubenville for five minutes Friday evening and won a 28-0 victory.

That hardly seems possible but that is just about the way it happened.

The smallest crowd of the season, a disappointing 10,420 fans, turned out for the game which ended football relations between the two schools.

The Tigers achieved their goal of winding it up with a victory, but they were hard pressed for a time to do it.

They scored their first touchdown on the last play of the first half as Halfback Homer Floyd raced 75 yards to score. Time expired while he was somewhere en route. Then with a devastating attack, they ripped Steubenville for three touchdowns in the short space of five minutes in the third period, two of them on runs of 84 and 30 yards by Floyd and another on a little buck through center by Quarterback Rich Crescenze.

Bit Bob Williams kicked all four extra points after touchdown from placement and that’s all there was to it.
* * *
BATTLING in their effort to win at least one game of the 18-game series, Steubenville put up quite a scrap against the Tigers, and save for the local team’s one touchdown effort in the first half, had a little the better of the play. Even on that one there was questionable clipping which brought a mild protest from the Steubenville bench, though it in no way figured in the play and occurred nearly 10 yards behind the ball carrier.

The Big Red threatened three times, twice in the first half and once in the last period. Intercepted passes ended two of the threats and a fumble stopped the third. The nearest the visitors got was 10 yards from the goal line.

So the series has been ended by Steubenville without it having won a game in all the years of play since 1937, and the Tigers getting back on the victory road after their loss, first in 26 games last week at Alliance. It was No. 3 in four games for the Tigers and No. 3 in four games in reverse for the Big Red, whose only triumph was a decision over Cleveland East Tech last week.

The Tigers had a considerable margin in yardage thanks to Floyd who totaled 180 of the locals 399 net yards. Steubenville had a net gain of 195 yards.

The revamped Tiger offense didn’t click too well the first half, and Coach Tom Harp wound up by putting his star runner, Homer Floyd back at halfback. He did most of the gaining, though Don Duke and Jerry Yoder, who started at the halfback spot, picked up some yardage the first two periods.
* * *
DISAPPOINTING from a Massillon standpoint was its passing attack which has been practically nil the last two weeks. Nine were thrown and only two completed for seven yards. Steubenville completed five of 12 for 77 yards.

Best pass uncorked by the Tigers all night produced a touchdown that didn’t count because a Massillon player was offside. Sub Quarterback Don Humes threw to Bob Williams who ran to the 20 and tossed a backward pass to End Bob Jones just as he was about to be tackled. Jones went the rest of the distance. The whole play would have been good for 63 yards.

The Tigers won without being sharp. Steubenville stopped them cold inside the tackles in addition to throttling the local’s aerial weapons. Floyd was the difference. It looked like a scoreless first half until he got away for his 75-yarder. Up to that time the Tigers hadn’t gotten closer than the Stubber 40, while the latter knocked twice on the Massillon goal.

Out-charging the Massillon team, the visitors got down to the 15 in the middle of the second period but Dick Fromholtz ended the threat when he pulled down Quarterback White’s pass behind the goal. Then after the Big Red had recovered a Massillon fumble on t he latter’s 44, White whipped a long pass that Don Wilson caught on the 12, but he fumbled when tackled and Tom Stephens covered for the Tigers. Even the Big Red had the local team stopped but jumped offside when Massillon shifted into a punt formation. The five-yard penalty gave the Tigers a first down and two plays later Floyd ambled 75 yards for the first touchdown with time expiring while he was on the loose. That’s just how close it came to being a scoreless first half.
* * *
IT WAS ALTOGETHER different in the third period however. “Between halves we figured out what Steubenville was doing,” said Harp, “made our corrections and things went all right until they changed on us again.”

Things did go all right. The Tigers kicked off but Stavroff got them the ball by intercepting a pass and running back to the Big Red 40. Floyd and Yoder took turns carrying until they reached the two and Crescenze sneaked it over from that point.

The Tigers kicked off, forced Steubenville to punt, the ball rolling dead on the 16. On the first play Floyd went 84 yards for the orange and black’s third T.D.

They kicked off again and Steubenville fumbled the kickoff on the 30. Dick Roan flopped on it and on the first play Floyd again went for the distance.

What looked like a severe rout for the Big Red stopped there and it got funny, when neither team appeared to want the ball, each throwing passes into opponents’ arms.

Steubenville did manage to penetrate to the 10-yard line before another interception by Stavroff stopped the threat. The Tigers’ only effort in the fourth quarter has already been explained, the lateral off a forward that was not allowed because of an offside penalty.

The line-up and summary:
MASSILLON
ENDS – Canary, Lorch, R. Williams, Jones, Francisco, Houston.
TACKLES – B. Williams, Hill, Blocher, Schumacher, Graber.
GUARDS – R. Ramier, Holloway, Tracy, Fisher.
CENTERS – Spicer, Roan, Morrow.
QUARTERBACKS – Crescenze, Humes, James.
HALFBACKS – Duke, Yoder, Fromholtz, Stavroff, Stephens.
FULLBACKS – Floyd, Boekel, Cocklin.

STEUBENVILLE
ENDS – Wilson, Fulton.
TACKLES – Pettresa, Crawford, Ensell.
GUARDS – Goffali, Starr, Jones, Copps, Anathan, Glannamore, Haverfield.
CENTERS – Moncilovich, Giamnrarco.
BACKS – White, Ray, Ross, Morgan, Porter, Jeter, Yates,
Sizemore, Collins, Callas.

Score by periods:
Massillon 0 7 21 0 26

Touchdowns – Floyd 3, Crescenze.

Points after touchdowns – Williams 4 (placekicks).

Officials
Referee – Tony Pianowski (Cleveland).
Umpire – Jerry Katherman, Jr. (Cleveland).
Head Linesman – Earl Schreiber (Canton).
Field Judge – W.K. Dunton (Warren).

STATISTICS
Mass. Steub.
First downs 16 10
Passes attempted 9 12
Had passes intercepted 2 4
Passes completed 2 5
Yards gained passing 7 77
Yards gained rushing 422 123
Total yards gained 429 200
Yards lost 30 5
Net yards gained 399 195
Times punted 1 4
Average punt (yards) 33 41
Yard punts returned by 0 0
Times kicked off 5 1
Average kickoff (yards) 48 48
Yards kickoffs returned by 18 84
Times fumbled 6 4
Lost ball on fumbles 3 3
Times penalized 1 3
Yards penalized. 5 15

Homer Floyd