Warren Harding Archives - Page 3 of 8

1983: Massillon 24, Warren Harding 0

September 16, 1983August 13, 2017
by Eric Smith

Back on track Tigers rebound with big victory

Tigers blank W. Harding

By NORM WEBER
Independent Sportswriter

MASSILLON – Everything is restored to normal in Tigertown.

The Tigers bounced back from last week’s upset loss to Akron Garfield by clubbing Warren Harding 24-0 Friday night, at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

With the collective running of Chris Spielman and Craig Johnson, and a stingy defense that forced 11 Harding punts and allowed but five Panther first downs, Massillon posted the convincing victory.

Putting it bluntly, Massillon’s vaunted defense was set on not letting the Panther offense go anywhere. Harding finished the game with 53 total net yards, 35 in the air and 18 on the ground.

“We had to play a good defensive game to win and as it turned out we did,” said Massillon head coach Mike Currence.

“Their defense was very quick and we were not able to sustain any blocking,” said Harding head coach Frank Thomas. “We got some blocking in the early part of the game, but we could not keep it going.”

The Tigers got their first score on their second possession of the game. After a 28-yard Harding punt Massillon took over on the Harding 39-yard line nad marched to thegoal in 10 plays using up 4:42 of the clock.

The Tigers calmly moved inside the Panther 20 on the running of Johnson and Spielman. Once inside the 20, however, the Tigers ran into some problems.

A clipping penalty negated a pass from quarterback Bronc Pfisterer to Bruce Spicer on the four-yard line, sending the ball all the way back to the 29-yard line.

The Tigers got some of it back two plays later, when Tom Gruno was interfered with on the 15-yard line. Spielman took it to the five on two carries and then Johnson took a pitch at the five and angled right on a sweep for the score.

Pfisterer added the conversion and the Tigers led 7-0.

The Johnson—Spielman running show continued after the Panthers punted to the Tigers on their next possession.

The Tigers drove 80 yards on nine plays – all running plays – to mount the 14-0 lead they were to take into the locker room at halftime.

In the ‘all rushing’ drive Johnson carried five times for 28 yards and Spielman three times for 43 yards. On a fourth-and-two from the three-yard line, Spielman took the ball—as well as a wall of tacklers – into the end zone for the score.

After shutting out the Panther offense the first half, the Tiger defense really earned its stars the second half.

Harding did not manage a first down until the fourth quarter and was forced to punt eight times the entire second half. The Panthers did not penetrate midfield the second half.

What permitted the Panthers to get the ball so many times the second half was their defense, which posted shut-outs in their first two games and forced five Tiger turnovers, four in the second half.

“They (Harding) have a good defense and an exceptionally good secondary,” said Currence. “Bronc played a good game at quarterback. He threw a couple interceptions, but they were on tips.”

“Those are the kinds of things that will happen, though. Having thrown those interceptions will teach him to back off a bit. You gain your experience by making mistakes, and Bronc is coming along fine,” he continued.

“Already playing the whole game against Garfield has helped him. We had our quarterback one more week than they had theirs and that proved to be the difference. When we put our backup (Mike Scott) in late in the game we had an illegal procedure on the first play, to give an idea of the adjustment needed for backup quarterback.”

Harding’s No. 1 quarterback, Maurice Reid got injured against Youngstown East last week, missed the Massillon game and is to miss the next four games. Reuben Osbourne, a junior, replaced Reid at quarterback.

“Reuben was playing injured, too,” said Thomas. “He’s been troubled with bad ribs since the first game. There was no miscalculation in timing between Reuben and the rest of the first unit. Their defense was just so darn quick.”

Turning in solo sacks for the Tigers in the second half were nose guard John Franke and defensive end John Brown.

Pfisterer added a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Spielman ran a punt back 53 yards with 30 seconds left in the game to conclude the scoring.

Tiger offense
back in high gear

By NORM WEBER
Independent Sportswriter

MASSILLON – Take away the five turnovers against Warren Harding, and it appears as if the Tigers have established an offensive game, one that future opponents are sure to fret over.

It was former Ohio State Buckeye coach Woody Hayes who made the words, “three things can happen when you put the ball in the air and two of them aren’t good,” famous.

Although the Tigers scored 24 points on the previously unscored on Warren Harding defense, they could very well have had more points than that.

Three times in Friday’s game the Tigers were driving in Panther territory and had passes intercepted to stop the drives, not to mention one other drive that was stopped at the three because of a fumble.

But it was the running game that overshadowed the turnovers. Tailbacks Chris Spielman and Craig Johnson, along with the help of their blockers, put on one fine show of running.

Spielman carried 13 times for 77 yards and Johnson 20 times for 116 yards.

The Tigers’ second scoring drive showed how potent the Johnson-Spielman combo really is. So potent that they didn’t need a single pass to score in the 80-yard drive which took a tad over four minutes.

Not only did Spielman and Johnson display some nifty running in the drive, but the play selection by the coaching staff was also excellent.

In nine plays, neither Johnson or Spielman carried the ball as much as twice in a row in the diverse attack.

“It was clicking,” said Tiger head coach Mike Currence. “All the plays we called seemed to click. We were trying to go outside whenever it looked as it they were pinching up and going inside whenever we thought they were going to overload on one side.

“It all clicked for us on that drive. But it can go both ways. There were times when they overloaded on one side and we went that way and didn’t get much.”

In the drive Spielman had one run of 25 yards, which should have been only a 10-yard gain, but Spielman carried a tackler or four and maintained his balance to get the extra yardage.

Spielman scored the touchdown on the drive from three yards out. On a fourth-and-two from the three, Spielman went into a wall of tacklers and it appeared as if he didn’t have the first down, but somehow he squirmed out of the stack for the touchdown.

While Spielmans’ forte was brute strength and shear desire, Johnson’s was the deceptive moves and quick stops. On one run in the third quarter, Johnson literally ‘danced’ for a 23-yard gain.

He almost scored in the fourth quarter on a 36-yard run, with blockers in front, behind and next to him. Center Dave Morelli, running behind Johnson, stepped on the back of his shoe top on one of those ‘excuse me’ moves, Johnson tripped down at the 13-yard line

***********
Spielman had the dubious distinction of throwing an interception from the same yard line he had intercepted the ball from.

In the waning seconds of the first half Spielman intercepted a pass at the Harding 41-yard line. Two plays later, with the line of scrimmage the 41-yard line, Spielman threw an interception to Harding on a halfback option pass.

***********
Tiger No. 1 quarterback Brian Dewitz, who has been injured since the first game, will probably see action next week against Akron Central Hower.

“We might have been able to play him against Harding,” said Currence. “But we want to give him as much rest as possible. He will probably play some next week.”

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

Warren Harding coach Frank Thomas was a tad disturbed by Spielman’s 53-yard punt return toward the end of the game, but at the same time was astonished by the execution of the run.

“If they want to get their No. 1 tailback hurt by having him run back punts with seconds left and a 17-point lead that’s their choice,” Thomas said. “But then if you get blocking like he got on that run you don’t need to worry about getting him injured.

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

The Tiger Booster Club experimented with a new idea for Friday’s game.

Referee Gordon Schutt wore a microphone on his belt, so that the fans could get an audio aid to go with the non-verbal signals on penalties.

As it turned out, the ‘mike’ came in handy. The scoreboard clock was not working and Schutt was able to inform the crowd of the official time via the mike.

“I think it’s a good idea. It wasn’t much trouble for me,” said Schutt. “I just made that one mistake when I said the player’s number on a holding call. I wasn’t supposed to do that.

The booster club plans to use the mike for future games.

MASSILLON 24
HARDING 0

STATISTICS
M H
First downs rushing 10 1
First downs passing 3 2
First downs by penalty 2 2
Totals first downs 15 5
Yards gained rushing 213 61
Yards lost rushing 19 43
Net yards rushing 194 18
Net yards passing 58 35
Total yards gained 252 53
Passes attempted 15 15
Passes completed 5 2
Passes int. by 1 3
Yardage on pass int. 00 00
Times kicked off 5 1
Kickoff average 52.0 42.0
Kickoff return yards 9 70
Punts 4 11
Punting average 42.3 27.5
Punt return yards 59 00
Punts blocked by 0 0
Fumbles 5 1
Fumbles lost 2 0
Penalties 6 5
Yards penalized 68 30
Touchdowns rushing 2 0
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Number of plays 53 47
Time of possession 24.04 23.56
Attendance 9,014

MASSILLON 7 7 0 14 – 24
HARDING 00 00 00 00 – 00

History

1981: Massillon 14, Warren Harding 7

October 2, 1981August 10, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger ground game key to 14‑7 victory
Grimsley, Moore, Newman do in Harding

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

Warren Harding had the right defense, but Massillon finally came up with the right combination of running backs as the Tigers rallied to a 14‑7 win over the Panthers before 10,223 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday.

Abandoning its passing game in the face of a blitzing Panther defense, the Tigers took to the ground with a trio of rushers who proved too versatile and too much for Harding to handle.

Fullbacks Greg Grimsley and Michael Moore and halfback Larry Newman combined for 127 yards rushing and all 14 Tiger points as Massillon raised its record to 4‑1.

Harding lost Its second straight game and falls to 3‑2.

They’ve got a good defense,” Tiger coach Mike Currence said after the game. “We did not plan on running as much as we did.”

Harding coach Bob Wolfe said he didn’t expect the Tigers to be able to run the ball the way they did.

“Teams don’t run on us the way they did,” he said. “The toss sweep to the sideline, we couldn’t stop it,” he said of the play that worked so well for the Tigers.

“We thought we had a very good defensive package to stop the run‑and‑shoot,” Wolfe said. He explained, that they changed their basic “40” defense, which worked well in a scrimmage against Lakewood St. Edward’s run‑and‑shoot offense, because he knew Massillon would have films of that scrimmage.

“We put in another defense, like the one Moeller used.

It’s a seven‑diamond effect with man‑to‑man coverage,” Wolfe explained

“It worked for two and a half quarters, but then they got moving,” be said.

“They were very good at the fire game,” Currence said, referring to the Panthers’ blitzing tactics. “We’d move the ball, but own they’d throw us for a big loss.

“We thought we’d be able to read It and hurt them, but they disguised it better than we thought. We’d make the wrong call right into their blitzing defense. They were playing man‑to‑man and firing like hell. Sometimes you get away with it,” Currence explained.

The defense worked for the Panthers through the first half, which ended in a scoreless tie. The Tigers had two drives into Panther territory stall in the second quarter, and both ended in missed field goals by Tim Manion, the first of 45 yards at 5:06 and the second of 48 yards with :27.

After a Massillon punt early in the third quarter, the Panthers got a break.

On third‑and‑10 from their own 25, flanker Darnell Robertson hit wide receiver Gary Hughley with a pass that covered 60 yards to the Tiger 16. Hughley was wide open down the middle, caught the ball at his own 45 and was finally hauled down from behind by linebacker Chris Spielman.

“That was a prayer, a miracle,” said Wolfe of the play.

“It was supposed to go to the tight end, but he didn’t go out.”

On the next play, quarterback Mike Surin hit Marcus Elkins for 16 yards and the touchdown with 7:58 to play in the third quarter, Greg Bumbu’s kick made it 7‑0.

That score seemed to pull the Tigers together, however, and Grimsley gave them the spark they needed.
on third‑and‑eight at their own 29, he went left on a sweep and fired a pass to Dan Ricker for 16 yards and a first down at the 45.

“That was a big play,” Currence said. “We were having trouble. We had to come out and get a first down to get something going. These kids have had trouble all year doing that.”

That proved to be the turning point for the Tigers, as they stayed on the ground the rest of the way and Grimsley bulled over from two yards out with 1:38 to play in the quarter.

Grimsley was the key man in the drive, gaining 25 yards in seven carries, and three times rushing for first downs. He finished the night as the game’s leading ball carrier with 56 yards in 16 carries.

Manion’s kick to tie the game was wide left, and the Tigers trailed 7‑6. Currence said Manion has had trouble kicking because of a sore left knee, which also limited his playing time at linebacker to only a few plays.

Harding couldn’t move the ball, and had to punt. Pressure on Dave Gantz by Bob Yoder and Charles Calhoun caused him to get off only a 13‑yard punt.

Massillon took over at its own 42 and drove to a touchdown in 10 plays, with Moore getting 21 yards in four carries, including the final four yards for a TD with 8:35 to play.

Newman had a key run for a first down, taking the ball from the 15 down to the eight. Grimsley gained four yards and then Moore swept right for the score.

On the run for the extra points, Newman took a pitch right and Bumbu blitzed through the line to stop him.
Newman made a sharp cut to elude him at the seven, ran up to the three and literally dove the rest of the way into the end zone.

“I didn’t know if it was a good play,” Currence said, “but I just wanted to get the ball to Newman. He came of age tonight, He probably hasn’t been playing as much as he should. But he’s our specialist. He returns kicks and we were working him at halfback and receiver. He said to let him try concentrating on one position, halfback, and we did.

That move paid big dividends as Newman gained 35 yards in seven carries. Moore finished with 36 yards In 10 carries.

Of course, Harding didn’t give up, and came back several times, but the Tiger defense held strong.

Tony Morelli, who came In at defensive end when Scott Zupp injured his ankle, sacked Surin for a nine‑yard loss on a third‑down play and Chris Spielman killed another threat with an interception, a leaping grab in which he took the bail away from Robertson.

The Panthers got one last shot when defensive tackle Nick Frankos blitzed through and hit quarterback Rick Spielman just as he was about to hand off to Newman. He caused a fumble which end Scott Wilson recovered for Harding at the Tiger 46. However, four straight passes fell Incomplete, and the Tigers took over with 2:54 left and ran out the clock.

The Tiger defense drew praise from Currence and defensive coordinator Jim Letcavits. With Manion, middie‑guard William Askew and tackle Rick Heather out with injuries, the Tiger backups did a fine job.

Charles Calhoun and Sam Clark started at the tackles’ Brian Schodorf played middle guard and Mark Haubert played linebacker.

“When we had to do it, we obviously did it,” Currence said. “We came together as a team tonight. I’m proud of the offensive line and of the defense. But we still have to improve. We have a long way to go. Barberton (Massillon’s opponent Saturday night in the Akron Rubber Bowl) is a good team.”

But with a gritty comeback, and their suddenly potent ground attack, the Tigers proved Friday night that they too are a tough team.

History

1980: Massillon 7, Warren Harding 7

September 26, 1980August 9, 2017
by Eric Smith

Panthers delighted with 7‑7 deadlock
Harding ties Tigers on last‑second TD

By DENNY HIGHBEN
Independent Sports Writer

Football fans and teams aren’t usually happy with a tie, but a lot of people left Warren Harding’s Mollenkopf Stadium Friday night downright happy.

In fact, the Warren coaching staff was deliriously happy with the 7‑7 tie the Panthers came up with against the Tigers.

So were most of the Warren fans.

With just 14 seconds showing on the clock, Panther split end Gary Hughley crossed the goal line, The football was still chilled from streaking 33 yards through the frosty air of a late September night,

What happened next gave Massillon fans reason to heave a sigh of relief, if not smile with Joy.

Panther quarterback Stan O’Day, who had just connected with Hughley for the TD after passing his team out of a hole, lined up to kick the extra point. Warren was going for the tie instead of the win.

But Massillon jumped offsides, and the ball was moved half the distance ‑ just one‑and‑a‑half yards away from victory.

It seemed like everyone in the galaxy took a deep breath at that moment

Would they try for two”

“I promised myself five years ago that if I was ever in that situation I would kick,” a sweating, smiling Bob Wolfe said after it was all over.

“But when Massillon got that penalty, I almost changed my mind.”

Wolfe, Warren’s first‑year coach, didn’t change his mind and O’Day’s kick sailed through the uprights to knot the score.

“I was surprised he didn’t go for it,” Tiger coach Mike Currence said afterwards.

Currence was relieved, like every other Massillonian, that Wolfe didn’t. But his frustration over the course of the game was obvious as he talked in the lockerroom.

We lost so many scoring opportunities I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

In the Warren lockerroom, which was as noisy as Massillon’s was quiet, Wolfe agreed.

“They did a job on us, they outplayed us offensively.

Our defense bent a lot but it didn’t break.

“Against a team with offensive stats like Massillon has, a tie is just like a win,” lie said.

Especially when you tie the score with just 14 seconds left.

As for scoring opportunities, Massillon had ’em but couldn’t use ’em.

The only time the Tigers capitalized on good field position was in the third period, when they started at Warren’s 43. That drive almost stalled too, but quarterback Dave Eberhart hit a key pass to Mike Reese and then avoided an awesome Panther rush to scramble for a first down at the 18. An incompletion and penalty later, however, Massillon faced a third‑and‑17 situation at the 25.

Eberhart made a beautiful play‑action fake, rolled to his right and tossed a bulls‑eye strike to Jeff Elliot who crossed the goal line with 2:48 left in the third quarter, Eberhart kicked the extra point and made it 7‑0.

The game started like the Tiger offense would roll, but that quickly changed.

On the third play after receiving the kickoff, Eberhart flipped a textbook screen pass to Bob James. James, a defensive tackle who was returned to his old position of fullback to add some beef to the backfield, rumbled downfield to turn the play into a 54‑yard gain before he was dragged down at Warren’s five.

Before the Tigers could run a play, they were penalized five yards for delay of game. But in two running plays, halfback Mike Jones had the ball on Warren’s one. The proud Panther defense, which had not given up a touchdown in four games, stiffened and tackled James for a yard loss on third down and held Jones for no gain on fourth down.

The Tiger defense, minus two starters, stopped Warren on the Panthers first possession ‑ and every possession afterwards with that frustrating single exception, Junior William Askew started at tackle in place of James and junior Bob Yoder started at linebacker in place of Tim Manion, who missed practice all week because of illness.

Massillon’s defense and Warren’s offense gave the Tigers the ball inside the Panther 40 five times in the first half. but Massillon couldn’t score.

“We still have too many breakdowns,” Currence said. “it wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t got past midfield most of the night, but we did. We should have won ”

The Tigers recovered four fumbles and intercepted a pass, all but one of the turnovers coming in the first half. One of the fumbles came on a muffed pitch out by fullback Wait Campbell, and the others were courtesy of the hard‑hitting Tiger D. Linebacker John Mayles and Askew were on the spot to get the ball on the first fumble, then Mayles recovered the second one after Campbell was gang‑tackled going through the middle.

The interception came in the second quarter when middle guard Jeff Grove hit O’Day as he tried to pass and Askew picked off the ball. Near the end of the half Massillon halfback Dave Huth fumbled at Warren’s 23 and the Panthers got the ball, but two plays later Campbell fumbled again and Yoder recovered. The Tigers drove downfield as time ticked away, but at the Warren five a mishandled snap resulted in a pile up that wasn’t cleared away until a scant few seconds remained.

Eberhart managed to get a snap as the last second disappeared but his scrambling pass near the goal line fell incomplete.

The Panther defense kept the pressure on Eberhart all night and he finished the night hitting on just 11of 28 of passes, for 178 yards and a TD.

“They were quick,” Currence noted. “They stayed with their basic defense but it wouldn’t have mattered what they did because they are good up front. They are quick and their reaction to the ball is good.”

The Tigers got the ball four times in the second half before Warren scored, and maintained possession for huge hunks of time and yardage ‑ but could still only score once. The Panthers had just 15 offensive plays in the second half ‑ until the dramatic march with 2:48 left that started at their own 16.

The Tigers stalled at Warren’s 10 on their first possession of the second half, scored on the next possession, and then drove out of trouble from their 13 and 15 on the next two.

O’Day proved he could throw under pressure in that final drive, hitting seven of 14 attempts, including two fourth‑down passes that were caught by junior end Darnell Robertson. The Tiger defense sacked O’Day once during the drive and came close several other times, but the Warren line kept the Tigers off his back when necessary.

After the score, George Roknich took the kickoff at his 17 and ran it out to the 37. With nine seconds left, Eberhart managed to get two passes off but both were incomplete.

“It’s ironic,” Wolfe said after the game. “I thought a lot about a situation like that all week.

“I was in that situation in previous coaching jobs, and five times I went for the win instead of the tie, I was zero‑for‑five. Now I’m one‑for‑six.

“At our Touchdown Club this week, some of the fans asked if, in this kind of situation, I would go for two or kick. When I said I would kick, about half of them booed,” Wolfe concluded with a grin.

Those fans weren’t booing Friday night.

TIGER GRIDSTICK
MASS OPP
First downs rushing 5 5
First downs passing 8 4
First downs by penalty 2 1
Total first downs 20 10
Yards gained rushing 119 174
Yards lost rushing 25 29
Net yards gained rushing 94 145
Net yards gained passing 204 57
Total yards gained 298 202
Passes attempted 31 17
Passes completed 12 7
Passes intercepted by 1 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average 46.5 34.5
Kickoff return yardage 44 37
Punts 5 6
Punting average 27.6 27.8
Punt return yardage 19 17
Punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 5
Fumbles lost 1 4
Penalties 7 4
Yards penalized 52 40
Touchdowns rushing 0 0
Touchdowns passing 1 1
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 67 51
Total time of possession 26 14 21:46
Attendance

MASSILLON 0 0 7 0 ‑ 7
HARDING 0 0 0 7 ‑ 7

MASS ‑ Jeff Elliott 25‑yard pass from Dave Eberhart (Eberhart kick)
WH – Gary Hughley 33 pass from Stan O’Day (O’Day kick)

History

1979: Massillon 16, Warren Harding 6

October 26, 1979August 7, 2017
by Eric Smith

Massillon wins 16‑ 6 to raise record to 8‑0
Defense rallies Tigers over Panthers

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

“Defense!”

The crowd chanted it as the Warren Harding Panthers tried to move the ball at the start of the third quarter.

“Defense!”
was how Tiger coach Mike’ Currence summed up his team’s eighth straight win of the season and first victory over Warren since 1976.

“Defense!”
And plenty of it helped the Massillon Tigers pull out a 16‑6 win over Warren and take another big step toward their quest of qualifying for the state computer playoffs.

The Tigers and Panthers were deadlocked 6‑6 at halftime, but the 13,285 fans in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium Friday night knew what they wanted.

They stood and cheered as the team took the field to start the second half. The Tigers kicked off and Warren took over at its own 28.

The crowd started its chant:

“Defense! Defense!”

Three plays later they were on their feet again as Jim Blogna intercepted a Panther pass at the Warren 43 and returned it to the one yard line.

Dave DeLong took it in on a quarterback sneak, and the way the Tiger defense was playing, that was just about the ball game right there.

“Jim Blogna,” Currence said, relishing his monster Lack’s name. “That was a big play, wasn’t it?”

That wasn’t the only big play, as the defense held Warren to 89 yards total offense the second half and pinned the Panthers with a total of 40 yards in losses during the game.

Currence said the enthusiasm of the crowd at the start of the second half was a real boost to his team.

“The crowd really helped us,” he said. “It took some of the vinegar out of them.

“We were uptight for this game. Tighter than we’ve been for any game this year. This win meant a lot to these kids, and to the coaching staff, too.”

Also giving the Tigers an emotional boost the second half was the return of defensive tackles Dave Geschwind and Bryant Lemon. Both players have missed games because of knee injuries and saw only limited action in the first half.

Lemon, in fact, wasn’t expected to play at all.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” Currence said. “Jim Blogna, Jeff Fry (who booted a 25‑yard field goal in the fourth quarter to boost the Tigers lead from 13‑6 to 16‑6) and Bob Simpson. Simpson was sick all week and didn’t even practice.

“And how about Lemon and Geschwind coming in there and playing so well?”

Bob James, the junior fullback who was switched to defensive tackle for this game because of all the injuries at that position, also did well. He recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter that set up Fry’s field goal.

The Tiger offense had an off night, but Currence put that into perspective.

“They did a good job on us. Warren is an aggressive football team. Nobody’s scored more than two touchdowns against them all year. Give them 13 points a game and they would have been undefeated (they are now 4‑4).”

Harding coach Tom Ross was distraught over his team’s loss.

“We were just a step away from breaking a run here and a run there,” he said. “All we needed to happen was for a couple of those big plays to break.

“I thought the kids hung tough with it. I think Massillon’s defensive front was every bit as tough as we thought it was coming in. But we knew what we had to do, we just didn’t get it done.

“We gave them the big turnovers. One resulted in a touchdown and the other in a field goal and that was the game. I wish them the best of luck.”

Both teams played the game without several key starters. The Tigers had injured fullback Sam McDew on the bench the whole game. Quarterback Bill Scott hurt his calf in the second quarter and didn’t return. And for most of the first half, Lemon and Geschwind saw little action.

Warren played without three defensive players, two of whom also start on offense.

It was a hard‑hitting football game from the opening whistle, and the outcome was in doubt until Fry’s insurance field goal early in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers took the opening kickoff and managed to drive to the Panther 43 yard line before the drive stalled. Mike Hodgson punted the ball into the end zone and Warren took over on its own 20.

They were forced to punt from their own 24 and Dave Preston kicked the ball off the side of his foot for only 15 yards.

The Tigers took over at the Panther 39 and in nine plays drove to the three yard line.

On third and goal from the three, Scott rolled right and passed to Bill Beitel in the right corner of the end zone for a 6‑0 lead with 1:11 to go in the first period. Fry’s extra point kick hit the left upright and bounced back.

Warren took over following the kickoff and drove out to its own 41 early in the second quarter. On third and nine, Panther quarterback Two Freeman hit Pat Shannon with a short pass and the speedy wingback broke several tackles and scooted 27 yards before he was hit and fumbled the ball. Dan DiLoreto recovered for the Tigers at his own 32.

However, Scott lost the ball on a bad exchange from center on the Tigers’ first play and Hassan Hameed recovered for Warren at the 31.

Seven plays later, on fourth and sixth at the Tiger 12 yard line, Freeman rolled right and lofted a pass to Shannon in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Preston’s kick was wide right and the game was tied 6‑6 with 8: 11 to go in the half.

The Tigers took the kickoff and drove to the Warren 24, but Scott was sacked for a 10‑yard loss by Doug Carter.

On third and 20 from the 34, Scott threw a pass down the left sideline to a wideopen Bill Burkett but the ball was just off his fingertips.

Hogdson punted the ball intentionally short, trying to pin the Panthers deep in a hole, but Mike Golden picked up the rolling kick at the six yard line and almost broke it all the way. He was finally hauled down at midfield.

The Panthers tried a halfback pass on third down, but Len Robinson broke up the play near the goal line.

The half ended shortly thereafter.

When the Tigers came back out to open the third quarter, the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

Blogna made his interception when Fremman, looking to pass on a third and three play from the 35, was rushed hard and forced his pass.

Blogna raced for the goal line with the ball and was knocked out of bounds at the one. DeLong then scored the go‑ahead touchdown and Fry’s kick made it 13‑7 with 9:49 to go in the third quarter.

The defense got another standing ovation from the crowd when it stopped the Panthers on their next possession and forced them to punt.

Following a Massillon punt Warren took over on its own 22 yard line.

Jeff Rowe gained six yards on first down, but Simpson and Geschwind nailed Walt Campbell for an eight‑yard loss when he took a deep pitch on the next play.

A screen pass to Shannon netted 12 yards, but the Panthers were forced to punt again.

The Tigers managed a pair of first downs on DeLong passes of 11 yards to Greg Evans (he was shaken up on the play) and 16 to Marty Guzzetta.

The latter pass moved the ball to the Warren 30, but Mike Jones fumbled on the ensuing play and Warren recovered at its own 22.

Geschwind, Lemon and Simpson sacked Freeman for a five‑yard loss on first down, and the right side of the Tiger line nailed Campbell for no gain on second down.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Tom Mummertz and Simoson nailed Freeman at the 12 yard line and he coughed up the football, with James recovering at the Panther 14.

The Tigers advanced to the eight yard line when Fry was summoned on fourth down to attempt the field goal. His 25‑yard try from the left hash mark was good and gave the Tigers a 10‑point cushion.

Warren’s Aaron Pugh then returned Fry’s kickoff from his own nine yard line to the Tiger 35, but offsetting penalties (holding on Warren and face mask on Massillon) allowed the Tigers to kick over.

John Mayles Jeff Grove and Steve Tomasevich nailed Larren Morgan at his own 27 yard line this time.

The Panthers then went to the shotgun formation and Freeman completed his first pass for seven yards to Lamont Grant.

Freeman ran for a first down on the next play, but on first down from the Panther 40, Simpson used his great speed to chase Freeman down and sack him for an 11‑yard loss.

Mummertz pressured Freeman into an incompletion on the next play, and Hodgson batted down his next passing attempt behind the line of scrimmage.

Warren punted and the Tiger defense got another standing ovation as it left the field.

The Tigers couldn’t move the ball, but Hodgson boomed a 55‑yard punt to the Warren eight yard line.

The Panthers took over from there with 6:20 to go on the clock and drove to the Massillon six yard line with just under two minutes left.

On first down from there, Simpson and Geschwind nailed Morgan for a two yard loss, and on the following play, Lemon and Geschwind sacked Freeman for an eight‑yard loss.

Freeman then threw long for Shannon at the goal line, but Len Robinson knocked the ball away and almost intercepted the pass.

On fourth down from the 16, Freeman threw for Shannon again in the right corner of’ the end zone and the ball was tipped in the air. Before anyone could catch it, Robinson came crashing through, knocking the Panther receiver out of the way.

The Tigers then ran out the final minute on the clock.

The Tigers now have only games against Timken (at home) and McKinley (away) remaining, and a pair of wins should qualify them for the state computer playoffs for the first time since 1972.

Currence has said he will try to rest some of his injured players against Timken. They will have to be ready for the McKinley game, because the Bulldogs have been shooting for this game since last season’s 13‑10 loss in Tiger Stadium.

But right now, Currence and his Tigers will take a few days to savor their win over the Panthers.

FINAL STATISTICS
MASS OPP
First downs:
Rushing 4 8
Passing 6 4
Penalty 0 0
Total 10 12
Yds gain rush 95 137
Yds lost rush 15 40
Net yds rush 80 97
Net yds pass 90 91
Total yds gain 170 188
Pass attempted 18 20
Pass completed 10 8
Pass int by 1 0
Pass int yds 35 0
Kickoffs 4 2
Kickoff ave 55.0 31.5
Kickoff ret yds 21 58
Punts 5 5
Punt ave 35.0 26.6
Punt ret yds 1 45
Punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 3
Fumbles lost 2 2
Penalties 2 3
Yds penalized 10 11
TDs rushing 1 0
TDs passing 1 1
TDs by int 0 0
Other TDs 0 0
No. of plays 50 53
Time of poss 23:12 24:48
Attendance 11,385

WARREN 0 6 0 0 6
MASS I LLON 6 0 7 3 16

Mass ‑ Bill Beitel 3 pass from Bill Scott (kick fail)
WH ‑ Pat Shannon 12 pass from Tom Freeman (kick fail)
Mass ‑ Dave DeLong 1 run (Jeff Fry kick)
Mass ‑ Fry 25 FG

History

1978: Massillon 7, Warren Harding 7

October 27, 1978August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tiger offensive errors Lead to 7-7 tie Against fired up Panthers in Warren

By ROLLIE DREUSSI
Independent Sports Editor

The Massillon Tigers were rudely awakened from their dreams of a perfect season when they were tied 7‑7 by a fired up Warren Harding team Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.

“We just took the choke offensively, “Tiger bead coach Mike Currence said dejectedly in the quiet Massillon lockeroom after the game.

We lost our confidence and didn’t execute. We blocked well, but when you get third and six you have to pass,” he added, explaining why the Tigers had to keep throwing the ball even though the passing game wasn’t working.

Brent Offenbecher completed just three of 14 passes for 14 yards (his worst performance as a Tiger) and a halfback pass by Jeff Beitel fell incomplete.

The Tigers only score came in the third quarter when middle guard Bob Simpson picked up a fumble by Panther quarterback David Goldberg and sprinted 32 yards to the end Zone.

The Tigers were hampered by poor field position most of the night, and a ball control offense by Warren that ate up much of the clock.

Still, Currence made no excuses.

“I knew they had the people to control the ball,” he said, referring to 211‑pound fullback Tony Seawood and hard‑running tailback Terrance Peterson. The Panthers gained 224 yards rushing.

“But we had the ball enough to score. The defense gave us good field position when Darren (Longshore) intercepted a pass (at the Harding 45) and returned it to the 29.” That came on the first Warren series following Simpson’s TD run with the fumble.

Four straight incompletions followed, including a first‑down pass that would have been a touchdown had wide receiver Curtis Strawder not slipped on the deceptively wet turf at the goal line in the left side of the end zone. The ball landed right on top of Strawder just after be hit the ground and he made a vain attempt to hang on anyway.

“I know this,” Currence said, “We could execute those plays in practice with our eyes closed. Maybe that’s it, we were too good in practice.”

Currence did praise the job of his defense, which had its back to the wall all night and managed to hold the Panthers off on all but one series.

That came after a bad snap on the Tigers’ first punt attempt. The ball bounced past kicker Ron Wright and was recovered by Ray Thomas at the Massillon 15 yard line.

The defense almost held, but a 17‑yard pass on third and 17 gave Warren the ball at the Tiger five and Peterson went off left tackle two plays later for the score. Dave Preston kicked the point after and Harding held a 7-0 lead until the Tiger defense tied it up on Simpson’s TD run with the fumble and Wright’s extra point conversion kick in the third period.

The Tiger offense was plagued by fumbles and dropped passes all night.

While Currence blamed the fumbles on poor execution, Harding coach Tom Ross said the turnovers by both teams were caused by some “awful good sticking.”

He said that Goldberg’s fumble ‑ which probably cost the Panthers a victory ‑ was caused by a great defensive hit.

The Panthers shut down the Tiger air game and Ross said that was the result of the Panthers working on “a couple of different things on the perimeter against the pass.

“We felt Massillon could hurt us with the run ‑ the counter and the sweep and the pass,” Ross said. He added that this defense allowed the Tigers to gain good yardage up the middle, most of it by fullbacks Wally Neff and Bob James.

He said his team went with its traditional 4‑4 but changed up a lot and threw a 5‑3 at the Tigers.

“That’s what we wanted to play,” Ross said of the 5‑3. “We worked hard on it. It entails more responsibility but the kids picked it up real well.”

The Panthers have not allowed an offense to score a touchdown on their defense for 22 straight quarters.

Currence said the Tigers were not surprised by the 5‑3 (the Panthers had used it before this season), blaming the Tigers’ mistakes on poor execution and not on any of Warren’s defensive formations.

Ross noted the first and third quarters were the key,

“They started going in the third quarter, and they’ve done that historically, but we stopped them,” he noted.

“I feel we came as close as we possibly could to (carrying out) our game plan, which was to control the ball. The fumble (by Goldberg) was the only thing that intercepted it,” he explained. “I was pleased with the way our offensive backs ran the ball.”

Tailback Peterson carried 19 times for 67 yards, fullback Seaweed lugged the ball 13 times for 62 yards and halfback Darren Morgan led all rushers with 75 yards on seven carries. He ran 52 yards (to the Tiger 24) on a second‑quarter play in a drive that ended in a missed 49‑yard field goal attempt by Preston.

Outside of that, there’s not much else to say, But here’s a rundown of the Tigers’ troubles.

First series: a bad snap on a fourth‑down punt attempt gave Harding the ball at the Tiger 15 and led to their only score, the Tigers started from their own 15 on this possession;

‑ Second series Tigers started from their own 10 after a clipping penalty on the kickoff return: sophomore fullback Bob James fumbled the ball at the Panther 33 after picking up 10 yards and what would have been a first down. Tiger defense forced Harding back to midfield;

‑ Third series: Tigers took over at their own 13 after a clipping penalty on a punt return; a 10‑play drive ended at the Panther 40 with a punt (Tigers had reached 35 but lost five yards); Wright’s punt went to the five yard line but Peterson returned it 19 yards to the 24 to get Harding out of a hole;

‑ Fourth series: four plays and a punt (Tigers started from own 20);

‑ Fifth Series: Tigers got the ball at their own 11 following a punt with 55 seconds left before half;

‑Sixth series: Starting from own 27, Offenbecher’s third down pass deflected off Marty Guzzetta’s hands and was intercepted by Mark Ash at the 42 and returned to the 40;

‑ Seventh series: Tigers took over at their own 13 following a punt; eight straight running plays moved the ball to the Panther 33, a pass from Offenbecher to Strawder was complete but out of bounds on a third and six play; on fourth down, Fred Jones intercepted a Offenbecher pass at the 21 and returned it to the 24; Goldberg fumbled on Warren’s ensuing series and Simpson tallied the Tiger’ lone score;

‑ Eighth series: Tigers took over at the Warren 29 following a 16‑yard pass interception return by Longshore; four straight in completions gave Warred the ball back;

‑ Ninth series: 10 straight rushes took the ball from Massillon’s 22 to Warren’s 42; On second and 11, a long pass from Offenbecher to Strawder was intercepted by Tony Battee at the Panther two yard line with 4:09 left in the game; Warren ran out the clock to preserve the tie, but gave the ball back to Massillon (which had no time outs remaining) when they elected to run the ball on fourth down instead of punt; Tigers lined up hurriedly for a 41‑yard yard field goal attempt by Eric Barnard; the kick never got much off the ground (in part because the Tigers didn’t have time to get a kicking block onto the field)

Now the Tigers are 7‑0‑1 and play at Canton Timken Saturday at 2 p.m. Harding is now 5‑2‑1 and hosts Niles Friday night.

Massillon is now 3-0-1 in the All‑American Conference and must beat McKinley (4‑0) to win the loop title. Harding is 2‑1-1 in AAC play.

MASSILLON 7
WARREN HARDING 7

Mass. Opp.
First downs – rushing 10 12
First downs – passing 1 1
First downs – penalties 1 0
Total first downs 12 13
Yard, gained rushing 173 243
Yards lost rushing 13 14
Net yds. gained rushing 160 224
Net yds. gained passing 14 33
Total yards gained 174 257
Passes attempted 15 8
Passes completed 3 3
Passes intercepted by 1 3
Yardage on passes intercepted 14 0
Times kicked off 2 2
Kickoff average (yards) 39.0 50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 21 24
Times punted 2 4
Putting average (yards) 30.0 24.5
Punt returns (yards) 12 19
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 4 2
Lost fumbled ball 2 2
Penalties 2 7
Yards penalized 25 88
Touchdowns rushing 0 1
Touchdowns passing 0 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Misc. touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 51 59
Total time of possession 19:29 28:31

MASSILLON 0 0 7 0 7
HARDING 7 0 0 0 7

H Terrance Peterson 3 run (Dave Preston Kick)
M – Bob Simpson 32 run with fumble recovery (Ron Wright kick).

History

1977: Massillon 21, Warren Harding 22

October 28, 1977August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Panther QB ‘shotguns’ Tigers
Warren edges Tigers With fourth-period TD

By DENNY J HIGHBEN

“Maurice didn’t know the game was lost.”

That’s how Tiger coach Mike Currence summed up the surprising 22‑21 victory by the Warren Harding Panthers Friday night in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

IN A phenomenal fourth quarter, Panther guarterback Maurice Hall pulled out the shotgun and blew the Tigers away. Out of that formation he directed two scoring drives that brought Warren from a 21-7 deficit to a spectacular victory.

The first drive covered 96 yards and Hall accounted for 70 of them yards running and passing. The winning drive went 64 yards and Hall passed or ran for 54 of them.

In all, he rushed 15 times for 102 yards and completed nine of 16 passes for 110 yards. He also scored two of Warren’s three touchdowns, passed for a two‑point conversion and kicked the other two. The final and winning point came with 37 seconds left on the clock.

“It was a nighmare,” a frustrated Currence said after the game. “I’ve never lost one like that before.”

Outside the visitors lockerroom, Warren coach Tom Ross said, “Maurice is a great kid … Boys state, National Honor Society … just great. He’s the kind of kid you want playing quarterback.”

And Hall proved why.

THE FOURTH quarter began with Warren 96 yards away from Massillon’s goal line and trailing by 14 points. Harding gained possession after Tiger quarterback Brent Offenbecher passed to Mike Grove for 34 yards, but Grove fumbled as he was tackled at the four and Harding’s Joe Varley recovered.

The Panthers sputtered on the first two plays and, after an illegal procedure penalty, were facing a third-and-eight from the six. Hall threw a pass that fell incomplete but the Tiger defensive back covering the intended receiver was flagged for holding. That gave Warren a first-and‑ten at the 21 yard line.

Tailback Don Henderson was dropped for a three-yard loss and, on second down, the shotgun appeared. That pass fell incomplete but on third-and‑13 Hall end cocked the shotgun and fired to Sherman Golden for 13 yards on the nose and a first down. Hall repeated the play for another 12 yards and then ran for 12 yards and a first down.

On second‑and‑10 he hit Golden for five yards, then ran for six and another first down. That put the ball at the Tiger 34 and Hall passed to his tight end, Stephan Smith, for 18 yards. Massillon was flagged for a personal foul and the ball went to the seven. Two plays later fullback Ralph Goliday crashed in from three yards out. Hall rolled right on the conversion attempt and hit his tight end for the two points, making the score 21‑15 with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers started at their 19 after the kickoff, threw two incomplete passes, got penalized for illegal procedure and Offenbecher recovered his own fumble on third down at the seven yard line.

PUNTER MARK Westover had to kick from his own endzone and Warren went for the block. Westover ignored the pressure and came through with a remarkable 57‑yard punt that put Harding on its own 36.

But Hall was not to be stopped. He ran out of the shotgun three of the next four plays and got the ball all the way down to the Massillon 25. The Partners went into an “I” formation on third-and-four and Henderson ran six yards for the first down.

That set the stage for the dramatic finish.

0n first down Henderson was stopped for no gain. On second down Hall’s pass was almost intercepted . On third down Hall threw to Smith in the end zone but the ball was batted away by a Tiger defender.

Fourth down … 10 yards to go … 1:25 remaining…

HALL TOOK the snap in the shotgun, hesitated for a moment, then threw to Golden at the Massillon five for a first down. Henderson ran to the one and Hall kept the ball on the next play and went in for the touchdown to tie the score.

He kicked the ball through the uprights for the 22-21 lead with 37 seconds left.

The Tigers got the ball at their 35 after the kickoff and Offenbecher threw deep to Curtis Strawder, but Strawder had plenty of company and the pass was knocked away. With 20 seconds left Offenbecher threw again but the ball was intercepted by ‑ who else? ‑ Maurice Hall. He returned the ball to the Massillon 30 before being stopped and that play ended the game.

“Hall is so quick in the open field.” Currence said. “We had to drop people back into the pass patterns and the defenders left up front just couldn’t catch him.

“That was the first time they had used me shotgun all year. It was out of desperation. I’m sure they thought the game was lost except for Maurice.”

The teams went into the lockerrooms at the half tied 7‑7.

Massillon’s initial score came in the first period after Hall fumbled on his own 49 yard line and Marc Longshore recovered for the Tigers. Massillon advanced to the Warren 37 and from there Offenbecher completed a 12-yard pass to end Mark Pringle.

(THAT PASS completion made Offenbecher the second Tiger quarterback since passing stats have been kept to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season. He passed for a total of 180 yards in the game, which puts him on top of all quarterbacks with 1,177 yards.)

Five Plays later halfback Greg Carpenter charged in from three yards out. Westover made the conversion version and the Tigers led 7‑0 with 6:37 left to the first quarter.

Warren started a drive at the Panther 31 later in the first period and drove downfield only to have Goliday fumble and Tiger Gene Miller recover at the Massillon 16. But on the Tigers’ first play the ball got away from Grove and Varley recovered – the first of two fumble recoveries for him that would lead to TDs.

Varley recovered the ball on the 12 and Hall immediately rolled to his left and whizzed through the Tigers defense like lightning for a touchdown. He added the extra point to knot the score at 7-7.

Warren had one other scoring shot in the second quarter. Hall tried to kick a 47‑yard field goal but the kick was a bit too wide.

THE TIGERS came out roaring in the third period, marched for touchdowns on their first two possessions and by the end of the quarter it appeared the game was decided.

Offenbecher capped an 86‑yard drive with a 12-yard pass to Grove and Westover ‘s kick made it 14‑7 with 8:05 left in the third.

Warren was shipped cold after the kick‑off punted to Massillon and Marc Longshore made a fair catch at the Tiger 28. With a good mixture of passing and running the Tigers got to Warren’s three in seven plays. Grove ran wide left, got a tremendous double-team block on the Warren defensive end by fullback Richard Cleveland and guard Ken Nagle, and went in for the score. Westover added the conversion and it was 21‑7 with 3:04 to go in the third.

On the first play after the kick‑off, Henderson took off on a 26‑yard run, but two plays later Goliday fumbled and Massillon’s Jeff David recovered at the Tiger 37. That was the beginning of the end for Massillon, for seven plays later Varley recovered Grove’s fumble at the four Hall went to work.

“It’s great to win when you’re a decided underdog,” Ross said after the game. “Now the kids know they can beat a tough team.”

HE SAID the Panthers went to the shotgun to better utilize their talent. “But plays and formations don’t win ball games. It was our players that got it into the end zone,” Ross added.

“We’ve got two real big ones left and we’re going to regroup.” Currence said. “The Tigers will come back.”

Hall appeared injured after running the interception back on the final play. He walked off the field with some assistance after a few moments. When asked if the “man of the evening” was hurt, Ross replied, “No, it was just a case of exhaustion and leg cramps. You know, he did a lot of running in the fourth quarter.”

And how.

GRIDSTICK
M W
First downs rushing 9 14
First downs passing 9 6
First downs penalties 1 1
Total first downs 19 21
Yards gained rushing 122 222
Yards lost rushing 12 13
Net yards gained rushing 90 209
Net yards gained passing 180 110
Total yards gained 270 319
Passes attempted 25 16
Passes Completed 14 9
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 38
Times kicked off 4 4
Kickoff average (yards) 46.0 46.5
Kickoff returns (yards) 55 82
Times punted 4 4
Punt average (yards) 16.8 45.0
Punt returns (yards) 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 3
Lost fumbled ball 2 3
Penalties 5 2
Yards penalized 48 10
Touchdowns rushing 2 3
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Touchdowns by interception 0 0
Miscellaneous touchdowns 0 0
Total number of plays 54 62
Total time of possession 21:11 26:49

Massillon 7 0 14 0 21
Warren 0 7 0 15 22

M – Greg Carpenter, 3 run, (Mark Westover kick);
W – Maurice Hall, 12, run, (Hall kick);
M – Mike Grove, 12 pass from Offenbecher, (Westover kick);
M – Grove, 3 run, (Westover kick);
W – Ralph Goliday, 3 run, (Stephan Smith pass from Hall);
W – Hill, 1 run, (Hall kick).

Paid attendance: 10,662.

History

1976: Massillon 22, Warren Harding 15

October 29, 1976August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers, Panthers in quickness match-up

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Tom Ross, Warren Harding head coach and the Tigers’ boss, Mike Currence, both feel quickness will play a large part in tonight’s All-American Conference football game to be played at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.

Kickoff will be at 8 o’clock, with the Tigers (5-2, 2-0) and the Black Panthers (5-2, 1-1) probably slated to play before a sellout crowd. Massillon hopes to keep its five-game win streak alive as does Harding its two-game skein. The Tigers lead the AAC.

OTHER LEAGUE games scheduled for tonight are Niles (5-2, 1-1) at Alliance (5-2, 1-1) and Steubenville (4-3, 1-1) at Canton McKinley (3-4, 0-2).

“Our scouts feel Warren is the quickest team they’ve seen this season offensively and defensively,” Currence said. “We’ll find out tonight whether the Panthers or the Tigers are quickest. I’d rate it a tossup.”

In order to best a will-of-the-wisp team like Warren, Currence commented that naturally you don’t do things the same as you would against a slow team.

“You don’t attack at the perimeter as much as you would other teams,” he said. “When you get a quick team in there, pursuit is so great you almost have to run at them a little bit.”

The Tigers will also have to alter their defensive strategy.

“HARDING RUNS from an unbalanced line,” Currence said. “We saw it a little bit in the preseason scrimmage against Warren Western Reserve. An unbalanced line poses a problem of being out flanked. Harding brings an end over, puts its wingback on the same side and if you keep the nose guard on the center, like you’re supposed to, they’ve got you out flanked.”

Currence has another worry in playing a team such as Harding – the physical condition of his linebacking crew. Juniors Steven Dottavio and Kurt Walterhouse are slated to start. Dottavio jammed a hand while replacing senior Gary Border (broken arm) last week.

Junior Scott Wilson was lost for the season due to an arm injury sustained earlier this fall. The remaining linebacker is junior Tim Horton.

Walterhouse calls the signals and if he should get hurt, the Orange and Black would be hurting. Signal calling against a quick team like Warren, with its varied formations, is not an easy task.
“Warren likes to run off tackle and outside and control the ball with its power offense,” Currence said. “Strength wise I thin our defensive ends juniors Dave Engler and Frank Sweterlitsch will get their biggest test of the season. I’m anxious to see how good our pursuit is.”

BECAUSE THE TIGERS have senior co-captain Anthony Grizzard at monster back, another key defensive spot against a quick team like Warren’s, Currence thinks this a plus for the Tigers.
“They’re going to run at one of the best monster backs they’ve ever seen,” Currence stated. “If they come outside very much, they’re going to have some problems. We put him out there because we knew we had to have him there to plays teams like Warren and Canton McKinley.”

Another plus is that the Tigers will have the weight advantage – offense to defense.

Currence expects the fact that Warren switches from a 5-2 to a 4-4 defense from down to down could be troublesome. The Panthers also try to take the pass away, he said.

“They drop back and cover the zone extremely well,” Currence said. “They have not blitzed much. Ross wants things covered well.”

If the Tigers can beat the Panthers, they’ll get over a hurdle bigger than Mt. Everest.

Tiger, Warren lineups

TIGERS
Offense
ENDS – Mark Pringle (6-0, 150, Jr.); Rich Chovan (5-11, 171, Sr.).
TACKLES – Tim Tournay (6-2, 270, Sr.); Tim Daniels (6-7, 230, Jr.).
GUARDS – John Hauser (5-11, 211, Sr.); Mark Lauber (6-1, 212, Sr.).
CENTER – Mike Ramsey (5-8, 180, Sr.).
QUARTERBACK – Bret Traylor (5-10, 159, Sr.).
HALFBACKS – Jay Harper (5-5, 160, Sr.); Mike Grove (5-8, 175, Jr.).
FULLBACK – Rich Cleveland (6-1, 180, Soph.).
Defense
ENDS – Frank Sweterlitsch (6-1, 180, Jr.); Dave Engler (5-9, 180, Jr).
TACKLES – Tony Matie (6-0, 210, Jr.); Jesse Toles (6-0, 190, Sr.).
MIDDLE GUARD – Carl Dorsey (5-9, 185, Jr.).
LINEBACKERS – Kurt Walterhouse (6-0, 170, Jr.); Steve Dottavio (5-8, 216, Jr.).
SECONDARY – Anthony Grizzard (5-9, 168, Sr.); Randy Lash (5-8, 165, Sr); Bill Henderson ((5-9, 160, Sr.); Van Jones (5-11, 155, Sr.).

WARREN
Offense
ENDS – Rod Maines (6-2, 180, Sr.); Steve Golden (5-8, 140, Jr.).
TACKLES – Mike Dixon (5-11, 193, Sr.); Dave Allen (6-2, 205, Sr.).
GUARDS – John Epitropoulos (6-2, 208); Ernie Epitropoulos (6-1, 208).
CENTER – Rick Core (5-10, 170, Sr.).
QUARTERBACK – Maurice Hall (5-7, 160).
HALFBACKS – Ivan Battee (6-1, 170, Sr.); Ralph Goliday (6-0, 195, Sr.).
FULLBACK – John Hill (6-0, 205, Sr.).
Defense
ENDS – Allen and Maines.
TACKLES – Nick Ambeliotis (5-10, 192, Jr.); Tom Megalis (5-10, 192, Sr.).
MIDDLE GUARD – Eric Lewis (5-10, 176, Sr.).
LINEBACKERS – John and Ernie Epitropoulos.
SECONDARY – Lynn Robinson (5-7, 155, Sr.); Rob White (5-10, 160, Sr.); Chris Gray (5-10, 165, Sr.) Eric Johnson (5-10, 150, Sr.).

Great second half effort
gives Tigers 22-15 victory

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

Motivation was the key Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.

The Tiger offense took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and carried the swinehide 66 yards for the tying touchdowns.

SPURRED ON by their mates’ example the “Tiger Claw Defense,” which had been like a sieve in the first half, became like Ed “Strangler” Lewis during the final 24 minutes, threw in the winning touchdown to boot and Washington High School had a 22-15 win before 14,000 fans.

It didn’t come easy for the Orange and Black. Warren Harding’s Black Panthers were a snarling bunch of gridders who had hoped to scissor the Tigers’ five-game win streak as the Obiemen had cut Warren’s seven-game string here in 1975.

Hampered by some key injuries sustained in the first half and by another injury sustained in practice Thursday, the Panthers played in the best tradition of Harding football teams. They took a 15-7 halftime lead.

But the Tigers clawed more furiously after t he intermission and came away with their sixth win against two defeats. Harding dropped to 5-3.

Massillon (3-0) continued to lead the All-American Conference. Warren (1-2) dropped into third place with Alliance. Steubenville (2-1) and Niles McKinley tied for second. Canton McKinley (0-3) remained in the cellar.

THE STAGE is set for a Massillon-Alliance rematch next Friday at Mt. Union Stadium in Alliance. The Tigers also had a great game against Warren last year but were upset by Alliance the next week.

Massillon fans were shocked in the first half Friday when the Harding offensive line opened huge holes in the Orange and Black defense and tailbacks Don Henderson and Ivan Battee sped through them. Harding also completed four of five pass attempts as the Tigers tried to stop Warren’s running game and left receivers wide open.

Warren raced up nine first downs to the Tigers’ three, 83 yards rushing to the Tigers’ seven and 51 yards passing (three for four), to the Tigers’ 32 for a 134-39 advantage.

Harding converted five of eight third down attempts to the Tigers’ two of four.

After the bands had entertained, the Orange and Black rolled up five first downs to the Panthers’ one, 98 yards rushing to the Panthers’ eight, 37 yards passing (three for four) to the Panther’s none for a 135-8 advantage.

The Panthers converted no third down attempts in two tries to Massillon’s two in four tries.

WARREN GOT the “Thriller from Mollenkopf” under way with a 66-yard, eight-play drive after a 24-yard runback of the opening kickoff by Ralph Goliday. It was one of several good ones by Panther runners.

Three passes were keys in the drive. Flanker Goliday had a seven-yarder and David Allen (shifted from tackle to tight end), a 20-yarder and a 13-yard touchdown catch at 8:34. Maruce Hall booted the conversion.

Lineacker Kurt Walterhouse recovered an errant Harding pitchout on the panther’s five to set up a touchdown for Rich Cleveland, working out of left halfback in Woody Hayes’ “robust-T” when the Tigers were inside the 10-yard line. Jerry Shafrath handled fullback and Ken Nagle right halfback.

Cleveland powered off tackle for the TD two plays after the fumble recovered at 2:31. Mike Hardwick kicked the conversion.

Halfback Jay Harper got hit a terrific jolt after catching a pass on the Tigers’ 27 right after the start of the second quarter. Harding cornerback Chris Gray hopped on Harper’s fumble just before it went out of bounds and Warren started on its way for its second touchdown.

SEVEN PLAYS and three penalties later fullback Don Henderson went off right tackle for the TD with 6:55 left. Hall faked a kick and ran the conversion.

The Tigers thought they had stopped the drive when safety Van Jones intercepted a pass on his five but middle guard Carl Dorsey got called for roughing the passer, putting the ball on the 12.

The Warren TD came four plays later, following a sterling 11-yard third down run by Hill to the one.

Cleveland ran the third period kickoff back 10 yards and the Tigers took off on an
eight-play, 66-yard scoring romp. The big play was a 46-yard run by Cleveland off left guard to the Warren eight. Four plays later Rich took a pitch off right tackle for the score with 8:22 left.

Grove made a great diving catch of a Bret Traylor pass for the tying tally.

LATER IN the period the Tigers took a Warren punt on the Panthers’ 43 after the “Tiger Claw Defense” had forced Tom Clouser to kick from the end zone. In five plays the Orange and Black had the ball on the one.

Harper and Grove contributed 18 and 15-yard catches off Traylor but Grove later fumbled on the one, trying to go over left tackle for the score. Panther linebacker Joe DiLella recovered on the one but the Tigers held again.

Clouser kicked from his end zone. Massillon end Dave Engler narrowly missed roughing him, monsterback Anthony Grizzard grabbed the punt on the 38 and raced down the sideline for the score with 9:50 left in the last quarter.

Hardwick kicked the final conversion.

Gray intercepted a Tiger pass on Massillon’s 40 later in the period and ran it back to the 34, but the “Tiger Claw Defense” – in the person of Anthony Grizzard – threw Henderson for a four-yard loss to the 33 on fourth down.

“WE HAD A long half time and we made adjustments,” Currence said. “They ran us off the field in the first half. They were the best team we faced this year explosive-wise. I got scared watching their tailbacks running the first half. We couldn’t tackle them. We never faced anyone this year we couldn’t come up and stick.”

“We had a couple of key fumbles – on a punt and on a pitchout,” said Warren head Coach Tom Ross. “We thought we had the corner turned on a key fourth down play but didn’t get up there for a first down. Massillon has a fine football team.”

The punt fumble Ross mentioned came late in the fourth quarter when Bob White, who had done a masterful runback job all night, miscued and Tiger Van Jones hopped on the ball at the Warren 23. But an illegal shift penalty and a holding penalty kayoed the Tigers’ chances.

Ross lost Allen when he got his bell rung in the first half, defensive tackle Nick Ambleotis suffered a knee injury in practice Thursday but it wasn’t determined until 6 p.m. Friday that he couldn’t go. John Antebucci replaced him and received a knee injury in the first half.

GUARD ERNIE Epitropoulos received a foot injury in the fourth quarter.

Ross moved inside tackle Mike Dixon to Allen’s outside tackle slot when Allen was shifted to tight end, but didn’t get the blocking from him that Ross got from Allen, a pre-season All-American pick.

“We couldn’t throw in the second half because of poor field position,” Ross said.

MASSILLON – 22
Ends – Chovan, Pringle, Engler, Sweterlitsch, Clendening, Chovan.
Tackles – Tournay, Daniels, Matie, Toles, Dennison, Kovacsiss.
Guards – Lauber, Hauser, Berquist.
Center – Ramsey.
Halfbacks – Harper, Grove, Carpenter, Nagle.
Fullbacks – Cleveland, Shafrath.
Middle guard – Dorsey.
Linebackers – Walterhouse, Dottavio, Border.
Defensive halfbacks – Grizzard, Lash, Jones, Henderson, Hickey, Letcavits, M. Longshore.
Kicker – Hardwick.
Punter – Westover.

WARREN – 15
Ends – Allen, Golden, Maines, E. Shaker, Blazek, Thomas.
Tackles – Dixon, Megalis, Antenucci, J. Shaker.
Guards – E. and J. Epitropoulos, Cassakais.
Center – Core, Grodesky, Bokone.
Quarterback – Hall.
Halfbacks – Battee, Henderson, Goliday, Robinson.
Fullback – Hill.
Middle guards – E. Lewis, Di Lella.
Defensive halfbacks – Gary, White, Robinson, Johnson.
Punter – Clouser.

Massillon 7 0 8 7 22
Warren 7 8 0 0 15

SCORING SUMMARY
W – David Allen, 13 pass from Maurice Hall (Hall kick);
M – Rich Cleveland, 2 run (Mike Hardwick kick);
W – Don Henderson, 1 run (Hall run);
M – Cleveland, 2 run (Mike Grove pass from Bret Traylor);
M – Anthony Grizzard, 38 punt runback (Hardwick kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Frank Buhas.
Umpire – Al Collier.
Head Linesman – Hugh Davis.
Field Judge – Dave Landis.
Back Judge – Tim Murray.

ATTENDANCE – 14,000.

GRIDSTICK
M W
First downs rushing 4 6
First downs passing 4 2
First downs penalties 0 1
Total first downs 8 9
Yards gained rushing 140 139
Yards lost rushing 35 45
Net yards gained rushing 105 91
Net yards gained passing 69 51
Total yards gained 174 142
Passes completed 6-8 4-5
Passes intercepted by 0 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 4-52 3-42
Kickoff returns (yards) 42 107
Punt average (yards) 4-36 5-33
Punt returns (yards) 36 9
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3-2 2-2
Yards penalized 4-40 4-30
Touchdowns rushing 2 1
Touchdowns passing 0 1
Miscellaneous touchdowns 1 0
Total number of plays 42 51
Total time of possession 21:48 26:12

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Massillon
Player A G L N
Cleveland 15 81 6 75

Warren
Player A G L N
John Hill 9 41 1 40

History

1975: Massillon 17, Warren Harding 0

October 24, 1975August 6, 2017
by Eric Smith

What a show! Tigers 17, Warren 0

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

“You gotta believe!” Tigertown has said all week.

The Tigers believed! The fans believed! Now all Buckeyeland has to believe!

MASSILLON HAS a great football team! The Orange and Black took a giant Friday night step toward a state championship and the title in the All-American Conference by putting together one of the greatest displays of offensive and defensive football ever fashioned by a Tiger football team!

Before 17,267 fans, the largest crowd of the season, the Orange and Black upset a great Warren Harding team 17-0. Everything you could ask for was there: powerful offensive football, two of the greatest goal line stands high school football fans ever have seen, an
eye-popping brother scoring combination, a record-setting field goal and team football at its best!

The Tigers scored the first three times they handled the ball. They made Harding, defending state Class AAA champion, play catch-up football and made sure the Panthers didn’t catch up

The Black Panthers, who had won 20 of their last 21 games, including seven this year, saw their AAC record drop to 2-1.

The Tigers’ state jumped to 6-1-1 overall and 3-0 in the league. The Orange and Black remained tied with Canton McKinley (7-1, 3-0) for the AAC lead.

“THIS WIN made my whole body feel good,” said Tiger Coach Chuck Shuff, a former Harding assistant who lost to the Black Panthers 35-10 last year at Warren.

The first thing that made the skipper fell good was a 47-yard field goal by senior Keith Harmon with 7:45 left in the first quarter. Harmon had put Harding in the hole with a 54-yard kickoff. End Syl Drobney and tackle Steve Easter made the situation worse with a nine-yard spill of tailback Gus Tucker to the three, Scott Ingram’s punt went out on the Harding 43.

Quarterback Todd Keller ran two great end runs to put the ball on the Harding 30. Then Harmon booted the field goal with plenty of height and distance to spare.

The previous longest field goal was one kicked 40 yards by Bill Edwards, later a great coach and athletic director at Wittenberg University, in 1924 in a 77-0 win here against Alliance.
Harmon’s 56-yard kickoff again put Harding into a hole. Safety Willie Conley and linebacker Anthony Grizzard threw Tucker into another tailspin from the 21, a procedure penalty was thrown in for good measure and Ingram punted from the 15.

JAY HARDPER made a fair catch of the punt on the Tiger 47 and the Tigers were off and running again as Bill Harmon picked up 37 yards in 10 carries on the drive, ultimately scoring from the two over left guard with 9:04 left in the second quarter. He also jumped over a Harding player while bulling his way over the middle for the conversion.

Keith Harmon kicked off 51 yards to the nine, Junior Robby White ran back to the 22. On the next play, Tiger tackle Mark Matie hopped on a fumble at the 28.

Quarterback Todd Keller hit Keith Harmon, out of his swingback spot over the middle, on the next play for a TD with 8:07 left in the second quarter. Harmon’s attempted conversion kick was wide left.

At this juncture Warren Coach Tom Ross inserted star tailback Tyrone Hicks, who had been on crutches Wednesday, nursing a knee injury. He and quarterback Frey, with some tricky ball handling, ignited the Black Panthers’ offense.

Harding rolled to the Tigers’ six in 13 plays after Keith Harmon’s 56-yard kickoff. The big play was Tucker’s 20-yard romp between right tackle and right end to the seven.

On third down Frey tried to hit senior wingback Weibush in the end zone but Conley dived in at the knick of time.

“I saw two players go back over there and jumped between them and batted the ball away,” Conley said.

On fourth down Frey passed into the flat to Hicks who dropped the ball.

HARDING THREATENED after taking Keith Harmon’s kickoff at the 25. In 11 plays they were on the Massillon one.

Defensive coordinator Joe Siesel sent in the “Tank Corps” including 6-2, 265-pound tackle Tim Tourney and Bill Harmon, 6-1, 237-pound end. The Orange and Black held on four running plays.

The Tigers then began to move with the help of junior tailback Pete Killins, but ran into a flock of penalties and lost the ball on downs at their 45.

Later after Keith Harmon’s third down quick kick, Frey hit Weibush with a 26-yard pass to the Tigers’ 41. Two plays later he hit senior end Ezra Alls with a 15-yarder to the Tigers 22.

On second down Frey connected with Alls again, in the left corner of the end zone, but he dropped the pass.

THE TIGERS, with Killins and Bill Harmon doing the carrying again, took the Orange and Black machine to the Harding 36 where the Obiemen lost the ball on downs.
They had the ball on the Black Panthers’ 22 when the game ended to a tumultuous standing ovation for the team and for sure-fire All-Ohioan Harmon who, during the Tigers’ final drive of the first half, went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.

He carried the ball 24 times Friday night, netting 112 yards, to put his total at 1,056 for the season. Mike Mauger’s 1,200 in 1970 is the next highest Tiger total. Then comes Tom Hannon’s 1,236 in 1972 and Willie Spencer’s 1,251 in 1971. They fill the AAC’s second through fourth all-time spots.

Rick Gales of Niles McKinley holds the lead at 1,266 in 1969. Just above Harmon is Steubenville’s Mike Palmer at 1,093 in 1966 in sixth place.

“It was tough running against their line,” Co-Captain Bill Harmon said. “I earned everything I got. The line did a great job opening the initial holes. Tom (Grizzard) and Pete (Killins) did a great job of taking the pressure off me. I’m happy about Keith’s field goal and going over 1,000 yards.”

“Our defense was great,” said Shuff. “I think Conley was thinking of Upper Arlington and wasn’t going to let that (winning touchdown pass) happen again. Warren had a good defense.”

“THE OFFENSE kept possession when they had to and the pass from Todd (Keller) to Keith (Harmon) was great,” said Shuff. Billy (Harmon) rammed hard in there. We had some nice movement. I thought our offensive line started taking charge in the fourth quarter.”

Harding surprised, according to Shuff, by running unbalanced left.

“I’m proud of our boys’ performance in both the first and second halves,” Warren Coach Ross said. “We felt we got out physicalled at the line of scrimmage tonight. Harmon had a great night, the kids hit him with all they had.”

“We have to pick up the pieces and go back and get ready for another football game.”

As to Hick’s playing on a bad knee, Ross felt he was ready mentally and physically.

“WE TRIED to deemphasize his importance because that’s the way he wanted it,” Ross said. “He’s not a selfish football player.”

Hicks’ carried the ball 12 times for 74 net yards. Tucker carried six times for 46 net yards.

Massillon, Warren Lineups

TIGERS
Offense
Ends – Bill Bammerlin (6-2,167, Sr.); Mark Matie (6-0, 225, Sr.).
Tackles – Mike Lauber (5-11, 207, Sr.); Sylvester Drobney (6-1, 216, Sr.).
Guards – Todd Schumacher (5-11, 200, Sr.); Carl Christoff (5-8, 172, Sr.).
Center – Dan Nagle (5-11, 232, Sr.).
Quarterback – Todd Keller (6-1, 185, Sr.).
Halfbacks – Tom Grizzard (6-0, 185, Sr.); Keith Harmon (6-2, 195, Sr.).
Fullback – Bill Harmon (6-1, 237, Sr.).
Defense
Ends – K. Harmon; Drobney.
Tackles – Tim Tournay (6-2, 265, Jr.); Matie.
Middleguard – Jess Toles (5-10, 192, Jr.).
Linebackers – Anthony Grizzard (5-10, 163, Jr.); T. Grizzard.
Secondary – Glenn Arner (6-1, 173, Sr.); Don Stewart (5-11, 151, Sr.); Willie Conley (5-11, 173, Sr.) Harold Dorsey (5-11, 188, Sr.).
WARREN
Offense
Ends – Russ Porter (6-2, 205, Sr.); Aaron Reed (5-7, 150, Sr.).
Tackles – Ed Kowalczyk (5-11, 210, Sr.); Jamie Candella (6-3, 215, Sr.).
Guards – Dave Maurice (5-10, 191, Sr.); Ed Farah (5-10, 175, Sr.).
Center – Ed Bolino 95-10, 175, Sr.)
Quarterback – Bill Frey (5-10, 160, Sr.).
Halfbacks – Gus Tucker (5-11, 195, Sr.); Kurt Weibush (5-9, 165, Sr.).
Fullback – Dave Terpin (5-0, 185, Sr.).
Defense
Ends – Ernie Epitropoutos (6-0, 183, Jr.); David Allen (6-2, 200, Jr.).
Tackles – Porter; Candella.
Middle Guard – Erick Lewis (5-10, 175, Jr.).
Linebackers – Tucker; John Epitropoulos (6-0, 183, Jr.).
Secondary – Gary Angel (5-7, 150, Sr.); Bruce Davenport (6-0, 175, Sr.); Timothy Hall (6-1, 170, Sr.); John Canty (5-11, 170, Sr.).

WEIGHT COMPARISONS
Tigers
offense (line 203, backfield 198, overall 201);
defense (line 204, secondary 172, overall 189).

Warren
offense (line 191, back field 176, overall 186);
defense (line 193, secondary 166, overall 184).

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Keith Harmon, 47 field goal;
M – Bill Harmon, 2 run (B. Harmon run);
M – K. Harmon, 28 pass from Todd Keller (kick failed).

Series – Tigers 35-14-1.

Points scored – Tigers 1,023; Warren 426.

Points scored this year – Tigers 133; Warren 207.

Points allowed this year – Tigers 24; Warren 38.

OFFICIALS
Referee – Chuck Lorenz.
Umpire – Brenton Kirk.
Head Linesman – Bill Kerr.
Field Judge – Nick Costello.
Back Judge – Wilson Murray.

ATTENDANCE – 17,267.

GRIDSTICK
Mass. War.
First downs-rushing 10 7
First downs-passing 1 2
First downs-penalties 2 1
Total first downs 13 10
Yards gained rushing 181 165
Yards lost rushing 5 39
Net yards gained rushing 176 116
Net yards gained passing 28 42
Total yards gained 204 158
Passes completed 1-2 2-10
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Yardage on passes intercepted 0 0
Kickoff average (yards) 4-54.8 3-50.0
Kickoff returns (yards) 24 72
Punt average (yards) 3-30.3 3-30.3
Punt returns (yards) 0 0
Had punts blocked 0 0
Lost fumbled ball 0 1-2
Yards penalized 4-20 4-40
Touchdowns rushing 1 0
Touchdowns passing 1 0
Total number of plays 45 47
Total time of possession 26:50 21:10

Harmon AAC’s top scorer

Massillon’s Bill Harmon lost his All-American Conference rushing lead to Niles McKinley’s Phil Chelsea last weekend, but held on to his all-games lead. He also continued to lead in league and all-games scoring.

Harmon has rushed for 415 yards (6.2 average) while Chelsea has rushed for 418 yards (5.6). Harmon has scored 38 points in league games and 80 overall.

CHELSEA IS second in league scoring with 24 points and tied for second overall with Warren Harding’s Tyrone Hicks with 72.

Other rushers and scorers from the Tigers: rushers – Tom Grizzard (10th league, 93 yards, 4.4 average; 10th overall, 300 yards, 4.9 average); scorers – Keith Harmon (sixth, league
15 points).

Alliance, Massillon’s foe this week, has Richard Scott fourth in league rushing (217 yards, 6.4 average) and Art Kennedy eight (98 yards, 3.9 average). Scot is also seventh in overall rushing (378 yards, 4.4 average).

Todd Keller continues to be sixth in overall passing (16 for 48, 336 yards, three touchdowns, three intercepted). He does not show league passing for the first time this week.

Canton McKinley’s Roch Hontas leads both passing departments. His figures: (overall – 45 for 91, 688 yards, five touchdowns, three intercepted: league – 23 for 45, 343 yards, two TDs, one intercepted.)

BILL FREY of Warren Harding is second in both passing categories. His figures: overall – 29 for 78, 596 yards, five touchdowns, five intercepted; league – 15 for 36, 295 yards, one TD, one intercepted.

Aliance’s Ed Tremoulis is fourth overall (17 for 61, 245 yards, no touchdowns, nine intercepted) and third in the league (11 for 35, 63 yards, no touchdowns, three intercepted).

Keith Harmon is sixth in overall receiving (seven catches, 160 yards, two touchdowns) and does not show in league receptions. Alliance’s Scott is fourth (14 catches, 122 yards) and Russell Goodwin sixth (12 catches, 128 yards) overall. Scott is third in league receivers (seven catches, 25 yards) and Goodwin fourth (five completions, 63 yards).

Canton McKinley’s Ray Ellis leads in overall catches (17, 253 yards, one touchdown) and league receptions (11 catches, 163 yards). Dan Gatta of Niles McKinley is second overall (17 catches, 224 yards, one TD) and second in league receptions (seven catches, 92 yards).

THE EVENING INDEPENDENT
Saturday, October 25, 1975
A great victory!

Massillon’s Washington High School Tigers took a big stride forward in Ohio scholastic football Friday evening when they defeated the previously unbeaten and defending state champion Warren Harding High School team in Tiger Stadium.

It was one of the great game in Tiger history and certainly one of the best in the
Warren-Massillon series.

The game was closer than the 17-0 score would indicate and the Warren players need not feel ashamed of their performance. They, too, played a terrific game. But the Tigers were masters of the goal line offensively and defensively. They crossed it twice for touchdowns, once for points after touchdown and kicked a 47-yard field goal, the longest in Tiger history.

The high mark of the game was when the defense stopped Warren in a first down situation on the one-yard line in the third quarter. They looked like the Tigers of old when they didn’t yield an inch in four plays. Earlier in the game they had also stopped a Warren effort inside the 10.

It was a great victory for Massillon, a team effort and Coach Chuck Shuff and his young athletes deserved all the plaudits they received from the crowd . . . a demonstration of what can be done when team and fans get together and shove for victory.

Keep it up, Tigers!

History

1974: Massillon 10, Warren Harding 35

October 25, 1974August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

‘Superman’ Richburg does in Tigers
Panthers run away with game in the second half
ALL-AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Warren 3-0; McKinley 3-0; Niles 2-1;
Massillon 1-2; Steubenville 0-3; Alliance 0-3.

By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor

They’ve got John Henry Ziegler and he’s super, but on Friday night Jim Richburg proved to be just as super in his own way and turned the game around for the Warren Harding Black Panthers.

Down 10-8 going into the third period after the Tigers had played great football in the first, Harding head coach Ed Glass turned Richburg loose for 81 net yards, a touchdown and a conversion on electrifying bootleg runs. Richburg, a senior quarterback, got Ziegler, a senior tailback, going and the Panther literally ran away with the Washington High team 35-10 before a packed house of 12,600 at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren.

THE WIN gave Harding, the state’s No. 1 ranked team by the Associated Press and Region 1 computer leader, an 8-0 record and 3-0 All-American Conference slate. Massillon dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the AAC.

The Tigers do not have the team speed to cope with a team like the Panthers and few teams do. With Richburg racing around the ends and Ziegler darting either off tackle or around the corner with equal speed, the Orange and Black were left as helpless as a cat without claws.

Richburg ended with 102 yards in 10 carries and Ziegler 195 or 211 in 28 carries – depending upon whose statistics you cared to use. The dynamic duo gained either 297 or 311 for the Panther’s ground total.

Ziegler, at 2,062 yards for his career, is 49 yards short of the all-time Harding three-year mark set by Paul Warfield. At 1,414 yards he is 80 yards short of Dave Rogers’ one-season record and is expected to eclipse both marks next Friday against Canton McKinley.

The performance of Ziegler and Richburg enabled Warren to chalk up the most points it ever had against the Tigers in 49 games and the most points any team had posted against the Orange and Black in the 10-year history of the All-American Conference.

“THERE’S NO doubt Richburg turned it around,” Harding head coach Ed Glass said. “We felt we could come outside with Richburg after the first half. We went to a pro formation with a wide flanker and a wide split end and got them spread out and then cracked back. We went to a tight set with an eight-man line and we also ran some balanced line with a split end left which they hadn’t seen before.”

Glass felt it was also a question of when the Panthers decided they were ready to play, they played.

“And when we decide we’re going to play, I don’t think there is anybody as good as we are, Glass said. “We have 24 kids out of 55 who run a 4.9 forty or better. It makes for a lot of team offense and defense.”

Glass also felt that the Tigers played well during the first half, putting the Panthers in the hole for the first time this season, but tired during the second half. However, Tiger head coach Chuck Shuff didn’t agree that they tired.

“We knew they would come in here ready to play,” Glass said. “I think Shuff did a great job with his kids. We played 35 people – as we have done every game and that takes its toll. If you look at our scores and what we’ve done in the third and fourth quarters, this year, it’s fantastic. Once you get people tired the holes open up.”

Glass then reminded Massillon fans that Shuff has done a tremendous job while not having the “super athletes” to work with. He also pointed out that Shuff, knowing that the Tigers did not have good speed to get around the Panthers, used a pair of split ends in order to get better blocking so that the Tigers could run the ends.

“WARREN IS A real fine football team,” Shuff said. “I thought our kids came out and hit well and I think had we been able to put another one in, in the first half, it would have made a real difference for us. They came back and got one in there and tightened it down and that made it real tough.

They have the speed you have to have and a real fine offensive line in front of Richburg and Ziegler. Richburg turned it around alright.”

Shuff agreed that once the momentum starts to slide the other way it’s hard to stop.

“We’ll bring it back,” Shuff a former Harding assistant said. “We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”

The Tigers rolled 65 yards with the opening kickoff but settled for a 22-yard field goal by Dave Dowd when Harding held on third down. They came close to scoring on a Greg Wood to Eddie Bell pass when Bell made a great catch but landed out of bounds.

Harmon reeled off 21 yards during the drive, the longest run any Harding opponent has gotten this year. He picked up 80 yards in 13 carries, not losing any during the night, as Shuff ran “The Big Bear” more than Glass had expected.

The Tigers’ only touchdown came after a bad Harding snap on fourth down. The Orange and Black took over on the Warren 22-yard line and in four plays had a touchdown when Mark Streeter rolled around end on a pitchout on fourth down from the 14. Dowd’s kick was good.

THE PANTHERS took the ensuing kickoff and rolled 60 yards after Tyrone Hicks’
39-yard runback, for a score. The drive took five plays and included Richburg’s 23-yard run to the Tigers’ 33, Ziegler’s 13-yard run to the 20 and Richburg’s bullet-like pass, sprint on the next play, to Jackie Hudson. Richburg ran the conversion.

In the second quarter the Tigers lost the ball on downs on the Harding 40 and the Panthers drove to the Massillon 21. Richburg was hit by Jeff Lab on a fourth down pass. Tim Gutshall intercepted on the one and returned to the 19.

Hudson ran back the second half kickoff for 23 yards to the 27, Richburg dashed for 25 more and two plays later took off on a bootleg, got caught on the sidelines, reversed his field and ran 44 yrds for the Panthers’ go-ahead touchdown with 10:21 left in the third quarter. Richburg’s conversion run was halted by Mark Matie.

Keith Ellison intercepted a Tiger pass on the Orange and Black’s 45 and in four plays Harding had scored again with Jim Valentine blasting over from four yards out. Ziegler ran the conversion.

Near the end of the third quarter Warren held the Tigers on fourth down on the Panthers’ 31. In 11 plays Harding had another score.

VALENTINE BULLED over through the center on fourth down from the one. Hicks’ conversion run was short.

The Panthers’ final score came with 6:51 left in the game, following a 41-yard, five play drive, started by Hicks’ 33-yard punt runback, during which he got away from three tacklers who had him cornered on the sidelines and aided by a personal foul walk off. Guard Tom Zambelli pounced on Ziegler’s fumble into the end zone and Richburg kicked a conversion.

With the first team still in, Harding rolled again, this time after Ray Amos had recovered Wood’s snap fumble on the Harding 21. Ziegler skirted end for 30 yards during the drive but the clock ran out three plays later with the ball on the Massillon 15.

MASSILLON – 10
Ends – Lemon, Bell, Coates, Gusthall.
Tackles – Lauber, Easter, Rich, Genet, Drobney, Rambaud, Greshen, Matie.
Guards – Snell, Bricker, Parrish, Lightfoot, Dowd, Schumacher, Christoff.
Centers – Nagle, Studer.
Quarterback – Wood.
Halfbacks – Streeter, T. Grizzard, K. Harmon, Pifer, Hoffner, Herring, B. Robinson.
Fullbacks – B. Harmon, Waldrop, Lab.
Punter – Keller.

WARREN – 35
Ends – B. Shunkwiler, J. Hall, Candella, Hudson, J. Shunkwiler.
Tackles – Ennis, Amos, Moshuris.
Guards – Zambelli, Yavorsky, Farah.
Centers – Day, Sporich.
Quarterbacks – Richburg, Wiebusch, S. Porter.
Halfbacks – Ziegler, Machuzak, Adgate, R. Hall, Hicks, Freeman, Ellison, Cassucakis, Angel, R. Robinson.
Fullbacks – Valentine, Dansler, White.

Massillon 10 0 0 0 10
Warren 8 0 14 13 35

SCORING SUMMARY
M – Dowd, 22 field goal; M – Streeter, 4 run (Dowd kick);
W – Hudson, 20 pass from Richburg (Richburg run);
W – Richburg 44, run (run failed);
W – Valentine, 4 run (Ziegler run);
W – Valentine, 1 run (run failed);
W – Zambelli fumble recovery (Richburg kick).

OFFICIALS
Referee – Chuck Lorenz.
Umpire – Brenton Kirk.
Head Linesman – Jim Perryman.
Field Judge – Bill Paolisso.
Back Judge – Wilson Murry.

ATTENDANCE – 12,600.

GRIDSTICK
M WH
First downs – rushing 10 16
First downs – passing 2 1
First downs – penalties 0 2
Total first downs 12 19
Yards gained rushing 190 369
Yards lost rushing 16 16
Net yds. gained rushing 174 353
Net yds. gained passing 34 20
Total yards gained 208 373
Passes completed 4-12 1-3
Passes intercepted by 2 1
Yardage on passes intercepted 18 1
Kickoff average (yards) 3-56.7 6-46.2
Kickoff returns (yards) 107 34
Punt average (yards) 3-18.3 0
Punt returns (yards) 0 33
Had punts blocked 1 0
Lost fumbled ball 3-4 2-5
Yards penalized 5-57 1-15
Touchdowns rushing 1 4
Touchdown passing 0 1
Miscellaneous 1 0
Total number of plays 51 52
Possession time 24:5 123:09

History

1973: Massillon 34, Warren Harding 18

October 26, 1973August 4, 2017
by Eric Smith

Tigers win offensive battle 34-18 over Warren

Could be key computer victory

By CHUCK HESS JR. Independent Sports Editor

If the Tigers get into the state football playoffs next month for the second consecutive year, it may be because they had the upper hand in one of the greatest two-fisted offense football shows ever seen at Tiger Stadium

Before 13,659 Friday night the Orange and Black combined three offensive elements to spell 34-18 victory. The devastating combination running attack of senior tailback Charles Danzy and sophomore fullback Bill Harmon and the passing and receiving wizardry of junior quarterback Greg Wood and senior split end Jeff Huffman helping Washington High School up its regular season unbeaten streak to 20.

JUNIOR MARK Streeter’s spot offense running effort and his long kick runback also played an important part.

Neither Danzy, running off tackle, nor Harmon, always carrying live men with him through the middle or over guard, lost yardage. Danzy carried 17 times for 142 yards and Harmon 19 times for 138.

Harding’s junior fullback Kelton Dansler also didn’t lose any yardage, building off tackle and through the middle, picking 138 yards in 13 carries.

“They had a good offense. We had a great one!” tiger Head Coach Bob Commings said. “Our passing was great, the running was unreal, and we were firing off the ball well. I don’t think any place we attacked that we didn’t get good results.

“We didn’t play as good a defense in the first half as we like to. The second half we though we played a pretty good defense with the exception of a couple of plays. When the kids had to go play defense, they hung in there. The defense concept apparently was good but the execution wasn’t.”

THE TIGERS-after Streeter’s 25-yard runback-took the opening kickoff and went 68 yards in seven plays. The drive included a key eight-yard, third-down pass from Wood to Huffman and a 45-yard touchdown pass by the same combo with Huffman carrying the last 22 yards. Senior Allan Binks kicked the first of his four conversions.

Harding came right back after Ron Collins’ 24-yard runback-to go 64 yards in six plays, including Jimmy Richburg’s 43-yard aerial to split end Jackie Hudson. Both are juniors

Dansler went off right tackle from the three for the score. Kevin Henderson and Vince DiLoreto hauled down Richburg on a boot run on the conversion try.

The Tigers marched 59 yards in nine plays after the ensuing kickoff, with Streeter sprinting over right tackle from the five to complete the nine-play drive. Danzy and Harmon did the bulk of the running with Danzy springing 15-yard run through the center on second and 17 from the Tigers’ 34.

Richburg intercepted a Wood aerial in the second quarter, tackled in the second quarter, tackled on an 11-yard run and the Black Panthers went on a 57-yard, four-play scoring soiree. Dansler scampered 22 and 24 yards and capping things by scoring through the center from the nine

JUNIOR TAILBACK John Ziegler was stopped by Diloreto on a left side run over tackle trying for the conversion.

Intercepted passes by brothers Tim and Denny Gutshall on the Tigers’ 30 and six-yard lines halted other second period Warren scoring thrusts.

Charlie Swann intercepted a Richburg aerial in the third period and the Tigers went on a 60-yard, eight-play scoring romp. Wood passing nine yards to Huffman on third down. Harmon Sherman-tanked down his 22-yards to the one and dove over center on the next play for the score.

Following a punt, the Tigers drove 69 yard in seven-play. Included was better running by Danzy and Harmon and a 30-yard Wood to Huffman aerial with a jumping catch by Huffman. Harmon went over right guard from the three early in the fourth quarter for six points.

Cullins ran the succeeding kickoff back 16 yards to start a 70-yard, 11-paly scoring drive. Richburg went back to pass from the five on third down and got away to score.

Dansler’s 27-yard run through the center, after bouncing off the pack, and two Richburg to Dansler passes one a 17-yarder to the tree, helped set up the six-pointer.

STREETER’S 36-YARD runback of the ensuing kickoff staring a 61-yard, 10-play scoring march. Harmon’s 18-yard charge through the middle and Danzy’s 16-yard run, also through the middle, but on a counter trap, were the key efforts.

Danzy raced over right tackle from the five for the final score. Brad Limbach was wide right with the conversion try.

“I haven’t seen an offensive show like this in awhile,” rookie Harding Coach Ed Glass said, “but you just can’t beat a team when they have two backs over 100 yards. Their size and inexperience compared to our lack of size and inexperience was probably the key factor.”

The Tigers (7-0-1 and 3-0) knocked Harding (4-4, 2-1) out of a three-way tie for the All American Conference lead and share the top spot with archrival Canton McKinley.

First Downs rushing

First downs passing

First down penalties

Total first downs

Yards gained rushing

321

209

Yards lost rushing

Net yards rushing

314

187

Net yards gained passing

Total yards gained

404

261

Passes completed

4-6

4-9

Passes intercepted by

Yardage on passes inter.

Kickoff average

5-44

4-46.5

Kickoff returns

Punt average

2-36.5

Punt returns

Had punts blocked

Fumbles lost

1-4

1-1

Yards penalized

2-20

3-30

Touchdowns rushing

Touchdowns passing

Total number of plays

Elapsed time

26:26

21:34

Warren-18

Ends-Shunkwiler, Hall, Hudson.

Tackles-Angelo, Ahladis.

Guards-Rubesich, Butler, Zambelli, Yarvorsky.

Center-Day.

QuarterbackRichburg.

Halfbacks-Ziegler, Cullins, Hall, Hicks, Sassudakis.

Fullbacks-Dansler, Valentine.

Massillon-34

Ends-Diloreto, Venables, Huffman, T. Gutshall, T. Lemon, Robinson, Rollard, Venables.

Tackles-Rich, Chapman, Csonka, Lee, Bunting, George, Goff.

Guards-Schumacher, Fenton, Lightfoot, A. Lemon, Graber, Waldrop.

Center-Studer

Quarterback-Wood

Halfbacks-Danzy, Streeter, Swann, Mayor, Pifer, D. Gutshall, Lentz, Daily, herring, Henderson.

Fullbacks-Harmon

Placekickers-Binks, Lambach.

Holder-Bickford

Warren 6 6 0 6-18

Massillon 14 0 7 13-34

M-Jeff Huffman 45 pass-run from Greg Woods (Binks kick); W-Kelton Dansler 3 run (run failed); M-Mark Streeter 5 run (Binks kick); W-Dansler 9 run (run failed); M-Bill Harmon 2 run (Binks kick); W-Jimmy Richburg 5 run (pass failed).

Officials: Referee-Hugh Davis; Umpire-Art Cirelli; Head linesman-Laverne Haidet; Field judge-Warren Jones; Back judge-Dr. Henley Freeman.

Tag: <span>Warren Harding</span>