Tag: <span>Zach Catrone</span>

History

2020: Akron Hoban 35, Massillon 6

Hoban pulls away from Massillon for state title

Chris Easterling

MASSILLON The rubber match belonged to Hoban. So, too, did the 2020 Division II football state championship trophy.

Shane Hamm led Hoban to a 35-6 win over Massillon on the Tigers’ own home field Friday night.

Hoban and Massillon met for the third consecutive year in the playoffs, with Hoban winning for the second time in a state title game.

The game was played at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium because of a site change made the day before by the OHSAA. All six state title games this weekend were moved from Fortress Obetz outside of Columbus because of the Franklin County stay-at-home advisory.

That proved not to matter.

Hoban jumped on top early to run to its fifth state championship in six years. The only year the Knights didn’t win the title was last year, when they lost to the Tigers in the regional finals.

“This means everything since we lost last year,” Hoban running back Victor Dawson said. “We took that very personal. Our goal was to make it to the state championship and they just happened to be in the way. We finished our goal.”

Reaching that goal in a year where COVID-19 altered so much added to the achievement.

“With all of this, it’s crazy,” Hoban coach Tim Tyrrell said. “Coach (Nate) Moore (of Massillon) and I talked before the game and we were just hoping to get past September.

“It means a lot for both programs to be here and says a lot about how the schools and administrations work on both sides. It’s one of those years that you’re so blessed that these kids got to play high school football.”

Hamm, who has quarterbacked Hoban to three titles in his four-year career, threw four touchdown passes in the game — two to Kharion Davis. Hamm also accounted for a score rushing for the Knights, who finished the season 11-0.

Hamm finished the game 9-of-10 passing for 172 yards with the four TDs and one interception.

“You talk about Shane Hamm, you talk about the epitome of what a high school football player is and what you want a high school football player to be,” Tyrrell said on Spectrum News 1 following the game.

Massillon, which was playing in its third consecutive state title game, finishes the season 10-2.

“We didn’t a good enough job in a lot of places,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team was held to a season-low 32 net rushing yards on 28 carries and 136 total yards. “We didn’t get enough movement up front. We weren’t able to find big enough creases for our running backs in the run game, and everything really starts from there.”

The first quarter was all about Hoban’s control, starting at the line of scrimmage to allow running back Victor Dawson to get going. The Knights used that to jump out to a 14-0 lead.

Hoban’s offense was 2-for-2 on turning possessions into touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes. The Knights marched 72 yards on seven plays, capping the drive with a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Hamm with 8:01 remaining in the quarter.

After a three-and-out on Massillon’s first drive, Hoban went right back to work with another sustained march to the end zone. This time, the Knights capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard Hamm-to-Davis scoring pass with 11 seconds left in the quarter.

Massillon capitalized on Hoban miscues, be it turnovers or penalties, to slice into the deficit before halftime. The problem for the Tigers was that they only managed to cash in once before the break — a 16-yard Zach Catrone-to-Caiden Woullard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left in the half.

The point-after kick, which was moved back 15 yards because of a post-score personal foul on Massillon, was missed to keep it a 14-6 deficit for the Tigers. It was the first missed PAT kick for Massillon all season after 46 consecutive made kicks.

That was one of two Massillon first-half possessions in Hoban territory. The other came thanks to an Austin Brawley interception that he returned to the Knight 25. But the Tigers gave it right back to Hoban on the next play, as Davis came up with a pick at his 8.

On Massillon’s first-half scoring drive, Hoban committed two personal fouls on hits to Catrone to keep it alive. The first was a roughing the passer on a second-and-9 play that put the ball at the Knight 27.

The second flag was for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Catrone, who scrambled on third-and-4 at the Hoban 21. Catrone remained down for a while. However, thanks to the Knights using a timeout, he didn’t miss a play.

“I got hit and I got back up,” Catrone said of the hit. “No one’s going to take me out of this game, especially in this stadium and it being my last game. I hurt a little bit, but at the end of the day, I knew my team wanted me out there. So I took it upon myself to find my inner self and get back up and get out there.”

Three plays after that penalty, Catrone hit Woullard to give Massillon momentum. That momentum didn’t last long into the third quarter, as the Tigers couldn’t advance on their first possession.

“We would’ve maybe not 100% needed that necessarily,” Moore said of not scoring on the first drive of the second half. “That would’ve put us in a really good position to come out after halftime and be able to put together a drive and score. We didn’t do it, and that’s putting our defense in a really bad position.”

Hoban turned its first second-half possession into a 21-6 lead. Hamm and Davis hooked up for a score for a second time, this one a 62-yarder with 8:48 remaining in the third.

Hamm added a 36-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Grimm on a fourth-and-7 play with 9:48 remaining in the game and a 12-yard TD to Chances Carter-Hill with 3:10 left. Tempers flared after the latter TD and a player from each team was ejected.

Hoban outgained Massillon 350-136.

Dawson ran for 145 yards on 21 carries for the Knights to compliment Hamm’s passing.

For Massillon, Catrone threw for 104 yards on 7-for-18 passing. Jayden Ballard gained 53 yards receiving on two catches. Martavien Johnson made three catches for 12 yards, while leading the Tigers with 28 yards rushing on five carries. Sophomore 1,000-yard rusher Willtrell Hartson was limited to nine carries for 24 yards.

“It was a blessing just to be here right now,” Massillon senior linebacker Xavier Andrews said. “Starting in July, we didn’t even think how far we were going to have a season. So, it was just blessing to play out the full season and get here.”

The Tigers fell to 0-6 in state title games in the playoff era, which began in 1972.

History

2020: Massillon 14, Cincinnati LaSalle 10

Heart-stopping win sends Massillon back to state finals

GAME STATS

Chris Easterling

MARYSVILLE Time was winding down on Massillon’s season. It hadn’t hit all zeros yet, though, when it found one more huge play to keep its championship hopes alive.

Zach Catrone hit Martavien Johnson for a 48-yard touchdown pass with 2:22 remaining in Friday night’s Division II state semifinal, erasing a three-point Cincinnati La Salle deficit. That proved to be the winning margin for the Tigers, as they dethroned the reigning state champs — and last team to beat them in the playoffs — with a 14-10 victory at Marysville’s IMPACT Stadium.

“We were confident in our offense,” Catrone said. “We didn’t score as much as we wanted to, but we knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. We knew they had their dudes still; we knew we had our dudes. I always thought we had the upper hand on them.”

The win sends Massillon, now 10-1 after its 10th consecutive win, to its third Division II state title game in as many seasons next Friday night at 7 at Fortress Obetz outside of Columbus. Awaiting the Tigers will be Hoban, which beat Avon in the other state semifinal on Friday.

Long before Massillon could turn its attention to the Knights, against whom it’s split the last two seasons, it had to deal with La Salle. The Lancers, who are 8-3, beat the Tigers in last year’s state title game.

“Great ballgame,” said Tiger coach Nate Moore, whose team trailed 10-7 with less than 2:30 remaining. “Two worthy opponents. Our kids fought hard and it came down to the wire. We play to win, and I’m just proud of them.”

While Massillon struggled all game to get in front of La Salle, it never completely let it out of its sight either. Two drives, really, were all that the Lancers mustered against the Tiger defense.

Those two drives, though, were enough to give La Salle a pair of leads.

The first one came in the first quarter, when Lancer quarterback Zach Branam ripped off a 76-yard run to the Massillon 4 on a third-down play. Three plays later, Branam put the Lancers in front 7-0 with a 1-yard run with 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Branam rushed for a game-high 158 yards on 28 attempts. However, save for that one big run, he rarely found any room to get loose for big plays.

“I thought our defensive coaches had a great game plan,” Moore said. “We had a good week of preparation and practice. The kids went out and executed. We gave up the one long run, but I don’t know how many snaps we played defensively, maybe (59), and (58) of them were pretty good.”

Massillon got its own big third-down play to forge a 7-7 tie by halftime. On third-and-19 from the La Salle 45, Catrone found Caiden Woullard down the left sideline for a 39-yard pass to the Lancer 11.

Three plays later, Jumacius Portis scored on a third-and-1 play from the La Salle 3 with 5:03 remaining in the half.

La Salle put together its most sustained drive of the night over the third and fourth quarters. Starting at its own 12, it drove 72 yards in 16 plays to the Massillon 15.

However, on third-and-3 from the Tiger 15, Branam was stopped for a yard loss. Mason Luensman then hit a 33-yard field goal to give the Lancers a 10-7 lead with 7:57 remaining.

Massillon’s next drive reached its own 48, but it was forced to punt it away with 4:07 remaining. The Tigers, though, got the ball back after stopping La Salle on a third-down pass from its own 30.

They also caught a break on the punt, which hit a Lancer player trying to cover it at their 48. On the very next play, Catrone hit Johnson for the go-ahead touchdown.

“That play there was a play-action play on a post,” said Catrone, who was 5-of-13 for 109 yards in the game. “We actually had (Jayden) Ballard on a post on the backside as well. That was really just reading the defense.”

La Salle got one first down on its final possession at its own 30. But four straight incompletions set off a Massillon celebration.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2020: Massillon 43, Massillon Perry 13

Second-half surge helps Massillon run by Perry to regional championship
Chris Easterling, The Independent

GAME STATS

PERRY TWP.Massillon had just fallen behind Perry more than six minutes into the second quarter of Friday night’s Division II, Region 7 championship game. Not only that, but the Tigers hadn’t even touched the football in the quarter.

Turns out, Massillon needed just one play to turn all of that around.

Zach Catrone hit Jayden Ballard for a 72-yard touchdown pass, and the subsequent point-after kick put the Tigers in the lead for good.

Massillon then scored 36 second-half points to blow open a tight game at halftime, rolling to a 43-13 regional-final win over the Panthers at Perry Stadium.

“We just came out and played hard,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “It looked like we needed to get some drives going on offense and give our defense some rest. … We came out and played hard and got off the field and got some offense going.”

Catrone had a perfect night passing, Ballard delivered big plays, sophomore running back Willtrell Hartson delivered another strong game and the Tigers are moving on.

Massillon won its ninth consecutive game to improve to 9-1. More importantly, the Tigers won their fourth consecutive regional title, extending a school record run for the program.

Up next is a state semifinal next Friday night against Region 8 champion Cincinnati La Salle, which defeated Massillon in last year’s Division II state championship game. Early indications are the game will be played at Marysville High School, but the OHSAA will confirm the site this weekend.

“We’re excited to be in the dance,” Moore said. “We’re excited to be going to state. We’re certainly looking forward to it.”

Halfway through the first half, though, it looked as though it was Perry which stood poised to win its third regional title in the last six years. A big reason for that was simple, it didn’t really give Massillon a chance to possess the football.

The Panthers ran 40 first-half plays, gaining 167 yards. That compared to just nine plays for the Tigers for 103 yards, 72 of those were on the go-ahead TD pass to Ballard.

“We didn’t block them great, but we blocked them good enough to move the ball,” said Perry coach Keith Wakefield, whose team finishes 9-1 on the season. “You just can’t give up (over-the-top passes). You just can’t.”

Perry’s most impressive drive came on its third possession, after having punted from its own 43 and missing a 40-yard field goal earlier. This time, the Panthers drove 81 yards in 15 plays, including a pair of fourth-down conversions.

They capped the drive with a 5-yard Josh Lemon TD run with 5:18 left in the second quarter to go in front 6-0 after the PAT was missed. It was one of two scoring runs for Lemon, who finished his last game at Perry with 190 yards on 34 carries.

The problem for Perry was Lemon’s second TD didn’t come until there was 3:40 left in the game. At that point, it pulled Perry within 35-13.

In between those two Lemon runs, Massillon scored 35 straight points, reaching the end zone on four of five possessions. The Tigers also got an Austin Brawley punt return for a touchdown for a 28-6 lead late in the third quarter.

Catrone hooked up with Ballard for three touchdowns on the night, part of a 10-for-10, 234-yard passing night. Ballard finished with 150 yards on seven catches.

“Fantastic,” Moore said of Catrone. “Made a lot of really good decisions first off. Threw some really nice balls, and our receivers did a really nice job of catching them. The line protected. Proud of all of them.”

Hartson added 111 yards rushing and two scores for Massillon. It was his 4-yard TD that opened the third quarter to make it 14-6, then his 1-yarder to make it 35-6 midway through the fourth quarter.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2020: Massillon 48, North Canton Hoover 23

Willtrell Hartson, Massillon run wild in knocking out Hoover
Chris Easterling, The Independent

GAME STATS

MASSILLON It was almost like a sign.

Willtrell Hartson took the handoff, hit the hole and raced untouched into the end zone for the 23-yard Massillon touchdown with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. No sooner had he crossed the goal line than lightning flashed above Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

To Hoover’s defense, Hartson must have felt like a flash of lightning himself. The sophomore running back found the end zone four times Friday night, helping the Tigers take down the Vikings 48-23 in a Division II, Region 7 quarterfinal.

The lightning after Hartson’s scoring run with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, sent the game into a delay at 8:54 p.m. with Massillon up by what would be the final margin. The teams returned to the field at 10:32 p.m., with the Tigers failing on a 2-point conversion pass.

“He ran well, ran hard,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, who won his 99th career game, including 57th with the Tigers. “He played with great vision. Ran with speed, ran with power. A really good day.”

Massillon, which has won seven in a row to improve to 7-1, will likely play host to Westerville South next week in a regional semifinal. South led Olentangy Berlin 42-10 in the third quarter on Friday when that game was suspended due to storms.

The storm was about the only thing to slow down Hartson on the night. He finished with 196 yards on 13 carries, gashing Hoover for six runs of at least 13 yards.

It’s the second time in three games since replacing the injured Raekwon Venson as the starting running back that Hartson has rushed for at least 180 yards. Turns out, he may really like running against Stark County defenses.

Hartson’s other 100-plus-yard rushing game came in Massillon’s Week 6 win over rival McKinley. He gained 188 yards and scored two TDs in the 35-7 win.

That game against the Bulldogs was also the Tigers’ best rushing performance as a team coming into Friday’s contest, with 286 yards on the ground and five touchdowns. By the time Massillon finished off the Vikings, they had gained a season-high 335 yards on 36 attempts.

“This game was won in the trenches,” Hoover coach Brian Baum said. “Their offensive line did a great job. Their backs found the open hole. I knew it was going to come down to the trenches. I was worried about the size of their O-line, and they were able to move some people and did a good job.”

It wasn’t just Hartson. Cam Beasley added 54 yards on 11 carries, while receiver Martavien Johnson had 47 yards and one score on just three carries.

For all of the running, though, Massillon actually threw it efficiently as well. Zach Catrone was 9-of-10 for 142 yards and a touchdown, with Jayden Ballard catching six passes for a season-high 96 yards.

“I thought Zach did a really nice job operating our offense,” Moore said. “Spreading the ball around. Very efficient.”

Ballard had the spectacular play of the night on his 42-yard TD catch that put Massillon in front 35-10 with just under two minutes left in the first half. He was hit by a Hoover defender as the ball hit his hands, knocking it free, but he secured it as he hit the ground for the score.

Despite the Tigers’ steady offensive success, the 5-3 Vikings were able to stay within striking distance through the early portion of the third quarter. A big reason for that was the play of senior quarterback Connor Ashby.

It was Ashby’s ability to keep plays alive that helped him connect twice with Brock Henne, on catches of 22 and 29 yards, on Hoover’s first scoring drive. That drive, which pulled the Vikings within 14-7 with 3:57 left in the first quarter, was capped by a Drew Robinson 3-yard touchdown run.

“I didn’t think they were going to be able to beat us doing that,” Moore said, referring to Ashby’s ability to prolong plays. “The couple they completed on that drive really were, especially that second one, desperation passes. Kudos to them for making the throw and the kids catching it. It was a little different than escaping the pocket and having a really nice throw to an open receiver.”

Ashby connected on a 46-yard pass to Robinson, then followed that up with a 17-yard run of his own, as the Vikings pulled within 28-10 with 1:55 left in the first half on Yanni Velas’ 26-yard field goal. He connected again with Robinson, this time on an 11-yard TD pass, to make it 35-16 Massillon just 37 seconds into the second half.

Hoover recovered an onside kick after that score at the Tiger 49. However, that drive, hurt by an offensive pass interference call, ended on a punt from the Viking 44.

The Viking senior was 9-of-18 passing for 209 yards with a touchdown. However, he netted just 17 rushing yards on 16 carries thanks to the pursuit of the Tiger defense which dropped him for a total of 33 yards lost.

“I thought our guys did a pretty good job overall,” Moore said.

Michael Billman had a pair of sacks on Ashby as part of a 3.5 tackle-for-loss night. Mike Miller added one sack, while Xavier Andrews had 1.5 tackles for loss.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2020: Massillon 56, Columbus Walnut Ridge 0

No rust as Massillon has no problem with Walnut Ridge
Chris Easterling, The Independent

GAME STATS

MASSILLON There was a certain amount of uncertainty surrounding Massillon as it came off of a first-round bye on Friday night. There was a question of rust after having a week off while Columbus Walnut Ridge had played a game.

Turns out, it was unfounded uncertainty.

The Tigers scored early and often, rolling to a 56-0 win over the Scots in a Division II Region 7 second-round game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Massillon (6-1) advances to next week’s home regional quarterfinal against Hoover (5-2), which defeated Lake on Friday.

“They did everything we asked them to do,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “Good performance. Pretty clean game. Very efficient. Did a good job.”

Massillon had already topped its season high in points at halftime, at which time it led 42-0. The previous high for the Tigers this season was 35 points against Columbus Bishop Sycamore in Week 2 and McKinley in Week 6.

It also was Massillon’s third shutout in seven games. It blanked Bishop Sycamore and Warren Harding in back-to-back games in Weeks 2 and 3.

“How about our backups and JVs holding the shutout?,” Moore said. “That doesn’t happen all the time. I’m really proud of those guys. The starters did their job in the first half, went into the locker room at halftime 42-0, and our younger guys or backups or whoever was playing in the second half, the non-starters, put two scores on their No. 1 defense.”

The question of rust was put to bed in just over a minute of play. On the Tigers’ third play, Zach Catrone hit Jayden Ballard for a 63-yard touchdown pass, putting them in front 7-0 only 1:09 into the game.

Just 1:44 later, it was 14-0 Massillon after Catrone’s second touchdown pass in as many attempts, this one a 32-yarder to Andrew Wilson-Lamp. The score was set up by Jaidan Wise’s interception at the Walnut Ridge 37.

Catrone was 5-of-8 for 121 yards with two TDs and an interception in a quarter-and-a-half of work. Sophomore Jay Crable played the final two-and-a-half quarters.

The Tigers made it 21-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter on Cam Beasley’s 5-yard scoring run to cap their third possession. Beasley finished with 108 yards on 15 carries.

“Cam did a nice,” Moore said. “Really happy for him. The offensive line and fullbacks blocked it up well for him.”

Massillon added another 21 points in the second quarter. Two scores came on runs by Jumacius Portis (3-yarder) and Willtrell Hartson (47-yarder).

Hartson finished with 65 yards on six carries, while Portis added a fourth-quarter scoring run to make it 49-0. The Tigers rushed for 199 yards for the game.

The other score, sandwiched between the two runs, came when T.J. Williams picked up a fumbled pitch at the Scot 21 and raced untouched to the end zone. The fumble recovery was one of five turnovers the Tiger defense came up with in the game.

“Happy for T.J.,” Moore said. “He deserved that. He’s doing a great job for us. He’s a senior. I’m really proud of him.”

Massillon’s defense limited Walnut Ridge to just 43 first-half yards on 33 plays, including minus-11 rushing yards on 15 attempts. For the game, the Scots had 56 total yards, including just 2 net rushing yards.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2020: Massillon 24, Warren Harding 0

Defense swarms as Massillon shuts down Warren Harding

GAME STATS

MASSILLON It’s awfully easy to win a football game when the other team can’t cross midfield. It’s even easier when they don’t score a point.

It may not have been the easiest of Massillon’s 901 all-time wins on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. That said, the 24-0 victory over Warren Harding was made a lot easier by the performance of the Tiger defense throughout.

“We’re used to our offense really setting the tone in every ballgame that we play in,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose 2-1 team will meet 2-1 Benedictine next Friday night. “It just hasn’t been like that necessarily this year. The defense has. The defense has been outstanding all three weeks that we’ve played. Those guys are playing their tails off.”

The Tigers head into next week’s cat fight on a two-game win streak that has been highlights by a pair of glistening defensive efforts. Massillon has posted back-to-back shutout wins for the first time since doing it to Youngstown Woodrow Wilson and, interestingly enough, Warren, in Weeks 7 and 8 of the 2005 season.

For the second week in a row, the Tigers limited a team to less than 50 net yards of offense, including negative rushing yards. Columbus Bishop Sycamore managed just 46 net yards on 43 plays, including minus-26 rushing yards on 23 attempts, in last week’s 35-0 Massillon win.

Warren was only able to muster 49 net yards on 43 plays on Friday night. The Raiders’ 25 rushing yards netted them minus-5 yards.

Their record-setting senior quarterback, Elijah Taylor, was held to just 54 passing yards while completing 8-of-20 passes with one interception. Despite holding all of Warren’s career passing records, he will depart having not even topped 100 passing yards in three of his four games all-time against Massillon.

“It’s everybody doing their job on every play,” Moore said. “When guys do their job, that gives us a chance. When you have guys who can win one-on-one battles, out of 11 guys on the field, if you have nine, 10, 11 guys winning their one-on-one battle, you’re going to be pretty good.”

That defense also set up Massillon, which led 7-0 at halftime, to deliver the second-half haymaker. It turned a Caiden Woullard blocked punt into a 4-yard Raekwon Venson touchdown, then an Isaiah Clark interception into a 28-yard Alex Bauer field goal for a 17-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers’ defensive performance kept Warren in its own territory throughout the game. The Raiders’ 11 possessions, not counting a kneel-down at the end of the first half, never crossed midfield.

The opposite was true for the Tigers’ offense, which finished with 344 net yards on 67 plays. That included 216 passing yards, 209 of those by Zach Catrone, who returned from a one-game absence due to injury.

Catrone completed 21-of-31 passes with a pair of interceptions. It was his 17-yard pass to Martavien Johnson which gave Massillon a 7-0 first-half lead.

“He was wheeling-and-dealing a little bit,” Moore said of Catrone. “‘Taking what the defense was giving him.”

Massillon would have 12 possessions in the game, with the only one not reaching Warren territory the final one of the game. What cost the Tigers a chance to maximize many of those drives were 13 penalties for 145 yards, as well as three turnovers.

Reach Chris at chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2020: Lakewood St. Edward 24, Massillon 23

Turnover, trickery helps St. Edward rally to stun Massillon

Aug 28, 2020 11:35 PM

GAME STATS

MASSILLON Massillon seemed to have its hands grasped around an impressive season-opening win on Friday night.

Despite the challenges of a strange offseason and then a mid-game lightning delay, the Tigers found themselves in control of the football and a six-point lead over St. Edward with less than five minutes remaining. However, five minutes later, it was all gone for Massillon.

“Very bleak,” St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo said of his team’s chances late.

Bleak turned into brilliant for the Eagles as they converted a fourth-quarter Tiger pick into a little razzle-dazzle touchdown of their own, and it was the difference in what became a 24-23 victory at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The go-ahead touchdown came when Justin Slattery took a lateral pass from quarterback Christian Ramos, then threw a strike to a wide-open Joshua Kerekes for a 72-yard touchdown with 4:01 remaining.

Kerekes’ catch-and-run, which included him tight-roping the sidelines for the final 15 or so yards, was one of just five passes caught by Eagle receivers in the game. Two of those five went for second-half touchdowns, the other a Ramos-to-Andrew Cook 4-yard pass with 3:23 left in the third to cut Massillon’s lead to 20-17.

“Being the first game and the first scrimmage, we said, ‘Just play four quarters and keep playing,'” Lombardo said. “Obviously, we were having trouble stopping them early. … Our defense really made some plays at the end and obviously, we got the double pass.”

St. Edward was just 5-of-13 passing for 107 yards. The Eagles also had just 97 rushing yards.

The loss was Massillon’s first regular-season setback since falling to St. Vincent-St. Mary in Week 9 of the 2017 season. Since that setback, the Tigers had won 32 of 35 games, including 21 consecutive in the regular season.

It appeared that the streak was going to increase to 22 in a row after Massillon, while in possession of a 23-17 lead, had the ball at the Eagle 35 with the clock nearing four minutes. However, on third-and-8, a pass to the middle of the field was intercepted by St. Edward’s C.J. Hankins, who brought it back to the Eagle 41.

“In-game mistakes, you have to self-correct and move on,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “We don’t have time to sit around and mope about anything. … As a player on the field, you have to self-correct and move forward. You can’t let one negative play turn into two negative plays and all those things.’

Two plays later, what had been a Tiger lead turned into a Massillon deficit. The Tigers would have two possessions after giving up the lead, going three-and-out and punting from their own 15 on the first.

The second one, which started with 37 seconds remaining at the Massillon 31, reached the St. Edward 40. However, four incomplete passes – the final one with two seconds remaining – ended the Tigers’ hopes.

The ending spoiled what was, in many ways, a solid start for Massillon. After giving up a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Joal Castleberry with 8:07 remaining in the third quarter to fall behind the Eagles 7-3, the Tigers would score 14 straight points – on a pair of Zach Catrone-to-Jayden Ballard touchdowns – to lead 17-7 in the second quarter.

Catrone finished his first career start 14-of-29 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Ballard had a team-high 68 yards and the two touchdowns on two catches.

Raekwon Venson made his first career start as well at running back for the Tigers, rushing for 113 yards on 25 carries. That helped Massillon outgain St. Edward 396-204.

The probably for the Tigers was that they had to settle for three field goal, two of which were of less than 30 yards. Alex Bauer had two field goals of 26 yards, the last of those giving Massillon a 23-17 lead with 9:38 remaining, plus a career-long 41-yard boot.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

Massillon Tigers Black Letter Logo History

2019: Massillon 24, Louisville 0

Injuries, Louisville not enough to slow down Massillon
Oct 25, 2019 10:43 PM

MASSILLON Massillon’s undefeated season remains intact. The Tigers, though, head into their biggest game of the year with a couple of big injury concerns.

Massillon emerged Friday night with a 24-0 win over visiting Louisville. However, in the process, both Tiger quarterback Aidan Longwell and center Cole Jones departed the game in the third quarter with injuries.

After the game, Massillon head coach Nate Moore declined to comment on the nature of either injury. Instead, he focused on the performance his team put forth in improving to 9-0 for the second consecutive season entering the annual rivalry game at McKinley.

“It’s a good ballgame against a good team,” said Moore, whose team has won 20 consecutive regular-season games. “We just kept playing ball.”

The injuries came in the midst of a penalty- and injury-filled third quarter that saw the Tigers pick up seven flags for 57 yards and the Leopards draw four for 30 yards. Louisville also saw running back Nathan Guiley leave the game with a leg injury as well in the quarter.

Massillon had fought its way to a 14-0 lead after it took the second-half kickoff and marched 48 yards to the end zone, with Terrance Keyes Jr. rushing the final 11 yards for the touchdown with 9:44 remaining in the third. The Tigers got the ball on the Louisville side of the 50 after it had unsuccessfully tried an onside kick.

It was on Massillon’s second third-quarter possession in which Longwell was injured as was hit while delivering an incomplete third-down pass. He left the game, with Zach Catrone coming in to play the final quarter and a half.

Catrone would throw a fourth-quarter touchdown to Andrew Wilson-Lamp, a 22-yarder, to give Massillon a 24-0 lead with 2:41 remaining. He was 2-of-4 passing with 33 yards in relief of Longwell.

Longwell was 11-of-19 for 114 yards with an interception in his time.

“I’m proud of him,” Moore said of Catrone, who had also come in for Longwell in last season’s regional-semifinal win over Columbus Whitehall-Yearling. “He did a great job.”

Louisville’s defense, while it would give up 17 second-half points, was stout for much of the game in not giving Massillon too many big plays. While the Tigers finished with 377 yards in the game, the Leopards were able to force a pair of missed field goals – one of which was blocked – while also limiting Massillon to just 5-of-11 on third-down conversions.

The biggest area where Louisville was able to succeed was at the line of scrimmage. Defensive ends Jason Goard and Tony Brahler combined for nine solo and six assisted stops, with Goard recording the Leopards’ lone sack.

“Our kids played hard,” said Louisville coach Jeff Twiddy, whose team falls to 5-4. “They’re really fast. I thought we were physical. I thought we played a good ballgame.”

The problem for Louisville was it was unable to take advantage of any opportunities it had to put points on the board. The Leopards had three drives inside the Tiger 40, two of which ended on downs and the third squelched by an interception by Massillon’s Preston Hodges.

Massillon’s defense limited Louisville to 192 total yards on 62 attempts. The Tigers held the Leopards to just 43 rushing yards on 30 carries.

“We played really well defensively,” Moore said. “I would’ve liked to get off the field a little sooner on a couple of drives. Other than that, it was a great ballgame by our defense.”

While Louisville couldn’t sustain its running game, Massillon’s running game thrived to a tune of 230 yards on 44 carries. Keyes finished with 157 yards on 26 carries for his fourth consecutive 100-plus-yard game.

Zion Phifer added 78 yards on 14 carries. He gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with a 1-yard run with 9:41 remaining in the second quarter.

“Both of those guys grounded out a lot of really tough yards,” Moore said. “Zion is a great back and did a heck of a job.”

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

History

2018: Massillon 35, Columbus Whitehall-Yearling 17

Massillon overcomes injury, Whitehall-Yearling, to reach regional final
Nov 09, 2018 10:38 PM
Chris Easterling

MANSFIELD If it could go wrong for Massillon, it went wrong on Friday night.

An injury to starting quarterback Aidan Longwell. Multiple turnovers. Flags galore.

Yet, when it was all over, the Tigers’ state-championship dreams remained intact, as they held off Whitehall-Yearling 35-17 in a Division II Region 7 semifinal at Mansfield’s Arlin Field.

“All through the offseason, our coaches preached coming through adversity,” said Massillon senior Dean Clark, who will join his teammates in a regional final against Wadsworth next Friday at a site to be announced this weekend. “We’ve been going through adversity this whole season, the whole year. We were prepared for it.”

The adversity started on the next-to-last play of the first quarter, when Longwell – who had given Massillon a 7-0 lead on its first play, a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Ballard – suffered an injury while attempting to score from the Ram 1. To add a certain insult to the injury, the official ruled an inadvertent whistle on the play, negating what possibly could’ve been a 99-yard fumble return by Whitehall for a score.

Enter sophomore Zach Catrone, who would lead the Tigers through the final three quarter. Catrone finished 16-of-24 for 177 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception.

“(Catrone’s) done a great job all year,” said Massillon coach Nate Moore, whose team matched the 1982 team for best start to a season at 12-0. “He led our JV team to an undefeated record. We have a lot confidence with him going in. We’re real proud of his performance.”

That performance included a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Von Morgan right before halftime to give Massillon a 17-9 lead. Catrone also hit Ballard for a 55-yard touchdown with 5:07 remaining in the third quarter to give the Tigers the lead for good at 23-17.

Catrone would hit Morgan for a 9-yard strike with 42 seconds left to provide the final margin. The officials would call the game after that score when Whitehall was flagged for multiple unsportsmanlike penalties on the subsequent point-after try.

The entire Ram bench emptied onto the field after the play. After a lengthy conference, the officials ended the game, which was marred by multiple personal fouls on both sides.

“We came out and played hard,” Moore said. “We certainly weren’t perfect, none of us. Just played hard and got the win.”

Massillon would be flagged 12 times total in the game for 104 penalty yards. Whitehall was hit with seven flags for 63 yards.

It was Tiger turnover, though, which helped open the door for the Rams. Massillon had three giveaways on the night, compared to just one takeaway, a Luke Murphy interception with just over two minutes remaining.

The biggest of those Tiger turnovers came on the second play of the second half. A bad snap was picked up by Whitehall’s Sir-Blake Singleton and returned for a touchdown.

Raymell Byrd’s two-point conversion run would help the Rams, who never led in the game, pull even at 17-17.

That would be the only time Whitehall was able to get the game even after Massillon took the lead on its first play from scrimmage. The Rams would pull within 10-9 on Christian Gordon’s 64-yard catch-and-run off a Byrd pass, but the tying conversion failed due to a bad snap.

Whitehall would finish with 191 yards, 101 of those through the air. Byrd, the Rams’ leading rusher, finished with 52 yards on 11 carries.

Massillon would put the game away by bowing up on defense and running the football in the fourth quarter. The Tigers twice kept Whitehall from scoring over the final 12 minutes despite reaching their side of the 50.

Meanwhile, Massillon would run the ball on 15 of its final 16 plays. That included a 15-yard touchdown run by Jamir Thomas with 5:45 remaining to put the Tigers up 29-17.

“It was huge, huge,” Moore said. “It pushed it to a two-score game. That was huge, especially after the blocked extra point.”

Thomas finished with 136 yards on 16 carries for Massillon.

GAME STATS

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE