BILL PRICE STARS
AS WASHINGTON HIGH
SWAMPS GARFIELD
ATKINSON’S CREW
SMOTHERS
RUBBER CITY RIVAL 46 – 0
A SILVER lining shines
through the cloud of gloom that for several weeks has hung over Washington high school with the defeat of Akron Garfield
Saturday in Akron
46 to 0. It was only three weeks ago that Akron East sent a veteran team to
Massillon to face eleven green youths who trotted out on the gridiron to tangle
with their experienced and heavier opponents.
It was a gloomy and dreary day for the few hundred high school students
and a thousand or more loyal city supporters when they filed quietly through
the gates from the field upon which their favorite team had gone down in defeat
in its opening tussle.
Truly, predictions had come true. The orange and black had been defeated and a
disastrous season was looked forward to.
With everything to gain and nothing to lose, the youthful Tigers went
into their second tussle, Erie
Academy being their
opponent. Many unfavorable remarks had
been flung at the young gridders, before that game. Then the unexpected happened. The high school lads, with all the
viciousness of their mascot, a Bengal Tiger, mauled and completely whipped Erie, scoring a 26 to 0
victory. A silver lining began to edge
the cloud of gloom, but still remarks that Erie wasn’t powerful were heard.
Saturday afternoon, the Tiger stalked on Seiberling
field, Akron, and at the end of 44 minutes of
play, the cloud itself was gone; and no silver lining was necessary to bring a
ray of hope to the several hundred Massillon
fans who followed the team. After the 46 to 0 victory, they knew that Washington high school
had one of the best teams in its history which, without an unexpected upset,
should go through the remainder of the season undefeated.
Mother Nature herself seemed to take the condition of the Massillon team to heart
much the same as local fans. Her sky and
smiling sun were clouded over on the opening day and the rain fell as tears on
the field. But the sun made things a
little merrier for the second game, as the clouds would clear away for short
intervals, giving Old Sol an opportunity to shine forth its encouragement. But Saturday afternoon there wasn’t a cloud
in the sky. All were as certain of Massillon winning as they
were of clear weather and the sun shone brightly on the gridirons as Akron
Garfield was being tucked away for its afternoon nap.
BILL PRICE STARS
The game Saturday, because of the lopsided score, wasn’t as
interesting as it might have been. Were
it not for a few sensational runs by Capt. “Bill” Price, and a couple of fancy
plays, called more for the interest of the fans than for the good they would do
in the game, there would have been little of interest to the football fan with
the big exception of seeing the local team triumph.
The Massillon
football world has been wondering just what kind of a backfield man this Price
person would make; always before he has played a position on the line, having
performed credibly at end and center.
However, having recovered from a broken collarbone, he was sent to a
halfback berth at the start of the game.
As Captain William was making his first touchdown on a sensational dash
of 30 yards around right end, one could have knocked the eyes of the fans off
with ball bats as they stood in amazement.
That Price will be one of the big mainstays in the orange and black’s
offense for the remainder of the season can easily be seen for “Bill” played
little more than a full quarter during the entire game and crossed the goal
line three times. He gained practically
every time he carried the ball and ripped yard after yard through the Akron team.
All of Coach Atkinson’s men played good football and nearly
every member of the squad was given an opportunity to display his talent during
the game. Following the first quarter, a
continual steam of substitutes was poured into the Massillon ranks and the unknowing fan
wondered where they all came from.
Naturally Garfield
can be thankful to Atkinson for this, for it kept the score from being doubled,
but while the young members were not piling up points, they were gathering much knowledge and
football experience for next season when a part of them will hold down regular
berths on the team. And a few glances at
this wealth of good looking reserve material puts the Massillon fan in an
optimistic mood. What a whale of a team
Atkinson should have next season.
While the regulars were in, it was only a question of how
many points the Massillon
steam roller would pile up. Laughlin,
Smith, Foster and McConnell were continually thrusting at the line and running
the ends for long gains, while the line was a veritable stone wall to the Akron gridders. Akron couldn’t gain any way at all and only
twice during the entire fracas was play in the orange and black’s territory, a
fumble being responsible for Garfield’s only chance to score, when it attempted
to place kick during the fourth quarter which was blocked by a Massillon
lineman.
PLAY STRAIGHT FOOTBALL
As for the local gridders straight football was resorted
to. The deadly passing attack which
swept Erie
completely off its feet was not tried.
Only once did the orange and black throw a pass and it was completed,
being good for four yards.
Passes were not necessary for the local team’s offense. A running attack gained the necessary ground
and although the aerial game might have added interest to the contest, it would
only have given Akron South scouts, who were undoubtedly watching the contest,
a chance to gather information on the plays and plan a defense to combat
it. Akron South is the next opponent of
the orange and black.
It took only a few minutes for the Massillon machine to get into motion and
begin scoring points.
SCORE EARLY
The local team received, Ott
getting the ball and carrying it back to the Massillon 40-yard line. Then the drive started. Laughlin on the first play stopped away for
12 yards and a first down. McConnell
plunged for nine more and Laughlin then lashed through center for another
three. Price added three on a sweeping
end run and Smith made four around left end.
With the ball on the 22-yard line, Laughlin scampered through the Akron team and placed the
pigskin over the goal line. McConnell
drop kicked for the extra point.
Akron
showed its best offensive strength a moment later, making two consecutive first
downs, one coming as a result of a penalty inflicted on the youthful
Tigers. The belated rally, however, was
cut short when Laughlin intercepted a pass on the Akron 35-yard line and carried the ball back
to the 12-yard zone before being tackled.
Price hit for five yards and Laughlin made a first down by inches. McConnell then carried the pigskin across. His attempted drop kick was blocked.
Toward the close of the first period, Price grabbed a punt
in midfield and raced back to the 30-yard line where he was tackled. On the very next play he dashed around right
end for his first set of markers. This
time McConnell’s toe functioned and he kicked goal. The quarter ended with the score 20 to 0 in
favor of the South Mill street
gridders.
A few minutes after the second period opened. Popeko punted to
the Massillon 30-yard line, Massillon fumbling but recovering. Price made three yards and Smith a yard. McConnell made seven on two attempts bringing
a first down. Drives by Price and
Briggs, who had substituted for Laughlin, brought six yards, and Price then
stepped away in a well covered trick formation for 45 yards and a
touchdown. It was a neat play the orange
and black pulled and so well did it work that all but one of Garfield’s
secondary defense was drawn away by the other Massillon backs who faked carrying the
ball. McConnell missed his drop kick.
McConnell kicked over the goal line and Akron was given the ball on its 20-yard
line. Four plays netted but nine yards and
the orange and black received the ball on downs on the
29-yard line. Briggs hit for four yards and Foster, who
replaced Price knifed through left tackle for seven more and a first down. McConnell then carried the ball to the
five-yard line for a first down. Foster
cut the distance to three yards, but Smith lost a yard on the next play. McConnell then carried the ball to within a
foot of the goal line and on the next play plunged it over. McConnell drop kicked for the extra point
bringing the local team’s total to 33 points.
A brilliant run of 35 yards by Briggs, who intercepted a
pass from Popeko, Akron back, paved the way for the final
points of the first half with McConnell drop kicking for the extra point.
SECOND HALF TAME
The only points scored in the second half were rolled up
early in the last period after a march of 60 yards up the field. Bast received a
punt on the Massillon
38-yard line and returned to the local’s 40.
Schnerlie gained two yards on two plunges and
the quarter ended with the ball on the locals’ 42-yard line. Here Atkinson shot in part of his regulars
and Garfield
was mowed down. Wagner ripped off two
yards and Laughlin made 10 on the next play.
Price made five yards around right end and McConnell added six more. Wagner failed to gain. Laughlin added two yards and Price carried
the ball 19 yards to the 17-yard line.
Laughlin struck for four and Wagner made three yards. McConnell hit center for two yards and
Laughlin then went through right tackle for five more placing the ball on the
three-yard line with four chances to put it over. On the next play, Price hit through right
guard and rolled over the goal.
McConnell failed in his attempt to dropkick for the extra point. During the remainder of the game, play was
mostly in the center of the field, neither team getting into a position to
score.
Garfield’s
only opportunity to score came near the middle of the fourth quarter, when a
member of the team covered a fumble on the orange and black’s 15-yard
line. Three times the Akron gridders drove into the line, but on
each occasion were repulsed without a gain.
On the fourth down, an attempted place kick was blocked, Massillon recovering and
starting a march that ended in midfield.
Akron , as expected was about as weak a team as the orange and
black will face this year. It succeeded
in making seven first downs as compared with 22 rolled up by the local
gridders.
The Akronites attempted eight
passes and completed two, one counting for four yards and the other for six yards; four were
incomplete and two intercepted. Only a
single pass was tried by the local team and that was good for four yards.
One of the outstanding features of the entire melee was the
clean playing of both teams. Only two
penalties were inflicted on the two teams.
Massillon was penalized 15 yards at one
time for holding, while Akron
was penalized on one occasion for over use of the forward pass.
Boy, Page South
Massillon
– 46 Pos. Akron
– 0
Gump LE Denison
Ott LT Ripley
Spencer LG Nichols
Benson C Bland
D. Smith RG Franklin
French RT Fedor
Ressler RE Kroah
McConnell QB Moyer
Laughlin LHB Orthel
Price RHB Oakley
C. Smith FB Popeko
Score by quarters:
Massillon 20 20 0 6 46
Substitutions:
Massillon – Briggs for Laughlin, Foster for Price,
Buttermore for Benson, Henderson for Ott, Easterday for Spencer, Mauger for D. Smith, Strough for
French, Mathews for Ressler, Bast
for McConnell. Grant for Briggs, Bickel for Foster, Schnerlie
for C. Smith, Price for Schnerlie, Laughlin for C. Smith,McConnell
for Bast, Wagner for Bickel, Briggs for Price, Foster
for Laughlin, Hax for McConnell, Smith for Wagner,
Fox for Gump, Fisher for Mauger.
Akron – Burk for Franklin, Croix for Nichols, M. Oriehl
for Denison, Sloakes
for Oakley, Franklin for Burk, Ripley for Franklin.
Touchdowns – Laughlin, McConnell 2,
Price 3, Briggs.
Point after touchdown – McConnell 4,
(dropkick).
Referee – Koester.
Umpire – Lovell.
Head Linesman – Smith.
Time of quarters – 12 and 10 minutes.