HIGH GRIDDERS

TRIM WOOSTER

12 TO 6

FOR SEASON’S

FIRST WIN

 

A well directed offense in the second period, Saturday afternoon, brought the season’s first gridiron victory for the orange and black of Washington high school, when the South Mill street institution, with difficulty, succeeded in bowling over the fighting purple warriors from Wooster high, 12 to 6 on Massillon Field.

 

Though the youthful Tigers won, there is little glory in the victory, for the same Wooster team was trampled upon earlier in the season by Canton McKinley, 46 to 0.  In fact many Wooster fans expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the game and even though their team was on the short side of the score, considered the result a moral victory for Wooster.

 

And such it probably was, for the fighting purple squad not only held the Massillon team to a pair of touchdowns, but crossed the orange and black goal line once, registered 11 first downs to Massillon’s eight and decisively outplayed and outfought the youthful Tigers in the last half of the game. 

 

True the local team was hampered somewhat with injuries, Briggs, Dommer and Schnierle being out of the game.  Yet, these injuries should not have kept Massillon high from being at least four touchdowns better than their Wooster rivals.  However, it must be said in fairness to the orange and black’s defense that several of Wooster’s first downs were made as a result of penalties inflicted on the Massillon team.

 

The Massillon crew showed its most powerful drive near the middle of the second quarter which resulted in the scoring of two touchdowns.  Getting a punt on the Wooster 41-yard line the youthful Tigers started a drive that did not end until Grant carried the ball across from the two-yard line.  It all happened this way.  Wooster punted to Foster who was downed in his tracks on the visiting team’s 41-yard line.  Grant lost a few yards, but on the next play, Foster tossed a pass that was knocked down by a Wooster player into the arms of Shanabrook.  Massillon end, who scampered several yards before being tackled.  The play was good for 16 yards and brought a first down on Wooster’s 27-yard line.  Laughlin rammed through for five yards and Grant dashed off left tackle on the next play for a gain of 20 yards, placing the ball on Wooster’s two-yard line.  Andres failed to gain and Laughlin failed to move the ball any closer to the goal.  On the next play, however, Grant bucked his way through left tackle for the first points of the game.  The kick was missed.

 

The second touchdown for Massillon came shortly afterwards and was the direct result of a forward pass and a pretty run for 40 yards for a touchdown by Captain Laughlin.  Foster tossed the pass to Laughlin.

 

Fans expected to be treated to another offensive drive by the orange and black in the second half, but it did not come.  Instead, however, Wooster began hammering the Massillon line and tossing passes, to score a touchdown early in the last period, W. Franks carrying the ball across.  The visitors; chance came as a result of the recovery of a blocked Massillon punt on the local team’s 19-yard line, by Ralph Rutter, a former Massillon boy.  Three plays netted nine yards for Wooster and on the fourth play, Franks bucked his way through the Massillon line for three yards and a first down on the seven-yard line.  In two cracks at the Massillon line the same diminutive Wooster player carried the pigskin across for his team’s only points.

 

In winning Saturday the local team showed a greatly improved aerial attack, completing six passes out of 12 attempts for a total gain of 99 yards.  Five of the passes were incomplete and one intercepted.  Wooster completed three passes for a gain of 18 yards.  Two of the visitors’ overhead attempts to gain were not complete and one was intercepted.

 

Massillon was set back 35 yards in penalties and Wooster five yards.

 

The game Saturday brought out several facts, chief of which was the lack of spirit displayed by the Massillon team, on the bench as well as on the field.  The team does not have the pepper, snap and spirit of confidence and alertness that will give it the jump on its opponents and cause its members to fight to the last notch and give every ounce of its efforts to keep pushing ahead.  Either the members of the team are not of a fighting nature or else the spirit of battle has not been instilled into them.  The same lack of sprit was shown on the bench Saturday afternoon.  In the second half of the game, two orange and black players were pulled from the conflict when they weakened under the strain of the battle.  Tired and perspiring freely so that their jerseys and moleskins were wet with perspiration, they made their way to the bench and took their places beside fellow players.  A gentle breeze was blowing across the field, making an excellent condition for the two benched players to catch a bold and yet in spite of the fact that plenty of blankets were about and in the hands of other players on the bench, neither of the lads were offered any cover for several minutes and during that time no one made it his duty to see that the tired youths were provided with wraps to protect them from the weather.

 

Another factor was again demonstrated Saturday and that is that the local team lacks the last and greatest team lacks the last and greatest punch to push cross a touchdown.  Had the orange and black had this final punch, the score Saturday might have been larger, for the youthful Tigers on several occasions had the ball within the 20 and 30-yard zones but lacked the drive to push it across.  This same factor was demonstrated in the Akron East and Lorain games and appears to be the result of poor interference accorded the ball carrier.  Either the backfield forgets the art of giving interference when facing opposition, cannot learn, or has not been properly instructed in this department of the game.  The fact remains, there was certainly little interference accorded a runner Saturday afternoon or in any of the other games this year.

 

In Donald Grant, Coach John Atkinson has uncovered a quarterback who runs the team in good style, using a varied attack continually to bewilder his opponents, Grant also made several nice gains Saturday.

 

The management of Washington high sprung a surprise on the fans Saturday afternoon by placing markers designating the difference yard zones.  It makes it much easier for the fans in the bleachers to tell where the ball is in play with the yard lines marked.

The lineup and summary:

Massillon – 12           Pos.              Wooster –6

Straughn                     LE                          Gerig

Fox                            LT                 Bridenstine

Henderson                 LG                   R. Franks

Potts                           C                       Conrad

Mauger                      RG                    Cappola

Price                          RT                  Gelewicks

Shanabrook               RE                          Ports

Grant                         QB                 W. Franks

Foster                       LHB                       Dalby

Bickle                       RHB                       Rutter

Laughlin                     FB                         Shelly

 

Score by periods:

Massillon              0     12       0       0        12

Wooster               0       0       0       6          6

 

Substitutions:

Massillon – Anthony for Price, Andrews for Bickle, Wofle for Laughlin, Price for Anthony, Laughlin for Wolfe, Evans for Shanabrook, Anthony for Price, Shanabrook for Straughn.

 

Wooster – Stehlhorn for Rutter, Rutter for Stehlhorn, Strock for Franks.

 

Touchdowns – Grant, Laughlin, W. Franks.

 

Officials:

Referee – Shaffer, Akron.

Umpire – Michaels, Ohio State.

Head Linesman – Kirk, Ohio State.

 

Time of periods – 12 minutes.