Tigers
Top Garfield,
Turn
To Bulldogs
As Massillon
Hands Presidents 1st Loss
BEAT McKINLEY!
This phrase will be emoted by more Massillon people
the next seven days than any other two words in the English language.
BEAT McKINLEY. You heard it before last night’s victory
over heretofore undefeated Akron Garfield became official. The enthusiasm and that cry was whipped up
in fine fashion after the final gun.
With the scoreboard clock showing a minute and 36
seconds remaining and the Tigers out front by 35-0, which was the way it ended,
a big sign, strung from wires between the light standards at the north end of
the stadium and reading BEAT McKINLEY was unfurled.
After action ceased a small but spirited group of Tiger
fans staged a brief pep rally.
Tiger followers including adults broke out their
small BEAT McKINLEY banners. In a few
short words they praised the charges of Lee Tressel and staff for another job
well
done – then it was
BEAT McKINLEY.
* * *
THE BIG ONE,
the one the Tigers have been pointing to since that narrow loss to Mansfield,
comes off here next Saturday afternoon.
All seats have been sold. The
gates will open at 12 noon and there will be standing room only. In the events to follow the Orange and Black
will be out to avenge last year’s setback by pinning the defeat label on the
powerhouse from the city to the east.
If the Tigers do it they should hit the
jackpot. What could keep them from
regaining that state championship?
BEAT McKINLEY!
Against Garfield before close to 10,000 fans
including 9,381 paid, the Orangemen weren’t “up.” Undoubtedly the circumstances prevented them from getting too
“high” even though the Presidents had only a couple of ties marring an
otherwise perfect mark.
But the locals had more than enough to put the
damper on the Prexies. Sparked by
twinkle-toed Ivory Benjamin who got great support from Bob Rinehart, Chuck
Beiter, Chester Brown, Larry Washington and a host of others, the attack was
just about as sharp as any time previously this season. The defense was crisp as the night air.
If you like scythe-like blocking and some
teeth-jarring tackling put together with some fancy running, you were
satisfied.
True, there were times when it looked like the
Garfield ball carriers might have been grassed back of the line of scrimmage or
with little yardage to show for their efforts.
You can’t have everything, can you?
After all, the Tigers held the invaders to a total
of 161 yards – only 23 through the air.
And the Prexies had been averaging over six yards per rush.
Coach Tressel couldn’t find much fault with the
offense although he agreed that it looked like his charges would “never get
started.” Garfield was threatening
three times in the opening period but it was completely shackled after that.
The Tiger mentor, whose team now has won eight, the last three in a row, had
some warm words for the line play, the running of Benjamin, Brown and Beiter,
and the ball handling of Rinehart, who completed two of his four passes, one
for a touchdown.
The Tigers zipped to a net of 381yards on the ground
with Benjamin making 182 in 16 carries, Beiter 63 in eight and Brown 50 in
seven. Washington, who started in place
of Mike Hershberger, lugged seven times for 26 yards and Rinehart ran a keeper
once for 13 yards as Benjamin waylaid three men with a crunching block.
* * *
OF COURSE
ball carriers would get exactly nowhere without blocking from the boys up on
the line. In this department the local
youngsters appeared to be in peak form.
And all this came about with Hershberger and guard
Bob Brown watching form the sidelines.
Hershberger could have played but Tressel wasn’t about to take an
unnecessary chances. “We’ll need them
next week,” he said.
Dave Richardson, who booted five extra points,
tackle Dick Whitfield and sub tackle John Halter were banged up a little but
all will probably be ready for the Bulldogs, who were to meet Akron South this
afternoon.
Richardson converted after Benjamin tallied three
times, Beiter once and end Clyde Childers, who was on the receiving end of both
Tiger pass completions, once.
Actually Garfield was never in the running after the
initial panel. Probably because of a
good scouting job and a bunch of kids who weren’t going to let another loss
interfere with their plans.
In all fairness to the Presidents it must be
emphasized that had a couple of first quarter aerials not gone awry they might
have been able to make an issue of it as many expected them to do. On the second play the first time Garfield
got possession its sterling halfback, Sterling Shephard, passed from the Tiger
49. The Tigers were apparently worrying
about Manzie Winters, the President’s pass catching star, and let the other
end, Don Gibson, get in the clear at the 20.
Shephard probably thought Gibson was going to cut to
his right but he didn’t and a
sure-fire touchdown play went with the wind.
Two plays later Garfield had to punt but got the pigskin right back as
Benjamin fumbled at the Tiger 21.
Shephard moved seven yards to the Orange 14 and after Chet Brown and
Pete Heimann tossed Fullback Nick Arshinkoff for a one-yard deficit, Massillon
gained possession again as Beiter intercepted Shephard’s spread play pass at
the six.
Three plays later, after Benjamin got loose from a
30-yard scamper from his own eight to the 38, the locals lost the ball on
another fumble. This time it was
Garfield’s ball at the Massillon 44.
With the help of a twisting 17-yard run by Shephard,
the Prexies advanced to the Tiger 17.
But on fourth down linebacker Roger Reese barreled in and smacked
Shephard down for an 11-yard loss to end the thrust.
Then the Tigers went ahead as two long runs, one by
Brown and one by Benjamin, paved the way.
Benjamin ran twice for 12 before Brown, stiff-arming one, veering away
from three and getting blocks from Whitfield and Childers, galloped 29 to the
Garfield 35. Washington picked up three
and Benjamin sped to the left – with Dick Brenner springing him loose with a fine
block at the 33 – and rambled all the way standing up. Three minutes 27 seconds were left in the
quarter when Richardson converted his first time.
The Akron array bounced back but to no avail. From the 32 they made three first downs to
the Tiger 22 as an 18-yard jaunt by halfback Frank Misker and a 13-yarder by
Shephard provided the spark. Shephard
tried two passes and sub Lindsey Humphrey two but none made connections.
* * *
ONCE WASHINGTON
batted the ball down, once three Tigers outfought two Presidents, once Shephard
dropped a Humphrey toss on the 10 and on fourth down the latter’s heave
overshot the lanky Winters. Thus it was
Massillon’s ball at its own 40.
On the last two running plays of the period Benjamin
made nine and Brown four. A penalty
against Garfield helped put the oval on the Massillon 40 as the second frame
got underway. Benjamin netted 12 in two
carries, Brown boomed through tackle for 14 and Beiter went up the middle for
eight before the latter tallied on a 26-yard run. The hefty junior, who has been playing both fullback and
righthalf, shot inside guard, and cut to his outside and was only 10 yards from
pay dirt before most everybody in the stadium knew who had the ball.
This score came with 10:01 left and less than five
minutes later the Orange had their third.
Beiter rushed Humphrey on a punt from the Garfield
31 and the ball sailed out of bounds at the 35. Beiter sandwiched eight and nine-yard gains around a three run
pickup by Benjamin and from the 15 Irvory scooted the rest of the way on a
double reverse that worked to near-perfection.
Only one hand touched him and he twisted away from that lone defender.
The rest of the first half was meaningless. But things livened a bit for the home side
at the outset of the third period as another bad punt by Humphrey led to the
Tigers’ fourth TD.
Massillon had to move only 30 yards this time. Benjamin, Brown and Beiter carried to the 19
before Rinehart unwound. His pass hit
Childers on the 10 and the big boy got away from the last would be tackler
after Benjamin had thrown a key block.
It was 28-0 with seven and a half minutes to go in that stanza.
* * *
THE ORANGEMEN
made a strong bid before the quarter came to a close. From their own 37 they rolled to the one as a
Rinehart-to-Childers pass clicked for 21 yards and Benjamin inserted a 20-yard
sprint. However, an offside penalty set
them back to the six and on last down Rinehart was three yards short on a
sneak.
The Prexies were deep in their own territory as the
final stanza began and from the seven sub Wayne McFarland kicked out of bounds
at the Garfield 38.
On the first play Benjamin struck off the right side
and streaked to pay dirt.
After that Tressel made use of his second stringers
and twice Richardson, defensive safety, stymied the visitors by hauling in
passes.
MASSILLON – 35
ENDS – Brenner, Elavsky, Mitchell, Wells, Snavely,
Childers, Hagan, Williams, Mays.
TACKLES – Whitfield, Mercer, Ortiz, Slabaugh,
Brownlee, Bixler, Halter.
GUARDS --
Meldrum, Heine, Heimann, Cook.
CENTERS – Krier, Kiplinger.
QUARTERBACKS – Rinehart, Getz, Reese, Dutton.
HALFBACKS – Benjamin, Washington, Pledgure,
Richardson, Bivings.
FULLBACKS – C. Brown, Beiter, Dean.
ENDS – Winters, Hubbard, Gibson.
TACKLES – Wiseman, Flanders, Hicks, Truza.
GUARDS – Balca, Rekettye, Phillips, Capatosta,
McFarland.
CENTERS – Blouir, Smith, Sabatino.
QUARTERBACK – Rossi.
HALFBACKS – Shephard, Miskar, Humphrey, Rogers.
FULLBACKS – Arshinkoff, Vic Rich.
Scoring by quarters:
Massillon 7 14 7 7 35
Garfield 0 0 0 0 0
Massillon scoring:
Touchdowns –
Benjamin (3, runs of 32, 15 and 28 yards); Beiter (run 26 yards); Childers
(pass 19 yards).
Extra points –
Richardson 5 (placements).
Massillon Garfield
First
downs, rushing 17 9
First
downs, passing 2 1
First
downs, penalties 1 1
Total
first downs 20 11
Yards
gained rushing 401 159
Yards
lost rushing 20 21
Net
yards gained rushing 381 138
Yards
gained passing 42 23
Passes
attempted 4 18
Passes
completed 2 4
Passes
intercepted by 3 0
Times
kicked off 6 1
Kickoff
average (yards) 43 54
Kickoff
returns 9yards) 12 92
Times
punted 2 7
Punt
average (yards) 32.2 19.7
Punt
returns (yards) 16 0
Had
punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 2 1
Lost
fumbled ball 2 0
Penalties 6 9
Yards
penalized 50 85