Tiger Gridders Beat Barberton
32-0
Bengals Hot And Cold
In Chalking Up
their Sixth Of The Season
It
was just like somebody was continually twisting a couple of water faucets. First hot, then cold, hot then cold, hot
then cold.
That’s
the way the Massillon Tigers ran (and passed) as they took the steam out of the
Barberton Magics before 10,158 paid fans at Tiger stadium Friday night.
The
Bengals weren’t “up” for the tussle.
They had all the earmarks of a world-beater at times, but at other times
stumbled along and yet ran up their highest point total of the season, 32-0,
for their fourth shutout of the campaign plus their 10th victory in
a row over the Magics.
A
combination of Tiger boo-hoos, their apparent lackadaisical mood, and some
battling on the part of the invaders whose defense, featuring crashing
linebackers, occasionally tipped the local lads off balance, probably kept the
score from being more lop-sided.
* * *
THIS “PARLAY” helped Barberton hold onto the football with the Purple having
possession for 33 running plays and eight passes.
Offensively,
the Magics – in becoming the sixth Tiger victim of the season – averaged less
than two yards a play in 38 rushes as they gained 64 yards overland and added
23 when they put the pigskin in orbit.
The
visiting array never did pose a serious threat. Their longest gain amounted to 13 yards and that pass connection,
coming on the last play of the third panel, was nullified by a penalty.
Along
the same lines, the Bengals showed only flashes of a sustained effort.
They
marched 60 yards right off the bat for a lead touchdown and before the first
period was over, hiked the count to 16-0 with a second six-pointer climaxing a
54-yard drive prodded along by a roughing-the-kicker call against Barberton.
* * *
CORNELIUS CLARK, pepper-pot defensive back and punt return specialist, hauled back a
Magic kick 24 yards and the Tigers drove 40 yards for a third TD in the third
round. A 45-yard pass play, Joe Sparma
to Bill Zorn, helped the hosts cover 65 yards in the last period.
On
only one other occasion did the boys coached by Leo Strang move deep into enemy
territory. This scoring overture
occurred in the scoreless second period when the ball was lost on a fumble at
the Barberton six.
The
running of reliables Dave Dean, Art Hastings and Jim Snively and the passing of
Sparma and Bill Finney who made his first start and played most of the game and
the pass catching of Dean, Zorn, Bob Vogel and Bob Oliver sparked the attack
which accounted for 310 net yards.
In
54 plays the Tigers made 238 yards on the ground and 117 in the ozone. They had 16 first downs to seven for the
losers.
Finney
completed five of eight passes with one being intercepted while two Sparma
tosses were on target for 54 yards in two plays before the final touchdown of
the night. Finney once ran for 18 yards
on a keeper but Tiger fans were moaning as he was thrown for losses totaling 23
yards on four pass plays.
* * *
HASTINGS, the touch-and-go running sophomore, put his hands on the ball 20 times
and gained 110 yards for an average of 5.5 yards per try while Snively averaged
over six yards in eight carries netting 52 yards. Dean, getting some rest, carried only four times and gained 33
yards.
Vogel
latched onto three passes for 37 yards and one touchdown, Zorn caught two for
58 yards, Dean one for 13 and Oliver one for nine.
Massillon
won the toss, chose to receive and Hastings planted the ball on the Bengal 40
to get the ball rolling. In four of the
12 plays which followed, the Tigers lost 13 yards, but a 10-yard sweep by
Snively, an 18-yard bootlegger by Finney, a 12-yarder by Dean, a Finney to Dean
pass for 13 and a Finney toss to Vogel good for nine, placed the pigskin at the
Barberton six. Then Dean exploded off
right tackle and nobody touched him until he hit the final stripe at 6:57.
Snively
veered through the right side for the two extra points.
After
the ensuing kickoff, the Junie Ferrall – coached forces were forced to punt and
this time the orange and black started winging from its own 46-yard line. In six plays and with a minute left in the
quarter, the score was 16-0. On a
crossbuck Dean plugged for 11 and a seven-yard gain by Hastings set the stage
for the 18-yard scoring pass, Finney to big Vogel.
Bob
got behind a Barberton defender in the end zone and grabbed the ball on the
dead run. Snively again ran to the
right for the extra points.
* * *
AFTER A MAGIC punt and John Vargo’s intercpetion of a Finney pass, the Tigers
provided the only excitement of the second canto. Clark pounced on a fumble at the Massillon 45 and Hastings zipped
three times for 19 yards. Snively
inserted 11 yards in two cracks and a 13-yard pass, Finney to Zorn (who played
on offense for the first time in four weeks), put the ball on the Barberton 13.
At
this point Martin Gugov, heretofore a member of the sophomore team, entered the
game and promptly banged off tackle for what looked like a nice gain – or even
a touchdown, but the ball was fumbled, Barberton’s Bill Mobley recovered, and
that squashed the threat. Two plays
later the half was over.
The
third period was a little on the dull side until Clark returned a punt 24 yards
to the Magic 40. Snively and Hastings
took the ball to the three before Snively, finding a big hole at right tackle,
went across standing up. Gugov dived
through the same spot and it was
24-0
with 3:45 remaining in the quarter.
Midway
in the final session the Tigers started from their 16 and gained 47 yards
before a holding penalty slowed them.
Two running plays netted nothing, a pass was off the
Finger-tips
of Zorn and on fourth down a fake punt failed to pan out. Consequently Barberton too over at the Tiger
45.
* * *
HOWEVER on the very next play Bob Mobley, the Barberton tow-head who played both
quarterback and left half, fumbled and Gary “Sluggo” Bednar was
Johnny-on-the-Spot for the hometowners.
After his recovery at the 45, Sparma entered the game and immediately
twirled to Zorn, who caught the oval over his shoulder at the 24 and barreled
to the enemy 10. Sparma threw again,
this time Oliver taking a flat pass for nine yards and on the next play,
Hastings scored off tackle. Jerry Allen
came in to run across and change the score to 32-0 with 1:49 left in the fray.
Barberton
picked up two first downs before Clark intercepted a pass at the Barberton 35
on the last play of the game.
The
loss was the fifth in eight starts for the Purple. It was the third straight year the Tigers have scored over 30
points against the Magics, they losing 33-0 last year and by 35-6 the year
before. The series now reads Massillon
18 victories, Barberton three victories, one tie.
STATISTICS
Mass. Barb.
First downs – rushing 13 7
First downs – passing 3 0
First downs – penalties 0 0
Total first downs 16 7
Number of rushing plays 54 45
Yards Gained – running Plays 238 96
Yards lost – running plays 45 32
Net yardage – running 193 64
Passes attempted 13 8
Passes completed 7 3
Passes had intercepted 1 2
Yards returned –
intercepted passes 0 1
Yards gained – passing 117 23
Total net yardage – running
and passing 310 87
Number of kickoff
returns 1 5
Yardage – kickoff returns 13 75
Average length of kickoff
Returns 13 15
Number of punt returns 2 0
Yardage, punt returns 48 0
Average length of punt
return 24 0
Number of punts 1 4
Total yardage on punts 36 132
Average length of punts 36 33
Yards Lost on Penalties 30 17
Number of Fumbles 5 5
Own Fumbles Recovered 3 4
Ball Lost on Fumbles 2 1