Tigers Nip
Mansfield
2nd Half Surge, 16-6
Baker,
Hastings Tally In 20th Straight Win
Call
it luck if you like, but Washington high school’s injury riddled Tigers are still
undefeated and well on their way toward a second successive Ohio scholastic
football championship.
The
Tigers proved once again Friday night, before over 12,000 fans at Arlin
stadium, Mansfield, why they remain No. 1 week after week as they turned in a
16-6 victory over Mansfield’s Tygers, the 20th win in a row over a
three-year period and seventh straight.
It
took 48 minutes to decide the issue, but two key plays, one early in the first
period, the second late in the third stanza, are what the fans recall most.
The
first was Tiger Bob Baker’s 77-yard punt return for a touchdown, after he had
fumbled the ball and picked it up, at the 9:30 mark of the opening quarter.
The
second was Joe Snively’s recovery of Tyger Henry Weaver’s fumble on the locals’
four, moments before the end of the third period.
Had
Baker not gone the distance and had Weaver not fumbled, Washington high would
have had to rally to pull the decision out.
It was hard enough as it was.
Coach
Leo Strang summed up the Tigers’ situation precisely with a, “I don’t know who
to play.”
Strang’s
problems became compounded early last night when Linebacker, kickoff man and
punter Ken Dean was injured on the kickoff following Baker’s scoring run. Dean didn’t play the rest of the first half.
Then
Martin Gugov, after clicking for 26 yards on two carries in the second Tiger
touchdown drive, re-injured his right knee.
He didn’t play the rest of the way.
Trainer
Walt Keller upon examining the knee after the game, said it didn’t appear to be
too bad.
In
the Mansfield dressing room, Bill Doolittle, in his first year at the Tyger
helm, sized up his team’s performance as one in which “we learned a lesson.”
“We
played one good half of football,” Doolittle said. “Against a team like Massillon, you have to play the whole game.”
“A
few new wrinkles in our offense helped.
Our second half defense was great,” Doolittle added.
What
did he think of Washington high’s team?
“Massillon
has a good club,” he replied. “That
Hastings is a terrific player.”
That
Hastings, to whom the Mansfield mentor referred, is Art, the big gun in the
Tigers’ lagging offensive punch last night.
Playing
possibly his best game of the year, the speedy fullback lugged the ball 25
times, picking up 133 yards. An
eight-yard shot around his short side end on the opening play of the second
period and his successful conversion gave the Tigers a 16-0 cushion with nearly
the whole three quarters remaining.
Mansfield’s
touchdown was only the fourth scored against the locals’ defense in seven
games. It came on one of the weirdest
plays of the season.
After
Mansfield had drive to the Tigers’ 15 mid way through the third period on the
running of Halfbacks John Brooks and Weaver and a 15-yard personal foul call,
Dean busted through from his linebacker slot and dropped Quarterback Art Rainey
on the 19. A sweep by Weaver around the
left end netted a single yard for a third and 13.
* * *
RAINEY THEN, after a fake to Weaver up the middle, handed off to Fullback Harold
Phillips. Phillips, however, was
trapped by Jim Houston behind the line.
While under tackle he attempted a lateral to Brooks, following the
play. The ball hit the ground, then
bounced a couple of times right into Brooks’ hands. The scatback then continued around the right side and swept home
for the touchdown. Over seven minutes
still remained in the third period.
The
conversion attempt by Weaver on a sweep to his left was broken up by Ken Ivan.
After
Hastings returned Lee Beer’s kickoff to his own 41, the Tiger offense failed to
move. Dean then booted to Mansfield’s
21 where Halfback Don Cole scooped the ball in and scooted to his 38.
Aided
by a 35-yard pass play from Rainey to End Bob Norris, the hosts moved to the
Massillon 15. A sweep to the right by
Brooks moved the Tygers to the three with a first down.
* * *
HERE THE TIGERS rose up, with the middle of the line smacking Weaver as he churned
through. He fumbled and Snively dived
over his teammates, recovering the loose ball on the Tiger four.
It
marked the second time in the last two games in which the Orange has recovered
an opponent fumble inside the five-yard line to curtail a scoring threat.
Mansfield
netted only four yards on three tries after taking Dean’s kick on their own 45
to open the battle. Elroy Allen then
booted to Baker.
Baker,
who later bobbled three others, losing one, played with the ball from the 20 to
23 before finding the handle. Then,
behind a perfect wall of blockers, the speedy Tiger safety stepped untouched 77
yards down his right sideline for the score.
Gugov
went in behind his outside tackle for the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
Mansfield,
which didn’t gain a first down until late in the second period, failed to move
again after Dean’s boot. Allen punted,
again to Baker. This time Bob dropped
it, then picked it up but was stormed by a host of Tyger tacklers and fumbled
again. He then recovered on his own 26.
* * *
WITH THE DEFT ball handling of John Larson and the running of Hastings spearheading
the attack, the defending state champions marched 74 yards in 15 plays for the
touchdown. The big yardage play was a
17-yarder by Gugov. Marty was then
injured three plays later when he added the nine-yarder to Mansfield’s 41.
Hastings
touchdown was his seventh of the year.
He has now tallied 46 points. He
finished with 86 last year.
After
the next kickoff by Richard Crenshaw and punt by Allen when the Tygers failed
to move, Baker fumbled again. This time
Center Kay Hartman made the recovery for Mansfield on the locals’ 40.
Two
plays later, however, Lawson White pounced on Brooks fumble to stop that
abbreviated drive on Massillon’s 35.
* * *
AFTER HASTINGS returned Beer’s second half kickoff to Mansfield’s 46 from his own 23,
three successive five-yard illegal motion penalties were marched off against
the locals setting them back to their own 39.
Larson brought it back to the Mansfield 49 before Dean punted out of
bounds on the losers’ 22.
The
hosts then moved for their lone touchdown of the game. Covering 83 yards, after a five-yard
penalty, in seven plays.
It
was Mansfield’s third loss against two wins and a tie on the season. In the series with Washington high, the
Ashland county eleven has managed only two wins and four ties in 24 attempts.
The
game was a pleasant change for Mansfield from the 70-0 route suffered during
the fruitless 1959 season. The 16-6
final was the closest the Tygers have come to upending the Orange since 1956
when the won, 14-6.
In
first downs the clubs were even with 11 apiece. Massillon managed 195 yards rushing and 29 passing for 224 while
the hosts combined 114 on the ground and 63 through the air for 177 total
yards.
* * *
THE TIGERS went into the game with seven players out of uniform. Theo Bodiford came up with a fever during
the afternoon and didn’t dress. Bob
Herring indicated he was ready to go but Strang wasn’t taking any chances. Charlie Whitfield didn’t see any action.
Joining
these were Virgil Bukuts, still out with the knee injury suffered before the
start of the campaign. Sophomores Ben
Bradley and Ron Davis, and Junior Quarterback Jim Alexander.
Strang
hopes most of the injuries will be healed by next Friday when the Tigers
journey to Warren for the final road game of the season against the up and
coming Panthers. Two years ago, the
Panthers ruined Massillon’s bid for the state championship with a 6-0
victory. Last year Washington high
atoned for the loss with a 38-8 slashing of Paul Warfield and company.
Last
night Warren posted its third straight victory, ripping New Castle (Pa.), 40-7.
Four More To Go
MASSILLON
Ends
– Royer, Ivan, Anzalone.
Tackles
– Garman, Brugh, Wells, Crenshaw, Herbst, Spees.
Guards
– White, Houston, Willey, Radel.
Center
– Demis.
Backs
– Larson, Hastings, Gugov, Schenkenberger, Null, Baker, Snively,
Kurzen, D. Smith, Dean.
Ends
– Norris ,Nagle, Davison, Shrot, Kehr.
Tackles
– Shasky, Welker, F. Beckwith, Minard.
Guards
– Atwater, Beer, Reedy, B. Beckwith.
Centers
– Hartman, Keplinger.
Backs
– Rainey, Ott, Brooks, Cole, Allen, Phillips, weaver
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Massillon 8 8 0 0 16
Mansfield 0 0 6 0 6
SCORING
Massillon – Baker (77, punt return); Hastings (8, run).
Conversions – Gugov (run); Hastings (run).
Mansfield – Brooks (18, run).
STATISTICS
First downs – rushing 10 8
First downs – passing 1 3
First downs – penalties 0 1
Total first downs 11 11
Yards gained rushing 215 142
Yards lost rushing 20 26
Net yards gained rushing 195 114
Yards gained passing 29 63
Total yards gained 224 177
Passes attempted 5 4
Passes completed 2 2
Passes intercepted by 0 0
Times kicked off 3 2
Kickoff average (yards) 39.3 38.2
Kickoff returns (yards) 47 53
Times punted 4 5
Punt average (yards) 33.3 35.6
Punt return (yards) 96 17
Had punts blocked 0 0
Fumbles 3 3
Lost fumbled ball 1 2
Penalties 5 3
Yards penalized 35 15