Tigers ‘spotty’
in
22-20 victory
Fumbles big
bugaboo in second half action
By
CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent
Sports Editor
It was the kind of drama you would expect to be
enacted on a Mississippi sternwheeler out of Natchez.
But instead of gambling with a deck of cards,
Washington High coach Bob Commings took the long chance with his book of plays
Friday night and it paid off twice, preventing Cleveland Benedictine from
taking the pot.
Before 13,610, the season’s largest crowd, the
Massillon Tigers came from behind with 22 points in the second quarter and then
held on through a spotty second half for a 22-20 victory over as tough a band
of Cleveland footballers as ever invaded Tiger stadium.
* * *
IT WAS A typical bruising
Massillon – Benedictine battle with followers of both teams able to go home
with their heads high even though only one could leave the scene
victorious. Washington high’s warriors
are 2-0, Benedictine 1-1.
Commings, whose personal win streak climbed to 24,
late in the second quarter, called for a fourth down, six, screen pass which
gave the Tigers the margin of victory.
Quarterback Gary Herring faded from the Benedictine 37 and hit fullback
Mike Autrey on the 40 with the bespectacled senior going all the way for the
first of two touchdowns he scored.
“They hit the screen a
couple of times,” Augie Bossu, veteran Benedictine coach said, “and when you
have one called back like we did, it’s bound to hurt you. That was a heckuva run with some good
blocks.”
* * *
HE WAS referring to
halfback and Co-Captain Frank Novaks 94-yard touchdown jaunt on the kickoff
following the Tigers’ initial touchdown in the second quarter. A clip nullified the effort with Massillon
leading only 8-7.
The Tigers might have blown the game wide open in
the third quarter except for a pass interception and losing the ball three
times on fumbles. Another fumble at the
beginning of the fourth quarter, didn’t help either.
Senior halfback Bob Kacvinsky, a surefire
All-Ohioan, scored all three Benedictine touchdowns after an interception and
two fumbles. Curiously, Massillon’s
scores were also set by miscues – two interceptions and a fumble.
On a third down, nine situation, on the Tigers’ 36
in the fourth quarter, Commings called again for the Herring-to-Autrey
screen. This time Autrey carried for a
first down to the Bennies’ 45 to enable the Orange and Black to keep control at
a time when Benedictine’s chances to get the winning score were waning.
“Both of those passes were big,” Commings remarked.
Kacvinsky intercepted on his 35, in the first
quarter, followed with a 21-yard return added 44 more on a pass-run from
quarterback Frank Petruziello and finally went over from the half-yard line on
fourth down, with 9:05 left in the period.
The next part of the game was all Massillon. Herring intercepted on his five, shortly
before the end of the first quarter, returning 28 yards and the Tigers took off
on a 12-play,
67-yard march.
Darnell (The Bopper) Streeter scored from the seven
with 9:34 left in the second quarter and two juniors got the extra points as
quarterback Denny Franklin found Larry (Scooter) Harper.
* * *
AFTER NOVAK’S
clip-thwarted TD effort, Streeter intercepted on the Tigers’ 10 and returned 35
yards to the Massillon 45. On third
down, 11, from the 41, Harper did sideline twinkle toeing on a double reverse
and carried to the Benedictine 16.
Autrey blasted to the two and then over with 4:10 left, but missed the
conversion.
Rick
Maxhimer recovered a fumble on the Bennies’ 41 shortly after the ensuing
kickoff and set up Autrey’s second score, which came at 1:19 and was followed
by Franklin’s pass to Streeter for the conversion.
Benedictine got going again slightly past the
half-way mark of the third quarter when junior tackle Victor Malley hopped on a
fumble at the Tigers’ 29. Five plays
later on third down from the two, Kacvinsky shot off tackle again.
Petruziello’s attempted conversion pass was knocked
down by Ed McConnaughead. The time was
2:33.
John Fromholtz thwarted another Benedictine scoring
attempt with an interception on the Tigers’ 10 near the end of the period but
the Tigers fumbled right back with Benedictine junior halfback Jim Johnson
claiming the pigskin just after the start of the fourth canto. A personal foul during the scramble put the
ball on the Orange and Black’s 27.
* * *
KACVINSKY TOOK
off to the right, cut back to the left and was gone for six points on the
following play with 11:30 left.
Co-Captain Wayne Bacik, who had converted after the first TD, repeated.
The Tigers played in Benedictine’s back yard most of
the fourth quarter but couldn’t score.
Herring completed a long pass to junior wing back Bernard Sullivan at
the 12, but the Tigers ran out of gas at the four.
“Those three interceptions hurt us,” Commings said,
“and that one at the beginning of the third quarter really killed us. We were going in for a TD that could have
broken the game wide open.”
Sophomore halfback Don Vavro intercepted on the
Tigers’ 10.
“Benedictine players are great competitors,”
Commings said, “but our kids were not out hit.
Our defense was superb. They’re
young and will make mistakes. We made a
crucial one on the last TD when a boy went the wrong way.”
He added, “Any team which makes the mistakes we made
and wins, is a heckuva team. We needed
a tough game. These kids showed they
were Tigers. I’m more confident after
this win than following the opening one.”
Bossu said his charges did nothing differently in
the second half. “We started to play football,
“ he explained.
M B
First
downs – rushing 10 10
First
downs – passing 5 1
First
downs – penalties 3 0
Total
first downs 18 11
Yards
gained rushing 182 147
Yards
lost rushing 21 7
Net
yards gained rushing 161 140
Net
yards gained passing 156 75
Total
yards gained 317 215
Passes
completed 12—19 2–13
Passes
intercepted by 3 2
Yardage
on passes intercepted 80 25
Kickoff
returns (yards) 59 52
Punt
average (yards) 2—31.0 4—30.9
Lost
fumbled ball 4—4 3—4
Yards
penalized 6—80 6—62
Touchdowns
rushing 2 3
Touchdowns
passing 1 0
Total
number of plays 61 56
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
Benedictine
Att. Net. Avg.
Kacvinsky 17 98 5.6
MASSILLON
Att. Net. Avg.
Autrey 14 70 5
Streeter 15 50 3.3
BENEDICTINE – 20
Ends – Martanovic, Bacik, James, Evert, Crowley.
Tackles – Switalski, Nunery, Fink, Malley.
Guards – Lorek, Ahrens, Oriti, Stupica.
Center – Bossu.
Quarterback – Petruziello.
Halfbacks – Kacvinsky, Novak, Barile, Vavro,
Johnson, Senger.
Fullbacks – Vogel, Fontana.
MASSILLON – 22
Ends – M. Robinson, Maxhimer, Dorman, Lewis,
McConnaughead.
Tackles – Celik, Bingle, Strobel, Ridgley, Heck.
Guards – Midgley, Hout, Sims, Miller, McLin.
Centers – Eckroate, S. Luke.
Quarterbacks – Herring, Franklin.
Halfbacks – Streeter, Mauger, Fromholtz, Harper,
Sullivan, Sheaters.
Fullbacks – Autrey, Cardinal.
Benedictine 7 0
6 7 – 20
Massillon 0 22
0 0 – 22
SCORING
B – HB Bob Kacvinsky,
half-yard run; E Wayne Bacik PAT (kick);
M – HB Darnell Streeter,
seven-yard run, WB Larry Harper, PAT’s (pass from QB Denny Franklin);
M – FB Mike Autrey, two-yard
run, conversion run failed.
M – Autrey, 40-yard screen
pass – run from QB Gary Herring, Streeter PAT’s (pass from Franklin).
B – Kacvinsky, two-yard
run, conversion pass failed.
B – Kacvinsky, 27-yard run,
Bacik PAT (kick).
OFFICIALS
Referee – Jack McLain.
Umpire – Dan Brown.
Head linesman – Bud Shopbell.
Field judge – Jack Werkowitz.