Tigers snarl
but
Commings cautious
By CHUCK HESS, JR.
Independent Sports Editor
It
was like those teasers the movie moguls put together to plug their
productions. It made you want to go
back next week for more.
But
also like the flicks, the next week could prove disappointing.
The
Massillon Tigers rolled to a 60-6 victory over Dayton Trotwood Madison Friday
night at Tiger Stadium before 11,555 fans in the season opener, but Tiger Coach
Bob Commings cautioned, “This wasn’t a good test. We did not expect it to be like this (as easy). We made so many errors. We were not sharp at all and we’ll be
playing the best team in Cleveland next week.”
Benedictine
high will make its annual trek south next Friday night.
In
rolling up their biggest score since Leo Strang beat Commings – then at
Struthers – 74–0 here in 1963’s seventh game, the Washington high squad had to
overcome 150 yards in penalties, an early score by Trotwood and the loss of
four of five fumbles.
But
also in winning, the Orange and Black rolled up about as much yardage (474
yards) as they have in quite awhile.
They showed more offense than had been seen here in six years. They trapped, they swept, they pitched, they
passed.
To
the Massillon fans, it was like the good old days.
Commings
was able to use every available ballplayer, causing him to comment, “I was
happy to get a lot of players in but unhappy that the regulars didn’t get
enough work.”
It
looked like it was going to be a bad night when early in the first quarter,
Trotwood’s Jack Bozarth recovered a Massillon fumble on the 50 and in three
plays the Rams had a
6-0
lead thanks to a 42-yard pass play which saw end Randy Truesdale grab a toss
from quarterback Dan Adams on the 15 and go in the end zone with 10:02 left.
Jeff
Rohrer’s kick was good but Trotwood was in motion and a pass to halfback Erik
Jensen was incomplete.
What
followed was like a wounded jungle cat turning on his attacker as Darnell
(Bopper) Streeter started things off with a 29-yard return of Trotwood’s
kickoff to the Rams’ 39.
THE
TIGERS were aided by two penalties, one a personal foul after the touchdown
which forced Trotwood to kickoff from its 25.
Someone yanked Streeter’s face-mask and that gave the Orange and Black a
first down on the 23.
Fullback
Mike Autrey got off a nice off-tackle run to the four – one of several during
the night – and Streeter used the same route for the score at the 8:13
mark. Junior Mike Mauger’s boot made it
7-6.
Near
the end of the quarter, junior Larry Harper picked up a nice block by Streeter
for a 16-yard punt runback to the Tigers’ 41.
Four plays later, early in the second stanza, Autrey charged off tackle
through a huge hole from 37 yards out at 11:54.
Streeter
followed with two points off tackle.
Kirk
Strobel recovered a Trotwood punt runback fumble – one of five the Orange and
Black claimed – on the Tiger 46. On
second and 20, junior quarterback Denny Franklin tossed a screener to Autrey,
who went 33 yards behind tremendous blocking.
Streeter took another pass – from senior quarterback Gary Herring – for
20 yards.
Four plays later, Herring hit Harper in the right side of the endzone on a fourth down pass from the 14 to make it 21-6 at 2:55. Mauger missed the kick
* * *
“WE
WERE in the game until they completed that one,” Trotwood Coach Paul
Dienstberger remarked, “Then we let up.
We’re convinced Massillon has a very good team.”
Ed
McConnaughead recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 32 and Franklin scored from
there on the bootleg at 1:56. Mauger
again misfired on the kick.
In
the third quarter, Franklin’s pass to tight end Mike Robinson for 10 yards and
Herring’s 15-yard run set up another TD as Commings continued to shuttle
quarterbacks in and out at more frequent intervals than subway trains pass
through Times Square at rush hour.
Herring
hit tight end Don Lewis on the 25, “The Hawk” spread his wings and the Tigers
had a 39-yard scoring play with 7:23 left.
Autrey was short on the conversion.
Autrey
recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 27 and after two consecutive motion
penalties, Streeter went off tackle from 37 yards out at 5:12. Junior Tom (Beanie) Cardinal missed the two
extra points.
Herring
returned a pass interception 19 yards to the Trotwood 36. Fromholtz and Mauger of 26 and 14 yards
respectively. Mauger took a pitch from
the one on the next play and kicked the conversion – after a procedure penalty
as the Tigers led 46-6 at the 47-second mark.
* * *
MIDWAY
THROUGH the goodbye canto, Mauger raced 30 yards off tackle to Trotwood’s
42. On the next play, Fromholtz spotted
junior wingback Bernie Sullivan on the 10 and dropped the ball between several
defenders. “Sullie” snatched it away
and the Tigers had another score at 7:24.
He went off tackle for two more points.
The final score with 16
seconds left after Lewis had recovered a fumble on the Trotwood 18. Five plays later tailback Tim Ammond went
over on third down from the three on a pitch.
Tailback Jerry Sheaters converted.
Mass. Trot.
First
downs – rushing 14 3
First
downs – passing
6 2
First
downs – penalties
1
5
Total
first downs 21 10
Yards
gained rushing 326 78
Yards
lost rushing
29 4
Net
yards gained rushing 309
75
Net
yards gained passing 165
73
Total
yards gained 474 148
Passes
completed
7—12 4–13
Passes
intercepted by 3 0
Yardage
on passes intercepted 40
0
Times
kicked off 10 2
Kickoff
average (yards) 37.7 31.0
Kickoff
returns (yards) 49 83
Times
punted 3 5
Punt
average (yards) 30.4
38.5
Punt
returns (yards) 46
0
Fumbles
lost
4–5 5—7
Penalties 18 5
Yards
penalized 150
55
Touchdowns
rushing 6 0
Touchdowns
passing 3 1
Total
number of plays 50
52
Ends
– Meek, Truesdale, Harrison, Dewey, Windmiller.
Tackles
– Isner, Bayes, Kelly, Riegelsperger, Gordon,
M. Gayman, T. Domsitz.
Guards
– Belcher, Bell, Garber, Rufener, Phillips, Bozarth.
Centers
– Rohrer, Morton.
Quarterbacks
– D. Adams.
Halfbacks
– Jensen, J. Adams, Amos, Owens, Cyr, Schriml, Boehme.
Fullbacks
– Dapore, Brewer, Berry.
Ends
– Maxhimer, M. Robinson, McConnaughead, Reinerts, Snyder, Pribich, Hauschulz,
Byelene.
Tackles
– Celik, Benson, Strobel, Lint, Janikis, Bingle, Heck, R. Luke.
Guards
– Hout, Midgley, Ferguson, Indorf, Kulik, Jaskinski, Pifer, Miller, Sims,
Jellel, McLin.
Centers
– Crookston, S. Luke, Brand, Ridgley.
Quarterbacks
– Herring, Fromholtz, Franklin, Pattinson.
Halfbacks
– Streeter, Harper, Lombardi, Ammond, Sullivan, Sheaters, Lewis.
Fullbacks – Autrey,
Cardinal.
Trotwood 6 0 0 0 6
Massillon 7 20 19 14 60
T –
E Randy Truesdale, 42-yard pass-run
from QB Dan Adams;
M
– TB Darnell Streeter, two-yard run; FB Mike Mauger PAT
(kick);
M
– FB Mike Autrey, 27-yard run, Streeter PAT (run);
M
– WB Larry Harper, 14-yard pass-run from QB Gary
Herring; QB Denny Franklin, 42-yard
run;
M
– WB Don Lewis, 29-yard pass from Herring;
M
– Streeter, 37-yard run;
M
– Mauger, one-yard run, Mauger PAT (kick);
M
– WB Bernie Sullivan, 42-yard pass-run from QB John Fromholtz, Sullivan PAT
(run);
M
– TB Tim Ammond, three-yard run.
Referee
– Jerry Markbrite.
Umpire – Russ Kemper.
Head
linesman – Bud Shopbell.
Field
judge – Harvey Hodgson, Jr..
Back
judge – Sam DiBlasi.