Tigers breeze
past Mansfield 37‑14
Preliminaries'
over as
Massillon coasts 37‑14
By
MIKE HUDAK
Independent
Sports Editor
MASSILLON ‑ "Everything up to this
point has just been a preliminary drill for next week," said Massillon
head coach Mike Currence. "Next week's Massillon McKinley game is ...
well, it's the season."
Not only the season, but the final roadblock to
a perfect 10‑0 regular slate and a sure trip to the post‑season
playoffs.
Friday night's game against Mansfield Senior at
Paul Brown Tiger Stadium indeed amounted to a drill, and for the invading
Mansfield Senior Tygers, a drilling.
The final 37‑14 score was hardly
indicative of the one‑sided nature of the contest. As the visiting scribe
from Mansfield pointed out, the Tygers may have had a 6‑2 record, but
their victims had amassed only 10 wins among them going into Friday night.
It was obvious within seconds that this wasn't
going to be a repeat of 1949, when Mansfield, coached by 1945 wartime Tiger
coach Augie Morningstar, defeated mighty Massillon 16‑12. (Making
Morningstar the only former Tiger coach to ever defeat his old team.)
Massillon recovered an opening on‑side
kick attempt on its own 30 after it squibbed through the first two lines of the
Massillon specialty unit.
On the first play, Chris Spielman broke off a 15‑yard
run through the right side of the Mansfield fine. On the second play, Jim Bushe
went through the left side and raced 55 yards for a touchdown, with 11:18 still
showing on the clock. Bronc Pfisterer who enjoyed a big night of his own ‑
added the extra point and, the rout was on.
Mansfield promptly used the famous "Cha‑Cha
Offense" ‑ one, two, three, kick ‑ and this time the Tigers
used the airwaves to score, moving 67 yards in five plays.
Quarterback Brian DeWitz started the drive with
passes of 25 and 12 yards to fullback Tom Gruno. On the following play, Gary
Conley turned the defensive back around in the end zone but couldn't contain
the ball. But after a short running play, DeWitz tossed a short pass over the
middle to Bushe, who glided through the defense for a 25‑yard score.
After the kick, Massillon led 14‑0 with 7:37 remaining in the quarter.
After forcing another Mansfield punt, the Tigers
tried to be charitable as Spielman failed to see a teammates' fair catch signal
and fumbled the kick away. But Mansfield tried to pass on first down, only to
have it picked off by Tommy Manion and returned to the Massillon 35.
The Tigers scored in four plays this time. A 24‑yard
pass from DeWitz to Conley set up the ball at the six, with Spielman breaking
through the line for the score on the next play. Pfisterer's kick again split
the uprights, and Massillon led 21‑0 in the first quarter.
It stayed that way until early in the second
quarter ‑ a point of time which also marked the first trickle of a never‑ending
flow of Tiger reserves for the remainder of the game.
Senior Jeff Boerner set up the next Tiger tally
with a 30 yard run on the first play of the second quarter, and finished the
drive with an eight‑yard burst up the middle with 9:50 left in the half.
The Tigers' next possession saw Brad Offenbecher
at the controls. Massillon started on its own 25‑yardline and marched all
the way to Mansfield's two before settling on a 20‑yard Pfisterer field
goal, making the score 31‑0.
Pfisterer's kick set a Tiger record for field
goals in a season, four. The previous mark was three held by five former
Tigers, including Tim Manion last year.
The half ended with a Spielman interception
which he almost returned for a touchdown.
At halftime, the Tigers held a 341‑54
advantage in total yards, including 102 yards in the air, all in the first
quarter and the reserves had already played half a period!
Tygers learn 'y' Tigers 9‑0
Mansfield was able to rack up some yardage in
the second half as the Tiger youngsters gained valuable experience for the
future. The visitors scored on their first possession of the quarter as a 43‑yard
run by Pete Webb set up a 10‑yard scoring run by Bobby Taylor, with
quarterback Craig Leedham's kick good.
But the Tigers came right back again with
Pfisterer, a junior, at the controls, and he provided one of the night's most
spectacular moments.
After a flurry of penalty flags, the Tigers
found themselves in a third‑and‑30 situation on the Mansfield 36.
Hopeless? Not for Massillon!
Pfisterer hit Boerner with a screen pass, and
the fleet running back raced through the defense for the final Tiger touchdown
with 10:38 left in the game.
It was a big night for Boerner, who led Tiger
rushers with 97 yards in 10 carries, plus made the big touchdown catch.
"That was the most playing time I've gotten
yet," he said afterwards. "The running play that I had success
running was the counter‑6 and counter‑7 play; it seemed to work
every time. It all boiled down to our line just blowing out their line."
(But give Boerner an inch of daylight, and he has the raw speed to cover quite
a distance quickly, which he proved more than once Friday.)
In the end, Massillon outgained Mansfield 477‑221
in total yardage. Boerner's rushing totals were tops, but Bushe and Spielman
both helped their averages, as Bushe ran three times for 68 yards and Spielman
toted the leather four times for 46 yards. Junior Mark Smith added 65 yards in
seven carries. Vernon Hairston led Mansfield with 64 yards in 16 carries.
DeWitz was five‑of‑seven passing for
102 yards, giving him 68 completions on the 'Year, just one short of fifth
place on the all‑time Tiger single‑season completion list behind
Chris' older brother, Rick Spielman. The receiving was spread out as Tom Grotto
caught two passes for 44 yards, and seven other receivers caught one each.
"Mansfield's not quite as tough as some of
our other foes, but they put up a good fight," said a generous Currence
afterwards.
"Massillon's just a first class outfit,
what can you say?" said second‑year Mansfield coach Harold Dean.
"They're just a good, good team. About the best you can say for us is that
we didn't quit the second half; we kept plugging away.”
Needless to say, next Saturday's contest will
have a bit more intensity than Friday's "controlled scrimmage".
MASSILLON 37
MANSFIELD 14
M 0
First
downs rushing 13 9
First
downs passing 7 2
First
downs by penalty 0 1
Totals
first downs 20 12
Yards
gained rushing 314 204
Yards
lost rushing 10 13
Net
yards rushing 304 191
Net
yard. Passing 173 30
Total
yards gained 477 221
Passes
attempted 13 11
Passes
completed 8 4
Passes
int. by 2 0
Yardage
on pass int. 49 0
Time.
kicked if 7 3
Kickoff
average 49.4 33.7
Kickoff
return yards 25 137
Punts 1 6
Punting
average 30.0 27.3
Pont
return yard 28 0
Punts
blocked by 0 0
Fumble 3 4
Fumbles
lost 1 0
Penalties 6 3
Yards
penalized 80 15
Touchdowns
rushing 3 1
Touchdowns
passing 2 1
Miscellaneous
touchdowns 0 0
Number
of plays 52 45
Time
of possession 23:32 24:28
Attendance 8,454
Massillon 21 10 0 6 37
Mansfield 0 0 7 7 14
M ‑ Bushe
55‑yard on (Pfisterer kick)
M ‑ Bushe
25‑yard pass from DeWitz (Fosterer kick)
M ‑
Spielman 6‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick)
M ‑
Boerner 8‑yard ran (Pfisterer kick)
M ‑
Pfisterer 20‑yard field goal
Mn ‑ Taylor
10‑yard run (Leedom kick)
M ‑
Boerner 35‑yard pass from Pfisterer (kick failed)
Me ‑ Webb
25‑yard pass from Leedom (Leedom kick)