North Park
goes south'
Tigers 6‑2; Irish up next
By JOE SHAHEEN
Independent Sports Editor
Vinny Turner got his 1,000 yard season.
Eddie
Evans and George Whitfield Jr. got to rest their aching ankles.
Ben
Hymes got to show the coaching staff there won’t be a dropoff at quarterback if
Whitfield should go down with injury.
And
the Massillon Tigers kept their playoff hopes alive.
Those
are just a few of the positives to come of Massillon’s 51-7 conquest of the
feisty but outclassed North Park Trojans, in front of 7,041 at Paul Brown Tiger
Stadium, Saturday.
The
outcome was never really in doubt after the Tigers took the opening kickoff and
marched 65 yards in 10 plays to the visitor’s end zone. Turner rushed eight
times for 45 on the drive, including the final five over right guard an tackle
to paydirt.
Josh
Hose’s point after kick made it 7-0 Tigers at the 7:08 mark of the first
quarter.
North
Park drove from its 29 to the Massillon 41 on its first possession, but was
force to punt. Whitfield and Nate Wonsick hooked up for a 28-yard gain on a
simple pass in the flats on first down. Then Turner found two gaping holes off
the left side of the Tiger line to cover the final 35 yards and record his
second touchdown of the evening.
Hose’s
placement made it 14-0.
North
Park fumbled away the football on the second snap of its next possession and
Lavell Weaver fell on it at the Trojans 22. Weaver was rewarded for his hustle
when Whitfield handed him the football on first down. He followed the left side
of the line into the end zone with :06 to play in the first quarter.
Again
Hose’s kick was true and rout was on at 21-0.
North
Park went three-and-out and Rose sent in Hymes to play quarterback. On second
down, the junior found Dusty Limback on a simple slant pattern near the Trojan’
35. Limbach on a simple slant pattern near the Trojans’ 35. Limbach caught the
pass in stride, found a seam and sprinted into the end zone for a 47-yard
touchdown.
Before
the half ended, Milo McGuire tackled North Park quarterback Jeff Lowe in the
end zone for a safety. Ehjah Blake rang up a 13-yard TD run around left end,
and Raphel Bradley scored from five yards out on a drive keyed by Hymes 30-yard
sprint around right end on the option.
It
was 44-0 at the intermission.
''I
thought the offense executed really well," observed Tigers boss Jack
Rose. "We didn't know what to expect from (North Park). Everything they
did was contrary to what they had shown before.
"Bell
did a real nice job. He, executed the offense well. That was a nice slant pass
to Dusty for the touchdown and he got to the perimeter well on the option.
That worked because Ben made it look like he was going to dish it off. I
thought he showed some pretty good saavy out there."
That
is not to say, however, that there is any doubt as to who the starting
quarterback is in Massillon.
“George
is still number one,” Ross confirmed. “But I feel better after watching Ben
under fire.”
Rose
had praise for the work of Paul Snyder, filling in for Evans at center, and for
his entire stable of tailbacks, including senior Torrey Smith, who scored after
breaking several tackles on a 28 yard run with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
Matt Stanley’s PAT was Massillon’s 51st
and final point of the evening.
On
the ensuing kickoff, North Park’s Mark Wayda, a 5-foot 8-inch, 165 pound junior
fielded the ball at his 9-yard line. He found a gap to his left, got to the
sideline and went the distance to avert the shutout.
“They
were a lot better than the team that came down here two seasons ago,” Rose
said, before turning his attention to Friday’s invasion by Akron St.
Vincent-St. Mary’s.
“They
are a lot like Garfield. They are very physical up front on both the offensive
and defensive lines. They are very strong up front and they may even be a
little bigger than we are on the lines. They have a couple of quick backs and
you can have a tough time finding them in the midst of those big linemen. Then,
all of a sudden they pop out of there.”
St.
V-St. M’s featured runner is 1,000 –yard gainer Andre Knott.
Making
the Fighting Irish even more formidable is the fact the traditional season
ender with McKinley is next week, presenting the temptation of looking ahead.
“We
certainly can’t afford to do that.” Rose asserted. “This is a very dangerous team
coming in here Friday. We have got to focus on them.”
Rose
says Evans should be ready this Friday, as will wide receiver Devin Williams
and defensive lineman James Smith. Both starters sat out Saturday’s tilt with
the lingering effects of the flu bug.
MASSILLON 51
NORTH PARK 7
M N
First
downs rushing 16 7
First
downs passing 2 3
First
downs penalty 1 0
Total first downs 19 10
Net
yards rushing 305 132
Net
yards passing 77 58
Total
yards gained 382 190
Passes
attempted 7 12
Passes
completed 3 6
Passes
int 0 1
Times
kicked off 8 2
Kickoff
average 46.6 32.5
Kickoff
return yards 10 135
Punts 3 3
Punting
average 24.3 30.0
Punt
return yards 28 0
Fumbles 0 6
Fumbles
lost 0 2
Penalties 2 8
Yards
penalized 20 48
Number
of plays 42 54
Time
of possession 19:52 28:08
NORTH PARK 0 0
7 0 7
MASSILLON 21 23
7 0 51
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
M ‑ Turner 5 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Turner 15 run (Hose kick)
M ‑ Weaver 22 run (Hose kick)
Second Quarter
M ‑ Limbach 46 pass from Hymes (Hose
kick)
M ‑ Safety, McGuire tackles QB in end
zone
M ‑ Bradley 4 run (Stanley kick)
M ‑ Blake 13 run (Hose kick)
Third Quarter
M ‑
Smith 29 run (Stanley kick)
N ‑
Wayda 91 kickoff return (Wayda kick)
FINAL STATISTICS
Rushing:
Massillon
Turner 10‑85, 2 TD.
Smith 3-39, 1 TD;
Bradley 2‑47, 1 TD;
Blake 3‑32, 1 TD;
Hymes 1‑30;
Weaver 1‑22, 1 TD;
Morgan 3‑17;
Wonsick 3‑15.
North Park
Wayda
22‑118, 1 TD;
Vermeire 10‑42.
Passing:
Massillon
Whitfield
1‑3‑24, 0 TD 0 ints;
Hymes 2‑3‑53, 1 TD, 0 ints;
Danzy 0‑1.
North Park
Lowe 6‑10‑58. 1 ints;
Petersen 0, 2.
Receiving:
Massillon
Limbach
1‑46, 1 TD;
Wonsick 1‑24.
North Park
Stronks 4‑43;
Wayda 2-15