TIGERS figure to get a better test next week
By JOE SHAHEEN
There was a lot to like for Massillon Tiger
partisans in the season-opening demolition of the Dover Tornadoes.
But
it was Tornado head coach Dan Ifft who sounded a note of caution.
"I don't know that we were an
indicator for them," Ifft said after his team trudged off the field at
Paul Brown Tiger Stadium on the short end of a 34-0 tally.
A better indicator will come one week from
today when the Tigers journey south to the
"We're going to play a better team
next week," Tiger coach Tom Stacy said moments
after his head coaching debut in
"It was a great way to start but let's
take it from here."
Clearly the Tigers have the makings of a
dominating defense. They possess size, speed and athleticism on that side of
the football and have a fine coordinator in Steve Kovacs and an
another unheralded but highly thought-of assistant in Mike Babics to
mentor the defense.
That said, there were one or two opening
game breakdowns, especially in the secondary. Fortunately there were also a
couple of inaccurate passes when the Tornado receivers did find a seam, and a
big-time play by Andrew Dailey, stripping the football away from a
Against Elder, the Tigers won't have the
overwhelming size advantage they enjoyed against
But you had to like the fact
Penalties were kept to a minimum, with five
overall but only one in the first half when the starters were on the field.
Even more important, the Tigers did not
have a turnover in the first half with their frontline players.
"That's pretty good coaching,"
Ifft observed. "For the short amount of time Tom has had them, they appear
to be very disciplined."
For all of their success during the
previous seven years - and let's not forget the Tigers reached the state
semifinals twice under Rick Shepas - they were a penalty-prone football team
most of the time and one that turned the ball over more often than you'd like.
They were able to overcome those
shortcomings most of the time but – for whatever reason - never seemed inclined
to address the problem, especially the flurry of penalty flags that seemed to
follow them from game to game.
The good news is the Tigers have an extra
day to prepare for Elder – call it a going away present from Shepas, who
scheduled the Thursday night opener - and they may need it as they venture into
enemy territory to take on a worthy foe.
One thing is for sure, if the Tigers are
anywhere near as successful in Week Two as they were in Week One, people around
the state of
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