Slashing Tiger Ground Attack
LOCAL LADS
SHOW
POWER DRIVE
Entire Massillon Team Plays
Brilliant Game With Wallace, Pellegrini And Mastriann Sparking Attack With Long
Gains
A
dream of conquest that had been carefully nursed along for a month by the Big
Red football team of Steubenville Wells high school today lay scattered in the
dust and dead brown grass in Harding stadium in the eastern Ohio river city.
Striking
with all the savagery of the jungle cat from which they get their name, the
Tigers of Washington high school, Friday night chewed the Big Red into shreds
and wiped out for another year, at least, Steubenville’s hopes of conquering
the orange and black when they registered a very, very convincing 33 to 6
victory before a capacity crowed of over 7,000 howling fans jammed into
Steubenville’s Harding stadium tighter than the OPA today would ever permit
sardines to be rammed into a can.
The
Tigers achieved their triumph the hard way – by plunging and running through
and over the Stubbers, by smashing great, gaping holes in their defense wide
enough to drive a tank through, in short by simply smashing to smithereens any
defense the Big Red thought it might have had and blasting to bits, so
thoroughly, any idea the eastern Ohio gladiators had that they were the equal
or superior of the Tigers that today all the Stubbers have to console
themselves with as they nurse their bruises and shattered spirits is the thought
that they were lucky the score was not higher.
For
Steubenville it was the first defeat in four games; for the Tigers it was their
fourth straight victory of the 1943 campaign and a demonstration of the growing
power that has been theirs as each succeeding week rolls by.
More
than 500 Massillon rooters were among the more than 7,000 persons who witnessed
the combat under ideal weather conditions.
They saw an exhibition of slashing Tiger power that at times, to
Steubenville players and fans, must have been awe-inspiring. For the thousands of Massillon fans who were
unable to get to the scene of battle it can truthfully be reported the Tigers
Friday night were a harder driving, harder hitting outfit than they have been
at any time this season.
Their
tactics were savage, to say the least, but clean. The chips were down once again and the Tigers last night were
playing for keeps. As a matter of fact
it seems the chips are down everytime the Tigers take the field and each time
in four big engagements they have come through and each time they have looked
better while fulfilling their pledge to keep Massillon football on top of the
scholastic heap in Ohio and elsewhere.
The
Tigers looked better Friday night in all departments of the game than they did
in their exhibition a week ago against Akron St. Vincent’s with one exception –
forward passing. Their aerial game did
not click last night, only one pass good for 12 yards, being completed by the
jungle cats. But they did not
particularly need an overhead attack against the Big Red, not when their ground
plays were working with such smooth and deadly precision.
As
for Steubenville’s Big Red, it lived up to all the advance information received
here except one thing. The Stubbers
were reported to have a fast, hard fighting ball club. They did have. They also were reported to possess a deadly aerial attack. And they had that, their one and only
touchdown being set up through a long forward pass. Steubenville’s defense was never touted very highly and last
night against the deadly penetrating attack of the Tigers, it resembled a piece
of Swiss cheese in which there are more holes than cheese.
In
only one thing did the Stubbers not live up to advance information. That was in their backfield where they were
said to have two guys – Captain Dick Roush and Louie Zuk, who were as fast as
the wind, and Dick Fletcher, a line-cracking fullback. These boys may be every bit as good as they
were hailed, but against the Tigers they failed to look impressive. The Massillon boys nailed them and nailed
them hard. Roush and Zuk, nursing
injured legs, might not have been up to par, but Fletcher was in good shape and
showed his ability on a few occasions by dashing through the Tiger line for
some good gains. But he never got too
far away to cause the Bengals any worry.
Displaying
a brilliant offensive attack in which Captain Bob Wallace and Romeo Pellegrini,
behind almost perfect interference that was beautiful to watch, ran wide
through the tackles or around the ends for big gains and with Henry Mastriann
cracking right through the heart of the Big Red line for substantial and
consistent yardage, the Tigers five times rolled back the Stubbers and chalked
up touchdowns. Three times Mastriann
converted on placekicks and for once the orange and black seems to have a
dependable lad for this job, a task which some day may mean the difference
between defeat and victory.
To
pick out an individual hero would be an almost impossible job and unfair to the
other boys. They all played their heads
off and their performance was what one has come to expect of a Washington high
school football team. The line
performed splendidly, ripping the Steubenville forward wall to shreds. Individually the players tackled like
demons.
In
the backfield Captain Wallace ran and plunged like nobody’s business. It was by far Bob’s best offensive
exhibition. He had plenty of that old
drive last night. Pellegrini was his
usual brilliant self, ripping off long gains and scoring four of Massillon’s
five touchdowns. Wallace scored the
other. Mastriann continued to prove his
worth, particularly in the second half when he seldom failed to gain when given
the ball. He’s another boy who has plenty
of drive.
And
don’t forget the blocking and defensive work of Glenn Keller who led a lot of
those sweeps around the ends until he was forced out late in the game with an
injured arm. It was Wallace to the
left, Pellegrini to the right and Mastriann through the line with such
destructive success that the Steubenville boys will be dreaming about them for
some time.
Then
there was big Tom Jasinski whose punting last night was something to
watch. Big Tom really put his foot
behind the ball, several of his kicks going well over 50 yards.
Coach
Elwood Kammer made nine substitutions in the backfield and line during the game
and each and every boy did his part and did it well.
An
argument between Kammer and Coach Bill Ellis before the game about the color of
the ball to be used did not help the Big Red any, because it just made the
Tigers that much more determined to mow’em down. A week ago Kammer had talked with Ellis by telephone about the
ball and Ellis agreed it would be all right to use a white ball. Before the game last night he came to the
Tiger dressing room and said a white ball was out. He wanted to use a dark brown ball. A rather heated argument ensued with a natural tan ball finally
being decided upon.
The
statistics show the Tiger superiority over the Big Red in everything except
forward passing. The orange and black
made 15 first down to eight for Steubenville.
Massillon gaine 373 yards from scrimmage with a loss of 15 for a net
gain of 358 yards. Steubenville gained 76
yards from scrimmage with a loss of 17 for a net gain of 59. Massillon tried nine passes and completed
but one. Steubenville tried 20, 16 of
them in the first half and completed seven, six in the first half, for a net
gain of 140 yards. Each team intercepted
three passes.
With
Louie Zuk in the game, the Stubbers
were a ways more dangerous through the air. This lad is really a passing wizard but the Tigers learned quite
a lot in the first half when the Stubbers were going wild on passes and they
practically erased this threat in the final two periods with the result that
Steubenville’s attack subsided like a punctured balloon.
Steubenville
received to open the game and threw a scare into the Tiger camp early when Ray
Ensell, heaved a pass to Bill Snyder that brought an overall gain of 32 yards
before Snyder was pulled down on Massillon’s 26. But then two Big Red passes were batted down and the Tigers took
the ball on their 23. With Wallace
dashing wide through left tackle, Pellegrini doing the same at right tackle and
Mastriann plugging through the line the Tigers rushed the ball to
Steubenville’s 49 before being slowed down.
Here Jasinski punted but the Tigers got a break when the Big Red was
guilty of roughing the Massillon punter and were penalized down on the
Stubber’s 35. Pellegrini dashed wide
through right tackle to the 17, Wallace scampered around left end to the 10 and
then when it looked as if points were soon to be put on the board for
Massillon, Pellegrini fumbled and Flectcher covered for the Big Red on its 10.
Ensell
got away a quick kick but Massillon’s next bid was soon checked when Ensell
intercepted a Pellegrini pass on his 41.
But Pellegrini did the same thing for the Tigers, snaring Ensell’s pass
on his 40 and lugging the ball back to the Big Red’s 46. The Tigers, however, were guilty of clipping
on their 45 and a 15 yard penalty took the ball back to their 30.
But
the first Massillon touchdown was in the making and in six plays the Tigers
carried the ball 70 yards for their first score. Running behind beautiful interference Wallace and Pellegini
skirted the ends for heavy gains.
Wallace
breezed around left end for 11 yards to his 41. Pellegini whizzed around right end for 32 to Steubenville’s
27. Mastriann made two at the line and
then Wallace racing down the left side of the field on a spectacular dash, got
as far as the two yard line before being forced out. It was a 23-yard gain.
Mastriann was stopped without gain and then Pellegrini, behind a wall of
interference and a big hole at right tackle, went over for the first Tiger
points. Mastriann’s placekick was good
and the Bengals were out in front 7 to 0.
Zuk,
because of a leg injury, did not start the game but Coach Ellis sent him into
action after Massillon’s score and immediately the Big Red passing expert made
his presence felt. Early in the second
quarter he heaved a pass to Chadnock good for 15 to put the ball on Massillon’s
45. His next pass to Robinson was
incomplete but then he flipped a long one to Snyder and before the dusky
Steubenville end had been brought to earth he had gained 34 yards and carried
the ball to Massillon’s 13, giving the Stubbers a distinct scoring threat. Here the Tigers dug in and Captain Roush
gained six yards in three attempts and Zuk’s pass to Porter was
incomplete. The Big Red was offside on
this play and the Tigers refused the penalty, taking the ball on their
seven. Pellegrini and Wallace in two
plays carried the ball to Massillon’s 47 but here the attack was slowed and
Jasinski then got off one of his fine punts, hoofing the ball over the goal
line. With the ball on their 20, the
Stubbers made a first down before Jasinski intercepted a Zuk pass on the Big
Red’s 44. But Pellegrini’s attempted
pass backfired. Roush intercepted and
returning from his 35 to the 46.
A
Zuk-Roush pass was good for 17 yards to the Tiger 38 but here the Bengals
checked the enemy’s aerial game only to run into a bad break when they were
penalized 15 for roughing the kicker, when Ensell punted. This gave the Stubbers a first down on the
Massillon 28. Zuk tired a pass to
Ensell, which failed, and then heaved one to Gillam good for five. Zuk’s next long heave to Snyder on the goal
line was batted down but he was more careful on his next one, dodging Tiger
tacklers until he found Chadnock out in the clear and rifling the ball to the
Big Red fullback who carried it to Massillon’s four for a gain of 19
yards. Roush made two at the line,
Fletcher was halted without gain but on the third play Roush went over for
Steubenville’s first and only touchdown.
Roe’s attempted placekick was wide.
In
the second half two Steubenville fumbles, covered by the alert Tigers, paved
the way for two Massillon touchdowns and definitely washed the Stubbers out of
the ball game. They never got inside
Massillon’s 20 in the last two periods and their aerial game bogged down with a
thud.
Along
with their ground gaining sweeps the Tigers introduced a new play in the last
half which confused the Stubbers no end and resulted in a lot of fine gains
through the line. With a flanker
dropping far out on the end, Mastriann would take the ball and plunge through
for hefty gains.
The
Tigers reeled off two first downs after taking the kickoff to open the third
period before they were stopped and Jasinski punted to the Big Red’s six yard
line.
Fletcher,
however, fumbled on the first Big Red play and Mastriann covered on the
Stubbers’ 11 yard line. Pellegrini lost
three on a reverse but Wallace picked up eight at left end. Mastriann on a spinner plunged to the
two-yard line and then Pellegrini went off right tackle for the touchdown. Mastriann converted and the Tigers were out
in front 14 to 6.
On
the first play after Massillon kicked off to the Big Red, Chadnock fumbled on
his 38-yard line and Julius Tonges pounced on the ball. Wallace running wide around left end, sailed
down the sideline on a beautiful dash that did not end until after he had
planted the ball behind the Big Red’s goal line. On his 38-yard sprint his final splurge to the Steubenville goal
was helped by Jasinski who took out the last Big Red tackler between Bob and
the goal line. Mastriann’s placekick
was wide.
Shortly
after another Massillon touchdown was in the making Zuk punted and Willmot was
downed on his 47. Six plays later the
Tigers had covered 53 yards and registered their fourth touchdown. Pellegrini made seven at right end. Mastriann picked up 12 in two smashed
through the line. Wallace gained seven
at left end and Mastriann through tackle went to the Big Red’s 12. Pellegrini zoomed around right end behind
fine interference for the remaining
distance and another touchdown.
Mastriann’s placekick was good.
Massillon’s
fifth and final touchdown came early in the fourth quarter and again the Tigers
marched 62 yards without giving up the ball.
It started when Willmot intercepted a pass and raced it back 33 yards to
Steubenville’s 38. Wallace made nine at
left end with Wilbert Pedrotty, who had replaced the injured, Keller, helping
him along with a neat block. Pellegrini
swept right end but Willmot was guilty of holding and incurred a 15-yard
penalty, taking the ball back to the Stubbers’ 43. Mastriann and Wallace lugged the leather to the Big Red’s 22 in
two plays. Two more plunges and
Mastriann had marched to the 12.
A
five-yard penalty for having a man in motion, set the Tigers back to the
17. Wallace made one, Pellegrini’s
attempted pass to Mastriann failed but on the next play Romeo tossed the ball
to Wallace for Massillon’s first and only completed forward. It was good for 12 yards to the four from
where Pellegrini skirted his right end for the fifth Tiger set of counters. Mastriann was wide on his placekick.
Fletcher
sparked a last-minute Steubenville drive but the Big Red failed to get beyond
midfield and Zuk was vainly trying to connect on passes as the game ended.
A Big Night
Mass. – 33 Pos. Steub. – 6
Willmot LE Snyder
Arrington LT Barsuk
Tonges LG Roe
Williams C Lawrence
Gable RG Miller
Belch RT Schaeffer
Jasinski RE Porter
Keller QB Chadnock
Pellegrini LHB Ensell
Wallace
RHB Roush
Mastriann FB Fletcher
Score by quarters:
Massillon 7 0 20
6 – 33
Steubenville 0 6 0
0 – 6
Touchdowns: Pellegrini 4, Wallace, Roush 1.
Points after: Mastriann 3 (placekicks)
Substitutes: Massillon: Berger, Heltzel, Luke, Ielsch, Pedrotty, Profant, Sedjo, Webb,
Turkall.
Steubenville: Robinson, Hastwell, Zuk,
Gillom
Referee: Cavanaugh.
Umpire, Gannon,
Headlinesman,
McFee.
Statistics
Tigers Big Red
Total first
down 15 8
Yards gained
by rushing 373 76
Yards lost by
rushing 15 17
Net yards
gained by rushing 358 59
Forward
passes attempted 9 20
Forward
passes incompleted 1 7
Yards gained
by passing 12 140
Passes had
intercepted 3 3