coyotes22
Small Town, Big Heart
One thing that can be said about this 2013 Team is they have Big Heart. They have played well all year, and been through some adversity in a few games. They may have not finished the Regular Season 10-0, but they have done what they needed to do to get themselves in a position to make a good run in the Post-Season. Some may have been complaining about the play calling, and it may have affected us a few games, but through all that, these kids have persevered and overcame the bumps in the road, and have shown great determination. They are the example of TRUE Massillon Tiger players, and are playing with Heart right now.
In a big game on the road, Massillon traveled to Austintown, and put their perfect record on the line. They soon found themselves in a huge hole, late in the fourth quarter, and many fans were looking for the exits. The team had other plans, and never gave up. They fought hard, and brought the game back to within three points. It may have been too little too late, but it showed that these kids never give up. Even if the Coaches failed to make the necessary adjustments, and even if the fans had given up, these kids never did. They continued to play hard until the very last play. They showed how big of a Heart they have.
Two weeks later, they faced another mountain of a game, and found themselves the underdogs, at home. St V came in 8-0 and they wanted to leave Massillon 9-0. The Tigers came out and gave it everything they had, and kept up with possibly the best team in the State of Ohio. You can call it making excuses, you can call it hiding, but I call it a group of kids never backing down, and showing that they can compete with anyone, anytime. To see a group of 15-18 year olds, not letting media hype and talk affect their play, says a lot. They may have entered the locker room after the game, with a loss hanging over their heads, but they should feel proud, knowing they just gave the best team around, a run for their money.
I know what I said may rub wrong with a few people, but it is just my own opinion. I think the kids should be proud knowing that they hung with two of the best teams in the state. It is apparent that the team and coaches have watched those games and seen the mistakes they may have made, and addressed those issues. Massillon entered week 10, needing a win to make the Post-Season. A situation the Tigers have been all too familiar with a time or two before. As if the Massillon-McKinley game is not big enough, or loaded with enough pressure, the fact we had to win to get in, just added to all that. The kids handled the added pressure well though, coming out from the very beginning, firing on all cylinders.
Massillon would get the ball first, and on the first possession, faced an early 4[SUP]th[/SUP] and 4. But, they drew an offside penalty and that would put all the momentum in the Tigers corner. Following a blocked FG attempt, that was returned for a TD by Daily, and taking a 14-0 lead to end the half, it was almost as if the Massillon team was on cruise control. When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the sound of the Victory Bell filled Fawcett Stadium, followed by chants of T-I-G, E-R-S! And with that, it gave Massillon a birth into the Playoffs. They will play host to our “Know your Opponent” this week, Nordonia.
It is not too often that you can find a team in this State that Massillon does not have some type of history with, and Nordonia is no different. We first met on the gridiron, in the 1975 season. It was Coach Shuff’s second and final year as Head Coach, and it was not a very stellar year. The Tigers would finish the season 6-3-1, and missing the playoffs. We would out score our opponents 168-51, and even had 4 shutouts. McKinley would score the most points on us, beating the Tigers 21-15. Massillon would also drop games to Upper Arlington (8-7) and Alliance (6-3). Our shutouts would be against, Niles McK (3-0); Steubenville (37-0); Dayton Colonel White (24-0) and Warren Harding (17-0). Our lone tie, came against Nordonia, in front of about 11,000 fans at PBTS.
In 1990, the Lee Owens led Tigers would play host to the Knights of Nordonia, for only the second time. The game, at PBTS, would be one soon forgot by many from the Nordonia fans, as they watched the Tigers route their Knights 70-0. It would be the last time these two teams meet, under their own doing. In front of about 9,800 fans, this win would be a bright point to a season that was looking grim. Leading up to the Nordonia game, Massillon fans had just endured two tough losses, making the Tigers 3-2 against a 3-2 Knight squad. In week 4, Massillon hosted Cin. Moeller, in front of 18,000 fans but it would soon end in shock and awe. Moeller would win on a last sec touchdown to hand Massillon their first loss. The following week, the Tigers would travel to Austintown, and find themselves yet again, facing defeat, and losing 14-7.
They say revenge is sweet, and I would say for the 1990 Tigers, it would be revenge on two levels. One, for the 6-6 tie in 1975, and Two for the previous two defeats in weeks 4 and 5. Poor Nordonia, to have to endure that. Massillon would outgain the Knights 476-126 total yards, with 412 of those on the ground. Up 35-0 at the half, the starters would only play one series in the third quarter, with the second and third stringers playing the rest of the second half.
Believe it or not, this is not the only time the Tigers have scored 70+ points in one game. Since the 1990 70-0 routing of Nordonia, Massillon has scored 70+ points 6 times. Most recently in 2012, against Pauline Johnson, Ont, 71-12. A complete list looks like this:
Year, Foe Score
1918, Orrville 82-0
1922, Akron North 94-0
1923, Salem 82-0
1924, Alliance 77-0
1959, Barberton 90-0
1990, Nordonia 70-0
1991, Young. East 76-26
1997, Wash. DC 72-6
2002, Freemont Ross 76-6
2002, Woodrow Wilson 74-0
2004, Friendship Edison 72-6
2012, Pauline Johnson 71-12
In 2012, the Tigers and Knights would once again meet, after 22 years. This time it would be in the first round of the playoffs, and again it would be in PBTS, as Massillon finished 1[SUP]st[/SUP] in the computer (9-1) while the Knights finished 8[SUP]th[/SUP] (7-3). Although the score would not be quite as bad as the 1990 showing, it was still not pretty. What would be the same though, would be the total yards for the Tigers (476). By half time, Massillon would have:
200-yard passer (Kyle Kempt, 243 yards),
100-yard rusher (Ryne Moore, 102)
100-yard receiver (Marcus Whitfield, 113)
With a 49-14 halftime lead, there was no doubt the Tigers were looking ahead to their next game, which would end up being McKinley. In front of about 5,300 fans at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, they Massillon fans were cheering on a 63-34 win, and another game in the playoffs.
So, with 2013 being the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] meeting of these schools, and all 4 being at PBTS (2 regular season games, 2 playoff games), what will the Tigers be able to accomplish this year? Will we see another high scoring game, like we did last year? Or will it be a modest, average scoring game with only the winning team scoring 30 some points? Massillon has scored 30+ points this year with 59 being the most. On the other hand, Nordonia has scored 30+ points 8 times this year. With 6 of those being 40+. The Knights are also on a 2 game losing streak, dropping Week’s 9 and 10 games to Highland and Wadsworth. Still a much improved team from last year, Massillon needs to show up with the Week 10 Tigers, and they should be playing again Week 12.
They proved that when a team plays flawless, good things can happen. Did the Tigers play perfect? By no means, did they. But, they obviously corrected a few things, and made the Bulldogs pay the price. Congrats to the Tigers, and Good Luck in Week 11!!