Massillon Tigers

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10/19/05

Gamble had 24 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown this past weekend.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Courtesy of JJHuddle......

Quote:

Massillon Remains Undefeated
by Bill Greene, Ohio High Contributor




The Massillon Tigers defeated the Warren Harding Raiders 13-0 Friday night in Massillon. Massillon improved to 8-0, while Harding suffered its sixth defeat of the season.

Warren played a great game and the future is bright for this young team. Juniors Dan Herron, Sidney Glover, Chris Rucker and Marlin Parker were impressive players and next year should see the Raiders back in the mix with the best teams in Ohio. Coach Thom McDaniels is one of the best coaches in Ohio and he had a great game plan for the Tigers. In the end, however, the Massillon talent proved to be too much for Warren.

This match up was a defensive struggle all night with neither team able to muster much offense. The game remained scoreless until late in the first half when Massillon junior Andrew Dailey blocked a Warren punt. Teammate Brian Gamble picked up the loose ball and ran into the end zone, stunning the Raiders and giving Massillon a lead they would never surrender.

Dailey and Gamble are both listed in Ohio High magazine as two of the top juniors in the state. In this game, both players showed why they are so highly ranked.

Dailey, 6-3, 210 pounds, has performed at a high level all season at safety for the Tigers. He has drawn the interest of many of the top colleges across the country receiving mail from such schools as Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan and has been invited to attend home games by each.

Dailey's speed and hitting ability were evident the entire game. He is a sure tackler and has the ability to cover smaller players in space. He also plays wide receiver for the Tigers.

Gamble, 6-1, 190 pounds, rarely leaves the field as he goes both ways for the Tigers. As a defensive back he covers a lot of ground and shows great tackling ability. On offense, he gained 119 yards at running back and scored the only offensive touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Gamble is a game-breaker and is also drawing the interest of college recruiters and is also hearing from most of the top colleges in the country. He attended the Ohio State-Texas game as a guest of the Buckeyes.

On this night, Massillon's defense dominated the contest. Other key contributors were seniors Antonio James, Dirk Dickerhoof and Quentin Paulik. Tiger coach Tom Stacy was quick to mention Paulik in his post-game comments.

"Quentin is finally getting healthy and he played great," said Stacy. "He had injured his shoulder and it was bothering him although he kept playing. He made a great play on the reverse and was in their backfield all night."

When asked if the Warren effort surprised him, Stacy said not at all.

"Thom McDaniels is a great coach," said Stacy. "We knew they would be prepared to play a great game and they sure did. That has to be the best 2-6 team I've ever seen. They're going to be tough to handle next year. They really play hard. We weren't flat at all. We expected a tough game, and that's what we got. Sometimes you have to win games like this. This was a playoff-type atmosphere. It was a defensive game and that is why we play our best athletes on defense. Offensively we changed some formations at the half and it seemed to open things up a little bit."

This has been a magical season so far for the Tigers. They are coming off consecutive 4-6 seasons and the players are gaining confidence each week. In Stacy's first season as head coach, he has gained the trust of his players. Senior Brett Huffman, who has committed to play his college football at Duke spoke about the difference in the team compared to last year.

"This is like night and day," said Huffman. "This team has done a real 180. This ride has been the most fun thing in my life. The plan for the seniors was to clear our name. We know Massillon shouldn't have losing seasons and we wanted to change that. We've gotten good senior leadership and the junior class has been good also. Coach Stacy deserves most of the credit. He got started late, but he had our total respect from the start of practice. Coach Stacy has taught us to be a disciplined football team. He has made this a respectable football program again."

Andrew Dailey talked about just how tough Warren Harding was on this night.

"We knew they would play well," said Dailey. "Dan Herron might be the best running back we've seen this year. This is a great rivalry. They have such great speed and play so hard. We just knew they would be ready to come in here to try to knock us off."

Tom Stacy is proving to be the right man for the job in Tigertown. The Tigers will return to the playoffs this season after missing out the past two years. This season has seen the Tigers defeat Cincinnati Elder, Cleveland St. Ignatius and Warren Harding. The best could be yet to come. Stacy is proving that good guys can finish first and do it the right way.

There is a lot of football remaining, including a season ending meeting with rival Canton McKinley. How far can the Tigers go in 2005? That remains to be seen, but the Tigers are a fun team to watch and will be tough to beat the rest of the way.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Courtesy of JJHuddle...

The Massillon Tigers defeated the Warren Harding Raiders 13-0 Friday night in Massillon. Massillon improved to 8-0, while Harding suffered its sixth defeat of the season. Warren played a great game and the future is bright for this young team. Juniors Dan Herron, Sidney Glover, Chris Rucker and Marlin Parker were impressive players and next year should see the Raiders back in the mix with the best teams in Ohio. Coach Thom McDaniels is one of the best coaches in Ohio and he had a great game plan for the Tigers. In the end, however, the Massillon talent proved to be too much for Warren.
This match up was a defensive struggle all night with neither team able to muster much offense. The game remained scoreless until late in the first half when Massillon junior Andrew Dailey blocked a Warren punt. Teammate Brian Gamble picked up the loose ball and ran into the end zone, stunning the Raiders and giving Massillon a lead they would never surrender.
Dailey and Gamble are both listed in Ohio High magazine as two of the top juniors in the state. In this game, both players showed why they are so highly ranked.
Dailey, 6-3, 210 pounds, has performed at a high level all season at safety for the Tigers. He has drawn the interest of many of the top colleges across the country receiving mail from such schools as Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan and has been invited to attend home games by each.
Dailey's speed and hitting ability were evident the entire game. He is a sure tackler and has the ability to cover smaller players in space. He also plays wide receiver for the Tigers.
Gamble, 6-1, 190 pounds, rarely leaves the field as he goes both ways for the Tigers. As a defensive back he covers a lot of ground and shows great tackling ability. On offense, he gained 119 yards at running back and scored the only offensive touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Gamble is a game-breaker and is also drawing the interest of college recruiters and is also hearing from most of the top colleges in the country. He attended the Ohio State-Texas game as a guest of the Buckeyes.
On this night, Massillon's defense dominated the contest. Other key contributors were seniors Antonio James, Dirk Dickerhoof and Quentin Paulik. Tiger coach Tom Stacy was quick to mention Paulik in his post-game comments.
"Quentin is finally getting healthy and he played great," said Stacy. "He had injured his shoulder and it was bothering him although he kept playing. He made a great play on the reverse and was in their backfield all night."
When asked if the Warren effort surprised him, Stacy said not at all.
"Thom McDaniels is a great coach," said Stacy. "We knew they would be prepared to play a great game and they sure did. That has to be the best 2-6 team I've ever seen. They're going to be tough to handle next year. They really play hard. We weren't flat at all. We expected a tough game, and that's what we got. Sometimes you have to win games like this. This was a playoff-type atmosphere. It was a defensive game and that is why we play our best athletes on defense. Offensively we changed some formations at the half and it seemed to open things up a little bit."
This has been a magical season so far for the Tigers. They are coming off consecutive 4-6 seasons and the players are gaining confidence each week. In Stacy's first season as head coach, he has gained the trust of his players. Senior Brett Huffman, who has committed to play his college football at Duke spoke about the difference in the team compared to last year.
"This is like night and day," said Huffman. "This team has done a real 180. This ride has been the most fun thing in my life. The plan for the seniors was to clear our name. We know Massillon shouldn't have losing seasons and we wanted to change that. We've gotten good senior leadership and the junior class has been good also. Coach Stacy deserves most of the credit. He got started late, but he had our total respect from the start of practice. Coach Stacy has taught us to be a disciplined football team. He has made this a respectable football program again."
Andrew Dailey talked about just how tough Warren Harding was on this night.
"We knew they would play well," said Dailey. "Dan Herron might be the best running back we've seen this year. This is a great rivalry. They have such great speed and play so hard. We just knew they would be ready to come in here to try to knock us off."
Tom Stacy is proving to be the right man for the job in Tigertown. The Tigers will return to the playoffs this season after missing out the past two years. This season has seen the Tigers defeat Cincinnati Elder, Cleveland St. Ignatius and Warren Harding. The best could be yet to come. Stacy is proving that good guys can finish first and do it the right way.
There is a lot of football remaining, including a season ending meeting with rival Canton McKinley. How far can the Tigers go in 2005? That remains to be seen, but the Tigers are a fun team to watch and will be tough to beat the rest of the way.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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10/20/05

Tigers face an Eastlake North offense that will be ready to play

Thursday, October 20, 2005 By Todd Porter Repository sports writer

Repository Ray Stewart Massillon linebacker Quentin Paulik

MASSILLON - Even at 8-0 and ranked No. 3 in the state, Massillon head coach Tom Stacy isn’t above taking advice. So he listened when Eastlake North High School head football coach Nick Toth told Stacy that his 4-4 football team would come ready to play.
Stacy has a message for his team and fans. Don’t think about resting on the Tigers’ laurels now.
Massillon’s 3-4 defense will bring nine straight shutout quarters into this game against a team averaging nearly four touchdowns a game. Eastlake North (4-4) is scoring 38 points the last four weeks from its spread offense.
“If we want a chance to go 10-0, we’ve got to take care of game nine first,” Stacy said. “It’s not just going to happen. That’s why they play the game. Anything can happen. ... We’re not good enough at this point to just show up and beat someone. This isn’t Woodrow Wilson. This is a good football team that can score points.”
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Massillon would like to take a 9-0 record into next week’s McKinley game. The Tigers have had just two 10-0 seasons in the last 25 years.
But if this story were a part of chatter among coaches, there would be a fine.
“We have a gag order on even talking about game 10,” Stacy said. “It’s not just the players and coaches, it’s a community effort. I don’t want to hear about game 10. We have a good opponent this week against a head coach I have a lot of respect for. We’re expecting their best shot.”
If Eastlake North does score against Massillon, the Rangers will be the first team since Ignatius to score. Ignatius was shut out in the fourth quarter of that game three weeks ago, and neither Woodrow Wilson nor Warren Harding scored. Here’s one reason why: The front seven in Steve Kovac’s 3-4 defense are understanding the scheme.
Outside linebacker Quinten Paulik had his best game a week ago. Linebackers Robert Morris, a captain, and Paris McCall are getting to the ball in a hurry. McCall led Massillon with 17 tackles last week.
But another shut out? North has been shut out twice.
“I’m concerned about defending,” Stacy said. “Coach Toth has been around the block (former Ohio University assistant). This is not a gimme. They’re a good football team.”
While the Massillon defense has played well, the offense could use a bit of a kick start. The Tigers scored just one touchdown against Harding. The other TD came on a blocked punt return.
It was Massillon lowest offensive output of the season. Some of that was Harding. Some was Stacy’s doing. In a tight game, he was more conservative in the second half. It was the first time this season Massillon was held under 300 total yards.
“We’d like to get back to our tempo and rhythm on offense,” Stacy said. “That’s important for us to do as we get into the playoffs.”
Quarterback Bobby Huth returned against Harding after missing a week with a concussion. He was a little rusty, finishing 8-of-12 for 76 yards. He also threw his first interception of the season.
“Bobby needs to get his rhythm and confidence back, and we need to get him in a good flow,” Stacy said.
Running back Brian Gamble scored both Tiger touchdowns last week. He finished with more than 100 yards rushing. Gamble has had 100-plus rushing yards each week, except against Chardon when he carried just eight times. The 6-foot, 190-pounder has 1,010 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Stacy is looking for more from everybody. He is pleased his team has turned around back-to-back 4-6 season to being unbeaten in his first year on the job. He’s looking to reach another level of play.
“If we want to finish strong and play well in the playoffs, we have to continue to improve,” Stacy said. “We ... have a lot of room for improvement. In football, you either get better or get worse. You don’t stay the same. “And we’re not there yet. We’re not at the level of the St. Xaviers or the Glenvilles. Do I think we can get there? Yeah. ... We’re not as good as we need to be to win a state championship.” Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com

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10/20/05

Eastlake North at Massillon

SITE Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

RECORDS Eastlake North 4-4; Massillon 8-0.

LAST WEEK Eastlake North 31, Madison 21; Massillon 13, Warren Harding 0.

LAST MEETING First meeting.
WHAT TO WATCH The fear of every Massillon coach is playing games in the ninth and 11th weeks. Head coach Tom Stacy is guarding against playing flat and looking past Eastlake North to next week’s mega-game against McKinley. He vows that won’t happen. An ideal game plan would have Massillon taking a sizable lead at halftime and resting starters, but Eastlake North is a quality opponent with four losses to teams (Brush, Mayfield, Chardon and Willoughby South) with winning records. The Rangers nearly knocked off South (8-0) before losing 28-24. The only common opponent is Chardon. Massillon beat Chardon, 49-7, while Eastlake lost, 42-28. The Rangers will use the spread offense, the fifth Massillon opponent to use a version of it. Eastlake QB Weis Barth throws the ball well and isn’t afraid to go deep. His favorite target has been WR Dimetrius Wright. Ranger coach Nick Toth has spent time coaching at Ohio University. The strength of Massillon’s team in the second half has been the defense. The Tigers have nine-straight scoreless quarters entering this game. The last team to score against Massillon was Ignatius. The defense has four shutouts. OLB Quinten Paulik is coming off his best game. Paulik injured his shoulder in Week 2 and seems to be close to 100 percent. Between Paulik, Paris McCall, Andrew Dailey, Brian Gamble and Antonio James, this is a formidable defense. If Massillon can pitch another shutout, it would be the first time since 1972 the Tigers had five shutouts after nine games. The Tigers are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season. They scored 13 points, but 7 of those came from a blocked punt returned for a TD. Huth needs to have a good game to regain confidence heading into McKinley. If Huth gets enough time, look for a few deep balls. Gamble will be important in the offense, but maybe more important is keeping him healthy. The Tigers could lock up a home playoff game with a win.

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10/21/05

Glory days return to Massillon


Tigers' current success reminiscent of nostalgic past

By Tom Reed

Beacon Journal sports writer


MASSILLON - As the bus pulled onto Lincoln Way East around midnight on Oct. 1, Tom Stacy saw hundreds of fans assembled in the streets and thought he had slipped into a time warp.

The Massillon High football coach, returning from Parma after a dramatic 29-26 win over Cleveland St. Ignatius, was like Marty McFly stepping out of his DeLorean in Back To The Future. Only in this case, the past was quite familiar to him.

``It reminded me so much of 1989 when crowds of people stopped the bus in the city streets,'' said Stacy in reference to his former time as a Tigers assistant coach. ``This is such a special place and some of the things that go on here are unique to Massillon.

``It was a feeling of deja vu, a feeling I didn't think I would ever relive after leaving here (in 1991).''

The past is a difficult thing to judge in the town Paul Brown made famous. The sense of history and lore makes it seem so close, yet often just out of reach for fans hoping to recapture it.

Twenty-two state poll championships. None since the advent of the computer playoffs in 1972.

Now along comes Stacy -- a link to one of Massillon's more productive eras under popular coach Lee Owens -- and the future and past seem once again coordinated.

A new attitude, old approach, and a senior class hungry for redemption have the Tigers back in state-title contention quicker than almost anyone imagined. After two consecutive 4-6 seasons, the Tigers are 8-0 and bracing for a possible showdown of undefeated teams next week against Canton McKinley.

Despite not being hired until June, Stacy and his staff have instilled discipline and quiet confidence into a team that has produced stunning road victories against Cincinnati Elder and St. Ignatius.

``They are the best team I have personally seen this season,'' said Warren G. Harding football coach Thom McDaniels, whose Raiders lost 13-0 to Massillon last week. ``They have a lot going for them, but what really stands out is how physical they are, how hard they play and how passionate they are about playing.''

More than games
The rapid transformation has not just occurred in the win column. Fans who haven't watched the Tigers this season might not recognize them.

They have shifted f