2006 Massilon-McKinley

[osugrad21]

Canton

McKinley-Massillon through the years
Thursday, October 26, 2006


A look back at the 114 previous meetings of Canton and Massillon in high school football, with their records entering game. Game at Canton in bold print.
Canton Massillon
No. Year record score score record
1 1894 0-0-1 16 6 0-02 1-1-1 12 8 0-1
3 1895 1-0 6 0 0-0
4 1900 1-1-1 5 0 0-05 3-1-1 45 0 0-1
6 1903 0-0 5 0 0-0
7 1903 1-0 8 0 0-1
8 1904 0-0 18 0 0-19 1-2 12 5 2-2
10 1906 2-2 24 0 1-011 4-2 28 0 1-1
12 1907 0-1 0 0 0-013 2-2-1 44 0 0-3
14 1908 1-1 17 0 0-015 3-2 6 12 0-1
16 1909 0-0 6 11 2-017 4-1 2 6 6-0-1
18 1912 5-3 19 0 5-3
19 1913 3-6 13 13 4-4
20 1914 7-2 0 3 5-2
21 1915 5-3 7 6 8-0
22 1916 5-2-1 9 16 9-0
23 1917 6-2-1 6 7 6-2
24 1919 3-4-1 0 21 7-1
25 1920 7-1 14 0 3-3-1
26 1921 3-3-2 12 13 4-4
27 1922 5-3-1 0 24 9-0
28 1923 3-5 0 9 7-2
29 1924 2-6 0 6 7-1
30 1925 4-5 6 3 7-1
31 1926 7-1-1 0 0 5-2-1
32 1927 8-1 13 0 3-4-1
33 1928 6-2-1 7 0 5-3-1
34 1929 2-6 6 31 6-3
35 1930 7-2 6 14 5-3-1
36 1931 2-7 6 20 1-6-2
37 1932 5-3 19 0 5-3-1
38 1933 8-1 21 0 8-1
39 1934 10-0 21 6 9-0
40 1935 6-2-1 0 6 9-0
41 1936 9-0 0 21 9-0
42 1937 8-0 6 19 7-1-1
43 1938 8-0 0 12 9-0
44 1939 6-2-1 6 20 9-0
45 1940 8-0-1 6 34 9-0
46 1941 6-2-1 0 32 8-1
47 1942 7-1-1 35 0 9-0
48 1943 8-0-1 0 21 9-0
49 1944 8-1 27 0 7-2
50 1945 7-1-1 0 0 5-0-4
51 1946 8-1-1 6 6 6-2-1
52 1947 8-1 14 0 6-3
53 1948 9-0 12 21 8-1
54 1949 9-0 0 6 8-1
55 1950 7-2 0 33 9-0
56 1951 2-7 0 40 8-1
57 1952 6-2-1 8 41 9-0
58 1953 3-5-1 7 48 9-0
59 1954 8-1 6 26 8-1
60 1955 9-0 13 7 8-0-1
61 1956 9-0 34 7 8-1
62 1957 8-1 7 25 7-1
63 1958 5-4 16 38 7-1-1
64 1959 6-3 0 20 9-0
65 1960 6-4 0 42 9-1
66 1961 6-3 6 7 10-0
67 1963 3-2 20 24 4-1
68 1963 6-3 6 22 8-1
69 1964 9-0 14 20 9-0
70 1965 7-2 14 18 9-0
71 1966 5-4 25 16 4-4-1
72 1967 6-3 15 20 9-0
73 1968 8-1 26 6 7-2
74 1969 8-1 14 7 7-1-1
75 1970 8-0-1 0 28 9-0
76 1971 7-1-1 6 29 8-1
77 1972 8-1 3 12 8-1
78 1973 7-2 21 0 8-0-1
79 1974 9-0 15 20 5-4
80 1975 8-1 21 15 6-2-1
81 1976 4-5 3 7 7-2
82 1977 9-0 0 21 7-2
83 1978 7-1 10 13 8-0-1
84 1979 7-1-1 0 24 9-0
85 1980 8-1 16 7 8-0-186 * 9-1 6 14 8-1-1
87 1981 9-0 9 6 7-2
88 1982 8-1 0 7 9-0
89 1983 6-3 7 18 8-1
90 1984 6-3 17 6 6-3
91 1985 8-1 21 6 7-2
92 1986 8-1 23 6 6-3
93 1987 6-3 18 15 6-3
94 1988 5-4 7 10 6-3
95 1989 7-2 7 24 7-2
96 1990 4-4 20 7 6-3
97 1991 6-3 13 42 7-2
98 1992 8-1 14 7 5-4
99 1993 7-1 21 13 9-0
100 1994 8-1 41 42 8-1101 * 9-2 27 20 10-1
102 1995 7-2 24 21 7-2
103 1996 8-1 21 0 9-0
104 1997 9-0 27 14 7-2
105 1998 7-1 42 20 4-5
106 1999 7-2 7 35 9-0
107 2000 3-5 9 13 7-2
108 2001 7-1 26 29 8-1109 * 8-2 19 35 9-1
110 2002 3-6 17 34 7-2
111 2003 2-7 40 8 4-5
112 2004 6-3 20 7 4-5
113 2005 9-0 38 8 9-0114 * 12-0 3 21 11-1
All-time series:
massillon, 60-49-5
At Massillon:
MASSILLON, 26-24-4
At PaulBrown Tiger Stadium:
MASSILLON, 19-13-1
Canton when 9-0:
Massillon, 6-5
Massillon when 5-4:
SERIESTied, 1-1
Years ending in 6:
CANTON, 6-3-2
Since 1980 at Massillon:
CANTON, 8-5
Next meeting after Massillon win in series:
Massillon, 40-19
WHEN McKINLEYISPERFECT...
McKinley is entering Massillon week with a perfect record for the 15th time in the schools' 114 meetings. Here's a rundown of the past results:
1934 McKinley 21, (at) Massillon 6
1936 (at) Massillon 21, McKinley 0
1937 Massillon 19, (at) McKinley 6
1938 (at) Massillon 12, McKinley 0
1948 (at) Massillon 21, McKinley 12
1949 Massillon 6, (at) McKinley 0
1955 (at) McKinley 13, Massillon 7
1956 McKinley 34, (at) Massillon 7
1964 (at) Massillon 20, McKinley 14
1974 (at) Massillon 20, McKinley 15
1977 Massillon 21, (at) McKinley 0
1981 (at) McKinley 9, Massillon 6
1997 (at) McKinley 27, Massillon 14
2005 (at) McKinley 38, Massillon 8
2006 Saturday at Massillon
Record McKinley 6, Massillon 8.
Note An undefeated, untied McKinley team has not won in Massillon since 1956. Perfect McKinley teams have lost their last two in Massillon (1964, 1974).

[osugrad21]

Canton

Cross surprised his Bulldogs have chance to be 10-0
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Chris Beaven REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

CANTON Another league title. Another trip the playoffs. A run at the state title once the regular season ends. That's the expectation every high school football season for fans of the McKinley Bulldogs.
So for most people, McKinley's 9-0 record heading into the final week of the regular season is no surprise. Don't count head coach Brian Cross among that group.
"At McKinley, people believe you're just going to come out and win every single game," Cross said. "It's good to believe that, but it's unrealistic. Our kids have worked awfully hard to be where we're at."
McKinley is at is exactly the same spot it was a year ago. The Bulldogs are unbeaten and guaranteed a first-round home playoff game heading into Saturday's 115th meeting with Massillon. What remains to be seen is if they can beat the Tigers in the 2 p.m. game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium to complete a second straight 10-0 regular season for the first time in 50 years.
REBUILDING QUICKLY
To get here, McKinley has come a long way, rebuilding both lines and developing a number of leaders elsewhere.
"When we were picked to win the league, I just shook my head," Cross said. "I couldn't believe it with what we had returning. Of course, we had a good quarterback, a good tailback and three good defensive players back."
But he knew it would be hard for a relatively inexperienced team to roll through the Federal League a second straight year.
"We've been very fortunate," Cross said. "We got a move-in middle linebacker in George Tabron. That has made a big difference. I don't know where we'd be without him. And we've had some other things happen that have helped. Kids that have come around slowly and gotten better. That's all you can ask of your team."
One veteran leader, senior tailback Morgan Williams, said McKinley's success stems from its every-day work.
"I knew if everyone came to play every game and came to practice, we could be a good team," he said. "I think it starts in practice. That's where we've won our games."
VETERANS GET HELP
Williams is 518 yards and 12 points shy of becoming McKinley's career rushing and scoring leader. He has been one of the veterans meeting high expectations, with 1,524 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Quarterback Dan Grimsley has thrown 11 TDs with just four interceptions, completing 51.4 percent of his passes. Center Drew McIntyre anchors the offensive line, which helps McKinley average 35.1 points per game. Kicker Zack Campbell has six field goals, including a school-record 48-yarder.
Defensively, nose tackle Darius Willliams, linebacker Disi Alexander, and cornerbacks Will Sheeler and Brandon Mingo returned with starting experience. They have been a part of a unit that has limited teams to 11.6 points and 209.1 total yards per game.
"I believed in my teammates, and I knew we could be tougher than last year," Darius Williams said.
What's made the difference is the emergence of others.
Receivers Lonnie Richardson and Kenyard Blair became reliable targets. Jewone Snow and Steve Laubacher came along at tight end. The offensive line was rebuilt with Alex Lyon, Max Rehfus, Sean Whited, John Randall, Andrew Sewell, Isaac Gatlin and Isaiah Gatlin.
The Gatlin twins stepped up on the defensive line, along with Martavian Thigpen, Trent Bush, Charles Taylor and Gaylan Roberson. Snow became a force at outside linebacker. Tabron, a transfer from Central Catholic, became an impact player at linebacker. Derrick Gordon and Tremaine O'Neal took over at the safety.
DEFENSE GELS
Darius Williams said the defense began to hit its stride two weeks ago in overtime at Boardman. The Bulldogs tied the game on the final play of regulation. Campbell hit his 48-yard field goal to avoid a shocking upset. Boardman had the ball first in OT, and McKinley's defense stepped up with two sacks, first by Tabron, then a group effort.
"It was four guys hitting all at once," Darius Williams said. "We all just flew in there and got to the ball."
Boardman ended up missing a field goal. Three plays later, Morgan Williams scored on a 10-yard run, and the Bulldogs had another win.
Another strong performance followed last week, a 41-10 win over Jackson, leaving the Bulldogs full of confidence.
"It kind of woke us up," Darius Williams said. "It let us know we could really ... keep it going far in the playoffs."

[osugrad21]

Canton

Playoffs now for Tigers, who likely need win to get in
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

MASSILLON The marquee outside the Lions Lincoln Theatre in downtown Massillon advertises two shows. One is "Invincible." The other is "Footloose." Friday night, high school football players for the Massillon Tigers will ride past the marquee and under the "Beat McKinley" banner that stretches across Lincoln Way. The town will turn its attention to them.
Maybe players will see the sign. Maybe they'll decide which way they are going to play in Saturday afternoon's showdown against McKinley.
Invincible or footloose?
Invincible is what put the Tigers in this situation: A must-win against the unbeaten Bulldogs if Massillon wants to get into the playoffs. Footloose is what got the Tigers past the Bulldogs in last year's playoffs.
Footloose is what got Massillon from a devastating loss to McKinley in the regular-season finale a year ago and into the Division I title game five weeks later. That confidence stayed in the program through the offseason. Maybe it led to great expectations. Maybe it masked this year's shortcomings.
OVERCONFIDENT EARLY
"I think we probably were overconfident early in the season after our first two wins," Massillon coach Tom Stacy said. "I don't think our captains were. They've been through it. There were guys who are seniors who basically played special teams a year ago and are starters this year. They might've been overconfident. We got our ears pinned back a little bit, and it woke them up to reality. Since then, we've been a better team."
An easy win against North Park, Ontario set up a game against a decent H.D. Woodson team from Washington D.C. The week before playing Massillon, Woodson beat the two-time defending West Virginia state champs. Massillon won, 59-7.
Reality set in when the Tigers lost three of the next four games. They were handled in a 48-14 loss at Moeller. They were beaten at Mentor and lost to St. Ignatius. Two weeks ago, they lost at Warren Harding.
The theme in those losses was turnovers. Massillon was minus-9 in those games.
The Warren loss, though, changed Massillon. The Tigers outplayed Harding, but three turnovers were costly, including one returned for a touchdown. The Tigers defense played a variation of its 3-4 scheme, but it looked more like a 50 defense. It had success.
A young defense gained confidence in a loss.
TURNING POINT IN WARREN?
A year ago, everything Stacy did came up roses. A year later he's found the thorns.
"It has been a more difficult year in some respects," said Stacy, the first Massillon coach to take his team to the state title game in his first season. "The nice thing about it is if we win Saturday, we can reach all our goals still. After all the adversity, all the tough games, tough schedule and tough losses, we still have an opportunity to make the playoffs."
Maybe even host a week 11 game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Perhaps in late November if Massillon is still playing, Stacy can point to the Harding game as a turning point.
"It was the most disappointing loss since I've been here next to Week 10 last year against McKinley," Stacy said. "Our kids felt like they were a better team, and we killed ourselves with turnovers."
IT'S A ONE-GAME SEASON
The Tigers are led by All-Ohioan Brian Gamble, a two-way game-changer. He is the team's leading rusher with 877 yards in eight games. Quarterback Bobby Huth has thrown for 1,545 yards and 17 touchdowns. His interceptions are up from a year ago, but Huth has only thrown six picks; three were returned for touchdowns.
Stacy has had to rebuild his offensive line. The team has gone through growing pains at linebacker. The bug might be worked out.
Then again, they may not be. It could be harsh to call this a Jekyll and Hyde team. Massillon has played the toughest schedule around.
Stacy's team is 5-4, teetering on the brink of disaster and brilliance.
"That's an unknown at this point," Stacy said of what kind of team this can be. "We've shown signs of being a good football team at times, and at other times we're pretty average. We're going to find out a lot about ourselves Saturday. Are we worthy of being a playoff team? Ask me Saturday."

[osugrad21]

Canton

McKinley-Massillon results
Thursday, October 26, 2006


McKinley 2006 results Opponent Res. Score
Toledo Start W 49-21
Waterdown, Ont. W 56-0
at Lake W 24-20
Hoover W 29-6
at GlenOak W 28-3
Fitch W 28-7
Perry W 38-20
at Boardman W OT 23-17
Jackson W 41-10
Massillon2006 results
Opponent Res. Score
North Park, Ont. W 68-6
D.C. Woodson W 59-7
at Cin. Moeller L 14-48
Hamilton (Ariz.) W 35-26
at Mentor L 7-19
St. Ignatius L 16-30
Buchtel W 27-12
at Warren Harding L 16-21
Cin. Western Hill W 65-6