The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and sometimes a stunning loss– the game of football has many ups and downs along its unpredictable path. Last week the Tigers tasted the thrill of knocking off Ohio #1 St. Ed’s; this week it was a stunning defeat versus Football North, an “all-star” squad of Canadians who travel the US playing American teams. Did hangover from the big victory play a role? Perhaps, but the Tigers were not only defeated by a Canadian team for the first time in program history, they were annihilated. Massillon was pushed off the ball all night long as North’s backside pursuit of pass plays and hard hits up front on run plays shut the Tigers offense down. Seven turnovers (six fumbles and an interception) as well as 5 sacks and 8 tackles-for-loss did not help Massillon– they were shut out on offense and limited to 141 total yards in a 34-2 running clock loss.
1st Quarter
Football North opened the game with big play. Samuel Dossous came around the end but North quarterback Jacob Muller had just enough time to get a pass off. He found receiver Andre Meltzer 38 yards downfield; Meltzer leapt up to catch the long ball. Running back Josh Martin-Pendkey slipped multiple tackles on a pair of runs and took the ball into the end zone– a score that turned out to be all North needed. Massillon took the ball at their 20 after a touchback. Quarterback Manny Patterson was pursued but escaped and scrambled for a 19-yard gain. Deontay Malone caught a pass along the sideline and spun out of a couple tackles for extra yards. The offensive momentum ended for the Tigers soon after as North’s Xavier Smith knocked the ball out on a run and the Canadians recovered. Chayce White broke up a pass on 2nd down and North snapped a ball early on 3rd down. The ball flew backwards and Mueller picked it up off the turf before being hammered by Ja’Dyn Williams– the ball popped loose once again but was recovered by North. After all that it was a 29-yard loss, making it 4th-and-35. The snap on the punt flew over the punter’s head and out the back of the end zone for a safety, making the score 2-7. Little did Massillon know that the safety would be their only score of the night. The Tigers started at the North 47 following the free kick. Manny Patterson found George Rivera near the sideline for a 1st down, but the Tigers were unable to score. A Massillon 4th-down pass fell incomplete as North brought the heat and forced a difficult pass. Samuel Dossous and Logan Allman shut down a 3rd-down scramble and forced a punt. A high snap once again resulted in a mad dash for the ball, but North punter Giancaric Chahine recovered the ball and got off a 42-yard punt on the run. Manny Patterson was swarmed and sacked on 3rd down and Massillon had to kick. Punter Rasmus Haines booted a 44-yard punt (while standing in his own end zone). A flea-flicker almost led to a touchdown for North but the pass was dropped. The next pass was dropped on a dime and completed for a 16-yard gain. North ended the 1st up 7-2 with the ball at the Massillon 24.
2nd Quarter
Running back Josh Martin-Pendkey barreled through the Tiger defense for a 21-yard gain. Massillon was able to stop North at the goal line but the Canadians pushed it through on 3rd down to take a 13-2 lead (the extra point was botched and the snapper was tackled). Massillon was stuffed on 3rd-and-short and forced to punt– Haines once again got off a beauty as his second punt of the day went for 55 yards. A personal foul on North pushed them back even further. Bennie Anthony broke up a pass and the Tigers had North pinned back near their goal line, but the Canadians picked up a pair of 1st downs. Ja’Dyn Williams caught Muller on 3rd down and forced a punt. The punt was muffed and recovered by North, but Deontay Malone made a wild play, batting the ball off the receiver’s helmet and pulling the ball in for an interception in the end zone. The Tigers were once again unable to move the ball as Manny Patterson was sacked twice. North went 3-and-out and punted after an Isaac Maxheimer tackle-for-loss. Massillon moved the ball on a pair of passes but turned the ball over for a 3rd time as the ball was batted out of the scrambling Manny Patterson’s hand. North ran out the clock and went into the half up a pair of scores.
3rd Quarter
North knew what was at stake for their program going into the 2nd half. A win over the storied Massillon Tigers– perhaps the biggest win in program history– in the Tigers’ house. It is the stuff that dreams are made of for countless opponents who walk into Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Football North was fired up coming out of the locker room.
“They may have a huge stadium, a scoreboard, and an indoor football field, but we’ve got the lead and the strength to win this” was the message outside the North locker room.
The Canadians came out bouncing and yelling. They were ready for the challenge of the 2nd half. The kickoff team was still jumping with the halftime energy as they got ready to give the Tigers the ball. The question on Massillon fans minds– could the Tigers overcome the deficit and avoid the upset?
Massillon gained one 1st down before being shut down on 3rd-and-short. They punted the ball back to North, who drove the ball down the field on a big run into Tiger territory. Isaac Maxheimer picked up a 3rd-down sack to force a field goal, and Ja’Dyn Williams blocked the kick to give Massillon the ball back. Once again Massillon picked up a 1st down but was shut down. This time they went for it in 4th down but the pass was broken up. The Tiger defense forced a punt after a 3rd-and-out. It was then that disaster struck for the Massillon offense. They were not having a stellar day– 0 points and 3 turnovers did not help– but the game was still in reach. In the last 2:29 of the 3rd quarter, Massillon fumbled 3 times. It started with a strip-sack on a hard pursuit. North recovered the fumble and took it to the Massillon 3, only being stopped from a touchdown by a Marcus Garner chasedown tackle. It took a few plays (after a pair of stops by Samuel Dossous and DeVaughn Williams) but North punched the ball in for a score. They went for 2 and succeeded– a Massillon player was ejected in between plays. North kicked off and the Tigers fumbled again on a strip-sack. A touchdown followed to put North up 27-2. The 6th fumble of the day gave North the ball once again at the end of the quarter.
4th Quarter
North punched the ball in again at the start of the 4th. Another Tiger was tossed as words were exchanged. A running clock went into effect and the time quickly ticked by in what had become a nightmare game for the Tigers. Deontay Malone had a big return on the kickoff and a big catch for a 1st down, but a pass into the end zone was intercepted (the Tigers’ 7th turnover). Football North ran out the clock and celebrated their stunning 34-2 victory over Massillon.
Stats
Massillon was limited to 24 net yards rushing (1 yard per rush) and had a total of 141 yards. North gained 246 (181 rushing and 65 passing). The North defense picked up 8 tackles-for-loss, 5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 4 pass breakups. They also forced 2 turnovers on downs. Josh Martin-Pendkey led North with 192 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.
Defensively Isaac Maxheimer led the Tigers with 11 tackles. He also had a sack and 2 TFLs.
Rasmus Haines averaged 42.5 yards per punt on 4 kicks with a long of 55.
