Orange skies and a Friday night that finally felt like football season were a perfect combination. For Massillon the perfect combo was Anthony McMullen Jr. and Christian Culler, who carried the Tigers to victory with 100+ yards each and a combined 3 touchdowns. The Tigers took on a Texas team for the second time in two years (and the second time in program history) on Friday. Twice the Tigers have thrashed the Southwest schools by a combined score of 86-20. This time Massillon took home a 45-20 victory over Cornerstone Christian.
1st Quarter
The opening kickoff took a hop on the Tigers but George Rivera fielded and returned it to set the Tigers at the 38. Gio Jackson Jr. jumped for a catch on 3rd down for a gain of 19 to put Massillon close to the red zone. Anthony McMullen put the Tigers inside the 20 on a 1st down run. Manny Patterson scrambled around the end on a 3rd down play and trucked a defender on his way to the end zone. The extra point was true and the Tigers led 7-0. The ensuing kickoff was muffed and the Warriors started out on their own 15. Deontay Malone broke up a pass and forced a 4th down, but Cornerstone converted on a screen pass (a play that the Warriors would go to all night). Thankfully for the Tigers, Christian Culler poked the ball loose after the receiver had picked up the 1st down; Chayce White jumped on the ball to complete the turnover. Manny Patterson found Gio Jackson Jr. in the back of the end zone soon thereafter; Jackson showed excellent footwork in the end zone, stopping in the back and staying in bounds while in double coverage. Cornerstone Christian went nowhere as Samuel Dossous jumped on a run and stopped it in the backfield; the Warriors were forced to punt. Massillon pounded the Warriors with the ground game on their drive– Anthony McMullen Jr. flew by defenders for a 45-yard gain, Christian Culler picked up a 1st down, and Deontay Malone picked up 7 on a wide receiver sweep. At the end of the 1st, Massillon was in position to take a 3-score lead.
2nd Quarter
Anthony McMullen Jr. picked up a 1st down for the Tigers but they were unable to put it in the end zone. They elected to kick a field goal; Mateo Herrera drilled it from 22 yards out and Massillon went up 17-0. Cornerstone moved the ball but chose to go for it on 4th down from their own side of the field– Ja’Dyn Williams blitzed and shot around his blocker for an emphatic sack. Massillon could not move the ball on their end and turned it over on downs. Deontay Malone broke up a pass but a few screens and an extremely questionable targeting call moved the ball into Tiger territory– the Warriors ran it in for a touchdown and cut the Massillon lead to 17-7. The Tigers answered quickly with their own score. A good Chayce White kick return and a steady dose of Christian Culler helped Massillon move the ball and set up a score. Christian Culler rolled for 16-yards and a touchdown to make the score 24-7. Cornerstone moved the ball on screens and slowly moved closer to the goal line. From the Tiger 5-yard line, the Warriors tried to punch it in at the last second of the half. Samuel Dossous and Dayvionne Floyd stopped a run in the backfield; Cornerstone had to rush a play with the clock winding down. As the clock hit 0, the Warriors quarterback threw a desperate pass– it was almost intercepted by Braylon Gamble and the Tigers got the defensive stop to keep the score at 24-14.
3rd Quarter
Cornerstone had a good drive to start the 2nd half. It was set up by a long kick return– a great catch downfield and broken tackles on screens helped the Warriors to an eventual score. With the lead cut back to 2 scores, Massillon’s offense got to work. Christian Culler found a hole and burst through for a 34-yard gain; he picked up a conversion on 4th down and punched it in for a touchdown soon after. The Tiger defense stepped up as Deontay Malone picked off a pass and returned it to the Cornerstone 20.
4th Quarter
Massillon made the Warriors pay following the turnover; Manny Patterson found Deontay Malone over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown. Working with a 38-14 lead, Massillon’s defense got a few more highlight plays. Joe Karder and Isaac Maxheimer both picked up sacks and Marcus Garner shut down a run for no gain. Cornerstone punted but the kick was shanked; Braylon Gamble grabbed the ball and returned it the Warriors’ 11. Anthony McMullen fought his way into the end zone to increase the Massillon lead to 45-14. Cornerstone made a last-second effort and scored on the final play of the game, but the Tigers went home happy with a 45-20 victory.
Stats
Massillon was carried by the run game on Friday. Anthony McMullen Jr. picked up a season-best 130 rush yards; Christian Culler picked up a season-best 102 yards and a pair of scores. Manny Patterson also rushed for a touchdown. He was 5-8 passing for 71 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Ja’Dyn Williams added to his team-leading tackle totals with 11– he also had 2 sacks and 2 tackles-for-loss. Noah Jenkins and Isaac Maxheimer had 9 tackles (a season high for Jenkins). Maxheimer also had a sack and a TFL.
