Massillon will seek to beat their arch nemesis for the 10th year in a row when they take on McKinley in Canton next week. The Tigers got some practice for Saturday’s showdown with the 10th win in a row over their 2nd-longest tenured rival, the Raiders of Warren G. Harding. In the 90th matchup between the two teams, the Tigers used an overwhelming defense to pound the injury-riddled Raiders (who had multiple key starters missing) into submission in a 42-10 victory. The Tigers now have a 62-25-3 record versus Warren.
1st Quarter
Warren Harding received the ball first to start Friday night’s contest. The Raiders found a hole on a quarterback run and picked up a 1st down. They tried the same play again and were not successful as the Tigers pounced on the play after a very short gain. The Raiders kept the ball on the ground on the next play; the counter play was swallowed up and the ball was jarred loose. Warren fell on the ball, but disaster befell them again soon after. The Raider’s quarterback was flushed out and scrambled to the left side looking for a receiver, but an attempted screen turned into a catastrophe as the ball flew backwards out of the quarterbacks’ hand. Ja’Dyn Williams, who was already in close pursuit, scooped the ball up and ran it 22 yards for a touchdown. Following a Mateo Herrera extra point, the Tigers led 7-0. The mistake-prone Raiders ran into trouble yet again, this time on the ensuing kickoff. Braylon Gamble popped the ball out of the returner’s hands and the ball rolled on the turf for awhile before DeVaughn Williams was finally able to gain possession and force the turnover for Massillon. Manny Patterson found a leaping Gio Jackson Jr. in the end zone shortly after and the Tigers took a 14-0 lead. Massillon’s defense was all over Warren on their next drive as even on short gains the Raiders were still hit hard by Massillon defenders. A 3rd-and-short play was anything but easy for Warren– Ja’Dyn Williams pounced on and destroyed a run play in the backfield and forced a punt. A Massillon pass was overthrown and picked off, giving Warren the ball back. Samuel Dossous flung down a run play in the backfield for a tackle-for-loss, but Warren moved the ball on a pair of big pass plays. The Raiders had the ball in Tiger territory, but Massillon’s defense turned up the heat and picked up a pair of tackles-for-loss (Christian Culler, Braylon Gamble/Noah Jenkins). Ja’Dyn Williams put the icing on the cake for the Black Swarm defense with a 3rd down chasedown and sack. The Raiders punted the ball back to Massillon– the Tigers were also forced to punt after a 3rd down pass was knocked away. Warren tried to pound the Tigers with the ground game, but the plays went nowhere (the Raiders only had 32 rush yards in the contest). The 1st quarter ended with a score of 14-0 in favor of the Tigers.
2nd Quarter
The Raiders found a receiver over the middle for a 1st down to start the 2nd quarter. Ja’Dyn Williams once again had his name called on a big play– he fell on a loose ball after a handoff on a sweep went awry. Massillon could not move the ball; they went 3-and-out and punted. The Raiders put together their best drive of the game following the punt; they picked their way down the field on screens and quarterback runs. They could not put the ball in the end zone, however; good coverage from Chayce White, another Ja’Dyn Williams tackle-for-loss, and a Dayvionne Floyd-batted pass forced a field goal. Raider kicker Jaron Edmonds’ kick was true and the Tiger lead was cut to 14-3. Massillon quickly responded on offense. A steady dose of Anthony McMullen Jr. led the Tigers to a pair of 1st downs, and he broke one off for a 51-yard run to set Massillon up in great position for a score. Christian Culler charged through and scored to make it a 3-score game once again at 21-3. Massillon soon got the ball back– a Joe Karder pursuit on a pass attempt and a dropped pass led to a Warren punt. The Tigers gave the ball back to the Raiders after an underthrown pass was intercepted. Massillon returned the favor as Braylon Gamble picked off a long pass and took it back to the Warren 16 for a 44-yard return. Sabastian Harper flipped into the end zone a few plays later to put Massillon up 28-3. The Raiders ran the clock out and the Tiger defense went to the locker room fired up with their dominant performance.
3rd Quarter
Massillon opening drive seemed to be stunted by a high snap that led to a 3rd-and-17, but Manny Patterson found Deontay Malone on the sideline for a 1st down. The Tigers were unable to pick up a second 1st down, however, and had to punt. The kick by punter Rasmus Haines went 47 yards and was downed at the 12 of Warren. The Raiders coughed up the ball once again on a mishandled handoff– the ball shot forward and Deontay Malone jumped on it to give the Tigers the ball. Manny Patterson screened it out to Deontay Malone a few plays later– Malone cruised 27 yards for the score to put Massillon up 35-3 and start a running clock. The running clock did not last long for Massillon as Warren kick returner Matt Richardson took the kick 90 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. Massillon drove slowly but surely down the field in search of a score and a renewed running clock– the Tigers picked up 1st downs on a McMullen run and a Jackson catch.
4th Quarter
Facing 4th-and-7, the Tigers converted to keep the drive going. Manny Patterson found Gio Jackson Jr. near the sticks for a 1st down– Patterson’s next throw drew a pass interference call in the end zone. The Tigers ran the ball with Anthony McMullen Jr. down near the goal line– the Massillon line pushed the pile into the end zone for a touchdown. Leading 42-10, the Tigers looked to finish off the game with a stop. They got a stop initially but a running-into-the-kicker call gave Warren new life on their drive. Ja’Dyn Williams made one more impact play as he nailed the Raiders’ quarterback to force an incomplete pass. The Raiders picked up a 1st down on 4th following a penalty, but they ran out of time as the clock hit 0s with the score– Massillon 42 – Warren Harding 10.
Stats
Anthony McMullen Jr. had a season-best 158 yards rushing for Massillon. He scored a touchdown. Christian Culler and Sabastian Harper also rushed for touchdowns. Manny Patterson threw for 133 yards and tossed a pair of touchdown passes. Both Gio Jackson Jr. and Deontay Malone had receiving touchdowns– they had 61 and 62 yards receiving respectively.
Ja’Dyn Williams was all over the field for the Massillon defense– he had a sack, 3 tackles-for-loss, and 2 fumble recoveries (including one returned for a touchdown).
Rasmus Haines had a punt of 47 yards that was downed at the Warren 12.
