Massillon fought Rabun Gap on Friday night. A team loaded with D1 talent, Rabun Gap had come off of two close losses– a 5-point loss to the #1 team in Georgia (who were also #4 in the nation) and a 1-point loss to the top team in Tennessee. The Tigers had momentum going into the half with the game tied at 21, but Rabun took the opening kick back for a score. Massillon rallied back once more but Rabun took the lead for good halfway through the 3rd quarter. The final score: Massillon 35 – Rabun Gap 50
1st Quarter
The Tigers had a great opening drive on offense. Anthony McMullen Jr. took the kickoff to the Tigers’ 28-yard line to set them up in good field position. Gio Jackson Jr. picked up a 1st down after a leaping catch on a wide receiver screen and Anthony McMullen Jr. cut across the field on a screen for a 24-yard gain. Manny Patterson floated a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jadyce Thigpen to put the Tigers up 7-0. Three consecutive kickoffs out of bounds put Rabun Gap in great field position. A tag screen to Indiana commit Walker Bryson went for 26 yards and a 1st down. A couple of penalties moved Rabun Gap backwards, but Rabun Gap’s quarterback (Gavin Owens, a Memphis commit) fired a pass on 3rd-and-long to Georgia Tech commit Isaac Obrokta, who beat the Tiger defense over the top for a touchdown. Massillon’s could not get their run game going on the next drive as they were pushed off the ball– a punt gave Rabun Gap the ball back at their own 43. Rabun converted on 3rd down; Ja’Dyn Williams sacked the Rabun quarterback and a holding call moved the ball back further. Ja’Dyn Williams stopped a screen pass but a questionable pass interference call on 3rd down set up an easier 4th down play– Rabun converted. The Tigers slowed down Rabun’s push and a fake punt failed as a pass sailed a bit too high. Manny Patterson and Savior Owens both ran for 1st downs, and Patterson escaped a tackle to find Jadyce Thigpen over the middle for another 1st.
2nd Quarter
Early in the 2nd quarter, Deontay Malone cut across the field and was wide open on a Patterson pass for a touchdown to give Massillon a 14-7 lead. Rabun Gap returner Joshua Buckhalter took the kickoff back to the Massillon 12-yard line as the Tigers got lost on their lanes. A 12-yard wildcat carry by Rabun Gap’s Grayson Clary tied the game at 14. On the Tigers’ end, Will Hymes reached out to grab a tipped pass and gained a 1st down. Massillon ended up short of a gaining a second 1st down and punted. Rabun’s quarterback scrambled up the middle for a 1st. The Eagles ran the ball all the way down the field, pushing the Tigers off the ball and capping off their drive with a Walker Bryson wildcat run for a score on a drive riddled with penalties. Massillon punted after a no-call on a brutal hit during a pass play. The defense stepped up for the Tigers as Joe Karder stopped a run in the backfield and a pair of passes fell incomplete. A personal foul was called on a play where Isaac Maxheimer was punched in the facemask– the Rabun Gap player was not ejected (much to the ire of Coach Nate Moore). The Eagles attempted a fake punt on 4th-and-27 from their own 19 but Ja’Dyn Williams shut the play down quickly to give Massillon the ball. Savior Owens punched the ball into the end zone several plays later to tie the game at 21. Rabun Gap converted a pair of 4th-down plays as the clock wound down and moved to the Tiger 4-yard line. A high snap helped the Tigers as Tra’Yon Williams and Christian Culler pulled down Walker Bryson for a 15-yard loss. A 37-yard field goal was missed at the buzzer and the game remained tied at the half.
Halftime
The Tiger swing band performed a transportation-related show, forming shapes of a car, train, and plane. Tunes such as Rocky theme “Gonna Fly Now” and Duke Ellington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” entertained the fans. The Massillon Girls Flag Football team also had a chance to show out for the fans– a touchdown and an interception highlighted the halftime scrimmage.
3rd Quarter
It seemed that the Tigers may have had some momentum heading into the 3rd, but Massillon’s defenders were once again sucked in on the kickoff and Rabun Gap’s Buckhalter took the ball back for a touchdown. Massillon responded again with a big drive. Jadyce Thigpen made a leaping catch and Savior Owens picked up a huge gain on 4th down. He took the ball in for a touchdown 2 plays later to tie the game at 28. Massillon picked up a couple of tackles-for-loss on the following drive but Rabun Gap kept picking up 1st downs. Conversions on 4th down and a questionable roughing call set up a touchdown pass to the front corner of the end zone. With the score 35-28 in favor of the Eagles, the Tigers were forced to go for it on 4th down on their drive. They came up short and turned the ball over on downs. A bizarre personal foul on Massillon (in which a push on a pass defense was called unnecessary roughness ) gave Rabun a 1st down. Another penalty was called on Tigers’ Head Coach Nate Moore (who had been contending with the the flag-happy officials all night) but a fumble was recovered by R’Celle Hill to give Massillon the ball back. The Tigers fumbled the ball right back to Rabun on the following play. On Rabun’s drive, their quarterback threw the ball away to no one– an intentional grounding penalty was not called in another call that went against the Tigers.
4th Quarter
A 19-yard gain on 3rd-and-20 gave Rabun an easy chance for a 1st down. The Tigers jumped offsides and Walker Bryson knifed through the defense shortly after to give the Eagles a 42-28 lead. Manny Patterson was hit hard on the Tigers’ drive and had to leave the contest. The Tigers proceeded to turn the ball over on downs. A fumble on the Eagles’ end was forced by Christian Culler and recovered by Ja”Dyn Williams. The Tigers picked up one 1st down but turned it over on downs. The Eagles took the ball down the field and scored once again. An ill-timed 2pt conversion made the score 50-28. Savior Owens drove the Tigers down the field and scored a touchdown. Rabun Gap ran out the clock and took home a 50-35 victory.
Stats
Manny Patterson was 11-17 for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. Savior Owens picked up 182 yards rushing on 21 carries and scored 3 touchdowns. Ja’Dyn Williams once again led the team in tackles– this time he picked up 15.
A combined 315 yards in penalties were called in the game (173 on Rabun Gap and 142 on Massillon).
Highlights
