Tiger Seniors Propel Rout in Regional Quarterfinal
The Tigers rolled to a 37-7 victory over Canal Winchester Friday night in the OHSAA playoff regional quarterfinals. The Tigers relied on big plays and some special moments from their seniors, who played their final game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon’s victory.
1st Quarter
The Tigers started off with the ball. A couple of passes fell incomplete, and Massillon was quickly forced to punt. The Tigers’ defense immediately stepped up and forced a punt after senior defense lineman Mike Wright sacked Indians’ quarterback Quinton McGhee. Following a punt by Canal Winchester, the Tigers offense roared with a 72-yard catch-and-run by senior Jacques Carter from senior Jalen Slaughter. After this score, the Tiger defense once again smashed the Indians behind the line as Tyler Hackenbracht had a tackle-for-loss, and Dayvionne Floyd and Mike Wright combined for another. The next drive for the Tigers led to a score; senior Ja’Meir Gamble had a couple of first-down runs to set up a 4-yard touchdown from senior Mylen Lenix. Canal Winchester broke off a big kick return and took the ball deep into Massillon territory.
2nd Quarter
The Tigers’ defense held until a fourth-down play resulted in a touchdown two plays into the second quarter. Massillon and Canal Winchester then exchanged punts; the Tigers answered with an 81-yard touchdown as senior Braylyn Toles stiff-armed his way down the field off a pass from Jalen Slaughter. On the defensive side, Mike Wright scared the Indians’ quarterback into a sack as he fell down in anticipation of Mike’s hit. Another punt followed this play, and the Tigers turned their possession into more points. Ja’Meir Gamble took a handoff 57 yards to the house to put Massillon on top 28-7. Logan Allman made sure that the Indians’ offense could go nowhere with a big sack. The Tigers could not move the ball as Jalen Slaughter was sacked on a third-down play. The Indians moved the ball but not quite close enough to score as a 50-yard field goal attempt sailed to left and came nowhere near the goalpost. Massillon took advantage of decent field position and a couple of penalties to move down the field; and Mateo Herrera nailed a 29-yard field goal on an untimed down to put Massillon up 31-7 at the half.
3rd Quarter
The Indians opened the second half with the ball and moved into Tigers’ territory. A forth-down pass was stopped short of the line-to-gain by Tyler Hackenbracht, and Massillon took over on downs. The Tigers could not convert on third down and punted. Isaac Maxheimer and Logan Allman swarmed the Indians’ run game in the backfield yet again, and they were forced to punt. The snap on the punt was dropped; and the punter was tackled short of the first down, setting up the Tigers in great field position. Jalen Slaughter tossed a ball into the back of the end zone to wide-open senior tight end Vito McConnell, giving the Tigers a score and making the game a running clock. Senior tight end Deangelo Zimmerman moved to defensive end for a play and sacked the Indians’ quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers.
4th Quarter
Massillon inserted the second-string into the game. They could not score as a fourth-down pass was picked off in the end zone. Canal Winchester was forced to punt, and the Tigers threw another interception on an underthrown ball. The Indians ran out of time, and the Tigers took the ballgame— the final: Massillon 37 – Canal Winchester 7.
Interesting Stats
In the first half the Tigers outgained the Indians 364-20 in yardage. The end tally was 413-138. Quarterback Jalen Slaughter went 10-19 for the Tigers with 228 yards and three touchdowns. Jacques Carter and Braylyn Toles both had great games. Carter gathered 97 yards on 3 catches with a touchdown; Toles hauled in three passes for 93 yards and a score. Vito McConnell caught his first touchdown pass of the season. On the rushing end, Ja’Meir Gamble rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown while averaging 10.3 yards-per-carry. Mylen Lenix also rushed for a score.
Defensively the Tigers played an excellent game. They held the Indians to 20 yards in the first half. Massillon also racked up 10 tackles-for-loss and 4 sacks. Vito McConnell led the Tigers with 6 tackles along with a tackle-for-loss. Logan Allman had a sack and two TFLs. Mike Wright was all over the backfield; he had 2 sacks and 2.5 TFLs. Deangelo Zimmerman had a TFL and a sack along with a forced fumble. Numerous other Tiger defenders also had tackles-for loss; they played as a team defensively and did not refrain from sharing the wealth in the backfield.
Postgame Comments
Vito McConnell: “We came out strong, we came out fast… we wanted to key in on the run and limit big plays. Defense did a good job; we got pressure on the quarterback and played all-around good defense. Coach Leno [Tigers’ DC] told us all week that we were going to be blitzing; we brought the heat all game. It was great to catch that touchdown; it’s my first all year… especially great in my last home game. The corner came up and took DJ [Zimmerman] and left me wide open in the back of the end zone.”
Mike Wright: “Defense was great. Coach Leno told us it was going to be a linebacker kind of game against their run game. For me, two sacks in my last game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium… I love it. Go out with a bang.”
“Coach Leno is how we stay consistent and unselfish. We do our job and play as a team. Defense is firing and offense is hot.” “With a running team like that we did a lot of five man blitzes… we shut down their run.”
Coach Moore: “We played hard on defense. When we face an overloaded box with too many guys to block, we rely on the running back. Ja’Meir did a great job. These seniors are a really special group, but this ride’s not over… we’re looking forward to next week.”
Up Next
The Tigers will go on the road to face #7 seed Ashville Teays Valley (8-4) at a neutral site (to be determined; the site will be posted here once it is announced).
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