Massillon (1-0) took on GlenOak (0-1) in Thursday evening’s freshmen game. The Tigers defense played strong, and the offense established the run game early in the Tigers 38-6 win.
The Tigers started their big day on the ground early. On the opening drive, DeVaughn Williams had a 41-yard rush that put Massillon at the Eagles’ 24. The Tigers offense could not capitalize on the play and turned the ball over on downs. Toward the end of the first quarter, Tigers quarterback Rasmus Haines broke the scoreless tie with a 51-yard scramble. The Tiger two-point conversion succeeded– with a Greg McHenry catch of a Haines pass– to make the score 8-0. Haines would score again in the second quarter on a 3-yard QB keeper, also tossing the following two-point conversion to Derrick Gordon to put the Tigers up 16-0. On GlenOak’s next possession, the Tigers stripped the ball from the Eagles quarterback, and DeVaughn Williams fell on the loose ball. Williams would put the ball in the end zone a few plays later, and Haines ran the two-point try in to make the score 24-0 Tigers.
The Eagles broke up Massillon’s shutout on the first drive of the third quarter after a long touchdown pass, but the Tigers stopped the two-point try. Massillon quickly answered with a score on their next possession. Derrick Gordon, seemingly buried by the pile a few yards ahead of the line of scrimmage, burst out for an explosive touchdown run to put the Tigers up 30-6 (the following two-point try failed). Sacks by Greg McHenry and George Rivera forced an Eagles turnover on downs, but the Tigers could not get a drive going until the fourth quarter, when big runs by Williams and Haines set up another touchdown run by Derrick Gordon. The following two-point conversion (Haines to Iziaha Johnson) put the Tigers up 38-6. The Tigers defense snuffed out the Eagles for a final time on GlenOak’s last drive, recovering another fumble. When the Tigers took a final knee, the scoreboard read Tigers 38 – Eagles 6.
Coach’s Comment…
Coach Corsale: “We started out sloppy again. The defense played lights-out. We really established our O-line again this week.”
ON DERRICK GORDON’S RUN: “He’s a great back; little but tough, a very physical kid. We’re very deep at running back, and all our backs can play physical ball.”
Up Next
The Tigers will travel to St. Edward on Wednesday. Kickoff will be at 6:00 PM.
