The Tigers rolled into Lakewood on a chilly, breezy morning. They took on the St. Edward Eagles, who came into the game with a record of 2-0.
Massillon started out quickly, with a big Javon Merriweather catch from Manny Patterson moving the Tigers in to Eagles territory. Savior Owens broke off a huge run, taking it 36 yards to the house for a Massillon touchdown. The Tigers forced a 3-and-out on Ed’s first possession after a Chayce White sack backed the Eagles up. Massillon was forced to punt on their next possession despite a Van Hawkins first down catch. St Ed’s responded with a touchdown to tie the game up at 7 in the second quarter. Both offenses failed to score before the half, and the score remained 7-7.
The Eagles scored on a long touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half, taking a 14-7 lead. Massillon would punt, and Ed’s would add another touchdown on a pass play. A Tigers’ fumble led to an Ed’s field goal, and the Tigers trailed 24-7 heading to the fourth quarter.
Massillon was desperate for a comeback, and they needed some magic to pull off a win. That magic started with a Manny Patterson pass to Gio Jackson Jr. Gio zipped down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown. The Tigers could not make the extra point but cut the Eagles’ lead to 24-13. Massillon’s D stood strong, with Corey Blunt and the Tigers’ line stuffing the run to force a 3-and-out and an Eagle’s punt. Manny Patterson tossed a long pass down the middle to Savior Owens, giving the Tigers a first down. A roughing-the-passer penalty set up a right-corner toss to Javon Merriweather for a Massillon score. The Tigers then pulled off some trickeration on the ensuing two-point conversion. With a two-back set, Patterson handed the ball off to Owens, who threw a pop pass into the end zone to Van Hawkins, cutting the Ed’s lead to 24-21. The Eagles would convert a 4th-and-one play, but Eli Moore blew up their scoring plans with an interception, which he returned to the Ed’s 43. A couple of Patterson passes and an Owens run set the Tigers up at the goal line. Another handoff to Owens went in for the score to give the Tigers a 28-24 lead with 1:11 left to play. The Eagles attempted a last minute drive to pull off a win, but Chayce White picked off Ed’s quarterback with an incredible one-handed catch to put the lights out on St. Edward. The Tigers took a knee and celebrated their huge 4th quarter comeback win.
Coach’s Comment
Coach Grunder: “We played through adversity; we might have given up some big plays but we never gave up on the game… we never gave up, showed heart, and never wavered.”
Up Next…
The Tigers (3-0) will take on Glenville at home on September 14th. Kickoff will be at 10:00 AM.
