The Tigers took on the Legacy Sports Science Titans out of Spring,Texas, on Friday night for the first matchup between Massillon and a Texas team. The Tigers run game amassed 360 yards rushing, including 290 from Ja’Meir Gamble and shut down the Titan’s high-powered offense to claim a 41-0 shutout victory.
First Quarter
The Tigers opened the game with a scoring drive. The touchdown was set up by 33-yard pass from Jalen Slaughter to Braylyn Toles, and Ja’Meir Gamble took the ball in for a 22-yard score. Legacy muffed the kickoff and were forced to punt as the Tigers’ defense stood their ground. Massillon would follow with another Ja’Meir Gamble touchdown run, this one from 24 yards out. The Titans were smashed by the Tigers’ defense once again— Tyler Hackenbracht had a tackle-for-loss on the first snap, Marcus Garner and Logan Allman had a tackle-for-loss on the second snap, and Mylen Lenix finished up Legacy with a sack on third down. Massillon mishandled a handoff on their end and fumbled the ball back to Legacy.
Second Quarter
The Tigers’ defense once again denied the Titans, as Mylen Lenix and Tyler Hackenbracht had tackles-for-loss that forced a field goal attempt. The snap was high and the kick was wide, giving the Tigers the ball. A 41-yards pass down the field to Ricardo Wells set Massillon up for another score, as Ja’Meir Gamble would take the ball in from 34 yards out— his third touchdown of the night. Legacy moved the ball despite a Mylen Lenix/Mike Wright sack and a Ja’Dyn Williams TFL, and the Tigers had their backs against the wall inside their red zone. Mylen Lenix drove back Legacy quarterback Keisear Henderson on a keeper play for a 5-yard loss, and Lennox Lemon broke up a 4th-down pass to the end zone to force a turnover on downs. The Tigers were unable to move the ball but Tyler Hackenbracht flipped the field with a 64-yard punt. Mike Wright shut down a screen pass, and the clock ran out in the first half with the Tigers leading 21-0.
Third Quarter
Legacy had another big drive; but Mylen Lenix sacked their quarterback and Daylan Pringle cleaned up the drive with an interception. Ja’Meir Gamble followed with his fourth touchdown run of the night, taking the ball 68 yards to the house. Legacy punted, and the Tigers in turn were forced to punt after 55 yards in penalties were called on the drive. Braylon Gamble made a great sliding interception on the defensive side, picking the ball right above the turf to give the Tigers the ball. Ja’Meir Gamble gave the Tigers one more touchdown run (his fifth of the game) on a 77-yard house call. The Tigers forced a fumble that was recovered by Lucas Shertzer at the 17-yard line.
Fourth Quarter
Massillon was able to drive the ball in for a score as Peytton Mitchell took the sixth rushing touchdown of the night into the end zone, giving the Tigers a 41-0 lead. Maxwell Tanner and Lucas Shertzer cleaned up Legacy one more time on a TFL that forced a punt. Savior Owens and the Massillon backups drove down near the goal line, but the Tigers took a knee and sent the Titans back to Texas with a 41-0 loss.
Interesting Stats
Ja’Meir Gamble had a record game, rushing for 290 yards and 5 touchdowns on 15 carries. He averaged 19.3 yards per carry. In the record books, the 290 yards are good for third all-time in a single game in team history behind Travis McGuire (302) and Willtrell Hartson (324). Gamble’s five touchdowns is tied for fifth all-time in a single game with names like Jamir Thomas, Terrence Keys Jr., Travis McGuire, Edwin “Dutch” Hill, and Bob Glass. His 19.3 yards per carry are second all-time behind Mike Mauger (20). Tyler Hackenbracht led the Tigers in tackles with 9– he also had two tackles-for-loss. On the special teams side, Hackenbracht had a 64-yard punt and averaged 56 yards per kick. Mylen Lenix had 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and 4.5 tackles-for-loss. Other defensive standouts include Daylan Pringle (interception), Braylon Gamble (interception), Lucas Shertzer (1 sack, fumble recovery), and Mike Wright (.5 sack, 1.5 TFL). Overall the Tigers forced 3 turnovers and 3 sacks and 11 tackles-for-loss.
Postgame Comments
Ja’Meir Gamble: “Our O-line dominated their front.” Speaking on his record performance: “It’s a blessing to be up with those great names, those were some great backs.”
Nolan Davenport: “We call what we do ‘Trench Life’. The whole line as a unit takes pride in dominating the line of scrimmage. All week that was an emphasis; we wanted to sustain blocks to the whistle. We executed that well this week. When you see teams getting worn down that’s when you have to attack. That’s where you finish the game and put them away. On and off the field, I try to be the best leader I can, mainly by leading by example. I’m not the loudest leader, but I just try to lead by example and show our guys if I can do it then they can too.”
Coach Moore: “Legacy’s a good team with great players… our guys just played really well. They have the #1 Junior quarterback in Texas. Even when we didn’t sack him we were getting pressure on him, and our DBs did a great job in coverage. The offensive line had one of their best performances of the year. Our protection was really good against a good front. Ja’Meir did a great job and had great vision; he had some great cuts. Once he gets a seam he’s going so fast that he’s not getting caught. Two great interceptions, one by Daylan Pringle and sophomore Braylon Gamble…his first interception of his career… that was a great catch. Defense created turnovers and the offense capitalized.” On Ja’Meir’s record performance: “Really proud of Ja’Meir—it’s a team record, the offensive line and receivers blocking, the quarterback decision-making. This is the ultimate team game, and everyone should be proud to have a piece of that record.”
Up Next…
Massillon will travel to Warren to take on Harding (6-2). Kickoff will be at 7:00.
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