Player Spotlight— Week 5 vs. St. Edward

The Tigers took on St. Edward in Lakewood on Friday night. The Eagles, three time defending champions in Division I, were downed by Massillon for the third year in a row. Some key performances helped the Tigers defeat St. Ed’s— several of the players that came up big in the showdown are the spotlight players this week.

A huge factor in the Tigers’ offensive gameplay was the running game. Ja’Meir Gamble took on the bulk of the rushing for the Tigers, scoring two touchdowns and rushing for 144 yards on 22 carries. He also had 16 yards receiving on two receptions. Gamble took on a strong St. Ed’s defense to carry the Tigers to victory; this performance earns him a position in the spotlight this week.

Massillon’s offensive line faced a huge challenge this week. St. Edward boasted both a line with huge size and excellent linebackers. The Tigers’ O-line stood up to the challenge, helping the run game to gain 236 yards and score three touchdowns. They also allowed only one sack of quarterback Jalen Slaughter, who tossed a touchdown and had 106 yards passing. For this often overlooked but extremely important element of the game, the Tigers’ offensive line of Nolan Davenport, Mike Looney, Andrew Brumfield, Chris Fair, Marcus Garner Jr, Gavin Kappes, Mike Wright, and Deangelo Zimmerman (TE) are all spotlight players this week.

Massillon had an excellent defensive performance against St. Ed’s. One player that stood out in the stat sheet and on the field is Jadyn Williams. He recorded an incredible 16 tackles, including 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles-for-loss. This number is third all-time in a single game in Massillon history, passing Cooper Ivan (14 in 2008) and narrowly missing a tie for second with Nick Liebler (17 vs. Perry in 2020).

*The unbreakable record of 42 by Chuck Vliet in 1950 is first all time.*

The Tigers’ defense locked down the Eagles’ run game and came up big on multiple crucial 4th down plays. Many players stood out for the Tigers.  Here are a few stats: Daylan Pringle (9 tackles), Mike Wright (7 tackles, 1.5 TFL), Tyler Hackenbracht (7 tackles), Mylen Lenix (6 tackles, also 64 yds rushing and a TD on offense), Logan Allman (6 tackles, .5 sack, .5 TFL), Isaac Maxheimer (5 tackles, 1.5 TFL), and Tra’Yon Williams (4 tackles, 1 TFL) were among many Tigers who had an excellent night defensively. For this excellent performance, the Tigers’ D is in the spotlight this week.