Tigers Defense Dominates Indians, Massillon Wins 34-0

Photo by Kory Callihan

Massillon (10-1) continued its march towards a state championship with a 34-0 win over Canal Winchester (7-5) Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. While the offense racked up 299 yards on the ground, the Tigers defense held the Indians to just 62 total yards in the game. With his 81st victory as Massillon head coach, Nate Moore surpasses the legendary Paul Brown for most wins in school history.

 

First Half

Early on, the Canal Winchester defense stood strong and forced punts on the first two Tiger possessions. On their third try, Massillon struck quickly with a 4 play, 70-yard drive, capped off by a 32-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Slaughter to Ardell Banks, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

After forcing an Indians punt, Massillon went 53 yards in ten plays with Willtrell Hartson scoring on a six-yard rush. After another missed extra point, the Tigers led 12-0. Canal Winchester would respond with their second first down of the game but failed to get anything going. On a fourth down punt attempt, the Tigers burst through the line and came away with a block, setting Massillon up at the Indians 30.

It only took four plays for the Tigers to find the end zone, Willtrell Hartson plowing in from two yards out for his second score of the game. After a Dorian Pringle two-point conversion, Massillon led 20-0. With two minutes left in the half, the Indians picked up another first down, but the clock ran down to zero. At halftime, the Tigers led Canal Winchester 20-0.

Second Half

After giving up just 39 yards in the first half, the Massillon defense came out even stronger in the second, forcing a quick Indians punt. Set up in enemy territory and poised to increase their lead, Canal Winchester stripped the ball inside their 20 to stall the Tigers drive. Unfortunately for the Indians, the Massillon defense just continued to dominate, forcing their sixth punt of the game.

Six plays later, Willtrell Hartson busted off a 34-yard touchdown run, his third of the game, to increase the Tiger lead to 27-0. Early in the fourth quarter, Peytton Mitchell took it in from a yard out to stretch the score to 34-0. On the drive, Mitchell carried the ball four times for 51 yards and the score.

After another Indians punt, Massillon would take over on their own 38. Ten plays later, the clock struck zero and it became official, the Tigers march to their first state title since 1970 will continue.

Keys to the Game

If it wasn’t obvious from the title, the Massillon defense was absolutely suffocating Friday night. The Tigers dominated the line of scrimmage and Marcus Moore was a load for the Canal Winchester offensive line to handle. While the Indians won the time of possession, they only managed 62 yards on 36 plays, an average of 1.7 yards per play.

As he has done all season long, Willtrell Hartson once again crossed the 100-yard mark for the 11th straight game, finishing with 142 and three touchdowns on 20 carries. They didn’t need to throw the ball much, but the connection between Jalen Slaughter and Ardell Banks was once again on display. Going forward, the Tigers ability to be flexible on offense will be key. When paired with a defensive performance like they had Friday, Massillon is going to be a tough team to take down.

Next Week

As the playoffs move into the third round, all games will now be played at neutral sites. Up next for the Tigers is a showdown with the Big Walnut Golden Eagles (10-2), who advanced with a 35-21 win over Watkins Memorial. The site for the game is still to be determined.

 

Top Performers

Canal Winchester

Corey Howard: 11 carries 25 yards

Maxton Brunner: 12 carries 23 yards

 

Massillon Washington

Jalen Slaughter: 5-9 75 yards 1 TD  4 carries 8 yards

Willtrell Hartson: 20 carries 142 yards 3 TD

Ardell Banks: 2 catches 36 yards 1 TD

 

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

Massillon 3:38- Jalen Slaughter to Ardell Banks, 32 yards (Nolan Hendricks kick no good)

 

2nd Quarter

Massillon 7:18- Willtrell Hartson, 6-yard run (Vinney Keller kick no good)

Massillon 2:09- Willtrell Hartson, 2-yard run (Dorian Pringle 2 pt. good)

 

3rd Quarter

Massillon 5:20- Willtrell Hartson, 34-yard run (Keller kick good)

 

4th Quarter

Massillon 10:58- Peytton Mitchell, 2-yard run (Keller kick good)

 

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
Canal Winchester	0	0	0	0	0
Massillon	6	14	7	7	34

 

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