MASSILLON Massillon defensive coordinator Spencer Leno told his unit to be ready to blitz against Canal Winchester in the second round of the OHSAA playoffs on Friday. The Tiger defenders were happy to oblige.
Massillon racked up four sacks and ten total tackles for loss on Friday as the Tigers defeated Canal Winchester 37-7 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Defensive lineman Michael Wright Jr. had two sacks while Logan Allman and Deangelo Zimmerman added one each.
“I felt like we had a great game as a unit,” Wright Jr. said. “Coach Leno told us to be ready to blitz all week in practice. He said it was going to be a defensive line and linebacker kind of game tonight because they liked to run. The line played well and our linebackers Vito (McConell) and Logan (Allman) played a great game as well.”
McConnell led the team with six tackles and added one tackle for loss. Allman had five tackles and two tackles for loss. Zimmerman forced a fumble and recovered it. The Massillon secondary also knocked down eight Canal Winchester passes.
“Coach Leno told us to be ready to blitz tonight,” McConnell said. “I felt like we did a great job of that as a team. We were really able to put some heat on the quarterback. We applied pressure to them all night long. We were also strong against the run.”
Massillon limited Canal Winchester to just 138 yards of total offense. That included just four first downs and 20 yards of offense at the half.
“The defense played an incredible game,” Massillon head coach Nate Moore said. “I think the key for them tonight was how hard they played.”
The Massillon offense more than did its part while the Tiger defense shut down Canal Winchester. Jalen Slaughter threw three touchdown passes while Ja’Meir Gamble surpassed 150 yards rushing. Gamble totaled 154 yards on 15 carries despite facing an eight-man front from the Canal Winchester defense for most of the night.
“You just have to give credit for our line and to Ja’Meir for still be able to move the ball,” Moore said. “Our guys did a nice job of blocking and Ja’Meir has the ability to make people miss. When you can do those things, you can still make big plays happen.”
Slaughter and the receivers also took advantage of the single coverage on the outside. Slaughter was 10-of-19 passing for 228 yards with no interceptions.
“When you’re facing an eight-man pressure defense with a cover zero behind it creates some opportunities,” Moore said. “We were able to catch it a couple of times and the kids were able to make them pay for it.”
Bryalyn Toles and Jacques Carter caught touchdowns for Massillon. McConnell also caught a 3-yard touchdown on offense after a play fake by Slaughter fooled the entire stadium and left McConnell wide open for a score in the second half.
“We had two tight ends on the play,” McConnell said. “The corner came up and took the other tight end and no one covered me. It left me wide open. It was fun to score a touchdown on offense.”
Massillon improves to 9-3 on the season. The Tigers will play its next game at a neutral site meaning it was farewell to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for seniors like McConnell and Wright Jr.
“It was obviously a special night for our seniors,” Moore said. “I love this group of kids. They aren’t done yet though and they have bigger goals they want to achieve.”
Here is how the game unfolded through our live updates
Massillon has defeated Canal Winchester 37-7 here at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The Tigers advance to the third round of the OHSAA Playoffs.
The Massillon backup unit threw an interception on fourth down to Canal Winchester’s Brody Harmon at the Canal Winchester 26-yard line. We have 4:30 left to play in this game. Massillon leads 37-7.
Iverson Klusmann just intercepted Massillon in the end zone to end the Tiger threat. The ball will come back out to the 20-yard line. The backup offense was in on that drive for the Tigers. Massillon leads 37-7 with 10:53 to play.
Massillon leads Canal Winchester 37-7 after the third quarter. The clock will continue to run once the fourth quarter starts.
The interior of the Massillon defensive line just sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble. The Tigers recover the ball at the Canal Winchester 18-yard line. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 37-7 with 1:30 to go in the third quarter.
Vito McConnell just caught a 3-yard touchdown pass moments ago on a nice play fake by Jalen Slaughter. Slaughter faked out the entire stadium and McConnell was wide open. The extra point was no good. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 37-7 with five minutes to go in the third quarter. We will now have a running clock here at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The third quarter is about to get underway here at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Canal Winchester will receive the kickoff. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 31-7.
Mateo Herrera makes a 29-yard field goal with no time on the clock to give Massillon a 31-7 lead over Canal Winchester before halftime. The field goal attempt was set up by a defensive holding call with no time left on the clock on the end zone by Canal Winchester. Canal Winchester was called for pass interference on the play before that. Strong first half for Massillon. Canal Winchester will get the ball to start the third quarter.
Wide receiver Jacques Carter is back out on the field before halftime for Massillon. Carter was shaken up on the previous drive. Good to see he is ok.
Canal Winchester just attempted a 50-yard field goal with 45 seconds to go in the second quarter. The kick had the distance but was wide left. The score remains Massillon 28-7. Due to high school rules, Massillon will get the ball at its own 25-yard line after the missed field goal.
Wide receiver Jacques Carter just took a big hit on an attempted screen pass and was helped off the field just before halftime. Hopefully he will be ok. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 28-7 with 1:53 to play in the second quarter.
Logan Allman just made the third quarterback sack of the night. The Tigers completely collapsed the pocket on Canal Winchester. Canal Winchester is going to punt the ball back to Massillon. The Tigers will get the ball back with 1:57 to play in the second quarter. Massillon leads 28-7.
The first play after the custodial timeout was memorable for Massillon. Ja’Meir Gamble breaks through the eight man front and takes it 57 yards for a touchdown. The extra point attempt by Mateo Herrera was good. Massillon now leads Canal Winchester 28-7 with 3:57 to go in the second quarter.
A Massillon player vomited on the field here at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium so we had a custodial timeout. The custodian came out waving a broom to cheers. He also received a standing ovation after he was finished. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 21-7.
Michael Wright Jr. is causing the Canal Winchester offensive line a lot of problems. Wright Jr. just recorded his second sack of the night and he has pressured the quarterback on numerous other occasions early. He is having a terrific game for Massillon. Massillon leads 21-7 with 4:47 to play in the second quarter.
Braylyn Toles just caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Slaughter. Toles caught the pass in the open field and was gone. It’s hard to give this group of Massillon receivers an open field. They have so much speed they are nearly impossible to catch in that scenario. The extra point by Mateo Herrera was good. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 21-7 with 6:28 to go in the second quarter.
Caleb Clay comes up with a clutch 3-yard touchdown catch in the flat from Quinton McGhee on fourth down to keep Canal Winchester in this game. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 14-7 with 11:12 to go in the second quarter.
Massillon leads Canal Winchester 14-0 after thee first quarter at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Canal Winchester will have a crucial third-and-goal at the Tiger 4-yard line to start the second quarter.
Canal Winchester returned the ensuing kickoff down to the Massillon 6-yard line. Tiger defense starting with their backs against the wall on this drive with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 14-0.
Mylen Lenix put the cap on a long Massillon drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The Mateo Herrera extra point attempt was good. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 14-0 with 1:17 to play in the first quarter.
Massillon has held Canal Winchester to negative two yards of offense after two drives. Canal Winchester’s only first down so far came on a pass interference call. The Tigers are getting consistent pressure on the quarterback and completely shutting down the run game. Massillon leads 7-0 with 5:07 to play in the first quarter.
Safety Tyler Hackenbracht is out on the field in the secondary for Massillon in this game. Hackenbracht was injured in the third quarter of last week’s first round playoff game in the third quarter and did not return. A status update on Hackenbracht was not immediately available after the game last week. Hackenbracht entered the game as Massillon’s leading tackler.
Jacques Carter just took a screen pass from Jalen Slaughter 72 yards for a touchdown. Carter found himself in one-on-one coverage on the outside and shook the first man and never looked backed. Canal Winchester is stacking the line of scrimmage early and it hurt them in that scenario. The Mateo Herrera kick is good. Massillon leads Canal Winchester 7-0 with 8:18 to go in the first quarter.
The Massillon defense forces a three-and-out of its own for the first drive. The Tigers will be getting the ball back with 9:27 to go in the first quarter. Canal Winchester 0, Massillon 0.
Massillon’s Michael Wright Jr. made a big statement on Canal Winchester’s first play from scrimmage. Wright immediately sacked the quarterback with a big hit. It goes for a 3-yard loss on the play.
The Massillon offense stalls out early on the first drive. The Tigers picked up just one yard on the first three plays and will be punting to Canal Winchester.
We’re just about to get underway here at Massillon. Massillon will receive to start the game. Canal Winchester will get the ball first to star the second half.
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