Massillon lone Stark County representative in state final with 55-7 assault of Cincinnati Anderson

 Massillon lone Stark County representative in state final with 55-7 assault of Cincinnati Anderson

By Keno Sultan

C-Town Radio staff report

COLUMBUS--The Massillon Tigers broke a school record for victories in a season at Historic Columbus Crew Stadium with a 55-7 assault of #4 Cincinnati Anderson in a Division II state semifinal.

After a 7-7 deadlock, the Tigers, who were ranked #1 in Ohio Division II erupted for 48 unanswered points in what became their 11th running clock victory on the season.

Massillon will advance to their fourth Division II state championship game for a fourth time in six seasons by virtue of a 15-0 record as they will oppose #3 Akron Hoban, a 17-14 winner over #2 Avon in another state semifinal.

This will be the sixth meeting between the two heavyweights overall, fifth in the last six playoff seasons and third meeting in the state championship. Last season in a state semifinal, the Knights used two gadget plays on their first two possessions to construct a 14-0 first quarter lead and captured a 41-20 decision at InfoCision Stadium before losing to Toledo Central Catholic in last season's title game, 28-21. The Knights have fell short in their last two state title games, also losing to Cincinnati Winton Woods 21-10 in 2021.

Hoban leads the overall series 4-2 with Massillon's victories coming 38-16 in a 2011 regular season contest and 17-14 in a 2019 regional final while the Knights scored victories of 42-28 and 35-6 in the 2018 and 2020 state championship games respectively with the latter coming at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium during the coronavirus pandemic.

Massillon is 3-2 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium dating back to the 2017 season, a 16-15 winner over Canton McKinley, stopping the Bulldogs bid for an undefeated home season. The Tigers are aiming for their first ever state playoff championship in it's illustrious history.

Kickoff for the Division II state championship will be Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Canton South season concludes with setback to defending state champions

WADSWORTH--Stark County's bid to have two local teams competing for a state title came up short as Canton South was defeated by battle-tested Cleveland Glenville 42-21 in a Division IV state semifinal at Art Wright Stadium.

The Tarblooders led 28-7 at halftime and it was more than what the Wildcats could handle as their season concluded after 14 wins.

Glenville will defend their Division IV title next Saturday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium against Kettering Alter with a kickoff time of 7:30 p.m. Kettering Alter downed Steubenville 48-0 in the other Division IV state semifinal.

Keno Sultan can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.