Massillon steels itself for another high stakes affair with Canton McKinley
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
MASSILLON--With all the accolades of success over the last eight years, Nate Moore and his horde of Massillon Tigers pretty much can establish residence in a palatial setting, take over and rule the most famous street in Paris, France, Rue de Varenne.
Ok, the Tigers may not rule the most famous street in Paris but the closest to that is their eight-year rule of governance over their ancient archrival, Canton McKinley.
Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in front of what will be a capacity crowd at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Massillon will have a chance to end their regular season on another high note for a ninth straight season when they host the Bulldogs in the 135th installment of their rivalry.
Moore immediately developed a sharp understanding of the rivalry upon becoming the 27th leader in the history of the program. Having won a state championship before also parlayed into him having a smooth transition into the rivalry.
"There is no doubt about how much it means to the community. And our community stands behind us. This is the premier football town in the United States of America and it means so much to everyone in the city, it means so much to our alumni, and you see that and how they show up Saturday at 2 o'clock," Moore said. "Our home stands will be packed, our parking lots will be packed and everyone will be supporting the Tigers."
Massillon currently possesses an eight-game winning streak over McKinley, four of those being formulated at home. Moore has won all four of them (his predecessor Jason Hall, now athletic director at North Royalton won the 2012 and 2014 contests as part of Massillon's six-game home winning streak against the Bulldogs) and is 4-0 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium against the Bulldogs (5-2 overall including a 7-2 state final triumph over Akron Hoban).
It was eight years ago that Moore endured a personal matter as he obtained his first victory over Canton McKinley in a 21-19 decision that saw Massillon take charge in the second half after trailing 13-7 and outscoring the Bulldogs 14-8 after the band show.
Moore recalled that day that left him in tears of happiness amid his time of personal adversity.
"It was a very special win no doubt. We lost my first year, the last game at Fawcett Stadium in a hard-fought game. You know, these rivalry games, you want a hard-fought game. You want a battle that's back and forth," he said. "2016 we certainly had that. Our kids got the victory and that first win was sweet, no doubt."
Since the Tigers repossessed the Victory Bell, they have outscored McKinley a staggering 189-84 over that time for a scoring average of 23.6 to 10.5. Along the way, they have posted three undefeated seasons as well in 2018, 2019 and most recently last season.
At press time, Canton McKinley comes into the Saturday afternoon tilt with a respectable 6-3 record after last week's loss to Jackson, who can obtain a share of the Federal League crown Friday with a win over North Canton Hoover. On the other hand, Massillon is 7-2 but that is a deceiving record which very easily is a 9-0 record if not for slightly razor-thin missed opportunities against Bergen Catholic (NJ) and DeMatha Catholic (MD), in which Massillon fell short by a combined 20 points, however both contests were much closer than the final scores indicated, 35-21 and 20-14 respectively.
Moore acknowledged the missed opportunities but at the same time wasn't as quick to rue them largely in part to the team's steely resolve to bounce back from both losses in emphatic fashion.
"We really look at everything as a chance to improve. The season is a process. Our guys have done a good job of taking on that mantle and we have improved in a lot of different ways on the field and off the field. We still have a ways to go and a lof ways too and that is one of the exciting things of being a coach and working with these kids, watching them grow and mature and get better," Moore said. "So yes we are looking forward to the next opportunity which is the biggest game in high school football, the week 10.
During Massillon's domination of McKinley, Moore has coached against three different Bulldog head coaches. The last Tigers head coach to coach against three different Bulldogs field generals was current Warren Harding athletic director Rick Shepas, who coached Massillon from 1998-2004 and faced off against Kerry Hodakievic, current East Canton coach John "Spider" Miller and current Teays Valley head coach Brian Cross. Shepas had a winning record only against Miller as he was 4-0 with a 2001 playoff victory.
Moore has coached against Dan Reardon, Marcus Wattley and current Bulldog head coach Antonio Hall. Moore is 3-1 against Reardon, 3-1 against Wattley (Wattley's only win against Moore came in 2017 as head coach of St. Vincent-St. Mary) and currently 3-0 against Hall.
A key stat to take note of is that under Reardon, McKinley only lost by a combined 10 points in three contests, Massillon victories of 21-19, 16-15, and 24-17. Since Reardon departed McKinley and returned to Youngstown Ursuline, the Bulldogs have been the victims of five straight double-digit losses, especially last season's 35-0 loss in which everything just went Massillon's way from the opening kickoff.
When asked what the difference was between the Reardon-coached Bulldogs who only lost by single digits compared to that of Wattley and Hall, Moore attested it was hard to say as much.
"That's hard to say. This game is so unique and this week is so different. We really work hard to have one foot in front of the other and go out and play this game as hard as we can and treat it like every other game in some ways but at the same time we realize that this game is very much unlike any other game in some ways," he said. "It's a balance trying to find that...we just worry about us and do the best we can to win our week 10 matchup."
A major reason why Massillon also has a stranglehold on the series under Moore's leadership is in part to their deep offensive line corps. Dating back to their 16-15 win in 2017, Massillon has won the time of possession affair as they have wore down McKinley consistently in the second half while doubling them up in the time of possession department. Four of those wins, the Tigers went over the 30 minute plateau spanning the 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Being a former offensive lineman himself along with being a national academic first-team All-American at Dayton, Moore relishes when his legion of offensive linemen are imposing their strength on emaciated defensive linemen, leaving them languished and not as mobile over the course of a drive.
And he has the line to once again make life miserable for McKinley, especially if the game is close and Massillon is filing away the clock with a tired defensive line in their crosshairs.
"It starts in the weight room and coach Dan Studer and the work he does with all of our guys in the offseason sets the tone for that and we have great offensive line coaches. Jon Mazur was the guy who led the offensive line for a long time and Chip Robinson. Then J.P. Simon and Ty Keirns are both former Tigers coaching our offensive line and they have done a great job developing the line over the course of the season," Moore said.
A strong battalion of former Tigers will be in attendance to offer their support. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the 100th game that was seized by the Tigers 42-41. Moore and his team would absolutely love nothing more to once again be victorious in front of the vistas of their fearless crowd and like the 1994 team, celebrating well after 5 p.m. into the night.
Massillon players know they are not only playing for those who played before them but also the young men in the stands that one day will be playing like the same athletes they emulate in backyard football the moment they receive that miniature football, their rite of passage to Massillon Tiger football and one day joining the ranks of Tigers to defeat Canton McKinley.
"I can tell you the guys who played in this game, the Massillon Tigers that put on that helmet and jersey and took the field, whether it was at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Benson, or Fawcett and played in that game. It means so much to those guys that they had that opportunity and our current players upholding that tradition and continue to push it forward the best they can," Moore said. "We know that there are going to be future Tigers out there on the field and in the stands watching and dreaming of the day they can run out in the tunnel with their Massillon jersey on and represent this great city. So it means a lot and it's a heavy responsibility to make sure we keep it going."
Nate Moore and his horde of Massillon Tigers may not rule Rue de Varenne, the most famous street in Paris but their eight-year governance over Canton McKinley has been the closest to that, a governance they are determined to extend for a ninth straight year.
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