COMMENTARY: A salute to seniors as they transition into the next realm of life

 COMMENTARY: A salute to seniors as they transition into the next realm of life

By Keno Sultan

Stark County Prep Press writer

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

MASSILLON--It all started at sunrise for young boys as toddlers. 

Mothers and fathers purchased the first set of football equipment for their sons. Or if the young man was not raised by either his mother or father, it was an aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother or someone else close in the family that purchased their football equipment and drove them to practices, games and other football related functions.

With a helmet, a jersey, pants, pads, and cleats including the football, the football journey commenced starting with pee wee football. They were taught the nuances of formations, how to execute them, how to celebrate a victory and how to accept defeat. The same young men they grew up with either became their teammates or rival players at other competing schools.

For the next 432 weeks of their lives through 108 months (excluding summer vacation) and 2,160 days of school that started with kindergarten and concluding with their senior year of high school and eventual graduation, young men were immersed in football that also led to them competing in middle school and then the high school. During that time, coaches stressed the imperativeness of academic performance in the classroom and the onus was on the player to make sure they met the requirements needed to be eligible for competition. Educators in their school district worked tirelessly to make sure the student-community-athletes in their classes were meeting not just their expectations but expectations for themselves as well.

During that time as well, young men also witnessed football players on the same high school field who competed before them as inspirations as well. A phenomenal example for one would be former Canton McKinley tailback/defensive back Mike Doss. Many kids in Canton emulated him and with great reason as he went on to capture two consecutive Division I state championships, a national championship at Ohio State, and then a Super Bowl championship with the Indianapolis Colts. Another inspirational example also is Massillon's Ellery Moore, who while defying orders from doctors to sit out the 105th game against McKinley, after suffering a season-ending injury, recorded a staggering 15 first hit tackles playing on just one leg the entire game. Both Doss and Moore are just two of many examples of players that inspired athletes to be Bulldogs, Tigers, or whatever school they are at.

Saturday afternoon at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, high school seniors from Division I all the way to Division VII competed in their final high school football contest. Next month will be graduation ceremonies for those men as they will obtain their diploma, which will be their rite of passage into the next realm of life. And for all 12 years, the road was filled with adversity but it was worth the thrill ride of being admired by classmates, teachers, administrators, coaches, and finally, family members.

Some will transcend into a college or university and continue their football careers (or play another sport) while working toward a degree. Others will attend a college or university and never play football again. There are those who will make the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country in the military, be it the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard. And finally, a good number of them will enter the workforce. Soon they will eventually become husbands to loving spouses and raise sons or daughters. Eventually they will mature to uncles. And if they are blessed, will reach the peak of life when they become grandparents.

Along this path, there were many ups and downs. Players played through injuries. Players were praised by crowds for making a big play. Players in some cases (and this should NEVER happen) were jeered by fans if they made a mistake. Some went on to become state champions while others fell short of their ultimate goal. Players celebrated their victories while others cried after defeats. 

On that jeering part. That reminded me of what former Dover Avenue Elementary School principal Renee Sattler told me in what was a key life lesson for me in a conversation we had before I went on the air for ESPN 990 as Massillon was preparing for a basketball game against Dover High School: we all were kids once in our lives. I relayed to her about how I was a team manager/sports editor for McKinley High School and as a senior, our fullback Yusef Abdul-Zahir suffered a leg injury when fans cheered his injury during the third quarter of an eventual 46-24 loss as the team eventually finished a painful 3-6. I was a senior at McKinley then. I remember wanting to cry seeing that when Marcus Gravely took me aside and told me not to cry about what was going on and that the Bulldogs would bounce back. After I relayed that anecdote to her, in a moment of love and compassion, she embraced me and told me what I just referenced: we all were kids once in our lives. I felt her love for her hometown of Dover in that embrace. I felt it through my heart and soul.

Let me call that for what it is: in the 18 years since I first met her (she actually knew who I was the first time she saw me when I was seven months removed from graduating from Mount Union) I am proud to say that her presence in my life has been very touching and I can feel the heartbeat of young kids that was in her school and what makes them who they are today.

Now getting back to where this is going. I want to personally commend the seniors who played their final game on the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium turf. It has been a long 12 year ride from the day you started out in kindergarten to now as a high school senior. Once you get that diploma, you will enter the next realm of life. I want to thank the parents and family members of the players for encouraging them through life lessons in times of their ups and downs. I want to commend the coaches who worked tirelessly to help the players under their tutelage prosper on the football field. I want to spread accolades to the educators and administrators who made sure the young men in their classrooms performed successfully and provided them the help they needed in times that called for it.

Some will continue their football career. Others will never play again. Someday they will be in stands watching their sons compete and they will be reminded of where they were as a child having matriculated into adulthood. They will provide life lessons for their sons. They will check in with educators and administrators to make sure their child is prospering. They will make sure they are getting the right coaching necessary.

It all started for them as toddlers. It will now end with them getting a diploma. And what better way to end a career inside the house that Paul Brown built, Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, Home of the Massillon Tigers.

To the seniors who played, the parents and family members who supported them, the educators and administrators who helped them in the classroom, and the coaches who were with them from pee wee, middle school, and up to high school, I say thank you and wish you great fortune as you transition into the next realm of life.

Thank you.

Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, site of the 80th Ohio North-South All-Star Game. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.

A star-studded day ends with South All-Stars winning the big school game, North winning small school game

 A star-studded day ends with South All-Stars winning the big school game, North winning small school game

By Keno Sultan

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

MASSILLON--Justice Burnam may have come up short four months ago as the Cincinnati Anderson Raptors saw their bid to join the 2017 team as Division II state champions extinguished by another undefeated school, Avon.

He may not have departed Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with that final triumph but he made sure to leave Paul Brown Tiger Stadium with some hardware.

After spotting the North All-Stars a generous 6-0 lead to commence the 80th annual Ohio North-South All-Star Game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in the Division I-III contest, it was the South defense that dominated the rest of the contest as they captured a 24-6 victory in what was the final prep game for soon-to-be high school graduates of their respective high schools.

The North team used their opening drive that spanned 11 plays, consuming 6:33 off the clock and ending with Gabe Mansel's 17 yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to Troy Hazuda. However the extra point was blocked and that was the only scoring of the day for the North.

What turned the contest immediately came near the end of the first quarter. South responded in just six plays with the key play being a Burnam 56-yard catch and run pass to Nate Lyman to set up real estate deep in North territory. Just three plays later, Burnam completed the first of his two touchdown passes to Gracen Goldsmith, handing South a lead that was not challenged the rest of the way. After an interception made by South, they needed just two plays with Burnam tossing another scoring strike, this time to Jackson Davis and in a span of 2:05, the South led 14-6 and cruised from there.

Ethan Thanthanavong had the third touchdown pass and kicker Sean Leonard connected on a 42-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

"We got a bunch of kids from the south that come up to play against the north and we practiced hard all week and I stepped in and got us going," Burnam, who will continue his career at Georgetown College (KY) said. "I am going to miss these guys and the guys from my team (Anderson) and it was a (heck) of a ride."

The North was represented by Stark County standouts Mylen Lenix and Daylan Pringle both of Massillon, who will play at Tiffin and Ashland respectively. Landon Ristoff of Perry, Malcolm Dudley of North Canton Hoover and Noah Colando of Jackson made up the rest of the Stark County players who competed. T.J. Arnold represented Dover in the contest.

For Lenix and Pringle, who caused and recovered a fumble, the end result was not what they wanted but to finish inside Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, where both were contributors on the 2023 Division II state championship winning team, that was the closure on their prep careers.

"I got a chance to enjoy the moment and see all my family members and my friends one last time in this stadium," Lenix said. "Going to college, I want to get better, stay focused and disciplined."

Pringle on the other hand concluded the book on his Massillon chapter, not before he recognized his brother, Dorian, whose knockdown of Akron Hoban quarterback Tylan Boykin's pass to Jackson Callaway preserved the Tigers 7-2 victory in the 2023 Division II state final and securing a state playoff championship for a Tigers program that was long starved for a title, ending a 53-year famine.

"Dorian is my brother, he's my mentor, I learned a lot from him and I look to take that to Ashland University," Pringle said.

The North team was coached by D.J. Dota, who served as Warren Harding head coach for four seasons and West Branch prior to becoming the current Youngstown Boardman head coach. The South was head coached by state title winning head coach John Sansbury, of Olentangy Liberty.

LASER FOCUSED. Massillon linebacker/running back Mylen Lenix awaits a play call during the second quarter of Saturday's North-South All-Star Game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Lenix will continue his career at Tiffin University. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Division IV-VIII: North All-Stars 10, South All-Stars 6

MASSILLON--In what was a defensive tilt, it was the North All-Stars prevailing as they erected a 10-0 lead with Northwest quarterback Chase Badger throwing the lone touchdown pass to Joey Jackson for the North All-Stars.

Badger was one of two Stark County athletes playing in the game with Jonathan Stangl of Canton Central Catholic being the other. Assistant coach Kevin Stacy of Manchester, the son of former Massillon head coach Tom Stacy was on the staff, head coached by Tim Cooper of West Branch.  Armand Tatum of Finneytown was the South head coach.

Stangl, who authored the final page on his Central Catholic career will head to Miami of Ohio to continue his academic and athletic career. Stangl was the offensive player of the game for the North All-Star team.

"It's an honor to be coming out here and playing in this prestigious event. To win it, there are no words," he said. "We were a real family, getting to know each other, rooming together and becoming real brothers. Through hard work, love it."

TALL ANGLE FOR STANGL. Canton Central Catholic offensive lineman Jonathan Stangl poses with his offensive player of the year award after the North's 10-6 victory over the South at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.

Veteran Massillon kicking coaches provide product that proves advantageous to kickers success

 Veteran Massillon kicking coaches provide product that proves advantageous to kickers success

By Keno Sultan

Stark County Prep Press writer

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

MASSILLON--What if former Notre Dame wide receiver Raghib "Rocket" Ismail didn't run back two kickoff returns for touchdowns against Michigan in 1989?

What if Green Bay return specialist Desmond Howard didn't puncture a stake through the hearts of New England Patriots fans with an agonizing 100-yard kickoff return for a decisive third quarter touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI back in 1996?

What if Baltimore and Minnesota didn't have three straight kickoff return touchdowns in the first quarter in a 1998 game won by the Vikings?

What if Ted Ginn Jr. didn't run back two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same quarter in 2009?

What if Massillon didn't kick to Warren Harding savior Mario Manningham in two high school games played five weeks apart in 2002?

For veteran kicking coaches and Massillon natives Bill Shafer and David Abdul Sr., they are well aware of the answers. Bo Schembechler probably captures a national championship in his last season, something his rival coach Woody Hayes accomplished five times in 28 seasons as Buckeyes head coach, Bill Parcells is most likely still coaching the Patriots, the Ravens and Vikings do not score 21 points all on special teams, Miami likely doesn't win without Ginn's scores and the Tigers, not the Raiders will have played for a Division I OHSAA state football title.

With dangerous kickoff returners glamorizing their prowess for momentum gaining or stealing kickoff return touchdowns, Shafer and Abdul have both used their expertise to concoct a product that will benefit kickers and most importantly truncate potential kicker injuries but also more importantly, assist in potentially deterring dangerous return specialists from traversing from one end zone to the other for a touchdown.

Currently, the National Football League is using the hardened ground zero tee. But with the soft and safe Launchpad tee, which follows the specifications of all three levels, change is eventually coming and one that is hotly overdue and with excitement.

"When we first invented the Launchpad tee, it was to give people an opportunity to have a forward lean on their kickoffs like many people do and on their field goals. This was the first tee that allowed you to have an aggressive forward lean. But since the rule changes in the NFL, people are looking for a kickoff that has a different kind of trajectory and a different kind of spin," Shafer said. "This tee comes from a one inch platform and the tee the NFL is currently using, the ground zero, when you set the ball sideways, it comes up to over an inch and a half, which is an illegal ball set. All the balls, especially on the Launchpad are the one inch legal NFL limit. And when you kick a helicopter ball to the left or to the right, it creates a horizontal axis that trails off to the left like a curveball or trails off to the right and it's the rotation created by the ball set that enables the Launchpad to do things that no other tee can do."

The Launchpad tee is a tee designed to benefit kickers and cut down on not just kicker injuries but also the threat of returners scoring touchdowns on returns. (Special credit to Bill Shafer and David Abdul Sr; Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

For Shafer, he is adept about kicking power and accuracy. Evidence of that arrived 23 years ago in a Division I regional semifinal as Massillon needed the range of kicker of his son, Max to wrestle away a 23-21 victory in the form of a 35-yard field goal on the final play of their contest at Fawcett Stadium. Before that, Shafer's 21-yard field goal against Canton McKinley in the 110th meeting to end the second quarter quashed the momentum McKinley had and constructed the roadwork for a 34-17 victory eventually leading to their second straight state semifinal.

Abdul Sr. oversaw the prowess of his son, David Jr. After kicking two seasons at Lake, both father and son transcended their repertoire to Massillon and in just two seasons, Abdul Jr. became a very lethal asset to the Tigers and their special teams and during that run from 2000 to 2001, Massillon was 20-5 and Abdul Jr. eventually landed at Pitt, where he successfully conquered the Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) labyrinth as that stadium was known for issuing kickers horrendous nightmares over the years, especially on the closed end of the stadium.

Both kickers were on the Massillon roster under the tutelage of the unitary Rick Shepas with Abdul kicking first and then Shafer.

Both gentlemen recalled the biggest kicks of their respective sons lives.

"I was the stands and before the game I just told Max to relax and be himself because that is the moment you trained for. I was sitting in the stands chewing my fingernails off all the way down to the cuticles waiting for that moment and he absolutely delivered. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life and the crowd went crazy and I loved it," Shafer said.

"It was huge, he wasn't getting all the opportunities at Lake and they didn't believe in the system that I was trying to help the coaches understand the process of kicking a football and it was really tough as our whole family lived in Hartville and so, it was 20 miles each way but the end result, he was a two-time All-Ohioan and the number one kicker in the country and the national high school record for 50 plus yard field goals in a high school career and a full ride scholarship," Abdul Sr. said of his son's kicks and vaunted power.

With the NFL kickoff rules stressing for balls to be placed inside the 20 yard line and from the end zone, the Launchpad tee has a major advantage for kickers for it puts the onus on a returner to locate the ball accurately or risk misplaying the ball and either obtaining a minimal return or a turnover in the form of the kicking team recovering the ball. Abdul attested that returners who misplay the ball won't know where it is going and it can be a special teams detriment for them.

Before the ground zero tee, teams kicked off with the traditional orange tee. Had the Launchpad tee come to fruition, football history may have been altered in a variety of cases. Shafer was quick to point out Ismail's two kickoff return touchdowns that was 14 of Notre Dame's 24 points in a five-point win over the Wolverines. Take away one of those scores and the result will have ended up in Michigan's favor as their defense only allowed just 10 points.

"The Rocket (Ismail) was as fast as anyone on the planet and he had moves and he had a football acumen so he understood to field it as soon as he caught the ball. Even back then, the Launchpad offers sets at the one inch level in the NCAA and the NFL levels so a kickoff specialist can make the ball do things that other tees can't do," Shafer said. "So if it's a forward tumbling ball or a ball that trails off to the right or a squib kick, you can use these kicks to limit any dangerous returner like Ismail."

Both gentlemen are still entrenched in the Massillon tradition. For Abdul Sr. he will have a chance to see the namesake at work again as his grandson, Boston will be kicking for Lake High School this upcoming fall.

And the prowess of the Launchpad just won't end at Massillon. This product is poised to find its way not just to Ohio high schools but high schools also around the national scene as well. And it will be the asset that kickers will need especially in a late game situation to put their defense in a more favorable position to stifle an offense needing a mandatory score to either force overtime or win a contest.

The Launchpad isn't there to usurp the opposition. It is there to become the best friend of a kicker with all specifications followed to a tee. And it will also avoid potential foot injuries forbid a kicker's foot comes in contact with the traditional hard tee compared to the comfortable texture and feel of the soft Launchpad.

"The Launchpad is what I liken to a golf game. Imagine you have one club in the bag and you hit the same ball every time or imagine if you had the Launchpad, you have a full set of clubs and you can use any kind of a hit and that is what the Launchpad allows you to do," Shafer said. "So say you don't have a blue chip kicker who can't reach the end zone with a kickoff. This tee allows that kicker as he develops and learns his skill to do kicks that don't require all that power and it will throw off the return team and make it difficult for them to understand what is coming their way. And at the high school level, it will make it difficult for them to return. It is tailor made for the high school game."

"Depending on where you set the ball, the different leans you put on the ball will dial up the kick you want as you are pulling out different golf clubs out of your bag and that's huge," Abdul said.

There are two games that still stings Shafer to this day. Massillon's two tilts against Warren Harding ended with the Raiders triumphing by scores of 31-27 and 21-20 in an overtime thriller that saw the Raiders pull out an unlikely victory after Massillon captured their only lead of the contest at 14-7 with 1:11 to play in regulation during the 2002 Division I state semifinals.

Manningham ended up public enemy #1 on Tigers fans lists as his two return touchdowns wiped out a 27-17 Massillon advantage in the regular season confrontation. And in the state semifinal, he had a humongous kickoff return that awarded them vital field position leading to their winning score. As much success as the Tigers had going 23-0 against the rest of the opposition from 2001 and 2002, it stings Shafer that Massillon was 0-5 combined against St. Ignatius and Harding, which didn't help matters with grizzled veterans in Chuck Kyle and Thom McDaniels (who coached Canton McKinley for 17 seasons) both piloting their respective teams, the Wildcats and Raiders.

When asked if the Launchpad will have decimated Manningham's ability to score, Shafer pointed out as such.

"That's a great question because we have seen this happen over and over again. Kickoffs returned for touchdowns. When you scout the team you're playing and you have a Mario Manningham back deep, you want to kick away from him and if you are going to kick to him, you want to give him a ball that is difficult to manage and that is what the Launchpad does. It offers a full array of kickoffs that teams don't understand. They are not getting the same ball over and over again. They are getting balls trailing to the left, trailing to the right and had these kicks been allowed, those 14 points will have come off the board."

The 2025 NFL season is only five months away. But with fearless confidence and a cold refusal to abdicate, both Shafer and Abdul believe that the Launchpad tee will eventually become the official tee of not just high school but most importantly the NCAA and the NFL. Having met all the specifications at each level, this is a tee that is the safest friend for any kicker and an asset that will bolster the strength of a team's special teams, something that will prove large in a tight contest, especially come the playoffs adding also to the longevity of kickers for their respective teams.

According to both gentlemen, the time for launching is now.

"So many kickers, their teams can't put the ball in the end zone so they would do a squib kick and it bounces all over the field. Teams are used to that. But with the Launchpad, we can execute different kicks we want and other kicks that they won't be prepared for," Abdul Sr. said. 

"If the NFL will just take a look at it and it will stir up enough dust that they have to look at it and what you saw today, they will have to accept this. It's the only tee that sets the ball at the legal NFL one inch level for all ball sets and safer than any tee in the game today," Shafer said.

The Launchpad is poised for launching and the time for takeoff is now. And with Bill Shafer and David Abdul Sr. at the controls, it's poised to happen.

Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.