Former Massillon native recalls experience against top-ranked teams ahead of key battle
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
MASSILLON--On November 7, 1998, a dejected 6'3'', 299 lb. Ellery Moore walked off the field and back to the locker room on one leg with his head lowered after an impressive and inspirational 15 tackle performance was not enough to stifle Division I champion and top-ranked Canton McKinley in a 42-20 home setback.
It was at that point before entering the locker room, Moore, a junior, pulled aside a teammate and delivered six words that he vowed to adhere to a year later.
"We're not losing to them again."
Word given, word honored.
Fast forward to the 1999 season and one day before Halloween. Moore's testimony wasn't a treacherous trick but a tasty treat as in a battle of top five teams, Massillon, who was #3 in the state turned a 7-7 tie into a 35-7 masterpiece against the #1 ranked Bulldogs that not only put a tourniquet on the bleeding in the form of a five-game losing streak to their arch rivals but also an emphatic stamp on an undefeated regular season and cemented Moore's career as a Massillon Tiger football legend.
25 1/2 years later, Moore is now an ultra successful color commentator for ESPN 990. Over the course of his Massillon career, he faced against top-ranked teams in Ohio four times, winning the 1999 confrontation with the Bulldogs after coming up short in 1997 and 1998.
Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, for the third straight year in a row, the Tigers will challenge Lakewood St. Edward, who will once again bring their Division I Associated Press poll #1 ranking to the table and a 4-0 record with it. However, the last three contests have gone to the Tigers as they have posted triumphs of 31-28, 15-13, and 31-21 along the way. The Eagles last win came back in 2021 when they also brought their top ranking into the same Paul Brown Tiger Stadium and departed with a 35-18 victory that was very much closer than the final score displayed.
With no other high school boasting wins over top-ranked teams than the Tigers and Moore having experienced that plateau himself, what is it about Massillon that brings out the best in Tigers facing a team possessing a #1 ranking?
"Massillon is always going to be Massillon and they are going to rise to that challenge. You have to have that extra confidence and play your best game against your opponent. This is not a knock on St. Edward but despite having won seven state championships, the Tigers have had their number the last three years, especially the year in 2023 when both teams won a state title," Moore recalled.
He rehashed his junior year the week before the 105th matchup with McKinley that he suffered a high ankle sprain against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and it was deemed a season-ending injury. But defying orders from coaches and physicians, he vowed to play that Saturday afternoon and delivered a riveting and heroic performance that is still chatted about by fans and anyone affiliated with Massillon football.
What allowed Moore to turn in the peak performance of his junior season? Simply put, he didn't want to be on the list of teams that lost to McKinley but also he didn't want the senior class to close the books on their careers with that dreaded loss to the Bulldogs, especially them being ranked #1 in Ohio the last two years.
"When I had that injury, my ankle swelled up like a ball but I had to give my all for the seniors on the team. You're talking about the Chris Turners, the Corey Balls, the Julian Millers and others. You knew they were never going to play again after that and I didn't want to be the one to let them down," he said.
EYES OF THE TIGER. Former Massillon defensive end Ellery Moore watches intently during the Tigers home opener against Cleveland Glenville earlier this year. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)
On the other hand, St. Edward has erected their championship pedigree through the same blood, sweat, tears, and hard work. The Eagles won their first title in 2010 and then another in 2014 under Rick Finotti.
After Finotti left for a stint at John Carroll and eventually the insurance profession, Tom Lombardo, the son-in-law of Northeast Ohio legend John Gibbons assumed the post after attaining success at Medina Highland and captured a state title in his first season at the school and has added on four more since, three coming in a row from 2021-2023 in which they became the first Division I school to seize three consecutive since Cleveland St. Ignatius mastered the accomplishment as the Wildcats amassed a staggering five straight from 1991-1995.
Like current Massillon coach Nate Moore, Lombardo was hired in 2015 and has been the Eagles pilot for the last 11 years, the same as Moore at Massillon, who is the Tigers all-time coaching leader in victories.
Massillon comes into Friday's contest with a 2-2 record, a record easily 4-0 if not for bad breaks in an overtime setback to Cleveland Glenville and then to Rabun Gap Nacoochee (GA). The former standout defensive tackle for the Tigers knows the kind of team that St. Edward will bring, having opposed them in 1999 as a senior.
"They will be your typical St. Edward football team. They are well coached and they do a great job on defense. They play hard and they play the right way. Special teams will have to be special for the Tigers as two of their losses has come down to that department with the blocked field goals and then kickoff returns. They have to stand out Friday," Ellery Moore said.
St. Edward has not been able to commit any wrongdoing in their first four games. They were able to capture a 28-14 win over Glenville last week and appear to have no kind of weaknesses in their repertoire. However, losing three in a row to the Tigers and especially at home last season has left a repulsive taste in their mouths that the only way they can wash out is with a victory Friday night.
SOARING EAGLE. Lakewood St. Edward head coach Tom Lombardo is hoisted by his players as St. Edward won their third straight Division I title in 2023. The Eagles finished 15-1, their only loss coming to Massillon, who compiled a 16-0 record with a Division II state championship. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)
Moore knows the feeling of being agitated before a big game. Before the Tigers 106th confrontation with the top-ranked Bulldogs, he caused a conundrum around the county when he emphatically told local media late in the weeks that Massillon wasn't scared of Canton McKinley and they would "meet them anywhere, anytime, anyplace."
Moore challenged the Tigers vaunted Black Swarm defense to rally behind him and they rose to the occasion as they held McKinley scoreless in the second half, virtually shutting them out save for a Preston Chavers 25-yard interception return for a score in the second quarter. The Tigers defense allowed the slumbering offense to arise as Dave Irwin tossed three scoring passes and fullback Terrence King connected on a 36-yard flea flicker pass to Jesse Robinson to close out the top-ranked Division I and two-time state champions 35-7 inside the confines of Fawcett Stadium via a 28-0 tally.
The seeds for that monumental triumph were planted as early as the offseason after a 4-6 campaign the previous season. But as many wins as Massillon has over top-ranked teams in their illustrious tradition, could he have envisioned a 28-point win on the road of all things and in such a stunning manner?
"That all started in the offseason as we ended the 1998 season and began the 1999 season. We had a lot of confidence going into that game undefeated and no one believed in us but us. I envisioned that day as we were prepared and not going to be denied," he said. "I've played in many SEC stadiums. I've played at Mississippi, I've played at Auburn, and let me tell you something it is nothing compared to beating McKinley at Fawcett the way we did, I never saw that again."
At the halfway point of the season, a victory just may be the shot in the arm to wake up the Tigers. The 2023 win over St. Edward was the main catalyst of their undefeated state championship season and for the Tigers to possibly have another ending, it will have to start Friday night at home.
It is one thing to be a young man and receive a miniature football, the custom rite of passage into Massillon Tiger football. It is another to be amped up to compete against a team that is ranked #1 in Ohio. Moore believes the Tigers can prevail based on the incentive of his experiences of what it is like to play a #1 ranked squad and his experience going back to his heroic performance as a junior will serve as a testament of that.
"When we played McKinley in 1998, they were #1 in the state and we amped it up to another level. We knew a win over them would make our season as we had nothing outside of week 10 to play for. We wanted to go out there and have no regrets," Moore said. "My advice to all the young men playing in Friday's game against the Eagles is to remember that you're not playing just for yourself but you're playing in front of a large crowd and you're playing for Massillon."
25 1/2 years ago, Ellery Moore gave his word to a junior teammate that his team would not lose to a top-ranked team again under his watch. His word was given and honored. Now the Tigers have a chance to once again add a fourth straight victory against the same #1 ranked Lakewood St. Edward Eagles Friday in the revered house named after their iconic head coach.
PREP PRESS PIECES
*Lombardo knows Massillon: Lombardo is 3-3 against Massillon overall, 2-3 against them as St. Edward football general. Lombardo was a lock for the Tigers position after leaving Medina Highland but settled on the St. Edward job, opening the door for Nate Moore to become the 27th head football coach in Massillon history. Lombardo coached the Hornets to a 17-7 win over the Tigers in 2013, a Division II regional semifinal.
*Family Flight: Lombardo is the son-in-law of former St. Edward football coach and longtime Northeast Ohio legend John Gibbons. Gibbons coached the Eagles for nine years, leading them to the Division I state title game in 2003, where they lost to Cincinnati Elder, who became the first big school since Canton McKinley to repeat as Division I state champion with a 31-7 victory at Fawcett Stadium. Gibbons was 2-3 against Massillon with one of those losses coming in a state semifinal as the Tigers clawed their way from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to shock the undefeated Eagles 21-17 a week after shocking undefeated Canton McKinley in a regional final. Lombardo's brother-in-law, Mike Gibbons, a former Mount Union linebacker and 2006 graduate is in his 10th season at Highland.
*More #1's: Since moving to Division II in 2013, Massillon has twice been ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll. Their first year in the top spot was in 2014 as the Tigers started the year 5-0 before a missed field goal at home cost them in a 34-33 loss to Austintown-Fitch. Jason Hall, now the athletic director at North Royalton was in his seventh and final season as Tigers patriarch.
*Federal case: Lake became the first Stark County high school since Massillon to be ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll and defended their ranking with a 31-15 win over Perry. It is the Blue Streaks first time holding the top spot in program history. Only McKinley and Massillon are the two schools to have been ranked #1 in the Associated Press poll and end the season with a state championship. Canton Central Catholic was ranked #1 in the Division V Associated Press poll in 2014 but were defeated by Coldwater in the state final 62-21 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
TOP BLUE STREAK. Lake High School football coach Dan DeGeorge, a graduate of Akron Hoban walks the field before his team's contest against Perry. The Blue Streaks are ranked #1 in the Division II Associated Press poll and will put their ranking on the line again Friday night against GlenOak. (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.
