Massillon accomplishes historic moment in victory over Lakewood St. Edward

 Massillon accomplishes historic moment in victory over Lakewood St. Edward

By Keno Sultan

Stark County Prep Press writer

www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com

MASSILLON--"Four score and seven years ago" were the first words from President Abraham Lincoln amid his famous Gettysburg address.

History lesson says it might as well be changed to four score and four straight years.

After spotting Lakewood St. Edward a benevolent 7-0 lead in the form of a Brandon White 66-yard touchdown scamper on the first play of Friday's contest, Massillon calmly and coolly worked their way into their contest and with the strong running and two touchdowns from junior tailback Savior Owens not to mention their vaunted durability taking form, the Tigers wore down the visiting Eagles, handing them their first setback of the season with a 21-14 victory to move ahead in the win column while issuing the Eagles their first loss of the season.

Massillon football has been in existence dating back to 1894. But in the 131 years of excellence, the Tigers have never defeated an Associated Press top-ranked team four straight seasons in a row. It is one thing to defeat an AP top-ranked team. But to execute the accomplishment four times in a row is truly unprecedented.

The Eagles are sure to lose their #1 ranking in the Division I AP poll next week. And it is a shot in the arm that may lead the Tigers to a long winning streak in the second half of the season. When asked about the accomplishment, 11th-year Tigers field boss Nate Moore put the accomplishment in perspective.

"I mean, I'm just really proud of our kids and our coaching staff. We prepare those guys hard and our kids went out there and fought and in a game like that you go out there and swing as hard as you can," he said. "The things you've been doing up to that point have to be good enough. That's not enough. You got to get out there and make some plays so there are some variables in doing something like that but I am just proud of our kids for going out there and swinging hard and coming up with a win."

END ZONE SAVIOR. Savior Owens scores on a six-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Friday's game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. Owens rushed for over 100 yards and had two touchdowns in Massillon's 21-14 win over Lakewood St. Edward. (Keno Sultan/Stark County Prep Press)

Since the 2022 season, Massillon has outscored St. Edward 98-86 for an average of 24.8 points to the Eagles 21.5 with the only double digit victory coming last season in the form of a 31-21 win at Lakewood Stadium.

St. Edward will rue the fact that they were unable to generate any real kind of offense after White's touchdown run. It did not help their cause that their defense was on the field a long time after their early score. 

When Massillon answered the Eagles drive with their own touchdown series that spanned ten plays and truncating 4:06 off the clock via Owens six yard score on an end around hand off, it was a portent of what was to come on the evening. On Massillon's fourth possession of the first half, Owens found a laceration in the St. Edward front seven caused by the Tigers durable offensive line and his 43-yard jaunt for a score handed the Tigers their first and only lead they did not relinquish.

Massillon's durability once again showed up and it is a reason why their offensive line enjoys their time on the field, something that Moore enjoys, having been an All-Academic and All-American offensive lineman himself at the University of Dayton, especially with the fact the Tigers held the ball for an impressive 31 minutes.

"We spend a lot of time in the weight room and a lot of time on the field getting conditioning. A lack of conditioning makes cowards out of everybody, so you have to have your conditioning right and to hang in with a game like that and you have to be good in the weight room to hang in for four quarters," Moore said.

The only other touchdown St. Edward had came in the closing minutes when quarterback Jonny Evanchick threw a late touchdown pass to Ryan Mivkosky. Massillon recovered the onside kick and from there watched the clock expire for their 962nd victory.

St. Edward will head back to the drawing board to shore up their deficiencies beforea four-game homestand that will start next week with Bishop McNamara (Maryland) coming to Ohio where they will attempt to get off the canvas. Massillon will host Football North out of Clarkson, Canada as they enter their sixth straight contest at home.

Moore wants his team to relish the victory and then it is back in the laboratory to prepare for next Friday's invasion from the Canadian squad. And he likes where they are headed after the first five games of the season.

"A lot of guys are getting better as much as they can. We want to have our thumbs on every part of our team and make sure everything is taking the right steps to improve to the best of their ability every week and sometimes we get into stressful situations but that's a part of the growth process," he said. "Our growth has been across the board and it's a fun part to be a part of."

"Four score and seven years ago" were the first words from Abraham Lincoln amid his famous Gettysburg address. It might as well be changed to four score and four straight years after Massillon's history lesson once again resumed against Lakewood St. Edward.

TOP EAGLE. St. Edward football coach Tom Lombardo interacts with his team during a timeout in the third quarter of Friday's game against Massillon. (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.