Tigers lean on durability to wear down Division IV state champions
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
MASSILLON--Durability is a trait well served like a gourmet meal in the Massillon Tiger kingdom.
It truly had a flawless taste in the second half.
Massillon needed every bit of senior running back Savior Owens 180 yards rushing along with two touchdowns to subdue a very gritty Cleveland Glenville team in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,000 by a score of 31-18 to christen the 2025 high school football season at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
This year's contest lived up to it's billing as a top game between two teams with championship aspirations and both teams fought with all of their heart and soul from the opening kickoff.
Massillon needed just 10 plays to send an early message. Quarterback Rasmus Haines delivered a flawless 36-yard spiral to Deontay Malone that put the Tigers in the red zone early on and two plays later, Haines located Gio Jackson Jr. for a four-yard scoring pass and the Tigers assumed an early 7-0 advantage.
Spurred by two Massillon personal fouls, all it took was seven plays for the Tarblooders and an extremely truncated field to generate a touchdown as Valonte McCord plowed in from a yard away. But the extra point was well off and Massillon maintained a single point advantage at 7-6.
Massillon's retaliation was swift. Haines needed just three plays to find Malone, who got behind Khyire Robinson and outraced him for a spectacular 83-yard catch and score to extend Massillon's lead to 14-6 to conclude the scoring in the opening quarter.
Massillon head coach Nate Moore lauded Haines's prowess and his turnover-free evening.
"I was very proud of Rasmus. I thought he stood tall in the pocket several times, took some hits and made some great throws and he did a good job managing the game. It was a very physical game on both sides of the ball and he didn't flinch. He stood out there and first time starting varsity football in that environment against a solid team," Massillon veteran head coach Nate Moore said.
Massillon relied on their durable offensive line and the running of Savior Owens to Mount a potential drive but was squelched by a fumble and recovered by the Tarblooders after 12 plays, giving their exhausted defense a much needed reprieve.
Massillon drove deep to the Glenville nine yard line and two straight Tarblooder off side penalties put the ball at the two-yard line where Mateo Herrera connected on a 19-yard field goal to send Massillon into the locker room with a 17-6 halftime lead.
Glenville struck like a hot bolt of lightning coming out of the locker room. De'Anthony Crittenden returned the second half kickoff for a 77 yard touchdown but a miscue on the two-point attempt left them down by five.
Immediately, Massillon stole back the momentum when Owens fought off three Tarblooders and found himself in the end zone on a 52-yard jaunt and it was the turning point to propel the Tigers.
Glenville refused to abdicate. After a muffed punt that was recovered by them, they had the ball deep in Tiger territory but a fumbled snap on their end knocked them well out of field goal range but the offense continued to show their grit when backup quarterback Elvis Koutsakis on a fourth and 10 ran for a 19-yard touchdown but another missed two point conversion, three in the contest led to the undoing of the visiting Tarblooders.
Any hope the Tarblooders had of a second straight win were squelched when Owens recorded his second touchdown of the evening to send the partisan Tigers fans home and excited for next week's road contest against GlenOak, who lost to Dover 36-21.
Once again, the catalyst of the Tigers success hinged once again on their offensive line, especially in the second half, where Massillon is very dangerous.
"I think you saw that in the second half. Savior's last two touchdowns showed that and you have to credit our offensive line," Moore said. "Those kids went out there and played hard and we faced adversity out there and we didn't fall apart, we came closer and there is a lot to build off of."
Haines passed for a solid 186 yards and completed 11 passes out of 23 attempted. Massillon rushed for 183 as a team, Owens responsible for 180 of those.
LaMarques Greenwood led Glenville with 65 yards rushing.
Massillon will turn their sights now to GlenOak and look to build off the win against the Tarblooders, who are still the favorites to hoist another state title. Moore knows the challenge that will await his legion of Tigers.
"We are going to look at film this week and try to put together a good game plan to face those guys," he said of the Eagles.
Durability is a trait well served like a gourmet meal in the Massillon Tiger kingdom. And that taste was as scrumptious as their victory in front of a sold-out Paul Brown Tiger Stadium crowd.
Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.
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