D II State Semi-Final: Massillon (12-1) vs Archbishop Hoban (13-1)

Who wins?

  • Hoban

    Votes: 121 55.8%

  • Massillon

    Votes: 96 44.2%
  • Total voters
    217
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TigerPaw said:
Any way you slice it we have to be able to run the ball and stop the run. Hoban, LaSalle, Ed etc are simply great teams at this level and a very tall task for anyone. They do what they normally do all season, and it's always up to the opponent to design some new strategy just for them. That is quite an advantage. I agree we need to come up some new wrinkles. Last game was a disaster. Hartson 9 carries for 24 yards. We can expect the same strategy Friday, and the same outcome too if we can't run the ball. Just who we are. Effective balance would help that.

In fairness our 1st 2 backs were injured and Hartson was a sophomore then. But I doubt it mattered much. That was just a tough, loaded team and Hamm had a great game.
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I didn’t remember until I looked it up that last year WW held him to 24 carries and 121 yds with 0 TD’s. Insane !
 
TigerPaw said:
Great backs are like that. Can never hit them square. Whatever WW did last year, or what Ed did is good enough. Gang tackle and "hold him" under 150 is about the best one can hope for.
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WW was a huge, athletic D that put 8-9 guys in the box, and played cover zero all night because they had absolutely no respect for the pass, as they shouldn't have. He had a good 1st half vs Eds, the game just didn't lend itself to much of a workload in the 2nd.
 
TigerPaw said:
In fairness our 1st 2 backs were injured and Hartson was a sophomore then. But I doubt it mattered much. That was just a tough, loaded team and Hamm had a great game.
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That was a once in every 15-20 years type defense Hoban had. 10 seniors with a ton of playing experience, a bunch of them D1 guys with size you don't usually see collectively on a HS defense. They almost looked like a college team physically. This defense is good, but they aren't that. The only underclassman that started on that D is a current senior at DT, and their best player on this version.
 
Great discussion the last page of posts or so, focused on the game and players. Nice job guys.

Redwing makes a good point about how WW did it. Hoban's QB wasn't a great passing threat and their DBs were so talented they could go man to man and commit everyone else to one purpose- stopping Sperling. You know a kid is good when he has a down game and goes for 121 yards!
 
In watching the film of Ed’s and Hoban one of the things they did that most teams don’t or aren’t able to is gang tackle. After about 10-15 times of Sperling getting hit by many Ed’s defenders that will take a toll on any RB at any level. The Hoban OL looked gassed late in the 3rd quarter as well.
 
Pressem2019 said:
This is my first ever post on a Massillon thread. I do not have anything against Massillon and will be rooting for them tomorrow night. I normally watch them play 4-5 times a year. This is my take on their offense. When the Tigers play teams they should beat, their offense is very vanilla. They run power, inside zone, throw a quick screen to the outside, or a deep bomb. That is fine because that is all you need to do in order to beat those teams. Massillon is very good at doing those things and have won a ton of games doing so. However, when the tigers play the likes of LaSalle and Hoban that can match their size and athleticism, Massillon is forced to do different things on offense. Because Massillon is vanilla in other games, it’s almost like they are not ready or comfortable to do other things. Over the last few years, I do not see any intermediate passing game from Massillon. 10-15 yards across the middle or sidelines. I thought against Ed’s this year the offense was a little more versatile. This is just my take on Massillon’s offense from an outsider. Once again, not trying to be negative, just stating my opinion
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You are 1000% accurate with this post.
 
Redwing said:
Not an original concept that other defenses haven't had the last 2 seasons. He's just very adept and not taking many big shots.
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I’ve noticed that as well when I was watching some game film. He does a good job of that. His burst out of his stance is phenomenal. He’s as good as advertised. Massillon has to wrap him up and get multiple hats to the ball
 
firewatch said:
BW3’s right across the street from the stadium is my go to spot. Haven’t been there in a year or so because there are others around the area now. Hope it’s still there.
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I think that B-dub's closed quite a while ago. The only bar & grill type spot is Manny's Pub on Brown & Exchange. Otherwise, you have to head for S Main St in downtown. You could hoof it, but it's a hearty walk. The part of Exchange by the stadium is not great for bars & restaurants, it's all fast food type joints.
 
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