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

[23xTigers]

You have know idea about Massillon do you? For one thing, they have allowed 1 team I believe to rush for more than 100 yards, maybe 2 but that was probably against the backups late in the game. Massillon’s Dline is very strong. Hobans Oline does not impress me at all. Sperling makes a lot of yards on his own. He is an amazing RB. Very tough to tackle. St Ed’s tackles very well. That’s why St Ed’s won they stopped Sperling. Massillon has to tackle well to win this game. If they can control Hoban running the ball they have a shot. On offense they have to pass to loosen up the defense. They will not be able to just line up and pound it up the middle. If the weather is decent I think Massillon empties the playbook. That is the only way they win. Be unpredictable.

This is it right here...if we show up locked in and we can be multiple on offense, I firmly believe that we move on to the State Championship...If we're sloppy and just continue to run it between the tackles, we're hit in the mouth. As much as a program builder that Moore is, he has shown in the past that he's going to be stubborn in the offensive game plan. He's got to have faith in Slaughter, roll the dice with him and let him make some plays to win this game. Hopefully we can have success pounding the rock with Pringle and Hartson and we won't have to worry about it, but I suspect not

 

[MassillonTigers3]

This is it right here...if we show up locked in and we can be multiple on offense, I firmly believe that we move on to the State Championship...If we're sloppy and just continue to run it between the tackles, we're hit in the mouth. As much as a program builder that Moore is, he has shown in the past that he's going to be stubborn in the offensive game plan. He's got to have faith in Slaughter, roll the dice with him and let him make some plays to win this game. Hopefully we can have success pounding the rock with Pringle and Hartson and we won't have to worry about it, but I suspect not

“Last game of the season can’t hold anything back now”


Hopefully not the last game but there’s no holding back now. I trust that the coaches know that they can’t play conservatively and win this one. Empty the playbook, leave everything out there on the field, and see who is the last one standing.

 

[Foreal83]

I think there is a little more excitement to this game KNOWING we have two of our own playing for Hoban. Should be a great game . T.I.G

 

[ESPN 990]

Should Massillon beat Hoban and then go on to win the state title, is it possible that a college coaching position my be offered to Moore? If so, would he take it?

Yes. If Ohio State offered Nate the job he'd take it.

 

[MassillonMike]

“Last game of the season can’t hold anything back now”


Hopefully not the last game but there’s no holding back now. I trust that the coaches know that they can’t play conservatively and win this one. Empty the playbook, leave everything out there on the field, and see who is the last one standing.

Yeah if we come out and run the vanilla offense we’re gonna lose. Hopefully we’re able to open it up and throw the ball down the field some. I haven’t looked at the weather but hoping no wind or rain

 

[Rich Kotite]

Not quite on my death bed, but since September I've made three trips to the emergency room, one by ambulance. I assure you that you would not trade places with me.

I don't know. You never met my ex wife and ex in-laws.

 

[Rich Kotite]

I have turned the other cheek. Insults no longer bother me. As for the game, the Tigers have to hold Sperling to under 150 yards. Ignatius geared its defense to stopping him, yet he ran all over and through the Ignatius defense. I'm surprised that he's going to Buffalo, as I think a Big 5 conference would have scooped him up. He must like snow.

Buffalo is a huge upgrade over Akron as Akron Mayor Horrigan is inspiring Akron to.....well Ralph Perk levels of civic mediocrity.

Buffalo has wings....Akron has... sauerkraut balls? Potato salad from the Acme deli?

 

[MassillonTigers3]

Buffalo is a huge upgrade over Akron as Akron Mayor Horrigan is inspiring Akron to.....well Ralph Perk levels of civic mediocrity.

Buffalo has wings....Akron has... sauerkraut balls? Potato salad?

I won’t stand for any slander about sauerkraut balls

 

[Rich Kotite]

Yes. If Ohio State offered Nate the job he'd take it.

If someone offered Massillon a quality FM radio station instead of a 250 watt directional AM station with apathetic management, I'd take it.

 

[Thavoice]

Sat in the Hoban section at the baseball finals this summer and swore i would never root for them to win a game. The utter idiocy and arrogance was on full display. Photo shoot on the field in pregame with a championship belt? And their fans...likely parents....c'mon man. The one guy, probably a dad, yelling at the pitch speed display and how wrong it was because the kid throws in the 90s.....geesh

But they play Massillon. If there ever could be a 0-0 tie and neither move on.


But ..it's massillons year. The deserve to win their first title.

 

[MassillonTigers3]

Sat in the Hoban section at the baseball finals this summer and swore i would never root for them to win a game. The utter idiocy and arrogance was on full display. Photo shoot on the field in pregame with a championship belt? And their fans...likely parents....c'mon man. The one guy, probably a dad, yelling at the pitch speed display and how wrong it was because the kid throws in the 90s.....geesh

But they play Massillon. If there ever could be a 0-0 tie and neither move on.


But ..it's massillons year. The deserve to win their first title.

Lmao hey at least you’re smart enough not to root for Hoban simply because you don’t like Massillon.

 

[Massillon#82]

Should Massillon beat Hoban and then go on to win the state title, is it possible that a college coaching position my be offered to Moore? If so, would he take it?

No

 

[perry1480]

Sat in the Hoban section at the baseball finals this summer and swore i would never root for them to win a game. The utter idiocy and arrogance was on full display. Photo shoot on the field in pregame with a championship belt? And their fans...likely parents....c'mon man. The one guy, probably a dad, yelling at the pitch speed display and how wrong it was because the kid throws in the 90s.....geesh

Sad to say that’s every school these days. I sat in a pretty rough section of Hudson fans at the game last night. One was sh*tfaced and many were yelling obscenity after obscenity at refs and Hoban players.

I was commenting and complimenting Sperling to my son on how well he hits the hole, and the guy started yelling obscenities at me with my 9yo kid there.

 

[Benchboss1]

Sad to say that’s every school these days. I sat in a pretty rough section of Hudson fans at the game last night. One was sh*tfaced and many were yelling obscenity after obscenity at refs and Hoban players.

I was commenting and complimenting Sperling to my son on how well he hits the hole, and the guy started yelling obscenities at me with my 9yo kid there.

Wait a minute here. I have read that only Massillon has fans that drink before high school games and are obnoxious. You mean it happens at other schools also?

 

[falguin]

This game is going to come down to who can throw the ball better. Having watched Massillon play Fitch, I got to say even with Sperling, I don't think Hoban is going to run all over Massillon like they have been doing. Massillon's interior line on both sides of the ball are great. I know Hoban's are too, so it is going to be tough sledding going against them too. I think it comes down to the pass. Who can throw the ball better and who can protect against the pass better? Massillon had some issues against Fitch in this department. We picked Massillon off twice and scored 28 points bacially through the air. I don't know how good of a passer Hoban's QB is. Because they are so dominant in the run game they probably don't throw that much. In this game, they are going to have to throw. I think Massillon's QB is more seasoned and better. So I will take the Tigers in a shootout, 35-28.

 

[Redwing]

You have know idea about Massillon do you? For one thing, they have allowed 1 team I believe to rush for more than 100 yards, maybe 2 but that was probably against the backups late in the game. Massillon’s Dline is very strong. Hobans Oline does not impress me at all. Sperling makes a lot of yards on his own. He is an amazing RB. Very tough to tackle. St Ed’s tackles very well. That’s why St Ed’s won they stopped Sperling. Massillon has to tackle well to win this game. If they can control Hoban running the ball they have a shot. On offense they have to pass to loosen up the defense. They will not be able to just line up and pound it up the middle. If the weather is decent I think Massillon empties the playbook. That is the only way they win. Be unpredictable.

"Hoban's Oline does not impress me at all"

OK, maybe you don't think he has any idea about Massillon, but that statement proves you know virtually nothing about Hoban. Sure, Sperling is ultra-talented, but the dudes in front of him move people. That position group has been the lifeblood of the program. Sperling has over 6,000 yds and about 90 TD's the last 2 seasons, you don't do that just by making people miss and breaking tackles alone. If Massillon can hold him to 150 or less, that's a win. BTW, Massillon gave up 168 yds rushing to Moeller, 229 to Eds, 121 to Harding, 182 to Perry, 131 to Big Walnut. That's more than one or two, so maybe you don't know as much about your team as you think. Maybe some of those were meaningless yards in games that were decided, but it's just for the sake of accuracy.

 

[Redwing]

“Last game of the season can’t hold anything back now”


Hopefully not the last game but there’s no holding back now. I trust that the coaches know that they can’t play conservatively and win this one. Empty the playbook, leave everything out there on the field, and see who is the last one standing.

It's easy for fans to say "empty the playbook", but teams are going to stick with whatever they think their identity is, and try to pick their spots to be aggressive if they think they've established opportunities to do so. Getting outside of your character a bit, and being too aggressive against talented and disciplined defenses can put you in a hole quickly.

 

[algernonsidney]

I am taking the Tigers. It seems appropriate that they would finally get the big trophy 50 years after the playoffs started.

 

[Almost Prideful]

I'm taking Massillon this week, and next week, for their first eco-friendly title.

 

[KCOOLHIT]

Hoban wins....prove me wrong? Massillon gets here and runs into Hoban AGAIN. How is Massillon going to stop all the weapons Hoban brings to this D2 semi-final? How are they going to stop Sperling alone? It won't happen...Hoban will be playing for and win the D2 Championship.

 

[Tiger33]

The common opponent, St. Eds is interesting to me. Massillon pulls out the victory but I was shocked Hoban lost by that much? I fear that Hoban might have been down a few kids to Eds and that Eds played terrible vs Massillon. However, im not sure. Any insight on this? I like both teams. I think Hoban is the better team with their line play and running backs and discipline. My heart wants the Tigers, but my head says the Knights in a 21-17 game. One thing to be sure, ill be there. I predict a near sellout crowd (how many seats they got there?) But mostly from the orange and black.

Hoban wasn’t missing anyone. Ed’s is just really good. They didn’t play their best game against Massillon. But Massillon took advantage of some mistakes Ed’s made. It’s hard to say who’s going to win going by a common opponent. I’ll just say From what I’ve seen to date, Sperling makes Hoban go on offense and he’s as good as advertised. I’m really impressed by him. Hoban has a huge offensive line and they give him a lot of room to run. Defensively they’re very sound but Ed’s wore them down and once they got the lead they finished them off running right at them. They didn’t do that against Massillon…they turned the ball over. Actually Pringle stripped the RB and Gave Massillon a chance and they capitalized. I don’t think Ed’s is 3 tds better than Hoban which is what they won by. I’d say 7-10 points better. Massillon beat Ed’s and I’ll be honest I’m not sure Massillon is better than Ed’s. What I do know for sure is all 3 teams are very good. And they’re all 3 still playing. Hopefully Friday night the Tigers play their best football game of the year and and advance to play for a state championship

 

[MassillonLIVE]

"If anyone thinks Lake was an easy opponent they are nuts!"

Lake is a fine opponent and program.

But based on some of the comments around here about other sporting topics, I'd say plenty of people are nuts and the state of mental health in this country is equivalent to the Tom Arth years at Infocision Stadium.

And speaking of Infocision Stadium, while I'd love to see images of Wes Chandler, Charlie Joiner and Air Coryell lighting up the scoreboard in a high octane game....that ain't happening.

Since many others have submitted a prediction, so will I. I'll submit multiple predictions:

1. Tigers win 17-6.
2. Next to no one will be looking to WHBC or Gannett for game coverage or analysis.
3. This will be the biggest crowd at Infocision during the Joe Moorhead Zips season of 2022.

That's all I got, it ain't much, I could be wrong, I hope I'm right, it's Saturday morning and I need more coffee.

Game will also broadcast on MassillonLIVE

 

[ESPN 990]

Hoban wasn’t missing anyone. Ed’s is just really good. They didn’t play their best game against Massillon. But Massillon took advantage of some mistakes Ed’s made. It’s hard to say who’s going to win going by a common opponent. I’ll just say From what I’ve seen to date, Sperling makes Hoban go on offense and he’s as good as advertised. I’m really impressed by him. Hoban has a huge offensive line and they give him a lot of room to run. Defensively they’re very sound but Ed’s wore them down and once they got the lead they finished them off running right at them. They didn’t do that against Massillon…they turned the ball over. Actually Pringle stripped the RB and Gave Massillon a chance and they capitalized. I don’t think Ed’s is 3 tds better than Hoban which is what they won by. I’d say 7-10 points better. Massillon beat Ed’s and I’ll be honest I’m not sure Massillon is better than Ed’s. What I do know for sure is all 3 teams are very good. And they’re all 3 still playing. Hopefully Friday night the Tigers play their best football game of the year and and advance to play for a state championship

Good analysis.

 

[my2sense]

I think there is a little more excitement to this game KNOWING we have two of our own playing for Hoban.

1. Are they really "your own" (whatever that means)?
2. That's a 2-way street. They will be excited to go against Massillon.

 

[John Lee Pettimore]

Sat in the Hoban section at the baseball finals this summer and swore i would never root for them to win a game. The utter idiocy and arrogance was on full display. Photo shoot on the field in pregame with a championship belt? And their fans...likely parents....c'mon man. The one guy, probably a dad, yelling at the pitch speed display and how wrong it was because the kid throws in the 90s.....geesh

But they play Massillon. If there ever could be a 0-0 tie and neither move on.


But ..it's massillons year. The deserve to win their first title.

Our first comment from the kiddie table. Thanks buddy....now let the grown ups talk.

 

[ArmChairCoach]

I think there is a little more excitement to this game KNOWING we have two of our own playing for Hoban. Should be a great game . T.I.G

Can’t blame them leaving a school that is graded in the bottom half of the state for academics plus having a good football team.

 

[John Lee Pettimore]

1. Are they really "your own" (whatever that means)?
2. That's a 2-way street. They will be excited to go against Massillon.

Speaking of 2-way streets. Lol.

Kids dad grew up in and played for Massillon....one kid left for Hoban AFTER sophomore year, the other left for Hoban AFTER freshman year and you ask if they're "our own".

Now, I don't really know if they could/would/should be considered "our own", but what I DO know is that you and your boyfriends have considered our transfer ins "Beachwoods own" for a couple of years now.

Thank you so much for making it easy to point out your hypocrisy.

 

[tom_hsfootball_fan]

This really should be the championship game, not a semi-final game. Thanks a lot, OHSAA.

They matched the teams to minimize the chance of an all north final. They've done that kind of thing for decades.

 

[MassillonTigers3]

It's easy for fans to say "empty the playbook", but teams are going to stick with whatever they think their identity is, and try to pick their spots to be aggressive if they think they've established opportunities to do so. Getting outside of your character a bit, and being too aggressive against talented and disciplined defenses can put you in a hole quickly.

Yeah I’m not saying empty the playbook as in call a bunch of plays that we’ve never run before. But all Massillon fans know that we have been able to play close to the vest lately and play rather vanilla. Open the play book means call a more balanced game similar to the Eds game.

 

[fbrox]

Some might tell you Hoban is the best high school team in the state

St. Eds 41Hoban 20!!! That may answer that question.