D II State Semifinal: Massillon 14-0 vs Cincinnati Anderson 13-1

Who wins?

  • Massillon by 1-8

    Votes: 7 4.2%

  • Massillon by 9-16

    Votes: 65 39.2%

  • Massillon by 17+

    Votes: 54 32.5%

  • Anderson by 1-8

    Votes: 18 10.8%

  • Anderson by 9-16

    Votes: 10 6.0%

  • Anderson by 17+

    Votes: 12 7.2%
  • Total voters
    166
jeroe said:
And not a getting a first down on 4th puts you in a real big hole and adds to the pressure you are under against this football team!
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That's true, but I haven't seen it happen except once or twice in the opposing team's territory in the three Anderson games I watched this year. They're just amazingly confident and patient in these situations. Massillon's defense is probably much more likely to get those stops and change that narrative than the teams I saw them play, but if they're not able to early, it could be a factor.
 
Timelineman said:
Getting stops on all four downs is a lot of pressure on a defense, physically and mentally. As a fan, rooting against them, there's a palpable sense of dread you get on 3rd and 8, as you just know they're going to pick up six and you're going to have to stop a fourth and two. After they convert a few times, it starts to feel hopeless. Granted, if Massillon's the team that can actually stop them early, that psychological advantage could be reversed, but as a fan who saw them rip my team's heart out on fourth down after the best defense we could possibly play for three downs many times, don't discount the psychological impact of playing this way on defense for four quarters. It wears a defense down. Kings was up 21-7 on them at half, and lost 42-21. At a certain point, the bending breaks.
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I feel you. That's alot of stress on the D. Frankly Hoban and Ed are similar in that it is mentally exhausting (let alone physically) to go all out every snap knowing any mistake could cost you 7 pts, and often does. I think that's where our SOS and experience helps. Our D, I think, is on par w/ WW albeit less familiar w/ Anderson's style.
 
CrusaderZip0004 said:
They’ve done really well against inferior opponents, then the offense starts lacking against good teams with good defenses. There’s no question that their defense is the strength of their team. Tyrrell will want to run it like typical. He’s going to find tough sledding though.
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Uh their strength of schedule was #1 in D2, and most teams struggle against good teams and good defenses. St Ed's being the only one.
 
skins99 said:
I think that is fair.

Also some people have been implying that for Massillon to win it is to slow it down and grind it out and none of us are saying that. We are saying control the clock or limiting opportunities with their potent running game and slow Anderson down and they should be marching on to the finals.
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Massillon game is to play Massillon’s game! There is no let’s try and slow them down. No Massillon’s goal will be to stop them and completely smother them on Defense. Then punish them on offense! If you do not think this is the goal you have not seen Massillon! They will not be changing who they are in week 15! Massillon’s identity is that DEFENSE!
 
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Timelineman said:
That's true, but I haven't seen it happen except once or twice in the opposing team's territory in the three Anderson games I watched this year. They're just amazingly confident and patient in these situations. Massillon's defense is probably much more likely to get those stops and change that narrative than the teams I saw them play, but if they're not able to early, it could be a factor.
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Winton Wood was one of the few games where they did punt. 4 times according to the box score. This makes sense considering I am not sure they could have score enough to win on an empty field with their offense this year.
 
skins99 said:
Winton Wood was one of the few games where they did punt. 4 times according to the box score. This makes sense considering I am not sure they could have score enough to win on an empty field with their offense this year.
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It’s possible Anderson will have the same deference to Massillon’s D. But they didn’t last week against Withrow, who gave up the fewest points in SWO this year, so who knows?! I know someone mentioned the not punting thing being a “rule” only if they’re up. They haven’t been behind too much so it’s tough to say.

I can’t wait to see this matchup. I love watching Anderson’s O operate (when they’re not playing my team.)
 
Timelineman said:
That's true, but I haven't seen it happen except once or twice in the opposing team's territory in the three Anderson games I watched this year. They're just amazingly confident and patient in these situations. Massillon's defense is probably much more likely to get those stops and change that narrative than the teams I saw them play, but if they're not able to early, it could be a factor.
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I am fully aware of the pros and cons of going going for it on 4th down. I also know that is in a sport where very few teams at any level committ to playing defense! Massillon is very, very committed to playing Defense. There is an entire love affair with offense in this thread. I am more excited now. I want see this offense against the Tiger defense. Notice I haven’t insinuated Anderson should change or do anything different. They need to be themselves. But so does this Tiger team and that starts with getting stops on D!
 
jeroe said:
I am fully aware of the pros and cons of going going for it on 4th down. I also know that is in a sport where very few teams at any level committ to playing defense! Massillon is very, very committed to playing Defense. There is an entire love affair with offense in this thread. I am more excited now. I want see this offense against the Tiger defense. Notice I haven’t insinuated Anderson should change or do anything different. They need to be themselves. But so does this Tiger team and that starts with getting stops on D!
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I think it’s going to be a beautiful matchup.
 
I was selfishly hoping the region 8 winner would be less difficult than a Avon team on a mission. Avon vs. Hoban has been anticipated all year. I hope they can still hang w/out their QB that is so dang unfortunate.
 
TigerPaw said:
I was selfishly hoping the region 8 winner would be less difficult than an Avon team on a mission. Avon vs. Hoban has been anticipated all year. I hope they can still hang w/out their QB that is so dang unfortunate.
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It is unfortunate but Avon is a good football team. If anyone can figure it out they can!
 
Timelineman said:
Ok, I realize I'm going to draw fire for this question, but I ask it sincerely, not trying to be a troll at all...

In looking at all the factors that have to be weighed in this matchup, one that hasn't come up is mental. I'm just curious if anyone thinks Massillon will be playing with a mental weight of knowing their fanbase's obsession with getting that first "on the field" state championship? It feels like there could be a Buffalo Bills effect. Or how inevitable losing to Michigan felt for Ohio State fans in the 90's. Anyone have a sense of whether or not that filters down to the Massillon players in a game like this? Especially with how close they've gotten recently without getting over the hump? I would think Anderson might have a bit of a "house money" effect going for them, which definitely suits their attacking style.
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I was thinking the same thing. But maybe the players are immune to the "pressure". The fan base might feel it more. I'm rooting for the Tigers though. As an old All American Conference player from the mid to late 70's I'd like to see them get their 1st on field championship.
 
Timelineman said:
It’s possible Anderson will have the same deference to Massillon’s D. But they didn’t last week against Withrow, who gave up the fewest points in SWO this year, so who knows?! I know someone mentioned the not punting thing being a “rule” only if they’re up. They haven’t been behind too much so it’s tough to say.

I can’t wait to see this matchup. I love watching Anderson’s O operate (when they’re not playing my team.)
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I think Anderson thought they could move the ball at will against Withrow and they were not far off.
 
MassillonTigers3 said:
Okay, let’s say for the sake of this conversation that Massillon is similar to WW athletically but hasn’t played them so they’ll score 2 additional TDs vs Massillon. Do you think the Anderson defense can hold the Tigers offense under 35?
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The question is not can the Anderson D hold the Tigers below 35. The question is in which quarter do the Tigers put up their 40th point. I'm guessing the 3rd quarter.
 
LS92 said:
The question is not can the Anderson D hold the Tigers below 35. The question is in which quarter do the Tigers put up their 40th point. I'm guessing the 3rd quarter.
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I think Anderson’s defense was pretty dad gum good this year. It might be worthy of note that they gave up 67.5 yards rushing per game. Granted, not a lot of great ground and pound teams on their schedule, but I’m still impressed.

the Milford game skewed their stats hugely. They basically had one off night, and that was against a very balanced, sophisticated offense.
 
It is (or used to be) top of the bracket, but how they order the bracket is anyone's guess. This year, Anderson and Avon are home teams on Friday and the Anderson-Massillon winner is home team next week. I think.
 
Cougarfan22 said:
Very well could. I would expect that they do. Same as Massillon's offense will struggle against Hoban D
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Dude!! Nobody from Massillon or Anderson cares about Hoban this week. You are like a teenage girl craving for attention. Yes we all know Hoban is good, you have pillaged the best talent Summit, Portage and a few other counties has to offer. One of us will deal with that next week.
 
Timelineman said:
I think Anderson’s defense was pretty dad gum good this year. It might be worthy of note that they gave up 67.5 yards rushing per game. Granted, not a lot of great ground and pound teams on their schedule, but I’m still impressed.

the Milford game skewed their stats hugely. They basically had one off night, and that was against a very balanced, sophisticated offense.
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DaOne Owens will have that many yards rushing in the first quarter. No disrespect to Anderson. But they haven’t seen a kid like this I promise you that. So what I’m saying is ok, Anderson has a very good offense, in fact very creative. But I’ve watched Massillon get better every single week in the run game and like Green last week, whose defense reminds me somewhat of Anderson, found out that Massillon has multiple players that can score on a single touch. Game breakers. And the offensive line and our TE’s are very very physical. The only reason Massillon didn’t score 50+ last week was due to 3 different fumbles. And all 3 were in scoring range. If Massillon turns the ball over we could get into trouble. If they play clean with no turnovers, then I see Massillon running wild. This game is definitely going to be interesting and I’m looking forward to it.

Massillon’s defense is very physical and fast. Including the secondary. They will hit you and I’ve watched teams all year get upset and want to fight. In fact one quit because they couldn’t control their emotions. Not saying Anderson would react this way at all, I don’t expect that either, just a statement that is fact.
 
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