DIV 2 STATE FINAL Massillon 15-0 vs Akron Hoban 13-1

Who wins ?

  • Massillon by 1-8

    Votes: 70 29.4%

  • Massillon by 9-16

    Votes: 89 37.4%

  • Massillon by 17+

    Votes: 15 6.3%

  • Hoban by 1-8

    Votes: 36 15.1%

  • Hoban by 9-16

    Votes: 11 4.6%

  • Hoban by 17+

    Votes: 17 7.1%
  • Total voters
    238
  • Poll closed .
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Worm02 said:
Just posted a Massillon-Hoban game preview on my social media. It's long, but if you like my posts on here, I think that you'll like this...

View attachment 50621

Thursday @ 7 PM: Division II

Massillon (15-0) vs. Archbishop Hoban (13-1)

At the very worst, this year's Massillon squad is, in my humble opinion, the best team that I’ve seen Harding play since the ‘97 Canton McKinley Bulldogs, who went that entire season wire to wire as the USA Today’s top ranked team in the nation. Coached by the legendary Thom McDaniels, three Bulldogs from that squad eventually made it to the NFL by way of Ohio State in Kenny Peterson, Jamar Martin, and the one that every old school Harding fan should definitely remember, Mike Doss. That doesn't include running back DeMarlo Rozier, who rushed for 97 yards & 1 TD on 18 carries in McKinley's 30-9 victory against Harding that year en route to being a First Team All-Ohio selection. He went on to play college football at Kent State.

Just mentioning this year's Tigers in the same breath as the 1997 USA Today national champs is extremely high praise, but under the direction of Coach Nate Moore, they are absolutely loaded at every position. So much so that despite one of their best defensive players, Bowling Green commit Dorian Pringle, sitting out last week’s Division II state semifinal vs. Cincinnati Anderson, Massillon still triumphed 55-7.

Senior defensive end Chase Bond, an NC State commit, picked up the slack with 7 tackles (4 for a loss), 3 sacks, and a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown against Anderson. Linebacker Cody Fair, the Tigers' leader with 72 tackles this season, registered 6 tackles (2 for a loss) and a sack. That level of domination has been present throughout their entire season as ten of their 15 games have ended with a running clock (30-point mercy rule), which doesn’t even include every game that they actually triggered one. In total, the Tiger defense has only surrendered 107 points in 15 games (7.1 PPG).

Throughout the 2000's, Archbishop Hoban was a solid program that featured some great talent. They often played against larger and/or more elite schools, which resulted in occasional lumps being taken. In fact, every Steel Valley Conference team from back then (Harding, Austintown Fitch, Boardman, Cardinal Mooney, and Youngstown Ursuline) recorded at least one double-digit victory over the Knights. That trend was capped off by Mooney's dominant 34-0 victory at Hoban in 2007.

While games from that long ago may seem irrelevant now, Hoban spending those years raising the expectations of their program was the first step. After the hiring of current head coach Tim Tyrell in January of 2013, the final piece of the puzzle was put into place as things would eventually snowball into the juggernaut that started to come to fruition in 2015. That year, Hoban won their first ever state championship, which came in Division III. The Knights didn’t stop there as they went on to add additional state crowns in 2016, 2017, 2018, & 2020. Within that time frame, the OHSAA adopted a “competitive balance” policy, which fwiw I absolutely hate everything about (whole different topic), that bumped Hoban up to Division II in 2017. As you can see, it didn’t affect the Knights’ takeover at all as they’ve cemented themselves as a one of the more elite football programs in not only all of Ohio, but the entire country.

If you need an illustration, look no further than their starting linebacker core as seniors Rickey Williams (West Virginia) and Devin Bell (Miami of Ohio) along with junior Eli Lee (Ohio State) are all committed to FBS schools. They'll look to limit a Massillon offense that has scored 611 points this season, an average of 40.7 points per game. The Knights' main focus will be to limit the production of Tiger quarterback DaOne Owens, who has accounted for 2,770 yards & 33 touchdowns worth of total offense while only throwing three interceptions.

Junior quarterback Jalen Slaughter has also made his presence felt as he's 34-of-60 for 685 yards with 9 touchdowns & 4 interceptions. Their favorite targets have been Braylyn Toles (45 catches for 614 yards & 8 TDs), Jacques Carter (39 catches for 784 yards & 7 TDs), and Emy Louis Jr. (14 catches for 364 yards & 7 TDs). Ja'Meir Gamble is the Tigers' second leading rusher as he's compiled 945 yards & 5 touchdowns on 138 carries.

Hoban's secondary will be headlined by sophomore cornerback Elbert Hill, who already has FBS offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Colorado, etc. He'll be shadowed by senior free safety and Central Michigan commit Tysen Campbell.

Offensively, the Knights are led by junior quarterback Tylan Boykin, who will look to utilize his speedy weapons in Hill, Jaylen Hightower, and sophomore Payton Cook. Among his big hogs protecting him up front include Tennessee commit William Satterwhite and sophomore Sam Greer, who already holds offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Miami, etc.

While all 24 of Massillon’s state titles came prior to the playoff era (pre 1972), there's only a select few schools that have legit "bragging rights" over them. While Harding's all-time record of 25-60-3 against the Tigers severely limits their involvement in that conversation, the Raiders' 21-20 (OT) triumph over Massillon in the 2002 Division I state semi final still haunts Massillon faithful to this day as they would've matched up very well with eventual state champion Cincinnati Elder. Over the years, the Tigers' main "kryptonite" has been Cleveland St. Ignatius (2-12 all time) & Cincinnati Moeller (2-11 all-time).

Overall, this is Massillon's seventh appearance in the OHSAA state championship game and to date, they're ranked third in the country for all-time wins with 947. A win tomorrow night vs. Hoban would not only give them their first state playoff title, but it'd tie them with Louisville (KY) Male High School for second all-time with 948 wins. Either way, they're in a good position to surpass Valdosta's (GA) 952 wins as early as next year.

Unlike their counterpart, Hoban doesn't have 100+ years of dominance under their belt. However, under Coach Tyrell, they're currently in the midst of a nine-year run that's only rivaled by a select few schools in Ohio. They have a program that, despite not winning a state title since 2020, is well inside the "dynasty" category. The coaching staff is elite and their players have fully bought into what they're being taught, which is to strive to be the absolute best regardless of who they're lined up across. To date, they're 3-2 all-time against Massillon, which includes a 3-1 record since 2018. With Thursday set to be one of the warmest days this week, expect a huge crowd at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium for one of the premiere high school football matchups in the entire country this year.

Good luck to both teams!
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Excellent write up Worm. Thank you!
 
If I'm Hoban, I get out whatever I think I have in my bag to get off to a good start offensively. It might be a small advantage early that Hoban played a big boy team last week, while Massillon hasn't played anyone in their weight class for 2 or more months. It could take the Tigers a minute to adjust to playing someone that can provide some resistance. Or, Owens creases them early, and none of it matters. He's obviously the biggest factor in the game to me (as I state the obvious), Hoban just hasn't had to defend anyone like him in their previous matchups with Massillon. If he's the best player on the field tonight, Massillon will control the tenor of the game. Hoban's run D is extremely aggressive coming downhill, and usually results in a lot of TFL's. But, that aggression has also made them susceptible at times to giving up a crease for an explosive play, which is Owens' specialty. One broken or missed tackle in the hole is all it takes, Hoban's LBs will need to be on their game. Their best hope is to make him a passer as much as possible and live with the results. Hoban needs a game that doesn't move beyond the teens, if Massillon is getting into the 24+ range, that doesn't bode well for the Knights. Obviously, you can never account for turnovers or penalties, you can outplay someone and still lose because of those mistakes. Playing clean penalty-wise will be huge, I think both of these teams can get a little loose in that area at times. Turning a 3rd & 1 into a 3rd & 6 or 11 killed Hoban last week and cost them 14 points, at least.

When discarding all the minutia of breaking down a game, it just feels like you can only play in the title game so many times without winning it. Feels like tonight that Massillon finally breaks through.
 
When did these Tigers make you a believer? For myself this year after being down 2 scores Week 1 did it for me. Reinforcement came at several points throughout the season. These Tigers are something special. We are definitely in an anything can happen and we all know it game. I am confident in our team, I am confident in our coaches and I am confident in our fans. As fans lets let them hear our roar! Play a clean game Tigers and you will be rewarded! No matter the outcome these Tigers are a special bunch. We should support them whatever the outcome.

Here's to a clean and injury free game for both teams. Win or lose with grace and class. We all know what the great Paul Brown said (this among MANY other note worthy quotes) - "When you win say nothing, When you lose say less" TIG!
 
MassillonKenn said:
When did these Tigers make you a believer? For myself this year after being down 2 scores Week 1 did it for me. Reinforcement came at several points throughout the season. These Tigers are something special. We are definitely in an anything can happen and we all know it game. I am confident in our team, I am confident in our coaches and I am confident in our fans. As fans lets let them hear our roar! Play a clean game Tigers and you will be rewarded! No matter the outcome these Tigers are a special bunch. We should support them whatever the outcome.

Here's to a clean and injury free game for both teams. Win or lose with grace and class. We all know what the great Paul Brown said (this among MANY other note worthy quotes) - "When you win say nothing, When you lose say less" TIG!
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ERS
 
MassillonKenn said:
When did these Tigers make you a believer? For myself this year after being down 2 scores Week 1 did it for me. Reinforcement came at several points throughout the season. These Tigers are something special. We are definitely in an anything can happen and we all know it game. I am confident in our team, I am confident in our coaches and I am confident in our fans. As fans lets let them hear our roar! Play a clean game Tigers and you will be rewarded! No matter the outcome these Tigers are a special bunch. We should support them whatever the outcome.

Here's to a clean and injury free game for both teams. Win or lose with grace and class. We all know what the great Paul Brown said (this among MANY other note worthy quotes) - "When you win say nothing, When you lose say less" TIG!
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I was born and bred into that city and one day, I'll be Massillon dead
 
Im a TCC fan and neutral observer here but im really looking forward to this game. With 2 excellent defenses I cant see a blow out either way. Should be a classic!
 
1. Pringle will play
2. The team with the most rushing yards will win
3. As always, the LOS will determine the game.
 
On this championship night, huge shoutout to a guy who was a massive part of Hoban's 4 straight titles 2015-1018.

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Oil Filter said:
Anyone else notice that the frequency of posts has decreased and the heat in those posts has been turned down as the game is getting closer?
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As it should be. Hopefully both teams will play with great respect for one another and show their class and not their win or lose.
 
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