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Yappi.com writer MASSILLON--The burning heat was felt all around the atmosphere of the prestigious house that Paul Brown built. Inside of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, the defending 2005 Ohio Division I state football finalists completed a rigorous workout as they open up defense of their region 2 title and another mission before them. And that mission is to return to the Ohio Division I state championship game at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Field at Fawcett Stadium in the Hall of Fame City of Canton, Ohio. Last season, the Tigers made their first appearance in the big school title game since the 1982 season but their hopes of the program's first state playoff title went down in a hail of bombs, courtesy of a 24-17 loss to the top-ranked Cincinnati St. Xavier Bombers. Seven months after that loss, the sun has risen for the Tigers. And nothing will make them happier than returning to the state title game. But the road to Fawcett Stadium will not be an easy one. And no one knows that better than Massillon's Head Coach, second-year Tigers head coach Tom Stacy. "The schedule this year will be more difficult than last year's schedule. We played teams last year for that the most part were pretty young," Stacy said. "We have tough games on our schedule and it is far tougher than last year." "We cannot overlook anyone at all." The Tigers finished 2005 13-2 while completing a 7-0 record at home. The Tigers reached their peak on the season with a three-touchdown triumph over former regional champion Canton McKinley in the region 2 title game. Stacy credited the 25 seniors on the team that kept the spirit of the team up, especially after absorbing a setback in the week 10 finale at Fawcett Stadium at the hands of Canton McKinley. Now it's time for the current seniors on the team to step up and be leaders. "The fact here is that last season we had a great senior class when I got here. It was a class full of great players like Antonio James, Brett Huffman, Shawn Weisend and so on," Stacy said. "The challenge now is to replace the seniors that we had and get some new leaders to step up." In 2005, the Massillon offense averaged a phenomenal 32.5 points per game. With the speed that Massillon has coming back, do not get the misperception that the offense is losing it's luster. Massillon returns quarterback Bobby Huth, who excelled in his first full season of varsity football. Huth won over Stacy's praise with his sound decision making and grasping of the run-and-boot offense. The other quarterbacks in the running are senior Darian McGuire, Steve Ryder, Chris Willoughby and sophomore Tim Adkins. But Huth is Stacy's top Tiger at the position. "Right now, Huth is our quarterback. Who will be our #2 behind him will pan out over during the summer," Stacy said. "The departure of Weisend is a big loss there because he was our #2 quarterback but he was an experienced #2." The running back position is solid with incumbent Brian Gamble returning for his senior year. Also included in the mix is junior running back K.J. Herring and sophomore Justin Turner, an up-and-coming diamond in the rough at running back, who led the freshman Tigers to a 7-1-1 record while setting a freshman record for touchdowns in one season with 17. Stacy is deeply in love with the depth he has at running back. However, he is concerned about the fullback position. "I love our depth at running back. But we have only one fullback, Tommy Leonard. You got to have solid depth at fullback and right now we just don't have that," he said. "But when you look at Gamble, Herring, and Turner, they are all guys who can break a game wide open." Gamble is one who can catch a ball and go. Herring has flat-out speed. Turner is a combination between the two and all of them are capable of breaking long runs." The Tigers do return receivers Trey Miller and Michael Porrini. While the offensive and defensive lines might be suspect, do not overlook what the defense was able to accomplish last season. Defensively, the Tigers only allowed 13.6 points per game while recording four shutouts last season. Stacy takes pride in defense that is played fast, hard, and physical. His defensive backs are what pleases him the most. "We have defensive backs that have played long at that position. I really enjoy Gamble at the position," Stacy beamed. "Kevin Massey has the potential to be one of the better cornerbacks I have coached." The Massillon 2006 schedule will be one that will test the Tigers vastly. Three new teams highlight the schedule in North Park, Ont., Woodson (Wash. D.C.), Hamilton (AZ), and Cincinnati Western Hills are the newcomers on the schedule. Cincinnati Moeller returns to the schedule for the first time since the 1997 season and Akron Buchtel returns for the first time in two years. The schedule follows with Ohio powers Mentor, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Warren Harding and Canton McKinley. Getting back to the Division I state final means going through a murderous schedule like this that might have pitfalls along the way waiting for the Tigers. Stacy acknowledges that he feels the pressure to get the Tigers back to the 15th week of the season. "There is always pressure when you coach at Massillon and that is the way it should be. If you can't stand it, you should not be here," he said. "If you can stand up to the pressure, it will make you a tougher person." "2005 was a very great year for us. It hurt that St. Xavier was one touchdown better than us but if we can learn from that game and become a better team, we'll knock the door down and not only get back to the title game but win it too." The torrid heat was felt inside the prestigious house that Paul Brown built. Now the heat is on for the Tigers to get back to the Division I state championship game. |
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