Sun Valley leaves Ohio with 95-point loss

MASSILLON, OHIO >> It didn’t take Sun Valley long to find out why Massillon Washington High is ranked fourth in Ohio and No. 60 nationally by Maxpreps.com.

The Tigers scored 56 points in the second quarter alone in what became a 101-6 drubbing of the Vanguards Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The nightmarish loss set county records for most points allowed in a game and the largest margin of defeat. The records were previously held by Lansdowne’s 84-0 win over Swarthmore High in 1922.

However, it did not come close to breaking the state record in either category. St. Clair still holds that mark for a 194-0 loss to Tamaqua in 1915, according to Maxpreps.

The undefeated Tigers (8-0), on the other hand, set program records for most points in a game, in a half (73) and the largest margin of victory. The win topped a 94-0 triumph over Akron North in 1922.

“They’re top-notch, the highest level of high school football program and we’re not,” Sun Valley coach Greg “Bubba” Bernhardt told The Independent newspaper in Massillon. “We lose our three best skill players in the first (half). We’ve got 37 kids in uniform. We’re in a tough spot. We basically had to hang on. What are you going to do?”

A week after he became the leading rusher in school history, senior running back Jamir Thomas set the program record for rushing touchdowns in a career. Thomas scored three times to raise his career total to 48. He finished with 167 yards on seven carries.

It was one of three school marks set or tied on the night.

Tyree Browles ran the secondhalf kickoff back for a touchdown. It was the third kickoff return for a TD of his career to break the school record that stood since 1922. Kicker Alex Bauer also tied the program record for points in a game by a kicker (16) that also was set in 1922.

Despite having a six-minute advantage in time of possession in the first quarter, Sun Valley trailed 17-0 at the end of the period. And then it all went south for the Vanguards.

The Tigers scored four touchdowns in a span of 4 minutes, 27 seconds to blow the game open. Three TDs came in a 61-second burst.

Thomas got it started with a 46yard run to set the program record for rushing TDs in a career. Tre’von Morgan, who received offers from Virginia and Mississippi earlier in the week, according to Twitter, returned a punt 55 yards for a score. Kyshad Mack took an interception to the house and Morgan raced 72 yards with a pass from Aidan Longwell.

That was only the beginning. Washington scored four more times to take a 73-6 lead into the locker room. The Tigers returned a punt and two interceptions for touchdowns.

Julz Kelly provided the only highlight for the Vanguards when he took an Anthony Ellis pass 81 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The touchdown, though, was costly. Kelly reportedly was injured on the play.

Kelly finished with 134 yards of total offense. He ran the ball eight times for 48 yards and caught two passes for 86 yards. Ellis finished 11-for-28 for 218 yards.