Tigers control ball, dominate Eagles
MANSFIELD — New Albany coach Pat Samanich said Massillon Washington threw nothing at his team that he did not expect in a Division II regional final Friday night.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that meant a balanced Tigers offense that posted 508 yards and held the ball for almost 32 minutes in a 24-6 win at chilly, windy Arlin Field.
Jamir Thomas, a 6-foot-1, 212-pound running back, bruised his way to 164 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Tigers quarterback Aidan Longwell further loosened the defense with 276 yards passing and a touchdown. And for New Albany, the weapons that helped propel it to its fourth regional final appearance in the past six years largely were neutralized.
“(Thomas) just put his team on his shoulders. (Longwell) made some big throws to move the chains. You have to tip your hat,” said Samanich, whose team (8-5) was outgained 508-140. “Their defensive scheme is just well-coached guys running downhill and playing sound football. They did a great job of making our best difficult.”
Eagles running back Michiah Burton was held to 32 yards on 11 carries after amassing 389 yards and four touchdowns the past two weeks, and wide receiver Luke Muter had only two catches for 14 yards after catching seven passes for 134 yards and four scores in New Albany’s two playoff wins.
Thomas, who has offers from Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State and West Virginia, had a 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to cap a fast start that saw the Tigers run 28 of the game’s first 34 plays and outgain the Eagles 168-15.
Longwell ran for an 11-yard touchdown and threw a 22-yard pass to Austin Kutscher in the third quarter for a 24-0 lead.
Massillon (10-3), which won its first regional title since 2009, will play Cincinnati Winton Woods in a state semifinal next Friday.
“Our defense played lights out,” Tigers coach Nate Moore said. “Flipping from a fivewide (offense) a week ago (against Ashland) to a wing-T this week, I’m just really proud of these guys.”
New Albany avoided a shutout when Jack Scharfe blocked the Tigers’ only punt attempt and returned it 13 yards for a touchdown with 9 minutes, 29 seconds to go.
“Other guys took up blockers, I saw the gap and got there,” Scharfe said. “I got the block, the ball was kind of fumbling around and then it squirted out. I picked it up and ran with it.”
Scharfe said Massillon’s dominant line play was key.
“They’re a physical team, they’re wellcoached and they block well,” Scharfe said. “We had a nice (playoff) run. We got great leadership down the stretch. It wasn’t always easy but most weeks, we found a way to win.”