Scouting Report: Massillon at Hoover

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Chris Easterling, Massillon Independent

The teams: The Massillon Tigers had to fight for it, but they won three of their last four games to earn their third playoff appearance in the last four years with a 6-4 record. Massillon’s wins included Buchtel, Normandy, Garfield, Brantford (Ont.) Collegiate, Warren Harding and McKinley. The Tigers lost to Jordan (Utah), Ursuline, St. Ignatius and Mentor – the last three teams all qualifying for the state playoffs.

Hoover is making its second straight playoff appearance and also its third in the last four years after going 9-1 in the regular season. The Vikings were 7-0 in the Federal League, winning the outright league championship, while also beating Washington D.C. Dunbar and the Canadian school Wilson. Hoover’s lone loss was to undefeated Louisville.

The strategies: Massillon will look to get its running game going, because, as first-year head coach Jason Hall said after last week’s win over McKinley, “It’s as simple as if you’re running the ball well, then there’s no sense throwing.” Of course, the Tigers have been running the ball well in large part because of the talent of tailback J.T. Turner, who appears to have found another level to take his game over the last three weeks. Turner will be the main option out of the backfield, although Jacar Roberson or Jake Reiman could get a carry here or there just to keep Turner fresh. That running game has also succeeded because of the blocking of an offensive line which has remained relatively intact with Aaron Krichbaum at center, Jake Westfall and Ben Doering at guard and Keith Dingler and Jeff Myers at tackle. Dingler did miss three games due to injury, and Brandon Pedro slid over from tight end to tackle and played very well. The running of Turner and the blocking of the line has allowed Robert Partridge to settle into the quarterback role since assuming the position in Week Seven. Partridge boasts a strong arm, and well as the athleticism to get out of the pocket and put pressure on the perimeter of the defense. Partridge has been most effective in the play-action pass, using the defense’s aggressiveness in trying to stop Turner to his advantage. He’s got plenty of targets to choose from, whether it’s Turner out of the backfield, Matt Zimmerman or Pedro at tight end, or a cadre of receivers including Bo Grunder, Michael Clark, Tim Adkins, J.B. Price, Kyle Pizzino and Josh Remark.

Hoover’s defense is designed to stop the run, as the Vikings will operate out of a 5-3 front which will load up the box with eight defenders. Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr. admits his defense may be a case of the whole being better than the sum of its parts, saying “I don’t think individually, we’re anything outstanding. As a group, we’re pretty decent.” The success of a five-man front starts with a strong defensive line, and Hoover’s line has been solid with Pat McCoy and Tyler Mann at the tackles, Mike Frascello at the nose and Dom Boyle and Dan Leek at the ends. The linebackers are, as is the case with most defenses, the playmakers for the Vikings. Tim Hartzell and Jordan Witt can put pressure off the edge at outside linebacker, while Roman Musisca is solid at middle linebacker. Erick Howard, easily the Vikings’ best player, doesn’t start at linebacker, but will leave his calling card on at least a dozen plays from the position by the end of the game. Joe Cerreta, Jake Mann and Jeff Meek  can make plays out of the secondary.

Like Massillon, Hoover is pretty obvious in what it wants to do on offense, and that is to give the ball to Howard, the Vikings’ 5-foot-11, 205-pound battering ram of a tailback. And like the Tigers, the Vikings will alter their formations in a lot of ways in an attempt to gain a tactical edge on the defense. That means anything from the traditional I formation out of a pro set to a double-tight I formation to even the spread. However, Hoover lines up, one can expect to see Howard touch the ball at least 30 times. Not only will Howard get it on handoffs, but he is a popular target on screen passes as well, which has been a Hoover staple for years. That’s not to say the Vikings won’t put it up, because they will. Junior Brett Tulodzieski took control of the quarterback position after Hoover’s Week Two loss to Louisville, and has steadily grown into the role. He won’t throw it as much as some past Viking quarterbacks have, but he does have the capacity to throw it 12 to 15 times a game if need be. He also has the ability to run if needed, as evidenced by his 45-yard touchdown run against Jackson last week. Howard play a major factor in the passing game, but is far from the only target. Dan Nettleton, Greg Beck, A.J. Sarbaugh, Jeff Meek and Mike Kohler all will get looks from Tulodzieski depending on the play.

Defensively, Massillon has found itself on a role over the last four weeks. The Tigers have brought a lot of pressure out of their 3-4 look, a look which no doubt will be adjusted to take into account a back like Howard. That means a lot of fronts with outside linebackers Jamison Heath-Gates and Brian Arelt up on the line of scrimmage to aid the defensive line of Matt Rose, Gary Combs and Joe Studer. Cooper Ivan also may drop down from his safety spot into a linebacker role, much as he did against Normandy in Week Three. Those things could turn the 3-4 look into almost a 5-3 by the time all is said and done. Whatever the front may be, you can be assured that Arelt, Heath-Gates, Rose and Combs will be providing pressure off the edge, while Price and Spencer Leno can clean things up from their inside linebacker spots. Ivan and Grunder will no doubt be found around the football as safeties. Hoover will have to decide whether or not to test Turner at the one cornerback spot, and risk the kind of game former Tiger Billy Relford had in a 2002 playoff game in North Canton, or try its luck with Kyle Allman on the other side of the field.

The key matchups: It all starts with Massillon’s ability to contain Howard. That means getting a good push up front to force the Viking tailback to try and bounce the play outside. It also means the Tigers must – emphasis on “must” – wrap up and bring him down to the ground when the chance is there. Massillon was plagued in its Week Three win over Normandy by arm tackles and missed tackles, which is why Jake Squirek was able to run for 205 yards in the game. As good as Squirek is, Howard is in an entirely different category, which is why the likes of Ohio State, USC, Michigan, Michigan State and Florida are all chasing after him. And if the Tigers don’t wrap up and bring Howard down when they get the chance, they’ll be chasing after him as well.

Also, the Tigers have to control the line of scrimmage on offense. Massillon has done a good job the last couple of weeks of allowing Turner to get into the second level, which opens up the cut-back lanes which he has been able to use for huge gains. If the Tigers can continue that trend tonight, Turner will once again have the athletic edge on most of the Vikings in the second level. That could mean a big game for the senior tailback, and a big game by him could very well lead the Tigers into the second round of the playoffs.

Streaks, stats and facts: Tonight marks just the fourth meeting all-time between these two tradition-rich Stark County programs, and all of the meetings have occurred in the playoffs. Massillon leads the series 3-0, with the closest game being a 27-7 win in the 2001 regional championship game at Fawcett Stadium. The Tigers also won in 2002 by a 31-0 score at North Canton Memorial Stadium in a situation similar to this year – Massillon the No. 8 seed and Hoover the No. 1 – while they also beat the Vikings 45-14 at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in the first round in 2005. ... Tonight marks the Tigers’ 17th postseason appearance, which is the second-most in county history. They are 22-16 in the playoffs, with three state title game appearances. ... Hoover is making its 16th playoff appearance, and is 11-15 with an appearance in the 1984 state title game. ... Hall has faced Hoover before as a head coach, just last season in a Division I regional semifinal – ironically at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium – while at Nordonia. Hoover won that game 21-14 in overtime. ... Hertler is 0-3 against Massillon – all while at Hoover. He also spent the 1995 season as Jack Rose’s offensive coordinator at Massillon. ... Turner has rushed for 600 yards on 78 carries in the last three games for Massillon, with a pair of 200-plus-yard games against Warren and McKinley. He has scored three touchdowns in that span. ... Grunder has reemerged as a big-play target in the Tiger offense in the last three weeks, with five catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns. From Week Two to Week Seven, Grunder had just five catches for 51 yards. For the season, he has 15 catches for 272 yards and seven scores. ... While the Tigers didn’t throw much against McKinley – just five passes attempted, three completed – they had pass plays of 26 and 16 yards. The 26-yarder was a touchdown to Grunder. ... The seven sacks by the Tigers against McKinley gives them 24 as a team. Danny Huhn remains the team leader with five, although Arelt and Heath-Gates each have four, while Rose and Ivan have three apiece. Heath-Gates and Ivan each had a pair against McKinley, while Rose, Combs and Arelt each had one. ... Ivan has been all over the field on defense. His 109 tackles are a team high, as are his 69 solo stops. He’s also caused a team-best four fumbles, and is one of six Tigers with a pair of fumble recoveries. ... Turner hasn’t just been doing it on offense for Massillon. He stripped McKinley’s Alaun Morrow of the ball on a catch and returned it 20 yards last week, his first fumble recovery of the season. That goes with his team-high four interceptions, two caused fumbles and two pass break-ups, plus a tackle-for-loss on a fake punt early in the McKinley game. ... Jeremy Geier has been solid in his first year handling the place-kicking chores. Since starting the season 3-of-6 on field goals, he has made six of his last seven to improve to 9-of-13 on the season. That includes a 6-of-9 showing on field goals between 30 and 39 yards, with a long of 35. He is 33-of-35 on extra points as well. ... Clark has been a major weapon for Massillon punting the ball. He is averaging 37.7 yards on 25 kicks this season, including a 50-yarder against St. Ignatius. ... One aspect of the Tigers’ game which has been troubling the last two weeks has been the self-inflicted wounds of turnovers and penalties. Massillon has given the ball away seven times in the past two games, and been flagged for 16 penalties for 162 yards. For the season, the Tigers have 21 giveaways (compared to 28 takeaways) and 49 penalties for 429 yards. ... Howard has carried the ball 285 times for 1,795 yards for Hoover, with 25 rushing touchdowns. He also has 16 catches for a team-best 328 yards and three scores. He has also returned eight kickoffs 182 yards, while intercepting two passes and returning them 17 yards. Oh, by the way, he has 126 tackle points, six tackles for loss, three sacks, two caused fumbles, a quarterback pressure and a pass break-up to his credit as well. ... Tulodzieski has completed 71-of-124 passes for 1,027 yards, with seven scores and two interceptions. He has also rushed 68 times for 178 yards and a score. ... Nettleton is the top receiver in terms of catches for Hoover, with 18 catches for 218 yards and a score. Beck has added 15 grabs for 175 yards and two scores, while Sarbaugh has 14 catches for 204 yards and two scores. ... Sarbaugh is also a weapon on special teams. He is 5-of-8 on field goals, with a long of 42, and 29-of-30 on extra points. His only miss on a PAT came last week in the rain against Jackson. He is also averaging 36.8 yards per punt on 32 punts. ... Howard and Meek are tied for the team lead in interceptions with two. As a team, Hoover has picked off seven passes, while recovering 10 fumbles. ... The Vikings have thrown five interceptions as a team, while fumbling the ball away 11 times. That puts them at plus-one in the giveaway-takeaway margin. ...

Coach speak: “Anybody who knows Hoover, it’s the traditional Hoover team,” Massillon’s Hall said. “Their defense is a 5-3 – an aggressive 5-3 – and they’ll flex their ends out and put pressure on your tackles. When they want to substitute into a 4-3, they’ll take a lineman out and bring in another safety. That’s North Canton, and their philosophy is, if you spread us out, we’ll sack you before you can throw the ball. It’s been the same North Canton team for years.

“Offensively, they run a lot of formations. You know about their tailback, and all of their formations are dictated around getting him the ball and for him to be successful in what they’re doing. You’ll Donnie, being a great coach, putting a lot of formations out trying to see where he can have the most success and then he’ll tune into that formation. This is definitely going to be a chess match on both sides of the ball. It’s a game that can come down to turnovers and special teams, just like any big game.”

“I know Massillon’s got a guy who’s probably the most talented athlete in the entire county in Turner,” Hoover’s Hertler said. “Turner does a great job in the secondary. He can change a game as a defensive back and on returns. Every time he touches the ball, he reminds you a lot of an O.J. Simpson or Robert Smith with the way he cuts back and the way he accelerates and how explosive he is. He’s just a great athlete and a great player. He’s a Big Ten player, and we haven’t seen a player like him all year. It’s going to give a great challenge.

“We have a great challenge this week, because I’m real impressed with Partridge athletically, and they have guys to throw the ball to who can break it at any time. Jason’s doing a great job of getting the ball to different people. Their offensive line is very solid and played very well last week against McKinley.”

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