Massillon proud: Tigers win first Ohio football state title since 1970 with win over Archbishop Hoban

Massillon won its 25th title in program history with an impressive defensive performance

CANTON, Ohio – For Massillon, seven points can erase 51 years of history.

With a 7-2 win over Archbishop Hoban on Thursday night in the OHSAA Division II state championship game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Massillon captured its first state championship since the OHSAA implemented a playoff system in 1972.

“(I’m) so happy for our kids, so happy for our coaches that work so hard and are so dedicated to our players and our program,” Massillon coach Nate Moore said. “And (I’m) so happy for the city of Massillon.”

The home side of the stadium was clad in orange and black from the minute they opened the gates until they were asked to leave after the team received their state championship trophy. One of the most dedicated fan bases in all of Ohio, if not all of the country, the Tiger faithful came out and were loud from the jump.

“They showed up tonight, but they showed up all year," Moore said. “There are people in the city of Massillon who scrape their pennies together to come to our games and to come to this game tonight and we couldn’t be more appreciative of them. And we're so honored to be able to bring a gold trophy home to the city of Massillon tonight.”

What Massillon fans – and Hoban fans for that matter – witnessed on Thursday night was one of the toughest defensive games in the history of the OHSAA state championships, as the 7-2 final is tied for the sixth-fewest points in a state championship game.

“I couldn't imagine that it wasn't (one of the best defensive games I have been apart of),” Moore said. “It was an incredible performance by our defense. Hoban's defense was great tonight too, they made things really difficult for us offensively.”

Massillon broke a scoreless tie midway through the second quarter when Chase Bond got through the line and blocked a Hoban punt after the punter dropped the ball and picked it up. Bond was on top of him immediately and got two hands on the ball, giving Massillon possession at the Hoban 28.

“Honestly (I just saw) a mismatch,” Bond said. “I knew it was going to happen before the play type of thing. I just refused to be blocked.”

On the ensuing possession, Hoban seemed to have a stop on fourth down, but defensive lineman Jordan Pritcard-Sewell got his hand in the facemask of quarterback DaOne Owens and spun him to the ground, leading to a penalty.

The Tigers took advantage, driving to the 6-yard-line, where Owens handed the ball to Mylen Lenix who scored a touchdown. The Vinny Keller PAT made it 7-0.

“(The facemask) was not as scary as it looked, I kind of just like jumped in the air and so it looked like I just flew back,” Owens said. “Then getting that first down, it really hyped up the crowd, and got us going and we were able to score.”

Hoban got its two points on a safety late in the second quarter after a punt by Ryan Burns was downed at the Massillon 1. On the first play after the punt, Tanner Mintz and Cartier Williams tackled the ballcarrier in the end zone for a safety.

Massillon head coach Nate Moore holds up one finger signifying that the Tigers had won the state championship with a win over Archbishop Hoban on November 30, 2023. Photo credit: Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports / Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports

But Hoban turned the ball over with an interception on the ensuing drive after the free kick and then after a Hoban stop, the teams went to the halftime locker rooms with Massillon leading 7-2.

With both teams struggling to move the ball in the second half, Massillon faced a fourth down at its own 40 with just over 7:30 left in the game and tried a fake punt. Hoban sniffed it out and made a stop to take over on downs.

“We thought it was there,” Moore said. “We were short by a yard and if we get it everybody's real happy about it.”

Hoban took the ball and drove down to the Massillon 10, where they faced a third-and-1. But the third down snap was over the head of quarterback Tylan Boykin and recovered by running back Caleb Jones for a loss of seven.

On fourth down, Boykin rolled to his right and launched a ball to the end zone to Jackson Callaway, but the play was broken up by Dorian Pringle, who had missed the last several games with an injury but came back to play one final game and led the Tigers with 14 tackles.

“It was pretty important to me (to play),” Pringle said. “I just wanted to suit up again with my brothers for one last time and try to bring something else to the team like energy.”

When Massillon made the final stop, it meant the Tigers could take a knee and finish out the game to win the state championship.

“For me it was a surreal moment because it was such a down to the wire game,” Moore said. “I can't imagine what it was like watching from the stands. But it was like, ‘is it really over?’”

It was really over and Massillon (16-0) finished off its first perfect season since a 9-0-1 record in 1978 and it is the first time since a 10-0 mark in 1970 that the Tigers have gone unbeaten and untied. That was also the last time the Tigers were named state champions, as the AP awarded state titles until 1971. Prior to the playoffs, Massillon had won 24 state titles.

“The city of Massillon has endured a lot over the years as far as people want to downplay what we have accomplished in our history,” Moore said. “Because what is it, six times we fell short in the playoff era and so maybe fair enough but also I believe Notre Dame counts their national championships before the BCS era, and I believe Ohio State counts their national championships before the BCS era and so do the Massillon Tigers.

“I don't feel like we needed this to validate our program, but maybe to some people we did and it's now done, it's now been accomplished. The Massillon Tigers have won a state championship in the playoff era.”

-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveoh

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