Massillon vs. Archbishop Hoban: Ohio high school football state championship game 'they said it'

The best quotes from Massillon's win over Archbishop Hoban in the 2023 OHSAA Division II football state championship

On Thursday, November 30, Massillon and Archbishop Hoban met at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton for the OHSAA Division II state championship.

Massillon defeated Hoban 7-2 to take home the program's 25th state title, and its first since the inception of the playoffs in Ohio in 1972.

After the game, both head coach and several players were brought in for a press conference with the gathered media. These are some of the best quotes from those press conferences.

They said it:

Nate Moore, Massillon head coach

(Opening statement): “How about that Tiger defense? Unbelievable. I think the best defensive performance I have ever seen.”

(On the team and community): “(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 and (I’m) so happy for the city of Massillon. They showed up tonight, but they showed up all year. 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.”

(On the team loving each other): “Nothing brings people together like communal suffering. And you know there's a lot of suffering that goes into a football season like this and it starts in January and that's certainly a huge part of it. The more you get to know other people, the more you realize we're not so different. We're all human beings, we all we all love, we all have weaknesses and jealousies and things like that, and you figure out those things and you know we're all we're all just brothers up here just playing the game that we love for the for the city of champions that deserves it.”

(On how he reacted to the Hoban fourth down play coming up short at the end): “I'm so dialed into the moment, I had to move forward to our offensive possession and how much time was left and could we take a knee on it. The fourth down stop happens and switch gears to offense can and we put knees on it. They're out of timeouts, we can put knees on it. This thing's over. As long as we don't screw that up. For me it's it was a surreal moment because it was such a down to the wire game. I can't imagine what it's like watching from the stands. But it was like, Is it really over?”

(On if this was one of the best defensive games he has ever seen between two teams): “I couldn't imagine that it wasn’t. It was an incredible performance by our defense. Hoban's defense was great tonight too, they made things really difficult for us offensively. One of the biggest differences in the game was we did a better job of taking care of the ball and I would say the penalties. I think we did a lot better job with penalties which has been a point of emphasis for us over the course of the season and we knew that we needed that tonight. So we're really proud of the of our guys in their discipline, avoiding those penalties.”

(On what he would say to Paul Brown): “I guess ‘we did it,’ something like that. ‘We finally did it and I hope we're proud of us’ because Paul Brown was a great man and great coach and believed in excellence, everywhere all the time. And that's what we strive for as well. I would like to think all the great coaches and great players were out there with us tonight and maybe Paul Brown was as well.”

(On if this team has become immortal): “There's an old saying that everybody dies two deaths. And the first time you die is when your actual physical body dies. And the second time you die when the last person that they knew you and remembered you dies. And this 2023 Massillon Tiger is immortal. They're gonna live forever. Nobody's ever going to forget these guys.”

(On the city of Massillon and the history of the program): “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. 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.”

(On the 2023 team): “The 2023 Massillon Tigers are a special, special group and they had an unbelievable season. There's only there's only a handful of teams in the state of Ohio that end their season with the win in the playoffs and we're one of them. And every time we took the field this season ended with a victory for the Tigers, so I just couldn't be more proud of our guys.”

Dorian Pringle, Massillon LB/RB

(On coming back to play after missing time with injury): “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.”

(On how he dealt with being out): “Missing the games, I was kind of hurt but I'm still cheering on my teammates on the sideline, trying to be as much of his leader not playing the game. Coming back, I was very excited. The first play just happened, they ran over to my side, and I came through with the tackle for loss and I just got the whole crowd going. It was a great feeling.”

DaOne Owens, Massillon QB

(On the facemask penalty in the second quarter that he drew): “(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.”

(On coming to Massillon this year): “It felt good coming in here, creating a bond with these guys, they are like brothers to me now. Putting in all the offseason work, and it just felt you know, accomplishing the state championship.”

Chase Bond, Massillon DL

(On getting the blocked punt): “I just try my best. I think a lot of people take special teams off or punt return as an off play. I just try to look at as it helps set the offense up for even better field advantage. If I get there, I get there. If not, make them kick it faster either way.”

Cody Fair, Massillon LB/TE

(On Dorian Pringle): “I feel like him as a player, there is no one like him. He just makes some of the most unbelievable plays. He’s definitely one of the best Tigers in history.”

Zach Liebler, Massillon WR/DB

(On the lineage of his family at Massillon): “My brother, he was lucky enough to have all three of his high school seasons were at the state championship game (but) unfortunately he came short for all three. I feel like this one right here it really hits home. I can really say that a Liebler has a ring on their finger now. It's good moment.”

Tim Tyrrell, Archbishop Hoban head coach

(On the Hoban senior class): “We are going to celebrate these seniors, they are an unbelievable group. That's my biggest concentration right now is on the seniors and everything that they've done the last four years. It's not many groups of seniors (that can) say they took their team to four straight state championships. I'm darn proud of them for doing that.”

(On penalty on Jordan Pritchard-Sewell that kept the dive alive where Massillon scored): “Defensively, Jordan just had put his hand out. It's a great play, he just put his hand out. Instead of grabbing the shoulder pad, he accidentally got the facemask. He didn’t do it on purpose. To me, one of the best defensive linemen in the state of Ohio. That doesn't define Jordan.”

(On the Hoban defense): “Defensively, I think we are the best defense in the state of Ohio. We put the defense in a bad situation with the turnover off special teams. Because they really weren't able to really drive the ball other than that, and that's a huge thing for our defense. That’s an offense that’s been scoring 50 points a game and if we don't have that turnover, I think it's a 2-0 game. It is what it is and those types of things happen.”

(On this being the sixth-lowest scoring game in OHSAA state championship game history): “I'm happy with the defense. I don't know records, I don't pay attention to my own record. There isn't a better defense in my mind that played at Hoban. They did anything and everything we asked as coaches and I'm damn proud of them.”

Will Satterwhite, Archbishop Hoban OL

(On if this was the toughest game in the trenches this season): “For sure. Their starting three (defensive linemen) are the best in Ohio. So every play we were doing our best.”

Devin Bell, Archbishop Hoban LB

(On how physical the game was): “It was definitely a pretty hard-hitting game. They came with it every play and we came with it every play.”

(On the Hoban defense): “I think that we have the best defense In Ohio for sure. Our front seven is the best you can get. We are the best defense in Ohio.”

(On sophomore CB Elbert “Rock” Hill): “I feel like he's going to be that guy. As you guys have seen, he makes plays in big games, and he steps up, but I think he's gonna be really good.”

Tysen Campbell, Archbishop Hoban CB

(On being friends with some of the Massillon players): “Before the game, it's exciting but in between the lines all that goes away. So you just got to play like you don't know them. After the game, we will connect. But in between the lines that didn't really matter. I don’t know them on the field.

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

Massillon 7, Hoban 2: Live updates recap of Ohio high school football DII state championship

(Promo image: Massillon head coach Nate Moore and Archbishop Hoban head coach Tim Tyrrell talk before the Division II state championship game on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. Photo credit: Jeff Harwell)

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