Massillon Crushes Columbus DeSales in Opening Playoff Action
The Massillon Tigers entered Friday night’s postseason opener at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium carrying the momentum of a shutout against Canton McKinley, yet what unfolded on the turf surpassed expectations. The Tigers overwhelmed Columbus St. Francis DeSales by a score of 48-0, locking down the contest early and maintaining a smothering defensive posture throughout the evening.
While last week’s victory featured a 31-0 margin, Friday’s playoff matchup pushed the defensive standard higher. DeSales failed to record a single first down during the entire opening half. Across five first-half possessions, the Stallions produced five three-and-outs, five punts, negative eleven yards rushing, and just one pass completion for eight yards by quarterback RJ Day, who is headed for Northwestern University.
Savior Owens Leads Massillon Offense with Three Touchdowns
Massillon relied heavily on running back Savior Owens to anchor the offense. Owens carried the bulk of the load, rushing for close to 200 yards and scoring three touchdowns. When the Tigers opted to pass, quarterback Rasmus Haines delivered under steady protection from the offensive line, finishing the night with 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Brydon Feister sacks RJ Day in Massillon-DeSales football playoff game https://t.co/lQPDBy5pSq
The relentless pass rush forced DeSales into technical penalties, as a young Stallions line featuring two freshmen and a sophomore struggled against the experienced Tiger front. Linebacker Brayton Feister punctuated the defensive dominance in the second half by tracking down Day for a 15-yard loss.
| Team | 1st Half Score | Final Score | Total Yards | First Downs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massillon | 35 | 48 | 392 | 15 |
| Columbus DeSales | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
First-Half Scoring Surge
Massillon opened the scoring after forcing a DeSales punt, taking over at the opponent 41-yard line. Savior Owens found a seam to the left on the very first play and outraced the defense for a touchdown, backed by Matero Herrera’s first of six successful PAT kicks. Herrera consistently pinned DeSales deep with kickoffs landing near the two-yard line.
Owens added a 10-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter, backed by zone blocking from the line. Entering the second quarter, Haines connected with Gio Jackson Jr. on a 38-yard pass, followed by a 9-yard completion to Deontay Malone and a 1-yard plunge by Owens to make it 21-0.
Haines then targeted Malone—an Ohio State commit playing in front of Ryan Day, who attended the game to watch his son play quarterback—with a long pass before throwing a 12-yard touchdown to a wide-open DaShun Williams. The final score of the half came on a 14-yard throw-back pass from Haines to Malone, pushing the lead to 35-0.
Massillon Advances to Face Big Walnut in Playoffs
With a running clock governing the second half, Gary Yeager broke free on a 47-yard touchdown sweep to cap the scoring for the starters. Backup quarterback Donnie McMullen later connected with Van Hawkins on a deep pass to the corner of the end zone for the final margin.
Massillon advances to a Round 3 playoff game next week, traveling to face No. 2 seed Big Walnut (11-0) as the No. 3 seed with a 10-1 record. DeSales concludes its season with an 8-4 record.
