Massillon Jackson 34 - Hoover 0
October 30, 2004
Polar Bears use ground game to rout Hoover, earn home game
John Seaburn, Canton Repository
JACKSON TWP. — 2004 Hoover vs Massillon Jackson Game Summary.
If the Jackson Polar Bears were a car, they’d be among the automobile industry’s smoothest-running machines.
In a football sense, they were just that in registering a 34-0 Federal League victory over visiting Hoover at Robert Fife Stadium in high school football Friday night.
With their second consecutive shutout, head coach Phil Mauro’s Polar Bears wrapped up a Division I, Region 2 home game in the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s football tournament that begins next weekend.
“This is a great way to end the regular season,” said Mauro, whose team is 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the Federal League.
Jackson, which started the season 4-0, lost three of five games before Friday. But the Polar Bears were masterful in their latest outing as they dominated both sides of the ball from the outset.
Jackson rolled up 513 total yards, with 415 coming on 57 carries. The ground game produced four touchdowns, and the passing game one, with five players scoring for Jackson.
On defense, Jackson limited Hoover (1-9, 1-6) to 17 rushing yards and 66 passing yards.
The Polar Bears, who scored just 35 points in their last five games, nearly eclipsed that total in this outing.
Hoover had won seven of the last eight games in the series, including a playoff contest in 2000. The Vikings, with a 44-22 lead in a rivalry that dates to 1938, also had won in 2003, 19-7.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t have more fight tonight,” Hoover coach Don Hertler Jr. said. “But give coach Mauro, his staff and players a lot of credit. They took it to us tonight, in all phases of the game.”
Mauro had plenty of praise for his players.
“We did a nice up front on both sides of the ball, and everyone shares in this success,” he said. “This was a team effort, a very satisfying effort, and I’m very happy for our guys.”
Jackson enjoyed a 21-0 lead at halftime after Mike Nemeth went in from 1 yard and Jon Oberhauser converted in the first quarter. James Craven picked his way 19 yards and 215-pound fullback Mike Harmon rumbled 55 yards for second-quarter scores.
Harmon’s run is the team’s longest scoring jaunt from scrimmage this season.
“The big lead at halftime allowed us to get some kids into the game in the second half,” Mauro said. “But I can’t say enough about our lines. The offensive line really played well, and our defensive front did a great job.”
Jackson closed out its scoring in the third quarter. Corey Irwin gathered in a pass from Chris Kessler and ran 30 yards to score, and Ryan Pfeiffer bolted 10 yards.
Craven finished with 99 yards on nine carries, with Harmon netting 79 yards in six rushes. Kessler carried nine times for 76 yards and Nemeth was credited with 70 yards in 15 trips.
Kessler had all of Jackson’s 98 yards through the air on 6-of-10 attempts, as tight end Jake Shelton caught four passes for 52 yards.
Hoover quarterbacks Jason Foote and Josh Nettleton connected on 8-of-23 pass attempts, with two intercepted.
Source: fridaynightohio.com