CANTON, Ohio- Massillon and Hoban faced off Friday night at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium for the Division II state championship. Both teams entered the contest nationally ranked by maxpreps.com for the first time ever. The stadium was filled from the field all the way to the very top with faithfuls from both programs.
Massillon, of the winningest football towns in the nation took home the crown for the first time in 50 years since the start of the playoff era. Nine- year Head Coach Nate Moore’s Massillon Tigers walked away with a 7-2 victory in the 6th lowest scoring state championship game ever.
Massillon Tigers senior Quarterback DaOne Owens was one of the biggest stories of the season. Coming from Copley to Massillon and getting the starting quarterback job is something to be proud of. Leading them to their first state championship in the playoff era and a 16-0 is something to be even more proud of.
“It was a great season. I wanna thank my coach, my family, my teammates and the whole town of Massillon,” Owens said postgame. “It’s an honor to be a part of this special team.”
Owens had four runs of ten yards or more for first downs to extend drives.
Hoban gave the Tigers excellent field position when North Carolina State defensive lineman recruit Chase Bond blocked a Ryan Burns punt that put the offense at the Hoban 28.
The Knight’s defense shut down Owens, before Hoban senior defensive lineman Jordan Pritchard-Sewell committed a face mask penalty giving new life to the offense inside the Hoban 15 yard-line.
Junior running back Mylen Lenox punched in from 6 yards line for a touchdown giving the Tigers their only touchdown of the game.
The Knights scored their only points with less than two minutes of the first half, as Cartier Williams and Tanner Mintz stopped Owens for a safety.
Hoban had one last chance to win the game late in the fourth as they battled self-inflicted woulds with multiple false start penalties in the second half.
Sophomore wide receiver Jackson Calloway failed to bring in a would be go-ahead touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tylan “Juice” Boykin on fourth down.
The Archbishop Knights have gone to eight of the previous nine Division II state championships. Not many programs can say they have achieved that feat.
Hoban and Massillon have a history and the Knights have gotten the best of the Tigers the past few times, but Thursday night showed it was time for the Massillon Tigers.
The Tigers will celebrate their win for a long time before preparations to defend their crown.
The Knights look to replace a of experience on both sides of the ball, but Tim Tyrell’s team has show many times it can overcome any adversity.
Final Stats:
Massillon:
D. Owens: 3/11, 17 yds - 16 rush, 78 yds
M. Lenix: 7 rush, 15 yds, TD
J. Carter: 1 rush, 12 yds - 2 rec, 12 yds
D. Pringle: 14 tack, 2 TFL, 1 FF
R. Page: 13 tack, 0.5 TFL
V. McConnell: INT
Hoban:
T. Boykin: 3/8, 19 yds, INT - 7 rush, 37 yds
C. Jones: 13 rush, 77 yds
E. Hill IV: 5 rush, 36 yds
R. Williams: 9 tack, 1 TFL
E. Lee: 6 tack, 1.5 TFL