'A great stepping stone': Anderson ends season with loss to Massillon

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Anderson Raptors hadn't faced many teams this season that have overpowered them from an offensive standpoint.

Massillon, which is the winningest high school football program in OHSAA history, shocked the Raptors to the core as a 21-point second quarter turned what looked to be a tightly-contested game into a 55-7 Tigers' win.

"I think this is a great stepping stone for our program. Last year we got to the regional finals, now we won one. We've got a bunch of young guys that are excited to be in our program," Anderson head coach Evan Dreyer said.

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The Tigers scored on their first play of the game, a 68-yard quarterback keeper by Da'One Owens. After an eight-play drive that saw Anderson tie the score at 7-7, Emy Louis, Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to give Massillon the lead for good.

Anderson, which was averaging 456 yards per game this season, had 190 yards in the first half but was stopped three different times on fourth down. Two of those resulted in Massillon touchdowns.

After scoring on their first drive of the game, the Raptors advanced the ball past midfield just five times the rest of the night. Quarterback Justice Burnam threw two interceptions.

"The pressure packages and what they do was key to their success," Dreyer said. "I'm really impressed with what they did, and I think the back end is solid and definitely covered our receivers tonight."

Even with an explosive start to the game, Massillon showed its ability to slow the game down and go on sustained drives. The Tigers scored four touchdowns of 10 or fewer yards.

"Every play is an individual play and you're trying to win each individual play," Massillon head coach Nate Moore said.

Senior salute

Anderson bids farewell to a 20-man senior class that led the Raptors to their first state semifinal since 2008.

The group, headlined by Brodey Berg, kicker Landon Goethe, defensive lineman Jack Sammarco, receiver Mike Smith and offensive lineman Bobby Stanyard compiled a 30-11 record in the last three years. They won eight playoff games and made a run to last year's regional final despite a 5-5 regular season record.

"They're leaving a legacy and leaving our place way better than they found it," Dreyer said.

Massillon 55, Anderson 7

Anderson - 7 0 0 0 - 7

Massillon - 14 21 7 13 - 55

M: Owens 68 run (Keller kick)

A: Jallick 19 pass from Burnam (Goethe kick)

M: Louis Jr. 90 kick return (Keller kick)

M: Wright Jr. 5 run (Keller kick)

M: Louis Jr. 31 pass from Owens (Keller kick)

M: Lenix 10 run (Keller kick)

M: Wright Jr. 7 run (Keller kick)

M: Mitchell 3 run (Keller kick)

M: Bond 44 INT return (run failed)