MASSILLON — The Massillon Tigers, rested after a bye week, will take on Columbus St. Francis DeSales in an OHSAA Division II football playoff game Friday night in Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers lost just once in a regular season that ended with their 31-0 rout of McKinley. DeSales had to play in the first round and improved to 8-3 with a 56-14 romp over Columbus Whitehall Yearling. There are 32 teams left in Division II at this stage.

We will be in the house posting pregame nuggets and live updates during the game. Please check in below throughout the night.

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Son of Ohio State coach vs. Ohio State commit currently no contest

DeSales was worried about giving R.J. Day time to throw. It turns out doesn’t have any.

Day looked to pass on first down but had to scramble and was sacked by linebacker Isasc Maxheimer.

On third and 9 from the 25, Day dropped back and was under heavy rush the moment he planted. Blitzing Christian Culler caused Day to step into a sack by Brydon Feister.

The Feister brothers and Culler didn’t play in Massillon’s lone loss, to Cornerstone Christian (from Texas). All three have been noticeable against McKinley and DeSales.

Massillon, incurring yet another penalty (on a punt return), took over on its own 25, looking for a fourth straight touchdown series.

Rasmus Haines scrambled to a third and 1. Coach Nate Moore, not wanting to give DeSales any sliver of hope, saw it as an important enough moment to call a timeout. Savior Owens lined up at tailback behind Haines in shotgun formation. He and his blocking made a 9-yard run to a first down look easy.

The next play was a second right sideline bomb to the Ohio State-bound Deontay Malone. Cornerback Christian Wells, son of ex-Buckeye Beanie Wells, was flagged for interference, by Malone caught the ball for a 40-yard gain.

Haines went over the middle to wide open tight end Da'Shun Williams for a 12-yard touchdown. It was 28-0 with 5:14 left in the half.

Owens, Owens, Owens, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown

A Rasmus Haines to Deontay Malone sideline bomb converted a third down and picked up 38 yards.

Gary Yeager ran the ball to the 2 for a first down. Savior Owens ran untouched for a touchdown that boosted the score to 21-0 with 10:33 left in the first half.

To this point, Owens had 75 rushing yards on seven carries, three going for touchdowns.

Flags in way of Tigers flooding DeSales with points

Down 14-0, DeSales took over on its own 17. R.J. Day began to get away on a scramble but was swiftly tracked down by Brayton Feister to set up a third and 13. The Stallions punted on fourth and 6.

Taking over on their own 43, showing no signs of sparing the Stallions a running-clock game, the Tigers incurred another illegal-formation penalty.

They overcame penalties in a 31-0 win over McKinley, and they headed for the second quarter on third and 5.

Huge Tiger tackle setting a tone against DeSales

After gaining just a yard before punting on its first series, DeSales fell into third and 23. R.J. Day tried a hurried sideline bomb to his favorite target, Dax Middleton.

The Tigers took over on the DeSales 43 and then were flagged for an illegal formation.

Massillon’s offensive tackle, 6-foot-3, 290-pound Marcus Garner, can play the left or right side, and is a load either way.

A pass interference, a decent run by Gary Yeager, and a powerful 20-yard run by Savior Owens, provided a first and goal at the 5.

After a false start (penalties were a problem against McKinley) set it back to the 10, Owens took a handoff, seemed shot out of a cannon, and rolled over the left side (behind Garner) for a touchdown.

It was 14-0 with 4:28 left in the first quarter.

Massillon stopped early, then Ownes takes off

DeSales is starting four sophomores and only two seniors on the defense Massillon chose to attack after winning the coin toss.

Massillon took over on its own 35 after a short kickoff. The Tigers surprised a few people by passing on the first play, but senior safety Kaleb Johnson, playing with a broken hand, knifed in front of Deontay Malone to break it up.

Savior Owens was stuffed on second down, an DeSales tipped a pass for an incompletion on third and 11.

The somewhat surprising quick stop and punt sent DeSales offense onto the field with four freshmen, two on the O-line, surrounding senior quarterback R.J. Day.

The Stallions began on their own 19 and punted on fourth and 9.

Massillon took over on the DeSales 41. There was no stop this time. On the first play, Owens started to the right side, cut into a big hole on the left, and pulled away for a 41-yard touchdown.

It was 7-0 with 8:54 left in the first quarter.Pregame: DeSales coach knows R.J. Day might see a lot of the Feisters

It’s a late-arriving crowd in Massillon, with the north and south sections practically empty, and the crowd clustered mostly between the 30s on the “roof side” of Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

A few hundred DeSales people, dressed in purple, are mixed with the many Massillon fans always found in the “visitors grandstand.”

We chatted with DeSales head coach Ryan Wiggins before he set into his pregame material.

He shared a healthy respect for the Feister brothers and their ability, between them and their talented teammates, to shut down both sides of the field.

The brothers will be a challenge for DeSales’ offensive line as it tries to protect quarterback R.J. Day.

Massillon, incidentally, won the toss and elected to receive.

It will be hard to hide that face, but Ryan Day might slip in

The Columbus St. Francis DeSales Stallions pulled in more than two hours before kickoff in two white charter buses.

In addition to the angst of facing Massillon, the Stallions had a fire to put out, in that some of the practice footballs that were supposed to come with them were left behind. It wasn’t a real problem. There are plenty of footballs in Massillon, and the Tigers have a tradition of cultivating relationships with visiting teams.

The first order of business for DeSales quarterback R.J. DeSales was to take a lap around the Paul Brown Tiger Stadium field with his best friend, Jordan Karhoff. They do that every pregame.

Karhoff is a tremendous player, a 6-foot-5 tight end committed to Virginia Tech. He has missed recent action with an injury and is not expected to play, even though he has dressed.

Day, son of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, is committed to Northwestern. Some of the scuttlebutt is that R.J. will never wind up at Ohio State, but Karhoff might, in this era of the N.I.L and the portal. Karhoff is not just big but is tough, fast and smart, those who have watched him say.

Naturally everyone wonders if Ryan Day will show up at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The DeSales camp is keeping that on the Q.T., but it appers to be a definite maybe.

The elder Day has a big game tomorrow against Oregon, in Columbus, but this could be his son’s last game in four years as a DeSales starter.

DeSales has a good selection of skill players, even without Karhoff, but it is thin on the lines, literally and figuratively speaking, compared to the likes of Massillon and Watterson.

Massillon vs. DeSales football is a playoff rematch

Massillon defeated DeSales 48-14 a year ago in the regional semifinals. The Tigers rolled up 309 yards rushing in the running-clock win. The Tigers' ground game was led by Savior Owens, who ran for a season-high 215 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed for 105 yards on just seven carries and a TD in the first quarter alone, helping push the Tigers to a 27-0 halftime lead. Deontay Malone produced perhaps the game's biggest highlight, scoring on a 97-yard kickoff return for a TD in the second half. Owens and Malone are among the senior leaders for the Tigers this season. Owens is a Michigan State commit and Malone is headed to Ohio State.

OHSAA Division II, Region 7 playoff bracket

  • No. 8 Whitehall-Yearling (9-2) at No. 1 Columbus Watterson (9-0)
  • No. 7 Louisville (9-2) at No. 2 Big Walnut (10-0)
  • No. 6 Columbus DeSales (8-3) at No. 3 Massillon (9-1)
  • No. 5 Canal Winchester (8-3) at No. 4 New Albany (8-2)
  • Canal Winchester/New Albany winner advances to play Whitehall-Yearling/Watterson winner.
  • DeSales/Massillon winner advances to play Louisville/Big Walnut winner.

Massillon Tigers football scores, schedule

  • Aug. 21 vs. Glenville WON 31-18 |Recap|Story
  • Aug. 28 at GlenOak WON 54-7 | Recap | Story
  • Sept. 4 vs. NFL Academy (UK) WON 21-16 | Recap | Story
  • Sept. 11 vs. Canisius (N.Y.) WON 42-0 | Recap
  • Sept. 18 at St. Edward WON 23-21 | Recap | Story
  • Sept. 25 vs. Clarkson (Ont.) WON 31-8 | Recap | Story
  • Oct. 2 vs. Farrell (Pa.) WON by forfeit after Farrell backs out of game | Story
  • Oct. 9 vs. Cornerstone Christian (Texas) Lost 35-21 | Recap | Story
  • Oct. 16 at Warren Harding WON 49-16 | Recap | Story
  • Oct. 24 vs. Canton McKinley WON 31-0 | Recap | Story | Column
  • Nov. 6 vs. Columbus DeSales

Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Massillon vs. Columbus DeSales, OHSAA high school football score, live updates

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