In the lead-up to the 2026 Ohio high school football season, we’re previewing all the Stark County-area teams.
Today we’ll look at the Massillon Tigers, who boast a loaded roster entering the 2026 season.
Here are head coach Nate Moore’s top returning players, impact players, top newcomers, schedule and other tidbits for the 2026 season.
Massillon Tigers
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Massillon’s top returning players
Massillon football’s impact players
Senior transfer Brayton Feister, who stars at running back and linebacker, is a former teammate (in the Indian Valley system) of the 2025 Mr. Football winner, Grady Kinsey. Feister played the last three years at Akron Hoban and was a Mr. Football finalist in 2025. In 2024, his defensive coordinator at Hoban was Renzy Parnell, now entering his second year as head coach at McKinley. … Massillon’s running attack will unleash the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Feister and returnee Savior Owens (5-11, 220), who ran for 1,572 yards as a Tiger junior. It remains to be seen how Feister and Owens will be used on offense, and whether they will spend some time in the backfield together, especially in short-yardage situations against better defenses. … As Massillon workhorse in 2025, Owens, who is committed to Michigan State, averaged 7.1 yards on 222 carries. At Hoban, Feister averaged 9.5 yards on 116 carries. Expect Feister to continue doubling as a major playmaker at linebacker — he gave Hoban 32 tackles for loss in ’25. … Also arriving is Brandon Feister’s brother Brydon (6-3, 240), projected to be the defensive end opposite returnee Joe Russ-Karder (6-4, 235). Brydon Feister made first-team All-Ohio at a different position, linebacker, while at Hoban. … Massillon’s 2025 receiving leaders, Deontay Malone and Giorgio Jackson, return as seniors. Malone is committed to Ohio State as a cornerback. The 6-foot-4 Jackson is committed to Miami (Ohio). Braylon Gamble, a Boston College commit, is a returning starter at safety. … As a team, the 2025 Tigers had two first-team All-Ohio picks, Owens and linebacker Ja’Dyn Williams, now a freshman at defending national champion Indiana.
What’s new with Massillon football in 2026
Even if the quarterback remains the same, the offense won’t be. Brayton Feister’s arrival and the experience gained by Evan Berbari, who was a first-year coordinator in 2025, along with the learning gained by key holdovers, presents a range of possibilities, including lots up-tempo, no-huddle material. … Junior offensive tackle Micah Walker (6-7, 310) transferred in from Nordonia, where he started for an 8-4 team in 2025. He is “raw” but promising, Nate Moore said. … Senior quarterback Mandwell Patterson took a substantial majority of last year’s snaps, ahead of departed senior Eli Moore, Nate Moore’s son, now a freshman at the University of Kentucky (not playing football). Patterson competed through the offseason with junior Rasmus Haines, who is bigger and stronger this year, and speedy freshman Adonnes McMullen. “All had great preseasons,” Berbari said at a recent event. … The receiving corps could be one of the tallest in Tiger history as 6-foot-5 junior tight ends Joe Pierce and Deshun Williams emerge. Pierce is the son of a former Tiger standout who currently is Massillon’s head girls basketball coach. Williams played on a 4-6 Euclid team last year. Another tight end, junior Landon Hose, is the son of Massillon head boys basketball coach Josh Hose, whose team won a state championship in March. … Second-year defensive coordinator Jeff Kent has had ample time to prepare for 2026 after arriving late in the game in 2025 after stints in Georgia and Tennessee. Kent might use a deep rotation that keeps legs fresh; yet, certain players are likely see action on both sides of the ball, including Marcus Garner (6-3, 285), a returning starter on the offensive line. … On the offensive line, center Dayvionne Floyd and guard Kevin Elliott (6-0, 270) bring valuable experience along with Garner, a tackle. A battle for the right guard spot carries into August. … D-line is one of the spots where players from the offense are likely to plug in as different situations unfold. … Austin Kutscher, who played for Nate Moore as a 2017 Tiger senior before walking on at Ohio State and spending four years with the Buckeyes, is Massillon’s new receivers coach. Ty Keirns, who was Kutscher’s Tiger teammate, has come on board as an offensive line coach.
Massillon football’s outlook
Getting right down to business, head coach Nate Moore said, “The season goals never change around here. Beat McKinley, go 10-0, and win the state championship.” The aim is to get a talented, experienced roster back to where the Tigers were when they won a 2023 state title. “Our goals are our goals, but you don’t reach those goals by sitting around thinking about ‘em. You work,” Moore said. … The road ended in the regional finals against Big Walnut in each of the last two seasons, with losses of 14-7 in 2024 and 27-21 in 2025. Columbus Watterson, the 2025 Division III state champ, has bumped up to Division II and is in the Tigers’ region. Watterson beat Big Walnut 37-15 in a 2025 season opener. … The arrival of the Feister brothers at Hoban didn’t add to the Knights’ collection of state championships, the last of which came in 2020. Last year, the Knights lost 35-7 to Walsh Jesuit in the regional finals. Massillon hopes to optimize their roles while developing team chemistry. … The 2025 Tigers fought to build an offensive line that lost 2024 standout Nolan Davenport, now a redshirt freshman at Wisconsin. The O-line is one of the keys to 2026. … Last year’s offense averaged 15 throws per game, with Patterson accounting for 174 of the 202 passes attempted by the Tigers. He threw for 1,415 yards, with 19 TDs and eight interceptions. The Tigers seek improvement and synergy in mixing the run and pass. … Linebacker Isaac Maxheimer is back after a strong junior year. Experienced defensive backs Malone, Gamble, and Chayce White all competed in the OHSAA state track meet in June. … The schedule is similar to last year’s, including the opener, against a Glenville team that shellacked Shelby 45-7 in last year’s OHSAA Division IV state championship game. Glenville beat the Tigers 33-27 in overtime in the ’25 opener. … One of the bigger games is on tap for Sept. 18 (Game 5), when the Tigers will face St. Edward at Baldwin Wallace. The Tigers own four straight victories over the perennial Division I power. … The Tigers seek their 11th straight win over McKinley. A late punt return by Malone was the difference in a 21-14 win last Oct. 25. For the record, the Ohio State commit will return punts as part of his 2026 repertoire.
Massillon football schedule for 2026
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Massillon Tigers high school football schedule, 2026 preview
Reporting by Steve Doerschuk, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Steve Doerschuk, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
