MASSILLON — After producing an overtime thriller a year ago to kick off the high school football season, state powers Massillon and Glenville opened the 2026 season against each other again on Friday night at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
Massillon never trailed in winning 31-18 in a game filled with some big plays as two teams with loaded rosters squared off.
The Tigers avenge last year’s 33-27 OT win by the Tarblooders at Massillon. Glenville went on to win the Division IV state championship last season. Massillon, the Division II state champs in 2023, advanced to the regional finals for a second straight season.
Here’s how the game unfolded, in reverse chronological order, through our live updates
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Massillon football beats Glenville
The Tigers are 31-18 winners. They play at GlenOak next week.
Savior Owens strikes back with huge, late touchdown
Savior Owens struck again with the biggest play of the game.
Glenville closed to within 24-18, but a penalty before the kickoff and Deontay Malone’s return set up the Tigers at the 50 with just under six minutes left.
Massillon soon faced third and 9. Owens slashed for a first down, barely, with 4:51 left. On the next play, he ran 40 yards for a touchdown and a 31-18 lead with 4:31 left.
Muffed punt helps put Glenville within 6 points with 6:18 left
Deontay Malone muffed a punt with nine minutes left in the game, handing Glenville the ball on the Tiger 18.
It might have been a huge turnover in a 24-12 game, but Glenville still had to solve a Massillon defense having a big night. A bad shotgun snap put Glenville in a third and 28, but Glenville got it to fourth and 10 with 6:28 left.
Elvis Koutsakis, not Glenville’s quarterback Greenwood, took a direct snap, stalled after beginning to his left, then cut right, applying great speed to an 18-yard touchdown with 6:18 left.
Glenville failed on a 2-point conversion try to keep the score at 24-18.
Defense stout as Massillon takes lead to fourth quarter
Massillon’s defense seemed to dominate Glenville’s offense more and more as adjustments were made and the game wore on.
Glenville had well under 100 yards in net offense midway through the third quarter after a three and out. The Tigers have the scheme, the size and the speed to handle an attack full of sprinters and a big back.
Glenville’s defense continued to mostly play well, though. A long sack of Rasmus Haines forced a punt that gave Glenville the ball on its own 30.
Glenville got a drive going behind its elusive quarterback. Greenwood avoided a long tackle for loss by Brydon Feister and turned it into a 16-yard run. The Tarblooders got as far as the 17 before running out of gas, and downs.
Massillon took a 24-12 lead to the fourth quarter and the the ball on third down at its own 19.
Massillon’s Savior Owens pops one to put Glenville back on ropes
Massillon drove inside the 40 but stalled on fourth and 11. Quarterback Rasmus Haines, also the punter, showed no signs on running, instead booting the ball to the coffin corner on the right side. It was marked at the 3.
Big back McDougle got nowhere on two carries, one run down by Brayton Feister, and QB LaMarcus Greenwood had no time to throw out of his end on third down.
Glenville’s strong punt game forced a fair catch by Deontay Malone near midfield. Massillon’s run game finally broke one on a 52-yard run by Savior Owens. The touchdown gave the Tigers a 24-12 lead at the 7:52 mark of the third quarter.
Game on as Glenville returns second-half kickoff for TD
Glenville senior De’Anthony Crittendon showed electric moves and speed in returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown. Glenville again failed on a conversion attempt to keep the score at 17-12 in Massillon’s favor.
Massillon ends half with field goal, but Glenville pesky
On third and 14 inside their own 10, the Tarblooders called timeout with 4:52 left in the half. QB LaMarcus Greenwood made perhaps Glenville’s biggest play to date, keeping for a first down.
It wasn’t as big a play when Glenville then stalled, and punted. The Tigers took over at their own 40 after a booming punt that gave Deontay Malone no room for a return.
On third and 5 with 1:46 left in the half, Glenville took its third timeout, and then Massillon took a timeout when QB Rasmus Haines didn’t like what he saw, pre-snap. It was a notable moment in a 14-6 game.
Haines dropped back, avoided two rushers, stepped up in the pocket, and found an outlet transfer tight end Da’Shun Williams, whose 12-yard catch and run moved the sticks.
The Tigers reached the 28 on first down with 33 seconds left on a Savior Owens run.
Away from an incomplete deep pass to Gio Jackson, Deontay Malone fell and stayed down on the field, but after an injury pause, he walked off on his own play. A bomb into the end zone to Braylon Gamble just missed to make it third down with 15 seconds left.
A completion to Gamble to the 9 left the clock at 0:09. Matteo Herrerra kicked a 16-yard field goal to give Massillon a 17-6 halftime lead. Glenville was offsides twice in the sequence, trying for a block, which they got at a critical; time in last year’s overtime win at Massillon.
Feister fumble prevents third TD in as many Massillon possessions
Massillon fans who didn’t already know learned the younger Feaster brother’s nickname while the Tigers, leading 14-6, forced a punt.
“Tackle on the play by Squeak Feister,” the p.a. man roared.
“Squeak” is 6-4, 240-pound junior defensive end Brydon Feister.
QB Rasmus Haines made a big play on third and 15, showing good speed on a rollout left to avoid the rush, and hitting Deontay Malone right in front of the Tiger bench for just enough for a first down.
The Tigers’ attempt to score for the third time in as many possessions ended when Brayton Feister fumbled on the 5.
Ohio State recruit Malone catches a Massillon TD bomb
After a kickoff, on second and 10, Rasmus Haines threw a bomb.
Deontay Malone showed the kind of speed that gets a guy signed by Ohio State and blew by cornerback Khyrie Robinson.
Malone had to slow down only slightly while catching the ball around the 35. He repelled Robinson’s efforts to knock him down from behind and finished off an 83-yard touchdown.
It’s 14-6, Massillon.
Personal fouls, Glenville offense, cut into Massillon lead
Mental mistakes offset Massillon scoring right off the bat. The Tigers committed personal fouls on both the point-after kick and the ensuing kickoff return, quickly putting the Tarblooders near the red zone.
Glenville faced third and eight after a ringing tackle by Braylon Gamble, prompting Coach Ted Ginn to call a timeout.
Christian Culler ran down quarterback LeMarcus Greenwood for a sack, but a defensive holding call on the play gave Glenville a first down. The first quarter wasn’t half over, and the Tigers had 45 yards in penalties.
Greenwood then made a slick run on a keep to make it first and goal on the 5. Big back De’Von McDougle broke a few tackles to get the Tarblooders close. Valonte McCord smashed for a score from the 1, but the point after kick sailed wide left.
It’s 7-6, Massillon, at the 4:11 mark of the first quarter.
Massillon opts to receive opening kick, scores on Glenville
Massillon won the toss and elected to receive, rather than giving the Tarblooders a shot at first blood.
After a Rasmus Haines threw incomplete, Savior Owens ran over the left side for 20 yards, but the Tigers weren’t rolling, and instead lined up to punt on fourth and two from just past midfield. An offside penalty kept them with the ball.
A 35-yard bomb over the middle toi Deontay Malone got the Tigers to the 8. Haines underhrew slightly, but Malone made the catch with excellent body position.
Haines hit Gio Jackson Jr. on a slant for a four-yard touchdown on third and goal from the 4. The Tigers led 7-0 with 8:44 left in the first.
Who is on Massillon’s defensive front seven with Feaster brothers?
Massillon is warming up with a starting three-man defensive front of Brydon Feister (6-4, 240, Jr.), Noah Garner (5-10, 275, Jr.) and Joe Karder (6-4, 240, Sr.
The No. 1 linebackers are Christian Culler (5-10, 190, Sr.), Isaac Maxheimer (6-1, 225, Sr.), Brayton Feister (6-3, 240, Sr.) and Ke’Aun Fowler (5-10, 190, Sr.).
Braylon Gamble (6-2, 205, Sr.) is an imposing force behind the front seven who also presents a receiving threat. He caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Rasmus Haines in the Moeller scrimmage.
Live pregame tidbits as Glenville warms up for Massillon
An air of confidence seems tangible as Glenville coaches and players move back and forth from their Paul Brown Tiger Stadium locker room and the field before the game.
Coaches say Glenville’s scrimmages went well, with the Tarblooders facing two opponents (including Groveport Madison) in one session and two opponents (including Canton McKinley) in another.
One coach said Glenville worked through the usual scrimmage glitches but came through in good shape physically and mentally.
“I was focused on us, obviously, but McKinley looked pretty good,” the coach said.
During a conversation, the coach rattled off the names of Glenville alumni who figure to be part of their college teams this year. The group includes Wisconsin defensive back Bryce West, who transferred out of Ohio State.
It also includes starting UConn offensive linemen Fred Johnson and Isaiah Switzer, who are a sign of the times in that both are transfer players, from Louisville and Toledo, respectively. Both are in the 300-pound range, but then, so is most of the line Glenville will throw at Massillon this evening.
Glenville Tarblooders off the bus and in the house early
Glenville arrived early in two charter buses and had players on the field two hours before the 7 p.m. kickoff.
It is shaping up as a warm one, both methaphorically and actually, with the temperature at 81, feeling muggy. The sky is about 50 percent clouds and 50 percent blue at this point.
Fans who haven’t been to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium for a while will find the South end zone seats gone and a construction project underway.
Massillon Tigers football schedule
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio high school football scores, Massillon beats Glenville in opener
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Reporting by Steve Doerschuk, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Steve Doerschuk, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
