OT: Massillon HS Football documentary
If you have some time to kill and like movies about football, this is a pretty good one.
It's a documentary from 2001 on Massillon-Washington HS in Ohio, documenting their 1999 season. Shawn Crable was a Freshman on their team at the time of the filming.
It really shows how big HS football is in Ohio. I uploaded it because I noticed how difficult it was to find online to watch. It's one of my favorite movies because it's just crazy how into their high school football team these people are. I've seen nothing like it here in MI.
It's probably the closest anyone in the Midwest will get to being like Allen or Katy in Texas that have built multi-million dollar stadiums for HS teams.
Incoming Freshman kicker Andrew David is coming to Michigan from Massillon.
In fact, the amazing NFL-style indoor practice facility that Massillon has is named after Andrew David's grandfather.
Massillon plays in a 15,000-seat stadium.
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biggest rival Canton McKinley = Gary Grant , I'm rooting for McKinley all day.
Massillon= Andrew David, Shawn Crable, Dennis Franklin
McKinley = Garland Rivers, Gary Grant
The incomparable Dennis Franklin.
This is the school ND plucked Faust from correct?
No, that was Cincinnati Moeller.
Ah yes. Thanks for the clarification. Great day for Michigan when they hired Gerry.
were head coaches at Massillon.
Old article but I like to read up on high school rivalries. CC v. Brother Rice is probably the biggest/best in MI, but it doesn't touch some of these other ones (at least in terms of how much people care...maybe tradition in years).
When RR came, I was introduced to the Muck Bowl between Pahokee v. Glades
http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/football/news/story?id=4412088
If anything, that documentary is a reminder how far behind HS football in MI is behind OH in terms of support and popularity.
People here just don't get it. It can be so much more than what it currently is.
The MHSAA has the dumbest rule in the history of dumb rules that prevents any games besides the state championship games from being televised live.
It's a joke. Do better.
Also people in MI have other things to do than relive their high school glory days. I wish MI high school football was bigger and better...sure. However, my cousins tailgate for Alabama high school games starting on Thursday nights, Texas builds 20,000 seat stadiums, Ohio towns shut down. Some of that is ridiculous in 2015.
and played HS football...just moved to MI. There isn't anything better to do here either on Friday nights
Everyone likes to think the best rivalry is from their part of the state.
It was kind of interesting, I watched it a few month ago on Netfix. As a side note there are numerous animal advocacy organizations that have been petitioning to stop the use of the live "Obie" tiger cub mascots. They've supposedly gone through 45 cubs over the last 20 years.
https://www.change.org/p/this-high-school-football-team-buys-and-discar…
There also have been numerous rape allegations surrounding players of the team over the last ten years.
I love football but this program seems to put the game before common sense and decency.
The have something like 22 national championships and 39 state championships.
The catch: all of them are mythical, coming before high schools instituted a playoff decades ago.
They have an amazing history but just can't win the undisputed big one. That's probably why they're willing to look the other way. Football crazed small towns will forgive you if you bring them a championship, I guess.
I mean, that indoor facility is bigger than that of the CLEVELAND BROWNS!
It's no doubt they have built a win at all cost traditon there, that's kind of what the premise of the documentary seemed to be at least. *Spoiler*
They started a 19? year old senior QB with a broken hand who could barely pass his classes in the last or pivotal game in the season? One of the team captains went to jail for sexual assault, and was released to return to the team. Why is he a team captain?
I mean I get it for a lot of kids football may be their only avenue to a better future and if they don't have an opportunity to play who knows what they would be doing. But still, I just got a win at all cost vibe which rubs me the wrong way with any sport. At the high school level it should be about so much more than just winning.
Check out "Undefeated" and "We Could Be King" both excellent, inspirational documentaries about high school football. The Massillion doc just kind of pissed me off.
Undefeated was awesome.
If you think Massillon is bad, I have a really strong feeling that it's 10x worse in Texas.
Allen HS built a $60M, 18K seat stadium
Katy HS just approved a $70M, 12K seat stadium
I lived in Texas for a while and the HS Football shows they have on Friday nights are awesome! Great way to finish the night and get ready for Saturday's slate of games.
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are fucking insane and a huge waste of money. I would be livid if my tax dollars were spent on that instead of hiring decent teachers and buying science books that don't have a picture of Jesus riding on a dinosaur on the front cover.
I hate Texas. And Ohio.
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I am not sure this is the school with the rape allegations. I know of another big football town in Ohio with those allegations, but have never heard it about Massillon. I am not saying you are wrong, but are you sure you have the correct town? That is kind of a big one to get wrong.
The season in the movie was 16 years ago, but one of the best players on the team (who eventually signed with PSU but failed to qualify academically and wound up at Buffalo) was a convicted rapist while on the team.
I believe that's Stubenville, OH.
Another note to Steubenville Big Red is they had a 50 some game winning streak snapped by Devin Gardner in his Senior HS year.
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It's not well liked and it has nothing to do with the facilites. Canton McKinley doesn't have the same issues and plays its games in the Hall of Fame stadium.
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Yeah... everything about this high school screams messed up priorities to me...
And I even graduated from a powerhouse high school when it comes to football in PA... but this is beyond anything I've seen wow...
Growing up in ohio it was a fun weekend to attend the Championship games. There were 3 games on Friday and 3 on Saturday. They changed back and forth between Tiger Stadium and Fawcett Stadium in Canton.
correct me if I'm wrong, but they now have championship games at the horseshoe
I thought it was changed because of renovations to the Hall of Fame in Canton. I thought I heard it will be moved back when the updates are complete.
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