'Tigers to the grave.' Overjoyed Massillon fans celebrate a football state championship
MASSILLON ‒ Anthony Brown waited more than 50 years for this moment.
His love of Tigers football began as a youngster when his grandfather, Wilber Brown, took him to his first game in 1969.
"Those were some of the greatest memories going to watch games with him," he said.
Brown, then 5, didn't understand the magnitude of the Tigers' 1970 championship season. As the decades passed, Brown waited for his Tigers to return to the top.
A little more than week after the Tigers defeated Hoban 7-2 to win the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state championship, the Lawrence Township resident is enjoying every moment.
He arrived downtown around 6 p.m. Sunday, an hour and half before the town parade stepped off to honor the team.
"I thought I would never see this day," Brown said.
Massillon celebrates 2023 state football championship
Thousands of Tiger fans, including the Grinch and a chicken, filled Lincoln Way to cheer on the football team, cheerleaders and the Tiger Swing Band as they made their way through town to the Massillon Recreation Center.
Fans, waving flags adorned with Obie, orange and black and mottos like "Massillon Against the World," were filled with excitement to see the players and the hard-working people behind them. That included trainers, team physician, athletic office staff and others who work behind the scenes during the football season.
Washington High 2014 grad Elizabeth Sims said the parade is the culmination of Tiger pride. She and her four children - three who attend Massillon City Schools - braved the cold and misting rain to catch a glimpse of the team.
Jeaninne Mutersbaugh was sporting her Tiger gear, gloves and scarf. The McKinley graduate, who has lived in Massillon for 45 years, has been a Tiger fan for decades as her children, grandchildren and now her great-grandchildren went through the school system.
She got into cheering on the football team when her granddaughter was in the Tiger Swing Band a few years back.
"History is being made," she said. "This could be the only time I get to experience a state championship."
Barb Starrett and her family were lined up along the parade route waiting to see the team.
Tiger blood has been in her family's veins for years. Her father, Augie Morningstar, played for Paul Brown and later was named head coach in 1945. He has served as an assistant coach, Starrett said.
This season has been a "bunch of fun," she said.
Her twin grandsons, Ethan and Jarrett Deuble, 13, said their love of the Tigers has been ingrained in them and they wouldn't have it any other way. Despite being students at Edison in Perry Local Schools, they don their Massillon garb and cheer on the Tigers with their family.
Starrett, a 1970 Washington High School grad, said they wanted to show the team they were right behind them all the way.
"In my heart, they have been state champs every year," she said.
'We are the City of Champions'
At the end of the parade, the team captains addressed the crowd gathered at the Rec Center, thanking fans for their support throughout the season.
"None of this was possible without you guys showing up Friday nights," senior Zach Liebler said. "We are the City of Champions and they will never forget us."
Mayor Kathy Catazaro-Perry commended the team before proclaiming Dec. 10 as Massillon Tigers Day.
Coach Nate Moore reminded those who had gathered the city's wait is over after 53 years.
"Coach Brown, I hope we made you proud this year," Moore said. "Tigers to the grave."
As the band played the alma mater, fireworks rose in the night sky over the city.
"It's been a good night," season ticket holder and 1975 grad Mike Ruggieri said. "It was a long time coming."
Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Massillon celebrates 2023 Tigers championship, perfect season
