Without Eli Stumpf at quarterback, Big Walnut falls to Massillon 21-0
Friday, November 13, 2026
By Eric Welch
ewelch@cbussports.com
Massillon Washington’s Savior Owens (1), a Michigan State commit, finished the night with 162 yards rushing on 25 carries in the Tigers’ 21-0 win at Big Walnut on Friday. Photo: Reggie Zachery
Sunbury – An overflow crowd of nearly 5,000 fans crammed into chilly and windy Big Walnut Stadium to watch third-seed Massillon Washington and second-seed Big Walnut battle it out for the fifth time in six years in the Division II, Region 7 playoffs.
In a tale of two halves, Massillon broke a scoreless tie on its first possession of the second half on a 42-yard Rasmus Haines to Giorgio Jackson touchdown pass and then turned to its punishing defense and powerful running game to forge a 21-0 win over the Golden Eagles and secure a region final appearance for the fourth time in as many years.
The headline coming into the game was whether or not Big Walnut’s senior quarterback, Eli Stumpf, would play against the Tigers. The Michigan State commit was injured late in the third quarter of the Eagles’ second-round win over Louisville last week.
The answer to the question of Stumpf’s availability was apparent in pregame warmups when the two-time Ohio Capital Conference–Capital division first-teamer stood watching his teammates clad in street clothes with his right (throwing) arm encased in a sling.
Stumpf’s replacement against Louisville and Friday versus Massillon was two-way starter Jackson Bowers, who did not attempt a pass but did have a rushing touchdown in finishing up the 35-7 win over the Leopards.
Against Massillon, Bowers was called upon to throw the ball 11 times, completing five for 44 yards, but the 6’3” senior tight end/defensive end was pressured heavily by the Tigers stifling defense on every snap.
Led by Oregon-commit Brayton Feister, Massillon held the Golden Eagles to 99-total yards and recorded its third straight shutout and fourth of the season.
The Feister brothers – younger brother Brydon is a junior defensive end and two-time state wrestling champion – teamed up to bottle up 2026 Ohio Mr. Football finalist
running back Nolan Buirley, limiting the senior to a season-low 41 yards on 18 carries.
The first half was a defensive clinic put on by both teams, as the Eagles, led by Northwestern-commit Buirley at linebacker, bent but didn’t break. The home team swarmed to the ball on every snap by the Tigers and prevented big plays by the visiting running back tandem of Savior Owens and Gary Yeager, who came into the
match-up with over 1,800 rush yards and 27 touchdowns between them.
Massillon sophomore Gary Yeager ran for touchdowns of 72 and 19 yards, finishing with 182 yards rushing on 15 attempts and the Tigers won at Big Walnut on Friday. Photo: Reggie Zachery
Each side missed a field goal in the scoreless first half. Big Walnut’s Owen Pyles’ 41-yard attempt was short. Tiger kicker Mateo Herrera’s attempt was right down the middle, but fell just inches short of the cross bar.
In addition to the missed field goal attempts, Massillon punted the other four times they had the ball, while Big Walnut punted three times and ended the half with a kneel-down byJackson.
After the break, the Tigers forced an Eagles’ three-and-out, and, benefitting from the do-everything Buirley’s pressured 27-yard punt, started their initial second half possession near midfield.
Ironically, the short kick was Buirley’s shortest boot of the night by quite bit, as he averaged 49.3 yards on his six punts, including a long of 67-yards and another at 64-yards. Five of them pinned the Tigers inside their own 20-yard line.
After the short punt, Big Walnut forced Massillon into a fourth-and-one situation at the Eagle 45, but Savior Owens picked up three tough yards off-tackle for the Tiger first down. On the next play, senior quarterback Rasmus Haines scrambled to his left to avoid a heavy rush and uncorked a long pass that hit his favorite target Giorgio Jackson in stride at the goal line to break the scoreless tie.
After the game, Haines said that 12th-year head coach Nate Moore told the Tigers at halftime to “stay in our small world and keep our composure. Once we got in our groove, we started rolling with Gio’s touchdown.“
As for the bomb to Jackson, the 6’4, 185-pound junior quarterback said, “I saw Gio open on the post when I was rolling out and I just decided to let it fly.”
On the play, three Eagle defenders were running with Jackson, but two of them collided at the two yard-line, blocking the path of the third defender, safety Eli Borland, who may have had a shot to defend the pass. For Massillon, it was the fourth time on the season that Haines and Jackson hooked up for a score.
Big Walnut’s Jackson Bowers (6) was pressed into duty at quarterback in the Golden Eagles’ game with Massillon on Friday after Eli Stumpf could not go because of an injury. Photo: Reggie Zachery
After a Big Walnut punt pinned the Tigers on their own 5-yard line. It was Yeager who capped that possession with a 72-yard sprint to the end zone for his sixth TD on the year. Massillon added their third and final score of the night on a 19-yard run.
The Tigers will now take on undefeated and number one-ranked Bishop Watterson next week at a neutral site to be announced Sunday.
Few teams have the luxury of two top-flight ball carriers with such different running styles. Savior Owens is a powerful back with surprising speed, while Gary Yeager is more of a scatback who can outrun defenses.
After the game, Moore said, “They are an incredible one-two punch. They are incredibly complimentary.”
The senior Owens said about his backup Yeager, “He can take a couple of carries off of me. He’s a home run hitter so he can hit a touchdown from anywhere. It’s nice to have someone back me up so I can take a little breather and he can go in and we trust him.”
As for Owens, coach Moore said, “Savior is so good. He’s a true-blue Big Ten back. Michigan State is getting a really good one. He checks every box…incredible vision. People undervalue his speed, but he has great speed. He has extreme vision and size.”
Owens finished the night with 162 bruising yards on 25 carries (6.5 yards per rush) while Yeager averaged 12.1 yards per tote, finishing with a game-high 182 yards on 15 rushes.
Haines, who holds offers from several Mid-American Conference schools, threw the ball just seven times, connecting on four for 68 yards, including the big strike to Jackson, who caught two more balls for a total of 61 yards.
“Give credit to Massillon,” said Big Walnut head coach Curtis Crager. “They are a great team and wore us down after the long touchdown pass. We battled them, but they were just a little too much for us tonight. It has been so fun to coach this
team this year.”
Asked about the injury to his quarterback Eli Stumpf, it took Crager several seconds to respond. “It was so tough to see Eli on the sideline instead of running our offense. He’s been such an important part of our team and program for so long. He is a true leader.”
Big Walnut’s Nolan Buirley, a Northwestern commit, punted well for the Golden Eagles on Friday against Massillon, averaging 49.3 yards on his six kicks. Photo: Reggie Zachery