Jackson takes Massillon call, but that’s about all

As Jason Hall looks at his 2013 football schedule, the Massillon head coach sees one date to be filled. He looked around and found a potential match.

Less than 10 miles away.

Hall put in a call to Jackson High School Athletic Director Terry Peterson about a game. The Polar Bears are open in Week 7. Hall was confident he could juggle some things around on his schedule and make an opening in Week 7.

The call lasted about three minutes.

Peterson declined his offer.

“Right now, I’m not sure Massillon fits the equation we’re looking for,” Peterson said.

Jackson is trying to build up its program and start to push into the top tier of the Federal League. Massillon, a Division I regional finalist last fall, is looking to take the next step to become a state champion. And the Tigers are finding it hard to fill their schedule.

“Originally we were open in Week 3 and so were they,” Hall said. “They picked Ursuline over us. I called and talked about moving some things around to see if they wanted to play in Week 7. They said they weren’t ready and it doesn’t make sense to play that game if you play in the Federal League. They played a Canadian team in that spot last year.”

Hall said Massillon would have been willing to sign a home-and-home contract with Jackson.

“We never got that far,” he said.

Massillon already plays McKinley, GlenOak and Perry from the Federal League. Hall would have liked to add a fourth league team to his team’s independent schedule.

“It would have been great financially for both schools,” Hall said. “If you called (Perry Athletic Director) Todd Sutton, he would tell you we made a contract that both teams make money regardless of if it’s a home or away game. We got creative. We’ve proven we’re willing to go to other people’s stadium and play (in the county).”

It might have worked, too, because Jackson has six home games for 2013. Massillon needed the ’13 game to be at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

But Peterson, with all due respect, isn’t interested in scheduling Massillon right now. He said there is more to making a contract than money and interest. It is about balancing his program’s competition. Jackson, 5-5 in 2012, is trying to improve and not take lumps to its confidence.

“First of all, we don’t even have the same open dates,” Peterson said. “At one point in time, we were open Week 3 and I already solidified that. Ursuline was 4-6 last year. What was Massillon?”

Peterson acknowledged that head coach Beau Balderson is trying to build a program and climb the league ladder. However, that has been a process.

“Right now, we’re not near the top of the league,” Peterson said. “We have to play these teams week in and week out and not get a breather? We’ve already said no to a couple teams people in general would consider not as talented as Massillon.”

Northwest has a Week 7 opening as well. Peterson has already made an inquiry to the Indians.

Jackson’s non-league schedule for next season consists of Akron East, Green and Ursuline — all three home games to start the season.

If the Polar Bears improve their football program to be one of the top ones in the league, Peterson said he would consider a game with Massillon.

“Down the road, we could go to our administration and say we want to play Massillon in Week 8, or whenever we’re both open, and try to get it done,” Peterson said. “With regard to balancing the schedule right now, we want to get an opponent that give us an opportunity to be successful.”