Walsh Jesuit soccer, Massillon football are teams of year at Greater Akron-Canton HSSA

USA Today Network
Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards

Walsh Jesuit soccer was honored as the Girls Team of the Year and Massillon football as the Boys Team of the Year on Friday at the Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards show.

In all, 37 awards were handed out at the show, which honored athletes, coaches and teams from the area. The show was produced with the support of the Meijer, Planet Fitness, SARTA, USA Today Sports and Golfweek.

Walsh Jesuit won the program’s 11th state championship last fall when it won the Division I title to complete an 19-2-2 season. The 11 titles are more than double the number of girls soccer championships won by any other school in OHSAA history. Walsh shut out 13 opponents in 2023 and allowed more than one goal in just two games. It outscored its opponents 87 to 15 overall. This Walsh senior class graduated with a four-year record of 63-11-11 with two trips to the state finals.

The Massillon Tigers put together one of the most dominant high school football seasons in recent memory, going 16-0 to win the Division II state championship, the program’s first OHSAA state title. Along the way, the Tigers beat Division I state champion St. Edward for a second straight year and beat several ranked teams from outside of Ohio. They outscored their opponents 618-116 during the season. Ten Tigers earned a spot on the all-state team. Massillon also was ranked nationally by several organizations, including No. 12 in the nation by USA Today.

The Greater Akron-Canton High School Sports Awards show is part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards,