Massillon quarterback DaOne Owens playing against St. John's (Washington, D.C.)
Massillon quarterback DaOne Owens will be back running the Tigers offense on Friday night in a game against St. John's (Washington, D.C.).
As reported first on SBLive last week, Owens was not eligible to play for the Tigers in their game against Middletown (Delaware) last Friday night, a 41-7 Massillon victory.
Sources say the issue of eligibility stemmed from requirements set forth by the OHSAA if a player should transfer from one public school in Ohio to another as outlined in Bylaw 4-7-2. Any player who transfers from a public school to a public school would be eligible to play the first five games of the football season and then would be deemed ineligible starting in Week 6 unless they met certain exceptions.
According to an email to SBLive from OHSAA Director of Media Relations Tim Stried on Thursday afternoon, Owens' eligibility status had not yet been approved as the OHSAA is still working with Massillon on the transfer process.
While multiple outlets reported on Friday that Owens had been cleared by the OHSAA, an email response to SBLive from the OHSAA at 2:42 pm on Friday afternoon said they could not confirm his clearance at that time.
But Owens was dressed and warming up with the team prior to the game Friday, indicating he would be playing.
After St. John's, Massillon heads to Austintown Fitch on Oct. 6, returns home to play Warren Harding on Oct. 13 and finishes out the regular season at Canton McKinley on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Massillon is currently the No. 1 team in the SBLive Ohio Power 25 and just outside the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 nationally.
On the season, Owens has run for 602 yards and eight scores on 47 carries and has completed 22 of his 37 passes for 291 yards and four scores.
In the game against Middletown, junior quarterback Jalen Slaughter Jalen Slaughter, who helped lead Massillon to the state semifinals as a sophomore last season as the starting quarterback, stepped in and went 15-of-29 with 293 yards passing and three touchdowns. That included a 53-yard touchdown pass on Massillon's first offensive play of the game.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com| @sbliveoh
Massillon quarterback DaOne Owens takes off for a run against Valdosta (Georgia) on August 18, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Harwell
Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports
