Bulldogs await challenge from old rival
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
CANTON--Seven years ago, Canton McKinley competed in their first high school game inside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium against Warren Harding.
Antonio Hall and Matt Richardson were not on the sidelines at the time.
84 months later, the two teams will square off Thursday night to commence the start of the 2024 season and it will be another chapter in the series between these two teams who were known for multiple hard-hitting contests in the 90s.
Hall knows this better than anyone else. A three-year two-way starter for McKinley, he was 3-0 in varsity competition against the Raiders with two of the three having playoff implications. Now in his fourth season atop the Bulldogs post, he knows this Harding team will be much different from the last several teams McKinley has faced in the past.
"I am very impressed with them and they have a lot of dynamic athletes and they are physical so we have to execute and compete to match their physicality, Hall said.
McKinley showed promise with last week's scrimmage against Cleveland Heights. After spotting the Tigers an early 13-0 lead, the Bulldogs responded with 27 consecutive points with incumbent starter Kam Montgomery tossing three scoring aerials and Jamar Johnson scoring on a short touchdown run to conclude the scoring. What was even more pleasing was that McKinley did not turn the ball over, a sight that left Hall pleased and feeling fervently excited about his offense especially his defense how they did not surrender another score and stymied the Tigers offensive attack afterward.
On the other hand, Harding is a team attempting to get back to it's ways through a punishing offense and a predatory defense, something Hall's coaching counterpart, Richardson wants to do immediately after replacing Steve Arnold, who retired after a 12-year reign as Harding's head coach. A 1994 graduate of Warren John F. Kennedy, Richardson was also a running backs coach for the Raiders under the direction of Thom McDaniels, who was 4-0 against McKinley as Harding's field general. Richardson recently completed a run at Akron Hoban as the Knights offensive coordinator as they won five state championships in six years. He also was part of two national championship squads at Youngstown State under the tutelage of Jim Tressel, who coached Ohio State to an undefeated season and the 2002 national championship. Richardson also was part of an Eagles state championship team as well under veteran head coach Tony Napolet.
Accountability is something Richardson wants out of his battalion of Raiders as they look for their first winning season since 2020 and most importantly, truncate a 12-21 slide that has been uncharacteristic of the Raiders football regime through three consecutive losing seasons.
"I want my players to follow the proper protocol to be where you are expected to be and do the little things first. If we do that then the rest will take care of itself," he said.
Last year, Harding scored on a kickoff return for a touchdown to conclude the second quarter and went to the locker room tied at 14-14 only to have the visiting Bulldogs strip away the momentum from Harding and posted a 33-14 victory.
Hall recalled the touchdown but at the same time commended his players for their response coming onto the field for the second half.
"We emphasize special teams and at the time it was a let down for us but in the second half, we took control of the game," he said. "But those were two different teams and it is about this year's contest."
You never mention Warren football without the names of Maurice Clarett, Carl Diggs, Deryck Toles, Dave and Dan Herron, Mario Manningham and others who have donned the black and gold. From 2000-2003, the Raiders won 43 of 50 games, posted two undefeated regular seasons, and competed for a state title in Division I.
Richardson was blessed to see uphand just how punishing the Raiders were during that run and he wants his legion of Raiders to experience that for themselves. A step in that direction would be coming away with a victory on the road. For that to happen, they have to set the tone by scoring first, something McKinley has accomplished during their four-game winning streak against Harding in which they have outscored them 122-62 in the four contests.
"It's very important to score first and set the tone. If you do that, you will give yourself a chance so we have to do that Thurdsay," Richardson acknowledged.
Hall has never traversed paths with Richardson but he knows about the pedigree of coaches he has been around, starting with McDaniels and being with Dan Reardon (who coached McKinley from 2015-2018) and then with Hoban's Tim Tyrrell. Richardson's Hoban teams led the state in rushing yards in the five years they won the state title, two of them coming in Division III and the last three in Division II.
Although this game is only the season opener, it always has a playoff feel for Hall, who was part of two wins over the Raiders in 1998 and 1999. Both games McKinley survived early deficits to claim victory. However the 1998 game was the most memorable for Hall because of the adversity the Bulldogs were facing in what was a do-or-die situation with the top four teams in the region at the time qualifying for the playoffs as they trailed 16-7 before scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter and completing a 20-16 win that kept Harding, who was ranked as high as #3 in the nation out of the postseason as they finished fifth with an 8-2 record.
"That was as physical as a game could get. We knew we had to take charge right away and execute in that fourth quarter. We were able to do what we had to do and got the win and that is something we will have to do like that in order for us to be 1-0 on the season," Hall acknowledged.
For the Raiders, they open up with two of their first five on the road with another trip to Stark County to face Perry in two weeks. But for now, Richardson wants his team to develop the expectation of winning and a victory Thursday night will pay dividends along the way to getting Harding back to contending status and eventually their first state championship since 1990, their last crown under the late Phil Annarella.
When asked if these Raiders will be different from the last 12, Richardson didn't comment on the teams under Arnold but hinted at what his team will be like under his watch laced with veteran assistant coaches.
"I can't speak for the last 12 Harding teams and what they looked like but I can tell you that we are going to compete. How we behave off the field is the way we will play on the field," he said.
Seven years ago, Antonio Hall and Matt Richardson were not on the sidelines when McKinley and Harding played their first game in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Seven years later, their paths cross and one of their teams will be gleeful after Thursday night.
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