Canton McKinley overcomes a spirited Warren Harding squad to capture season opener
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
CANTON--With former Canton McKinley and Warren Harding football head coach Thom McDaniels in attendance tonight at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, both teams were determined to put on a pleasing display of football that would have pleased their mentor.
Both schools did not disappoint.
In a contest that featured three ties and no deficit greater than six points till the fourth quarter, it was the Bulldogs needing every asset in their offensive arsenal through their running game to stop the visiting Raiders in their tracks 26-19 to claim their first victory of the 2024 season. Their victory was not secured until Harding quarterback Chaz Coleman had a fourth down pass broken up at the McKinley 40 yard line and two plays later, Bulldogs running back Nino Hill ran for a first down that allowed McKinley to evaporate the clock.
McKinley's defense had their work cut out in attempting to stifle the 6'5'' Coleman, who provided shades of former Harding field general Maurice Taylor, who was a two-year starter for the Raiders back in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. No one was relieved to escape with the triumph more than McKinley mentor Antonio Hall, who played against Taylor in his career and saw shades of him through Coleman.
"Ultimately, we found a way to overcome adversity. We stayed together, there was no finger pointing when things weren't going our way," Hall said. "There were similar dynamics between the two although Coleman is a little bigger and to me he throws a great ball especially off his back foot away from the play and throwing against his body and some of the throws he was making tonight, I don't know how a high school quarterback could have made those."
Both teams absorbed early turnovers on their first possessions. However, Harding obtained a big boost when cornerback Airiz Coleman-Bey snagged a pass from Bulldogs quarterback Kam Montgomery and returned the theft for a 29-yard touchdown score early in the second quarter to answer an early touchdown from the Bulldogs when Montgomery connected on a 31-yard touchdown strike to D.J. Britt, who got behind a Harding safety to commence the scoring.
Missed extra points by both kickers allowed this game to be close to the vest throughout. Despite not being able to possess a lead tonight, it is brightly lucid that under the instruction of first-year head coach Matt Richardson, these are no longer the Raiders who were known for melting down at the earliest whiff of adversity.
Under Richardson, those days are terminated.
"We have a lot of potential on what we can do. Anytime you play a good team, the team who makes the least mistakes will win the game and McKinley made less mistakes than us," he said.
Both teams did heavy damage with their running games. After surrendering the interception return that was a score, McKinley turned to the ground express on their fifth possession with senior tailbacks Hill and Jamar Johnson, with Hill accumulating for most of the damage during a drive that took 14 plays and over four minutes off the clock that allowed them to reclaim the lead late in the second quarter at 19-13 only to have Harding retaliate with an equalizer when Coleman tossed the first of two scoring strikes as he eluded multiple McKinley defenders and tossed a 42-yard scoring bullet to Marcus Crum Jr. who caught the ball for an easy score in part to a lack of communication in the Bulldogs secondary.
The Bulldogs took back the momentum when Montgomery converted a critical pass on a third down and needing 20 yards when he found Britt over the middle for a first down and a play later, Montgomery delivered a quick strike to Darius Hill and despite the missed extra point kick, McKinley led 19-13 at halftime.
Harding showed their resiliency as well with a 14-play drive of their own that lowered eight minutes off the third quarter clock with Coleman showing his artistic prowess through his arm and feet and his one yard touchdown run had the visiting Raiders feeling great.
McKinley answered the Harding score with a 10-play drive culminating with a second touchdown run from Hill to start the fourth quarter. Harding would only get as close as to the McKinley 40 late in the game before turning the ball over on downs and losing their fourth contest to McKinley in a row.
It wasn't the result Richardson desired in his second return to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium dating back to his final year as Akron Hoban offensive coordinator that ended with a stinging 7-2 loss to undefeated Division II state champion Massillon but he knows that the pride in Warren football has been restored and it is only a matter of his charges staying the course and eventually becoming a title contender in Division II.
"I want them to know that we have the ability to win games. We just have to make less mistakes, practice a little bit harder, follow our procedures and do what we have to do to win the game," he said.
Montgomery led the McKinley passing attack with two touchdowns while Hill added two scores for them on the ground and was over the 100-yard rushing mark for the evening while Coleman threw for a score and ran for another to pace Harding. When asked if Coleman's play was reminiscent of Taylor, Richardson rehashed Taylor's playing days having coached at Warren Harding dating back to the 2000 season.
"The one thing I will say abot Chaz is that he is 6'5" and Taylor was about 5'11'' so it is different and both have different styles. Chaz has a lot more upside although Taylor himself was a great player," he said.
The Bulldogs will receive another test against Avon next Friday on the road. Hall knows his team had their share of mistakes they were able to overcome tonight but vowed that those mistakes have to be non-existent if they are to be 2-0 after next Friday. Last season, Avon defeated McKinley 28-7 in the second week of the season and eventually completed an undefeated regular season only to have it tainted in the Division II state semifinals against Hoban once again.
For now, Hall wants his team to enjoy the victory but not before he turned his sights to the Eagles and the challenge of overcoming them on the road next Friday.
"We have to avoid turnovers, sloppy special teams play, missed assignments and penalties. So we have to get better in all those categories this week if we intend to contend against Avon," Hall said.
With former McKinley and Harding head coach Thom McDaniels in attendance, both schools were determined to put on a pleasing display of competitive football. Both teams did not disappoint but in the end, it was McKinley celebrating a victory over a resurgent Harding football team.
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