Panthers brace for rematch with Raiders
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
PERRY TWP.--A pungent taste was left in the mouths of the Perry Panthers as they made the long walk back to the locker room upon exiting Wakefield Stadium.
Chaz Coleman's one-yard quarterback sneak allowed visiting Warren Harding to escape Perry Township with a hard-earned 15-9 decision that was part of their eight win season under the tutelage of Warren native and JFK alum Matt Richardson.
Fast forward a year later as both the Panthers and Raiders will traverse paths for the second time Friday night at Mollenkopf Stadium in a 7 p.m. kickoff. Perry arrives with a 2-0 record as their defense has only allowed 14 points through two games. Although they are no longer running the wing-T offense, a staple of the football branded by longtime head coach Keith Wakefield, anyone who thinks the Panthers have lost their identity are gravely mistaken.
Just because they are not a run heavy team as they have been in the past or the dominantly passing team they were under Keith Boedicker from 2009-2012, they are still the same Perry Panthers, the same team that brings their hard hat and lunch pail to work and are committed to working harder than the other 11 opposing players in front of them. And through two games, what they have accomplished has been impressive.
"I am just impressed with our ability to pursue to the ball and impressed how we get to the ball and our tackling is good and everyone is playing physical. We are getting off of blocks and edges and how we practice is how we have played and that has been huge," Perry head coach Spencer Leno, a former Massillon linebacker said.
The Panthers had everything go their way from the start last week in their 36-0 ravaging of St. Vincent-St. Mary. Before then, they had a slow start against Central Catholic before they found their niche and the rest of the game took care of itself in a 41-14 road victory.
A slow start against Warren Harding may prove injurious to the Panthers cause. The Raiders have split games against Canton McKinley and Akron Buchtel. The Raiders response after their 43-25 loss to the Bulldogs was very defensive, literally speaking.
Harding didn't have the best day moving the ball offensively but 16 of their 25 points was generated by their defense. Aside from a safety, the defense conjured up two interception return touchdowns from freshman linebacker Satavian Hill and then sophomore linebacker Asa Burch, the son of former Warren Harding and University of Michigan standout Alfie Burch.
The fact Harding had an off day offensively but concocted a way to prevail is something that caught the eye of Leno.
"Warren Harding is a traditional program and their defense can fly around and I am impressed with their linebackers. Their front seven can get off the ball and they have great speed," he said. "We have to be ready to go on the road. We have to keep playing and start fast and not let up. We also have to take care of the football and cannot have any turnovers."
Richardson is no stranger to toughness, having won a state title at JFK and a national championship at Youngstown State University. He also has five state championships dating back to his tenure at Akron Hoban as the Knights offensive coordinator. Before then, Richardson served as the running backs coach under Thom McDaniels, who piloted the Warren Harding program from 2000-2006. Richardson coached outstanding Harding backs in the well-known Maurice Clarett, Dave Herron, Richard Davis, and Delbert Ferguson to name a few. He also coached at Hoban two 1,000 yard rushers in Tyris Dickerson and Deamonte Trayanum, who were two of three running backs in 2018 to rush for over 100 yards against the 2018 Massillon team in the Division II state championship. Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams, a former Warren Harding tailback now with the Carolina Panthers was the other in a 51-21 loss.
The coaching matchup between Leno, who doubles as the Panthers defensive coordinator and Richardson will be a tantalizing one as they will cross paths for the first time in two years since Massillon's memorable 7-2 state final triumph over Hoban to punctuate a 16-0 regular season, extending Hoban's state championship losing streak to a staggering three.
Leno is aware of Richardson's prowess and relishes the matchup with him.
"Matt Richardson is a really good coach and the players respect him. Our goal is a team is to make them go down the field. We can't have any turnovers," he said.
Mollenkopf Stadium may be going through some major upgrades but it still remains an iconic part of Warren Harding football. You don't mention Raiders football without Mollenkopf Stadium and the players who competed in the 15,000-seat stadium.
Leno looks for his team to once again rise up to the challenge and not only even their series with the Raiders but go into Federal League play with momentum on their side. A good start to that will be to triumph on the road. Leno was a senior in 2008 when the Tigers downed Harding 30-7 and acknowledged how hard that contest was and his Panthers know what trenches they will be encompassing Friday night.
"I played at Mollenkopf as a player and it is one of the top stadiums in Ohio in part to their atmosphere. We will have to start off fast and play till the whistle and move on to the next play. At times, things are not going to go well and that is where we will have to adjust," he said.
A pungent taste was left in the Panthers mouth last year as Warren Harding departed Wakefield Stadium victorious. Now the Panthers will get their chance to make amends against their Trumbull County hosts.
PREP PRESS PIECES
*No wing-T, no problem: Perry is no longer running the wing-T but don't think Leno is abandoning the run game at all. "We go out of multiple formations and any high school coach will tell you that the game is modernized now. We still want to run the ball and if anyone tells you otherwise, they're lying," Leno said.
*Massillon connection: Rick Shepas enters his second year as the athletic director at Warren Harding. Shepas was the head coach at Massillon for seven seasons, compiling a 53-27 record as Tigers field general. Shepas is no stranger to the Youngstown and Warren areas, having competed in high school as a 6'3'', 225 lb. receiver at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney before embarking on a four-year career at Youngstown State University, which is also the alma mater of former Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter and award-winning author David Lee Morgan Jr., who authored the captivating book "The Massillon Tigers 15 for 15."
*Twin bill at Benson: GlenOak and Canton McKinley will be playing Saturday contests in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Classic with the Eagles taking on Cleveland East Tech in the early matinee at 12 p.m. and McKinley hosting Cleveland Heights at 7 p.m. GlenOak is attempting to avoid a disastrous 0-3 start while McKinley is aspiring to get back into the win column against a Tigers team that is 0-2 on the season. McKinley won 28-13 in the last meeting between the two schools 25 years ago at then-Fawcett Stadium.
Keno Sultan is a writer for Stark County Prep Press. He can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment