Warren native defines love for his hometown team
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
WARREN--How many more heartstoppers could a 19-year-old David Baugh take?
First, Warren Harding needed to outlast Cleveland St. Ignatius in a first-round home playoff game, a 24-17 win. Then they needed a walk-off field goal to outlast Lakewood St. Edward 18-6 in a regional semifinal after facing an outrageous first-and-75. Next, there was a 14-7 win over Mentor in a regional final.
And then came the state semifinal against a team they just turned away five weeks earlier, Massillon. With a fourth down and needing 10 yards, there was just no way the Warren G. Harding Raiders could obtain a first down to keep their undefeated season breathing. Massillon fans were anticipating a spot in the Division I state championship against Cincinnati Elder. Mike Kokal's pass to Danny Stella awarded the Raiders a fresh set of downs, leading to Treymayne Warfield's touchdown catch to force overtime where the Raiders reclaimed the lead.
And then Baugh was forced to hold his breath again and finally exhale when Tigers kicker Max Shafer's extra point kick sailed wide left on a frigid late November evening in front of 23,000 at the Akron Rubber Bowl as Warren Harding outlasted bitter rival Massillon for a second time in five weeks 21-20 to not only remain undefeated but return to Fawcett Stadium for the Division I state championship game.
Today at 41, the 2002 Warren Harding graduate known as "Worm" still has a pulse after all those close shaves in a season that saw the Raiders have nine games decided by single digits and four playoff games decided by a combined 17 points. And he still is a devout etched-in-stone supporter of Raiders athletics where he can be seen voicing his support for the athletes that don the black and gold in competition.
"Warren is a very blue collar city and like all the old steel mill towns have changed over the last couple decades but we have great leadership in place at the school and the community and I am looking forward to us bouncing back the way that Massillon has bounced back with their leadership. I have so much respect for Massillon, St. Edward and this is a great experience," Baugh said.
Since graduating from Harding and Kent State in 2006, he has served as a videographer for four head coaches during the football season, one of those being Thom McDaniels, who is widely known around Stark County for his 17 seasons at Canton McKinley, where he coached the Bulldogs to the 1997 Division I state and national championship before taking a three-year hiatus that eventually led him to Harding, where he turned the Raiders into a vaunted fire-breathing dragon that saw them go 43-7 from 2000-2003 and finish overall with a 62-21 record.
Many players thrived under McDaniels tutelage that impressed Baugh over the years. Whether it was Maurice Clarettt bulldozing his way for touchdowns, Dave Herron and small-but-tough 5'6'' fullback Stefon Alexander throwing tough blocks against bigger competitors, Sidney Glover and Prescott Burgess delivering bone-shattering tackles, Baugh was very fortunate to see not just them but also others who contributed to Raiders football as well.
A major asset to Baugh's knowledge of Harding football also comes from his classmate Joe McConnell, who was one of three historians who was a part of the launching of the website WGHFootball.com with the other being Brandon Giovannone.
Baugh spoke of how WGHFootball.com came to be and how it is thriving 24 years later.
"I met Joe in the eighth grade at Turner Middle School. A lot of people don't know this but I've always been a great writer and communicator but Joe was the one who talked me into taking a corresponding job with The Tribune and really expand myself and keep statistics. He got me into that so I'll forever love Joe for that," he said. "He has a nephew that's in the seventh grade, Matthew that I am excited about. Now Brandon, he is a year behind us, he did media work for Harding when we were back in school and it's great to see him develop his business over the years and when you have a town like that and someone like me who is passionate about the tradition, you want to link and expand. We've been able to create a platform to put the spotlight on our young people and it's been a ride."
For McConnell, his devotion to the Harding program began as early as 35 years ago when Harding captured the Division I state title when the late Phil Annarella piloted the program for 16 seasons, seven of those at Harding when the school consolidated with Warren Western Reserve. What impressed McConnell the most was from observing a Canton McKinley football program that had a plethora of stats over many seasons and did everything in his power to ensure that fans from Warren were able to rehash past games and statistics too.
Having a person like Baugh as a stablemate helped out as well.
"I used to go to all the WGH games when I was younger. My first memory of going was during the 1990 State Title game vs Cincinnati Princeton. As I got involved in the program, I remember going to the old Warren Western Reserve weight room and they had a lot of historical pictures in there and trophies that were won. It fueled me to want to know more and the more history that was told to me, I dug deeper into it. I would find old Warren Harding and Warren Western Reserve game films from the 1970s and watch them, McConnell said. "I was inspired by a program that Canton McKinley sold at games that had historical pictures and game results and all time records. Steubenville and Massillon also had similar details available on their websites. I wondered why ours wasn't readily available given how strong our tradition was as well. So I started to compile more and more to try to help educate and inspire others and make them realize the type of program we have."
"What stands out most of Dave doing those highlights is that they always capture the best plays that the athlete made but most importantly is that it doesn't matter how significant the player was in the overall success of the team, Dave will pour the same passion into the players video regardless of how many touchdowns they scored. If he could help the athlete get noticed and it could lead to them bettering their lives through college, that was all that he cared about."
As of right now, the Raiders are coming off an unexpected bye week in which they have had time for players to heal any injuries and get a much needed rest as they look to improve their 2-2 record. Four of their next five games are at home and if they can win four of those, maybe even all five, the chances of Harding earning a second-bye into the 12th week of the playoffs isn't farfetched.
Harding has had their fair share of adversity during the football season. But earlier this year Baugh had to endure a personal situation that required his deepest attention. In a moment of love and support, the entire Warren Harding football team rallied around him, showing just how bonded the community is.
McConnell was the first one at the side of his classmate.
"When everyone stood tall for Dave in a low time, I thought how cool that was since he has always tried to stand tall for all of them at various moments. You can always count on Worm to be there cheering you on as the loudest in the stadium and trying to pick you up during any low moments in a game so it was really special that they could all return the support and try to lift him up in a very low point," he said.
"They support me the way I support them and we're a very tight knit community. We don't let anybody mess with us and we try to bring our youth up right and it was very heartwarming to see them step up to me and behind me in a dark hour in my life and it's great to get back the love you put out in your community," Baugh said.
The biggest misconception that people have of Warren is that is just a football town. That simply is not the case. Baugh pointed out former two-time boxing champion Frankie Randall, who held the WBC super lightweight and WBA junior welterweight belts was a resident of the city.
It was one thing for Youngstown natives Ray Mancini and Kelly Pavlik to win respective titles at lightweight and middleweight. But is simply another when Randall not only became the first opponent to inflict the first knockdown on Mexican boxing icon Julio Cesar Chavez but importantly the first to hand Chavez his first defeat after a staggering 90 professional bouts. The night Randall brought home the WBC title to Warren will always be a sight and for Baugh a reminder to others who think Warren is just a football-laden city.
"When you are raised in Warren and I know that Youngstown has a great tradition with boxers. In the 80's they had Ray Mancini, who fought at Mollenkopf Stadium. Randall's victory showed just how deeply rooted athletics is in our area," Baugh said.
Many young players have had aspirations of playing for the Raiders. Many kids emulate their favorite athletes whether it is at one of the four Pre-K to eighth grade schools Jefferson, Lincoln, McGuffey, or Willard leading up to the high school, they patiently await the day they step on that same field that bred legends Mario Manningham, Carl Diggs, Deryck Toles, Lynn Bowden and so many more. One day those young men will soon be in Mollenkopf Stadium.
And they know that Baugh will be right there cheering them on, not before he left them some advice as they progress through the Warren City Schools grade levels.
"Embrace the process. Listen to your coaches. Be great students, be great kids, be great sons and develop yourself because football doesn't last forever. How you act is more important how you play and when you act right and do what you're supposed to do, great things will happen in every aspect of your life," he said.
David Baugh endured four heartstopping playoff games 24 years ago. 24 years later he still has a pulse that beats live and well for his Warren G. Harding High School Raiders.
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