With 24 years of coaching experience under his belt, new Warren G. Harding head coach Matt Richardson returns to the school that helped launch his career. During his first stint at 860 Elm Rd. NE as the running backs coach under then-head coach Thom McDaniels from 2000 thru 2006, Richardson played a huge role in the development of numerous players en route to a combined record of 63-21. Overall, his days as an assistant coach for Harding, The Rayen School (Youngstown), Solon, and most recently Archbishop Hoban High School helped yield a combined record of 213-76. That includes an OHSAA Division II state championship at Hoban in his first year as their running backs coach in 2020.
While Richardson has helped send an abundance of running backs off to the next level, one of the more distinctive footnotes of his coaching career is the fact that he has also produced two recipients of not only Ohio's coveted Mr. Football Award, but also the USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year in tailbacks Maurice Clarett (Harding in 2001) and Lamar Sperling (Hoban in 2022). That coaching pedigree should bode well for the development of Mi'King Adair as he's expected make a huge impact as a sophomore tailback for the Raiders. He'll follow the lead of an offensive line that's spearheaded by Dailon Curry, Anthony Simpson, Zavion Smith, Ashton Coleman, and Kenneth Byrd Jr., who recently committed to Allegheny College.
Meanwhile, senior Chaz Coleman returns to lead the charge under center. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound dual-threat quarterback, who will also handle the punting duties, has attracted the attention of numerous FBS football programs. Sophomore James Jones, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound sophomore who displayed some positives during the Raiders' preseason scrimmages against Steubenville and Painesville Riverside, is also expected to make his presence felt. Their plethora of weapons will include wide receivers (Youngstown State commit) Stephen Sims, Marcus Crum, Devon Morgan, and "the heir apparent" in sophomore Matthew Richardson. Juniors Tyler Smith and Rai'twan Hill will handle the tight end duties.
On the other side of the ball, new Harding defensive coordinator Eric Ungaro will channel his 28 years worth of coaching experience to bring out the best of a defense that's looking to improve on last year's performance when they surrendered 25.4 points per game. Simpson, Byrd, and senior Deshawn Wynn will lead the charge out of the 3-4 formation while Tyler Smith, Brandon Coleman Jr., Mandes Provitt Jr., and Aiden Allen will follow up at linebacker. Richardson and (Brown University commit) Airiz Coleman Bey will man the cornerback spots while Raylin Adams and Donovan Salero-McCoy will be the last lines of defense at safety.
After the graduation of four-year starting kicker Jake Daugherty, promising sophomore Jaron Edmonds will step in to handle the kicking duties. Over the course of the offseason, he participated in camps at YSU, North Carolina A&T, and at the Kicking World Camp that was held at Avon High School in late June. This Thursday, Edmonds will look to put his leg to the real test under the lights at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Coach Richardson's first ever game as the head of the football program will come against one of the most storied programs in the country, which is currently equipped with one of the most loaded rosters in Ohio.
As a proud member of Canton McKinley's class of 2000, there's very little that you can tell current head coach Antonio Hall about winning football games at the high school level. As a sophomore in 1997, he was part of their 14-0 squad that outscored their opposition 592 to 151 en route to not only winning the OHSAA Division I state championship, but they went wire to wire as the USA Today's top ranked team in the nation.
As a junior in 1998, Hall helped the Bulldogs follow up with a 12-1 season that was capped off by a 33-10 demolition of Cincinnati St. Xavier to win their second consecutive championship. Hall would go on to become a two-time All-SEC selection for the University of Kentucky, which propelled him to a seven-year professional football career in the CFL.
As illustrated, Hall knows what it's like to achieve success with an abundance of talent. That trend may very well continue this year as the Bulldogs look to build on their 9-4 campaign in 2023. This time around, they'll be aided by the services of Kam Montgomery, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback who transferred in from College Park High School (The Woodlands, TX). In two seasons there, he threw for 2,195 yards and 25 touchdowns. To date, he has received scholarship offers from Bowling Green, Walsh, and Brown University.
Over the weekend, footage from McKinley's recent scrimmage against a solid Cleveland Heights team surfaced on social media showing Montgomery looking very impressive alongside his ensemble of lethal weapons. They include Missouri (linebacker) commit Dante McClellan, Keith Quincy, Deejay Britt, and tailback Nino Hill, a University of Buffalo commit who ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns on 11 second half carries against Harding last year. This season, he'll share the workload with fellow 2023 2nd Team All-Federal League selection Stephon Thomas and Jamar Johnson, a 1st Team All-Federal League selection who was also named to the OHSAA's All-Division I 2nd Team for Canton Glenoak last year. They'll all run behind a solid offensive line that includes Bowling Green commit Dior Garner, Logan Hayes (offered by Kentucky), and Evan Wittman, who checks in at 6-foot-4, 290 pounds.
Defensively, the Bulldogs have added Michael Fowler II to their mix of talented athletes. Last year, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound defensive end/linebacker hybrid was a 1st Team Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) All-Division I-District 2 selection for St. Pius X High School (Houston, TX). Now, he'll combine forces with Garner, K’Vuone McNeal (offers from Bowling Green, Kent State, Buffalo, & Marshall), and Zay-shawn Murray along the defensive front.
McClellan returns to lead the linebacking corps after his 75 tackles (13 for a loss), four sacks, one interception, one forced fumble in 2023 resulted in 1st Team selections in the Federal League, Stark County, and Northeast Inland District while he also made the OHSAA's All-Division I 2nd Team. Ultimately, that led to his pledge to the Tigers on April 24, 2024. Other Bulldog linebackers to watch out for include Carlito Hill, Javier Moore (offered by Kentucky), and Cyrus Hill. New names in the secondary that are expected to be heard throughout this season include cornerback Bryan Ingram (College Park High School, TX), and free safety Lance Long II (Canton South).
Heading into this season with an all-time record of 874-376-42, McKinley currently has the nation's 10th all-time winningest high school football program. That said, Harding's is no stranger to success either as their 722 wins rank 9th all-time in the Buckeye State. During his original stint as an assistant at Harding, Richardson helped Harding go 4-0 against McKinley from 2000 thru 2003. Now, over two decades later, him and his staff will try to pass those winning ways onto a program that hasn't finished above .500 since 2020.
That said, after going to four consecutive Division II state championships as a member of Hoban's staff, Richardson's goals aren't going to plateau at simply finishing with a winning record. He wants much bigger for his group of young men and you can't ask for a much better challenge than they'll get from the Bulldogs.
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