From their pair of challenging preseason scrimmages through the first nine weeks of the 2024 OHSAA football season, first-year Warren G. Harding head coach Matt Richardson has found out an awful lot about his team. He’s laying the foundation for what many (including myself) hope is a very long tenure as the head of the program. Whether it’s a huge win or a tough loss, every little positive sign has to be recognized and built upon while the negatives have to be ironed out.
Warren G. Harding senior Deshawn Wynn sacks Massillon quarterback Jalen Slaughter during their week 9 matchup.
That said, even in the embryonic stage of Richardson’s career as a head coach, Harding has already clinched a spot in the upcoming playoffs. The location of their matchup will be determined by the outcome of their regular season closer this Friday against a talented Austintown Fitch team that has already secured at least one home game for the postseason. A Harding victory this Friday would guarantee that one would be played at 860 Elm Rd. in Warren.
Warren G. Harding junior linebacker Tyler Smith swarms Massillon's offensive backfield to register a tackle for a loss in week 9.
By now, everybody knows that a lot of what Harding does on the field is by way of the skill set of senior Chaz Coleman. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound 3-star recruit rarely comes off of the field for the Raiders as he is 44-of-72 for 466 yards while throwing five and four interceptions, has rushed for 531 yards & 6 touchdowns on 119 carries, and has hauled in two catches for 47 yards and another score. While he’s handled a heavy workload offensively, Coach Richardson and his staff took a slower, nurturing approach with sophomore quarterback James Jones, who has shown a ton of growth since the preseason. While he is 24-of-47 for 230 yards and has thrown one touchdown and two interceptions on the season, he went 7-of-11 for 78 yards against a tough Massillon team, who is arguably the best team that the Raiders will face this year as their program hasn’t lost a game to an opponent from Ohio in two years. Despite the tough loss to the Tigers thai past Friday, Jones’ effort showcased just how much he has matured over the last few months, which could prove to be even more beneficial over the course of the next few weeks.
Warren G. Harding sophomore quarterback James Jones throws the first touchdown pass of his career to senior Chaz Coleman during their week 6 matchup against Solon.
Harding’s wide receiver room is headlined by Marcus Crum Jr. (24 catches for 197 yards & two touchdowns), Brown University commit Airiz Coleman Bey (12 catches for 172 yards & one touchdown), Stephen Sims (14 catches for 144 yards & one touchdown), Devon Morgan (8 catches for 79 yards & one touchdown), and “the heir apparent” Matt Richardson (5 catches for 19 yards). With the injury issues that the Raiders have dealt with at the running back position, all of the aforementioned receivers are also threats to carry the ball. That said, tailback Brandon Coleman Jr. has been solid between the tackles as he has 65 carries for 192 yards & two touchdowns.
Warren G. Harding seniors Chaz Coleman & Airiz Coleman Bey hook up for a 30-yard touchdown pass & catch during their annual week 9 showdown with Massillon.
This week, Harding will have to deal with a versatile Fitch squad that can produce big results from anywhere on the field. They have two strong quarterbacks in sophomore Collin Kalaher (4-of-74 for 514 yards & nine touchdowns) and junior Davanzo Tate III (49-of-74 for 355 yards, three touchdowns & five interceptions). Between those two, their favorite targets have been Brady Evans (38 catches for 414 yards & three touchdowns), Brayden Bryant (16 catches for 238 yards & four touchdowns), Al-Tahire Iluono (6 catches for 161 yards & one touchdown), De’Andre Reed (5 catches for 102 yards & one touchdown), and the versatile Junie Higgs (10 catches for 67 yards & one touchdown), who also has 388 rushing yards & four touchdowns on 84 carries. It should be noted that as a freshman this past June at the 2024 OHSAA Division I State Track & Field Championships, Bryant placed 8th in the 100 with a time of 11.21 in a stiff -3. wind. Meanwhile, the Falcons’ ground attack will be led by fellow sophomore Deon’Dray Richard, who enters week 10 with 1,041 rushing yards & 10 touchdowns on 116 carries.
Austintown Fitch sophomore running back Deon’Dray Richard goes up the middle for a 21-yard touchdown run during their week 5 matchup at Akron Buchtel.
With as much firepower as the Falcons possess on offense, one of the strongest weapons that they have is the leg of senior kicker Anthony Ruggles. To date, he’s 6-of-12 on field goals and has cleared distances of 50, 48, 44, 41, and 35 yards (2x). Meanwhile, he averages 43.3 yards per punt (has mounted 19 times) while 40 of his 51 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks.
Austintown Fitch senior kicker Anthony Ruggles nails a 50-yard field goal during the Falcons' week 7 matchup against Massillon Perry.
Defensively, Harding fans will get used to hearing the name of “Rocco DiFlorio” as to date, the junior linebacker has registered 77 tackles (33 solo), 12.5 tackles for a loss, and 2.5 sacks for the Falcons. Collectively, Fitch has hauled in seven interceptions from Higgs, Tate, Deonte Stallings (2), Damarr Rogers, Wayne Holloway, and Dylan Krohn. In addition to DiFlorio, Fitch has also registered sacks from Rogers (4.5), Krohn (2.5), JoJo Lumsden (3.5), Marky Fitzgerald (2.0), John Vaughn (1.5), Brady McNally (1.0), Cam’ren Natali (1.0), Robert Maderitz (0.5), and Lucas Jones (0.5).
Austintown Fitch senior defensive back Deonte Stallings sniffs out the football from the secondary to make a tackle for a loss against Massillon Jackson in week 2.
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