PREP FOOTBALL/WEEK 7 Harding hammers Boardman

Clarett scored five touchdowns as the Raiders held a 36-0 lead at halftime.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- It didn't take long to see that Warren Harding's Maurice Clarett was at full strength against the Boardman Spartans.
The 6-0, 230 senior tailback gained 197 yards rushing and scored five touchdowns to lead the Raiders to a 43-28 victory over the Spartans.
Clarett, who had been nursing a groin injury and only played one half last week against Austintown Fitch, showed his versatility and importance to the Warren offense by catching two touchdown passes and tossing a conversion pass to go along with his three rushing touchdowns.
Clarett was responsible for 20 of Harding's 22 points in the first 6 minutes of the game.
Fast start: The Raiders raced out to a 36-0 halftime lead and hung on for the 17-point victory.
"We felt like it was really important to get off to a fast start and we did that," said Warren coach Thom McDaniels. "I think that went a long way in helping us win the football game.
"It's good when you have a plan and it works."
McDaniels said that it was the game plan to get Clarett more involved in this week's action.
"Teams know we have a strong tendency to run the football on first down," McDaniels said. "To break that tendency, we put Maurice in positions where he could catch the football."
Clarett scored the game's first touchdown by catching a pass from Mike Phillips and running 26 yards for a score on Harding's first series. Clarett then threw a pass to Prescott Burgess on the conversion play.
On Warren's next possession, Clarett did what he does best and outran the Boardman defenders 63 yards for a score.
Clarett's third score in the first quarter was on a pass reception from Warren quarterback Mike Kokal.
Warren scored twice more in the second quarter on a Clarett 67-yard run and on a 34-yard interception return by Burgess.
Too little, too late: Boardman made the game interesting in the second half by establishing its strong running game.
The Spartans scored four touchdowns in the second half, but coach Garry Smith admitted that Warren's fast start was too much to overcome.
"We made a nice effort in the second half, but the game was over by then," Smith said. "Harding's a great football team. They have some great athletes and Maurice showed he's one of the best in the Steel Valley."
Boardman's Evan Beard gained 163 yards rushing on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns, while Brad Beck added 127 yards 22 carries and two scores.
"Give Boardman credit for being patient enough to run the ball when they were down," McDaniels said. "We were playing a prevent defense mentally and weren't reading our keys very well.
"But this was a big win in a huge ballgame," he said. "We're not thrilled about our play in the second half, but that means we get to coach this week."
Warren scored its only points in the second half on Clarett's fifth touchdown that was set up by a 58-yard pass from Kokal to Danny Stella.
Kokal finished with 103 yards passing on four completions in six attempts.