PREP FOOTBALL Harding outlasts Massillon, 31-27

The unbeaten Raiders were sparked by sophomore Mario Manningham, who scored four TDs.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- The chants of "Mario, Mario" rang down from the Mollenkopf Stadium stands as the newest Warren Harding star emerged.
Raiders sophomore Mario Manningham scored four touchdowns -- including two on special teams -- as Harding (9-0) rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Massillon Washington, 31-27.
"He's good," Harding senior Mike Phillips said of Manningham. "We're always saying in practice that that boy got talent. He was a little slow learning the plays, but he picked it up tonight.
"We're going to have to get him the ball a little more often."
Manningham entered the game with fewer than five receptions on the season, but finished with four catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Harding senior quarterback Mike Kokal connected with Manningham from 13 yards out with 49 seconds left in the game to give the Raiders their first lead since the third quarter.
Massillon (7-2) got the ball back, but Phillips intercepted quarterback Matt Martin's pass and the Raiders ran out the clock.
"Obviously, he's a talented kid," Harding coach Thom McDaniels said. "We're bringing him along slowly, like I've done before with a lot of kids. It would appear that I didn't need to bring him along quite so slowly."
The Raiders, ranked No. 1 in the state Associated Press poll and second in Div. I, Region 1 computer ratings, will have a chance to win the Steel Valley Conference outright next week against Fitch.
Massillon, ranked seventh in Region 3, will probably have to beat Canton McKinley -- and get help -- to make the playoffs.
Manningham got the Raiders on the board early when he returned a punt 68 yards for a first-quarter touchdown to give Harding a 7-0 lead.
Massillon responded with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Martin to A.J. Collins early in the second quarter. Then, with just 31 seconds left in the first half, Martin found Collins again, this time from 15 yards out, to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Manningham struck again -- returning the ball 82 yards to tie the game at halftime.
"I'm not frustrated," Massillon coach Rick Shepas, a Mooney High graduate and former Poland High coach, said. "I felt my team played an outstanding football game. We just had some problems in the kicking game and it cost us."
Phillips completed 5 of 10 passes for 75 yards and Kokal completed 9 of 16 passes for 74 yards. Richard Davis carried 13 times for just 22 yards as the Raiders had trouble moving the ball against Massillon's defense for most of the game.
"This was like a state game," Phillips said. "Their crowd was just as loud as ours. We knew their defense was good and we would have to play well.
"It's a win. I'll take it."
Ricky Johnson led Massillon with 21 carries for 95 yards. Tuffy Woods had seven carries for 51 yards -- including a 33-yard touchdown run with 7:29 left in the game that gave Massillon a 27-17 lead. Massillon senior wideout Devin Jordan -- an Ohio State recruit -- caught a 48-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
It was the first meeting between the teams since 1989 when Massillon defeated Harding 54-2 at Paul Brown Stadium. A controversial Harding win the year before provoked then-Massillon coach Lee Owens to declare that he would never schedule the Raiders again.
Despite the gap, McDaniels is no stranger to Massillon, facing the Tigers while coaching at Canton McKinley from 1982-1997.
Saturday's game went smoothly -- on and off the field -- before a capacity crowd. The 50/50 drawing alone went for $3,395.
scalzo@vindy.com