PREP FOOTBALL Raiders' first foe awfully familiar
Warren Harding was one of 15 area teams to qualify for the playoffs.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
As playoff assignments go, Warren Harding's first round draw pretty much stinks.
The Raiders, ranked No. 1 in Division I, were rewarded for their undefeated season with a first round date with defending state champion Cleveland St. Ignatius.
"It doesn't matter," Warren Harding coach Thom McDaniels, whose Raiders lost to St. Ignatius in last year's regional final, said. "Sooner or later you have to deal with St. Ignatius in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if it's the first round or second or next to last. That's the kind of respect we have for their program."
The Raiders, one of 15 area teams to qualify for the playoffs, finished second in Region 1 of Sunday's final computer ratings. Warren Harding will play host to the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The top eight teams in each region qualified for the playoffs and the top four will play at home.
"That's going to make an awful lot of people around the state happy, to have either Warren Harding or St. Ignatius out in the first round," McDaniels said. "We feel good about accomplishing one of our goals, which was going undefeated, but this is not a team that remains satisfied."
The Raiders may not be able to use Mollenkopf Stadium. Bad weather, along with home games by Harding and Warren JFK, tore up the turf and McDaniels is not optimistic that it will be ready for Saturday's game.
"They're doing what they can to remedy the field conditions, but I'm pretty skeptical at this point," McDaniels said.
Canfield, Girard, Lowellville, East Palestine and East Liverpool will also have first round home games. Only one game matches two area teams -- Leetonia will play at Lowellville on Friday.
Warren JFK finished one-tenth of a point behind Newton Falls for the eighth spot in Region 17. The Eagles beat the Tigers in Week One, but had to forfeit the game after using an ineligible player.
Just barely
Poland grabbed the eighth spot in Div. III, Region 9, but not before a long Saturday night for Bulldog coach Paul Hulea.
Poland needed Howland to beat Warren JFK on Saturday night to qualify -- which the Tigers did -- but when Hulea checked the OHSAA Web site at 2:30 a.m., the Bulldogs were in ninth.
"I was physically shaking," Hulea said. "I usually keep in control, but I was shaking. I had to walk around, take a deep breath and come back. I was in like in shock, really."
Hulea e-mailed the OHSAA about the mistake, then stayed up nearly the whole night. (His wife Raedine was baking cakes at 4 a.m.). After an hour and a half of sleep, he got an e-mail from the OHSAA admitting the mistake and assuring him Poland was in.
"It was crazy," Hulea said. " But it was an honest mistake. We all make mistakes."
The Bulldogs, who won the Div. III state title in 1999, will play Cleveland Benedictine at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
"I always see the playoffs as a reward for your players and coaches," Hulea said. "You have a good season and then the state rewards you with another game.
"We just wanted another chance. Obviously, we'd now like to do something with that chance."
Second chance
Ursuline, picked by many before the season to win the Division IV state title, slipped into the No. 8 spot in Region 13 and will play at Akron Manchester on Friday.
"We're all pretty excited," Irish coach Dan Murphy said. "The kids are excited about getting a second shot. You don't always get a second chance and we need to take full advantage."
The Irish beat Manchester in the regional semifinals in 2000 en route to winning the state title.
"They're a very good team," Murphy said of Manchester. "They have a good offense and their defense has eight shutouts on the year. We're just excited to get back to work."
New season
Chaney, also a No. 8 seed, qualified for the playoffs for the third straight year and will play at Louisville.
"We feel very fortunate to be in," Chaney coach Ron Berdis said. "Once you get in, anything can happen. You just need to stay healthy and be playing your best football.
"It's a new season for everyone. If fortune smiles your way, anything can happen. We're just thankful to be there."
scalzo@vindy.com