FOOTBALL Harding wallops Solon, 49-7

The Raiders next will play Lakewood St. Edward.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- Nearly one year ago, the Warren Harding High football team lost in the Division I state championship game to Cincinnati Elder.
The Raiders are four weeks away from redeeming themselves, and based on their performance Saturday in a regional quarterfinal, they're well on their way.
Running back Richard Davis and wide receiver Mario Manningham each scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, shell-shocking Solon and leading to a 49-7 victory at Mollenkopf Stadium.
"We wanted to begin the playoffs the right way," Harding coach Thom McDaniels said. "That means getting off to a fast start, if possible. So we're happy."
Nationally-ranked Harding (11-0), Ohio's top team in the Associated Press poll, earned a regional semifinal game next Saturday against Lakewood St. Edward, a playoff rematch from last season, at a site to be determined.
Raider returns
Davis, a senior who has given a verbal commitment to Toledo, missed last week's game against Austintown Fitch with a sore right ankle, but he returned in dominating style against Solon (7-4).
"I don't think he's 100 percent yet, but the good news is he didn't reaggravate the ankle," McDaniels said. "We did the smart thing a week ago by holding him out and letting it heal."
Apparently.
The 6-foot, 192-pound tailback scored on the game's first play, taking a right-side pitch and running 64 yards for the touchdown.
By then, the message had been sent.
Davis ran for 191 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone -- the other scores coming from 30 and 55 yards -- as Harding opened a 35-0 halftime lead. McDaniels kept Davis out of the second half.
"The blocking was great. I saw big, wide holes," said Davis, relishing in his final game at Mollenkopf. "My first carry, I scored, and then on my last carry, I scored again."
Through the air
When Davis wasn't running over the Comets' defense, senior quarterback Alex Engram and Manningham, a junior receiver, were going over the top.
Engram and Manningham hooked up on first-quarter touchdown strikes of 20 and 77 yards to complement Davis' ground attack.
Manningham, who benefits from his breakaway speed, caught three passes for 115 yards. The hard-throwing Engram, meanwhile, completed 5-of-8 passes for 139 yards.
Junior Jon Richardson capped Harding's night of big plays by running 74 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. He carried 10 times for 84 yards.
"We want to have that kind of capability," McDaniels said of his team's big-play ability. "We also want to hang onto the ball and take minutes off the clock, if necessary. We demonstrated both of those tonight."
Swarming defense
While Harding's offense was in high gear, the defense bottled up Solon. The Raiders sacked Comets quarterback D.J. Matz three times in the first quarter -- by seniors Anthony Hoke, Dishawn Robinson and Nate McCloud -- and made yards tough to come by throughout.
The game marked the return for Solon first-year coach Jim McQuaide, a 1976 Warren Kennedy High graduate who also played his high school football at Mollenkopf Stadium.
He just wished his return was under better circumstances.
"You've got to make plays, and they made a lot of plays," said McQuaide, referring to the Raiders. "We had guys in position to make plays, but they [Harding] outran us and went by us."
richesson@vindy.com