Consolidation added up to Div. I state crown

The merger of two Warren schools created a powerhouse.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- The consolidation of Warren Harding and Warren Western Reserve High Schools took place in 1990. It went smoothly.
But nobody thought the consolidation of the Panthers and Raiders football teams would be anywhere near as easy.
"People didn't think we could do it," said then-coach Phil Annarella. "They said there was too much hate between the schools to ever get them to play together. We took that as a challenge and worked that much harder."
Annarella and his coaching staff proved everyone wrong as the Warren Harding Raider squad went on to an undefeated season and captured the Division I state championship, beating Cincinnati Princeton 28-21 for the title and a 14-0 record.
Annarella will be the first one to admit that it wasn't easy molding those two programs into one. He had been the coach at Western Reserve for 10 seasons prior to becoming the consolidation's new coach.
"We spent a lot of time with those kids," Annarella said. "You had two groups who for years had a bitter rivalry and now were coming together as one team.
Annarella said that it was the team chemistry that actually pulled the team through the season. "We became a family and that's what got us to the championship."
Undefeated
Harding posted a 10-0 regular season record that season, but had some close battles, in spite of the fact they played eight of those games at home.
"We went behind for the first time against Akron Buchtel, but came back to win 7-6," Annarella said. "We had a good battle at Canton McKinley, a team that we hadn't beaten in a while."
Warren Harding finished in second place, behind Cleveland St. Ignatius in the final computer rankings, and Boardman and Austintown Fitch were behind them. Fitch beat St. Ignatius in the opening round, while the Raiders took care of Boardman, 23-7. In the regional final, Warren Harding defeated Fitch for the second time that season, 31-6.
The Raiders were hoping to play Massillon in the semifinals, but Sandusky knocked off the Tigers. Against Sandusky, Warren Harding fell behind 14-0, but rallied to win 27-14.
In the championship game, Warren Harding jumped out to a 27-7 halftime lead behind quarterback Chris Ensign, who threw two touchdown passes to Omar Provitt and ran for a third.
Princeton came back in the second half to close the gap.
"They just wouldn't quit," said Annarella. "They kept coming back, but we were able to hold on to win.
"With everything that went on with the merger it was remarkable what these kids accomplished," said Annarella, who is now the coach at Niles. "It was a memorable year, one that nobody associated with that team will every forget."
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;