PREPS Injured Harding player is finished

Delbert Ferguson suffered a broken leg in the Massillon game.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- Delbert Ferguson's season has ended, but he will remain on the field with the Warren Harding High football team.
The Raiders will wear a decal of Ferguson's No. 3 jersey starting with Friday's regular season finale at Austintown Fitch.
"When we take the field, No. 3 takes the field with us," Warren Harding coach Thom McDaniels said.
A highly-recruited senior back, Ferguson suffered a broken leg in last week's victory over Massillon and will miss Warren Harding's run toward a Division I state championship.
"We all feel for Delbert, and the kids are very concerned," McDaniels said. "There's a sense we have a fallen teammate that we have to play for.
"We have a lot of reasons to play," he added. "We have another reason."
Ferguson's future
Tuesday morning, McDaniels left messages with four college programs -- Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and Syracuse -- that have recruited Ferguson, informing them of his injury.
"The prognosis for recovery is good," McDaniels said. "I had this happen to a player of mine in Canton [McKinley] and he played the next year."
Ferguson's injury occurred during the third quarter last Saturday night in Massillon. He was helped off the field and later taken away on a stretcher after carrying 11 times for 57 yards.
"It's terribly unfortunate. Personally, it's catastrophic," McDaniels said. "We feel bad, but it's the nature of the game.
"We tell our kids in the preseason that your season can end at any moment," he added. "Any player is one injury away from retirement."
McDaniels said he carries great respect for Ferguson for assuming "a less glorious role than he experienced in his playing days before coming here. But he accepted that and he performed admirably."
Ferguson, a 6-foot, 226-pounder who transferred to Warren Harding from Steel Valley Conference rival Ursuline last off-season, was the starting fullback and second tailback for the Raiders.
"He meant a great deal to this team," McDaniels said. "Here was a kid who came in with an impressive pedigree.
"Because he came in when he did, and because of the [hamstring] injury he incurred during the summer, he was asked to be a fullback and a tailback, and he accepted that role."
Filling the hole
Ferguson's absence will force the Raiders (9-0) to shuffle their backfield. Sophomore Tony Reed was the back-up fullback but will gain a greater role at that position.
Harding also is preparing senior Dishawn Robinson and sophomore Jimmy Butts at fullback.
Senior Richard Davis has been the Raiders' top tailback, and he will be joined in the backfield by junior Jon Richardson.
Together, they will work to compensate for Ferguson's loss, beginning Friday against a Fitch team seeking to continue its season by upsetting the Raiders.
"We know they will certainly be inspired and motivated," McDaniels said of the Falcons. "But we have an opportunity to finish the regular season unbeaten, and very few teams do that.
"We're not short on our own motivation," he added. "We have a sense of desperation about being undefeated. It's a huge game for us."
richesson@vindy.com