Harding finishes perfect

The Raiders rallied in the second half to beat Fitch 26-14.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- A good offense was the Austintown Fitch High football team's best defense through the first 2 1/2 quarters, and enabled the Falcons to rally from a 13-0 deficit to a 14-13 lead over Warren Harding Friday night at Falcon Stadium.
But after that, the Falcons lost both their offensive and defensive punch, while the Raiders regained both and surged away to a 26-14 victory for a perfect 10-0 regular season to dash Fitch's final hopes for a postseason playoff berth.
Jon Richardson, Harding's third-team junior tailback who was filling in for injured Delbert Ferguson and Richard Davis, scored three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter on runs of 12 and 43 yards through holes on the left side, to power Harding's comeback victory.
Richardson was the game's leading rusher with 134 yards in 15 carries.
Harding entered the game ranked No. 3 in the nation, No. 1 in Division I of the Ohio Associated Press poll, and No. 2 in Div. I, Region I of the computer rankings behind Mentor. Fitch was ranked No. 10.
Raiders' defense regroups
But the Raiders' defense also deserves credit for the rally by adjusting in the second half and virtually shutting down Fitch's offense for the final 1 1/2 quarters, after the Falcons had rallied for the 14-13 lead.
Fitch (6-4) took control of the game on Eric Chine's 1-yard plunge in the second quarter and Mike Eliseo's 2-yard dash with 10:36 left in the third -- both scores capped by Kyle Gabrick's placements.
Eliseo wound up as Fitch's top rusher with 114 yards in 24 carries.
But the rest of the third quarter turned into a defensive battle with both teams exchanging punts, until Harding discovered a weak spot on the right side of Fitch's defensive line and began to exploit it with Richardson leading the way.
Richardson finds holes
"It's just our counter-gap series with Richardson [carrying the ball]. We blocked and Jon ran really well. He used his blocks and found the hole," said Harding coach Thom McDaniels.
McDaniels said his team didn't discover this weakness in the first half because, "We only had 14 [offensive] snaps. We didn't get to do the things we planned to do."
That's because Fitch's offense dominated the plays in the first half with 38 to Harding's 14, having the ball about 18 minutes to the Raiders' five.
Fitch coach Neal Kopp said his defense tried everything to shore up their right-side weak spot, but to no avail.
Harding exploits weakness
"[Harding] felt that they were going to their bread-and-butter plays by running the counter plays inside," Kopp said. "That's been our weakness all year -- defending inside the tackles.
"We gave them every [defensive] look we had, and we were mixing it up. [But] they had a good offensive line."
Harding moves ahead
Harding catapulted to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter on Richardson's 5-yard run at 5:24 that capped a six-play, 57-yard drive. Quarterback Alex Engram's 1-yard plunge at 3:28 was set up by his 48-yard pass to Thaddeus Walker to the Fitch 1.
Then after Jeff Kotel blocked Joe Spain's placement following Engram's score, Fitch regrouped and drove 79 yards in 11 plays to Chine's 1-yard TD plunge at 8:26 of the second period. Kotel later suffered a concussion.
After intermission, Fitch kicked off to the Harding 31 but the Raiders couldn't move and were forced to punt from the 32. However, the center snap was bad and punter Isaac Chaney slipped and his knee hit the ground at the 18.
Fitch took the ball and scored in two plays, Eliseo first gaining 16 yards before going the final 2 for the TD at 10:36.
Engram was 7-for-12 passing for 74 yards and added 46 rushing yards in eight attempts for Harding, which finished with 191 yards in 27 attempts.
Fitch quarterback John Mang was 4-for-8 passing for only 17 yards. The Falcons rushed for 150 net yards in 52 attempts, and had a 11-10 first-down edge.
kovach@vindy.com