Davis has four TDs to lead Harding

The Raiders posted a 35-20 victory over Lima Senior.

By JIM FLICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

WARREN — Led by quarterback Aunre Davis, Warren G. Harding trounced Lima Senior 35-20 Friday night.

Harding led 35-6 in the third quarter, but Lima Senior scored the game's last two touchdowns to narrow the gap.

Davis scored four touchdowns, ran the ball 16 times for 138 yards, and completed 2-of-7 passes for 22 yards. Harding coach D.J. Dota said the junior quarterback has become the team's leader both on and off the field.

“Aunre did a great job for us tonight, and he's stepped up and become a great leader,” Dota remarked.

Dota explained that before the game, Davis called a closed-door, players-only meeting with the team's offense. “I don't know what he said,” Dota remarked, “but it worked.”

The meeting was called, Davis said, so the players could “get the bitter taste out of our mouths” that was the result of a 49-0 trouncing last week at the hands of Cardinal Mooney.

Davis was reserved when discussing the meeting. “We just said we'd get the taste out of our mouth and play hard.”

“I just let my actions do the talking,” he added, “but sometimes you got to say something.”

Set the pace early

The Raiders sent a strong message to Lima Senior in the first quarter. The Spartans tried to punt the ball near their own end zone, but the punter fumbled the ball on the 3-yard line. Senior Mike Yount scooped up the ball and dived into the end zone for Warren Harding's first touchdown.

By Lima Senior soon struck back. Led by senior running back Ryan Nathan, the Spartans drove toward the end zone, and quarterback Joshua Eley plunged in. The extra point attempt failed, leaving Warren Harding with a 7-6 lead.

But that's when Davis emerged as a leader on the field, scoring the game's next four touchdowns.

Davis scored on 38- and 20-yard runs in the second quarter to give Warren Harding a 21-6 halftime lead. Davis' scoring blitz continued in the third quarter, when he scored on runs of 2 and 29 yards to boost the Raiders' lead to 35-6 halfway through the third quarter.

Lima battles back

Refusing to give up even though the game seemed out of reach, Nathan smashed two yards into the end zone in the third quarter, and Dongale Long snagged a 15-yard pass from Eley in the fourth quarter.

Nathan was the main cog in Lima Senior's offense, rushing 29 times but gaining only 88 yards thanks to Harding's rugged defense.

Dota said he was quite satisfied that his team won the battle for turnovers, recovering two Lima Senior fumbles and snagging an interception, which giving up only a single fumble to Lima Senior. Sophomore Scott Manusakis snagged the interception in the second quarter, while sophomore Santiago Mason pounced on Lima Senior's second fumble just before halftime.