Team

Warren Harding

Record	Div.	Conf.
2/7	Div. I	All-American Conference Gold Tier

By DAVID NEGIN

Ashtabula Star Beacon

MADISON

Making mistakes in any football game can be costly, but giving an athletic team with a standout quarterback extra opportunities usually spells defeat.

That is what happened to the Madison Blue Streaks Friday night in the opening round of the Division II Region 3 playoffs as Warren Harding walked away from Dick Hamblin Field with a 31-20 win.

Madison turned the ball over three times and committed eight penalties, six of which happened in the second half as Harding overcame a 14-10 halftime deficit.

“We beat ourselves tonight, that’s all there is to it,” Madison coach Tim Willis said. “We made critical errors at critical times.”

The errors gave Harding junior quarterback Lynn Bowden too many extra opportunities. Bowden, who entered the game with more than 2,000 total yards this season, threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for a 4-yard score with 2:40 remaining to seal the game.

“It’s always hard to defend a dual-threat quarterback,” Madison senior cornerback Connor Smith said. “This one [Bowden], especially, because he had a cannon. He would roll out one way and throw it 60 yards the other way. It made it really difficult.”

The Madison defense did make it difficult for Bowden and the Raiders offense. Bowden, who came into the game averaging 154 yards per game on the ground, was held to just 78 yards on 27 carries.

“I thought we actually did a good job against him compared to what I saw on film,” Willis said. “But he made some big plays.”

His first big play swung the momentum Madison had built in the first quarter. The Blue Streaks led 14-3 with a little more than a minute to go in the half. With Harding facing a third-and-8 near midfield, Bowden rolled to his right and found senior Juwan Pringle behind the Madison defense on the left-sideline for a 47-yard score with 57 seconds left.

“The play right before halftime when we scored, that was huge for us,” Harding coach Steve Arnold said.

Harding took that momentum into the third quarter, scoring on its first two drives.

The first was a 12-play, 90-yard drive to open the half, aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Blue Streaks.

Harding senior Keemari Murry (19 carries, 86 yards) capped the drive with a 9-yard run, giving the Raiders their first lead of the game (17-14).

On the second drive, another personal foul in addition to a pass interference penalty on fourth down allowed Bowden to find junior Marlin Richardson on a touchdown pass (21 yards).

“He made a big touchdown pass there after a pass interference,” Willis said. “We had them stopped and we had a pass interference. Then he throws that pass. He made some plays. That kid is good.”

So was the Harding defense after Madison took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Junior Isaiah McClure sparked the home crowd with a 92-yard kickoff return on the opening play of the game, giving Madison a quick 7-0 lead.

The lead extended to 14-0 when Nick Brooks capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard run. The drive took just under 7 minutes off the clock.

Madison (9-2) overall record, entered the game averaging 265 yards rushing per game, but the Western Reserve Conference Champions were held to just 131 yards on the ground and 54 yards after the first quarter.