By BRIAN Dzenis

bdzenis@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Warren Harding made sure no fluky plays decided things against Boardman this year.

The Spartans stunned the Raiders in the 2015 matchup when Harding blocked a would-be game-winning field goal on the last play. As the Harding players celebrated, a Boardman player picked up the ball and scored the winning touchdown.

Leading up to Friday’s game, the Raiders revisited that play.

“We feel like they took our pride. That video went viral —a couple thousand views— we watched it [today] and everybody walked out of the room and knew it was game time,” Harding quarterback Lynn Bowden said. “It wasn’t anger, it was just ‘get-ready’ time.”

Bowden and the Raiders (7-0, 3-0 All-American Conference Gold) left no room for drama in Friday’s decisive 46-15 victory in Spartan Stadium.

Bowden wasted no time making big plays. His first carry looked to be a simple 10-yard run to the sideline, but then he was able to cut back to the middle of the field and go 48 yards for the Raiders’ first touchdown. He showed incredible patience as a runner, but when a hole emerged, he was merciless.

Raiders coach Steve Arnold was at a loss to explain it.

“I can’t say anything about it, it’s just a gift that he has. The great ones have that uncanny knack to visualize things before they actually happen,” Arnold said. “He possesses that quality and you’re watching him do those things and you’re like, ‘where is he going?’ And the next thing you know, he’s cutting back.”

He carried the ball just four more times the whole game and in three quarters of action piled up 209 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

In the air, he was 5-for-6 for 92 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown strike to Marlin Richardson. Bowden also caught a pass for 2 yards, but what makes that stat noteworthy was that Bowden threw the pass.

The ball was tipped by a Boardman defensive lineman. It bounced between two Spartans lineman before Bowden made the grab and gained positive yardage.

“It was just a little breakdown,” Bowden said. “He tipped it and I just wanted to do everything I could to keep the ball out of these guys hands, so I made a play.”

Richardson also returned a punt 69 yards for a score.

“We practice being the target,” Bowden said of his team’s success.” We stay humble because the more you win and the more success you have, the more people want to end your success.”

In a failed bid to end Harding’s success, Boardman (2-5) has dropped five consecutive games. Coach Joe Ignacio said he’s looking for answers.

“We’ve tried to get back to fundamentals. We’ve tried everything, but I don’t know what the answer is. I really don’t,” Ignacio said. “When we go back and look at film, we see that we’re not doing what we’re coached to do in all three phases.

“We’re not getting better, we continue to do it and it seems like it hasn’t been important to them.”

The Spartans’ Koby Adu-Poku rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown and Gavin Strines added 42 rushing yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.