Bowden, Raiders dominate Falcons in back-to-back seasons

By MIKE MCLAIN

sports@vindy.com

Blitz Live | September 16, 2016

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Recap the thrilling match-ups of Week 4 with Blitz Live hosts Corey Crisan, Greg Gulas, and Sean Ferguson.

Warren G Harding vs Austintown Fitch

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AUSTINTOWN

Making mistakes against the Warren G. Harding Raiders can be a dangerous proposition.

The Fitch Falcons found out that lesson the hard way Friday night in a 35-0 loss to the Raiders in an All-American Conference, Gold Tier game.

The first mistake was to extend a Harding drive with a facemask penalty on the opening possession. Three plays after the infraction Lynn Bowden, the Raiders talented senior quarterback, found an opening off the left side and ran 45 yards for a touchdown.

In the second quarter the Falcons twice had the ball inside the red zone, but they turned over possession both times — the first time on a fumble that Naz Battee-Diggs recovered for the Raiders at the 5. Fitch advanced to the Harding 15 on its next possession, only to have a Nate Fowler pass intercepted by safety Marlin Richardson at the goal line.

“We had self-inflicted wounds,” Falcons coach Phil Annarella said. “Little things like that make the game a little more interesting and maybe can give your team a little more momentum. We did everything we could to shoot ourselves in the foot, on top of them playing very well.”

It was another big day for Bowden, who continues to show why he’s the elite skilled player in the area. A week after scoring six touchdowns in a win over Massillon Washington, Bowden ran for one touchdown and threw for three more scores.

The Raiders seemed a bit off their game after Bowden’s initial touchdown. That changed when he connected with Jalen Hooks on a 32-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-8 call late in the second quarter.

“I respect everybody but I fear no one,” Bowden said. “It was a tough game. I got my teammates involved with the game, and it made it easier on me.”

Hooks caught two touchdown passes (he had a 2-yard scoring reception in the third period). Richardson hauled in a pass on a receiver screen and ran 49 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, and sophomore running back Kayron Adams had 100 yards and a 79-yard touchdown on seven carries.

Adams is the fourth running back on the depth chart, behind Isaiah Wells, Robert Butler and Desemen Douglas — Wells and Butler were out with injuries.

“Desemen was getting a little tired, so I said, ‘Let Kayron get some reps,’ because he was fresh,” Raiders coach Steve Arnold said. “You see what he was able to do.”

Richardson helps in all three phases of play. His versatility is another reason why Harding is such a threat. The Raiders have now outscored the Falcons 73-0 in their last two meetings after a 38-0 romp in 2015.

“We have to keep it going because last year we were at the same position, but we took a downfall,” Richardson said. “This year we’re going to try to keep it up and improve every week.”

Having so many weapons makes Bowden even more lethal and gives the Raiders the look of a team that could make a long run in the Division II playoffs.

“Everybody’s focus this year is to key on me,” Bowden said. “I just let them do that. We have other weapons that no one knows (about). So they (upcoming opponents) are in for a rude awakening.”

Bowden rushed for 150 yards on 19 carries and passed for 116 yards on a 5-of-9 showing as the Raiders improved to 4-0 and 1-0 in the AAC. Fitch, which is 2-2 and 0-1 in the AAC, was led offensively by junior running back Randy Smith, who had 129 yards on 31 carries.

Arnold, sensing that the Raiders weren’t building on their first score, called a fake punt from the Harding 28 early in the second quarter. Personal protector Thad McCollough took the direct snap, forced a defender to miss and ran 24 yards to the Fitch 48. Bowden connected with Hooks from 32 yards out later on the drive.

“We needed some momentum,” Arnold said. “They were doing a great job of defending us at that time. I told the coaches, ‘Let’s do it.’ We’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks.”

Harding had a 446-218 edge in yards.