Presidents face another tough task at Lima
MARION — Marion Harding’s Presidents are going from the proverbial frying pan into the fire, but they insist they will be ready come Friday night.
That’s when they will travel to meet Lima Senior in an effort to break a 14-game losing streak which dates to the 2013 season.
Lima Senior was 8-3 and a playoff team a year ago. It lost some power up front due to graduation, but the Spartans return a ton of talent at the skill positions.
“In looking at film of us, Lima will probably be licking its chops,” Harding coach John Brady said on Tuesday. “But we are not going to shy away.”
Harding senior wide receiver/defensive back Cory Rice is also optimistic despite long odds which may be stacked against the Presidents.
“Obviously execution is the key,” Rice said. “They have big kids, but as long as we play like we know how to play, we should be able to stop them.”
The Spartans are 1-0 after last week’s 53-36 win over Middletown, a game they led 33-27 at the half.
Lima Senior totaled 683 yards in the contest, with 393 coming on the ground.
Behind a front line which starts five new members, new running back Jaden Walker had a field day.
An All-Ohio defensive back a year ago, he is playing on both sides of the ball this fall. Against Middletown, Walker ran for 290 yards on 12 carries and scored touchdowns on runs of 93, 80 and 35 yards.
Quarterback Darius Gordon hit 13-of-26 passes for 290 yards and four TDs last week. Wide receiver Ruben Flowers caught a 68-yard TD pass, Demontay Liles brought one in for 80 yards, and Rico Stafford had touchdown catches of 9 and 73 yards.
“They are 6-foot-7, 6-6, 6-4, and 6-4 in their receiving corps and they can all run,” Brady said. “Their quarterback is good throwing and running, and their tailback is dynamic.”
Lima Senior, however, did allow 343 rushing yards last week.
A year ago in Senior High’s 48-0 conquest of Harding in that season’s opener, Gordon completed 14-of-21 passes for 260 yards and five TDs, with Flowers catching a 30-yarder for a score and Stafford a 44-yarder.
The Presidents have been trying to put out of their minds the things which didn’t go right in their opening assignment last week.
“Everything Mount Vernon did, defensively we had gone over it time and time again, but people acted like they didn’t know what they were doing,” said Harding senior tight end/linebacker Roger Hamon.
Brady thought special teams and missed blocks were the real culprits.
“Special teams, our punt team, killed us,” Bray said. “They had 260-some yards and 28 points against us there. We’re working on that more this week.
“Give Mount Vernon credit. They were a good team. But for some reason our kids didn’t stick with the game plan. And after we’d move the ball some, we’d miss a block here and there, and everyone took their turns doing that.”
He was pleased with how his Harding club handled the loss, saying they all agreed to take responsibility for what went wrong.
“After that game we were upset,” said senior lineman Chayton Schuster. “You could tell on the faces of the seniors especially, and we talked about how we will get better.”
So now Harding must go from that disappointing outing into the cauldron known as Spartan Stadium.
“It’s going to be a battle for us from the get-go,” Brady said. “There will be no room for error. Execution will be the key.”
dmcphers@nncogannett.com
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Twitter: @starsportsdenny
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Thursday
West Jefferson at Jonathan Alder, 7 p.m.
Friday
Marion Harding at Lima Senior, 7 p.m.; Pleasant at Cincinnati Country Day, 7:30 p.m.; Wynford at Ridgedale, 7 p.m.; Madison Comprehensive at River Valley, 7 p.m.; North Union at Triad, 7 p.m.; Cardington-Lincoln at Riverdale, 7 p.m.; Whetstone at Buckeye Valley, 7 p.m.; Centerburg at Lucas, 7 p.m.; Utica at East Knox, 7 p.m.; Danville at Fredericktown, 7 p.m.; Fairbanks at Mechanicsburg, 7 p.m.; Heath at Highland, 7 p.m.; Ridgemont at Mount Gilead, 7 p.m.; Northmor at Worthington Christian, 7 p.m.; Columbus Crusaders at Galion, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Elgin vs. Bradford at Sydney, 7 p.m.