Harding uses big second half to top Galion

GALION - When Harding cleaned it up, they cleaned up.

Overcoming nine penalties, a lost fumble and a 12-12 tie at halftime, the Presidents steadied themselves in the second half at Galion to win the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference Ref Division football game 40-12 Friday night at Heise Park.

"It wasn't a PG rating," Harding coach John Brady joked about his halftime address.

Whatever he said and however he said it, the Prexies responded by scoring 28 unanswered points after the half.

"We had 11 penalties (in the first half) and for whatever reason we weren't focused and that's on Coach Brady. I have to make sure we're focused getting off the bus," Brady said.

Galion dominated field position in the first half. The Tigers (1-5, 0-3) took advantage of a blown coverage as Caleb Ivy got behind the Prexie defense for a 53-yard TD catch-and-run from Chase Cooke to score first.

Harding (3-3, 3-0) answered with the first of four touchdown passes from Ryan Sayre, this one a two-harder to Garry Moaney to tie at 6.

Galion put together a 40-yard drive after recovering a Harding fumble to retake the lead, but the Prexies tied right before half with a 12-play, 80-yard series that was ended on a Kwauve Booker 16-yard catch with a pair of juke moves.

"We are struggling so much with starting fast that I was so excited to be tied at halftime," Galion coach Matt Dick said. "I felt we did some good things, but in the second half they played with a little more oomph."

Harding got two more TD passes from Sayre, a 12-yarder to Bryce Starner and a 20-yarder to Drake Facione.

The Presidents got a 24-yard TD run out of the wildcat from T.J. Jefferson and  6-yard score from Titus Douglas.

"They've got a lot of special athletes," Dick said.

Harding had 21 first downs and 472 yards of offense.

Sayre was 18 of 23 for 217 yards and no interceptions as he found seven different receivers. Douglas had 161 yards on 22 carries while Jefferson added 53 yards on eight carries.

The Prexie defense held Galion to five yards rushing. Cooke came back from a three-week knee injury and was 8 of 24 for 149 yards. Robert Abrams and Dejuan Smith picked him off.

"We challenged them at halftime and they did come through," Brady said. "We played more physical in the second half."

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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