Week 3- Massillon Perry (2-0) @ Warren G. Harding (1-1)

During their week 2 matchup against Akron Buchtel, Warren G. Harding accomplished a feat that’s even more rare than them having a football game scheduled on a Saturday afternoon.   For just the third time this century, the Raiders’ defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same quarter as in the final 90 seconds of regulation, sophomore Asa Burch (12 yards) and freshman Satavian Hill (28 yards) put the exclamation point on a monster defensive effort across the board in their 25-6 road victory in Akron.  

Warren G. Harding freshman Satavian Hill turns his first career interception into a touchdown during week 2's matchup at Akron Buchtel.

In 2021, then-Harding seniors Anthony Dukes (22 yards) and Dom Foster (48 yards) both returned interceptions for touchdowns during the first quarter of their 55-0 victory over Youngstown East.  Prior to that, you have to go way back to the 2001 season to find a similar accomplishment, which was done by then-juniors Ivan Carmichael (90 yards) and Rob Massucci (31 yards) during the first quarter of the Raiders’ 71-0 demolition of MM Robinson (CA).

Then-Warren G. Harding senior Dom Foster returns an interception 48 yards for a touchdown against Youngstown East in 2021.

While the 2001 and 2021 efforts both came at home during two of the largest blowout victories in Harding history, the signature plays by Burch and Hill came during an intense defensive struggle on the road.  The exciting part for the Warren faithful is that both young men are currently in the midst of jumpstarting their young football careers at the varsity level.  The same can also be said for freshman Zer’ion Redding, who hauled in the game’s initial interception in the first quarter.  Meanwhile, the “heir apparent” in junior cornerback Matt Richardson is establishing himself as a leader in their young secondary as his efforts included two interceptions on defense and two catches for 45 yards on offense.

Warren G. Harding freshman Zer'ion Redding hauling in the first interception of his varsity football career against Akron Buchtel in week 2.

While the Raiders limited Buchtel’s offense to 101 total yards on 43 plays, the unsung hero for them this season has been junior kicker Jaron Edmonds.  Through the first two games this season, he is 5-for-5 on his field goal attempts this year, seven of his eleven kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, and he averages 37.3 yards per punt.  His consistency on special teams have been key in regards to both scoring and giving opposing teams the ball deep into their own territory.

Warren G. Harding kicker Jaron Edmonds is off to a solid start in his junior year.

Through the first two weeks of the season, Harding quarterback Jake Jones is 18-of-35 for 181 yards and has thrown one touchdown and one interception.  His favorite target thus far has been senior Julius “Juju” Ferrell, who has eight catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.  Richardson is second on the team with four catches for 67 yards.  That said, the Raiders’ week 3 opponent should call for a more aggressive approach on offense.

Warren G. Harding sophomore Asa Burch creates some separation on the scoreboard with a 12-yard interception return for a touchdown against Akron Buchtel in week 2.

This past offseason, Massillon Perry hired Spencer Leno to be their new head coach.  While he’s known for his seven-year stint as Massillon Washington’s defensive coordinator, one of the biggest changes that he’s brought to the Panthers’ football program is their offensive attack.  After years of running the “Wing-T,” Leno has his athletes operating out of the spread offense and after two games, there hasn’t been any complaints about the results as they’ve compiled a combined 766 yards worth of total offense.

Former Massillon Washington Defensive Coordinator Spencer Leno is off to a 2-0 start as the head coach of Massillon Perry.

In the first two starts in the varsity football career of sophomore quarterback Cameron Trehard, he is 19-of-29 for 314 yards, has thrown three touchdowns, and no interceptions.  He has a dynamic duo of receivers in Jayden Wilson and Nasir Foster, who are both explosive on both sides of the ball.  Foster comes into this week with nine catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns (56 & 27 yards) while Wilson, the 2025 Austintown Region champion in the boys 400 (48.34), already has a 70-yard touchdown catch on his 2025 resume.  The ground attack is headlined by Jonathan Lemon, who has 306 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 27 carries while Connor Shephard has carried the ball 15 times for 135 yards and two scores.

As mentioned above, Leno’s expertise is on the defensive side of the ball.  His team certainly plays like it as Foster and Wilson both returned interceptions for touchdowns in their week 2 contest against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary while Ryan Happoldt also hauled in a pick in their season opener against Canton Central Catholic. Wilson’s performance against St. Vincent-St. Mary also included another interception. 

Massillon Perry's Nasir Foster returns an interception 20 yards for a touchdown against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary in week 2.

Through two games, Perry has outscored their opposition 77 to 14.  Meanwhile, this is the week that Harding will honor Warren Western Reserve, the now defunct high school that was known for their ferocious defenses, with their annual “throwback game.”  Personally, I can’t think of a better way for them to pay homage to the original black & gold Raider than by displaying a level of stout defense that the old school westsiders were notorious for from 1966 to 1989 when they outscored their opposition 4,920 to 1,958.  Over the course of 245 total football games, that’s an average score of 20.1 to 8.0.  

The 1972 Warren Western Reserve Raiders pose with the trophy after their 37-6 victory over Cincinnati Princeton in the 1972 Class AAAA state championship game. It was the first state crown decided by a playoff system in OHSAA history.

While I can’t speak for them, I’m sure that Harding head coach Matt Richardson and his staff would be quite pleased if the Raiders could limit Perry’s scoring production the way that Reserve did against their opposition.