OHSAA football scores I Perry vs. Warren Harding high school football recap

PERRY TWP. — The game-winning drive was a heavy dose of Warren Harding quarterback Chaz Coleman.

To no one's surprise, he pocketed the game-saving interception after leading the Raiders downfield.

The Perry Panthers aren't taking comfort in knowing their unbeaten run was stopped by a player who will likely play in large college stadiums on Saturdays. They had several chances to put Harding to bed before Coleman's heroics Friday night .

They couldn't. That also played a role in a 15-9 loss to Harding which dropped Perry to 2-1.

The Panthers turned the ball over five times. Four were fumbles. A couple of them wiped out promising scoring opportunities.

In analyzing the big picture, head coach Zach Slates didn't see a team with a characteristic Perry teams are known for.

"We're not tough right now," Slates said. "We have some tough guys, but we're not tough as a team."

The Panthers were one stop away from surviving those miscues. A high snap on a Harding punt sailed out of the end zone for a safety early in the fourth quarter. Perry led 9-7.

Thanks to Coleman, who is being recruited by Kentucky, Mississippi and others, Perry's one stop never occurred. Coleman led the Raiders on a 90-yard scoring drive. His 6-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion with 35 seconds left pushed Harding in front to stay.

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"It felt good," Coleman said. "I felt the momentum was our way past the 50-yard line."

Coleman wasn't through. The Panthers drove inside Raiders territory on their final drive. He ended it with an interception near the goal line.

Harding's final drive pushed Coleman up to 105 yards rushing for the night. He and running back BJ Coleman became the first players to score against Perry this season. BJ Coleman had a 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

"We just executed, but we still have stuff to work on," Chaz Coleman said.

The Panthers scored their only touchdown late in the first half.

Despite having no timeouts, quarterback Austin Mattox quickly took advantage of great field position. He threw a 35-yard pass to Marcellys Harris and connected with Jayden Wilson on a 20-yard TD pass that tied the game at 7-7.

The Panthers couldn't sustain their momentum in what was a turnover-dominated third quarter for both teams. The Raiders eventually rallied. Now Perry has a lot to think about going into next week's Federal League opener against perennial title contender Lake.

"Lake is going to be a whole lot better than Warren," Slates said. "We have to get it figured out. We have seven days to do it."

Here's how things unfolded through our live score updates.

Warren Harding beats Perry 15-9

After leading a game-winning drive, Chaz Coleman comes up with an interception on the final play of the game to seal Warren Harding's 15-9 win over Perry.

Chaz Coleman leads a possible game-decisive drive for Warren Harding

Warren Harding quarterback Chaz Coleman did a lot of this himself. His 6-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds left caps a 90-yard drive and gives the Raiders a 15-9 lead.

Perry takes the lead ... on a safety

Who saw this coming?

The Raiders line up to punt deep in their territory, and the snap sails high and out of the end zone for a safety. Perry leads 9-7.

Turnover-dominated quarter ends with Perry and Warren Harding tied

Another Perry turnover inside Warren Harding territory ends a third quarter that saw both teams fumble twice.

The Panthers and Raiders are still tied at 7-7.

Perry misses a golden opportunity to take the lead

Moments after they recover a Warren Harding fumble, Perry fumbles it back to the Raiders.

Wow.

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Can Perry take advantage of a Warren Harding mistake and take the lead?

Uh-oh. A muffed punt by warren Harding has the Panthers in business at the Raiders 25-yard line.

Just like that, Perry ties things up late in the first half

Perry quarterback Austin Mattox had no problem running a less-than-a-minute offense late in the first half.

With no timeouts, Mattox completed a 35-yard pass to Marcellys Harris and threw a touchdown pass to Jayden Wilson to tie the game at 7-7 at halftime.

The pass to Harris was Perry's longest completion of the season.

Fumble ends Perry's best scoring threat deep in Warren Harding territory

Oh, no.

Warren Harding punches the ball out of Connor Shepard's hands after a long run by the Perry back. The Raiders recover inside their own 10-yard line.

Warren Harding's BJ Coleman ends Perry's shutout streak

Perry's shutout streak ends at nine quarters. BJ Coleman's five-yard touchdown run with 8:55 to go in the second quarter gives Warren Harding a 7-0 lead.

Perry and Warren Harding are scoreless at the end of the first quarter

It's a 0-0 tie after one quarter. Warren Harding will start the second quarter at the Perry 33-yard line.

Stephen Sims fumble recovery gives Warren Harding great field position

Warren Harding gets the first takeaway of the night. Stephen Sims recovers a fumble at the Raiders 49-yard line.

Early carries for Kaleb Lawhun on Perry's opening drive

Kaleb Lawhun had 32 yards on 10 carries in Perry's first two games. He was the Panthers' featured back early in their opening drive.

Perry ultimately was forced to punt.

The Perry band plays on as rain starts to fall

There is a threat of bad weather tonight, and it has started to rain here at Keith Wakefield Stadium.

The Perry band is still playing through its pregame show. As long as lightning and thunder stay away, everyone should be OK.

Sizing up Perry vs. Warren Harding football

The undefeated, unscored-upon Perry Panthers face their most difficult challenge to date this young season.

Harding played McKinley tough in its opener before losing 26-19 in Canton , then beat a good Buchtel team at home last week 20-18. It was the first victory for new head coach Matt Richardson.

Sophomore Mi'King Adair rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns last week for Harding. Quarterback Chaz Coleman will also play a lot of defense and handle the punting duties. He has college offers from Mississippi and Kentucky.

Watch Ohio High School Football Live on the NFHS Network all season

The Panthers are coming off wins of 35-0 against Central Catholic and 17-0 against St. Vincent-St. Mary , marking the first time in program history they've opened a season with consecutive shutouts. Linebacker Connor Shepherd led Perry with six tackles last week while also rushing for 64 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Defensive end Landon Ristoff registered two sacks.

Perry's wing-T is getting it done with a variety of contributors. Seven different Panthers ran the ball against St. Vincent-St. Mary as they totaled 295 yards rushing. QB Austin Mattox combined for 137 yards running and throwing.

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On X: @mpopovichREP

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: OHSAA football scores I Perry vs. Warren Harding high school football recap