MARION — The Presidents didn’t win, but they had a chance. And for a young, rebuilding program with a new head coach making his home debut, that’s a step in the right direction for Marion Harding.
“I told them since I took that job, tonight is the most proud I’ve been of the group. I told them they played like winners,” C.J. Westler said, a former Harding football player and assistant coach who has returned home for 2025.
The Prexies tried to make it an unforgettable night, having a shot to tie and possibly win on the final play of the game, but the pass into the end zone was caught just outside the back of the end zone resulting in Lima Senior’s 20-14 nonleague victory in Harding Stadium Sept. 5.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work out for you,” Westler continued. “I told them to ignore the scoreboard for a second while I was talking to them. That is what a winner is. That’s how a winner plays. That’s a winning program. Sometimes when you play like that, it doesn’t go your way. Did he catch it? I don’t know. Even if he did, sometimes you do everything right and it still doesn’t go your way.”
The Prexies hung around all night
After a scoreless first quarter, Lima Senior (2-1) scored early in the second quarter then again with 1:36 left in the half. Taking over at midfield, Harding rattled off an 8-play drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown catch from Henry Camak from Dez Feliciano with 12 seconds left.
Harding then tied it at 14-14 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter when Mattic Simmers scored from 3 yards to finish a 78-yard, 14-play drive. The Presidents then got a stop, but the offense lost a fumble in the red zone. The Spartans seemingly put the game away with a 14-play, 86-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard TD run for a 20-14 lead with 3:25 to go.
Keyed by a fourth-and-8 completion near midfield with 1:10 left, Harding kept driving, getting it to the Lima Senior 14 with 4 seconds left. After the teams traded three timeouts. Feliciano lofted a pass deep into the end zone, which Ray J Scott-Harbolt caught but was ruled to have landed out of bounds.
“Obviously it’s tough,” Westler said. “They’re hurting, but I’m most proud of how we played our level of physicality because that was kind of missing last week (in a 42-7 loss to Ashland). Physicality-wise, I felt we were better than them tonight. It didn’t reflect for us on the scoreboard, which is always tough, but that’s life.”
The game by the numbers
Landen Keller led Harding (1-2) with 176 rushing yards on 29 carries, while Simmers backed him with 64 yards on 18 carries. Feliciano, only a freshman, was 8-for-15 passing with a TD and interception for 70 yards.
Harding rolled up 15 first downs on the ground and 20 overall, but it fumbled three times and lost one. It also had 10 penalties for 85 yards.
Lima Senior quarterback Ja’niaus Hall was 20-for-25 passing with a TD and interception by Simmers. He ended with 181 yards in the air. Amontrae Davis had 10 of those receptions for 108 yards, plus he ran it 14 times for 71 more yards. Davis scored a rushing and passing touchdowns, while Darvion Young had the other score. The Spartans put up 14 first downs and posted 10 penalties for 85 yards.
“Next week we’re starting a new season. It’s conference. We’re focused on going 1-0 next week,” Westler said.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion Harding, Lima Senior go to the final play in Week 3 high school football
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
