WARREN On the surface, it seemed like a winning recipe, starting with the first day of training camp in 1990.

Behind the scenes, it had all the makings of a recipe for disaster.

When Warren G. Harding and Western Reserve high schools combined for the 1990-91 school year following a two-school system for 24 years, fans of Division I football in Ohio assumed a super team was about to form.

That’s exactly the way it played out as the Raiders went 14-0 and claimed the second playoff-era state championship in Harding history with a 28-21 win over Cincinnati Princeton on Nov. 25.

Phil Annarella, who was named head coach after nine years as Reserve’s coach, can’t talk about it casually today. The fact is that Annarella, like many involved with the consolidation, had concerns before pads were ever issued.

Considerable bad blood had been built between Reserve fans on the west side of the city and east side fans of the Harding Panthers. Annarella naturally assumed he would hear criticism each time he played a Reserve kid ahead of a Harding kid.

Beyond that were the battles that took place concerning the school colors and nickname – Reserve’s gold and white colors and the “Raiders” nickname were the choices – along with other issues that had nothing to do with football.

“As I look back, I don’t know how we did what we did,” said Annarella, now the coach at Austintown Fitch High School. “There were so many committees I served on. I don’t think I was ever home. Committees over the colors, the mascot, committees in general about how to approach the community with this new one school.”

Annarella had two allies that helped make it work – a staff of assistants to lean on and the athletes. Those types of situations can bring out the immaturity in adults and foster maturity in children.

From a 39-0 win over Cleveland John Hay in the opener to the crowning win over Princeton, the players bought into what was a special time in the history of football in the city.

“The kids were never an issue,” Annarella said. “After that initial hump, I remember going over and meeting with the Harding players – just them – the first time. You could sense the apprehension. But the more we brought them together and we lifted together… we wanted those kids to start that bond immediately.”

Annarella had to make some tough choices when assembling a staff. Reducing two programs into one meant half of the combined coaches at Harding and Reserve wouldn’t return. Annarella avoided playing favorites, making sure he retained some of the coaches that had been with the Harding Panthers’ program.

“I did not keep everybody that was on the Reserve staff, and I did keep a couple of guys that were on the Harding staff,” Annarella said. “It worked out. The guys were good guys. I interviewed everybody, but you couldn’t hire them all.”

“It was me kind of having that innate feel for a guy. Forget about Xs and Os. Did he fit in with the guys I knew I had on the staff already?”

Many of the same issues applied to other areas of the consolidation. Teachers had to make major adjustments. There was the matter of combining the marching bands into one workable unit. Keeping season-ticket holders happy if they had to give up a favorite seat was an issue. Other sports programs were also affected, but none were as high profile as the football team.

“Those were difficult times, not only for football but for everything else,” said Pat Guliano, athletic director at the time. “The most visible part of the whole process was the football team, whether you liked it or not.”

The preparation for the season may have been the easy part. Annarella welcomed back lettermen from a 3-5 Harding team in the 1989 season and an 8-1 Reserve team that qualified for the playoffs and lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius in the first round.

There were plenty of potential standouts on offense. The line was anchored by Korey Stringer and LeShun Daniels, both of whom went on to play at Ohio State. The receiving trio of Kendal Richardson, Omar Provitt and Tom Powell was as good as any in Ohio.

Anthony Butler was the featured tailback, running behind 250-pound fullback Myron Elzy. Joe Threats added depth in the backfield.

Quarterback Chris Ensign enjoyed the luxury of throwing to the talented trio of receivers. None was better than Provitt, who’s mentioned favorably with Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Paul Warfield and Mario Manningham, who are Harding graduates.

Mitch Cullins played guard and end on a defense that allowed double figures in just six of the 14 games and no more than 22 – in an eight-point win over Cleveland John F. Kennedy. Nose tackle and Z-back Jason Perez was 156 pounds of dynamite that controlled play on the interior of the line.

“Someone taught that kid the fundamentals at a young age,” Guliano said.

Among obstacles were injuries suffered by Ensign and Butler. Ensign was hurt in week six in a 34-15 win over Canton McKinley. He returned two weeks later in a difficult 15-3 win over Toledo St. John but was injured again that game.

Thankfully, for Annarella, he had Chauncey Coleman as a backup quarterback. Coleman started in a 20-14 win over Fitch in week nine and directed a late drive in a 21-9 week 10 win over Howland – a game in which Harding trailed at halftime.

Coleman started in a 23-7 win over Boardman in the first week of the playoffs at Bo Rein Stadium in Niles. Although Ensign was healthy for a rematch against Fitch in the second round of the playoffs at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Annarella started Coleman. Ensign entered play early in the game and finished out a 31-6 win and remained at quarterback for the final two games.

The Raiders trailed Sandusky 14-0 in the semifinals at the Rubber Bowl but rallied for a 27-14 win, setting up the championship game against Princeton at the Rubber Bowl.

The title game showcased Provitt’s magnificent skills. He caught five passes for 187 yards, including touchdown receptions covering 84 and 55 yards. The latter score and the two-point conversion on a pass from Ensign to Powell gave Harding a 28-7 halftime lead.

“I’ve never, and still haven’t to this day, seen a receiver like him,” Annarella said of Provitt. “He was absolutely phenomenal.”

The Raiders took the initial lead on a 1-yard run by Elzy. Ensign kicked the extra point to make it 7-0.

Princeton scored on a 19-yard run by Lamont Houston later in the first quarter.

Ensign sparked a 21-point second quarter with a 3-yard scoring run. Ensign’s two touchdown passes to Provitt provided a large part of the 236 passing yards he had on a 10-of-15 performance.

Annarella took some heat from fans when he pulled the starters with a 28-14 lead in the fourth period. After Harding lost a fumble at the Princeton 10, the Vikings scored on an 8-yard run by Houston with 19 seconds remaining in the game.

The Raiders recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve a season to remember. The collection of talent and the ability of the community and school personnel to come together made for many magical moments.

“I remember a couple guys calling from schools that were consolidating after that worry about (it), saying, ‘You guys had that success,'” Annarella said. “I said, ‘Well, I don’t know, maybe we just got lucky.’

“I think it was a little bit of everything. The good Lord looking down on us, then great players – the kids bought into everything we talked about. They wanted to win. The only thing we had to overcome was what they were hearing outside of the locker room. The players handled it extremely well, and the guys I coached with, I can never give enough credit for what they did. It fell into place.”

mmclain@tribtoday.com.