New coach, new era, as Harding enters 2024
Trending
WARREN -- The Warren G. Harding Raiders football team is entering a new era.
After a 5-7 campaign, the program's third consecutive losing season, Harding hired Warren native Matt Richardson to wake up the "sleeping giant."
"Everybody's heard that term about this place, and everybody's seen this place when it was the giant," Richardson said. "So we're just working to get back to that point."
Most recently the offensive coordinator at Archbishop Hoban in Akron, Richardson saw the giant firsthand as the Raiders' running backs coach when Harding reached the Division I state championship game in 2002. Richardson served as an assistant for Thom McDaniels before spending a decade on Solon's coaching staff and then helping Hoban win a Division II state title in 2020.
Despite the championship pedigree -- Richardson won a high school state championship at Warren JFK and a national championship at Youngstown State -- the task of waking a slumbering powerhouse will be anything but easy.
The Raiders have won 10 or more games in a year only once since 2003 and have had more losing seasons in the past seven years than winning seasons.
When hired in January, Richardson said he would prioritize the program's strength and conditioning program, in addition to hiring an experienced staff that could help guide him through the first head coaching job of his career, including a few former head coaches.
For some, embarking on a job as high-profile as Harding's as a first-time head coach would be overwhelming. Richardson said that is not the case for him.
"I don't really feel any pressure," Richardson said. "If you grew up here, you know what the expectation is here. But we can't reach that expectation without the kids, without the community support and everybody on the coaching staff working their butts off.
"When you've been around the block for 24 years, though I've not been in this position, I've been fortunate enough to work for a couple of Hall of Fame coaches. So I've seen how they did things and am just trying to mirror certain things, what they would do in certain situations."
Richardson's expectations, as one could expect of any coach, are more centered around the process, not necessarily the end result. In particular, Richardson reiterated the importance of his players following "procedure" and communicating effectively so the Raiders can have success on Friday nights this fall.
"You hit the ground running and get to work," Richardson said. "That's all you can do. ... We have great facilities, got a great coaching staff working their butts off. And like I said, there's really not much to talk about. It's just getting to work."
But don't be mistaken; Richardson has his eyes set on victory as well.
"If you ain't playing to win it all every year, then you ain't playing. You ain't really doing anything," Richardson said.
Since being named Harding's fifth head football coach of the 21st century, Richardson has felt the support of his hometown. He said the Warren Gridiron Club's membership has "tripled or quadrupled" and fans have rallied around the program.
"The community is getting behind the kids, and this coaching staff. They've been busting their butts for me," Richardson said. "But again, we're in the honeymoon period. So it's just got to translate. Whether we win or whether we lose, we're going to show up and represent the city."
OFFENSE
The Harding offense in 2024 may be defined by two senior playmakers: quarterback Chaz Coleman and wide receiver Stephen Sims.
If you go to a Raiders football game this year, it will likely be hard to miss Coleman, who is one of the largest players in the area at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds.
"Chaz Coleman, I predict, will probably be one of the best players in the state, definitely in the area," Richardson said. "You don't find guys walking around like that.
"He's one of the biggest guys, he's a two-sport guy. I love two-sport guys -- [he] plays basketball too. He makes an impact on the basketball court, too. He's doing a great job leading and just continuing to keep growing as a person."
Sims is a relative newcomer to the Raiders; he transferred to Harding from Girard, where he surpassed 1,000 total yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior. Sims verbally committed to Youngstown State in July.
Richardson said that the main points of emphasis for Harding's offense will be limiting turnovers and going for big, "explosive" plays.
"I just want to get better, [be a] better player, better leader, lead my team to a lot of wins," Sims said after announcing his commitment to YSU. "I just want to be a better teammate and bring a lot of strength."
In addition to Sims, Brown commit Airiz Coleman-Bey brings experience with him to Harding's offense. Coleman Bey caught 17 passes for 165 yards in 2023.
Up front, Richardson expects Kenneth Byrd Jr., Anthony Simpson and Dailon Curry to be impact players on the Raiders' offensive line.
DEFENSE
The goal for Harding's defense is rather simple: see ball, hit ball.
"We're going to be a base 3-4 playing multiple fronts," Richardson said. "However, the philosophy of our defense is run and hit. If nothing else, we're going to run and hit."
With some of the offenses the Raiders will have to face, including local rival Ursuline, which hung a season-high 56 points on Harding last season, defense will be vital to the team's success in 2024.
Byrd, a senior lineman who committed to Allegheny College this summer, is expected to be one of the team's better players on the defensive side of the ball. Coleman-Bey is also expected to contribute on defense; he had one interception and two forced fumbles last season as a junior.
Richardson named Simpson, linebackers Tyler Smith and Brandon Coleman, Raylin Adams and Justin Provitt will also be defensive players to watch on Friday nights this fall.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Coleman Bey will be returning kicks again for the Raiders. In the season opener last season, he returned a kick for a 72-yard touchdown.
Richardson said that Adams, a senior, will serve as the team's punt returner.
As for kicking and punting, Jaron Edmonds will do both for the Raiders.
Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.