Mount Vernon, Marion Harding open football season with another classic

MARION — Of course, the high school football season opener between Mount Vernon and Marion Harding was going to be wild. They always are.

True to the previous five times the two programs have played in Week 1, this one was no different.

In a meeting of first-year head coaches, Mount Vernon gave Jay Campbell a victory, pulling out a 28-21 two overtime win at Harding Stadium Friday night.

"Just seeing the way Harding played tonight was incredibly inspiring," said Campbell, who is in his first season at Mount Vernon after being the head coach at Northridge. "They played extremely hard right up to the very last minute and last second.

"I’m proud of the way our kids made plays. We talked about how when we needed our playmakers the most, they made the most of it. We’re just so proud of the way they finished that game. From the get-go on Day 1, we talked about finish, and that’s what we did."

Since 2016, both teams now own three victories over the other. Three of the outcomes were decided by two points or less, and the widest margin of victory in the span was a 21-12 win by Harding in 2018.

That Friday night went into overtime was a new wrinkle in the series.

"Coming into the game, we knew their size and athleticism could give us some issues, but we really thought if we could get them moving and get them a little uncomfortable that we could have some success," Campbell said. "Unfortunately it took us all the way until the fourth quarter to kind of feel that success. I’m proud of the way our kids executed down the stretch."

Harding came into the game as a blank slate with only two starters back on both sides of the ball, and defensive coordinator-turned-head coach Dan Arndt taking over late for former head coach Demetrius Ross.

The Presidents gave effort throughout regulation and beyond, but they were hurt by mistakes and injuries on a warm night.

"We’ve got a lot to work on," Arndt said. "We’re not making any excuses because I don’t believe in that. It was a rough week transitioning and trying to get these guys to stay focused and stay on task. We had some key kids go down early which really caused a strain on us both offensively and defensively. That’s an excuse and I’m not about excuses.

"We’ve got to do a better job as a staff of coaching up our kids and getting these twos (backups) ready to come out here and play in a game like that that was like five quarters. Us coaches have stuff to work on. Like I told them, we’re going to be here late and get things put together. We’re going to get ready for tomorrow morning and hopefully this doesn’t happen to us again."

For most of the first quarter, both teams struggled to get their offenses going as midway through the period the two combined for minus-20 yards of offense.

Then on the final play of the first quarter, Harding junior quarterback Alex Stokes hit Parker Davis down the middle of the field for an 80-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

It stayed that way late in the first half when it appeared Mount Vernon was going to tie it up. With first-and-goal from the 3, the Presidents stiffened as Ridge Barkey, Bradley Pennington and Justin Long all made tackles to keep the Yellow Jackets from scoring and preserve the 7-0 lead.

Harding had a chance to score to start the second half as they went into the red zone, but a penalty and a sack thwarted the drive and it remained 7-0 heading into the fourth quarter.

Mount Vernon tied it at 7-7 on a Jonny Askew 38-yard run where he broke five tackles all over the field, including deep in his own backfield. Less than four minutes later, Askew gave his squad a 14-7 lead when he turned the corner and outraced the defense for a 55-yard touchdown run.

Harding appeared to be gassed, but it still rallied. A Stokes-to-Davis 40-yard reception got the Presidents moving, and backup running back Ridge Barkley picked up a pair of key first downs to eventually set up Stokes for a 1-yard keeper to tie it at 14-14 after a Jordan Hensley extra point with 2:06 left.

"I added a new motto: FIGHT. It’s faith, integrity, grit, honor and team. Our team showed a lot of fight tonight. It’s something to build off of, and for a lot of these kids, it’s their first varsity football game ever," Arndt said.

In the first overtime, Harding struck first after Davis was moved to running back for the cramping Barkley. He ran for 13 yards and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with Hensley converting. However, Mount Vernon answered with a Joel Hubbard 2-yard keeper. The Yellow Jackets were going to kick the extra point to tie, but Harding was offsides on the try. With the ball closer to the goal line, MV went for two, but a false start negated the play, and it eventually settled for a Jack Craigo point.

MV got the ball first in the second OT and needed just three plays before Hubbard scored on a 3-yard keeper and a Craigo extra point. The Jackets defense then stiffened enough to force a fourth-and-8 from the 18 and intercepted a desperation pass into the end zone to end the game.

"It is what it is. We came up a little short. They’re hurting right now," Arndt said. "That’s a good thing because now they’ve got that taste in their mouth that they want to be great. They don’t want this feeling again, so we’ll get at it tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. and make sure that (Ashland trophy) bell stays right here at Marion Harding."

Davis finished with 181 yards on four receptions and had two touchdowns. Stokes completed 11 of 20 passes for 221 yards. Senior running back Trinity Keith, the team's lone returner on offense, led with 82 yards rushing on eight carries, but injured his lower leg in the second half and couldn't continue. Harding's offense gained 11 first downs, but was hurt by 11 penalties for 90 yards.

Askew had 132 yards on eight carries and two scores, while Hubbard had 60 yards on 23 carries and was 10-for-20 passing for 124 yards. Layne Kuhlman led all MV receivers with six catches for 66 yards. They had 14 first downs and 30 penalty yards.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Mount Vernon, Marion Harding open football season with another classic