Marion Harding football gives coach the fast start he craved in Week 3 win

BELLEFONTAINE — C.J. Westler asked his team for it all week, and they delivered.

"Our goal all week was a fast start. I think we did that," he said.

Marion Harding scored on its first two possessions of the game, and the defense took care of the rest in a 14-7 road victory Sept. 4 at Bellefontaine in a Week 3 high school football game.

"We moved the ball a little bit in the second half, but we just couldn't finish drives," Westler said. "They kind of caught us off guard going tempo on that first drive (of the second half when Bellefontaine scored). They ran it right down the field.

"Our defense responded. We made a lot of mistakes, but they played extremely hard. We made a couple fourth-down stands down in the red zone."

It took just five plays and 1:22 off the clock to start the game with a 7-0 lead. Dez Feliciano hit Jaden Jordan for a 38-yard pass play and Jackson Payne for an 11-yard gain before striking with Reggie Walker for a 13-yard score.

On the next possession, it looked like Feliciano scored on a 97-yard keeper, bouncing off tackles down the field, but a holding call brought it back. Nevertheless, the Presidents engineered a 14-play drive that ate nearly six minutes off the clock. Feliciano earned that second touchdown on a 2-yard run.

"Our kids play extremely hard, but we told them last week that playing hard is not good enough. You don't want to be the team that says, 'Man they play hard, but they don't win,'" Westler said.

Bellefontaine opened the second half with an 11-play, 60-yard drive that Dillon Jones finished on a 1-yard run. That cut the Harding lead to 14-7, but that was the only blemish by the Prexy D.

In the first half, the Presidents stopped Bellefontaine on a fourth-and-goal from the 3, then on the next series stopped it again on fourth-and-goal from the 5. Payne picked off a pass to thwart a third drive.

In the second half after the BHS touchdown, Harding's defense posted back-to-back 3-and-outs, then stopped the hosts on a fourth-and-4 from the Harding 44. The defense put the game away when Sean Kelly recovered a fumble with 1:37 left.

"In years past, this is the kind of game we would have let slip away. I feel like we're finally starting to turn that corner to where we're able to weather the storm and be able to finish it off," Westler said.

Both teams finished with 13 first downs, but Harding outgained its opponent 351 to 232 in total yards.

Feliciano was 9-for-24 passing for 129 yards, plus ran it 16 times for 75 yards. McGary finished with 107 yards on 12 carries, and Shaukoyre Jackson ran eight times for 36 yards. Walker made four catches for 43 yards and Jordan three catches for 70. Quincy Carter paced the defense with 6.5 tackles, and Kolten Sibrel added 4.5. Noah Shockley and Maddox Moran shared a crucial sack in the second half.