Submitted photo Former Warren Harding Panthers head coach Ed Glass raises the Class AAA state championship trophy after the Panthers defeated Upper Arlington 41-8 in 1974 at the Rubber Bowl in Akron.

WARREN — The early 1970s were an era of unprecedented success for high school football in Warren.

In 1971, the Warren Harding Panthers ended the season as Associated Press Poll state champions. Then in 1972, the Western Reserve Raiders captured the first Class AAA playoff-era state championship by defeating Cincinnati Princeton. The Raiders then returned to the state final in 1973, but this time finished as runner-up after losing to Cardinal Mooney.

Even other area teams like Warren JFK, Howland and Niles also enjoyed success. The Eagles went undefeated in 1971 and were 9-1 in 1972. Meanwhile, the Tigers were 8-1-1 in 1972 and 9-1 in 1974 and Niles had winning seasons from 1972-1976.

“The atmosphere around Warren was phenomenal,” said former Harding Panther Jim Valentine. “There was an abundance of good football teams in the whole area. At that time, when we were growing up, almost every school in our area — they had good football teams. So it was always exciting for this area.”

Then in 1974, it was Warren Harding’s turn to win its first playoff-era state championship, as the Panthers completed an 11-1 season by defeating Upper Arlington 41-8 for the Class AAA state title.

“We started playing with each other in eighth grade and we ran together all the way up to our senior year,” said Terry McCoy, a guard on the 1974 team. “We had a good time, and we were part of something special.”

The 2024 season marks the 50th anniversary of Harding’s magical run in 1974, and tonight, the remaining players and coaches from that team will be honored before and during Warren G. Harding’s contest against St. Vincent-St. Mary at Mollenkopf Stadium.

“We did a good one for the 40th anniversary (in 2014), but the 50th was very important because a lot of us have passed since the last time we were here,” said Tom Sporich, former defensive tackle and the organizer of today’s celebration.

“Not only players, but coaches too. So this might be the last time we ever really get together from a physical standpoint because a lot of our parents are no longer here, so there’s really no connection. That’s the hard thing because when we were here in Warren, it was one of the greatest times in Warren, Ohio. … We just want to relive our memories as young kids and enjoy that moment when we were all No. 1 in the whole state of Ohio, which is very important to us.”

At the helm of it all, was former Harding head coach Ed Glass.

Glass was defensive coordinator for the Panthers under Tom Batta from 1970-72 and took over as head coach in 1973.

During that first season, the Panthers went 6-4, but three of their losses were by single digits. In addition to a 34-18 defeat against Massillon, Harding lost to Youngstown South 2-0, Howland 15-6 and Warren Western Reserve 14-6.

As juniors, the team felt like they were right on the cusp. They just had to put it all together.

“We had the feeling that we had the experience and we could do this thing,” said Nick Cassudakis, a wing back and defensive back for Harding in 1974. “We had suffered some painful losses that 6-4 season. … Those were the teams that after those losses, those stuck with us for a year. You would think about that all the time.”

Fueled by the motivation of those stinging losses, the Panthers went into 1974 with renewed vigor.

During summer practices and workouts, the feeling began to grow around the program that if Harding played to its potential, the team could be in for something special that year.

“There was an expectation that we had a really good shot,” Valentine, the team’s fullback, said. “So we went to work and we went to work hard. We worked out in the summer, then summer camp started with two-a-days. The growth from playing with each other for that long, there were some big expectations. … We knew we had what you would call, the right stuff because we’d been together and grew together as a team.”

Harding opened the 1974 season with a 46-0 pounding of Cleveland John Adams, before exacting its revenge on Youngstown South and Howland by a combined score of 63-0.

“I always thought we were good,” McCoy said. “We just had to prove it, and our senior year, we proved it. We just went out and did what we were supposed to do.”

The Panthers then cruised past Steubenville (30-6), rival Warren Western Reserve (20-6), Alliance (40-8), Cincinnati Taft (55-0) and Massillon (35-10), riding a vaunted defense along the way.

That Harding defensive unit had four shutouts that season, while holding eight opponents to single digits.

“We took pride in the small things, we took pride in not being scored on or things like that,” Cassudakis said.

Sitting at 8-0, the Panthers were riding high. But then the team suffered its first and only setback of the season — a 19-6 defeat to Canton McKinley.

That loss served as a “wake-up call” for the team.

“We got outplayed,” Valentine said. “That was a good football team. After that loss, that team from the west side, went around us in points. So now we had to get our heads out of our butts because we had Niles, and they were 6-3, so that was a good football team.”

Heading into the final week of the season, Reserve sat just ahead of Harding in the computer rankings that determined the four state playoff bids.

In Week 10, Harding beat Niles 40-18, while Reserve beat Lorain Southview 36-8.

“After (the Canton McKinley) game, there was a lot of sobbing and crying because we were thinking, there goes our chances,” Valentine said. “But we saw the standings and we were only a point or two behind. So we thought, let’s go out and win this game and then let the chips fall where they may.”

Since Niles was ranked higher than Southview, the win allowed the Panthers to jump the Raiders in the rankings, giving them a spot in the four-team state playoffs.

In the state semifinal, Harding faced off against perennial power Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

On paper, the Fighting Crusaders may have had the bigger team, but the Panthers had the speed.

“We had so much speed and nobody could match our speed on the outside,” Valentine said. “We were fast and we had a fast team, so we were able to deal with a lot of the bigger teams.”

Riding the legs of Valentine, tailback John Henry Ziegler, quarterback Jim Richburg and receiver Jackie Hudson, Harding rallied from a 10-6 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to defeat Moeller 20-10 and advance to the championship.

“We drove into that stadium, and I remember it was nerve-wracking,” Cassudakis said. “I had the first penalty of the game. I was on the kickoff team and I was offsides. But in that game, we had to come back and we had to win it, but that game was probably one of the best games that we played. Coach (Glass) at halftime, I felt really motivated us to get back on track and do what we were good at.”

In the state title game, Harding’s speed again proved to be too much, as the Panthers blew past the Golden Bears 41-8 in front of more than 19,000 people at the Rubber Bowl in Akron.

With the Upper Arlington defense keying on Richburg and Ziegler, it allowed for a huge performance from Valentine, as he ran six times for 169 yards, which included touchdown runs of 79 and 74 yards. Richburg and Ziegler still also found the end zone for the Panthers.

Harding’s special teams got in on the scoring in the fourth quarter, as McCoy blocked a punt, which was picked up and returned by Kelton Dansler for the final touchdown of the game.

Some of the members find it hard to believe it’s been 50 years later. They still remember it just like it was yesterday.

“The friendships that we developed, I think that was the main thing,” McCoy said. “Having friendships with a lot of the guys, even today, we’re still friends.”

But above all, through all the highs and lows, 1974 was a season that none of the Panthers would soon forget.

“We had a lot of talent, and I thought that the coaches were able to get the most out of us,” Cassudakis said. “I felt like the coaches were very strong motivators. … I don’t think there was anybody that worked harder than us. We were doing all these things that pushed us to the limit. I think that the coaches motivated us and made us feel like we could win a championship if we worked hard enough.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.