HOIST THE COLORS: RAIDERS PROVE POINT AGAINST G-MEN
CANFIELD, OH- The Raiders have been perfect in the win column this year, and that didn’t change on Friday night against Garfield. The interesting statistic is that this senior class has never competed in a losing effort on their home turf for the entirety of their varsity football career at Raider Stadium- and that didn’t change either in a 49-10 victory to wrap up the last home game they’ll ever play.
In what started as an eye-opening nearly 8-minute drive, Garfield was setting the tone and staying balanced in their game plan, but stalled out before putting a 25-yard field goal by Ethan Bittence to put South Range behind for the first time all season long.
So, how do the Raiders respond?
The South Range offense exploded out of the chute with a 2-play drive taking up a total of 26 seconds off of the clock, and showcasing a new style they’ve yet to present on the year. Tyler Remish would start his big night with a 13-yard touchdown after a huge pass play to set things up in the red zone.
After another lengthy drive by Garfield, South Range would force the punt- and cap off a big drive with another Tyler Remish score from a yard away. Remish would add another score from inside of 5 yards just minutes later On the next drive, Billy Skripac would connect with Shane Lindstrom for a 12-yard score to put the Raiders up 28-3 at the break.
South Range would get the ball to start the second half, and Skripac would score with his legs from 9 yards out with a physical run at the pylon.
Garfield would then string together their best offensive drive of the game when Keegan Sell capped it off with a 22-yard score on the left side of the field to make the score 35-10.
The Raiders would start the mercy clock again just a little over a minute into the final stanza when Skripac connected with Ayden Leon with a perfect strike down the seam from 37 yards away to put South Range up 42-10.
Sophomore Tristan Toy would put the final score on the board with 3:32 left when he raced into the endzone on the QB Keeper from 31 yards away to give us a final of 49-10 and to put the Raiders into the Regional Semi-Finals in Week 13.
Range finished with 534 yards of total offense on the night, compared to Garfield’s 213. The main difference in the game was the turnover battle to which South Range won that as well 4-1 against the G-Men with a fumble and three interceptions.
The Raiders picked up 26 first downs in the contest as well, including 17 on rushing attempts, and converted at a 60% clip on third down.
Skripac was 13/16 for 274 yards and two scores through the air, and added another 64 yards and a score with his legs.
The Raider rushing attack was aided by the help of their stable of backs that included a ten-rush, 82-yard performance by Tyler Remish that was highlighted by three trips to the endzone. Sophomore Aidan Dominguez was big when called upon with six totes and 33 yards Tristan Toy’s 33 yards, Hunter Knauf’s 29, and Shane Lindstrom also had ten. Together they totaled 260 yards on the ground and the offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage throughout the night.
Lindstrom racked up the receiving yards to the tune of six grabs for 148 yards, while Ayden Leon, JD Crouse, and Tyler Remish each hauled in a pair of grabs for a combined total of 106 yards.
All-YSN standout, Keegan Sell had a big night in his finale, and impressed all in attendance with a touchdown rushing, and an eye-popping 10.5 tackles on defense. Leo Grandizio also had a big night with seven tackles and one catch for 29 yards on offense.
Eric Geddes was 3 of 14 passing for 48 yards and 3 interceptions.
Garfield finishes their season with a 9-3 mark, respectively, and another successful campaign.
South Range will take on Cardinal Mooney on Friday night for a local-local contest that many have wanted for decades. The game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Girard with a 7pm kickoff time. YSN will have the game as part of the 5-game Post Season Power Play Pass.
