RAIDERS STUNG BY KIRTLAND IN REGIONAL FINAL
NILES, OH- The last time South Range Football suffered a loss was against Kirtland in 2020, and unfortunately for the Raiders, it turns out that the Hornets have once again proved to be the Kryptonite to the Super season South Range has forged together in 2021.
The battle was underway early as South Range started with the football, but on the second play from scrimmage Billy Skripac’s pass was intercepted by Will Sayle and taken back to the house to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead.
The Raiders didn’t blink in the face of adversity, as Skripac would lead a drive to counter-punch the Kirtland strike that ended with a toss to Connor Jones from 16 yards out to put South Range on the board and knot the game at 7-7.
When Kirtland’s offense finally took the field with just over seven minutes to go in the first, they showed up as advertised. Mason Rus capped off a scoring drive with a 3-yard run with just 19 ticks left in the first quarter. The Hornets followed that up with a Tommy Gogolin 64-yard scamper, and another Mason Rus score to put Kirtland ahead 28-7.
Kirtland showed excellence on special teams as well as Johnny Raguz would blast a 31-yard field goal to make it a 31-7 advantage.
South Range refused to lie down, though. Billy Skripac made a house call from 37 yards away, and Dylan Dominguez would follow it up converting a 2-point try- leaving the Raiders 2 scores away with 4:38 on the clock.
The Raiders would attempt an onside kick that did not go the necessary ten yards, and Kirtland would take over in South Range territory.
The final blow from Kirtland came from 16 yards out on a touchdown pass from Ramon Lescano to Gage Sullivan to finalize things at 38-15.
Kirtland’s offense outpowered the Raiders 375 yards to 234 with both teams doing the majority of damage on the ground. The Hornets ran for 308 yards and were led by Mason Rus’ 110 yards on 28 attempts. Tommy Gogolin had 92 yards on 5 carries to supplement the running attack.
South Range was led by Billy Skripac’s 63 yards rushing, and 75 yards through the air with a score. Dylan Dominguez had nine totes for 63 yards. Shane Lindstrom and Connor Jones led South Range receivers with 25 yards apiece. JD Crouse had a catch for 16 yards as well.
Defensively, Dylan Dominguez was a wrecking ball with 12.5 tackles on the night. Bailey Ryan had 6.5 stops, along with Tyler Remish. Logan Cormell disrupted Kirtland throughout the night to the tune of 6 takedowns, while Corey Penick and Connor Jones had 4.5, respectively.
South Range ends the season as the last Northeast 8 team standing and with a 13-1 showing on the campaign, and have lost 2 games in as many seasons which should not be overlooked or taken for granted.
Kirtland remains undefeated at 14-0 and has not lost in 54 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the country.
Best of luck to the Hornets in their quest for another state championship in 2021.
Thank you to South Range and all those involved for another incredible season of Raider Football, and for the continued support of YSN.
