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Raiders storm pass Bellaire

Morning Journal/Ron Firth South Range junior quarterback Michael Patrone throws against Bellaire on Saturday.

GREENFORD–For a high school quarterback, the first varsity start can be daunting enough under normal circumstances. Add in the pressure-cooker environment of a playoff game and the difficulty ratchets up even more.

That’s the situation South Range’s Michael Patrone found himself in Saturday night in a Division V first-round matchup with Bellaire, and the junior proved he was more than equal to the task.

Patrone completed 15-of-23 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns as the fourth-seeded Raiders shook off a halftime deficit and steamrolled the fifth-seeded Big Reds in the second half for a 30-7 victory at South Range High School.

Next up for South Range (8-3) is a date with top-seeded Kirtland at 7 p.m. next Saturday at a site to be determined. Bellaire finishes the season 7-4.

“It was crazy tonight,” Patrone said. “I was so happy with how well we played as a team. The first half was a little rough, but everyone regrouped and we got the job done.”

Patrone was thrust into the starting role after senior 1,400-passer Isaac Allegretto went down with a season-ending leg injury in week 10.

After a shaky first half that saw the Raiders go into the locker room trailing 7-2,, Patrone was nearly flawless after the break, directing two touchdown drives in the first three minutes of the third quarter as South Range seized command for good.

“I’m very proud of how he handled himself,” South Range coach Dan Yeagley said. “He was a little anxious at the start, but he settled down. He’s a great young man and did a great job leading the team.

The South Range offense marched inside the Bellaire 40 three times in the first half, but a fumble and two turnover on downs enabled the Big Reds to go into halftime with the lead.

That’s when the Raiders decided to put the game in the hands of Patrone and their deep collection of receivers.

After going just 6-for-13 for 54 yards in the first half, Patrone needed only six plays to lead his team into the end zone. Quick passes of 8 yards to Ian Toy, 9 yards to Chris Brooks and 20 yards to Brooks set up a 5-yard touchdown run by Patrick McCabe (12 carries, 54 yards) to put the Raiders up 9-7 with 10:31 left in the third quarter.

South Range’s fired up defense forced a three-and-out and then Patrone picked right up where he left off, firing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Trey Pancake on the first play of the ensuing drive to make it 16-7.

Patrone put the finishing touches on his big second half with a 33-yard touchdown hookup to Dylan Dominguez early in the fourth quarter.

The final second half tally for Patrone was 10-of-11 passing for 170 yards and two touchdowns.

“We knew we had to start passing more in the second half because we saw how they kept loading up to stop the run,” Patrone said. “Our receivers really stepped up and made some plays.”

Dominguez (who was a steady force on the ground with 118 yards on 16 carries) delivered the dagger with a 38-yard rumble to the end zone with 6:27 left.

Ian Toy was South Range’s leading receiver with 62 yards on five receptions. Pancake had two receptions for 52 yards, while Brooks had three receptions for 37 yards.

“I thought we had a great week of practice,” Patrone said. “We felt prepared coming out tonight and we were ready to play.”

The first half was a much different story.

Bellaire took the opening kickoff and went on a commanding 13-play 59-yard drive that chewed up nearly seven minutes. Running back Cole Porter capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown run making it 7-0 Bellaire.

“We thought this was going to be a tough matchup,” Yeagley said. “Bellaire was in the playoffs last year, they understood what it takes when you get to this stage. We weren’t in last year. For a lot of our kids, this was their first playoff start. We got behind and I’m really proud of how we re-grouped. The kids kept playing for each other.”

That opening drive wound up being the high point for Bellaire, as Wright, quarterback Jake Heatherington and the rest of the Big Reds were swallowed up by the South Range defense the rest of the night.

After the Big Reds got backed up to their own 7 on their second possession, South Range senior defensive end Corey Kougher set the tone for the remainder of the game when he tore into the backfield and brought down Heatherington in the end zone for a safety.

“We had some trouble moving the ball early, so it was big for us to get some points on the board,” Kougher said. “I think it helped get us going.”

Kougher and the rest of his defensive teammates successfully held the fort until the Raiders’ offense got cranked up.

After getting four first downs on their opening drive, the Big Reds got just one more the rest of the first half.

Wright was limited to just 31 yards on 19 carries. Heatherington was 18-for-35 for 183 yards. He found some success with intermediate throws late in the game, but by then it was too little, too late. Trenton Wilson was the Big Reds’ leading receiver with eight receptions for 81 yards.

Bellaire’s last chance died with a turnover on downs at the South Range 11 with 8:56 left.

“We knew we needed to step up tonight,” Kougher said. “We always step up defensively.”

The next assignment figures to be much tougher against defending Div. VI state champ Kirtland, one of the most dominant small school programs in the state.

The Hornets were still grinding out a tougher-than-expected win over Sandy Valley when the South Range game ended.

“Whoever we play next is going to be really good regardless,” Yeagley said. “It’s the playoffs and anything can happen. You have to come ready to play.”

Game notes

¯ Patrone said Allegretto was invaluable in helping him prepare for Saturday’s start.

“He helped me a lot,” Patrone said. “He taught me all the plays and went over everything with me. I can’t thank him enough.

¯ The Raiders are now 16-4 at home since their new field debuted in 2017.

BELLAIRE: 7-0- 0- 0– 7

S. RANGE: 2-0-14-14–30

SCORING

B –Cole Porter 5 run (Porter kick)

SR –Safety, Corey Kougher tackled Jake Heatherington in end zone

SR–Patrick McCabe 5 run (Logan Weaver kick)

SR–Trey Pancake 49 pass from Michael Patrone (Weaver kick)

SR–Dylan Dominguez 33 pass from Michael Patrone (Weaver kick)

SR–Dylan Dominguez 38 run (Weaver kick)

——

B SR

First downs 9 18

Total Yards 185 445

Rushes-yards 25-2 39-218

Passing 183 227

Comp-Att-Int 18-35-0 15-23-0

Punts 8-30 3-37

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-2

Penalties-Yards 2-16 5-35

——

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING–Bellaire, Cole Porter 19-31, Jake Heatherington 3 (minus-24); South Range, Dylan Dominguez 16-118, Patrick McCabe 11-56.

PASSING–Bellaire, Jake Heatherington 18-35-183-0; South Range, Michael Patrone 15-23-227-0.

RECEIVING–Bellaire, Trenton Wilson 8-81, Andrew Littell 3-26, A.J. McCarthy 2-33, Ray’shad Pettigrew 1-26; South Range, Ian Toy 5-62, Trey Pancake 2-52, Chris Brooks 3-37, Dylan Dominguez 1-33, Jake Gehring 1-20, Patrick McCabe 3-19.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES–Bellaire, Connor Rosen, Cody Albaugh.

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