Local Sports

South Range still ahead of United

CANFIELD - The United Eagles and South Range Raiders haven't met on the gridiron in 10 years since the Inter-Tri County League’s breakup. But with both highly successful programs in Division VI, they were on a collision course to renew their rivalry in the playoffs.

The Eagles’ magical season came to a close with a disappointing 56-7 loss to the Raiders at the Rominger Sports Complex. The Eagles finished 10-2 overall, having won a school-best fourth consecutive league crown and advancing to the regional semifinals.

"Last week was a big high for us, and we came out tonight, and that is a great football team (South Range),” United coach D.J. Ogilvie said. “That is why they are ranked second in the state, so we have some work to catch up to them in the future.”

"I always wanted to set the next step in the ladder to make sure that the next team is better than our team. I feel that this senior class and what we have accomplished has been special to catapult the next group," Eagles senior lineman Levi Lucas said.

The Raiders improve to 10-1 on the year and advance to the Division VI, Region 21 championship game next Friday at a neutral site. The Raiders will take on an old nemesis in the Kirtland Hornets. The Raiders are 40-23 in post-season play and will be playing in their 14th regional final.

"Shoot, Kirtland isn't a nemesis for us; they are a nemesis for the whole state," Raiders coach David Rach joked. "The fact that we have run into them a few times is a bit of a credit to us that we have gone far enough to meet up with them. I think everyone knows that the regional title and state title runs through Kirtland."

The Raiders were able to take advantage of their team speed as they scored on three of their first four possessions to build a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. They scored three more times in the second frame to take a commanding 42-0 advantage into the halftime locker rooms.

"They are hard to prepare for. They throw a lot of stuff at you, with formations. They have really tough kids, and they are physical on both sides of the ball," Rach said. "But we had a great week of preparation, and we tried to watch as much film on them as we could."

While the Raiders offense was clicking with a balanced attack both through the air and on the ground, their defense was smothering the Eagles’ offensive attack. The Eagles were held to a season low of minus 6 yards in the first half.

"They are very disciplined. They don't mess up, and they don't miss things. They are not only talented, but they are very disciplined in what they do," Lucas said.

The Raiders began the contest with an impressive 70-yard, 10-play drive with sophomore running back Ridge Ewert scoring on a 5-yard run to make it 7-0. The score came at the 8:16 mark of the first quarter.

Following an exchange of possessions, the Raiders scored on each of their next two offensive drives. The first came on a 1-yard blast by Jason Vorshak with 2:14 remaining in the opening quarter, followed by a 26-yard pass from quarterback Nick Toy to senior receiver Gavin Hiscox at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter to propel the Raiders to a 21-0 advantage.

The Eagles were able to finally get some traction offensively when they converted their first third-down attempt at the 10:05 mark of the second quarter. But the drive ended in disaster as the Raiders’ Vorshak stepped in front of an Eagles receiver on a screen pass to return an interception 21 yards, making it 28-0 with 8:11 remaining in the first half.

"I think they had a hard time with our defensive front. It makes it hard to move the ball when you’re struggling with the other team’s defensive line. And I think our skills guys were able to get loose on the perimeter a little bit," Rach remarked.

The Raiders added two more touchdowns before halftime, scoring on a 3-yard run by Tyler Cole with 2:12 left in the quarter. And then, following a quick three-and-out by the Eagles, the Raiders quickly attacked with four passes, culminating in a 9-yard pass from Toy to Hiscox to make it 42-0 in favor of the Raiders.

The Raiders’ avalanche continued to start the second half as the Eagles fumbled on their first possession, with the Raiders taking advantage of the miscue to score on a 45-yard run by Cole to make it 49-0.

Another Eagles fumble resulted in an additional touchdown for the Raiders as freshman Harley Booms scooped the ball up at the Eagles’ 39 and raced to the end zone to make it 56-0. That score came with 7:45 remaining in the contest.

"We had some balls that bounced our way," Rach said. "A couple of balls bounced on the ground, and they ended up in our hands. Things like that are hard to overcome in week thirteen."

The Eagles showed a lot of character as they kept fighting to the end. They closed the contest with a 68-yard, 8-play drive, with Ayden Bradley taking an end-around handoff around right end for a 1-yard score. That touchdown came with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

"I couldn't be more proud of the seniors and what we put together this year. This one didn't turn out like we wanted it to. One bad night doesn't overshadow everything that we put together," Lucas said.

GAME NOTES

• Eagles line coach Matt Brooks is a 2017 graduate of South Range. He was a standout lineman in the Raiders program and played against United in 2016, his senior season, the last time United and South Range played.

• Coaching runs in the Brooks family, as his father, Joe Brooks, is also an assistant coach with the Eagles and previously coached at South Range. In addition, Matt's brother Chris is an assistant basketball coach for the Canfield Cardinal boys' team.

• Eagles head coach D.J. Ogilvie is 0-4 against the Raiders, having previously lost three matchups in Ogilvie's first stint with United from 1998-2000.

• Raiders head coach David Rach has never coached against United, but as a senior at South Range in 2006, he played against the Eagles, winning 34-7 in Hanoverton.

• The Raiders hold a commanding 18-4 record in the series against the Eagles, with the two programs meeting for ten consecutive years from 1991-2000, and eleven consecutive years from 2006-2016.

UN: 0- 0-0-7-- 7

SR: 14-28-7-7--56

SCORING

SR-Ridge Ewert 5 run (Cason Butcher kick)

SR-Jason Vorshak 1 run (Butcher kick)

SR-Gavin Hiscox 26 pass from Nick Toy (Butcher kick)

SR-Hiscox 21 interception return (Butcher Kkick)

SR-Tyler Cole 3 run (Hiscox kick)

SR-Hiscox 9 pass from Toy (Butcher kick)

SR-Cole 45 run (Butcher kick)

SR-Harley Booms 39 fumble return (Butcher kick)

UN-Ayden Bradley 1 run (Liam Jones kick)

TEAM STATS

UNITED

First downs: 6; Total yards: 99; Rushes-yards: 33-93, Passing: 6; Comp-Att-Int. 1-6-1; Punts 5-39.8; Fumbles-Lost 5-3; Penalties-Yards 2-10.

SOUTH RANGE

First downs: 13, Total yards: 353, Rushes-yards: 28-224, Passing: 129; Comp-Att-Int. 9-14-0; Punts 1-43; Fumbles-Lost 1-1; Penalties-Yards 5-35.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING--United, M'Kyan Haynes 16-53, Rohan Kelly 2-16, Ayden Bradley 2-18; South Range, Tyler Cole 8-102, Ridge Ewert 8-56, Jason Vorshak 6-41.

PASSING--United, Thomas Brown, 1-6-6-1; South Range, Nick Toy 9-14-129-0.

RECEIVING--United, Kota Shasteen 1-6; South Range, Gavin Hiscox 4-49, Tommy Titus 2-34, Collin Kay 2-34.

INTERCEPTIONS--South Range, Gavin Hiscox.

FUMBLE RECOVERIES--United, Cole Balint; South Range, Ridge Ewert, Harley Booms, Lincoln Slagle.