INTER-COUNTY FOOTBALL Air defense gets caught off guard

Jeff Johnston was South Range's big gun, but Jim Sanders was the gunslinger.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
LOWELLVILLE -- The South Range High football team can rest a bit easier. It has the Inter-County League lead all to itself.
At least for now.
The Raiders overcame an early deficit to Lowellville, the league's only other undefeated team, to win 26-14 Saturday at the Rockets' field.
"Oh my goodness," South Range coach Dan Yeagley said. "Talk about a battle."
Senior running back Jeff Johnston iced the game with 9 minutes, 26 seconds remaining when he caught a pass from senior quarterback Jim Sanders and raced 55 yards for a touchdown.
Junior Jon Styer's extra-point kick provided the final margin.
"That was big. It took some air out of them," admitted Johnston of his scoring reception. "It was a nice pass, and Brad Vizi had a huge block down there."
Johnston ran 22 times for 111 yards and three touchdowns (1, 2 and 35 yards) and added three catches for 80 yards.
But it was his final touchdown, the pass from Sanders, that finally put an end to Lowellville's hopes.
South Range (7-0, 4-0 ICL) had out-scored its opponents 277-19 this season, but Lowellville (5-2, 3-1) took an early lead when sophomore running back Jeff Peterson scored from 6 yards with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter.
Peterson's run capped a 13-play drive in which the Rockets thrived on a no-huddle attack.
Surprise: "We haven't shown it all year," coach John Protopapa said of the no-huddle. "It paid off for us."
Yeagley said of the no-huddle, "That was a surprise. They played well, and we made a lot of mistakes you just can't make."
Johnston, however, went to work, putting the game back in South Range's favor. His 1- and 2-yard second-quarter scoring runs put the Raiders ahead 12-6 at halftime.
South Range's first drive of the second half took 10 plays but ended when senior running back Brad Johnson, who finished with 93 yards on 17 carries, fumbled in the end zone.
The Raiders made up for the miscue on their next possession, with Johnston running 35 yards for the touchdown and a 19-6 lead.
Lowellville wasn't finished.
Protopapa went to the playbook and selected the hook-and-ladder, which junior quarterback Mike Palumbo executed twice with receivers Anthony Donatelli and Andy Peterson.
Donatelli caught the initial pass and pitched to Peterson on a touchdown play that covered 15 yards. Palumbo passed to senior Autumn Axel for the conversion, cutting South Range's lead to 19-14.
"When we were down 19-14, they caught us in man [defense]," Protopapa said. "Our linebacker didn't get out fast enough."
The result was Sanders, who completed 11-of-16 passes for 181 yards, finding Johnston for the 55-yarder, which locked up the game.
"We can't stop now," Johnston said. "The season's not over. This is a big step, but we still have three more [games]."
richesson@vindy.com