EAST PALESTINE Johnston, Darkadakis 1-2 punch for Raiders

The South Range running backs fueled a 42-15 win.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
EAST PALESTINE -- South Range running backs Ben Johnston and Tony Darkadakis have the same goal when they carry the football.
"We both like to run people over," explained Johnston. "The more you run them over, the more they'll get nervous next time they try to tackle you."
Johnston and Darkadakis took turns barreling over the East Palestine defense Saturday night, combining for 176 yards and five touchdowns, as the Raiders began the season with an impressive 42-15 victory.
"Our offensive line did an amazing job blocking for me and Ben tonight," said Darkadakis. "We just ran the ball down their throats and they couldn't stop us. We just wanted to be physical and play hard and I think we accomplished that tonight."
Johnston led the Raiders with 100 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to go with a 16-yard reception. Darkadakis rushed for 76 yards and two scores and caught two passes for 30 yards.
Three quarters of work
The duo did all that damage in just three quarters of work, sitting out the fourth quarter on a hot and humid night. Rain threatened in the final quarter, but held off long enough for the game, originally scheduled for Friday, to finish.
The South Range offense took East Palestine by storm from the very beginning, scoring on the game's first possession. The 76-yard, nine-play drive ended with a 3-yard scoring run from Johnston.
Sophomore David Rach got the Raiders the ball back in a hurry, blocking an East Palestine punt deep in Bulldog territory.
South Range took over on downs at the 10 yard line. Five plays later, Johnston scored his second TD of the night, this one from two yards out.
Darkadakis added a two-point conversion run to give the Raiders a 14-0 advantage.
After Darkadakis added an 18-yard touchdown to start the second quarter, East Palestine finally got on the scoreboard.
The Bulldogs mounted 70-yard scoring drive, which was aided by a South Range penalty. Pat Figley broke free for a 23-yard scamper and the
Raiders' were flagged for a 15-yard face mask penalty. That moved the ball inside the South Range 20.
Three plays later, quarterback Zac Dunn plunged in from 1 yard out. Figley added the point-after kick to cut the deficit to 21-7 with 7:16 remaining in the second quarter.
That's when Johnston and Darkadakis sealed the deal for South Range.
Johnston padded the lead to 28-7 just before halftime with a 3-yard scamper.
Then on the Raiders' first possession on the third quarter, Darkadakis added his second TD of the game on an 11-yard run, to give South Range a 35-7 lead.
"I don't care if it's the NFL, college or high school football, if you don't play physical, you're not going to win," said East Palestine coach John Protopapa. "We were in good positions to make some tackles but we were just trying to arm tackle and with backs as physical as those, they'll just run right through you.
"We did a few nice things, but I thought we were further along than we showed tonight. South Range has a good program and are a physical football team and we just aren't."