DIVISION V PLAYOFFS Smithville knocks out Raiders

The Raiders, ousted in the regional final, finished with an 11-2 record.
CANTON -- Down 7-0 and not pleased with his team's offensive performance, Smithville High coach Keith Schrock decided to try something new.
With South Range back to punt at their own 30, the Smithies went after the kick and Andrew Raifsnyder got all ball. Smithville recovered at the Raiders' 20.
Three plays later, Jace Hartzler connected with Andrew Saris for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game and snatch the momentum. Smithville went on to dominate the third quarter, outgaining South Range 179-7, en route to an impressive 41-14 win in a regional final game at Canton Central Catholic.
The Smithies advance to the state semifinals for the second time in three seasons, having gone all the way to the state title game in 2002.
Game-changer
"That was the first punt rush I put on all season," said Schrock. "We weren't executing offensively in the first half, so I knew we had to get something going. It really changed the momentum for us."
Did it ever. Smithville (12-1) went on to score 21 points in the third quarter, taking advantage of two of five South Range turnovers. Already ahead 20-7, the Smithies recovered a fumbled kickoff by the Raiders at the South Range 15. Aaron Long scored from 5 yards out, recovering his own fumble along the way, to pad the Smithies' advantage to 28-7 with 4:24 left in the third.
On South Range's first possession of the fourth quarter, Smithville's Ryan Ferguson intercepted his third pass of the night to set another Smithie score.
Quotable
"When it rains, it pours," said South Range coach Dan Yeagley. "When you get this far into the playoffs, you have to play perfect football. We made some key mistakes and a great team like Smithville will take advantage.
"We played great in the first half, but things just didn't go our way in the second half. Our seniors had a great season and we have some kids coming back next year that hopefully will learn from some of our mistakes tonight."
The South Range defense held Long in check in the first half, but wore down in the second. The senior finished with over 100 yards. He needed just 81 yards to break the Wayne County single-season rushing record, entering the game with 2,250 yards.
Defensively, for the Smithies, Kevin Beichler recovered to fumbles, including the one of a kickoff that set up a Smithville score.
For South Range (11-2) Matt Schlatter led the offense with 56 yards on eight carries. He also caught two passes for 24 yards.