Saturday, November 19, 2005
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANTON -- South Range High football coach Dan Yeagley will finally have the opportunity to have some football with his turkey on Thanksgiving.
After falling to Smithville in the Division V, Region 17 championship game at Canton Central Catholic in 2004, the Raiders returned to the site of their last loss Friday night with another crack at a regional title.
On its fourth attempt, South Range got the job done. After three straight setbacks in the regional finals, the Raiders earned the trophy they have coveted with a thrilling 21-14 victory over Northwestern at Lowell Klinefelter Stadium.
"This has been a long time coming," said Yeagley. "We've always had a goal of wanting to practice on Thanksgiving, and now we finally will. I'm so proud of these young men and how hard they've worked to get here and make it all the way to the state semifinals.
"This was a great football game between two disciplined and talented teams. Our kids came through when they needed to. It really came down to just a few plays here and there. We love this place; we'll come back to play here anytime."
South Range moves on to the Division V state semifinals next Friday against Region 19 champion Hamler Patrick Henry, who defeated Bucyrus Wynford 56-38.
The site will be announced on Sunday.
The Raiders (13-0) scored touchdowns in each of the first three quarters and built a 21-7 lead with 7:49 left in the third stanza.
Northwestern rally
Northwestern (10-3) rallied with 14-play, 67-yard scoring drive to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 1:50 left in the third. The Huskies scored on a 1-yard plunge by Spencer Hershey.
South Range went to the running game in the fourth quarter, chewing up as much clock as possible. But the Northwestern defense did just enough to stop the Raiders and get the ball back.
With 3:29 left in the fourth, the Huskies took over with a chance to tie the game and force overtime. But on a first-and-10 at the South Range 41, Raiders' defensive back Tom DeChellis intercepted Kaleb Reed's pass for the game's first turnover.
With victory seemingly in hand, South Range took over with thoughts of getting a couple first downs to run out the clock.
However, Northwestern stopped the Raiders on third-and-6 and forced a punt on fourth down.
With time running out and down by a touchdown, the Huskies drove to the South Range 43 with 35 seconds remaining. But on fourth-and-13, Reed's pass fell incomplete.
"This feels amazing," said DeChellis. "It's even better than I thought it would be. We really wanted this for coach Yeagley.
"We were excited to come to this stadium and try to win the region. We finally get to practice on Thanksgiving."