Raiders face biggest test

South Range takes on Patrick Henry in the Division V state semifinal Friday.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NORTH LIMA -- The undefeated South Range High football team is preparing for the most potent offense the Raiders have ever faced.
And they pretty much welcome the challenge.
"I'm a little bit concerned about their offense," said Raiders coach Dan Yeagley of the top-ranked Patrick Henry team they'll face Friday in a Division V state semifinal game in Fremont. "They do it very well, they've run it for years. We haven't seen that style."
The 13-0 Patriots, coached by Bill Inselmann, are making their second-straight state appearance. They run a West Coast offense and their numbers are phenomenal -- 605 points scored, 411 in the first half.
"They have a 3,000-yard passer," said Yeagley of quarterback Zack George. "They have two 1,000-yard receivers. And they have a running back [with] 1,300 yards."
Great passing attack
George has completed 145 of 214 passes for 2,785 yards, 37 touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite target is wide receiver Marc Krause, a two-time all-Ohioan who has caught 52 passes for 997 yards and 16 scores.
The other target is Brian Yarnell with 43 receptions for 976 yards and 12 scores.
Center Chris Johnson said, "We're going to have to keep that offense off the field and keep ours on. Hopefully, our [defensive backs] will step it up and shut them down."
Fullback Josh Strub has rushed for 1,384 yards on 166 carries. He's scored 24 touchdowns.
Raider defense ready
Which brings us to the dominant question in North Lima this week: Have the Patriots faced a defense as strong as South Range's?
"I want to see them play," Raiders tackle Alex Grantz said. "I'm really fired up -- I really want to go against them and see what our defense can do to stop their passing attack."
So will everyone watching at Fremont's Paul Stadium. The Patriots are a scoring machine. Only once in the regular season did they score fewer than 30 points.
Once they produced 60. Twice they topped 50. The other seven games they surpassed 40.
Except for a 28-14 victory over Delta in Week 6, the Patriots never scored fewer than 42 points. In those nine wins, the margin of victory was never fewer than 29.
"It's going to be decided by the defense," said linebacker/left guard Chris Allshouse. "Our offense is going to have to put up some points, but if our defense shows up, it should be pretty good.
"We'd like to be able to hold them to a lower score than they have been averaging," Allshouse said. "We don't want to get into a shootout."
Not changing anything
Yeagley said the Raiders are going to go with what's been working all season.
"We're not going to change a whole lot," Yeagley said of the defensive strategy that has produced 13 straight wins and the Raiders' first state semifinal appearance. "We're going to play what we've done all year. It's what our kids know -- they have to be comfortable with what they are doing."
In the regular-season, the Raiders shut out four opponents. Only two teams -- Crestview and Champion -- scored in double digits.
But points allowed are up in the postseason. The Crestview rematch was a wild affair -- 49-32.
"We don't want a shootout -- they've been scoring 50-something points a game and we really haven't," Yeagley said.
Ball-control offense
The Raiders' key to winning is their ball-control offense which has helped the team produce a +33 in turnovers.
"We're hoping that we can get our running game going and gain three, four yards a crack and keep their offense on the sidelines," Yeagley said.
Fullback Kris Davis (1,258 yards) and halfback Matt Schlatter (1,530) have the prime responsibility of hanging on to the ball.
"The running backs spend a lot of time on fumbling drills where we just have people trying to swipe the ball out of your hands," Davis said. "We've been trained to hold onto the ball because turnovers are a big thing in the playoffs."
Yeagley said the Raiders "have been fortunate that we haven't put the ball on the ground or thrown the interception in all three of our playoff games. That's a credit to our running backs and the quarterback, our receivers and even the linemen because we've had time to throw and big holes for our running backs."
Can pass when needed
Raiders quarterback Mike Leskosky has thrown for 1,312 yards on 80-for-143 and nine TDs with five interceptions.
On the other side of the ball, the Raiders intend to go after the Patriots and add to their 24 interceptions.
"If the guy with the ball gets wrapped up, we try to have another guy whack him to get the ball loose," said Davis who plays linebacker and added that pressure generated by the defensive line has helped create chances for the defensive backs.
The only team South Range faced with a similar (albeit much less effective) offensive style was McDonald with quarterback Matt Krumpak.
"Their quarterback threw a lot of outs that hurt us, but not too many have thrown on us," Johnson said of South Range's 35-7 win. "A lot of teams around here just run the ball, so we haven't had to defend the pass too much."
Yeagley agreed, saying McDonald ran similar routes and formations.
The Patriots defenders are not invulnerable. In the playoff opener against Bloomdale Elmwood, the Patriots trailed 31-20 before rallying for 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Inselmann said Elmwood used the gameplan that Delta used in Week 6 to limit the Patriots to four touchdowns. He described it as taking ground in little chunks, then converting on third and fourth downs to eat clock.
"Some of their opponents have been very, very good," Yeagley said.
Against Elmwood, the Patriots ran just 44 plays but still generated 309 yards of offense.
The ball-control strategy didn't work for Haviland Wayne Trace in the second-round game -- a 41-6 Patriots' triumph.
Breezed in regional final
Last Friday, the Patriots torched Bucyrus Wynford, 56-35, as George passed for 250 yards and four touchdowns.
Strub gained for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes, two for scores.
The Patriots' only loss the past two seasons came in last year's state semifinals when St. Henry won, 13-0, on a muddy field.
"I think it helps a lot [going for a second straight year]," Inselmann said. "There won't be any nerves and that makes us hungrier this year. We aren't just happy to be here and we have the attitude of unfinished business and we want to get farther than last year."
Getting ready to start his first Thanksgiving Week practice, Yeagley was loaded with smiles.
"These are great kids and they are a lot of fun," said the 11th-year coach who is going for career victory 100. "We have a blast.
"Fourteen weeks seems like a long time but it's actually pretty good," Yeagley said. "We've been to Week 13 three other times, but just haven't been able to get past that. It's pretty fun [being] on the practice schedule in Week 14."
williams@vindy.com