Yeagley wins 100th, 42-12

His Raiders easily rolled over Mogadore in the season opener.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH LIMA -- Let it be duly noted that Dan Yeagley recorded his 100th career win Friday night. More importantly, let it be duly noted that his Raiders are back, young, experienced and ready to pick up where they left off last year.
Mogadore got a first hand lesson in just how tough this year's South Range team may be as the Raiders rolled to a 42-12 win. And they made it look easy.
By the intermission they were up 21-0 as Jack Dawson, just a sophomore, keyed an attack that featured both running and passing.
"Tonight was our night," said Yeagley. "But it's just one game down."
Johnston scores twice
Two second quarter touchdown runs by Randy Johnston had the Raiders up 14-0 but more impressive was that by the time Johnston hit the end zone with his second score, South Range held a 32-12 advantage in plays.
Johnston's second TD, capped a 60-yard drive which covered 13 plays and saw Johnston come up with 9 yards on a third-and-8 play and 5 on one of fourth and inches.
Now, it was time for the passing attack. Dawson, who went 12-of-14 for 122 yards, faced a first and 10 at the Mogadore 28. He went for it all and connected with David Rach, who on the previous play had run 27 yards with an interception. That gave South Range a 21-0 halftime lead.
"We were just playing our game," said Yeagley. "The kids stepped it up and you saw a lot of new names and faces."
Two of those new faces were Tommy Shives and Steve Bensinger. Shives had nine carries for 94 yards with a touchdown while Bensinger had 114 yards on 16 carries.
Put game away
South Range put the game away in the third period when Dawson and Rach again teamed up, this time for 6 yards. That play capped a drive which ate up the first 5 minutes, 42 seconds of the period and made the count 28-0.
"That's going to be our goal," said Yeagley of the time consumption. "Pound, pound, pound. We had two good scrimmages coming in and that really helped, especially with these younger kids. Plus Jack Dawson just played super. I mean he really handled himself well and because of the line, he had the time."
On his 100th win, Yeagley, a devout Christian, again downplayed any self importance.
"I've got the greatest staff in the whole world," he said. "And really it's 100 wins for our program. I just happened to be at the right spot at the right time."