Thursday, November 15, 2007
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NORTH LIMA — Two years ago, the South Range High football had a family experience that senior running back Steve Bensinger would like to relive.
And maybe even surpass.
On Thanksgiving 2005, the Raiders team came together for their final session before the Division V state semifinal game the next day in Fremont against Patrick Henry High of Hamler. Then they celebrated with their families.
Asked about getting together so late in November, Bensinger said, “That would be all right because we’d still be practicing.
“You would get to spend Thanksgiving with two families and that would be awesome,” Bensinger said. “To spend time with your football family and then your family at home would be a great experience.
“Personally, I want to practice that week and the week after to win state, so we’ll see.”
The Raiders, 12-0 and the champions of the Inter Tri-County League Tier One, face their biggest test of the season on Friday when they play Ursuline (10-2) for the Region 17 crown at Fitch Falcon Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s exciting that it’s local — that makes it twice as interesting for the Mahoning Valley,” Bensinger said.
It’s the fourth straight season that Raiders have advanced to the regional title game.
“The regional final is a cool place to be and luckily we’ve been there,” Raiders coach Dan Yeagley said. “Our kids know what it takes to get here.
“Unfortunately, we’ve only gotten out of the regional final once but we’re hoping to do it again,” Yeagley said.
Bensinger’s class has tasted plenty of success. South Range hasn’t lost a regular-season game since Week 8 of the 2004 season. The Raiders have advanced to Week 13 in every year that this senior class has been in high school.
The legacy they’d like to leave is going one step further.
“We’re taking it one week at a time, but I’d really like to take a big step for our program,” Bensinger said. “I want to be in the senior class that goes the furthest and maybe wins the state title. I think every senior is excited to be a part of that [goal]. We’ve had a great team all year.”
It won’t be easy. South Range will have a size disadvantage when they take the field on Friday.
“They are bigger than anyone we’ve seen,” said Bensinger of the Irish whose schedule includes Division I schools like Warren Harding and Fitch. “But [in some games] we’ve been outsized.
“We’ve seen 6-foot-7 kids, 6-foot 8 ... we’ve seen a lot of big kids. We haven’t seen the poundage — they have [players with] 300 pounds,” Bensinger said.
“We’ve seen 280, maybe a 300 but not as many, so that will be tough to go up against,” Bensinger said. “But I think our linemen are up to the challenge. They are hard-nosed, they really are. And they work hard.”
Last year, the Raiders lost 21-14 to Warren JFK (then a Div. V team) in the regional final.
Senior linebacker Charlie Lengyel said the Raiders learned from that difficult defeat.
“We were definitely in it,” Lengyel said. “We were driving at the end, but that drive stalled. They were getting pressure on [quarterback] Jack [Dawson] all night.
“They came up with some big plays and we sort of got down,” Lengyel said. “We don’t have that attitude this year. The next play is the most important one.”
Yeagley credits the consistent playoff appearances to hard work.
“Our kids understand that it takes a lot of work and they understand that the work isn’t done this week,” Yeagley said. “Work starts all the way back in January to prepare for this season.
“Once you get into this level of play, there isn’t an easy team,” Yeagley said. “It doesn’t matter if you are playing Ursuline or Patrick Henry or Bedford Chanel or Warren JFK or Smithville. The level of competition now is unbelievable.”
Yeagley said he’s pleased with how well the Raiders played in last week’s 23-0 win over Gilmour Academy. That came a week after the Raiders gave up an unusual 30 points to Kirtland.
“We want to get better during the playoffs and we actually did get better last week,” Yeagley said. “To play like we did against a very good Gilmour Academy team, we got better. We’re hoping to get better this week. At this time of the season, it’s time to peak.”
It’s also time to not arrive late for the game. One difference spectators will notice at Friday’s game is how many fans wear burgundy and gold to support the Raiders.
“It brings back a lot of memories of when I was little and I wanted to play for this team, to be a part of that success,” Bensinger said of the team’s impact on North Lima. “There’s a ton of people who call Coach and congratulate him every week. I’ve had people call me.
“We have a lot of great fans who want to be part of our success,” Bensinger said. “Sometimes, our student section gets noticed for being small but we have so many kids who are either in the band or on the football team — more than half our school is one the field at some point.”
Lengyel agrees.
“Our band director [Jeff DiCesare] is fantastic,” Lengyel said. “And we have [awesome] fans.
“Some of the seniors went to the Little Raiders banquet and you have people you don’t even know coming up to you [with praise]. It’s just amazing how much people are backing us.”
Bensinger said make the state’s final eight “is somewhere we want to be. We’re consistent year in and year out, but we want to get to that level we can contend for a state championship and win it.
“Last year, we won the [Associated Press] poll, but that’s not as big. Now, we want a state championship to be part of our history,” Bensinger said. “And I think every senior wants it to be their class that gets it.”
williams@vindy.com