Yeagley, Raiders still proud despite season exit
South Range avoided a
shutout when Jack Dawson raced 27 yards for a score early in the fourth period.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
AUSTINTOWN — There was too much pride in the South Range High football program for the Raiders to pack it in after falling behind 31-0 at halftime against the Ursuline Irish.
“You have to play your best game against a very good team and we didn’t play our best game,” said South Range coach Dan Yeagley. “We tried hard and we fought to the very end.”
South Range was no stranger to Division V regional championship games. The Raiders have made it to this game five straight years but they were no match early for the bigger and faster Ursuline Irish team.
The Raiders were doomed from the start after Ursuline won the toss and elected to receive the football. Irish sophomore tailback Allen Jones took the first handoff of the game and raced nearly untouched 67 yards to a score.
South Range standout senior Steve Bensinger said that play set the tone for the rest of the first half.
“Their speed was really good and we weren’t ready for it on the first play,” Bensinger said. “They just came right out and took it to us.
“I think a lot of our players were unsure of what to expect. We weren’t sure of how much of a challenge Ursuline would bring and reading the paper doesn’t really prepare you for what you’ll see on the field.”
The Irish scored on their next four possessions and dominated the Inter Tri-County Tier One champions in all phases of the game.
At halftime, Ursuline had outgained the Raiders 383 to minus-6 yards in total offense and had 13 first downs to one for South Range.
“They beat us flat out in the first half and we couldn’t make it up,” Bensinger said.
Senior wide receiver Charlie Lengyel who caught a pass from quarterback Jack Dawson for 39 yards to help lead a second half resurgence said the Irish were one of the best teams the Raiders have faced in his career.
“We knew they were fast and big but the quickness really killed us,” Lengyel said. “We weren’t surprised.”
Lengyel said that despite the 31-point deficit at halftime the Raiders were still willing to play football.
“There is no quit in South Range football,” Lengyel said. “Coach told us at halftime to keep our heads up. We had 24 minutes of football left and we had to try and take it to them.”
South Range aquitted itself well in the second half by outscoring Ursuline 7-0 in the final two quarters but it wasn’t nearly enough.
The Raiders avoided a shutout when Dawson raced 27 yards for a score early in the fourth period.
South Range had two other scoring opportunities when Dawson overthrew Lengyel on fourth-and-5 near the end zone in the third quarter and another drive was thwarted when Lengyel fumbled on the 5 yard line after a nice run.
“I’m very proud of the seniors,” Yeagley said. “The seniors did a very good job for us all year.
“You win 12 games you have to be pretty happy and I am happy for what we accomplished.”
Lengyel said that although the Raiders fell short of their goal of making it to state it wasn’t all that disappointing.
“It was a heck of a ride,” Lengyel said.
Subscribe Today
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive daily news.
Want more? Click here to subscribe to either the Print or Digital Editions.
AP News