Range’s numbers over Ridge tell story
The Raiders are on the verge of clinching another league title.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
MINERAL RIDGE — Thirty-one consecutive regular season wins, three straight league championships — a lot of numbers can explain the South Range high football team’s dominance in recent years.
Here’s some from Friday’s 40-13 victory over Mineral Ridge that speak volumes. With the Raiders leading 21-0 at halftime, the Rams ran 28 of the next 29 offensive plays.
They were outscored 13-7 during that sequence.
“They’re good,” Mineral Ridge coach Dom Leone said after his team’s second Inter Tri-County League Tier One loss. “We actually got them out of their base offense, which I was happy with.
“But they have so many weapons,” Leone said. “They’re solid — it would be hard to beat them even on our best day.”
Senior fullback Chris Novak powered the Raiders’ offense with 127 yards rushing on nine carries including four touchdowns.
“I think the most I’ve ever had was two,” Novak said. “That’s one of the biggest games I’ve ever had. I didn’t expect anything like this to happen but the line did a great job of blocking.”
In the first half, the Raiders (9-0, 6-0) rushed for 190 yards on 24 carries.
Less than a minute into the game, Novak gained 54 of them on his first touchdown. Seven minutes later, Novak scored a 20-yarder for a 14-0 lead. His third came just before halftime on a 7-yard run.
“Chris Novak and Steve Bensinger did a super job, and Charlie Lengyel had that big run,” said Raiders coach Dan Yeagley referring to 55-yard touchdown 1:40 into the second half for a 27-0 lead.
“This is what we fight for every year,” said Yeagley of the Raiders’ third straight league crown. South Range (9-0, 6-0) can win the title outright with a win over Springfield or a Columbiana (7-2, 5-1) loss to Crestview.
“We started by talking about in the summer because the league title is very, very important to us,” Yeagley said.
Novak agreed.
“Because we’ve had at least a share of it for three seasons, this is very important to us — we don’t want to be the team that doesn’t get it,” Novak said.
Bensinger had eight carries for 93 yards as the Raiders rushed for 320.
Early in the second quarter, the Rams (7-2, 4-2) shifted into a hurry-up offense and were moving the ball when defensive back Andrew Padach stripped the ball from Rams receiver Jason Ferguson and defensive back Isaac Melnick recovered.
Melnick also intercepted a pass and recovered a kickoff while Padach also returned an interception 96 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
“It was awesome, guys hitting people,” Melnick said. “Our D-line got in there with pressure to help with the pick.”
In the second half, the Rams shifted gears, giving a break to senior tailback A.J. Zitello’s legs by using sophomore quarterback Zach Kiger’s arm.
Kiger completed 21-of-32 passes for 185 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown to Ferguson.
“They were moving the ball on us because they are a good team,” said Yeagley whose Raiders have a slight chance of facing the Rams again in Week 11. “They were making things happen.”
South Range, ranked No. 2 in the AP’s Division V poll, is the top team in Region 17 for the computer playoff ratings. The Rams are sixth in the same region, with the top eight teams qualifying.
Ferguson also scored on a 3-yard run. Zitello rushed 28 times for 92 yards.
“Our defense did a good job in not giving up the big play,” Yeagley said. “They made them work all the way down the field.”
williams@vindy.com
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