NORTH LIMA: South Range Raiders 34, Columbiana Clippers 30

By Ryan Jones

The Raiders’ final drive produced a 34-30 win over Columbiana.

NORTH LIMA — Trailing by three points 30-27 with 2:21 remaining, South Range’s offense knew this was its last chance to score, and quarterback Jack Dawson knew it was his time to lead.

The 6-foot-2 senior capped off a seven-play, 44 yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown plunge to give the Raiders a 34-30 win over ITCL Tier One rival Columbiana Friday night.

“Insane,” said Dawson about the way the game ended. “Before the last drive the team got together and said ‘We are getting this done.’ Everyone pulled together to pull this one out.”

Dawson, who went 3-of-3 for 31 yards and rushed three times for 12 yards on the final drive, set up his game-winning run when he hooked up with split end Kyle Seaver for 18 yards to the 5.

“It was a great call by offensive coordinator Wayne Allegretto,” Dawson said.

“Kyle ran a great route; made a great catch and the line gave me the time I needed.”

Without senior Jared Razo none of Dawson’s heroics would have been possible. With 4:05 left in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers up 30-27, the 225-pound linebacker almost single-handedly forced Columbiana into a three-and-out.

He stuffed fullback Nick Roncone for a 1-yard loss on first down, and steamrolled tailback Brian Warchol on third-and-7 to force a Columbiana punt.

“At halftime coach [Dan Yeagley] said we needed a leader,” Razo said. “I felt it was my job to be that leader. [Brian] Warchol [16 carries, 148 yards and a touchdown] is a great player, and he played a great game. We knew we had to step up against their offense and we did.”

Trailing 20-10 after the first period, Columbiana scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter on Roncone’s 72-yard touchdown rumble, Grant Crider’s 1-yard touchdown run, and a 30-yard field goal by Josh Harold six seconds before half.

Columbiana coach Bob Spaite said he wasn’t expecting an offensive showdown.

“I thought we could maybe get three touchdowns on them, and that was pushing it,” he said. “We were hoping to hold them two scores. But it turned into a shootout. It was an entertaining game. We needed to make a big play toward the end, but we didn’t and that’s the bottom line.”

The Clippers ran their lead to 30-20 on a 41-yard field goal by Harold at the 8:12 mark of the fourth period.

The Raiders cut the margin to 30-27 on their next possession when Vince Miller, who was forced into action when Dawson had to come out due to injury, hooked with Seaver for a 22-yard touchdown strike.

“Vince Miller leads our scout team offense every week,” South Range coach Dan Yeagley said. “it was great for him to come in and make an impact. He made the right read and Kyle [Seaver] went up and made a great catch. Our guys stepped up in the second half. We made some mistakes and we lost focus for a while in the first half.”

Dawson had 116 passing yards and 122 more on the ground to pace the Raiders. Nick Golec, who totaled 77 yards rushing, scored on a 53 yard touchdown sprint and a 97-yard kickoff return in the first quarter to give South Range a 20-10 lead.

Roncone totaled 119 rushing yards on 12 carries and Warchol added three catches for 47 yards.