Team

South Range

Record	Div.	Conf.
13/1	Div. V	Independents

Team

United

Record	Div.	Conf.
5/3	Div. V	Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference

BY JOHN ROZUM

sports@vindy.com

North Lima

The South Range High football team got off to a slow start in Friday’s game against United, however head coach Dan Yeagley’s team managed to stay focused under some early pressure and ultimately came out with its second win of the season 26-7.

United received the opening kickoff and began the game’s first drive on its own 37 yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Eagles’ QB Justin Harsh launched a deep pass down the United sideline, and connected with WR Garrett Beech for a 63-yard TD to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead fewer than 20 seconds into the game.

After that, however, the Raiders slowly but surely chipped away at the United defense, and then things starting clicking toward the end of the first quarter.

“United came out in a different defense and was causing some problems with our offense, and they did a couple things offensively by moving some people around with a different QB,” said coach Yeagley. “We try to teach our kids to be football smart, and as the game went on they got better. Everything started coming around and it’s nice to see kids adapt.”

And adapting is what South Range did.

Backed up on their own 12 yard line late in the first quarter, the Raiders marched downfield in nine plays, and capped-off the 78 yard drive on an Alex Dickey 18-yard TD run with 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.

For the game Dickey compiled 46 yards on 11 carries, and fellow RB Joey Phillips added 71 yards of his own on 18 carries.

“We lost our fullback Jon Kenney last week, and Joey Phillips stepped in this week and did a great job,” Yeagley said of his leading rusher. “We got to get both of them [Dickey and Phillips] going or else the defense will key on one guy. So if we can go with a little one-two punch that helps, and even with the passing game that helps even more.”

South Range junior QB Ross Stoffer amassed 167 yards (151 in the first-half) on 14 completions, and dished the ball around to five different receivers.

The play that appeared to have knocked the wind out of United came from Stoffer on the last play of the first half.

There, he connected with sophomore WR Zach Thorpe for a 46-yard TD, increasing the Raiders lead to 19-7 lead at the break.

“Last week he had a great game, this week he had a great game, and it’s important that he’s on track,” Yeagley said of his QB. “If we’re running, running, running, then we can throw it at anytime, especially in the play-action pass and it opens up everything.

“I’m glad he’s [Stoffer] only a junior because we have him for another year.”