DIVISION V REGIONAL SEMIFINAL | South Range vs. Akron Manchester


Kickoff: 7:30, tonight.

Where: Louisville Leopard Stadium, 606 South St., Louisville.

Records: South Range 11-0; Akron Manchester 9-2.

Coaches: Dan Yeagley for South Range; Jim France for Akron Manchester.

Playoff appearances: South Range 16; Akron Manchester 22.

Notable: This is a rematch of a Week 3 game at South Range, won by South Range 42-36. The Panthers stunned the Raiders by jumping out to a 24-7 lead. Then the Raiders rallied, scoring the winning points with 3:28 remaining. Raiders QB Aniello Buzzacco is a dual-threat standout. In last week’s 28-14 win over Crestview, Buzzacco passed for 163 yards and ran for 93. For the season, he’s completed 84 of 150 passes for 1,690 yards. He has 20 touchdown passes and five interceptions. Buzzacco is second on the team in rushing (920 yards on 118 carries. Peyton Remish leads the Raiders’ ground attack with 1,469 yards on 233 attempts. He has 15 TDs and gashed the Rebels for 172 yards in the playoff game. Buzzacco’s favorite targets are Mathias Combs (48 catches, 969 yards, 13 TDs) and Josh Stear (21 catches, 478 yards, 5 TDs). Levi Taylor, a sidelined lineman who has a torn ACL that needs surgery, was the placekicker last week. In mid-September, Taylor had replaced Brandon Youngs who suffered a broken leg playing soccer in September. Youngs was the placekicker, punter and kickoff specialist at the start of the season. Manchester’s high-powered offense has scored more than 50 points four times this season. Leading the way is running back Ethan Wright who has 2,360 yards on 268 carries. He’s also caught 22 passes for 314 yards. Quarterback Robert Wagner has passed for 651 yards (52-for-98). On defense, Gaven Kinsey has 129 tackles and Hunter Foster 117. The Panthers have won eight straight games since losing to South Range. Their other loss was 43-20 to Chippewa in the season opener.

Tom Williams, The Vindicator

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