South Range blanks Girard in prep for playoffs
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GIRARD -- It was a beautiful night for a soccer game and before the weather gets cooler, the South Range Raiders heated up the scoreboard in Girard on Thursday.
Senior captain Camden Thomas and sophomore Logan Butcher combined for eight goals in a 10-0 shutout over the Indians.
Butcher, who finished with a hat trick, got it started with a goal 10 minutes into the first half.
"Everyone supports everyone else on the team," Butcher said. "We all boost each other's morale. I'm just glad to be a part of South Range soccer. We're looking to go as far as we can."
The Raiders (12-2-1) made it all the way to the regional final in 2020.
"We've had a great season," Raiders coach Zach Stamp said. "We're co-conference champs with Poland. I couldn't be happier going into the playoffs as a three seed. We're looking to do what we did last year.
"We split with Poland. They beat us first. Then, we returned the favor later in the season. Luckily, we pulled it out to give us a share of the Northeast 8. It was a tough 3-0 loss, at home against Mooney, in the regional final last year. Maybe we can even go farther this year. I think we have the guys that can do it."
Thomas is definitely one of those guys. His lethal leg knocked in five goals on the night.
"We had kind of a slow start this year," Thomas said. " We had a tough loss to Poland. We came together as a team. We bonded. We moved a couple of people around."
Everything was certainly working against Girard. After Thomas scored the third goal of the game, he jumped up in celebration with goalie Bradon Johnson.
Johnson, another senior captain, was stingy in the net for the Raiders. Girard senior TyShawn Skinner sent a goal-kick wide left, and Johnson turned away a free-kick moments later.
"We're a young team," Girard coach Damon Lariviere said. " They're still learning. They've progressed. This game wasn't indicative of how we play. South Range has a good team. I'm proud of my three seniors. Those kids have worked their butts off every year that they've been here. We're looking forward to the playoffs."
Girard will host Edgewood in a first round playoff matchup.
Junior Emmett Bailey and sophomore Matthew Fryfogle each found the back of the net in the second half.
"Underclassmen have stepped up," Thomas said. "Everything's coming together at the right time."