South Range scores early and often to secure 21-7 victory over Poland
Trending
POLAND -- South Range's defense was able to force turnovers when it mattered as the Raiders cruised to a 21-7 victory over the Poland Bulldogs Friday night.
While the Raiders defense produced plenty of highlights throughout the game, South Range showed off its explosive offense early, scoring 21 points in the first half. Quarterback Tristan Toy and running back Blake Ewert led the charge.
The Raiders got on the board first as Ewert capped off a long drive with a six-yard touchdown run. South Range led 7-0 with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Raiders head coach Dave Rach said that it was important for his team to get out to an early lead.
"I think it's a huge deal," Rach said. "For us, we find it really important to jump up early and try to make teams come and chase us. I think it kind of fits us stylistically with what we're trying to do."
The Bulldogs were quick to respond, as quarterback Dom Pagano connected with wide receiver Josh Macejko on a 15-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 7-7 early in the second quarter.
After the Macejko touchdown, South Range dominated the rest of the half.
On the following Raiders drive, wide receiver Brady Crumbacher caught a pass from Toy and broke away from defenders, scampering his way to an 82-yard touchdown reception with 8:32 in the second quarter, giving the Raiders a 14-7 lead.
On South Range's next offensive drive, Toy would again come up big for his team. A 57-yard touchdown run by the quarterback extended the Raiders lead to 21-7.
"I saw a huge gap on the run and I knew I was going to score," Toy said. "And me and Brady connected really well on that seam route, he scooted away, got the touchdown, it was just great."
South Range was not perfect in the second quarter.
With less than two minutes before half time, Toy threw an interception to Bulldogs cornerback Vito Komara which gave Poland the ball at the Raiders 22-yard line.
Poland was in a great situation to narrow the Raiders lead.
After driving down within five-yards of the end zone Poland found itself in a fourth-and-short yardage situation. The Bulldogs tried to catch their opponents off guard, pitching the ball to Komara in the running back position and having him roll out to pass.
But South Range was all over the play. Raiders defensive back Aidan Dominguez intercepted the pass and the Raiders were able to protect their two-touchdown lead at halftime.
"I told the kids at halftime that they bailed me out at the end of the half," Rach said. "I got greedy. We got the ball back with about 2:25 left in the half, I thought we could try to pop a first down or two and really try to get a good cushion going into half. It ended up being a greedy decision by me. I appreciate the defense for bailing me out, they made a great play on the trick play on fourth down."
Poland hit the second half running. The Bulldogs nearly scored a touchdown on a long pass to Komara. But again, a turnover negated what would have been a touchdown for Poland.
As Komara dashed down the field, Toy tackled Komara from behind and knocked the football out of his hands. The ball rolled into the end zone where it was recovered by South Range for a touchback.
"I think I might've blown a coverage on that maybe, I don't remember," Toy said. "I know that I came back for it. I chased him down and I got the old peanut-punch on there."
Two plays that should have resulted in touchdowns for the Bulldogs instead resulted in turnovers. Jimmy Powell added another interception for the Raiders, later in the half.
Bulldogs head coach Tom Pavlansky said that turnovers crushed his team.
"Those turnovers were huge in a big game," Pavlansky said. "Both teams forced turnovers. In a big game like this, those are crucial."
The second half became a duel between the two defenses. Neither team was able to find the end zone through the final two quarters.
Because of their scoring bursts in the first half, South Range was able to ride to a 21-7 victory behind its defense in the second half.
"Our defense was a really resilient group," Rach said. "They did a great job of working hard and preparing this week ... They play inspired football and really take a lot of pride in playing defense around here. I'm really proud of the effort tonight."
mcole@tribtoday.com