Billy Skripac leads South Range football to first OHSAA state championship
CANTON — South Range put the finishing touches on a perfect high school football season in dominant fashion Friday. The Raiders rolled to a 53-27 win over Ironton to win their first Ohio High School Athletic Association football state championship in program history.
Each team entered Friday morning's opening game of a state finals tripleheader at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium with a 15-0 record. When it ended early in the afternoon, South Range joined two teams from a year ago, Chardon and Marion Local, as the only Ohio high school football teams to finish a season 16-0.
South Range quarterback Billy Skripac — the co-offensive player of the year in the Northeast Inland District — led the way Friday with three touchdown runs and three TD passes, as he gained more than 350 yards of total offense.
OHSAA Football State Finals:A Mount Rushmore for Ohio high school football coaches on OHSAA playoffs 50th anniversary
Here’s a look at some of the key things to know about the game:
Player of the game
South Range quarterback Billy Skripac
The 6-foot-2 senior did a little bit of everything to help the Raiders rip off 564 yards of offense. He used play action to buy himself time. He kept the sticks moving with some of his 12 runs (59 yards), and he took only one sack. He was crisp with his throws, resulting in 331 yards on 13 completions. Locked in a duel against standout Ironton QB Trayden Carpenter, he played with great poise.
Play of the Game: Billy Skripac and Shane Lindstrom get South Range going
On South Range's first series, quarterback Billy Skripac hit 5-foot-7 waterbug Shane Lindstrom with a short pass that turned into a 68-yard gain. That set the tone for the entire game, in which JD Crouse, Ayden Leon and Jake Starkey all made catches of 28 yards or more.
Mahoning Valley Football:Broc Lowry leads Canfield High School football to its first OHSAA state championship
Three stats to a title
148: Receiver Shane Lindstrom caught six passes for 176 yards. Based on stats supplied by the OHSAA, 148 of them were on "yards after catch." It was easy to see how Lindstrom racked up 1,300 receiving yards for a 16-0 team.
564: Ironton had a reasonably effective day on offense, with 389 yards. South Range was unstoppable, with 564 yards. South Range got more than anticipated from the run game, with Blake Ewert cranking out 143 yards on 19 carries. JD Crouse and Ayden Leon each caught three passes, generating 125 yards to compliment Lindstrom. The Raiders' balance on offense kept Ironton's defense off balance.
3: South Range converted three fourth downs. The Raiders' defense allowed only three third-down conversions by Ironton. That defense gave up 325 passing yards to Ironton QB Tayden Carpenter, but sacked him three times in key situations.
They said it
South Range head coach Dan Yeagley on sprinkling trick plays into its 53-point explosion: "It's high school football, and our kids are out there having a blast with some of that stuff."
Ironton tight end-linebacker Lincoln Barnes took heart in having been part of a program that won 50 games from his freshman through senior years: "When my brother graduated, he told me, 'Leave the program better than you found it.' That's what we tried to do."
South Range center-defensive end Chris Colucci liked the loud in-game soundtrack at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium: "I did a lot of dancing."
Ironton quarterback Tayden Carpenter wrestled with disappointment: "We had a great group of seniors. It was a brotherhood from the start. It just didn't happen today."
This article originally appeared on The Repository: South Range football rolls past Ironton in OHSAA state final
