South Range uses strong line play to beat Ironton 53-27.

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David Burnworth | December 4, 2022

Coming into the state final game, both South Range and Ironton stood at 15-0. For South Range, they had ten wins against teams with a winning record. For Ironton, they had beaten twelve teams with winning records. Both teams had shown all season they were championship contenders, though when all was said and done, South Range was the better of the two teams, and they left no doubt about it with their play. The winners would total 564 yards, while Ironton totaled 389. A big difference, if not the biggest, was the overall play of both lines for South Range. They looked to be faster and a lot stronger as a unit, and as we got deeper and deeper into the game, the difference in talent continued to separate.

Early in this one, Billy Skripac would hit 5-foot-8, 170-pound Shane Lindsrom, who used a nice move after making the catch to pick up 68 yards. Lindsrom would be a nightmare all game long for the Fighting Tigers as he totaled six catches, 174 yards, and one touchdown, with 148 yards coming after making a catch. Skripac would end the 90-yard drive on a 7-yard quarterback run after Logan Butcher hit the point after kick; the score was 7-0, with 8:30 left in the opening quarter.

Lincoln Barnes caught a 66-yard touchdown from Tayden Carpenter, and then Evan Willaims locked things up at seven with his point-after kick. The drive needed just one play totaling 66 yards, as the Fighting Tigers showed they too have the ability to score quickly. After the two scoring drives, both offenses looked to be a few steps ahead of the defensive units.

With 1:08 left in the quarter, Skripac, who always seemed to have more than enough time to throw the ball thanks to the hard work from his offensive line, found Jake Starkey for 30 yards. Then at the 0:42 mark of the quarter, Skripac found a wide-open Heath Crouse for the 40-yard score to make this a 14-7 game. As talented as the Ironton secondary was, they had little chance in this one thanks to all of the time Skripac had to throw the ball.

The game started to turn just five seconds into the second quarter when the Fighting Tigers put the ball on the turf, and poncing on it like a fat guy on a doughnut was Starkey. Skripac would get right back to work by finding J.D. Crouse for 29 yards. Crouse was wide open, as he was each time he had his number called. After all was said and done, he would total three catches, good for 71 yards and a touchdown. Skripac ended the drive with a 5-yard touchdown to make this a 20-7 game with 11:14 remaining in the half. The talented South Range quarterback would total 59 yards rushing on 12 carries and three touchdowns. The kid is one of the best two-way threats I have watched all season as far as quarterbacks go.

Carpenter would be sacked by Baily Ryan and Chris Colucci at the 10:42 mark for a loss of two. The Tigers were forced to punt a short time later, where Ryan blocked the punt, giving the ball back to his offense at the Ironton 8-yard line. Ryan would have a nice game, totaling six tackles, two sacks, and the blocked punt. The ensuing drive needed just one play to find pay dirt, with Skripac scoring on a nice run where his line again dominated.

Carpenter would find Trevor Carter for 18 yards, helping to set up a 31-yard touchdown pass to Ty Perkins to make this a 26-14 game with 5:19 left in the half. Carpenter would have some nice totals by the time this one ended: 21 completions on 36 throws, 325 yards, and 4 touchdowns. He would be sacked three times and hit more times than he had been in any game this season.

Blake Ewert would pick up 47 yards on two carries, with the last one going for a touchdown to make this a 32-14 game with 3:13 left on the clock. Ewert ended his night with 143 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. The offensive line’s efforts, combined with his speed and field vision, made things easier for him most of the time. The last big play of the half would come when Skripac found Ayden Leon for 28 yards when the receiver was tightly covered.

With 10:34 left in the third quarter, the refs ruled that Carpenter’s pass to Perkins was incomplete when it was originally called a completion with a fumble that South Range’s Dean DePizzo recovered. The luck did not last long because Carpenter was stuffed on fourth and two by Colucci and Ryan, forcing a turnover on downs.

A 36-yard run by Ewert would be the highlight on the ensuing South Range drive, but the Fighting Tigers defense regrouped to get the ball back to their offense. Ryan would continue to be a force for South Range on the ensuing Ironton drive, where he sacked Carpenter for a loss of ten yards. After getting the ball back, Skripac found Lindsrom, who took advantage of some bad attempted tackling from the Fighting Tigers and a nice move to go 65 yards for the score to make this a 39-14 game with 6:01 left in the quarter.

Carpenter would hit Amari Fielder for 38 yards and then again for an 8-yard touchdown to make this a 39-21 game at the 4:46 mark of the quarter. Neither team would do any more damage in the quarter, setting up a fourth quarter that would see Skripac find DePizo for an 8-yard score to give South Range a 46-21 lead. Carpenter would complete a 31-yard pass to Perkins and then find Perkins for a 28-yard touchdown to make this a 46-27 game. Aiden Dominguez scored the game’s final touchdown on a 3-yard run through a hole so large that the sophomore could have walked in. Butcher ended the scoring with his point-after kick to make this a 53-27 game.