Staff photo / Brian Yauger South Range’s Ayden Leon brings down a pass against Cardinal Mooney’s Ty Reali Friday night at Girard’s Arrowhead Stadium.

GIRARD — Both South Range and Cardinal Mooney had two opponents Friday night. Each other, and the weather.

The Raiders’ powerhouse offense took on each of them, and despite a few miscues, found the endzone five times in a 34-6 victory over the Cardinals to book a trip to the Division V, Region 17 finals.

“That’s a great win against a very good program,” Raiders coach Dan Yeagley said. “We always talk about that. You want to be that you want to be talked about in that level, like the Mooneys and like those guys. And guess what, to do that, you’ve got to beat those guys.

“I’m very proud of our guys, very proud of the seniors, what they did tonight and what they accomplished. They played together as a team. They played together as a unit, they just did a fantastic job. I’m so proud of them.”

The rain didn’t shut down the Raiders’ air game, as senior quarterback Billy Skripac was just as lethal in the passing game as he was in the rushing game Friday.

Skripac went 11-of-18 for 198 yards and three touchdowns through the air, then added 78 more on the ground and two scores.

There was some sloppiness, as to be expected, but every time there was a mistake made, South Range found a way to respond and recover from it.

“That was really how the whole night was for us,” Skripac said. “We had to respond to a few turnovers when we were in the red zone and didn’t score. In the end, it was a little bit of a sloppy game, we still have things to improve, but in the end, we won.”

After the first touchdown of the night, a 1-yard run by Skripac that capped off a 99-yard drive, a two-play sequence on the following Cardinal possession really helped South Range establish a lead.

Mooney quarterback Ashton O’Brien was mere fingertips away from connecting with a receiver on a surefire touchdown. But those fingertips, belonging to Brady Crumbacher, broke the pass up and saved the Raiders from a tie ballgame.

The following play, Crumbacher came up big again, this time on an interception. Crumbacher took the ball 44 yards to put South Range 21 yards away from a 14-0 lead.

Just a few plays later, Skripac hit JD Crouse on a 17-yard strike to establish that two-score lead.

Those little sequences added up for South Range by the end of the game.

“It’s hard to talk about one person because they all did a super job,” Yeagley said. “In that sequence, he had a bat down, had an interception and had a nice return off the interception. Then we went down and scored. Those little sequences, those little plays were huge.

“The total outcome of the ballgame, like I said, it wasn’t one person, it was everybody. The offensive line, our receivers, our running backs, Billy, our defense. Our defense held down to six points which is unbelievable.”

The Cardinals didn’t just lay down however.

Mooney drove down the field on their opening drive of the second half and capped it off with a 1-yard O’Brien rush.

Unfortunately for Mooney, that was the only time they would cross the goal line.

The Cardinals’ fantastic turnaround year ends with a 6-7 record after posting a 1-9 mark the year prior.

Just as South Range is using Mooney as a yardstick of what they want to achieve, Mooney is using South Range as a yardstick back at them.

The Cardinals are young, but coach Carl Pelini is optimistic about what’s to come for the Mooney program.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger
Cardinal Mooney’s Ashton O’Brien throws a pass Friday night against South Range during their regional semifinal matchup at Girard’s Arrowhead Stadium. South Range won 34-6.

“We had a small senior class, but they were really good leaders, always. They were just great kids. They’ve worked hard for three years and I’m glad they were able to experience success,” Pelini said. “That’s a good team. They played tonight with 21 seniors and we’re starting seven freshmen, but no excuses.

“That’s where we want to be. That’s what I told our guys after the game. We want to develop that program to where we have 21 seniors, and that’s when you know you’ve arrived as a program. We’ve just got to keep these classes together and have no attrition and work hard in the offseason.”

The road to Canton doesn’t get any easier after Friday. South Range’s next opponent is Perry in the Region 17 finals. The Pirates, who dropped down this season from Division IV after a good playoff run, took down Sugarcreek Garaway in their semifinal matchup to set the stage for the finals.

This has been where the road has ended for the Raiders in 2020 and 2021, both times to Kirtland. The Hornets are down in Division VI now, but the path is far from clear.

It won’t be easy, but for the South Range senior class, this one is personal.

“I’ve been here twice and you know, this next game is going to be personal,” Skripac said. “This is the hump. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Going in all summer, working really hard and the whole team is ready for it.”

The game is set for Friday, 7 p.m. at a site to be determined.