Correspondent photo / Michael G. Taylor Girard’s Braxton Sloan (9) makes a one-handed interception during the second quarter of Friday’s game against South Range in Beaver Township.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP — Girard knows the path to climbing atop the vaunted Northeast 8 Conference goes through five-time reigning league champion South Range, and for the first time in program history, the Indians secured the victory over the Raiders on Friday night.

Girard pulled ahead in the first half and kept the Raiders at arm’s length the rest of the night in a 56-35 shootout victory at Rominger Athletic Complex to remain unbeaten.

“We’ve come here and fought before, and I’m proud of the efforts we’ve put in through the years, but we could never quite seal it. Tonight, our kids stepped up and made plays when plays needed to be made, and I’m so proud of these guys,” Girard head coach Pat Pearson said. “I’ve got so much respect for Coach (David) Rach and Coach (Dan) Yeagley before. That’s a heck of a program. Those kids play their tail off.

“They’ve certainly been at the top of the ladder for a long time, so it means a lot to come here (and win). But next week’s another challenge, and that’s just what you’re going to get playing in this conference. Our kids are going to enjoy this one tonight, but we’ve got a whole lot of work ahead of us. We’ll lock back in and go back to work on Monday and keep this thing rolling.”

The Raiders had no answer for Girard quarterback AJ Pearson and his fleet of dynamic receivers. Pearson threw for more than 350 yards and seven touchdowns, while also making a fair number of plays on the ground with his legs.

Four different receivers caught a touchdown for the Indians, with Mario Lipinski leading the way with three and Jeramiah Hunter finishing with two.

“They’re so good at stretching you horizontally and vertically,” Rach said. “They’ve got a great group of skill players. They’re solid up front. They’re as well-coached in offense (as anyone). The quarterback’s obviously a tremendous player. I don’t care if he’s a 10th grader or a fifth-year senior, he can play. He’s got great help around him, and those guys do a great job.”

After forcing South Range to punt on its opening drive, the Pearson and the Indians went to work. Girard marched down the field, capping things off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Pearson to Braxton Sloan.

On the ensuing drive, the Raiders started to find some rhythm offensively, but quarterback Nick Toy was intercepted by Sloan on a botched play in the red zone.

Girard turned the turnover into points by extending its lead on a 25-yard touchdown connection from Pearson to Lipinski on fourth-and-long. Lipinski tight roped along the back of the end zone to keep his feet inbounds on the long completion.

South Range got on the board at the start of the second quarter by getting its ground game going, as Jason Vorshak broke multiple tackles on his way to an 11-yard touchdown run.

But the Raiders struggled to match Girard’s explosiveness, as Lipinski returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for another Indians touchdown to quell any of South Range’s momentum.

Capitalizing on another interception by Sloan, Girard ended the first half with Pearson’s third touchdown pass of the game. He connected with Hunter on a screen, and Hunter did the rest, as he scampered 20 yards for the score to give the Indians a 28-7 lead at halftime.

Girard kept its foot on the throttle immediately coming out of halftime, as Pearson connected with Lipinski for a 76-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the third quarter.

Still, South Range just wouldn’t go away.

Despite being seemingly outmatched, the Raiders’ championship pedigree is strong and they remained resilient in the face of adversity.

“We had some really tough conversations as a football family this week, just about competitive spirit,” Rach said. “I gotta tell you, we’re not OK with losing football games, and we’re going to go back to work tomorrow morning to try to get it fixed. But I could not be more proud of this group of players, their competitive spirit and the way they fought tonight. The way they rallied around each other — I’ll sleep good tonight.”

South Range kept pace with the Indians in the second half by scoring with Toy’s arm and a ground attack led by Vorshak.

The Raiders added a 10-yard touchdown pass from Toy to Guido Miller and a 1-yard touchdown run by Tommy Valentine in the third quarter.

Sandwiched between both scores, Girard needed just a single play to score once again, as Pearson found Lipinski behind the Raiders’ defense for a 59-yard touchdown.

“They answered and took a little momentum, and then we kind of punched back,” Pat Pearson said. “That’s who we are, that’s what we are. We’re a quick-strike team. We’re very explosive in a lot of different ways. A bunch of guys stepped up tonight, made plays and that’s just who we are and what our DNA is.”

Toy’s third interception came near the end of the third quarter, which Girard again converted into points with a drive that ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pearson to Jadon Wade.

Vorshak got his second touchdown of the night with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter when he hauled in a 5-yard pass from Toy.

Hunter had Girard’s final touchdown of the night, scoring on a 54-yard catch-and-run, before Miller put one more in the end zone for the Raiders, catching Toy’s third touchdown pass of the night in the final minutes.

“That’s championship DNA over there. Those guys ain’t gonna quit. We knew that. They haven’t quit all year, and that’s how they play,” Pat Pearson said. “We knew it coming out of half, and our kids were ready for it. We had a couple injuries in the second half. But the guys that went in and played, they played their butts off. I’m just so proud of all our kids. I’m proud to be a Girard Indian right now.”