South Range and Crestview have a long history of facing each other through their years together inthe Inter Tri-County League and beyond.

When the Northeast-8 switched to a league-only schedule for the 2020 season, it looked like the two teams, originally scheduled to play in week two, wouldn’t meet for the first time in over two decades.

Now the teams will meet with a little more on the line than your typical bragging rights as the Raiders and Rebels face off tonight for a spot in the Division V, Region 17 regional final.

South Range coach Dan Yeagley, who is in his 25th season with the Raiders, thinks the extra stakes just add an extra layer of fun to an already fun matchup.

“I think it just brings extra excitement,” he said. “It brings a lot of emotion to the game, because you know them, they know us. It’s two familiar foes going at it and it does bring some excitement. We’re rivals, we played each other forever. The last two weeks, we’ve played unknown teams. Teams that we didn’t know anything about and they didn’t know a whole lot about us.

“Now we go from that, where you’re trying to learn as much as you can, to a team that you know everything about, and they know everything about us. It’s been a great week. We know it’s going to be a battle for 48 minutes and we’re trying to prepare for that.”

Crestview (6-1) is coming off postseason victories over Southeast (33-0) and Garfield (23-15) and is entering this game with just as much excitement.

“We’re excited,” Crestview coach Paul Cusick said. “It’s always a good opportunity to go play South Range. We’ve had a great history through the years playing them. It’s kind of a unique situation when you get to play in the playoffs, and having played so many times over the years, so it should be fun.”

Both teams have had a ton of success offensively, especially on the ground.

South Range running back Dylan Dominguez has had a dominant year and has been a key factor in the Raiders’ success. The junior tailback has run for 906 yards and 16 scores across their eight games.

The rushing duo of senior tailbacks Ethan Powell (711 yards) and William Hardenbrook (686 yards) have combined for 1,397 yards and have accounted for 14 of Crestview’s 17 rushing scores. The pair have been in the lineup for years and bring an extra level of experience and knowledge of the system.

“Bringing experience, which is what’s scary,” Yeagley said of Crestview. “They all played last year. The backs all played last year. The two running backs, Hardenbrook and Powell, do a fantastic job running the ball.”

Both teams have made the postseason three out of the last four seasons, so consistency and experience are a staple between the two rivals.

“They’re just consistent,” Cusick said. “Their kids just continue to play very solid tradition-based football. Those kids know the system. They’re very well coached, they’re going to do what they do well, and they’re just going to keep doing it. … I think that more than anything, what we need to do is just do what we do and be consistent and take advantage of any opportunity that we get.”

In South Range’s previous two playoff games, energy in the beginning of games hasn’t been up to where it should be, according to Yeagley. Going into tonight’s game, South Range’s goal is to come out just as energized as how they finish. Their familiarity with Crestview should make that goal very easy to achieve.

“When we went against Harrison Central, we just didn’t come out and play hard at the beginning,” Yeagley said. “We played well after we got started, but we just didn’t come out at the beginning and Beachwood was the same way.

“We were trying to feel this team out because we didn’t know a lot about them … We already know who they (Crestview) are. We know what they do. We have to come out and play very good from the very beginning.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Raider Stadium. The winner of tonight’s matchup will face the winner of Kirtland and Sugarcreek Garaway in the regional final.