Staff photo / Greg Macafee South Range head coach Dan Yeagley hoists the state championship trophy as Chris Colucci (58) embraces him following the Raiders’ 53-27 victory over Ironton in the Division V title game.

CANTON — All season long, South Range looked like the team of destiny.

The Raiders won every game they played this year by a margin of 33.5 points per game. Plus, they had a 20-member senior class that has won more games than any other in school history, and of course, the monkey that was Kirtland was finally lifted off their backs when the Hornets moved down to Division VI.

To have a special season, everything has to fall into place. A team needs talent, experience, physicality and a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt either. Now 16-0, this South Range team has proven to have all of that in droves.

On Friday, the Raiders capped off the dream season with the crown jewel — the Division V state championship, as South Range thoroughly dominated previously unbeaten Ironton 53-27 to capture its first football state title in school history.

SLIDESHOW: South Range’s state championship

“To be honest with you, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Raiders head coach Dan Yeagley. “I’m still a little cold from the (Gatorade) shower. It’s crazy. You get into this moment, you get going into the game and you lose track of a lot of things going on because you’re focused on the situation. These kids are awesome, and I was so happy for them when (the clock) hit 0:00. I guess it was more or less a relief because these guys accomplished what they set out to do.

“I’m so proud of them, and these seniors are very deserving of this with how hard they worked all year. We went through a little adversity there early in the year, but they bounced back and made things happen.”

The adversity against the Fighting Tigers was few and far between, save for an early touchdown by Ironton that briefly tied the game during the first quarter, as South Range controlled the game throughout.

Like it has been all year, South Range’s offense was explosive and efficient. Under the command of senior quarterback Billy Skripac, the Raiders were a well-oiled machine.

The Raiders piled up 564 total yards of offense, while Skripac accounted for six of South Range’s whopping eight total touchdowns. He finished 13-for-25 for 331 yards and three touchdowns through the air, to go along with 12 carries for 59 yards and three more touchdowns on the ground.

“As a starting quarterback for the past two years, I think I’ve completed about 70 percent of my passes for about 15 yards per pass,” Skripac said. “To be as good of a team as we are, I think it’s really easy to do that as a quarterback when your line is as good as it is and your wide receivers and tight ends are as good as they are.”

But the offense’s production wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for key plays by the defense and special teams, particularly in the first half.

First, senior linebacker Jake Starkey recovered a fumble at the very start of the second quarter and then on the next possession, Bailey Ryan blocked a Tigers punt, which the Raiders recovered deep in opposing territory.

“Coming into the game, we knew they had a bunch of good kids and No. 5 (Jacquez Keyes) was one of the better running backs,” said senior lineman Chris Colucci. “I just saw my guard pull, and I read it perfectly and made a good play on (the ball) and Starkey recovered it. It’s crucial to get turnovers in any game, especially in a state championship.”

The fumble recovery and blocked punt each led directly to a pair of back-to-back quick-strike touchdowns by the offense that helped the Raiders get out in front, build some momentum and put some breathing room between them and the Tigers, especially after Ironton’s instantaneous response to South Range’s opening drive touchdown.

“It’s hard to overcome any time you give (the Raiders) great field position and an extra possession,” said Ironton head coach Trevon Pendleton. “They were able to capitalize on it and ultimately, capture that momentum. Hats off to them. They played a really good game. It wasn’t anything that we couldn’t overcome, we just weren’t able to do it today.”

The Raiders defense limited the four-star Wisconsin recruit Keyes to just 22 yards on nine carries and held the Tigers to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.

“Coming into the game, that’s been one of our biggest attributes as a team, especially our defense, is that we’re definitely the most physical Division V team in the state,” Skripac said. “When the Raiders play as a team, we’re more physical than anybody we play.”

While Skripac got things going in the passing game early on, Blake Ewert and the Raiders’ run game started to build some momentum starting in the second quarter.

On the drive that resulted in Ewert’s lone touchdown run, a 31-yard scamper towards the end of the first half, he was the bulk of the offense. Of the 67 yards on that drive, Ewert accounted for 57 of them, with all of them coming on outside zone stretch runs. Ewert finished with 142 yards on 19 carries.

“We were trying to establish a running game and a passing game,” Yeagley said. “We tried to get a nice 50-50 mix to just try to keep their defense on their heels. It wasn’t really the plan, but once we were able to get our running game going, Blake had a great second quarter and second half. Hats off to the offensive linemen — those guys did a great job being able to open up seams and give Billy time to throw the ball and make plays.”

For South Range, after all the hard work they put in this offseason and during the season itself, the fruits of their labor now lay ahead.

The Raiders now get to celebrate and revel in their triumph.

“There’s no what ifs right now — it’s pretty awesome,” Yeagley said with a smile. “We’re going to enjoy the moment and we’re going to have a lot of fun hopefully the next couple days — or maybe weeks.”

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com