Submitted photo / Magic Moments Photography The 2024 South Range football team.

BEAVER TOWNSHIP — With a solid crop of returners, hopes are high in as the South Range Raiders aim to continue their winning ways.

This year’s seniors were underclassmen when the team won state in 2022, so they know what it takes. Now it’s their turn to shine.

As the Raiders enter their second season under head coach David Rach, the goal continuous improvement. While Canton is always the hope, it’s not the goal, at least right away. There’s a dozen other things that need accomplished first, and South Range hasn’t been a program that’s skipped steps.

“You’ve got to obviously prepare like crazy, you’ve got to keep getting better throughout the year. I think they did a good job of that,” Rach said. “It seemed like they were getting better and better every week. … I think we’re kind of in a unique position, where our guys, a lot of our older kids saw how we did it two years ago and then saw where we fell short last year. So I hope that we can learn from that and try to make things right.

“It sounds cliche, it really does, but we’re trying to get better. Obviously we want to win every game here, right? But day to day and week to week we’re trying to get better each day. And we think that if we keep doing that, stay focused on the day and the task at hand, then I think that gives us the best chance moving forward to reach our goals. We talk about them internally. Try not to put them out there a whole lot, but I think the biggest thing for us is that goals are really easy to set, but they’re hard to achieve. I think this group really understands that if we don’t work and if our habits aren’t consistent with those goals, a goal is just writing on a piece of paper.”

OFFENSE

Tristan Toy returns to the Raiders this season as the starter in his second year full-time under center. Toy played sparingly during the 2022 season as well, so he’s used to running the offense by now.

“(That stability) has been a big help,” Rach said. “His command of the huddle and his command of the offense has obviously made a big jump I think. It’s early in camp, obviously, but he’s done a good job of leading us and keeping things organized. We’re trying to create as much stress as we can on the kids in practice and it’s getting tougher and tougher for us as coaches to create that stress. Tristan does a good job of calming them down. I think there’s something about him when you look in the huddle and see your skill guys that have kind of been there and done that there’s a little bit more poise and they’re a little bit better under the gun which is important.”

Aidan Dominguez and Dylan Smesko will share ball carrying duties at the running back spot. Dominguez ran for 14 touchdowns last season.

Heath Crouse is the team’s tight end this season and will be counted on in both the passing and blocking game. The Raiders utilize an H-back in their offense as well, and that role will be occupied by Troy Combs this season. Gavin Hiscox and Gaven Nagy are a pair of letterwinners that could see time at wide receiver as well.

While the offensive line isn’t exactly a weak spot on the team, it’s where the most roster turnover has taken place.

Losing 80% of the starting unit would do that to any position group.

But the guys stepping in are putting the team in a good spot.

“We lost four senior lineman and then five out of our first seven linemen in the game,” Rach said. “We lost guys up there, but again, the guys that are coming back, Andrew Brian at center, started all over the line last year. Patrick Lally at tackle played a ton last year. I don’t know if he started every game but certainly played in every game for us offensively and defensively and did a great job. Then we’ve got a couple other seniors and juniors that we had to slide into place. I feel excited about the familiar guys to the program, they just haven’t been playing guard previously. So I’m excited to see what those guys can do.”

Brian and Lally highlight the group, with players like Luke Starkey, Kellen Pitzer, Shaun Updegraff, Coy Heineman, Billy Humphrey and Michael Chadbourne are all in the mix for the remaining spots.

“I feel good about the guys that we have stepping in there, all of them. They haven’t played a ton in those positions,” Rach said. “We’ve been forced to kind of move some guys to some positions they haven’t played previously, so it’s not that they’re new faces, just new positions. And they’ve done a great job, I think of developing throughout the camp, but we also know that, (offensive line) I would argue is probably the most important part in positioning in terms of playing in our league. Just the style of the brand of football, the style of football, you’ve got to be really good on the lines. It’s not that we have concerns up there as much as we understand the importance of and we’re really focused on (development up there) right now.”

DEFENSE

The defensive line will be in a similar position as the offensive line, with a lot of those same guys in the mix.

Where there is stability, however, is at linebacker.

“We’re fortunate we bring back, really, our whole second level from last year’s team,” Rach said. “Luke Starkey, he’s kind of been a workhorse in there for, really, two years and was a leading tackler last year. Dylan Smesko was second on the team in tackles last year. He’s the other inside backer, and then Tristan Toy and Aidan Dominguez, both started every game last year in different spots. We’re excited to have a group in the middle of the defense that can kind of keep things in check. Have to replace some guys up front. But you know those linebackers made it easy.”

The secondary is a similar situation with three of the four starters from last year returning.

Nagy, Nate Lewis, Hiscox and Jimmy Powell will all see significant time in the defensive backfield.

“I think we’re a little bit ahead of what we were last year just in terms of install because of that, but these guys also understand that we’ve got to get a lot better back there,” Rach said.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Luke Starkey returns as the team’s kicker after missing part of the season due to injury.

Rach pointed out that the entire special teams unit is returning, down to the holder and long snapper returning. Tommy Valentine returns as the long snapper and Powell will be the holder.

“I don’t care how good the kicker is if you can’t snap it,” Rach said. “It all starts with that, so just operationally I feel good. It’s the first time, and I can’t tell you how long, that we return all three guys in the operation, which is nice.”

The only question mark is at punter. Toy punted last season, but they’re looking to give him a break and bring someone else in instead.

South Range has an odd quick to their schedule this season.

During the first six weeks of the season, the Raiders play each of their games at the new-look Raider Stadium, and are on the road each of the last four weeks of the season.

A pair of Division II teams are on the schedule with Barberton coming to the area in Week 2, with the Raiders traveling to Louisville later in the year.

The theme of the schedule this season is “meat grinder”.

“I mean it doesn’t doesn’t get much easier,” Rach said. “There’s 10 tough ones. I think the schedule sets up really nice for us but we also know that we’re going to have to play like crazy for 10 weeks straight.”

South Range opens with rival Springfield.