BARBERTON — Clearview woke up a sleeping giant.
The sixth-seeded Clippers hung around for a half with Division V defending state champion No. 2 South Range, but couldn’t keep up in a 48-21 loss on Nov. 10 in a Division V, Region 17 semifinal.
Trailing at the half, 14-13, Clearview (10-3) was outscored by 26 in the second half. South Range (12-1) scored 41 straight at one point and its run game started to wear down the Clippers.
The Raiders move on to face No. 1 Perry in the Region 17 final on Nov. 17.
“There’s nothing that you can say to take the pain away from them right now, but they had a special run this year,” Clearview coach Mike Collier said. “They made us all proud.”
PHOTOS: Clearview vs. South Range football, Nov. 10, 2023
Neither team was able to move the ball in the early going until Ayden Cruz gave Clearview a spark. Facing third down, South Range quarterback Tristan Toy threw it right to Cruz for the interception.
The Clippers took advantage of a short field and scored three plays later on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Cy Christensen to Malcolm Lane. The extra point was blocked.
Clearview was able to get a good drive going on its following possession, and it got another fumble bounce this week when offensive lineman Greg O'Hern jumped on top of one to keep it going. However, the Clippers turned the ball over on downs later on.
South Range finally got its offensive going with some tempo. The Raiders had two big plays to get them in Clearview territory on a run from Blake Ewert and a pass from Toy to Brady Crumbacher.
Aidan Dominguez didn't touch the ball prior to this point in the game, and he made his presence known with two chunk runs, including a touchdown. His nine-yard run tied the score, and the extra point was up and through to put the Raiders in front.
The offense suddenly started to pick up as Clearview scored again. On third down, Christensen found Ethan Lorenzana on a swing pass. A block down the sideline sprung the senior running back loose and he was off to the races. The Clippers took a 13-7 lead with 3:26 left in the half.
Right before the half ended, the Raiders had one more touchdown in them. A personal foul gave South Range a free 15 yards, and Dominguez ripped off a 20-yard run. On third-and-goal and the clock winding down, Dominguez scored again from one yard out. The extra point was good once again, breaking the tie and putting the Raiders in front with 30 seconds remaining.
"In the first half, everything went well for us," Christensen said. "But in the second half, we just came out short. Nothing was really working for us."
South Range forced a punt to start the second half, and a 35-yard return from Crumbacher sparked the Raiders. Two runs from Ewert later and they extended the lead to eight.
Clearview went three-and-out once again, and South Range drove down the field with a 41-yard strike on third down from Toy to Gaven Nagy. Two plays later, Dominguez rushed for his third score.
Before the third quarter ended, the Raiders added another score on a 14-yard pass from Toy to Crumbacher. They took advantage of a short field after Luke Starkey picked off Christensen.
After another interception on a deep ball, Toy broke off a 61-yard touchdown run. Both teams traded interceptions before South Range's Dylan Smesko ran in a 29-yard touchdown to start the running clock with just over seven minutes left.
Clearview scored one last touchdown on the season with 1:56 left on a six-yard run from Lorenzana. Christensen found him on a 28-yard pass to set it up. Lorenzana finished with 145 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
"We went into halftime thinking that we had a chance in this game, but we didn't come out fired up like we did in the first half," Lorenzana said. ... "We like a challenge, we don't want anything easy. Coming in having to play them, it was great. We were hyped all week, but we just came up short."
THE SCORE
South Range 48, Clearview 21
