East Palestine Rolls to Open Season

[Raider#23]

East Palestine 37 South Range 13

The East Palestine Bulldogs showed why they are a favorite to win the Tri-County League championship this year with a convincing 37-13 victory over the defending Inter-County League Champion South Range Raiders. The game was completed Saturday afternoon, after officials halted the contest Friday night at approximately 9:10 p.m. due to lightning.

The Bulldogs wasted no time in showing their explosiveness with a 90-yard kickoff return by J.D. Powers to start the game. Powers found a seam on the right side of the field, and eluded a tackle by kicker Jon Styer to streak down the sideline for the touchdown at 11:47 of the first quarter. Tyler Mackall added the extra point to make the score 7-0 Bulldogs.

South Range was not intimidated as they answered on their very next possession with a 9-play, 63-yard drive that ate up nearly six minutes of the clock in the first quarter. The drive was capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by fullback Tony Darkadakis. Jon Styer tacked on the extra point to tie the game up at 7-7. It looked as if South Range might take control of the game when East Palestine fumbled on their next possession, and Brian Novak had a long 45-yard run for the Raiders on the next play after the turnover. However, the Bulldog defense came up with a good effort to shut down the Raiders, and force a punt.

Early in the second quarter, Bulldog senior quarterback Smitty Kendrew completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Rettig on a gutsy fourth and five play. The extra point was missed, but the Bulldogs added a 34-yard field goal by Tyler Mackall with ten seconds before the half after a Raider fumble on their own 28-yard line. The fourth down play; along with the ensuing fumble by the Raiders, proved to be the difference in the game as East Palestine carried a 16-7 halftime lead into the locker room.

Another Raider fumble early in the second half at their own 38-yard line led to a 1-yard touchdown carry by J.D. Powers for East Palestine. The extra point try failed at the 6:46 mark of the third quarter. As the teams lined up for the ensuing kickoff, officials decided to stop play due to the threatening weather, and resume on Saturday at noon.

With the resumption of play on Saturday afternoon, despite driving rain, the Raiders seemed to have regained some momentum with a ball controlled drive that ended with a Ryan Maxwell 10-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter. The extra point try failed, and the score had closed to 22-13.

South Range was driving again when a fumbled snap on third down, and a failed fourth down attempt at 8:23 of the fourth period all but ended the Raiders hopes. The Bulldogs took advantage of the Raider turnover, and scored with a 3-yard touchdown run by J.D. Powers at the 2:29 mark of the fourth stanza. The Bulldogs converted on a two-point conversion pass to Joseph Rettig from Smitty Kendrew to make the scored 30-13.

East Palestine completed the scoring with a 28-yard interception return at 1:43 of the fourth quarter. Tyler Mackall added the extra point to make the score 37-13. The Raiders ran out the final 1:43 of the game as they lose their first regular season game in 14 tries since October 6, 1999, and their first loss to East Palestine in six meetings.

Smitty Kendrew led East Palestine with 8-of-16 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. J.D. Powers was the leading rusher for the Bulldogs with 72 yards on 19 carries, and three touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Maxwell’s 72 yards on 14 carries led the Raiders. He was also 5-of-10 passing for 72 yards. As a team, the Raiders had 216 yards rushing on 36 carries, while the Bulldogs had 155 yards on 35 carries.

***All game statistics courtesy of The Morning Journal – Lisbon, Ohio