by PARMA, Ohio — Nick Toy did damage with his arm and his legs, Jacob Emch turned a punt into six points, and South Range never gave Padua Franciscan much room to breathe Friday night.
Toy accounted for three touchdowns as the Raiders rolled to a 47-7 victory over the Bruins, while Emch helped headline a South Range defense and special teams unit that repeatedly flipped the field and shut down potential Padua momentum.
Toy set the tone with his legs.
The junior quarterback broke loose for a 25-yard touchdown run to put South Range ahead 7-0. He then went to the air, finding Collin Kay on a 26-yard slant for another touchdown and a 14-0 advantage.
Padua had an opportunity to settle into the game after stopping South Range on fourth down, but the Bruins could not turn the possession into points.
The Raiders went right back to work.
Toy completed an 18-yard pass to Tommy Titus to move South Range deeper into Padua territory. Tyler Cole followed with an eight-yard run down to the 3-yard line before Jason Vorshak sprinted around the left side for a touchdown.
The missed extra point left South Range ahead 20-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Then Emch took over.
Padua brought Donavin Friscone in at quarterback, but the Bruins’ possession went backward. After South Range forced a third-and-long, Emch recorded a sack that pushed Padua back to its own 16-yard line.
On the next play, he made an even bigger impact.
Emch broke through the protection, blocked the Padua punt and returned it for a touchdown. The score stretched the South Range lead to 27-0 and gave the Raiders points from offense, defense and special teams before halftime.
It was the type of sequence that can turn a bad quarter into a very long night.
Padua’s student section did its best to keep the energy up despite the growing deficit, staying loud and rowdy while the Bruins searched for something to swing momentum back toward the home sideline.
For a moment, they found it.
South Range recovered a Padua fumble on the kickoff following Emch’s touchdown, but the Raiders immediately gave the ball back on a fumble of their own.
Later in the half, Padua began to move the football. Colin Grealis completed passes, Maks Karasek found some room on the ground, and the Bruins put together consecutive first downs after struggling to sustain drives early.
Tommy Titus ended that progress in one play.
Titus intercepted Grealis and raced 73 yards the other way, taking the ball all the way to the Padua 5-yard line. A holding penalty backed South Range up, but Toy answered by connecting with Gavin Hiscox for a 13-yard touchdown.
Just like that, whatever momentum Padua had started building disappeared.
South Range went into halftime leading 34-0.
The Raiders continued to control the game in the third quarter. Toy also contributed defensively with an interception, and Cole later finished another South Range possession with a 6-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 40-0.
Padua finally broke through in the fourth quarter.
Friscone helped the Bruins put together their best scoring drive of the night, completing multiple passes before connecting with Trey Gasparro for a 15-yard touchdown. The extra point cut the deficit to 40-7.
South Range answered with one final explosive play.
Freshman Reese Krampert broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run, giving the Raiders their final points and finishing the 47-7 victory.
Toy’s night provided South Range with the steady hand behind the offensive explosion. On the plays charted in the game notes, he completed passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns while adding 32 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Emch’s performance was just as difficult to overlook. The junior defensive lineman recorded two sacks, blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, giving South Range one of the game’s defining momentum swings.
For Padua, Friscone kept competing deep into a game that had gotten away early. The sophomore quarterback totaled 47 passing yards and a touchdown on the completions recorded in the game notes, with his scoring strike to Gasparro accounting for the Bruins’ lone touchdown.
Players of the Game
South Range QB Nick Toy with 73 passing yards and 2 passing touchdowns, plus 32 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Padua Franciscan QB Donavin Friscone with 47 passing yards and a touchdown.
