by NORTH OLMSTED, OH – The North Ridgeville Rangers kicked off their 2024 season with a 48-0 road win at North Olmsted. The victory was powered by the incredible running game of the Rangers which accounted for 6 of their 7 touchdowns.
Ranger tailback Zack Barnhart went for 86 yards on 8 carries with touchdowns of 7 and 56 yards. He also caught a pass for 30 yards. Ta’vion Swain ran for 56 yards on 8 carries with a touchdowns of 37 yards on the ground, and a catch of 5 yards for a score. Charlie Steinmetz went for 48 yards on 3 carries with a 26 yard score. Ryan Anderson had a big night with 24 yards on a the ground with a score, while he also caught 4 passes for 55 yards. Ranger quarterback Cole Miller went 9 of 11 passing for 117 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 6 times for 76 yards.
The Rangers had the ball first, starting on their own 30-yard line. They wasted no time going 70 yards in 5 plays with the cash in coming on a 37-yard Swain touchdown run. Big plays on the drive also came on a 13 yard Steinmetz run along with a 15-yard hookup from Miller to Anderson to set up the score just minutes into the action.
The Eagle’s opening drive was halted on the third play when Luke Mroz intercepted a pass and returned it to the Eagles 37-yard line. The Rangers went right at it, and- in just a few plays, found pay dirt again. This time it was Charlie Steinmetz rushing 26 yards for the score. Just like that, it was 13-0 Rangers with 7:20 still to go in the first quarter.
The third Ranger drive resulted in the same way as the first two, with another rushing touchdown. This time around it was Barnhart cashing in a 7-yard touchdown run, set up by his 30 reception just a play early. This pushed the Ranger lead to 20-0 with 2:54 to go in the opening quarter.
The first quarter finished up with more Ranger scoring as Zack Barnhart took it 56 yards to the house as the Rangers now led, 27-0 after one quarter of action. Remarkably, the second quarter didn’t see a single score, and the first half finished 27-0.
After a fumbled snap on the punt, the Rangers began their first drive of the second half on the Eagles 18 yard line. Ryan Anderson brought the game to running clock status at 34-0 with a touchdown jaunt of his own. It was all over but the shouting with 8:07 to play in the third quarter.
The game was put officially out of reach on the next Ranger drive that saw their solid running game lead to a first an goal from the 5. From there, they punched it in on a screen pass from Miller to Swain to advance the lead to 41-0 with 2:18 to go in the third. The quarter ended by that same score.
The Rangers went on to win 48-0 and will look to improve to 2-0 next weekend at home versus Valley Forge. North Olmsted hopes to bounce back as they travel to Midview.
Ranger tailback Zack Barnhart went for 86 yards on 8 carries with touchdowns of 7 and 56 yards.
