High school football: Magic runs out for Clearview in second half against defending state champions

BARBERTON — The clock finally struck midnight on Cinderella. Clearview's run through the Division V playoffs came to an end Friday against defending state champion South Range, which used a huge second half to pull away for a 48-21 win at Rudy Sharkey Stadium in the regional semifinals. The Clippers' season ends at 10-3, while South Range improving to 12-1 and moving on to face Perry next week at a site to be determined for a chance to get to back to state. "There's nothing you can say to take away the pain they're feeling right now but we had a special run this year and made us all proud," Clippers coach Mike Collier said of his players. The night started well for Clearview with the Raiders pinned inside the 5 on their first two possessions. Then Ayden Cruz came up with an interception to set up Clearview at the South Range 31. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Cy Christensen hit Malcolm Lane for a 17-yard touchdown pass and a 6-0 lead with 4:09 left in the first quarter. The Raiders answered with 5:03 to go on when Aidan Dominguez scored from 9 yards out for the first of his three touchdowns. The Clippers weren't fazed by the defending champs, driving 60 yards in just four plays to go up 13-7 with 3:26 left in the first half. Christensen connected with Ethan Lorenzana on a swing pass that turned into a 38-yard score. The Raiders struck back again, however, going 77 yards in 10 plays with Dominguez crashingd in from 1 yard out to take the lead for good at 14-13. "I can't thank these seniors enough, only being a sophomore," Christensen said. "These guys are my best friends and it's gonna be tough seeing them go away. "In the first half, everything went well, but in the second half nothing was really working for us. It felt good coming out in the first half, but the second half wasn't us." The second half was all South Range, which scored the first 34 points for a string of 41 unanswered. Blake Ewert had a 1-yard TD run, Dominguez scored from 3 yards, Brady Crumbacher hauled in an 18-yard TD pass, quarterback Tristan Toy rambled 61 yards for a score and Dylan Smesko dragged several defenders into the end zone on a 29-yard run. Despite being down, Clearview never gave up and finished the season on a high note, finishing off a drive with a 3-yard run by Lorenzana to close out his career as a Clipper. "We all have been working since coming in our freshman year," said Lorenzana, who had 140 total yards. "We've all been a brotherhood, we never gave up on each other, we stuck together through the worst, going 0-9 and 3-7, but never gave up. "We always came to work and did what we had to do. We had to lift, do sprints and give it our full. That's why we ended up winning 10 games." "This senior group … the time they put in — and you could feel the love from the coaching staff and the kids," Collier said. "There's a special bond when you pour that much into it and it's just a great group. They don't know it now, but the memories they created this year are going to go a long way." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com.