SALINEVILLE, Ohio (WKBN) – The Southern Indians won their first post-season game in school history last October over Plymouth (36-24). That victory was followed up by a heart-breaking double-overtime loss to St. Paul (21-14).
Under coach Rich Wright, the Indians have cemented themselves as a force in Columbiana County. Prior to Wright’s arrival, the school only qualified for the playoffs once. Southern has advanced to the post-season in each of the last four years while posting a 32-10 overall record (76.2%).
“We’ve gotten a lot stronger and bigger this off-season,” says Wright. “We have a tough schedule but, if we’re able to stay healthy, we should have a special season.”
The ground game has been coach Wright’s bread and butter. Last year, the Indians were the only team in the area to have four ball carriers gain over 450-yards (Colton Soukup, Wyatt Morris, Noah Perfetto, Ryan Exline).
Soukup, a senior, led the viewing area with an average of 17.9 yards per rush a season ago. Soukup only needed 58 totes to reach the 1,000-yard plateau (1039 yards, 15 TDs). He also was the team’s leading receiver with 6 catches for 121 yards (2 TDs). Morris and Perfetto gained 600 and 575 yards on the ground, respectively. Junior quarterback Ryan Exline is back after throwing for 291 yards on 18 completions (5 TDs) and rushing for 456 yards (7 TDs).
Up front, Southern returns a bevy of talented linemen headlined by All-League performers in seniors Wyatt Hartman and Peyton Hershman as well as junior Hunter Robinson.
On defense, Morris leads the group at linebacker after closing out his junior season with 103 tackles and 7 quarterback sacks, not to mention 17 tackles for a loss.
Wright points out, “Our defensive coordinator Eric Potts changed some things up so we’ll have a better understanding of the [defense] this year.”
Southern returns twenty-four letter winners. The Indians begin the 2022 campaign by hosting McDonald.
Southern Local Indians
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Rich Wright, 8th season (43-29)
2021 Record: 8-4 (6-1), 2nd place in EOAC
Last 5 Years: 37-15 (71.2%)
Home Field: Southern Indian Stadium
League: Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference
Base Offense: Wing-T
Base Defense: 4-4
Returning Starters
Offense: 10
Defense: 10
2021 Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 32.0 (14th in Area)
Scoring Defense: 19.3 (19th in Area)
2021 Individual Leaders
Passing: Ryan Exline – 291 yards, 42.9% (18-42), 5 TDs
Rushing: Colton Soukup – 1039 yards, 17.9 avg, 15 TDs
Receiving: Colton Soukup – 121 yards, 20.2 avg, 2 TDs
2021 EOAC Standings
United – 6-0 (8-2)
Southern – 6-1 (8-4)
Valley Christian – 5-1 (7-3)
Wellsville – 4-3 (4-4)
Columbiana – 2-4 (3-6)
Lisbon – 2-5 (2-7)
Leetonia – 1-5 (2-5)
East Palestine – 0-7 (0-10)
2022 Results
Warren JFK 35 Indians 0*
Indians 42 St. Paul 22*
Indians 65 South Central 21*
Indians 14 United 0
Indians 45 East Palestine 0
Valley Christian 15 Indians 6
Indians 48 Leetonia 6
Indians 64 Wellsville 6
Indians 51 Columbiana 14
Indians 51 Lisbon 22
Indians 34 East Canton 6
Indians 12 Crestview 7
Indians 42 McDonald 7
*-playoff
2023 Schedule
Aug. 18 – at McDonald
Aug. 25 – Crestview
Sept. 1 – East Canton
Sept. 8 – at Wellsville
Sept. 15 – at United
Sept. 22 – East Palestine
Sept. 29 – at Columbiana
Oct. 6 – at Valley Christian
Oct. 13 – Lisbon
Oct. 20 – Leetonia
