In professional golf, it's often said the first tournament win is the hardest.

Friday showed us one could make the same argument about high school football.

South Range beat up on Ironton for its first ever state championship title, a title that longtime fans wasted no time reveling in.

"Awesome!" exclaimed one fan. "South Range needed it, great win! Coach Dan Yeagley he's awesome!"

For coach Yeagley, the feeling is mutual.

"So proud of the community, they showed out in waves and cheered us on it was so awesome," he said. "It was so great seeing our crowd being louder than their crowd."

Not to be outdone - big crowds buoying Canfield into the history books with its first ever state crown over Bloom-Carroll.
James Sabatine, Jr. having played for Canfield was especially proud...

"A lot of us players were here, I played in '95 and a lot of the guys from the 90s were here," he said, while his father is predicting a hat trick for our local teams.

"We got three state championships if (Warren) JFK wins tomorrow for the Youngstown area, I think it's fantastic!"

And as the Cardinals and Raiders came home with the hardware Friday night - no one could deny that while that first win may have been the hardest - it's no doubt the sweetest.