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All-American honor for Range’s Johnson

GREENFORD — Canaan Johnson got the call after school. It was from his coach, Mike Bailey.

The 6-foot-1 South Range High School senior midfielder has been lauded with so many honors this season.

Bailey told him of another as Johnson was the only player from this area named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Team. He’ll be honored in a ceremony January in Baltimore.

There was more than 130 boys and girls around the country selected to this team, including 26 from Ohio. Some of the boys on the team were from traditional powerhouses like Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, Medina, St. Ignatius and Bay.

“It’s more than well-deserved,” Bailey said. “Canaan is a kid who works tirelessly at the game and improving, whether it’s playing club or going down on a weekday night on the turf and putting on work on his own. He’s there all the time.”

It’s been a special one for Johnson and rest of the Raiders as the team made its third Division III state semifinal since 2014.

This was the first time South Range made it this far since the Raiders lost in the 2015 state title game.

South Range (19-3) rolled through the Northeast 8 Conference, won the Niles District title, along with a regional championship before losing to Bluffton on a cold, November day in Doylestown.

“That’s why we were successful, we cared about each other,” Johnson said. “Every day we worked hard hardest for each other. It was just special to play with those guys and make that far of a run.”

Johnson had 22 goals and 27 assists this season, while accumulating 56 goals and 60 assists during his Raiders career for No. 3-ranked South Range, according to the final Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association state poll.

Johnson was named “Mr. Youngstown” by the Youngstown District Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association — given to the best boys soccer player in the area regardless of division.

He was one of a few area players named to the Great Lakes Regional team, honoring players from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

“Going into the year I was expecting to be man marked and stuff in a lot of the games,” Johnson said. “That wasn’t the case because no team could man mark me because the rest of our team was so good. If they did, it would just hurt them because we had other people who would dominate the field.”

Johnson has to decide where he’s going play at the collegiate level next season.

“Going up bigger competition and size won’t faze me,” he said. “I’ll get the ball distributed quickly. I’m excited to be able to compete at a high level and compete against better competition.”

This honor for the South Range senior goes to show how strong this area is when it comes to boys soccer. Howland advanced to the Division II state championship game this season.

“It’s something that’s pretty incredible,” Bailey said. “It’s really exciting. It says a lot about our area overall. You’re just seeing the game really grown in this area from a player’s standpoint, from a coaching standpoint. It’s really an exciting time. It’s nice to see the game grow here.”

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