WEEK 6 RESULTS MIDGETS September 16, 2012

Midget Raiders Week 6:
In Week 4 the Raiders clashed with the St.Vital Mustangs in their home opener, then met with the North Winnipeg Nomads in a showdown for 1st place in the league, both games were defensive struggles, with the Raiders winning 14-9 over the Mustangs, and then losing a close one to the Nomads 21-10 in Week 5.  Coming into Week 6 the Raiders were looking to respond after a frustrating loss in their 2nd meeting of the regular season with the Interlake Thunder, their 3rd meeting since pre-season.
The Raiders first two drives ran into some trouble but they finally got onto the scoreboard on a 15 yard TD pass from Greg Plett to Patrick Bissonnette.  However, just like their first meeting it was the 2nd quarter where the Raiders offense really opened up.  Marc Kirouac ran for two touchdowns and Greg Plett connected on another passing TD, this time to rookie receiver Javon Chomini, the Raiders took a 28-0 lead into the locker room at half-time.  The Raiders would pick up right where they left off, 4 plays into the 3rd quarter, Raiders rookie RB Zack Hazlehurst broke off a 25 yard TD run to give the Raiders a 35-0 lead.  Marc Kirouac would add a third rushing TD late in the 3rd to give the Raiders a 42-0 lead and Raiders kicker Leo Sawatzky would connect on a 33 yard field goal to give the Raiders a 45-0 lead and eventual win.  On the opposite side of the ball, Raiders DE Justin Krause racked up two sacks, along with Raiders DL Jonathan Wichers and LB Cole Watts.  DB Matt Delaurier made the only interception in the game, while Jonathan Wichers and TJ Nicol had fumble recoveries.  Brock Letkeman and TJ Nicol led the team in tackles with 5 each.  Defensively the Raiders dominated, allowing negative yards, as the Thunder rushed for -19 yards on the ground, 48 yards passing, for a total of 29 yards of offense allowed.
Following the game, Raiders RB Marc Kirouac leads the league in rushing, Raiders QB Greg Plett is 1st in passing yards in the league, and Raiders receivers Shante Murdock and Patrick Bissonnette are tied for 1st in receiving yards.

Midget Week 2, Saturday August 18th August 20, 2012

The Raiders Midget team went into Week 2 coming off a 34-22 victory in their season opener against Pembina Valley.  The Raiders were on the road in Transcona on Saturday, taking on the Nationals (0-1) in their home opener.  A series of mis-cues led to the Nationals taking over the ball inside the Raiders 10 yard line, with the defense coming a yard away from holding the Nationals to a 3 and out.  The Nationals would lead 7-0 until the Raiders QB Greg Plett (#4) would hook up deep with WR Patrick Bissonnette (#1) for the first TD of the game.  The Raiders went for 2 to try and take the lead but mishandled the snap.  The Nationals took a 7-6 lead into half-time.  In the 3rd quarter the Nationals took advantage of a mistake in coverage which led to their 2nd touchdown, and gave them a 14-6 lead in the 3rd.  The Raiders offense for the 2nd week in a row found themselves in a situation where they needed to find a response, and once again they responded.  Mid-way through the 3rd quarter Greg Plett once again found Patrick Bissonnette deep behind coverage and connected with another deep ball for the Raiders 2nd TD, the Raiders would miss the 2 point conversion to tie it up, and trailed 14-12 going into the 4th quarter.  The Raiders continued their comeback in the 4th, once again Greg Plett would find Patrick Bissonnette, this time only a 10 yard pass, but Bissonnette broke a tackle and out-ran several Transcona defenders turning a 10 yard pass into a 55 yard TD pass to take the lead 19-14.  The Raiders defense which had held strong all day forced their first turnover with a tipped pass being intercepted by Raiders Safety Austin Ridge (#24).  The Raiders would take advantage and Greg Plett continued his big day passing, this time finding WR Shante Murdock (#81) also deep behind coverage, connecting on a 50 yard TD strike to extend the lead to 26-14.  Down by two scores the Nationals were forced to go to the air and the Raiders capitalized as Raiders CB Brett Lussier (#38) would make back-to-back interceptions in the final minutes of the 4th quarter to eliminate any chance of a Nationals comeback.  The Raiders would hold the 26-14 lead for the win.  Raiders QB Greg Plett finished the game with 320 yards passing and 4 touchdowns, Patrick Bissonnette had 175 yards receiving and 3 TD catches, Shante Murdock had 120 yards receiving with one TD.  While the Raiders running backs were not involved in the scoring, they did contribute for over 100 yards along the ground.  Austin Cateller, the MFLM’s rushing leader after Week 1, added another 71 yards on 10 carries, FB Marc Kirouac added 36 yards on 7 carries, and Zack Hazlehurst added 31 yards on 3 carries.  Defensively Brett Lussier had 2 interceptions, Austin Ridge had 1 interception, and defensive lineman Ian O’Connor led the defense in tackles with 10 total tackles.

The Raiders (2-0) continue their string of road games next week as the team travels to Stonewall, MB to take on the Interlake Thunder (1-1), kickoff is at 12:30 pm.

Sunday Raiders vs. Cornhuskers August 13, 2012

Eastman Raiders                        34
Pembina Valley Cornhuskers   22

The Raiders Midget team travelled south to Winkler, MB to open their 2012 season on the road against the Pembina Valley Cornhuskers.  With high expectations the Raiders were looking to start the season off with a solid win, while the Cornhuskers kicked off their 3rd season in the MFLM still in search of their first win in club history.  The Raiders stumbled out of the gate early which eventually gave way to an early 8-0 Cornhuskers lead in the first quarter.  The Raiders were able to get things back on track going into the 2nd quarter and a 48 yard TD strike from Raiders QB Greg Plett (#4) to WR Patrick Bissonnette (#1) helped spark the offense as the Raiders stormed back with 22 un-answered points in the 2nd quarter with TD’s from RB Austin Catellier (#30) and FB Marc Kirouac (#29).  The Cornhuskers were able to put up a last second TD with only seconds left in the 2nd, making the score 22-13 at half time.  Miscues again victimized the Raiders to start the 3rd quarter, and an early turnover eventually gave way to a third Cornhuskers TD as they pulled within 2 points making the score 22-20.  A conceeded safety and a 30 yard field goal from Raiders kicker Leo Sawatzky (#3) gave the Raiders a 27-20 lead going into the 4th and final quarter.  The Raiders ground game was able to grind away at the Cornhuskers defense, and eventually Raiders FB Marc Kirouac (#29) would score his second TD of the game on a 14 yard run to give the Raiders a two score lead, 34-20.  With time running out and the Cornhuskers options on offense narrowing, the Raiders turned up the heat with their pass rush, resulting in a handful of sacks that would keep the Cornhuskers offense from mounting any comeback.  The Raiders would conceed a safety late in the 4th but that was the only scoring the Cornhuskers would get as the Raiders took their first victory on the road 34-22.  Next weekend the Raiders (1-0) travel to Winnipeg to take on the Transcona Nationals (0-1), the game kicks off at 12:30 pm.