The conditions were almost perfect for the Pee Wee’s game against the Greendell Falcons… except for the smell. 🙂 Whew!! But we were up against a really good team and the boys had to focus past the meat plant scent and play football – so, off they went.
TB got the first grab and a fine run back off the punt. We didn’t gain much ground on our first drive and when they got their hands on the ball it was a quick run by them, into OUR end zone (6-0 Falcons) Offence got back on the field and a long run by Mason up the left side was followed by a tough run by Egan but the ball went back to them. Isaac had a huge tackle, speeding through their offensive line, Parker and Avery hunted down their punter for a turnover on downs… BUT… a penalty gave them another chance on the kick so the defence kept working. TB chased, they fumbled and we recovered – offence back on. A pass completion to Austin for a quick first down, a super run by Egan and then, a massive 25 yard run by Mason, aided by a block from Thomas! Mason carried the ball again and a bad facemask penalty by them brought us right to the 1 yard line. A fake and a run by Egan found the endzone – TOUCHDOWN!! (6-6) Defence got the ball back quickly as TB intercepted – great pressure on quarterback by Keone and crew! Mason sprinted for 30 yards and thanks to them adding an unnecessary roughness penalty at the end – we were on our way. The ball went back to them and Nick had a super tackle to stop another Falcon passing play. TB threw in a shoe-string tackle and Daniel wrapped up the receiver. Super pursuit and teamwork by the defence stopped them short and turned the ball back to us on downs. A 20 yard run by Egan with a little tiptoeing down the line was sweet. Thomas came up with a block in the backfield to open up some running room for Mason. Riley K. (Tank), Dylan K, and Tristan opened a hole for a 1st down. Riley Kitzel tripped up the tackle for another big gain by Mason. A diving TD by Kraus and we scored!! (12-6 Raiders) We kicked off and as their kick returner was picking up speed, Tyson K. threw in a touchdown saving tackle to end the first half.
Defence started strong in the second half. A super stop on the line by the defensive line… unfortunately, the referee’s whistle was a bit delayed J and they broke free and scampered off to the end zone. (12-12) A completed pass by them counted for the 1-point convert (13-12 Falcons). A short kick by them came next and our offence went to work. We gained yards but eventually our defence had to hold them again. Nick, again, was right on their receiver, TB, Spencer and Isaac did some tough blocking for Avery as he ran back the punt. Super pressure by Andrew on their quarterback caused an incompletion and the ball came back to us. Egan had a fantastic run with Austin blocking all the way. A 1st down run by Mason and then a completion to Teg for a gain of 8 yards. Big blocking by the O-line for a dive over the line by Mason – another Raiders score! (18-13 Raiders) and a successful convert kick by Nick! (20-13 Raiders) Avery wrapped up a receiver, TB had a great low tackle on another receiver and Parker capped those off with a huge interception
AND a great run back for super field position. When our defense found their way back on to the field, they worked hard but a perfectly executed screen pass by them found the end zone. (20-19 Raiders) They were successful on the one point convert. (20-20) TB had sure hands and a run on the kick off, Avery knocked the ball away from their offence and Daniel and TB combined for a big stop on their receiver. After that, a fantastic tackle on their receiver caused a fumble and Raiders recovered when we needed it the most!! A score was needed NOW, and after a 15 yard run by Mason for a 1st down, the O-line opened up a small space for Mason to fly through and run the ball down to the 10 yard line. The next play was sweet – fake to Mason, HUGE touchdown run by Egan!! (26-20 Raiders) The pressure was on the snap, the hold and the kick to put us the score out of reach and it was all bang on!!! YES!! (28-20 Raiders) The defense had a couple of minutes to hold their offence – not an easy task — but our boys were up for the challenge!! Daniel knocked the first pass down and a huge stop by the defense turned the ball over on downs and GAME OVER BABY!!
As coach Marlin said in his email to us all, “The boys had to play to the very end to win this one – AND THEY DID!!” Well done boys – we’ll see you at EVERY practice this week as we prepare for one of the best teams in our league. We’ve got to continue to leave everything out on the field and the sky’s the limit for this young Pee Wee crew!! GO RAIDERS GO!!