Raiders Days for the Atom Black team started with a pre-game interview with Gavin Pidsadny on the short ride to AD Penner Park where he was asked what the keys to the game were for Raiders game against the Fort Garry Lions. He responded with “we just have to keep working hard and physically dominate the Lions”. Well that statement certainly rang true as the game went on.
AD Penner Park was at full capacity for the 11:30 start where the Lions kicked off to the Raiders with a short return by Gavin which was called back due to an illegal block. The first drive started nicely with a nice 1st down run by Cazden, an explosive run by Anthony and a gorgeous passing play from Danic to Gavin but ultimately the drive was stopped by the Lions swarming defense. The Lions offence took the field for the first time but had no luck as the ferocious Jerome had 3 consecutive tackles to hand the ball back to the eager Raiders offence. After a few short run plays, Cazden exploded for a 40 yard touchdown run with some incredible blocking from the offensive line. The convert attempt was blocked. On the ensuing kickoff to the Lions, their run was cut short by a nice tackle from Damon. Once again the stout Raiders defense would hold the Lions with Evan making another tackle for a large loss which led to a punt by the Lions. The Raiders were once again able to move the ball which was highlighted by a nice run by Isaiah as the 1st quarter ended at 6-0 for the Raiders.
The boys were unable to punch the ball into the end zone early in the 2nd quarter but quickly got the ball back with Jerome dominating the defensive series. This next series was highlighted by the Bauer’s best run of the season as he rumbled for 35 yards down the sideline. The Raiders drive would end at the 5 yard line unfortunately but a fumble recovery by the swarming Raiders defense would give the ball back to the Raiders near the goal line. Danic would keep the ball and push his way through for the Raiders 2nd major of the game and would take a 12-0 lead late in the 2nd quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Stephen was all over the return as he made a great tackle. On that play, the Lions #38 injured his ankle which resulted in the ambulance arriving shortly thereafter as they attended to him. As #38 left the field on the stretcher, he raised up his hands to indicate he would be ok as the huge AD Penner crowd cheered him on. After the lengthy delay, the defense dominated the next series as they pushed the Lions back 20 yards on their 3 plays. Then the offence caught fire again. The series started with Cazden rushing up the gut for 10 yards and another Raiders 1st down. On the next play, Gavin (or better known as Superman by his teammates and fans alike) took a beautiful reverse handoff and used all of his 52 pound frame to get across the line for the Raiders 3rd major of the day. The Raiders once again attempted the convert but was blocked. The defense was fired up once again with huge tackles by Brody and Damon. The Raiders got the ball back with very little time on the clock but another determined run by Cazden got the Raiders in the end zone and 24-0 halftime lead.
The 3rd quarter started with the Raiders kicking off to the Lions which resulted in a drive for the Lions which saw their first 1st down of the day but that drive ultimately was denied by the Raiders D. The Raiders offence was eager to get back on the field as Mikka said “just give me the ball coach”. The ball was handed off to the hulking centre and Mikka rumbled for a 50 yard touchdown which was capped over with a successful convert. On the kickoff, Evan booted the ball deep which and once again was highlighted by a down the field tackle by Stephen. This Lions drive would end with them punting on 3rd down and thats where Brody stepped in. He went back to retrieve the punt and returned the ball over 60 yards deep into Lions territory. On that run back, the block of the year was made by Jerome as he flattened a Lions player to help set Brody free on that huge run back. Odin had a powerful run late in the 3rd quarter that ended up a few yards shy of the end zone and that ended the quarter at 30-0.
That drive continued in the 4th quarter with the shifty Anthony squeezing in for another Raiders touchdown. The Raiders attempted another kick for the convert but fumbled the ball on the snap, but Stephen picked it up and ran it in anyway to conclude the Raiders scoring for the day. The rest of the 4th quarter was a defensive battle with the game ending on a big sack by Jerome as the Lions were attempting to score their first points of the game. The 30 – 0 final score was highlighted by the exceptional offensive and defensive line play as they were dominant all day.