The Raiders Atom Teal team had a beautiful September weather to take on the Winnipeg Nomads A team Sunday afternoon.
The defense played strong all game, not letting the Nomads earn a first down in the entire first quarter of the game. Our offense also played well in the first quarter, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown as well as a convert kick in their second series of the game.
After the first quarter, Raiders up 8-0.
The defense stopped the Nomads and with a turnover on downs, the offense took to the field. This time they were stopped by the Nomads. However, the defense picked off a 15 yard pass and the offense saw the field again. Several first downs and great pushes by our running backs as well as big blocks found the Raiders on the Nomads 40 yard line. But a fumble turned the ball back over to the Nomads. The defense worked hard to keep the Nomads out of the end zone and the Raiders remained in front at the half.
The second half began with the Raiders successfully running the ball to score a touchdown. A blocked kick made it 14-0.
The defense held the Nomads from making a first down and the offense took to the field. An unfortunate fumble on a run sent the defense back on the field where they battled hard – but the Nomads scored a touchdown to make the score 14-6 at the end of the third quarter.
The defense spent a lot of time on the field and fought hard to stop the Nomad’s strong offensive drive, but the Nomads scored a TD and a convert to make it a 1 point game.
A quick single back formation hand off with a strong run down the sidelines found the Raiders a bigger lead. After the convert, the score was 21-13.
A great short kick and quick feet by the kicker brought the offence back on the field for a brief time, however, the defense came back on after a bad exchange. Although the Nomads were able to sneak into the end zone for a TD our special teams made a fantastic block to stop the convert kick. With a couple minutes left on the clock the offense worked hard but turned it over on downs.
With seconds left on the clock, the defense managed to stop the Nomads to win the game 21-19.
Great game, boys! We are so proud of you. You are improving every game and your hard work paid off with a “W” today. Awesome!