It was a sunny, hot day and I’m not complaining but MAN was it HOT!!!! And a large percentage of Eastman Raiders families were prepared to attend the Bomber game with jeans and sweatshirts in hand. NOT needed at this game – that’s for sure!! But… we must remember that we will be missing the warm weather when the real COLD games come so, we were thankful.
On to the game: The heat didn’t seem to slow the boys down – even in all of their equipment. A huge run back to start the game gave the offence great field position. We faced a tough defense and our defense got busy. Super pressure, a blocked kick by Tank and we were on the attack again. After our defense stopped them in their tracks, the offence found the end zone and crossed the goal line. (Raiders 6 Coyotes 0) The cross bar defended the kick nicely and no extra points were scored on this one. After a constant march down the field, a 40 yard reception for a touchdown!! (Raiders 12 Coyotes 0) A sweet snap, hold and SCORE! (Raiders 14 Coyotes 0) A second blocked punt by Tank and good field position was once again ours. Our defense stopped them again and off we go. A super catch and some serious YAC yards by Troy came next. A hand off and a hard run resulted in another touchdown for us. (Raiders 20 Coyotes 0) Snap, hold, kick – voila – 2 points! (Raiders 22 Coyotes 0) Great variety on offence and a throw, run and dive and in we go!! (Raiders 28 Coyotes 0) Sweet kick for another 2. (Raiders 30 Coyotes 0) The first half ended with their running back getting Dokkened and went down, and the very next tackle – yep, Dokkened and yep – off the field they went.
The second half began with a good drive but we didn’t quite find the end zone but… guess what? Defense did!! Pick 6 – score!! A spiraling snap, quick hold and the kick is good!! A quarterback sneak with a great push forward by Aidan got us a short yards touchdown. Their running back got a little “Rile’d” up… get it? (Deb Rueckert gets the credit for that one) and a tough catch and run, Dylan slammed through the middle for a gain and Cameron stood strong with the ball. A fitting end to the game was a strong stand by the defense. We finished like we started – SOLID!!
Well done Raiders!! Valour is up next and we begin that journey at practice. One play at a time and we will be OK!!! GO RAIDERS GO!!