The date…August 13, 2017. The time…4:30pm. The place…AD Penner Park. It’s the season home opener for the Eastman Raiders Crunchers and the Fort Garry Lions have come to town looking to spoil the Raiders home debut. But these little guys have a sparkle in their eyes and fire in their bellies. All the practices and drills are about to be put into action. The Lions kick off to start the game and Kane Robert has a big 24 yard return to start the game off with a bang! On comes the Raiders offense.
1st down – Run play. Parker Mantie with a short gain
2nd down – Run play. Parker fights but is tackled for no gain
3rd down – Pitch to Parker. He drops the ball but recovers and breaks free. TOUCHDOWN!
Dominic is successful on the convert
Raiders kick off. Lions returner tackled for no gain on the return. Strong special teams play!
Lions 1st down – Fumble! Tucker recovers! Raiders ball
Raiders 1st down – James pitches. Raiders fumble but recover. Loss of yardage
2nd down – Pitch to Ashton. No gain on the play
3rd down – Pitch to Ashton. Short loss of yards
Turnover on downs. Fort Garry ball.
1st down Lions – Lions run the ball. Touchdown Fort Garry
Fort Garry kickoff. Winston with a 5 yard return. Raiders 1st down
1st down – Parker runs through multiple tackles for another Raiders TOUCHDOWN!
Convert attempt – Pass incomplete
Dominic with big kick for the Raiders! Lions return and Parker gets a huge tackle on the play
1st down Lions – Run play for a 1st down. Jireh comes up with a huge tackle.
1st down Lions – Run play for a Fort Garry touchdown. Convert successful
Lions kick off. Griffen breaks through a slough of Lions players for a huge return!
1st down Eastman – Trey gets the ball and runs for close to a first down.
2nd down – Pitch to Dominic. First down Raiders!
1st down – Handoff to Dominic. Huge run for another….wait for it….RAIDERS TOUCHDOWN!
Parker successful on the convert attempt
Eastman kicks off. Lions with a short return
1st down Fort Garry – Lions run. Eastman defense stands him up at the line! No gain!
2nd down Fort Garry – Lions run again. Again defense is on point. Stopped at the line!!
Halftime
2nd half
Dominic with big kick to start 2nd half for Eastman. Lions with a short return
1st down Lions – Run for a short gain
2nd down – Raiders defense is fired up. Stop Lions run for a loss
3rd down – Another run stop by Eastman for no gain
4th down – Eastman stands tall. Turnover on downs
1st down Eastman – Parker runs the ball. Raiders offense picks up right where it left off with another Eastman TOUCHDOWN!!!
Pass incomplete on convert
Raiders kick off. Fort Garry with no gain on the return.
1st down Lions – Short gain on the run play
2nd down – Raiders stop them at the line. No gain
3rd down – Lions run for a 1st down
1st down Fort Garry – Pass play. Tucker intercepts and runs it back. TOUCHDOWN RAIDERS!!!
Eastman convert unsuccessful
Raiders kick off and almost recover their own kick. Lions ball
1st down – Fort garry runs the ball but tackled for a loss
2nd down – Run play for a TD. Ref calls it back for an illegal block on Lions player. Repeat 2nd down
2nd down – Lions run but again tackled for a loss
3rd down – Incomplete pass by Fort Garry
4th down – Lions run the ball. Not enough. Turnover on downs
1st down Raiders – Dominic runs the ball and breaks free. Fumbles downfield. Lions recover. Fort Garry ball
1st down Lions – Run for a short gain
2nd down – Pass attempt incomplete
3rd down – Pass complete – 1st down Fort Garry
1st down – Pass incomplete by Lions QB
2nd down – Lions run the ball but are tackled for a loss
3rd down – Ref indicates last play of game. Lions pass the ball. It’s caught.
Game over!
After a hard fought battle by both teams the Raiders walk out with their chests puffed out. Both offense and defense came out to play hard and did just that. Everyone contributed when called on and gritted out every play and fought for every inch. And every single one of them walked out with a smile on their faces. These boys toughed out the hot weather and had fun doing it. Next up the Raiders Crunchers are on the road against the East Side Eagles on Saturday August 19th at 2pm. GO RAIDERS!