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Chase Samole

Senior wide receiver Kenny Williams catches a touchdown pass off a slant route from sophomore quarterback Jonathan Walker. Williams would end the day with two touchdowns; one receiving and one rushing.

The Raiders’ took a tough loss on the road last Friday, Nov. 1 at St. Brendan. The team was coming off an impressive four game win streak with the momentum on their side. However, adversity struck before the first whistle was blown, with leading tackler and senior linebacker Rj Boyton, sophomore defensive back Deandre Leonard and senior wide receiver Nico Herskowitz all ruled out. 

The Sabers stuck early, as their first snap on offense resulted in a jet sweep touchdown, making the score a quick 7-0. Nonetheless, on the opening kickoff for the Raiders, senior wideout and defensive back Kenny Williams took a kickoff to about the 15 yard line and the drive ended with Williams running it in for a score on a fourth down play.

“It’s all in game decisions; whenever we are across the fifty or if it’s a fourth and short we have a lot of fourth down plays that we call and can convert. Yes, we want to be aggressive, but we also have a hell of a kicker so we want to make sure that we win field position,” Head Coach Earl Sims said. 

The Raider defense had a rough first half, allowing three touchdowns both passing and on the ground. Key plays included a forced fumble by sophomore Darriel “FatCat” Cannon and tackles by senior linebacker Sebastien “Jefe” olivier Lacrete, senior defensive end Julian Terry and sophomore linebacker Maurice Gage. 

“We could improve on communication and improvement in general. We have been dominant before and what I like about our defense is that we all pursuing to the ball and make big plays. My brothers, who I call my teammates, are a whole bunch of playmakers and can make big plays whenever,” Senior linebacker Sebastien-olivier Lacrete said. 

On offense, sophomore quarterbacks Jonathan “Stixx” Walker and Harvel Jackson split snaps throughout the game and combined for 184 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Down 21-7 with 33 seconds left in the half, Jackson threw a screen pass to sophomore running back Darriel Cannon for an 80 yard touchdown, giving the Raiders hope, as they would start with the ball in the second half.

The defense shined in the second half, allowing a total of three points. The offense also delivered early in the fourth quarter. Junior wide Receiver and defensive back Leondrez Leonard caught a deep pass from Walker, and finished the drive with a passing touchdown to Williams to tie the game. 

“I focus on one game, one drive, one throw at a time. As a quarterback, I have to be able to read the defense, remember all my plays and remember what everybody else has to do and do extra things before and after practice,” sophomore quarterback Jonathan Walker said.

On the next drive, the defense got a clutch stop, but a roughing the punter penalty deflated the momentum and led to a go ahead field goal for the Sabres. In the last drive of the game, Walker and the offense made it to the opposing 40 yard line, but a deep pass from Harvel Jackson on a fourth down was broken up, leading to a 24-21 loss.

With a promising 2-0 record in the division, the Raiders’ playoff matchup is unknown, but the team hopes to bounce back from a tough loss.