Raiders Win Battle Of The Swamp
It may have been the battle for second place in the U 14 division, but at the same time it was also a test of strength.
A test of strength from a rising newcomer versus a well established team.
In the end the established strength of the Raiders defeated the new kids on the block - the Gators - 46 - 6.
A Raider’s player drives towards the outside and hopefully outrunning the Gator’s defensive unit - MJ Independent photo
The game saw the Raiders strike first quarter with two touchdowns and a 14 - 0 lead.
The second quarter would see the Raiders pick up 20 more points and a 34 - 0 lead at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Gators svore a touchdown. But a missed conversion left the score Raiders 34 and Gators 6 after three quarters of play.
The final score was Raiders 46 and Gators 6.
A pass just evades a Hator receiver - MJ Independent photo
“We played good. They’re a tough team. We played that game last week that kind of put us to sleep…we had four hard days of practices this week. Probably our best week of practices. We came out and took it to them,” Raiders head coach Zac Klyne said.
Klyne said the playoff bye to go eat turkey accompanied with alleged comments made by the Gators coach fired up the Raiders.
“They said we only had one player and we came out today and had four kids score touchdowns. We kind of put that to bed. We’ve got more than one player,” he said.
MJ Raiders head coach Zac Klyne along the sidelines - MJ Independent photo
“The bye will be good. We will still have a good week of practices next week probably have a fun day on Thursday the last day before the break and then in two weeks I’m guess we are going to see them (the Gators) in the playoffs,” Klyne said.
Asked if he thought the buy might make his team more lackadaisical when it comes to when they do come back to play he said he couldn’t see it.
“Honestly at this age I don’t think that’s much to worry about. They don’t know much yet we come out next week and give them hard practises and then give them a break to mend injuries. The practice the week after that and we’ll be ready for them.”
The Gators’ bench was subdued in the dying minutes of the game - MJ Independent photo
Gators’ head coach Cory Harkness showed disappointment in how the game developed.
“It was a little bit of a different result for us. We didn’t play.how we hoped to and the Raiders came out tough,” Harkness said.
About the Raiders thinking that the Gators had said the Raiders only had one good player is untrue.
“If that’s what the Raiders have done it’s fine. I know the Raiders do not have one good player. They got a good quarterback. They’ve got some good running backs. They have great tacklers on defence,” he said, adding “they are more than a one player team.”
A Gators’ player (right) attempts to bring down a Raiders ball carrier - MJ Independeent Photo
“They’re a complete team,” Harkness said, adding “and sometimes you take something you hear and use it to motivate your team. Which is good coaching.”
The Gators lost for one main reason that being “we got outplayed. The Raiders came to play and we didn’t match their intensity.”
Another additional factor was the Gators underestimated the Raiders speed to the outside.
Gators head coach Cory Harkness along the sidelines - MJ Independent photo
“Their defensive line was so well disciplined. I don’t think they took a single offside penalty which is fantastic…their defence played well and their offence put up points.”
The Raiders low penalized defensive core was up against an Gators offensive core, which is probably the most penalized within the league. It did not go well for the gators.
