Raiders hammered by Indians

by John R. McNeil II

Raider football dropped to 0-3 after last Friday’s loss to the Reardan Indians at Greene Field.

Lake Roosevelt did not score until the second half, with the Indians building a 33-0 lead going into halftime.

“We played poorly in the first half and dug ourselves a big hole,” Raider Head Coach Steve Files said.

During halftime, the Raiders made adjustments and put together a scoring drive in the third quarter, capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass from Justus DeWinkler to Drew Saxon. DeWinkler ran in the two-point conversion.

The Raider defense held the Indians scoreless in the third quarter. LR scored again in the fourth quarter on a seven-yard run by DeWinkler, the extra point try was missed.

Reardan scored one more time later in the fourth quarter to make the final score 41-13.

The Raiders can take away from Friday’s game the positive of winning the second half 13-8.

“Our guys were much more aggressive and sharper in the second half,” Files noted.

He was impressed with the performance of Justus DeWinkler, who stepped in for injured quarterbacks Austin Rosenbaum and Chance Garvin.

“Justus Dewinkler started his first game ever at quarterback and did a phenomenal job for us,” Files said.

Freshmen heavy hitter Jesse Louie led the team in tackles.

Files did not like the quality of play Friday, however.

“We expect to be competitive in every game, and we have to play with more urgency going forward,” he said.

The LR team is “looking for much better play this week from our offensive and defensive lines,” Files said. “Those guys are the foundation on which everything we do is built.” He said the Raiders need to “step up our physical play across the board.”

The next opponents on LR’s schedule are the Liberty Lancers at Spangle Friday at 7 p.m.

The Lancers are off to a 1-2 start, losing to Tri-Cities Prep and Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia by the combined score of 92-12. Last week the Lancers picked up their first win against LR’s Central Washington 2B rival Bridgeport, 28-20.