Raiders rally on the road, remain undefeated

The Lake Roosevelt Raiders pulled off a dramatic comeback Friday while on the road, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Oroville Hornets 34-28 in overtime to go 5-0 for the season.

Down by 20 at one point in the game, LR managed to keep Oroville scoreless in the second half. Still down by 12 with five minutes left in the game, Quarterback Steven Flowers rushed for one touchdown, then threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Kiser to tie the game and force it into overtime.

In overtime, the Raider defense held the Hornet offense, allowing LR running back Beau Michel to score the game-winning, 18-yard rushing touchdown.

"This is the type of game you live for," Raider Head Coach Loren Endsley recalled telling his players. "This is the type of game that finds out what you're made of."

Endsley said the team stayed calm and collected, "never watching the scoreboard."

The coach described the energy after the comeback victory as "incredible."

"I kept telling the boys it was a game they will never forget," Endsley said. "That being said, we never should have been in that situation. We came out not ready to go and gave up some huge plays that caused us to be down by 20 points."

Raider Nathaniel Hall made a critical interception in addition to catching a big pass to convert a fourth down, with 12 yards to go, into a Raider first down. He was also the lead blocker on Michel's game-winning touchdown in overtime.

"Hall played a vital role in our performance and keeping everyone's heads on straight," his coach said.

Endsley sang more praises for his players:

"Flowers on defense was unblockable and had some huge hits; on offense he was clutch in the last five minutes. Elijah Harris had a huge blocked punt and kept pressuring their QB the whole night. Tyrell Kiser had the game-tying reception that forced the game into overtime. Also he was a shutdown Corner the whole night. Tony Nichols also had a great game, ending with 13 tackles and really shutting down all the outside plays."

Endsley noted appreciation for a lot of Raider fans who showed up in Oroville, nearly two hours north.

This week is the Raider's bye-week. Their next game will be at home on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. when they will host the 3-2 Soap Lake Eagles.

Lake Roosevelt vs Oroville Summary

LR SCORES

First Quarter

LR_Flowers 2 run

Third Quarter

LR_Flowers 2 run

Fourth Quarter

LR_Flowers 5 run

LR_Kiser 18 pass from Flowers

OT

Michel 18 run

LR INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

PASSING_Flowers 10 for 30, 165, 1 TD, 2 INT

RUSHING_Flowers 25-93, 3 TD;

Michelle 11-44, 1 TD; Hall 11-21; Nichols 1-9

RECEIVING_Kiser 49, 1 TD; Hall 60; Nichols 34; Picard 22

DEFENSE_Flowers 14 Tackles, 4 TFL; Nichols 13 Tackles, 1 FF;

Renford 12 Tackles, 7 TFL, 2 Sacks;

Harris 8 Tackles, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR, 1 Punt Block; Lindsey 8 Tackles, 4 TFL, 1 Sack; Hernan 6 Tackles, 2 TFL; Hall 6 Tackles, 1 Int; Picard 6 Tackles;

Michel 4 Tackles, 3 TFL, 1 Sack; Kiser 3 Tackles; Clark 1 Tackle, 1 TFL; Bird 1 Tackle; Steinert 1 Tackle; Ruiz 1 Tackle