Raiders punish LB 42-0

The Lake Roosevelt Raiders defeated the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions 42-0 on Friday night, making their win-loss record 2-1.

The Raiders scored six touchdowns for the night. Lucas Bird was on the receiving end of three touchdown passes from quarterback Hunter Whitelaw; Dylan Steinert ran one into the end zone; Whitelaw ran one in; and Kolby Picard intercepted a Mountain Lion pass and returned it for a touchdown.

Running back Tony Nichols had touchdowns called back on multiple occasions due to penalties, including a punt return for a touchdown that spanned the length of the field.

Lake Roosevelt caused and recovered multiple fumbles throughout the game. Kaleb Horn had five tackles in the game, and Nichols had 4.5 to his credit.

"Our strengths were just our ability to come out, hit 'em in the mouth early and prove who we are," said linebacker Elijah Harris. "Our defense is something that not a lot of people can play with, and we need to show that to everybody in the state."

About halfway through the second quarter, Liberty Bell's quarterback was hurt, as were some other Mountain Lion players. Instead of forfeiting the game, play continued as an official game, but with a bit of a scrimmage feel, with both teams playing many of their freshmen to get them more experience.

"It was good for us," said Raider Head Coach Bubba Egbert. "A lot of young guys got in that wouldn't have otherwise."

The Raiders were happy with their victory. "It's getting us back into the momentum of things," Bird said. "It's big for us. We had two bad losses, but we're coming back."

"It's all about the team," said Picard. "We got the 'W' finally, so I'm happy with that. We just played as a team finally; we're getting in the win column."

The Raiders' next game is this Friday, Sept. 22, when they'll play in Brewster against the Bears at 7 p.m.