By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — Morale is high as the Davidson Raiders senior football team prepares for this week’s game against the Hanley Sabers.
A 62-28 win over the Viscount Vikings on Thursday boosted the team’s spirits, following a 46-12 loss to the LCBI Bisons at home the previous week.
“We were in control for the entire game,” coach Jason Low said following Thursday’s game, calling it a “good team win.”
He said the Raiders’ offence was “back on track” after struggling against LCBI, while the defence made some adjustments and enjoyed a solid second half.
Bisons 46 Raiders 12
As Davidson hosted LCBI on Sept. 25, the play contrasted sharply with their last confrontation, an exhibition game that ended in a 70-66 win for the Raiders.
This game began with an early touchdown for the Bisons. While they failed to score in the first quarter, the Raiders stayed hot on their guests’ heels, with the defence holding LCBI to a nine-point lead.
LCBI surged ahead in the next quarter, adding three touchdowns and extending their lead to 30-0.
Davidson made an impressive push on both sides in the third quarter. LCBI managed one touchdown, but Kieran Boehm and Dawson George both scored for the Raiders, bringing the score to 38-12.
A final touchdown for the Bisons in the fourth quarter brought the total to 48-12.
Defensive coach Greg McJannet said LCBI had clearly made some changes to its plays, to which Davidson struggled to adjust.
“As a team we didn’t click and do the things we needed to do,” he said, explaining that the team needed to focus on making a “full-team effort.”
“We win and lose as a team,” he said, acknowledging that the absence of several players due to injury or travel complicated matters.
Raiders 62 Vikings 28
McJannet said a win was expected against Viscount in Thursday’s game. Though some of the Vikings had played in another co-op program, this is their first season as a team.
“We’ve told the boys, that doesn’t matter,” said McJannet earlier in the week. “They’ll be hungry for a win.”
He said the defence had anticipated a traditional game in which they would face relatively simple plays, while the offence hoped to get back on track.
Happily for Davidson, they were able to dominate over the Vikings right out of the gate, with Jacob Schilling scoring back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter. Addison Ouellette scored a third to give the Raiders a 22-0 lead.
Viscount was able to respond in the second quarter, but touchdowns by Clay Murfitt and Jacob Schilling gave Davidson a commanding 38-14 lead at the halfway point.
“We were able to get almost all of our rookies some playing time in this game,” noted Low, while Morgan Manz was able to score converts on all but one touchdown, contributing a total of 14 points over the game.
Ryan Skinner and Jacob Schilling scored touchdowns in the third quarter, while Addison Ouellette contributed the Raiders’ final touchdown towards the end to bring the score to 62-28.
Up next
The Raiders currently hold a 1-2 record; McJannet said the team has hopes of reaching the playoffs with a couple of additional wins. Of the six teams in the 1A division, the top four return to compete in playoffs.
As of press time, Hanley had a 2-0 record, having defeated Viscount 87-20 on Sept. 25. In other 1A football action, the Caronport Cougars defeated the Central Butte Bulldogs 34-14 on Sept. 24, also giving them a perfect record so far.
Hanley was scheduled to host Central Butte this past Friday and will take on Davidson on Oct. 8.