By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — In the words of Davidson coach Jason Low, it began with “the best half of football we’ve ever played” but ended in disappointment.

Though the Davidson Raiders were the underdogs leading into Thursday’s senior football game against the Hanley Sabers, they more than proved themselves in the game’s closely-fought first half.

Davidson led 36-34 at the game’s midway point, but Hanley slipped ahead in the third quarter, and before long the lead had passed beyond Davidson’s reach. The final score was 78-50 in the Sabers’ favour.

“It’s hard on the system,” said Low, acknowledging his frustration at the loss and noting that the Raiders had demonstrated their skills in what he called a “roller coaster of a game.”

“If we could have kept up the momentum from the first half, we could have won,” he said. “Everybody was clicking as a team.”

Davidson opened the night with a touchdown by Addison Ouellette. Hanley countered with scores by Tareq Halabi and Marshall Prosofsky, but a touchdown by Davidson quarterback Andrew Read and a successful convert by Morgan Manz gave the Raiders a slight lead at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams scored three touchdowns and two converts apiece during the second quarter, as the lead moved back and forth.

The Sabers surged ahead towards the end of the third quarter, when the score stood at 56-44; they continued to dominate through the end of the game.

Marshall Prosofsky scored a total of six touchdowns for Hanley; Tareq Halabi scored four, while Colten Olyniuk and Evan Ashdown contributed one each. Conor Prosofsky completed a total of six converts for the team.

Addison Ouellette scored four touchdowns for Davidson; Andrew Read scored two and Jacob Schilling scored one. Morgan Manz completed four converts.

For the full story, please see the Oct. 12 edition of The Davidson Leader.

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.