The Davidson Raiders senior girls volleyball team put up a great effort making it to the championship game at their home tournament Oct. 5, but couldn’t handle a tough Imperial Cougars team once they got there.

Raiders coach Tony Baldwin said his girls got off to a slow start in the final game and then suffered through some confusion on the court. He said that took a bit of the steam out of their sails against Imperial, but he also credits the Cougars with playing strong to get the win.

“In general we played pretty well,” said Baldwin. “Imperial had a great game. (Cougars player) Kennedy Lewis in particular played phenomenally well and when she’s playing at the net like that it’s pretty hard to get things done some days, but it was a good game.”

The Raiders and Cougars were evenly matched during the first set before Imperial stepped up the pace halfway through coming out with a 25-18 win. The Cougars led the majority of the second set and despite a comeback by Davidson halfway through pulled out a second 25-18 victory taking the championship plaque.

Imperial coach Earl LeBlanc said his team picked up their game in the final against Davidson compared to their round-robin loss against the Raiders earlier in the tournament. He said the Raiders played great, but his girls’ hard work this season on improving their fitness level helped them stay strong in the final.

“Earlier in the season fatigue was getting to us,” said LeBlanc. “Now fatigue is no longer an issue, so because of that we weren’t making a lot of mistakes at the end of the game. Probably the difference in the way we played (in the final) was the fact that our girls were still playing fresh and really working.”

LeBlanc said the Davidson crew did a good job putting together their home tournament by bringing in a mix of different quality teams, which helps his girls prepare for future games this year as they try to make it to provincials next month. He said it was extra special for his girls to play in this tournament as half of his team and three players on the Davidson side play together with the Imperial Scorpions club team.

Raiders middle Quin Johnson said Davidson “grounded off” against Imperial, but they are still proud of making it to the final game considering they had to best a tough Kahkewistahaw Hurricanes club in the semi-final game to make it that far. She said the Raiders shift coverage shined throughout the tournament, but they have to work on their mental game as they prepare for conferences to be played at Davidson the first weekend in November.

“We definitely get down on ourselves and that is one of our weak points,” said Quin. “If we get down a few points then it’s difficult to get back up, (but) I think one big hit and we’re back in.”

To read more please see the October 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Davidson Raiders senior boys football team wrapped up their third season with a 95-44 loss at Kinsmen Field to the LCBI Bisons last Thursday, which ended a year the team believes helped lay down another stepping stone towards a prosperous future.

Looking to lock down a playoff spot the Bisons (3-2) hit the Raiders (1-4) hard and fast with LCBI running back Kayden Johnson scoring his first of four touchdowns of the night on the opening kickoff. After a Raider offence got tied up after the score, Johnson scored his second on the Bisons first play of their next possession.

Three more touchdowns later Davidson found themselves losing 30-0 halfway through the first quarter, which seemed to wake up the Raiders offence. In the first of many outstanding long runs during the game tight end Patrick Nordmarken sprinted 70-yards down the sidelines to give Davidson their first six points on the board.

Young quarterback Andrew Read and receiver Addison Ouellette were particularly strong during the game playing years beyond their actual age. They, along with a strong running game by tight end Casey Lloyd, helped the Raiders make the score a respectable 44-18 after the first quarter and 71-32 at the half.

The second half was similar to the first with the teams exchanging touchdowns seemingly at will. The Bisons offence led by Johnson, Cody Anderson and a great receiving game by Matt Edwards just proved too strong for the young Raider defence

Raiders tight end/quarterback Mike Kowalski said the team had their ups and downs during the game. He said the offence executed well, but considering this is only their third year of the program there are still a few things they need to polish.

“It was just a battle of the offences this game,” said Kowalski. “They have a really good running back and (then) we started picking up our play. Pat Nordmarken played outstanding running the ball and getting the points.”

Raiders coach Jason Low said his team played with a lot of heart and despite the loss they should look to the 44 points they put on the board and the fact everyone got some time on the field as positives to take out of the game. He said the team is making good strides, including their first win Oct. 4 over the Loreburn/Kenaston Aztecs, and should take comfort in the progress the team is making.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys there who just finished playing three years of what they said is the best sport (and) the best game they’ve ever played,” said Low. “You have to consider that when you’re building something you’re going to have little pieces of success and it’s going to continue. You can’t build a really successful season in three years, so I think we’re really happy with the steps we’ve made. The building blocks are all in place and we look forward to the future.”

To read more please see the October 14 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Davidson Raiders junior boys and girls volleyball teams squared off with their counterparts from Kenaston last Tuesday at the Davidson school gym with each of the four teams looking forward to a successful season.

The action started off with the Raider boys defeating the Kenaston Kodiaks three sets to two in what proved to be an evenly matched game between the clubs. The sets, which featured many strong back and forth rallies, saw the Raiders win the middle three and the Kodiaks the first and fifth.

Raiders junior boys coach Kristin Dolman said her guys played “really well” considering they haven’t had many games to practise on their techniques. She said the team improved in their “three separate three hits” and their communication on the court through the game, which should help them as they get ready for sectionals at the end of the month.

“We have a lot of Grade 7s,” said Dolman. “We don’t have a lot of (Grade) 8 and 9 players, so we’re a growing team.”

Dolman said there are only teams from Loreburn and Kenaston in their league, which means they won’t have many regular season games before sectionals at the end of October. She said the Davidson squad is a “strong enough team” to triumph once that tournament begins, but whether they move on to districts would depend on what they do on the court.

“Loreburn and Kenaston, we’re all fairly evenly matched,” she said. “It’ll just be what happens (on) that day. Hopefully we can get a little more practice and be a more competitive team that day.”

Maigan Hominick, coach of the Kodiaks junior boys, said the game was a “huge improvement” for her club and she is really proud about how they did. She said Kodiaks’ player Nolan Haugan stood out with his work during the game, but overall it was a great team effort as they continue to move forward.

“We are basically working on skill building right now,” said Hominick. “It’s a very young team, so it’s just basic skills (like) calling the ball, getting to the ball and if you call the ball you need to hit the ball type of thing. We’re just working as playing as a team and communicating.”

After the boys left the court the girls entered and a lively match-up that featured many strong kills by Kenaston’s Ann Ulmer ensued. The Kodiaks defeated the Raiders 4-0 in the game, but the majority of the sets were really close with many of the girls on both sides of the net getting touches during the game.

To read more please see the October 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Davidson Raiders senior boys football team (0-3) suffered a devastating 78-25 loss Sept. 27 to the Central Butte Bulldogs (1-2) at The Dog House, but their coach said he is the one to blame for the defeat and not the players on the field.

“On offence we made a couple changes and they were probably mistakes on the coaches part by changing a couple players out thinking that we could help our defence,” said Raiders coach Blair Frederickson. “We took players off offence and put them on defence. We didn’t help that and our offence did nothing in the first half. We flipped players back to where they were the week before in Hanley where our offence had been successful and the second half was better for us.”

By the start of the second half, it was too late. The Bulldogs had a commanding 48-7 lead heading into the third quarter and led 64-13 after those 12 minutes were up.

Frederickson said his team was “out-physical-ed” by Central Butte at the start of the game resulting in the lopsided first half score. He said the coaching staff is working with the players to try and develop a more physical game, but it takes time to learn to be at that level of physicality.

“Our defence played a lot better,” he said. “Our young guys on defence managed to if not stop them at least make them put seven or eight plays together to drive the field. We didn’t give up any more of those lightning fast one play touchdowns, but being so young on defence they were more physical and they were able to push us out of the way.”

Troy Wist, coach of the Bulldogs, said his players came out ready to play. He said their defensive game plan was successful in shutting the Raiders offence down frequently in the early going, which gave their offence the ball back in good situations.

“Offensively we’re still running a very good mix to keep (our opponents) honest of pass and run, inside and outside and deep and short,” said Wist. “They executed well and put up a bit of a point spread (in the first half).”

Frederickson said one great thing about the game in Central Butte is seeing all the parents and fans of his team make the journey out to support his players during the game. He said it amazes him to see people make the hour-and-a-half journey to Central Butte or the three-hour drive to Gull Lake earlier in the season and would like to show his appreciation for their enthusiasm.

“Something that boosts the kids confidence and boosts the program is the support we’re getting in the community and the amount of support we’re getting from our parents,” he said. “It’s gratifying to have not just parent’s support but community support and I think it gets the kids excited.”

To read more please see the October 7 print edition of The Davidson Leader.

The Hanley Sabers and Gull Lake Lions continued their dominance of the 1A Conference Three high school senior football league in week two, with the remaining teams looking to build on early season gains to solidify a final playoff spot.

Raiders vs. Sabers

The Davidson Raiders senior boys football team controlled possession of the ball during the first quarter of their 68-19 loss to the Hanley Sabers at the Jungle Sept. 20, but an inability to reach the end zone and an inexperienced defence proved their downfall.

Raiders coach Blair Frederickson said the Davidson offence had possession of the ball for around 10 to 11 minutes of the first quarter at their game in Hanley due to a strong short run and pass game. He said the problem was whenever the Sabers got the ball a quick score would result.

“We had the lead at the end of the first quarter, the start of the second quarter, and I bet we had the ball…10 or 11 minutes (in the first quarter) and they had the ball for one play,” said Frederickson, noting Hanley scored on that one play. Then “we kicked off to them, they got out to the 30, ran one play and put it in the end zone.”

Frederickson said at this point in early moments of the second quarter his offence started to get tired because they were on the field for most of the first 12 minutes, so when they stalled on their next play at the Hanley 40-yard-line and the Sabers ran one play on offence resulting in another touchdown the game was done. He said their Grade 12s on offence played a “great first quarter” and kept to the game plan of holding onto the ball and eating away at the clock, but their young defence couldn’t match up to Hanley’s strong passing game.

“The kids understood what we wanted them to do,” he said, adding Raiders safeties Cole Murfitt and Addison Ouellette played well in the second half. “Get to the outside (and) force Hanley to come back into the middle of the field where we have a shot at them. We just couldn’t make tackles. When we brought it back to the inside of the field the kids were just a little too small to make a big tackle, but they understood the overall concept of what we’re trying to get across.

“Take away the outside because in six-man football it’s such a wide field and it’s only six players, so you have to funnel everything into the middle if you can. We’re working on it.”

Mark Anderson, coach of the Sabers, said the Hanley coaching staff is concerned with their defence after the first quarter they suffered through against Davidson. He said they didn’t come out to play and the Raiders offence drove the ball down the field in the early going, but they were able to come back strong in the second quarter to combat the challenge.

“We just tightened up and (got) a little more aggressive,” said Anderson. “They’re a young team with guys playing both ways and they just wore down (and) got tired.

Anderson said they were able to get a lot of their younger players in during the second half and they have a “ton” of Grade 9 and 10 players on the team this year looking for starting positions, so giving them a chance to see game action provides hope for the future.

Frederickson said there were a lot of positives for his young players and his senior offence during the game, so if they can work on that they should be ready to put up a strong second half of the season and make a run for a playoff spot.

“There are a series of games now where whatever lessons we’ve learned the last few weeks playing, hopefully we’ll be able to use these to compete,” he said. “I’m hoping for success, but I’m confident we’ll compete at a higher level.”

To read more please see the Sept. 30 print edition of The Davidson Leader.