The Racine Raiders 2022 season schedule is set and the team has adopted the theme, “Summer Starts Here.” The Raiders schedule consists of nine home and five road games. The team will once again be members of the MidStates Football League (MSFL) which will feature six teams this season. The MSFL teams will play one another twice this season in a home-and-away series. The Raiders are bringing in two national powerhouse opponents for to kick off their 2022 campaign.
The Raiders begin with three non-league home games starting against the Michigan Gators on May 14 at 7 pm at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The Gators are members of the Midwest Elite Football Alliance which is made up of 14 teams located in Michigan. The Gators claimed the National Football Events 2022 Orange Blossom Bowl championship and finished the 2021 season ranked #12 in the country. This will be the first game of the season for both teams. It will be a Border Battle game that will feature two games at Historic Horlick Athletic Field on May 14 as another Wisconsin team will host another Michigan team in an afternoon tilt.
The Raiders renew an old rivalry with the St. Paul Pioneers on May 21 at 7 pm at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The Pioneers return to Historic Horlick Athletic Field for the first time since 2008. St. Paul has claimed three national championships. They won the 2009 North American Football League (NAFL) title and followed that up with USA Bowl National Championships in 2012 and 2014. They are members of the eight-team Northern Elite Football League (NEFL) and have claimed seven NEFL titles since 2010.
The Raiders will play against the Wisconsin Raptors of the Northern Lights Football League (NLFL) at Historic Horlick Athletic Field at 7 pm on May 28, the Saturday before Memorial Day. The Raptors previously competed as the Eastern Wisconsin Slayers. As the Slayers, the team were NLFL semi-finalists last season.
Racine opens MSFL play on the road against the Illinois Cowboys. The Cowboys finished in second place in the league last season with a 9-1 record. The Raiders fell to the Cowboys, 42-37, in late-July last year in Illinois. The Raiders led, 37-36, with about 5-1/2 minutes to play in the game and the Cowboys had a fourth down just on the Raiders side of the field. They were able to convert and would finish the drive with a touchdown to secure the win. The Cowboys finished the season ranked 27th in the country.
The Raiders then return home for a four-game home stand from June 11 through July 2. The homestand opens at Historic Horlick Athletic Field on June 11 at 7 pm against the only other Wisconsin team in the MSFL, the Wisconsin Hitmen. The Hitmen return after taking a year off to sort through organizational issues in 2021. When the Raiders took 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on crowds in Racine, many players moved north to join the Hitmen for a season. Last year, a handful of Hitmen players joined the Raiders as the Hitmen took a hiatus. The game is always a hard-hitting, raucous affair.
The Raiders then host the MSFL regular season champions, the Midway Marauders, on June 18 at 7 pm at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The Marauders tore through the league last year, going unbeaten in the regular season before falling to the Lincoln-Way Patriots in the semi-finals of the MSFL playoffs. The Raiders dropped their game against the Marauders, 27-12, in Illinois. The Marauders still got an invite to play in the Palm Bowl where they beat the Kansas City Bulldogs, 16-6, in Altamonte Springs, Florida. They finished the season as the sixth-ranked team in the country.
The Chicago Cardinals and Chi City Ducks, both members of the MSFL last season, will combine forces as the Chicago Birdgang in 2022 and the Raiders will host the combined team on June 25 at 7 pm at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The Raiders shut out both teams last season by a combined score of 55-0.
The Raiders final non-league game is the annual Fourth Fest weekend game on July 2 at Historic Horlick Athletic Field at 7 pm. The Raiders welcome in their second Michigan opponent of the season in the Grand Rapids Seminoles.
Four of the Raiders final six games of the season will be on the road starting with traveling to play the Leyden Lion on July 9. The Raiders beat Leyden, 35-6, after a slow start in a game in Illinois last season.
Racine then returns home to host the Illinois Cowboys on July 16 at 7 pm. The next three games are on the road. On July 23, the Raiders travel to the Midway Marauders. On July 30, they will again go south of the border to take on the Chicago Birdgang. Racine has a shorter trip to Raabe Stadium near the campus of Wisconsin Lutheran College to battle the Wisconsin Hitmen on August 6.
The final regular season game of the year will be August 13 against the Leyden Lions at Historic Horlick Athletic Field at 7 pm. The game will be the annual Alumni Night game, featuring players, coaches, and staff that represent the 69-year history of America’s second oldest semi-pro football team.
All Racine Raiders games will again be streamed live for free (no replays available after the game) with Don Wadewitz and Evan Witalison as the primary announcers. The team will also have digital ticketing available in 2022 to make buying tickets more convenient for fans.
