The Racine Raiders won their fourth straight game against a previously unbeaten opponent, taking down the River City Rough Riders, 38-6, on Saturday night at Historic Horlick Athletic Field in Racine. The Raiders have now scored points in 12 straight quarters this season. The team’s scoreless streak on defense did come to an end after 13 quarters, or a total of 200 minutes of game time.
The Raiders started the opening drive of the game at the River City 46-yard line. Face with a fourth-and-three at the River City 39 yard line, the Raiders went for it. Quarterback Andre Locke bought time in the pocket but couldn’t find an open receiver. Locke took off running down the middle of the field for 25 yards and a Racine first down. Three plays later Locke found rookie H-back Bubba Rewolinski on a five-yard touchdown pass. The Alex Gonzalez kick was good and Racine led 7-0 with 11:41 to play in the quarter.
The Rough Riders assembled a 12-play drive on the ensuing possession but their drive stalled out at the Racine 43-yard line. A penalty on River City for fair catch interference moved the Raiders out to their 30-yard line to begin their second drive. The Raiders were able to get down to the River City 32-yard line before Greg Kennedy fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Aaron Taylor for River City. River City once again had problems punting as the snap went by Jalonzo Jackson. Jackson picked it up at his own 15 yard line and was able to bring it out to the River City 40-yard line where Racine would take over on downs. Three plays later, Locke connected with Jashon Foster who broke an ankle tackle and raced 33 yards to put Racine up 14-0 with 12:42 to play in the first half.
River City would get a 29-yard pass connection from quarterback Nate Samas to Josh Murray on the first play of the drive but they’d stall after that. Jackson’s punt set Racine up with the football at their own 28-yard line. Locke would connect with Will Norwood on passes of 25 and 35 yards on that possession. The 35-yard pass looked to be out of the reach of Norwood but he somehow dove and caught up to it as he crossed into the end zone to give Racine a 21-0 lead with 7:37 to play in the first half.
River City used a 36-yard kickoff return by Corey Jefferson and a 35 yards Samas-to-Murray pass play to set themselves up at the Racine one-yard line. That’s when Raiders linebacker Gary Young took over, dropping running back Devion Clay for a two yard loss and sacking Samas for a 14 yard loss on consecutive plays. On 3rd-and-17, Samas couldn’t connect with Murray and his fourth down pass attempt was intercepted by Torie Ruffin. The Raiders would get into field goal range thanks to a 35-yard pass play from Locke to Darrell James. Locke was under immediate pressure, rolled to his left, and heaved the ball to the River City 44-yard line for James who jumped in the air and pulled in the football. Gonzalez would connect on a 30-yard attempt with ten seconds to play and Racine would take a 24-0 lead into halftime.
Neither team could move the ball on their first drives of the second half. The Raiders defense stuffed River City on a fourth-and-two near midfield, giving Racine good starting field possession. On the ninth play of the drive, rookie running back Sean White bounced, spun, side-stepped, and backed his way into the end zone from seven yards out for his first career touchdown, giving Racine a 31-0 lead with 5:13 to play in the third quarter.
River City would end the scoreless streak by the Raiders defense with 10:28 to play in the game. On 2nd-and-11 from the Raiders 12-yard line, Samas rolled to his right and completed a pass to Murray, who was well-guarded by Robert Lewis, to get River City on the board. The two-point conversion pass failed keeping Racine’s lead at 31-6. The Raiders would respond right back on their next drive covering 57 yards on the ground and 22 through the air and ending with a Kennedy two-yard touchdown run to give Racine a 38-6 lead with 5:38 to play. The Raiders would hold the rest of the way to seal the win.
Locke, playing just the first half, was 9-of-16 for 168 yards and three touchdowns through the air and added 39 yards on three carries on the ground. Mitch Farr and Sawyer Schick combined to go 5-of-15 for 65 yards in relief. The Raiders amassed nearly 200 yards rushing, led by Tom Benko with 11 carries for 63 yards. White had 9 touches for 47 yards and the touchdown while Kennedy added 42 yards on four carries and a touchdown. Seven different players caught passes in the game led by Norwood with two catches for 60 yards and a touchdown and Foster with three grabs for 57 yards and a touchdown. Rewolinski had three catches for 21 yards and the touchdown.
Defensively, Racine held River City to 187 total yards and just 40 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Young led the way with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. Lewis had six tackles and 1-1/2 tackles for loss while Niko Lemke recorded five tackles, 1-1/2 tackles for loss, and a sack. Nick Jones had 1-1/2 sacks in the game.
Murray was the key player for River City as he hauled in six passes for 113 yards and the touchdown. Samas was 12-of-26 for 147 yards. Jeffrey Peoples had ten touches for 43 yards rushing. Taylor paced River City on defense with eight tackles and the fumble recovery. Tracey Samuels had seven tackles and Vontrez Phillips added six tackles.
Following the game, Samas collapsed on his sideline and needed medical attention. He was transported to the hospital where he remains to receive care as of Monday afternoon. Updates indicate that he’s improving and in stable but critical condition. The Raiders ask that everyone extend their thoughts and prayers to Samas and his family and friends.
The Raiders are at home again on Saturday, July 8, against the Chicago Falcons. The Falcons are 3-3 on the season and have clinched a playoff spot in the Mid-West United Football League. It’s Youth Football and Cheer Camp night and will feature a performance by participants in the youth cheer camp at halftime. Kids that participate in the football camp will also get to show what they learned on the field at halftime. The first 50 fans in the gate get a free sub coupon from Jersey Mike’s Subs and the first 750 fans will get Racine Raiders trading cards of Rico Flores, Joe Garcia, Matthew Villegas, Sean White, and Gage Zahradnik. Kickoff is at 7 pm. Tickets can be purchased at https://bit.ly/racine-raiders-july-8-tickets.
