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Raiders perfect season washed away |
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Written by Greg Bird
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Monday, 05 October 2009 |
The constant downpour made for a miserable night as the McCreary Central Raiders saw their perfect season go down the drain with a 34-6 loss to Knox Central Friday night.
The constant downpour made for a miserable night as the McCreary Central Raiders saw their perfect season go down the drain with a 34-6 loss to Knox Central Friday night.
The rain hampered the Raiders usual fast-attack offense, slowing down Aaron Watts and Zach Roark. Further complicating things was the Knox Central defense, which dominated the McCreary offensive line – ending 13 of the Raiders’ 32 rush attempts at or behind the line of scrimmage.
“They whipped us at the line,” Coach Clinton Gay said. “Some of our guys put their heads down, but we were still in the game at halftime.”
McCreary had little to counter the constant attack at the line as the Panthers held the Raiders to only 104 yards on the night. The Raiders entered the game averaging over 363 yards of offense per game.
The Raiders also had difficulty stopping the Knox Central offense, allowing 324 rushing yards, the most the defense has allowed all season.
While the wet field caused some ball control problems on both sides, the slow track hurt McCreary more as Watts and Roark tend to use their cutting ability to shake off tackles and extend the play. Knox, on the other hand, used mostly straight forward rushes, using their strong offensive line to make holes for the backs to burst through.
“The field took away any speed we had,” Coach Gay said. “We couldn’t make the cuts that we were used to making.”
The Raiders loss was not only their first of the season, it also dropped them to 0-1 in District play, adding pressure to get a win against Madison Southern in two weeks if McCreary wants to return to the post season for the third time in three years.
Coach Gay knows how important the Madison Southern game is, but refuses to look past the Raiders upcoming game at Powell County this week.
“There is nothing to do but to get ready for Powell County Friday night,” he said. “We are still alive and still have a chance to finish second in the District. But, we have to focus on each game as it comes up.”
The game started on a sour note, perhaps a portent of what was to come.
After Zach Roark returned the opening kickoff to the Raiders 47, he took the first hand off three yards behind the line of scrimmage. Knox defenders crashed through the Raiders’ offensive line and stripped the ball away and the Raiders first series ended after only one play.
Roark redeemed himself on the Panthers’ first play from scrimmage, falling on a Chad Meridia fumble around mid-field.
McCreary put together their longest drive of the night, advancing to the Panthers’ 22, before a dropped pass on fourth down put a halt to the series.
Knox Central took over and cut through the McCreary defense, covering 78 yards on 7 plays, ending with an 11-yard touchdown run from Jonathan Turpin to put the Panthers up 7-0.
A 27-yard kickoff return set the Raiders up near mid-field on their next possession, but the Panthers’ defense didn’t allow any gains at all, setting up a fourth and long from the 46.
Watts dropped back to pass on the option play, but Knox defenders blanketed the Raiders’ receivers. Watts scrambled, but the pass rush offered him nowhere to run, and he was sacked for an 8-yard loss and McCreary turned the ball over on downs.
Knox punched in their second score of the night on a Meridia 10-yard run following the turnover, taking a 13-0 lead.
The Raiders came alive on the next series after Watts returned the next kickoff 77 yards to the Panthers’ 8-yard-line. Roark took the first hand-off plunging through the line for the score. McCreary failed to convert the extra point, but reduced Knox’s lead to just one score, 13-6.
Neither team managed to add another score in the second quarter. Twice Knox turned the ball over on downs and McCreary punted once and Watts threw an interception near the end of the half.
As the rain continued to pour in the second half, the Panthers wasted little time padding their lead. A three-play, 45-yard drive took less than a minute as Meridia ran in for his second score of the night for a 20-6 Knox Central lead.
McCreary tried to add another score on their first drive of the half, advancing to the Panthers’ 19, but Roark was tackled in the back-field as the Raiders tried to convert on fourth-and-short, turning over the ball on downs.
Knox put together their longest drive of the night, covering 78 yards in 10 plays, taking a 27-6 lead on a Meridia 5-yard TD run.
A Watts fumble set up the Panthers’ final score of the night as Knox took over on their own 42, but covering 58 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 15-yard run from Tyler Bailey, taking a 34-6 lead.
Zach Roark was held to 37 yards rushing, 8 yards receiving and 21 return yards. Aaron Watts finished with 32 rushing yards and 104 return yards. Watts also completed 2 of 7 passes for 20 yards and one interception. Dustin Goins rushed 3 times for 14 yards and had one return for 13 yards. Codey Smith caught one pass for 12 yards.
The Raiders look to regain their confidence this Friday when they travel to Powell County (1-4). After an opening week 23-0 win over Jackson County, the Pirates are in the middle of a four-game losing streak and are coming off a 47-8 loss to Madison Southern.
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