The Pine Raiders football team steamrolled the Independence Tigers to the tune of 41-13 last Saturday in Independence. The win moves the Raiders’ record to 2-0 on the season as they continue the non-district portion of their schedule.
The Raiders scored with 3:23 in the first on a 34 yard run by Thomas Benard. They added two more touchdowns in the first half as Von Johnson scored from 14 yards out and Christian Williams scored from five yards out for the halftime score of 20-0.
The Tigers scored on their opening drive of the second half on a 44 yard strike on fourth down to cut the lead to 20-6 with 8:05 in the third. The Raiders answered on a 43 yard reception by DJ Garrett from Trey Knight. The Raiders scored on their next possession as Zach Thomas went in from eighteen yards out. The Raiders defense got into the action as Thomas Benard returned an interception for a touchdown. The Tigers then scored at the end of the game on a one yard run to make the final score 41-13.
Veteran coach Bradley Seal was glad to get the win and saw things his team did well and things they need to fix. "It was a nice win. I thought our defense played well most of the game. There are still a few things we need to clean up this week on offense."
Quarterback Trey Knight was 4 of 11 passing for 79 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 5 yards on one carry. DJ Garrett caught all four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Von Johnson had 76 yards rushing on 8 carries, Christian Williams had 9 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown, Thomas Benard had 57 yards and a touchdown on 3 carries, Zach Thomas had 3 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown and Tyron Lee had one carry for 9 yards.
The Raiders will host the Franklinton Demons this week. The Demons are 1-1 on the season. The Raiders have not played against the Demons since 2008.
