Raiders Win Season Opener

The Yorkton Regional Raider Gridders are 1-and-0 after a 15-8 win over the Miller Marauders to open up their RIFL 3A season Friday at Century Field.

After a scoreless first quarter where the Raiders failed to gain a first down, the Yorkton opened the second with a punt single off the foot Cale Brown, who would prove to be a major contributor the rest of the way.

Midway through the second quarter, QB Jorgio Karapanos found RB Riley Hackman for a 30 yard screen pass, which set up a Hackman 9-yard run to make it 8-0 Raider Gridders at the half. The Raiders were deep in Miller territory in the dying seconds of the half, but time ran out on them when they were inside the Marauders' 10 yard line.

Miller struck early in the third on a 10-yard touchdown run, their only offensive points of the ball game, and missed on the 2-point conversion leaving the Raiders infront 8-6.

That's when Brown took the game over.

One of Yorkton Regional's fastest athletes on the track returned the insuing kickoff about 80 yards to the house, kicked the convert, kicked off, made the special teams tackle, and went on to force and recover a fumble on the same defensive series.

Up 15-6 in the final minutes, the Raiders elected to pass deep in their own territory, and Karapanos was brought down in the endzone for a safety, getting Miller within a touchdown of tying the game, and they nearly did, returning the ensuing kickoff to the Raider 35, before turning it over on downs. They did get one last possession in the final minute, but a Cristoph Zawatsky interception sealed the win for Yorkton (4th defensive turnover of the game), and the Raiders start 2009 1-and-0.

Here's Raider Coach Roby Sharpe Post-Game