Outlook- It took a while, but coach Chad Griffin may have the Raiders on the right track. After several rebuilding seasons, the Raiders put together a 6-5 record and were competitive in most games last year and this season should be better as he fielded one of the younger teams and has plenty of returning starters on both sides of the ball.
Offense- The offense scored 257-points in eleven games and piled up 3,238-yards on the ground. The quarterback will be Keaton Walters, who completed 34-passes for 463-yards and five touchdowns. The running attack was fueled by Dustin Butler (907-yards/8-TDs), but he’s gone. Still, Junior Jordan Bradley (795-yards/4-TDs), Dan Crume (770-yards/13-TDs) and Clark Rexroat (600-yards/4-TDs) are all back and Rexroat was the leading receiver (12-catches/185-yards) along with Bradley (8-catches/148-yards) and Jaxson Shoulders (9-catches/93-yards). The Offensive Line did lose Kase Trent and Jordan Atwell, but Ethan Roten, Kaden Trent and Jaren Gedda are back, so Griffin will look for replacements.
Defense- The Defense allowed just 157-points in eleven games compared to 254 in 2020 and was very effective stopping the run (1,707-yards). The Defensive Line will return Alex Ford, Kaden Trent and JD Crump, while the Linebackers will have Jaxon Shoulders (leading tackler 133), AD Milby, Hayden Crosister. The secondary will return Konner Walters, Clark Rexroat and Chandler Hudgins, which intercepted 10-passes and produced 14-QB sacks.
Kicking Game- senior Jacob Mabe did the kicking (15-21 PATS) and should return again.
Summation- The rebuilding process was long and hard for Chad Griffin and after a 7-5 record in 2018, things went downhill fast. Still, with patience and a steady system, he has found the parts for another successful season. The Raiders have only 4-seniors and 20-sophomores, 14-juniors and 15-freshman.
