First year head coach Justin Chaffin and his Raiders are on the road September 4th to take on (2-0) Daviess County. The Red Devils off to their best start with first year head coach James Brannon have earned their first two wins, defeating Allen County 21-20 and then taking on cross town rival Owensboro Catholic going into overtime to defeat the Aces (27-21).
Conversely, the young Raiders (0-2) have not been able to turn the corner yet this season with a season opening loss to Greenwood (42-12) followed by a road loss the following week to Monroe County (42-13). The season is early, but this road game will be important for the Raiders to win for more than just the victory, but to energize the Raiders moving forward.
Tale of the Tape:
Offense:
Daviess County’s junior quarterback Adam Bouchard last season as a sophomore threw for over 2,500 yards and two dozen touchdowns. Bouchard will light it up with his favorite receiver 6’5 senior John Stratton. Stratton and Bouchard connected for over a1,000 yards and nine TD’s in 2014. With that being said, the Panthers offense is very balanced with passing and running yardage equal through the first two games.
Warren East sophomore running back Willie Reynolds is no longer running under the radar as he was last season running for over 1,300 yards and sixteen touchdowns. This season, Reynolds has rushed for a tough 189 yards in his first two games as teams are stacking the box and keying on Reynolds. Junior QB Patrick Satterfield has rushed for 100 yards and has thrown for 149 completing 32% of his passes to date.
Defense:
Daviess County: The Panthers are very active on the defensive side of the ball with six players with double digit tackles and the rest closing in. Senior Jordan Lee leads the team in tackles with 18.
Warren East: The Raiders have given up 84 points in two games allowing 427 yards rushing and 237 yards passing. Raiders outstanding LB sophomore Isaiah Boards leads the team in tackles with 18 followed by senior defensive lineman Dillon Rager.
Keys to the Game:
Defense! The Raiders defense must find a way to keep their offense in the game. Coach Chaffin and his staff will look to mix it up Friday night against the Panthers to keep them out of the end zone.
The Raiders must find ways to create space for RB Willie Reynolds. The explosive running back will break the big run at any time with just a little look up field.
Reynolds counterpart sophomore RB Trevor Naftel produces about 50 rushing per game. More production from Naftel and Satterfield on the ground Friday night will keep the Panthers defense guessing and give Reynolds the opportunity to create the big plays.
Friday night is not do or die for the Raiders season, however, with a win, the Raiders will have a good chance to get to be .500 the following week with a win against Edmonson County.
