The Wagner Red Raiders traveled to Winner to take on the number one ranked Warriors last Friday night. The Warriors came out on top 52-12. The Raiders continue to improve, but the quantity of good team play needs to become consistent. It is nice to play Winner early in the year to give us taste of what we need to overcome.

The Raider offense tallied 197 yards. The run game is improving with a 3.7 yards per rush attempt on 37 carries. Our blocking is improving, and the holes started to open up in the second half. The Raiders first score came late in the first quarter, with a Daniel Soukup pass to Glenn Cournoyer for 63 yards and a touchdown. The second touchdown came on a 10-yard run from Jhett Breen late in the 4th quarter. Jhett had some very nice runs on the night. The blocking became better, and the holes became larger as the game went on.

On the defensive side of the ball, again the Raiders made some nice plays, but the consistency of good play was not at a high enough level. Tackling became a huge problem. Many time we were in position to make the play; we just stopped our feet and revert to old ways. That is when long runs (game killers) happen, and we get ourselves in a hole early in the game. Our pursuit as the game went on, was something else to be desired. We need to attack the play, not sit back on our heels, and let the ball be run to us. We must build a fence and contain the ball, and tackle as a team. There were some great induvial plays. Jace Kuhlman on the opening series attacked the blocking scheme and made a textbook tackle. Jhett and Riley continue to make physical tackles. Defensive line is maintaining the line of scrimmage. When everyone does their job consistently right, we are going to see different outcomes.

Our next game is Saturday at home. As a program, we would again like to thank the community of Wagner for your support.