[Previous entry: "Stampede to hold Final Pre-Season "Meet & Greet""] [Next entry: "Owners saw a need for football in Superior"]

09/06/2006: "Raders 22 Pioneers 13"

Journal Times
Racine
BY GERY WOELFEL
Journal Times
RACINE — The Racine Raiders needed someone to step up, and Eric Feest and Chad Svendsen did.
Both Raiders made important defensive plays in the fourth quarter to help the Raiders beat the Midwest (Minn.) Pioneers 22-13 in their regular-season opener Saturday night before a revved-up crowd at Horlick Field.
“The defense responded,’’ Raiders coach Jordan Kopac said. “They made some big plays.’’
Svendsen made his vital play with 12 minutes left and the Raiders clinging to a 16-13 lead. Taking advantage of his 6-foot-5, 320-pound frame, Svendsen burst through the Pioneers’ offensive line from his defensive tackle position to block Dirk Hiesom’s 46-yard field goal attempt.
“I got upfield and then got up,’’ Svendsen said. “And the kick was kind of low, so I was able to block it.’’
It didn’t look like Svendsen’s block would matter, though. After the Raiders were forced to punt on their next possession, the Pioneers moved to the Raiders’ 23-yard line after a nifty 11-yard punt return by Bobby Clark.


The Pioneers advanced to the Raiders’ 7-yard line and appeared on the brink of scoring the go-ahead touchdown. But that’s when Feest delivered in the clutch. Perfectly reading a crossing pattern by the Pioneers’ receivers, Feest put himself in position to pick off a pass by Paul Ciochetto. Feest intercepted the pass at Racine’s 4-yard line and then returned it 19 yards.
“They ran a switching route and we switched,’’ Feest said. “He (Ciochetto) threw it right to me. I don’t think the receiver even knew it was in the air.’’
The Raiders maintained their 3-point lead until the waning minutes of the game when Eric Ervin scored on a 2-yard run with 51 seconds remaining to seal the outcome. It wasn’t until then that the Raiders could finally breath a sigh of relief.
Until the final quarter, the Raiders played like it was their first game. They repeatedly made mistakes and finished the game with 15 penalties.
What’s more, their offense failed to score on two occasions in the first half, making the game much closer than it should have been. In the first quarter, the Raiders advanced to the Pioneers’ 2-yard yard but couldn’t generate any points.
In the second quarter, the Raiders moved into Midwest territory before becoming their own worst enemy. They were guilty of clipping, an illegal formation and a fumble, which they recovered.
But then Dorian Palmer of the Raiders saw his punt hit the backside of his blocking back, Nate Harris, at the Racine 15-yard line. Ciochetto then threw a perfect pass to Damien Rocho-Washington for a touchdown.
That gave the Pioneers a 13-7 lead. The touchdown came after Clark had given the Pioneers a 6-0 lead on a 25-yard pass interception, and after the Raiders went ahead 7-6 on an Evans’ 20-yard run around left end with 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Raiders tied the game at 13-13 with 50 seconds left in the half when starting quarterback Julius Khio connected with Chris Samz for a 15-yard touchdown.
The Raiders took the lead for good with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter when Joel DaPra made a 42-yard field goal. DaPra admitted he wasn’t overly confident the kick would go through the uprights.
“They were coming through,’’ DaPra said. “I could see them coming out of the corner of my eyes. I just kicked it as hard as I could. But I got kind of worried because it started to hook.
“But it came back and went through.’’
And Kopac was obviously happy to see his team get through a tough game.
“I don’t know what the stats were, but we should have had another two or three touchdowns if we didn’t have all those penalties,’’ Kopac said. “But it’s good to get them out of the system.
“They’re a good team; they scored 32 points in their first game. So I was very, very pleased to win this game.’’The Racine Raiders needed someone to step up, and Eric Feest and Chad Svendsen did.
Both Raiders made important defensive plays in the fourth quarter to help the Raiders beat the Midwest (Minn.) Pioneers 22-13 in their regular-season opener Saturday night before a revved-up crowd at Horlick Field.
“The defense responded,’’ Raiders coach Jordan Kopac said. “They made some big plays.’’
Svendsen made his vital play with 12 minutes left and the Raiders clinging to a 16-13 lead. Taking advantage of his 6-foot-5, 320-pound frame, Svendsen burst through the Pioneers’ offensive line from his defensive tackle position to block Dirk Hiesom’s 46-yard field goal attempt.
“I got upfield and then got up,’’ Svendsen said. “And the kick was kind of low, so I was able to block it.’’
It didn’t look like Svendsen’s block would matter, though. After the Raiders were forced to punt on their next possession, the Pioneers moved to the Raiders’ 23-yard line after a nifty 11-yard punt return by Bobby Clark.
The Pioneers advanced to the Raiders’ 7-yard line and appeared on the brink of scoring the go-ahead touchdown. But that’s when Feest delivered in the clutch. Perfectly reading a crossing pattern by the Pioneers’ receivers, Feest put himself in position to pick off a pass by Paul Ciochetto. Feest intercepted the pass at Racine’s 4-yard line and then returned it 19 yards.
“They ran a switching route and we switched,’’ Feest said. “He (Ciochetto) threw it right to me. I don’t think the receiver even knew it was in the air.’’
The Raiders maintained their 3-point lead until the waning minutes of the game when Eric Ervin scored on a 2-yard run with 51 seconds remaining to seal the outcome. It wasn’t until then that the Raiders could finally breath a sigh of relief.
Until the final quarter, the Raiders played like it was their first game. They repeatedly made mistakes and finished the game with 15 penalties.
What’s more, their offense failed to score on two occasions in the first half, making the game much closer than it should have been. In the first quarter, the Raiders advanced to the Pioneers’ 2-yard yard but couldn’t generate any points.
In the second quarter, the Raiders moved into Midwest territory before becoming their own worst enemy. They were guilty of clipping, an illegal formation and a fumble, which they recovered.
But then Dorian Palmer of the Raiders saw his punt hit the backside of his blocking back, Nate Harris, at the Racine 15-yard line. Ciochetto then threw a perfect pass to Damien Rocho-Washington for a touchdown.
That gave the Pioneers a 13-7 lead. The touchdown came after Clark had given the Pioneers a 6-0 lead on a 25-yard pass interception, and after the Raiders went ahead 7-6 on an Evans’ 20-yard run around left end with 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Raiders tied the game at 13-13 with 50 seconds left in the half when starting quarterback Julius Khio connected with Chris Samz for a 15-yard touchdown.
The Raiders took the lead for good with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter when Joel DaPra made a 42-yard field goal. DaPra admitted he wasn’t overly confident the kick would go through the uprights.
“They were coming through,’’ DaPra said. “I could see them coming out of the corner of my eyes. I just kicked it as hard as I could. But I got kind of worried because it started to hook.
“But it came back and went through.’’
And Kopac was obviously happy to see his team get through a tough game.
“I don’t know what the stats were, but we should have had another two or three touchdowns if we didn’t have all those penalties,’’ Kopac said. “But it’s good to get them out of the system.
“They’re a good team; they scored 32 points in their first game. So I was very, very pleased to win this game.’’