The Chris Dixon era started out with a bang as Rangeview led all 48 minutes beating Vista Peak 17-7 behind 120 yards from Armani Patterson and a stingy defense that forced three Bison turnovers.

It was the third meeting ever between the burgeoning rivals with the Raiders flipping the script to gain their first ever win over the Bison.

“It was a good win, we played really hard on defense and we came out super strong and super fast. Very aggressive and in football we always talk about whoever wins the line of scrimmage has the advantage and our kids on both sides of the ball took advantage a lot,” said defensive coordinator Rick Spriggs.

In previous matchups with the Bison, turnovers doomed the Raiders, but Friday night they sparked them, including Darren Young’s 80-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

New head coach Chris Dixon was pleased afterwards saying, “To only give up seven points is a tremendous effort, Spriggs took care of the game. Super proud of him, he put our boys in a good position.”

The Raiders grabbed an early 3-0 lead on what is believed to be a program record 41-yard field goal by Christian Diaz to give the Raiders the opening score of the game after a slow start by both teams.

Vista finally found some momentum late in the second quarter, but senior Greg Brooks’s back-breaking sack forced a fumble leading to Young’s fumble return that put the Raiders up 10-0.

“[Young] goes sideline to sideline. He played safety for us at first, but we moved him to where he is a better fit for the team and he had a great game. He took it back, and I didnt know he was that fast.” said Dixon.

The second half featured Rangeview dominating time of possession behind Patterson’s 160 all-purpose yards. Patterson extended the lead to 17-0 midway through the 3rd quarter on a 43 yard run that featured both the power and speed he used to gain nearly 1,200 yards last season.

With both coach Dickson and Spriggs stating, “He is arguably the best running back in the state.”

With Dixon adding, “Even if he was anywhere else he would still be starting varsity running back.”

The Bison didn’t quit, answering Patterson’s touchdown with their own touchdown drive concluding with a three yard score, but the Raiders strangled the life out of the Bison with a drive that lasted over eight minutes to take the clock down to only three minutes left in the 4th quarter.

The Raiders eventually closed out the game on a DJ Collins interception that ended the Bison’s desperate late drive while up 17-7.

It wasn’t all perfect for the Raiders as quarterback Jahiem Alexander suffered a second half shoulder injury and may miss several weeks as a result. If Alexander can’t go, senior Abunu Asfaw will step in.

Even with the injury Jaheim said “Taking care of my body and getting used to taking hits, but for the overall team not getting down on ourselves. In the fourth quarter we all started getting down on ourselves; which we were winning. So just staying positive.”

Rangeview next takes on Westminster Thursday night on the road. The Wolves were mercy-ruled 56-7 by the Far Northeast Warriors in their opener.

BOX SCORE