By Sebastian Wiegand, Sports Editor
The suspense is over and Coach Hoffman has his first win as a Raider in the books. After two tough losses to start the season the Raiders have righted the ship and are now 1-2 with a 26-7 win over Grand Junction High School.
“Its awesome,” said coach Hoffman, “Im proud of our kids and our assistant coaches. They put in all the work to get stuff done.”
After taking the two losses to open the season Hoffman has shaken some things up that have appeared to work.
For starters he opted to start Sophomore Jaelin Odegard at quarterback instead of Junior Braden Cook who started the first two games.
The Raiders also relied heavily on the running game as they ran for 301 yards in the win. Junior AJ Thomas lead the charge as he ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
“The O-Line was getting blocks and executing plays,” said Odegard
Odegard looked comfortable in his first start going 3-8 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown pass to Senior Elijah Reed. He also showed off his arsenal of abilities as he ran for 96 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
The defense was a force to be reckoned with as they took the ball away five times, three on interceptions and two on fumbles. Senior Devante Wheaten continues to make a name for himself as he had two of the Raiders interceptions, the other belongs to Senior Lamont Weddle.
Despite the win there are still things to improve upon. The Raiders Turned the ball over twice bringing their total to nine turnovers on the season. They also gave up 238 total yards.
The raiders will catch up with old teammate Max Gonzales next week as Rangeview travels across town to legacy stadium to play ninth ranked Cherokee Trail High School. Gonzales won SMAC Offensive player of the year as a Raider last season and currently leads the Cougars in tackles.