The Atholton Raiders hard fought season finally came to an end after a crushing 31-0 loss against the Oakland Mills Scorpions in the quarter-finals of the state playoffs. It was an otherwise amazing season from the Raiders in which they had a 9-3 record and only lost one game within the region, finishing 2nd.
This game against the Scorpions was especially hard on all the Raider fans who have been to all the games this season. Before the game, Raider fan and Atholton sophomore Austin Booker said that Atholton was going to have a “tough battle” in the playoffs.
Booker even went on to express more concern about the team saying “they did lose to a couple of teams that were beatable.”
The main concern for the Raiders was the discipline of the team. Turnovers, penalties, and sluggish play was a recurring theme during the season for the Raiders, mostly late in games.
The Raiders started the season with a bang with wins against River Hill and Long Reach holding both teams to less than one score.
The real challenge came in week 3 when the Raiders faced the number two ranked team in the state of Delaware, the Middletown Cavaliers. This game set the Raiders back, suffering a brutal 34-3 defeat. The Raiders only put up 157 yards of total offense.
Coach Woodson was very disappointed in the Raiders performance with Woodson saying, “we gave them 21 points” and also adding “when are gonna be consistent?” and then adds
“We got skilled guys… the talent is there, it is just a matter of putting it together consistently and so far we have not done that.”
The team used the Middletown loss as motivation to play harder and stronger and it appears to have worked with the Raiders winning six out of their last seven games following the Middletown loss.
The Raiders started the playoffs on a high note with a decisive 49-7 win against the Mt. Hebron Vikings on November 7th. Raiders player Michael Hanshaw, grade 12, who had three total tackles and a TFL (tackles for loss) against the Vikings said that the team would be just fine throughout the playoffs if “we just stay disciplined.”
The players and fans have made it clear that if the Raiders can play a game to their full potential and stay disciplined for all four quarters they believed that Atholton could be a legitimate contender.
Hanshaw also added that if Atholton can go on to play a mistake-free game, the Raiders are “the best team in the county.” The Raiders kept their momentum from the previous win going in their game against the Marriotts Ridge Mustangs on November 15th, winning that one 20-0.
So going into the game against Oakland Mills the defensive confidence was sky high. But the focus and discipline problems that the Raiders struggled with all season came back to haunt them at the worst time possible, costing the Raiders their otherwise amazing season.
Getting to the playoffs is one thing but the grind that the players and coaches go through in the offseason to get ready is a whole other. The offseason starts early for both players and coaches.
The head coach of the Raiders football team, Coach Woodson, stated that the off-season starts in January and they practice three times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) with each practice lasting roughly two hours. The team goes through a lot of weight lifting and conditioning to get themselves in the best shape for the upcoming season.
They will also travel and compete in 7 on 7 tournaments at various places such as Penn State, West Virginia and even the Baltimore Ravens training facility. All of this training leads up to tryouts which are typically in August. Coach Woodson said that he has been doing tryouts a bit differently these past few years by not letting the players hit [each other] until day six of training.
Woodson explained, “so the first day they can only wear helmets. By day three we can be in what we call shells…shoulder pads, helmets, and shorts. Day six is the first day that they are in full gear.”
Woodson also explained the reason for the change is for safety measures saying that he is “trying to keep the kids healthy.” Despite the new safety measures Coach Woodson still wants to make training and preseason competitive.
So Woodson scheduled scrimmages against teams such as Oakdale and St. Charles. Woodson said those scrimmages “helped us.” But the preparation goes beyond just practice. It also involves studying film on the other teams with Woodson saying “Coaches are always watching film.”
After the regular season ended Hanshaw said he would grade the season “a solid 7.5 out of 10.” Hanshaw also pointed out that the team needs to work on “knowing the plays” and “getting out there faster,” before the playoffs start.
It is not a surprise to many that the Atholton Raiders had an incredible season. The Raiders have had a winning season since 2020, with 2021 peaking with a County Championship. Making it to the quarter-finals of states this year was very impressive for the Raiders, so next season they’ll have to get back to training to go all the way.