RAIDERS HIT THE GAS IN SECOND HALF

The Racine Raiders (2-0 overall, 0-0 MSFL) scored on their first drive of 2013 but then stalled through the rest of the first half, taking a 7-0 lead into halftime and eventually coasting to a 31-6 win over the Lima Warriors (4-4, 4-2 HFL) Saturday night at Historic Horlick Athletic Field in Racine, Wis.

The defense put the pedal to the metal in the second half, forcing turnovers on each of the Warriors first two drives and turning those turnovers into ten points and a 17-0 lead just over three minutes into the second half.

Lima cut into the Raiders lead when Jeremy Bott scored on a six-yard run that capped a 12 play, 7-0-yard drive with 4:46 to play in the third quarter. 

With a 17-6 lead, running back J.R. Taylor broke the game open on a 57-yard touchdown run with 10:08 to play in the game. The Joel DaPra extra point gave the Raiders a 24-6 lead.

Defensive back Ross Toeller put an exclamation point on the win when he picked off a pass that was deflected by Eric Feest and returned it 55 yard for a score.

The Raiders had five interceptions off of two different Lima quarterbacks and recovered a fumble in the first half.

The Raiders remain flawless against teams from Ohio, improving to 25-0 all-time. In addition, they extended their winning streak to 16 games, the longest streak since the Raiders won 23 games between 1994 and 1995.

The Raiders host the Madison Mustangs next week in the opening weekend of the 2013 Mid-States Football League season. The Mustangs came over from the Ironman Football League (IFL) in the offseason. They had won five IFL championships.

The Mustangs own the all-time series record against the Raiders, 11-5 and are 5-3 at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The teams last played in 1974, with the Raiders beating the Mustangs, 23-10.

The game starts at 7 p.m. If you can't make it, catch the Raiders broadcast on WRJN 1400 AM with the pregame show beginning at 6:45 p.m.

PHOTO CREDITS: John Staats