A Bird's Eye View: East Ridge vs. Hastings

Biker day, scholar day, yoga day and a powder puff football game were just a small list of the festivities that led up to that pitted the Raptors against the 0-3 Hastings Raiders.

There was lots of optimism in the air at the nest, even after coming off last week’s heartbreaking loss to the cross-town rival Woodbury Royals. The Raptors looked to bounce back against a team that the Raptors beat twice one short year ago.

East Ridge, however, had to play the game shorthanded as they were without senior starting running back Val Huerta and defensive standout Jake Sherman, who were both injured in last week’s game against the Royals.

Both defenses started off strong, just as they have been able to for most of the season, but neither offense was able to get anything going. Drive after drive the game seemed to be a battle for field position as the Raptors failed to convert on a few bad throws and tipped balls from Hastings quarterback Aaron Stoneberg.

The Raptors offense also failed to click, as sophomore running back Nick Leach replaced Val Huerta. Leach ran for 72 yards on 16 carries, however, the Raptor ground game was dominated by senior athlete Dayo Ogundepo who ran for 80 yards on 9 carries.

The aerial attack never seemed to get going, and drives were thwarted by the Raiders pass defense. Senior quarterback Brandon Johnson went 3-19, throwing for 38 yards and 2 picks.

The first strike came from the Raiders in the fourth quarter when the Raptors, backed up on their own goal line, were stopped in the end zone for a safety. The score didn’t hold as 2-0 long as Hastings senior running back Tyler Mellick pounded in a 1-yard gain to put the Raiders up 9-0.

The Raptors came back with a drive that looked promising, highlighted by a 13 yard pass to senior athlete Lance Durand, but the Raptors once again failed to score and lost to the Raiders by a final of 9-0.

It was a devastating loss for the Raptors as they now fall to 1-4 after 3 consecutive losses to Mounds View, Woodbury and Hastings, respectively.

East Ridge crosses the border next week to take on District 833 rival Park. The Wolfpack will be looking for their first win in 2 years, as their last win came when they knocked off the Raptors 27-25 in East Ridge’s inaugural 2009-10 season. Park has failed to give up less than 48 points all year. The game will be held at Park and kick-off will be at 7 p.m.

Stats courtesy of http://www.minnesotasportsonline.com/