Small-school title? Raiders ready for biggest test of season
MCCONNELSVILLE, OH- The calendar has turned to October and that means one thing, the high school football postseason is nearing. What we have taking place on Friday could be the most anticipated game of the year in the MVL small-school division.
The Morgan Raiders are 4-3 on the season with losses to Philo, Tri-Valley, and Sheridan. Morgan possesses an undefeated small-school division record. Opportunity awaits to be in the driver’s seat with only two weeks left.
“We’ve played a really tough schedule, our three losses were to really good football teams. We’re not blind to that fact. What we have in front of us is a great opportunity. We’re sitting at 2-0 in the MVL and play a great West M team this week with Meadowbrook and Crooksville following them. We have a chance to kind of control our own destiny.” Said Head coach Chase Bowman.
That they do. The Raiders showed gradual improvement last season but finished behind West Muskingum and New Lexington. Morgan and coach Bowman have been wanting this opportunity for a while. “It’s been 23 years since the Morgan Raiders won the MVL. None of these kids were alive or even thought of at that point. I was in seventh grade when that happened. It’s been a really long time.”
This week is not an easy test, the Tornadoes are 6-1 on the year and have shutout their last three opponents outscoring them 111-0. “They’re a very talented team. It’s going to be a battle. It’s probably going to come down to who wants it more. We’re going to have to show up execute and give it our all.” Said senior quarterback Logan Niceswanger.
On the other sidelines is Rashid Sesay. The talented offensive weapon has 24 total touchdowns on the year including nine in the last two games. The Raiders have him circled heading into the week 8 clash. “It’s tough trying to stop him. It’s kind of a multifaceted thing because as an athlete he is really good. He’s a combination of fast and physical. One way to try to stop that is getting 11 guys to the ball. You don’t want to count on one guy trying to tackle a kid like that.” Bowman said.
Morgan also has a strong offense with multiple ways to beat you. Coach Bowman is aware of that. “We feel like we have a really good quarterback and good receivers so throwing the ball is always an option. We also like our offensive line, and felt like we were running the ball really well last week against New Lex. At that point we felt like there’s no sense in stopping.”
Morgan will host the game at their brand new “Raider Stadium.” Logan Niceswanger is excited. “It means a lot having all of our fans here in Morgan county. It’s a great community and hopefully we have a lot of people come out so we can put on a show for them.”
If you can’t attend the game it will be broadcasted on Highway 103.7. There will also be highlights during the Fink’s Friday Night Blitz show at 11 p.m.
