Week five proved again to be another promising week for the multiple football divisions of the Bayside Raiders.
To kick off this week’s games, the big dog division, the intermediate Raiders, clicked on both offense and defense this week. They went on to shutout the Queens Falcons 14-0 on the Raiders home turf at Kissena Park in Flushing.
This win for the intermediate division is their second in a row and takes them back to a .500 record with two wins and two losses. With the season halfway done, the oldest group of the Raiders looks to hit the road and take on the Brooklyn Skyhawks on Saturday, October 24.
In the frigid weather conditions on Sunday, October 18, the bantams division also took home an impressive shutout victory over the Jamaica Bulldogs. Offensively, the bantam Raiders were weaker than usual, but their defensive skills, led by Trevin Lynch, Dylan Rodriguez and Sammy Jackson, were the reason they came away with an 8-0 victory.
The junior pee wee team, under head coach Orlando Osorio, outscored and dominated the Kings Bay Bengals, and ended up with a 20-8 victory. Punt returns sparked the offense in this game. Two 70-yard punt returns by Jalen Dejesus and Tyreik Holleand led to two quick offensive strikes, which resulted in 14 points for the Raiders.
That win brought the junior pee wee’s record to 3-1. With a win next week over the Brooklyn Skyhawks, this squad could wind up as division leaders.
The youngest division, the peanut Raiders, suffered their second loss of the season to the Jamaica Bulldogs, also on Saturday. With their record standing at 2-2, the Raiders could not take home a victory even with their running back, Malik Smith-Darden, rushing for 150 yards on the day.
In another devastating loss, the pee wee division was defeated 20-8 by the Kings Bay Bengals. Coming into the game, the two teams looked evenly matched – though throughout the game, it did not look that way on the field.
After a blown defensive coverage by the pee wee Raiders, the Bengals took over and could not be stopped. With that loss, the Raiders drop down to last place in the division.
