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Wet and wild

The Raiders’ game Friday night was twice delayed by weather as lightning in the area forced the game officials to clear the field twice, but the conditions didn’t seem to affect the Providence Pioneers as they ran over McCreary, 55-0.

The loss was the worst defeat for McCreary this season, dropping their record to 1-3.

The Pioneers dominated every aspect of the game. Providence totaled 327 yards of offense, while McCreary barely got into the positives with a total of 4 yards.

From the outset it looked as if the Raiders were overmatched.

After winning the opening coin toss and deferring to the second half, McCreary kicked off and the Pioneers returned the ball 83-yards for the first score of the game and took a 7-0 lead after only 19 seconds.

On their first possession, McCreary managed to move the ball a little, crossing mid-field before stalling.

But they were granted a second chance.

After punting the ball away, the Providence returner fumbled and Nathan Goins fell on the loose ball for a recovery on the Pioneer 15.

Brandon Troxell, the Raiders’ featured back, and most productive runner so far this season, got caught in the backfield for a big loss on the second play, pushing the Raiders back to the 33.

Two incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs and Providence took over on their own 33.

Four plays later they punched it in for a 14-0 lead.

After another Raider punt Pioneer made it 21-0 with a three-play drive in the quarter.

Providence ran only seven offensive plays in the first 12 minutes, but all of them were runs of 10-yards or more for a total of 121 yards in the quarter.

The second quarter didn’t start much better for McCreary after their first series ended in a blocked punt in their own endzone for another Pioneer score.

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Providence on the McCreary 32.

One play later, a 32-yard pass and catch, the Pioneers held a 34-0 lead with 10:05 left in the first half.

That would be all of the Providence scoring in the half, however, as the Raider defense forced two turnovers and a punt on the next three possessions.

The Raider offense couldn’t do much with the opportunities the defense gave them, failing to get a first down on any of the subsequent possessions.

The second half was a little less action packed as both squads took the opportunity to give their junior varsity players a chance to play.

Providence would score on their first possession of the half to take a 41-0 lead and started the running clock.

Pioneer would tack on two more scores in the fourth quarter while the Raider offense continued to stutter to take the 55-0 win.

Friday night the Raiders travel to Berea to take on the 0-4 Pirates.

McCreary will have a chance to break their three-game slide against Berea, who have been outscored 66-208 on the season, and are coming off a 47-15 loss to Lynn Camp, whom the Raiders played close three weeks ago.

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