STEARNS —   The Raider Football Squad notched their first victory of the season on Friday night with a 34-12 win over visiting Knott County Central.

  McCreary’s offense rolled up 290 yards from scrimmage on 42 snaps and scored touchdowns on their final two drives of the game to extend the lead  after the Patriots had  scored with 8:59 remaining to pull within a touchdown at 20-14.

  McCreary was able to take their first lead of the season late in the first half on a short 34 yard drive that took just two plays.

  The score was set up by a defensive effort that forced Knott Central to punt from their own end zone after Ricky Flannery and Josh Gregory got into the backfield to bring down the quarterback for a loss of 13 yards on third and five from the 17.

  A low line drive punt nearly hit a Raider player which would have made the ball live for either team to recover but luckily McCreary was able to gain possession just 34 yards from the goal line.

  A penalty on the first snap moved Central back to the 38 but on the next play senior Arlis Dople carried the ball down to the nine yard line for a first and goal.  Noah Duncan carried on the next snap and after being hit at the three fought his way near the goal line where he was able to stretch the ball over the line for a touchdown to give McCreary a 7-0 lead with the  extra kick point added with 3:18 left in the half.

  The Raider defense again came up big on the following possession allowing only one yard on three plays to go along with a delay of game penalty against the Patriots.

  Knott punted on fourth down and Dople turned in a tremendous return to give Central good field possession on the Knott Central 42 with just 5 ticks left in the half.

  A four yard run and an incomplete pass left the Raiders facing a third and six from the 38 and it appeared as if the third down play would not go anywhere either as quarterback Dylan Cooper was being drug down from behind trying to run up the middle.  Then at the last moment he tossed an end over end pass just a few yards ahead to Dople who circled to the outside for a 13 yard gain with help from a crushing block along the sideline by senior David Fredrick.

  The next play Cooper hit Noah Duncan with a high pass down the right side.  The Raider senior was able to cut back in front of the defender and pull down the catch at about the three yard line and easily get into the end zone for his second touchdown of the night.  Corey Ball hammered the ball through the uprights again on the extra point to give the Raiders a 14-0 advantage that they would take to the locker room at the half.

  With neither team able to get much going on offense in the early stages of the second half Knott Central took advantage of Raider offensive miscues to set up their first score of the night.

  McCreary started their second drive of the half with good field position at the Patriot 45 yard line but a loss of four yards on first down followed by two consecutive penalties backed the Raiders up to their own 40on fourth down.  To compound the problems an attempted punt failed when the snap was fumbled and the Patriots were able to make the stop and take over possession at the Raider 30 yard line.

   A ten yard penalty on first down proved to be only a momentary setback for the Patriots who connected on a pass over the middle on the next play that would go for a 40 yard touchdown with 4:10 to go in the third.  An attempted two point conversion pass was unsuccessful leaving the Raiders in front by a 14-6 score.

  With momentum leaning in thier favor Knott County kicked off to McCreary only to see it swing back the other way as quickly as Arlis Dople’s 83 yard return which was ran up the middle and cut toward the Raider sideline to pull away from the persuit.  The touchdown put the Raiders back out in front by a 20-6 score and again put the Patriots two scores from tying the game.

  Knott County would not let up though coming back on the following possession to put together a 14 play, 54 yard drive that ended with a touchdown run from three yards out and a successful two point conversion where there were 12 Patriot players on the field but no one in a striped shirt noticed.  The resulting eight points cut the Raider lead back to six points at 20-14 with 8:59 left in the game.

  McCreary would respond again though first with Noah Duncan reversing his course three times on the kickoff return before finally finding running room on the Raider sideline which allowed him to get to the Patriot 41 before being brought down.

  Dople then found running room on the right side for a 34 yard gain on first down and then on second and goal from the ten he got into the end zone on the left side with 7:17 to go giving McCreary back a two possession lead at 26-14.

  The Raider defense again came up big on the ensuing possession after giving up a five yard penalty on the first snap.  After that they got a sack by Josh Gregory followed by a two yard loss on second down and an incomplete pass on third forcing a punt from Knott’s own 35.

  Duncan then again came up big on McCreary’s first play of the following possession with a 31 yard gain down to the Patriot 29 followed by a facemask penalty that gave Central a first down at the 14 yard line of the Patriots.

  A four yard run by Seth Tucker on second down got the ball to the ten but McCreary would end up facing a fourth and seven two plays later.

  The fourth down snap sailed high and off the hands of Cooper in the shotgun.  He scrambled to his right to pick up the ball and then after eluding a tackler found Dople standing with no one around him near the goal line.  Dople had to come back up field a step to about the two yard line to make the catch cut he was able to get  back across the goal line for the game clinching score.  Cooper completed a pass to David Fredrick for a two point conversion to give the Raiders their 34-12 lead that they would end the game with.

  Dople led McCreary with 174 yards rushing  and one touchdown on 16 carries while also catching two passes for 24 yards and a touchdown.  Noah Duncan rushed eight times for 63 yards while scoring on a 25 yard reception.  Josh Gregory rushed twice for 20 yards.  Seth Tucker ran the ball twice for one yard and Cooper carried three times for negative eight yards.  He also was three for ten passing for 60 yards, two TD’s and an interception.

  McCreary will be back on the road the next two weeks at North Laurel and Leslie County before returning home for a huge district contest against Casey County on September 21.