STEARNS —
After a seemingly short month and a half on the practice field the McCreary Central Football team will step on the gridiron for real Friday evening as the season begins with the Raiders hosting Pineville.
A significant amount of change from the past four seasons will accompany the Raiders as they take to the field as incoming head coach Derek Smith leads a young and much inexperienced team into battle.
Gone from last season’s team which won a school record seven games and made a third consecutive playoff appearance is players who accounted for over 90% of the 2,633 rushing yard and all but three of the Raiders 34 touchdowns on the ground.
Smith will also be replacing a quarterback that threw for 471 yards and receivers that caught 326 of those yards. Junior Storm Stevens figures to take most of the snaps at the quarterback position but others will most likely get their opportunities as McCreary searches for the most productive combinations to fit the new offense brought in by Smith.
In the Raiders two preseason scrimmages much more emphasis seems to have been placed on the running game which will feature several runners sharing the work load with nearly all of them relying more on speed than power to gain their yards.
On the defensive side of the ball the Raiders will also be using a number of inexperienced players who are trying to adjust to a new defensive scheme. The young Raiders did an admirable job against Casey County after giving up three short field scores in the opening minutes but Friday night in the final preseason scrimmage against Russell County didn’t seem to have the same urgency to get to the ballcarrier and thus ended up seeing 42 points put up against them. To McCreary’s credit Russell County features one of the quickest and most shifty runners the Raiders will face all season.
The Raider coaching staff is attempting to accelerate the inevitable learning curve which this season was destined to be after the graduation losses from last year. They are encouraged so far that this year’s team will be able to gel together and gain some wins along the way before the season’s pivotal game on October 8 at Madison Southern. That game figures to be one that will decide the fourth and final playoff team from the districts five teams. Top ten ranked teams Bell County and Knox Central along with traditional powerhouse Rockcastle County are a prohibitive favorite to make it back to the playoff with Madison Southern and the Raiders seen as somewhat of a tossup for the final spot. Madison Southern opened thier season on Friday night with a 56-0 loss at home to West Jessamine.
Sports
Related Photos
-
Front row; L-R: Cody Myerhoff, Jeremy Jones, Blake Perry, Cody Perry, Dylan Ross, Codey Smith, Vince Staten, James Braden. 2nd row; L-R: Timothy Jones, Arlis Dople, Josh Phillips, Richard Parriman, Storm Stevens, Jon Taylor, Dustin Goins. 3rd row; L-R: Tyson Williams, Matt Whitehead, Noah Duncan, Chace Perry, Thad Ridner, Cory Ball, Cody Musgrove, Seth Tucker, David Frederick. 4th row; L-R: Trey Abbott, Dakota Snyder, Kale Graham, Jamie Stephens, Dakota Vanover, Ricky Flannery, Dustin Ridner, Corey Phillips. Top row; L-R: coach Ben Duncan, coach John Hallock, head coach Derek Smith, Devon Stephens, Marklos Goins, Larry Sammons, Cody Neal, Josh Bradley, Josh Staten, coach Matt Stiltner, coach Chris Tucker. Not Pictured: Zach Boatley, Dustin Genoe, Brandon Hatfield, Charles Rose, Todd Foster, Zach Ridner, Colton Baker, Cody Roberts, Nate Clark and coach Tony Smith. Chris Hollis
Raider Football Season Kicks Off Friday
Young Raiders Head Into Battle Behind New Coach
- Sports
-
-
Loss To Monticello Drops Lady Raiders to Fourth Seed
The Lady Raiders started their week off with their final district game of the season at home against Monticello in a game that would decide their first round opponent in the upcoming district tournament. Monticello also had their first
-
Raiders Drop Third in a Row, Six of Last Seven
After losing three out of four games McCreary Central’s struggles continued over the past week as they went 0-3 to drop their season record to 11-14.
-
NFL works to protect copyright, as Brady admits illegal viewing
NFL Super Bowl officials were hoping to score some major media attention with the arrest of a "web pirate" accused of illegally streaming sporting events over the Internet. They ended up with news stories that led with Super Bowl-bound quarterback Tom Brady admitting he watched last year’s NFL championship game on an illegal website.
-
Super security goes into place for Super Bowl
Law enforcement officials charged with Super Bowl security are taking extraordinary measures to prevent a terrorist attack, but they’re also working to keep the event from being a field day for common criminals.
-
NFL Play 60 Kids Day gets them moving
It was kids, kids and more kids Wednesday at the Indiana Convention Center, as 38 classrooms of fifth- and sixth-graders enjoyed a morning at the NFL Experience, courtesy of the NFL’s Play 60 Challenge.
-
Loss at Monticello Knocks Lady Raiders Out of Contention For Top Seed
A cold shooting night which included a fourth quarter that should be labled as frozen solid ended the Lady Raider hopes of earning the number one seed for the upcoming district tournament and instead put them in another battle with Monticello tonight to
-
Win over Monticello Keeps Raiders Out of Cellar
A busy week for the McCreary Central boys team started on Monday with a close 50-47 loss at Middlesboro.
In a back and forth game McCreary scored six straight points early in the fourth quarter to take a 39-38 lead. They were able to extend the lead to three on free throws by Ryan Strunk and Josh Gregory with 3:50 left in the game but the Yellowjackets would come back to tie the score after scoring on a put back. -
Giants' Manning emerging from brother's shadow
Giants quarterback Eli Manning has a chance to outshine his more famous brother in Sunday's Super Bowl.
-
Belichick: Indy friendlier after failed '09 call against Colts
Coach Bill Belichick jokes about the welcome he has gotten since arriving in Indianapolis -- where Colts fans are less-than-friendly toward his New England Patriots -- for Super Bowl XLVI.
-
This year's Super Bowl stadium 'Disney friendly'
National Football League officials are taking fan-friendly lessons from Disney World to make sure they don't repeat last year's Super Bowl stadium seating fiasco.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
