After capitalizing on two Brennan turnovers to take a 6-0 early lead, the Raiders couldn’t hold off the Bears in a 31-13 loss Friday, Aug. 29, the season opener. The Bears scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-6 lead and never trailed again.

The Raiders started the game with a promising series, moving the ball steadily down field. On 4th & 6, quarterback Michael Forester completed the pass to keep the drive alive and give the Raiders some confidence. They converted on a second fourth down, moving into the red zone. But a third down pass into the end zone was picked off by a Brennan player and the drive ended with no points.

But the offense wasn’t off the field for long. On Brennan’s first series, they fumbled and the Raiders’ Adam Ray recovered on the Bears’ 14. The Bears’ defense held and the Raiders had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Dylan Dunfee.

On the first play of Brennan’s second series, they fumbled again with safety Morgan Vest recovering the ball. Again, the offense couldn’t get into the end zone and Dunfee kicked his second field goal of the night, to make it 6-0 in the second quarter.

The defense held the Bears on 4th and 3 on their third series, but Brennan finally got some traction late in the second quarter, completing a 39-yard pass and a 12-yard run to move to the Raider 12. They scored from the 12 on third down and took their first lead 7-6.

A muffed punt on the Raiders’ next possession gave the Bears’ an incredibly short field, starting from the Raider 12. They scored on the next play, giving Brennan a 14-6 lead going into halftime.

Brennan scored two more touchdowns in the second half and tacked on a field goal late in the fourth quarter. The Raiders finally reached the end zone in the fourth quarter, off a 10-yard pass to Vinny Whetstone.

Three different players took snaps as quarterback in the game, Michael Forster, Gavin Sharp and Marquis Simmons. Forster completed 4 of 13 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown.

After the game, Coach Joshua Mann praised the team for their effort, noting this was the best they’ve ever played Brennan and there was plenty to get out of  the loss.

“We’re there,” Mann said. “We just gotta get better. This is a great learning opportunity.”