The Raiders dropped their last two football games to fall to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in district.

In the first Thursday night game this season, McNeil kicked the game winning field goal in the final four seconds to slip past the Raiders, 45-42.

Tied 42-all with less than four minutes left, the defense couldn’t keep the Mavericks from marching down the field. Mavericks’ quarterback Hayden Cooper converted on third and 10, moving to the Raider 22 with 1:05 left in the game. With the clock winding down, McNeil took a time out on third and 1 to set up the 29-yard field goal. Luis Balderas sent the ball straight through the uprights, giving the Mavericks’ their second district win.

After the loss, head coach Josh Mann consoled his players, noting that “sometimes you get bad breaks, not everything goes your way.” Mann told them he wasn’t happy with the final score, but proud of how the team played. He reminded them to stand tall and face the adversity head on.

“It’s how you respond that defines you,” he said.

Quarterback Michael Forster had his best game of the season, completing 14 of 18 passes for 279 yards and five touchdowns. Senior running back Marquis Simmons caught one of those touchdowns, a 41-yard reception and also added a 24-yard rushing score, to break the 1,000 yard mark early in the game. Simmons was the leading rusher in the game with 97 yards and now brings his total to 1,080 yards for the season.

Five players had touchdowns in the loss, including two by Chance Cooper, a 70-yard reception by Thomas Glenn on the opening drive and a 66-yard reception by Vinny Whetstone. Whetstone escaped two tackles to race across the field for the score that gave the Raiders a 42-35 lead with less than eight minutes left.

But McNeil responded with a 65-yard score to tie the game. The Raiders couldn’t move the ball on their next possession and punted to the Mavs for the final drive of the game which resulted in the game winning field goal.

A week earlier, the Raiders faced the 4-1 Round Rock Dragons, who were undefeated in district.

After an early 8-8 tie, the Dragons rolled to a 60-15 win over the Raiders, Oct. 9.

With the Raiders fumbling the punt on their first possession, Round Rock snagged the ball and ran it in for a quick score. The Raiders tied the game a few minutes later with senior Brady Kaloustian bringing in a 9-yard catch from Forster.

Round Rock would go on to hang 52 more points on the Raiders, taking a commanding 43-8 lead in the first half. Senior Tyler Morris added a late TD for the Raiders in the fourth quarter, a 49-yard run to make the final score 60-15.

Senior linebacker Kyle Sanderson, who had a season-ending injury in the season opener and had surgery this week, had a small cameo in the game as the holder for the extra points.

“We just need to flush Round Rock and move on and get ready for McNeil next week,” Sanderson said.

Mann had a similar message for his players, saying they needed to “Flush Round Rock and move on.”

With the McNeil game Thursday, Oct. 15, Mann needed the players to quickly let go of the blowout.

“This week is brutal,” Mann said. “It’s a test of endurance.”

After back-to-back losses, the Raiders will face Cedar Ridge at Bible Stadium, Oct. 23 for Homecoming. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.