Before a small crowd, the Raiders fought through the soggy weather to crush Del Valle, 31-10, Friday, Sept. 20.
The Cardinals got on the board first with a field goal in the first quarter. After the Raiders fumbled, Del Valle moved the ball to the 6. But the defense held and the Cardinals were forced to settle for a field goal.
Quarterback Billy McCrary scored a touchdown in end of the first quarter, putting Rouse on the board and cut Del Valle’s lead 6-3.
At the end of the first quarter, a botched punt gave the Raiders’ great field position, starting at the Cardinals’ 6-yard line. But despite that, they couldn’t find a way to get into the end zone and turned the ball over on downs.
After going three and out their last two series, Raiders finally score late in the second quarter. A two point conversion made the score 14-3.
With only 23 seconds left in the half, Del Valle answered back with a touchdown catch, closing the gap to 14-10.
“One touchdown couldn’t bring us down,” full back Donovan Carrasco said. “And it challenged us to get better.”
Coming back from the half, defense forced Del Valle to punt on several possessions, recovered a fumble and intercepted the ball, never allowing the Cardinals back in the game. The offense would earn a field goal by senior Zack Ramirez and score two more touchdowns, including one by McCrary in the third quarter and another by senior Andre Alger in the fourth, his second of the night.
The rainy weather and slick turf limited the passing game to just 39 yards. The team racked up 270 rushing yards, with Carrasco as the leading rusher with 93 yards.
The 31-10 win moves the Raiders to 3-1 in non-district play. The team opens up district play this Friday at Dripping Springs.