After winning the final game of the season against Vista Ridge 20-10, Nov. 8, the Raiders finished third in district and advanced to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

“The win over Vista really brought us back to where we needed to be,” quarterback and wide receiver Wesley Geisler said. “We re-earned the belief that we had lost during our two previous losses. Getting that win helped us reestablish ourselves.”

The Raiders kicked off the first round of playoffs with a home win at Bible, crushing LBJ 44-14, Nov. 14. The offense racked up 429 yards of total offense including 371 rushing yards, 149 of those coming from quarterback Billy Ray McCrary. The Raiders had 20 first downs and they scored in every quarter. McCrary scored four touchdowns and also threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Geisler. Senior full back Donovan Carrasco also contributed a touchdown and kicker Zack Ramirez hit a 24-yard field goal.

The defense limited LBJ to 12 total first downs and to two touchdowns, both scored in the first half. Defensive back Morgan Vest also had an interception for the defense in the third quarter.

“Going up against LBJ was a little boring,” defensive back Tre Artis said. “We knew they had good athletes, but we were prepared and we earned another chance to play.”

The Raiders will take on Buda Hays in the second round at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex Friday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The Raiders defeated Hays 29-20 in non-district play earlier this season, but the Rebels went on to only lose one more game and put a 45-20 drubbing on Brackenridge in the first round.

“The game will be a challenge,” Geisler said. “Like everyone says, it’s hard to beat a team twice. They made mistakes last time, but so did we. All the odds are against us, so we are ready to prove the doubters wrong.”