Kane County Eagles Put an End to the Racine Raiders' Season in a 48-17 Blowout

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com –

The Kane County (Ill) Eagles ended the Raiders North American Football League (NAFL) playoff run early Saturday night by beating the Raiders 48-17 in front of nearly 2,000 extremely disappointed fans at Historic Horlick Field.  The Raiders now must decide whether they will enter the United States Football Association (USFA) Midwest Football Tournament, which they won in 2006 by beating the Detroit (Mich) Seminoles.

The game started on a positive note for the Raiders as they took the opening drive down to the Kane County 32-yard line.  New Raider kicker Jordan Brown, playing with a broken left arm, came on to attempt a 49-yard field goal.  Holder Eric Feest grabbed the snap, which was slightly behind him, and put the ball down in time for Brown to boot it straight down the middle to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead with 9:31 to play in the first quarter.  It was Brown's longest field goal in a game situation.

A couple of drives later, the Raiders looked to have the Eagles stopped deep in their own territory, however, quarterback Sam Clemons found a crease and would run 75 yards to pay dirt.  Kicker Bobby Miller added the extra point and the Eagles led 7-3 with 4:06 to play in the first quarter.

The Eagles would score again on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Clemons to Dontrell Jackson.  Miller's point-after attempt was good and Kane County led 14-3 with 12:43 to play in the first half.

The Raiders struck on the next drive as quarterback Dan Novotny found wide receiver DeAndre Hatch wide open down the Raiders' sideline for a 69-yard TD connection.  Brown's extra-point was good and the Raiders cut the Eagles lead to 14-10 with 10:22 to play in the half.

The Eagles would strike on the first offensive play of the ensuing drive, however.  Running back Dante Washington caught a Clemons screen pass and jolted 57 yards for a TD.  Miller's extra point was good and the Eagles led 21-10 with twelve minutes to play in the half. 

The Eagles scored seven minutes later on a four-yard TD pass from Clemons to wide receiver Curtis Gordon.  Miller added the point-after and Kane County extended their lead to 28-10.

The Raiders would get a score before the half on a five-yard run by running back Bryan Jennings, Jr. with 3:08 to play.  Brown's kick was good and the Raiders trailed 28-17 heading into the half.

The second half was all Kane County as they scored on three big plays.  The first was a J.R. Taylor 46-yard run in the third quarter.  In the fourth quarter, Clemons threw TD passes of 62 yards to Charles Owens and 34 yards to Keith Herron.  Miller added the extra point after the first two scores to arrive at the final of 48-17.

The Eagles advance to the second round of the NAFL playoffs while the Raiders ponder what to do with the 2007 season.  The team is considering entering the USFA Midwest Football Tournament.  A decision should come Thursday or Friday.  That tournament begins on October 27th.

TOP PERFORMERS
OFFENSE
QB Dan Novotny: 7-28, 143 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RB Bryan Jennings, Jr.:  20 rushes, 110 yards, 1 TD
WR Sam D'Alie:  4 catches, 77 yards
WR DeAndre Hatch:  1 catch, 69 yards, TD

DEFENSE
LB Jamie Isome:  4 solo tackles, 5 assists, 1 fumble recovery, 1 QB Hurry
DB Brett Barnes:  1 solo tackle, 4 assists, 1 INT, 1 Blocked Kick, 1 Pass Defense