Submitted by Lee Chadwick
This past weekend the mighty dozen traveled to Fairbanks to take on the Eielson Ravens in gridiron action. At their previous meeting at the first game of the season, the Ravens beat the Bucs by over 40 points. Working hard to improve skills and gaining crucial experience over the season, The Bucs looked forward to competing against the Ravens again as a measuring stick of their improvement.
The first quarter saw a stiff Buc defense stifling the Raven offense on the first few initial drives. However, driving the length of the field twice the Bucs were unable to put the ball in the endzone, turning the ball over on downs twice in the red zone. The Raven passing game began to find holes in the Buc defensive scheme during the second quarter, and reached pay dirt 3 times, ending the half with a score of 18-0 in favor of the Ravens.
With some half-time defensive adjustments, the Bucs battled hard to remain within striking distance in the score, holding the Ravens to a single score in the second half. However, the Bucs were also able to overcome some first half miscues and reach the end zone 3 times, bringing the score to a 24-20 score with 5 minutes left in the game. After the Bucs kicked off, a terrific defensive effort again gave the Bucs the ball with a little over 4 minutes remaining, and 60 yards to reach the endzone. As they had all game, the Bucs chipped away at the yardage, steadily moving the ball down the field. Finally, with a little over a minute remaining, the Bucs were faced with a 4th down with 4 yards to go inside the Raven 20 yard line. Unfortunately, the coach called the wrong play for only a 3 yard gain ending just shy of the first down marker and 4 chances to put it in the end zone. The clock then ran out, favoring the Ravens over the Buccaneers with a score of 24-20.
Had the coach adjusted defensively a little sooner in the first half or made just a couple adjustments in the final drive, certainly the outcome would have favored the mighty Bucs. Regardless, the Buc team battled hard, scared a good Raven team, and showed their loyal fans how much improvement they have made over this season. The senior leadership of Ben Aldrich, Barrett McCumby, and Corey Peterson has been outstanding this year and certainly showed in this game helping less experienced players perform to their potential. These young men will play their final game this coming Saturday at noon taking on the Nikiski Bulldogs on the Buc home field. We invite all to come support the courage and tenacity of this year’s seniors, and cheer on the team.