Pine’s Raiders are looking to bounce back from last week’s loss as they head to Pearl River tonight at 7 p.m.
The Raiders enter this week with a 1-1 record after falling to Varnado, 44-14, last week. Pine was in the game through three quarters, but the Wildcats scored 22 points in the final quarter on the way to the victory.
Pine’s passing game has been solid this year. Joey Seal has thrown for 376 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions so far.
Pine coach Bradley Seal said his signal caller has played well, along with two of their receivers, Markell Cotton and Jordan Anderson.
“They’re just two very talented football players,” coach Seal said. “They’ve got size and speed and Joey’s putting the ball in the area.”
This season, Anderson has 228 yards receiving with four touchdowns.
One area that hurt Pine last week were four turnovers — two fumbles and two interceptions— along with a snap over the punter’s head and a blocked punt.
Defensively, coach Seal said the line, which includes Brendon Kelley, Donavon Kreyssig and Raquan Handy, has played well both weeks.
Pine won last year’s contest, 54-43.
Pearl River enters this week with a 2-0 record. The Rebels won by forfeit over Cohen College Prep in the first week before defeating Science Academy, 48-16, last week.
“We’re a young team,” Pearl River first-year coach Boomer Danford said. “We’ve got a lot of sophomores starting. We’ve got some seniors on the team, but a lot of them are first-year starters.”
The quarterback is Justin Dean. Dean suffered a broken collarbone during last year’s intrasquad scrimmage. He came back in week six, but broke it again.
Danford said Dean is a good player and has the ability to throw. Last week, he was 7-for-10 for 202 yards with three touchdowns.
The running backs are Courtney Moore and Corey Warren. Moore ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries. Last year, Moore was a 1,400-yard rusher with 18 touchdowns.
Warren ran nine times for 65 yards and a score last week.
“Obviously, they’ve got two really good running backs,” coach Seal said. “We’re going to have to stop them. That’s the key to victory — stop their running backs.”
The receivers are Ethan Martensson, Matt Charbonnet and K.J. O’Neal. Martensson caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown last week.
The top defenders are linebacker Hayden Dejean, lineman Byron Holmes and strong safety Austin Stodard.