The Southridge Raiders football team won 30-27 against the Gibson Southern Titans, thus advancing to the class 3A Sectional 32 championship.

The Southridge Raiders hosted the Gibson Southern Titans in the class 3A Sectional 32 semifinal on Friday, October 30th. 

The Gibson Southern Titans (7-2) were hoping to pull off an upset against the Southridge Raiders (10-0) after suffering a 20 point loss against Southridge earlier in the season. 

“We changed our gameplain a little in hopes of playing better defensively, but I think we really just played a better game, definitely an improvement from the first time we played them,” head coach Nick Hart said.

Early in the game, it was clear that the Titans had worked on improving their defense against the Raiders, especially in the run game. The Titans gave up 249 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown in the game, a vast improvement over the 382 yards and three rushing touchdowns the Titans gave up in their last matchup against Southridge. 

The Titans showcased their defense in the first quarter with a score of 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, another vast improvement over the 20 point deficit the Titans amassed in the first quarter of their first game against Southridge. 

The Titans gave up another touchdown early in the second quarter before they were finally able to jump start their offense. Gibson Southern was able to score two consecutive touchdowns, while missing both of their two-point conversion attempts. The second quarter ended with the Raiders retaining a two point lead, 12-14. 

Gibson Southern kicks off to Southridge to start the third quarter.  The Raiders were able to take the ball the length of the field ending in an 18 yard pass for senior Camden Gasser’s third receiving touchdown of the night. Southridge kicks off to Gibson Southern before quickly getting a safety, tackling the Titans in their own endzone. 

The Titans, however, were able to quickly stop the Raiders and manage to sneak in a touchdown and a two point conversion with only two minutes to go in the third quarter. The third quarter ends with the Titans still trailing by 3 points, 20-23. 

The Titans missed their opportunity to tie the game at the start of the fourth quarter with a missed field goal. 

Gibson Southern kicks off to Southridge with 9 minutes to go in the fourth quarter and in the biggest play of the game Southridge is able to force their way into the endzone, extending their lead to 10 points with 3 minutes remaining in the game. 

Gibson Southern was able to score another touchdown before time expired, but it would be too little too late for the Titans. The game ended with a final score of 27-30 thus ending the Titans 5 game winning streak and their season, but head coach Nick Hart was happy with his team’s improvement from their game against Southridge earlier this season. 

“We changed our gameplain a little in hopes of playing better defensively, but I think we really just played a better game, definitely an improvement from the first time we played them,” head coach Nick Hart said.

While the Titans were able to limit Southridge’s rushing yardage, the Raiders physical ground game was able to gain them a massive advantage in time of possession. Southridge was able to maintain possession of the football for nearly 11 minutes more than the Titans. This, however, was yet another improvement from their game earlier in the fall as the Raiders were able to hold the ball for over 22 minutes more than the Titans in that contest.

The Raiders now advance to the class 3A Sectional 32 championship hosting the Salem Lions on Friday, November 6th.  

“I think overall we played a good game against Southridge, we made our mistakes here and there, that comes with football,” junior Rory Heltsley said, “we played a great football team, and losing also comes with the game of football. We made huge improvements from last time we played them so there’s always a brightside.” 

The Titans great defensive effort wouldn’t be enough to stop the Raiders physical offense, but the Titans can be proud that they left everything on the field in what would be the final game of their 2020-21 season. 

“We left everything out there, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough,” junior Logan Maurer said. “Some things didn’t go our way, that’s how the sport goes, but I look forward to getting back out there next year.”