Steve Gress: Raiders drop a tough one to Bulldogs Comments
There are no moral victories for the Crescent Valley football program anymore.
The Raiders could have been happy after battling back and getting closer than any other Mid-Willamette Conference team has come to beating West Albany in conference play.
Instead, they left the Field of Dreams on Friday night knowing they let one slip away.
Three muffed punts, two fumbles and an interception in the end zone, along with two costly procedure penalties, cost the Raiders a conference title.
That allowed the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs to hold on for a 34-28 victory that wrapped up their fourth consecutive conference title and a 28-0 mark over that span.
The six-point win was the closest margin over that span. Lebanon and Silverton both lost by 14 points this season. The previous closest margin was 16 by South ALbany in 2006.
“I feel like it was a big learning experience for our program,” CV senior Colby Eason said. “We have made so many strides this year. We’re not done learning and we found that out tonight.”
While the miscues were costly, it was West Albany’s experience that was ultimately the difference.
The Bulldogs never panicked and made sure to capitalize on enough opportunities to earn the win.
“We have to learn how to be in these big games and (West Albany) obviously has been in those big games,” CV coach Scott Sanders said. “West Albany knows how to go into any game and compete and win.
“They did a great job and are a tough football team. But we’re a tough football team, too. There’s no doubt people are going to recognize that.”
The Raiders made star running back Anthony LaCoste work for his 144 yards on 25 carries. He did score three times, including runs of 35 and 20 in the second half.
But CV was able to move the ball on the Bulldogs with Eason rushing for 122 yards and Andre Oglesby 137. All told, the Raiders gained 312 yards in 43 attempts.
But the mental mistakes, like three muffed punts, proved too much to overcome.
“We came out and a bunch of us fumbled tonight and that’s the big thing coach is talking about,” Eason said. “The first drive we gave them three chances which is kind of the little mental mistakes.
“We rallied when we needed to and made a ball game out of it.”
Fortunately for the Raiders, their season isn’t over.
Of course, it gets as tough if not tougher in two weeks when they host No. 3 Sherwood, which defeated West Albany 22-20 to open the season.
“We have to focus on just basic football, holding on to the ball, making easy plays, being disciplined,” Eason said. “Sherwood I know is a great team and our defense will have to buckle down. We will watch a lot of film on them and its great that we have a bye for preparation.
“I know this team in that locker room is really confident and that’s great. It was a tough loss tonight but we also gained a lot of confidence.”
![[Post to Twitter]](http://sports.mvourtown.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
Related posts:
