By Ruthanne Morris
The Offensive Line was winning the battle at the line of scrimmage all day long and Ryan Morris took advantage to score Haven’s first touchdown on a quarterback sneak.
The defense made their own statement with a fumble recovery by Sean Daly. In the next series Billy Gaynor led the defensive line holding the Raiders on 4th and 1 and turning the ball back to the Panthers. Jon Morris capped off the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run.
The defense would not relent. Raghib Boyer would notch his first of three sacks on the day, setting the Raiders up for 4th and 24 and forcing the punt. Haven took over on the 27-yard line and went to work with the O-Line opening up lanes for the running backs. Ryan Morris connected with Steven Seal on a 34-yard touchdown pass to lead the Panthers into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Ridley would not go away without a fight and came out running with a vengeance in the third quarter. It took less than five plays on the scoring drive for the Raiders to find the end zone on a 42-yard rushing play. The Raiders were not able to complete the two-point conversion and the score stood at 21-6.
Jon Morris gave the Panthers more cushion when he rushed for his second touchdown of the day, on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Haven led 28-6 but a dramatic kickoff return positioned the Raiders in Haven territory on the 42. The Raiders scored, cutting Haven’s lead to 28-14 with 7:51 remaining in the game. As the Raiders threatened on their next possession the Panther defense came up big again and Boyer ended their drive with two consecutive sacks.
Steven Seal was perfect on the day striking all four point after attempts with precision. Final score Haven 28 Ridley 14.
