Raiders looking for school’s first playoff victory against Devils

By JONATHAN GREENE

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BRADSHAW — After accomplishing the unexpected of earning a playoff berth in their first year of existence, the River View Raiders will look to accomplish much more in their second trip to the postseason.

The Raiders (8-2) lost their first and only playoff game a year ago against Frankfort, 32-22 in Bluefield. They visit seventh seeded Ravenswood (8-2) tonight at 7:30 p.m. with hopes of taking the next step of getting a win.

“They’re very athletic,” senior quarterback Jacob Muncy said of the Red Devils. “We have to play assignment football — keep a hat on everyone. If one person messes up that can ruin the whole gameplan.

“We have to play sound and have a nose for the football.”

Unlike Ravenswood who is riding a three-game winning streak, River View has dropped their last two games to Class AAA Lincoln County and Westside who is ranked third in Class AA.

“We played to two strong teams,” River View head coach Mitch Estep said. “We lost to Westside by eight points and did a pretty good job effort wise. Lincoln is a AAA team.

“We made the long trip up there and the weather wasn’t great, but I’m not making excuses. The biggest concern for us has been the injury bug. We got hit hard with injuries and it takes a while to recover. You can’t always recover in one day or one week.”

Those loses don’t worry Estep since the playoffs are the start of a new season and everyone is on a level playing field.

“It’s a one-game season now,” he said. “You win and you move on or you lose and go home. Eight teams will be gone after the first week regardless of what they accomplished.

“These kids have been resilient all year. We haven’t had a home game in two years. We just try to look at each week differently. We’re confident.”

In their two short years of existence, River View has yet to play a game in Bradshaw. They’ve played home games in Welch, Princeton and Bluefield.

“That isn’t an issue,” Estep said of having to travel to Ravenswood. “We play good on the road. We’ll just get the kids ready.

“They always work hard to get better and that’s our objective. Never be satisfied with the previous week — win or lose.”

The Raiders will be in for a challenge against Ravenswood who finished runner-up to Magnolia last year. The Red Devils’ two losses are to Class AA playoff teams Braxton County and Point Pleasant. They’re averaging 34.7 points per game, but allowing 20.

“We’ve seen their offense two weeks in row now,” Estep said. “They have a good quarterback and running back and they want to get them in space. They want to spread you out.

“Defensively, they attack you. They’re a good, solid team. We have our work cut out, but we think we match up well.”

Ravenswood is led by senior quarterback Dustin Derito who has rushed for 976 yards and thrown for 960. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior has accounted for 23 touchdowns on offense.

In addition to Derito, senior running back Jeremy Lawrence has rushed for 787 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s caught 24 passes for 445 yards and two scores, returned two kickoffs and two interceptions for touchdowns and intercepted five passes in all.

“Some kids have that instinct,” Estep said. “What you try to do is stop it before they get started. You try to keep the ball out of his hands.

The biggest thing is, he’s going to make plays. You just have to limit how many.”

River View’s offense has it’s fair share of playmakers too.

The Raiders are balanced on offense as Muncy has thrown for 1,606 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. His favorite target is Leshon Benton who has 36 catches for 835 yards and 9 touchdowns. River View also features six different running backs that have rushed for more than 215 yards led by Trey Bailey’s 538 yards and eight touchdowns.

“We’ve got to get the running game started,” Muncy said. “That’s key. You can’t build from the ground up on the pass.

“You start with strong running game and control the line of scrimmage. I think our guys are fit for the challenge.”

Jordan Wilson has added 448 yards on the ground while Brandon Church has 324 yards and Joseph McClanahan has 274 yards.

Ravenswood will try to slow down those playmakers with an attacking defense.

Brad Titus leads the Red Devils with 115 tackles followed by Kyle Griffith and Jeremy Burgess’s 95 tackles each. Titus and Burgess each have three sacks while Griffith has four. Those three trail A.J. Summerfield who has seven sacks on the year.

“First off, they run a 3-5 defense where they try to get in the gaps,” Estep said. “We have to protect gaps and allow no penetration. That’s no easy task since they attack the ball.

“Second thing, you have to block; you can’t just shade block. Their first level is tough, but their second level is even tougher. We have to move those guys out.

“We have to make them spread out more than they like to.”

Ravenswood’s secondary is no slouch either with Zack Martin having seven interceptions in addition to Lawrence’s five.

With similar athletes and schemes, the difference will come down to special teams according to Estep.

“I always said this, early in the year and late in the year, the key is special teams,” Estep said. “So many times the difference in winning the game or losing a game is special teams whether it’s a botched punt, blocked punt or kickoff return.

“It can change field position real quick.”

Specials teams along with turnovers and staying away from injuries are the “three keys” Estep said.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. tonight.

“We’re excited,” Estep said. “This is a great time for the community. The kids play hard and won’t give up.

“They have a lot of pride. This is what you work for. This is where you want to be.”

— Contact Jonathan Greene

at jgreene@bdtonline.com